PHILADELPHIA – A Lehigh County woman pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to file false claims, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Mayerlyn Cordero, 48, of Allentown, was indicted in February for her part in a scheme to defraud the U.S. government’s Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, the news release says.
According to officials, Cordero filed 13 false and fraudulent applications, totaling about $1,009,050 in funded loans.
Both federal programs were established as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, enacted in March 2020.
The news release says Cordero also defrauded the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Cordero admitted to filing two fraudulent PPP loan applications in the name of May Tax, the tax preparation business that she operated, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says.
The Attorney’s Office says she included a false tax document and false information that inflated her number of employees.
In those applications, officials say Cordero also included a fraudulent EIDL application for May Tax that falsely inflated her number of employees.
Additionally, Cordero was indicted for filing false and fraudulent PPP applications for other companies, R&P Trucking and KS Transport.
According to the news release, Cordero knowingly filed 23 fraudulent tax returns using stolen personal information provided by a co-conspirator.
Officials say Cordero will be sentenced Feb. 3. She faces five counts of wire fraud, and each count carries a maximum possible term of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
For the conspiracy charge, she faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
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