2023-09-01 17:38:41
The former owner of a pizzeria in Boston, Massachusetts (United States) was sentenced on Wednesday to two years in prison for wire fraud and money laundering. In 2020, he had bought an alpaca farm with the government subsidies he had received during the health crisis linked to Covid-19, reports the New York Times.
Dana L. McIntyre was already struggling financially before the pandemic. But the situation worsened when its restaurant business was forced to slow down. Like many American entrepreneurs, the respondent then applied for state aid. In his request, he overestimated his expenses, the number of his employees and the amount of remuneration. At the same time, the restaurateur took out two loans in the names of his children for companies that did not exist.
He says he didn’t mean to be dishonest
Dana L. McIntyre also filed for unemployment benefits, arguing that because of the coronavirus he could no longer work, had no income, which was not true. In total, the 59-year-old American received 660,000 dollars, or around 607,000 euros. After receiving these aids, he sold his restaurant and bought an alpaca farm in Vermont. In April 2023, the respondent pleaded guilty but insisted that he meant no harm.
“At the time, I considered this money as a loan that I would repay one day, we were in the midst of a pandemic and I panicked,” he said. For the state attorney general, the former restaurant owner simply stole from American taxpayers. In addition to the prison sentence, the 50-year-old will have to pay a fine of 680,000 dollars (more than 627,249 euros). He is now one of 3,100 Americans to have been prosecuted for misappropriating pandemic aid.
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