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Fort Myers, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the arrest of Lester John Parker, Jr. (55, Lehigh Acres) on a 15-count indictment related to his alleged involvement in a multi-million-dollar COVID-19 relief fraud scheme. Parker’s charges include one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, five counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, one count of access device fraud, four counts of aggravated identity theft, and three counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property. If convicted, Parker faces up to 20 years in...

Baltimore, Maryland – David Epstein, age 46, of Owings Mills, Maryland, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, relating to the submission of fraudulent CARES Act loan applications. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act was a federal law enacted in March 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

SAN DIEGO – A federal jury convicted San Diego restaurant owner Leronce Suel of wire fraud, conspiracy, and tax crimes for providing bogus information in applications for COVID relief programs and failing to report more than $1.7 million in revenue to the IRS.

Melissa Stevenson submitted three fraudulent applications for PPP loans from March 2021 through December 2021 that yielded a total of $263,284.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Jacob Liticker, 27, of Houston, Texas was sentenced to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

NEWARK, N.J. – A Florida woman today admitted fraudulently obtaining $465,489 in COVID-19 relief funding after submitting fraudulent applications to victim lenders.

Brett Deuter and his businesses, Deuter Construction, LLC, and Enlighten, LLC, consented to an $850,000 judgment against them in United States District Court after admitting to violations of the False Claims Act, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced.

BOSTON – A Florida woman pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to defrauding a Massachusetts housing agency where she worked in 2022, along with defrauding the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in connection with the pandemic 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.

Shahied Golden, 29, filed a fraudulent PPP loan application, listing a false gross income for 2020 and falsely stated the loan proceeds were needed to make payroll payments for his alleged business.