Love & Hip Hop star Maurice “Mo” Fayne was hit with a hefty prison sentence after being caught up in a federal COVID relief loan scam, Fox 5 Atlanta reports.
According to police reports, Fayne was sentenced to 210 months (17.5 years) in federal prisons for misappropriating a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. He was originally convicted of wire fraud related to a Ponzi scheme, bank fraud, and making false statements to a financial institution in May of this year. Fayne is best known as Karlie Redd’s love interest on the Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta reality show.
Fayne, who’s listed as the sole owner of Flame Trucking in Georgia, used his business to apply for a $3.7 million PPP loan from the government. He officially received a little less than $2 million, which the 38-year-old used on personal items and to cover up a multi-state “Ponzi scheme” that he’s been running since 2013, according to the prosecutors.
“Fayne planned to use the PPP program as a cover for his long-running Ponzi scheme,” Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine said, per Atlanta’s Fox affiliate. “The funds the program supplies serve as a lifeline to many businesses desperately trying to stay afloat during the pandemic, and unfortunately his fraud helped deplete those precious dollars.”
Prosecutors say that more than $1.5 million of the PPP loan proceeds went towards the purchase of $85,000 in jewelry, including a Rolex Presidential watch, a diamond bracelet, and a 5.73-carat diamond ring for himself. He also used the money to lease a 2019 Rolls Royce Wraith, make loan payments, and pay $40,000 for child support.
Additionally, Fayne’s multi-state Ponzi scheme defrauded more than 20 people between March 2013 through May 2020. Like the PPP loan, Fayne promised his investors that he would use their money to fund his business but used it to pay off personal debts instead and fund his lifestyle. During the scheme, Fayne spent more than $5 million at a casino in Oklahoma.
Fayne will have to serve 5 years of probation and repay nearly $4.5 million to his victims along with the 17 years in prison.
