Florida Man Charged With PPP Loan Fraud After Allegedly Misusing Millions To Buy Luxury Goods

December 31, 2021

A Florida man has been accused of misusing millions of dollars in coronavirus relief funding. According to the Department of Justice, Valesky Barosy and his accomplices allegedly received $2.1 million in loans and are accused of misusing the funds on luxury goods. He made his first court appearance on Wednesday (Dec. 29) on the federal charges of five counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

The 27-year-old allegedly submitted fraudulent loan applications on behalf of himself and accomplices, aiming to gain more than $4.2 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. The paperwork was submitted with false information on the applicant’s prior-year expenses, net profit, and payroll, as well as fraudulent IRS tax forms. Barosy was able to obtain over $2 million which was allegedly spent on Lamborghini Huracán EVO, Rolex and Hublot watches, and designer clothing from Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Chanel.

The Miami Herald reported Barosy flaunted a high-cost lifestyle on social media. A now-deleted Instagram account featured the man flying on private jets and enjoying other luxuries. He allegedly worked as the “regional vice president” of a credit repair company that at one point earned “$3.6 million in sales.”

His online biography on the social media account described Barosy as a “7 Figure Entrepreneur,” “NFT Creator, Marketing, e-commerce.” A press release issued in June 2019 shared the story of a Haitian immigrant who became an entrepreneur and “went from Walmart to disrupting the multi-million dollar credit repair industry.”

USSS Miami investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Bailyn is prosecuting the case.  Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture. If convicted, Barosy faces up to 132 years in prison.

R&B singer Baby Blue of the Miami group Pretty Ricky was recently sentenced on similar charges after allegedly obtaining roughly $24 million in loans under false pretenses. Legal name Diamond Blue Smith,  the 36-year-old admitted that he lied on the application to obtain PPP funding. He was ordered to serve 20 months in prison on charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

A report from the New York Times found more than 15% of loan recipients or $76 billion in funds were granted to potentially fraudulent applications.

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