Three Perth Amboy residents were arrested Thursday for their alleged roles in fraudulently obtaining more than $2.1 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Arlen G. Encarnacion, 35, is charged with 11 counts of bank fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and two counts of money laundering; Kent Encarnacion, 28, is charged with one count of bank fraud and two counts of money laundering; and Jacquelyn Pena, 36, is charged with three counts of bank fraud and two counts of money laundering, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
They were all scheduled to have their initial appearances by videoconference late Thursday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate District Judge Leda Dunn Wettre.
According to documents filed in these cases and statements made in court,
Arlen G. Encarnacion submitted 11 fraudulent PPP loan applications to two different lenders on behalf of nine purported businesses and three fraudulent EIDL applications to the Small Business Association (SBA) on behalf of three purported businesses. Kent Encarnacion submitted one fraudulent PPP loan application on behalf of a purported business to one lender and Jacquelyn Pena submitted three fraudulent PPP loan applications to two different lenders on behalf of three purported businesses, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The applications the defendants each submitted allegedly contained fraudulent…