Federal prosecutors said an Oklahoma woman who was part of a scheme to defraud more than $32 million from a Covid relief fund designed to keep companies afloat pleaded guilty Wednesday.
The Department of Justice said in a statement that Amanda J.
She was accused in June of helping a New York man obtain a nearly $1 million loan through the Paycheck Protection Program, using false payrolls and other documents.
It also filed for and received about $421,000 from the Pandemic Relief Program using a trucking company it owns but has not been active since 2017, according to the Department of Justice and court documents linked to the million dollar case.
The Justice Department said Gloria admitted Wednesday that she conspired to file at least 153 fraudulent PPP applications on behalf of 111 entities from May 2020 to June 2021.
The Department of Justice said in a report that the entities illegally obtained about $32.5 million in PPP funds, taking in $1.7 million. statment. Gloria said she admitted that she had falsified and assisted in falsifying the information in the allegations and then either self-presented or assisted.
Gloria’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night.
The documents relating to the guilty plea did not appear to be available online Wednesday night.
In the Million Dollar Case, Gloria conspired with Adam Arena of Little Valley, New York, to apply for a PPP loan of $954.00 that was to go to the Arena business.
The loan was granted, even though Arena’s car group company hasn’t had any employees and hasn’t been active since 2018. Then Arena paid Gloria about $24,000, according to court documents in his case.
Arena pleaded guilty in November to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and another count relating to illegally obtained financial transactions, according to the Justice Department.
The Paycheck Protection Program offered cancelable loans as part of the massive Congressional Covid-19 relief program, which was first passed in 2020. It was intended to help businesses stay afloat during the pandemic.
It was part of the CARES Act, which Congress passed in March 2020, when the pandemic closed businesses, schools and large parts of the rest of daily life in the United States.
The Justice Department said Gloria, who is due to be sentenced on July 20, faces up to 40 years in prison.
The Arena has yet to be judged. Prosecutors demanded a sentence of at least 63 months, or five years and three months, according to court documents in his case.
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