Waterloo cocaine dealer sentenced to 20 years in prison, among 13 people involved in the case

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A federal judge has sentenced a Waterloo man who wasn’t just a cocaine dealer, but defrauded the federal government and implicated 12 other people in his scheme, to 20 years in prison.

A judge sentenced Parrish Austin, 40, on Wednesday. On February 13, 2024, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and one count of wire fraud.

Court hearings revealed that Austin distributed kilograms of cocaine every few months to a distributor from approximately late 2019/early 2020 until October 5, 2022. Evidence showed that this equated to at least 10 kilograms of cocaine in that time.

In May 2021, Austin also applied for and received a Wage Protection Program, or PPP loan, in the amount of $18,322. He deposited the money into his bank account in October 2021, then went on to apply for and get forgiveness on that PPP loan.

The judge also ordered Austin to pay the full amount as part of his restitution, then serve 5 years on supervised release when he gets out of prison.

Documents show Austin allegedly supplied cocaine to Justin Cole of Waterloo, who worked with Tavarious Glasper, Chris Roby and others to redistribute the cocaine in the community. Cole, Glasper and Roby are among 12 others involved in the case or were involved in the PPP fraud.

Justin A. Cole was sentenced to 195 months in prison and ordered to pay $20,832 in restitution on March 13, 2024, after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and one count of wire fraud related to PPP.

Tavarious Glasper was sentenced to 120 months in prison on March 11, 2024, after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.

Chris Lee Roby was sentenced to 49 months in prison on March 12, 2024, after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.

Kiesha Ann Morman was sentenced to 5 years probation and ordered to pay $19,835 in restitution on March 6, 2024, after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud related to PPP.

Sheila Renee Cole was sentenced to 2 months in prison and ordered to pay $19,583 in restitution on April 10, 2024, after pleading guilty to one count of PPP-related wire fraud.

Shalla Scherrice Cole was sentenced to 7 months in prison and ordered to pay $20,415 in restitution on April 19, 2024, after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud related to PPP.

Tia Lynette Cole‑Sykes was sentenced to 5 years of probation and ordered to pay $19,790 in restitution on May 1, 2024, after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud related to PPP.

Orenthal James Jones was sentenced to 24 months in prison and ordered to pay $20,832 in restitution on May 13, 2024, after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud related to PPP.

Allure Shapree Roby was sentenced to 2 weeks in jail and ordered to pay $20,832 in restitution on June 20, 2024 after pleading guilty to a charge of wire fraud related to PPP.

Ida Made Roby was sentenced to 3 years probation and ordered to pay $20,833 in restitution on July 2, 2024, after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud related to PPP.

Stacy Antwanette Cole was sentenced to 5 years of probation and ordered to pay $20,332 in restitution on July 19, 2024 after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud related to PPP.

Reid Jonathan Geerts was sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay $19,166 in restitution on September 3, 2024, after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud related to PPP.

The COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force is working to fight and prevent fraud related to the pandemic. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Disaster Fraud Center (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or through the Web Complaint Form at NCDF at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.