An Allentown woman has admitted to fraudulently filing loan applications through COVID-era federal relief programs, leading to approximately $1,009,050 in funded loans, according to federal authorities.
Mayerlyn Cordero, 48, pleaded guilty Tuesday to five counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to file false claims while defrauding the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program, and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release. Both programs were established as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act enacted in March 2020.
Cordero was federally charged in February.
She admitted to filing two fraudulent PPP loan applications in the name of her tax preparation business. The applications included an inflated number of employees and a false tax document, the release states. She also filed a fraudulent EIDL application for the business that inflated the number of employees, authorities said.
She also filed false PPP applications in the names of other companies, the release states.
Federal authorities claim she filed 13 fraudulent PPP or EIDL applications totaling roughly $1 million in funded loans.
Additionally, she filed 23 fraudulent tax returns using stolen information provided by a co-conspirator, the release states.
Cordero is scheduled to be sentenced in February.