Shelby Township man gets 3 years in prison for $2.5M pandemic-era fraud

A Shelby Township man has been sentenced for his role in a fraud scheme involving nearly $2.5 million in pandemic-era relief money, the U.S. Attorney's office for the Eastern District of Michigan said. 

Samer Kammo, 46, was sentenced Thursday to three years in federal prison after having pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, the district attorney said. His co-defendant, Rita Shaba, 40, of Macomb, was sentenced in January to 27 months in prison on related charges. Sentencing is pending for Kammo's wife, Christinia Anasi, the district attorney said. 

Kammo and his family members had received nearly $2.5 million in fraudulent funds from the Paycheck Protection Program, federal officials said. Authorities allege that they misrepresented payroll information and also submitted fictitious documents when filing the funding applications. 

"This defendant and his co-conspirators tried to cheat the system by exploiting a federal relief program meant to help Americans in need," said Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. 

Congress created PPP in March 2020 to provide emergency assistance to businesses that faced financial challenges at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible businesses also could apply for loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration. In some cases, the pandemic relief funds could be forgiven and not paid back. 

"Although the pandemic is years behind us, HSI and our partners are committed to holding fraudsters accountable for PPP fraud," said Homeland Security Investigations Detroit acting Special Agent in Charge Jared Murphey. 

This investigation was led by the FBI and HSI, with assistance from the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.