A man has pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining 3.9 million US dollars in US federal coronavirus loans and using some of the money to buy a Lamborghini Huracan.

David Hines, of Miami, Florida, rubbed his forehead in apparent shame as he pleaded guilty to federal charges including bank fraud at a hearing Wednesday held via videoconference because of Covid-19 restrictions.

He will be sentenced in April.

As part of the plea, Hines acknowledged receiving 3.9 million US dollars in federal government loans on behalf of different companies he managed, fraudulently claiming they would be used to pay employees impacted by the pandemic.

Instead, he used the proceeds to go on a spending spree that included shelling out 318,000 US dollars on a Lamborghini sports car as well as running up bills at a jewellery store and a luxury Miami Beach hotel.

The Paycheck Protection Programme represents billions of dollars in forgivable small business loans for Americans struggling because of the pandemic.

It is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which became US federal law in March.