LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas resident was sentenced on Thursday to four years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for possessing a stolen firearm and running a fake COVID-19 relief scam.
40-year-old Darnele Javoris Nelson pleaded guilty in March to one count of felon in possession of a firearm and one count of wire fraud, after submitting fraudulent loan applications to the Small Business Administration.
According to court documents, on June 23, 2019, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers stopped a car in which Nelson was a passenger. The officer saw an open can of beer and later discovered a stolen loaded Glock .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine.
Nelson has three prior felony convictions including robbery and vehicular manslaughter, felony assault with a deadly weapon -- both in California – and possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices in New York. He is prohibited by law from possessing a firearm.
Between July 2020 and May 2021, Nelson — who was on supervised, pretrial release — submitted at least three Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program loan applications to the Small Business Administration in an attempt to obtain approximately $30,000, and at least one Paycheck Protection Plan loan application to obtain $20,833.
In all four applications, reports say Nelson falsely stated that he was the proprietor of several companies which did not exist, reported false revenue amounts, a fake number of employees and that he was not facing felony charges or serving parole or probation for a felony conviction.
In addition to the sentence imposed, Nelson is currently serving a sentence for violating the conditions of supervised release from his New York felony case as a result of being arrested in Las Vegas in 2019.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form.
