Timothy T. Duax U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa
A former worker at a meatpacking plant in Algona, Iowa, was found guilty of fraud related to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yovany Ciero, 48, from Mason City, Iowa, and originally from Cuba, Colombia, and Venezuela, was convicted on May 8 after a four-day trial in Sioux City federal court.
Ciero faced charges including three counts of wire fraud, 23 counts of money laundering, one count of engaging in a monetary transaction with property derived from unlawful activity, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The jury reached its verdict after about three and a half hours of deliberation.
Evidence presented at the trial revealed that Ciero previously served as a sergeant in the Cuban military before entering the United States nearly two decades ago. In 2020, while employed at an Algona meatpacking plant during the pandemic's onset, he participated in acquiring fraudulent PPP loans. These loans were falsely claimed under the guise that he and over 100 other Cuban immigrants were self-employed individuals earning around $100,000 annually in 2019.
Ciero acted as one of six "bundlers" within this fraudulent scheme. His responsibilities included recruiting participants and collecting their personal information for loan applications submitted under false pretenses. The scheme resulted in over $4 million worth of fraudulent loan applications being filed and caused government losses exceeding $2.4 million.
Once applicants received their funds—typically $20,000 each—Ciero functioned as a "funnel" within a money laundering conspiracy by collecting fees for the organizers. He also secured two fraudulent PPP loans for himself and his partner, using most of these funds to purchase a semi-truck.
This conviction marks Ciero as the sixth former Iowa meatpacking plant worker implicated in this PPP scheme. Sentencing will be determined following preparation of a presentence report by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Until then, Ciero remains free on bond but faces potential life imprisonment along with fines exceeding $10 million and supervised release post-incarceration.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy L. Vavricek and Daniel A. Chatham with investigations conducted by multiple agencies including the Small Business Administration - Office of Inspector General; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation - Office of Inspector General; Homeland Security Investigations; Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Storm Lake Police Department.
