The Federal Reserve Board has announced actions against six individuals for engaging in fraudulently obtaining loans and grants administered under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities (CARES) Act.
Four of the six individuals were from Regions Bank in Birmingham, Ala.. The individuals from this bank were charged with having obtained economic injury disaster loans (EIDLs) under the CARES Act through the submission of materially false or fraudulent representations. The value of these EIDLs ranged from $10,000 to $15,800 and were primarily used for the personal benefit of the individuals, according to the Fed.
The other two individuals the Fed brought actions against were from a Merrill Lynch Wealth Management office in Charlotte, N.C., which is a subsidiary of Bank of America. Like the individuals from Regions Bank, these two obtained EIDLs, valued $9,000 and $20,000, through the submission of materially false or fraudulent representations.
All six of these individuals entered consent agreement with the Federal Reserve Board of Governors which permanently bans all six from working in any federally regulated financial institution.
These actions by the Fed board are being done in concurrence with Congress and the Department of Justice which have both begun investigating fraudulent lending of CARES Act financial aid programs.