Southern District of Florida

Miami, Florida – A federal district judge in Miami has sentenced Jonathan Guerra Blanco, a/k/a “Abu Zahra Al-Andalusi,” a Cuban-born naturalized United States citizen, to 16 years’ imprisonment and a lifetime of supervised release for attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization. 

In 2019, law enforcement officers learned that Guerra Blanco was following widely distributed instructions from ISIS directing adherents to -- on their own -- publish ISIS propaganda, fundraising requests, recruitment material, justification for attacks on the United States, and all manner of material helpful to ISIS.  Guerra Blanco attempted to provide material support to ISIS by translating the group’s materials into Spanish for his target audience.  In addition, Guerra Blanco produced videos that he intended to use to recruit Spanish speakers to ISIS’s cause, as well as to terrorize regular citizens of Spain.  Many of the videos that Guerra Blanco produced and distributed from his two ISIS media networks glorified the terrorist group’s violence and called for attacks on Spanish authorities.

On December 22, 2020, Guerra Blanco pled guilty to a one-count information charging him with attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, ISIS, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339B.  U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr. imposed Guerra Blanco’s sentence.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, made the announcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Gilbert and National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section Trial Attorney Kevin Nunnally 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 20-cr-20245.

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Miami, Florida – A federal district judge has sentenced the last of four defendants involved in a mail and wire fraud scheme aimed at defrauding investors.

Miami-Dade County resident Jason Ganton, 50, was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison.  In December 2021, co-defendant, Mason Newman, 52, was sentenced to 38 months in prison; co-defendant, James Cleary, 50, was sentenced to 33 months in prison; and co-defendant, Kevin Cardenas, 34, was sentenced to 24 months.

NIT Enterprises was a Palm Beach Gardens company that falsely marketed itself as being on the cusp of developing and producing radiation protective materials using an innovative technology.  Ganton, Newman, Cleary and Cardenas who were not licensed securities sales agents, admitted to lying to investors by telling them that NIT was on the verge of making an initial public offering of stock.  This created a false expectation that investors would double or triple their investments in a short amount of time.  In fact, there was no IPO on the horizon for NIT.  Ganton, Newman, Cleary and Cardenas admitted that they reached most of their victims through cold calls and that they personally profited from the investor funds. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, and Russell C. Weigel, III of the Office of Financial Regulation, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon.

FBI Miami and the Office of Financial Regulation investigated this case.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lothrop Morris.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove 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 20-cr-80095.

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Miami, Florida – Today, a federal district judge in Fort Lauderdale sentenced Luke Pierre Jr., 36, of Port St. Lucie, Florida to 24 months’ imprisonment for fraudulently obtaining over $400,000 from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a program funded under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide small businesses with financial relief during the Covid-19 pandemic.  In addition, Pierre must pay close to $415,000 in restitution.

Pierre submitted a PPP loan application on behalf of his company, Most Wanted Bullyz LLC (“MWB”), a dog breeding business, in which he falsely represented that MWB had 21 employees and an average monthly payroll of $165,870.  In reality, MWB had no employees and no monthly employee payroll.  Pierre gave a large portion of the fraudulent loan proceeds he received to co-conspirators who helped obtain the loan, including one such payment of over $100,000 that was disguised in bank records as “stud fees.”  

Pierre previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas imposed Pierre’s sentence.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Kenneth A. Polite Jr., Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, announced the sentence.

FBI Miami investigated this case.  IRS-Criminal Investigation, Miami Field Office assisted.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Snider and Trial Attorney Philip Trout of the Fraud Section of the Department of Justice prosecuted the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans who suffered financially from the COVID-19 pandemic.  One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of hundreds of billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

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.

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 21-cr-60288.

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Miami, Florida – A 55-year-old resident of Jersey City, New Jersey, made his initial appearance before a federal magistrate judge in Key West, Florida to face money laundering charges.

According to the indictment, from about February to April 2020, in Monroe County, Florida, Naby Toure conspired with others to launder the proceeds of illegal activity: wire fraud.  In addition to conspiracy, the indictment charges that Toure committed money laundering on March 31, 2020, when he deposited a $18,600 check into a bank account and on April 2, 2020, when he deposited a $17,000 check into a different bank account.

If convicted, Toure faces up to 10 years in federal prison, if convicted.  Toure’s trial is set for February 28, before U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman.  

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, made the announcement.

FBI Miami Key West Resident Agency investigated the case with the assistance of the Key West Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Yisel Valdes and Lindsey Lazopoulos Friedman are prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Brown is handling asset forfeiture.

