FLORIDA: A man reportedly purchased a luxury Mercedes car and a pickup truck from the coronavirus relief fund in Florida, the United States.
According to the details, Keith William Nicoletta, 48, applied for a Payroll Protection Program loan, falsely claiming that he had a scrap metal business with 69 employees and a monthly payroll of more than $760,000.
He obtained the loan worth $1.9 million in May, which was part of the coronavirus relief package unveiled in March.
After securing the loan, Nicoletta transferred the money between several bank accounts and withdrew $100,000 in cash. He also purchased a 2020 Mercedes for $105,000 and a Ford truck for $66,000. He also wired over $500,000 to a property management company, Fox8 reported.
Keith William Nicoletta was arrested last week and charged with bank fraud and illegal monetary transactions, said the U.S. attorney’s office in Tampa.
“None of the money was used for payroll,” prosecutors said, adding that he reported no employee wages to the state of Florida in 2019 or 2020.
