FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation

08/19/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/19/2022 22:14

North Las Vegas Felon Pleads Guilty to Unlawful Possession of Ammunition and COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme

LAS VEGAS - Jonathan Millard Robinson (44) pleaded guilty yesterday to unlawful possession of ammunition and fraudulently submitting a loan application to a lender under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. U.S. District Judge Richard F. Boulware II scheduled a sentencing for November 17, 2022.

According to court documents and admissions made in court, Robinson - who was already on supervised release - admitted that he was previously convicted in North Carolina of conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and distributing cocaine. Both convictions are felonies which prohibit him by law from possessing ammunition.

Robinson also fraudulently submitted a Paycheck Protection Program loan application to a lender to obtain approximately $20,833. In the application, Robinson falsely stated that he was the proprietor of a company, which did not in fact exist, reported a false revenue derived from the fake company, and falsely denied that he was serving parole or probation for a prior felony conviction.

At sentencing, Robinson faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for illegally possessing ammunition, and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the COVID relief scheme.

Robinson is also charged in another case because he committed new crimes in Nevada while on supervised release for felony drug convictions in North Carolina. The maximum penalty is two years in prison. U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon is presiding over the case.

U.S. Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada, Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI, and Special Agent in Charge Patrick Gorman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the FBI, the ATF, the Small Business Administration Office of the Inspector General; IRS-Criminal Investigation; Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward Veronda and Kimberly Frayn are prosecuting the case.

If you have information about illegal firearms activity, you are urged to submit a tip to ATF by calling the hotline at 1-800-ATF-GUNS (1-800-283-4867) or through the ReportIt mobile app.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more 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.

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