Jim Rosica
It’s the kind of crime that’s enough to make you spit up: A Florida couple was convicted of charges that they systematically ripped off about $2 million worth of baby formula.
Attorney General Pam Bondi‘s office announced the convictions Monday.
It was all part of a “multi-state, multimillion dollar scheme that involved selling stolen formula through an online business named Formula Mom,” according to a statement.
Alicia Tondreau-Leve was convicted on charges of racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, dealing in stolen property as an organizer, and money laundering.
Her husband, Alan Leve, was convicted of a charge of conspiracy to commit racketeering.
The Leves will sentenced Sept. 23. Two others charged in the scheme, Alexis Dattadeen of New Port Richey and Guilyanna Guzman of Orlando, also are awaiting sentencing, Bondi’s office said.
Tondreau-Leve, of Rockledge, ran a Craigslist-based business named ‘Formula Mom,’ recruiting others to “help her steal large quantities of baby formula and then ship the formula to New York, Wisconsin, and California,” according to an earlier press release.
“This retail theft ring spanned several Florida counties, multiple states and took great coordination and diligent investigative work to dismantle,” Bondi said.
Bondi’s Office of Statewide Prosecution worked with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the Cape Coral Police Department, the Casselberry Police Department, and the Ocoee Police Department, the statement said.
