One of two people arrested last week on suspicion of stealing $3.5 million in COVID-19 funding has been identified as a Moreno Valley teacher.
Vanessa M. Williams, a 35-year-old Corona resident, teaches in the Moreno Valley Unified School District, spokesperson Alex Sponheim said in a Tuesday, Oct. 29, email. Citing privacy concerns, Sponheim said she could not name the school at which Williams works. She said Williams is on administrative leave during the investigation.
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Transparent California, a website that tracks public employee salaries and pensions in the state, lists a Vanessa M. Williams as a special education teacher for the district, as of 2023. The district has only one employee by that name, according to the website.
Denise Mata, a 34-year-old Moreno Valley woman, was arrested along with Williams on suspicion of defrauding the government through the Paycheck Protection Program, a U.S. Department of Justice news release states.
The defendants are accused of submitting fraudulent information and false statements to banks and the Small Business Administration in order to get Paycheck Protection Program loans approved for themselves and others that they involved in the scheme, according to the release. Such loans were intended to help businesses get through financial difficulties related to the pandemic, the release states.
After getting the loans, the defendants and others they involved, including their family members and close friends, used the money in ways that are not approved through the program, according to the grand jury indictment.
On Friday, Oct. 25, the school district made a social post stating it had placed an employee on administrative leave after being told of the employee’s arrest. In the post, the district did not identify the employee or the alleged crime.
“We take these matters very seriously and the alleged action is not something we condone in any way,” the post, attributed to district administration, states.
The post also said the district places student safety first and that the crime was not connected to a school or the student body.
Williams is charged with nine counts of wire fraud, while Mata is charged with 10 counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity fraud, stemming from her unpermitted use of another person’s Social Security Number as part of the fraud. According to a Department of Justice news release, law enforcement estimates that this fraudulent scheme resulted in about $3.5 million of losses for the pandemic relief program.
Both women pleaded not guilty and were released on $10,000 bond.
