[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A star of VH1’s “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta”, Maurice Fayne, was arrested and charged with federal bank fraud for misusing funds from the SBA’s Covid-19 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
Fayne runs a corporation called Flame Trucking and his PPP loan application claimed that he had 107 employees and an average monthly payroll of $1,490,200. He applied for a loan in the amount of $3,725,500 and received one for $2,045,800. Georgia state records show that Flame Trucking was established in April 2019, but investigators believe Fayne had no employees at the time of his PPP application. In support of his claim, Fayne produced bank statements from Arvest Bank dated from October to December 2019, but Arvest Bank told investigators that the Flame Trucking account was closed in September 2019.
Fayne used more than 1.5 million dollars of the loan for personal expenses, including purchasing a Rolex, a diamond bracelet and a 5.73 carat diamond ring, which he claimed were investments that would go up in value because he was wearing them. He also paid $40,000 in child support and leased a Rolls Royce Wraith.
On May 11, less than a month after Fayne submitted his PPP application, federal agents searched his home and found $80,000 in cash, including $9400 that Fayne had in his pockets. Agents also seized $503,000 three bank accounts under his name.[/vc_column_text][us_image image=”1708″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
