A Mansfield businesswoman, Tamara Starks, 42, was sentenced to 86 months in federal prison on Thursday for orchestrating a fraudulent scheme to obtain approximately $8.5 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman also ordered Starks to pay $4,476,523.73 in restitution.
Starks pleaded guilty to wire fraud in September 2024. According to court documents, from May 2020 to May 2021, she devised a scheme involving false payroll and tax documents submitted with fraudulent PPP loan applications for companies she and her husband owned. She also facilitated fraudulent loans for others.
In total, more than 100 PPP loan applications were submitted under the scheme, resulting in $4.5 million in funds being disbursed. After the loans were funded, Starks directed recipients to set up fraudulent payrolls to make the funds appear to be used for legitimate purposes. Recipients then returned portions of the funds to Starks as a “fee,” which she used for personal expenses and purchases.
The case was investigated by the Dallas Field Offices of the FDIC-OIG, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and SSA-OIG. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dimitri Rocha and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Nashonme Johnson prosecuted the case.
