Ex-pizzeria owner gets 2-year sentence for using fraudulent PPP loan to buy alpaca farm

BOSTON — A former Massachusetts pizzeria owner was sentenced to two years in federal prison for using more than $660,000 in fraudulently obtained pandemic relief funds to buy an alpaca farm and other items, prosecutors said.

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According to a news release from the U.S. District Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Dana L. McIntyre, 59, of Grafton, Vermont, was sentenced to two years in prison and three years of supervised release. McIntyre was also ordered to pay $679,156 in restitution and forfeiture, according to the news release.

McIntyre pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering, prosecutors said.

A former resident of the Massachusetts cities of Beverly and Essex, McIntyre was the former owner of Rasta Pasta Pizzeria in Beverly, WFXT-TV reported.

Prosecutors said that in March 2020, McIntyre used the names of his adult children to submit two fraudulent applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration for Economic Injury Disaster Loans for businesses that did not exist, according to the television station.

McIntyre used his pizzeria and inflated the number of employees at the store, claiming there were 50 workers when he employed fewer than 10.

Prosecutors said that beginning in April 2020, McIntyre submitted an application and weekly certifications in order to receive Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits, WFXT reported. McIntyre falsely claimed that he was not working or receiving income at the time of his application, but he was still operating the pizzeria and paying himself, according to the television station.

After receiving the PPP loan, McIntyre sold the pizzeria and used almost all the funds to buy a farm in Vermont, which he stocked with eight alpacas, WFXT reported. He also used the cash to buy two vehicles and purchase airtime for his cryptocurrency-themed radio show, according to the television station.

“Make no mistake about it, this was no momentary lapse in the fog of the pandemic. Mr. McIntyre submitted multiple bogus applications for pandemic money was supposed to provide a lifeline to small businesses and their employees during a national emergency. He stole from the American taxpayers and the many small businesses which truly needed those loans to survive,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy said in a statement. “Just last month our office expanded the resources dedicated to investigating and prosecuting COVID fraud. Whether someone used stolen money to buy luxury goods or fancy cars or exotic farm animals, we intend to find them and hold them accountable.”