Jon Jerald Hammill, Bankruptcy Fraud, Florida 2009

St. Petersburg man charged with bankruptcy fraud, faces up to 20 years in prison and possible forfeiture of $1.5 million.

A 39-year-old St. Petersburg man has been indicted for bankruptcy fraud. Jon Jerald Hammill was arrested on charges of three counts of bankruptcy fraud. If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The indictment alleges that Hammill made materially misleading omissions and false statements to conceal funds he received from Botfly LLC and his relationship with the company. Hammill allegedly lied under oath in sworn testimony before the bankruptcy trustee, stating that he had disclosed all of his assets, but failed to disclose that he had received more than $100,000 from Botfly prior to the filing of his bankruptcy petition.

Hammill also failed to list in his petition his ownership of a Florida shell corporation, Jon J. Hammill P.A., when he was required to do so, and falsely stated that his work for that corporation had ended in 2006. He also failed to disclose his relationship with Botfly, according to the indictment. Hammill and his corporation received approximately $1.5 million from Botfly from February 2008 to April 2010.

The president of Botfly, David R. Lewalski, has been charged in a superseding indictment with mail and wire fraud for his participation in a foreign currency investment fraud scheme that he allegedly perpetrated through Botfly.

Hammill’s case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Glenn Chernigoff of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mandy Riedel of the Middle District of Florida. The case is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, with assistance from the Florida Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the U.S. Trustee in Tampa, Fla.

Today’s charges are part of efforts under way by President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

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