The federal pandemic relief fraud trial of Zipora Hudson and Montreal Hudson has been continued for a third time to allow more time for the defense to prepare, according to court documents.
The case is now scheduled for jury trial beginning at 9:40 a.m. on Jan. 13 in Courtroom 3 East on the third floor of the U.S. Federal Building in Oxford. U.S. District Judge Michael P. Mills will preside.
The trial had been originally set for an April 8 start. Continuances granted by Mills pushed the trial date to July 22, Oct. 21 and, now, Jan. 13.
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Prosecutors have not objected to the defense motions to continue.
Zipora Hudson, 47, is charged with three counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, all felony charges.
Montreal Hudson, 30, is charged with two counts of wire fraud, and one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
A third defendant in the case, Deandre Jones, 31, struck a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He faces a Dec. 12 sentencing hearing before Mills, during which he could be sentenced to a maximum 50 years imprisonment and fined up to $750,000. As part of the plea agreement, Jones also would forfeit “all right, title and interest” he has in “certain real and personal property,” specifically naming real property in the Forest Hill Subdivision in DeSoto County, a 2022 Dodge Ram 3500 Tradesman crew cab pickup and a 2015 BMW coupe.
The trio were named in a Jan. 25 federal indictment alleging that they helped customers of Zippy Bee’s Tax Service in Charleston to falsify and fabricate information on applications that resulted in nearly two-dozen “fraudulently obtained” Paycheck Protection Plan loans totaling $491,893.
The indictment charged that the borrowers paid a portion of the PPP funds received to the defendants, those fees ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 per loan.
Montreal Hudson is the son of Zipora Hudson, CEO and founder of Zippy Bee LLC, doing business as Zippy Bee’s Tax Service.
If convicted, the mother and son face a maximum penalty of 30 years imprisonment for conspiracy and wire fraud charges, and 20 years for the money laundering violations, court records show.
Each of the three defendants originally pleaded not guilty to all charges.
