SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio woman was sentenced to federal prison and ordered to pay more than $492,000 after defrauding a COVID relief program, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.
According to court documents, Leticia Arceneaux, 48, worked full time from home as a human resources supervisor for an agency within the Department of Energy.
From around August 2020 to around April 2022, the DOJ said Arceneaux applied for and received $480,100 in COVID relief loans before “converting the funds to her own personal use.”
In August 2020, Arceneaux submitted an application for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) on behalf of a volleyball club, authorities said. During that same month, the Small Business Administration (SBA) funded an EIDL of $149,900 to Arceneaux.
The DOJ said instead of using the loan for volleyball-related expenses, she used the funds for “her own personal expenses,” including a golf cart and a new swimming pool at her home.
In May 2021, Arceneaux submitted a loan modification request that sought additional funds for the volleyball club.
“Relying on Arceneaux’s false representations, the SBA disbursed $91,000 on or about Aug. 9, 2021,” the DOJ said in its news release. “On Aug. 11, 2021, Arceneaux transferred approximately $31,000 of the EIDL funds from the volleyball club’s business account to her personal account.”
In April 2022, she applied for a second loan modification for additional funds to operate the volleyball club, the DOJ said. During that same month, the SBA disbursed $239,100 to Arceneaux.
“Arceneaux converted the funds for personal use, using approximately $72,000 of EIDL funds to pay down personal credit card debt,” according to the news release.
A U.S. district judge sentenced Arceneaux to 12 months and one day in prison, the DOJ said. She will also have to pay $492,841.78 in restitution for wire fraud.
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