Gate News reports that on March 19, a rideshare driver in Los Angeles, USA, was arrested at San Francisco International Airport for allegedly fraudulently obtaining over $2 million in COVID-19 business relief loans and using the funds to purchase cryptocurrencies. He faces federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering.
According to charges disclosed by the U.S. Central District of California Federal Prosecutor’s Office, 34-year-old Los Angeles resident Bruce Choi, a resident of Koreatown, falsely claimed to be the CEO and owner of a fictitious company called “Premier Republic” to submit a fraudulent economic injury disaster loan application, successfully deceiving authorities into granting approximately $2 million in relief funds. Prosecutors noted that Premier Republic “has no actual business operations and has not employed anyone.”
Choi then transferred the obtained funds into a CEX account to buy cryptocurrencies. During the investigation, federal prosecutors seized nearly 40 BTC and other cryptocurrencies. In terms of sentencing, if convicted, Choi could face up to 30 years in prison for each wire fraud charge and up to 10 years for money laundering.
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