U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Middle District Of Florida Task Force Continues To Combat COVID-19 Fraud (USAO MD-FL 07/12/2023) (2023-07-18)
Summary
A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida, dated July 12, 2023, in which United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces results of the Middle District of Florida COVID-19 Fraud Task Force. The release states that the Task Force has prosecuted 67 defendants who collectively sought to defraud the United States of over $78 million; forty-seven have been found guilty and prosecution remains pending against 20. It reports that in June 2023 Timothy and Lisa Jolloff were charged in a scheme in which, it states, 11 EIDLs and 6 PPP loans totaling approximately $2.14 million were funded, and that the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the convictions and sentence of Casey David Crowther over a $2.1 million PPP loan. A chart lists charged, adjudicated and sentenced cases by division.
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“U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Middle District Of Florida Task Force Continues To Combat COVID-19 Fraud (USAO MD-FL 07/12/2023) (2023-07-18).”
Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-department-of-labor-oig-middle-district-of-florida-task-force-cont-5c99d82d26/
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PRESS RELEASE
Middle District Of Florida Task
Force Continues To Combat
COVID-19 Fraud
Wednesday, July 12, 2023
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida
Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the results achieved
by the Middle District of Florida’s efforts to combat fraud related to COVID-19. Those
efforts have included complementary actions 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.
“The Middle District of Florida United States Attorney’s Office
continues to pursue, investigate, prosecute, and recover money from
those who were engaged in major or sophisticated fraud schemes
designed to steal benefits intended for Americans coping with the
myriad impacts of the pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Roger
Handberg.
On the criminal enforcement front, the USAO-MDFL and federal, state, and local law
enforcement agencies combined resources in March 2020 to form the Middle District of
Florida COVID-19 Fraud Task Force to identify, investigate, and prosecute fraud related
to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Since its inception, the Task Force has prosecuted
67 defendants for fraud schemes designed to exploit federal programs including the
Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDL”),
Unemployment Insurance (“UI”), the Main Street Lending Program (“MSLP”), the
Emergency Rental Assistance Program (“ERAP”), as well as government Healthcare
programs such as Medicare (“HCF”). Collectively, these defendants sought to defraud
the United States of over $78 million. Forty-seven of those defendants have been found
guilty, while prosecution remains pending against 20 defendants. (See chart below for
criminal case details.)
For example, in April 2023, former Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Corrections
Officer Deconna Burke was charged with wire fraud relating to an alleged scheme to
obtain a PPP loan for a nonexistent babysitting business.
And in June 2023, Timothy and Lisa Jolloff were charged in a scheme relating to EIDL
and PPP applications submitted by Timothy Jolloff between April and May 2020.
Timothy Jolloff’s false and fraudulent representations caused the SBA and a PPP lender
to approve and fund 11 EIDLs and 6 PPP loans, totaling approximately $2.14 million.
Timothy Jolloff and his wife, Lisa Jolloff, allegedly used the funds to purchase three
pontoon boats, real estate in Indiana, home furnishings, outdoor kitchens for their
homes, a 2020 Polaris UTV, as well as jewelry, and two dogs. The couple also
fraudulently used more than $600,000 in EIDL funds to purchase a furniture business in
Indiana and a landscaping business in Sarasota, which had no connection to the
businesses for which the couple had obtained COVID relief funds.
As a result of the USAO-MDFL’s Appellate Division’s advocacy, the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the convictions and sentence of Casey David
Crowther, who had been found guilty in Ft. Myers of bank fraud, making a false
statement to a lending institution, and two counts of money laundering in connection
with his PPP loan scheme. Crowther had obtained a $2.1 million PPP loan by stating that
he intended to use the money for payroll, rent, and utilities for his company, Target
Roofing and Sheet Metal, but, according to the evidence at trial, he instead had his bank
deposit the money into a secret account separate from his company’s main operating
account. He quickly used the account for personal use, spending nearly $700,000 on a
40-foot pleasure boat and $55,000 on a horse. When Crowther’s bank warned him that
he was likely to be audited, he attempted to conceal his fraud by falsely “hiring” family
members and dozens of fictitious employees to inflate his company’s apparent payroll.
The U.S. Attorney General has established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force
to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies
across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.
For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please
visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Through the PPP, the federal government authorized over $600 billion in forgivable
loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the PPP.
The EIDL program provides economic relief to small businesses that are currently
experiencing a temporary loss of revenue. The MSLP provided support to small and
medium-sized businesses and their employees across the United States during the
COVID-19 pandemic. UI programs provided unemployment benefits to eligible workers
who became unemployed through no fault of their own.
