Groove to the Music with Dance Classes Near Summerville, SC

Lori Hammond, aka Lori McCracken, aka Lori Blakely, 54, of Summerville, Christopher Conrad, 41, of Holly Hill, Catherine “Cassie” Needham, 38, of Manning, and Jontrell Wright, 37, of Orangeburg, were sentenced to federal prison after being convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud for submitting fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications and misusing the funds.

Evidence presented during the sentencing hearings established Hammond submitted more than $11 million in fraudulent loan applications for PPP and COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster (EIDL) loans for her enrichment and the enrichment of her co-conspirators. The loan applications contained inflated employee and payroll funds, were often submitted on behalf of companies that did not exist or were inactive and included fake business addresses and fraudulent tax documents. More than $5.8 million in PPP and EIDL loans were paid to Hammond and her co-conspirators.

“While millions of South Carolinians were struggling during the pandemic, these defendants defrauded the systems meant to provide relief,” said Adair F. Boroughs, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina. “We will continue to pursue bad actors such as these and hold them accountable for exploiting these resources for their own gain.”

Hammond personally received $3,162,038.50 in PPP and EIDL loan funds. She spent the money on personal expenses, including purchasing a home, luxury vehicles, a golf cart and plastic surgery. She was sentenced to 80 months imprisonment, followed by a three-year term of supervised release and ordered to pay $2,722,932.50 in restitution, representing the remaining outstanding unpaid loan funds.

Conrad fraudulently received $898,300 in loans and spent the funds on unapproved personal expenses. He was sentenced to 12 months and one day incarceration, followed by a three-year term of supervised release and ordered to pay $898,300 in restitution.

Needham fraudulently received $1,244,200 and used the funds for improper personal expenses, including purchasing property, a golf cart, a pool, home improvements and plastic surgery. She was sentenced to 21 months incarceration, followed by a three-year term of supervised release and ordered to pay $1,244,200 in restitution.

Wright fraudulently received $561,700 in loan funds and spent the funds on personal expenses. He was sentenced to 15 months incarceration, followed by a three-year term of supervised release and ordered to pay $561,700 in restitution.

“These sentences reflect the severity of PPP loan fraud,” said Steve Jensen, special agent in charge of the FBI Columbia Field Office. “Such crimes challenge the integrity of relief programs designed for those who need assistance most. The FBI is committed to holding offenders accountable and safeguarding loan programs to ensure the public’s trust in our financial systems.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Limehouse prosecuted this case. The Hon. David C. Norton presided over the sentencing hearings in Charleston.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – A Summerville woman and three others were sentenced in a multimillion-dollar Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) scheme.

Lori Hammond, 54, and co-conspirators Christopher Conrad, Catherine “Cassie” Needham, and Jontrell Wright, were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud for submitting fraudulent PPP loan applications and misusing the funds, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina.

Officials said that evidence presented during sentencing hearings found that Hammond submitted more than $11 million in fraudulent loan applications for PPP and COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster (EIDL) loans for her personal enrichment and the personal enrichment of her co-conspirators.

Loan applications included inflated employee and payroll funds, which officials from the U.S. Attorney’s Office said were often submitted on behalf of companies that did not exist or were inactive and included fake business addresses and fraudulent tax documents.

Hammond and the co-conspirators were paid more than $5.8 million in PPP and EIDL loans.

“Hammond personally received $3,162,038.50 in PPP and EIDL loan funds. Hammond thereafter spent the money on personal expenses, including purchasing a home, luxury vehicles, a golf cart, and plastic surgery,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Hammond was sentenced to 80 months in prison on October 17, followed by a three-year term of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $2,722,932.50 in restitution, representing the remaining outstanding unpaid loan funds.

Meanwhile, officials said that Conrad fraudulently received $898,300.00 in loan funds and mostly spent the funds on unapproved personal expenses. He was sentenced to 12 months and one-day incarceration, followed by a three-year term of supervised release on Nov. 14. Conrad is ordered to pay $898,300.00 in restitution.

