California Man Accused of Spending $5 Million in PPP Loans on Luxury Cars

A California man has been accused of fraudulently obtaining $5 million in federal coronavirus relief loans and using the money to live a luxury lifestyle, NBC News reports.

Mustafa Qadiri, 38, of Irvine, was arrested Friday and charged with four counts of bank fraud, four counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and six counts of money laundering, the Department of Justice said in a statement.

According to court documents, Qadiri used the government-backed loans to buy three luxury cars worth six figures each: a 2011 Ferrari 458 Italia, a 2018 Lamborghini Aventador S, and a Bentley Continental GT.

According to the indictment, Qadiri claimed to have operated four Newport Beach-based companies, none of which are currently in operation: All American Lending, Inc., All American Capital Holdings, Inc., RadMediaLab, Inc., and Ad Blot, Inc.

Qadiri allegedly submitted false and fraudulent PPP loan applications to three banks on behalf of those companies. The banks then funded the PPP loan applications and transferred approximately $5 million to accounts Qadiri controlled. 

Federal agents have seized the Ferrari, Bentley and Lamborghini cars that Qadiri purchased with the allegedly fraudulently obtained PPP loans, along with $2 million in alleged ill-gotten gains from his bank account.