HOUSTON – A Houston man who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegally obtained money meant to help with COVID-19 relief has been sentenced to more than 9 years in prison.
Lee Price III, 30, on Monday was given a 110-month sentence after pleading guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in September, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
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Price initially applied for more than $2.6 million in loans from the Small Business Association’s Paycheck Protection Program and was given $1.6 million after falsely reporting the number of employees and payroll expenses on behalf of three businesses.
For one of the businesses, Price sought loans using the name of a person who died shortly before the application was submitted.
The DOJ release also states that Price bought high-dollar items like a $233,000 Lamborghini Urus, an $85,000 Ford F-350 pickup truck and a $14,000 Rolex.
Price also spent thousands of dollars at nightclubs and strip clubs in the Houston area, according to KSAT sister station KPRC.
The DOJ and other law enforcement agencies were able to seize more than $700,000 of the funds Price fraudulently obtained.