An Ashburn woman has been convicted Monday of bank fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering for her role in scamming the government out of $2.5 million in pandemic Paycheck Protection Program loans.
A federal jury found that Rose-Marie Nsahlai, 47, and her husband, Didier Kindambu, 51, fraudulently got their hands on two loans intended to help businesses stay afloat during the pandemic.
The two created fake payroll documentation for Kindambu’s companies. According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, the scheme involved claiming that Kindambu’s businesses had dozens of employees and a $17 million payroll in 2019. In reality, there were few, if any, employees.
The office said Nsahlai and Kindambu spent the $2,501,753 in loans they acquired on things that had nothing to do with legitimate expenses, including the down payment on their 7,000-square-foot Leesburg home.
Nsahlai faces a maximum of 30 years in prison, but typically sentences for federal crimes are less then the maximum. She’s scheduled to be sentenced on July 19.
Her husband, Kindambu, pleaded guilty in 2021. He was sentenced to 33 months in prison, fined $15,000, and ordered to pay back the $2,501,753.
For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine’s News newsletter.
