The sister of former Miami Heat power forward Udonis Haslem has been charged for fraudulently receiving cash from pandemic relief programs, according to the Miami New Times. Citing federal prosecutors, the report says Sheana Haslem filed applications in 2020 and 2021 to receive money from the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program, and Economic Injury Disaster Loans, falsely claiming that she ran a hair and nail salon business with 15 employees. Haslem is actually a staffing specialist for the Miami Police Department. She received nearly $31,000 for her allegedly fictional business, according to the report. In South Florida, $23.5 million in fraudulent COVID-19 loans have been seized by the government since 2022, with police staff making up a not insignificant portion of that number. In October 2023, seventeen employees of the Broward County Sheriff’s office were charged with stealing $495,171 in relief money. A former Miami-Dade police officer was sentenced for stealing $285,000 in funds in December 2023.
