NH man agrees to sell yacht bought with COVID-19 funds, hand over proceeds to government
Apr. 16—A New Hampshire man accused of fraudulently obtaining more than $340,000 in COVID-19 government loans and using the money to buy a yacht has agreed to sell the vessel at auction and hand the proceeds over to the government as part of a civil settlement, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Hampshire said it has entered into a settlement agreement with Robert Michael Waters Jr. and Westville Remarketing Inc., (Westville) to resolve allegations that Waters and Westville violated the False Claims Act by taking and misusing proceeds of an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young said in a news release.
Waters and his company, Westville, agreed to pay the proceeds from an auction of the yacht "Alisa" and an additional $150,000 to the government. In the settlement, Waters agreed to the auction of the yacht and to cooperate in the transfer of title to whoever purchases it, officials said.
The auction will occur at a later date.
"Unfortunately, individuals like Mr. Waters attempted to inappropriately benefit from government programs aimed at aiding Americans and the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic," Young said in a statement. "This office and our law enforcement partners are working tirelessly to uncover this widespread fraud and recover these funds on behalf of American taxpayers. This settlement demonstrates that we will pursue both civil and criminal avenues to hold those who committed COVID-19 pandemic fraud accountable and divest them of their ill-gotten gains."
Under the terms of the settlement, Waters admits no wrongdoing.
"This settlement agreement is neither an admission of liability by Waters and Westville, nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well-founded," the settlement reads.
Instead, court documents state, "to avoid the delay, uncertainty, inconvenience, and expense of protracted litigation of the above claims, and in consideration of the mutual promises and obligations of this agreement," both sides agreed to settle.
According to court documents, the Small Business Administration received an application for an EIDL on behalf of Westville Remarketing Inc. on April 7, 2020, in the amount of $40,000. Tax documents list Waters as the president of Westville Remarketing Inc.
Documents submitted to the SBA in connection with the EIDL application list Waters as a 50% owner of Westville Remarketing Inc., and list Westville Remarketing Inc.'s business activity as "Import/Export" and its industry as "Wholesale."
The SBA approved the EIDL application, and deposited the money into an account controlled by Waters.
On Dec. 27, 2021, Waters applied for a modification to the original EIDL from the SBA to increase the amount of the loan by approximately $343,800. On Jan. 3, 2022, Waters signed and submitted to the SBA an Amended Loan Authorization and Agreement and other documents in connection with that EIDL modification.
On Jan. 10, 2022, after approving the EIDL application, the SBA deposited $343,800 in a Lowell Five Cent Savings Bank account associated with Westville Remarketing Inc., for which Waters was the sole signer.
On Feb. 15, 2022, just over one month after receiving the EIDL proceeds from the SBA, court documents show Waters transferred $340,000 of the EIDL proceeds from Westville Remarketing Inc.'s Lowell Five bank account to a Lowell Five bank account in the name of AMC Financial Services Inc. controlled by him.
On Feb. 15, 2022, an outgoing wire transfer from the Lowell Five bank account of AMC Financial Services Inc. went to an individual with a Bank of America account in the amount of $501,783.33 for the purchase of a 2008 62E Azimut yacht called "Alisa."
"The purchase of this yacht was not for working capital or normal operating expenses of Westville Remarketing Inc.", court documents state.
