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Florida Businessman Jailed for Stealing $8 Million in COVID Relief to Buy Private Island and Oil Fields in Texas

Patrick Parker Walsh, amongst thousands of swindlers, guilty of the largest fraud in the US history, is now serving a five and a half-year federal prison sentence. Out of the $280 billion potentially plundered in COVID-19 relief aid, $8 million was stolen by Walsh to purchase lavish items including a private island and oil fields, revealing a nationwide issue of fraudulent applications and misappropriated relief aid.

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Overview

  • Florida businessman Patrick Parker Walsh was sentenced to five and a half years in federal prison for defrauding nearly $8 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds.
  • Walsh used the stolen funds to make luxury purchases including a private island called Sweetheart Island and oil fields in Texas.
  • His crimes are part of the greatest fraud in U.S. history, in which an estimated $280 billion in federal COVID-19 aid was plundered, and another $123 billion was wasted or misspent.
  • Other offenders stole relief funds to spend extravagantly on goods, from luxury watches and jewelry to expensive cars, demonstrating a nationwide issue of fraudulent relief aid applications.
  • Walsh, owner of an aerial advertising business, was found guilty and is serving time in federal prison, one among 3,200 defendants charged with COVID-19 relief fraud.