A former Broward Sheriff’s Office lieutenant was charged last month with COVID loan fraud, prosecutors announced Friday, the latest in a string of loan fraud arrests involving deputies at the Sheriff’s Office.
Ernest Bernard Gonder, 41, is facing two counts of wire fraud after he fraudulently applied for two different Payment Protection Plan loans, prosecutors say. He made his first appearance in a Fort Lauderdale federal courtroom on Tuesday.
The former Department of Detention lieutenant made over $160,000 in Payment Protection Program loans beginning in April 2021, the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said in a media release.
The announcement comes months after 17 Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies were charged with COVID loan fraud in October. Nine of them worked in the department of detention; one of them was a sergeant. At the time, U.S Attorney Markenzy Lapointe had alluded to the possibility of more arrests as the investigation continued.
“Clearly, this went beyond 17 individuals,” Lapointe said at the time. “There was a critical mass of individuals engaging in this fraud. What we can tell you is, the investigation is ongoing.”
Gonder had applied for two loans on behalf of two companies, the Impact Center of Broward County and EBG Properties LLC, misrepresenting the average monthly payroll and number of employees, according to prosecutors. He also submitted multiple fraudulent IRS Forms 941 for both companies.
Gonder then used the money “to enrich himself,” the release states. He received forgiveness of both loans.
The former lieutenant left BSO on Oct. 31, according to Veda Coleman-Wright, a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office, and was already under investigation by Internal Affairs at the time. He said he was resigning for personal reasons.
The Port St. Lucie resident faces up to 20 years in prison on each count, according to the release. FBI Miami, FRB-CFPB Office of Inspector General and BSO investigated the case.