A Bozeman woman has pleaded guilty to federal charges related to fraudulently obtaining relief funds, according to U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme.
Alaina Marie Garcia, 24, admitted guilt to one count of bank fraud and one count of money laundering. The bank fraud charge carries a possible sentence of up to 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 million, and five years of supervised release. The money laundering charge could result in up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided over the plea hearing. Sentencing is scheduled for May 20, 2026 before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen. Garcia was released with conditions while awaiting further proceedings.
According to court documents, on May 5, 2020, Garcia applied for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan through Celtic Bank as an authorized representative of Bluebird Property Rentals LLC—a company she controlled. In her application for $613,000, Garcia falsely claimed that the business had paid payroll taxes and employed 32 people with an average monthly payroll expense of $245,533. Investigators determined these statements were false; the company had no employees and had never paid payroll tax.
The government stated that these misrepresentations affected both Garcia’s eligibility for the loan and the amount received: "Both of these fraudulent statements were material as they effected Garcia’s eligibility to receive the loan and the amount she received. Without these fraudulent statements, the loan would not have been issued."
Garcia also agreed in her application that funds would be used “to retain workers and maintain payroll or make mortgage interest payments, lease payments, and utility payments, as specified under the Paycheck Protection Program Rule.” However, prosecutors said she spent most of the money on personal expenses—including purchasing a large property in Bozeman—and transferred $548,000 from the loan proceeds to Axilon Law Group as part of this real estate transaction.
On July 25, 2020, Garcia sought forgiveness for the PPP loan by again falsely claiming qualified use of funds: "To obtain forgiveness, Garcia falsely claimed to have used the funds for qualified expenses including payroll and business mortgage interest payments. None of these statements were true."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin Rubich prosecuted the case. The Internal Revenue Service and Small Business Administration conducted the investigation.
