A Florida man allegedly scammed nearly $ 4 million from the US government’s coronavirus relief loan program and used some of the cash on a new Lamborghini and other luxury items, authorities said Monday.
David T. Hines was charged with bank fraud, making false statements to a financial institution, and participating in illegal profit transactions in a criminal complaint revealed Monday.
Hines, 29, of Miami, initially tried to get $ 13.5 million from the Payment Protection Program through applications on behalf of different companies, saying he needed the money for employee payroll purposes.
It turns out that “those alleged employees did not exist or earned a fraction of what Hines claimed in his PPP applications,” the affidavit says.
The bank finally approved three of the loans totaling $ 3.9 million.
Within days of bagging the cash, Hines allegedly bought a 2020 Lamborghini Huracán valued at more than $ 318,000.
He also spent thousands of dollars on dating, jewelry and clothing websites and stayed at fancy hotels in Miami Beach, according to the complaint.
Federal investigators linked the sports car to Hines after it was involved in a hit-and-run incident on July 11, The Miami Herald reported.
Miami police confiscated the vehicle, which federal prosecutors now plan to confiscate.
When the bank froze the accounts of the Hines companies on June 24, they showed a balance of $ 3,463,162 but there were no repayments on the loans.
Hines was arrested on Friday. United States Chief Magistrate Judge John O’Sullivan released him on $ 100,000 bail during his first court appearance on Monday.
She will be allowed to stay at her mother’s house with a GPS monitor. Her arraignment is scheduled for October 14.
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