SEATTLE — Six people from Washington, Arizona and Texas have been arrested and accused of fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars of COVID-19 aid from an assistance program meant for renters, federal prosecutors said.
U.S. Attorney Nick Brown, Western District of Washington, on Wednesday announced the arrests and charges of wire fraud and money laundering.
The six people are accused of filing hundreds of fraudulent applications seeking more than $6.8 million in government aid and receiving more than $3.3 million, The Seattle Times reported. Most of the alleged fraud was in Seattle’s King County, and focused on federal emergency rental assistance money available to prevent evictions, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors allege the scheme also targeted unemployment systems in Washington, California, South Carolina, and Nevada.