A Miami, Florida man, David T. Hines, has pleaded guilty for fraudulently obtaining approximately $3.9 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and using those funds to purchase a $318,000 Lamborghini sports car among other items for himself. Hines pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 14.
Federal authorities seized the Lamborghini and $3.4 million from the bank accounts of Hines, age 29, at the time of his arrest.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Hines admitted that he fraudulently sought millions of dollars in PPP loans through applications to an insured financial institution on behalf of different companies as part of his plea agreement.
The PPP allows qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of 1%. Businesses must use PPP loan proceeds for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spend the proceeds on these expenses within a set time period and use at least a certain percentage of the loan towards payroll expenses.
Hines submitted fraudulent loan applications that made numerous false and misleading statements, according to the DOJ, about the companies’ respective payroll expenses. The financial institution approved and funded approximately $3.9 million in PPP loans.
Hines further admitted that within days of receiving the PPP funds, he used the funds to purchase a 2020 Lamborghini Huracan sports car for approximately $318,000.
In the days and weeks following the disbursement of PPP funds, Hines did not make payroll payments that he claimed on his loan applications. He did, however, use the PPP proceeds for personal expenses.