Photo: Lurssen
There’s a fine line between admiring and craving, and when that line is crossed, we get to see the dark side of owning luxury vehicles and gadgets. Some people want to be like the celebrities who own the finest things in the world so badly that they’re willing to use government funds meant for emergencies to get there.
The global health crisis has affected everybody in one way or another. While some people were in desperate need of real financial help, others took advantage of this possibility and went so far as to use disaster relief funds just to buy a superyacht. That’s also the case of a 48-year old doctor based in Glen Cove, New York. Market Watch reported that he pleaded guilty for using this type of funding to put a down payment on a luxury yacht worth almost $2 million.
According to official documents, Konstantino Zarkadas filed over ten applications for disaster relief, between March and July 2020, under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDLP). How did he use the amount he received, totaling $3.7 million? He leased luxury vehicles, purchased several Rolex and Cartier watches, and spent $200,000 as a down payment for a $1.75 million yacht.
In addition to these personal luxury purchases, the doctor also used money from the funds to pay what was asked of him in some previous judgments against him. So, he was already in trouble with the law and ended up making it much worse.
“It’s always a shame to see the 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,” said IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge Fattorusso.
Zarkadas pled guilty and is facing 30 years in prison, and a fine of up to a quarter-million dollars, in addition to having to pay back the $3.7 million. Was the temptation of a luxury yacht so big that it led to disaster relief fraud? This only shows how far some people are willing to go just to experience a certain type of lifestyle.
According to official documents, Konstantino Zarkadas filed over ten applications for disaster relief, between March and July 2020, under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDLP). How did he use the amount he received, totaling $3.7 million? He leased luxury vehicles, purchased several Rolex and Cartier watches, and spent $200,000 as a down payment for a $1.75 million yacht.
In addition to these personal luxury purchases, the doctor also used money from the funds to pay what was asked of him in some previous judgments against him. So, he was already in trouble with the law and ended up making it much worse.
“It’s always a shame to see the 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,” said IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge Fattorusso.
Zarkadas pled guilty and is facing 30 years in prison, and a fine of up to a quarter-million dollars, in addition to having to pay back the $3.7 million. Was the temptation of a luxury yacht so big that it led to disaster relief fraud? This only shows how far some people are willing to go just to experience a certain type of lifestyle.
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