Watervliet Woman Sentenced for Wire Fraud

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Ouida Cordell, age 47, of Watervliet, New York, was sentenced today to two years of probation for her submission of a fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) application to the United States Small Business Administration (SBA).

United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and Matthew Miraglia, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Buffalo Field Office, made the announcement.

As part of her previously entered guilty plea, Cordell admitted that on July 13, 2020, she submitted an online application to the SBA for an EIDL on behalf of her company, Bashment Entertainment LLC (Bashment), that falsely overstated Bashment’s annual revenues.  As a result of the fraud, Cordell and her company Bashment received an EIDL loan in the amount of $149,500 for which she and the company were not entitled.  EIDLs were low-interest, government-backed loans meant for businesses struggling with the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby also sentenced Cordell to perform 100 hours of community service, and to pay restitution in the amount of $149,400.

The FBI, with assistance from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, Office of Internal Affairs, and the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Belliss prosecuted this case.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.