4 Southern California suspects accused of defrauding $3.5 million from government loan program

Four Southern California suspects were accused of defrauding the government in a multi-million dollar scheme targeting the COVID-19 pandemic relief loan program.

Vanessa M. Williams, 35, of Corona, and Denise Mata, 34, of Moreno Valley, were arrested and charged on a 23-count federal grand jury indictment Thursday morning, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. 

Daryl D. Knighten Jr., 32, and Mikhail G. Hoalim, 33, were also charged in the scheme but remain at large.

According to the indictment, from March to August 2021, the suspects submitted fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for themselves, family members, close associates and people they recruited. The loan program was created by Congress in 2020 to help businesses impacted by the pandemic.

They reportedly promised to help their accomplices obtain COVID business loans in exchange for a cut of the proceeds, court documents said.

Prosecutors said they lied to banks and the U.S. Small Business Administration on loan applications by including false information that the applicants were self-employed and that the loan money would be used for authorized business purposes. 

Each application also contained fake tax forms to deceive lenders into providing money, officials said. Through this method, loans for over 100 accomplices were approved which totaled around $3.5 million worth of stolen funds.

The money was disbursed into bank accounts and the co-conspirators involved would pay kickbacks to the suspects who spent the money on personal items, authorities said.

In March 2021, one suspect, Mata, allegedly used a Social Security number belonging to another person without their permission in connection with the fraud scheme.

Williams was charged with nine counts of wire fraud. Mata was charged with 10 counts of wire fraud with an additional count of aggravated identity theft. 

The other two suspects, both men, remain at large as authorities continue searching for them. Knighten Jr. faces seven counts of wire fraud and Hoalim faces nine counts of wire fraud.

If convicted, each person could face up to 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count. Mata would face an additional mandatory two-year prison sentence consecutive to any other prison term if convicted of aggravated identity theft.

Anyone with information on the case or any attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud at 866-720-5721 or through the NCDF Web Complaint Form.