U.S. border agent is charged in COVID-19 business loan fraud scheme, authorities say
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer was arrested after he allegedly used two sham businesses to illegally request and receive nearly $150,000 from a COVID-19 pandemic relief program intended for small-business owners, authorities said this week.
Amer Aldarawsheh, 45, was indicted Wednesday on five counts of wire fraud. He is accused of intentionally misleading the U.S. Small Business Administration and mishandling loan funds, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
He has pleaded not guilty.
In 2020 and 2021, prosecutors say, the Moreno Valley man applied for loans under the SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loan program on behalf of two businesses: Nahar Enterprises Inc., which was described as a San Bernardino-based trucking and freight company; and Ameral, a purported automotive repair company.
However, investigators later found that neither company had "substantial business or employees," according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office.
Read more: San Diego restaurant owners charged with COVID-relief fraud, money laundering
"Aldarawsheh knowingly misappropriated and misused the EIDL funds he received from the SBA for his own personal benefit," federal prosecutors alleged in the statement, citing a December 2020 transfer of almost $150,000 in loan funds to a bank account they said was "under his control."
Aldarawsheh, who is facing a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison, was released on $30,000 bond, authorities said. A representative from U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to a request for comment about his employment status.
The Small Business Administration has estimated that, in an effort to more quickly distribute relief, it gave out more than $200 billion in potentially fraudulent funds through its COVID-19-era disaster loan programs.
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Why Nebius Group Rocketed 62% Higher in May
Nebius Group is one of the premier AI "neoclouds." It reported first-quarter earnings in May, with triple-digit hypergrowth, albeit off a small base. The company also invested in Toloka, a Jeff Bezos-funded AI data start-up. 10 stocks we like better than Nebius Group › Shares of up-and-coming "neocloud" Nebius Group (NASDAQ: NBIS) rocketed 61.7% in May, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Nebius was formerly known as Yandex, the "Russian Google." However, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the dawn of the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, the company divested its Russian assets and changed its name to Nebius Group in August 2024, with the goal of becoming an AI neocloud based in Europe. In May, Nebius reported its first-quarter 2025 results, showing strong hypergrowth, albeit off a very low base, due to its change in business model. Nebius also invested in a Jeff Bezos-backed AI start-up, perhaps adding to the enthusiasm. The strong results, which came on a generally very good month for AI tech companies, propelled Nebius to new heights. While Nebius' revenue is still quite small, it is just deploying all the cash it received from its divestments into new AI data centers adorned with Nebius' proprietary infrastructure servers. In his letter to shareholders, CEO Arkady Volozh noted that in the span of just three quarters, the company has expanded from one data center in Finland to now five across Europe, the U.S., and the Middle East. In the first quarter, Nebius grew revenue by 385% to $55.3 million, while adjusted (non-GAAP) net losses per share deepened by only 19%. Meanwhile, the company's annualized recurring revenue (ARR) grew at an even higher rate than revenue, up a whopping 684% to $249 million. Investors were also able to get a good sense of the company's future profit potential. While revenue grew 385%, Nebius' total gross, depreciation, and operating costs combined grew by only 96%. Given the strong results, on top of a strong recovery in AI tech stocks following the May 12 U.S.-China rollback of tariffs, it's no wonder Nebius had a strong month. In addition, on May 9, Nebius made a strategic majority investment in Toloka, an AI data solutions start-up backed by both Bezos Expeditions and Mikhail Parakhin, CTO of Shopify (NASDAQ: SHOP). Toloka is a best-in-class expert data provider, drawing from experts in over 50 fields, and is a generator of synthetic data. The company already counts top AI clouds as clients, which use Toloka's data to power their large language models. Not only did Nebius have a fine May, but it also skyrocketed another 29.4% in June, after London-based Arete Research analyst Andrew Beale initiated coverage on the stock with a whopping $84 price target -- more than double the stock's price at the time. Like peer CoreWeave, it appears Nebius is also at the front of the line when receiving Nvidia reference design systems. That should pave the way for continued strong growth. Still, with an $11.4 billion market cap, or 45 times its current ARR, Nebius' recent skyrocketing stock price appears to reflect a lot of this hypergrowth already. That being said, Arete Research's analyst apparently thinks its growth trajectory justifies that sky-high valuation -- and then some. Before you buy stock in Nebius Group, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Nebius Group wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Billy Duberstein and/or his clients have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nebius Group, Nvidia, and Shopify. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Nebius Group Rocketed 62% Higher in May was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
