Scott A. Spiro admitted using fake companies and false records to get federal relief money and buy homes in Alamogordo and Ruidoso

Organ Mountain News report

ALBUQUERQUE - An Alamogordo man has pleaded guilty to fraud after using fake businesses and falsified records to obtain more than $650,000 from federal COVID-19 loan programs, according to court documents.

Scott A. Spiro, 63, admitted that from at least April 2020 through December 2021 he submitted false applications to the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs.

Court filings say Spiro set up several shell companies that were not real operating businesses and had no employees. The filings list the companies as Scott A. Spiro JD, LLC; Pacifica Law Clinic, LLC; Spiro Enterprises of NM, LLC; Pacifica Funding Corporation; and Accounting Advisors.

Using those names, Spiro submitted multiple loan and loan-forgiveness applications. He admitted lying about when the companies were formed, how many people they employed, how much they paid in wages and how much revenue they had. He also submitted fake tax forms, payroll records, bank statements and state business filings to back up the claims.

Those false statements led to more than $650,000 in federal loan money being paid out, court records show.

Instead of using the money for business costs allowed under the programs, Spiro admitted he spent it on personal expenses and debts. He also admitted using more than $10,000 at a time in at least two transactions involving the fraud money, including buying houses in Alamogordo and Ruidoso.

Spiro pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud, three counts of making false statements to a financial institution and two counts of money laundering. He faces up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced.