Man pleads guilty to $1.2 million fraud, money laundering scheme targeting Hurricane Ian victim

LEE COUNTY, Fla. —

A Naples man pleaded guilty Monday to a $1.2 million fraud and money laundering scheme targeting an 85-year-old Hurricane Ian victim in Lee County.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice's Middle District of Florida, Luis Emilio Hernandez, 45, pled guilty to two counts of wire fraud and six counts of money laundering in connection to the scheme.

He faces up to 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count and up to 10 years for each money laundering count. The indictment also seeks a forfeiture of over $1.2 million and other assets traceable to the offenses, the district said. No sentencing date has been set.

According to court records, Hernandez was able to convince the victim to write personal checks that totaled more than $1.2 million for construction materials and repairs that were never done. He instead cashed the checks for personal gain.

According to the Middle District of Florida, investigators found that Hernandez did not have a contractor's license in Florida and no permits were pulled for any work.

After the home was sold and demolished, Hernandez continued to contact the victims through text messages and made visits to the victims' assisted living facility to lure them to provide him with more funds, documents said.

Hernandez was reportedly concealing the source of funds by laundering the money through purchasing and flipping vehicles in trade-ins at car dealerships in the area.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office and the United States Secret Service investigated the case.

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