A Wilmington woman gets 31 months in federal prison in a CARES Act fraud case.
41-year-old Ana Soto was sentenced Tuesday for wire fraud and money laundering convictions.
Soto started to defraud the Small Business Administration and its authorized lenders days after the CARES Act was passed.
Between March 30, 2020 and January 24, 2021, she submitted about 17 fraudulent loan applications to obtain loans established by the CARES Act, including the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program.
The applications were made on behalf of five entities controlled by Soto or her close relations, and each falsely stated the amount of gross revenues, cost of goods sold, and number of employees.
Some even falsely claimed the businesses were in operation at the start of the pandemic. She obtained about $246,000 in loans. She also applied for and was denied an additional $500,000 in loans.
