MIDDLEBURG, Fla. – Christopher Leo Daragjati, who pleaded guilty last July to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and theft of government property, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison.
Daragjati, of Middleburg, must also pay $363,099 in restitution.
In July 2022, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office began investigating an unknown individual, later identified as Daragjati, who was using stolen identities to commit fraud.
Court documents show Daragjati opened commercial lines of credit with Sunbelt Rentals using the personal information, including Social Security numbers, of multiple victims.
After renting thousands of dollars of equipment from a rental company, he pawned or stole the equipment.
Prosecutors said Daragjati’s actions caused a felony arrest warrant to be issued for an innocent victim.
State and federal investigators figured out that Daragjati also stole numerous genuine Florida driver’s licenses and identification cards and used them to apply for three Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans under the identity of two victims.
Unsuspecting lenders approved the loans, and Daragjati received about $150,000.
The IRS found that Daragjati submitted eight fraudulent federal tax returns using the stolen identities of six victims, and one of those successfully got him a refund of more than $3,000.
“The Clay County Sheriff’s Office takes any attempts to defraud or scheme our citizens out of their hard-earned money very seriously,” said Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook. “We appreciate the cooperation that we have with our law enforcement partners to hold these suspects accountable. We will continue to diligently work to identify and arrest any individuals who are engaged in fraud.”
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