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Law360 (August 4, 2020, 9:47 PM EDT) -- Federal prosecutors charged a Houston man Tuesday with allegedly conning his way into $1.6 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans, using the money to buy a $200,000 Lamborghini, a Rolex watch and trips to strip clubs.
Lee Price III, 29, filed applications claiming to have numerous employees and significant payroll expenses he needed help paying during the COVID-19 pandemic, prosecutors said.
But neither Price Enterprises Holdings, which allegedly received more than $900,000, nor 713 Construction, which was approved for more than $700,000, have employees or large payrolls, prosecutors allege.
When Price filed the fraudulent applications for the loans funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, the person he listed as CEO on the 713 Construction loan application had died in April 2020, a month before the application was submitted, according to prosecutors.
The federal CARES Act funded $650 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and other expenses during the coronavirus pandemic.
Price allegedly used the loan proceeds to buy a Lamborghini Urus, a Rolex watch, 2020 Ford F-350 truck and real estate, and spent thousands at strip clubs and other Houston night clubs, prosecutors claim.
Price is charged with making false statements to a financial institution, wire fraud, bank fraud and engaging in unlawful monetary transactions, according to prosecutors.
The government is represented by Timothy A. Duree, James Alexander, Matthew Grisier and James McAlister of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas.
Counsel information for Price wasn't immediately available Tuesday.
The case is USA v. Lee Price III, case number 4:20-mj-01366-1, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
This story has been updated to include the case number.
--Editing by Breda Lund.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
