Florida Man Pleads Guilty to BP Spill Claims Fraud

A Florida man has pleaded guilty to attempting to defraud the BP oil spill claims fund by faking losses from a commercial fishing business.

Court records show 37-year-old Eliu Gonzalez of Florida City pleaded guilty Wednesday to a wire fraud charge. He faces a maximum 20-year prison term when sentenced in January.

BP created its $20 billion claims fund to compensate losses stemming from the April 2010 oil rig explosion and spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In October last year, prosecutors say Gonzalez submitted a claim of more than $110,000.

Part of the claimed losses included a series of receipts from a Miami fish market for yellowtail snapper that Gonzalez admitted in court were false.

Gonzalez is the first person in South Florida convicted of a BP claims fraud.