A Texas man was arrested Tuesday on charges of defrauding the coronavirus relief fund of $ 3 million.
Fahad Shah, 44, of Murphy, Texas, faces three counts of wire fraud, one of making false statements to a bank and four counts of money laundering, prosecutors said in a press release.
A federal indictment accuses Shah of fraudulently requesting $ 3 million in forgivable Check Protection Program (PPP) loans.
Prosecutors say a North Texas wedding planner allegedly filed false requests for coronavirus relief funds.
The indictment says Shah submitted false applications for PPP loans to two different lenders from the Small Business Administration (SBA). In the application, Shah allegedly claimed to have more than 120 employees in his wedding planning business earning wages when, in fact, he had zero employees working for him.
WASHINGTON STATE MAN CHARGED WITH CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FRAUD, SOMELY REQUESTED FOR MORE THAN $ 1.5 MILLION IN LOANS
The indictment alleges that Shah obtained more than $ 1.5 million that he used to buy a Tesla and make personal investments and mortgage payments.
Shah appeared before US Magistrate Christine A. Nowak of the Eastern District of Texas.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
It was not immediately clear if Shah was detained or released. A stated phone number was disconnected and could not be reached for comment.
Associated Press contributed to this report..
