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Ronaldo Solano and Adriana Solano of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, were sentenced for separate schemes to defraud their workers’ compensation insurance carriers, the Small Business Administration (SBA), and their mortgage lender. The couple operated a roofing and construction company in Framingham, Massachusetts, and avoided workers’ compensation insurance premiums by underreporting payroll and paying workers through an uninsured third company. Separately, the Solanos submitted a loan application on behalf of their business to the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, which provided pandemic relief under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. They received the funds, from which they used more than $825,000 for a down payment towards a luxury home. Then the Solanos borrowed more money from a mortgage lender to fund the purchase of the house. The VA OIG and the FBI investigated this case in connection with the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Fraud Task Force.
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Michael Joyce and Sarah Joyce, aka Sarah Shultis, both formerly of Rochester, New York, now living in New Jersey, were indicted on charges of theft of government funds, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Michael Joyce submitted claims for VA disability compensation based on several disabilities, including PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and a back issue. He was awarded a 100 percent disability rating. Additionally, Michael applied for and was granted status of permanent and total disability, which removes an individual’s obligation to continue getting re-evaluated for various disabilities and making him eligible for other veteran benefits. Sarah Joyce, applied for payments from the VA Caregiver Support Program, claiming Michael was wholly reliant upon her for life tasks. She received payments totaling more than $250,000. A review of Michael’s personnel file and interviews with investigators found inconsistencies in his claims. Subsequent investigations and surveillances documented on multiple occasions Michael walking with no apparent difficulty or assistance, driving, and performing household maintenance tasks. The VA OIG and the SSA OIG investigated this case.
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