Los Angeles Woman Charged in $18 Million COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme Involving PPP and EIDL Loans
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on November 4 that a federal grand jury in the Central District of California returned an indictment on November 3 charging Marisela Nuno, 53, of Los Angeles, California, with an $18 million scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, federal stimulus programs authorized as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
According to court documents, Nuno allegedly obtained funds under the PPP and EIDL programs by submitting false and fraudulent loan applications that collectively sought over $15.7 million in PPP funds and over $2.6 million in EIDL funds.
Nuno is charged with three counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count of wire fraud and 10 years in prison on the money laundering count.
The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division; Special Agent in Charge Robert Molvar of the FBI's Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Darren Lian of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS CI) Los Angeles Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Timothy Larson of the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA OIG). The FBI Los Angeles Field Office, IRS CI, and SBA OIG investigated the case. Trial Attorney Ariel Glasner of the Fraud Division and Trial Attorney Edward Emokpae of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国司法部罗伯特·肯尼迪大楼。APK 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building. Photo by APK, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
