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An indictment was unsealed yesterday in the Northern District of Texas charging two co-founders of Blueacorn, a lender service provider, in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain COVID-19 relief money guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

On Nov. 8, a federal jury convicted Lazaro Verdecia Hernandez, 37, and Yadier Rodriguez Arteaga, 41, both of Miami, of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering, in connection with a scheme to obtain fraudulent loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Verdecia was also convicted of wire fraud.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida remains a leader in COVID-19 pandemic relief prosecutions, holding a range of actors accountable for these crimes. Over this summer alone, the district has charged 17 individuals with COVID-19 relief fraud cases, with scheme amounts totaling over $21 million.

A federal superseding indictment was unsealed Monday in the District of Oregon charging an Arizona man and three associates for conspiring with one another and others to devise and carry out a scheme that attempted to defraud the U.S. Small Business Administration out of at least $178 million in loans intended to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

LAS VEGAS – A federal jury convicted a Nevada man Wednesday for defrauding three banks of more than $11.2 million in COVID-19 pandemic relief funds intended to help small businesses impacted by the pandemic.

A Carrollton man has been charged with federal violations related to a COVID-19 fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.

Anuli Okeke, the former vice president and manager of a New York branch of Popular Bank was convicted yesterday afternoon by a federal jury in Brooklyn of all four counts of an indictment charging her with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering conspiracy. The charges arose out of a scheme the defendant led to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars from the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BOSTON – Bankrupt lender Kabbage, Inc. d/b/a KServicing, has agreed to resolve allegations that it knowingly submitted thousands of false claims for loan forgiveness, loan guarantees, and processing fees to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as part of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA).

BOSTON – A Brockton man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for a scheme to submit false applications to obtain Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL) funds through the Small Business Administration (SBA) that were made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.