NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Hampton resident, Lapondia Wallace, 53, was sentenced to five years in prison for identity theft and leading a conspiracy to defraud the government and financial institutions on Tuesday.
According to court documents from the district court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Wallace applied for at least 22 fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan applications as well as five other applications for COVID-19 pandemic-era unemployment insurance benefits.
Wallace spent over $250,000 on gambling, travel and luxury clothing and shoes before the federal government or the commonwealth could seize the money.
She committed the pandemic fraud while under court supervision for a 2021 federal conviction for mail fraud.
She is also responsible for at least 14 other prior fraud and forgery convictions.
