Businessman convicted of blowing COVID funds on gambling debts

A federal jury has found a 54-year-old Tampa man guilty of using $500,000 in COVID relief funds to pay off gambling debts and his girlfriend’s credit cards.

Barrett Purvis faces 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced Aug. 12. He was convicted of money laundering and wire fraud.

Unlike many of the fraud cases brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, this one differs in that the Purvis obtained the funds legally and for a legitimate small business.