EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — An El Paso woman was arrested for allegedly defrauding a federal Covid-19 relief program, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas said.
According to court documents, Araceli Benitez, 46, was the owner of an insurance and tax services company and a home health services company.
Between April 2020 and Dec. 31, 2022, she allegedly submitted fraudulent loan applications and requests for fund disbursement to the Paycheck Protection Program. The PPP is a federal Covid-19 pandemic relief program administered by the Small Business Administration.
Benitez allegedly submitted 156 loan applications totaling more than $2.3 million, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The indictment, filed Jan. 22, alleges Benitez attracted and induced clients to hire her to apply for PPP loans through paid radio commercials and social media — usually in Spanish, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
She allegedly sent and caused to be sent to a credit union PPP loan applications that contained misrepresentations and omissions, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Without her clients’ knowledge, Benitez allegedly included false federal income tax documentation, false information about her clients’ businesses, and false information about her clients’ need and qualifications, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Benitez was arrested March 7 and is charged with seven counts of wire fraud; eight counts of bank fraud; two counts of money laundering; one count of structuring transactions to evade reporting requirement; two counts of aggravated identity theft; and one count of false or fictitious claims, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
If convicted, she faces up to 30 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigations are investigating the case.
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