Fourteen defendants – including San Fernando Valley and Glendale residents – were arrested on two federal criminal complaints alleging they fraudulently obtained more than $25 million in taxpayer-funded COVID-19 relief funds and federally-guaranteed small business loans.

The 18 total defendants named in the complaints – four defendants are believed to be in Armenia – are charged with conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims; false, fictitious or fraudulent claims; wire fraud and attempted wire fraud; bank fraud and attempted bank fraud; money laundering conspiracy; laundering of monetary instruments; engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity; and/or structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements.

  The defendants arrested on Wednesday include: 

• A 42-year-old man from Tujunga who allegedly orchestrated a scheme to defraud numerous banks and the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Preferred Lender Program, a program designed to help small businesses that otherwise might not obtain financing. He allegedly directed owners of sham corporations to open bank accounts, make false statements and concoct documents, including phony resumes and financial statements, to support loan applications to buy other sham corporations. He allegedly paid for phony tax returns that falsely reported millions in revenue and tens of thousands in taxes due and owing. The man, whose alleged criminal activity lasted from 2018 until January 2025, then allegedly directed the laundering of millions in fraud proceeds through various bank accounts.
• A  37-year-old man from Glendale who allegedly, among other offenses, submitted a false application and bogus documents to obtain a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which provided low-interest, forgivable loans to help small businesses retain their workforce and cover expenses. He allegedly applied in April 2021 on behalf of a fake business that received more than $700,000 in PPP funds.
• A 32-year-old female of Van Nuys, together with co-defendants the Tujunga man and a 48-year-old man from Panorama City, in May 2021 allegedly defrauded a bank by representing the nonexistent sale of a sham business to another sham company to obtain an approximately $3 million federally guaranteed loan through the SBA’s Preferred Lending Program.
• A 77-year-old man from North Hollywood who in January 2023 allegedly made false statements and submitted fraudulent documents, including fake tax returns that falsely reported that his shell company, Canmar Promo, earned millions of dollars annually and owed tens of thousands in federal income taxes. He allegedly obtained more than $2 million in government-guaranteed funds earmarked to help small businesses.
• A 47-year-old man from Pacoima who in June 2023 allegedly fraudulently obtained more than $5 million in SBA loans via the submission of false statements and the submission of fake documents, including bogus tax returns. After the loans were obtained, he and his co-schemers in November 2023 allegedly laundered the money, including sending at least $100,000 to a co-schemer in Armenia.

As a result of Wednesday’s takedown, law enforcement seized approximately $20,000 in cash, two money-counting machines, paper cash bands or currency straps in denominations of $2,000 and $10,000, multiple cellphones, multiple laptops, two loaded semi-automatic 9mm handguns and boxes of 9mm ammunition.

“Today’s enforcement action is intended to send a message to all criminals who take advantage of government programs designed to help those who need them most,” said United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “If you took COVID-19 or SBA money you weren’t entitled to your door could be the next one we visit. Together with our law enforcement partners, my office will aggressively prosecute individuals who cheat the system meant to protect and support law-abiding citizens.”

A criminal complaint contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, each defendant would face a statutory maximum sentence of decades in federal prison.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Dept. of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.