An indictment contains mere allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt 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 21-cr-10015.

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Miami, Florida – Today, a federal district judge in West Palm Beach sentenced a 47-year-old man from Stuart, Florida to 447 months in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for producing child pornography, possessing child pornography, and committing a felony offense involving a minor while being required to register as a sex offender.

Gernard Clark, Sr. first came to the attention of law enforcement after a minor reported to a school resource officer that Clark had sexually battered her.  Law enforcement investigated and discovered on the SD card of Clark’s cellular telephone more than 500 sexually explicit images and more than 40 sexually explicit videos of the minor female taken when she was between 14 and 15 years old.  Clark was previously convicted of Lewd and Lascivious Indecent Act with a Child Under 16 Years of Age in the 19th Judicial Circuit of the State of Florida, Martin County and, as a result, was required to register as a sex offender.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami Field Office, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg.

FBI Miami -- in particular, FBI Miami’s Child Exploitation Task Force -- investigated this case, with the assistance of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey Bergstrom is prosecuting 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.

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-14015.

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Miami, Florida – Today, a federal district judge in Fort Lauderdale sentenced 29-year-old Damara Holness to 20 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for lying on a coronavirus relief loan application and fraudulently obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars intended to help small businesses financially survive the Covid-19 pandemic.  In addition, Holness must pay $300,000 in restitution.

In 2020, Holness applied for a $300,000 forgivable, federally-guaranteed Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan on behalf of Holness Consulting, Inc., a Florida company that she owned.  Holness claimed in the on-line loan application, and through supporting fraudulent payroll tax forms, that her company employed 18 people and spent an average of $120,000 each month on payroll, neither of which was true.  A bank in Georgia approved Holness Consulting’s PPP loan application based on the lies and wired $300,000 to the company’s bank account in Florida.   

Once the money hit the bank account, Holness checks from the company bank account made out to others who agreed, for a fee, to help with the fraud.  People receiving the checks would endorse and return them to Holness.  Then, Holness would cash the checks at the company’s bank, give about $300 to the check endorser and keep the rest of the cash for herself – about $1,000 per check.   

Damara Holness is a former president of the Broward County Democratic Black Caucus.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz, II. 

FBI Miami investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Kaplan prosecuted it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Stone is handling asset forfeiture. 

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans who suffered financially from the COVID-19 pandemic.  One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of hundreds of billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

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.

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 21-cr-60229.  

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Miami, Florida -- Miami federal prosecutors have charged the owner of a South Florida federally licensed gun shop, along with another of the shop’s operators, with various federal firearms crimes relating to illegal cash sales of unregistered machine guns, silencers, and other devices.

Defendant Manuel Reguiera, 50, owns Miami Gun Shops, Inc, a federally licensed firearms store, and operates it with Defendant Anderson Rabel, 38.  According to the criminal complaint affidavit, on different dates from November 2021 to January 2022, defendants stored, sold and, in some cases, assembled fully automatic short-barreled rifles, AR-style pistols, and silencers. None of the rifles, pistols, or silencers had serial numbers, the weapons were all sold for cash, and code words were used when speaking about the illegal firearms over the telephone, says the affidavit.  It is alleged that in connection with these weapons sales, Reguiera and Rabel failed to complete federally required paperwork, failed to initiate background checks on the buyer, and even failed to check the buyer’s identification, all of which federal law requires.

The criminal complaint affidavit also alleges that Reguiera sold “switch” devices.  When installed, a switch allows a firearm to expel more than one bullet by a single pull of the trigger, turning the weapon into a fully automatic machine gun.

Reguiera and Rabel made their initial federal court appearances today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisette Reid, who sits in  Miami.  Reguiera and Rabel are each charged with possession of an unregistered firearm; unlawful transfer of a firearm; and conspiring to do the following: possession of an unregistered firearm, unlawful transfer of a firearm, failure to keep proper records as required by federal laws, and failure to conduct required background checks. They each face up to ten years’ imprisonment, if convicted.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Christopher Robinson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division; Marshal Gadyaces S. Serralta,  U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Florida; Manuel A. Morales, Interim Chief of Police, City of Miami Police Department; Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez III, Director, Miami Dade Police Department (MDPD); and George Fuente, Acting Chief of Police, Hialeah Police Department announced the charges.

ATF Miami, SDFL U.S. Marshals Service, City of Miami PD, Miami-Dade PD, and City of Hialeah PD investigated the case.  A City of Miami Police Department Gang Intelligence Unit led to the investigation and arrests being announced today.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Karla Albite is prosecuting the case.

