A woman who ran for Baltimore City Council in 2019 has been convicted of bank fraud and false statements for misusing nearly $1.7 million in COVID-19 relief funds, according to the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office.

According to federal prosecutors, Nichelle Henson, 38, was found guilty Thursday in connection with false applications she filed to obtain Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans) in the names of fake businesses she incorporated in Maryland. Henson obtained a total of $1,694,451 through her schemes, according to the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Evidence presented at Henson’s trial showed she obtained bank accounts and tax identification numbers for these “businesses,” which used names such as “Your Friendly Tax Preparation Services,” “Women Entrepreneurs Can Succeed” and “Nichelle Henson Campaign.” Despite Henson claiming to have nearly 50 employees and hundreds of thousands in monthly revenues, none of the companies actually employed anyone and were not properly filed with the IRS.

According to federal prosecutors, Henson submitted six fraudulent EIDL loan applications in 2020 and 2021, leading to her obtaining nearly $1 million from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Among these were applications for the Nichelle Henson Campaign, which was meant to fund Henson’s run for City Council, according to federal authorities. However, Henson did not submit the application until May 2020 — six months after the 2019 election in which she had been running.

Henson filed to run for Baltimore City Council in 2019 but dropped out shortly after entering the race. The state’s elections database does not list any campaign finance reports for Henson.

The Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office said another fake entity, “Crowns Construction,” saw Henson use a vacant lot for the business’ address and attempt to pass along a neighbor’s Baltimore Gas and Electric bill as a company statement.

“In support of the application for this business, Henson included a fabricated Baltimore Gas & Electric that purported to be for Crowns Construction but was in fact a bill belonging to a neighbor of Henson’s that she had scanned and then doctored using a PDF editing tool,” the news release said.

According to federal prosecutors, Henson obtained most of the remaining funds from six PPP loan applications she submitted in January 2021. Five of these six loans were financed by M&T Bank, which reported the fraud to law enforcement after Henson immediately withdrew $5,000 from the five different accounts at a Baltimore City location.

While these funds were intended for a used car business Henson would open in Dundalk, authorities said she ultimately used them to pay for:

Cosmetic surgery

Extensive renovations to her home and a family member’s home

A new cryptocurrency called “Subina Coin”

An entity called the “Adageyhdi Indian Nation”

Other business ventures

Henson faces a maximum possible sentence of 30 years in federal prison for bank fraud and a maximum possible sentence of 5 years for making false statements. She will be required to pay restitution to the SBA and other institutions she defrauded.

Henson’s sentencing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 5, according to the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Have a news tip? Contact Carson Swick at cswick@baltsun.com.