Treva Harris, 50, became famous in Philadelphia for turning a vacant lot into a Cinderella-worthy castle to send off her daughter before prom. She spent 27.000 dollars on the fantasy, and the video went viral as a symbol of maternal love.
Behind that scene was another story. According to federal prosecutors, Harris initially stated that her childcare business had only 3 employees, but two months later she submitted a PPP relief application claiming that she had 27 workers and an annual payroll of more than 2,5 million dollars, backed by falsified IRS documents.
With that lie, she received 535.000 dollars that, investigators say, she used for luxury personal purchases, cash withdrawals, and checks made out to her boyfriend’s business. She must now serve 12 months and one day in federal prison, repay every dollar she defrauded, and pay a 7.500-dollar fine.