CINCINNATI — A federal jury convicted ex-mayoral hopeful Kelli Prather of fraud in connection to her requesting more than $1.2 million in relief loans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prather, 51, was convicted of six counts of bank fraud, one count of making false statements in connection to credit or loan applications, four counts of wire fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft after officials said she applied for six Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans as part of pandemic relief.
The Madisonville resident applied for loans for each business she claimed to own: Enhanced Healthcare Solutions, Life Skills Enhancement, Prather Property Management, Reliable Ambulette Services, Rich Glo Management Services and Tots R Us. She also applied for eight Economic Injury Disaster Loans, saying the businesses were majority owned by her disabled nephew.
According to court documents, Prather spent more than $8,000 of the $19,800 she received on non-business expenses, at places like Kroger, Staples, Krispy Kreme, AAA Car Wash and Park Place restaurant in Forest Park.
WCPO's previous reporting found an ex-boyfriend told special agents Prather gave him a check for $8,000 for payment on a Madisonville house she bought previously and then put in his name. It needed serious work and was not conducive to housing a business, he told investigators. The Kenwood Road address was used on the loan application for some of Prather's businesses.
The bank fraud and making false statements charges are punishable by up to 30 years in prison, while wire fraud can be up to 20 years and aggravated identity theft requires a two-year sentence to run consecutive all other sentences. Her sentencing will be scheduled following a pre-sentence investigation.
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