Ex-Miami-Dade corrections officer pleads guilty to $150,000 COVID-19 fraud
MIAMI - A former Miami-Dade County corrections officer pleaded guilty to wire fraud for defrauding a COVID-19 relief program with the U. S. Small Business Administration.
On Thursday, Daniel Fleureme, 56, of Miami-Dade County, admitted during a court appearance to fraudulently obtaining an Economic Injury Disaster Loan of $150,000.
Fleureme, while he was employed full-time at the Miami Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Center, submitted to the SBA a false and fraudulent EIDL application claiming to be the 100% owner of a sole proprietorship operating under the company legal and DBA names of "Daniel Fleureme," according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Fleureme claimed that he had owned the business since its creation on Feb. 15, 2017, and wrote that the business had three employees as of Jan. 31, 2020.
The application also falsely certified that for the 12-month period before Jan. 31, 2020, his sole proprietorship had gross revenues of $450,000 and a cost of goods sold of only $97,000.
He is scheduled to be sentenced at 11 a.m. Jan. 7, 2025 before U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez in Miami.
Fleureme faces up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud conviction.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who were suffering the economic effects cause by the COVID-19 pandemic. That included small businesses experiencing substantial financial disruptions.
On May 17, 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of DOJ in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.
On Sept. 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.
