Mount Pleasant businessman pleads guilty to $1.2 million COVID-19 relief fraud

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) — A South Carolina businessman pleaded guilty in federal court in Massachusetts to misusing COVID funds.

David Breen, 54, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property and misappropriation of COVID-19 funds for personal use.

The U.S. Department of Justice said he spent more than $1.2 million in Economic Injury and Disaster Loan funds that he obtained from the U.S. Small Business Administration to build a home and purchase motor vehicles. The SBA provided loans to small businesses that suffered economic injury because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He applied for Economic Injury and Disaster Loan funds in March 2022 on behalf of “Fun Zone,” an entity through which he operated “Pinz,” a bowling alley and entertainment venue in Milford, Massachusetts. Breen entered into a loan agreement with the SBA in which he agreed to use the loan proceeds as working…

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