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Oklahoma trucking company owner admits to $43.8 million PPP fraud scheme

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An Oklahoma woman has pleaded guilty to a scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of over $43.8 million in COVID-19 relief loans.

On April 6, 2022, Oklahoma-based WildWest Trucking LLC owner Amanda J. Gloria, 45,  admitted that she conspired to submit at least 153 fraudulent PPP applications seeking a total of approximately $43.8 million on behalf of at least 111 entities between approximately May 2020 and June 2021, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Gloria pleaded guilty to charges in the Western District of New York.

From the DOJ:

Gloria admitted that she falsified or aided and assisted with falsifying various information on these loan applications, including the number of employees, payroll expenses and documentation, and federal tax filings. Gloria then submitted or aided and assisted with the submission of the fraudulent PPP applications to financial institutions. In total, the recipient entities unlawfully obtained approximately $32.5 million in PPP funds. From those fraudulently obtained funds, Gloria personally received at least approximately $1.7 million.

Gloria also admitted that she conspired with Adam D. Arena to submit a fraudulent PPP loan application seeking approximately $954,000 for ADA Auto Group LLC, a previously inactive Florida-based business owned and controlled by Arena. After fraudulently obtaining the PPP loan, Gloria directed Arena to launder the proceeds, including by transferring nearly $25,000 to a bank account held in the name of WildWest Trucking LLC, an Oklahoma-based business owned and controlled by Gloria. Gloria also admitted that she submitted and fraudulently obtained a separate PPP loan for WildWest Trucking LLC for approximately $421,000. Arena pleaded guilty in November 2021 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of engaging in a monetary transaction with criminally derived proceeds in a related case.

Gloria is scheduled for sentencing on July 20, 2022 and faces up to 30 years in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and up to 10 years in prison for money laundering. 

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