Founder steals $100M from his FL disability nonprofit, buys properties, feds say
The co-founder of a Florida nonprofit bankrupted the organization by stealing more than $100 million from trust funds belonging to people with disabilities and special needs, creating financial hardship for many, federal prosecutors said.
Leo Joseph Govoni, 67, of Clearwater, and John Leo Witeck, 60, of Tampa, an accountant for the Center for Special Needs Trust Administration, are both accused of embezzling money from the St. Petersburg nonprofit, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announced in a June 23 news release.
The organization manages money for vulnerable clients, including those awarded funds through lawsuit settlements and other legal actions, according to prosecutors. Its beneficiaries are located in Florida, throughout the U.S. and across the globe.
In a 32-page indictment returned against Govoni and Witeck, prosecutors accuse the men and alleged co-conspirators of defrauding the nonprofit from June 2009 until May 2025, using client-beneficiary funds “as a slush fund to enrich themselves and others.”
Information on Govoni and Witeck’s legal representation was not immediately available the afternoon of June 24.
Govoni, according to prosecutors, used stolen money to buy properties, travel on private jets, bankroll a brewery and pay debts. They said he also deposited stolen funds into his bank accounts.
The more than $100 million theft forced the Center for Special Needs Trust Administration to file for bankruptcy in February 2024, after it learned of the missing funds, prosecutors said.
Now, Govoni and Witeck are charged with a conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, three counts of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Govoni is also charged with bank fraud, illegal monetary transaction and making a false bankruptcy declaration, prosecutors said.
The indictment, which was unsealed after its initial filing June 18, lists 13 properties that Govoni and Witeck are accused of buying with money stolen from the Center for Special Needs Trust Administration.
If they are convicted in the case, they could be ordered to forfeit the real estate, which includes properties in Clearwater, Largo and Punta Gorda, Florida, as well as one property in Louisville, Kentucky, and another in Columbus Ohio, the filing shows.
Possible prison time
After Govoni co-founded Center for Special Needs Administration in 2000, it “grew to be one of the largest administrators of (special needs trusts) in the country,” prosecutors wrote in the indictment.
In a June 23 memo supporting a motion for heightened bond conditions for Govoni, prosecutors argued “there is a mountain of evidence against him.”
Prosecutors believe his conviction in the case is likely, making him a flight risk, the memo shows.
“Govoni has a powerful motive to flee and the means to do so,” prosecutors wrote in the filing, adding that he “faces the very real prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison.”
If Govoni is convicted of bank fraud, which carries the highest potential maximum penalty, he would face up to 30 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
This charge stems from a $3 million mortgage refinance loan and Govoni’s “alleged laundering of $205,054 of the fraud proceeds to pay off a home equity line of credit on his residence,” prosecutors said.
In a bankruptcy notice on the Center for Special Needs Administration’s website, the nonprofit said Govoni has stolen $150 million from more than 1,500 clients, “many severely disabled, who are now left with little or nothing in their accounts.”
Individuals in 40 states have been affected, according to the organization. Most clients are in Florida, New York and Tennessee.
In a statement on the charges against Govoni and Witeck, assistant director Jose A. Perez of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division said that “not only were the organization’s resources drained, but the accused subjects betrayed the trust of the community and ultimately bankrupted a lifeline for vulnerable families”
This story was originally published June 24, 2025 at 1:46 PM with the headline "Founder steals $100M from his FL disability nonprofit, buys properties, feds say."
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