Santa Clara Woman Gets 1.5 Years in Federal Prison for $2.8 Million in Pandemic Relief Fund Fraud

A Santa Clara woman was sentenced to one and a half years in federal prison on Sept. 24 for defrauding the government out of pandemic relief funds, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Cassie Will-Darnell, 53, obtained more than $2.8 million from Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans she obtained as part of the government relief program created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to prosecutors, Will-Darnell admitted that in May 2020, she fraudulently submitted a PPP application to a lender as the sole partner of Alternative Health Services Inc. Will-Darnell lied and said the company had ten employees and an average monthly payroll of $387,595. In reality, the company had no employees and no payroll. She was approved for a loan of nearly $1 million.

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In July 2020, she submitted another PPP loan application, this time presenting herself as the CEO of Rosswood Properties LLC. In this case, she lied and said she had 35 employees with an average monthly payroll of $816,551. Once again, the company had zero employees and no payroll. She was approved for a loan in the amount of $1.8 million.

In addition to 18 months in federal prison, Will-Darnell will face a judge on Oct. 14 for a hearing on forfeiture and then again on Dec. 3 for a hearing on restitution. The U.S. Department of Justice says she is scheduled to begin her sentence on Jan. 7, 2026.

This article was written by Katy St. Clair for Bay City News.