Man facing federal charges in alleged COVID-related fraud

A man accused of defrauding the government of $30,000 through a CARES Act small business loan is standing trial this week in U.S. District Court in Augusta.

Orell Plummer has pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering. Monday, defense attorney Katrell Nash told the jury in her opening statement that Plummer misunderstood the rules and had no intent to defraud the government.

"Making a mistake does not mean he intended to defraud the government," Nash said.

Plummer is one of half a dozen people accused of cheating to get money the federal government set aside to help some businesses during the pandemic. Under the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act, emergency funds were set aside for small businesses to help them survive the long period of economic shutdown.

The Economic Injury Disaster Loans made cash available from March 2020 until the funding ran dry July 10, 2020. The loan program was only for established businesses for business-related expenses and debt. Plummer was one of millions of applicants.

Plummer filled out an application July 6, 2020, for O International Enterprise, a company he claimed started in 2006 and earned a gross income of $180,000 in the year before COVID struck. He also claimed 10 employees.

Plummer was sent $30,000, federal prosecutor Jennifer Stanley told the jury in her opening statement. He immediately transferred $19,000 of that money to another bank account. Plummer wasn't entitled to any of the funds because the business was not in operation for more than a year, it had no employees and no gross income, Stanley said.

Plummer is the first CARES Act case to go to trial in Augusta. Two others have pleaded guilty to charges: Rose Mary Coleman who was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay $10,000 restitution, and Jacinthia Williams who was sentenced to 13 months incarceration with three years of supervised release. Williams was ordered to pay $61,600 in restitution.