The final defendant in a multi-million-dollar COVID-19 relief fraud case made his first appearance in federal court in Miami on Thursday, completing the trio of men charged with conspiring to defraud the U.S. government through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
Guillermo Lopez Carrazana, Christian Mendoza, and Max Alberto Mera Ulloa—all residents of Miami-Dade County—are accused of participating in a scheme to submit over 165 fraudulent PPP loan applications between May 2020 and March 2021, according to an indictment unsealed this week.
The federal charges allege that the three men conspired to obtain more than $6.5 million in pandemic relief funds, intended to help struggling small businesses stay afloat during the height of the COVID-19 crisis. The PPP loans were administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) under the CARES Act.
According to prosecutors, Mendoza, a tax preparer, and the other defendants owned or operated several businesses, including G LUX LLC, Global Tax & Accounting Group Corp, CM Logistics Systems LLC, and Max Mera Corporation. These entities were allegedly used to file loan applications that grossly misrepresented payroll and employee information, securing large sums of taxpayer money under false pretenses.
The indictment also details a kickback scheme, in which the defendants are accused of offering and accepting payments to refer additional individuals into the fraudulent loan operation. Rather than using the funds for legitimate business expenses, the defendants and their co-conspirators allegedly used the money for personal enrichment.
“The Paycheck Protection Program was designed to help small businesses weather the economic storm of the pandemic—not to serve as a slush fund for fraudsters,” said U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida in a statement.
The case is being investigated by the FBI Miami Field Office and IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Cruz handling the prosecution.
If convicted, the defendants could face significant prison time for their roles in defrauding a critical pandemic-era relief program.
