A Massachusetts woman who owns a tax preparation firm has been jailed for bank fraud and a $2.1 million covid relief scam.
Massachusetts pharmacist sentenced to 15 years in prison for causing meningitis
According to the Department of Justice, 42-year-old Luz Paulino owned Agape Financial Services, a Lowell-based company that provides tax preparation and notary services. They filed false and misleading federal tax returns for the 2019 calendar year using the stolen identities, names and Social Security numbers of individuals.
The Department of Justice says it covered it up by saying the results were prepared by two former Agape employees. The fraudulent returns were then used to recover advance loans in the victims’ names and then cash out loan checks using false identification documents and forged signatures.
Paulino stole the identities of people in California, Michigan, Indiana, and elsewhere to apply to the SBA for $2.1 million in Covid-19 Emergency Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). They submitted applications between June 2020 and October 2021, listing fictitious companies facing loss of revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic.
She used the money to buy a 2020 Cadillac for $86,000 and wire more than $395,000 to a jewelry business in the Dominican Republic, among other expenses.
Paulino was indicted in a criminal complaint in December 2019 and indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2021. While on pretrial release, she left the United States, spent 19 months on the run, and was returned to the US by Panamanian authorities.
#Massachusetts #woman #years #prison #million #covid #relief #fraud
2024-10-15 21:40:00
