Amanda Gloria of Oklahoma, USA, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the US government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of over $43.8 million in COVID-19 relief loans. These loans are provided to eligible small businesses under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Between May 2020 and June 2021, Gloria conspired to submit 153 fraudulent PPP applications seeking over $43.8 million in the name of 111 entities. In these applications, she falsified (or helped falsify) details such as the number of employees, payroll expenses, federal tax filings, etc. She proceeded to submit (or helped submit) the fraudulent PPP applications, obtaining over $32.5 million in loans. Nearly $1.7 million of these illicit funds were received by Gloria.
Gloria also conspired with Adam Arena to submit a fraudulent PPP loan application of $954,000 for Arena’s company. When Arena successfully received the loan funds, Gloria directed him to launder the proceeds through an Oklahoma-based business that she owned and controlled, among other means. Moreover, Gloria had fraudulently obtained a separate PPP loan of over $421,000 for this business. Gloria will receive her sentence on July 20, 2022.
Source: US Department of Justice
