A Florida man pleaded guilty Wednesday to fraudulently obtaining more than $1.9 million in coronavirus relief funds available through the Paycheck Protection Program which he used to buy a Mercedes-Benz, a Ford pick-up truck and jewelry for his wife, ABC News reports.
Keith William Nicoletta, 48, of Dade City pleaded guilty today to laundering the funds for personal use. He applied for the loans by falsely claiming he owned a scrap metal business that employed 69 people and had monthly payroll of $769,000, or more than $11,000 per month per employee for a scrap metal business.
Nicoletta then attempted to launder the money by transferring it between multiple accounts. He withdrew $100,000 in cash and used part of the rest to buy vehicles and gifts, as well as having an inground pool built at his house. He used none of it on payroll.