HERTFORD, N.C. — A former North Carolina correctional officer has pled guilty to fraudulently submitting false documents to obtain COVID-19 relief funds, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
According to a release from the DOJ, Tana Egusasa Hill, 43, pled guilty to theft of government funds by fraudulently submitting the North Carolina Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions (NC HOPE) loan applications for emergency rental assistance.
The DOJ says that Hill submitted fictitious tenant lease agreements for multiple properties in Hertford County. Hill faces up to 10 years in prison.
In March 2020, Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans.
North Carolina's Department of Public Safety used funds from the CARES Act to assist North Carolina renters during the pandemic. This is the program to which Hill submitted fictitious documents.
Hill's husband, Sean Dillard, was sentenced for the same crime in November 2023.
