MTS Quick Hit: Raleigh man indicted on $1M COVID relief fraud
Wilson Afredo Olivera-Borda also has a past criminal record
A Raleigh man was indicted for a COVID Paycheck Protection Program scheme of over $1 million, according to a press release by the Department of Justice for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
44-year-old Wilson Afredo Olivera-Borda has been charged with nine counts of wire fraud involving federal disaster-related relief funds and benefits. A maximum of 30 years in prison is attached to the charges.
Excerpt from the press release:
"According to the indictment, Wilson Alfredo Olivera Borda, 44, received nine PPP loans in the names of five separate businesses—The Insurance Centers.Com Inc., The Insurance Centers LLC, Realty Vestors LLC, US-Kaizen LLC, and Ecobuild LLC—by allegedly falsely claiming on PPP applications that each business had substantial employees and operations. The indictment alleges that Olivera bolstered these fraudulent misrepresentations by submitting fabricated tax returns to PPP lenders.
The indictment also alleges that Olivera made additional false statements to obtain forgiveness on the loans and that all nine loans were fully forgiven and paid off by the U.S. Small Business Administration."
Turns out Olivera-Borda has a criminal record.
In July 2021, he was charged with domestic criminal trespassing in Johnston County.
In June 2013, he violated a court order to stay away from a female he allegedly assaulted that same month. Court records indicate the female was his wife, Lindsay Renee Olivera. That case was disposed.
Court records show a disposed complaint in Wake County against Olivera-Borda for "communicating threats." The records show the complaining party was his girlfriend at the time, Lindsay Renee Welch, who would later become his wife.
Update:
A July 9 press release details the sentencing of a Durham man for COVID-19 fund fraud totaling $2.9 million.
From the release:
According to court documents and other information presented in court, between 2019 and 2021, Reynold Eugene Mullen, 48, and his girlfriend, Tiffany Dawn Russell, used “washed” credit reports and fabricated bank statements to obtain four mortgages totaling $1,374,000, for the purchase of properties in Miami, Florida, Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and Nags Head, North Carolina.
Between March 2020 and July 2021, Mullen and Russell also submitted fraudulent EIDL and PPP applications on behalf on entities that were either owned entirely, or in part, by them. On these applications, Mullen and Russell provided false monthly payroll amounts and misrepresented the entities’ number of employees. Mullen and Russell also submitted fraudulent tax returns as part of these applications. As a result of these frauds, Mullen and Russell obtained more than $1,600,000. Mullen and Russell used the fraud proceeds to purchase six properties and pay for Mullen’s plastic surgery.