Reports

Ocala, FL - A Florida man pleaded guilty on Monday to purchasing Medicare identification numbers and using those numbers to cause over $8.4 million of false and fraudulent claims to be submitted to Medicare.

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Sean Walker, 34, of High Springs, Florida, was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison for wire fraud in connection with COVID-19 relief fraud. The sentence was announced by Michelle Spaven, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

PROVIDENCE – Four Florida residents convicted in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island for executing one of the largest schemes in the country to defraud Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act programs, including in Rhode Island, have been sentenced to federal prison, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.

Cassandra Yolanda Clarke, 45 of Miramar, Fla., had her initial appearance yesterday before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Fort Lauderdale and was charged with fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 relief loans and grants under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida remains a leader in COVID-19 pandemic relief prosecutions, holding a range of actors accountable for these crimes. Over this summer alone, the district has charged 17 individuals with COVID-19 relief fraud cases, with scheme amounts totaling over $21 million.

Today, U.S. Senior District Judge sentenced Alexandra Acosta, a Broward deputy sheriff and SWAT team member, to 4 months’ imprisonment after a jury convicted her of one count of conspiracy to defraud the Small Business Administration (“SBA”), two counts of false statements to the SBA, and one count of wire fraud, all in relation to her COVID-19 relief fraud scheme.

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the results achieved by the Middle District of Florida to combat fraud related to COVID-19. This work has included complementary efforts by the United States Attorney’s Office’s (USAO-MDFL) Criminal, Asset Recovery, Appellate, and Civil Divisions, along with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

On June 5, a federal jury in Miami convicted a Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) deputy of conspiracy to defraud the Small Business Administration (SBA), two counts of false statements to the SBA, and wire fraud, all in relation to her COVID-19 relief fraud scheme.

PROVIDENCE, RI – Four Florida residents have been convicted in federal court in Providence, Rhode Island, for their individual roles in a wide-ranging conspiracy to use stolen personal identifying information (PII) of unsuspecting individuals to fraudulently obtain more than $4.8 million by defrauding banks and fraudulently obtaining benefits and payments from federal and state agencies in multiple jurisdictions, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha.

An indictment was unsealed today in the Southern District of Florida charging three men for their alleged roles in an approximately $36 million health care fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering scheme that involved submitting false and fraudulent claims for COVID-19 testing to health care benefit programs, including Medicare and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) COVID-19 Uninsured Program.