Accountant admits to ripping off oil spill fund

ST. PETERSBURG — St. Petersburg resident Joseph Bassler pled guilty to mail fraud and money laundering in a Deepwater Horizon oil spill fraud scheme.

Bassler, 61, faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on the mail fraud count and up to 10 years in federal prison on the money laundering offense. The Tampa office of acting U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announced the plea in a press release.

As a licensed tax-preparer, Bassler presented himself as a professional accountant who could help companies affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill file business economic loss claims, according to the statement. The statement also says he “prepared and submitted fraudulently inflated claims falsely alleging lost income on behalf of his clients” and received a portion of the recovery money as payment for his services.

Bassler submitted 62 claims. Three of the claims were paid and Bassler and his clients received over $600,000 more than they were entitled to receive from the compensation fund, according to the press release.