ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Bloomington, Minn. woman was sentenced to 90 months in prison and ordered to pay $4.7 million in restitution after defrauding federal pandemic programs in multiple states.
According to a U.S. Attorney’s Office press release, court documents allegedly show that 40-year-old Tequisha Solomon fraudulently obtained benefits from multiple organizations, including Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development, California’s Employment Development Department and the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
Solomon also assisted others in obtaining pandemic-related funds in exchange for a fee. She fraudulently applied for $7,149,032 in pandemic-related funds, and agencies paid out at least $4,708,191 in fraudulent UI benefits and small business loan proceeds.
She pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on Dec. 13, 2022.
This case was investigated by the FBI, the U.S. Department of Labor-Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the St. Paul Police Department and the California Employment Development Department.
