Fraud

Fort Myers Beach residents are being warned of a scam website contacting residents with fraudulent requests for wire transfer payments related to special event permits, construction permits, or other Town services. Officials say these communications do not come from the Town, and residents are urged to take care.

A Sarasota man is now under indictment on charges of wire fraud, money laundering and making a false tax return. The indictment was unsealed Thursday against Brent Adam Seaman, 51. He is facing five counts of wire fraud, four counts of money laundering, and two counts of making a false tax return.

A former Naples property manager sought in connection with alleged fraudulent money practices at a number of Southwest Florida condo developments has reportedly been arrested and imprisoned in Colombia.

Fort Myers Beach is issuing an alert regarding fraudulent invoices for special event permit after it was made aware of fraudulent invoices being sent to individuals who have recently submitted Special Event Permit applications.

A Naples man pleaded guilty before Magistrate Judge Kyle C. Dudek for the Middle District of Florida to conspiring to defraud the United States by operating an off-the-books payroll scheme. The plea must be accepted by a U.S. district court judge.

The FBI reports a staggering increase in reports of crimes linked to cryptocurrency fraud across the country resulting in $9.3 billion in losses in 2024.The federal report also shows the number of crimes linked to Crypto ATMs has skyrocketed — up 99 percent in 2024 compared with the previous year.Florida — across the state and right here in Southwest Florida — is not immune.

A Cape Coral man is one of nearly 20 Floridians charged in a nationwide health care fraud case.Eric Strom Holland, 55, was charged with wire fraud and distributing and dispensing controlled substances in connection with an alleged scheme to deceive doctors into writing controlled substance prescriptions based on false pretenses.The charges stem from the 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, which resulted in criminal charges against Holland and 323 other defendants, including 96 doctors, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and other licensed medical professionals, in 50 federal districts and 12 State Attorneys General’s Offices across the United States, for their alleged participation in various health care fraud schemes involving over $14.6 billion in intended loss.

—Seth Bloom of Sarasota is facing charges connected to orchestrating a multi-county construction fraud scheme that defrauded at least 13 victims across seven Florida counties, resulting in more than $3 million in losses. The charges were filed by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution. During Bloom’s arrest and the execution of a search warrant, investigators also uncovered a large cache of firearms and ammunition—despite Mr. Bloom being a convicted felon.

A Lehigh Acres woman is going to spend 10 years in federal prison for a fraud scheme that netted her nearly $4.2 million.As part of her sentence, U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber ordered 49-year-old Madelyn Hernandez to forfeit $4,199,498.42, the proceeds of the wire fraud.

Timothy Craig Jolloff, 48, and Lisa Ann Jolloff, 58, of Fort Myers have been sentenced to eight years and one month, and three years, respectively, in federal prison for wire fraud, bank fraud and illegal monetary transactions connected to a COVID relief fraud case.U.S. District Judge Thomas J. Barber handed down the sentences Friday.