A street gang in Milwaukee allegedly stole tens of millions of dollars in Covid-19 pandemic relief money that was then used to perform a murder and buy guns and medicines, amongst other items, in line with a federal indictment.
The 43-count indictment charges 30 members of the “Wild 100s,” also often known as the “Shark Gang,” with a litany of crimes that include mail fraud, murder for hire, conspiracy to sell guns, illegal possession of firearms including a machine gun and drug possession with intent to sell.
The indictment was returned by a grand jury within the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and unsealed in May.
The alleged leader of the gang, Ronnell Bowman, and one other defendant, Ronnie Jackson, were charged with the April 2021 killing of a person named only as N.B. in a murder-for-hire scheme.
Bowman and Jackson have pleaded not guilty. Bowman, who was arrested within the Houston area in May, is being held in detention pending his trial. The 2 men could face life in prison if convicted.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Kwaterski told a federal judge in May that Bowman was the ringleader of the fraud scheme and was personally accountable for $850,000 in stolen Covid relief money, in line with a transcript from the defendant’s detention hearing.
The fraud methods Bowman allegedly taught other gang members resulted within the theft of tens of millions of dollars of Covid relief money, Kwaterski told the judge throughout the hearing.
The indictment alleges that the “Wild 100s” filed fraudulent claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance in California and a number of other other states.
The defendants used pre-loaded debit cards issued by the states’ unemployment programs to withdraw money from ATMs in Wisconsin, in line with the indictment. The stolen Covid money was allegedly spent to rearrange the murder and to buy guns, drugs, jewelry, clothing and vacations, amongst other items.
Bowman allegedly used the stolen money to solicit the murder and to buy multiple firearms, including machine guns, after which gave those weapons to others knowing they might be used to commit violence, including murder, Kwaterski told the judge throughout the detention hearing.
Bowman allegedly offered to pay for the murder of a rival gang member’s mother or sister on Instagram, in line with evidence presented by Kwaterski at that hearing. As a substitute, the rival gang member’s friend was found killed. Jackson was allegedly paid $10,000 to commit the murder, in line with Kwaterski.
Bowman is suspected in two other murders for hire related to a war with a rival gang, Kwaterski told the judge throughout the detention hearing.
The breakup of the “Wild 100s” by law enforcement was a part of a nationwide sweep this summer by Justice Department strike teams targeting $836 million in stolen Covid relief money. The operation led to charges against 371 defendants in a spread of fraud cases.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland established a task force in May 2021 to go after fraudsters who’ve stolen Covid relief money. Criminal charges have been filed against greater than 3,000 people and upward of $1.4 billion in stolen money has been recovered thus far, in line with the DOJ.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said last week that the DOJ is establishing latest strike teams in Colorado and Latest Jersey to proceed the hunt for stolen relief money.
“We’ll seek judicial orders requiring convicted defendants to pay back every stolen dollar and we now have 20 years to appreciate those recoveries,” Monaco said.
