Altus, Oklahoma woman pleads guilty in New York to $43.8 million COVID-19 relief fraud scheme

OKLAHOMA Town (KFOR) – An Oklahoma lady pleaded responsible in New York to a plan to defraud the Paycheck Security Application (PPP) of tens of millions of bucks in COVID-19 reduction financial loans guaranteed by the Small Company Administration (SBA) beneath the Coronavirus Assist, Reduction, and Economic Safety (CARES) Act.

Amanda J. Gloria, 45, confessed to publishing at minimum 153 fraudulent PPP apps to acquire $43.8 million on behalf of at minimum 111 entities between Might 2020 and June 2021, in accordance to the U.S. Division of Justice.

Gloria claimed she falsified info on financial loan purposes, which includes worker quantities, payroll fees and documentation and federal tax filings. She then participated in publishing the fraudulent PPP purposes, according to DOJ officials.

“In overall, the recipient entities unlawfully attained about $32.5 million in PPP funds. From people fraudulently obtained cash, Gloria individually gained at minimum around $1.7 million,” DOJ officers reported.

Gloria confessed to conspiring with Adam D. Arena on a fraudulent PPP mortgage application trying to get roughly $954,000 for ADA Automobile Group LLC, a previously inactive Florida-primarily based business that Arena owned. Gloria directed Arena to launder the financial loan income, which integrated transferring just about $25,000 to a lender account held in the name of WildWest Trucking LLC, an Oklahoma-based mostly organization that Gloria owned.

She also admitted to fraudulently obtaining a $421,000 PPP financial loan for WildWest Trucking LLC, DOJ officers stated.

Gloria’s sentencing is scheduled for July 20. She faces up to 30 decades in prison for conspiracy to dedicate bank fraud and up to 10 a long time in jail for revenue laundering.

Arena pleaded responsible in November 2021 to a person count of conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud and one particular rely of participating in a monetary transaction with criminally derived proceeds in a related circumstance.