Columbia woman pleads guilty to federal wire fraud charge

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia woman who worked for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of wire fraud, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

Lakeysha Day, 45, pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining $20,000 from a Paycheck Protection Program loan in 2021. A sentencing hearing has not been set. She faces up to 20 years in prison.

The release says she applied for a PPP loan for a business on March 20, 2021. She claimed she owned a business that had an average monthly payroll of $8,000, the release says.

Day also allegedly submitted documents claiming the business made $114,210 in sales, had $14,685 in business expenses and a profit of $99,525, previous reporting shows. Her tax return in 2019 did not report the income or expenses that were claimed in the loan application, previous reporting shows.