Houston Siblings Indicted for Alleged $1.2 Million COVID-19 Relief Fraud

A brother and sister from the Houston area, Jonathan Flores, 31, of Willis, and Bianca April Flores, 29, of Houston, have been indicted for their alleged involvement in submitting fraudulent COVID-19 relief loans, as announced by U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

The six-count indictment, returned on November 29, accuses both individuals of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud. The siblings are scheduled to make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina A. Bryan at 2 p.m.

According to the indictment, Jonathan and Bianca Flores are charged with conspiring to submit nine false and fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans. The charges state that they manipulated the number of employees and misrepresented the average monthly payroll expenses of the businesses applying for relief.

The indictment alleges that the Flores siblings fraudulently obtained approximately $1.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds. If convicted, each could face up to five years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Additionally, wire fraud carries a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison.