Gloria the same day emailed a PPP loan application to a bank seeking a $954,000 loan for ADA Auto Group. She included the tax filings and certified that ADA Auto Group had been in operation on Feb. 15, 2020, and that the loan would be used for business-related purposes.
Less than two weeks later, Gloria submitted more tax forms and payroll forms on behalf of ADA Auto Group, including documents claiming the company employed 50 people in 2019 and had an annual payroll of more than $4.4 million, according to court papers.
The bank approved the loan and wired $954,000 to ADA Auto Group’s business bank account on Aug. 13, 2020.
Within weeks, Arena mailed a $24,135 check from the ADA Auto Group account to a bank account for WildWest Trucking, a business that also had been inactive since 2017, court papers said. He also used the same ADA Auto Group checking account to buy a 2018 Chevrolet Colorado for $35,000 at a dealership in Depew on Sept. 23, 2020.
Arena bought a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse for $12,500 six days later at the same dealership, court papers said.
Federal investigators later saw both vehicles parked at Arena’s home on Great Valley.
Prosecutors said none of the PPP loan proceeds appeared to have been used for business-related costs for ADA Auto Group.
