- November 18, 2021
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ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Three St. Petersburg men who were identified as dealers and gang members in a recent drug bust face charges of defrauding a financial institution after detectives accused them of applying for a Payroll Protection Plan, a St. Pete police arrest affidavit reported.
Kenneth Robin Davis, 24; Russel Lewis Jones, 26; and Dante Quavabis Payne, 21, received a total $51,180 combined payouts from April to June through Benworth Capital LLC, Capital Plus and Prestamos CDF for their businesses, according to the affidavit.
“Physical and electronic surveillance on the defendant shows he is involved in the drug trade and the defendant has not been observed operating any kind of legitimate business,” the three affidavits said. “The defendant is also a documented gang member. The defendant’s bank account activity shows no evidence of business operations of any kind and he is not certified through the state of Florida for any type of licensed skill or trade, nor is he registered with the St. Petersburg Tax Office.
Payne said he owned a landscaping business on his application sent to the U.S. Small Business Administration on April 20, according to the affidavit. Investigators found that he did not own equipment relating to landscaping work nor did he have a business registered on Sunbiz.org.
Davis identified himself on an application as a sole proprietor operating an unlicensed business in St. Petersburg, according to deputies. Jones wrote on his application that he owned a barber shop. Authorities did not find a registered barber shop under his name.
Investigators arrested the suspects Nov. 8 – Nov. 16, according to the affidavits.
Earlier in November, Chief Anthony Holloway held a press conference at the St. Petersburg Police headquarters announcing that about 21 suspects had been arrested during an undercover drug investigation at the Childs Park area that kicked off in January. The above listed suspects were discovered through this operation. Ten additional people have been arrested in the same undercover operation on drug charges since the press conference, according to police.
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