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 the forfeiture of $17,964,680, which represents the proceeds from the wire fraud offense. Oelerich had entered a guilty plea on September 22, 2025.
According to information provided by prosecutors, Oelerich owned Empire Sheds and More, LLC, a company that sold portable storage sheds. In December 2018, he entered into an agreement with a loan financing company under which his business would submit rent-to-own contracts between Empire Sheds and its customers for shed rentals or purchases. The financing company paid Empire Sheds the purchase price for these sheds upfront; in turn, customers were expected to make monthly rental payments to the financing company as per their agreements.
However, from December 2018 through September 2023, Oelerich used other people’s personal identifiable information to create over one thousand false rent-to-own agreements. These fraudulent contracts were then submitted to the loan financing company. As a result of this scheme, Oelerich received nearly $18 million from the financing company as payment for sheds that mostly did not exist.
“This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” according to officials involved in the prosecution. Assistant United States Attorney Diane Hu led the prosecution effort while Assistant United States Attorney Nicole M. Andrejko is managing asset forfeiture proceedings.
The announcement regarding sentencing was made by U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe.
