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The woman behind Philadelphia's elaborate princess-themed prom send-off has been jailed after fraudulently obtaining more than half a million dollars from a COVID-era federal government financial relief program.
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woman → see → program
Treva Harris, 50, drew attention online for the opulent Cinderella-themed prom send-off she organized for her daughter Azar in 2024.
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she → draw → 2024
Harris spent $27,000 to transform a parking lot on Lancaster Avenue in Philadelphia into a replica of Cinderella's castle, complete with 20-foot trees with blue leaves, carpeting across the whole parking lot, a gilded carriage and a reflective stage.
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Harris → spend → lot
'When we become adults, life gets super hard,' Harris said to The Philadelphia Inquirer at the time.
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Harris → become → time
'I do what I can for [my kids] while they’re younger.
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they → do → kids
When they get older, I don’t have so much control over their happiness.
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I → get → happiness
I have a little bit of control now.
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I → have → control
So I do everything in my power to make sure that my kids are happy,' she added.
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she → do → power
The prom send-off included a two-story castle which took two months to build, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
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Inquirer → include → months
Inside the castle, a video projection showed Harris as the fairy godmother, transforming Azar's torn clothing into a custom gown, before the teenager emerged from behind the screen in front of her classmates.
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teenager → show → classmates
While authorities did not explicitly address the extravagant prom send-off, court filings did state that Harris used the disbursements received to make personal purchases such as luxury goods and vacations.
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Harris → address → goods
According to US Attorney of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Harris applied for and received money from multiple federal government programs meant to provide relief to small businesses during the pandemic.
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Harris → accord → pandemic
In March 2020, the US Small Business Administration introduced the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which allowed small businesses to receive loans meant to help fund payroll costs, utilities, mortgage interest and rent to help stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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businesses → introduce → pandemic
Treva Harris has been sentenced to 1 year in jail for using fraudulent documents to receive Covid-19 relief funds
Harris organized a $27,000 Cinderella-themed prom send off for her daughter, transforming a parking lot in Philadelphia into a carpeted and reflective stage which led to a two-story castle
Treva Harris got her daughter a custom gown and a custom-built Cinderella castle for her high school prom send-off in 2024
In April 2020, Harris applied for an EIDL to obtain relief for the childcare business she ran at the time, the Child Prodigy Education Center in Philadelphia.
She accurately listed her three employees and $113,420 as the cost of goods sold, which included payroll.
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which → sentence → payroll
She received $514,900 in disbursements.
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She → receive → disbursements
However, two months later, Harris filed a separate PPP loan application for the same business, according to the US Attorney's Office in Pennsylvania.
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Harris → file → Pennsylvania
This time around, Harris grossly inflated the number of employees and monthly payroll of the business in the IRS forms she submitted.
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she → inflate → forms
She submitted fraudulent IRS documentation which claimed Child Prodigy paid $2,568,000 to 27 employees in 2019, officials said.
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officials → submit → 2019
Based on this application, Celtic Bank issued a wire transfer of $535,000 into a Child Prodigy bank account which Harris controlled.
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Harris → base → which
The money was then used on 'personal and unauthorized expenses,' such as transfers to her boyfriend, large cash withdrawals, and vacations, court filings stated.
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filings → use → boyfriend
She was charged by information last year and pleaded guilty in October to one count of bank fraud, waiving prosecution by indictment.
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She → charge → indictment
Two days before her sentencing hearing last week, Harris' attorney Troy A Archie submitted a letter to the judge to inform the court of 'several meaningful developments' the woman has made since the original complaint was filed.
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complaint → submit → developments
Treva Harris, 50, was sentenced to a year in jail after it was discovered that she fabricated information on the documents she submitted to a federal relief program during the pandemic
Harris first received media attention in 2024 after she organized a $27,000 Cinderella-themed prom send-off for her teenage daughter, which was picked up by abc7
Although officials did not make any explicit mentions of the extravagant prom send-off in the court filings, it was stated that Harris 'misspent' the PPP loan on personal matters
'
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Harris → sentence → matters
Since the original submission, Ms. Harris has continued to expand legitimate business operations, obtain additional professional qualifications, pursue further education, and continue her community work,' the letter stated.
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letter → continue → work
The letter provided names of longtime friends, fellow business owners and community members who can vouch for Harris' character.
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who → provide → character
On September 10, Judge John F Murphy ruled that Harris, of Medford, New Jersey, will serve a year in jail followed by three years of supervised release, and has been ordered to pay back the $535,000 she received, as well as a $7,500 fine and a $100 special assessment, according to Eastern District of Pennsylvania's US Attorney's Office.
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she → rule → Office
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