Crime & Safety
Former Southeastern University Administrator Sentenced To Prison
The former university executive pleaded guilty to setting up a fake company and paying himself $185,000 to design a website for the school.
LAKELAND, FL — U.S. District Judge Charlene E. Honeywell has sentenced the former executive vice president of Southeastern University in Lakeland to 15 months in federal prison for wire fraud.
The court also ordered him to forfeit $42,000, the proceeds from the wire fraud scheme.
Brian Carroll, 47, of New Market, Tennessee, pleaded guilty on Jan. 5.
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According to court documents, at the time he committed wire fraud, Carroll was working for Southeastern University, where he was involved in a project to redesign the university president's website and digital brand.
Related: Former Official Pleads Guilty To Stealing Money From Southeastern U
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According to court records, Carroll set up an “anonymous” LLC based in New Mexico and a bank account in the name of the LLC, and then paid himself $185,000 to redesign the website.
In the meantime, said court records, Carroll paid a New York company $30,000 to do the real website redesign.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Lakeland Police Department.
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