US-based Cameroonian businessman Kingsley Tazinya, popularly known as “Don Pacto,” has been sentenced to 20 months in federal prison in the United States after pleading guilty to bank fraud involving a COVID-19 relief loan.
According to the US Department of Justice, Tazinya, 40, submitted a fraudulent application to MidFirst Bank in May 2020 under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a federal programme established during the COVID-19 pandemic to help eligible businesses retain employees and cover certain expenses.
Prosecutors said Tazinya falsely reported that his business had 13 employees and an average monthly payroll of more than $99,000. Based on those representations, he obtained approximately $249,600 in PPP loan proceeds, which were transferred into a bank account he controlled.
Tazinya later pleaded guilty to bank fraud. A federal court sentenced him to 20 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $564,500 in restitution.
The restitution amount is considerably higher than the $249,600 loan. Public information released by prosecutors, however, does not provide a detailed explanation of how the court arrived at the $564,500 figure. The three-year supervised-release period should also not be confused with a three-year deadline for paying the restitution.
Audrey Monkam not accused
The case has attracted particular attention in Cameroon because Tazinya is married to Audrey Monkam, who was crowned Miss Cameroon 2020.
Monkam’s relationship with Tazinya, including their engagement and wedding, has been widely publicised. However, neither the US Justice Department’s announcement nor the public court information reviewed in connection with the case accuses Monkam of participating in the fraud.
There is also no publicly established evidence linking the PPP loan to the couple’s marriage or demonstrating that Monkam knew about the fraudulent application.
The fraudulent loan application dates back to May 2020, while Tazinya and Monkam married in 2024, several years later.
The case against Tazinya is therefore centred on the false information prosecutors say he provided when applying for the COVID-19 relief loan.
His conviction forms part of a broader US federal effort to investigate alleged fraud involving pandemic relief programmes, with authorities continuing to pursue cases involving funds distributed during the COVID-19 crisis.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice; reporting by MMI News and other Cameroonian media.
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