CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) -- A Cross Lanes woman who pleaded guilty to a COVID-19 relief fraud scheme has been sentenced, prosecutors said.
Krista Marie Menchaca, 32, was sentenced to three years of federal probation, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.
She has also been ordered to pay $21,963.96 in restitution.
Menchaca received nearly $20,000 from a fraudulent Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) loan in 2021. According to court records, someone submitted a PPP loan application on behalf of Menchaca in Arizona.
Menchaca admitted as part of her guilty plea that a 1040 form for the Internal Revenue Service falsely claimed that she was self-employed with an annual gross income of over $93,000, and was faked to obtain the fraudulent PPP loan.
The money was put in Menchaca's personal bank account upon approval of the loan application. Prosecutors said that Menchaca spent over $5,000 of the loan on personal expenses while she was in West Virginia.