A Florida man who fled the U.S. and was ultimately arrested in Croatia has pleaded responsible to stealing greater than $7.2 million in COVID-19 reduction funds.
Don V. Cisternino, 46, of Chuluota, pleaded responsible Tuesday in Orlando federal courtroom to wire fraud, aggravated identification theft and unlawful financial transaction, in line with courtroom paperwork. His listening to is scheduled for January 5 and will resist 32 years in federal jail. As a part of a cope with prosecutors, Cisternino has already agreed to forfeit the cash from the fraud, in addition to any belongings related to the crimes.
In keeping with the plea settlement, Cisternino fraudulently secured greater than $7.2 million in emergency funds via a Paycheck Safety Program mortgage in Might 2020. Cisternino’s PPP mortgage utility falsely claimed that his enterprise, MagnifiCo, had 441 workers and month-to-month payroll bills in 2019 of greater than $2.8 million.
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The corporate really had no workers aside from Cisternino. Alongside together with his mortgage utility, Cisternino submitted false W-2s, a lot of which listed the names and social safety numbers of actual individuals who had not licensed him to make use of their identities. After receiving the cash, Cisternino spent it on a Lincoln Navigator, a Maserati, a Mercedes-Benz and a 12,579 square-foot (1,168 square-meter) house in Seminole County, Florida.
Cisternino fled to Switzerland after studying he was being investigated for fraud in January 2021, officers stated. He was arrested in April that 12 months pursuant to an Interpol Purple Discover whereas attempting to enter Croatia from Slovenia by way of Italy. He was later extradited to the US.
The Paycheck Safety Program includes billions of {dollars} in forgivable small-business loans for Individuals struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The cash should be used to pay workers, mortgage curiosity, lease, and utilities. It’s a part of the coronavirus reduction package deal that grew to become federal legislation in 2020.