Federal prosecutors have charged a Miami nurse with fraud and other crimes in a criminal complaint that accuses him of lying on coronavirus relief loan applications and fraudulently obtaining close to half a million dollars in relief money intended to help small businesses survive disasters like the current pandemic. The complaint affidavit alleges that Giraldo Caraballo, 55, falsely applied for and received approximately $420,000 in a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan from a bank on behalf of Professional Skills Inc., a company that he controlled. According to the affidavit, Caraballo falsely claimed on the PPP loan application that the company had 28 employees and an average monthly payroll of $168,000. The affidavit also alleges that Caraballo applied for and received approximately $55,000 in Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) relief. In his EIDL application, Caraballo falsely claimed that his company had four employees and a 12-month gross revenue of $180,000. In fact, Caraballo’s company had zero employees and no payroll expenses. Caraballo spent the relief money on personal expenses and transferred $239,000 into a personal bank account, says the affidavit.
