Fraudster Steals Fla. Mansion, Threatens Actual Owners
A Tampa court sentenced a man to 17 years for faking a charity that faked a Fla. mansion purchase – and then threatening to kill the real owners to keep them quiet.
TAMPA, Fla. – According to court documents, Alexander Leszczynski, created a fake charity and then used that charity to create a fake warranty deed for a transfer of property in Redington Shores, Florida, in October 2020.
The actual property owners discovered the crime and then sued Leszczynski to correct the deed. But during the procedure, Leszczynski sent a series of harassing letters, emails and faxes to the victims and the lawyer representing them in the lawsuit.
U.S. District Judge James S. Moody, Jr., with the Middle District of Florida, sentenced Leszczynski to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison for murder for hire and obstruction of justice. Moody ordered that Leszczynski’s sentence be served consecutive to the 17 years and 6 months’ sentence he received in a related fraud case.
Leszczynski was charged with the deed fraud in April 2022, various other frauds, as well as multiple counts of money laundering in case United States v. Alexander Leszczynski, 8:22-cr-155-MSS-SPF. He was arraigned on May 17, 2022, and ordered detained.
While in Pinellas County Jail, however, the FBI found out that Leszczynski was looking for a hitman to kill the couple who owned the Redington Shores home, saying he had $45,000, hidden at his residence, available to pay someone to kill the victims. Leszczynski told the confidential informant that he would be able to get the victims’ property if the victims were dead, and that his pending criminal fraud case would have to be dropped.
The confidential informant agreed to put Leszczynski in contact with a purported hitman, who was actually an undercover agent. In conversations with the “hitman,” Leszczynski described the property’s legal owners, negotiated the price for the murder at $30,000, and repeatedly ensured that he wanted the homeowners dead.
In November 2022, Leszczynski pleaded guilty in both cases. He later withdrew his plea in the murder-for-hire case, but pleaded guilty again in June 2023. After he pleaded guilty in both cases, Leszczynski wrote a number of letters – intercepted by the United States – attempting to solicit and threaten others to come forward and fraudulently take responsibility for his crimes.
The fraud case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Largo Police Department, the Indian Shores Police Department, and the Palm Beach Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rachel Jones. The murder-for-hire case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
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