Date: March 10, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
El Paso, TX — An El Paso woman was arrested on criminal charges related to her alleged Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud.
According to court documents, Araceli Benitez was the owner of both an insurance and tax services company and a home health services company. Between April 9, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2022, she allegedly submitted fraudulent loan applications and requests for fund disbursement to the PPP, a federal government COVID-19 pandemic relief program administered by the Small Business Administration.
The indictment, filed Jan. 22, alleges Benitez attracted and induced clients to hire her to apply for PPP loans through paid radio commercials and social media—usually in Spanish. She allegedly sent and caused to be sent to a credit union PPP loan applications which contained material misrepresentations and omissions. Unbeknownst to her clients, Benitez allegedly included false federal income tax documentation, false information about her clients’ businesses, and false information about her clients’ need and qualifications. Benitez allegedly submitted approximately 156 loan applications totaling $2,305,294.06.
Benitez was arrested March 7 and is charged with seven counts of wire fraud; eight counts of bank fraud; two counts of money laundering; one count of structuring transactions to evade reporting requirement; two counts of aggravated identity theft; and one count of false or fictitious claims. If convicted, she faces up to 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Kanof is prosecuting the case.
IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.