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Central Florida Businessman Pleads Guilty to $44 Million Bank Fraud Scheme
Orlando, FL – In a stunning case of financial deception, Pedro ‘Pete’ Benevides, a 44-year-old businessman from Astatula, Florida, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The maximum penalty he now faces is 30 years in federal prison for his role in a massive bank fraud scheme that netted him $44,059,565.
As part of his plea agreement, Benevides has agreed to forfeit the ill-gotten gains, including several bank accounts holding approximately $40,000,000 in cash, and three exotic sports cars: a 2008 Lamborghini Murcielago, a 2009 Audi R8, and a 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo. In addition, he has agreed to pay full restitution to the financial institutions that were victimized by his offense.
According to the plea agreement, Benevides engaged in the fraudulent scheme between about 2005 and September 2008. During this time, he obtained 20 commercial and residential loans and lines of credit from several federally insured financial institutions, totaling approximately $44,049,565. To obtain these loans, Benevides provided the financial institutions with documents that contained false information concerning his income and assets, as well as those of his business.
Benevides controlled several Central Florida businesses, including a private jet charter service, an exotic car rental service, and hotels in Orange County and Pinellas County, Florida. The companies involved in the scheme included Superior International Investment Corporation (SIIC), ABC Auto Wholesalers, Inc., Skyview Aviation, Inc., Fidelity Investment Group LLC, PBJB Best Investment LLC, Divello Family LLC, and Leesburg Title and Escrow Company.
The ill-gotten funds were used for various purposes, including paying the interest and principal on earlier loans, paying business expenses, paying other co-conspirators involved in the scheme, and funding living expenses for Benevides and his family.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the United States Secret Service (USSS), and the St. Cloud IRS-USSS Federal Financial Crimes Task Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel C. Irick and James Mandolfo are prosecuting the case.
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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