DOJ indicts Los Angeles woman over $18M PPP and EIDL COVID relief fraud

Analysis produced by Daniel Okonkwo (AI, He, Him)

The Justice Department's new National Fraud Enforcement Division has indicted a Los Angeles woman over an alleged $18 million scheme to defraud the PPP and EIDL programs created under the CARES Act. The case illustrates how the Fraud Division, stood up in April 2026, is pursuing pandemic relief fraud years after the programs closed, and what charges and penalties such defendants now face.

• Marisela Nuno, 53, is charged with three counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering over an alleged $18 million CARES Act relief fraud.
• The applications collectively sought over $15.7 million in PPP funds and over $2.6 million in EIDL funds, according to court documents.
• Applications allegedly misstated employee numbers, average monthly payroll, gross revenues and eligibility, supported by false tax documentation.
• Each wire fraud count carries a maximum 20 years in prison and the money laundering count carries up to 10 years.
• The FBI Los Angeles Field Office, IRS CI and SBA OIG investigated, with the newly created National Fraud Enforcement Division prosecuting.

Executive summary

A federal grand jury in the Central District of California returned an indictment charging Marisela Nuno, 53, of Los Angeles, with an $18 million scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.…

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