Filching Federal Relief Funds
RIVERSIDE (CNS) – Two women federally indicted for allegedly ripping off a financial assistance program intended to provide support for businesses suffering amid the COVID lockdowns, joining with others in stealing an estimated $3.5 million, were taken into custody Thursday in Riverside County.
Denise Mata, 34, of Moreno Valley and Vanessa M. Williams, 35, of Corona were arrested without incident on a 23-count indictment alleging wire fraud and other offenses. They were slated to make a joint initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Riverside Thursday afternoon.
Their fellow defendants, 33-year-old Mikhail G. Hoalim and 32-year-old Daryl D. Knighten Jr., are at large, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The indictment alleges the foursome stole from the Paycheck Protection Program, one of several grant and loan facilities established in 2020 when many businesses were forced to shut down or curtail operations because of the lockdowns.
According to the prosecution, between March and August 2021, the defendants conspired to submit fraudulent PPP applications for the direct benefit of themselves, relatives and friends.
“The defendants made false statements to the U.S. Small Business Administration and banks in connection with the fraudulent PPP loan applications,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated. “Each application falsely stated that the PPP loan applicant was self-employed and falsely certified that each loan would be used for permissible business purposes. Each loan application also contained fraudulent tax forms to deceive the SBA and PPP participating lenders into disbursing loan funds.”
Ultimately, over 100 individuals joined in the scam that the defendants conceived, prosecutors alleged.
“The lenders disbursed the PPP loan funds into bank accounts belonging to the defendants and their co-schemers,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “Co-schemers paid kickbacks to the defendants within days of receiving the fraudulently obtained PPP loan funds.”
The agency emphasized that the money was not utilized for legitimate business purposes, under the criteria established by the federal government.
“The defendants also submitted fraudulent documents to the SBA and lenders to obtain loan forgiveness for the illegally obtained PPP loans,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
If convicted, each defendant could receive up to 20 years in federal prison.
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