A Houston man who was convicted of scamming $1.6 million dollars in COVID-19 relief money is headed to prison for fraud and money laundering, MTO News has learned.
A judge sentenced 30-year-old Lee Price III to 110 months in federal prison Monday, that’s a little more than 9 years – for those counting.
Lee pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in September, and at the time – threw himself on the mercy of the court. He could have received as little as a few years in prison. But the judge went hard on the scammer, MTO News confirmed.
Federal prosecutors allege that Lee lied on Paycheck Protection Program applications to two different financial institutions. On one of the applications, Lee listed a CEO who died a month before it was submitted.
Potomac Housewife Ashley Darby Dancing – ‘Built Like Scrappy Doo’
Surprisingly, he got the money on both loans.
Federal prosecutors say that Lee received $700,000 for that one and another $900,000 for another company. But according to the feds, neither had employees.
So what did he spend the PPP cash on. Prosecutors say Lee purchased a brand new $200,000 Lamborghini Uras, a Ford F-350 pickup, a Rolex and other luxury items. Lee also dropped thousands, prosecutors say, on Houston strip joints and nightclubs.
When it was all said and done, Lee blew through more than $1,000,000. The feds managed to seize only $700,000 in goods and cash from Price, who has a long rap sheet in Houston dating back to 2007 when he was a teenager.
