The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida released an official statement regarding the Apopa man’s prison sentence: ORLANDO, Fla. – Keith Olerich, 62, Apopa, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Julie S. Snead to five years and five months in prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. As part of the sentence, the court also ordered the forfeiture of $17,964,680 in wire fraud proceeds. Mr. Ohlerich pled guilty on September 22, 2025. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe.
According to court documents, in December 2018, Olerich, owner of mobile storage shed company Empire Sheds and More, LLC, entered into an agreement with a financing company. Pursuant to this agreement, Empire Sheds submitted to the loan finance company a rental agreement between Empire Sheds and its customers for the rental and purchase of sheds. The Loan Finance Company paid Empire Sheds the purchase price of the shed, and Empire Sheds’ customers were required to pay the Loan Finance Company regular monthly rental payments for the shed under the terms of the rental agreement.
From December 2018 to September 2023, Olerich created 1,043 false and fraudulent rental agreements using the personally identifying information of others and submitted these false and fraudulent rental agreements to lending companies. As a result, the loan finance company paid Olerich a total of $17,964,680, the purchase price of the cabin referenced in the contract. In fact, most of the huts did not exist. Erich took advantage of this system to enrich his own pockets by obtaining loan income to which he was not entitled.
This incident was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diane Hu. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole M. Andreyko is handling the forfeiture.
