Reports

CINCINNATI – Four local individuals have been charged federally with defrauding COVID-19 pandemic relief funding programs. In separate cases, the four are alleged to have lied about owning businesses and employing others. Some defendants allegedly applied multiple times for relief funding and some allegedly spent the funding they received on lavish personal items and vacation travel.

The Department of Justice has received reports that fraudsters are creating fraudulent COVID-19 vaccine surveys for consumers to fill out with the promise of a prize or cash at the conclusion of the survey. In reality, the surveys are used to steal money from consumers and unlawfully capture consumers’ personal information.

U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Nicholas Milano White, age 30, of Baltimore, Maryland, on March 30, 2021, to eight years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for the federal charges of conspiracy to steal mail, emergency benefits fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Judge Bennett also ordered White to pay restitution of $29,234, the full amount of the victims’ losses.

The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, the Acting Assistant Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, and representatives from their partner law enforcement agencies announced today an update on their criminal enforcement efforts in South Florida to combat fraud under the CARES Act, the relief legislation that Congress passed one year ago to help individuals and businesses financially survive the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the enforcement efforts announced today include prosecutions against defendants accused of trying to...

Federal authorities this morning arrested two employees of the U.S. Postal Service who allegedly abused their positions to purchase and cash Postal money orders with tens of thousands of dollars of unemployment benefits fraudulently obtained with false claims of COVID-related job losses.

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the return of an indictment charging Don V. Cisternino (45, Chuluota) with two counts of wire fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft, and three counts of illegal monetary transactions. If convicted, Cisternino faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count, up to 10 years’ imprisonment for each illegal monetary transaction count, and a mandatory consecutive term of two years for the aggravated identity theft counts.