Damisha Brown, a 32-year-old resident of Charleston, West Virginia, has been sentenced for her role in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud related to the COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). On October 2, 2025, Brown received a sentence of time served and three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $15,625 in restitution.
Court records show that Brown conspired with Kisha Sutton and others to secure fraudulent PPP loans. Sutton submitted a loan application on April 25, 2021, claiming Brown was a sole proprietor hairdresser who earned $75,000 in gross income during 2020. The application included an IRS Form 1040, Schedule C that falsely stated this income. As part of her guilty plea, Brown admitted she never made $75,000 as a hairdresser and that the tax form was fabricated for the loan application.
A California-based lender approved the application and deposited $15,625 into Brown’s personal account on April 30, 2021. Brown acknowledged knowing these funds were from a fraudulent source. Between April 30 and May 27, 2021, she transferred $3,500 to Sutton through a digital wallet app as compensation for facilitating the scheme. The rest of the funds were used for personal expenses not eligible under PPP rules.
The CARES Act established PPP loans to support qualifying self-employed individuals and small businesses affected by the pandemic. Applicants needed to prove they operated before February 15, 2020 and provide documentation of their previous year’s income.
Brown and Sutton are among several defendants indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiring to obtain over $140,000 in fraudulent PPP loans. After trial on July 15, 2025, Sutton was found guilty of aiding and abetting both bank fraud and money laundering; her sentencing is set for December 11, 2025.
Other co-defendants include William Powell of Huntington and Jasmine Spencer of Charleston—both sentenced after pleading guilty—and Shamiese Wright of Charleston who also received probation after admitting guilt in monetary laundering charges.
United States Attorney Moore Capito announced the sentencing and credited investigative efforts by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), West Virginia State Police – Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), and West Virginia State Auditor’s Office Public Integrity and Fraud Unit (PIFU).
The case was presided over by United States District Judge Irene C. Berger. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan T. Storage and Jennifer D. Gordon along with former Assistant U.S. Attorney Holly Wilson prosecuted.
“Individuals with information about allegations of fraud involving COVID-19 are encouraged to report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721, or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.”
Related court documents can be accessed through PACER by searching Case No. 2:24-cr-192.
