Los Angeles rideshare driver charged with using $2 million in COVID relief loans to purchase cryptocurrency

Bruce Choi, a 34-year-old resident of Koreatown in Los Angeles, was arrested on Tuesday at San Francisco International Airport and charged with wire fraud and money laundering.

Federal prosecutors allege that he submitted fraudulent economic injury disaster loan applications in the name of a fictitious company "Premier Republic," fraudulently obtaining approximately $2 million in COVID-19 business relief loans, and subsequently transferred the funds to an account at the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken to purchase cryptocurrency. During the investigation, prosecutors seized nearly 40 BTC and other cryptocurrencies. If convicted, each wire fraud charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, and the money laundering charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.