A Texas man was sentenced to more than nine years in prison for fraudulently obtaining and laundering COVID-19 relief funding from the CARES Act.
Lee Price III, 30, of Houston pleaded guilty in September to wire fraud and money laundering. Federal prosecutors accused price of using more than $1.6 million in funding from the Paycheck Protection Program under the Cares Act, which was designed to give emergency financial assistance to small business owners who were struggling during the pandemic.
"Price spent the money on, among other purchases, a Lamborghini Urus, a Ford F-350 truck, a Rolex watch, and to pay off a loan on a residential property," said a press release from the Department of Justice.
The DOJ said it seized over $700,000 of the funds that Price obtained with the help of law enforcement partners.
"Price falsely represented the number of employees and payroll expenses in each of the PPP loan applications," said the DOJ. "To support the fraudulent PPP loan applications, Price also submitted fraudulent tax records and other materials."
