A Montgomery non-profit founder and former WSFA reporter was sentenced on Thursday in federal court to one month in prison, a year of weekends in jail, and ordered to pay back the $927,000 in grants and loans she defrauded from the federal government.
Tametria Conner Dantzler pleaded guilty in August to defrauding the federal government of over $2 million in COVID-19 relief funds.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Dantzler, 39, of Montgomery, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges related to loans received through the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.
"To balance the need for punishment and deterrence with the need to minimize harm to Dantzler's children, the court will vary downward to the following sentence: one month of incarceration, to be followed by three years of supervised release. As a condition of supervised release, Dantzler shall also serve one year of weekends in jail," U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson said in a recent court filing.
Thompson Ruling by Caleb Taylor on Scribd
In June 2020, Dantzler made false statements on EIDL applications. Dantzler claimed she created companies, including Conner Consulting LLC, and represented that the companies met the program requirements for EIDL loans. In all, Dantzler obtained approximately $927,338.47 in grants and forgivable loans. She also accepted fees or traded fake payroll checks in exchange for assisting others in obtaining an additional $1,049,864 in grants and forgivable loans to which they were not entitled. Also, in her plea agreement, Dantzler admitted she used some of the proceeds for unauthorized purposes, such as buying a house and paying off a vehicle for her husband.
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