Ashley Spike
Introduction
Ashley Spike is a 32-year-old woman from Miramar, Florida, who pleaded guilty on 3 November 2026 in federal court in Boston to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for her role in a multistate Paycheck Protection Program scheme . According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Spike created fake tax forms to back up loan applications in which borrowers falsely claimed to run businesses that qualified for pandemic relief money . She personally received two PPP loans totaling $49,999, and prosecutors said lenders issued more than $4.8 million in loans to unqualified borrowers as a result of the scheme .
Background Information
Spike was charged in February 2026 alongside others — including Lorne Johnson of Boston — in a conspiracy to create fake tax returns to submit to PPP lenders, the federally backed program that helped small businesses cover payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic . Her fake tax documents gave the appearance of qualifying business income behind borrowers’ applications . The conspiracy overlapped a related case in which Lisa Lemoine of Bossier City, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to recruiting ineligible borrowers, fabricating their tax forms, and collecting kickbacks commonly equal to 30 percent of loan proceeds, sharing them with alleged co-conspirators including Spike .
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Pleaded guilty to PPP wire-fraud conspiracy; sentencing set for February 2027.
Spike’s admitted conduct was manufacturing the tax paperwork that made unqualified borrowers look like operating businesses, allowing fraudulent PPP applications to clear lenders’ checks, and taking her own cut through two loans totaling $49,999 . U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled her sentencing for 10 February 2027 . Two co-conspirators have already pleaded guilty: Lemoine, whose guilty plea came in May 2026 with sentencing set for 13 January 2027, and Tanya Pierre, who pleaded guilty in August 2026 with sentencing set for 12 May 2027 . Prosecutors also allege that Sniders Jean-Jacques and Lorne Johnson took part in the conspiracy and remain charged .
Public Reaction and Consequences
The plea was announced by the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s office and covered by New England outlets as another chapter in the multi-year accounting for pandemic-relief fraud, with the office describing the scheme as multistate and the loss to lenders at more than $4.8 million . The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the scheme . No public statement from Spike or her counsel appears in the coverage .
Current Status
Spike pleaded guilty on 3 November 2026 and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Stearns on 10 February 2027 . Her admitted role — the fake tax forms behind the borrowers’ applications and the two personal loans she received — remains the core of the government’s case as she awaits sentencing .
Impact on Their Career/Life
The conviction exposes Spike to up to two decades in prison at her February 2027 sentencing and attaches a permanent federal felony record to a 32-year-old whose role was manufacturing the paperwork that made the scheme work . Her guilty plea removes the trial risk for the government in a case that still has charged defendants awaiting their own resolutions .