Headlines: $1.5M in pandemic fraud, Cortlandt larceny, man guilty of raping child

Here are some stories making headlines across the Hudson Valley.

News 12 Staff

Mar 15, 2023, 10:05 AM

Updated 580 days ago

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Here are some stories making headlines across the Hudson Valley.
A mother and daughter from Mount Vernon will be sentenced in June for stealing more than $1.5 million from a program meant to help struggling businesses during the pandemic. Court papers show that Alicia Ayers, who worked for the city of Mount Vernon, and her daughter, Andrea, pleaded guilty last week in federal court in White Plains. Authorities say they sent in 300 applications for federal economic injury disaster loans under fake company names. They pleaded guilty to charges including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. They will be sentenced in June.
State police are asking for the public's help in identifying a man in connection with a larceny. Authorities releases a surveillance photo from the Walmart on East Main Street in Cortlandt. Anyone with any information is asked to contact the state police in Cortlandt at 914-769-2600.
A Middletown man is facing up to 36 years to life in prison for raping a child. Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler says 35-year-old Cecilio Navarro was found guilty by a jury on several charges - including predatory sexual assault against a child, rape in the second degree, and rape in the third degree. Prosecutors argued that Navarro engaged in at least two acts of sexual conduct with a child younger than 13 years old between December 2016 and October 2018. Navarro is being held in Orange County Jail without bail. He'll be sentenced in May.