Texas and Maryland women plead guilty to COVID fraud

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Brandie S. Williams, 45, of Dallas, Texas, and Brittany L. Herbert, 39, of Brandywine, Maryland, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. In addition, defendant Herbert also pleaded guilty to bank fraud.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Colleen M. McCarthy and Charles M. Kruly, and Ariel Glaser and Jennifer L. Bilinkas of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section, who are handling the case, stated that between May 2020 and June 2021, Williams and Herbert conspired with Adam Arena and Amanda Gloria, and others, to fraudulently obtain and misuse multiple COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) emergency relief loans, including:

• Williams, Herbert, and Gloria worked together to fraudulently obtain an approximately $292,700 loan for Williams's business, Beyond the Next Level, Inc. including by, among other things, preparing and submitting a fraudulent IRS tax form as part of the PPP loan application, which falsely stated that Williams's business had 25 employees and paid total payroll expenses of $1.4 million in 2019 when, in fact, the business had no employees. After receiving the PPP loan, Williams did not use the funds for legitimate business-related purposes. Instead, Williams used the funds for her own personal enrichment and transferred over $43,000 to bank accounts controlled by Gloria and Herbert.
• Williams, Herbert, Gloria, and Arena also worked together to fraudulently obtain a loan for approximately $954,000 for Arena's business, ADA Auto Group. After the PPP loan proceeds were transferred into an account controlled by Arena, he conducted a series of financial transactions, including for his own personal benefit, for Gloria's benefit, and for the benefit of others.

Adam Arena and Amanda Gloria were previously convicted for their roles in the conspiracy.

Anyone with general information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Justice Department's National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

The pleas are the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Philip Tejera; the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Harry T. Chavis, Jr.; the United States Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division, under the direction of Acting Inspector-in-Charge Nicholas J. Bucciarelli; and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Michael McGill, New York Field Division.

Brandie Williams is scheduled to be sentenced on June 11, 2026, and Brittany Herbert is scheduled to be sentenced on July 8, 2026, both before Judge Sinatra.

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