SPOKANE, Wash. — A 40-year-old Spokane woman pled guilty to illegally obtaining $360,000 in COVID relief funding for small businesses.
Marisa Beck pled guilty to stealing money from small business relief funding, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington Vanessa R. Waldref announced Wednesday. Beck stole a total of $368,829 by submitting false payroll and revenue to get the relief funds.
The investigation found Beck filed for false aid for several small businesses under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in 2020. Two of the businesses were not active at the time of Beck's filing.
“We created the Eastern Washington COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force because it is critical to the strength and safety of our communities that we all work together to combat pandemic-related fraud and bring much-needed accountability to these programs," Waldref said in a statement. "The Strike Force works to ensure that limited resources are used to protect our local small businesses and the critical jobs and services that they provide for the community."
Beck's charges have a maximum sentence of five years in prison. She is set to be sentenced on Sept. 27 at 11 a.m.
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