Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Craig Reckley (56, Clearwater) has pleaded guilty to theft of government funds. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the 
plea agreement, Reckley deposited 37 U.S. Treasury checks made payable to others into his business bank account. These checks, totaling more than $166,000, were tax refund checks that had been issued by the Internal Revenue Service as the result of the filing of false and fraudulent income tax returns.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, with the assistance of the Clearwater Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer.