PROVIDENCE, R.I.: A convicted bank robber from Rhode Island fraudulently obtained $600,000 in forgivable federal business loans and spent $30,000 in Las Vegas before being caught, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
Michael Moller, 41, of Middletown, was held without bail pending trial at an appearance Tuesday in federal court.
Moller in April filed for $4.7 million in loans through the Paycheck Protection Program to pay employees at businesses he said were based in Fall River, Massachusetts, prosecutors said. There was no evidence those businesses existed, authorities said.
In addition to filing for loans in his own name, he applied for loans using his father’s name, his girlfriend’s brother’s name, and his girlfriend’s son’s name, authorities said.
The federal programs funds are intended for businesses…