Bloomington woman convicted of theft

Lina PortmanJune 4, 2024

0 1 minute read

BLOOMINGTON — A Bloomington woman was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to a theft charge.

Talia E. James, 25, was indicted in January on a total of eight counts: two counts of theft, two counts of wire fraud and four counts of forgery.

She pleaded guilty to one count of theft in the amount between $10,000 and $100,000, and the other charges were dismissed.

According to court documents, James was accused of filing Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness application forms with the intent to defraud. Court documents show James has an extensive criminal record, which Assistant State's Attorney Don Rood III noted as an argument for his conviction.

James was sentenced Wednesday to four years in the Department of Corrections, with credit for 49 days served, followed by one year of mandatory supervised release. She was ordered to pay $20,833 in restitution to the company for which she was convicted of fraud.

Deputy Public Defender Brian McEldowney, James' attorney, did not respond to a request for comment.

A Florida man is facing charges after allegedly fraudulently obtaining nearly $4 million through the Paycheck Protection Program, spending some of that money on a Lamborghini. Justin Kircher of Veuer has the story.