See Purdue's 50-year plan to transform downtown Indianapolis campus with high-rises
Over the next 50 years, Purdue University plans to transform its downtown Indianapolis campus into an urban hub with high-rise buildings hosting up to 15,000 students, according to a new master plan. Today, Purdue's 28-acre sliver of land wedged between Indiana Avenue and Michigan Street on downtown's west side — roughly the same acreage as the parcel on which Lucas Oil Stadium and its south parking lot sit — is home to three parking garages and five expansive parking lots. A conceptual master plan approved by Purdue's Board of Trustees June 6 envisions 16 new buildings on that site, featuring 4.5 million square feet and about 3,500 student beds. With leasing agreements at nearby apartments, Purdue expects to offer students more than 5,300 beds downtown. The plan foresees an increase in Purdue's student enrollment in Indianapolis from about 2,800 in fall 2024 to 15,000 by fall 2075. Despite the dense development, the plan sets aside about 60% of the downtown acreage for open spaces where students can gather and walk, according to Maryland-based architecture firm Ayers Saint Gross, which designed the 50-year master plan. Construction on the campus' main building, the 15-story Academic Success Building near the intersection of West and Michigan streets, began this April. The $187 million facility with classrooms, lab space, dining halls and student housing will be complete around May 2027. The long-term plan comes as Purdue and Indiana University in Indianapolis jostle for position on the west side of downtown following the 2024 split of the two schools' joint urban campus, IUPUI. As Purdue updates its plans, IU has allotted hundreds of millions of dollars to build multiple major facilities, including an 11-story School of Medicine building and a 4,500-seat athletics center, on its downtown campus in the next few years. IUPUI split: Indiana Ave. fell as IUPUI rose. After Purdue and IU split, can they help renew the Avenue? After the IUPUI division, IU retains most of the 536-acre downtown campus and enrolled more than 25,000 students in fall 2024. IU also owns the 28-acre wedge of land where Purdue will expand between Indiana Avenue to the north, Michigan Street to the south and Blake Street to the west. Purdue has signed a 100-year lease to use the property. Purdue is expanding into Indiana's capital city in part to ease the strain on housing and other facilities at the West Lafayette campus, which now enrolls an all-time high of more than 55,000 students. University leaders have also announced partnerships with Indianapolis-based science and engineering firms like animal health company Elanco and race car manufacturer Dallara. 'Rather than a single hub, Purdue is weaving into the fabric of the city's innovation and industry corridors," David Umulis, Purdue's senior vice provost for Indianapolis, said in a statement, "expanding from downtown all the way to the northwest side of Indianapolis." Email IndyStar Reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@ Follow him on X: @jordantsmith09 This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: What's in Purdue's 50-year plan for downtown Indianapolis campus
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Debate heats up as Ocean City wind farm moves forward
The Maryland Department of the Environment has made a final determination to approve permits for Baltimore-based US Wind Inc. to build the first large-scale offshore wind project near Ocean City. According to MDE, 'The proposed construction and commissioning of the offshore wind project would not cause violations of any applicable air pollution control regulations.' The decision, issued Friday, is the latest move in a multi-year, controversial effort to bring the plan to fruition. U.S. Wind has proposed 114 turbines that would be about 11 miles from shore at their closest, according to documents filed by the company with the Maryland Public Service Commission. The project would deliver 1,710 megawatts with turbines about 10 miles from Ocean City, according to its Maryland PSC application. The build-out would occur in several phases, with the first turbines intended for operation in 2028, according to the commission document. Opponents of the project, who include Ocean City Mayor Richard Meehan, argue that the wind farms could harm the environment and wildlife, degrade air quality and damage the region's tourism economy by marring the beach view. 