BSO MP sentenced to prison for COVID-19 aid fraud

BROWARD COUNTY, Florida. – Broward Sheriff's Office Deputy and SWAT team member Alexandra Acosta was convicted Tuesday in federal court of fraudulently applying for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Acosta, 38, of Tamarac, was sentenced to four months in prison. A jury had previously found her guilty on one count of conspiracy to defraud the Small Business Administration (“SBA”), two counts of making false statements to the SBA and one count of wire fraud.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, in 2021, Acosta “conspired with her tax preparer, Vilsaint St. Louis, to apply for and obtain a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan for herself as a sole proprietor operating as a real estate agent, based on materially false statements about her average monthly income in 2019, including two falsified tax forms submitted with the application.”

Prosecutors said Acosta also sought and received forgiveness for the PPP loan obtained through fraud, which amounted to more than $20,000 in principal and interest.

In addition to her prison sentence, Acosta was also fined $4,000. Prosecutors confirmed that she had previously repaid the fraudulently obtained loan funds.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, St. Louis pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and was convicted for his involvement in the plot.

Anyone with information regarding allegations of attempted fraud related to COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) hotline at 866-720-5721 or using the NCDF web complaint form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.