USA v. Cisternino — U.S. District Court, M.D. Fla., Orlando Division

Case summary

Don V. Cisternino was prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division, No. 6:21-cr-00016. The factual basis to his plea agreement states that he fraudulently obtained a $7.2 million Paycheck Protection Program loan by falsely claiming that his New York company, MagnifiCo Inc., had 441 employees and an average monthly payroll of $2.9 million. On September 20, 2022 he pleaded guilty to Counts Two, Three and Eight of the indictment — wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343, aggravated identity theft under 18 U.S.C. § 1028A and illegal monetary transaction under 18 U.S.C. § 1957. On January 11, 2023 Judge Wendy W. Berger imposed 102 months' imprisonment, three years of supervised release, a $300 special assessment and restitution of $7,445,855.89 to the Small Business Administration. Counts One, Four, Five, Six and Seven were dismissed.

Case at a glance

What was Cisternino sentenced to?

One hundred and two months, consisting of a 78-month term as to Counts Two and Eight concurrent with each other and a 24-month term as to Count Three to be served consecutive to all other counts, followed by three years of supervised release — three years as to Counts Two and Eight and one year as to Count Three, concurrent.

What does the factual basis say about the loan?

That Cisternino fraudulently obtained a $7.2 million Paycheck Protection Program loan by falsely claiming that his New York company, MagnifiCo Inc., had 441 employees and an average monthly payroll of $2.9 million.

What happened after the sentence?

The Office of the Federal Defender entered an appearance in May 2025 under the court's omnibus order in re Amendment 821, for the purpose of seeking a reduction of sentence under that amendment. No ruling on such a motion appears on this page.

Summary written from the documents on this page; every sentence is sourced.