Southern District of Florida

MIAMI – On Oct. 16, 2023, Jeffry Arista, 32, and his brother, Jonathan Arista, 29, had their initial appearances in federal court on federal kidnapping charges.  

According to allegations contained in the criminal complaint on October 13, 2023, Jeffry Arista, Jonathan Arista, and Raymond Gomez committed an armed kidnapping of the victim outside of the victim’s apartment. After forcefully transporting the victim to an AirBnB, a rental property located in Plantation, Florida, the kidnappers realized that they had abducted the wrong person. Rather than releasing the victim, the kidnappers waterboarded and threatened to kill the victim while pointing firearms, tasers, and an electric drill at the kidnapped victim. Upon learning that the intended target was at a business in Pompano Beach, Florida, the kidnappers forcefully brought the victim to the business and ordered the victim to go into the business and lure out the intended target. Upon entering the business, the victim called law enforcement and all three kidnappers were arrested.

A criminal complaint charges all three defendants with kidnapping, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a) and conspiracy to kidnap, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1201(c).  If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.  

Raymond Gomez has not yet had his initial appearance on the charges. 

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, announced the pending criminal complaint charges.

FBI Miami investigated the case, with assistance from the Broward Sheriff’s Office and Fort Lauderdale Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ajay Alexander is prosecuting this case. 

A criminal complaint contains mere allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 23-mj-6485.

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U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri, FBI, Miami Field Office, issued the following statements, reinforcing a united commitment to combat hate crimes and potential threats:

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our local FBI partners are focused on protecting the safety and the civil rights of every person in South Florida,” said U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida.  “There is no justification for terrorism.  There is no place for hate, evil acts, or threats against Jews, Muslims, or anyone in our diverse South Florida communities or around the globe.  We hold a place in our hearts for anyone impacted by acts of terror and grieve for those who are suffering unspeakable losses.  As Attorney General Merrick B. Garland stated this weekend ‘We will use every legal authority at our disposal to bring to justice those who perpetrate illegal acts of hate.’” 

“FBI Miami is working closely with our law enforcement partners in South Florida to share information and identify and disrupt any threats that may emerge,” stated Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri, FBI, Miami Field Office.  “As always, we take seriously any tips or leads we receive regarding potential threats and investigate them rigorously to determine their credibility. The FBI encourages members of the public to remain vigilant and report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement.”

The community is encouraged to report all suspected hate crimes to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or tips.fbi.gov.

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MIAMI – On Oct. 5 and 11, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida held the 2021-2023 Outstanding Law Enforcement Officer (OLEO) Award Ceremony, in Miami-Dade County and Broward County, respectively.  Approximately 200 award recipients, from various federal, state, and local law enforcement organizations, were recognized for having distinguished themselves by virtue of the work they performed in a criminal prosecution.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida handles some of the most important and impactful cases in the nation. The stellar investigative work by the office’s law enforcement partners, in particular the award nominees, makes it possible for the district’s Assistant U.S. Attorneys to file cases charging the gamut of federal crimes. Collectively, the U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecutes human trafficking, narcotics trafficking, civil rights violations and hate crimes, violent crime, illegal firearms offenses, bank robbery, public corruption, environmental crimes, national security threats, the broad landscape of financial fraud that plagues our district, and more.

As U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida stated, “It takes a village to carry out the mission of the U.S. Department of Justice - to uphold the rule of law, to keep our country safe, and to protect civil rights. The office’s prosecutors cannot do their jobs alone.”  The U.S. Attorney’s Office relies on the dedicated men and women in law enforcement who work tirelessly to identify the criminals so that they can be held accountable in a court of law.  The honorees hard work often comes with tremendous personal sacrifice. The award recipients’ commitment to the pursuit of justice is worthy of special recognition. “They are having a direct impact on our quality of life, safety, and security,” said Lapointe.

Law enforcement partnerships and collaboration are invaluable crime-fighting tools.  The honorees represent agencies and departments from across the district that work together to protect and serve the public. Lapointe noted that the South Florida award recipients are “some of our nation’s most talented, effective, and impactful public servants.” 

Honorees were recognized from agencies and departments to include: Biscayne Park Police Department, Boca Raton Police Department, Broward Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), City of Miami Police Department (MPD), FBI, Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG), Florida Office of Financial Regulation, Fort Lauderdale Police Department (FLPD), Hialeah Police Department, Homestead Police Department, Hollywood Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Lauderhill Police Department, Martin County Sheriff’s Office, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), Miami Gardens Police Department, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Palm Springs Police Department, Sunny Isles Police Department, Sweetwater Police Department, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS), U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and CBP-Office of Intelligence, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG).

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MIAMI — Recently, U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida took a trip down memory lane when he hosted a community engagement meeting where he graduated high school.

Miami Edison Senior High School Principal James Dominique and the school’s staff graciously welcomed Lapointe back to his alma mater. As Principal Dominique’s message reads on the school’s homepage, “It takes a village to raise a child.”  Lapointe acknowledged the impact of those words by adding that our united “village is called upon to raise, educate, serve, and protect our children. For many, education starts at home but not everyone has that opportunity. For our youth to grow into successful and productive citizens, we must all come together to offer our support and mentorship. We need to safeguard the youth of today so that, hopefully, they never become a victim or commit a crime.” 

The auditorium of Miami Edison Senior High School was full of both students and community stakeholders who listened intently as Lapointe gave his opening remarks. Afterward, audience members lined up in the aisle to ask questions of the Edison graduate who was appointed by President Joe Biden to serve as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer for the District. Lapointe is the first African American to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the first Haitian-born individual to serve as a U.S. Attorney in any office across the Nation.

One question directed at Lapointe during the community program was what advice he would give young adults.

“Understand from the get-go that education is your only way out,” he said. “You can’t count on a trust fund. When I was growing up we didn’t have a choice—we knew it was education. That’s the core element of success and how we made it through.”

One of the primary missions of the United States Attorney's Office is to ensure that federal crimes affecting the people in the Southern District of Florida are investigated and that the perpetrators are prosecuted, convicted, and punished. Common sense and experience have taught us, however, that we cannot prosecute, arrest, and punish our way out of the problems that illegal drug use, violent crime, and criminal gangs visit upon our community. Prosecution alone will not eliminate the threat they pose to our way of life. Every sector and member of our community, including Edison High School students, has an important role to play in our efforts to put an end to these problems.

Lapointe recounted what it was like growing up in the Miami Edison Senior High School area.

“I lived right over there on 12th and 59th,” he said. “[I] Had pots and pans all over the apartment floor to catch rain because the roof leaked. I know what you’re going through because I have lived it. And if I can make it, then you all can make it too.”

During his high school years, Lapointe used visualization to help him remain focused and in a positive mindset.

“I would sit on top of our building on 12th Street and from there I could see an outline of downtown in the distance,” he said. “And I would say to myself, ‘This is where I should be.’ And that helped me.” Years later, Lapointe found himself exactly where he envisioned one day being–in downtown Miami, working as a lawyer.

Lapointe encouraged the students to stay the course, to make smart decisions, to read as much as possible, and to seek the guidance of others in their time of need. 

The program at Miami Edison Senior High School was put together by the Law Enforcement Coordination and Community Outreach Section (LEC/COS) of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe speaks to a group of community members and Miami Edison Senior High School students during a recent community engagement event. Lapointe, an Edison graduate himself, stressed the importance of education and making good decisions.

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MIAMI – Carl R. Ruderman, 82, former chairman of 1 Global Capital LLC (“1 Global”) pled guilty yesterday to a $250 million securities fraud scheme. Four of Ruderman’s co-conspirators have already pleaded guilty for their role in this fraud, including two lawyers who provided him with false legal cover to skirt federal securities laws.

Ruderman pled guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371. In his plea agreement, Ruderman agreed to a sentence of 5 years, the statutory maximum, and to a forfeiture money judgment of over $250 million.  

1 Global was a commercial lending business based in Hallandale Beach, Florida, that made the equivalent of “pay day” loans to small businesses at high interest rates, termed merchant cash advance loans (“MCAs”). Ruderman was the chairman of 1 Global.

Ruderman admitted that he and others made false and misleading representations to investors and potential investors as to the profitability of 1 Global’s business in marketing materials and periodic account statements. According to plea documents, investors were falsely told that 1 Global had audited financials by a public accounting firm, that the investor’s money would be spent on the MCAs, and that they could expect double-digit returns on their investments, among other things.

Ruderman admitted that he spent 1 Global’s investor’s money on credit card payments, vacation travel, insurance payments for his art collection and valuable jewelry, drivers, nannies, housekeepers, mortgage payments for his house, tuition, and payments for a luxury car. Ruderman also admitted that he diverted 1 Global investor money to businesses benefitting him and his family, without the investors’ knowledge.

Questions arose during the operation of the business as to whether 1 Global was offering or selling a security and whether the investment offering was required to be registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Ruderman admitted in plea documents that he knew that if 1 Global’s investment offering were determined to be a security, it would undermine the ability of 1 Global to raise funds from retail investors and to continue to operate without substantial additional expenses and reporting requirements. Ruderman also admitted that he directed a lawyer, Jan Atlas, to author two opinion letters in 2016 containing false information that allowed 1 Global to skirt federal securities laws. 

Four of Ruderman’s co-conspirators pleaded guilty for their roles in the fraud.

Alan G. Heide, 65, of Lake Worth, Florida, the former 1 Global chief financial officer, pleaded to a single count information, charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud (case no. 19-cr-60231), and was sentenced to 60 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman. Judge Altman also ordered Heide to pay over $57 million in restitution to the victims of the scheme.

Andrew Dale Ledbetter, 81, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud (case no. 20-cr-60103), and was sentenced by Judge Altman to 60 months in prison. Judge Altman also ordered Ledbetter to pay over $148 million to the victims of the scheme.

Steven Allen Schwartz, 78, of Delray Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud (case no. 20-cr-60003), and was sentenced to 24 months in prison by Judge Altman. Judge Altman also ordered Schwartz to pay over $36 million in restitution to the victims of the scheme.

Jan Douglas Atlas, 78, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud (case no. 19-cr-60258), and was sentenced to eight months in prison by Judge Altman. Judge Altman also ordered Atlas to pay over $29 million in restitution to the victims of the scheme.

1 Global filed for bankruptcy on July 27, 2018. As of that time, according to documents from related cases, 1 Global had more than 3,400 investors and had raised more than $250 million during the scheme. The bankruptcy case, In re: 1 Global Capital LLC, et al., No. 18-19121-RBR (S.D. Fla.), remains pending.

The SEC previously filed civil fraud actions related to the 1 Global Fraud, captioned, SEC v. 1 Global Capital LLC and Carl C. Ruderman, Case No. 18-61991-CV-BB (S.D. Fla.); SEC v. Alan G. Heide, Case No. 19-62047-CV-FAM (S.D. Fla.); SEC v. Jan Douglas Atlas, 19-62303-CV-WPD (S.D. Fla.); SEC v. Steven A. Schwartz, Case No. 20-80008-CV-DMM (S.D. Fla.); and SEC v. Andrew Dale Ledbetter, Esq., Case No. 20-61972-CV- (S.D. Fla.).

Information about the related cases can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/1Global-Capital.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, Matthew D. Line, Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Kyle A. Myles of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), Atlanta Region, made the announcement.

U.S. Attorney Lapointe commended the investigative efforts of FBI Miami, IRS-CI Miami, and the FDIC-OIG, Atlanta Region, for their assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Young and Amanda Perwin are prosecuting this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture.

A complaint, information, or indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-CR-20303-CMA.

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MIAMI – On Sept. 29, the United States filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking to forfeit more than $72 million involved in a bribery and money laundering scheme centered around Ecuador’s public police pension fund (ISSPOL).

As alleged in the complaint, from 2014 through 2020, more than $2.6 million in bribes were paid to ISSPOL officials (directly or through family members) to obtain and invest ISSPOL funds for the benefit of Jorge Cherrez Miño (Cherrez), his companies, and co-conspirators.

Under an agreement between ISSPOL and Cherrez—reviewed by ISSPOL officials, including at least one to whom a bribe was paid—ISSPOL entrusted Cherrez with approximately $327 million worth of their local Ecuadorian bonds to invest in the global market and to provide ISSPOL with the return on that investment. Cherrez allegedly obtained approximately $65 million in profits from one aspect of the scheme.

Payments from the ISSPOL investment business were obtained in an account in the United States, Florida-based companies and bank accounts were used to pay the bribes and acts in furtherance of the bribery scheme occurred in the Southern District of Florida. Further, to conceal and promote the bribery scheme, corrupt proceeds were allegedly laundered through Florida-based companies and bank accounts, including numerous U.S. investment fund companies incorporated in Florida with Cherrez as an officer or director.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Kareem A. Carter of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), Washington, D.C. Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), made the announcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Annika M. Miranda and Jorge R. Delgado are handling the civil forfeiture case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs has provided significant assistance on this matter.

IRS-CI and HSI, jointly under the auspices of the Global Illicit Financial Team, investigated the related criminal cases. Trial Attorneys Katherine Raut and Alexander Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the related criminal cases, United States v. Jorge Cherrez Miño, et al., Case No. 21-CR-20528-KMW (S.D. Fla.), and United States v. Luis Alvarez Villamar, Case No. 21-CR-20308-KMW (S.D. Fla.).

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-cv-23730.

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MIAMI – The U.S. Attorney’s Office, together with federal and local law enforcement partners, announced today federal criminal charges as part of the Department of Justice’s ongoing initiative to prosecute fraud in connection with COVID-19 pandemic relief programs that offered assistance under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, as well as other crimes relating to the pandemic.

The charges were brought in 17 separate cases filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.  Collectively, the charges allege that 17 defendants participated in independent schemes to defraud the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and participating lenders by fraudulently applying for loans and other relief through the PPP and EIDL program.  These programs were designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who were suffering from the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  In total, the defendants allegedly received $495,171 in assistance unlawfully and used the proceeds to unjustly enrich themselves.

During today’s initial hearings, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick M. Hunt in Fort Lauderdale, prosecutors advised the Court that, during the period of the alleged schemes, each of the charged defendants was employed by the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO).  According to court documents, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Office of Inspector General for the Board of the Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (FRB-OIG),  and BSO, has been conducting a criminal investigation to determine whether any BSO employee violated federal law in connection with obtaining or attempting to obtain any form of relief authorized under the CARES Act, such as loans through the PPP and EIDL program. 

“Today’s announcement is a reminder that the South Florida Strike Force remains fully committed to its mission - to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud,” stated U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to uncover the fraud schemes and hold anyone involved accountable – regardless of an individual’s role in the community. No matter the amount, we will not allow limited federal tax dollars, which were intended to provide a lifeline to small businesses as they struggled to stay afloat during the economically devastating pandemic lockdown, to be swindled by those who were employed in a position of trust and cast aside their duty to uphold and abide by the law.  Our work is not done.  This investigation is ongoing.” 

“This investigation sends a message to individuals who knowingly and illicitly capitalized on the COVID-19 national emergency to enrich themselves through the CARES Act at the expense of struggling businesses and their employees,” said Jeffrey B. Veltri, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami. “While these programs have ended, our commitment to seeking out those who defrauded them has not.”

“Today’s announcement demonstrates our unwavering commitment to holding accountable those who exploit and defraud financial institutions and the government’s pandemic response for personal gain, no matter who they are,” said Brian Tucker, Special Agent in Charge, Eastern Region, Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “I want to commend and thank our agents, the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their efforts and their dedication to the pursuit of justice.”

