Whitworth was elected as the 17th bishop of the diocese on the fourth ballot during voting at Trinity Church in Boston, the diocese said in a statement on its website.

Following the vote, Whitworth joined the convention via Zoom and expressed gratitude to the congregation.

“I am honored, I am flabbergasted, I am overjoyed, I am overwhelmed, and I feel it a deep, deep privilege to be called in this way,” she said.

Whitworth, who was born in Richmond, Va., and completed her undergraduate degree at Dartmouth College, has served as rector of the Trinity Church in Indianapolis since 2016, according to the diocese. She was ordained a priest in September 2010 and has also served at churches in Connecticut and New York City.

Her consecration is scheduled for Oct. 19, pending approval by a majority of the Episcopal Church’s diocesan bishops and a majority of its dioceses via their standing committees, the diocese said.

“The Diocese of Massachusetts has a long, proud history: centuries of nurturing spiritual vitality, leadership and prophetic witness for the whole Episcopal Church,” Whitworth said in a statement released after her election. “Together we will build on that legacy by walking joyfully into your next chapter — proclaiming the Gospel, making disciples, strengthening our worshiping communities with imagination and courage, and working together for a more just and loving world.”

Whitworth was elected on the fourth round of balloting, receiving 118 clergy votes and 155 votes by lay delegates, the diocese said. Nominees needed to secure simple majority of votes from both groups to be elected.

The other four nominees were the Rev. Dr. Brendan J. Barnicle, rector of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Wilsonville, Ore.; the Rev. Edwin D. Johnson, director of organizing for Episcopal City Mission in Boston; the Rev. Canon Jean Baptiste Ntagengwa, Th.D., canon for immigration and multicultural ministries in the Diocese of Massachusetts; and the Rev. Gideon L.K. Pollach, rector of St. John’s Church in Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.

Whitworth will succeed the Rt. Rev. Alan M. Gates, who was elected bishop in 2014 and will retire in October at the time of Whitworth’s consecration, the diocese said.

“Julia Whitworth brings gifts of creativity and joy, along with solid experience and accomplishments at the diocesan and parish levels, which have prepared her for Spirit-driven leadership in our midst,” Gates said in the statement. “I look forward to having our bishop-elect join me and Assistant Bishop Carol Gallagher over the summer to serve together in preparing for a healthy and faithful transition in October.”

Nick Stoico can be reached at nick.stoico@globe.com.

BOSTON – A Massachusetts man has been arrested and charged for allegedly submitting fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan applications on behalf of multiple companies he owns and controls. 

According to the Massachusetts Department of Justice, 65-year-old Durgaprasad Rao was charged with two counts of wire fraud.

According to the charging documents, Rao is the owner and operator of Accelerated Engineering, LLC., a product engineering service provider, and Upstream Global Services, Inc., a software company that provides software consulting services and temporary staffing needs.

It is alleged that, between April 2020 and May 2021, Rao submitted numerous fraudulent applications seeking over $18 million in PPP funds for various companies in multiple states including companies in Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Georgia. Nine of the fraudulent PPP loan applications Rao allegedly submitted were for companies he owned and controlled. For Rao’s Massachusetts-based companies, he received nearly $7 million in PPP loans – of which, $1.5 million was approved for forgiveness.

Rao’s PPP loan applications allegedly contained false statements regarding payroll and the number of employees that worked for his companies and included fraudulent supporting documents, including false tax return documents and false payroll records. It is further alleged that Rao misused the funds he received by, among other things, transferring the funds to foreign businesses he owned and purchasing a luxury condominium in New York City.      

The charges of wire fraud each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. 

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, Boston Field Office; Ketty Larco Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; and Carlisle Police Chief Andrew Amendola made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Sullivan and David Tobin of the Major Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case. 

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus and https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus/combatingfraud.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form.