A Boulder man admitted to obtaining COVID relief funds by filing false applications. Russell Lester pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Lester is accused of making false statements from March through August of 2020 in order to obtain funding from the federal Paycheck Protection Program and the Small Business Administration. In total, Lester fraudulently received more than $330,000 from both programs, which he used to pay himself and to put towards old debts unrelated to the businesses the money was intended for.
