{"attachment":"","body":"<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Independence, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a scheme that resulted in a $148,000 fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) being issued under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.</p><p>Jason Roath, 56, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 60 months’ imprisonment based upon his guilty plea to theft of government money relating to a scheme to fraudulently obtain and spend a COVID loan guaranteed by the SBA under the CARES Act.</p><p>According to court documents, a fraudulent application for an EIDL was submitted using the name and identifiers of a U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer.&nbsp; All information on the loan application was false – the name, address, business, number of employees, and revenue. The application directed the loan to be deposited in&nbsp;Roath’s bank account.</p><p>On Aug. 5, 2020, the $148,000 loan was deposited into Roath’s account.&nbsp;That same day, Roath withdrew $500 in cash from an ATM and transferred $2,500 to his debit cards.&nbsp; Two days later, on Aug. 7, 2020, Roath used the EIDL proceeds to rent a room and gamble at the Ameristar Casino.&nbsp; He also bought fast food, paid past due utility bills, and put money on debit cards.&nbsp; On Aug. 9, 2020, Roath’s bank froze the account due to his spending being inconsistent with business spending.</p><p>Roath had 6 prior felony convictions and 17 prior misdemeanor convictions for theft, bad checks, and forgery dating back to 1994.</p><p>This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen D. Mahoney. It was investigated by Naval Criminal Investigation Service and the Independence, Missouri Police Department.</p>","changed":"<time datetime=\"2026-03-11T15:51:44-04:00\">1773258704</time>\n","component":[{"name":"USAO - Missouri, Western","uuid":"ad71fc95-287d-47f8-b7bc-bdb68e73159c"}],"created":"<time datetime=\"2026-03-11T15:50:27-04:00\">1773258627</time>\n","date":"1773230400","image":"","number":"","teaser":"<p>Jason Roath, 56, Independence, Mo., sentenced for his role in a scheme that resulted in a $148,000 fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) being issued under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>","title":"Man Sentenced to 5 Years’ imprisonment for Covid-19 Fraud ","topic":[{"name":"COVID-Related Fraud","uuid":"6827a162-b783-4ffa-a6c2-596fc9f07e39"}],"url":"https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmo/pr/man-sentenced-5-years-imprisonment-covid-19-fraud","uuid":"6766a937-587b-4b36-9dfa-bd03985628f2"}