Chinese National Busted In $20M COVID Relief Scam

Via press release from the Justice Department:

Muge Ma, a/k/a “Hummer Mars,” a Chinese national residing in Manhattan, has been arrested for a fraudulent scheme to obtain over $20 million in Government-guaranteed loans designed to provide relief to small businesses during the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.

In connection with loan applications for relief available from the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, Ma falsely represented to the SBA and five financial institutions that his companies, New York International Capital LLC and Hurley Human Resources LLC  had hundreds of employees and paid millions of dollars in wages to those employees, when, in fact, Ma appears to have been the only employee of his companies.

Ma’s company NYIC also fraudulently represented that it was representing New York State in procuring COVID-19 test kits and personal protective equipment to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ma was arrested this morning and will be presented later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Nathaniel Fox.

Chinese national arrested for $20 million scheme to fraudulently obtain loans intended to help small businesses during COVID-19 pandemic https://t.co/4VlIWLSgE8

— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) May 21, 2020