A Los Angeles woman was sentenced Thursday to five years behind bars for fraudulently obtaining more than $2 million in COVID-19 government loans and making false claims to the IRS in an effort to secure nearly $1.3 million in tax credits relating to the pandemic.
Casie Hynes, 38, was also ordered to pay restitution of $2.37 million, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
She pleaded guilty in April 2024 in Los Angeles federal court to one count of wire fraud and one count of false claims.
Hynes admitted having submitted more than 80 bogus applications for Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans — both COVID-assistance programs — in the names of about 20 companies that were purportedly owned by herself or friends or relatives.
She often used personal information or signatures of other people without their permission to submit the applications, prosecutors said. She also provided false information on the loan applications, including the numbers of employees at each purported company.
Hynes also used some of those same companies to submit about a dozen fraudulent tax forms to the IRS in search of refunds, despite knowing the companies had little of any actual business operations, according to her plea agreement.