Payroll Processor Sentenced: $2M Tax Fraud and COVID Loan Scam Exposed
A female individual who embezzled over $2 million by diverting funds meant for tax deductions from a business in Salem and by filing 15 fake loan applications during the pandemic was ordered to serve three years and one month behind bars on Thursday.
Jamie McGowen, aged 43, admitted guilt in December to charges including wire fraud, bank fraud, and two instances of money laundering.
From 2016 to 2019, when employed as a payroll processor at Al’s Trailer Sales of Salem Inc., she deducted $705,613 in payroll taxes from her colleagues’ wages. However, instead of submitting these funds to the Internal Revenue Service through the necessary federal income tax filings, she opted to keep the entire sum for personal use, as stated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith Bateman.
According to Bateman, McGowen subsequently utilized the illicit funds to coerce Al’s owner into selling the enterprise to her and her father at a reduced price.
Several years afterward, she falsified information on 15 applications to fraudulently obtain $1.3 million from three governmental COVID-19 relief initiatives—the Paycheck Protection Program, Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, and Restaurant Revitalization Fund—according to Bateman.
McGowen allegedly made false statements on the loan applications, claiming she did not own another business and overstating both employee counts and revenue figures, according to the prosecutor. Additionally, she misled about using the funds exclusively for payroll purposes, as stated by Bateman.
McGowen redirected the majority of funds to enterprises she either owned or had joint ownership in, which included several recreational vehicle companies as well as accounting and tax preparation firms, stated the court documents. Additional sums were directed towards her father, placed into an account, deposited directly into her personal checking account, and used for settling credit card debts, as noted by Bateman in a sentencing memorandum.
I acknowledge the errors I committed and am ready to accept accountability,” stated McGowen, who currently resides in California. “My genuine intention was to protect my business ventures. Nothing more.
She expressed concern about who would take care of her 15-year-old son if she ended up going to jail.
The defense lawyer, Katryna Lyn Spearman, advocated for a reduced sentence of one year and one day behind bars, stating that McGowen’s fraudulent activities were not complex and he had no previous criminal record.
U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson ruled that McGowen must provide $2,072,860 in restitution and begin serving her jail sentence on June 26.
— Maxine Bernstein reports on federal courts and criminal justice. Contact her at 503-221-8212,
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