A Hillsborough County businessman, if convicted in an alleged COVID relief funds case, might be ordered to forfeit his ill-gotten gains, a list that includes $4.8 million; a Mercedes Benz G-Wagon; and a Nebraska hotel.
Caleb Walsh, 36, of Apollo Beach, is facing charges of bank fraud, wire fraud and illegal monetary transactions, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. If convicted on all counts, Walsh faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. In addition, the government will seek a forfeiture order of at least $4,823,233, a 2020 Mercedes Benz G550 SUV, a hotel in Lincoln, Nebraska and $117,534 in Bitcoin cryptocurrency, which the Justice Department says are all traceable proceeds of the alleged fraud.
Between March 2020 and March 2021, investigators say Walsh devised a scheme to defraud multiple federally-insured financial institutions and another lender by submitting false and fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan applications with the U.S. Small Business Administration in the names of several companies he controlled, according to his indictment. Those companies include Columbus Partners Community Trust; JonRuth Capital Inc.; Midwest by South LLC; Urban Bay Housing Fund LLC; and Parks Management LLC…