A federal grand jury says Mustafa Qadiri used the Paycheck Protection Program to go on a luxury car shopping spree. The cars included in the investigation were a Ferrari 458 Italia and a Lamborghini Aventador. The program was intended to help keep businesses afloat, not to fund personal car collections.

$5.1 million in false federal loans…and a Lamborghini

While COVID-19 impacted the world, the Paycheck Protection Program helped struggling businesses. Qadiri applied for federal relief through multiple businesses that were not in operation at the time.

Qadiri received $5 million in funds and went shopping. He purchased cars, went on vacation, and lived a lavish lifestyle temporarily. According to The New York Times, he was “indicted by a federal grand jury on four counts of bank fraud, four counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft and six counts of money laundering.”

Starting in May 2020, Qadiri obtained federal loans of upwards of $5.1 million by June in the same year. Qadiri allegedly altered bank account records to make it appear four different companies were eligible for relief. None of the companies were in operation.

In addition to altering bank records, he allegedly used a different name, social security number, and signature on applications.

A free Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Bentley

The government seized a red 2011 Ferrari 458 Italia registered to All American Capital Holdings. A black 2018 Lamborghini Aventador S, registered to the same company, was also seized. Qadiri named all American Capital Holdings on the applications.

Dupont Registry has a few 2011 Ferrari 458 Italia models listed for between $179,000 and $199,000. Dupont Registry also has a few 2018 Lamborghini Aventador S models for sale between $319,500 and $439,951. The black 2020 Bentley Continental GT shows a price of $250,000 to $324,000.

All three of the cars are luxury vehicles that could amount to over $500,000 total. That is dependent on the mileage and the condition of the cars. Federal agents seized the cars last week and some of the other assets that could be located.

Why not 39 cars while we are at it?

Rudolph Brooks, Jr. of Maryland was busted for a similar fraudulent scheme in April 2021. Similarly, the U.S. Department of Justice charged him with one federal count of wire fraud.

Brooks is the owner of Cars Direct by Gavawn HWD Bob’s Motors. Known as Cars Direct. He incorporated the business back in 2010. Brooks forfeited Cars Direct in 2012. He revived the business in May 2020. Brooks allegedly applied for a PPP loan for more than $1.5 million.

“In support of the Cars Direct PPP loan application, Brooks allegedly submitted fraudulent tax forms which allegedly reported $724,469 in payments via Forms 1099-MISC and $7,471,630 in total unemployment payments to employees from Cars Direct.”

U.S. Department of Justice

Maryland’s Department of Labor has no records of wages paid by the business. However, Brooks paid no payroll-related expenses from the accounts that received the money. In other words, Cars Direct was not operating.

After that, Brooks used the fraudulent gains to purchase 39 different cars, including a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The 2018 Tesla Model 3 goes for around $50,000-$60,000. That is dependent on the condition. He also had around $2.2 million sitting in bank accounts.

Other vehicles include a 2017 Mercedes Benz S Class and a 2014 GMC Yukon XL. Similarly, a 2017 Infinity Q50, a 2015 Cadillac Escalade, and a 2005 Bentley Continental were purchased. In conclusion, the purchase of these cars was not an approved use of the PPP loans.