This case stems from Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  In 2017, PSN was reinvigorated as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The case is also part of the Miami-Dade Chiefs of Police Operation Community Shield Initiative.

A criminal complaint contains mere allegations.  Defendants are innocent unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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-mj-02120.

Click here for a picture of the AR-style pistols.

Click here for a picture of the short-barreled rifles.

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Miami, Florida – This week, 58-year-old Leslie Lee Gross, pled guilty in federal court in Fort Pierce to possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon.

As part of his guilty plea, Leslie Lee Gross admitted that on July 5, 2020, he sold a Smith & Wesson, Model M&P40, .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol and two loaded .40 caliber magazines. Gross admitted he had discussed the time he spent in prison with the buyer and told the buyer that he was a member of the Aryan Brotherhood, a neo-Nazi prison gang.  Gross also admitted that when he sold the firearm, he was an active member of the United Skinhead Nation, which is known as a racist skinhead hate group with chapters in Florida and Tennessee.  Gross claimed he had to get guns on the street because he was unable to legally purchase firearms due to his criminal history.  

U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon will sentence Gross in Fort Pierce on April 7, at 10:45 a.m.   Gross faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, made the announcement.

FBI Miami investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Porter 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 21-cr-14024.

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Miami, Florida – Honduran national Fredy Donaldo Marmol Vallejo, 40, pled guilty yesterday in federal court in Miami to one count of conspiring to distribute cocaine, with the intent to import it into the United States.

In October 2021, Marmol was extradited from Honduras to the United States to face charges in the Southern District of Florida.  Marmol’s sentencing hearing is set for April 12, at 10:00 a.m., in Miami, before U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks.

U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of FBI Miami, and Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Field Office made the announcement. 

FBI Miami and DEA Miami investigated this case, with assistance from Customs and Border Protection, Miami.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Hernandez and Walter Norkin are prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Paster is handling asset forfeiture.

This prosecution is a result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, and other priority transnational criminal organizations that threaten the citizens of the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence driven, multi-agency approach to combat transnational organized crime.  The OCDETF program facilitates complex, joint operations by focusing its partner agencies on priority targets, by managing and coordinating multi-agency efforts, and by leveraging intelligence across multiple investigative platforms.

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-20277. 

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Miami, Florida – A Palm Beach County, Florida man has pleaded guilty to his role in a multi-million-dollar conspiracy to defraud Tricare and CHAMPVA through a South Florida compounding pharmacy fraud scheme.

As part of his guilty plea, 58-year-old Matthew Smith admitted his role in fraudulently billing Tricare and CHAMPVA for expensive, medically unnecessary compound drugs from a Broward pharmacy. Tricare and CHAMPVA are the health care benefit programs for the United States Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs.  In furtherance of the scheme, Smith—then executive vice-president of the pharmacy—and his co-conspirators paid approximately $40 million in kickbacks to patients, patient recruiters and doctors in exchange for their ordering expensive pain creams, scar creams and vitamins without regard to the beneficiaries’ actual medical needs.  The drugs were formulated to maximize profit without legitimate therapeutic value.  The reimbursement rates sometimes reached $15,000 for a one-month supply.  In addition, the pharmacy did not charge beneficiaries the mandatory copayments, something that the co-conspirators concealed.  The fraudulent billings caused a loss to the programs of approximately $88 million.

Smith pled guilty to one count of conspiring to commit health care fraud.  Sentencing is scheduled for April 5, at 3:00 p.m., in Miami, before U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman. Smith faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Cynthia A. Bruce, Department of Defense Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office; Special Agent in Charge David Spilker, Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG), Southeast Field Office; Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI Miami; and Special Agent in Charge Justin C. Fielder, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations’ Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

“Fraudsters steal exorbitant amounts of money from our government health programs through prescription medication fraud schemes,” said U.S. Attorney Gonzalez. “Those who use kickback payments and fraudulent billing activities to defraud vital public programs will be held accountable.”

“Compounding pharmacy fraud bilked the Defense Health Agency of over a billion dollars and exploited not only the military, but all citizens,” said DCIS Special Agent in Charge Bruce.  “I thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our investigative team for their tireless effort to untangle this web of crime, trace the assets, and hold these individuals accountable.”

“The defendant pleaded guilty for his abhorrent conduct in defrauding multiple federal healthcare programs meant to benefit deserving veterans and their families,” said Special Agent in Charge David Spilker of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Southeast Field Office. “The VA OIG is committed to continuing its work with our law enforcement partners to ensure the integrity of VA’s healthcare and benefit programs.”

