The former Atlanta assistant city attorney and life advice podcaster has been sentenced to seven years in prison after fraudulently obtaining about $15 million in COVID relief loans.
Shelitha Robertson, 62, used the ill-gotten money to splurge on luxury items including a 10-carat diamond ring, a Rolls Royce and a motorcycle.
The former police officer had intercepted the money the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a federal stimulus program created during the pandemic.
Robertson submitted loan applications on behalf of four companies that she claimed she owned and controlled.
But the loan applications were filled with false figures that falsely inflated the number of employees and average monthly payroll for each of the companies.
Shelitha Robertson, Atlanta’s former assistant city attorney, was sentenced to seven years in prison for fraudulently obtaining approximately $15 million in COVID relief loans
Robertson will be nearly 70 by the time she is released from prison, leaving behind her influencer daughter Brii Renee, who has more than 600,000 Instagram followers, as seen here
Court documents show that Robertson was responsible for the payroll of 427 employees, when in fact there were no employees.
It meant Robertson was able to fraudulently obtain huge PPP loans that otherwise would not have been possible.
The money was obviously intended for legitimate businesses that needed it to survive the pandemic.
Robertson and her co-conspirator, Chandra Norton, had little trouble abusing such a scheme and proceeded to file false tax documents to support the inflated statements on each loan application.
Robertson used the loan proceeds to purchase luxury items, including a 10-carat diamond ring that, along with luxury vehicles including the Rolls, would have been worth at least $150,000.
The DOJ also said she transferred money to a co-conspirator, Chandra Norton, and other family members.
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 nearly 70 by the time she is released from prison, leaving behind her influencer daughter Brii Renee, who has more than 600,000 Instagram followers.
It’s quite a fall from grace for Robertson, who was an assistant city attorney of Atlanta and had also served as a city constable
The money was intended for legitimate businesses that needed it to survive the pandemic
The two co-host a podcast titled “Mommy and Me” in which they discuss “navigating life’s challenges,” according to an Apple Podcasts preview.
On an October episode of the podcast, Robertson was asked if she would choose integrity over poverty.
‘I choose integrity and what that entails. I do not choose to sell your soul to the devil. Because that would mean that I am willing to lower myself for the love of what? From a dollar.
“The way my children see and respect me means more to me than making a quick dollar to be something I’m not,” Robertson said, just weeks before she was taken to prison.
“I’m broke,” Robertson said in court before she was sentenced.
‘My business is gone. My (law) license is gone. My belongings are gone. All I have left is my family and my faith in God.’
She said she deeply regrets the impact her behavior has had on her family, wife and community.
“I’m not that person who’s trying to take advantage of someone or a situation,” she said. “I have owned up to what I did.”
Excerpt from the criminal complaint against Shelitha Robertson showing the fictitious companies into which millions of dollars in public funds were poured
U.S. District Judge Steven D. Grimberg said the loss of the $14 million in funds was staggering.
“It was her level of leadership and confidence in being able to commit this level of fraud without being detected that led to it in the first place,” Grimberg said in court.
Robertson regularly appeared on her daughter’s podcast, where she advised followers to work hard and not be motivated by money
As part of her spending spree, the 62-year-old bought a Rolls Royce car
“Motivated by greed, Robertson deceptively obtained funds intended 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 leadership and confidence in being able to commit this level of fraud without being detected that led to it in the first place,” Grimberg said in court.
Robertson used the loan proceeds to purchase luxury items, including a 10-carat diamond ring
“Motivated by greed, Robertson deceptively obtained funds intended 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 responsible for fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars through the Paycheck Protection Program and using that stolen money to enrich himself while small businesses struggled during the pandemic,” added Kyle Myles Toe, Special Agent in Charge of the FDIC.
“The FDIC Office of Inspector General remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to prosecute and bring to justice those who abused such pandemic relief programs and threatened the integrity of our nation’s financial institutions to take.’
