GREENACRES, Fla. (CBS12) — A Greenacres man is accused of taking out multiple fake COVID-19 business loans totaling $483,570 for personal use.
The state attorney's office began investigating CARES Act loans given to Rodrigue Piero, 48, owner of King Marketing Group LLC in April.
Piero reportedly obtained a $10,000 Economic Injury Disaster Grant (EIDG) and a $78,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) from the Small Business Administration (SBA) on June 21, 2020, according to the report.
Additionally, on April 1, 2021, Cross River Bank granted Piero a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan in the amount of $395,570, the report states.
Investigators found that Piero obtained these loans by providing false information about the number of employees and monthly payroll, and that Piero's companies had not paid taxes from 2019 to the present.
Funds from the grants and loans were reportedly deposited into a checking account designated as a Business Choice checking account with Wells Fargo Bank, with Piero designated as the sole signatory.
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Once Piero received the loans, he would send smaller amounts via check or Zelle to other companies or to himself, authorities said.
Investigators reported that on the first day Piero received his PPP loan, he wrote four checks totaling $118,671 to his personal account.
Additionally, it is stated that between April 4, 2021 and June 16, 2021, Piero cashed at least 15 checks totaling over $100,000, all of which were made out to himself.
Piero began making luxury purchases in April 2021. Investigators said those purchases included a $7,276 purchase at the Louis Vuitton store at the Gardens Mall, an online money transfer to Watches of Swiss, a Bitcoin purchase and a JetBlue flight.
As a result of the investigation, Piero was charged with two counts of fraud scheme and money laundering.
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