A Miami man is behind bars after allegedly buying a new Lamborghini with fraudulent government loans. The Department of Justice alleges that 29-year-old David Hines illegally applied for 13-point-five-million-dollars in loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
The program is meant to help small businesses pay their employees amid the coronavirus pandemic – and officials say he lied about his involvement in several businesses. In the end, he managed to get his hands on just under four-million dollars.
Instead of using it as he’d promised, officials say Hines used the money for a sports car, other personal items...and dating sites. Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Hines has had legal troubles – he was given a $100 fine for not wearing a facemask in Miami last Thursday. He also appeared on a local news broadcast calling the coronavirus pandemic a “hoax.”
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Source: Department of Justice
Photo: Getty Images