Former SBA Loan Officer Among Three Women Pleading Guilty in COVID Loan Fraud Cases

The Department of Justice announced last week that three women, including former SBA Loan Officer Rena Barrett, have pleaded guilty in separate COVID-19 relief fraud schemes that have become all too familiar at this point. These cases, prosecuted in the Northern District of Georgia, demonstrate both the scale of pandemic-era fraud and the government’s ongoing push to hold offenders accountable.

Rena Barrett, 45, of Covington, Georgia, pled guilty on August 11, 2025 to making false statements to the SBA in connection with applications totaling more than $550,000. According to court filings, Barrett joined the SBA in October 2020. In May 2021 she submitted a fraudulent EIDL application for $170,000. SBA initially declined the request. Two months later, in July 2021, Barrett approved the loan herself, leveraging her role to override the earlier decision. Investigators later determined she had also approved additional loans submitted by herself or relatives. Barrett received nearly half of the approximately $550,000 she sought, then resigned after her conduct was discovered. She is scheduled for sentencing on November 12, 2025.

Federal officials framed the conduct as a breach of public trust. U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said the EIDL program provided critical relief to small businesses and that it is intolerable for an entrusted loan officer to put personal greed ahead of honest work. The SBA Office of Inspector General’s Amaleka McCall‑Brathwaite emphasized the commitment to protect taxpayer dollars.

In a related case, Sheena Thompson, 49, of Conyers, Georgia, pled guilty earlier this year to making false statements to the SBA. Thompson admitted to trying to obtain more than $150,000 in fraudulent EIDL loans. She is scheduled for sentencing on August 28, 2025.

Separately, Detra Lewis, 40, of Atlanta, pled guilty on August 12, 2025, to making false statements to the SBA. According to prosecutors, Lewis obtained more than $1.25 million after submitting a false PPP loan application on behalf of God’s Anointed Youth Ministry. She is scheduled for sentencing on November 14, 2025.