Needham fraudulently received $1,244,200.00 and used the funds for improper personal expenses, including purchasing property, a golf cart, a pool, home improvements, and plastic surgery. He was sentenced to 21 months incarceration, followed by a three-year term of supervised release back in September, and was ordered to pay $1,244,200 in restitution.

Finally, officials said that Wright fraudulently received $561,700.00 in loan funds and spent the funds on unapproved personal expenses. He was sentenced in December 2022 to 15 months incarceration, followed by a three-year term of supervised release. He was ordered to pay $561,700 in restitution.

“While millions of South Carolinians were struggling during the pandemic, these defendants defrauded the systems meant to provide relief,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina Adair F. Boroughs. “We will continue to pursue bad actors such as these and hold them accountable for exploiting these resources for their own gain.”

This case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Limehouse prosecuted this case.

The Honorable David C. Norton presided over the sentencing hearings in Charleston.

Lori Hammond, 54, of Summerville, was sentenced to federal prison after being convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud for submitting fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan applications and misusing the funds. (abc3340.com)

SOUTH CAROLINA (WCIV) — Lori Hammond, 54, of Summerville, was sentenced to federal prison after being convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud for submitting fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications and misusing the funds.

Also sentenced were 41-year-old 38-year-old Catherine Needham of Manning, Christopher Conrad of Holly Hill, and 37-year-old Jontrell Wright of Orangeburg, according to a Nov. 11 press release.

Evidence presented during the sentencing hearings established that Hammond submitted more than $11 million is fraudulent loan applications for PPP and COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster (EIDL) loans for her personal enrichment and the personal enrichment of her co-conspirators Conrad, Needham, and Wright, according to the press release. The loan applications contained inflated employee and payroll funds, were often submitted on behalf of companies that did not exist or were inactive and included fake business addresses and fraudulent tax documents.

The press release says more than $5.8 million in PPP and EIDL loans were paid to Hammond and her co-conspirators.

Hammond personally received $3.16 million in PPP and EIDL loan funds. She spent the money on personal expenses, including purchasing a home, luxury vehicles, a golf cart, and plastic surgery, according to the press release.

According to the press release, Hammond was sentenced to six years and eight months imprisonment, followed by a three-year term of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $2.72 million in restitution, representing the remaining outstanding unpaid loans funds.

Needham fraudulently received $1.24 million and used the funds for improper personal expenses, including purchasing property, a golf cart, a pool, home improvements, and plastic surgery, according to the press release. She was sentenced to one year and nine months incarceration, followed by a three-year term of supervised release.

Conrad fraudulently received $898,300 in loan funds and spent the funds largely on unapproved personal expenses, according to the press release. He was sentenced to one year and one day incarceration, followed by a three-year term of supervised release.

Wright fraudulently received $561,700 in loan funds and spent the funds on unapproved personal expenses, according to the press release. He was sentenced to one year and three months incarceration, followed by a three-year term of supervised release.

Needham, Conrad, and Wright were each ordered to pay the amount they fraudulently received in restitution.

"While millions of South Carolinians were struggling during the pandemic, these defendants defrauded the systems meant to provide relief," U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina Adair F. Boroughs said in a statement. "We will continue to pursue bad actors such as these and hold them accountable for exploiting these resources for their own gain."

Trump is speaking Monday afternoon at Sportsman Boats in his first visit to South Carolina since the Silver Elephant Gala last month.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - Former President Donald Trump took the stage at a campaign event in Summerville Monday predicting a record-breaking win in the South Carolina Primary as he campaigned for a second term as commander-in-chief.

Trump is speaking Monday afternoon at Sportsman Boats in his first visit to South Carolina since the Silver Elephant Gala last month.

He told the crowd that his last two years in office were the best two years South Carolina boat builders and South Carolina businesses have ever had, saying that boat builders couldn’t make the boats fast enough.

“When I left the office business was roaring like a 400 horsepower Mercury outboard motor,” Trump said. “But then the economy slammed into a pile of rocks known as crooked Joe Biden.”

He promised to end Biden’s “war on American energy” and reclaim energy independence.

“In other words, we will drill, baby, drill,” he said.

Trump said he won South Carolina twice by record numbers and pledged to do it again.

