Area resident gets federal prison for $800K COVID-19 relief fraud

TAMPA — A 63-year-old St. Petersburg man has been sentenced to three years and six months in federal prison for obtaining COVID-19 relief funds for companies no longer in business.

The sentence for the defendant, Louis Thornton III, also included an $814,000 judgement and five years of probation when sentenced by U.S. District Judge Susan Bucklew. The court recommended he serve his term at the Pensacola Federal Correctional Institution and that he participates in mental health counseling programs if available, according to federal officials.