“Illegal kickbacks undermined the integrity of the Tricare health benefit program by putting profits in front of patient welfare,” said George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami. “The investigators who unraveled this scam are to be commended for their diligence and commitment.  The FBI and our partners will continue to pursue those individuals who pay kickbacks and fraudulently bill for medical services that are not necessary.”

“Criminals whose schemes cause medically unnecessary prescription drugs to be sent to consumers could put the public health at risk,” said Special Agent in Charge Justin C. Fielder, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations’ Miami Field Office. “We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who place profits above public health.”

The DCIS, VA-OIG, FBI, and the FDA, investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Juenger prosecuted the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove is handling the asset forfeiture component of 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.

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Miami, Florida – A federal district judge in Miami has sentenced a 50-year-old Canadian man to six months in U.S. federal prison for assaulting an American Airlines flight attendant.

On August 6, 2021, Enio Socorro Zayas was flying on American Airlines flight #1723 from Cancun, Mexico to Miami International Airport.  During the flight, an attendant was serving refreshments to passengers and left snacks on Zayas’ lap because she believed Zayas was asleep.  Zayas then reached around his side, intentionally grabbed the flight attendant on the back of the leg, and moved his hand up to her buttocks, all without the flight attendant’s consent.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, and Vernon T. Foret, Director of Field Operation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Miami and Tampa Field Office, announced the sentence, which Senior U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck imposed.

FBI Miami and CBP Miami and Tampa Field Office investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter A. Laserna 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 21-cr-20435-PCH.

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Miami, Florida – A 17-count indictment was unsealed in federal court in Miami, Florida charging Paul E. Vernon, 48, the founder, operator, and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Project Investors Inc., doing business as Cryptsy, with criminal violations for his involvement in a sophisticated theft scheme involving his cryptocurrency exchange.  The charges include tax evasion, wire fraud, money laundering, computer fraud, tampering with records, documents, and other objects, and destruction of records in a federal investigation.

According to the Indictment, Paul E. Vernon solicited and caused cryptocurrency investors to trust the safety of Cryptsy, an online cryptocurrency exchange company, for storing and trading their virtual currency. Vernon exercised control over cryptocurrencies deposited on the Cryptsy website.  Between May 2013 through May 2015, Vernon used his control over Cryptsy’s accounts, known as wallets, to steal over one million dollars from Cryptsy’s cryptocurrency wallets.  Once Vernon stole his customers' funds from Cryptsy’s wallets, he deposited the funds into a personal cryptocurrency wallet and then transferred the same funds into his personal bank account.  At no time during this time period did Vernon disclose this theft of his customers’ funds from his customers’ Cryptsy wallets. 

On about July 29, 2014, Vernon informed Cryptsy employees that Cryptsy had been hacked by an unidentified party, and that the hacker had stolen more than five million dollars’ worth of bitcoins and other cryptocurrency from Cryptsy. For six months following this disclosure to his employees, Vernon continued to operate Cryptsy, including soliciting new customers, without disclosing to his customers that the website's security had been compromised.  In or around November of 2015, Vernon abruptly moved to China and, shortly thereafter, publicly reported to Cryptsy customers the 2014 hack of the Cryptsy wallets and loss of bitcoins and other cryptocurrency.  In April 2016, after being notified that Cryptsy was in receivership, Vernon hacked into Cryptsy servers from a remote location, stole Cryptsy’s database containing customers’ funds, and destroyed the customer database to conceal his illicit activity.

The Indictment further alleges that Vernon attempted to evade his federal income tax obligations for 2014 and 2015.  In each of 2014 and 2015, Vernon caused to be filed false and fraudulent U.S. individual income tax returns in which he underreported the tax due and owing to the United States.  Based on his actual taxable income in 2014 and 2015, Vernon’s tax due and owing to the United States was substantially more in each of these years than the amounts reported to the United States.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Matthew D. Line, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the IRS-CI and FBI’s Miami Field Office, with assistance from the United States Secret Service’s Miami Field Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Brooke Watson is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.

Charges contained in an indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If you were a Cryptsy.com customer and would like to file a complaint, please visit www.IC3.gov. Please reference “Cryptsy” in your complaint.

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-20509.

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Miami, Florida – Jesus Gabriel Rodriguez, Jr., 45, former CEO of Transvalue, a South Florida company that transported gold, cash, and other valuables by armored truck, pled guilty yesterday to submitting false customs documents that hid the true origin of gold being imported into Miami as part of a $140 million transnational illicit gold smuggling operation.

