—which sought to help small businesses keep employees on their payroll during coronavirus closures—and was approved for nearly $4 million in three forgivable, low-interest PPP loans despite the fact that he either did not actually have any employees to retain or paid them pennies compared to what he filed for, BuzzFeed
. Not only that, but he has been charged with bank fraud after allegedly using the money on luxury goods for himself. Gotta love a huckster who uses covid-19 as an opportunity to go shopping!Hines maintains that the loans were taken out to pay 70 employees of a few moving businesses he managed in Miami, butmakes it clear that investigators found no signs of any wages paid between 2015 and 2020.
They did, however, find that Hines had used the money to purchase “luxury and personal items,” including a $318,497.53 blue 2020 Lamborghini Huracán EVO, $11,000 on hotels, $8,530 at Graff Diamonds and $5,000 at Saks Fifth Ave,