In court, wearing a light-colored plaid jacket, Nida accepted charges that could land him in prison for up to 30 years and a fine of up to $1 million on top of restitution for an estimated $2.3 million he allegedly defrauded from various individuals, financial institutions and government agencies. Judge Charles Pannell has set the sentencing hearing for July 8 at 2 pm.
Apollo Nida’s co-conspirator Gayla St. Julien, who blamed Nida for the entire scheme and was instrumental in his arrest, received a sentence of 61 months last month.
According to Alana Black, the assistant U.S. attorney, Apollo opened a fake debt collection agency to gain access to databases full of individual’s personal information. He would then steal people’s ID and find unclaimed funds, refunds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, stolen U.S. treasury checks and refunds from fraudulent U.S. income tax returns.