Coral Springs officer accused of using COVID relief money to repair vintage car

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – A federal grand jury has indicted a Coral Springs police detective on a wire fraud charge after investigators determined he improperly spent COVID relief money intended for small businesses on his vintage car, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday.

Detective Jason Carter, 44, of Boca Raton, submitted a fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan application and loan agreement on behalf of his business Jason S. Carter, Inc., according to the unsealed federal indictment.

Carter falsely claimed his business had gross revenues of more than $100,000 in the 12 months prior to Jan. 31, 2020, when it only had minimal gross revenues during that period, a DOJ news release said.

Carter is also accused of fraudulently certifying that he would use the funds only for business expenses derived from economic injury caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prosecutors accuse Carter of spending more than $21,000 of the Small Business Administration loan money at a car repair and detailing company and on high-end auto parts.

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If convicted of wire fraud, Carter faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. He was released on bond, pending trial.

A Coral Springs police spokesperson released a statement to Local 10 News Thursday.

“Yesterday, the Coral Springs Police Department was notified of an indictment against Detective Jason Carter,” Officer Chris Swinson said in an email. “Immediately upon being notified of this information, we began our administrative process and Detective Carter was placed on Administrative Leave.  We are working with the FBI to obtain all the necessary information to move forward with other administrative actions.”