South Bend woman ordered to repay funds from PPP loan fraud

Date: August 28, 2025

Contact: [email protected]

SOUTH BEND - Rachael Robinson of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to a federal felony for wire fraud, announced Acting United States Attorney M. Scott Proctor.

Robinson was ordered to pay $55, 280.47 in restitution to the victims of the offense.

According to documents in the case, in February and April 2021, Robinson submitted two fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) relief funds for a business that did not exist. The PPP program was designed to approve loans to small businesses for job retention and other expenses as part the CARES Act that provided emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of her fraudulent representations, Robinson received about $50,000.00 in PPP funds which she used for her own benefit rather than for any legitimately approved purpose.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Luke N. Reilander and Joel Gabrielse.

IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 19 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.