FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has announced the arrests of nine people they say used 'ghost employees' to defraud the Lee County Port Authority.
Charges include racketeering, organized fraud, conspiracy, theft, and money laundering.
"These suspects were part of a scheme involving fake employees of a janitorial services company contracted by the Lee County Port Authority," says Shane Pollard of the FDLE Fort Myers Division.
He says a complaint was filed last year and passed on to the FDLE.
Agents believe the scheme was orchestrated by 71-year-old Thomas Brennan, the site manager for Triangle Services of Florida.
They say he used seven 'ghost employees' who filed timesheets for services not provided. Some were submitted under names of real people who did not know their names were being used.
The proceeds of the scam totalled $730,000.
Arrested were:
71-year-old Thomas Brennan of Fort Myers, Triangle Services of Florida Site Manager
82-year-old Solomon Cokes, Jr. of Estero, Triangle Services of Florida Shift Supervisor
72-year-old Timothy Cook of Lehigh Acres, Triangle Services of Florida part time employee
58-year-old Jeffrey Ashby of Cape Coral, Triangle Services of Florida Ghost Employee
43-year-old Debra Hill of Lehigh Acres, Triangle Services of Florida Ghost Employee
69-year-old Joseph Sucharzewski of Key West, Triangle Services of Florida Ghost Employee
82-year-old Thomas Quinn of Fort Myers, Triangle Services of Florida Ghost Employee
49-year-old Harry Rodda, Jr. of Fort Myers, Triangle Services of Florida Ghost Employee
70-year-old Dario Zuljani or Cape Coral, Triangle Services of Florida Ghost Employee
Additionally, 62-year-old Kim Ormiston of Sanibel, Triangle Services of Florida Ghost Employee, is still at large.
