A Houston man was sentenced to nine years in prison for using money he got from Covid-19 relief funds to buy luxury items, and spend money at strip clubs, records show. 

According to the Department of Justice, Lee Price III, 30, was sentenced Monday on charges of wire fraud and money laundering for submitting fake Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications to two different lenders on behalf of three different businesses. Price pleaded guilty to the charges in September, the DOJ said.

Through loan applications, Price tried to get more than $2.6 million, and successfully received more than $1.6 million in PPP loan funds, the DOJ said.

He applied for and received two PPP loans, one month apart and spent the funds allocated within the same month, the Justice Department said.

Overall, the Department of Justice and law enforcement partners seized more than $700,000 of the funds Price fraudulently obtained. Officials say he had to forfeit all the luxury items he bought with the money such as a Lamborghini, a Ford F-350 and a Rolex watch. 

A judge sentenced 30-year-old Lee Price III to  nine years and two months  in federal prison Monday