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Florida Man accused of buying Lamborghini with coronavirus relief funds

We'll preface this by saying that when things work as they're meant to, we don't hear about them. When it comes to the Paycheck Protection Program, created as part of the CARES Act in March to provide loans to businesses to pay employees during the coronavirus lockdown, that means many jobs were saved but we also get stories of honest businesspeople unable to get loans or blackguards abusing the program. This story is the latter. David T. Hines, a 29-year-old Miami man with four businesses, applied for PPP funds in May. He received about $3.9 million in loans, and blew about $500,000 of that before the government began investigating and his bank froze his accounts. Instead of applying for loans to cover monthly expenditures of about $200,000 among his four moving-related companies, the feds say, Hines' four applications through Bank of America claimed combined monthly expenses of $4 million to pay 70 employees. BofA approved three of the four submissions. After the government made its first of three planned deposits of $3,984,557 into Hines' Bank of America account, Hines continued requesting more money, authorities say, ultimately seeking $13.54 million.  The spending began almost immediately after the PPP disbursement. As far as the government could tell by going through Hines' records, none of the money was spent on employees who "either did not exist or earned a fraction of what Hines claimed in his PPP applications.” Instead, officials say, Hines picked up a blue Lamborghini Huracan Evo for $318,497. He paid a person he listed as "Mom" $60,000. Saks Fifth Avenue got another $4,000. In June, $8,500 went to the Graff jewelry boutique, and $7,000 went to Miami's Setai hotel. The disbursement problem has arisen because the Small Business Administration that backs the PPP loans doesn't verify the claims in the applications, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Berger. How did Hines get caught, then? He got into a hit-and-run accident in his blue Lamborghini in July, and Miami police impounded the car. That eventually attracted investigation from no less than six governmental departments: the FDIC-OIG, USPIS, IRS-CI, the SBA-OIG, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection-OIG. The U.S.

'The Cannonball Run' Lamborghini Countach now on the National Historic Vehicle Register

Just a few months ago the National Historic Vehicle Register, which documents historically significant automobiles, added the "Back to the Future" Delorean to its ranks. Now another big-time '80s movie car joins the ranks: the 1979 Lamborghini Countach from "The Cannonball Run." And in case you hadn't guessed, the film is a comedy based on the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash cross-country rally that Brock Yates organized. Funny enough, the Countach isn't really the hero car. The film's main protagonists played by Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise drive a Dodge ambulance. But the Countach still got high billing and some key shots. Not only was it on the film poster, but it got the opening scene featuring its drivers, two women in close-fitting jumpsuits. Add in its own striking looks, and it's understandable that the Lamborghini stuck in many people's minds. According to the Register's organization, the Hagerty Driver's Foundation, the car was restored in 2009 back to film specification. The car really wasn't much different from a factory model save for its various antennae, auxiliary lights and oodles of exhaust tips. The interior apparently had to be redone in the film's tan, as it had been changed to maroon at some point in its life. It doesn't have too many miles on it either at just over 16,000, and it's had three owners. The Countach joins a wide array of other automobiles from films, motorsports and elsewhere. One of the other major movie cars is the original "Bullitt" Mustang. You can find the full list, here, and the Countach will be on display at the National Mall in Washington D.C. from Sept. 24 to Sept. 30. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Tourist in Dubai nets more than $47,000 in speeding fines in four hours

Before I went to Dubai last fall, I imagined a sea of supercars running rampant with few repercussions. I couldn't have been more wrong (at least when it comes to the repercussions bit). Speed cameras in Dubai are no joke. The drivers, though occasionally erratic, steadfastly follow speed limits. And the penalties for breaking the law in the United Arab Emirates are quite severe. Apparently, a 25-year-old British tourist was expecting more freedom when he racked up more than $47,000 in fines in a rented Lamborghini Huracan in fewer than four hours. The list of fines is impressive in its own way. All the infractions occurred between 2:31 a.m. and 6:26 a.m. on July 31, the day after he rented the car. He was caught driving between 78 and 143 mph on two stretches of road — 32 times on Sheikh Zayed Road and once on Garn Al Sabkha Road. That's nearly twice the legal limit in some areas. Several of the fines were fewer than two minutes apart. Once, he managed to rack up two fines in under a minute. Rather than waiting for a ticket in the mail, the fines were immediately sent to the registered owner, in this case Saeed Ali Rent a Car. The tourist paid just over $1,600 to rent the Lamborghini for two days. He left his passport with the rental agency as a guarantee. The tourist listed his address as a hotel. Because there's a disagreement over who pays the fees, according to The National, he's still in possession of the car, and the rental agency has his passport. The rental company doesn't want to take the car back because it knows it will be stuck with the bill to get it out of impound. The impound fees totaled more than $27,000, more than the cost of the speeding fines themselves. The rental company filed a motion for a travel ban, but it was denied. It has since contacted the British embassy, letting the embassy know that the passport is in their possession in case the tourist claims it's lost. One way or the other, someone is going to have to pay. Related Video: