California woman bagged $18M in COVID relief heist: feds

A brazen Los Angeles woman was hit with federal charges after allegedly swindling $18 million in bogus COVID-19 relief funds.

Marisela Nuno, 53, was charged Tuesday with allegedly defrauding two emergency small business relief programs.

The Justice Department accused Nuno defrauding the “Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, federal stimulus programs authorized as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.”

“According to court documents, the defendant allegedly obtained funds under the PPP and EIDL program by submitting false and fraudulent loan applications that collectively sought over $15.7 million in PPP funds and over $2.6 million in EIDL funds,” the DOJ added.

Nuno is accused of knowingly submitting applications that contained false statements and gross revenues for businesses she owned. She is also said to have submitted false tax documentation with the applications.

After receiving the pandemic relief funds, Nuno allegedly used the money to purchase “private property, business startup costs, and payments to family members.”

She was charged with three counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, and could face a maximum of 20 years behind bars on each count of wire fraud and up to 10 years for money laundering.

The CARES Act was signed into law by President Trump in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The act provided $2 trillion in economic relief to support businesses from firing workers.

A California couple was previously convicted in 2021 after illegally obtaining $20 million in COVID-relief funds.

The pair used “dozens of fake, stolen, or synthetic identities — including names belonging to elderly or deceased people and foreign exchange students who briefly visited the United States years ago and never returned – to submit fraudulent applications for approximately 150 PPP and EIDL loans,” the Justice Department said.

One California businessman was also charged in 2025 after swindling over $14 million in pandemic loans. He used the funds to rent a villa, travel across the country on private jets and purchased luxury cars like a Rolls Royce and a Land Rover.