A Broward Sheriff’s deputy who was the first woman on the department’s SWAT team was convicted at a federal trial of fraudulently obtaining a government COVID-19 relief loan for over $20,000 during the pandemic.
Alexandra Acosta, 38, of Tamarac, was one of 17 deputies who were charged late last year for fraudulently completing and submitting documents in order to receive money from the Paycheck Protection Program, known as PPP, and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan, or EIDL, programs, which the federal government disbursed during the pandemic to help keep businesses and business owners afloat.
Acosta was a tax client of co-defendant Vilsaint St Louis, president and CEO of Victory Tax Inc,, between January 2019 and April 2021, according to the indictment. They submitted falsified documents to purport that Acosta was a real estate agent in 2019 who earned a net profit of nearly $100,000 with an average monthly payroll of over $8,000.
Acosta received a PPP loan in February 2021 for $20,180 as a result of the fraudulent application, including falsified IRS tax forms, the indictment said. The government program allowed for separate applications for forgiveness of the loan’s principal and interest in certain circumstances, which Acosta also fraudulently applied for and received.
The trial began Monday and concluded Wednesday, court records show. Jurors deliberated for over two hours before returning their guilty verdict on four counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States, two counts of false statements and wire fraud.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 27. She faces up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud, five years for conspiracy and two years for each of the false statement charges, federal prosecutors said.
Veda Coleman-Wright, a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office, said Acosta is on administrative investigative leave without pay as of Friday.
St Louis pleaded guilty in May to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, the plea agreement document shows. He was sentenced to one year of probation, which includes completing 100 hours of community service, and was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, court records say.
Since the charges against the 17 deputies were announced in October, one other Sheriff’s Office employee has been convicted at trial and sentenced. Stephanie Diane Smith, 53, of Sunrise, was sentenced last Friday to seven years in prison. Smith was convicted after a six-day trial in March.
Detention deputy Carolyn Denise Wade went to trial in May, but the jury could not reach a unanimous decision, resulting in a mistrial. A date has not been set for retrial.