Business

A Hialeah Gardens tax preparer had $773,600 cash at home. Was it from COVID-19 fraud?

By David J. Neal

Updated August 10, 2023 1:32 PM

COVID-19 loan fraud in South Florida

South Florida, long known as the nation’s capital of fraud schemes, has incurred more than 140 PPP criminal cases over the past three years, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Here are a few.

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Hialeah Gardens tax preparer Leonel Rivero found only partial success in attempting to fraudulently get $2.3 million in COVID-19 relief funds.

Rivero got $975,582. He also got caught and, last week, was sentenced to two years in federal prison and $1,085,901 restitution. He also got $197,611 seized from the Rivero Tax Group’s Wells Fargo account and $773,600 in cash seized from his home.

The 36-year-old will report for prison on Jan. 10, 2022.

Rivero is one of the criminals who helped make South Florida, the U.S. leader in Medicare fraud, the nation’s leader in COVID-19 relief fraud prosecutions. No U.S. Attorney’s Office has prosecuted more cases than the South Florida office.

Volume, volume, volume

Rivero’s scheme, as detailed in the admission of facts with his guilty plea, went heavy on volume, but light on attention to detail.

In May and June 2020, Rivero submitted 118 fraudulent applications for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans being provided through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The applications totaled $2,334,064 in PPP loans. And, he did get 47 of the loans.

But, Rivero exposed his own scheme.

▪ All of the applications were submitted from the IP address that tracked to his home.

▪ All of the applications were for sole proprietorship-owned businesses and 99 of the 118 requested $20,583.34. Not only would that be a phenomenal statistical improbability if accurate, but that amount is just under the $20,833 PPP loan limit for a sole proprietorship.

▪ “Nearly all of the 118 loan applications contained identical 2019 IRS Form 1040 Schedule C information,” — $11,745 for material and supplies, $850 for uniforms, $1,754 for cell phone use and $6,544 for equipment. And, 10,474 miles traveled for business in 2019.

This story was originally published November 23, 2021 at 11:27 AM.

David J. Neal

Miami Herald

305-376-3559

Since 1989, David J. Neal’s domain at the Miami Herald has expanded to include writing about Panthers (NHL and FIU), Dolphins, old school animation, food safety, fraud, naughty lawyers, bad doctors and all manner of breaking news. He drinks coladas whole. He does not work Indianapolis 500 Race Day.