Long Island doctor bought $1.7M yacht in COVID loan fraud scam
FILE - Generic gavel on wooden table.
LONG ISLAND - A doctor from Long Island was sentenced to 51 months in prison on Friday for fraudulently obtaining $3.8M in pandemic relief loans and grants.
According to the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Dr. Konstantinos Zarkadas, a Glen Cove-based physician, was ordered to pay roughly $3.5M in restitution during his sentencing.
In November 2021, he pled guilty to disaster relief fraud and wire fraud in connection with his receipt of small business loans under the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program.
Zarkadas used the money to buy a $1.7M yacht, luxury wristwatches, and lease luxury automobiles.
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"It’s a shame to see rampant abuse of programs designed to help ordinary people struggling through the pandemic. Dr. Zarkadas chose greed over honesty by financing a luxury lifestyle on the backs of America’s taxpayers," stated IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge Fattorusso.
Zarkadas fraudulently applied for and received at least 11 loans between March and July 2020, laundering the money through various bank accounts and using the funds for extravagant personal purchases.
"Today’s sentence demonstrates there are consequences for those who treat vital government programs as cash give-a-ways and shamefully seek to profit from an unprecedented public health crisis," stated United States Attorney Breon Peace. "This Office will vigorously prosecute and bring to justice medical professionals like the defendant and other fraudsters who are driven by greed to maintain a lavish lifestyle at the expense of small businesses in legitimate need of COVID-19 emergency assistance."