Attorney sentenced in fraud, using loans on lavish lifestyle

A Palm Beach County legal professional used Delaware-based limited-liability firms to acquire financial reduction loans designed to maintain small companies afloat throughout the pandemic, receiving over $1.6 million, in accordance with federal prosecutors.

The authorities required that mortgage proceeds go in direction of payroll prices, mortgages, lease and utilities.

Instead, Derek Acree, 47, spent as much as half of that cash on the maintenance of an costly lifestyle: sustaining an Audi and a ship, a toddler’s college tuition, practically $70,000 in jewellery, non-public jet companies, a down fee for a Palm Beach Gardens house, and an $11,000 fee to Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter.

Acree will now need to repay nearly twice what he acquired. He was sentenced Wednesday to 41 months in jail, in addition to ordered to pay $1.6 million in asset forfeiture and $1.26 million in restitution, in accordance with a news launch from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

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In October, Acree pleaded responsible to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Investigators discovered that, with the help of an unidentified co-conspirator, Acree had submitted mortgage purposes on behalf of a number of Delaware-based LLCs that he owned or shared possession of, receiving lots of of 1000’s of {dollars} for every firm:

• For National Financial Holdings Inc., of which he was Chief Operating Officer, Acree acquired over $500,000 from an Economic Injury Disaster Loan, designed to assist small companies and owners in areas affected by disasters, which included the COVID-19 pandemic. He acquired over $300,000 in Paycheck Protection Program funds, one other mortgage program designed to assist small companies maintain employees employed.
• For NFH Florida LLC, of which he was the Managing Member, Acree acquired over $300,000 in PPP mortgage funds.
• For National Financial Holdings Technology LLC, of which he was Chief Operating Officer, Acree acquired over $300,000 in PPP funds.

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On every mortgage software, Acree lied concerning the variety of staff, the typical month-to-month payroll, and/or gross income, in accordance with court docket data.

After receiving the cash, Acree moved the funds by 9 separate wires and 21 checking account transfers, together with over $200,000 to an account owned by his co-conspirator. He then spent over $800,000 of that cash on private use, court docket data say.

Acree had sought an extra $2.2 million on two different mortgage purposes, each of which had been denied. As a part of the plea settlement, the federal government selected to not pursue fees regarding the extra $2.2 million in loans.