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Date: Sept. 24, 2026
Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov
Roanoke, VA – A Roanoke, Virginia woman, who allegedly obtained money from two separate COVID-19-era government programs and then lied on her taxes, was arraigned yesterday in federal court.
Jazmin Jennings was indicted Sept. 3, 2026, on six charges of making false tax returns and fraudulently obtaining money from two separate COVID-19-era government programs.
According to the indictment, Jennings submitted tax returns for 2020, 2022, and 2023, which falsely underreported her income and did not disclose the operation of her home healthcare business.
The indictment further alleges that Jennings exploited the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a COVID-19 relief program administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that provided forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and other expenses. As relayed in the indictment, Jennings’s PPP application falsely reported her business’s gross receipts and claimed that the PPP funds would be used for authorized purposes. Jennings obtained her PPP loan with the help of Jameika Austin. Austin is currently serving 8 years in federal prison for her role in submitting over 100 fraudulent PPP loan applications that caused the disbursement of almost $2,000,000 in PPP funds.
Finally, the indictment alleges that Jennings also exploited pandemic unemployment benefits by falsely claiming that she was not employed, when in actuality she was employed through her business.
First Assistant United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci; Kareem A. Carter, Special Agent in Charge of IRS – Criminal Investigation, Washington DC Field Office; and Ian Kaufmann, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division made the announcement.
IRS – Criminal Investigation and the FBI are investigating the case.
Assistant United States Attorney Drew O. Inman is prosecuting the case.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 16 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.