Keith Oelerich, a 62-year-old resident of Apopka, Florida, has been sentenced to five years and five months in federal prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Julie S. Sneed. In addition to the prison term, the court ordered Oelerich to forfeit $17,964,680, which represented the proceeds from his wire fraud activities. Oelerich pleaded guilty on September 22, 2025.
U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced the sentencing.
Court documents state that in December 2018, Oelerich owned Empire Sheds and More, LLC, a company specializing in portable storage sheds. He entered into an agreement with a loan financing company under which Empire Sheds would submit rent-to-own contracts between itself and its customers for shed rentals or purchases. The financing company paid Empire Sheds the purchase price of these sheds up front, while customers were supposed to make monthly rental payments to the financing company as per their agreements.
Between December 2018 and September 2023, Oelerich used other people’s personal information to create 1,043 false rent-to-own agreements. These fraudulent agreements were submitted to the loan financing company, resulting in payments totaling nearly $18 million for sheds that mostly did not exist. Through this scheme, Oelerich received loan funds he was not entitled to and personally benefited from the proceeds.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation into this case. Assistant United States Attorney Diane Hu prosecuted it, while Assistant United States Attorney Nicole M. Andrejko is handling the forfeiture process.
