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Tag: Cabarrus County

  • Bartending, marketing services part of suburban Charlotte couple’s $1M COVID scam

    A couple who previously resided in the Charlotte region pleaded guilty to federal charges for stealing more than $1.4 million in COVID relief funds, authorities announced Friday.

    Tatiana Vazquez, 39, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy affecting a financial institution and conspiracy to defraud the government, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina. Her co-conspirator, 41-year-old Marquise Highsmith, pleaded guilty to the same charges on Oct. 7.

    The pair previously lived in Midland in Cabarrus County. They also resided in New York.

    According to court documents, the fraudulent activity occurred in two waves. From May 2020 to January 2022, Vazquez, Highsmith and several associates submitted fraudulent applications to financial institutions and the Small Business Administration. These applications sought loans through the Paycheck Protection and Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs.

    To secure the funds, the group provided falsified information, including fabricated tax filings and inflated employee totals.

    Highsmith operated transportation and delivery services and a business called MRHReality Group. Vazquez ran a business called Jadore Dream Bartending Services and 5 Star Securities Services. Together, they also ran a business called Transportation Marketing Services, records show.

    As a result, the couple obtained more than $450,000.

    Prosecutors noted that after receiving the money, the defendants filed loan forgiveness applications containing further inaccuracies, which led to the dismissal of some debt.

    The scheme evolved between July 2022 and February 2023, when Vazquez and Highsmith targeted IRS-operated programs, including the Employee Retention Credit and the Sick Leave and Family Leave Credit. These programs were designed to provide tax credits to legitimate businesses for employment taxes and wages.

    By filing false tax forms, the defendants collected over $1 million in additional refunds to which they were not entitled.

    Court documents say the funds were used to fund their lifestyle and on luxury goods, although the documents did not provide additional details on the spending.

    Vazquez and Highsmith were released on bond; a sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.

    Widespread COVID fraud in the Charlotte Region

    The guilty pleas arrive as federal prosecutors continue to pursue pandemic-related fraud across the Western District of North Carolina.

    The total misuse of COVID funds in the district, which covers the Charlotte metro area, includes tens of millions, The Charlotte Observer previously reported. To date, more than 30 individuals have been prosecuted and convicted.

    Among the pending cases is that of Charlotte City Councilwoman Tiawana Brown.

    In May, a federal grand jury indicted Brown and her two daughters for allegedly orchestrating a $124,000 COVID fraud scheme. Prosecutors allege the trio used the funds for personal expenses, including $15,000 for a private birthday party for Brown.

    Related Stories from Charlotte Observer

    Chase Jordan

    The Charlotte Observer

    Chase Jordan is a business reporter for The Charlotte Observer, and has nearly a decade of experience covering news in North Carolina. Prior to joining the Observer, he was a growth and development reporter for the Wilmington StarNews. The Kansas City native is a graduate of Bethune-Cookman University.

    Chase Jordan

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  • ‘Saw me as a person’: Video shows traffic stop turn into moment of hope for recovering mother

    ‘Saw me as a person’: Video shows traffic stop turn into moment of hope for recovering mother

    A moment of humanity was captured on a Cabarrus County deputy’s body camera, and one act of kindness changed a woman’s life.

    Channel 9’s Hannah Goetz heard about this story months ago and has been pushing the courts to release the video. This week, we finally get to see the glimmer of hope from the lens of Cabarrus County Deputy Shawn Singleton’s body camera.

    The view is nothing out of the ordinary; it starts with a standard traffic stop. Singleton tells a driver that she was stopped for going 61 miles per hour in a 45-mph zone.

    Katelyn Ricchini, the driver, says she was heading home from church when she got pulled over that Sunday.

    “I meet him with absolute attitude, just absolute attitude,” Ricchini told Goetz.

    The body camera video shows their interaction.

    “I’m not allowed to have bad days?” she said.

    “No, everybody is entitled to a bad day. I can understand that completely, okay, but like, I’m trying to be nice and courteous to you, and like, I’m getting a lot of heat off,” Singleton can be heard telling her.

    “I’m sorry, I come from a background where I don’t do cops, I can’t stand cops, OK,” she said.

    ALSO READ >> Deputies in Cabarrus County pushing for safety at school bus stops

    Keeping his composure, Singleton ran her license and decided to let her off with a warning, despite the heated interaction.

    In that moment, something changed.

    “I could tell something was going on, but, and you know, just asked a question, and sometimes it elicits an answer that you expect, and sometimes it elicits an answer that you don’t expect. And this was definitely one that I didn’t expect,” Singleton told Goetz.

    The body camera video shows the rest of their interaction.

    “Are you good?” Singleton asks Ricchini.

    “No, no, my anxiety is killing me,” she said. “I come from a background‚ I’m clean and sober now, OK … I’ve always had bad incidents with cops.”

    “I understand probably where you came from is probably not the best. OK, you came down here for a reason, right? Okay, give it a chance. OK, don’t bring the anxieties,” Singleton says.

    He offers words of encouragement while having no idea what she was going through until this moment.

    “Is there anything I can do for you?” he says. “Do you need help with anything at all? Do you want a hug?”

    Katelyn says yes, and she explains through tears how she ended up in North Carolina.

    “I moved down here to get away from an abusive relationship, and I’m clean and I’m sober for four months,” Ricchini said through tears.

    After battling years of addiction and abuse, she moved to the state from Maryland, leaving her 5-year-old son behind so that she could get clean and get him back.

    “I’ve never hugged a cop before, I’ve always been put in handcuffs by them,” she said.

    Singleton had no idea his humanity and kindness that day changed Ricchini’s life and possibly saved it.

    “I told him, I’m ready to give up,” Ricchini said. “I was actually on my way to probably do something that wasn’t in my best interest.”

    The traffic stop happened back in March. Now, six months later, she’s celebrating 10 months clean.

    “Look, this is one of the guys that saved my life,” Ricchini said, introducing Singleton to her son.

    “It’s good to see you again,” he said.

    Ricchini told Goetz, “He saw me as a person, not an addict. And he saw my heart, I have potential. When so many people had counted me out, and so many people just lost hope and lost faith in me, he saw something.”

    “I try to show mercy and grace where I can, because that’s what I believe is the calling for myself and for law enforcement is, that’s what most of us get into. We want to be there to help,” Singleton said. “If you have that moment, that chance to show that sympathy, and that moment to do it, and not just walk badly by because it may mean the difference to somebody else.”

    Ricchini says she’ll be one year sober in November, and she invited Singleton to celebrate with her.

    She also has a full-time job, and her son now lives with her again.

    >>See the traffic stop unfold in the video at the top of this page.

    (WATCH: ‘Very exciting’: Cabarrus County Schools recognized for high graduation rates)

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