St. Petersburg Man Sentenced To More Than 14 Years For Role In Fraud Scheme To Obtain Titles To Vehicles Publisher: U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida Dateline: Tampa, Florida Date: 10 February 2025 Subjects: American Government , Crime

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington has sentenced Jonathan Daniels (46, St. Petersburg) to 14 years and 7 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Daniels was found guilty at trial on February 10, 2023.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Daniels and his co-conspirators were involved in a fraud scheme to strip bank liens from more than 100 vehicles and obtain clear titles to the vehicles, thus depriving the financial institutions and the owners from their rights to the vehicles. The conspirators submitted fraudulent and counterfeit documents and fake certified mail receipts to Florida tax collector offices to make it look like the vehicles had towing and storage liens, which enabled the conspirators to obtain clear titles to the vehicles and sell the vehicles to unsuspecting buyers for profit.

“The Secret Service is proud to partner with the U.S Postal Inspection Service and the Florida Highway Patrol,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert Engel of the United States Secret Service – Tampa Field Office. “The results of this investigation are a testament to strong partnerships across the law enforcement community. The Secret Service remains committed to investigating those who engage in crimes that exploit our financial system.”   

Steven Hodges, Acting Postal Inspector in Charge of the Miami Division stated, “The U. S. Postal Inspection Service will aggressively investigate individuals who engage in fraudulent schemes at the expense of the American public and our financial institutions. We are committed to working with our partner law enforcement agencies to bring justice to those looking to uses fraudulent means for personal gain. Criminals must understand there are consequences for their actions.”

This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Florida Highway Patrol. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Peresie.

Updated February 10, 2025