Five of the 17 Broward Sheriff’s Office employees who were last week accused of fraudulently obtaining Paycheck Protection Program loans appeared in court on Thursday to be arraigned on federal charges.
Those who were arraigned in court Thursday were Deputy Alexandra Acosta, Marcus Powell, Deputy Allen Dorvil, Ancy Morancy, and Carolyn Wade.
According to Local10, they all entered not-guilty pleas and requested a trial by jury.
A sixth employee, Katrina Brown, had her arraignment reset to next week so she could secure an attorney.
The group of 17 employees, all of whom are “sworn BSO deputies,” are charged with participating in various schemes to defraud the United States Small Business Administration by providing false information regarding their eligibility for financial assistance. The employees collectively received around $500,000, which they diverted for their own personal use.
The charges were announced during a press conference last week with Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe.
Read: Over a dozen BSO employees charged with fraud over PPP loans
While the 17 defendants did not commit the offenses in the course of their official duties, “this does not in any way diminish the seriousness of what the defendants are alleged to have done here,” Lapointe said.
“Law enforcement officers stand in a position of trust to the members of the public who they serve,” he added.
For his part, the Broward Sheriff said he was disappointed in the officers.
“I hate to see that, knowing some of the individuals and seeing the names on that list as being indicted, some of them were good officers,” Sheriff Tony said. “But you’re only as good as the last act and conduct that you execute, and so if you’re gonna be participating in criminal activities, we don’t want you in this profession.”
A two-year investigation
According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida, the investigation had been ongoing for two years.
Court documents show that the U.S. Attorney’s Office, in coordination with the FBI, BSO, and other partners launched an investigation to determine whether any BSO employee violated federal law in connection with obtaining or attempting to obtain any form of relief authorized under the CARES Act, such as loans through the PPP and EIDL program.
The investigation began in November 2021, after the BSO Office of Inspector General became aware of PPP fraud as an emerging trend within public service agencies.
Shortly thereafter, the BSO Public Corruption Unit received a tip from a BSO employee that several employees may have committed PPP fraud. After being notified that BSO personnel may have participated in fraudulent schemes to defraud the federal government, Sheriff Tony ordered an agency-wide investigation of all 5,600 employees.
The full list of names was released on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website.
The maximum sentence for a wire fraud conviction is 20 years in prison. The maximum sentence for a conspiracy to commit wire fraud conviction, as charged, is 5 years in prison.
