A former deputy sheriff from Broward County swapped her badge for a prison number after being sentenced for nicking thousands in COVID-19 relief funds. Stephanie Diane Smith, a 54-year-old resident of Sunrise, Florida, was handcuffed with a 7-month federal prison term Monday after a jury found her guilty of wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Hatching a fraud scheme under the pretense of needing pandemic aid, Smith snagged $31,108 through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for her supposed businesses, Children 1st Basketball Training and Agape Smith Vending. Serving as a deputy with the Broward Sheriff's Office at the time she applied, she doctored the income figures for these claimed sole proprietorships. With the false information on her end, it was her downfall the FBI and various financial oversight agencies determined.
The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn, packs not only the prison term but also a 3-year supervised release, restitution of the ill-gotten gains, a $2,000 fine, and forfeiture. The sentence follows a hearing that determined the fate of the former law enforcement officer turned law breaker, according to a U.S. Attorney's Office.
The sting operation that nabbed Smith was the work of the Department of Justice’s COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams; A group established by the Attorney General in September 2022, aiming to halt the hemorrhage of funds meant for pandemic relief but poached by crooks instead. As one of three such Strike Force Teams in the nation, the South Florida cadre takes it to large-scale grifters, decked with a full arsenal of law enforcement and state prosecutors, following the directives set out by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
If any hopeful whistle-blowers aim to shine a light on similar shams, they have their chance by contacting the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline, or by filling out a complaint form available on the National Center for Disaster Fraud website. The cloud of pandemic-related fraud hangs heavy, but the arm of justice, never tired, stretches long into the storm, ever-reaching for the threads of deceit woven into the disaster's silver linings.
