CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. — A former south Georgia pastor who is also a three-time convicted felon, mortician, restauranteur and tax preparer has pleaded guilty to lying to get federal COVID-19 small business assistance.
Mack Devon Knight, 45, of Stonecrest was sentenced to 29 months in prison with three years of supervised release for two counts of wire fraud, according to federal prosecutors.
Knight was also ordered to pay $149,000 in restitution.
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Court documents show that Knight applied for loans on behalf of several small businesses in Camden County in early 2021. The applications claimed that Knight owned several businesses with hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue.
Prosecutors say he admitted to lying on those applications, including faking a tax document and altering his bank records.
Knight used a large portion of the $149,900 he received to buy a Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan. He will have to turn that car over to the government.
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“So many businesses needed federal emergency assistance to stay afloat during the pandemic, and this defendant misdirected hundreds of thousands of dollars of that money to his own pockets,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta.
Prosecutors add that he has at least three prior convictions for fraud.
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