Former Owner Of Beverly Pizzeria Charged With COVID-Relief Fraud
BEVERLY (CBS) - A former North Shore man is accused of using more than a half million dollars from the Paycheck Protection Program for personal expenses including buying an alpaca farm in Vermont.
Dana McIntyre, formerly of Beverly and Essex, made his initial appearance in federal court Tuesday on a criminal complaint for wire fraud and money laundering.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says the 57-year-old filed a fraudulent loan application to get more than $660,000 from the CARES Act program for his Beverly restaurant Rasta Pasta Pizzeria.
The feds say he inflated information about the business to get a larger loan, saying it had 50 employees when records showed it only had about 10.
According to the US Attorney, after McIntyre received the PPP loan he sold the pizza shop and used the money for the Vermont farm, cars and to fund a weekly radio show about cryptocurrency.
McIntyre was released from custody, had to turn in his passport and is not allowed to sell any real estate.
In a statement on his Facebook page, McIntyre said he did "absolutely nothing wrong" and "can't wait for my day in court."