Texas man stole $17 million in coronavirus relief money, spent it on fancy cars and houses, feds say
Everything’s bigger in Texas, including the coronavirus relief fraud.
A Dallas-area man stole $17 million in COVID-19 bailout money and spent in on luxury cars and houses, the Justice Department said in a press release Friday.
Dinesh Sah, 55, tried to swipe $24.8 million in loans but only received $17.7 million, according to the release.
The money was supposed to go to small business owners, but Sah’s “businesses" and “employees” were basically all made up in his 15 loan applications, the feds said.
With no real employees to pay, Sah spent the millions on a 2020 Bentley convertible, other luxury cars and multiple homes, according to the feds. He also made some international money transfers.
“Mr. Sah looked at the Paycheck Protection Program as his own personal piggy bank, treating himself to not only millions in cash, but several luxury vehicles and properties, all while legitimate small business owners in the United States desperately sought out ways to put food on their tables and to ensure their employees were paid,” IRS agent Tamera Cantu said in the release.
Sah is formally charged with three counts of wire fraud, three counts of bank fraud and one count of money laundering.
He is far from the first person suspected of defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program in the CARES Act. Everyone from ex-Jets wide receiver Josh Bellamy to an Atlanta reality TV star allegedly tried to swipe some small business bailout money.
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