A California woman has been charged with trying to defraud the pandemic relief program of $4.5 million in loans, according to the Justice Department. Christina Burden, 31, of Oakland, was charged with one count of bank fraud in June when she applied for and received a $684,375 Paycheck Protection Program loan for a shell company. CALIFORNIA MAN CHARGED IN $8.5M CORONAVIRUS PPP LOAN FRAUD ALLEGEDLY SPENT CASH ON STOCK MARKET, IN CASINO"The Paycheck Protection Program provides a financial lifeline to needy businesses and their employees," prosecutors said. "We allege that Christina Burden obtained PPP funds by fraud, submitting false business information, false employee numbers, false bank statements, and false tax returns." The Small Business Administration's PPP forgivable loan program was first implemented through the March CARES Act.

Source: Fox News February 06, 2021 16:18 UTC