Reality TV Figure Bought Rolex With PPP Funds, U.S. Alleges
Reality TV Figure Bought Rolex With PPP Funds, U.S. Alleges
(Bloomberg) -- A reality television personality bought diamond jewelry and a Rolex watch after tapping $2 million from the Paycheck Protection Program, U.S. prosecutors said.
Authorities charged Maurice Fayne, 37, with bank fraud, making him one of four people formally accused of defrauding the PPP, a federal program offering $660 billion in forgivable small business loans. Fayne, also known as Arkansas Mo, is a recurring character on VH1’s “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta.”
In a separate matter announced Wednesday, the Justice Department alleged that a Beaumont, Texas, engineer sought about $13 million in loans for a company that he said employed 250 people. The man, Shashank Rai, 30, employed none, according to prosecutors. He couldn’t be located for comment.
Federal prosecutors have been swift to target people allegedly cheating the Small Business Administration program, which is meant to help small operations pay employees to weather the coronavirus pandemic. The Justice Department has brought its charges as various investigators of the federal relief programs are still getting set up.
More such cases could come to light. The government initially said the identities of most applicants wouldn’t be disclosed, but in a recent shift, the Federal Reserve said it will provide the public with more details about who is tapping Small Business Administration lending programs.
Fayne, according to prosecutors, claimed on a loan application that he needed the money to keep 107 employees on the payroll of a trucking company and fund other business expenses, according to a Justice Department statement. A $2 million loan was funded through United Community Bank. Within days, prosecutors allege, Fayne used more than $1.5 million of it to buy $85,000 in jewelry, including a Rolex Presidential watch, a diamond bracelet and a diamond ring. He also used $40,000 to pay child support, they allege.
“We will provide the appropriate response in the proper forum once all the information has been provided to us,” said Tanya Miller, Fayne’s lawyer. “Mr. Fayne remains committed to the success of his business -- which long preceded COVID19 -- and to telling his side to the story when the time is right.”
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