Cecilia Aquino, 32, of Fresno, was sentenced Monday to six years and three months in prison for submitting more than $300,000 in fraudulent unemployment insurance claims and Small Business Administration (SBA) loan applications during the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court records, from June through November 2020, Aquino went on a crime spree where she submitted fraudulent unemployment insurance claims and loan applications in seven states using stolen identities. The claims and applications contained various misrepresentations, including that the named individuals worked as strippers and owned interior design businesses, and that they lost money because of the pandemic. Aquino used the proceeds of her fraud for gambling, rent, shopping and other personal expenditures.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the SBA Office of Inspector General, the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, and the Clovis Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Barton prosecuted the case.