Semmes man pleads not guilty to COVID fraud charges; prosecutors seek detention

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - A Semmes man accused of orchestrating an elaborate scheme to defraud COVID-19 relief programs – while he was still in federal prison on a previous fraud conviction – pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

Adrian Lemoyne Lacey, 44, is one of a half-dozen people named in the 29-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy and aggravated identify theft.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Bradley Murray set the case for the August trial term.

Prosecutors on Wednesday also asked a judge to keep him locked up pending trial. A judge will hear arguments about that on Monday. Prosecutors allege the Lacey poses a risk to flee and is a serious threat to the public’s safety.

Lacey has been convicted of three previous federal offenses. In 2002, a judge sentenced him to five years and three months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine. In 2012, a judge sentenced him to three years and 10 months in prison for mail fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, set up to compensate victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Then in 2014, a judge sentenced him to eight years and 10 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to use stolen identities to file fraudulent state and federal income tax returns.

The current indictment is one of biggest and widest-ranging COVID fraud cases in southwest Alabama investigated by the Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General. It includes dozens of charges and hundreds of thousands of dollars in seized cash and bank accounts.

Lacey faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the most serious offense.

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