A North Mississippi woman has been sentenced after defrauding the federal government of over $5 million through a COVID-19 relief program.

Lisa Evans, 43, of Olive Branch, was sentenced Sept. 11 to 18 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program. PPP was a federal program intended to help small businesses and their employees survive the pandemic.

According to information presented in court, Evans submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications for numerous individuals who were not entitled to PPP loans through her Memphis-based tax service business. The applications she submitted contained false representations, including fake federal tax documents. When the individual borrowers obtained the loan funds, they then paid Ev

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