A Texas man has been sentenced to over nine years in prison for fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 relief funds that he laundered to finance his lavish lifestyle. Lee Price III, 30, of Houston, who pleaded guilty in September to charges of wire fraud and money laundering, submitted fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications to two different lenders on behalf of three entities. Through these loan applications, Price sought over $2.6 million under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act and actually obtained over $1.6 million in PPP loan funds.
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Price falsely represented the number of employees and payroll expenses in each of the PPP loan applications, Department of Justice (DoJ) said, citing court documents. To support the fraudulent PPP loan applications, Price also submitted fraudulent tax records and other materials.
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In one instance, Price applied in the name of an individual who died shortly before the application was submitted. “After he received the PPP loan funds, 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,” the DoJ said in a statement.
The DoJ, along with law enforcement partners, seized over $700,000 of the funds Price fraudulently obtained.
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Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section of DoJ has prosecuted over 150 defendants in more than 95 criminal cases and has seized over $75 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of DoJ in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.