“Department prosecutors around the country, including the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Forces, will pursue these SBA pandemic fraud cases for the full 10 years of the extended statute of limitations,” said Department of Justice Director of COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Michael C. Galdo.  “Our partners are closely examining the pandemic data to identify fraud, including fraud by those holding a position of public trust. I would remind anyone who committed fraud, that in order to receive the full benefit from the Department’s policy on self-disclosure, you must disclose before law enforcement knocks on your door.”

“Today’s announcement regarding federal charges against more than a dozen Broward Sheriff’s Office employees is the culmination of a BSO-initiated Office of Inspector General investigation. The investigation began in November 2021, after the BSO Office of Inspector General became aware of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud as an emerging trend within public service agencies. Shortly thereafter, the BSO Public Corruption Unit received a tip from a BSO employee that several employees may have committed PPP fraud. After being notified that BSO personnel may have participated in fraudulent schemes to defraud the federal government, I ordered an agency-wide investigation of all 5,600 employees – from top to bottom. BSO Public Corruption Unit detectives determined more than 100 employees had submitted applications for the PPP loans. Only the employees who did not obtain the loans legally were subject to criminal investigation.  To ensure a thorough and objective investigation was conducted, BSO sought out and partnered with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Federal Reserve Board Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. For five years, I’ve maintained an organization committed to transparency and accountability. I will continue to expect integrity and commitment to excellence from every BSO employee,” Sheriff Gregory Tony said.

The following cases were announced today:

U.S. v. Stephanie Diane Smith, Case No. 23-mj-6477-PMH

On Oct. 11, Stephanie Diane Smith, 53, of Florida, was charged by criminal complaint with wire fraud.

According to the complaint affidavit, Smith applied for and received two PPP loans on behalf of herself as a sole proprietor doing business as Children 1st Basketball Training and Agape Smith Vending, respectively, based upon materially false information about the borrower’s total gross business income for the year 2019, as well as a falsified Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax form submitted with her applications.  The complaint further alleges that, as part of the fraud scheme, Smith sought forgiveness of the PPP loans she received.  According to the complaint, Smith has been employed by BSO since approximately 1996 and held the title of Deputy Sheriff in BSO’s Department of Law Enforcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Snider is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Katrina Brown, Case No. 23-cr-60169-Altman

On Sept. 14, Katrina Brown, 46, of Florida, was charged by indictment with three counts of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Brown applied for and received two PPP loans on behalf of herself as a sole proprietor, based upon materially false information about the borrower’s total gross business income for the year 2019, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with her applications. In addition, Brown submitted an application to the SBA for an EIDL that contained materially false information, including, among other things, the borrower’s gross revenues, cost of goods sold, and number of employees.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor Jones is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Alexandra Acosta, Case No. 23-cr-60170-Scola

On Sept. 14, Alexandra Acosta, 37, of Florida, was charged by indictment with one count of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Acosta applied for and received a PPP loan on behalf of herself as a sole proprietor, based upon materially false information about the borrower’s total gross business income for the year 2019, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with her application.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor Jones is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. La’Keitha Victoria Lawhorn, Case No. 23-cr-60171-Bloom

On Sept. 14, La’Keitha Victoria Lawhorn, 41, of Florida, was charged by indictment with three counts of wire fraud.   

According to the indictment, Lawhorn applied for and received three PPP loans on behalf of herself and her company, Home Empire Enterprises, LLC, based upon materially false information about the borrower’s average monthly payroll and annual gross receipts, as well as falsified IRS tax forms submitted with her applications.  The indictment further alleges that, as part of the fraud scheme, Lawhorn sought forgiveness of the fraudulent PPP loans she received.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Snider is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Jewell Farrell Johnson, Case No. 23-cr-60172-Martinez 

On Sept. 14, Jewell Farrell Johnson, 46, of Florida, was charged by indictment with two counts of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Johnson applied for and received two PPP loans, one on behalf of herself as a sole proprietor and one on behalf of LRJ Enterprises of South Florida, based upon materially false information about the borrower’s average monthly payroll, as well as falsified IRS tax forms submitted with her applications.  The indictment further alleges that, as part of the fraud scheme, Johnson sought forgiveness of the fraudulent PPP loans she received.  Additionally, Johnson allegedly applied for a loan through the EIDL program for her company, G.I.G Productions LLC, based upon materially false information about the borrower’s annual gross revenue in 2019. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Snider is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Carolyn Denise Wade, Case No. 23-cr-60173-Williams

On Sept. 14, Carolyn Denise Wade, 48, of Florida, was charged by indictment with one count of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Wade applied for and received a PPP loan on behalf of herself as a sole proprietor based upon materially false information about the borrower’s total gross business income for the year 2019, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with her application.  The indictment further alleges that, as part of the fraud scheme, Wade sought forgiveness of the PPP loan she received.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Snider is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Rorie Brown, Case No. 23-cr-60174-Williams

On Sept. 14, Rorie Brown, 42, of Florida, was charged by indictment with two counts of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Brown applied for and received one PPP loan on behalf of himself as the sole proprietor, based upon materially false information about the borrower’s total gross business income for the year 2020, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with his application. In addition, Brown submitted an application to the SBA for an EIDL that contained materially false information, including, among other things, the borrower’s gross revenues, cost of goods sold, and number of employees. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor Jones is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Alexis Monique Greene, Case No. 23-cr-60182-Dimitrouleas

On Sept. 28, Alexis Monique Greene, 47, of Florida, was charged by indictment with two counts of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Greene applied for and received two PPP loans based upon materially false information about the borrower’s gross income and purpose for the loan, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with her applications.  The indictment further alleges that, as part of the fraud scheme, Greene sought forgiveness of the PPP loans she received.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Annika Miranda is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Ritchie Noah Dubuisson, Case No. 23-cr-60183-Martinez

On Sept. 28, Ritchie Noah Dubuisson, 25, of Florida, was charged by indictment with one count of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Dubuisson applied for and received a PPP loan based upon materially false information about the borrower’s gross income and purpose for the loan, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with his application.  The indictment further alleges that, as part of the fraud scheme, Dubuisson sought forgiveness of the PPP loan he received.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Paster is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Keshondra Tameisha Davis, Case No. 23-cr-60184-Altman

On Sept. 28, Keshondra Tameisha Davis, 37, of Florida, was charged by indictment with one count of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Davis applied for and received a PPP loan based upon materially false information about the borrower’s gross income for the year 2019 and purpose for the loan, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with her application.  The indictment further alleges that, as part of the fraud scheme, Davis sought forgiveness of the PPP loans she received.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Klco is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Allen Dorvil, Case No. 23-cr-60185-Moore

On Sept. 28, Allen Dorvil, 33, of Florida, was charged by indictment with one count of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Dorvil applied for and received a PPP loan based upon materially false information about the borrower’s gross income and purpose for the loan, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with his application.  The indictment further alleges that, as part of the fraud scheme, Dorvil sought forgiveness of the PPP loan he received.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Jean Pierre-Toussant, Case No. 23-cr-60189-Moore

On Oct. 5, Jean Pierre-Toussant, 35, of Florida, was charged by indictment with one count of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Pierre-Toussant applied for and received one PPP loan on behalf of himself as a sole proprietor based upon materially false information about the borrower’s total gross business income for the year 2019, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with his application.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha Mitrani is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Kleo is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Ancy Morancy, Case No. 23-cr-60191-Bloom

On Oct. 5, Ancy Morancy, 33, of Florida, was charged by indictment with one count of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Morancy applied for and received one PPP loan on behalf of himself as the sole proprietor of Moore Services Investment Group, LLC, based upon materially false information about the borrower’s total gross business income for the year 2019, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with his application.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha Mitrani is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Paster is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Marcus Errol Powell, Case No. 23-cr-60192-Gayles

On Oct. 5, Marcus Errol Powell, 37, of Florida, was charged by indictment with one count of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Powell applied for and received one PPP loan on behalf of himself as the sole proprietor of Bonvivant Industries, LLC, based upon materially false information about the borrower’s total gross business income for the year 2020, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with his application.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha Mitrani is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jorge Delgado is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Derrick J. Nesbitt, Case No. 23-cr-60193-Huck

On Oct. 5, Derrick J. Nesbitt, 46, of Florida, was charged by indictment with two counts of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Nesbitt applied for and received two PPP loans on behalf of himself as the sole proprietor of Designer Life, LLC, based upon materially false information about the borrower’s total gross business income for the year 2019, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with his application.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha Mitrani is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Keith Dunkley, Case No. 23-cr-60197-Smith

On Oct. 6, Keith Dunkley, 46, of Florida, was charged by information with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to the information, Dunkley conspired to cause the submission of false and fraudulent applications and received funds for one PPP loan and one EIDL on behalf of himself as a sole proprietor and for Global Group Alliances, LLC, which applications included materially false information about, among other things, the borrower’s total gross business income for the year 2019, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with his application.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor Jones is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Marx Calderon is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. George Anthony III, Case No. 23-cr-80168-Cannon

On Sept. 14, George Anthony III, 50, of Florida, was charged by indictment with two counts of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Anthony applied for and received one PPP loan on behalf of himself as a sole proprietor based upon materially false information about the borrower’s total gross business income for the year 2019, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with his application. In addition, Anthony unsuccessfully applied for a second PPP loan using the same false information. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor Jones is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Daren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe; Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri, FBI, Miami Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Brian Tucker, Eastern Region, Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; and Sheriff Gregory Tony of the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) made the announcement.

FBI Miami, FRB-OIG, and BSO investigated these cases.

The maximum sentence for a wire fraud conviction is 20 years in prison. The maximum sentence for a conspiracy to commit wire fraud conviction, as charged, is 5 years in prison. A federal district court judge would determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

An indictment, information, and complaint contain mere allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

On September 15, 2022, the Attorney General selected the Southern District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to head one of three national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams. The Department of Justice established the Strike Force to enhance existing efforts to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud.  The Strike Force combines law enforcement and prosecutorial resources and focuses on large-scale, multistate pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors, as well as those who committed multiple instances of pandemic relief fraud. The Strike Force uses prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds. Additional information regarding the Strike Force may be found at https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-covid-19-fraud-strike-force-teams.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under the case numbers referenced above.

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MIAMI – On Oct. 4, a man pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon after discharging a firearm in the Allapattah Flats Wildlife Management Area in Martin County, Florida.

Dominic Elvir, 26, of Delray Beach, discharged a Glock, model 19, 9mm pistol into the air in the Allapattah Flats Wildlife Management Area. Law enforcement agents located a video of Elvir on a social media platform discharging the firearm. In 2019, Elvir was previously convicted of burglary and grand theft.

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 21, before United States District Court Judge Aileen M. Cannon. Elvir faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Christopher A. Robinson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, announced the guilty plea.

ATF Fort Pierce Field Office and HSI Fort Pierce Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hudock is prosecuting it. 

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-cr-14058.

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MIAMI – A federal judge in Miami has sentenced Jonathan Grenon, 37, and Jordan Grenon, 29, to 151 months in prison, for conspiring to defraud the United States by distributing an unapproved and misbranded drug, and for contempt of court. Mark Grenon, 66, and Joseph Grenon, 36, were sentenced to 60 months in prison, the statutory maximum sentence for conspiring to defraud the United States by distributing an unapproved and misbranded drug. All four defendants were found guilty by a federal jury following a trial this summer.

The Grenons, all of Bradenton, Florida, manufactured, promoted, and sold a product they named Miracle Mineral Solution (“MMS”). MMS is a chemical solution containing sodium chlorite and water which, when ingested orally, became chlorine dioxide, a powerful bleach typically used for industrial water treatment or bleaching textiles, pulp, and paper. The Grenons claimed that ingesting MMS could treat, prevent, and cure COVID-19. The FDA, however, had not approved MMS for treatment of COVID-19, or for any other use. Rather, in prior official warning statements, the FDA had strongly urged consumers not to purchase or use MMS for any reason, explaining that drinking MMS was the same as drinking bleach and could cause dangerous side effects, including severe vomiting, diarrhea, and life-threatening low blood pressure. See https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/danger-dont-drink-miracle-mineral-solution-or-similar-products. In fact, FDA received reports of people requiring hospitalizations, developing life-threatening conditions, and even dying after drinking MMS.

Before marketing MMS as a cure for COVID-19, the Grenons marketed MMS as a miracle cure-all for dozens of other serious diseases and disorders, such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and leukemia, even though the FDA had not approved MMS for any use. The Grenons sold tens of thousands of bottles of MMS nationwide, including to consumers throughout South Florida. They sold this dangerous product under the guise of Genesis II Church of Health and Healing (“Genesis”), an entity they created to avoid government regulation of MMS and shield themselves from prosecution. Genesis’ own websites describe Genesis as a “non-religious church,” and defendant Mark Grenon, the co-founder of Genesis, has repeatedly acknowledged that Genesis “has nothing to do with religion,” and that he founded Genesis to “legalize the use of MMS” and avoid “going [ ] to jail.” The Genesis websites further stated that MMS could be acquired only through a “donation” to Genesis, but the donation amounts for MMS orders were set at specific dollar amounts, and were mandatory, such that the donation amounts were effectively just sales prices. The Grenons received more than $1 million from selling MMS.

The federal jury also found defendants Jonathan and Jordan Grenon guilty of criminal contempt of court. The United States previously filed a civil case against the defendants and Genesis II Church of Health and Healing. See United States v. Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, et al., Case No. 20-21601-CV-WILLIAMS. In that civil case, the United States obtained court orders halting the Grenons’ distribution of MMS. The Grenons willfully violated those court orders and continued to distribute MMS. The Grenons also threatened the federal judge presiding over the civil case, and threatened that, should the government attempt to enforce the court orders halting their distribution of MMS, the Grenons would “pick up guns” and instigate “a Waco.”

During trial in July 2023, the jury saw photos and video of a dirty rundown shed in Jonathan Grenon’s backyard in Bradenton, Florida, where the defendants were manufacturing their MMS.  These photos showed dozens of blue chemical drums containing nearly 10,000 pounds of sodium chlorite powder, thousands of bottles of MMS, and other items used in the manufacture and distribution of MMS.  The blue chemical drums of sodium chlorite powder—the primary active ingredient in MMS—had warning labels advising the product was toxic, flammable, and highly dangerous to consume.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Assistant Commissioner Justin D. Green of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), Miami Field Office, announced the sentence.

FDA-OCI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael B. Homer and John Shipley prosecuted the case.  

Lapointe commends and thanks the government of Colombia for its assistance. Lapointe also extends his gratitude to the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) and the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS) Judicial Attachés in Bogota, Colombia for their substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Mark Grenon and Joseph Grenon to the United States. 

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 21-cr-20242.

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MIAMI – On Oct. 4, a registered sex offender was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in prison, followed by 30 years of supervised release, for receipt of child pornography material.

Jerry K. Seal, 60, of Boca Raton, Florida, agreed with a person in the Philippines, through an online networking platform, to send the person money in exchange for a video of a prepubescent child being exposed in a sexual manner. Seal aka Dirty Rook, who is a registered sex offender with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), received a probationary period in Broward County, Florida, after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography in 2015.

In February 2023, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) and the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) conducted a sex offender operation targeting sex offenders in Palm Beach County, Florida. During the operation, an arrest warrant was executed for Seal at his Boca Raton residence for violating his sex offender registration requirements. Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) officers then located a hidden tablet device in Seal’s residence containing a copy of the child's video. In addition, Seal’s online payment provider reported suspicious payment activity to the Philippines connected to Seal's email address.

