BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Little Valley man has been sentenced to 66 months in prison for his role in a COVID-19 relief fraud scheme.
The U.S. Attorney's Office 45-year-old Adam Arena was sentenced to serve 66 months in prison for his role in fraudulently obtaining and laundering nearly $1 million in funds from the COVID-19 relief Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, in May 2020 Arena reinstated ADA Auto Group, his business that had been inactive since 2018. He then provided the information necessary for the purpose of facilitating the preparation of a fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. In July 2020, co-defendant Amanda J. Gloria submitted a PPP loan application for the auto group, which included fraudulent supporting documents, seeking a $954,000 loan.
The fraudulent supporting documents claimed ADA Auto Group employed 50 people in 2019 with an annual payroll of more than $4.4 million. In August 2020, Arena directed the approved PPP loan into a business account controlled exclusively by him and in September 2020, Arena paid Gloria approximately $24,135 in PPP funds for facilitating the fraudulent PPP loan application.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said none of the funds Arena received were ever used for business-related expenses. Gloria was previously convicted and is awaiting sentencing.
