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Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Anne C. Conway has sentenced Tomas Ziupsnys (39, Kissimmee) to five years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Holly Lynn Urban (36, Kissimmee) was sentenced to two years and six months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The court also ordered both defendants to forfeit $632,000, which they had obtained from their participation in the bank fraud conspiracy. Ziupsnys had pleaded guilty on February 3, 2022, and Urban had pleaded guilty on January 20, 2022.

Federal prosecutors have charged 42-year-old Royal Palm Beach, Florida resident Omar Smith with lying on a coronavirus relief loan application and fraudulently obtaining more than two hundred thousand dollars intended to help small businesses financially survive the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the results achieved to date by the Middle District of Florida’s efforts to combat fraud related to COVID-19. Those efforts have included complementary actions by the Criminal, Asset Recovery, and Civil Divisions, along with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Don V. Cisternino (45, Chuluota) has been successfully extradited from Croatia to face charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and illegal monetary transactions. A federal grand jury in Orlando previously returned an indictment against Cisternino for these charges in February 2021. 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...

Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Daniel Joseph Tisone (34, Naples) with wire fraud, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, illegal monetary transactions, and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. If convicted, Tisone faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count (4 counts) and bank fraud count (6 counts), a 2-year minimum mandatory term of imprisonment for the aggravated identity theft counts (2 counts), up to 10 years in federal prison for each illegal monetary transaction...

Physician Partners of America LLC (PPOA), headquartered in Tampa, Florida, its founder, Rodolfo Gari, and its former chief medical officer, Dr. Abraham Rivera, have agreed to pay $24.5 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by billing federal healthcare programs for unnecessary medical testing and services, paying unlawful remuneration to its physician employees and making a false statement in connection with a loan obtained through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the arrest and unsealing of a criminal complaint charging Daniel Joseph Tisone (34, Naples) with wire fraud, bank fraud, and illegal monetary transactions. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison on each of the fraud charges and up to 10 years in federal prison for the illegal monetary transaction offense.

Fort Myers, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Amber Rewis Bruey (35, Lehigh Acres) today pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and illegal monetary transactions. Her husband and co-conspirator, Anthony James Bruey, previously pleaded guilty to the same charges on February 4, 2022.