Fraud Friday – Three Luxury Cars and $2 Million Seized by the Feds in PPP Fraud Case
February 24, 2023
Delaney Sexton
Contributing Editor
Fraud Friday – Three Luxury Cars and $2 Million Seized by the Feds in PPP Fraud Case
Last week, the Attorney’s Office announced that Mustafa Qadiri was sentenced after obtaining more than $5 million in PPP loans for sham businesses. Although none of the businesses were in operation, he claimed to operate four companies based in Newport Beach.
In May and June of 2020, Qadiri submitted fraudulent PPP applications to three separate banks on behalf of these companies. He included false information on the number of employees on payroll and their wages, altered bank account records that had inflated balances, and fictitious quarterly federal tax return forms. Further, he used somebody else’s name, Social Security number, and signature to apply for one of the PPP loans.
After receiving $5 million from the fraudulent PPP loans, he used the funds to purchase luxury cars and vacations, and he made payments on his personal expenses. A Ferrari, Bentley, and Lamborghini were seized by federal agents along with $2 million from his bank account.
Mustafa Qadiri was sentenced to four and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of bank fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of money laundering. Along with the prison sentence, he received a $20,000 fine and more than $2.8 million in restitution.