DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, together with New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang, announced that six individuals have been indicted for submitting fraudulent loan applications and forgiveness requests for fictitious businesses between April 2021 and October 2022.
The defendants, all members of the same family, allegedly conspired to steal more than $166,000 in federal COVID-19 relief funds through fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans and other pandemic aid.
“Pandemic relief programs were created to help small businesses and workers survive an unprecedented crisis,” Gonzalez said. “We allege these defendants abused that system for personal gain by inventing companies and falsifying records.
“The Paycheck Protection Program and unemployment assistance were designed as lifelines for New Yorkers during some of our darkest days,” Lang added. “Stealing Covid-era public funds for personal gain is an affront to all who suffered.”
The DA identified the defendants as Karima Branche, 46, of Brooklyn; Faye Wilkie-Fields, 68, of Brooklyn; Wilworth Branche, 70, of Georgia; Carol Horton, 68, of Brooklyn; Monique Horton, 38, of Brooklyn; and Paul Neufville, 41, of Florida.
They are variously charged in a 23-count indictment with fourth-degree conspiracy, second-degree grand larceny, 11 counts of third-degree grand larceny, two counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, seven counts of first-degree falsifying business records and one count of third-degree attempted grand larceny.
They were arraigned in front of Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Eugene Guarino, who ordered the defendants released without bail and to return to court on Jan. 28, 2026.
In addition to the PPP loan fraud charges, Karima Branche is charged with third-degree grand larceny related to an Economic Injury Disaster Loan advance. Wilkie-Fields is charged with attempted third-degree grand larceny related to an EIDL advance.
Carol Horton and Monique Horton are charged with third- and fourth-degree grand larceny for allegedly fraudulently obtaining Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits from the New York State Department of Labor.
According to the evidence, between April 2021 and October 2022, the defendants allegedly acted together to file multiple fraudulent PPP loan applications containing nearly identical financial information.
Each claimed to operate a self-employed business, ranging from educational services to retail to marketing and consulting, and all submitted falsified tax forms listing identical expense categories and expense amounts.
The loan applications and forgiveness requests were allegedly filed from two IP addresses linked to Neufville. Relying on these submissions, lenders disbursed federally backed funds guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The defendants allegedly received a total of $166,664 in PPP loan proceeds.
- Karima Branche allegedly obtained two loans for $20,833 each from Benworth Capital Partners, LLC.
- Faye Wilkie-Fields allegedly received a $20,883 loan from Benworth Capital Partners, LLC.
- Wilworth Branche allegedly received two loans of $20,833 each, one from Benworth Capital Partners, LLC, and another from Capital Plus Financial, LLC.
- Carol Horton allegedly obtained two $20,833 loans from Harvest Small Business Finance, LLC and Capital Plus Finance, LLC.
- Monique Horton allegedly received a $20,833 loan from Harvest Small Business Finance, LLC.
Neufville allegedly coordinated the applications and received payments from several co-defendants ranging from $500 to $2,500 marked for “services.”
Investigators found that the defendants later submitted loan forgiveness applications, claiming at least 60% of the proceeds were used for payroll.
The District Attorney thanked the New York State Inspector General’s Office, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Small Business Administration, the New York State Department of Labor, the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Social Security Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the New York State Department of Taxation and Amtrak Office of the Inspector General for their assistance in the investigation.
This case is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief of the District Attorney’s Frauds Bureau Assistant District Attorney Sergey Marts and Assistant District Attorney Tony Kim of the Investigations Division, under the supervision of Deputy Chief of the Public Integrity Bureau Assistant District Attorney Adam Libove, Chief of the Public Integrity Bureau Assistant District Attorney Laura Neubauer, and the overall supervision of Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division Assistant District Attorney Michel Spanakos and Chief of the Investigations Division Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill.
