Fraud

A Sarasota man is among nine people from Florida and Ohio charged in connection with alleged schemes to defraud programs entrusted for the care of the elderly and disabled, and to obtain controlled substances through fraud. The charges filed in the Middle District of Florida are part of the Department of Justice’s 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action.

An Alva man will head to prison after he was sentenced in connection with a $1.35 million COVID-19 relief fraud scheme. U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell Monday sentenced Evan Graves, 40, to 18 months in federal prison for committing wire fraud.

Evan Graves, 40, of Alva, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with a $1.35 million COVID relief fraud scheme and now faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date for Graves has not yet been set. As part of his guilty plea, Graves has agreed to forfeit approximately $1,355,600 and six properties in Fort Myers that he had purchased or funded using proceeds of his fraud.

Former Cape Coral resident Devin Ryan Maresca will serve a three-year federal prison sentence for mail fraud and aggravated identity theft.Maresca, 33, was sentenced Tuesday by Senior U.S. District Judge Virginia Hernandez Covington. As part of his sentence, the court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $74,700, which were the proceeds of Maresca’s mail fraud scheme.

A Fort Myers man is among three men sentenced Tuesday in connection with a $54 million bribery and kickback scheme involving TRICARE, a federal program that provides health insurance benefits to active duty and retired service members and their families.

Denis Casseus, 44, Cape Coral, was sentenced to two years in federal prison for bank fraud and an illegal monetary transaction as part of a Paycheck Protection Program fraud scheme.

A Cape Coral mother and daughter will each serve prison sentences in a fraud case involving more than $500,000 and a senior citizen for whom they were hired as caretakers.

A new report by the Collier County Office of the Inspector General reveals that one of former Collier County Deputy Manager Sean Callahan undisclosed lobbyist clients, Jacobs Solutions, is a long-time vendor for Collier County. Callahan was quietly fired in January of 2022 after county staff discovered he was secretly working as a lobbyist for a powerful Washington D.C. lobbying firm — a moonlighting job that violated county policies, ethical guidelines, and anti-fraud measures.

A grand jury returned an indictment charging Timothy Craig Jolloff, 46, and Lisa Ann Jolloff, 56, both of Fort Myers),with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and illegal monetary transactions. Timothy Jolloff is also charged with multiple counts of bank fraud. The chart below summarizes the indictment charges and maximum penalties as to each defendant.The indictment also notifies the defendants that the United States intends to forfeit a 2019 GMC truck and approximately $3,403,265, which are alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offense.