LEHIGH ACRES Flames shoot through roof of house in Lehigh Acres Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District said the people inside the house got out okay and no one was injured.
FORT MYERS Lee County making changes to fix bus issues In the past, the Lee County School District struggled to find enough bus drivers.
NAPLES Naples man gets original Bob Ross paintings appraised Bob Ross took this blank canvas in a small studio in Muncie, Indiana, and transformed it into a beautiful masterpiece.
Lee Schools board considers full-day phone bans The biggest talking point in a Lee County School District safety presentation wasn’t about violence or drugs, it was about phones
PORT CHARLOTTE Fallen officer ceremony in Charlotte County commemorates those who lost lives in line of duty The emotional ceremony was held at the William R. Gains Veterans Memorial Park in Port Charlotte.
SAN CARLOS PARK Lee County couple suspected of drugging and sexually abusing child Neighbors say a home in San Carlos Park was just another house before Tuesday.
PINE ISLAND FDOT asking you if bike and pedestrian lanes should be added to busy road The Florida Department of Transportation is asking you if bike and pedestrian lanes should be added to the busy road.
Food drive for mental health awareness While someone may look healthy, they may be fighting a real inner battle.
FORT MYERS Overbilled for overflow of water; Residents stuck with hefty water bill The Moore’s make ends meet living at The Cove for almost a year.
ESTERO Scoreless Eagle up for award at NIL Summit FGCU’s Brandon Dwyer is one of the big time performers in NIL despite having never scored a single point in his entire Eagle career.
What happens after a nuisance alligator is captured? For alligators, the month of May means we are in the heart of mating season in the Sunshine State.
Exclusive: Interview with woman who shares hope of recovery on National Fentanyl Awareness Day Lee County Sheriff’s Office said that in 2020 they seized nearly two thousand grams of fentanyl. In 2023, that number jumped to over 8,000.
ESTERO FGCU star in the circle reflects on historical senior season The Eagles’ ace told WINK News she is focused on making every moment count before she hangs up her cleats for the last time.
NAPLES Pastrami Dan’s reopens in Naples after SUV crash Pastrami Dan’s in Naples welcomed customers once again, with people waiting at the door.
FGCU Two FGCU softball players playing for those who impacted their lives Two FGCU softball players, Riley Oakes and Olivia Black, are playing for friends who impacted their lives in a major way.
LEHIGH ACRES Flames shoot through roof of house in Lehigh Acres Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District said the people inside the house got out okay and no one was injured.
FORT MYERS Lee County making changes to fix bus issues In the past, the Lee County School District struggled to find enough bus drivers.
NAPLES Naples man gets original Bob Ross paintings appraised Bob Ross took this blank canvas in a small studio in Muncie, Indiana, and transformed it into a beautiful masterpiece.
Lee Schools board considers full-day phone bans The biggest talking point in a Lee County School District safety presentation wasn’t about violence or drugs, it was about phones
PORT CHARLOTTE Fallen officer ceremony in Charlotte County commemorates those who lost lives in line of duty The emotional ceremony was held at the William R. Gains Veterans Memorial Park in Port Charlotte.
SAN CARLOS PARK Lee County couple suspected of drugging and sexually abusing child Neighbors say a home in San Carlos Park was just another house before Tuesday.
PINE ISLAND FDOT asking you if bike and pedestrian lanes should be added to busy road The Florida Department of Transportation is asking you if bike and pedestrian lanes should be added to the busy road.
Food drive for mental health awareness While someone may look healthy, they may be fighting a real inner battle.
FORT MYERS Overbilled for overflow of water; Residents stuck with hefty water bill The Moore’s make ends meet living at The Cove for almost a year.
ESTERO Scoreless Eagle up for award at NIL Summit FGCU’s Brandon Dwyer is one of the big time performers in NIL despite having never scored a single point in his entire Eagle career.
What happens after a nuisance alligator is captured? For alligators, the month of May means we are in the heart of mating season in the Sunshine State.
Exclusive: Interview with woman who shares hope of recovery on National Fentanyl Awareness Day Lee County Sheriff’s Office said that in 2020 they seized nearly two thousand grams of fentanyl. In 2023, that number jumped to over 8,000.
ESTERO FGCU star in the circle reflects on historical senior season The Eagles’ ace told WINK News she is focused on making every moment count before she hangs up her cleats for the last time.
NAPLES Pastrami Dan’s reopens in Naples after SUV crash Pastrami Dan’s in Naples welcomed customers once again, with people waiting at the door.
FGCU Two FGCU softball players playing for those who impacted their lives Two FGCU softball players, Riley Oakes and Olivia Black, are playing for friends who impacted their lives in a major way.
Saving ten jobs during the pandemic is what one woman claimed on her application for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. Now, She has entered a plea deal for lying about how many employees she had and how she used the money. Federal prosecutors say after Liliana Gonzalez got a PPP loan for close to $170,000, she had an in-ground pool built, and it was paid for entirely with the money meant to help her business. Gonzalez’s Cape Coral home is also where her hair salon business is run. Prosecutors say the same month, she applied for a PPP loan. She also filed paperwork to reinstate her business. “When you’re going through the Small Business Association, they’re being looked at by auditors, probably, with the United States Treasury Department and different authorities helping them pick through the ones that need to be reviewed and prosecuted and the others that are clearly fraud,” said Scot Goldberg, managing partner at Goldberg Noone Abraham. Attorney, Scot Goldberg, helped break down the plea agreement, where Gonzalez is expected to take responsibility and agree to pay restitution. “You’re seeing picking and choosing to do audits, or they’re getting information through the affidavits in the paperwork asking for the forgiveness that doesn’t add up. So, that’s when you’re going to see prosecutions like this come out of the woodwork on a loan for $170,000,” said Goldberg. The public loan information for the PPP loan Gonzalez received indicates she claimed to have ten employees at her home business. Each making more than $81,000. The loan was supposed to help Gonzalez retain employees during the pandemic, but prosecutors say the information was made up. “There’s a lot of paperwork and affidavits and things that have to be filed in the forgiveness portion. And that’s opening up people to more liability and, of course, scrutiny in looking at these loans closer to make sure that they’re being used for what was asked for and what the government allows,” said Goldberg. The PPP loan was then used to build a swimming pool, according to prosecutors. Goldberg says prosecutors are pursuing more significant penalties and more time behind bars as a deterrent. “They have to do this in order to make sure that if this ever comes up again, people know that there’s teeth to the laws when you break them, and especially when you break them against a financial institution because that’s the federal government,” Goldberg said. Goldberg said a federal judge still has to sign off on the plea agreement. If that does happen, Gonzalez will have to forfeit assets to the federal government to cover the loan cost.