Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Coconut Creek PPP Loan Recipient Faces Criminal Charges for Health Care Fraud
Some of the cases of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan fraud sound like they were torn from the tabloid headlines specifically for beefing up the “Florida Man” mythos. Floridians are known for their ostentation and their chutzpah, but did you hear the one about the guy who bought a $318,000 Lamborghini with PPP loan… Read More »
The Rise and Fall of Serenity Ranch Recovery: Four Sentenced to Prison for Fraud Related to Operation of Nightmarish Sober Home
By now, the messiness of the addiction treatment industry in Florida has become legendary. The Florida shuffle, in which poorly managed sober living homes boot residents out as soon as their insurance companies stop paying, only for the former residents to be scooped up by “druggie buggies” and shuttled to another rehab facility which… Read More »
Dade City Scrap Metal Business Owner Accused of Buying Pickup Truck and Mercedes with PPP Loan Money
They say that the perfect is the enemy of the good, and this has turned out to be the case with the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The federal government offered PPP loans to small businesses in the context of the CARES Act, in order to prevent job losses during the COVID-19 pandemic and… Read More »
Broward Basketball Coach Faces Federal Charges After Allegedly Using PPP Funds to Pay Nonexistent Employees
This past spring, as the COVID-19 pandemic raged and Floridians reacted either with panic or with denial and defiance, it was almost too easy to get approved for a paycheck protection program (PPP) loan. The PPP guidelines in the CARES Act were meant to make it easy for small business owners to get emergency… Read More »
NFL Player Accused of Making False Statements to Obtain a $1.2 Million PPP Loan
Everyone who plays for the National Football League knows that that paychecks can be huge, but they can end abruptly at any time. One serious injury can end your career, and in an instant, you can go from being one of the most highly paid people in the U.S. to just another person who… Read More »
Miami Man Wrecks Lamborghini He Allegedly Bought with Fraudulently Obtained PPP Loan
When your grandparents used to give you money as a present for the holidays, they probably told you, whether jokingly or in seriousness, “Don’t spend it all in one place.” A Miami man currently facing criminal charges related to a fraudulently obtained Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan appears to have heeded that advice. He… Read More »
Miami Rapper and Reality TV Star Baby Blue Accused of PPP Loan Fraud
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a provision of the CARES Act passed as an emergency response to the financial disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, quickly disbursed funds to applicants claiming to represent businesses with 500 or fewer employees. The law contains strict requirements for the expenses for which loan recipients may use the… Read More »
Fort Myers Construction Contractor Pleads Not Guilty to PPP Loan Fraud After Being Accused of Using Federal Loan Money to Buy Boat
Business owners using their companies’ money for personal expenses is nothing new. In fact, sometimes there is a fine line between business expenses and personal luxuries. The year of the COVID-19 pandemic is, undisputedly, not the time to walk that fine line. During the pandemic, businesses have been closing at an alarming rate, and… Read More »
Palm Beach County Chiropractor Pleads Guilty to Fraud for Durable Medical Equipment Scheme
You are not the only person who has ever been astounded by the huge numbers on your billing statements from doctors’ offices and hospitals. The bills are still expensive even after your insurance pays its share, but the amounts billed to insurance companies and Medicare are nothing short of astronomical. Where does all that… Read More »
The “Tomb Raider” Fraud Scheme and Its Aftermath: Two Broward County Lawyers Now Face Criminal Charges
If in-person socializing ever makes a comeback, see what your guests say if you ask them to name the first South Florida stereotypes that come to mind. Your guests will probably mention South Florida’s reputation as a retirement destination and the plethora of mansions purchased by people whose eyes are bigger than their wallets. … Read More »
Margate Man Serving Prison Sentence for Possession of Child Exploitation Images Must Also Pay Restitution to Nine Victims
In the age of social media, almost everyone has a little fear in the back of their minds that their worst moments will circulate forever on the Internet, never to be lived down. This fear is enough to make most of us take care to avoid making off-color comments and expletive-filled rants or wearing… Read More »
Broward County Mortgage Consultant Appeals His Money Laundering Conviction, Claiming That the Scammers Led Him to Believe They Were Legitimate Clients
Email scams have existed for as long as email has. It is usually easy to spot the scams. The sender signs the email with a personal name or a business name, but a Google search for the person or the business does not turn up any relevant results. The writing style is awkward or… Read More »
Broward Family Reunites After Draconian Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Laws Force Parents to Spend 15 Years in Prison
Mandatory minimum sentencing laws have attracted criticism for a variety of years. First, they are a classic example of how a conviction for a nonviolent crime such as drug possession can effectively ruin someone’s life; when drug crimes carry a mandatory minimum sentence, getting caught with a single dose of drugs can mean that… Read More »
Former NYPD Officer Sentenced to Seven Years for Providing Armed Security for Sunrise Drug Deal
The perks of one’s job are sweeter when shared with family and friends. What lawyer does not delight in bringing his or her children to the office on teacher planning days and seeing them draw pictures on legal pads, then tear off the pages they used and display their drawings on the fridge? Many… Read More »
Jude Faccidomo Quoted in the Miami Herald article “Jury trials to slowly return in Miami, but Zoom court will go on, sparking new controversy”
“What we are dealing with is the old ‘Jurassic Park’ argument. The courts seem so consumed with whether they can hold these hearings, they haven’t really stopped to think if they should,” said Jude Faccidomo, of Miami, the group’s president-elect. “These are difficult times, but if history has taught us anything, the most important… Read More »
Former Police Officer Sentenced to Four Concurrent Prison Sentences for Forcing Suspected Drunk Driver and Passenger to Run Down Alligator Alley Naked
South Florida news headlines tell of numerous abuses by people in positions of authority. While elected officials, law enforcement officers, and wealthy executives usually are not able to avoid legal consequences for their actions, they are much more likely to get lenient sentences and generous plea deals, so that the sentences they serve seem… Read More »
Miramar Man Gets 70 Months in Prison for Selling Drugs in Small Quantities on the Dark Web
The Internet makes life simpler, except when it doesn’t. You can buy and sell almost anything online, even illegal and marginally legal drugs. Perhaps more importantly, you can pretend to be anyone. Sooner or later, though, your real-life activities will expose the real person behind the online persona. This was what happened to a… Read More »
Former Employee of Coral Springs Middle School Sentenced to 75 Years for Sexually Abusing Student
Fewer than ten percent of criminal cases go to trial. Unless the attorneys for the defendant are able to get the charges dropped, the next best option is usually a plea bargain. Most defendants get a much lighter sentence if they plead guilty to some of their charges than if they fight all of… Read More »
Broward Man Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Possession and Distribution of Obscene Images
It is against the law to possess pornographic content depicting the sexual abuse of minors. As with any crime, a person cannot be punished for it unless he or she enters a guilty plea or unless a jury determines, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he or she has committed the crime. Since so many… Read More »
Former Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Deputy Gets Five Years in Plea Deal for Sober Home Patient Brokering Scheme
The shady machinations of South Florida’s addiction treatment centers and sober living homes in the second decade of the 21st century have become the stuff of legend. Tales of “druggy buggies” transporting people on a desperate quest for sobriety from one candy-colored beachfront house-turned-rehab to another have featured in everything from “Florida man” memes… Read More »
