Look, another dimwit allegedly bought a car with illegal COVID-19 stimulus money – Roadshow

2020 Kia Stinger GTS — This time, someone used the funds to buy a Kia Stinger.

Kia

If anyone actually believed they'd be able to siphon millions of dollars out of the Paycheck Protection Program and get away with it, they're not bright. And if you need more evidence authorities will catch the wrongdoers, we have yet another example.

The US Department of Justice announced last week it has charged a 41-year-old man from Washington, DC after he allegedly received $2.1 million in fraudulent COVID-19 stimulus money and bought a 2020 Kia Stinger, among other luxury goods.

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The $46,000 Stinger was the cheapest purchase the Justice Department listed. The man also allegedly bought a $1.13 million rowhouse and a $300,000 yacht.

The PPP was meant to help small business owners survive the coronavirus pandemic as the economic fallout continues. Congress allocated over $300 billion to the program to help business owners pay rent, mortgages, keep employees on their payrolls and more. The loans are forgivable if businesses spend the money within a certain timeframe and in the proper way.

The man's scheme allegedly involved applying for PPP loans on behalf of other companies that dealt with registering emotional support animals. He allegedly then used $2.1 million to enrich himself. In addition, the Justice Department said the man is also charged with crimes related to a separate embezzlement scheme in which he allegedly took nearly $500,000 from the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, DC.

The complaint charges the man with one count of bank fraud, one count of the theft of government funds, one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. This marks the third such case we've seen.