Seventeen deputies on the Broward Sheriff’s Office are accused of falsifying paperwork to gather cash underneath authorities applications meant to assist maintain small companies alive in the course of the COVID pandemic.
Officials allege the fraud got here from help supplied by the Paycheck Protection Program, often called PPP, and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan, or EIDL, applications.
Charges had been introduced in 17 separate instances filed within the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Many of the Sheriff’s Office deputies made their first look in federal court docket in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday earlier than U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick M. Hunt.
All are charged with fraud in reference to the emergency federal mortgage applications. Eight of them work in regulation enforcement, together with a sergeant. Nine of them work within the division of detention, together with a sergeant.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe mentioned at a Thursday information convention the sworn regulation enforcement officers are accused of “diverting funds for their personal use,” and made clear it was not carried out in efficiency of their official duties. Collectively the 17 people took $495,171 from the mortgage applications.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to uncover the fraud schemes and hold anyone involved accountable — regardless of an individual’s role in the community,” he mentioned. “No matter the amount, we will not allow limited federal tax dollars, which were intended to provide a lifeline to small businesses as they struggled to stay afloat during the economically devastating pandemic lockdown, to be swindled by those who were employed in a position of trust and cast aside their duty to uphold and abide by the law. Our work is not done. This investigation is ongoing.”
The staff had been initially suspended with pay on Oct. 6, then with out pay on Thursday, however none has been requested to resign pending outcomes of the investigation, Sheriff Gregory Tony mentioned on Thursday.
Tony mentioned the investigation started in 2021 due to an unrelated inner affairs investigation of an worker after they found mortgage fraud. The Public Corruption Unit acquired a tip from an worker that a number of staff might have dedicated PPP fraud, he mentioned.
As they reviewed who among the many BSO’s 5,600 staff had obtained PPP or EIDL loans, investigators realized the fraud might be extra widespread. They then started to look into all BSO staff who utilized for the loans, Tony mentioned, narrowing it all the way down to 100 folks.
Lapointe mentioned that of these, just one had been cleared. “In our investigation, and I can speak to this, we have at least found one person who was part of that vast initial [group] who appeared to actually be committing fraud. But upon our investigation the determination was made that this was in fact a legitimate business and that person at the end of the day, we were not going to prosecute that person.”
The case was handed over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office to research underneath its South Florida COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams, and was performed collectively with the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the FBI Miami and the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
A number of detention deputies had reached out to the union “to find out their options” final week after they had been suspended, mentioned Tony Marciano, the secretary/treasurer of the detention deputies union. He mentioned the deputies had their uniforms, weapons and badges taken away. “The majority of detention deputies are hard-working, good people. People make mistakes,” he mentioned.
Many of these going through scrutiny had submitted paperwork for probably the most cash doable underneath this system, a supply mentioned.
PPP consultants have mentioned the utmost quantity a self-employed individual with none staff may obtain is $20,833. But to get it, an individual must earn a $100,000 gross revenue utilizing a system to cowl 2½ months’ payroll.
The South Florida U.S. Attorney’s Office has been pursuing instances of pandemic aid fraud involving this system, which was run by the Small Business Administration, and high-profile convictions have included the daughter of Broward’s former mayor; a Sheriff’s Office detention technician who acquired a mortgage for a enterprise that had no proof of current previous to 2021, data say; and a political guide.
The level of this system was to “keep small businesses afloat,” Lapointe mentioned. It additionally grew to become a pot of “ready targets” for folks trying to revenue.
“The wheels of justice turn slowly, but turn they do,” he mentioned.
The concern was “let’s get the money out there,” he mentioned, earlier than guardrails had been within the place to forestall the economic system from a crash.
That attracted “opportunistic individuals,” he mentioned.
The indicted regulation enforcement deputies
- Stephanie Diane Smith, who nonetheless wants to rent an legal professional and will likely be returning to federal court docket Oct. 26 to be arraigned. She faces as much as 20 years in jail if convicted. Sources near the investigation mentioned Smith labored out of the BSO’s Pompano Beach district. The choose denied permission for her to go away the nation to attend a marriage in Mexico. She was launched on a $50,000 bond. According to the affidavit, Smith, 53, acquired two PPP loans on behalf of herself as a sole proprietor doing enterprise as Children 1st Basketball Training and Agape Smith Vending “based upon materially false information about the borrower’s total gross business income for the year 2019, as well as a falsified Internal Revenue Service tax form submitted with her applications.” She was an worker since 1996, and was discovered responsible in previous inner affairs investigations of being absent with out depart, and a preventable car accident.
- La’Keitha Lawhorn, a 16-year sheriff’s veteran who lives in Miami Lakes and works out of the West Park district. She faces 20 years in jail if convicted of three counts of wire fraud. State data present she created her enterprise, Home Empire Enterprises, LLC, earlier than the pandemic, in November 2019. She was permitted for her federal mortgage in July 2020. The choose Thursday denied permission for her to go away the nation to attend a marriage in Jamaica. She nonetheless wants an legal professional and will likely be returning to court docket Oct. 24. She was launched on a $50,000 bond. According to the indictment, Lawhorn, 41, utilized for and acquired three PPP loans on behalf of herself and her firm, Home Empire Enterprises. She was beforehand discovered responsible of 1 preventable car crash.
- Jean Pierre-Toussaint, 35, from the Tamarac district, is charged with one depend of wire fraud. The six-year veteran should return to court docket Oct. 26 for arraignment and nonetheless wants a lawyer. He was launched on a $50,000 bond.
- Alexandra Acosta, 37, a member of the SWAT unit, was charged with one depend of wire fraud for one PPP mortgage on Sept. 14. Acosta was beforehand investigated twice for preventable car crashes with property harm, in keeping with her personnel file. One of these resulted in a written reprimand and a driver consciousness program.
