Seventeen deputies at Florida sheriff’s office were charged with defrauding federal loan programs intended to help businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The New York Times.
The deputies of the Broward Sheriff's Office were reportedly charged in separate cases of wire fraud in connection with collecting money from the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan.
Reportedly, Sheriff Gregory Tony of Broward County said that the deputies facing the charges represented “multiple disciplines” within the agency. Eight deputies, including a sergeant, work in law enforcement. Nine, also including a sergeant, are assigned to the department of detention (via The New York Times):
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act was an economic relief package enacted in March 2020, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, to provide emergency help to the millions of Americans struggling financially from its effects. The program included the authorization of hundreds of billions of dollars in forgivable loans to help small businesses stay afloat by helping pay their employees and providing loans for other expenses.
The employees of the sheriff’s office used the $495,171 they collectively received from those programs “to unjustly enrich themselves,” Mr. Lapointe’s office said.
“The proceeds of the loans were not to be used to purchase consumer goods, automobiles, personal residences, clothing, jewelry or for cosmetic surgery,” Mr. Lapointe said at the news conference.
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Nonprofit organization The Florida Bulldog first reported on the investigation, which began in November 2021. At that time, the Broward Sheriff’s Office of Inspector General began looking at who in the department had obtained payback-protecting funds, as loan fraud was “an emerging trend within public service agencies.”
According to Forbes, 15 employees were arrested on federal charges. One current employee and one former employee self-surrendered at the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Reportedly, the maximum sentence for a wire fraud conviction is 20 years in prison. The maximum sentence for conspiracy to commit wire fraud is five years in prison.
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