Daniel Liburdi Indicted in $128M Bank Fraud Scheme

Daniel Liburdi, a 35-year-old Miami resident, was indicted on federal bank fraud charges in January 2025, accused of helping run a five-year scheme that generated more than $128 million by using stolen identities and shell companies to obtain merchant processing accounts for a deceptive e-commerce operation. He faces up to 50 years in federal prison, and the government is seeking forfeiture of the full $128,144,908.66 along with four luxury properties, including three homes on Hibiscus Island in Miami Beach.¹ He is presumed innocent, and trial is now set for June 1, 2026.²

The Charges Against Liburdi

A federal grand jury in the Middle District of Florida returned the indictment, which was unsealed on January 14, 2025. Liburdi is charged alongside Joseph Scotto, 44, of Bay Shore, New York; Gregory Walker, 43, of Ontario, Canada; and Frank Carbone III, 35, of Orlando.³

All four defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Liburdi and Carbone are also charged with substantive bank fraud.¹ Each bank fraud count and the bank fraud conspiracy count carry up to 30 years in federal prison. The money laundering conspiracy count carries up to 20 years. Combined, Liburdi’s maximum exposure is 50 years.³

How the Alleged Scheme Worked

Prosecutors say the conspiracy ran from approximately May 2018 through May 2023. The alleged mechanism was straightforward in outline: lie to banks to obtain merchant processing accounts, then run high-risk e-commerce charges through them.⁴

According to the indictment, the group recruited people they called “independent business owners” and took their personal identifying information. They used it to set up shell companies, pulling Employer Identification Numbers, creating email addresses, and building product-sale websites that gave each entity the appearance of a working business. The defendants then applied for merchant processing accounts in those names, concealing who really controlled the companies and falsely stating the businesses had no prior processing history.⁴

Two banks named in court filings are West Town Bank and Trust, which received an application for “Swipe Wyre” around April 2022, and Fifth Third Bank, which received an application for “Quick Body Nutra, LLC” around October 2019.⁴

The reason the deception mattered, prosecutors say, is what the accounts were actually used for. The e-commerce operation allegedly ran two billing practices the payments industry treats as high-risk. One was negative-option marketing, in which a customer’s failure to cancel was treated as consent to keep being charged. The other was card rebilling, periodically charging customers’ cards without providing additional goods or services. By hiding their identities and the nature of the business, the defendants allegedly avoided the MATCH list, a Mastercard database that flags high-risk merchants and effectively blocks them from new processing accounts.⁴

On the laundering side, the indictment alleges the defendants used proceeds to pay for internet advertising that drove more customers to their websites, feeding more fraudulent revenue, and that they moved funds between accounts they controlled.³

What the Government Wants to Seize

The government is seeking a forfeiture money judgment of $128,144,908.66 along with four residential properties it says are traceable to the proceeds.¹ Three sit on Hibiscus Island, a gated enclave in Biscayne Bay:

101 North Hibiscus Drive, purchased for over $40 million in August 2024. The property is roughly 10,780 square feet, with seven bedrooms, a gym, a pool, and a private dock.
269 North Hibiscus Drive, purchased in 2023 for $13 million.
205 North Hibiscus Drive, purchased in 2024 for nearly $15 million and listed for rent at $37,000 per month.
A property on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, purchased in 2020 for nearly $4 million.⁵

Liburdi’s Miami Profile Before the Indictment

Liburdi had drawn attention well before the criminal case. Page Six called him a “mysterious Miami party boy” and described an Instagram feed featuring yachts in Monaco, private helicopter rides, and multiple Ferraris. Parties at his Hibiscus Island home drew neighborhood complaints, and in December 2024 neighbors filed an emergency motion citing 13 separate instances of law enforcement contact over noise, fireworks, and traffic.⁵

In late 2024, Liburdi joined fellow Hibiscus Island residents Leonard Hochstein and Sinan Tuna in suing the City of Miami Beach over a resolution requiring special event permits for large parties during Art Basel week. U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore denied the homeowners’ request for a temporary injunction, ruling that the city acted within its police power. The other plaintiffs settled or reached agreements with the city; Liburdi remained in negotiations.⁶⁷

Where the Case Stands

Liburdi made his initial appearance in the Southern District of Florida on January 10, 2025, where Magistrate Judge Edwin G. Torres set a $100,000 personal surety bond. Liburdi waived removal, and the case was transferred to the Middle District of Florida, where it is assigned to Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle.⁸

Liburdi and Carbone moved to dismiss the indictment and the forfeiture allegations, arguing the charges lacked sufficient detail. The court denied the motions, finding the indictment adequate, and denied requests for a bill of particulars as premature because the government had not yet produced discovery.⁹

Trial was originally set for the February 2026 term but was continued in December 2025 and is now scheduled to begin on June 1, 2026, with intervening time designated excludable under the Speedy Trial Act.² A status conference was held before Judge Mizelle on February 10, 2026, involving Liburdi, Scotto, and Carbone.¹⁰ The status of co-defendant Gregory Walker, who lives in Canada, is unclear from available records; reporting confirms his indictment but not whether he has been arrested or extradited.¹¹ All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty at trial.

1
U.S. Department of Justice. Four Indicted for Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud and Money Laundering Schemes Involving More Than $128 Million
2
Casemine. United States v. Liburdi – Scheduling Order
3
ICE. 4 Indicted for Bank Fraud and Money Laundering Conspiracy
4
Casemine. United States v. Liburdi
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Page Six. Miami’s Daniel Liburdi Indicted in $128M Bank Fraud Scheme
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Miami Herald. Hochstein, Liburdi, and Tuna v. City of Miami Beach
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FindLaw. Hochstein v. City of Miami Beach
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PACER Monitor. USA v. Liburdi – Case Details
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Midpage. United States v. Liburdi
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PACER Monitor. USA v. Liburdi et al – Status Conference Minute Entry
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Toronto Star. Ontario Man Charged Alongside Mystery Miami Party Boy in Massive U.S. Fraud Case