A Florida man has been charged with fraud and other criminal offenses after receiving $ 3.9 million in COVID-19 relief funds and using the money to buy, among other things, a Lamborghini.
David T. Hines, 29, was arrested Friday and indicted Monday according to a Justice Department statement. More than $ 3 million has been seized from his bank accounts along with the sports vehicle.
Authorities allege that Hines fraudulently applied for about $ 13.5 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for some companies. PPP, part of the Coronavirus Economic Relief and Relief Act, was enacted on March 29 to provide forgivable loans to small businesses. Any money given to a company on behalf of the program is supposed to be used for rent or mortgage costs, employee wages, and utilities.
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According to the Justice Department statement, Hines lied about the loan applications and made inaccurate statements about the companies’ expenses, including the amount paid to employees.
“Those alleged employees did not exist or earned a fraction of what Hines claimed in his PPP applications,” says US Postal Inspector Bryan Masmela in an affidavit, according to the Miami Herald. “Collectively, Hines falsely claimed that his companies paid millions of dollars in payroll in the first quarter of 2020. State and bank records, however, show little or no payroll spending during this period.”
Hines was approved to receive funds and received $ 3.9 million. Just days after receiving the money, he bought the Lamborghini for $ 318,000. It is also alleged that he purchased luxury items at stores and resorts.
In recent weeks, Florida has become one of the hotspots for COVID-19 cases in the US, and recently moved to New York for having the second most confirmed cases in the country, behind California.
Hines was in federal custody over the weekend, released on bail Monday and is scheduled to be processed on October 14.
