According to the Palm Beach Post, a former Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputy, Robert Simeone, pleaded guilty to patient brokering and fraud concerning a children’s charity and was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday.
Simeone worked with PBSO for 10 years after his 6-year service in the military until leaving in 2015 to create and operate Epiphany’s Treatment Center in West Palm Beach. From there, he stood accused of wiring more than $200,000 to Loxahatchee Groves sober home to persuade residents to his center. In addition, Simeone took more than $49,000 from the Children of Wounded Warriors to spend personally and for his business expenses.
Simeone pleaded guilty to all the charges leveled against him and was sentenced to 60 consecutive months in prison, one month before his fraud case was scheduled for trial. Simeone worked with a family member to transfer money from the Children of Wounded Warriors according to investigators.