A woman who was part of a group that received nearly $800,000 as part of Paycheck Protection Program loan scams has been sentenced to prison.
Aleta Necole Thomas, 43, was ordered Tuesday to serve a 30-month federal prison term after she admitted earlier to two counts of making false statements to a financial institution.
Prosecutors described Thomas as the leader of the scheme that included Pepper Jones and Katrina West.
A federal grand jury named the three in an indictment filed May 19, 2021, in Tulsa federal court.
Thomas, 43, admitted in her plea agreement that she submitted false statements and reports to Cross River Bank when she applied for a Paycheck Protection Program loan — guaranteed by the Small Business Administration under the federal CARES Act — for “Coming Correct Community Ministry,” which she said had an average monthly payroll of $35,000 and had been in operation since Feb. 15, 2020. The organization’s address was listed as a house in east Tulsa near 41st Street and Garnett Road.
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Thomas further claimed that she had 26 employees for whom she paid payroll taxes or independent contractors and…
