Florida school employees’ retirement accounts drained of $1M in fraud scheme, feds say
Five Florida residents worked together to steal more than a million dollars from the retirement accounts of school district employees in the Sunshine State, federal prosecutors said.
One of the individuals involved, Ronald Vargas, worked for the company that oversaw their 401(k) accounts, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida.
Now, Vargas and the others have all been convicted in connection with the theft from 25 older, retired school employees, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a Feb. 21 news release.
Vargas, 38, of Osteen, pleaded guilty on Aug. 21 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit money laundering, prosecutors said.
On Feb. 3, following a six-day trial, jurors returned guilty verdicts against Floyd Bostic, accused of serving “as a money launderer for the group,” and Lambert Aguebor, prosecutors said.
Bostic, 42, of Tallahassee, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; three counts of wire fraud; aggravated identity theft; conspiracy to commit money laundering; 16 counts of money laundering; and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, according to prosecutors.
Lambert Aguebor, 33, of Miramar, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, prosecutors said.
In addition, Ufumwen “Grace” Aguebor, 36, of Miramar, and Sarina Levy, 34, of Pembroke Pines, entered guilty pleas, according to prosecutors.
Grace Aguebor pleaded guilty on Feb. 6 to a conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, and Levy pleaded guilty to those same charges on Aug. 8, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Bostic’s federal public defender, Elizabeth Vallejo, declined McClatchy News’ request for comment on Feb. 24 because the case is still active, she said. An attorney representing Grace Aguebor also declined to comment.
Attorneys representing Vargas, Lambert Aguebor and Levy didn’t immediately return requests for comment.
How the fraud scheme worked
Between January 2022 and March 2022, prosecutors said Vargas “exploited his position” as a retirement specialist to steal from school employees’ 401(k) accounts.
He worked for an unnamed company based in Tallahassee, according to prosecutors.
Vargas had access to the employees’ personal information and “oversight” of processing withdrawal requests from retirement accounts, prosecutors wrote in court filings.
He approved all fraudulent withdrawal requests, according to prosecutors.
“Once fraudulent money was deposited into bank accounts held by co-conspirators, it was largely withdrawn as cash, or cash equivalents,” prosecutors said.
Vargas and the others shared the proceeds of the scheme, according to prosecutors.
Some of the money, which wasn’t withdrawn as cash, was used for personal, business and luxury expenses, as well as to buy property, prosecutors said.
In a Feb. 9, 2023, interview with law enforcement, Grace Aguebor revealed Vargas helped facilitate the theft, according to court documents.
“Grace generally spent the money she received on personal expenses,” prosecutors wrote.
She splurged at luxury stores, including Louis Vuitton, according to court documents.
Vargas received about $80,000 in cash for his role in the scheme, prosecutors said.
He picked up the money from Lambert Aguebor during two meetings in Orlando, according to court documents.
Ultimately, the five defendants tried stealing more than $1,405,728.79, according to prosecutors.
They were successful in stealing $1,007,563.07, court documents say.
Vargas, Bostic, Lambert Aguebor, Grace Aguebor and Levy will be sentenced at the federal courthouse in Tallahassee on April 28, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Suspected financial fraud against individuals 60 and older can be reported to the Justice Department’s National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-372-8311.
Fraud complaints can also be reported online to the Federal Trade Commission.
This story was originally published February 24, 2025 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Florida school employees’ retirement accounts drained of $1M in fraud scheme, feds say."
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