Pro football player Pacino Horne accused of stealing nearly $150K in COVID-19 relief funds
By Sara Powers
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Michigan (WWJ) — A former Detroit Lions and Toronto Argonauts player is accused of stealing thousands of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds in 2021.
Pacino Horne, 39, who was a player in the 100th Grey Cup, was allegedly involved in a scheme to defraud the government of $150,000 in COVID-19 relief aid.
Different programs under the Cares Act, designed to provide financial assistance to Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, helped disperse funding during that time.
One of those programs was the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, which provided low-interest financing to small businesses affected by the pandemic.
To apply for one of these loans, business owners had to submit applications through the Small Business Association, providing information about the number of employees, gross revenues over the 12 months preceding the pandemic and cost of goods sold during that time.
According to court documents, Horne applied for an EIDL loan through the business Day1 Records LLC., of which he was allegedly an owner, member registered agent and banking signatory.
Horne is accused of submitting the fraudulent loan on Feb. 4, 2021, for personal gain.
He allegedly submitted false figures regarding the gross revenue, cost of goods sold and number of employees at Day1 Records.
Horne’s loan application was approved on Feb. 20, 2021, and $149,900 in EIDL funding was dispersed to Day1 Records.
According to court documents, Horne withdrew part of the funds in cashier checks that same day. He then used the funding to purchase a restaurant.
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