Delray Beach Duo Get Decades for $Millions Fraud

DELRAY BEACH, FL – A brazen scheme to defraud banks out of millions stretched for over a decade, culminating in hefty prison sentences for two Delray Beach residents. Darryl Burke, 50, and Vicki Garland, 50, received their sentences yesterday from U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn, marking the end of a complex investigation by the U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Burke was slapped with a 30-year prison term, while Garland will spend 15 years behind bars. Both were convicted on February 5, 2014, after a two-and-a-half week trial, on charges of bank fraud and wire fraud conspiracy. Burke also faced four substantive counts of bank fraud, and Garland three. In addition to imprisonment, both defendants are slated for five years of supervised release and ordered to pay full restitution for their crimes.

The operation, built on a foundation of false identities and shell companies, centered around an abandoned coin laundry in Delray Beach. This dilapidated building served as the official address for Next Level Development and a network of fictitious entities used to acquire investment properties. According to trial evidence, Burke and Garland manufactured fake wage and tax documents, falsely claiming employment and income to secure bank loans targeting low-income neighborhoods. Garland acted as the “President” of Next Level, strategically selling properties to Burke, operating under the alias “David Middleton.”

The pair then exploited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 voucher program, siphoning funds from HUD and unsuspecting low-income tenants. They further attempted to evade property taxes by falsely claiming Burke and his alias, “David Middleton,” were totally and permanently disabled veterans – a blatant lie, as neither man had ever served. The combined value of fraudulently obtained loans and rental proceeds totaled millions of dollars, fueling a lavish lifestyle.

That lifestyle included a waterfront compound in Delray Beach, a fleet of luxury vehicles – a Bentley, Mercedes, and Range Rover – courtside season tickets for the Miami Heat, and substantial amounts of cash. This wasn’t Burke’s first foray into bank fraud; he was previously convicted in 1997 in the Southern District of Florida for similar federal offenses dating back to the late 1980s and early 1990s. It’s clear this wasn’t a first-time offense, but a calculated continuation of criminal activity.

The scope of the fraud extended beyond Burke and Garland. Four additional defendants previously pled guilty to their involvement in the scheme. Osvaldo Sanchez, 38, and Rafael Amador, 32, both of Miami, Devon Fraser, 31, of Sunrise, and real estate investor Chiquita Alexis, 46, of Boca Raton, all admitted to conspiring with Burke and Garland. U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer commended the USSS and the FDIC Office of the Inspector General for their investigative work. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jerrob Duffy and Evelyn B. Sheehan.