Local dentist Ranjan Rajbanshi pleaded guilty Monday to stealing $500,000 in COVID-19 relief money, the United States Attorney’s Office said.

Rajbanshi, who ran a dental practice in Santa Barbara and Bakersfield, received more than $850,000 in COVID-19 relief money between April 2020 and February 2022 from the Small Business Administration and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, stating that he would use the money only for specified business purposes.

Some of the specified business purposes include facility costs, payroll and protective equipment for his staff.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Rajbanshi instead used $500,000 of the relief money for “improper personal expenditures such as investments.”

Rajbanshi is scheduled for sentencing by U.S. District Judge Ana de Alba on Dec. 4. He has agreed to pay back the money to the government before sentencing, and he could face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

“The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office also said that anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866.720.5721, or through the online complaint form available here.