EDMOND, Okla. (KFOR) – A metro woman faces federal fraud charges involving CARES funds. But long before pleading guilty, our In Your Corner team took a look at her former business’s finances.

Jill Ford, 31, pleaded guilty in January to bank fraud and money laundering.

News 4 first investigated Jill Ford in the Spring of 2021, shortly after she closed up shop on her boutique Oliver and Olivia.

Her northwest metro warehouse was still packed with product, and her employees claimed they were still waiting for their last paychecks.

“We woke up with a text message saying effective immediately we are closing our doors,” said former employee Shawna Jones. “None of us have seen the money.”

What’s more, the employees who spoke with In Your Corner claimed they had discovered insurance payments had continued to be deducted from their paychecks, well after their insurance plans had unknowingly been canceled.

News 4 spoke with Jill, who claimed her ex-employees would be taken care of through her bankruptcy case.

“All of our assets are going to be sold and go into the trustees hands,” said Jill. “Then they will be paid.”

How the bankruptcy came about though is murky.

Oliver and Olivia received a lot of help from the government, through PPP, Main Street, and Economic Injury Disaster Loans, totaling $827,000 and change.

So employees were understandably confused as to why the company didn’t have enough money to pay their final checks.

Federal documents though lay out a trail of where some of the cash went.

A chunk of it, went toward the construction and purchase of an $800,000-plus Rose Creek home.

Payments were made toward the house over the span of several months, totaling just over $160-thousand.

In November 2020, Jill signed leases for both a Mercedes and a Cadillac, then purchased another Cadillac just days later worth nearly $42-thousand.

Just weeks after those transactions, she would lay off all employees, filing for bankruptcy soon after.

She and husband Trent started a second venture called Printed Tees Shirt Company, which Jill did not want to elaborate on.

“Does it really matter what I’m doing? Cause here in the United States of America, you can stop one business and open another,” she told News 4 in 2021.

Former Oliver and Olivia employee, Crystal Haney spoke with In Your Corner after news of the charges broke.

She described speaking with federal agents, as the investigation continued.

“They contacted us and wanted to know if we would come and talk with them,” she said. “They said it was very helpful and had an impact and their decisions. So I thought that was cool.”

She and others now wait, not knowing what these charges mean for their still missing money.

News 4 attempted to reach the attorney representing Jill Ford’s creditors to learn how the federal charges affect the bankruptcy case, but have not yet heard back.

Jill will be sentenced some time in the next three months.