Hampton County, SC – One of the key figures of the Waverly Media Group bus bench scandal who was acquitted of mortgage fraud is now behind bars for tax evasion.
37-year-old Ramara M. Garrett was arrested on Labor Day in South Carolina and is in the process of being extradited to Volusia County, according to Spencer Hathaway, a spokesman for 7th Circuit State Attorney RJ Larizza.
“Garrett was taken into custody in Hampton County on 3 Florida warrants,” Hathaway added. “I can’t put a timeframe on when she will return to the jurisdiction.”
According to her arrest report, Garrett is accused of owing just under $20,000 in taxes to the State of Florida and Volusia County from income earned in 2012 while renting out beachside luxury homes under the now-defunct Waverly Property Group LLC.
Garrett is charged with sales tax evasion, failing to file 6 consecutive sales tax returns and failure to remit sales tax. She’s facing a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted.
Jim Sotolongo – Garrett’s boyfriend – is serving an over 8 year prison sentence in South Carolina for masterminding a complex mortgage fraud scheme that took over $12 million dollars from various banks through a company he owned with Garrett and Stephanie Musselwhite, an Orlando area title agent.
The 49-year-old Sotolongo was sentenced to 100 months in prison last February following his conviction in April 2014. Garrett was acquitted in that same trial.
Musselwhite and 2 other people – Christopher Mencis of Longwood and Sidney Coton of Deltona – are also serving time in prison for their role in what federal and state officials called the Sotolongo Mortgage Fraud Ring.
Federal officials say all 4 people defrauded banks by recruiting straw buyers with high credit scores to apply for and obtain 11 mortgages totaling more than $12 million.
The purpose of the scheme, according to prosecutors, was to obtain the properties with no money down and no money at closings, rent the properties and then eventually sell them for a profit.
The Volusia County Council initiated a probe into the media arm of the Waverly Group in 2013 after allegations surfaced that the company provided illegal in-kind advertisements on bus benches to various VCC candidates during the 2012 election, including current VCC members Joyce Cusack and Josh Wagner.
That probe – led by Ormond Beach attorney Jon Kaney – ended last September with a report that found no criminal acts by county council members and staff.
The VCC did decide afterward to form a committee to review Kaney’s report and come up with recommendations the VCC can implement to make sure such a situation never happens again.
Garrett VCBJ booking photo
Copyright 2015 Southern Stone Communications.