A San Diego restaurant owner was convicted by a federal jury this week of taking more than $1.7 million in pandemic relief funds and using the money to buy a home in Arkansas rather than for his businesses. Leronce Suel, 46, who was the majority owner of companies that operated restaurants including North Park’s Streetcar Merchants, was indicted in San Diego federal court last year along with his business partner Ravae Smith. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, they fraudulently received $1,773,245 in Paycheck Protection Program loans and Restaurant Revitalization Fund grants. Federal agents found more than $2.4 million in cash hidden in Suel’s bedroom, according to prosecutors, who said Suel underreported more than $1.7 million in gross receipts in order to qualify for the pandemic-related loans and grant funds. A prosecution trial brief states Suel also didn’t file federal tax returns from 2014 to 2022, “despite making significant income from these restaurants.” In 2023, he filed original and amended tax returns for those years “that included false depreciable assets and business losses,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Smith died earlier this year, according to court documents, while Suel went to trial this month. He was convicted by a jury of wire fraud, conspiracy and tax crimes. He’s slated for sentencing in December.