The criminal cases charged by the Middle District of Florida COVID-19 Fraud Task Force
have been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Secret Service,
Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation, the Department of Labor—Office of
Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Service, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the
Small Business Administration, the Small Business Administration—Office of Inspector
General, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation—Office of Inspector General,
Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives, the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery, Federal Reserve
Board—Office of Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services—Office
of Inspector General, the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, the Tampa Police
Department, the Orlando Police Department, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the
Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Sarasota
County Sheriff’s Office, the Winter Park Police Department, the Osceola County Sheriff’s
Office, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. The
cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys throughout the Middle
District of Florida.
The Department of Justice needs the public’s assistance in remaining vigilant and
reporting suspected fraudulent activity. To report suspected fraud, contact the National
Center for Disaster Fraud (“NCDF”) at (866) 720-5721 or file an online complaint
at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/webform/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Complaints filed will be reviewed at the NCDF and referred to federal, state, local, or
international law enforcement or regulatory agencies for investigation.
United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida
COVID Fraud Criminal Cases
Charged Cases
Intended
Charge(s)
Defendant(s) Type of Loss
(Age) Fraud*
Max. Imprisonment
Amount
Tampa Division
Wire fraud conspiracy
Alexander Alli EIDL $80k
Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years
Wire fraud
Ellyn Pinkney EIDL $40k
Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years
Wire fraud
Kieanna Garrett EIDL $40k
Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years
Wire fraud
Nicole Bramble-
PPP $40k
King
Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years
Conspiracy
Maximum Prison Term: 5 years
Wire fraud
Mehdi Tazi UI $1.5M
Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years
Aggravated identity theft
Maximum Prison Term: Two Years
Consecutive
Wire fraud
Modupe Ogundele PPP $20k
Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years
Wire fraud
Jalissa McDuffy PPP $41k
Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years
Aggravated identity theft
Maximum Prison Term: Two Years
Consecutive
Devontaie Deravil UI $480k
Access device fraud
Maximum Prison Term: 10 Years
These COVID Fraud cases from the Tampa Division are being handled by AUSAs Rachel Jones,
Tiffany Fields, Greg Pizzo, Candace Rich, and Jennifer Peresie
Orlando Division
Conspiracy to commit bank fraud (E.
Edwards)
Maximum Prison Term: 30 years
Bank fraud (J. Edwards)
Evan Edwards
PPP $8M
Maximum Prison Term: 30 years
Joshua Edwards
Visa fraud (J. Edwards)
Maximum Prison Term: 10 years
False statements (J. Edwards)
Maximum Prison Term: 30 years
Wire fraud
Emmet Bowens PPP $740k
Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years
Illegal monetary transactions
Maximum Prison Term: 10 Years
False Statements
Latresia Wilson HCF $2.6M
Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years
These COVID Fraud cases from the Orlando Division are being handled by AUSAs Kara Wick
and Amanda Daniels
Jacksonville Division
Wire fraud
Deconna Burke PPP $20k
Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years
Wire fraud
Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years
Theft of government funds
Christopher
UI $150k
Daragjati Maximum Prison Term: 10 Years
Aggravated identity theft
Maximum: Prison Term: Two Years
Consecutive
These COVID Fraud cases from the Jacksonville Division are being handled by AUSA Kevin
Frein
Fort Myers Division
Mail fraud
Venera Price ERAP $82k
Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years
Bank Fraud
