BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor
Federal agents arrested a 39-year-old businessman last Friday on charges of income tax fraud. He was released from the Pinellas County Jail on a $50,000 bond.
Agents arrested Freddie Wilson, owner of Against All Odds Bail Bonds, 5006 E. Broadway, Suite #7, on Thursday. He was charged with engaging in the theft of government funds and willfully obstructing a criminal investigation.
According to investigators, Wilson opened an account at the Wells Fargo Bank on May 8, 2012, and deposited 18 U. S. Treasury checks, worth $53,061, into the account. All of the checks were payable to third parties and were either payments of income tax refunds or Social Security.
“Records show the funds were quickly depleted after the U. S. Treasury checks were deposited,” police said in the affidavit. The bank closed the account on October 11, 2012.
Wilson opened a bank account at Hancock Bank on June 22, 2012. He allegedly deposited 376 U. S. Treasury checks, valued at $312,759 into the account. None of the checks were made payable to him, police said.
The checks were in the names of different people who told police they did not authorize anyone to use their personal information.
According to the arresting affidavit, federal agents executed a search warrant at Wilson’s business and his apartment. During the search warrant, agents seized six boxes of documents. A few weeks later, an attorney representing Wilson spoke with investigators and told them that Wilson needed some of the documents seized to continue operating his business.
The agents agreed to allow Wilson to copy three boxes of the documents at a local FedEx copying center. After about three weeks, on March 14th, the agent returned to the center to retrieve the documents and learned that someone had taken the copies as well as the original documents.
The agent stated in the affidavit that he contacted one of the attorneys representing Wilson and was told that Wilson would return the documents on March 16th, at 8:30 a.m. However, the agent said Wilson did not keep the agreement.
When the agent returned to the copy center on March 18th, to retrieve the documents, half of them (one-and-one-half boxes) were missing and not returned by Wilson.
The agent stated in the affidavit that “Wilson was uncooperative with law enforcement with regard to both the search and seizure warrants and did not want to turn over the Camaro.”
He purchased the Camaro in September 2012. Agents said he also used the money for personal expenses, to repay loans, and spent more than $30,000 at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino. He also cash checks payable to himself for $110,445, the agent wrote.
