A new report by The NY Post is revealing some interesting details about people who scammed their way into having thousands of dollars after finessing the PPP loan system.
According to the report, after receiving the PPP loan tens of thousands of people splurged on Lamborghinis, vacation homes, private jet flights and Cartier jewelry. The Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General, released a report that reveals an astonishing 17% vanished to fraud — an estimated total of $200 billion. The SBA also claims to have estimated that they have more than 90,000 “actionable leads,” while it has already prosecuted dozens of people.
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The Breakfast Club host, Charlamagne Tha God caught wind of the report and reacted to the news on his Instagram by posting the article and his caption read: “I told y’all this was a trap back in 2020. Some of you heathens told me I was hating. Now look at you about to be America’s Next Top Inmate in PPPrison….The moral of the story is if it’s too good to be true, then it probably is.”
We previously shared a story on how a Texas man was sentenced to nine years after attaining $1.6 million in coronavirus relief loans and bought a Lamborghini and other things.
Lee Price III, 30, pleaded guilty in September to the charges of wire corruption and money laundering after doing fake Paycheck Protection Program loan applications, according to a press release from the Justice Department. According to reports, Price spent the money on some personal purchases like a Lamborghini Urus, 2020 Ford F-250 pick up, and Rolex watch. Authorities also say they have evidence of him spending thousands of dollars at nightclubs in Houston.
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PPP loans were a part of the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, that Congress approved in March 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic hit everyone across the US.
“Mr. Price hopes that others will learn from his reckoning that there is no easy money,” Tom Berg, Price’s attorney, said. “He has the balance of the 110-month sentence to reflect, repent and rebuild his misspent life.”