By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A Phoenix family agreed to a plea deal earlier this month in response to accusations they lied to the feds to get COVID-19 relief funds and for the son to get a gun.
Read more Arizona law now bans 11 ingredients from school campuses during the school day
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Wednesday Mohammed Maio, 43, pleaded guilty earlier this month to conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, felon in possession of a firearm and aiding another in making a material false statement to purchase a firearm.
His parents, Souzan El-Sayed, 66, and Abukar Maio, 70, pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Between May 2020 and March 2024, the trio lied on applications to obtain $2.2 million in Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan relief for multiple businesses that did not have any employees.
Prosecutors said the family used the money for themselves, including buying multiple properties.
Mohammed, a convicted felon, got his mother to lie on a gun purchase form in May 2021, saying she would use the gun, but she actually gave it to him.”
Read more Tombstone schools prepare students for careers beyond the Old West
Maximum punishment for the fraud and money-laundering charges is decades in prison, but with the plea deal, sentences will likely be far less.
Mohammed’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 28, while El-Sayed and Abukar Maio are set to be sentenced Oct. 5.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.