Minnesota woman facing federal fraud charge over $162K PPP loan

Federal prosecutors have charged a Minnesota woman with defrauding the government through a COVID-related business loan.

Charging documents state that Nina Beth Levitus is charged with fraudulently getting approximately $162,000 through a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan.

PPP loans were created to help businesses stay open and pay their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Levitus allegedly claimed she ran two businesses — Nina 911, Inc. and Visionary Optical — and would use the loan money on business expenses like payroll costs, and payments for rent, utilities and mortgages. However, that wasn’t true, prosecutors say, as the businesses weren’t actually operating.