Jacksonville, Florida – James Elliott Davis, II (37, Ponte Vedra Beach) has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jordan Pratt to seven years and seven months in federal prison in connection to his guilty plea to bank fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and theft of mail. As part of his sentence, the court ordered the forfeiture of the proceeds of the crimes, which cumulatively totaled $6,726,800. Further, the court ordered Davis to pay restitution to the victims of his offenses. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
According to court documents, from March 2018 through 2022, Davis ran a purported medical supply company named Medisale Inc. By using false representations, Davis enticed individuals and business entities to invest large sums of money in Medisale and falsely represented to victim-investors that Medisale was making significant profits on the sale of COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE). Davis claimed to have contact with CEOs at various hospitals and that Medisale had contracts with hospitals to sell large volumes of N95 masks and other PPE. As part of convincing victim-investors to give him money, Davis showed fraudulent bank statements with large balances, claiming the money was from the sale of PPE.
In reality, Medisale had no such contracts and had no true revenue from the sale of PPE. Davis kited checks and conducted fraudulent ACH/wire transfers between multiple financial institutions to artificially inflate the apparent balances on his bank accounts. Utilizing victim-investor money, Davis paid off previous debts, paid other investors purported profits from the sale of PPE, and paid personal expenses.
“Exploiting the fears of individuals and businesses for profit during a national crisis is untenable,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe. “Today’s court judgment sends a clear message that this type of fraudulent behavior will not be tolerated.”
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when communities needed real protection, Davis chose deception,” said Ron Loecker, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Florida Field Office. “Schemes that prey on public emergencies are among the most serious frauds we investigate. IRS-CI and our partners will continue to pursue those who exploit emergencies for profit and hold them fully accountable.”
“Today’s sentencing holds Mr. Davis accountable for orchestrating a scheme that obtained millions of dollars by defrauding innocent investors and multiple financial institutions,” said Special Agent in Charge Quenton Sallows, of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC OIG), Miami Region. “The FDIC OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate financial crimes that harm investors and undermine the integrity of our Nation’s financial institutions.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation - Office of Inspector General, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin C. Frein and Michael J. Coolican. The asset forfeiture was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Clint Locke.
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