As part of his sentence, Seal is now also required to register as a federal sex offender.

“The protection of children around the globe is among our nation’s highest obligations. Within our district, the prosecution of those who repeatedly sexually offend children is of the utmost priority,” said U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida. “The sentence announced today reflects the gravity of child pornography offenses. We implore the public to report all suspected child abuse and exploitation to law enforcement, so that we may protect our children from threats from near and afar.”

“The U.S. Marshals Service remains committed to protecting the most vulnerable members of our community through enforcement actions in conjunction with our state and local partners,” said U.S. Marshal Gadyaces S. Serralta of the USMS. “The U.S. Marshals Service would also like to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and our State and local partners for the successful prosecution of this case.”

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and U.S. Marshal Gadyaces S. Serralta of the USMS announced the sentence.

USMS, West Palm Beach investigated the case with assistance from PBSO, Sexual Predator Offender Trafficking (SPOT) Unit, and the PBSO, Internet Crimes Against Child (ICAC), and Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO), Internet Crimes Against Child (ICAC) Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-cr-80095.

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MIAMI – A Palm Beach Gardens attorney pleaded guilty in federal district court to possessing child pornography.

As part of his guilty plea, Michael Thomas Dolce, 54, admitted to downloading child pornography to his personal laptop at his West Palm Beach apartment. According to court records, Dolce used peer-2-peer software to search for and download the illegal material, including prepubescent children. Nearly 2,000 images and videos were recovered from Dolce’s laptop. Forensic evidence confirmed that Dolce was in the process of downloading child pornography files just before law enforcement seized his laptop during the execution of a federal search warrant of his residence.

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 18 at 10:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks. Dolce faces up to 20 years in prison, lifetime supervised release, and payment of restitution to his victims.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, announced the guilty plea.

The West Palm Beach Resident Agency of the FBI Miami Field Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller is prosecuting it.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov or https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/project-safe-childhood.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-cr-80063.

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A federal jury in Miami convicted a Florida man and woman today for their roles in a conspiracy to defraud Medicare by billing over $93 million for home health therapy services that were never rendered.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Karel Felipe, 42, of Miami Shores, and Tamara Quicutis, 54, of Hialeah, conspired with others to submit false bills to Medicare for three home health companies located in Michigan. Their co-conspirators recruited individuals from Cuba to sign Medicare enrollment documents and appear as the owners of the home health agencies to conceal the identities of Felipe, Quicutis, and others involved in the scheme. Felipe, Quicutis, and their co-conspirators used these home health companies to submit claims for services that were not rendered using lists of stolen patient identities. Felipe, Quicutis, and their co-conspirators used hundreds of shell companies and bank accounts to launder the Medicare fraud proceeds and convert the proceeds into cash at Miami-area ATMs and check cashing stores.  

After the trial commenced, a third defendant, Jesus Trujillo, 52, of Miami, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and one count of conspiring to commit money laundering. Trujillo oversaw a group of people that recruited nominee owners for home health agencies and shell companies and converted Medicare fraud proceeds into cash.

The jury convicted Felipe and Quicutis of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. They are scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 4, 2024, and they face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each conspiracy charge. Trujillo is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 21 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Jamie de Boer, D. Keith Clouser, and Emily Gurskis of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabrielle Charest-Turken for the Southern District of Florida is handling asset forfeiture.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, comprised of 15 strike forces operating in 25 federal districts, has charged more than 5,000 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $24 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

MIAMI – On October 2, a man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for kidnapping and two felon in possession of a firearm charges.

On August 14, 2022, Marques Deon Jones, 41, of Orange County, pistol-whipped his girlfriend, an employee of a Port St. Lucie group home located near SE Walton Road, and forced her to leave with him in her vehicle. A group home supervisor, who witnessed the kidnapping, notified Port St. Lucie Police Department, who identified Jones.

The following day, the U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force located Jones outside of a private residence in Fort Pierce and arrested him. As task force officers approached Jones, he retrieved a firearm from a parked car and attempted to flee. Footage from a law enforcement body worn camera showed Jones admitting that he retrieved the firearm because he wanted officers to shoot and kill him.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Christopher A. Robinson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, and U.S. Marshal Gadyaces S. Serralta of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Senior Judge James I. Cohn, sitting in Fort Pierce.

ATF Fort Pierce Field Office and USMS investigated the case with assistance from the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, Port St. Lucie Police Department and Fort Pierce Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Breezye Telfair and Justin Hoover prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-cr-14069.

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MIAMI – The Justice Department today announced the unsealing of eight indictments in the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida charging China-based companies and their employees with crimes relating to fentanyl and methamphetamine production, distribution of synthetic opioids, and sales resulting from precursor chemicals.

The indictments build on prosecutions announced in June 2023 and mark the second set of prosecutions to charge China-based chemical manufacturing companies and nationals of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for trafficking fentanyl precursor chemicals into the United States.

The indictments complement actions taken today by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to designate 28 individuals and entities involved with the international proliferation of illicit drugs.

“We know that the global fentanyl supply chain, which ends with the deaths of Americans, often starts with chemical companies in China,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The United States government is focused on breaking apart every link in that chain, getting fentanyl out of our communities, and bringing those who put it there to justice.”

“The international dimension to the deadly scourge of fentanyl requires the all-of-government response that we are delivering today,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. “Through the dedication and investigative abilities of Agents and Officers from HSI, CBP, and our federal partners, we are bringing accountability to ruthless organizations and individuals resident in the People’s Republic of China and to the cartel members that seek to profit from the death and destruction that fentanyl causes.”

“The charges announced today are another down payment on the Justice Department’s pledge to every American family that has lost a loved one to fentanyl poisoning,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Just as we did in the fight against terrorists and cybercriminals, we are deploying a whole-of-government approach – sharing intelligence, combining resources, and relentlessly pursuing justice – to attack the global supply chain fueling the fentanyl crisis. We will not rest until we have rid our communities of this poison.”

“Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our nation has ever faced. These eight cases are the result of DEA’s efforts to attack the fentanyl supply chain where it starts — in China. Chinese chemical companies are fueling the fentanyl crisis in the United States by sending fentanyl precursors, fentanyl analogues, xylazine, and nitazenes into our country and into Mexico. These chemicals are used to make fentanyl and make it especially deadly,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “DEA will not stop until we defeat this threat. We are grateful to our law enforcement partners whose collaboration and dedication have made these actions possible. I am also deeply grateful for the incredible work by the DEA Miami Field Division. Their pursuit of these organizations demonstrates the drive and determination of the men and women, who are working as One DEA, to defeat the cartels and their entire global supply chain.”

“This investigation of a narcotics trafficker utilizing counterfeit postage labels highlights the unique jurisdiction of the Postal Inspection Service,” said Chief Postal Inspector Gary R. Barksdale of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “This indictment is a win in our battle against counterfeit postage and those seeking to use the nation’s mail system to distribute dangerous substances.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) led the investigations brought in both districts and used its unique authority to specially schedule protonitazene and metonitazene as Schedule I controlled substances, which was necessary as their adverse health effects, including death, pose an imminent threat to public safety. As a result of that order, the regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to Schedule I controlled substances can be imposed on persons who handle or propose to handle these substances. In addition, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized more than 1,000 kilograms of fentanyl-related precursor chemicals, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service also traced packages containing the precursor chemicals mailed through the U.S. mail and analyzed their contents after seizure.

Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat facing the United States. Not only is fentanyl 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine, a dose of as little as two milligrams can kill a grown adult. Fentanyl analogues are similar in chemical structure and effects as fentanyl. Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49. From February 2022 to January 2023, at least 105,263 Americans died of drug overdoses, the majority of which involved synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and fentanyl analogues.

Protonitazene and metonitazene are synthetic opioids that were emergency listed as Schedule I controlled substances in April 2022. There are no approved medical uses for protonitazene and metonitazene in the United States, or anywhere else in the world. Drug traffickers typically mix protonitazene and metonitazene with other opioids, such as fentanyl, to create new and more powerful cocktails of dangerous opioids. Methamphetamine overdose deaths are also surging in the United States. Methamphetamine is becoming more deadly because it is more frequently being mixed with highly potent fentanyl. There are currently no FDA-approved medications for treating methamphetamine use disorder or reversing overdoses. Drug overdose deaths involving psychostimulants, primarily methamphetamine, rose from 547 deaths in 1999 to 32,537 deaths in 2021.

The manufacture of fentanyl and methamphetamine begins with raw chemicals, known as precursors. Fentanyl and methamphetamine precursors, opioid additives, and synthetic opioids are manufactured and distributed by China-based chemical companies, many of which openly advertise on the internet. These China-based manufacturers ship fentanyl and methamphetamine precursors, opioid additives, and synthetic opioids around the world, including to the United States and Mexico, where drug cartels and traffickers combine the chemicals and then distribute fentanyl and methamphetamines throughout the United States to individual users.

These China-based chemical companies often attempt to evade law enforcement by using re-shippers in the United States, false return labels, false invoices, fraudulent postage, and packaging that conceals the true contents of the parcels and the identity of the distributors. In addition, these companies tend to use cryptocurrency transactions to conceal their identities and the location and movement of their funds.

The primary distributors of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues in North America are the Sinaloa Cartel based in Sinaloa, Mexico, and the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación based in Jalisco, Mexico. These two transnational criminal organizations have significant presences throughout Mexico, maintain distribution hubs in various cities across the United States, and control smuggling corridors into the United States.

Organizations such as the Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación receive fentanyl precursors from China that are then synthesized within clandestine laboratories into finished fentanyl at scale. China-based precursor chemical manufacturers ship precursors from mainland China by, among other methods, mislabeling the products being shipped and using containers and other packaging to mask their illicit contents.

Southern District of Florida

Three indictments were unsealed in the Southern District of Florida charging three Chinese companies and four officers and employees with fentanyl trafficking, synthetic opioid trafficking, precursor chemical importation, defrauding the U.S. Postal Service, and making and using counterfeit postage.

“Targeting those who fuel the opioid epidemic, regardless of who they are and where they are operating from, is one of our district’s top priorities,” said U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida. “Today, we announced charges against the Chinese companies and employees that manufacture and introduce the raw chemicals at the start of the fentanyl and methamphetamine supply chain. This is only the beginning of our fight. The precursors and synthetic opioids that are being marketed, sold, and shipped to the United States and Mexico are being mixed and re-distributed into our local communities as powerful and potentially deadly cocktails of controlled substances. We commend our partner agencies for their skill and resourcefulness, as we work collectively to prosecute the sources of the poison and protect the public.”

Hanhong Medicine Technology Company, a pharmaceutical company located in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, was charged in a four-count indictment, along with Chinese nationals Changgen Du, 30, and Xuebi Gan, 28. According to the indictment, Hanhong has exported large quantities of fentanyl precursors and non-opioid additives, like xylazine, to the United States and Mexico, including to a drug trafficker in Pennsylvania and to a drug trafficker in the Sinaloa cartel for the manufacture of fentanyl in Mexico for eventual distribution in the United States. Xylazine is often mixed with fentanyl to increase the effects of the drug for users. Xylazine is a non-opioid drug approved for veterinary use for purposes of sedation, anesthesia, muscle relaxation, and pain relief in horses, cattle, and other animals. It is not approved for human use. Many opioid users are unaware they are taking xylazine. Overdose deaths involving xylazine have steadily increased year over year. Drug users who inject xylazine, or drug mixtures containing xylazine, often develop necrotic tissue resulting in disfiguring wounds or amputation.

The Du Transnational Criminal Organization is listed on the United States Attorney General’s Consolidated Priority Organization Target (CPOT) list. The CPOT list identifies the most significant transnational criminal organizations presenting a priority threat to the United States, including those international drug and money laundering organizations affecting the illicit drug supply of the United States. The CPOT list identifies those criminal organizations by the name(s) of their leaders. Du, as the criminal organization’s leader, is the director of Hanhong and allegedly negotiates sales with customers. Gan is an alleged sales representative. Du and Gan each operated a crypocurrency wallet that accepted payment for Hanhong’s sales. The four-count indictment charges Hanhong, Du, and Gan with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl; conspiracy to manufacture and distribute a fentanyl precursor with intent to unlawfully import it into the U.S.; manufacturing and distributing a fentanyl precursor with intent to unlawfully import it into the U.S.; and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Jiangsu Bangdeya New Material Technology Company, a pharmaceutical company located in Jiangsu, China, was charged in an eight-count indictment, along with Jiantong Wang, 40, a Chinese national and alleged owner and operator of Bangdeya. The indictment alleges that Bangdeya advertises openly online as an export company for chemicals, including synthetic opioids protonitazene and metonitazene. The introduction of these synthetic opioids into the illicit drug market threatens to exacerbate the overdose problem in the United States. Drug traffickers typically mix protonitazene and metonitazene with other opioids, such as fentanyl, to create new and more powerful cocktails of dangerous opioids. Bengdeya has imported large quantities of these synthetic opioids into the U.S., including to a drug trafficker in the Southern District of Florida.

Bangdeya and Wang were charged with conspiracy to import protonitazene and metonitazene; conspiracy to distribute protonitazene and metonitazene; multiple counts of distribution of protonitazene; conspiracy to defraud the United States and make and use forged and counterfeited postage; and making and printing unauthorized postage meter stamps.

Hubei Guanlang Biotechnology Company, a chemical company located in Shijaizhuang, Hebei Province, China, was charged in a two-count indictment, along with Chinese national Wei Zhang, 28, who allegedly runs the day-to-day operations of the company and operates a cryptocurrency wallet that accepts payment for the company’s sales of fentanyl precursors and opioid additives.

According to the indictment, Guanlang openly advertises online and sells an array of chemicals, including methamphetamine precursors like methylamine HCL, to customers in the United States and Mexico. Methylamine HCL is an essential precursor chemical that Mexican cartels use to manufacture highly pure and potent  methamphetamine. Currently, most of the methamphetamine supply in the United States is produced by drug trafficking cartels in Mexico.

Guanlang and Zhang are charged with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute a methamphetamine precursor and unlawfully import into the U.S. and conspiracy to unlawfully import a methamphetamine precursor into the U.S. with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine; and the manufacture and distribution of a methamphetamine precursor that was unlawfully imported into the United States.

The DEA Miami Field Division, HSI Miami, USPIS-Miami, IRS-CI Miami, and FBI Miami Field Office investigated these cases. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Monique Botero and Jon Juenger for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the cases. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michell Hyman for the Southern District of Florida is handling asset forfeiture.

The indictments are a result of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigations. The OCDETF mission is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States, using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency task force approach. OCDETF synchronizes and incentivizes prosecutors and agents to lead smart, creative investigations targeting the command-and-control networks of organized criminal groups and the illicit financiers that support them. Additional information about the OCDETF Program may be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Members of the South Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force carried out this case and prosecution. HIDTA was established in 1990. This program, which is made up of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, fosters intra-agency cooperation among law enforcement agencies in South Florida and involves them in developing a strategy to target the region's drug-related and violent crime threats to public safety, as with the opioid epidemic, fentanyl, and the cocaine threat to our nation. The South Florida HIDTA uses the funding provided by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, out of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, that sponsors a variety of law enforcement initiatives that target the region's illicit drug and violent crime threats to our community.

Middle District of Florida

Five indictments were unsealed in the Middle District of Florida charging five Chinese corporations and eight Chinese nationals with the illegal importation of fentanyl and fentanyl-related chemicals into the United States.

