Bryan Ochoa Diaz, a 32-year-old resident of Tigard, Oregon, pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in federal court on Wednesday. The charges stem from his misuse of funds obtained through a government loan intended for his family’s restaurant, Casa Colima Vancouver, Inc.
Court documents show that Ochoa Diaz applied for and received a $350,000 loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as part of pandemic relief efforts. The loan required that all funds be used strictly as working capital to address economic hardship caused by the Covid-19 disaster and prohibited their use for personal or household expenses.
On August 16, 2021, the SBA deposited the full amount into Casa Colima’s account. The following day, Ochoa Diaz transferred $100,000 from the business account to his parents’ personal bank account. He then wired those funds to a mortgage company to pay down his parents’ home mortgage.
Ochoa Diaz serves as a reserve officer with the U.S. Coast Guard. He was charged with one count of money laundering by information and waived indictment by a grand jury before pleading guilty. He has since paid back $350,000 in restitution to the SBA.
He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine at sentencing scheduled for December 15, 2025.
The investigation was conducted by the SBA Office of Inspector General and the Coast Guard Investigative Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chris Cardani and Meredith Bateman are prosecuting the case.
Anyone with information about attempted fraud involving COVID-19 relief programs is encouraged to contact the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or submit information via its online complaint form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
