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BOSTON – Two men were arrested for allegedly submitting fraudulent information in an effort to obtain loans through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program.

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.

CAMDEN, N.J. – Three individuals were indicted for their roles in fraudulently obtaining approximately $5 million of federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and for laundering the loan proceeds.

BOSTON – A Haverhill man was arrested and charged today in connection with a Massachusetts Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claim he filed in 2020 for a man who was living in Brazil and who has since been charged with migrant smuggling, among other offenses.

Nnamdi Iheanacho has been indicted on federal charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering conspiracy, and concealment money laundering for stealing COVID-19 relief funds and federal tax refunds based on fraud and identity theft.

SAN DIEGO –Eduard Buse and Florentina Sima pleaded guilty in federal court today to fraud and money laundering charges, admitting they participated in a scheme to steal more than $5 million in California unemployment benefits intended to help workers affected by the pandemic.

Austin Martin Siampwizi, who laundered money procured from fraudulent unemployment claims filed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, has pleaded guilty to a charge of money laundering conspiracy.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, Albert Childress, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, and Francisco B. Burrola, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations El Paso, announced today that Jacqueline Rascon-Chacon, Bryan Gardea, and Ricardo Landeros were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of bank fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.

As part of a coordinated nationwide effort to fight COVID-19 fraud, the Southern District of Georgia has taken action against individuals who illegally obtained nearly $11 million in funds intended to help struggling small businesses during the global pandemic.