According to the indictments, the defendants openly advertised their ability to thwart U.S. customs and deliver the chemicals used to make fentanyl to the Middle District of Florida and elsewhere in the United States. The defendants used fake shipping labels and special delivery procedures to ensure the illicit chemicals went undetected. The defendants played various roles, such as coordinators and suppliers, and eight defendants are also charged with international money laundering. According to the indictments, the Chinese companies demonstrated past success delivering a stable supply of product to clients in Mexico for years. 

“The protection of our country from the deadly scourge of fentanyl is a key priority of the Department of Justice and my office,” said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “We will continue to pursue cases against Chinese chemical companies who are knowingly manufacturing and exporting fentanyl precursors to profit on the pain and suffering of people in the United States. We thank our partners at the Drug Enforcement Administration for their tireless efforts in support of these prosecutions.”

Hebei Shenghao Import and Export Company, based in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China, is charged with fentanyl trafficking conspiracy, along with Chinese nationals Qingshun Li, 29, who allegedly negotiates the sale of precursor chemicals and maintains a bank account for the receipt of payments; Qingsong Li, 32; and Chunhui Chen, 33, both of whom allegedly maintain cryptocurrency wallets for the remittance of payments of precursor chemicals; Chunzhou Chen, 30, who allegedly received Western Union payments on behalf of Hebei Shenghao.

Lihe Pharmaceutical Technology Company, based in Wuhan, Hebei Province, China, was charged with fentanyl trafficking conspiracy and international money laundering, along with Chinese nationals Mingming Wang, 34, who is the alleged holder for three bitcoin accounts shared by sales agents for Lihe Pharmaceutical, and Xinqiang Lu, 40, the alleged recipient of funds via Western Union on the company’s behalf.

Henan Ruijiu Biotechnology Company, based in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China, was charged with attempted importation of fentanyl precursor and attempted international money laundering, along with Chinese national Yongle Gao, 30, who is the alleged registered owner of the bitcoin wallet associated with Henan Ruijiu.

Xiamen Wonderful Biotechnology Company, based in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China, was charged with attempted importation of fentanyl precursor and attempted international money laundering, along with Chinese national Guo Liang, 34, the alleged registered owner of the bitcoin wallet associated with Xiamen Wonderful.

Anhui Ruihan Technology Company, based in Hefei, Anhui Province, China, was charged with attempted importation of fentanyl precursor and attempted international money laundering.

DEA investigated these cases.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Baeza and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Leath for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the cases.

The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) provided assistance with the indictments brought in both districts.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Indictments are attached to this release.

Indictment-23cr335 Indictment-23CR338 Indictment-23CR334 Indictment-23CR336 Indictment-23CR333 CaseNo-23-20393-CR-ALT CaseNo-23-20394-CR-ALT CaseNo-23-60176-CR-SING

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MIAMI – A former housekeeping manager at a large Key West hotel, Nataliya Vasylivna Kasyanenko, was sentenced on Sept. 29, to eight months in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States and conspiring to harbor aliens and induce them to remain in the United States for her role in a tax and immigration conspiracy related to the operation of a labor staffing business, Phoenix ADB Services, Inc. (“Phoenix ADB”).

From at least 2009 to October 2020, a large hotel in Key West used staffing services provided by several companies, including General Labor Solutions LLC, Liberty Specialty Services LLC, Paradise Choice LLC and Paradise Choice Cleaning LLC (collectively, “Paradise Choice”), AmeriHos LLC (“American Hospitality”), Golden Sands Management LLC (“Golden Sands”). and Phoenix ADB (collectively, “hospitality labor staffing companies”). As a manager, Kasyanenko used these companies to hire aliens for positions at her hotel whom she knew were not authorized to work in the United States and received kickbacks from the hospitality labor staffing companies for directing unauthorized workers to be placed on their respective payrolls. Kasyanenko knew that the operators of Phoenix ADB—who included her sons, Former City of Key West Police Officer Igor Kasyanenko and Roman Riabov—paid workers without withholding federal income or employment taxes from their gross wages and did not file with the IRS requisite tax forms for such workers employed at hotels, bars, and restaurants in Key West and at other locations in Florida.

In a series of prior cases filed in federal court in the Southern District of Florida, operators of the hospitality labor staffing companies have been convicted and sentenced to prison for facilitating the employment of unauthorized workers in the Key West hospitality industry and violating the employment tax laws. Mykhaylo Chugay, one of the operators of General Labor Solutions LLC, Liberty Specialty Services LLC, and Paradise Choice Cleaning LLC, was convicted at trial in June 2022, and sentenced to 292 months in prison. Two of Chugay’s coconspirators, Oleksandr Morgunov and Volodymyr Ogorodnychuk, each pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 96 months and 48 months in prison, respectively.

Batyr Myatiev, the owner and operator of American Hospitality and Golden Sands, pleaded guilty in March 2023 and was sentenced to 32 months in prison.

In March 2022, Mikus Berzins, Igor Kasyanenko, Riabov, and Andrejs Kozlovs each pleaded guilty, acknowledging their respective roles in the operation of Phoenix ADB. Igor Kasyanenko and Riabov were sentenced to 22 months and 18 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in the same conspiracy to which Nataliya Kasyanenko pleaded guilty in this case. Mikus Berzins and Andrejs Kozlovs were sentenced to 28 months and 12 months in prison, respectively, for knowingly hiring ten or more aliens who were not authorized to work in the United States.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Donald L. Graham ordered Nataliya Kasyanenko to serve two years of supervised release and to pay approximately $1.09 million in restitution to the United States.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami, announced the sentence.

IRS-CI Miami and HSI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Clark, Senior Litigation Counsel Sean Beaty and Trial Attorneys Jessica A. Kraft, Nicholas J. Schilling Jr., Matthew C. Hicks and Wilson Rae Stamm of the Tax Division prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-cr-10001.

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MIAMI – On Sept. 22, U.S. District Court Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz, in Miami, ordered the defendant, Minal Patel, to forfeit over $187 million in health care fraud proceeds including over $30 million seized from personal and corporate bank accounts, a 2018 Red Ferrari Spider, a 2019 Land Rover Range Rover, and real property.

Minal Patel, 44, of Atlanta, owned LabSolutions LLC (LabSolutions), a lab enrolled with Medicare that performed sophisticated genetic tests. Patel conspired with patient brokers, telemedicine companies, and call centers to target Medicare beneficiaries with telemarketing calls falsely stating that Medicare covered expensive cancer genetic tests. After the Medicare beneficiaries agreed to take a test, Patel paid kickbacks and bribes to patient brokers to obtain signed doctors’ orders authorizing the tests from telemedicine companies. To conceal the kickbacks and bribes, Patel required patient brokers to sign sham contracts that falsely stated that the brokers were performing legitimate advertising services for LabSolutions, when, as Patel well knew, the brokers were deceptively marketing to Medicare beneficiaries and paying kickbacks and bribes to telemedicine companies for genetic testing prescriptions.

Patel knew the telemedicine doctors robo-signed prescriptions for expensive genetic testing even though they were not treating the beneficiaries, often did not even speak with them, and made no evaluation of medical necessity. From July 2016 through August 2019, LabSolutions submitted more than $463 million in claims to Medicare, including for thousands of medically unnecessary genetic tests, of which Medicare paid over $187 million.  Patel enriched himself with the fruits of his crimes, including with the purchase of luxury items like a 2018 Red Ferrari Spider.

Exhibit from court record

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Region, made the announcement. 

FBI Miami and HHS-OIG Miami investigated the case. Trial Attorneys Jamie de Boer, Emily Gurskis, Reginald Cuyler Jr., Katherine Rookard, and Patrick Queenan of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon handled the asset forfeiture proceedings.

Related press release regarding sentencing available here: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/lab-owner-sentenced-463m-genetic-testing-scheme

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 19-cr-80181.

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MIAMI – Student athletes from area high schools and local law enforcement agencies recently gathered at Betty T. Ferguson Sports Complex in Miami Gardens for the Fifth Annual Fall Classic Youth & Cops Basketball Tournament.

This tournament gives youth, police officers and agents the opportunity to spend quality time with one another through competition on the court. Each team consisted of six teens and six adults. Many were area high school basketball standouts, which made for some high-energy aerial assaults on the rim.

“This is the first time I’ve had the pleasure of being involved with this tournament,” said Community Outreach Specialist Jorge Lorente, Law Enforcement Coordination and Community Outreach Section (LEC/COS) of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “It was nice to see positive interaction between the youth and law enforcement.”

Participating agencies included the North Miami Police Department; Miramar Police Department; Miami-Dade Police Department—YOUTH; Miami Gardens Police Department; U.S. Customs & Border Protection; Miami-Dade Police Department—Intracoastal; U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida; and Miami-Dade Police Department Community Affairs.

The championship game was a showdown between the Miami-Dade Police Department—Intracoastal and Miami Gardens Police Department. The Miami-Dade PD—Intracoastal took the crown by one point in a back-and-forth battle.

“I thought the games were exciting and fun to watch,” said Tournament Director and LEC/COS Chief J.D. Smith. “But the thing I enjoyed most was seeing the sportsmanship displayed by the players. There were a few times when things got pretty intense on the court but everyone was friendly again and shook hands after each game.”

This tournament—organized by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and held twice annually—is just one example of how LEC/COS staff members try to make a positive impact on the lives of area youth.

“We interact with youth of all ages in a multitude of ways, but what I like about the basketball tournament is that it shows law enforcement in a new light,” said Smith, a former police supervisor himself. “It humanizes them to the teenagers. They’re regular people with similar interests just like the teens. That’s what we want the teens to see. If we can improve relationships between youth and cops then it’s worth it.”

The Miami Beach Police Department provided refreshments and supplied the tournament referees while the Miami Gardens Parks & Recreation Department provided the venue.

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MIAMI – On September 22, 2023, career offender Monfort Desir, 36, of Lake Worth, Florida was sentenced by United States District Judge Aileen M. Cannon to 151 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing fentanyl.

According to the court record, the investigation of Desir began when law enforcement searched a decedent’s phone relating to an overdose death and identified a phone number related to narcotic sales.  Thereafter, an undercover law enforcement officer contacted Desir and requested fentanyl. 

On February 23, 2022, Desir distributed fentanyl capsules to the undercover officer.  Xylazine and para-fluorofentanyl were also identified in the fentanyl capsules that Desir distributed.  Para-fluorofentanyl is a fentanyl analogue.  Xylazine is a non-opioid sedative that is not approved for human use and can cause amputation of the limbs.  Narcan is ineffective in the event of an overdose on xylazine. 

Desir continued to distribute fentanyl capsules to the undercover officer on five separate occasions.  Xylazine and para-fluorofentanyl continued to be identified in the fentanyl capsules.  

Prior to his commission of the offenses, Desir had two prior, separate felony convictions for the sale of cocaine.  Desir was therefore subject to being sentenced as a career offender under the United States Sentencing Guidelines.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, and Sheriff Ric Bradshaw of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) made the announcement.

Mr. Lapointe praised the investigative efforts of DEA and PBSO. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon O’Shea Darsch prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-cr-80050.

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MIAMI – Twenty defendants have pled guilty or been convicted at trial in U.S. District Court in South Florida for their participation in a wire fraud scheme, known as Operation Nightingale, that created an illegal licensing and employment shortcut for aspiring nurses.  

According to public records, residents of Florida, along with individuals from other states, were charged for their involvement in a scheme to sell fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts obtained from accredited Florida-based nursing schools to individuals seeking licenses and jobs as registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPN/VNs).

The bogus diplomas and transcripts qualified purchasers to sit for the national nursing board exam and, after passing it, to obtain licenses and jobs in various states as RNs and LPN/VNs.  The overall scheme involved the distribution of more than 7,600 fake nursing diplomas issued by three South Florida-based nursing schools: Siena College in Broward County, Florida (Fla.), Palm Beach School of Nursing in Palm Beach County, Fla., and Sacred Heart International Institute in Broward County. These schools are now closed. Nursing applicants used the fraudulent diplomas to obtain RN or LPN/VN licenses in various states and nursing jobs with unwitting health care providers throughout the country.

The following defendants have pled guilty or were convicted at trial for their involvement in the fraudulent nursing diploma scheme (sentencing information is noted where available):

Defendants Associated with Fraudulent Nursing Diplomas and Transcripts from Siena College –

• Stanton Witherspoon, of Burlington County, New Jersey (N.J.), pled guilty on August 24, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60005-Cr-Smith).  Witherspoon is scheduled to be sentenced on November 2, 2023.
• Alfred Sellu, of Burlington County, N.J., pled guilty on August 18, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60005-Cr-Smith). Sellu is scheduled to be sentenced on November 2, 2023.
• Rene Bernadel, of Westchester County, New York (N.Y.), pled guilty on August 24, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60005-Cr-Smith).  Bernadel is scheduled to be sentenced on November 2, 2023.
• Eunide Sanon, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., pled guilty on March 14, 2023, to an information charging her with conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60013-Cr-Moreno).  Sanon was sentenced on May 23, 2023, to 27 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit $1,287,633.

Defendants Associated with Fraudulent Nursing Diplomas and Transcripts from Palm Beach School of Nursing –

• Krystal Lopez, of Palm Beach County, Fla., pled guilty on May 10, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60007-Cr-Singhal). Krystal Lopez is scheduled to be sentenced on December 14, 2023.
• Damian Lopez, of Palm Beach County, Fla., pled guilty on May 10, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60007-Cr-Singhal). Damian Lopez is scheduled to be sentenced on December 14, 2023.

• Francois Legagneur, of Nassau County, N.Y., pled guilty on May 10, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60007-Cr-Singhal). Legagneur is scheduled to be sentenced on December 13, 2023.
• Reynoso Seide, of Union County, N.J., pled guilty on May 10, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60007-Cr-Singhal).  On September 19, 2023, Seide was sentenced to 24 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
• Yelva Saint Preux, of Suffolk County, N.Y., pled guilty on May 10, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60007-Cr-Singhal). Preux is scheduled to be sentenced on December 14, 2023.
• Palm Beach School of Nursing’s owner Johanah Napoleon pled guilty, on November 21, 2022, to wire fraud (Case No 22-60111-Cr-Smith) and conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 22-60118-Cr-Smith).  Napoleon was sentenced on July 18, 2023, to 21 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to forfeit $3.2 million.

Defendants Associated with Fraudulent Nursing Diplomas and Transcripts from Sacred Heart International Institute –

• Rhomy Louis, of Suffolk County, N.Y., pled guilty on September 15, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60010-Cr-Smith). Louis is scheduled to be sentenced on November 28, 2023.
• Simon Itaman, of Harris County, Texas (TX), pled guilty on September 15, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60010-Cr-Smith).  Simon Itaman is scheduled to be sentenced on November 28, 2023.
• Anna Itaman, of Harris County, TX, pled guilty on September 15, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60010-Cr-Smith).  Anna Itaman is scheduled to be sentenced on November 28, 2023.
• Serge Jean, of Harris County, TX, pled guilty on September 15, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60010-Cr-Smith).  Serge Jean is scheduled to be sentenced on November 28, 2023.
• Ludnie Jean, of Harris County, TX, pled guilty on September 15, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60010-Cr-Smith).  Ludnie Jean is scheduled to be sentenced on November 28, 2023.
• Cimoyne Alves, of Lincoln, Rhode Island, pled guilty on August 18, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-6006-Cr-Smith).  Alves is scheduled to be sentenced on October 30, 2023.
• Charles Etienne, of Lake Worth, Fla., pled guilty on April 11, 2023, to an information charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60012-Cr-Singhal).  Etienne is scheduled to be sentenced on November 2, 2023.
• Nadege Auguste, of Coral Springs, Fla., was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on September 28, 2023.  Auguste is scheduled to be sentenced on January 3, 2024. 

