The former assistant city attorney of Atlanta, who was also a life advice podcaster has been jailed for seven years after fraudulently obtaining approximately $15 million in COVID relief loans.
Shelitha Robertson, 62, used the illegally gained funds to splash out on luxuries such as a 10 carat diamond ring, a Rolls Royce and a motorbike.
The former police officer had obtained the money under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a federal stimulus program that was set up during the pandemic.
But only weeks before she was imprisoned, Robertson was still gleefully appearing on her daughter’s ‘Mommy & Me’ podcast in which the pair would put the world to rights – including advising listeners on how to earn money though solid, hard work.
But Robertson didn’t follow her own advice and instead decided to print her own money, submitted one loan application after another fooling a COVID relief scheme that she needed to cash to fund four businesses that she claimed to own.
In reality, the loan applications were complete fakes and full of figures that suggested she had a workforce of more than 400 – and entitled to millions of dollars in handouts for each of the companies she claimed to run.
Court documents show that Robertson was responsible for providing the payroll of 427 employees, when in fact there wasn’t a single one.
It meant Robertson was fraudulently able to obtain enormous PPP loans that would otherwise have not been the case.
The money was of course intended for legitimate businesses who needed it to survive the pandemic.
In an October episode of the podcast Robertson presented alongside her daughter Brii Renee, she was asked if she would choose integrity over poverty when asked how she would react if given the chance to make money quickly.
‘I choose integrity and whatever else it brings. I don’t choose selling your soul to the devil. Because that would mean I am willing to belittle myself and degrade myself for the love of what? Of a dollar,’ Robertson began, knowing full well the Department of Justice were already investigating her.
‘How my kids view me and respect me, means more to me than earning a quick dollar for me to be something that I’m not,’ Robertson said, just weeks before she was hauled off to jail.
Robertson used the multi-million dollar proceeds from her loans to purchase luxury items, including a 10-carat diamond ring that would have been worth at least $150,000 together with luxury vehicles including the Rolls.
The DOJ also said she transferred funds to a co-conspirator, Chandra Norton, and other family members.
Despite the funds being earmarked for desperate businesses that faced bankruptcy during the COVID lockdowns, the pair had no such qualms about abusing such a scheme.
The pair even had to submit false tax documents to back up their inflated statements within each loan application.
A jury convicted Robertson of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering with the judge sentencing her to seven years and three months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Robertson will be almost 70 by the time she’s released from prison, leaving behind her influencer daughter Brii, who boasts over 600,000 Instagram followers.
In the ‘Mommy and Me’ in which the pair discuss ‘navigating life’s challenges’, according to an Apple Podcasts preview.
In one episode of the podcast from October 2023, Robertson advises followers to ‘chase their dream’ because ‘the money will come’.
‘When you have a passion for something that you love, you can do it for free. Don’t ever chase the money. The money will come. Chase your passion, Chase your dream. The money will come,’ Robertson insists.
Her daughter, who was born through artificial insemination posted a glowing tribute to her mother.
‘I wouldn’t be who I am today without the amazing mother, example, hustler, you are!’, daughter Renee wrote just a few weeks ago.
‘Thank you for every sacrifice you made and every dream you pushed me to achieve!’
In court, Robertson tried to appeal to the judge before her sentencing.
‘I’m dead broke,’ she said.
‘My business is gone. My (law) license is gone. My assets are gone. The only thing I have left is my family and my faith in God.’
She said she was deeply sorry for the impact her conduct has had on her family, wife and community.
‘I’m not that person that tries to take advantage of anybody or any situation,’ she said. ‘I’ve owned up to what I’ve done.’
U.S. District Judge Steven D. Grimberg said the loss of the $14 million in funds was staggering.
‘It was her level of direction and confidence in being able to commit this level of fraud without being detected that instigated it in the first place,’ Grimberg said in court.
‘Motivated by greed, Robertson deceptively obtained funds that were designated to provide emergency financial relief to struggling small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic,’ said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. ‘
‘It was her level of direction and confidence in being able to commit this level of fraud without being detected that instigated it in the first place,’ Grimberg said in court.
‘Motivated by greed, Robertson deceptively obtained funds that were designated to provide emergency financial relief to struggling small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic,’ said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. ‘
‘Today the defendant in this case was held accountable for fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars through the Paycheck Protection Program and using those stolen funds to enrich herself, while small businesses were struggling during the pandemic,’ added Kyle Myles, Special Agent in Charge of the FDIC.
‘The FDIC Office Inspector General remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to pursue and bring to justice those who took advantage of such pandemic relief programs and threatened the integrity of our Nation’s financial institutions.’
