Couple Charged For $2 Million Bank Loan And COVID-19 Relief Fraud Schemes

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - North Carolina, Western), published as received.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A federal indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Charlotte charges Antoine Johnson, 48, and Kimberly Maddox, 43, formerly of Huntersville, N.C., currently residing in Georgia, with fraudulently obtaining approximately $2 million in bank loans and COVID-19 pandemic relief funds, announced Dena J. King U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, joins U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to allegations in the indictment, the defendants owned and operated Pick Up and Go Moving International, Inc. and affiliated businesses (collectively, PUGMI). Johnson was the president of PUGMI and Maddox the vice president. The indictment alleges that, between 2018 and 2023, the defendants fraudulently obtained multiple lines of credit, bank loans, Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program loans on behalf of their businesses totaling approximately $2 million. To secure the loans, the defendants allegedly lied on loan applications about PUGMI’s income, gross revenues, expenses, and number of employees, and submitted fabricated supporting documents that included fraudulent tax returns and fictitious financial statements.

The defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud and making false statements to a financial institution and face a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. 

In making the announcement U.S. Attorney King commended the FBI for their investigation of this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassye Cole of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is in charge of the prosecution.

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 www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.