A California man is in custody after gambling with $9 million obtained from submitting fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loans.
According to a CBS Report, Andrew Marnell used the money to make “risky stock market trades” and to gamble on the Las Vegas Strip. The 40-year-old lost hundreds of thousands of dollars at the Bellagio and a couple other Strip casinos.
Marnell is facing bank fraud charges and faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted. He is due back in court next Tuesday.
The Los Angeles native submitted multiple fraudulent applications to the federal program that was instituted to help ease the economic pain of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program allows small business to receive a loan from the federal government to keep employees on the payroll.
The Small Business Administration will forgive the loans if the employee retention criteria is met and the funds were used for eligible expenses. Playing table games on the Las Vegas Strip is not considered an eligible expense.
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