The owner of a Massachusetts food truck business who authorities say misused most of the $1.5 million in federal pandemic relief funding he obtained by investing it in the stock market has been arrested, federal authorities said.
Loc Vo, 55, faces a charge of wire fraud, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston.
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Vo owned Smart Gourmet LLC, a food truck business in Massachusetts, as well as a dormant Maryland company.
Vo submitted loan applications between April 2020 and July 2021 on behalf of the businesses under three Small Business Administration pandemic relief programs, requesting about $1.5 million that was supposed to be used for rent, mortgage interest, payroll, and utilities, among other eligible expenses, prosecutors said.
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Instead, he transferred most of the money to brokerage accounts in his name to invest in the stock market, purchasing shares in an electric car manufacturer and a biotechnology company, among others, authorities said.
He will be arraigned at a date to be determined. No defense attorney was listed in court records. A message was left at a phone listing for Vo’s company.
Vo faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
