WILMINGTON, Del. – A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, man was sentenced on March 10, 2026, to 18 months in prison for stealing COVID-19 relief funds and ordered to pay $866,171 in restitution. Chief U.S. District Judge Colm F. Connolly imposed the sentence.
Congress created the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), a federal tax credit, to provide emergency financial assistance in connection with the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ERC was introduced in 2020 to incentivize businesses to continue paying employees during the pandemic. At first, the ERC provided for a 50% credit on up to $10,000 in wages per employee per calendar year for businesses that were either closed by government order or that had a 50% drop in gross receipts due to the pandemic. By 2021, the percentage credit increased to 70% per employee per quarter. To obtain ERC, entities had to file an IRS Form 941 setting forth their eligibility for ERC.
According to court documents, Andre Summerville, 55, participated in a tax scheme designed to defraud the United States out of money intended to help small businesses weather the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Summerville, who operated a Delaware-based business, provided an associate with his personal and business information. That information was used to submit false tax forms to the IRS seeking ERC to which Summerville was not entitled. Based on those false filings, the IRS sent Summerville over $866,000 worth of checks that Summerville then deposited into his own accounts. More than $170,000 of those funds were then withdrawn in cash. Summerville also used the money to buy luxury items and to transfer tens of thousands of dollars to other people involved in the scheme.
U.S. Attorney Benjamin L. Wallace commented on the case, “Congress passed COVID-19 relief legislation to help hard-working Americans cope with the financial turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is an insult to the American taxpayer when fraudsters like Andre Summerville divert those relief funds to enable themselves to lead lives of luxury. My office and our law enforcement partners will continue to investigate and hold responsible all those who steal from the government and the American people to line their own pockets.”
“Mr. Summerville deliberately defrauded a government program designed to assist eligible businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Philadelphia Field Office Special Agent in Charge Yury Kruty of Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). “Yesterday’s sentencing holds Mr. Summerville accountable for his criminal actions and shows that our office will continue working to bring charges against individuals who commit these crimes.”
This case was investigated by IRS-CI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jesse S. Wenger prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the District of Delaware or on PACER by searching for Case No. 25-127.
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