A Montgomery woman has been sentenced to prison for defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program of nearly $610,000.

A federal judge this week sentenced 55-year-old Zsa Zsa Bouvier Couch, of Montgomery, to 45 months in prison, Middle District of Alabama Acting U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Ross announced Thursday.

Additionally, the judge ordered that Couch serve three years of supervised release following her prison term. Federal inmates are not eligible for parole.

Couch was convicted in September 2023 on multiple counts of bank fraud, making false statements to a federally insured bank, and money laundering.

Authorities said she submitted at least six fraudulent applications for loans under the PPP and sought $1.6 million in program funds.

In each application, Couch falsely inflated the number of employees who worked for her purported business and the business’ average monthly payroll, according to prosecutors.

The false statements led Couch to qualify for larger PPP amounts than she was eligible to receive.

Ultimately, Couch received $609,687.47 in PPP funds.

Instead of using the money for a business, she instead used the cash to pay herself, her husband and other family members and buy luxury vehicles.

Couch made other false statements on the applications, including omitting that she applied for multiple PPP loans for the same business. She also did not disclose her common ownership of multiple businesses.

“Ms. Couch, like far too many others, took for her own benefit money intended to support individuals and businesses suffering the devastating effects of the pandemic,” Ross said.

The FBI, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Patrick Lamb and Joel Feil prosecuted.

“The Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act was devised to assist people struggling through difficult financial times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Ms. Couch took advantage of the program to purchase lavish gifts for herself and family members,” stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown, who heads the Mobile division. “The 45 months imprisonment should send a clear message to anyone thinking of committing similar acts of fraud.”