A Los Angeles woman pleaded guilty Thursday to fraudulently obtaining more than $2 million in COVID-19 government loans and making false claims to the IRS in an effort to secure nearly $1.3 million in tax credits relating to the pandemic.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Casie Hynes, 37, faces up to 20 years in federal prison for her plea to a wire fraud offense, and up to five years for making false claims. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 30, 2025.
Prosecutors said Hynes submitted more than 80 bogus applications for Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans — both COVID-assistance programs — in the names of about 20 companies that were purportedly owned by Hynes or her friends or relatives.
She often used personal information or signatures of other people without their permission to submit the applications, prosecutors said. She also provided false information on the loan applications, including the numbers of employees at each purported company.
According to prosecutors, Hynes also used some of those same companies to submit about a dozen fraudulent tax forms to the IRS in search of refunds, despite knowing the companies had little of any actual business operations.
