Date: 03-11-2024

Case Style:

United States of America v. Jennifer Stocker

Case Number:

Judge: Geoffrey W. Crawford

Court: The United States Court for the District of Vermont

Plaintiff's Attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office for Burlington

Stocker is represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Sara Puls.

Defendant's Attorney:

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The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Cate.

Description:

Burlington, Vermont criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with Pandemic Fraud.

New Haven, Vermont Woman Sentenced to Prison Term for Pandemic Fraud

he United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Jennifer Stocker, 46, of New Haven, Vermont was sentenced on Friday, March 8, 2024, in United States District Court in Burlington for making false statements to a credit union on an application for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, and for violating conditions of probation related to Stocker’s 2018 false statements conviction. Chief U.S. District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford sentenced Stocker to a four-month term of imprisonment for the PPP loan offense, and a consecutive 30-day term of imprisonment for the violation of conditions of probation. After she is released from custody, Stocker will be subject to a three-year term of supervised release.

According to court records, in 2018, Stocker pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Burlington to making false statements in applications for benefits funded by federal agencies. For that 2018 offense, Stocker was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay nearly $140,000 in restitution. Then, while on probation in May 2020, Stocker falsely stated on a PPP loan application for Twelve Acres LLC, an entity that she co-owned, that she had not been convicted of a felony in the past five years and was not on probation. Stocker submitted a second PPP loan application in February 2021 and again included a false statement about her criminal history. Both PPP loan applications were approved, and Stocker received approximately $86,000 in loan proceeds. Stocker submitted loan forgiveness applications for both PPP loans, and both forgiveness applications were granted for the full loan amounts plus interest.

In addition to committing this new offense while on probation, Stocker also violated her conditions of probation by failing to pay restitution, and by opening auto loans without obtaining approval from the probation officer.

Stocker is represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Sara Puls. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Cate.

Addressing pandemic-related fraud is a priority of United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest and of the Department of Justice. For information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Outcome:

Defendant was found guilty and sentenced to four-month term of imprisonment for the PPP loan offense, and a consecutive 30-day term of imprisonment for the violation of conditions of probation. After she is released from custody, Stocker will be subject to a three-year term of supervised release.

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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