COVENTRY, Conn. (WTNH) — A man was sentenced on Friday to two years in prison for illegally pocketing COVID-19 relief funds.

John Matava, 60, of Coventry, was sentenced in Bridgeport to two years in prison, plus three years of supervised release. Matava will also have to pay $100,000 in restitution.

According to court documents, Matava applied to Celtic Bank in April 2020 for a $100,000 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan for J.M. Builders LLC.

Investigators found that his application had false representations, including that the compnay had eight employees and an average monthly payroll of $40,000.

At the time of the application, there were no records of payroll or employees within the company. Matava was also subject to criminal charges in two pending cases related to arrests in 2017 and 2018.

Celtic Bank gave the money to the company Matava requested on April 22, 2020 and court documents showed the account was opened on April 21, 2020. The account had $0 inside before the loans.

Investigators found that Matava used the funds for personal expenditrues including $3,498 to pay a dog breeder, $4,777 for payments to an RV superstore in Connecticut and a $2,000 retainer.

Shortly after in January 2021, Matava applied for an additional $100,000 in PPP funds from Celtic Bank. Once again, the application had several false statements and fake tax documents, court documents showed.

Police arrested Matava on Jan. 7, 2023.

The 60-year-old then pleaded guilty in court on Jan. 2, 2024, to one count of wire fraud affecting a financial institution and one count of making an illegal monetary transaction.

He was released on a $60,000 bond in home detention. Court officials said he is required to report to prison on May 13.