An Irvine man was sentenced on Friday, Feb. 17, to four and a half years in federal prison for using fraudulent COVID business loans to get $5 million — some of which he used to purchase expensive cars and luxury vacations, federal prosecutors said.
Mustafa Qadiri, 42, of Irvine pleaded guilty in July 2021 to one count of bank fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of money laundering.
Qadiri put several fake companies with nonexistent employees and altered bank accounts on Paycheck Protection Program loan applications in 2020, prosecutors said. He used someone else’s name and personal information to apply for one loan.
The loans were given out by the federal government during the pandemic’s height to keep businesses afloat.
Qadiri bought a Ferrari, a Lamborghini and a Bentley, which were seized by federal agents in addition to $2 million from his bank account.
Qadiri also was fined $20,000 and was ordered to pay $2.8 million in restitution.
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