ORLANDO, FL – A Honduran national, Osman Donaldo Zapata, has been arrested and indicted for allegedly operating a years-long fraud scheme that involved running shell companies, cashing millions of dollars in checks for illegal workers, and evading payroll taxes.
The arrest is the result of a collaborative investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Orlando Homeland Security Task Force, which includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the United States Marshals Service, the U.S. Department of State, the IRS Criminal Investigations, and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
According to a federal indictment, from 2015 to 2022, Zapata and three other Honduran nationals used a series of shell companies to operate an unlicensed check-cashing and cash courier service. The group allegedly cashed approximately $89 million in checks from construction subcontractors. In exchange for a fee, the defendants would provide cash that was used to pay workers, many of whom were undocumented, without regard for required payroll taxes or legal authorization to work in the United States…