A Los Angeles rideshare driver has been federally indicted for allegedly using phony companies and fake documents to obtain more than $2 million in COVID-era relief funds, with prosecutors saying the money was moved into cryptocurrency accounts and investigators seizing nearly 40 bitcoins.
A man identified by authorities as a rideshare driver from Koreatown in Los Angeles was arrested on a five-count federal indictment accusing him of stealing pandemic relief money through sham business applications. The indictment alleges the scheme ran from May 2020 through December 2024 and targeted both the Small Business Administration and financial institutions that disbursed CARES Act-era funds. Officials say the funds were intended for struggling businesses but were diverted into personal accounts and cryptocurrency.
Bruce Choi, 34, was taken into custody at San Francisco International Airport after arriving on a flight from Japan, federal prosecutors said. He faces four counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution and one count of transactional money laundering. His initial appearance was held in the United States District Court in San Francisco, and he is scheduled for arraignment in Los Angeles federal court in the coming weeks.
According to the indictment returned in October 2025 and unsealed this week, Choi allegedly posed as the CEO and owner of a business called “Premier Republic” and applied for a $1,995,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan. Documents submitted to a lender reportedly claimed Premier Republic had an average monthly payroll of $798,000, was operating in mid-February 2020, and paid salaries and payroll taxes. Prosecutors say those claims were false because Premier Republic never conducted business or employed anyone.
The charging papers describe a slate of fabricated paperwork submitted to support the PPP request, including a counterfeit 2019 individual tax return that listed nearly $11.8 million in gross receipts and about $9.6 million in gross profit. Investigators also allege Choi provided a bogus bank statement showing “deposits” and “transfers” totaling $798,000 for the period of February 1, 2020, through February 31, 2020. The indictment further alleges a separate Economic Injury Disaster Loan application falsely claimed a business named “Bruce” was in real estate, employed 10 people, and had $475 million in 2019 revenue.
As a result of the alleged fraud, the victim lender is accused of disbursing $1,995,000 and the U.S. Treasury of issuing a $10,000 EIDL advance. Prosecutors say Choi wired proceeds from the scheme into a Kraken cryptocurrency exchange account, and agents later executed a court-authorized seizure of nearly 40 bitcoins along with other digital assets tied to the investigation. Those seizures were part of the broader effort to trace and recover funds moved into crypto platforms.
Federal investigators emphasize that an indictment contains allegations and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If convicted, Choi faces a statutory maximum of 30 years in federal prison on each wire fraud count and up to 10 years on the money laundering count, according to charging documents. Those potential penalties reflect the serious nature of fraud and money laundering charges linked to pandemic relief programs.
Multiple federal agencies are noted in the case file as participating in the probe, including IRS Criminal Investigation, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and the SBA’s Office of Inspector General. The coordinated inquiry focused on both the false paperwork submitted to lenders and the movement of disbursed funds into digital-asset accounts. Seizures and financial records were central to unraveling the alleged money flows.
Assistant United States Attorney Tara B. Vavere of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section and Assistant United States Attorney Alexander B. Schwab, Acting Chief of the Criminal Division, are listed as the prosecutors handling the case. Court filings note the timeline of the alleged scheme, the specific documents submitted, and the transactional steps authorities say were taken to conceal and convert the proceeds. Those filings will be the basis for the government’s presentation if the case proceeds to trial.
An indictment returned by a grand jury is only the start of criminal proceedings, and defense attorneys will have opportunities to challenge the government’s evidence, cross-examine witnesses, and present contrary proof at trial. The charges allege a deliberate effort to exploit relief programs designed for struggling small businesses, and Justice Department officials stress the importance of accountability when fraud is discovered. The case remains under active investigation as pretrial steps move forward.
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