An Anchorage couple has been arrested and charged with allegations of using deceptive business practices to steal millions of dollars intended for the COVID-19 relief effort.
In 2021, the Anchorage Assembly donated $1.6 million to a nonprofit that stated it provided services to help addicts who were homeless find safe housing and medical care.
The Municipality of Anchorage alleges that 41-year-old Rosalina Natazha Mavaega and 44-year-old Pastor Esau Malele Fualema Jr. defrauded the government agency through their charity, House of Transformations, a business that provides assistance to the homeless. In 2015, Mavaega lost its Medicaid provider status in Alaska owing to questionable business activities.
According to the case files, the two petitioned Congress for more than $1.6 million under the ARPA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) in April 2021. These funds were set aside to help companies that have been impeded by government lockdowns and regulations because of the COVID epidemic.
The application included false information about the breadth of the organization’s planned services, including accommodation, treatment, and vocational training. House of Transformations’ case for receiving these monies was also inflated using fabricated managerial and financial data.
The Anchorage Assembly paid the couple a sizeable sum, totaling $1,623,165, in August of the same year. It is alleged that Mavaega and Fualema diverted the money for their own benefit rather than using it for their original purpose. This includes things like getting a personal loan, paying off tax debt, buying bitcoin, and funding their for-profit businesses.
The deceptive behavior of the pair continued. They allegedly applied for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) using fraudulent means in December 2021. These applications were submitted with the explicit goal of obtaining over a million dollars by exaggerating financial data, misrepresenting company structures, and exploiting the personal information of individuals to create a false impression of affiliation with legitimate businesses.
In the summer of 2022, they allegedly made another effort to swindle the Municipality of Anchorage out of around $2 million in more ARPA funding, marking the pinnacle of their illicit plan.
Major fraud against the United States, wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft are all among the allegations leveled against Mavaega and Fualema.
Mavaega and Fualema were arrested at their place of abode, the Captain Cook Hotel. A minimum of 24 months in jail may be imposed pending legal proceedings.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska S. Lane Tucker, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Adam Jobes, and SBA Office of Inspector General Western Region Special Agent in Charge Weston King made a joint announcement revealing the case.
The Seattle field office of the Internal Revenue Service and the SBA’s Office of Inspector General are responsible for conducting the investigation.
Former US Attorney George Tran and current Assistant US Attorneys James Klugman and Karen Vandergaw are in charge of the prosecution.