Defendants Associated with Fraudulent Nursing Diplomas and Transcripts through PowerfulU Healthcare Services LLC -

• Geralda Adrien, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud (Case No. 21-60198-Cr-WPD) and was sentenced on August 10, 2022, to 27 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to forfeit $3,309,000.
• Woosevelt Predestin, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud and was sentenced on August 10, 2022, to 27 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to forfeit $3,309,000 (Case No. 21-60198-Cr-WPD).

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe; Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri, FBI, Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar, HHS-OIG, made the announcement.

FBI Miami and HHS-OIG Miami investigated these cases. Valuable assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations, Miami Field Office; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General; and Florida Attorney General-Florida Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Mid-Atlantic Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Clark is prosecuting these cases and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture.

A complaint, information, or indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

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A Florida man pleaded guilty today to distributing at least $16.7 million of adulterated HIV drugs that were ultimately dispensed to unsuspecting patients throughout the country. 

According to court documents, Armando Herrera, 43, of Miami, and his co-conspirators established companies in Florida, Texas, Washington, and California that they used to sell and distribute adulterated prescription drugs, primarily HIV medications, to wholesale pharmaceutical suppliers. Herrera and his co-conspirators created false documentation to make it appear as though the drugs were acquired legitimately when, in fact, they were not. The pharmaceutical suppliers then sold the drugs to pharmacies, which dispensed the adulterated prescription drugs to unwitting patients.

Herrera pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to introduce adulterated and misbranded drugs into interstate commerce. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 21 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Regional Office; Special Agent in Charge Kyle A. Myles of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), Atlanta Region; and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office made the announcement.  

HHS-OIG, FDIC-OIG, and the FBI are investigating the case. 

Trial Attorney Alexander Thor Pogozelski of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx P. Calderón for the Southern District of Florida is handling asset forfeiture.  

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, comprised of 15 strike forces operating in 25 federal districts, has charged more than 5,000 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $24 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

MIAMI – Yesterday, Josbel Fernandez Echevarria, 37, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter arising from the deaths of Javier M. Perez and Carolyn Alvarez. 

According to the factual basis in support of the defendant’s guilty plea, on July 2, 2020, Echevarria was the operator of a 32-foot powerboat in waters off the coast of Bimini in The Bahamas. Echevarria’s girlfriend, Perez, and Alvarez were also onboard the boat. At around 10:29 p.m., the boat hit North Turtle Rock, a high-tide elevation marked on all navigational charts, as well as on the boat’s navigation system during the crash. The boat was traveling at 43.4 miles per hour at the time of impact.

Echevarria and his girlfriend were injured, but Perez and Alvarez did not survive the crash. Perez’s body was found on North Turtle Rock. Alvarez’s body has not yet been found.

Perez and Alvarez’s death occurred due to Echevarria’s failure to maintain a proper lookout and failure to proceed at a safe speed in violation of Parts 5 and 6 of the International Steering and Sailing Rules.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Acting Special Agent in Charge Matthew Margelot, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS), Southeast Region, announced the guilty plea.

CGIS investigated the case, with assistance from the Royal Bahamian Police Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Watts-FitzGerald and Yara Dodin are prosecuting the case.

Sentencing is scheduled for January 12, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen M. Williams. Echevarria faces up to eight years in prison as to each count, criminal fines of up to $250,000 as to each count, and a period of supervised release of up to three years.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-cr-20256.

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MIAMI – A Palm Beach County resident has been convicted by a federal jury of participating in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy.

Belas Shelson Rosier, 34, of Greenacres, Florida, was found guilty on all counts following a four-day jury trial in Fort Pierce, Fla., before U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon. Rosier was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl, and possession with intent to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl, in addition to fentanyl analogs and cocaine. 

According to court documents, the investigation into Rosier was initiated, by federal and local investigators, based on evidence recovered during the successful prosecution of one of Rosier’s long-term street level fentanyl and cocaine distributors. The evidence presented at trial established that Rosier was responsible for the distribution of at least six kilograms of fentanyl during the time period of October 4, 2021 through March 9, 2022. During the investigation, federal agents seized and administratively forfeited over $50,000 in cash and $50,000 in jewelry that had been recovered from Rosier’s possession.

Rosier is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cannon on December 19, 2023, in Fort Pierce. Rosier faces a mandatory minimum ten-year term of imprisonment, up to a maximum of life imprisonment, as to each count of conviction. 

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe, Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami, Christopher A. Robinson, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, Frank Adderly, Chief of Police, West Palm Beach Police Department (WPBPD), and Ric L. Bradshaw, Sheriff, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) made the announcement.

HSI Miami and ATF Miami Field Office investigated this case jointly with their local partners from WPBPD and PBSO. AUSA John McMillan is prosecuting this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney William Zloch is handling asset forfeiture.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under Case No. 23-CR-80045.

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MIAMI – On September 20, 2023, U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas, in Fort Lauderdale, issued a Final Order of Forfeiture, which vested all right, title, interest, ownership, and possession of an Oakland Park house to the U.S. Government. 

The U.S. Government was able to forfeit the Oakland Park residence after law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at the house.  At the time of the federal search warrant, defendant Daniel Joe Williams, a/k/a “Daniel Williams,” was living at, as well as using the house to store and distribute drugs.  During the execution of the search warrant, law enforcement found various amounts of powder and crack cocaine, scales, a firearm, and ammunition, all of which were further evidence that the house was being used to facilitate the drug crimes. Williams pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  Williams has multiple past felony convictions for distributing drugs.  Following Williams’ guilty plea, and after providing notice to the public and the homeowner, the U.S. Government sought and obtained a Final Order of Forfeiture, which vested all right, title, and interest in the house to the U.S. Government. 

Markenzy Lapointe, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Christopher A. Robinson, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), made the announcement. 

The ATF Miami Field Office investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Deric Zacca prosecuted the criminal case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mitchell Evan Hyman and Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily R. Stone handled forfeiture. 

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-cr-60008.

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MIAMI – Isaac Halwani, 41, of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, is charged with carrying out a bulk food and personal protective equipment investment scheme that defrauded a single victim out of $10 million. 

Halwani was arraigned on a federal indictment today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lauren F. Louis.

According to allegations in the multi-count wire fraud indictment, Halwani falsely and fraudulently represented that he was a successful bulk food re-seller and that he had a profitable business re-selling personal protective equipment (“PPE”), such as masks, gloves, and hand-sanitizer.  Halwani falsely and fraudulently represented that each re-sale transaction generated returns of 20-25% and that investors would receive monthly returns of 5% returns.  A victim, referenced in the indictment, made various investments with Halwani for what the victim believed were investments in the re-sale of PPE and Halwani’s food distribution business.  To induce the victim to invest, Halwani made numerous materially false and fraudulent statements.  Unbeknownst to the victim, no such PPE or food distribution deals exited.  To create the illusion of false deals, amongst other things, Halwani created false and fraudulent invoices, opened bank accounts, and Halwani used his own money to partially repay the victim.  As a result of his false and fraudulent misrepresentations, Halwani obtained approximately $10 million dollars from the victim and used the money to pay for his personal expenses. 

If convicted, Halwai faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison as to each wire fraud count.  A federal district court judge would determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri, FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

FBI Miami investigated this case.  The Sunny Isles Beach Police Department assisted with the arrest.   Assistant U.S. Attorney Yisel Valdes is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mitchell Hyman is handling forfeiture. 

An indictment is a charging instrument containing allegations.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-CR-20348.

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MIAMI – A defendant, who was previously convicted of money laundering, was sentenced to a total of 90 months in federal prison for his recent money laundering conviction. 

According to the court docket, Carlos Alberto Padron, Age 55, of Miami, Florida, pled guilty to money laundering on June 20, 2023.  According to the agreed upon factual proffer, that was made part of the court docket, Padron participated in two separate money laundering conspiracies while on supervised release from a prior federal prison sentence.  Between July 2022 and August 2022, Padron and his co-defendant Ovidio Gonzalez Roche laundered $249,901 in Medicare fraud proceeds related to two fraudulent durable medical equipment companies located in Pompano Beach, Florida, Newtech Medical Supply LLC and Spraig Medical Supplies LLC.  Padron and his co-defendant Ovidio Gonzalez Roche picked up nearly $229,920 in cash in parking lots in Miami-Dade County after the money was laundered.

Between April 2021 and December 2021, Padron also participated in laundering $2,185,392 in Medicare fraud proceeds related to two other durable medical equipment companies:  Unlimited Medical Supply (Pembroke Pines, Florida) and Best Medical Supply (North Fort Myers, Florida).  Padron was involved in managing the nominee owner of those two DME companies and he also received some of the approximately $260,000 in withdrawals of Medicare fraud proceeds from the nominee owner. 

Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga sentenced Padron to 70 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release to be served consecutively to his sentence on the supervised release violation.  Padron was also ordered to pay $2,435,293 in restitution.  On June 7, 2023, U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez sentenced Padron to 20 months in prison on the supervised release violation.  The United States seized and successfully forfeited over $2.3 million in connection with the health care fraud conspiracy.

Padron’s co-defendant Ovidio Roche Gonzalez, who was only charged with the 2022 money laundering conspiracy, was sentenced to 21 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. 

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe; Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri, FBI, Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar, HHS-OIG, made the announcement.

FBI Miami and HHS-OIG Miami investigated this case. AUSA Timothy Abraham is prosecuting this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Stone and Mitchell Hyman are handling asset forfeiture.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under 23-20084-CMA.

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MIAMI - Yesterday, Pavel Ramon Ruiz Hernandez, a/k/a “Pavel Ruiz,” age 30, of Broward County, Florida, was sentenced to 110 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to commit wire fraud in connection with an investment Ponzi fraud scheme associated with MJ Capital Funding, LLC (“MJ Capital Funding”). 

According to court records, beginning in March 2021, and continuing through on or about August 12, 2021, Ruiz Hernandez conspired with others to fraudulently solicit money from investors purportedly to fund MJ Capital Funding’s MCAs.  Ruiz Hernandez and his co-conspirators recruited other individuals to solicit investors to invest in MJ Capital Funding’s investment offering and paid these individuals commissions, typically 10% of the funds raised.  MJ Capital Funding was a Florida limited liability company with its listed place of business in Pompano Beach, Florida.  MJ Capital Funding was purportedly engaged in the business of providing merchant cash advances, or MCAs, a type of short-term financing typically used by small and medium-sized businesses. 

Court records also state that Ruiz Hernandez and his co-conspirators, directly and indirectly, made false statements and fraudulent representations to investors concerning the nature of the MJ Capital Funding investment and the use of investor funds.  Ruiz Hernandez and others falsely told investors that their money would be used to fund MCAs and that investor returns would be paid from the profits of MJ Capital Funding’s MCA business.  However, MJ Capital Funding made few MCAs and failed to earn anywhere near the profits it needed to pay the investor returns and principal promised to investors.  As a result, Ruiz Hernandez and his co-conspirators paid investor returns by running a large Ponzi fraud scheme, paying existing investors using new investor funds while misappropriating millions of investor dollars for their own personal use and benefit.  In his plea, Ruiz Hernandez admitted that he and his co-conspirators falsely and fraudulently obtained at least approximately $42,942,000 dollars from investors. 

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe of the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri, FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

This case is being investigated by FBI in Miami. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric E. Morales of the Southern District of Florida. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx P. Calderón handled asset forfeiture.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 21-cr-20185. 

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MIAMI – Last week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida recently convened a financial crimes training entitled “Taking the Byte out of Crime—Tools and Techniques for Fighting Internet Crimes Targeting Businesses and Individuals.”

More than 90 law enforcement officers and federal agents from Key West to Palm Beach met at Broward College Health Sciences Simulation Center in Davie, Fla., to enhance their knowledge base, discuss evolving internet crime schemes, hear about criminal case examples, and share investigative resources to combat crime. U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida expressed his gratitude to those in attendance and acknowledged the importance of federal, state, and local law enforcement partnerships to reduce internet crimes.

The financial crimes conference offered the attendees an invaluable training opportunity on areas to include business email compromise scams, virtual currency tracing, illegal narcotics in the mail stream, mail theft, cryptocurrency scams, and the federal fraud statutes applicable to these offenses. Representatives from the following federal agencies presented during the conference: the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida; FBI Miami; Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami; U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General (USPS-OIG), Miami; and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General, Miami.

Some of the important public safety takeaways are:

• Protect your personal identifying information (PII). If an investment opportunity seems too good to be true, it probably is.  Scammers can send very realistic emails and account statements to make it look like you are involved in a legitimate investment.  Online “friends” who discourage you from telling friends and family about your relationship or financial “investments” are also a red flag. Be cautious. According to the FBI, internet crime amounted to victim losses of $10.3 billion in 2022.

• Anyone who suspects they are a victim of internet criminal activity should report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center by clicking www.ic3.gov. Be sure to include as much information as possible — original emails, checks, receipts, financial transaction information, cryptocurrency addresses, websites, and phone numbers. The more information that is provided, the better chance the FBI has of recouping stolen funds or making an arrest.  

• To combat potential theft, consider mailing any financial correspondence inside the Post Office lobby drop box or hand it to a clerk. The U.S. Postal Service has a free service called Informed Delivery www.usps.com which will send the user photos of the mail before it arrives. If you suspect U.S. Postal Service employee wrongdoing, please contact the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General hotline immediately at www.uspsoig.gov/hotline.

No one can prevent all crime but protecting your personal identification information, and verifying the identity of those you are dealing with online is a great place to start. The sharing of information across agencies gives law enforcement more avenues to solve crimes.

“Criminality is evolving and it’s up to law enforcement to update its investigative techniques,” said Law Enforcement Coordination/Community Outreach Section Chief J.D. Smith, U.S. Attorney’s Office. “We put on these trainings because we see the value in them. The trainings bring law enforcement officers/agents and prosecutors together to learn from one another. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has been asked to host more of these conferences … and we will.” 

A federal jury in the Southern District of Florida convicted a Florida woman yesterday for paying kickbacks in exchange for Medicare patient referrals.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Nelly Anderson, 58, of Bay Harbor Islands, was the owner of Dial 4 Care, a business that provided home health services to Medicare beneficiaries. She hired multiple marketers and paid them kickbacks in exchange for patient referrals. Anderson then caused the submission of claims to Medicare for home health services that were procured through the payment of illegal kickbacks.  

The jury convicted Anderson of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay health care kickbacks, and two counts of paying kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 5 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy count and 10 years in prison for each of the kickback offenses. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Regional Office made the announcement.

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Jessica Massey and Charles Strauss of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon for the Southern District of Florida is handling asset forfeiture aspects of the case. Trial Attorney Patrick J. Queenan of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section assisted with the investigation.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, comprised of 15 strike forces operating in 25 federal districts, has charged more than 5,000 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $24 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

MIAMI – Putting community before self is the mindset of the Law Enforcement Coordination and Community Outreach Section (LEC/COS) of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. Everything it does—from food distributions to pre-K readings—is designed to improve people’s lives.

That was the case at the recent 305 Second Chance Job & Resource Fair at the Government Center in downtown Miami. Job seekers, many of whom were returning citizens and on probation, went from booth to booth getting job leads and information to make their transition easier. The fair was a collaboration between CareerSource South Florida and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

LEC/COS staff provided resources that returning citizens could share with prospective employers.

