A pizzeria owner in Boston gets a two-year prison term for using Covid relief money to by a farm

The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic altered countless lives, leading to fatalities, economic downturns, and a reevaluation of public health priorities by individuals and policymakers. Stringent lockdown measures profoundly affected sectors such as travel, tourism, and hospitality. In the United States, the government provided financial assistance to businesses of all sizes to mitigate the crisis’s economic repercussions.

Dana McIntyre, a 59-year-old proprietor of a pizzeria in Boston, now faces a two-year prison sentence for misappropriating relief funds by using them to purchase a farm, vehicles, and even an alpaca farm. The case, covered by The New York Times (NYT), underscores a flagrant misuse of relief money.

According to Joshua S. Levy, the acting U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, McIntyre’s actions were not a fleeting response to pandemic uncertainty. Levy remarked that McIntyre’s misdeed was a theft from American taxpayers and businesses genuinely struggling to survive the crisis.

McIntyre, who plans to begin his prison term in January, defended his actions by asserting that he viewed the government aid as a loan that he would eventually repay. He had received more than $660,000 in relief funds, and the court has mandated he return $680,000.

McIntyre, the owner of Rasta Pasta Pizzeria in Beverly, a suburb of Boston, also hosts a podcast named “The Dana Crypto Show.” Reports from The New York Times reveal that after acquiring the relief funds, he acquired a farm in Vermont, a $14,000 pickup truck, and an $8,500 vintage car. He directed $6,500 toward payments to the podcast’s broadcaster and spent some funds on home improvements.

Contrary to an elaborate scheme, McIntyre explained that his actions were not a grand design to defraud the government, but rather an evolving situation that took on a life of its own.

McIntyre is now part of a growing number of more than 3,100 Americans who are facing charges for diverting pandemic relief funds for non-pandemic-related purposes. Federal prosecutors are striving to recoup billions of dollars from individuals who fraudulently obtained government aid.