Tallassee woman sentenced for federal program fraud

Michelle Denise McIntyre, 34, of Tallassee, received a sentence of 114 months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges related to grants received through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund program, according to United States Attorney Kevin Davidson. According to a press release from the United States Department of Justice, McIntyre will be on supervised release for three years following her prison sentence. Federal inmates are not eligible for parole.

The Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which was directly administered by the Small Business Administration, was established in March 2021 by the American Rescue Plan Act. The RRF was a financial assistance program designed to provide eligible restaurants with funding equal to their COVID-19 pandemic-related revenue losses, the release states. RRF recipients were not required to repay the funding if used for eligible expenses.