A Florida man 27-year-old Valesky Barosy Arrested for receiving more than $2 million in pandemic relief funding unlawfully. He then spent the money on Lamborghini, Rolex and Hublot watch, as well as expensive clothes from Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Bucci.
Valesky Barosy, 27, boasted about “his success as an entrepreneur” by uploading pictures of his ostentatious purchases to his Instagram account, which he dubbed “@your favorite entrepreneur,” the US Justice Department said.
Barosy submitted several COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program applications on behalf of himself and his collaborators, who gave him a 20–30% reward for each accepted application.
According to the Justice Department, “Barosy filed phony Internal Revenue Service tax documents and fabricated the applicant’s prior year expenses, net profit, or payroll in each loan application.” On Barosy’s computer, along with text messages requesting information from potential clients, were bogus loan applications and the false tax paperwork that accompanied them.
He stated that his ability to “max out PPP” was his greatest accomplishment in a text message. I treat them very well,” the prosecutor claimed.
The PPP was established to offer 1% interest-rate loans with a two-year maturity date to qualified small businesses and other groups. PPP loans permitted the interest and principal to be forgiven provided the business used the loan funds for certain spending categories within a specific time period and were required to be used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities.
The COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force was created by the Attorney General to investigate cases like Barosy’s after it became clear that many people were abusing the program.
Five counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, and one count of aggravated identity theft were included in Barosy’s indictment from a year ago. The judgment is scheduled for February 23, 2023. Along with reparation and the loss of the loan earnings, he faces a sentence of at least two years and as many as 132 years in jail.
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