Updated: Feds say previous Beverly business enterprise proprietor utilised PPP financial loans to by farm, alpacas | Community Information
BEVERLY — Federal prosecutors say a previous North Shore company operator grossly inflated the selection of staff members and payroll at his Beverly pizza store to fraudulently obtain federal COVID-19 aid cash — some of which he used to invest in a farm and some alpacas up in Vermont.
Dana McIntyre, 57, the previous owner of Rasta Pasta Pizzeria, was arrested Tuesday early morning on costs of wire fraud and cash laundering.
He was anticipated to be released on $100,000 unsecured bond with a series of ailments, next his first physical appearance Tuesday afternoon by way of video clip in U.S. District Courtroom.
“My consumer denies the allegation and will have further more comment at a later day,” McIntyre’s legal professional, Jason Stelmack, explained in an e-mail to the Related Press.
According to court papers, McIntyre obtained more than $661,000 in Payroll Security Application loan money final calendar year by claiming that he experienced 47 staff and a month-to-month payroll of $265,000 at his compact pizza store in a strip mall on Cabot Road.
But he utilized distinct figures although filing for Financial Injury Disaster Financial loans and on past tax filings, primary investigators to conclude that McIntyre’s pizza store under no circumstances experienced more than 10 employees on its payroll and that he would have capable for a a great deal decreased amount of PPP cash.
Investigators also allege that McIntyre established up fictitious providers in his children’s names in an endeavor to obtain catastrophe loans.
McIntyre used for the PPP loans as a result of Kabbage, an on line fiscal know-how corporation that had been accredited to situation the loans.
Right after acquiring the PPP cash, McIntyre, who had lived in Essex, sold the pizza store and utilised the funds to invest in a farm in Grafton, Vermont, pay back for upgrades to the property and home, and obtain many alpacas, in accordance to court papers.
He established up a have confidence in fund as a result of a legislation organization in Vermont, then created transfers from that fund to fork out for the farm, gear and motor vehicles and $6,380 toward the price tag of the alpacas, employing a different $3,400 from a payroll account for the equilibrium, the affidavit said.
On its internet site, Houghtonville Farm advertises packages these as “The Alpaca Encounter,” the “Household Alpaca Picnic” and “Wine, Cheese and Alpaca!” at prices setting up at $99 an hour. The farm’s web site also offers alpaca products and solutions and listed an “Opening Working day” function for nearby people very last Saturday.
Radio show off-air
McIntyre also allegedly used PPP money to shell out for a classic 1950 Hudson, a GMC Sierra truck and $6,500 to pay back for airtime on WBOQ, a North Shore radio station, to host a paid system identified as “The Dana Crypto Display” exactly where he talked about cryptocurrency.
Todd Tanger, the president of the station, which goes by “North Shore 104.9,” termed the allegations “upsetting” and mentioned the system is staying taken out from the air.
“The Paycheck Defense Application has been incredibly significant to lots of nearby companies that are battling to endure around the past 12 months,” Tanger reported in an email. “Mr. McIntyre’s exhibit has been on air at North Shore 104.9 FM for about three a long time and now we eradicated it from air right away pending investigation and the outcome of the expenses.”
McIntyre also ran a firm identified as New England Block Chain LLC, which operated a community of Bitcoin ATMs in the space, one particular of them within his enterprise, in accordance to a 2018 push release advertising and marketing his WBOQ segments.
Some of the money, according to an affidavit filed in the situation, went towards other expenditures, including $2,200 in February to a “beauty spa.”
McIntyre did use some of the money to pay back $43,000 to six persons identified as Rasta Pasta personnel. Practically half of that went to just one individual, who ongoing obtaining weekly payments just after McIntyre bought the pizza company. That particular person also owned a business enterprise in Rockport, which gained $1,600 in cash in excess of a four-thirty day period period of time.
McIntyre also allegedly applied Venmo to send pretty much $17,000 to an individual else who federal investigators said appeared to have worked at Rasta Pasta but who did not look in any payroll information.
Investigators learned discrepancies in the size of McIntyre’s payroll as reported on numerous tax kinds and unemployment insurance policy and personnel payment insurance coverage paperwork, in accordance to the affidavit.
McIntyre has in the earlier organized or taken component in charitable things to do as properly, having said that. In the early 2000s, when he owned a landscaping company in Salem, McIntyre served as president of the Salem Rotary Club. He helped lead a staff of associates who went to Bolivia to guide in a plan to aid children born with cleft lip and cleft palate. He also structured an annual holiday getaway celebration for young children in the state’s foster treatment technique and led efforts to increase cash for a community center in Salem’s Stage neighborhood.
If convicted, he could deal with up to 20 yrs in prison on just about every of the two counts.
Magistrate Choose Judith Dein requested that after released, McIntyre must surrender his passports, not use any medicines which include marijuana, which is however unlawful below federal law, and have no get in touch with with any witnesses in the case other than his own children.
The decide also ordered that he not sell or transfer any assets, whether individuals property are under his own name or aspect of any rely on or other entity from which he gains, though the case is pending. A probable lead to hearing will be established for afterwards this month.
Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by e-mail at [email protected] or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis.