德克萨斯州北区女子April Watson被控骗取逾68万美元疫情救济贷款：联邦大陪审团以10项罪名起诉
美国司法部德州北区联邦检察官办公室（USAO）2026年10月26日宣布，联邦大陪审团已对德克萨斯州北区居民 April Watson 递交一份10项罪名的起诉书，指控她涉嫌骗取疫情救济计划逾68万美元并洗钱。她已于10月23日首次出庭。
April Watson 现年50岁，又名 April Watson Horton、April Shawnette Watson。起诉书指控她4项电汇诈骗、2项银行诈骗和4项以非法所得进行金钱交易（洗钱）罪名。德州北区联邦检察官 Ryan Raybould 表示，紧急救济计划是为陷入困境的企业保留生机的生命线，不是用来补贴私人住宅建设和奢侈消费的；伪造税务记录、把紧急小企业救济当作个人彩票，是严重的联邦犯罪。
据法庭文件，2020年4月至2021年10月间，Watson 以其拥有和经营的多家实体名义提交虚假申请，骗取《冠状病毒援助、救济与经济安全法》（CARES Act）下的薪资保护计划（PPP）贷款和经济伤害灾难贷款（EIDL），涉案实体包括 Exotic Bliss Beauty LLC、Brain Evolution LLC 与 Southern Home Ventures, LLC。她涉嫌伪造工资汇总表和虚假的国税局（IRS）W-2、W-3 表格，声称由外部工资公司编制；实际上该公司从未生成过这些表格，相关企业2019年和2020年也未向国税局申报过工资或营业收入税表。
凭这些虚假材料，Watson 共取得三笔款项：Kabbage, Inc. 发放的 PPP 贷款 210,698 美元、美国小企业局（SBA）直接发放的 EIDL 资金 299,800 美元，以及 JPMorgan Chase 发放的 PPP 贷款 169,994 美元，三笔合计 680,492 美元。起诉书还指控，她将其中逾114,000美元转用于在 Cedar Hill 建造个人住宅，并向一名同伙汇款40,000美元。
若罪名成立，Watson 每项电汇诈骗罪最高面临20年联邦监禁，每项银行诈骗罪最高30年，每项非法金钱交易罪最高10年。政府同时寻求没收她位于 Cedar Hill 的一处住宅，并追缴涉案非法所得全额的金钱判决。
本案由国税局刑事调查局（IRS-CI）与国土安全调查局（HSI）通过 Dallas El Dorado 专案组联合调查，联邦助理检察官 Elise Aldendifer 负责起诉。国税局刑事调查局德克萨斯州外勤办公室主管 Christopher J. Altemus Jr. 表示，疫情贷款诈骗令人发指，骗子骗走的是诚实经营者维持生计所需的资金。司法部强调，起诉书仅为指控，被告在法庭证明有罪之前推定无罪。
North Texas Woman April Watson Indicted on 10 Counts in $680,000 COVID Relief Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas announced on October 26, 2026, that a federal grand jury has returned a 10-count indictment against North Texas resident April Watson, accusing her of defrauding pandemic relief programs of more than $680,000 and laundering the proceeds. She made her initial court appearance on October 23.
April Watson, 50, also known as April Watson Horton and April Shawnette Watson, is charged with four counts of wire fraud, two counts of bank fraud and four counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity (money laundering). U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said emergency relief programs were enacted as a vital lifeline to keep struggling businesses afloat, not to subsidize private home construction and luxury purchases, and that falsifying tax records and treating emergency small business relief like a personal lottery ticket is a serious federal crime.
According to court documents, between April 2020 and October 2021, Watson allegedly submitted fraudulent applications under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) on behalf of several entities she owned and operated, including Exotic Bliss Beauty LLC, Brain Evolution LLC and Southern Home Ventures, LLC. She allegedly fabricated payroll summaries and fictitious IRS W-2 and W-3 forms purportedly prepared by an outside payroll company; in reality, no such forms had been generated, and no business tax returns for wages or gross revenues had been filed with the IRS for 2019 or 2020.
Based on those submissions, Watson secured $210,698 in PPP loans disbursed by Kabbage, Inc., $299,800 in EIDL funds disbursed directly by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and $169,994 in additional PPP funding from JPMorgan Chase, totaling $680,492. The indictment further alleges she transferred over $114,000 toward construction of a personal residence in Cedar Hill and wired $40,000 to an individual associate.
If convicted, Watson faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count, up to 30 years for each bank fraud count and up to 10 years for each unlawful monetary transaction count. The government is also seeking forfeiture of her Cedar Hill residence and a monetary judgment for the full value of the illicit proceeds.
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations as part of the Dallas El Dorado Task Force, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elise Aldendifer. IRS-CI Texas Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher J. Altemus Jr. said COVID loan fraud is heinous because criminals took money honest people needed to keep their businesses alive. An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：德克萨斯州 Dallas 市中心天际线（资料图）。图片来源：Gattacal 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0。Photo: Downtown Dallas, Texas skyline (file photo). Credit: Gattacal, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