- George Anthony III, 50, a sergeant within the West Park district, was charged by indictment with two counts of wire fraud for 2 PPP loans “using the same false information” on Sept. 14. Anthony had a number of inner affairs investigations over his time at BSO, and was discovered responsible of allegations together with “discretion,” insubordination, disrespect to a supervisor, and preventable car accidents, in keeping with his personnel file.
- Rorie Brown, 42, utilized for and acquired one PPP mortgage and submitted an utility to the SBA for an EIDL mortgage “that contained materially false information, including, among other things, the borrower’s gross revenues, cost of goods sold, and number of employee” in keeping with the indictment. He was charged on Sept. 14. Brown was beforehand discovered responsible 3 times of showing to sleep on obligation, in keeping with his inner affairs historical past, in addition to conduct unbecoming of an worker and “meeting BSO standards.”
- Derrick J. Nesbitt, 46, a Deerfield Beach district deputy, was charged on Oct. 5 by indictment with two counts of wire fraud for 2 PPP loans on behalf of himself as the only real proprietor of Designer Life, LLC. Nesbitt was beforehand disciplined for “promptness” and a preventable car accident.
- On Oct. 5, Marcus Errol Powell, 37, of the Deerfield Beach district, was charged by indictment with one depend of wire fraud. According to the indictment, Powell utilized for and acquired one PPP mortgage on behalf of himself as the only real proprietor of Bonvivant Industries, LLC. Powell was beforehand susepnded for 20 days with out pay and on probation for one 12 months after he was discovered responsible of allegations surrounding a “prisoner of the opposite sex,” in keeping with his inner affairs historical past. He was additionally discovered responsible of breach of confidence, not following body-worn digital camera recording protocol, taking appropriate motion, not following reporting necessities and neglect of obligation.
The indicted detention deputies
- Keith Dunkley, who voluntarily surrendered Thursday morning and was ordered to surrender his passport. His protection legal professional, Mike Dutko, requested a trial by jury and entered a not responsible plea. According to federal court docket data, in the summertime of 2020, Dunkley and a co-conspirator submitted fraudulent functions for PPP loans and for different federal loans that had been presupposed to go to the corporate Global Group Alliances, LLC. He falsified IRS tax varieties and lied concerning the firm’s revenue and month-to-month payroll, in keeping with the knowledge filed by the U.S Attorney’s Office. Dunkley, 46, was launched on a $50,000 bond. Dunkley labored for the Sheriff’s Office till September 2023, when he resigned for private causes, in keeping with his personnel file.
- Katrina Brown, 46, was charged with three counts of wire fraud on Sept. 14. She is accused of making use of for and receiving two PPP loans. Brown was beforehand suspended with pay in May of this 12 months following expenses associated to “discretion” and “association,” in keeping with her inner affairs historical past.
- Jewell Farrell Johnson, 46, is charged with two counts of wire fraud for receiving two PPP loans, one on behalf of herself as a sole proprietor and one on behalf of LRJ Enterprises of South Florida.
- Ke’Shondra Tameisha Davis, 37, was charged with one depend of wire fraud for one PPP mortgage on Sept. 28. Davis was beforehand suspended with out pay in February following expenses of use of pressure and battery, in keeping with her inner affairs historical past. Before that, she was discovered responsible of insubordination, disrespect to a coworker, and safety of BSO tools, amongst different allegations.
- Carolyn Denise Wade, 48, was charged with one depend of wire fraud on Sept. 14. She refused to signal the discover of administrative investigative depart with out pay on Thursday and the discover of administrative investigative depart with pay when she acquired it final week. Wade was beforehand discovered responsible twice of conduct unbecoming an worker, in addition to reporting sickness and insubordination.
- Alexis Monique Greene, 47, a deputy within the Juvenile Assessment Center, was charged with two counts of wire fraud for making use of for and receiving two PPP loans. Greene was beforehand investigated for “obtaining property by false personation,” in keeping with her inner affairs historical past, however the expenses weren’t sustained. She was additionally suspended for someday for conduct unbecoming an worker and never following social media coverage in 2016.
- Ritchie Noah Dubuisson, 25, who was charged with one depend of wire fraud for one PPP mortgage on Sept. 28.
- Allen Dorvil, 33, was charged by indictment with one depend of wire fraud for one PPP mortgage on Sept. 28.
- Ancy Morancy, 33, a sergeant, was charged on Oct. 5 with one depend of wire fraud for one PPP mortgage on behalf of himself as the only real proprietor of Moore Services Investment Group, LLC. Morancy was beforehand suspended for someday on expenses of failure to render help and neglect of obligation.
Largest take-down of regulation enforcement officers in a long time?
On Thursday morning, deputies in tactical gear had been stationed on the entrance of the BSO headquarters constructing on West Broward Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, visitors cones blocking visitors.
This Sheriff’s Office crackdown is without doubt one of the largest in a single company in South Florida for the reason that Miami River Cops scandal.
In the late Eighties, almost 10% of the Miami Police Department had been arrested, fired, suspended, or reprimanded after a drug-related scandal, which included officers planning to fly small planes loaded with 400-500 kilogram shipments of cocaine from Colombia to both Mexico or the Bahamas, then to move the medication to Miami for nationwide distribution.
The nickname originated from an incident during which officers stormed a drug-laden ship that was docked on the Miami River, inflicting three smugglers to drown after they jumped overboard.
Staff author Amy Beth Bennett contributed to this report.
Lisa J. Huriash will be reached at [email protected]. Follow on X, previously Twitter, @LisaHuriash
Source: www.bostonherald.com”