Feds arrest Lee County resident, indict another for COVID fraud

The U.S. Department of Justice accused two Lee County men Tuesday in a pair of unrelated cases that allege they pocketed millions of dollars through COVID-relief scams.

The defendants, Lester John Parker Jr., 55, and Thakur Sukhdeo, 38, both of Lehigh Acres, are each accused of scheming to defraud the U.S. Small Business Administration. Each faces decades in federal prison if convicted.

Parker, who has been arrested, has been indicted on 15 counts, including one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, one count of access device fraud, three counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property, four counts of aggravated identity theft and five counts of wire fraud.