A Raleigh man and business owner was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay over half a million dollars in restitution to the Small Business Administration after he pled guilty to a bank fraud and wire fraud scheme that totaled nearly $300,000 in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Act (PPP) COVID-19 loans.
52-year-old Earl Lamont Taylor, a basketball scout and life coach, worked with Quentin Jackson – a former N.C. State basketball player – and Edward Whitaker to obtain fraudulent PPP loans, according to court records and evidence presented at the trial.
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Taylor went to trial in November and pled guilty to one count each of bank fraud and wire fraud while the jury was deliberating. He was sentenced in June.
Jackson pled guilty in November 2022 and Whitaker pled guilty in January 2023. Jackson was sentenced to seven years in prison in December.
This fraud was part of a multimillion-dollar national scheme. To date, more than 30 defendants have pled guilty and 26 have been sentenced.
"While most of us were trying to help our neighbors navigate a global pandemic, this talent scout and ‘life coach’ was helping himself to relief funds," said U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley, Jr. "We will continue to investigate and prosecute those that choose fraud over goodwill."
After Jackson connected Taylor with Whitaker, Taylor applied for and received loans for two businesses, Get Me Recruited, LLC (a basketball scouting and tournament staging business) and Changing the Game Life Coach (a life coaching service for young athletes).
The total received for both loans was $291,665.50, and Taylor paid Whitaker $72,917.24 for his assistance. Taylor also cashed alleged "payroll" checks for Jackson on Jackson’s PPP loans, trial evidence showed.
Information presented at the trial showed that Get Me Recruited, LLC did have business in 2019 and 2020, but employees listed on the loan application testified that they never made more than $2,000 per year and were not regularly salaried employees. The loan application submitted by Taylor listed their annual salaries as being between $110,145 and $128,416.
Changing the Game Life Coach did not appear to have any meaningful business during the relevant period. Employees testified that they had never done any work for the company, and the bank account associated with the business was only open to receive the loan disbursement.
Taylor faces up to 30 years in prison.
Other defendants that have been sentenced in the broader "Loanstarters" PPP scheme involving Edward Whitaker include:
- Albert Eugene Miller, Jr.
- Jonathan Fleming
- Nekita Hooks
- Denise Coit Alston
- Monica Faye Barnes
- Dontrell Barnes
- Isaac Lamont Dawson
- Irene Edwards
- Natosia Jerome Jenkins
- Ronald L. Jones
- Delvin Dashavone Felder
- Shun Lamont Gibbs
- Teresa Ann McRae
- Dontae Antonio Murphy
- Jackson Ndoyo
- Terron Cortez Parker
- Ayyub Abdur Rasheed
- Karim Aziz Razzak
- Toni A. Smith
- Darian Casteele Tyler
- Shakeerah Kaneisha Yvette Vinson
- Anthony S. Whitaker
- James Elton Watson
- Shara Monique Wells
- Kami D. Woodard
- Lenille Woodard
The following defendants are awaiting sentencing:
- Hanif Abdul-Hakim
- Schunda Coleman
- Quentin Jackson
- Everett M. McBride
- Edward Whitaker