Coral Springs cop used COVID relief loan to repair his own vintage car, feds say
.jpg "A Coral Springs police officer was charged with COVID relief fraud after investigators say he used loan money to repair his vintage car.")
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COVID-19 loan fraud in South Florida
South Florida, long known as the nation’s capital of fraud schemes, has incurred more than 140 PPP criminal cases over the past three years, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Here are a few.
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When Coral Springs police officer Jason Carter filled out the form for a COVID-19 relief loan for his high-end car repair business, he said he’d use the money to help alleviate the loss from the pandemic, investigators say.
But instead Carter, of Boca Raton, used about $21,000 of nearly $30,000 to repair his own vintage car, according to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday.
Carter, 44, now face one count of wire fraud. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
J. David Bogenschutz, the attorney representing Carter, could not be reached for comment.
In March 2020, Carter applied for a COVID-19 relief advance grant and low-interest loan through the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The Economic Injury Disaster Loan application and loan agreement was filed on behalf of Jason S. Carter, Inc., a South Florida car repair business he said he owned, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
In the application, Carter said that in the 12 months before Jan. 31, 2020, the business had grossed $100,000, even though it had not, investigators said in the indictment. The money he ended up receiving went to a car repair and detailing company for luxury vehicles and high-end auto parts, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Coral Springs police did not respond to a request for information on Carter.
READ MORE: Florida man got $4.5 million from COVID-19 PPP fraud, then lost $3 million — and freedom
This story was originally published June 17, 2022 at 4:24 PM.
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