Giovanetti Free, Awaiting Orders To Surrender

Former Bartow car dealer John Giovanetti, sentenced this week to 11 years and three months in federal prison for wire and bank fraud, remains free while he awaits word when he will be required to surrender to the U.S. Marshal's Office.

That is a common practice in white collar crime cases, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office said Wednesday.

Giovanetti, 53, was sentenced Monday in federal court in Tampa. U.S. District Court Judge James D. Whittemore also ordered Giovanetti to pay restitution of $1,066,851 to SunTrust Bank and a $2,300 special assessment. Following his release from prison, Giovanetti will be placed on five years of supervised release.

As the former owner of Big Oaks Buick Pontiac GMC Inc., Giovanetti stole more than $2.5 million by having two employees file bogus documents to receive financing from SunTrust Bank, according to federal prosecutors. He was found guilty in February of 11 counts of wire fraud, 11 counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit both.