Maximum Prison Term: 30 Years
Ismaelle Manuel PPP $280k
Wire Fraud
Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years
Bank Fraud
Maximum Prison Term: 30 Years
Denis Casseus PPP $298k
Wire Fraud
Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years
Wire Fraud
Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years
Money laundering
Timothy Jolloff PPP/EIDL $2.1M
Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years
Illegal monetary transactions
Maximum Prison Term: 10 Years
Money laundering
Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years
Lisa Jolloff PPP/EIDL $2.1M
Illegal monetary transactions
Maximum Prison Term: 10 Years
These COVID Fraud cases from the Fort Myers Division are being handled by AUSA Yolande
Viacava and Trent Reichling
Ocala Division
Wire Fraud
Henry Wade EIDL $500k
Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years
This COVID Fraud case from the Ocala Division is being handled by AUSA Hannah Nowalk
Adjudicated Cases
Tampa Division
Wire fraud
Maximum Prison Term:
20 Years
Joseph Abdo PPP $500k
Illegal monetary
transactions
Maximum Prison Term:
10 Years
Wire fraud
Maximum Prison Term:
Alexander
20 Years PPP $200k
Leszczynski
Bank fraud
Maximum Prison Term:
30 Years
Illegal monetary
transactions
Maximum Prison Term:
10 Years
Racketeering conspiracy
Maximum Prison Term:
20 Years
Aggravated identity
theft
Keaujay Hornsby UI $3M
Maximum Prison Term:
Two Years Consecutive
Access device fraud
Maximum Prison Term:
10 Years
Racketeering conspiracy
Maximum Prison Term:
20 Years
Aggravated identity
Kareem Spann theft UI $3M
Maximum Prison Term:
Two Years Consecutive
Access device fraud
Maximum Prison Term:
10 Years
Bank fraud
Maximum Prison Term:
30 Years
Marqus Willard
PPP $500k
Johnson
Money laundering
Maximum Prison Term:
20 Years
Bank fraud
Charles
PPP $800k
Cunningham Maximum Prison Term:
30 years
These COVID Fraud cases from the Tampa Division are being handled by AUSAs Rachel Jones,
Diego Novaes, Tiffany Fields, Jennifer Peresie, and Greg Pizzo, and DOJ Trial Attorney John
Scanlon
Orlando Division
Possession of device-
making equipment
Maximum Prison Term:
15 Years
Brian Blake PPP/UI $832k
Access device fraud
Maximum Prison Term:
10 Years
Aggravated identity
theft
Maximum: Prison Term:
Two Years Consecutive
This COVID Fraud case from the Orlando Division is being handled by AUSAs Chauncey Bratt
Jacksonville Division
Wire fraud conspiracy
Maximum Prison Term:
20 Years
Desmond
PPP $40k
Williams
Wire fraud
Maximum Prison Term:
20 Years
Wire Fraud
Maximum Prison Term:
20 Years
Kenneth Landers PPP $1.4M
Money Laundering
Maximum Prison Term:
30 Years
These COVID Fraud cases from the Jacksonville Division are being handled by AUSA Kevin
Frein and Michael Coolican
Sentenced Cases
Tampa Division
Wire Fraud
Louis Thornton, III EIDL/PPP $815k
Sentence Imposed: 42
months in federal prison
Conspiracy to commit
access device fraud and
aggravated identity
theft
Kary Stevenson Sentence Imposed: 5
years, 10 months in UI $1M
Corey Quinn federal prison
(Stevenson)
Sentence Imposed:7
years in federal prison
(Quinn)
Bank fraud
Bridgitte Keim PPP $588k
Sentence Imposed: 2
years in federal prison
Conspiracy to commit
wire fraud
Wayne Ganaway EIDL $300k
Sentence Imposed: 4
years in federal prison
Racketeering conspiracy,
Eriaius Bentley UI $3M
aggravated identity
theft, access device
fraud
Sentence Imposed: One
year in federal prison
Access device fraud,
Aggravated identity
Rolanda theft
UI $135k
Wingfield
Sentenced Imposed: 3
years in federal prison
Racketeering conspiracy,
aggravated identity
theft, access device
fraud
Tywon Spann UI $3M
Sentence Imposed: 6
years and 9 months in
federal prison
Wire fraud, aggravated
identity theft
Randy Jones EIDL/UI $250k
Sentence Imposed: 5
years and 1 month in
federal prison
Conspiracy to commit
money laundering
Julio Lugo EIDL/PPP $4.4M
Sentence Imposed: 7
years and 6 months in
federal prison
Conspiracy to commit
money laundering
Keith Nicoletta PPP $1.9M
Sentence Imposed: 24
months in federal prison
Conspiracy to commit
money laundering
Rosenide Venant EIDL/PPP $413k
Sentence Imposed: 5
years in federal prison
Conspiracy to commit
wire fraud
Wire fraud and
Melinda aggravated identity
UI $1.5M
Hernandez theft
Sentence imposed: Three
years and six months in
federal prison
Wire fraud and theft of
