Nevada man accused of using PPP loan to buy luxury cars, condos

Authorities in Nevada arrested a man on charges of defrauding multiple banks out of almost $2 million worth of loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Jorge Abramovs, 40, of Las Vegas, is accused of making dozens of loan applications with three different company names and falsely claiming to have several employees earning wages according to a press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ). The loans were guaranteed to be forgivable under the CARES Act.

Abramovs was arrested on Jan. 17 and has been charged with bank fraud. As of Jan. 22, he is being detained while he awaits trial. The maximum penalty for bank fraud is a $1 million fine and up to 30 years in prison.

Prosecutors allege he received roughly $1,986,737 through his multiple fraudulent loan applications.

Instead of using the funds for business purposes, the DOJ alleges Abramovs used them for extravagant personal expenses. He reportedly bought several luxury cars including a Tesla and a Bentley, two condos and paid off his mortgage. 

According to court records filed on Wednesday, Abramovs carried out his scheme beginning in April until at least June. He has been ordered to surrender any property he bought with funds received through the PPP.

The Hill has reached out to the DOJ for more details of Abramovs’s case.

As the DOJ notes, Congress approved $284 billion in PPP funding in December after initially approving $349 billion in March and an additional $300 billion in April.

More than $60 million cash made through fraudulent PPP loan has been seized by the fraud section of the DOJ so far, according to the department, including properties purchased with the money.