Miami, FL – Two Venezuelan nationals living in Dania Beach have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and money laundering linked to fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications. Freddy Urribarri, 42, and Mairilin Munoz, 39, both granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the United States, are accused of submitting false loan applications intended for COVID-19 relief for small businesses.
Authorities allege that Urribarri and Munoz conspired to defraud the program by filing two sole proprietorship loan applications using fraudulent tax documents. Additionally, they submitted a false PPP loan application for their company, FU&MM General Services, where they exaggerated the company’s income and employee count. This deception led to the approval of a $438,000 loan.
After obtaining the loan, the defendants reportedly engaged in activities to conceal the origin of the funds. Munoz is also accused of carrying out financial transactions exceeding $10,000 using the fraudulent proceeds. Furthermore, they submitted false tax documents to support a PPP loan forgiveness application.
The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida and Acting Special Agent in Charge José R. Figueroa of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami. The case was investigated by HSI Miami and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Bernstein.
The allegations in the indictment are accusations, and both defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
This case highlights efforts by the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, established on May 17, 2021, to combat pandemic-related fraud. The task force aims to identify and prosecute domestic and international criminals and support agencies in preventing fraud through enhanced coordination and resource sharing.
