With a Lamborghini as his ride, Valesky Barosy was living large thanks to federal funds he was accused of stealing from a COVID-19 relief program for struggling businesses.
But unlike dozens of others who’ve been charged with fleecing millions from the government’s pandemic program, went to trial instead of striking a plea deal to cut his losses.
On Monday, a federal jury quickly found Barosy guilty of nine counts of wire fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft. He now faces 20 years or more in prison at his sentencing on Feb. 23 before U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith in Fort Lauderdale federal court.
Barosy was not shy about showing off his exploits while ripping off the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, posting social media shots of himself driving an exotic Lamborghini and flying on a private jet. He boasted an Instagram account with over 110,000 follower.
But in reality, federal authorities say, Barosy was ripping off taxpayers — fraudulently securing $2.1 million in loans from the PPP system to buy classic Miami status symbols: a Lamborghini Huracán EVO, Rolex and Hublot watches, and designer clothing from Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Chanel.
The Paycheck Protection Program was approved by Congress in 2020 to help businesses decimated following shutdowns caused by the rapid spread of the coronavirus. The program allowed for the loans to be forgiven, if borrowers followed criteria laid out by the Small Business Administration.
As the nation’s No. 1 fraud capital, South Florida has led the financial crime wave that followed the passage of the CARES Act, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In South Florida, that’s included a businessman using PPP money to buy a $318,000 Lamborghini, a nurse alleged to have lied about his business to get $474,000 that was used in part to pay a Mercedes-Benz lease and child support, and a North Miami suburban couple that claimed to be farmers to qualify for $1 million in relief benefits.
Around the same time that Barosy was arrested last December, two Florida men.
According to an indictment, Barosy was the president of a company known as VBarosySolutions Inc., or VBS.
For various loans, Barosy fabricated prior-year expenses, net profit, and payroll, and submitted bogus IRS tax forms to secure the payments, which were then used to buy the Lambo, the watches and the clothes, according to the indictment.
On Instagram, he posed often with the white Lambo, pitching himself as an inspiring mentor. “It’s not the Lamborghini or the million dollar home that will inspire the world but the trials and tribulations you overcame,