Lookout Mountain woman sentenced to 17 months in prison as part of $7.5 million pandemic loan program

A Lookout Mountain woman was sentenced to 17 months in prison for her role in a $7.5 million multi-state Paycheck Protection Program loan scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice announced in a statement.

Adiana Pierre, 39, of Tennessee, was sentenced Friday in federal court in Boston, according to the release. She will serve three years of supervised probation once released from federal custody.

Pierre pleaded guilty in February to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to engage in illegal monetary transactions, the release said.

She was charged with two men who obtained millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds for themselves and others by submitting dozens of fraudulent loan applications to lenders, the release said.

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Gardy Alexandre, 51, of West Palm Beach, Florida, was sentenced to 15 months in prison in connection with the same scheme.

Wallace Ford, 38, of Buford, Georgia, will be sentenced at a later date, the release said.

Pierre, Ford, and Alexander conspired to falsely apply for loans on behalf of real and alleged businesses and nonprofit organizations across the United States in order to collect kickbacks from borrowers to secure the funds , indicates the press release.

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The Paycheck Protection Program provided small businesses with the money needed to pay weeks of payroll costs during the pandemic and first became available in April 2020.

Shortly after, Ford began submitting applications on behalf of his own companies, Pierre, Alexandre and other borrowers, the statement said.

Pierre and Alexandre identified other potential candidates and passed the information on to Ford.

Ford submitted online applications, which included fabricating employee numbers, monthly payroll expenses, wage and tax forms, to misrepresent the loan applications, the release said.

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The three obtained more than $7 million in federal funds between May and August 2020 on behalf of the borrowers.

Then, borrowers would pay them around 10-20% of the total loan amount received.

“Collectively, Ford, Pierre and Alexandre received more than $1 million in bribes from the borrowers,” the statement said.

— Compiled by Sofia Saric