“There are tax credits that a business can use to reduce its tax liability by up to $9,600 the first year if hiring returning citizens through the Work Opportunity Tax Credit Program,” said Law Enforcement Coordination Specialist Mark McKinney, LEC/COS. “There also is a federal bonding program that provides employers with insurance when hiring a returning citizen. Many employers may not know about these protections and incentives so it’s important to ensure returning citizens have this knowledge.”

LEC/COS staff also provided a Re-Entry Resource Guide with points of contact ranging from housing assistance and health care to mental health support and legal assistance. But even with all of the support in the world, it still can be incredibly difficult for returning citizens to find employment. One attendee, who’d served time for armed bank robbery, applied for entry-level positions with numerous national companies with no luck.

“They had interest in me until they saw my record,” he said. “After that, nothing.”

One thing that may help, another attendee mentioned, is if a returning citizen’s parole officer goes with them to the job interview to speak on the applicant’s behalf and tout the progress they’ve made. Helping a returning citizen get a leg up is good for everyone.

“There are so many roadblocks society puts up for people returning from prison,” said LEC/COS Chief J.D. Smith. “We have to do better. They’ve already served their time but we continue to punish them by withholding opportunities. It’s as if they have a life sentence.”

LEC/COS Community Outreach Specialist Corey Mackay said in difficult times it’s even more important to have compassion.

“I empathize with these job seekers,” said Mackay. “It’s hard enough for citizens with no criminal record to get a job so I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for returning citizens. Sometimes getting a job is about being in the right place at the right time and I hope this event can be someone’s right place/right time.”

Law Enforcement Coordination Specialist Mark McKinney and Community Outreach Specialist Corey Mackay assist area residents at a recent Job/Resource Fair at the Government Center in downtown Miami. This fair provided individuals and returning citizens with job leads and resources.

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U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri, FBI, Miami Field Office, issued the following statement:

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) offer their diverse student body a unique academic and cultural experience built on pride, resilience, and unity.  HBCUs and their students strengthen our communities.  We are incredibly fortunate to have HBCUs throughout the country, including here in South Florida.

HBCUs were created in the 1800s to provide educational opportunities for Black students who were excluded and unwelcome from attending existing colleges and universities.  HBCUs across our great nation are venerable institutions where students thrive and should always be safe from harm.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the FBI stand ready to investigate and prosecute allegations of a criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.  We are united in our efforts to protect the safety and security of our South Florida students, visitors, and residents.  As Attorney General Merrick B. Garland stated last month, “The Justice Department will never stop working to protect everyone in our country from unlawful acts of hate.”

We encourage the community to report all suspected hate crimes to the FBI at 1-800-CALLFBI (1-800-225-5324) and tips.fbi.gov.

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MIAMI – Gzuniga, Ltd., and its founder, Nancy Teresa Gonzalez de Barberi, 70, were arraigned today on federal charges arising from the illegal importation of merchandise made from wildlife into the United States from Colombia. 

The three-count indictment charges Gzuniga, Gonzalez, and two other individuals with one count of conspiracy and two counts of smuggling for repeated illegal importation of designer handbags made from caiman and python skin from February 2016 to April 2019.  Both the caiman and python species are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), to which both the United States and Colombia are signatories.  Gonzalez, a citizen of Colombia, was recently extradited to the United States to face the charges brought against her.  

According to the indictment, the defendants solicited friends, relatives and employees of Gonzalez’s manufacturing company in Colombia to act as couriers and transport the designer handbags on their person or in their luggage while traveling on passenger airlines.  Once the designer handbags were smuggled into the United States, they were delivered or shipped to the Gzuniga showroom in Manhattan, New York, where they were put on display for high-end retailers to view and purchase for re-sale in their stores.  The average retail price for these “Nancy Gonzalez” brand handbags was over $2,000. 

Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Stephen Clark for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) Office of Law Enforcement, Southeast Region, made the announcement.

The USFWS Office of Law Enforcement in Valley Stream, New York conducted the investigation.  The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS) Judicial Attaché Office in Bogotá, Colombia provided valuable assistance with securing the arrest and extradition of Gonzalez de Barberi.  The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) was instrumental in supporting the case.  The United States also thanks Colombian law enforcement authorities for their valuable assistance and close collaboration and partnership.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney R.J. Powers of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Watts-FitzGerald for the Southern District of Florida.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-20170-CR.

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MIAMI – Yesterday, a South Florida federal jury convicted a federal agent for his role in an operation that involved illegal Oxycodone distribution, federal witness tampering, and obstruction of justice.

Alberico Ahias Crespo, 48, a Special Agent with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), was convicted of three substantive counts of witness tampering, conspiracy to commit witness tampering, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.  According to evidence introduced at trial, during the time of the criminal activity, Crespo worked as part of the South Florida Health Care Fraud Strike Force, made up of interagency teams of federal investigators and prosecutors focused on combating health care fraud and health care-related narcotics trafficking in Southern Florida.  Crespo used his position as an agent to protect and advance a multi-year Oxycodone trafficking scheme and impede related federal health care fraud investigations, including investigations in which Crespo himself was involved.

“The vast majority of law enforcement officers uphold their duties with the highest level of integrity.  But, where the toxic mix of ego, arrogance, and corruption taint an agent’s convictions, the criminal justice system will hold the officer accountable,” stated Markenzy Lapointe, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.  “The verdict in this matter reminds us that no one is untouchable, no one is above the law, and that there are severe consequences for anyone who engages in witness tampering and the obstruction of justice.”

“We are pleased with the conviction of Alberico Crespo because his actions not only violated the law, they also undermined the public’s trust in law enforcement,” said Jeffrey B. Veltri, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami. “Every day, thousands of dedicated and honorable law enforcement officers take to the streets to protect South Florida communities. It is on their behalf that the FBI and Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General sought to root out this wrongdoing to ensure that the high standards we expect of law enforcement are met and maintained.”

“Alberico Ahias Crespo betrayed the trust of the people he swore to serve, and today, he is seeing the consequences for his reprehensible actions,” said Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “I am proud of our agents and prosecutors who worked tirelessly to hold Crespo accountable. HHS-OIG will not tolerate corruption within our ranks.”

From November 2016 to July 2020, previously convicted patient recruiters Jorge Diaz Gutierrez, Yandre Trujillo Hernandez, and Anais Lorenzo, were part of the illegal Oxycodone trafficking scheme involving patients, pharmacies, and medical clinics.  The patient recruiters sent patients to selected medical clinics to obtain Oxycodone prescriptions that the patients did not need.  Once the patients obtained the prescriptions, they would give them to the patient recruiters in exchange for money.  The patients would fill the prescriptions at pharmacies selected by the recruiters and sell the Oxycodone pills (at a mark-up) to third party street dealers.     

Diaz Gutierrez and Crespo were close friends and associates, including while Diaz Gutierrez was a criminal target of the Strike Force.  Crespo used his position as an HHS-OIG Special Agent working on health care fraud cases to protect Diaz Gutierrez’s Oxycodone operation.  Crespo did this by monitoring Strike Force investigations involving Diaz Gutierrez, accessing information, disclosing sensitive law enforcement information to Diaz Gutierrez, updating Diaz Gutierrez on the progress of health care fraud investigations, and coaching Diaz Gutierrez on how to lie to investigators and tamper with evidence.

Crespo was acquitted on the conspiracy to traffic oxycodone charge.   Crespo faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment for each count of conviction.

Crespo is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles on November 28, 2023.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, and Christian J. Schrank, Deputy Inspector General for Investigations, HHS-OIG,, made the announcement.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe commended the investigative efforts of FBI and HHS-OIG.  Assistant United States Attorneys Sean T. McLaughlin and Christopher Clark prosecuted this case. 

You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-20005.

MIAMI – Today, Dustin Singleton, 42, of Hobe Sound, Florida was sentenced to a total of 480 months’ imprisonment, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, by U.S. District Court Judge Aileen M. Cannon, sitting in Fort Pierce, Florida, after pleading guilty to three counts of producing child sexual abuse material, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. 

In a separate sentencing hearing, Elijah Daniel Shaw, 22, of Port St Lucie, was sentenced to a total of 259 months’ imprisonment, followed by 15 years of supervised release, by U.S. District Court Judge Aileen M. Cannon, after pleading guilty to producing and possessing child sexual abuse material.

According to court records, on April 29, 2022, following a traffic stop in Stuart, Florida, Martin County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) detectives found 32.86 grams of methamphetamine with a purity level of 98%, approximately 5 grams of cocaine, less than a gram of fentanyl, approximately 195 grams of marijuana, several glass pipes, hypodermic needles, a loaded Smith & Wesson, Bodyguard .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol, a loaded Glock type 9mm pistol built from a Polymer80 PF940C kit (“Glock clone”), several unused baggies, several pill bottles with various controlled substances, $1,104.00 in U.S. currency, 10 cellphones, and three tablets in Singleton’s vehicle. Singleton is a convicted felon and prohibited by law from possessing firearms.

Court records further indicated that, in July 2022, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent and two MCSO detectives received information that tattoo artist Singleton aka “Greenhouse” exchanged narcotics and tattoos for sexual activity with minor females at his Port St. Lucie tattoo shop. Two rounds of search warrants were obtained – the first one for narcotics and the second one for child sexual abuse material, which targeted Singleton’s electronic devices. Forensic examinations of the devices revealed numerous images of Singleton and Shaw, both engaging in sexually explicit activity with a freshly tattooed 13-year-old minor female victim—recorded inside the tattoo shop.

On August 2, 2022, law enforcement arrested Shaw who identified images/videos of himself, Singleton, and the 13-year-old minor female victim and confirmed that the video was recorded inside Singleton’s tattoo parlor. An HSI special agent applied for additional search warrants for Singleton’s and Shaw’s social media and iCloud accounts, which revealed additional videos of the child sexual abuse material, spanning in excess of six hours.  The videos began with Singleton tattooing the 13-year-old, but later progressing to Singleton administering a smoking glass pipe to the victim, while he and Shaw both recorded themselves engaging in sexually explicit activity with the victim. In Singleton’s iCloud, investigators located additional videos revealing Singleton recorded additional tattoo shop sexual activity with two additional minor victims, each 17 years of age. Singleton recorded himself having sex with the minors, both with his iPhone and secretly, using his tattoo shop’s video surveillance system.

United States Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and acting Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Buckley, HSI, Miami, announced the sentence imposed.

HSI Fort Pierce Office investigated the case, with assistance from Martin County Sheriff’s Office, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, and Port St. Lucie Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carmen Lineberger and Michael Porter prosecuted it.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about the PSC initiative and for information regarding Internet safety, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-cr-14048 and

MIAMI – On August 24, 2023, a jury found Jaime Serrano, 46, of New York, guilty of interstate stalking, conspiracy to use a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.  Julian Jimenez, 27, also from New York, pled guilty prior to trial to the same charges.  The crimes related to their conduct culminating in the near fatal shooting of a Miami resident in August 2019.

The evidence at trial revealed that, on August 21, 2019, Jimenez and Serrano flew together from New York to Miami.  Once in South Florida, Serrano rented a sedan, and he and Jimenez surveilled the victim at his Kendall business and at his residence.  As a result, they learned the victim’s normal routine.  Then, on August 26, 2019, Serrano traded in the sedan and rented a SUV hatchback. 

On August 27, 2019, Jimenez and Serrano continued their surveillance of the victim. On that date, the victim drove into his gated development at his normal time, approximately 8:00 p.m.  At or about that time, Serrano parked closed by and Jimenez exited the vehicle and entered the gated community on foot.  Jimenez reached the victim as he was sitting in his car, waiting to enter his garage.  Jimenez, wearing a mask and gloves, pulled out a firearm and shot at the victim multiple times, striking him several times.  Jimenez then fled the gated community and entered Serrano’s vehicle, which Serrano then drove away from the scene of the crime.

U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman is scheduled to sentence Jimenez on November 1, 2023, and Serrano on November 14, 2023.  Both men face a maximum sentence of up to life in prison.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, announced the convictions.

The Miami-Dade Police Department handled the investigation until the FBI began its investigation in 2021.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Abbie Waxman, Michael Gilfarb, and Katherine Guthrie prosecuted this case. 

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-cr-20389.

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MIAMI – Staff from the Law Enforcement Coordination and Community Outreach Section (LEC/COS) of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida recently joined other community stakeholders at Everglades Re-Entry Center, Florida Department of Corrections, to meet with soon-t0-be returning citizens.

The Re-Entry Fair provided job leads, housing and legal resources, and other information to about 30 individuals, who in the coming months will once again enjoy their freedom. But first came poignant opening remarks from a community stakeholder who, himself, had once been incarcerated.

“You have to change that criminal mindset,” he said. “When you wait until you get out to start re-entry, it’s too late. Don’t set yourself up for failure. Don’t leave here without a vision and goals. Do training while you’re on the inside, so that when you get out you are trained and ready to succeed. Become productive men. You’re in here for doing wrong. You’ve got a chance now to do right.”

There now is more training available at Everglades Re-Entry Center than ever before. It began with one electrical program, where incarcerated individuals could learn a trade and become certified. The facility now boasts seven programs, with plans to do even more. And once trained, community stakeholders who attend the Re-Entry Fair can provide others with guidance and employment opportunities.

During the fair, the U.S. Attorney’s Office staff distributed a South Florida Re-Entry Resource Guide, with hundreds of contacts, to prepare returning citizens for their release, first steps after release, and successful transition.  The guide highlights financial literacy, legal assistance, job interviewing tips and a host of other topics.  Also provided were handouts on the Federal Bonding Program, which provides insurance to employers who hire hard-to-place job seekers and the Work Opportunity Tax Program which gives employers tax credits for hiring those same job seekers. Also present at the fair were employees from Gang Alternative Inc., Goodwill South Florida, Fellowship House, and Convicts of Diversified Empowerment, among others.

“I’ve probably participated in a dozen of these fairs and it’s valuable because it gives us the chance to provide information they otherwise wouldn’t know about,” said Law Enforcement Coordination Specialist Michael Martinez of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “We want to provide them the best chance to succeed and to do that they need to have the right resources.”

LEC/COS staff does a tremendous amount of community outreach. They interact with young children, teens, and the incarcerated to help improve lives and encourage everyone to make smarter choices.

“Every bit counts,” said Martinez. “From preschool readings to anti-bullying presentations at middle schools to this re-entry fair, we’re always striving to put people on a path to success. That’s why we make community outreach a priority.”

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MIAMI – A South Florida federal grand jury has charged Johanna Michely Garcia, the former Chief Executive Officer of MJ Capital Funding, LLC, with conducting an investment Ponzi fraud scheme, totaling approximately $190,700,000, from the business. 

The indictment, unsealed today, charges Garcia, 40, of Broward County, Florida with conspiring to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, and multiple counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering. 

According to the indictment, MJ Capital Funding, LLC was a Pompano Beach company that offered merchant cash advances, or MCAs, a type of short-term financing typically used by small and medium-sized businesses.  The indictment alleges that from about October 2020 to August 12, 2021, Garcia, Pavel Ramon Ruiz Hernandez, and others fraudulently solicited money from investors purportedly to fund MJ Capital Funding, LLC’s MCAs.  It also alleges that Garcia, Ruiz Hernandez, and their co-conspirators recruited others to solicit additional investors, typically paying the recruits about 10% of the money they raised.   

