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FBI wants to hear from special needs trust fund victims

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Updated  October 3, 2024 5:30pm EDT
St. Petersburg
FOX 13 News

FBI wants to hear from special needs trust fund victims

FOX 13's Aaron Mesmer reports.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - An investigation could be expanding into a Pinellas County businessman accused in two separate cases of taking millions of dollars from the trust funds of disabled clients.

After confirming it's conducting a potential criminal investigation into the situation involving Center for Special Need Trust Administration in St. Petersburg, the FBI launched a website asking potential victims of the case to contact the agency.

The company's founder, Leo Govoni, is accused of taking $100 million in loans during an 11-year period from the Center that he never paid back. Court records show the accounts of at least 1,500 clients, some severely disabled, were partially or entirely drained. The Center filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.

On a website established by the FBI, the agency wrote:

"If you have any information concerning this matter or if you believe you are or represent a victim or otherwise may have been affected, please complete the below questionnaire. Your responses are voluntary but could be useful in the federal criminal investigation and to identify potential victims and/or witnesses. You may be contacted by the FBI and asked to provide additional information."

Prior to the center's bankruptcy filing, it was one of the biggest trusts of its kind in the U.S., overseeing accounts for disabled clients across the country.

Previous stories on case:

Govoni and his partners have faced multiple inquiries since FOX 13 first broke this story in February.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is continuing her own investigation in $2 million missing from trust funds in a different Govoni company, Directed Benefits Foundation. As a result, Govoni has had to sell six properties between Florida and Kentucky.

"You can dwindle money down real fast when you've got your hand in somebody else's pocket, especially somebody who can't fight back," said Theresa Schlosser, whose daughter, Sarah Hall, suffered a traumatic brain injury 24 years ago during a car crash in the Fort Myers area.

Sarah was 10 weeks pregnant at the time and would eventually give birth while still in a coma to a healthy baby boy, who is now an adult and helps care for his mother.

Schlosser said it took her family three years to reach a settlement, through which about $4 million dollars was put into an account with the Center.

In February, Schlosser received a letter from the center indicating about $10,000 remained in her daughter's account, which may have been compromised.

"We will not end up with what we started with. We will not be reimbursed for the stress that has been placed upon the caregiver for it," Schlosser told FOX 13, adding she knows other families must be as mad as she and she hopes they contact the FBI. "I am just a mama. No, I am no hero. I'm no champion. I am a mad mama and that's what they don't want to face."

FOX 13 has contacted Govoni several times regarding the investigations, and he has not responded to our requests for comment. When the story initially broke, Govoni denied the allegations stemming from the center's bankruptcy filing.

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