PPP loan fraud: Houston brother, sister charged in $1.2M COVID relief fraud
HOUSTON - A brother and sister from the Houston area have been charged with submitting fraudulent COVID-19 relief loans, as announced by U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Jonathan Flores, 31, and Bianca April Flores, 29, are set to appear for their initial hearings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina A. Bryan on Wednesday afternoon.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of Texas, the indictment accuses both siblings of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud.
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Authorities say Jonathan and Bianca Flores submitted nine fake and fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans. The duo lied about the number of employees and the average monthly payroll expenses for the businesses applying, according to court documents.
The Flores siblings unlawfully received nearly $1.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds, officials said.
If convicted, each could face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, while wire fraud carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Those with information regarding attempted fraud related to COVID-19 are encouraged to report it by contacting the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or through the NCDF Web Complaint Form here.