“We did phenomenally here. We’ve always done well here and we’re going to do it at a level that nobody’s ever seen,” he said. “So we broke the record twice. We’re going to break it a third time. We’re going to break our own record.”

He said he intends to “take back our country and we’re going to make America great again.”

Before Trump’s speech, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster told the crowd he went into the State House about a month after Trump went into the White House.

“And South Carolina has been booming ever since,” he said. “But then in January 2021, everything changed.”

McMaster said his administration has had to fight the Biden Administration “every day.” He cited the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates for military personnel, and accused it of destroying the nation’s borders and the nation’s energy independence.

“From 2016 until now, [the Biden Administration] has been doing anything and everything they could, legal, illegal, ethical, unethical, unheard of, unprecedented, to do one thing: That includes two bogus impeachments and full-of-baloney indictments to do what? To stop one man, to stop our man from being president of the United States,” McMaster said.

Gov. Henry McMaster praised former President Donald Trump Monday at a campaign event held in Summerville.

Dorchester County deputies said earlier on Monday that Trump’s visit to Summerville would cause delays on Highway 78 from Summerville east of Berlin G. Myers Parkway to Jedburg Road at Mallard Road. Drivers in the area are asked to search for alternate routes if they don’t live or work along Highway 78 and are encouraged to use other entrances to neighborhoods in the area.

Traffic delays are expected to last through about 5 p.m. Monday but the delays could be extended.

Dorchester County deputies are warning of traffic delays ahead of former President Donald Trump’s visit to the Lowcountry.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - Some businesses say prioritizing a sense of place in the town of Summerville is most important and sometimes that means new development, despite what some people might think.

Dorchester County has a proposed plan to turn 500 N. Main St., also known as their main county building, into a hotel, retail spaces, a parking garage and more.

Some businesses located in the heart of Summerville, like Eva’s Restaurant, think change is about time.

“If we don’t have growth, we don’t have a future,” general manager Tina Howard said.

Eva’s Restaurant has been serving the town since 1944. With the proposed development, Howard says she’s not worried about competition.

“I think it would benefit us as a small business with, you know, bringing in tourists,” Howard said. “...I don’t feel it would hurt us personally because we have such a strong, established business.”

Diane Frankenberger, the owner of People, Places & Quilts, says she’s watched Summerville grow for over 30 years. She says with the old post office as the new public works art center, the old Coca-Cola company as the new YMCA and an old hardware store as her own business, she believes both the county and town councils prioritize preservation.

“You have to go forward with the future,” Frankenberger said. “We still can’t have the same houses around here and the old town hall and no computers and blah blah blah. And so, it’s keeping a sense of place, but moving forward with an eye towards the future.”

The county has already approved plans to preserve part of the county building, which once was the old hospital, and improve the current Veteran’s monument.

“I think when people are calling names or say, ‘Don’t do something,’ let’s wait and see and work together and make the best use of what we’ve got there,” Frankenberger said.

Howard says she wants her 6-year-old grandson to be able to experience a flourishing Summerville, just like she has all her life.

“A lot of people complain about the growth and ‘People will stop coming here, we’re full, don’t come here,’” Howard said. “Without growth, we don’t have a future. The future is growth.”

Frankenberger says she’s ready to move forward.

“No more gas on the fire,” Frankenberger said. “Let’s put water on the fire.”

Dorchester County provided the following statement about the proposed plan:

Dorchester County is looking forward to having greater capacity and flexibility to complete the following projects from fee revenues of the redevelopment:

Funding to preserve the façade of the old hospital building.

A new civic park and improvements to the Veterans Memorial.

An additional $8 Million in funding to DD2 schools to supplement $2 Million from the TIF.

Provide $20 Million in funding for a Community Recreation Facility in the Summerville area.

Provide $2 Million in additional funding for streetscaping and improvements to Main Street and Cedar Street.

Provide credits for workforce housing for teachers, firefighters, law enforcement, and first responders within the multi-family development for at least 15 years.

A modern County office building and additional Class A Office Space in the downtown area.

A new downtown hotel and restaurant to provide much-needed retail and hospitality amenities in the downtown area.

Create additional parking by providing for the construction of a parking garage in the downtown area.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.