Couple charged with fraud over COVID-19 loan requests on Lexington charity, church

A couple associated with a Lexington charity received more than $350,000 in coronavirus relief loans through fraudulent applications, a federal grand jury has charged.

The grand jury returned a 12-count indictment Sept. 1 against Kelly and Neal Harris. They are each charged individually with four counts of wire fraud and are named together in four other counts.

The two allegedly put false information in applications for low-interest loans meant to help businesses and non-profits with the economic downturn caused by COVID-19 in early 2020.

The applications misrepresented information such as when the businesses or non-profits started, the number of employees and gross receipts, and the nature of what they did, the indictment alleged.

Kelly or Neal Harris applied for loans through these businesses or organizations, according to the indictment: Ruby E. Bailey Family Service Center; Grace Christian Fellowship Church; Turtle Doves; North Side Market; and American Workhorse LLC.

Either Kelly or Neal Harris, or both, received loans for Turtle Doves, the Ruby E. Bailey center and the church, according to the indictment.

The total amount was $354,300.

The charges did not say the two received any money from applications on North Side Market or American Workhorse.

The applications and wire transfers of money were filed or received between May 5 and July 25, 2020, the indictment said.

The Ruby E. Bailey Family Service Center has said in tax returns that it supports programs to help low-income people.

In 2015, for example, the center said it spent a total of $309,026 to help people pay rent and utilities and to support feeding, music and arts programs.

The return listed Kelly Bailey Harris as president and Neal Harris as treasurer.

The most recent tax return from the center available online at GuideStar, a service that collects information on non-profits, is from 2017. It said the organization received $139,640 in revenue and spent $110,640 on rent/facility costs and the rest for entertainment.

Attorneys for Kelly and Neal Harris told the Herald-Leader that the two maintain their innocence and will fight the charges.

Ramon McGee, a Louisville attorney who represents Kelly Harris, said the business and non-profit ventures at issue in the charges were legitimate. The information in the loan applications also was legitimate, he said.

“There was never any intent to defraud,” McGee said.

Juliana Madaki, a Louisville attorney who represents Neal Harris, said they are sure the evidence will show that federal prosecutors “filed this indictment in error.”