U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe | U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe | U.S. Department of Justice
MIAMI – Today, U.S. Senior District Judge sentenced Alexandra Acosta, a Broward deputy sheriff and SWAT team member, to four months’ imprisonment after a jury convicted her of one count of conspiracy to defraud the Small Business Administration (SBA), two counts of false statements to the SBA, and one count of wire fraud, all in relation to her COVID-19 relief fraud scheme.
In 2021, Acosta, 38, of Tamarac, Fla., conspired with her tax preparer, Vilsaint St. Louis, to apply for and receive a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan for herself as a sole proprietor doing business as a realtor based upon materially false information about her average monthly income in 2019, including two falsified IRS tax forms submitted with the application. Acosta also sought and received forgiveness of the fraudulently obtained PPP loan, which totaled over $20,000 in principal and interest. During the period of the scheme, Acosta was employed as a deputy sheriff and SWAT team member with the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO).
In addition to the term of incarceration, Acosta was also ordered to pay a $4,000 fine. Acosta previously repaid the fraudulently obtained loan funds.
St. Louis pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and was sentenced for his involvement in the scheme.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe; Special Agent in Charge Brian Tucker of the Eastern Region, Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (FRB-OIG); Sheriff Gregory Tony of BSO; and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office made the announcement.
FRB-OIG, BSO, and FBI Miami investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Trevor Jones and Adam Love prosecuted it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal resources from across government agencies to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute domestic and international criminal actors involved in pandemic-related fraud schemes.
On September 15, 2022, the Attorney General selected the Southern District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to head one of three national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams. The Department of Justice established these teams to enhance existing efforts against large-scale pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors.
Anyone with information about allegations involving COVID-19 fraud can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via their Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Related court documents may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-cr-60170.
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