Atlanta man sentenced for submitting fraudulent COVID-19 test to employer and for a separate bank fraud charge

ATLANTA - Santwon Antonio Davis has been sentenced for wire fraud related to a scheme to defraud his employer, and on a bank fraud charge related to a scheme to defraud a mortgage company.

“Davis defrauded his employer twice by requesting and receiving paid time off from work for the alleged death of his child, and then claiming that he had tested positive for COVID-19,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “Both of those claims were false.  After he was arrested for defrauding his employer, and while he was under court supervision, he committed yet another crime, by filing a fraudulent mortgage application.  Davis’ actions show he had little regard for the law.” 

“Davis’ history of lies caught up to him when he took advantage of a pandemic and caused undue harm to the company he worked for and their employees,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “While receiving numerous complaints of wrongdoing during this pandemic, the FBI and our federal partners remain determined to detect, investigate and prosecute any fraud related to this crisis.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges and other information presented in court: Davis, who was employed by a Fortune 500 company with a facility located in the Atlanta, Georgia area, falsely claimed to have contracted COVID-19 and submitted a fake medical record to his employer. In concern for its employees, the corporation closed its facility for cleaning and paid its employees during the shutdown. This caused a significant financial loss to the corporation and the unnecessary quarantine of the defendant’s coworkers.

During the COVID-19 fraud investigation, agents uncovered a previous incident in which Davis had submitted fraudulent documentation to obtain benefits from his employer. Specifically, in late 2019, Davis created and submitted false documentation to support a claim for bereavement leave for the alleged death of his child. That child never existed., Davis fabricated the claim so that he could obtain benefits to which he was not entitled.

Finally, while on pretrial release in this case, Davis submitted a mortgage application with numerous fraudulent statements, including a falsified earnings and employment history. The mortgage company discovered the fraud, in part, after seeing news stories related to his original COVID-19 charge.

Santwon Antonio Davis, 35, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William M. Ray, II to serve three years in prison and ordered to pay $187.550 in restitution to his former employer. When he is released from prison, Davis will be required to serve five years on supervised release.

This case is part of Georgia’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Fraud Task Force, aimed at better protecting the citizens of Georgia from criminal fraud arising from the pandemic. Formed by Georgia’s leading state and federal prosecutors, the task force serves to open channels of communication between partner agencies and more rapidly share information about COVID-19 fraud, while ensuring each fraud complaint is reported to the appropriate prosecuting agency. The task force member agencies include the Office of the Governor of Georgia, the Office of the Attorney General of Georgia, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia. Georgia’s three U.S. Attorneys, the Attorney General of Georgia, and the Executive Counsel for the Governor’s Office serve on the task force. If you think you are a victim of a scam or attempted fraud involving COVID-19, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via email at www.justice.gov/DisasterComplaintForm.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General provided valuable assistance in the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Klapman and Russell Phillips prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.