United States Attorney's Office
Southern District of Florida
December 2, 2016
Palm Beach County Man Sentenced to 150 Months’ Imprisonment for Role in Bonding Fraud Scheme
Alexander Robert Xavier, 52, of Boca Raton, Florida, was sentenced to twelve-and-a-half years in prison. Previously, a jury found Xavier guilty of defrauding federal agencies by issuing worthless bonds to insure government construction projects. U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra imposed the sentence and ordered Xavier to pay over $4 million in restitution to the victims of the fraud.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Paul Brezinski, Special Agent in Charge, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of the Inspector General (EPA-OIG), Atlanta Field Office, and Monty Stokes, Special Agent in Charge, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigations Division (VA-OIG), Southeast Field Office, made the announcement.
According to public documents and evidence introduced in court, from approximately May 2008 to October 2010, Xavier devised a scheme to unlawfully enrich himself by claiming to be an “individual surety” on various performance and payment bonds – a type of insurance required on major government construction contracts. During the course of the fraud, Xavier pledged millions of dollars in assets to at least eighteen different federal agencies. In truth, and as Xavier well knew, there were no such assets.
A jury previously found Xavier guilty, on July 14, 2016, of mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341, major fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1031, and making a false statement to the United States Department of the Army, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001.
The evidence at trial showed that Xavier issued a large number of worthless bonds to various contractors performing work for government agencies. During the course of the fraud scheme, Xavier and his confederates were paid over $4.3 million in fees. The defrauded federal agencies included, among others, the United States Department of the Army and the United States Department of Labor.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the EPA-OIG, VA-OIG. Mr. Ferrer also thanked the Criminal Investigation Command of the Department of the Army, the Defense Criminal Investigative Services of the OIG of the Department of Defense, the OIG of the General Services Administration, the OIG of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the OIG of the Department of State.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher B. Browne and Wilfredo Fernandez.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office press release
