Five residents of the Rio Grande Valley have been indicted on charges of wire fraud related to alleged misuse of federal pandemic relief programs, according to U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Authorities recently arrested Sandra Pope Solis, 60, of Rancho Viejo, and Lesley Chavez, 42, of Edinburg. Both are scheduled for initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker at 10 a.m. Rolando Santiago Benitez, 51, of Harlingen, is set for a detention hearing at 1:30 p.m., while Bernardo Gomez Jr., 46, of Edinburg, and Edgar De La Garza, 45, of Brownsville had previously appeared in federal court.
The eight-count indictment alleges that from June 2020 through November 2021 the five individuals submitted fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds through the Small Business Administration (SBA). These loan programs were designed to help small businesses maintain payroll and cover other business costs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to authorities, the defendants allegedly altered or created falsified tax and business documents to inflate loan amounts. These documents were then submitted with their applications. Once approved, each individual allegedly used the funds for personal expenses rather than legitimate business needs.
The indictment states that the scheme resulted in losses totaling $685,800.
If convicted on all counts, each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison and a possible maximum fine of $250,000.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and SBA - Office of Inspector General with support from the Texas Department of Insurance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Fry is prosecuting the case.
The COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force was created by the Department of Justice in partnership with other agencies to strengthen efforts against pandemic-related fraud by coordinating investigations and prosecutions and helping prevent future fraudulent activity. More information about these efforts can be found at https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus and https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus/combatingfraud.
Members of the public who have information regarding attempted COVID-19 fraud can report it using the National Center for Disaster Fraud’s online complaint form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
"An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law."
