TAMPA, Fla. — Six months after a St. Petersburg nonprofit reported $100 million missing from trust funds that pay for medical care, the FBI is reaching out to victims as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.

The agency recently sent letters to the families of trust fund holders informing them that they may be a victim of a crime and asking them to contact investigators. It has also launched a website that includes an online questionnaire for trust fund holders and their families.

“Your responses are voluntary but could be useful in the federal criminal investigation and to identify potential victims and/or witnesses,” the website states.

The missing money came to light when the Centers for Special Needs Trust Administration, which administered more than 2,000 medical trust funds, filed for bankruptcy in February. Court documents show that more than $100 million was transferred to a company owned by its founder, Leo Govoni starting in 2009. The missing money, which was represented in accounting records as a loan, was siphoned from more than 1,500 trust funds for people with profound injuries and disabilities.

The loan was never repaid, court records state.

The letters and website are the first indication that the FBI could bring criminal charges over the missing money. Bankruptcy records filed by the center state that Govoni, who resigned from the nonprofit in 2009, maintained control of the center and its trust funds and orchestrated the loan to his own company.

In the years that followed, Govoni bought a private jet worth roughly $3.4 million and kept a pilot on staff for seven years, the Tampa Bay Times has found. He flew friends to his executive suite at the Kentucky Derby and donated more than $900,000 to politicians and political committees.

Along with his son, LJ Govoni, he also purchased Big Storm Brewing and made the firm one of the fastest-growing craft beer businesses in Florida. The business has struggled in the past year, closing five tap rooms since September.

In a lawsuit filed in June, Big Storm investor David Wenk claimed that the brewery was the recipient of trust fund money. Wenk, who invested $3 million in the brewery, agreed to a settlement with Big Storm in August. The details of the settlement were kept confidential.

Govoni has not spoken publicly about the allegations, nor has he been criminally charged. His attorney, Eric Koenig, issued a statement disputing them and has filed court documents stating that the unpaid loan was sanctioned by the president and directors of the nonprofit.

In a separate case, Govoni’s bank accounts and other assets were frozen by a court at the request of the Florida Attorney General’s office. Its investigation found more than $2 million missing from the Directed Benefits Foundation, another nonprofit founded by Govoni that administered trust funds.

The Feather Sound businessman last month agreed to a revised court injunction that requires him to sell 11 properties in Florida and Kentucky to replace those missing funds.

Even if successful, Govoni could face civil charges related to the foundation. State officials have cited potential violations of the Florida Anti-Fencing Act’s section on theft, the Florida Deceptive and the Unfair Trade Practices Act.

© 2024 Tampa Bay Times
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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