Latest news with #AmerAldarawsheh
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
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.
Los Angeles Times
25-04-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
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. '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.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CBP officer from Inland Empire charged with pandemic fraud
A Moreno Valley man who works as a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer has been arrested for alleged pandemic-related fraud. The United States Department of Justice said Amer Aldarawsheh, 45, faces five counts of wire fraud after he 'fraudulently obtained nearly $150,000 in COVID-19 pandemic business-relief loan funds for two of his sham businesses.' Those businesses — Nahar Enterprises Inc., a San Bernardino-based trucking and freight company, and Ameral, an automotive repair company — were the subject of 'false statements' Aldarawsheh made to the Small Business Administration while he was seeking COVID-19-relief loans. Despite neither company having 'substantial business or employees,' Aldarawsheh received the loans, which 'were supposed to be used by the recipient to only pay certain authorized business expenses,' the DOJ said. 'Instead, Aldarawsheh knowingly misappropriated and misused the … funds he received from the SBA for his own personal benefit,' including nearly $150,000 that was wired from the SBA to an account controlled by Aldarawsheh, the DOJ said. Aldarawsheh was arrested Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to all charges that afternoon. He was released on $30,000 bail and is due back in court on June 16. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each fraud count. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
