U.S. Legal professional for the District of Puerto Rico, Stephen Muldrow, speaks throughout a information convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Aug. 17, 2020. (Ricardo Arduengo/AFP by way of Getty Pictures)
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—A federal grand jury in Puerto Rico has indicted six folks in an alleged fraudulent scheme involving $9 million in authorities pandemic funds, officers stated Wednesday.
The suspects, together with a banker, face expenses together with wire fraud and cash laundering, the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace stated.
“This case demonstrates the brazenness with which the defendants took benefit of federal applications meant to assist companies that had been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” U.S. Legal professional Stephen Muldrow stated.
Authorities accused the suspects of submitting greater than 270 mortgage purposes from April 2020 to April 2023 utilizing faux IDs, tax paperwork, payroll data, and financial institution data to illegally get hold of federal restoration funds.
Officers stated the U.S. authorities seized practically $850,000 in proceeds of the alleged scheme from an unnamed financial institution the place one of many suspects labored.
