Barrett Purvis, Wire Fraud, Money Laundering, Florida 2021

Tampa Man Sentenced for Misusing COVID-19 Small Business Loan

A federal jury has found Barrett Purvis (54, Tampa) guilty of wire fraud and money laundering. Purvis faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for the wire fraud offense and up to 10 years’ imprisonment for the money laundering offense. Sentencing is scheduled for August 12, 2024.

Purvis was indicted on March 30, 2023 for his role in misusing a $500,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan from the Small Business Administration during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2021.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Purvis applied for the loan on behalf of his legitimate small business but never intended to use any of the loan proceeds on working capital as required by the terms of the loan agreement. Instead, Purvis spent approximately half of the proceeds on gambling debt and the rest on other personal debt, including debt incurred on his girlfriend’s three credit cards.

Purvis used nearly all of the $500,000 loan proceeds on personal expenses, unrelated to any legitimate business, within two weeks of receiving the loan. This blatant misuse of funds has resulted in the conviction of Purvis on two serious federal charges.

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

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about unprecedented economic challenges, and the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. This task force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud.

With the conviction of Barrett Purvis, the public is reminded of the importance of holding individuals accountable for their actions, especially when it comes to the misuse of public funds meant to support small businesses during times of crisis.

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