California man must give up Rolex, Range Rover and cash in $9M COVID fraud, feds say

A 41-year-old West Los Angeles man has pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining more than $9 million in COVID-19 relief funds, federal officials say.

As part of a plea agreement, Andrew Marnell agreed to give up a Rolex Oyster watch, a Range Rover and a Ducati motorcycle, the U.S. Attorney’s office for Central California said in a news release.

He also agreed to surrender $1.5 million seized from brokerage accounts and more than $319,000 in cash found in his home, the release said.

Marnell also spent some of the pilfered money on risky stock purchases and hundreds of thousands of dollars on gambling trips to Las Vegas, federal officials said.

He obtained seven Paycheck Protection Program loans using false information and aliases, prosecutors said.

Marnell faces up to 40 years in prison when he’s sentenced in February, the release said. He also has agreed to pay more than $7 million in restitution to the lenders.

This story was originally published September 14, 2021 at 4:52 PM with the headline "California man must give up Rolex, Range Rover and cash in $9M COVID fraud, feds say."