A Florida man on Wednesday pleaded guilty to charges in connection with fraudulently obtaining nearly $4 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, some of which were used to buy a Lamborghini sports car.
The plea comes after David Hines, 29, of Miami, was charged in July 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.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in a press release Wednesday that Hines, as part of his plea deal, “admitted that he fraudulently sought millions of dollars in PPP loans through applications to an insured financial institution on behalf of different companies,” through which he improperly obtained $3.9 million in loans intended for businesses to supplement workforce income and other expenses amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Hines admitted that he did not make the payroll payments he reported on loan applications and, instead, used the money from the federal government for personal expenses.
The man also acknowledged that within days of receiving the funds, he used about $318,000 to purchase a 2020 Lamborghini Huracan sports car for himself, according to the DOJ.
At the time of his arrest, authorities seized the Lamborghini, as well as $3.4 million Hines had in his bank accounts.
As part of the deal, Hines pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, with sentencing scheduled for April 14.
The DOJ added Wednesday that since the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed in March 2020, fraud attorneys have prosecuted more than 100 defendants in more than 70 criminal cases, seizing more than $60 million in cash that had been fraudulently obtained through PPP funds, as well as real estate properties and other items improperly purchased with the loans.