Published 11:59 IST, August 5th 2020
US court jails man who used $3.9 million COVID-19 relief funds to buy Lamborghini
A man from Texas, United States was arrested by Police for using $1.6 million government pandemic aid to go on a spending spree.
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A man from Texas, United States was arrested by Police for using $1.6 million government pandemic aid to go on a spending spree. According to media reports Lee Price III, 29, was charged with fraud because he secured two government loans under the Paycheck Protection Program to pay employees and he did not pay them. Instead of paying employees, Lee Price spent fund money on lavish goods like $200,000 Lamborghini Urus, luxurious Rolex watch, an F-350 pickup truck, and thousands of dollars at Houston strip clubs.
According to complaint Lee Price took two loans, Price Enterprises Holdings reportedly received more than $900,000, while another firm 713 Construction was approved for over $700,000, but neither employees and any individual listed as chief executive officer on the 713 Construction loan application died in April 2020, a month before the application was submitted. United States Congress brought the $700 billion Paycheck Protection program in late March this year for the small businesses to survive the coronavirus pandemic and economically tough times, giving loans that could be forgiven if they were used to pay wages, rent, and utilities.
This is not the first case where COVID 19 relief funds were misused by individual for his personal spending, last week a Florida resident was charged with fraudulent and criminal offenses after he received $3.9 million in COVID-19 relief funds and used the money to purchase a Lamborghini and many other things. The 29-year-old man, David T. Hines, was arrested on July 24 and charged on July 27, the Department of Justice reportedly said in a statement. According to the reports, more than $3 million has been seized from his bank accounts along with the luxurious sports vehicle.
Another case of forgery
A man from Florida, United states duped and brought a Porsche with a fake cheque printed from his home computer. As per reports Casey William Kelley, 42, on August 5 was charged and has been arrested. He was also in a bid to buy luxury watches with this tactic. Casey William Kelley allegedly gave over a counterfeit cheque that he had printed from his home computer to buy the luxury car from a Porsche dealership in Destin, Florida on July 27. He drove off a brand-new Porsche 911 from the outlet as the business was oblivious that they had been duped.
12:00 IST, August 5th 2020