'It is unconscionable to believe that the Maryland Department of Environment is ignoring pre-established permitting deadlines and fundamentally ignoring every shred of feedback offered by those who will be directly involved if this poorly conceived and potentially disastrous offshore wind project is allowed to move forward,' Meehan said in a statement Friday, following the MDE decision. 'The entire economy of our coastal resort town is dependent on tourism, our eco system, and commercial fishing, all of which will be significantly impacted if hundreds of these giant eyesores are constructed 10 miles from our beaches.' In October, the town of Ocean City filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the wind farm that is closest to beginning construction along its shoreline. The ongoing suit alleges that the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management violated federal law when it approved the construction plan for US Wind's project. There are several groups circulating petitions against the wind farms, including nonprofit Save Ocean City and Indian River High School Engineering Students Class Of 2025 & 2026. Ocean City resident Spencer Rowe said he is concerned about the environmental impact of the wind farms. 'In my experience, more and more people are starting to question the proposed wind farms, although many of them are not motivated enough to sign [petitions],' Rowe said in an email to The Baltimore Sun. 'Traveling [around] town, one sees a lot of bumper stickers and restaurant signs displaying opposition messages. I talk to a lot of people about this, and nearly everyone is opposed now that they are learning more about all the detrimental impacts, both to the offshore environment and to our priceless viewshed.' Maryland has made significant investments in wind energy in recent years. The US Wind project is projected to create 13,000 jobs and net more than $6 billion in economic benefits. For fiscal year 2025 alone, $5 million was allocated to build a wind energy workforce and supply chain. Under state law, Maryland must reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2045. The state also aims to develop up to 8,500 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2031. Despite some expressing environmental and economic concerns, others continue to support the development of offshore wind farms. In a letter to The Sun, Berlin resident Larry Austin Ryan outlined 10 reasons why people should not sign a petition recently sponsored by the Town of Ocean City to push wind turbines more than 26 miles off Maryland's coast. 'Wind power is the fastest growing energy industry in the world! Jobs in wind turbine technology are also one of the fastest growing areas of employment in living wage jobs,' Ryan wrote. 'The Ocean City area is guaranteed 60 jobs and there will be many more jobs in Salisbury and Baltimore in the manufacture and distribution of wind turbines and their components. With the addition of this many jobs, more visitors will have more discretionary income allowing them to enjoy the fruits of their labor in Ocean City.' 'Electricity produced by offshore wind will supply more than 750,000 homes and businesses on the Eastern shore,' Ryan added. 'It will ensure a large-scale improvement of our already inadequate electrical grid here on the shore and avoid a surcharge to Maryland ratepayers for having to import electricity from out of state. This will allow continued economic growth for all the shore in the 21 st century.' A petition to review MDE's decision must be filed by July 14 in the circuit court for the county where the permit application indicates the proposed activity will occur. 'The permits were issued after a thorough review of US Wind's application and following a public process,' an MDE spokesperson said in an email Saturday. 'Due to significant public interest, the Department of the Environment extended the time for the public to provide input. All feedback was carefully reviewed.' Aside from public debate, US Wind's project is facing legal and political hurdles. On May 5, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown sued President Donald Trump's administration for freezing the development of offshore wind energy projects. Brown and a coalition of 17 attorneys general allege that the executive order threatens states' abilities to secure affordable energy sources, meet the increasing electricity demand, meet climate goals and disrupt billions of dollars in infrastructure and supply chain investments, according to the lawsuit. 'The president's actions violate federal law and will make it harder for us to help Marylanders keep the money they make. One of the best strategies for driving down utility costs is ramping up clean energy production through wind power,' Gov. Wes Moore said in a statement at the time. 'At a moment when families are feeling the strain of high energy bills, we should focus on cutting red tape, not halting critical infrastructure projects.' Have a news tip? Contact Todd Karpovich at tkarpovich@ or on X as @ToddKarpovich.
