FLORIDA – A former Florida town attorney has pleaded guilty to wire fraud related to an investment scheme, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida (USAO).
Retired attorney Craig Sherman, 80, pleaded guilty to two counts of federal wire fraud charges in a West Palm Beach federal court last week.
According to the USAO, Sherman admitted that from 2013 through 2020, he defrauded friends and clients through an investment scheme. Sherman was an attorney in Boca Raton, Fla., who also worked as the town attorney for the Town of Bay Harbor Islands, Fla., the USAO said.
Sherman solicited friends and clients to invest in real estate projects that were planned or in progress in the Town of Bay Harbor Islands. Sherman reportedly indicated that the investors would loan money for construction projects and would be paid between six percent to eight percent interest annually for the loan. Allegedly, investors were told the principal would be returned later, usually when the construction project was completed.
However, instead of using the investment money to fund the construction projects—like he claimed he would—Sherman used it to pay for his personal expenses and to try to keep his law firm running, prosecutors said. He is also accused of using some investors’ investment money to cover payments due to other investors.
The total fraud is close to $7 million, said the USAO.
The sentencing hearing will be scheduled later. Sherman faces up to 20 years in prison on each count and will be ordered to pay restitution to the victims.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, announced the guilty plea.
FBI Miami, West Palm Beach Resident Agency investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laurence M. Bardfeld is prosecuting it.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-cr-80083.
