A South Florida resident received millions from fraudulent COVID-19 testing reimbursement claims, which he used to buy properties in Punta Gorda, Fort Lauderdale, Belle Glade, Hollywood, and South Bay.
United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the unsealing of an indictment charging 55-year-old Willie F. Murray, Jr., of West Park, with six counts of wire fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, Murray faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count followed by a consecutive two years of imprisonment for each aggravated identity theft count.
The indictment also notifies Murray that the United States intends to forfeit $5,671,611.74 in U.S. currency, $1,578,925.56 from a bank account, and seven real properties located in Punta Gorda, Fort Lauderdale, Belle Glade, Hollywood, and South Bay, Florida, which are alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offense.
According to the indictment, Murray was the registered agent and manager of Lab Tess, LLC, a Florida company that purportedly provided its customers COVID-19 testing services. In fact, Lab Tess provided no such services.
Murray used Lab Tess to submit fraudulent claims for reimbursement to the Health Resources and Services Administration for COVID-19 testing services supposedly provided to uninsured individuals. To complete the illegal scheme, Murray used personal identifying information of individuals incarcerated by the Florida Department of Corrections, individuals falsely reported as having been tested at homeless shelters and electrical substations, and deceased individuals.
Murray submitted more than 126,000 fraudulent claims and received reimbursement in the approximate amount of $5.6 million, which he used, in part, to purchase real properties in South Florida.
In May 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The task force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form online.
This South Florida case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Greg Pizzo and Suzanne Nebesky.
