- Patrick Walsh is serving time in prison for stealing pandemic aid from the US government.
- Walsh and others used the aid to buy expensive cars, collectibles, and even islands.
Florida businessman Patrick Parker Walsh was living the high life during the pandemic.
Now, he's stuck in federal prison, serving five and half years for stealing nearly $8 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds that he used, in part, to buy the undeveloped, 2.12-acre "Sweetheart Island" off the coast of Florida.
"The natural splendor of Sweetheart Island is the perfect setting for sunbathing, snorkeling, fishing, bird watching, canoeing, hiking, exploring uninhabited nearby islands, and so much more, all from your own private home base," reads a description on Private Islands Inc., which lists private islands for sale or rent and connects potential buyers and brokers.
Prosecutors said Walsh used $90,000 of his stolen funds to help finance the $116,000 island purchase. Florida property records show that the island was sold for $200,000 at the end of June.
Over 3,200 other defendants have since been charged with similar crimes, per the US Justice Department.
Out of the $4.3 trillion the US Government disbursed for pandemic relief, nearly 10% was stolen, wasted, or misspent.
So far, about $1.4 billion in funds have been recovered, and the Justice Department isn't slowing down.
Their crimes were simple: safeguards to weed out swindlers applying for aid were dropped as the federal government worked quickly to send out relief money to thousands of Americans. Stealing the money was as easy as lying on an application.
Some fraudsters bragged about stealing pandemic unemployment insurance online; one scammer bought an alpaca farm in Vermont.
Between March 2020 and January 2021, Walsh submitted more than 30 fraudulent applications for emergency pandemic aid and received $7.8 million, according to the Justice Department.
"In total, Defendant Walsh fraudulently obtained almost $8 million—and endeavored to obtain close to $15 million," the court papers continue. "In doing so, he took funds that were intended for honest business owners, to whom these funds meant the difference between survival and financial ruin."
Walsh's attorneys said he didn't buy the island as a "tropical paradise for entertainment" but as a real estate opportunity. They did not explain how the businessman would have transformed the isolated isle into a profit center.
Walsh agreed to return the $7.8 million he stole and sell Sweetheart Island, which was among his first purchases, as part of his plea deal.
For now, the island remains deserted.
The only hints that anyone ever tried developing it are a few low, timeworn cinder block walls that extend into the water — and a "For Sale" sign posted on a weather-beaten and leafless tree that resembled a scarecrow warning people to stay away.
Private Islands, Inc. did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, sent outside regular business hours.