Kay F. Gow, Grant and Investment Scam, FL 2024

FT. MYERS, FL – A decade behind bars for Kay F. Gow, 68, of Naples, Florida, for masterminding a brazen $5 million fraud against Lee County and a separate $500,000 swindle of a private investor. U.S. District Judge John E. Steele delivered the sentence today, along with a $1.93 million money judgment to recover proceeds from the criminal enterprise. The scheme involved bogus claims to secure a county economic development grant and a network of shell companies to launder the stolen funds.

Gow, along with her now-deceased husband, Robert Gow, and co-conspirator John G. Williams, Jr., 67, of Suffolk, Virginia, were convicted by a federal jury on February 22, 2019. Williams received a 30-month federal prison sentence. The trio exploited the Lee County Financial Incentives for Recruiting Strategic Targets (FIRST) program, designed to stimulate economic growth in the Ft. Myers area, turning it into a personal piggy bank.

The Gows owned and operated HerbalScience Group, LLC and HerbalScience Singapore Pte, Ltd., and created VR Laboratories, LLC in 2010 specifically to apply for the $5 million FIRST grant. They built a house of lies, falsely portraying HerbalScience and VR Labs as poised for global success in botanical pharmaceuticals. Lee County bought the pitch, awarding VR Labs the full $5 million to construct a manufacturing facility promising hundreds of high-paying jobs – a facility that would never materialize. The entire application was a sham.

Williams, a long-time associate of the Gows, played a crucial role in the deception. He registered a fake company, “Williams Specialty Bottling Equipment,” and submitted fraudulent invoices for bottling line work that never happened. VR Labs paid these invoices, and Williams then kicked back a substantial portion of the money to the Gows, creating a circular flow of stolen funds. These bogus invoices were then presented to Lee County as legitimate expenses, justifying further grant disbursements. The Gows funneled the grant money into their personal accounts through disguised fees, salaries, and expenses, utilizing a web of fictitious entities to conceal the illicit transfers.

Lee County ultimately disbursed approximately $4.7 million to VR Labs, but the promised manufacturing facility remained an empty shell. Undeterred, the Gows extended their fraud to private investors, fleecing one victim out of their entire $500,000 retirement savings. This wasn’t just about stealing from the county; it was about ruining lives.

“The FBI works diligently to ensure that those who profit from deception and greed are brought to justice,” stated Eric W. Sporre, Special Agent in Charge of the Tampa Division. “Honest, hardworking individuals deserve our protection and we encourage anyone with information regarding fraudulent activity to contact law enforcement immediately.” The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rachelle DesVaux Bedke, Michael Leeman, and Josephine W. Thomas. This case serves as a stark reminder that those who prey on public trust will face the consequences.

RELATED: Lee County Grant Scam: VR Labs Trio Faces Decades in Prison