Florida Man Arrested For Using Small Business COVID Loan to Obtain Lamborghini

For those who haven’t been paying close attention, the government has been handing out money left and right. In theory, this money should be used to help keep people and businesses afloat. Relief checks have been cut to individuals who might be down on work. Furthermore, the Small Business Administration is also trying to help out businesses that might see gaps in their model due to COVID-19.

On the business side of things, the government was offering $649 billion total in forgivable loans. For those read the fine print, they know that these loans should be used for things like payroll and rent. In other words, they were designed to make sure that there was as little impact on the economy as possible while we deal with the ongoing pandemic.

However, where there is a system, there will certainly be people who try to take advantage of that system. We’ve already reported on one story of an individual who allegedly made up businesses in order to get the loan and then went on to buy Cadillacs with it.

This time, we check out what is really shaping up to be an even more egregious example of fraud.

Breaking911 reports that a Florida man was arrested for obtaining $3.9 million in Paycheck Protection Program funds and using those funds to buy a sports car for himself. They continue to tell us that authorities went on to seize the sports car, a 2020 Lamborghini Huracan worth approximately $318,000 and $3.4 million in cash.

“David T. Hines, 29, of Miami, Florida, was charged with one count of bank fraud, one count of making false statements to a financial institution and one count of engaging in transactions in unlawful proceeds.”

They tell us that he originally applied for $13.5 million in PPP loans. However, the complaint goes on to say that Hines submitted these applications fraudulently, making “numerous false and misleading statements about the companies’ respective payroll expenses.”

We don’t need an accountant to tell us that a Lamborghini isn’t a payroll expense.

In other words, while the companies weren’t completely made up like we’ve heard of in other stories, he might’ve fudged the numbers a little bit. The complaint continues that Hines also made purchases at luxury retailers and resorts in Miami Beach.