Florida man pleads guilty for using coronavirus loan to buy Lamborghini sports car

The US Department of Justice on February 10 announced that a Florida man pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining nearly $4 million in PPP loans and using it to buy himself a $318,000 Lamborghini sports car. According to Associated Press, the officials seized the car and $3.4 million from the bank accounts of 29-year-old David T. Hines of Miami at the times of his arrest. David has pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 14. 

As per reports, Hines admitted that he fraudulently sought millions of dollars in PPP loans through applications to an insured financial institution on behalf of different companies. He caused to be submitted fraudulent loan applications that made numerous false and misleading statement about the companies’ respective payroll expenses. The financial institution had approved and funded approximately $3.9 million in PPP loans. 

Further, the 29-year-old admitted that within days of receiving the PPP funds, he used the money to purchase a 2020 Lamborghini Huracan sports car for approximately $318,000. According to AP, the documents indicate that in the days and weeks following the disbursement of PPP funds, Hines did not make payroll payments that he claimed on his loan applications. However, he did use the PPP proceeds for personal expenses. 

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CARES Act 

It is with noting that the Coronavirus Aid Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted back in March 2020. It is designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the Act was the authorisation of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to all businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, though the PPP. 

The PPP allows qualifying small business and other organisations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of one per cent. Businesses must use PPP loan proceeds for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. The PPP also allows the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spent the proceeds on these expenses within a set time period and use at least a certain percentage of the loan towards payroll expenses. 

(With inputs from AP) 

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