One of the actresses from Tyler Perry’s “Madea Goes to Jail” has been charged with fraud by the U.S. Department of Justice. The movie star joins several other high-profile people among 19 people accused in federal indictments of cheating the government out of millions in schemes that all originated in Georgia.
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, actress Ion Overman is connected in federal fraud charges filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia after working with Mark C. Mason Jr., an Atlanta businessman handling her finances.
Overman is known for several television and film projects that include the soap opera “Port Charles,” the hit evening drama “Desperate Housewives,” “Ghost Whisperer,” “Two and a Half Men,” “NCIS” and Tyler Perry’s “Madea Goes to Jail.” Despite her hefty résumé, an indictment states that she conspired with Mason to unlawfully get Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans during the onset of the economically crippling coronavirus pandemic.
It is alleged that Mason made fake versions of IRS Form 941 documents, a form to show Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return and used to report taxes withheld from employees’ paychecks and to pay the employer’s portion of Social Security and Medicare, with falsified payroll numbers on them.
He would then submit the filings to an approved PPP lender.
Overman was not the only celebrity that Mason worked with. One of Master P and Lil Romeo’s music producers, Carlos “Clos” Stephens, was listed in the indictment. Actor Dale Godboldo and media personality Marvin Lewton (p.k.a. OG Shadi Powers) were also named.
Read full story at Atlanta Black Star here.
