A Riverside County man is accused of taking out a big PPP loan for a company with no employees.
He allegedly got the $7.25 million dollar loan for his pothole-repair company, Road Doctor California, by claiming that he was in the process of hiring 450 full-time employees.
Assistant US Attorney Alex Wyman says it appears no hires were made and no potholes were filled. But money was used for other expenses, such as purchasing a Mercedes-Benz worth more than $100,000 and to pay off a loan on a BMW. Both cars have been seized.
The Paycheck Protection Program is meant to help small businesses keep workers employed during the pandemic.
Wyman says PPP fraud is rampant.
"It's people taking advantage of this horrible pandemic and you have this money, that is tax payer guaranteed loans that was earmarked for struggling small businesses during the pandemic and people are taking advantage of that by submitting false applications or obtaining money and then using it for impermissible purposes," he says.
The defendant in this case, a 59-year-old Temecula resident, has been indicted on four counts of wire fraud and is awaiting arraignment.