TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – After pleading guilty to charges related to an alleged COVID-19 relief fraud, a Tallahassee couple known for their involvement in numerous business endeavors, one of which being Island Seafood, was sentenced to time served in federal prison this week.
Wilbert Stanley III and Felicia Jackson-Stanley pled guilty to many charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and making false statements, according to a press release issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
According to records filed with the court, the two individuals applied for 166 COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans, identifying organizations such as PlaySports Bar, LLC and Island Daiquiris Bar & Grill, LLC, which has since changed its name to Island Seafood, as indicated by a name change application filed with the Florida Division of Corporations. Other companies, such as USA United Law Firm, LLC, Yep We Kan Promotions, Inc., and A Call Away Transportation, LLC, are named in the records as well.
According to the authorities, 50 of those applications were approved for funding, and the firms that were supposedly supported were either one that the couple controlled or were in the names of other persons “whom they recruited.”
It is speculated that the applications were submitted between March 1, 2020, and September 1, 2021. The Department of Justice reports that the couple got a total of more than $4.8 million dollars.
Island Seafood opened its doors for business in January 2021, and around one month later, WCTV conducted an interview with Felicia Jackson Stanley about what it was like to run a company when the epidemic was in full swing.
“A lot of people were looking for a lot of jobs due to the unemployment rate and due to COVID-19, but we’re grateful that we’ve been able to employ a lot of unemployed people around here so that they can feed their families, hold their families, and pay bills so we’re just grateful for that,” Stanley said in February of 2021.
A lawsuit against the pair was submitted to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida on June 17, 2022, more than a year after the interview took place.
On Monday, Wilbert Stanley III was given a jail term of 40 months, while Felicia Jackson-Stanley was given a prison sentence of 24 months for their involvement in the crime.
In addition, the court ordered them to make restitution to the Small Business Administration in the amount of more than $2.8 million. According to the information provided by the Justice Department, once the two have served their time in prison, they will be subject to three years of supervised release.
