A Plymouth woman has been accused of fraudulently collecting nearly $42,000 in Covid payroll protection money by claiming she and her elderly father needed financial help for a massage business they ran out of their home, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Katherine Reynolds, 65, was charged with two counts of wire fraud Wednesday in US District Court in Boston.
Reynolds allegedly filed loan applications for herself and her father, claiming that before the pandemic she and her 86-year-old father made more than $100,000 a year by operating a massage parlor out of their home.
She applied for two $20,833 loans in May 2021 to cover “Payroll Costs,” “Rent/Mortgage Interest” and “Utilities,” the complaint alleged.
The funds were deposited in bank accounts in June 2021 and within a few weeks, the bank accounts’ balances were zero, according to the criminal complaint filed in federal court.
The alleged scheme unraveled when Reynolds’ sister, who held one of the bank accounts jointly with her, asked what was going on. She contacted Plymouth police, telling them neither her sister nor her father, who has since died, owned any businesses.
Reynolds faces up to 20 years in prison, and a fine of up to $250,000.
She is at least the sixth Plymouth resident to be charged with collecting Covid relief money they didn’t qualify for.
Reynolds’s lawyer could not be identified from court records.
Andrea Estes can be reached at andrea@plymouthindependent.org.