Italian sports car and had $3.4 million in bank accounts.
360aproko news reported that Hines claimed that he operated four companies with dozens of employees with about $4 million in monthly expenses. The Times reported, citing authorities, that he pulled in three payments of $3.9 million.
“In the days and weeks following the disbursement of PPP funds, the complaint alleges that Hines did not make payroll payments that he claimed on his loan applications,” according to a DOJ statement. “He did, however, make purchases at luxury retailers and resorts in Miami Beach.”
Earlier this month, the government identified roughly 650,000 mostly small businesses and nonprofits that received taxpayer money through a federal program that was designed to soften job losses from the coronavirus but also benefited wealthy, well-connected companies and some celebrity-owned firms.
As of June 30, the program had handed out $521 billion. The Treasury Department identified just a fraction of the total borrowers Monday, naming only companies that got more than $150,000. Those firms made up less than 15% of the nearly 5 million small companies and organizations that received loans.
Hines was charged with bank fraud, making false statements to a financial institution and engaging in transactions in unlawful proceeds, authorities said.
Chad Piotrowski, the lawyer for Hines, told the paper that his client was a legitimate business owner who “like millions of Americans, suffered financially during the pandemic.” He looks forward to telling his side of the story, the lawyer said.
