Minnesota woman sentenced to over 7 years for attempting to obtain $7 million in pandemic aid

A Minnesota woman has been sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison for fraudulently applying for roughly $7 million in pandemic aid, $4.7 million of which the government paid out.

U.S. District Judge Eric Tostrud sentenced 40-year-old Bloomington resident Tequisha Solomon on Tuesday. She had pleaded guilty to wire fraud in December 2022.

Solomon's public defender declined to comment Wednesday.

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According to a plea agreement, Solomon received $37,000 in unemployment aid from California when she was living in either Nevada or Minnesota. She also applied for pandemic unemployment aid in Illinois and Minnesota.

Solomon also admitted to charging as much as $2,000 a pop to submit at least 200 fraudulent aid claims on behalf of others, including a prison inmate.

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Prosecutors said Solomon lived a "lavish lifestyle" with the money and bought a Jaguar sedan.

In total, prosecutors said the government gave out at least $4.7 million in fraudulent aid because of Solomon, who was ordered to repay the money.

"For many workers and small businesses, these federal pandemic programs were a lifeline that enabled them to stay afloat," federal prosecutors wrote. "However, these programs unfortunately were also a lucrative way for some, such as Ms. Solomon, to amass fraudulent proceeds for themselves and others, at the expense of taxpayers and to the detriment of eligible hard-hit workers and small businesses."

Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston's wedding: Extravagant details revealed over 20 years later

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston tied the knot over two decades ago – and some of their famous wedding guests are still relishing the moment.

Michael Rapaport, who has worked with both Pitt and Aniston, recently spilled a few of the extravagant details about the 2000 wedding.

"Any time you're serving caviar, let me know," Rapaport said on "Watch What Happens Live" with Andy Cohen on Monday. 

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"I was at Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston's wedding. They had a wall of caviar. I still have some saved over," he teased.

Cohen replied, "How have you been on the show 87 times, and I've never talked to you about Aniston and Pitt's wedding?"

Rapaport joked that he was still "shoveling" down the dish, adding, "I'm still eating the caviar from there."

The caviar wall was not the only thing that the "Atypical" actor recalled.

"Billy Preston performed," Rapaport said. "A lot of bucks there."

Aniston and Pitt tied the knot in July 2000 and divorced five years later.

Since their separation, Pitt and Aniston have proven to still be friendly.

In January 2020, their backstage reunion at the 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards caused a social media frenzy. In multiple snaps, the exes were spotted smiling at each other. In one pic, Pitt held on to Aniston's wrist as she walked away after the two had a brief chat.

Later that same year, the famous exes, along with Matthew McConaughey and a handful of other stars, participated in a virtual "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" table read in September 2020. 

Clips of the table read of the 1982 teen drama showed Aniston voicing Phoebe Cates' role of Linda Barrett while Pitt played Judge Reinhold's character, Brad Hamilton. The two were spotted chuckling as they voiced a racy pool scene from the movie.

During a 2020 episode of "Watch What Happens Live," Andy Cohen pressed McConaughey about "sexual tension" between Aniston and Pitt.

"Could I feel the heat through the screen of Brad? So palpable. Yeah, it was so palpable," McConaughey laughed at the time. 

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"No, it was -- I noticed that after -- that's what a lot of the topics were about that, or about them. No, I actually didn't notice anything through the screen, but that made for a good topic the next day," he continued.

Following Aniston and Pitt's split, the "Friends" actress went on to marry Justin Theroux in 2015 before separating in 2018.

Pitt and his "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" co-star Angelina Jolie tied the knot in 2014 before the actress filed for divorce in 2016. The two became legally single in 2019. The former couple are still locked in an intense legal battle over their former French vineyard, Château Miraval. 

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