:format(jpeg):focal(505x435:515x425)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gfrmedia/JOWIDBIZGFAU7OCKSU2LSBEURU.jpg "Woman undergoes surgery and buys a Cadillac with millions from COVID-19 in Miami")
Miami Woman Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison for Fraudulently Obtaining Nearly $2 Million in Federal Aid
Maritza Morales Hermoso, a 58-year-old Miami woman, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison for defrauding federal aid programs of almost two million dollars, the Southern District of Florida Prosecutor’s Office reported on Wednesday.
Hermoso was found guilty of defrauding lenders and the government’s Small Business Administration (SBA) by providing false documents and “inflated employee numbers” to a federal aid program established due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, Hermoso applied for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) on behalf of “multiple companies” between April 2020 and April 2021, even though “several of those companies did not have payroll and were not actively conducting business at the time the applications were submitted.”
The funds obtained from the fraudulent loans, which amounted to almost two million dollars, were spent on personal expenses such as casinos in South Florida, cosmetic surgery, a Cadillac Escalade truck, and a Pomeranian puppy.
Hermoso used multiple unrelated business accounts to conceal the embezzlement and withdraw the cash.
In December 2023, Hermoso’s accomplice, Javier Lazo Cabrera, pleaded guilty in the case and faces up to 20 years in prison.
The sentencing hearing for Hermoso is scheduled for March 11 in federal court in Miami.