A Phoenix woman, Celestine Coletta Strong, was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud.
The court also ordered Strong to pay $327,448 in restitution and surrender her 2016 Mercedes-Benz E400 and 2018 Dodge Challenger.
According to the Department of Justice, Strong fraudulently obtained loans from the CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program, a program designed to help small businesses meet their payroll obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Strong conspired to submit loan applications with falsified employee and wage information, fake bank statements, and other false information in an attempt to obtain 17 different loans totaling more than $3.5 million in loan proceeds. She fraudulently obtained approximately $400,000 and used the proceeds to purchase, among other items, luxury cars.