Tampa, FL – 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 Criminal, Asset Recovery, and Civil Divisions, along with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
“The Middle District of Florida United States Attorney’s Office remains committed to protecting the integrity of government programs established to provide relief for those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Handberg. “These cases should serve as a warning to those who might have engaged in similar fraudulent activity that holding those accountable for these crimes remains a high priority for federal authorities.”
On the criminal enforcement front, the United States Attorney’s Office and federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies joined together 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 52 individuals for fraud schemes designed to exploit federal programs created or expanded to address the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDL”), Unemployment Insurance (“UI”), the Main Street Lending Program (“MSLP”), and the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (“ERAP”). These individuals collectively sought to defraud the United States of more than $58 million. Thirty-seven of those defendants have been found guilty, while prosecution remains pending against fifteen others. (See chart for criminal case details.)
In one example, U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger sentenced Don V. Cisternino (47, Chuluota) to eight years and six months in federal prison for wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and illegal monetary transaction related to Cisternino’s obtaining more than $7.2 million in emergency funds through a PPP loan to which he was not entitled. Cisternino pleaded guilty on September 20, 2022, after being extradited from Croatia.
In December 2022, U.S. Attorney Handberg announced the unsealing of a six-count indictment charging Canadian citizens Evan Edwards (64, New Smyrna Beach) and Joshua Edwards (30, New Smyrna Beach) with federal offenses related to the CARES Act and visa fraud. According to the indictment, Evan and Joshua Edwards conspired to commit bank fraud and committed bank fraud by submitting a fraudulent PPP loan on behalf of Aslan International Ministry, Inc. (“Aslan”)-a not-for-profit corporation that purportedly provided religious services. In the loan application, the pair significantly overstated the number of employees and average monthly payroll for Aslan, claiming that it had almost 500 employees and over $2 million in average monthly payroll expenses. They also falsely certified in the loan application that the PPP funds would be used to maintain payroll and for other authorized purposes. Based on the false representations made in the loan application, Evan and Joshua Edwards received into their bank account approximately $8,417,200 in PPP loan funds, a portion of which they used to make a down payment for the attempted purchase of a multi-million-dollar residence for themselves.
Further, the Asset Recovery Division and federal seizing agencies have completed the forfeiture of more than $16.8 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 $9.8 million in additional pandemic fraud proceeds have been seized and are pending civil or criminal forfeiture.