JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Ponte Vedra Beach man pleaded guilty to several charges in connection with a fraud scheme involving COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE), according to the Department of Justice.
Officials said James Elliott Davis, 36, pleaded guilty to bank fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and theft of mail.
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According to court documents, Davis ran a medical supply company named Medisale Inc. from March 2018 through 2022. The DOJ said that using false representations, Davis enticed people and businesses to invest large amounts of money in the company.
Officials said he falsely represented to victim-investors that Medisale was making significant profits on the sale of PPE. He also claimed to have contact with CEOS at several hospitals and that Medisale had contacts with hospitals to sell large volumes of PPE.
“In convincing victim-investors to give him money, Davis showed fraudulent bank statements with large balances, claiming the money was from the sale of PPE,” the DOJ wrote.
But the DOJ said Medisale did not have the contracts Davis claimed to have, nor the revenue from the sale of PPE. Instead, Davis issued checks and conducted fraudulent ACH/wire transfers between multiple financial institutions in order to artificially inflate the apparent balances on his bank accounts.
Officials said Davis paid off previous debts, paid other investors purported profits from the PPE sales, and paid personal expenses.
His expenses included using victim-investor money to buy a membership at a luxury club in Ponte Vedra Beach and spending more than $27,000 on custom clothing.
David faces up to 30 years in federal prison on the bank fraud charge, up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud count, up to 10 years in prison on the money laundering count, up to five years in prison on the theft of mail count and payment of restitution to the victims he defrauded.