Michael Jerome Atkins, Fraud and Identity Theft, Florida 2023

A former Florida resident has been sentenced to prison for swindling a schoolteacher out of her entire retirement savings. Michael Jerome Atkins, 61, was sentenced to five years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal on [no sentencing date provided] in Miami, Florida.

Atkins was found guilty of fraud and identity theft charges in March 2019, admitting that he devised a scheme to defraud the victim of her entire retirement savings, over $400,000.

According to court records, Atkins convinced the victim, a 68-year-old former schoolteacher, to retire and invest her retirement money into his Fort Lauderdale-based company, All Points Aviation and Associates. He promised to repay her within two months, but instead used the money for his personal expenses and never repaid her.

The victim had not heard from Atkins since 2016, when he left South Florida. In 2015, she directed her retirement account management company to disburse the money, which it did in three checks. Each check was made to the joint order of the victim and All Points Aviation and Associates. Without the victim’s authorization, Atkins had the largest check endorsed with the victim’s signature and deposited into a bank account that he controlled.

Atkins used the victim’s retirement money to pay for his own personal expenses and never repaid her. The retired schoolteacher was left with nothing. The FBI investigated the case, and Assistant United States Attorney Lois Foster-Steers prosecuted it.

Combatting elder abuse and financial fraud targeted at seniors is a key priority of the government. The mission of the Elder Justice Initiative is to support and coordinate the government’s enforcement and programmatic efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect and financial fraud and scams that target our nation’s seniors.

The public is encouraged to report victimization and suspected fraud schemes by calling the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD 11 (1-833- 372-8311). To learn more, visit https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/man-who-swindled-schoolteacher-out-entire-retirement-savings-sentenced-prison