Winter Park man pleads guilty to money laundering, fraud

A 44-year-old Winter Park man pleaded guilty Friday for fraud and money laundering crimes stemming back to 2012 that earned him more than $9 million, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Bryan L. Brewer pleaded guilty to wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for the wire fraud count, up to 30 years imprisonment for the bank fraud count, and up to 10 years imprisonment for the money laundering count, according to the office.

Brewer will also pay restitution to his fraud victims in the amount of $9 million, the office wrote.

Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service investigators found Brewer engaged in two fraudulent schemes.

The first involved a paddleboard manufacturing company called USBoardco (or WatersEdge). Brewer solicited an individual to invest more than $1 million dollars by sending the victim falsified bank statements, tax returns, and other financial documents to inflate the financial success of the company.

The second scheme came as a result of Brewer defrauding a bank into lending his companies $7.75 million, the office said.

It began with a 2012 real estate endeavor where Brewer received a $4 million loan to purchase a piece of property; the investor obtained a mortgage on the property in return, according to the office.

Two years after, Brewer forged a letter that transferred the mortgage from his investor to an entity that Brewer controlled.

Brewer pretended to be the investor while communicating with the bank, which resulted in the bank loaning Brewer’s companies $7.75 million, the office said.