ALBANY, NEW YORK – Ouida Cordell, 47, of Watervliet, New York, pleaded guilty today to one count of wire fraud for submitting a fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) application to the US Small Business Administration (SBA). .
United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Bureau of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and Darren B. Cox, Deputy Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Buffalo Field Office, made the announcement.
As part of his plea, Cordell admitted that on July 13, 2020, he submitted an online application to the SBA for an EIDL on behalf of his company. , Bashment Entertainment LLC, which falsified Bashment’s annual income. As a result of this fraud, Cordell and his company Bashment received an EIDL loan in the amount of $149,500 that he and the company did not qualify for.
United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby is scheduled to be sentenced on June 28, 2023. Cordell faces 20 years in prison, a fine of not more than $250,000, and probation of not more than 3 years. The defendant’s sentence is given by the judge based on the specific law that charges the defendant in violation of the US Sentencing Guidelines, among other things.
The FBI, with assistance from the New York State Department of Taxation and Revenue, Bureau of Internal Affairs, and the US Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, investigated this case. Assistant Attorney General Rick Belliss is prosecuting the case.