Tampa, FL - U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore today sentenced David Brooks (40, Ohio) to four years in federal prison for mail fraud. The Court ordered that this sentence be served consecutive to a seven-year state sentence in Ohio for a violation of probation, based on the same underlying conduct. As part of his federal sentence, the Court also entered a money judgment in the amount of $792,851, the proceeds of the fraud scheme.
Brooks pleaded guilty on Sept. 17, 2015.
According to court documents, in October 2011, Coastal Orthopedics and Sports Medicine of Southwest Florida (“Coastal"), located in Bradenton, hired Brooks as its Financial Accounting Manager. While working for Coastal, Brooks was convicted of theft, money laundering, and other fraud-related offenses in Ohio. When Coastal discovered this information in June 2013, they fired Brooks and commenced a review of its books and records to which Brooks had access.
Employees for Coastal discovered that between approximately January 2012 and June 19, 2013, Brooks had used company accounts to purchase more than $700,000 worth of American Express gift cards. Brooks then used the giftcards to pay for personal expenses, including multiple hotel stays, plane tickets, legal fees for his Ohio criminal case, and a 2012 Jeep Liberty. A review of Coastal’s financials also revealed that Brooks, without authorization, had diverted payroll funds, which resulted in him receiving double his salary per pay period.
In total, Coastal suffered a loss of $792,851.79 a result of Brooks’s efforts to defraud the medical practice.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Bradenton Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mandy Riedel.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
