Florida Man Convicted of Spending $500K in COVID Relief Funds on Gambling Debts

A federal jury has found a 54-year-old Florida man guilty of using $500,000 in COVID relief funds to pay off gambling debts and his girlfriend’s credit cards.

Barrett Purvis of Tampa faces 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced Aug. 12. He was convicted of money laundering and wire fraud.

Florida resident Barrett Purvis spent $500,000 in COVID relief funds on gambling debt, credit card debt

Purvis was president of the marketing company Big Man Promotions when he applied for a $499,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan from the Small Business Administration in 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Justice and court records.

Moreover, Purvis wrote in the application that the loan money would be used just for working capital and to alleviate hardships caused by the pandemic.

The loan was approved for “necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19),” according to the CARES Act.

Of course, the money was deposited into his bank account on May 3, 2021. 

A day later, he withdrew $112,000 from the account the relief funds were deposited into and then proceeded to use all the money on non-health-related personal expenses.

Within two weeks of receiving the $500,000, Purvis spent roughly half of the funds on a gambling debt and the rest on other personal debt, including debt incurred on his girlfriend’s three credit cards.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation division and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Candace Garcia Rich.

Since the jury found Purvis guilty, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud and up to 10 years in prison for money laundering.

A Miami man was charged with fraudulently receiving more than $4 million in COVID relief funds in November 2022

In January, the local U.S. Attorney’s Office announced it indicted more than 21 people in 2023 for attempting to illegally collect more than $15 million in federal relief funds.

In November 2022, a man from Miami, Florida, was charged with fraudulently receiving more than $4 million in COVID relief funds that were allegedly used to purchase luxury cars.

Andre Lorquet appeared in federal magistrate court in Miami where he was charged with fraudulently obtaining the COVID relief loans under the Paycheck Protection Program, Economic Injury Disaster Relief Program, and Shuttered Venue Operator Grant.

Lorquet asked for more than $4.7 million in relief funds in submitted applications in which he falsified his revenue and payroll. He allegedly submitted fraudulent tax forms to the IRS and pretended to be a certified tax preparer as well.

Furthermore, Lorquet received $4.4 million in COVID relief funds and allegedly used the money to purchase a Tesla Plaid, Tesla Model S, Lamborghini Urus and Porsche Panamera GTS, among other non-essential luxuries.

Although Lorquet pleaded guilty to money laundering and would have faced up to 22 years in prison for fraud, he was handed a six-year federal prison sentence this past March. 

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