Roger B. Handberg, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida
Willie F. Murray, Jr., a 55-year-old resident of West Park, has been sentenced to five years and one month in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven. The sentence comes after Murray pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft on September 20, 2024.
Murray was ordered to forfeit $5,671,611.74 in U.S. currency, along with $1,578,925.56 from a bank account and six properties located in Punta Gorda, Fort Lauderdale, Belle Glade, Hollywood, and South Bay, Florida. These assets were identified as proceeds from his fraudulent activities.
Court documents revealed that Murray operated Lab Tess, LLC (Lab Tess), a company registered in Florida that falsely claimed to provide COVID-19 testing services. Instead of offering these services, Murray used the company to file fraudulent reimbursement claims with the Health Resources and Services Administration for tests allegedly conducted on uninsured individuals.
To execute this scheme, Murray utilized personal information from various sources including incarcerated individuals within the Florida Department of Corrections and deceased persons. He also falsely reported tests conducted at homeless shelters and electrical substations. In total, he submitted over 126,000 fraudulent claims amounting to approximately $5.67 million.
The investigation into this case was carried out by the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorneys Greg Pizzo and Suzanne Nebesky prosecuted the case.
For those who have information regarding attempted fraud related to COVID-19 can report it through the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via their online complaint form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.