RAC Businessman Sentenced for Loan Fraud
Former mobile-home dealer and rental-car business owner Roy Singleton has been sentenced to two years in prison for fraudulently obtaining small-business loans intended for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.
FLORENCE, S.C.—Former mobile-home dealer and rental-car business owner Roy Singleton has been sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay approximately $835,000 for fraudulently obtaining small-business loans intended for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.
In October 2001, Singleton claimed to be a victim of 9/11, due to the fact that his chief lender, Bombardier Capital, stopped lending to his business because of the terror attacks. Singleton also said his car-rental business; Majesty Auto Center, Inc., was affected.
Singleton attempted to get a $487,600 Economic Injury Disaster Loan from the Small Business Administration for his Majesty Homes Inc. business. However, U.S. District Judge R. Bryan Harwell noted that the loan was later approved for an additional $300,000.
According to Harwell, Singleton will serve five years of probation after released from prison.
The Small Business Administration has investigated allegations of loan fraud with more than $1 billion distributed to businesses after Sept. 11.
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