President of Outsourcing Company with Puerto Rico Gov’t Contracts Pleaded Guilty to Covid-19 Relief Aid Fraud
The company had a nearly $84,000 contract to work on a program meant to teach high schoolers about college and entrepreneurship.
Jesús Sierra Toro, whose company had two active contracts with the Puerto Rican government worth nearly $90,000, pleaded guilty to COVID-19 relief aid fraud, according to a plea agreement filed last week. One of the contracts was with the Department of Commerce and Economic Development (DDEC) for a program meant to educate high schoolers about college and entrepreneurship. Meanwhile, the other contract was with the Puerto Rico House of Representatives.
Sierra Toro admitted to filing personal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications with “fraudulent information” and corporate PPP loans through Outsourcing Group Services, Corp. and Outsourcing Group, LLC with "fictitious payroll registers showing wages paid to persons who were not employed by the corporation,” according to the plea agreement. In total, Sierra Toro and the two companies were given $484,099 in PPP loans, all of which were later forgiven, according to the plea agreement.
PPP loans were a type of government loan that people and small businesses affected by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic could apply for to pay for certain permissible expenses, such as rent and payroll costs.