MISSOULA, Mont. — A Bozeman woman has admitted to fraud charges related to obtaining relief funds through deceit, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Montana.
Alaina Marie Garcia, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of money laundering. She faces up to 30 years in prison for bank fraud, a maximum fine of $1,000,000, and five years of supervised release. For money laundering, she faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided over the proceedings. U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is scheduled for May 20, 2026. Garcia was released with conditions pending further proceedings.
Court documents revealed that on May 5, 2020, Garcia, as the representative of Bluebird Property Rentals LLC, applied for and was approved for a $613,000 Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan through Celtic Bank. She falsely claimed that the company had 32 employees and paid payroll taxes. In reality, there were no employees, and no payroll taxes had been paid.
Garcia had agreed in the loan application that the funds would be used for payroll and utility payments, but instead, she spent the money on personal expenses. A significant portion was used to purchase property in the Bozeman area. On May 11, 2020, $548,000 of the loan proceeds were transferred to Axilon Law Group as part of this real estate purchase.
On July 25, 2020, Garcia applied for loan forgiveness, falsely claiming the funds were used for payroll and business expenses. These claims were untrue.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin Rubich prosecuted the case, with the investigation conducted by the Internal Revenue Service and the Small Business Administration.
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