Austin Accountant Arun Mago Sentenced to 41 Months for Laundering $150,000 in Cocaine Proceeds and Nearly $1 Million in PPP and EIDL Fraud
Austin, Texas — Arun Mago, 47, an Austin accountant, was sentenced in federal court to 41 months in prison for money laundering and bank fraud that undermined the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas announced.
According to court documents, between October 2023 and July 2024, Mago laundered $150,000 in cash that he knew to be the proceeds of cocaine distribution. Investigators also found that he engaged in repeated loan fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic: from about April 4, 2021 to November 23, 2021, Mago applied for and received several fraudulent PPP loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) for several business entities totaling nearly $1 million. Bank records revealed that Mago transferred the funds into his personal bank account and used them for multiple real estate purchases.
"Arun Mago not only defrauded the United States government during the chaotic COVID-19 pandemic but continued down his criminal path to launder a substantial amount drug money," said U.S. Attorney Simmons. "Mago thought that he was untouchable and an expert fraudster, but now he knows otherwise. The Trump Administration has prioritized prosecuting fraudsters who steal from the American people, and the Western District of Texas has, once again, met that mission. This office and our federal law enforcement partners will always hold accountable those who steal from the American taxpayer and undermine our federal programs."
Christopher J. Altemus Jr., Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation's Texas Field Office, noted that Mago, a certified public accountant, wrote a book with a chapter titled "Black Money" and claimed money laundering and tax evasion schemes were untraceable. "I can only imagine his shock when we traced his more than $900,000 of COVID loan fraud and also got him on money laundering charges in an undercover operation," Altemus said. "Money always leaves a trace and criminals always think they are smarter than law enforcement. You can earn certifications, you can write books, but, when you break the law, we write the final chapter by taking your money and your freedom."
In addition to the imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman ordered Mago to pay over $900,000 in restitution and a $250,000 fine. IRS Criminal Investigation and the Office of the Texas Attorney General investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Henneke prosecuted it.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于德克萨斯州 Austin 的美国联邦法院大楼。Larry D. Moore 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The United States Courthouse in Austin, Texas. Photo by Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
