Iowa Business Owner Sentenced to 24 Months in Prison for COVID-19 Relief Fraud
Iowa business owner Henry Schappert was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for COVID-19 relief fraud and bankruptcy concealment.
Henry Schappert, 58, the owner of Allied Exteriors based in Urbandale, Iowa, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for a massive COVID-19 relief fraud scheme. He was also handed five years of supervised release and ordered to pay $265,567 in restitution after pleading guilty to making false statements on a federal loan application and bankruptcy fraud.
The fraud scheme began in 2020. Schappert initially submitted legitimate Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications for his construction company amid the economic fallout of the pandemic. However, prosecutors state he later filed additional applications that artificially inflated company revenues, employee counts, and payroll expenses, fraudulently securing over a quarter of a million dollars.
Schappert used the ill-gotten funds to help his wife, Tamesha Bomarito, launch Pots and Shots, a combined cocktail bar and houseplant nursery in West Des Moines. The business failed to sustain itself and was sold at a loss in 2024. Months later, Schappert filed for bankruptcy, attempting to conceal proceeds from the bar sale and other income from the federal bankruptcy trustee.
During the proceedings, the prosecution requested a 38-month prison sentence, with prosecutor Joseph Luban emphasizing that the defendant's lies and deception escalated over several years. Meanwhile, defense attorney Mackenzie Nash sought a reduced sentence, arguing her client made poor decisions out of desperation when his roofing business collapsed during the pandemic rather than out pure greed. The federal court ultimately handed down a two-year prison sentence.
