Texas Man Going To Jail, Used PPP Funds On A Lambo & Strippers
I remember distinctly last year when news of the Paycheck Protection Program came out, there were folks on social media handling out HORRIBLE advice on how to obtain one of these "loans" and those of us who knew better tried to warn folks that it was a bad idea to abuse that program.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, I WROTE ABOUT THIS VERY THING AT THE START OF THE YEAR....JUST CLICK HERE.
And yet, despite the warnings of potential prison time, despite the fact that it's a LOAN, that in some cases you would have to pay back, that didn't stop people from getting greedy and instead of using the money for its "purpose", they used it to ball out.
REMEMBER THIS LADY? SHE GOT $3.7 MILLION AND BROUGHT HOMES AND OTHER STUFF.
Back in March, a Houston woman was indicted after she received more than $3.6 million then used the money to make personal purchases such as $725,000 for homes in Katy and Cypress, $78,000 for a 2020 Land Rover, a $63,000 purchase at Chanel, $46,000 at Neiman Marcus and $14,000 at Apple according to reports.
We now head back to Houston where a 29-year-old man will be spending over 100 months in prison after he went wild with "spending" some of the ill-gotten COVID-19 relief funds on a bunch of stuff including making it rain on strippers.
Lee Price III according to multiple reports, received $1.6 million in loans from the Paycheck Protection Program. The U.S. Attorney's Office says that Price filed 2 fraudulent applications for businesses that didn't have a payroll nor employees. It also didn't help that the person listed as "CEO" in those applications DIED died in April 2020, a month before the application was submitted.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office press release:
Price allegedly used the loan proceeds not for payroll expenses, but for lavish personal purchases, such as loan money on a Lamborghini Urus, a Rolex watch and real estate transactions. He also allegedly spent thousands at strip clubs and other Houston night clubs. The complaint further alleges Price used a portion of the loan money to buy a 2020 Ford F-350 pickup truck.
Price was arrested and charged with making false statements to a financial institution, wire fraud, bank fraud and engaging in unlawful monetary transactions. On Monday, he was sentenced to 110 months on wire fraud and money laundering counts after pleading guilty in September according to NBC New York.
While one can appreciate Mr. Price trying to "stimulate" the "local economy" its another unfortunate reminder that not all money is "good money".