Broward Deputy Sheriff and SWAT Team Member Sentenced to Prison for COVID-19 Relief Fraud

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The U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida announed Alexandra Acosta, a deputy sheriff and SWAT team member with the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), was sentenced today to four months in prison for her involvement in a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration (SBA) during the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. Senior District Judge handed down the sentence following Acosta’s conviction on charges of conspiracy to defraud the SBA, making false statements to the SBA, and wire fraud.

Acosta, 38, of Tamarac, Florida, conspired with her tax preparer, Vilsaint St. Louis, in 2021 to fraudulently apply for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. Acosta falsely claimed to be a sole proprietor operating a real estate business, submitting fabricated IRS tax forms and inflating her average monthly income for 2019. Based on this false information, she received a PPP loan of over $20,000, which she subsequently sought to have forgiven.

At the time of the fraud, Acosta was employed as a deputy sheriff and SWAT team member with BSO. In addition to her prison sentence, Acosta was ordered to pay a $4,000 fine. She has already repaid the fraudulently obtained loan funds.

Vilsaint St. Louis, who conspired with Acosta, pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and has been sentenced for his role in the scheme.

The announcement of the sentencing was made by U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, alongside officials from the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (FRB-OIG), the Broward Sheriff’s Office, and the FBI’s Miami Field Office.

The case was investigated by the FRB-OIG, BSO, and FBI Miami. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Trevor Jones and Adam Love prosecuted the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren Grove handling asset forfeiture.

This case is part of the broader efforts of the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, established by the Attorney General on May 17, 2021, to combat pandemic-related fraud. The Southern District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office leads one of three national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams, focusing on large-scale pandemic relief fraud. The Strike Force aims to bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds and enhance the efforts to prevent future fraud.

Anyone with information about COVID-19 fraud can report it to the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form.

Further details on this case can be found under case number 23-cr-60170 on the District Court for the Southern District of Florida’s website.