MIAMI – In court, during a sentencing hearing, the 35-year-old defendant who served as a Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy said he was embarrassed.
Jean Pierre Toussaint asked a federal judge to look at him, not as a criminal, but as a father of four and someone who had served Broward County for four years.
A judge sentenced Toussaint to two years of probation and ordered him to pay restitution of more than $20,000 for defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program.
“My client was already paying the restitution back. he was already paying the loan back,” said Zeljka Bozanic, a defense attorney representing Toussaint, who he described as “a very good person who made a mistake.”
It had been more than four months since Toussaint — who was among the 17 deputies and detention deputies indicted on wire fraud charges after prosecutors said they fraudulently applied for and received funds from the PPP loan.
Investigators said the group jointly received more than a half million dollars in funds. Derrick Nesbitt, a 23-year BSO veteran, was sentenced to a five-year probation and ordered to pay $1,000 fine.
Four out of 17 defendants have been sentenced. Others were given a stiffer punishment with a restitution of upwards of $30,000. Some of the defendants plead guilty; others have chosen to take their cases to trial.
The maximum penalty for wire fraud is 20 years in prison. None of them have been sentenced to time in prison, but all of them have lost the privilege to work in law enforcement.