A star of VH1’s “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” was sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison after applying for a loan meant for businesses struggling during the pandemic to cover expenses from a long-running Ponzi scheme, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

Maurice “Mo” Fayne, 38, pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy and wire fraud related to the Ponzi scheme and bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution in relation to lying to get a business loan through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) {snip}

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The U.S. Attorney’s Office statement said that Fayne had run a multistate Ponzi scheme from March 2013 to May 2020, and defrauded more than 20 people who invested in his trucking business.

He told investors that he would use their money to operate the business but instead used it to pay his own personal debts and fund an “extravagant lifestyle,” including spending $5 million at an Oklahoma casino on one occasion, the statement said.

In April of last year, Fayne submitted a $3.7 million PPP loan application, falsely claiming that the trucking business had 107 employees and a monthly payroll of $1,490,200.

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{snip} Fayne used the funds to start a new business in Arkansas, pay associates who helped him run the Ponzi scheme and pay past-due child support, prosecutors said. He also paid money owed from a previous fraud case and spent $85,000 on custom-made jewelry.

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