FAMILY FRAUD: Ohio father, daughter convicted of taking $350K in relief money they did not deserve

CINCINNATI — A father and daughter in Ohio have both been convicted of federal financial fraud.

37-year-old India Cook, of Cincinnati, pleaded guilty to four counts of making false statements on COVID-relief loan applications.

Her father, 56-year-old Rodney Cook, of Cincinnati, pleaded guilty in August 2023 to two counts of making false statements on COVID-relief loan applications and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) documents.

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Court documents show that in 2020 and 2021, India Cook filed applications for COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans that were false and contradicted each other for multiple different companies. Those companies included C&H Tax Service, ADMR Shoes, Tax Lab LLC, and Care 4 U.

Rodney Cook applied for AMP Clothing LLC to receive pandemic-related funds. AMP Clothing was his daughter’s company, which was not operating and did not have any employees or revenue at the time.

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India Cook received nearly $144,000 in fraudulent loans, and Rodney Cook received and spent more than $205,000 in EIDL and PPP loans.

Separately, Rodney Cook purchased rental properties through a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUB) program. The program was exclusively for owner-occupants who planned to live in the purchased property, but Cook used “straw buyers” to purchase the properties in Cincinnati and then rented them out.

Rodney Cook was sentenced in January 2024 to pay full restitution, a $7,500 court fine and to serve three years of probation. India Cook will be sentenced at a later date.

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