EUSTIS, Florida—A report of identity theft at a Eustis bank last year launched a seven-month investigation that unraveled a mother-daughter Medicaid fraud scheme that culminated in a search warrant and an arrest earlier this month, according to an arrest affidavit.
In September 2022, Eustis Police Department responded to Wells Fargo, 16949 U.S. Highway 441 after a man reported his identity had been stolen and used to open a bank account. A lengthy investigation revealed the account was used to funnel money to Heather Linette Steverson, 55, and her daughter, Jessica Linette Chechile, 34, for alleged rides they gave to Medicaid patients, according to the affidavit.
EPD detectives found the mileage and time claimed to provide the rides did not add up, in addition to Chechile providing four rides while she was incarcerated at the Lake County Jail for possession of several drugs, including methamphetamine, morphine, dilaudid and oxycodone. EPD was also provided numerous recorded phone calls made by Steverson setting up rides while she pretended to be someone else.
Chechile was taken into custody after her bond was revoked in February for a prior drug charge and is now facing 174 charges in this case, including 79 counts each of forgery and uttering a forged document; 11 counts of criminal use of personal identification, and one count each of Medicaid recipient fraud, organized fraud, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, grand theft and racketeering. She is being held on no bond due to the revocation.
Her mother is facing 33 counts each of forgery and uttering a forged document, 13 counts of criminal use of personal identification one count each of Medicaid recipient fraud, organized fraud, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, grand theft and racketeering; in addition to two counts of possession of Oxycodone that was found on her when she was picked up on the warrant. She is being held on $247,000 bond.
CLERMONT, Florida—After a months-long investigation by Clermont Police Department, two men were arrested this week after scamming an elderly man out of his home and selling it late last year.
According to a probable cause affidavit, in November 2022, the victim’s niece filed an online complaint with Clermont Police Department stating she believed her uncle was a victim of foreclosure fraud and she found his house was for sale, which was impossible because he is mentally and physically impaired and was admitted to a rehabilitation facility. She also stated she and her husband had power of attorney (POA) over most of her uncle’s affairs, including real estate and financial transactions.
The woman and her husband met with a Clermont Police detective a little over a week later and provided paperwork proving they had power of attorney, in addition to medical records that noted the victim’s cognitive impairment and bank records showing charges to “Lensz Investments.” She also gave the detective a written timeline that included when she contacted the listing agent on her uncle’s home, and stated the agent provided the name, “Emmanuel Damier.” Lensz Investments is linked to Damier, the detective noted in the affidavit.
The couple explained the victim’s wife died in August 2020 and he wanted them to take care of his affairs because he was getting older and did not know how to function financially. Just four days after his wife died, and while he was of sound mind, he gave the couple POA, the affidavit states.
The victim’s niece discovered the home was in foreclosure, due to a reverse mortgage the victim’s wife took out before she died, but also found a bankruptcy filing that stopped the foreclosure proceedings. The victim’s niece did not believe the signature on the document was truly her uncle’s because it was signed more than two years after giving her and her husband POA, the affidavit states.
The CPD detective found that a quit claim deed was filed on July 25, 2022 that gave the home to Mc’ckol Credit Services LLC. While researching, the detective found that the registered agent of Mc’ckol Credit Services is Lyns Dayoute and found that Damier—the name given to the victim’s niece by the listing agent—is the registered agent of Lensz Investments.
CPD served the listing agent with a subpoena of her records and found the following: the seller was listed as Mc’ckol Credit Services LLC with a listing price of $315,000; a buyer was listed and a closing date set for Dec. 5, 2022.
The detective met with the elderly victim, who admitted he had memory issues, and showed him paperwork that allegedly contained his signature. The victim said some of the signatures looked accurate but was “adamant” others were not his actual signature. The detective showed him the quit claim deed and explained the document is used to give away property. The victim asked, “Why would anyone want to do that?” The detective continued to explain the quit claim deed on his home gave the home to Mc’ckol Credit Services. The victim seemed confused, the detective noted, and he said the signature did look like his, but he had no recollection of signing it and he did not know why he would give his house away, the affidavit states.
