'Mercy and grace': Ex-judge Tracie Hunter speaks on behalf of Kelli Prather at sentencing

Kelli Prather, the community activist and one-time candidate for Cincinnati mayor and U.S. Senate, was sentenced Tuesday to seven years in prison for fraud related to COVID-19 relief.

But there’s more to Prather’s story, according to family members and others who spoke on her behalf in federal court in Cincinnati.

Prosecutors say the fraud happened during the early months of the pandemic and involved two federal programs intended to help small businesses. Prather, 51, sought more than $1.2 million in pandemic relief loans for six businesses she said she owned, using information that prosecutors said was "a figment of her imagination."

Around that same time, Prather was dealing with a cancer diagnosis and the loss of five homes she owned including the house where she lived.

Prather was essentially homeless at one point, her sister said.

Vanessa Enoch, an associate pastor at Prather’s church, said Prather had endured severe stress, including “not knowing if she was going to live after her cancer diagnosis.”

“She was not functioning in her normal state of mind,” Enoch told U.S. District Judge Matthew McFarland. Enoch is a Democratic candidate for U.S. House, seeking to represent Ohio's 8th District.

Tracie Hunter, the former juvenile court judge who is a pastor, talked about a "culture" that forces women to try to appear strong, even when they are not.

Hunter asked McFarland for "mercy and grace" and urged him to consider "what our Lord and Savior would do."

Prather’s attorney, Arica Underwood, said Prather, in seeking the loans, was trying “to create some kind of legacy for her family” through the businesses she had created.

Prather speaks in court

Prather, herself, gave an emotional statement, speaking through sobs. Several times, she apologized to her family.

“I love my family, with everything inside of me,” she said.

Prather described how she refused to accept a plea deal offered by prosecutors because she wanted to save her career. She said she has been an occupational therapist for 24 years. Among her six businesses was a home health care business.

She also talked about the multiple family members who have been killed in homicides, the “injustice of my house being taken,” and how her ex-husband had shot and wounded her decades ago. She has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I’m devastated,” she told McFarland.

Near the end of a hearing that took place over three hours, after her emotions had calmed, Prather said that "the government was so desperate to find fraud that they made a case of it."

'Greed brought you here'

In the end, McFarland imposed a seven-year prison sentence, which was exactly what prosecutors requested. That prison term was not the maximum McFarland could have imposed, and the judge said he recognized Prather had helped others in the community.

But, he said, “Your conduct brought you to this court.”

During last year’s trial, Prather testified that she didn’t provide false information on the applications for COVID-19 relief money. Instead, she directed blame at her accountant, as well as the autistic nephew she allowed to live with her. Prather testified that the nephew had access to her computer.

On Tuesday, she said she didn't enter numbers on the applications.

McFarland pointed out that a jury found she was guilty of all 14 counts she faced, including defrauding a federal program that was set up to help employers keep their employees.

“You took advantage of that program,” he said. “Your greed brought you here.”

In addition to the prison sentence, Prather was ordered to pay $19,682 in restitution to the Small Business Administration. That amount represents what she received through the fraud.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Tracie Hunter, others speak on behalf of Kelli Prather at sentencing