Los Angeles (AFP) – A California man was arrested and ordered detained without bond Thursday for fraudulently obtaining about $ 9 million in coronavirus relief funds and using part of the money to gamble in Las Vegas.
Andrew Marnell, 40, a resident of the Los Angeles Beverly Grove neighborhood, allegedly filed a series of fraudulent loan applications related to the coronavirus pandemic and raised millions in Check Protection Program (PPP) funds.
Prosecutors say he used some of the money to make risky bets on the stock market and wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino and other gambling establishments in Las Vegas last weekend.
The PPP loans were part of the unprecedented $ 2.2 trillion CARES Act, which helped millions of Americans suffering from the economic effects of the pandemic.
Authorities said Marnell, who was due to return to court next Tuesday, faces up to 30 years in prison on the bank fraud charge.
