A couple from Louisville, Kentucky, was sentenced to federal prison last month for fraud and identity theft.

On May 28, 2025, Yeniseis Saavedra, 35, was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release for one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of making a false statement, two counts of disaster fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Yeniseis Saavedra was additionally ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $156,147.78

On May 20, 2025, Alien Saavedra, 36, was sentenced to 1 day in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release, for one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of disaster fraud.

Alien Saavedra was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $111,143.78.

Yeniseis and Alien Saavedra pleaded guilty to the charges in November 2024.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky describes the various trucking industry-related fraud schemes that the couple took part in:

“Between 2019 and 2020, Yeniseis Saavedra and Alien Saavedra engaged in a conspiracy to defraud factoring (trucking loan) companies by submitting false bills of lading. Yeniseis Saavedra and Alien Saavedra also aided and abetted each other in committing disaster fraud by filing for lost wage assistance payments authorized by a Presidential Memorandum resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic with the Kentucky Office of Unemployment. The filing for lost wage assistance payments was on behalf of Alien Saavedra and failed to report that Alien Saavedra was receiving wages from the motor carrier industry.

In 2020, Yeniseis Saavedra made a false statement to the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration when she falsely filed an application on behalf of another, C.S., claiming that C.S. was going to operate a trucking company. However, C.S. was not aware of the application filing, and Yeniseis Saavedra was operating the company.

Yeniseis Saavedra also filed for lost wage assistance payments authorized by a Presidential Memorandum resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic with the Kentucky Office of Unemployment on behalf of C.S. Again, C.S. was unaware of the filing, this time for lost wage assistance payments, and C.S. did not receive any of the lost wage payments. Instead, the lost wage payments were sent to a bank account controlled by Yeniseis Saavedra.

Lastly, Yeniseis Saavedra was sentenced for aggravated identity theft for using the identity and Social Security number of C.S. without C.S.’s authorization to obtain the lost wage assistance payments.“

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation-Office of Inspector General, the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Postal Inspector.