Couple Charged with COVID-19 Loan Fraud Scheme(U.S.) 2023.6.30……【Attorney】【U.S.】美国新泽西州地区检察官办公室新闻稿
夫妇被指控犯有新冠肺炎 (COVID-19) 贷款欺诈骗局
2023 年 6 月 30 日星期五
新泽西州纽瓦克——美国检察官菲利普·R·塞林格 (Philip R. Sellinger) 今天宣布，新泽西州和德克萨斯州的一名男子和女子因涉嫌欺诈性获取总计约 79 万美元的经济伤害灾难贷款 (EIDL) 而在德克萨斯州被捕。
40 岁的戴安娜·瓦尔特利 (Diana Valteri) 和 42 岁的埃德蒙·哈克斯希拉里 (Edmond Haxhillari) 来自新泽西州斯巴达和德克萨斯州赛普里斯，被控一项电汇欺诈罪和一项洗钱罪。两人定于 2023 年 7 月 7 日在纽瓦克联邦法院美国治安法官杰西卡·S·艾伦 (Jessica S. Allen) 出庭。
根据本案提交的文件和法庭陈述：
Valteri 和 Haxhillari 是一对已婚夫妇，从 2020 年 6 月到 8 月，他们参与了一项欺诈骗局，以根据 EIDL 计划获得 79 万美元的 COVID-19 紧急救济贷款和现金预付款。Valteri 和 Haxhillari 代表几家企业提交了欺诈性贷款申请，这些企业声称拥有员工和收入，但实际上是没有实际业务运营的空壳公司。在因欺诈行为获得 EIDL 资金后，Valteri 和 Haxhillari 将所得款项用于谋取个人利益。
电汇欺诈罪最高可判处 20 年监禁，洗钱罪最高可判处 10 年监禁。每项指控还最高可处以 250,000 美元的罚款，即被告总收益或受害者总损失的两倍，以最高者为准。

PRESS RELEASE
Couple Charged with COVID-19 Loan Fraud Scheme
Friday, June 30, 2023

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey

NEWARK N.J. – A New Jersey and Texas man and woman were arrested in Texas on charges related to fraudulently obtaining Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) totaling approximately $790,000, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Diana Valteri, 40, and Edmond Haxhillari, 42, of Sparta, New Jersey, and Cypress, Texas, are charged by complaint with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Both are scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jessica S. Allen in Newark federal court on July 7, 2023.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Valteri and Haxhillari are a married couple who from June through August 2020, participated in a fraudulent scheme to receive $790,000 in COVID-19 emergency relief loans and cash advances meant for distressed small businesses under the EIDL program. Valteri and Haxhillari submitted fraudulent loan applications on behalf of several businesses that purported to have employees and revenue, but were actually shell companies with no actual business operations. After receiving the EIDL funds based on their fraud, Valteri and Haxhillari diverted the proceeds for their own personal gain.

The wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and the money laundering charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Each charge also carries a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain to the defendants or gross loss to the victim, whichever is greatest.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy; special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Tammy Tomlins; special agents of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Sharon MacDermott, and special agents from the Small Business Administration, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, Eastern Regional Office, with the investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Fatime Meka Cano of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Updated June 30, 2023