CPD subpoenaed the victim’s medical records from several different facilities and found his cognitive abilities were impaired from April 22, 2021, until Nov. 3, 2022; in addition to a home healthcare agency noting the victim said he was “scammed and lost a lot of money.”
Records from two title companies were subpoenaed and CPD found that the original title company would not close on the home because Mc’ckol Services refused to provide a gift affidavit stating the home was given freely and the donor was competent at the time. The detective spoke with the title company and a representative said the document was required to prevent fraud, according to the affidavit.
The Lake County Clerk of Court and Comptroller’s Office provides a Property Fraud Alert service for property owners in Lake County. According to its website, the office, “offers citizens a free Recording Notification Service via automated emails. Citizens can request monitoring of up to five different names per registered email address. When a document is recorded into the Official Records of Lake County with an identity that is being monitored, an email will automatically be sent to the provided email address.” Visit Recording Notification Service (lakecountyclerk.org) to sign up.
The closing was transferred to a new title company after the first one refused and records showed the home closed on Dec. 2, 2022, and more than $93,000 was given to the seller, Mc’ckol Services. CPD interviewed Damier—the name given to him by the listing agent and the registered agent of Lensz Investments. Damier said he had an agreement with the victim that after the sale, $10,000 would go to the victim and $290,000 would go to Damier. The detective asked Damier to provide the paperwork and he reportedly got “very guarded” and refused to answer any more questions.
Dayoute—the registered agent of Mc’ckol Services—called the detective and said he is the owner of Mc’ckol Services and Damier is his business partner. He explained the proceeds of the sale would be divided between the victim, the HOA for past dues and the holder of the reverse mortgage. He agreed to meet with the detective and provide all the paperwork, according to the affidavit.
Dayoute and Damier agreed to meet with the detective at their office in Ocoee on Jan. 13. The pair claimed to be business partners and Damier said they met the victim after sending a mailer to his home. He said they went to the victim’s home and explained everything to the victim and “prepared various paperwork and obtained (the victim’s) signature on a few documents,” including a third-party authorization to obtain information from the HOA and the bank, the affidavit states.
Damier said once they obtained the information they needed, the went back to the victim so he could sign a contract. Damier and Dayoute provided a contract to the detective that was signed in pencil and not notarized. The detective questioned Damier about two charges totaling $1,650 to Lensz Investments and Damier claimed one charge was for a home inspection and one was a repayment of a loan.
CPD went back to the victim and showed him the quit claim deed; he again said he had no recollection of signing the document and also said he believed Damier was a friend of his daughter’s. The detective spoke with the victim’s daughter and she said a man named Ignacio showed up at the home with a flyer and said he knew the home was in foreclosure and he wanted to help. Her father was introduced to Damier and Dayoute and her father signed a “bunch of paperwork” to include contracts and a lease agreement. She said Damier has given her $2,500 and helped her with hotel stays, and said she did not know anything about the sale of the house.
A warrant was issued for Damier, 42, and Dayoute, 29, for grand theft, scheme to defraud and exploitation of the elderly. They turned themselves in at the Lake County Jail Tuesday, where they were both released on $60,000 bond.
The Lake County Clerk of Court and Comptroller’s Office provides a Property Fraud Alert service for property owners in Lake County. According to its website, the office, “offers citizens a free Recording Notification Service via automated emails. Citizens can request monitoring of up to five different names per registered email address. When a document is recorded into the Official Records of Lake County with an identity that is being monitored, an email will automatically be sent to the provided email address.” Visit Recording Notification Service (lakecountyclerk.org) to sign up.
