According to the indictment, the five defendants allegedly fraudulently obtained more than $4 million in PPP loans and used those funds in part to buy luxury vehicles.
Thomas, Gaines, Green, and Benoit allegedly assisted in the submission or submitted PPP loan applications on behalf of five companies — Bellator Phront Group Inc. (owned by Thomas), Gaines Reservation and Travel LLC (owned by Gaines), Impact Creations LLC (owned by Green), Transportation Management Services, Inc. (owned by Benoit), and Lee Operations LLC.
They allegedly submitted fraudulent loan applications with numerous false and misleading statements about the companies’ number of employees and payroll expenses. They sought $800,000 for each company.
After receiving the PPP funds, Thomas, Gaines, Green, and Benoit transferred the money to secondary bank accounts, including an account controlled by Jackson who further distributed the funds.
Thomas allegedly used the PPP funds to buy a 2018 Mercedes-Benz S-Class S65AMG and a 2018 Land Rover Range Rover.
