Days after authorities announced arrests in a theft ring that allegedly bilked $20 million from America’s largest commercial-real-estate company, officials discovered only $4 million is allegedly missing and the lead witness in the case is now dead.
When the arrests in the mom-and-pop racketeering scheme were announced Tuesday, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement had no idea the amount of the thefts were off by $16 million. The mistake is being blamed on an Excel spreadsheet error.
“We used an Excel spreadsheet to document all the individual thefts because they were so numerous. … There was a calculator error within the spreadsheet that inaccurately summed the total,” according to Special Agent in Charge Danny Banks, head of FDLE’s Central Florida office. “Although the sum was totally inaccurate, it does not affect any of the outcome. The criminal charges are the same.”
Eight defendants are accused with stealing from the Simon Property Group by using a trusted company executive to approve payments to more than a dozen fake companies, according to FDLE. Former Simon Regional Vice President of Marketing Lynette Lauria, three members of her family and four close friends all face racketeering and grand-theft charges.
“The calculation error has no effect on the substance of the charges. We don’t have to file reduced charges,” Banks said. “The significance of the charges still stand.”
Prosecutors also learned their lead witness was found dead Thursday in Connecticut. Thomas Brignolo, 32, was named in a federal lawsuit four years ago as the whistle-blower who alerted Simon officials to the thefts. He was scheduled to testify in the FDLE’s case. His death remains under investigation.
It is the latest development in the case outlined in a recently released 60-page arrest affidavit. The FDLE arrest report reveals:
*The five-year string of thefts that started in 2006 had gone undetected until Brignolo, who once worked for two of the suspects, emailed Simon officials alerting them to what was happening.
*Simon officials conducted their own investigation into the thefts and filed a federal lawsuit in 2011 against the eight suspects seeking the return of its money before even contacting law enforcement.
*None of the money has been recovered, but state- and federal-court records show more than $400,000 was laundered through an Orlando-based marketing company. And millions more passed through at least 60 bank accounts.
(Editor’s Note: This article has been corrected. An earlier version incorrectly stated the status of bankruptcy for Dale Takio. Takio nor his companies filed for bankruptcy. The statewide prosecutor’s office dropped charges in the case against Takio and Ryan Deming in February 2017.)
Federal lawsuit
After Simon officials did their own inquiry, they sued in federal court in Orlando in 2011 to reclaim the money, then alerted authorities.
The case was assigned to David Donaway, the company’s security director and former assistant agent in charge of FDLE’s Central Florida office.
The Simon Property Group generates $60 billion in sales annually at its U.S. malls and has scores more in Europe and Asia.
The corporate investigation reportedly discovered a widespread scheme overseen by Lynette Lauria, 62, who created more than a dozen fake companies to submit bogus bills. Lauria approved the invoices and forged a superior’s signature whenever needed, records show.
Three generations of her family were involved, with checks being deposited in the bank accounts of her parents, her husband and their children. And she took a cut from every payment.
Lauria was fired in August 2011, and Simon filed its civil lawsuit in September. It did not ask FDLE until 13 months later in October 2012 to investigate and press criminal charges, according to interviews.
“It’s not uncommon for private industry to evaluate what they have before notifying law enforcement of a major crime,” Banks said Thursday. “We can only begin a criminal investigation when we become aware of it.”
A 22-year veteran of law enforcement, Banks did not remember examples of companies waiting as long as Simon to contact police.
After more than 400 motions had been filed and the case dragged on for nearly three years, Simon’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the federal lawsuit Sept. 25, records show. The reason why is unclear.
Defense attorneys involved in the case said Friday that Simon Property Group sought to have the case dismissed after failing to prove their clients stole anything.
“It became obvious they were not going to be able to prove damages,” said Orlando attorney Thomas Sedaka, who represented the Lauria family. “It’s pretty telling when you are not able to move forward.”
Simon officials and their attorneys did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Who they are
*Lynette Lauria began working for Simon in 1999 in New Hampshire. Within a year she transferred to The Florida Mall in Orlando and rose in 2007 to regional vice president for marketing in Florida and Puerto Rico. By then, FDLE records claim she had been approving hundreds of thousands of dollars of phony invoices from fake companies with such names as XLM Marketing, PR Works and Snouthound.
She remains held in the Lake County Jail on charges of racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, first-degree grand theft and money laundering.
*Robert Lauria, 63, is Lynette Lauria’s husband and operated three shell companies, including Orange Thorpe Investments LLC, according to FDLE. He admitted during a deposition in the federal lawsuit that he didn’t know anything about marketing and never provided services for Simon, according to FDLE.
He also remains held in the Lake County Jail.
*Rachael Lauria, 39, of Clermont is the couple’s eldest daughter, who ran Snouthound while working at the time for Saab Training USA, records state. When asked during a deposition what she did to receive $55,000 from Simon, she was unable to identify products she claimed she delivered or where, records show. “As far as I knew, my mother was helping me out,” she said in the deposition.
She remains held in the Orange County Jail.
*Sarah Lagi, 33, of Clermont is the Laurias’ youngest daughter, who works in marketing at Westgate Resorts. She also ran Arnell Inc., another one of the shell companies, and paid her parents about $37,000 in kickbacks, records show.
She “admitted in the sworn deposition that she did not perform any of the services listed on the invoices,” records state.
Lagi posted bond Thursday and was released from the Orange County Jail.
*Susan Ortega, 55, of Orlando is the president of J&S Multimedia on Sand Lake Commons Boulevard, where $400,000 of Simon payments were laundered and split with the Laurias, records show. Her partner in J&S Multimedia and TravelHost Magazine Orlando is Jacqueline Siegel, the wife of Westgate Resorts CEO David Siegel. The Siegels have not been accused of any crimes.
Ortega was released Wednesday afternoon from the Orange County Jail after posting bond.
*Ryan Deming, 39, of Orlando is co-owner of Image Marketing Group, the company where his former employee alerted Simon officials about the $4 million of thefts over five years. He is accused of paying Lynette Lauria more than $300,000 in kickbacks, according to FDLE.
He left jail Thursday after his bail was dropped from $300,000 to $30,000.
His attorney Craig Brand wrote in Deming’s motion for lower bail that he has lifelong ties to Orlando, never missed a court appearance in Simon’s federal lawsuit and is co-founder of “Guys With Ties,” a charity that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for local causes. He was named as one of the Orlando Business Journal’s top 40 under 40 in 2013.
*Timothy Herman, 49, of Maitland is co-owner with Deming of Image Marketing Group, Mobile Hire Communications and Event Planners USA, according to state records. He was arrested Tuesday in Las Vegas and remains held there pending extradition to Florida, records show.
*Dale Takio, 38, of Clermont is a partner with Herman in Takitik, a restaurant-consulting company. He was named in 2010 as of Orlando Business Journal’s top 40 under 40 for rising community and business leaders.
He was released from jail Thursday after posting bond.
“The bottom line is Ryan Deming and Dale Takio are completely innocent,” Brand said.
hcurtis@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5257
