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Woman spent Covid-19 relief loan on murder – media — Analysis

Florida Woman was arrested and charged with hiring a hitman to kill her rival.

One Florida woman allegedly used $15,000 of Covid-19’s relief loan to pay off old debts and to hire a hitman to kill her ex-boyfriend. The Miami Herald reported the news on Tuesday, citing an arrest warrant from Miami-Dade police issued in February 9.

The suspect, identified as Jasmine Martinez, 33, received a loan as part of the US government’s Paycheck Protection Program on April 20, 2021, just two weeks before the murder of Le’Shonte Jones, 24, who was shot to death on her way home, the arrest warrant said.

Police added that Martinez had also taken out more than $10,000 from her bank account days prior to the murder. Javon Carter was also an ex-convict arrested by law enforcement officers last week. He is believed to be the man responsible for this murder. A video of him counting was found by police. “a large sum”Immediately after the killing, money was taken and said: “just another day at the office.”

Shocking scale of Covid relief fraud revealed

Carter was charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder of Le’Shonte Jones’ three-year-old daughter, who she was walking with at the time of the incident. The toddler was “grazed”According to police, the attacker was shot with bullets.

Law enforcement officials have also arrested Martinez and Romiel Robinson, a man she was in a relationship with, the Miami Herald reported, citing last week’s police warrants. Both were charged with murder in the first degree and conspiring to murder. Police believe Jones’ murder was the culmination of long-standing rivalry.

Martinez’s lawyer, Fallon Zirpoli, has said in a statement that her client “has always denied any involvement in this tragedy since the first time law enforcement approached her last summer.”None of the other suspects made statements in this case through lawyers.

Man spent millions in Covid relief payments on luxury cars & private jets

Paycheck Protection Program, which is part of the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), was established as a low-interest private lending program by the government. This program helps businesses, individuals, and organizations pay their employees certain costs, including wages.

Most of the vetting processes for loans to businesses were waived by the government. A University of Texas at Austin report published in August found that the scheme was exploited by many people. According to the paper, there were indications that fraud was involved in approximately 15% of loans under this program.

Two high-profile bank fraud cases were filed in July 2020 and August 2020. The men used $4 million to pay for Lamborghini cars and $1.6 million to repay the loans. In Martinez’s case, it is unclear if she had a business and how exactly she got the loan at all.

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