Highlights:
- Indian-origin accountant Arun Mago receives a 41-month prison sentence in Texas.
- He fraudulently obtained nearly $1 million in pandemic relief loans.
- He diverted the funds into personal bank accounts and real estate purchases.
- He laundered $150,000 generated through cocaine distribution.
- A court ordered him to pay over $900,000 in restitution and a $250,000 fine.
AN INDIAN-ORIGIN accountant has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison in the US for fraudulently obtaining pandemic-era relief funds and laundering money derived from drug trafficking.
Arun Mago was sentenced on Wednesday (28) by US District Judge Robert Pitman in Austin, Texas, following his conviction on bank fraud and money laundering charges.
The court also ordered him to pay more than $900,000 in restitution and imposed a fine of $250,000.
According to court records, Mago laundered $150,000 in cash generated through cocaine distribution between October 2023 and July 2024.
He was also involved in a loan fraud scheme during the Covid-19 pandemic, through which he obtained nearly $1 million in Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans through several business entities.
The pandemic-era programs were intended to provide financial support to businesses. However, instead of using the funds to meet employee payroll expenses or cover legitimate business operating costs, Mago transferred the money into his personal bank accounts.
He then diverted the funds towards real estate purchases, according to court records.
Officials also noted that Mago had previously written a book containing a chapter titled ‘Black Money’. In the chapter, he claimed that money laundering and tax evasion schemes were completely untraceable.
US Attorney Justin R Simmons for the Western District of Texas said Mago had defrauded the federal government during the pandemic and continued his criminal activities by laundering substantial amounts of money obtained through drug trafficking.
The sentencing followed Mago’s guilty plea earlier this year and concluded a joint investigation by the Texas Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation division and the Office of the Texas Attorney General.