Garcia had her initial appearance in U.S. Magistrate Court today. A subsequent hearing in this matter will be held on August 28, 2023, at 1:30 p.m., in U.S. Magistrate Court.  If convicted, Garcia faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison as to each conspiracy, money laundering and mail fraud counts, and ten years in prison as to each money laundering charge.  A federal district court judge would determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Ruiz Hernandez was charged in August 2022 and pleaded guilty in April 2023.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 7, 2023, in U.S. District Court, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri, FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

FBI Miami investigated this case.  The U.S Securities and Exchange Commission, Miami Regional Office, and Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation assisted with the investigation.   Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric E. Morales of the Southern District of Florida is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon is handling forfeiture. 

An indictment is a charging instrument containing allegations.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-CR-20350.

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MIAMI – Senior United States District Judge James I. Cohn sentenced Kejuan Brandon Campbell a/k/a “SplashZanotti”; Antonio Charles James Jr. a/k/a “YungFokiss”; and Dionte Alexander-Wilcox a/k/a “TrapSavage” to federal prison, after a jury found each of them guilty of conspiracy to kidnap, two counts of kidnapping, three counts of bank robbery, and three counts of carrying firearms during a crime of violence.

The evidence at trial revealed that, on October 11, 2020, Campbell, James, and Alexander-Wilcox conspired to commit a home invasion against a husband and wife – both of whom were over sixty years of age -- because the couple’s estranged nephew had stolen $20,000 from Campbell hours earlier.  Wearing masks and gloves, and carrying firearms, the three defendants forced their way into the couple’s home, physically assaulted the husband, and forced both victims to lie on the floor at gunpoint. 

The defendants ransacked the couples’ home and took their phones and wallet. Using the wife’s telephone, the defendants tried using CashApp to transfer $20,000 to themselves, but the transactions were declined.  Campbell then forced the wife to travel with him to multiple stores to try to cash $20,000 in checks. The other two defendants kept the husband at home, holding him at gunpoint.  

After the stores declined to process the checks, the defendants stayed overnight at the victims’ home and planned to get the money from the couple’s bank the next morning.  During their stay, the defendants cooked, drank alcohol, and smoked marijuana. They kept a gun pointed at the couple inside and did not allow them to speak to one another. At one point, with gun in hand, Alexander-Wilcox forced the wife into the master bedroom and raped her.   

The next morning, Campbell forced the wife to withdraw $20,000 from ATMs. After returning the wife home, the defendants filled a couple of suitcases with the victims’ jewelry, as well as items on which the defendants might have left their DNA. The defendants threatened to kill the victims if they called the police, locked the victims in a bathroom, took their house key, and left with the cash.  

On June 21, 2023, Alexander-Wilcox was sentenced to life in prison.

On June 21, 2023, James was sentenced to 41 years in prison.

On August 24, 2023, Campbell was sentenced to 42 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, announced the sentences.

The FBI and Miramar Police Department investigated this matter along with the ATF, Broward Sheriff’s Office, Davie Police Department, U.S. Coast Guard CGIS, and Lauderhill Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ajay Alexander and Brooke E. Latta prosecuted this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove handled forfeiture.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 21-cr-60011.

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MIAMI – Yesterday, a South Florida jury found Aisladys Diaz, 45, and her daughter Ailensy Buron Diaz, 29, both of Miami, Florida, guilty of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, use of an unauthorized access device, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and wire fraud.

Aisladys Diaz was a private duty health aide who worked with a home health aide agency. The agency provided home health aides to residents at senior communities in Miami-Dade County. From May to June 2020, Aisladys Diaz stole the personal identifiable information of two elderly residents under her care. Aisladys Diaz then shared the information with her daughter, Ailensy Buron Diaz, Berto Omar Rodriguez Fonseca, a finance manager at a car dealership in Miami Lakes, and others who used the information to purchase numerous new and used vehicles at car dealerships, at a cost totaling over $500,000, and apply for credit cards, an Economic Disaster Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), and a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Scott H. Moffit of the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Cybercrime Investigations Division, made the announcement.

Berto Omar Rodriguez Fonseca is scheduled for a change of plea hearing on August 29, 2023. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

FBI Miami and TIGTA’s Cybercrime Investigations Division investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lois Foster-Steers prosecuted it. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Zloch is handling asset forfeiture.

Anyone with information about allegations of elder fraud can report it by calling the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 or 833–372–8311.

More information about the Department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative at https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Department of Justice provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at https://www.ovc.gov.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-cr-20354.

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MIAMI – A federal grand jury charged Emmanuel Bully, Jr., 44, of Miami-Dade County, Florida, with wire fraud.  Per the indictment, Bully fraudulently obtained more than $500,000 in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) loans. These loans are guaranteed by the Small Business Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

According to the indictment, between April 29, 2020, through approximately September 27, 2021, Bully submitted six PPP and EIDL loan applications on behalf of himself—as a sole proprietor—and each of his purported four companies: MB Tax Consultants LLC, MB Tax Services LLC, MB Tax Services Consultants, and Emmanuel B. In each PPP and EIDL loan application, Bully falsely stated the corporation’s average monthly payroll or gross revenues.  These false and fraudulent applications ultimately led to Bully receiving over $500,000 in PPP and EIDL loan funds.  Contrary to the purported purpose for the loans, Bully spent the EIDL and PPP loan proceeds for his personal use and benefit, not for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, or utilities.

During Bully’s initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge William Matthewman, the prosecutor alleged Bully was interviewed earlier this month by FBI special agents regarding the alleged fraud.  The FBI arrested Bully as he attempted to leave the country on an international flight on August 16, 2023.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

FBI, West Palm Beach Field Office, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon Shaw is prosecuting it.

An indictment contains mere allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please click here.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-CR-80141.

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MIAMI – Yesterday, Andre Tookes, Jr., of Greenacres, Florida, was sentenced to 97 months in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release, for purchasing child pornography through a social networking application (an “online app”).

According to court records, beginning in April 2022, Andre Tookes, Jr. communicated with an unknown person in South Africa through a social networking application.  Tookes, Jr. purchased dozens of child pornography videos from the South African for $70 on each of nine separate occasions.  Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on Tookes, Jr.’s residence and were able to uncover the communications on his seized phone. Tookes, Jr. pled guilty to receipt of child pornography. 

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe of the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury, HSI Miami, announced the sentence imposed.

HSI West Palm Beach investigated the case as part of a larger investigation into similar purchasers of child pornography.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller prosecuted the case.  

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about the Project Safe Childhood initiative and for information regarding Internet safety, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

To report online child sexual exploitation, use the electronic Cyber Tip Line or call 1-800-843-5678.  The Cyber Tip Line is operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in partnership with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-cr-80087.

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MIAMI – Yesterday, Arvaham Zano, 36, of Hollywood, Florida, was sentenced to eight years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.  He was also ordered to forfeit $334,499.73 and pay $2,877,497.35 in restitution, joint and several with co-defendant Sofein Mlayah, 28, of North Miami Beach.

The sentence comes after Zano’s guilty plea to wire fraud, interstate transportation of stolen property, and failure to give up possession of household goods, for his role in operating an interstate moving company scam that included inflating the costs of clients’ interstate moves and thereafter taking possession of client household belongings, failing to deliver the goods as promised, and abandoning them throughout the nation at undisclosed self-storage facilities, often resulting in the total loss of client property.

Zano operated two companies, including Zano Moving and Storage, LLC, and acquired jobs through various moving brokers. These brokers would negotiate a moving service fee with a client, then subcontract the moving job to one of Zano’s companies. With the subcontracts in hand, Zano and his drivers, including Mlayah, traveled to the job locations – often on dates different from the ones originally scheduled and sometimes late at night – and loaded the household items to be moved into a truck. Zano or Mlayah would tell clients that they had more household items than the moving broker had originally estimated. Then, with the items already in the truck, they demanded more money to begin the move – sometimes two to three times more than the original estimate. If the clients refused, they risked losing their deposits and belongings. Zano and Mlayah often argued with the victims and coerced them into paying more for their moves, and on other occasions, Zano and Mlayah would not start loading the trucks until they received the higher fees; loaded the trucks but never delivered the items; or charged the victims bogus storage fees. Most of the victim’s household items have never been recovered.

On June 6, Mlayah was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role in the scheme.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Todd A. Damiani of the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (“DOT-OIG”), Southern Region, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Raag Singhal.

FBI Miami and DOT-OIG investigated this case with assistance from Sunny Isles Beach Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton prosecuted it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Stone is handling asset forfeiture.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-cr-60200.

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MIAMI – Today, Rene Pedrosa, 51, was sentenced in federal court to six years in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release, for receiving child pornography in 2019 from a 16-year-old boy.

In November 2019, Pedrosa connected with the boy on social media. Pedrosa, who at the time worked as an aide to the City of Miami mayor, communicated with the boy on social media and in person about a website design job for Pedrosa’s boss.

One meeting took place at Miami City Hall on November 25, 2019. Pedrosa admitted that during the meeting, he kissed and sexually touched the boy, who had been dropped off at City Hall for a website design follow-up meeting by his mother. Pedrosa also admitted that he continued communicating with the boy through an internet-based messaging application and that on December 22, 2019, Pedrosa knowingly received sexually explicit images of the boy.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Robert N. Scola.

FBI Miami investigated the case, with assistance from Miami Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Kahn Obenauf prosecuted it.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about the Project Safe Childhood initiative and for information regarding Internet safety, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 21-cr-20259.

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MIAMI – A federal jury has convicted Marques Deon Jones, 41, of Orange County, of kidnapping, and two felon in possession of a firearm charges, after a three-day trial before U.S. District Court Senior Judge James I. Cohn, sitting in Fort Pierce.

On August 14, 2022, Jones pistol-whipped his girlfriend, an employee of a Port St. Lucie group home located near SE Walton Road and forced her to leave with him in her vehicle. A group home supervisor, who witnessed the kidnapping, notified Port St. Lucie Police Department, who was able to identify Jones.

The following day the U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force located Jones outside a private residence in Fort Pierce and arrested him. During the trial, witnesses testified that as task force officers approached Jones, he retrieved a firearm from a parked car and attempted to flee. The jury watched footage from a body worn camera showing Jones admitting that he retrieved the firearm because he wanted officers to shoot and kill him.

Jones is scheduled for sentencing on October 2 before U.S. District Court Senior Judge Cohn. He faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Christopher A. Robinson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, and U.S. Marshal Gadyaces S. Serralta of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), made the announcement.

ATF Fort Pierce Field Office and USMS investigated the case, with assistance from the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, Port St. Lucie Police Department, and the Fort Pierce Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Breezye Telfair and Justin Hoover are prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-cr-14069.

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MIAMI – Arashio Harris, 48, who was a Corrections Sergeant with the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department (“MDCRD”), has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with his fraudulent applications for two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, two Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDL”), and an EIDL advance. Harris entered his guilty plea in Miami, Florida, yesterday before Chief U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga.

According to the facts admitted at the change of plea, Harris, along with being a MDCRD Sergeant, also was the owner and President of The Good Family Property Solutions Inc. (“Good Family”) and Flying Lions LLC (“Flying Lions”). Working with an associate, on April 3, 2020, Harris submitted and caused to be submitted to the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) a false and fraudulent EIDL application in the name of Good Family, seeking both an EIDL and an EIDL advance. In this fraudulent application, Harris falsely claimed that for the 12-month period prior to January 31, 2020, Good Family had gross revenues of approximately $130,000 and nine employees. As a result of this fraudulent application, Good Family obtained from the SBA a $9,000 EIDL advance that did not need to be repaid and $14,500 in EIDL loan proceeds. Harris also admitted that on June 30, 2020, he submitted and caused to be submitted a false and fraudulent EIDL application to the SBA for Flying Lions, claiming that Flying Lions had gross revenues of over $480,000 and 10 employees during that same period of time. As a result of this fraudulent application, Flying Lions obtained approximately $150,000 in EIDL proceeds from the SBA.

Harris additionally admitted at the change of plea that with the assistance of the same individual, he fraudulently obtained two PPP loans in the name of Good Family. First, on July 9, 2020, Harris submitted and caused to be submitted a false and fraudulent PPP loan application falsely claiming that Good Family had 10 employees and a payroll of approximately $51,710 per month. In support of this application, Harris submitted a fraudulent 2019 IRS Form 1120 falsely claiming that Good Family had a total income of over $1,050,000 and had paid wages and salaries that year of over $768,000 and a fraudulent IRS Form 944 for 2019 showing over $620,500 in wage and salary payments. The application also included false IRS Form W-2’s and Good Family payroll records for these supposed employees, and as a result of this false and fraudulent application, Harris obtained a $129,275 PPP loan from an SBA-approved PPP lender. 

On February 26, 2021, Harris began the process of seeking a second-draw PPP loan for Good Family to fraudulently take advantage of the additional PPP relief being offered to businesses that suffered revenue losses in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The second-draw application once again relied on the false income and payroll numbers used to obtain the first PPP loan, and the application package included the same fraudulent 2019 IRS Form 1120, as well as a fraudulent 2019 IRS Form 940 claiming that Good Family paid its employees over $620,000 in 2019 and fabricated Good Family payroll records for those supposed employees. As a result of this second-draw application, Good Family obtained a second-draw PPP loan of $129,276 from a different SBA-approved PPP lender.  

Harris is scheduled for sentencing on October 27, at 12:30 p.m. before Chief U.S. District Judge Altonaga in Miami, Fla., where he faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, Inspector General Felix Jimenez of the Miami-Dade County Office of Inspector General (MDC-OIG), and SBA OIG’s Eastern Region Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA OIG), Investigations Division’s Eastern Region, announced the guilty plea.

The FBI’s Miami Area Corruption Task Force, which includes task force officers from the MDC-OIG, working in conjunction with IRS-CI Miami and SBA-OIG Investigations Division’s Eastern Region, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward N. Stamm is prosecuting the case.

In March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act was enacted. It was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other sources of relief, the CARES Act authorized and provided funding to the SBA to provide Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDLs”) to eligible small businesses, including sole proprietorships and independent contractors, experiencing substantial financial disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic to allow them to meet financial obligations and operating expenses that could otherwise have been met had the disaster not occurred.  EIDL applications were submitted directly to the SBA via the SBA’s on-line application website, and the applications were processed and the loans funded for qualifying applicants directly by the SBA.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

On September 15, 2022, the Attorney General selected the Southern District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to head one of three national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams. The Department of Justice established the Strike Force to enhance existing efforts to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please click here. 

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-cr-20295.

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MIAMI – Edel Perez Acanda, 40, of Miami, Florida, has pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government funds for his role in a kickback scheme involving contractor employees providing services for Amtrak.  

Earlier this year, two other defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their roles in the kickback scheme in case no. 22-cr-20559: Bryan De Castro Palomino, 34, of Plantation, Florida, and Jean Barbier, 35, of Hialeah, Florida.

De Castro Palomino, Barbier, and Perez Acanda were employees at a company that had a federal government contract with Amtrak. From 2018 to 2020, De Castro Palomino, who was the warehouse manager, inflated Perez Acanda and Barbier’s timecards to falsely reflect that Perez Acanda and Barbier worked hours that they did not work. In exchange, Perez Acanda and Barbier sent De Castro Palomino part of their paychecks. De Castro Palomino received $77,966 in exchange for his services to fraudulently edit Perez Acanda and Barbier’s timecards. De Castro Palomino admitted that he is responsible for $155,929 in restitution to Amtrak. Perez Acanda admitted that he is responsible for $81,114 in restitution to Amtrak. Barbier admitted that he is responsible for $74,414 in restitution to Amtrak.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Basil Demczak of the Amtrak Office of Inspector General Central Field Office made the announcement.

