CA man used over $5M in COVID aid to buy properties: feds

A California guy has agreed to plead guilty just after federal prosecutors explained he obtained much more than $5 million in COVID-19 reduction financial loans for shell firms.

The Orange County resident, Raghavender Reddy Budamala, 35, made use of three sham firms to utilize for seven Paycheck Safety Application and Financial Injuries Catastrophe financial loans, according to the plea settlement. He agreed on June 3 to plead responsible to a depend of dollars laundering and a depend of financial institution fraud.

Budamala’s lawyer, Diane C. Bass, advised McClatchy News she had no comment on the case.

The Paycheck Safety Plan and COVID-19 Financial Injury Catastrophe loans have been available by way of the Smaller Business enterprise Administration in the months after the pandemic started to assistance enterprises navigate mandated shutdowns and quarantines. The financial loans had minimal desire and were being forgivable, so lengthy as the money were utilized on particular bills, like lease or payroll.

Budamala ultimately gained 6 loans, totaling $5,151,497, according to the plea agreement He is accused of making use of the resources to invest in a $1.2 million “investment property” in Eagle Rock, a almost $600,000 property in Malibu and a “personal residence” in Irvine.

Furthermore, Budamala deposited almost $3 million into a private account, in accordance to a news launch from the U.S. Attorney’s Place of work for the Central District of California.

The Orange County resident also used for loan forgiveness on a number of of the financial loans, declaring to have used the funds from the SBA fully on payroll, the launch claimed.

Budamala is in federal custody after remaining arrested on Feb. 23, when he attempted to flee the place to Mexico, the release mentioned. He faces a greatest 40-calendar year prison sentence.

Budamala is among the a rising quantity of individuals remaining billed with obtaining COVID-19 aid loans underneath fraudulent instances, in accordance to a launch from the Section of Justice. The legal professional typical designed the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Process Force a minimal over a yr back.

“Across the section, including the Criminal Division’s Fraud Segment and U.S. Attorneys’ Workplaces, roughly 500 defendants have been charged in about 340 cases with alleged meant losses of about $700 million,” the release claimed.