A 27-year-old Florida man has been charged with fraudulently obtaining over $2 million in COVID-19 relief loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), with authorities accusing him of using the money to buy luxury cars, watches and clothing.
According to prosecutors, Valesky Barosy of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. submitted PPP loan applications for over $4.2 million, providing documents with falsified prior year-end expenses, net profit, payroll and IRS tax documents.
Barosy and his accomplices ended up receiving about half of what they applied for and spent the money on a Lamborghini Huracan EVO; watches from Rolex and Hublot; and designer clothing from Louis Vuitton and Gucci.
Barosy faces five counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering and one count of aggravated identity theft. If convicted Barosy faces up to 132 years in prison.
Since the PPP was established during the pandemic, a multitude of individuals across the U.S. have been charged with fraudulently obtaining loans and spending the money on lavish expenses.
In May Mustafa Qadiri of California was charged with fraudulently obtaining $5 million in PPP loans. According to authorities, Qadiri similarly spent the money on luxury cars like Lamborghinis as well as vacations.
Rapper and reality star Maurice Fayne was sentenced to over 17 years in prison last year for his involvement in PPP loan fraud. Prosecutors said that Fayne used the funds for child support, custom jewelry and to start a new business.
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