BOSTON — A former nursing assistant with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs was sentenced on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in federal court in Boston after pleading guilty to fraudulently obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program loan.
Wigenie Francois, 44, of Brockton, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Dennis Saylor IV to one year of probation and ordered to pay $62,499 in restitution. Francois pleaded guilty in December 2025 to one count of wire fraud after being charged in October 2025.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Francois allegedly submitted a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan application in April 2021 that included false claims regarding gross income from a sole proprietorship. The application included tax documents that authorities later determined were fraudulent.
The PPP loan application was approved and Francois received $20,833, which investigators say Francois used for personal expenses.
Federal prosecutors say that in March 2024, Francois submitted a loan forgiveness application claiming the full $20,833 was used for payroll, resulting in the loan being fully forgiven.
U.S. Attorney Leah Foley and Christopher Algieri, special agent in charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Northeast Field Office, announced the sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Sullivan of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.
