Pinellas County man pleads guilty to PPP fraud, murder-for-hire charges

Alexander Leszczynski, a resident of North Redington Beach in Pinellas County, has pleaded guilty to charges filed against him in two separate cases. One involves his attempt to defraud the federal Paycheck Protection Program and obtain ownership of 10 properties, collectively valued at more than $300 million, via fake warranty deeds; the other arose while he was in jail and attempted to hire a hitman to kill two victims of his fraudulent activities.

According to a news release issued by the office of U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg, who represents the Department of Justice’s Middle District of Florida, Leszczynski, 24, pleaded guilty in the first case to wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering, and murder-for-hire and obstruction of justice in the second case. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison in the fraud case and up to 10 years of imprisonment in the murder-for-hire case.