government funds
Bri’antina Mills $10K
Sentence imposed: 15
months in federal prison
Wire fraud
Jorge Gutierrez
Sentence imposed: Two EIDL $150k
Echeverria
years and six months in
federal prison
Wire fraud
Omar Esquivel
EIDL $242k
Bello Sentence imposed: 15
months in federal prison
Conspiracy to commit
wire fraud, wire fraud,
aggravated identity
theft
Steve Moodie UI $1.5M
Sentence imposed: 5
years and 10 months in
federal prison
Conspiracy to commit
money laundering
Richard Simpkins PPP $1.9M
Sentence imposed: 5
years and 10 months in
federal prison
These COVID Fraud cases from the Tampa Division were handled by AUSAs Rachel Jones,
Greg Pizzo, Tiffany Fields, Diego Novaes, Jennifer Peresie, and SAUSA Chris Poor
Orlando Division
Conspiracy to commit
wire fraud, aggravated
identity theft, unlawful
transfer of firearm
Daniel Johnson UI $2.3M
Sentence Imposed: 7
years, 6 months in
federal prison
Possession of short-
barreled rifle; felon in
possession of firearm;
and aggravated identity
Jacquavius Smith theft PPP $10k
Sentence Imposed: 7
years, 1 month in federal
prison
Wire fraud
Johnson Eustache EIDL/PPP $2.2M
Sentence Imposed: 5
years in federal prison
Conspiracy to commit
wire fraud
Joseph Harrison UI $2.1M
Sentence Imposed: 12
months in federal prison
Conspiracy to commit
bank fraud; bank fraud;
aggravated identity
Tomas Ziupsnys theft PPP $2M
Sentence Imposed: 5
years in federal prison
Conspiracy to commit
bank fraud
Holly Urban PPP $1.5M
Sentence Imposed: 30
months in federal prison
Conspiracy to commit
wire fraud and other
offenses while on
Joel Greenberg pretrial release EIDL $430k
Sentence Imposed: 11
years in federal prison
Wire fraud, illegal
monetary transactions,
and aggravated identity
Don Cisternino
theft
PPP $7.2M
Sentence Imposed: 8
years and 6 months in
federal prison
Conspiracy to commit
wire fraud, wire fraud,
aggravated identity
Keith theft
EIDL $66k
Ingersoll
Sentence imposed: 9
years, 1 month in federal
prison.
Access device fraud and
aggravated identity
theft
Jaheim Davis UI $219k
Sentence imposed: 3
years, 6 months in
federal prison.
Conspiracy to commit
wire fraud and other
offenses
Teresa McIntyre EIDL $730k
Sentence Imposed: 5
years’ probation
These COVID Fraud cases from the Orlando Division were handled by AUSAs John Gardella,
Amanda Daniels, Chauncey Bratt, Emily Chang, Shannon Laurie, and Jennifer Harrington,
and U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg
Jacksonville Division
Wire fraud
Jacob Byrd PPP $10k
Sentence Imposed:
probation
This COVID Fraud case from the Jacksonville Division was handled by AUSA Kevin Frein
Fort Myers Division
Bank fraud, false
statement to a financial
institution, illegal
monetary transaction
Casey Crowther PPP $2.7M
Sentence Imposed: 3
years, 1 month in federal
prison
Conspiracy to commit
Anthony Bruey
wire fraud, wire fraud,
PPP/EIDL $881k
conspiracy to commit
Amber Bruey
money laundering,
illegal monetary
transactions
Sentence Imposed:
Anthony Bruey: 4 years,
3 months in federal
prison
Amber Bruey: 4 years in
federal prison
False statement to a
lending institution
Edrica Leann
PPP $392k
Watson
Sentence Imposed: 15
months in federal prison
Wire fraud, bank fraud,
money laundering,
aggravated identity
theft, possession of
Daniel Joseph
ammunition by a PPP/EIDL/MSLP $10.7M
Tisone
prohibited person
Sentence Imposed: 7
years in federal prison
Wire fraud
Sentence Imposed: 5
Liliana Gonzalez PPP $169k
years of probation with
18 months of home
confinement
Bank fraud
Al Clint LaRoche PPP $1M
Sentence Imposed: Two
years in federal prison
These COVID Fraud cases from the Fort Myers Division were handled by AUSAs Trent
Reichling, Michael Leeman, and Jesus M. Casas
Ocala Division
Wire Fraud
Lavelle Harris Sentence Imposed: Two PPP $1.2M
years and three months
in federal prison
This COVID Fraud case from the Ocala Division was handled by AUSA Hannah Nowalk
Types of Fraud*
Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL)
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
Unemployment Insurance (UI)
Main Street Lending Program (MSLP)
Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP)
Health Care Fraud (HCF)
Updated July 12, 2023
Topics
CORONAVIRUS
DISASTER FRAUD
FINANCIAL FRAUD
Component
USAO - Florida, Middle
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