NEW YORK (WPIX) – A physician in New York was sentenced to 51 months in jail Friday after he fraudulently obtained greater than $3 million in COVID emergency loans, officers mentioned.
Dr. Konstantinos Zarkadas used the cash to purchase a $1.7 million yacht, lease luxurious cars, and get Rolex and Cartier wristwatches, in line with the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace for the Japanese District of New York. He pleaded responsible in November 2021 to catastrophe aid fraud and wire fraud in connection along with his receipt of small enterprise loans underneath the Paycheck Safety Program and Financial Harm Catastrophe Mortgage Program.
“At the moment’s sentence demonstrates there are penalties for individuals who deal with important authorities packages as money give-a-ways and shamefully search to revenue from an unprecedented public well being disaster,” United States Legal professional Breon Peace mentioned in a Friday press launch. “This Workplace will vigorously prosecute and produce to justice medical professionals just like the defendant and different fraudsters who’re pushed by greed to take care of a lavish life-style on the expense of small companies in official want of COVID-19 emergency help.”
Zarkadas, 48, fraudulently utilized for and acquired at the very least 11 loans between March and July of 2020, officers mentioned. He then laundered the cash and used it for “extravagant private purchases,” together with a virtually $200,000 down cost on a yacht.
“Due to the investigative work of IRS-CI and the FBI, he’ll sail straight to federal jail as a substitute of onboard his $1.7 million yacht that was illegally bought with CARES Act funds,” mentioned Thomas Fattorusso, Jr., Particular Agent-in-Cost of IRS Legal Investigation (IRS-CI) of New York.
Along with his 51-month sentence, Zarkadas has been ordered to pay roughly $3.5 million in restitution.