A federal jury in Tampa, Florida, has found Christopher Switlyk, a 46-year-old resident of Orlando, guilty on two counts of removing property to prevent seizure. This decision was announced by United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg. Switlyk now faces a potential maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each count. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 6, 2025.
The case against Switlyk stems from a forfeiture money judgment amounting to $10,700,592 issued in 2013 due to his previous felony convictions. At that time, the government seized over $6 million from him, leaving more than $4 million outstanding. In 2022, the U.S. Marshals Service discovered that Switlyk had acquired several financial accounts and assets including vehicles and properties in Daytona Beach and Tampa.
On November 13, 2022, the United States secured a Preliminary Order of Forfeiture for Substitute Assets from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. This order permitted the government to seize some of Switlyk’s assets as partial satisfaction of the money judgment against him. Following this order, his financial accounts were frozen by the U.S. Marshals.
Subsequently, on November 16 and 17, 2022, upon learning about the frozen accounts, Switlyk transferred assets to his father in an attempt to obstruct governmental authority over them. The transferred items included a Tesla vehicle and real estate property in Tampa.
The investigation into this case was conducted by the United States Marshals Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ross Roberts.