Fla. U.S. Attorney: Middle District of Florida Task Force Continues to Combat COVID-19 Fraud

TAMPA, Florida, Jan. 17 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida issued the following news release:

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 77 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 $85 million. Fifty-six of those defendants have already been found guilty, while prosecution remains pending against 21 defendants. (See chart for criminal case details.) In fiscal year 2023, the Task Force indicted 26 COVID-19 fraud related cases in which defendants sought to obtain more than $15 million from the various federal programs.

For example, in October 2023, U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber sentenced Denis Casseus to two years in federal prison for bank fraud and an illegal monetary transaction. As part of his sentence, the court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $298,875, the proceeds of the bank fraud. According to court documents, Casseus submitted two fraudulent PPP applications, in which he falsely represented that the PPP funds would be used only for business-related purposes, as specified in the loan applications. Instead, Casseus used a portion of the fraudulent-obtained money for the purchase a residence in Cape Coral.

In a separate matter, United States District Judge Kathryn Mizelle sentenced Vitalii Chychasov to eight years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit access device fraud and trafficking in unauthorized access devices. Chychasov was an administrator of a series of websites that sold Social Security numbers. During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, traffic to and purchases on the website increased dramatically due to individuals purchasing Social Security numbers and other personal information in order to commit COVID-19 fraud, primarily unemployment insurance fraud.

Further, the USAO-MDFL's Asset Recovery Division and federal seizing agencies have completed the forfeiture of more than $20 million of EIDL, UI, and PPP funds that were fraudulently obtained, depriving the fraudsters of their ill-gotten gains and recovering the proceeds for the victims. More than $18 million in additional pandemic fraud proceeds have been seized and are pending civil or criminal forfeiture.

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.

Table: COVID Fraud Criminal Cases

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Original text here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/middle-district-florida-task-force-continues-combat-covid-19-fraud-3