CLERMONT, Florida—A woman already convicted of fraud and on federal work release is accused of diverting funds intended for her employer to various money exchange apps, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Jenifer Elizabeth Hoffman, 46, of Clermont, misrepresented herself as a partner in K&S Cleaning, the owner of the company told Clermont Police Department in August 2022. She told police Hoffman began working for her in September 2020 as an hourly employee and worked her way up to a marketing and networking associate. In June 2022, the owner discovered Hoffman had been embezzling money since March 2021 by introducing herself as a partner of K&S Cleaning and directing at least 25 residential customers to pay her directly through various apps, such as Cash App, Zelle, Venmo and Apple Pay, the affidavit states.
The owner was able to provide proof of more than $13,000 missing but told CPD she believes it was around $20,000.
The owner provided text messages to CPD that showed Hoffman “alluding to her guilt.”
“Jenifer (Hoffman) does not outright admit to the crime but alludes to her guilt by her comments on the texts,” the detective noted in the affidavit.
Hoffman is currently on work release for a fraud charge from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the detective stated in the affidavit; Inside Lake was unable to confirm details of the crime on that case.
CPD spoke with Hoffman’s caseworker, and she said Hoffman told her it was a misunderstanding. She was scheduled to released from work release on Oct. 17, 2022, but the warrant in the current case was issued Oct. 3, 2022.
Hoffman was arrested Thursday at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee for scheme to defraud and grand theft; it is unclear what her status was a press time.
EUSTIS, Florida—The former manager of a busy gas station was arrested Thursday after a months-long investigation by Eustis Police Department revealed she stole at least $75,000, according to an arrest affidavit.
Alicia Marie Winters, 28, is facing three charges including grand theft from a person older than 65, organized fraud and extortion. According to the affidavit, Winters, as the store manager of 7-Eleven, 2002 North State Road 19, Eustis, was responsible for payroll, and she made 46 unauthorized direct deposits totaling $69,508 to herself between November 2020 and Aug. 1, 2022, in addition to four fraudulent employee accounts in the store owner’s name that Winters used to deposit more money into her personal account. Winters was also captured on video removing cash deposits from the vault totaling more than $42,000 between Aug. 23 and Aug. 28, 2022. More charges are possible, a detective close to the investigation told Inside Lake.
EPD served a search warrant at Winters’ home in Eustis Thursday and found deposit slips relevant to the investigation, in addition to an HP laptop Winters is accused of stealing from the store. Winters was questioned following the search warrant and said she typically worked 90 hours per week and was “angry” because the store owner had been flirting with her and made unwanted advances toward her, the affidavit states.
Winters told an EPD detective the extra deposits were from an “agreement” she made with the owner. She claimed the owner said he would pay her a “special payroll amount” for time she worked over 40 hours per week, and no one knew about the agreement except her and the owner, who is 69 years old. She said he agreed to $20 per hour for everything over 40 hours, which would amount to around $1,000 over her normal salary of $900 per week. She also stated the owner would pay her lump sums of $3,000 and $5,000 in addition to the regular payroll and “special payroll.” In 2021, Winters said, the owner received a PPP loan and he needed to pay her through payroll with that money to justify the loan.
Winters also admitted paid herself $5,175 after she was fired in August. EPD questioned her about attempts to pay herself $10,000 and $11,000 multiple times after that and she denied those transactions, the affidavit states.
The owner of the store told police Winters stole a metal box from the store that held personal documents, including his birth certificate and business license and she was also questioned about auditing documentation that was missing; she said she threw it away because she believed that was her work that she was not getting paid for. She told the owner to tell everyone to leave her alone and he would get the documents back. “Alicia (Winters) said her intent was to hurt him financially because basically he was hurting her with the investigation,” a detective noted in the affidavit.
Winter was taken into custody and transported to the Lake County Jail, where she was released on $40,000 bond.
In 2017, Winter was arrested on five charges for her role as the driver when a 2-year-old girl was shot in a drive-by shooting at Tavares’ Rosewood Apartments. Winters pleaded no contest to two of the charges and the other three were dropped. She was sentenced to five years’ probation and petitioned the court for early termination in 2021; the early termination was granted, according to Lake County Clerk of Court online records.
