YAKIMA, Wash.- After receiving over $290,000 in fraudulent COVID-19 relief funds, a 49-year-old Yakima woman has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. Karla Padilla collected the money, saying it was for her fraudulent collectible car business.
Padilla used the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) programs to fund her defunct Queen B Collectibles business among others. In court proceedings, she admitted Queen B Collectibles was not active in February 2020, marking it ineligible from either program.
The COVID-19 Relief Fraud Strike Force investigated the case and U.S. District Judge Mary K. Dimke issued the sentence. Padilla will serve three years of supervised release after her prison time and has been ordered to pay restitutions of $302,145.40 for the fraud and a $25,000 fine.
