Fani Willis Received Donation from Former Atlanta Attorney Jailed for Defrauding PPP of $15 Million

Georgia Trump prosecutor Fani Willis received a campaign donation from a former Atlanta city attorney who was just sentenced to seven years in prison for a massive $15 million pandemic loan fraud scheme.

Shelitha Robertson, who is also a former Atlanta police officer, was handed her sentence on Friday for conspiring to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. 

The 62-year-old conspired with her friend and personal attorney Chandra Norton to submit fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of businesses that they owned, falsely inflating the number of employees on payroll and using dishonest tax documentation, prosecutors said. 

Robertson used the loan proceeds for her personal benefit, including luxury items such as a 10-carat diamond ring, a Rolls Royce, and a motorcycle, the Daily Mail reported. 

Around the time she received her multimillion-dollar windfall, the disgraced attorney also donated $1,000 to Willis’s Democrat primary election to become the Fulton County district attorney, campaign finance records show. 

After taking office, Willis began building a case to charge former President Donald Trump with racketeering following a 13-count indictment over alleged interference with 2020 election results.

While Trump has denied all wrongdoing, Willis has found herself connected to several other scandals — including her inappropriate relationship with former Fulton County prosecutor Nathan Wade, who she appointed to the Trump case. 

Wade resigned from the case in March after Judge Scott McAfee ruled that Willis could continue prosecuting Trump if he was removed or voluntarily left, Breitbart News reported. 

Willis has not made any statements on the latest scandal, though Robertson has publicly mourned her career and reputation. 

The convict broke down in tears upon hearing her sentence, hours after telling the court she was “dead broke,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. 

“My business is gone. My [law] license is gone. My assets are gone. The only thing I have left is my family and my faith in God,” Robertson complained.

Her prison sentence, which has already begun, will get credit for the six months she’s already spent in custody since December 2023. 

“Motivated by greed, Robertson deceptively obtained funds that were designated to provide emergency financial relief to struggling small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in a press release. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute criminals who stole pandemic relief funds.”

Officials also stated that they will continue to “pursue” others who defrauded the PPP loan system. 

“Today the defendant in this case was held accountable for fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars through the Paycheck Protection Program and using those stolen funds to enrich herself, while small businesses were struggling during the pandemic,” said Kyle A. Myles, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General, Atlanta Region. “The FDIC OIG remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to pursue and bring to justice those who took advantage of such pandemic relief programs and threatened the integrity of our Nation’s financial institutions.”