Oceanfront apartment in California funded by $27 million COVID scam, feds say

A California man accused of seeking $27 million in fraudulent paycheck protection loans during the COVID-19 pandemic will spend 11 years in prison, federal officials reported.

A jury convicted Robert Benlevi, 53, of Encino in March on charges of bank fraud, making false statements to a financial institution and money laundering, a July 19 news release from the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Benlevi applied for 27 forgivable paycheck protection loans at four banks in Southern California in 2020 for his eight businesses, prosecutors said. He also submitted faked IRS documents.

In each case, he misrepresented the companies as having 100 employees with a monthly payroll of $400,000, but in fact he had no employees and no payroll, prosecutors said.

Benlevi received $3 million in fraudulent loans for three of his businesses, the release said.

Instead of payrolls, prosecutors say he used the money to pay off credit cards and rent an oceanfront apartment in Santa Monica. He also took out cash and transferred money to his other accounts.

This story was originally published July 20, 2022 at 7:38 AM with the headline "Oceanfront apartment in California funded by $27 million COVID scam, feds say."