A Hot Springs man convicted of posing as a business owner to fraudulently obtain pandemic relief loans has been sentenced to 27 months in prison.
James Heritage, 39, was also ordered to pay $469,082 in restitution.
Heritage claimed he was the owner of a small business to obtain a Paycheck Protection Program loan of about $180,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Authorities later discovered the business didn’t exist and that Heritage had provided phony employee and payroll data with his application.
Heritage also fraudulently obtained about $350,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits, according to authorities. He applied for, and in many cases received, funds from at least 40 different states.
Heritage pleaded guilty in April to two counts of fraud.
Another case against Heritage remains open. He and his sister Tonashae Echols were arrested in 2018 on charges of Medicaid fraud connected to their jobs at Little Bitty City Therapeutic Services in Hot Springs.
Authorities said Heritage billed Medicaid and private insurance companies for $56,338 in services that were never provided. Echols was charged with lying about her family’s income to receive Medicaid benefits for her children. She was also accused of billing Medicaid through Little Bitty City for services provided to her children.
Heritage has a court hearing July 6.
Sign up for Daily E-news
