Vermont Man Dana McIntyre Awarded Donkey Of The Day For Using PPP Loan To Buy Alpaca Farm

Vermont man Dana McIntyre has been awarded Donkey Of The Day for using a PPP loan to buy an alpaca farm.

Funds from the Paycheck Protection Program might’ve long dried up but the people that obtained the loans by fraudulent means are still feeling the results of their scams little by little.

Today’s PPP scammer happens to be Dana McIntyre who is currently a resident of Grafton, Vermont.

Before moving to Vermont, McIntyre applied for a PPP loan worth over $660,000 for a Massachusetts-based pizza parlor named Rasta Pasta Pizzeria which he owned at the time.

Not long after he got the funds, McIntyre used that opportunity to sell his pizza parlor and use the payout to buy alpaca farms in Vermont.

After pleading guilty to four counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering, McIntyre was sentenced to two years in prison and three years of supervised release plus he was ordered to pay $679,156 in restitution and forfeiture.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy had this to say, “Make no mistake about it, this was no momentary lapse in the fog of the pandemic. Mr. McIntyre submitted multiple bogus applications for pandemic money was supposed to provide a lifeline to small businesses and their employees during a national emergency. He stole from the American taxpayers and the many small businesses which truly needed those loans to survive. Just last month our office expanded the resources dedicated to investigating and prosecuting COVID fraud. Whether someone used stolen money to buy luxury goods or fancy cars or exotic farm animals, we intend to find them and hold them accountable.”

Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, added, “Dana McIntyre capitalized on a national catastrophe and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from a limited pool of money set aside to help struggling businesses, to buy a farm, stock it with alpacas, and make a fresh start for himself in Vermont. Today’s sentence holds him accountable for his selfish criminal conduct. The FBI will continue to aggressively pursue others like him who are using the money from this economic relief program to pad their own pockets. If you know of similar instances of fraud, please contact us at 1-800-CALL-FBI.”

There’s more but we’ll let Charlamagne Tha God take over from here…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlDDZZPmg28