A Bal Harbour developer will be swapping luxury for lockup after a federal jury found him guilty of swindling COVID-19 relief funds. Eric Dean Sheppard, 55, facing a daunting sentence of nearly a century behind bars, was convicted on charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Sheppard used concocted tax documents and a forged accountant's signature to wrongfully obtain almost $900,000 through the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs. Despite being acquitted on some counts, the charges he was convicted for are set to definitely put him away for a minimum of two years, plus whatever is tacked on for the wire fraud charges.
The owner of WSG Development didn't manage to fully slip past the law, as the jury nailed him on four counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft. The mandatory two-year stint for the identity theft is only a brushstroke in the broader canvas of time he could spend in federal prison—up to 80 years, if max sentences run back-to-back for the wire fraud charges.
His actions from May 2020 to April 2021, as detailed in a CBS12 report, involved a scheme to extract funds from private lenders and the Small Business Administration. Sheppard operated through a facade of legality, but the justice system was swift to ultimately dismantle his charade.
On top of prison time, Sheppard is also on the hook to pay back the ill-gotten gains. The man's judgment day is scheduled for April 5, where a federal judge will determine the full extent of his fate, potentially setting a punitive precedent for those tempted to follow in his fraudulent footsteps in the midst of a national crisis.
