Three Sentenced in COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme
A former banker and two others received prison terms for fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 relief funds and small-business loans.
2 reports on this incident · first at Aug 26, 2026, 11:41 a.m. ET
Earlier reports
Aug 26, 2026, 11:41 a.m. ETFirst report
Loan broker sentenced to 58 months for bank fraud scheme
DALLAS — Kwanghee Anh, 46, of Dallas, was sentenced on August 26, 2026, to 58 months in federal prison for her role in a multi-year bank fraud conspiracy, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas.
Anh pleaded guilty on March 17 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. According to plea documents, from January 2014 through March 2016, Anh and co-conspirators at Preferred Marketing Group created and supplied fraudulent financial documents, including false IRS Forms W-2, fabricated paystubs, and fictitious employment records, to inflate clients' incomes and misrepresent their jobs. The scheme caused lenders, many federally insured, to issue at least $10 million in fraudulently obtained loans and credit products.
U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey sentenced Anh to 58 months' imprisonment and ordered her to pay $8,340,647.46 in restitution to affected financial institutions. The government said Anh fled the United States in 2017, was arrested in South Korea in September 2025, and was transferred to U.S. custody in November 2025.
The FBI Dallas Division investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elise Aldendifer prosecuted.
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- Version 11 Sept 2026, 02:52current
First published.
- Version 126 Aug 2026, 15:41current
First published.
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