A veteran Broward Sheriff's deputy and BSO SWAT member has been sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to COVID-19 relief fraud.
Alexandra Acosta, 38, was sentenced to four months in prison after she was convicted by a jury in June on charges of conspiracy to defraud the Small Business Administration, making false statements to the SBA and wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida said in a news release Tuesday.
Acosta, of Tamarac, was among 17 BSO employees who were accused of COVID-19 relief fraud last October.
She started her career with BSO in 2013 and last year was lauded as BSO's "first female Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) operator in almost 30 years" in a post on the department's Facebook page.
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Prosecutors said Acosta conspired with her tax preparer, Vilsaint St. Louis, to apply for and receive a Paycheck Protection Program loan for herself as a sole proprietor doing business as a realtor.
She provided false information about her average monthly income in 2019, including two falsified IRS tax forms submitted with the application, prosecutors said.
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Acosta also sought and received forgiveness of the fraudulently obtained PPP loan, which totaled over $20,000 in principal and interest, authorities said.
In addition to the four-month prison sentence, Acosta must pay a $4,000 fine. She had previously repaid the fraudulently obtained loan funds.
She had been facing up to 27 years in prison on the charges.
St. Louis pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and was sentenced for his involvement in the scheme, prosecutors said.
