A New York man and an Oklahoma woman were arrested on Wednesday in Buffalo, New York, and Altus, Oklahoma, on a criminal complaint filed in the Western District of New York.
As per the court documents, Adam D. Arena, (aged 44, of Buffalo, New York) and Amanda J. Gloria, (aged 44, of Altus, Oklahoma) allegedly obtained and laundered $1 million in funds received from the COVID-19 relief Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), during May 2020 to October 2020.
Arena and Gloria were found to have submitted a falsified loan application to an SBA-approved participating lender on basis of a defunct business called ADA Auto Group LLC, and used the funds obtained from this loan for the personal purchase of two cars.
The charges levied on Arena are one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to engage in monetary transactions with criminally derived proceeds, one substantive count of bank fraud, and three substantive counts of engaging in monetary transactions with criminally derived proceeds. Similarly, Gloria is charged on one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, one count of conspiring to engage in financial transactions with criminally derived proceeds, one substantive count of bank fraud, and another substantive count of engaging in monetary transactions with criminally derived proceeds.
Arena made his initial court appearance on Wednesday and Gloria before the court on Friday, and if convicted, they both face a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for the substantive charge of bank fraud and a maximum of 10-year imprisonment for each conspiracy and substantive count of engaging in financial transactions with criminally derived proceeds. A federal district court judge will decide the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
