Owner of real estate company faces 20 years in prison for money laundering

TAMPA — A Pasco County man is facing 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to using his real estate firm, two shell companies and bank accounts in the companies’ names to launder money from an international boiler room fraud.

Frank Sebastian Visicaro, 62, also agreed to cooperate with federal authorities and to forfeit his assets, according to the plea agreement which was filed Dec. 2 and approved by a federal judge in Tampa Thursday, Dec. 9.

According to the plea agreement, between March 2009 and December 2013 Visicaro “help perpetuate an international wire fraud scheme” that saw between $500,000 and $1.5 million flow through accounts he owned.

The money came from a boiler room scheme that duped victims into sending money for bogus investments. When the person was convinced to invest, they’d be asked to wire money for the investment as well as fees and expenses.

The money would go into the bank accounts of shell companies and other business controlled by the conspirators. Visicaro used his real company — Buy and Sell Real Estate Inc. — and two shell companies — Buy and Sell Realty and Investment LLC and Clear View Group LLC — to launder the money, according to the agreement.

In some cases, the money was wired directly to accounts controlled by Visicaro. More often than not, money was wired to his co-conspirators and then re-wired to his accounts, which acted as a buffer of sorts, making it easier to conceal. He would then send the money to those working in the boiler rooms and his co-conspirators.

Visicaro received a percentage of the funds for his work.

He was arrested May 27, 2020. Court papers do not disclose how much he earned from his part of the scheme.

A sentencing date has been set for April 26. (A press release from the U.S. Department of Justice says a date hasn't been set, but the clerk's minutes from the Dec. 9 hearing show the April 26 sentencing date.)

According to the website for the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation’s website, there is a Frank S. Visicaro in Pasco County with a real estate sales associate’s license active until March.