Amtrak OIG’s Miami Field Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Thompson prosecuted it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon is handling forfeiture.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-cr-20073.

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MIAMI – Yesterday, Johnny Matthew Battle Jr., 30, of Miami, Florida, was convicted at trial before U.S. District Court Judge Beth Bloom of dealing firearms without a license and possessing a machine gun. 

Battle operated an illegal firearm dealing business since at least 2017, selling guns without a background check to persons representing themselves as having been convicted of a felony or as drug dealers. Battle’s illegal business included selling “Glock Switch” machine gun conversion devices and accepting narcotics as payment for firearms. 

Law enforcement agents learned of Battle’s purchase and sale of firearms for profit and to support his criminal associates. In total, law enforcement agents have identified the purchase of at least 170 guns and have recovered many of them across the United States, including in New York City, Boston, and overseas. Battle also aided his criminal associates through acts that included a shooting at the home of his drug trafficker associates’ rival.

Sentencing has been scheduled for October 27. At sentencing, Battle faces up to 15 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Christopher A. Robinson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, and Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales of the Miami Police Department made the announcement.

ATF Miami Field Office and the Miami Police Department investigated the case, with assistance from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO), Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), the FBI, Miami Field Office, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hayden O’Byrne and Ignacio J. Vázquez Jr. prosecuted it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon is handling asset forfeiture.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Sample Images of Evidence Collected by Law Enforcement Agents

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-cr-20352.

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MIAMI – Today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Dairo Antonio Úsuga David, known by various aliases, including “Otoniel,” a citizen of Colombia, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dora L. Irizarry to 45 years’ imprisonment for engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise as a leader of the multibillion-dollar paramilitary and drug trafficking organization known as the “Clan del Golfo” (CDG). Úsuga David was also sentenced to 45 years’ imprisonment for engaging in a maritime narcotics conspiracy and 45 years’ imprisonment for engaging in a narcotics importation conspiracy. The sentences will run concurrently. As part of the sentence, the Court ordered Úsuga David to pay $216 million in forfeiture. The defendant pleaded guilty to all three charges in January 2023.

Markenzy Lapointe, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Merrick B. Garland, United States Attorney General, Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Anne Milgram, Administrator, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Ivan J. Arvelo, Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), Christie M. Curtis, Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Edward A. Caban, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), and Steven A. Nigrelli, Acting Superintendent, New York State Police (NYSP), announced the sentence.

“Today’s 45-year sentence of Clan de Golfo’s notoriously violent leader illustrates the United States’ tenacious approach to securing justice against those who threaten the security of our nation and communities,” stated United States Attorney Lapointe. “Cartel leaders like Úsuga David will be found, extradited, and prosecuted.”

“Otoniel led one of the largest cocaine trafficking organizations in the world, where he directed the exportation of massive amounts of cocaine to the United States and ordered the ruthless execution of Colombian law enforcement, military officials, and civilians,” stated Attorney General Garland. “This sentence sends a clear message: the Justice Department will find and hold accountable the leaders of deadly drug trafficking organizations that harm the American people, no matter where they are and no matter how long it takes.”

“The human misery caused by the defendant’s incredibly violent, vengeful, and bloody reign as leader of the Clan de Golfo drug trafficking organization may never be fully calculated due to its magnitude, but today’s lengthy sentence delivers appropriate justice and sends a message to other paramilitary and cartel leaders that the United States will seek their arrest and extradition in order to hold them accountable in our courts of law,” stated United States Attorney Peace.

Mr. Peace extended his appreciation to the United States Attorneys’ Offices for the Middle District of Florida and Eastern District of Texas, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS), Judicial Attachés in Bogotá, Colombia and Attorneys assigned at the Special Operations Division, the United States Marshals Service, the Port Authority Police Department, the Colombian Attorney General’s Office, the Colombian National Police, the Colombian Ministry of National Defense, the Colombian Ministry of Justice, and the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for assistance in the investigation, arrest, and extradition of the defendant.

“Today’s sentencing demonstrates DEA’s commitment to defeating deadly criminal networks who have no regard for human life,” stated DEA Administrator Milgram. “DEA investigated Otoniel – one of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers in the world – for almost 20 years. Under Otoniel’s leadership, the Clan de Golfo shipped massive quantities of cocaine into the United States, terrorized the Colombian people, and killed civilians, law enforcement officers, and rivals in Colombia who threatened the organization’s trafficking operations. I commend the men and women of the DEA for their many years of outstanding work that culminated in today’s sentencing.”

“Today’s sentencing of notorious Clan del Golfo leader Dairo Antonio Úsuga David is the culmination of years of collaborative efforts between HSI and our local, federal and international law enforcement partners,” stated HSI New York Special Agent-in-Charge Arvelo. “Criminals should take note of this sentencing and heed its warning; HSI remains committed to these joint efforts to disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations whose illicit activities threaten the national security of the United States and the safety of our communities.”

“When you consider the scale of Usuga David’s operations—a man with a private army who dared to place bounties on the heads of law enforcement and other government officials in Columbia–– you have to admire the tenacity and courage of team that brought him to justice, both in Columbia and the U.S.” stated NYPD Commissioner Caban. “The NYPD is proud to have played its part in the coordinated efforts of Columbian officials, the U.S. Department of Justice, the DEA, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the New York State Police.”

NYSP Acting Superintendent Nigrelli stated: “Today’s sentencing is the direct result of law enforcements dedication to stemming the tide of illegal drugs coming into our communities. This defendant smuggled tons of illegal drugs into our country and our state, putting lives in danger. We will continue to make it a priority to find, then dismantle these dangerous and deadly operations. I want to thank our members and our law enforcement partners for their work on this case and their commitment to stopping the flow of illegal drugs into our country.”

Between June 2003 and October 2021, Úsuga David was the leader of a continuing criminal enterprise responsible for exporting multi-ton shipments of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico and Central America for ultimate importation into the United States. Additionally, Úsuga David participated in conspiracies to distribute narcotics via maritime vessels and also to manufacture and distribute cocaine, knowing and intending that the narcotics would be illegally imported into the United States.

The Clan Del Golfo

Between 2012 and through his capture by Colombian military and law enforcement forces on October 23, 2021, Úsuga David was the leader of the CDG.

The CDG is one of the most violent and most powerful criminal organizations in Colombia, and it is one of the largest distributors of cocaine in the world. With as many as 6,000 members at times, the CDG exercises military control over vast amounts of territory in the Urabá region of Antioquia, Colombia, one of the most lucrative drug trafficking areas within Colombia due to its proximity to the Colombia-Panama border and the Caribbean and Pacific coasts. Clad in military uniforms, CDG members employ military tactics and weapons to reinforce their power and incite wars and violence against rival drug traffickers, paramilitary organizations, and Colombian law enforcement authorities who threaten the CDG’s control.

The CDG funds its operations primarily through a multi-billion-dollar drug trafficking operation. It imposes a “tax” on any drug traffickers operating in territory under its control, charging fees for every kilogram of cocaine manufactured, stored, or transported through areas controlled by the organization. The CDG also directly exports cocaine, and coordinates the production, purchase, and transfer of weekly and bi-weekly multi-ton shipments of cocaine from Colombia into Central America and Mexico for ultimate importation to the United States.

To maintain control over CDG territory, Úsuga David and the CDG employed an army of “sicarios,” or hitmen, who carried out acts of violence, including murders, assaults, kidnappings, torture, and assassinations against competitors and those deemed traitors to the organization, as well as their family members. The CDG murdered and assaulted Colombian law enforcement officers, Colombian military personnel, rival drug traffickers and paramilitaries, potential witnesses, and civilians. Úsuga David and the CDG used violence to promote and enhance the reputation and position of the CDG with respect to rival criminal organizations; preserve, protect, and expand the CDG’s power and territory; finance the CDG’s operations and enrich its leaders through the collection of drug debts; maintain discipline among its members and associates; and protect CDG members from arrest and prosecution by attempting to silence potential witnesses and retaliating against law enforcement authorities and those assisting law enforcement.

Úsuga David served as a high-ranking leader within the CDG from its inception and was its principal leader for approximately10 years. During his reign, Úsuga David oversaw all of the CDG’s activities and directed its members to engage in extensive criminal acts, including acts of violence, mandated shutdowns of all business activities and civilian movement within designated regions of Colombia, retaliation against law enforcement authorities and potential witnesses, the exertion of control over drug manufacturing facilities and trafficking routes, and the exportation of cocaine in multi-ton quantities.

Úsuga David assumed power and territorial control over vast swaths of the Colombian coastline and personally directed members of the CDG to commit acts of violence to reinforce that power. This included violence against civilians. For example, in early 2012, following the death of Úsuga David’s brother in a police raid, Úsuga David ordered a multi-day shutdown be imposed on towns and communities within the CDG’s control. During the strike, CDG members ordered that all businesses remain closed, and that residents stay in their homes. Úsuga David ordered CDG members to execute those who did not adhere to his orders.

Úsuga David also personally ordered CDG members to commit murders of specific individuals, including the murders of rival drug traffickers and members of the CDG who betrayed him or the organization. For example, Úsuga David ordered the assassinations of multiple individuals who worked for a rival drug trafficking organization.

In addition, Úsuga David regularly directed CDG members to use violence, intimidation, and murder to dissuade law enforcement authorities from performing their duties and to silence potential witnesses. For example, at Úsuga David’s direction, the CDG carried out organized campaigns, referred to as “Plan Pistolas,” to kill Colombian law enforcement and military personnel using military-grade weapons, including grenades, explosives, and assault rifles. Úsuga David offered bounties for the murder of Colombian police officers and military personnel to intimidate law enforcement authorities and prevent them from capturing him or interfering in the CDG’s business. Úsuga David’s organization made numerous attempts to assassinate individuals who were believed to be cooperating with law enforcement.

Úsuga David was also extensively involved in the narcotics activities that funded the CDG and enabled its power. He oversaw the CDG’s drug trafficking exports and directed a network of “debt collectors” tasked with the enforcement and collection of taxes paid by drug trafficking organizations that operated in regions controlled by the CDG. In addition, Úsuga David controlled cocaine manufacturing facilities and used the CDG’s extensive distribution network to export cocaine independently for his own personal profit.

Asset Forfeiture

As part of the sentence, the Court ordered Úsuga David to pay a $216 million forfeiture money judgment. The forfeiture money judgment is subject to the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Colombia concerning the Sharing of Forfeited Proceeds and Instrumentalities of Crime.

Assistant United States Attorney Robert Emery of the Southern District of Florida and Assistant United States Attorney Alexander Li of the Southern District of New York led the prosecutions for their respective offices. The government’s case is being handled by the Eastern District of New York’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Francisco J. Navarro, Gillian Kassner, and Tara B. McGrath are in charge of the prosecution. Claire S. Kedeshian of the Office’s Asset Recovery Section is handling forfeiture matters.

The investigation, extradition, and conviction of Úsuga David is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 15-cr-20403.

The Defendant:

DAIRO ANTONIO USUGA DAVID (also known as “Otoniel,” “Mao,” “Gallo” and “Mauricio-Gallo”)
Age: 51
Antioquia, Colombia

E.D.N.Y. Docket Nos. 14-CR-625 (S-4) (DLI)
                                       23-CR-021 (DLI)
                                       23-CR-027 (DLI)

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MIAMI – Craig Sherman, an 80-year-old retired lawyer pleaded guilty yesterday to two counts of federal wire fraud charges in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Sherman admitted that from 2013 through 2020, he defrauded friends and clients through an investment scheme. Sherman was an attorney in Boca Raton, Fla., who also worked as the town attorney for the Town of Bay Harbor Islands, Fla. Sherman solicited friends and clients to invest in real estate projects that were planned or in progress in the Town of Bay Harbor Islands. Sherman indicated that the investors would loan money for construction projects and would be paid between 6% to 8% interest annually for the loan. The principal would be returned later, usually when the construction project was completed. Instead of using the investment money to fund the construction projects–like he claimed he would—Sherman used it to pay for his personal expenses and to try to keep his law firm running. He also used investment money from some investors to cover payments due to other investors. The total fraud is close to $7 million.

The sentencing hearing will be scheduled later. Sherman faces up to 20 years in prison as to each count and will be ordered to pay restitution to the victims.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, announced the guilty plea.

FBI Miami, West Palm Beach Resident Agency investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laurence M. Bardfeld is prosecuting it.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-cr-80083.

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MIAMI – Adam Runsdorf and his companies, Florida-based drug wholesaler Woodfield Distribution, LLC and associated operations in Texas, surrendered their seven Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registrations and agreed to pay $2.475 million in civil fines to resolve violations of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). These CSA requirements are designed to prevent the diversion of controlled substances.

Beginning in 2013 through 2016, Woodfield Distribution’s Florida location violated multiple CSA provisions, and as a result entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the DEA to prevent future CSA violations. In 2018 and 2020, the DEA discovered additional CSA violations at Woodfield Distribution’s Florida and Texas locations. These CSA violations included: failure to account for over 120 million dosage units of controlled substances; failure to design and operate a system for monitoring suspicious orders; failure to notify the DEA of over 200,000 dosage units of stolen controlled substances; falsifying importation documents and the illegal importation of over 200 million dosage units of controlled substances; failure to properly store and secure controlled substances; lack of complete and accurate records; and failure to report controlled substance transactions and sales.

In August 2021, the DEA issued three Immediate Suspension Orders (ISO) for Woodfield Distribution’s Texas Distributor and Importer Registrations, as well as Manufacturer Registration for Woodfield Pharmaceuticals, LLC. The ISOs were issued for Woodfield’s failure to maintain effect controls and procedures against the theft and diversion of controlled substances and the imminent danger to public health and safety. ‘

In August 2022, a separate criminal investigation by DEA resulted in Adam Runsdorf and Woodfield Pharmaceuticals pleading guilty in the Eastern District of Texas to criminal charges of conspiracy, trafficking in counterfeit drugs, and money laundering conspiracy. According to the criminal indictment, from April 2014 until August 2021, Runsdorf, the owner and President of Woodfield Pharmaceutical based in Boca Raton, Florida, conspired with drug traffickers in Houston, Texas, to distribute misbranded and counterfeit cough syrup.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas, Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the DEA Miami Division, and Daniel Comeaux, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Houston Division announced the resolution.

The DEA Miami Field Division, West Palm Beach District Office; DEA Houston Division Office, and DEA Galveston Resident Office investigated this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Lavine from the Southern District of Florida and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Venezia from the Southern District of Texas handled the civil matter. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Ross, Jonathan Lee, and Robert Austin Wells from the Eastern District of Texas prosecuted the criminal case.

A copy of the agreement is available at the link below.

Agreement

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MIAMI – Rubio Ruben Sales aka Ruben Mendez-Sales, a Guatemalan national, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison for illegally re-entering the United States after deportation or removal.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents became aware of Sales as a result of his March 1, 2018, arrest for five counts of sexual battery on a victim 12-17 years of age. ICE agents placed a detainer on Sales. After Sales was sentenced to 35.5 years in state prison for the sexual battery offenses, he was brought to federal court to face charges for illegally re-entering the United States after having been previously deported in October 2012. In addition to the sexual battery convictions, Sales has prior convictions for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and felony death by vehicle.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Acting Field Office Director Liana J. Castano of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), announced the sentence imposed by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth A. Marra.

ICE ERO investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rinku Tribuiani prosecuted it.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-cr-80204.

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