Texas businessman, 55, ‘stole $17.7 million in coronavirus relief funds to buy multiple homes and luxury cars, including a $250,000 Bentley’

A North Texas businessman has been accused of stealing more than $17 million in coronavirus relief funds and spending the money on houses and luxury cars, including a Bentley and a Corvette.

Dinesh Sah, 55, of Coppell, allegedly sought around $24.8 million in forgivable Payment Protection Program (PPP) loans but ultimately received $17.7 million.

The economic relief was part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, designed to provide emergency funds to Americans suffering from the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, including small businesses.

In his application, Sah filed for PPP loans for 15 businesses that claimed to have more than 500 employees and hundreds of thousands of dollars in payroll expenses, a federal indictment unveiled Saturday claims.

However, investigators say that the majority of the businesses were registered in June, three months after the CARES Act was passed, and also had no registered employees.

The indictment also alleges that Sah submitted fraudulent documentation in support of his applications, including falsified federal tax filings and forged bank statements for the businesses.

‘Mr. Sah exploited this terrible pandemic for personal gain — and he should be held accountable to the American people for that behavior,’ said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox in a statement.

‘COVID-19 has devastated the finances of hardworking business owners across the nation. PPP funds should be reserved for those who really need them to keep their companies afloat,’ she said.

With no real employees to pay, prosecutors say Sah used his bogusly obtained fortune to buy multiple homes, make international transfers in excess of millions of dollars, as well as splash out on a 2020 Bentley Continental GT convertible, which retails for around $240,000.

Records obtained by Dallas News show that Sah and his wife bought five homes in the Coppell area beginning August 5 and ending just days before his arrest on September 15.

Those homes are valued between $288,280 and $449,800, according to Dallas County property tax records and listing prices.

Sah also owned two homes in California and another in Coppell purchased prior to 2020.

The federal complaint affidavit indicated that Sah used $266,502 to pay off the mortgage at his house in Coppell, in addition to using $537,250 to pay off two homes registered in his wife’s name in California.

Those properties were seized by police, along with the Bentley and four other cars, including a 2015 Porsche Macan, a 2020 Chevrolet Corvette and a 2020 Cadillac XT6.

The 55-year-old previously filed for bankruptcy in 2003 and 2013 while living in California, court records show.

Tamera Cantu, special agent in charge of the Dallas office for the IRS criminal investigation unit, lamented Sah in a Saturday statement for his ‘disgraceful display of greed’.

‘Mr. Sah looked at the Paycheck Protection Program as his own personal piggy bank, treating himself to not only millions in cash, but several luxury vehicles and properties, all while legitimate small business owners in the United States desperately sought out ways to put food on their tables and to ensure their employees were paid,’ Cantu said.

‘This indictment reinforces that IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our federal partners in the Northern District of Texas are dedicated to working together to protect innocent Americans from these CARES Act fraudsters,’ he added.

Sah was arrested by investigators on September 15. He has since been charged with three counts of wire fraud, three counts of bank fraud, and one count of money laundering.

Several other unnamed associates and family members are mentioned in the indictment as well. It’s unclear if they’ve been charged.

So far, authorities say they have been able to recover around $6.5 million in fraudulent proceeds that Sah reportedly obtained as part of the scheme.

Since the CARES Act was enacted on March 29 of this year, there have been multiple instances of people attempting to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program, including a man in Florida who used the funds to buy a Lamborghini and a North Carolina man who received over $1.7M in benefits for companies named after characters from the TV show ‘Game of Thrones.’

Former New York Jets wide receiver Josh Bellamy was charged in a scheme last month alongside 10 others for filing at least 90 fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $24 million.

Maurice Fayne, who appeared on nine episodes of the reality show Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta as ‘Arkansas Mo,’ was also charged with swiping more than $2 million in coronavirus bailout money back in May.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form.