Couple Charged with COVID-19 Loan Fraud Scheme
Summary
A press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey dated Friday, June 30, 2023, announcing that Diana Valteri, 40, and Edmond Haxhillari, 42, of Sparta, New Jersey, and Cypress, Texas, were arrested in Texas and charged by complaint with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. It states that the charges concern fraudulently obtaining Economic Injury Disaster Loans totaling approximately $790,000. It states that both were scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jessica S. Allen in Newark on July 7, 2023. The release number is 23-194.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Full text
Press Release Couple Charged with COVID-19 Loan Fraud Scheme Friday, June 30, 2023 For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Jersey NEWARK N.J. – A New Jersey and Texas man and woman were arrested in Texas on charges related to fraudulently obtaining Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) totaling approximately $790,000, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today. Diana Valteri, 40, and Edmond Haxhillari, 42, of Sparta, New Jersey, and Cypress, Texas, are charged by complaint with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Both are scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jessica S. Allen in Newark federal court on July 7, 2023. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: Valteri and Haxhillari are a married couple who from June through August 2020, participated in a fraudulent scheme to receive $790,000 in COVID-19 emergency relief loans and cash advances meant for distressed small businesses under the EIDL program. Valteri and Haxhillari submitted fraudulent loan applications on behalf of several businesses that purported to have employees and revenue, but were actually shell companies with no actual business operations. After receiving the EIDL funds based on their fraud, Valteri and Haxhillari diverted the proceeds for their own personal gain. The wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and the money laundering charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Each charge also carries a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain to the defendants or gross loss to the victim, whichever is greatest. U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy; special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Tammy Tomlins; special agents of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Sharon MacDermott, and special agents from the Small Business Administration, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, Eastern Regional Office, with the investigation leading to the charges. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Fatime Meka Cano of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form . The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. valteri.complaint.pdf (210.71 KB) Updated June 30, 2023 Topic Coronavirus Component USAO - New Jersey Press Release Number: 23-194 Related Content Press Release New York Man Charged with Fraudulently Obtaining More Than $1 Million NEWARK, N.J. B A New York man was arrested this morning on charges he fraudulently obtained more than $1 million in a COVID-19 scheme. August 10, 2023 Press Release Two New York Men Admit Fentanyl Distribution NEWARK, NJ. – Two New York men today admitted their roles in a fentanyl distribution conspiracy, and one of the men also admitted conspiring with seven separately charged individuals to... August 9, 2023 Press Release New Jersey Tax Preparer Arrested for Fraudulently Seeking over $124 Million in COVID-19 Employment Tax Credits NEWARK N.J. – A New Jersey tax preparer was arrested today for fraudulently seeking more than $124 million from the IRS by filing over 1,000 false tax forms claiming COVID-19-related... July 31, 2023
File and source
- File
- usao-nj-pr-couple-charged-covid-19-loan-fraud-scheme.html
- Size
- 123,960 bytes
- SHA-256
- b1546f32ef0631673e0cec0b21359b9bd57dd4c4ce7f2aa6e7f892fcb3f91d66
- Original
- www.justice.gov