TAMPA, Fla. (TCN) — A 39-year-old man who allegedly defrauded several produce companies out of hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of onions and potatoes has been arrested and charged with eight counts of interstate transport of stolen property.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announced the charges against Jason Canals on March 10. According to the indictment, in one of the schemes Canals allegedly perpetrated, he used a produce company’s name and email signature to send messages requesting produce to victim companies. Once the shipments of produce were on the way, Canals would allegedly divert the shipments to other locations and then allegedly not pay the victim companies.Â
A second scheme involved Canals allegedly providing false documents to companies stating he had prepaid for the produce, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. In total, Canals’ alleged schemes led to a loss in over $600,000 for victim companies.Â
According to the Independent, it is not known how Canals avoided paying the wholesalers for the produce.
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, Canals could face up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted.Â
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