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Seattle – The final defendant of a six-defendant fraud scheme that submitted fraudulent applications seeking more than $6.8 million in COVID benefits was convicted late yesterday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd.

Robert A. Terrell, 51, of Washington, D.C., and Bowie, Maryland, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to falsifying documents to secure $1.35 million in COVID-19 relief funds for his business, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

Baltimore, Maryland – A Maryland woman received a federal-prison term, today, for her role in an unemployment insurance (UI) fraud conspiracy. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox sentenced Elizabeth Maria Ceballos, 50, of Silver Spring, to 40 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges in connection with the scheme.

A jailed South Los Angeles gang leader, music label owner, and purported anti-gang activist awaiting a federal trial was charged today with seven additional federal felonies, including that he solicited two fellow jail inmates to murder or seriously injure a witness against him and attempting to tamper with that witness’s testimony.

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Mohammed Maio, 43, of Phoenix, Arizona, pleaded guilty earlier this month to Conspiracy to Commit Wire and Bank Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering. Mohammed Maio also pleaded guilty in a second matter to Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and Aiding Another in Making a Materially False Statement to Purchase a Firearm.

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal judge sentenced a Baltimore County man for bribing a Baltimore City official. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced James Carroll Erny, Jr., 55, of Glen Arm, Maryland, to 13 months in prison, followed by eight months of home confinement, for bribery.

BOSTON – A Lynn man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for receiving stolen Social Security benefits and making false statements.

LAS VEGAS – A federal grand jury in Nevada returned a 90-count indictment charging a Las Vegas-based tax preparer and his 11 co-conspirators in connection with their alleged roles in a COVID-19 relief loan application scheme totaling more than $14 million in fraudulent loan proceeds to which they were not entitled.

LAS VEGAS – As a result of coordinated law enforcement actions in three states, seven men have been arrested and indicted in connection with submitting fraudulent COVID-19 relief loan applications administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, totaling $205,639 in fraudulent loan proceeds. The takedown was conducted by the FBI Las Vegas Field Office; FBI Phoenix Division; FBI Houston Division, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and the North Las Vegas Police Department.

Currin Caridine, 39, was sentenced to 41 months in prison to be followed by three years supervised release