E. Martin Estrada, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California
A federal law enforcement officer has been detained following allegations of fraudulently securing COVID-19 business-relief loans for fictitious businesses. The United States Customs and Border Protection officer, Amer Aldarawsheh, aged 45 from Moreno Valley, has been indicted on five counts of wire fraud, as announced by the Justice Department.
On Wednesday, Aldarawsheh was arrested and subsequently pleaded not guilty to all charges during his arraignment in a United States District Court in Los Angeles. He has been released on a $30,000 bond, and a follow-up court appearance has been scheduled for June 16 in Riverside.
The indictment, revealed on Wednesday, accuses Aldarawsheh of owning two companies: Nahar Enterprises Inc., a trucking and freight business located in San Bernardino, and Ameral, purportedly an automotive repair company. The indictment suggests that these businesses were used to falsely claim nearly $150,000 from the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL), a provision under the CARES Act of 2020, which was designated to aid small businesses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
From July 2020 to December 2021, Aldarawsheh is accused of deceitful statements to the Small Business Administration (SBA) to gain the EIDL loans for his companies, which allegedly lacked substantial operations and employees. The funds, meant strictly for authorized business expenses, were reportedly misappropriated for personal use, specifically referenced in December 2020, when $149,900 was claimed to have been transferred to a bank account under Aldarawsheh’s control.
It is reiterated in the proceedings that an indictment solely represents an allegation, and Aldarawsheh, like all defendants, is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. If convicted, he could be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in federal prison per count.
This case is under investigation by the United States Customs and Border Protection Office of Professional Responsibility, the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution is led by Assistant United States Attorneys Laura A. Alexander and Michael J. Morse from the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section.
