“Con Man” Soaring Paws Animal Charity CEO Heads To Prison On Fraud Charges

TAMPA, FL. – Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office prosecutors have secured a guilty plea on 10 new felony fraud charges against Albert Adams, the former CEO of the nonprofit organization Soaring Paws.

Adams will now serve 15 months in prison followed by 10 years of probation for his latest scheme. He will also need to repay the nearly $13,000 he scammed.

“This con man pled guilty because we built such a strong case against him with our law enforcement partners,” Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren said. “He has preyed on the huge hearts of dog lovers. Once again, he’ll face serious consequences for his scams—with time behind bars.”

In 2018, Hillsborough prosecutors convicted Adams of defrauding donors to his Soaring Paws charity after he used donations that were intended to help fly abused animals to new homes to instead pay for his own personal expenses.

The new charges come not from false charity work, but from pet insurance fraud. An investigation found that Adams signed up for a pet insurance policy, which would reimburse him for his pets’ medical expenses.

He proceeded to file claims and receive payment for nearly $13,000 worth of medical procedures that were never performed. The pet insurance provider discovered the deception and contacted law enforcement.

Investigators from the Florida Chief Financial Officer’s Office and prosecutors from the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office collaborated on the investigation, which identified phony claims for nine nonexistent procedures supposedly performed on two dogs belonging to Adams. Initially, Adams was charged with six felonies, but prosecutors added four additional charges as the investigation continued.

The resulting charges are one count of Organized Fraud Less Than $20,000 and nine counts of False Statement in Support of an Insurance Claim Less Than $20,000. Each charge is a third-degree felony.

Before the truth was revealed, Adams received a total of $12,984.98 in ill-gotten payments from the pet insurance provider, Healthy Paws, between March 4 and April 8, 2020.

Adams was on probation from his Soaring Paws fraud conviction when he committed these new crimes, leading Judge Lyann Goudie to impose this new lengthy prison and probation term on Wednesday.

Adams entered his guilty plea one day before his trial was set to begin. Assistant State Attorney Amy Casanova Ward, part of the Economic Crimes Unit at the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office, led the prosecution.

Before he heads to state prison, Adams will be taken south to the Lee County Jail, where he has another pending criminal case for attempting to fraudulently sell a woman a nonexistent dog for $575.

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