San Diego, California – A San Diego restaurant owner who misused over $1.7 million in COVID-19 relief funds to buy a home in Arkansas and hoard millions in cash was sentenced Friday to three years and six months in federal prison.
Leronce Suel, 47, was convicted of multiple federal charges after fraudulently securing $1,773,245 in pandemic assistance through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), prosecutors said. Suel was the majority owner of Rockstar Dough LLC and Chicken Feed LLC, which operated restaurants in the San Diego area, including North Park’s Streetcar Merchants.
According to court documents, Suel and his late business partner, Ravae Smith, falsified financial information on COVID-19 relief applications by underreporting more than $1.7 million in gross receipts. Prosecutors also said Suel did not file federal tax returns for several years despite earning substantial income from his businesses. When he eventually filed returns in 2023, they contained false business losses and fictitious depreciable assets…