Albuquerque police charge two in 2020 COVID loan scam murder

Albuquerque police have charged two suspects in a 2020 murder tied to a COVID-19 small business loan scam. Angelo Cuellar-Salazar and Ryan Mathis are accused of organizing the scam to obtain a $10,000 loan, according to police.

Police said Mathis introduced the victim, Genoveva Paiz, to Cuellar-Salazar to work the same scam. Investigators said Paiz went to Mathis’s home near West Mesa High School, where she was shot and killed.

Police believe Mathis and Cuellar-Salazar bound Paiz’s body with electrical cord, wrapped her with a cloth swamp cooler cover, and stuffed her inside furniture.

Cuellar-Salazar was arrested on Monday. Mathis is already in custody on unrelated charges.