Owner of ‘Agriculture’ Business Charged With Defrauding SBA of $150,000 in COVID-Relief Funds

Defendant Claimed 10 Employees and $7.5 Million in Revenue From a DC Apartment

            WASHINGTON – Lori Isabell Morgan, 35, of Greenbelt, Maryland, was arrested on June 12 on an indictment charging her with defrauding the U.S. Government of nearly $150,000 in Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds, which were meant to provide relief to businesses suffering economic hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

            The indictment, which charges six counts of wire fraud, was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the U.S. Small Business Administration - Office of the Inspector General.

            Morgan made her initial court appearance on June 12 before the Honorable Zia M. Faruqui in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia.

            According to court documents, Morgan allegedly submitted an EIDL application to the Small Business Administration (SBA), in which she claimed to own 100% of an “agriculture” business that was based out of her Washington D.C. apartment. Morgan claimed to employ 10 people and to have generated $7.5 million in gross revenues in 2019. There allegedly was no such business.

Click for full Press Release