thanks for joining us for Fox 4 News at
6:00 I'm Shari Armstrong in for a
Patrick Nolan important story to tell
you about tonight 700 thousand dollars
that's how much the Lee County Port
Authority says they were scammed out of
after a janitorial contracting scheme
and now nine people are facing charges
in connection to this crime Fox for
Sandra Rodriguez joins us from Southwest
Florida International Airport to tell us
how they orchestrated the scheme
officials say the suspects were part of
a scheme involving fake employees of
triangle services a janitorial company
contracted by the Lee County Port
Authority today the Florida Department
of Law Enforcement held a press
conference to explain how that scheme
worked nine suspects arrested charged
with racketeering organized fraud
conspiracy theft and money laundering
all connected to a scheme that stole
over 700 thousand dollars from the Lee
County Port Authority the Port Authority
is the victim in this case that paid for
janitorial services at our local
airports services that were never
received and not even needed officials
say Thomas Brannan was the mastermind of
this scheme he was a triangle services
site manager at billion County Port
Authority Rena conspired with seven
individuals to act as ghost employees
these were real people who got paid for
janitorial services that were never
performed when payday would come the
ghosts employees who were never actually
employed by triangle services would get
paychecks directly deposited into their
personal bank accounts and then give
Brandon a portion officials say Brandon
worked hard to conceal the scheme when
an investigation began in 2018 and it
took measures to also conceal the
illegal activity by creating documents
to reflect termination of employment of
all the ghost employees he also ordered
the destruction of all on-site time
cards ahead of an audit performed by the
Lee County Clerk of Courts Office of
Inspector General the Lee County Port
Authority says they still have a
contract with triangle services but are
evaluating it triangle is paid
approximately six million dollars a year
for their services
officials say this investigation is
still active and there's still one
suspect at large that suspect is Kim
ormiston we did reach out to triangle
services and are waiting to hear back in
for Myers
Sandra Rodriguez Fox 4 in your corner