Betty Bailey is a candidate for Louisville Metro Council District 5.(Roberto Roldan / LPM )A woman running to be on Louisville Metro Council is accused of defrauding the federal government through a COVID-19 pandemic-era business loan program.Betty Bailey, 39, was arrested last week alongside four other people in Kentucky, Indiana and Colorado. The U.S. Department of Justice is accusing the group of getting Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loans by claiming businesses that didn’t exist or inflating business activity. Bailey, who is also referred to in court records as Betty Walker, faces one charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which is a felony.In a statement, the U.S. Attorney Kyle G. Bumgarner said the case is being prosecuted through the DOJ’s new National Fraud Enforcement Division.“These defendants allegedly took advantage of two federally funded programs designed to carry our country and its small businesses through unprecedented economic uncertainty by lying, cheating, and stealing,” Bumgarner said. “Their conduct will not be tolerated, and they will be aggressively prosecuted by this Office.”Bailey appeared before federal District Court Judge Regina Edwards last Friday. According to court records, she was released on her own recognizance.LPM News reached Bailey by phone Monday morning. She said her perspective on the case is different from the one prosecutors have laid out in the indictment, but she declined to discuss the case.“At this time, I do not [wish to speak],” Bailey said. “And note, it’s just ‘at this time.’ I’m going to stick to how my lawyer wants to move with this.”Prosecutors allege Bailey provided a co-conspirator, Kaelynn Greene, with her driver’s license and Social Security number to be used in a PPP loan application in March 2021.According to the indictment, Greene filed false statements on behalf of Bailey saying a business she owned had profits of more than $70,000 in 2019. Bailey allegedly received a $16,422 PPP loan, which she almost immediately began using for personal expenses and paid Greene a $2,500 kickback.Prosecutors also allege Bailey recruited another person into the scheme.Bailey is one of six people running for Metro Council to represent District 5, which includes all of the Shawnee neighborhood and parts of Russell, Chickasaw and California. It’s one of the most competitive Metro Council primary races this year.In an interview with LPM earlier this month, Bailey said she decided to run because she felt District 5 residents were not getting the services and programming they deserved. She claimed to be a school bus driver for Jefferson County Public Schools and founder of the nonprofit Purpose Over Profit, Inc.Bailey is due to appear back in court for a virtual arraignment on Thursday. ...read more read less