As part of his guilty plea, Rodriguez admitted that he facilitated the importation of thousands of kilograms of gold being flown into the United States from Curacao, knowing that the customs paperwork falsely represented the gold’s origins.  Rodriguez’s co-conspirators were buyers who earned volume-based commissions by procuring gold for NTR Metals (now, Elemetals LLC).  NTR Metals was a U.S. precious metals refinery with policies in place to combat money laundering, including not buying gold from Curacao, a country with no gold mines that is commonly used as waypoint for gold illegally mined in, and smuggled out of, other countries.  Rodriguez helped co-conspirators dodge NTR Metals’ anti-money laundering policy and get the gold past U.S. Customs by working to conceal the gold’s origins and connections to Curacao.   

Rodriguez agreed to forfeit $267,817 dollars as part of his guilty plea, an amount that represents the estimated increase in value to the business as a result of Rodriguez’s conduct and almost all of his personal earnings from the scheme.

Rodriguez is scheduled for sentencing on April 4, at 11:00 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles, who sits in Miami.  He faces up to 24 months in federal prison.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami; Matthew D. Line, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Office; and Anthony Salisbury, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Filed Office, announced the guilty plea of Rodriguez.

“Complex money laundering schemes involve key players at every stage of the process,” said U.S. Attorney Gonzalez. “Corporate executives who facilitate money laundering while purportedly importing lawful goods at the transport and U.S. Customs stages do not get to hide behind their status as otherwise legitimate business owners. Like everyone else participating in these illegal schemes, they will be prosecuted.”

“Criminals are using increasingly more sophisticated means to hide the proceeds of their illegal activity.  Called money laundering, this is the process used by crooks to turn “dirty” money into “clean” money in an attempt to hide or accumulate wealth, avoid prosecution, evade taxes, increase profits, or fund further criminal activity,” said FBI Miami Special Agent in Charge Piro.  “It is a crime.  Our agents and forensic accountants will target and doggedly pursue those who launder money or assist those who do – including corporate executives like Mr. Rodriguez.”

“We will not stand for those who conceal themselves amongst legitimate businesses while defrauding others for monetary gain. Those involved in circumventing the laws in any capacity to launder illicit proceeds will be exposed and prosecuted,” said IRS-CI Miami Special Agent in Charge Line.

“Homeland Security Investigations will utilize its expertise to pursue anyone who facilitates the laundering of illicit proceeds”, said HSI Miami Special Agent in Charge Salisbury. “HSI is committed to working with our federal partners to stop individuals who attempt to take advantage of our financial and international trade institutions in support of their money laundering activities.

This prosecution and the related cases are part of Operation Arch Stanton, which is a result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, and other priority transnational criminal organizations that threaten the citizens of the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence driven, multi-agency approach to combat transnational organized crime.  The OCDETF program facilitates complex, joint operations by focusing its partner agencies on priority targets, by managing and coordinating multi-agency efforts, and by leveraging intelligence across multiple investigative platforms.

FBI Miami, IRS-CI Miami, and HSI Miami investigated the case, with assistance from DEA-Miami and law enforcement partners in Curacao. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Walter M. Norkin and Andrea Goldbarg.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Klco is handling the asset forfeiture aspects of this matter.

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-20529-DPG.

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Miami, Florida – Broward County resident Palacio Valdes Farley pled guilty in federal court in Miami to conspiring to traffic marijuana, eutylone, and MDMA, as well as conspiring to launder proceeds of the illegal drug activity.

As part of his plea, Farley admitted that from about 2016 to 2019, he organized and led a six-member South Florida drug-trafficking organization (“DTO”).  The DTO obtained marijuana from co-conspirators in California, and MDMA from a South Florida co-conspirator, then distributed the drugs in Florida.  Farley also admitted that on August 3, 2019, while he was serving a prison sentence at Jackson Correctional Institute in Jackson County, Florida, another member of the DTO was arrested while attempting to smuggle marijuana, eutylone, and MDMA into the prison.  The plan was for Farley to distribute the drugs to inmates.  As to money laundering, Farley admitted that he conspired with members of the DTO and others to conduct financial transactions intended to disguise the origins of the drug trafficking proceeds.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

The FBI investigated this case, with assistance from Florida Department of Corrections, Office of Inspector General; Broward Sheriff's Office; Fort Lauderdale Police Department; Lauderhill Police Department; and United States Secret Service.  Assistant United States Attorneys Dwayne E. Williams and Dayron Silverio are prosecuting the case.  Assistant United States Attorney Annika Miranda is handling asset forfeiture.

United States District Judge Kathleen M. Williams set Farley’s sentencing hearing for March 31, 2022.  Farley faces up to 40 years’ imprisonment.

This prosecution is a result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, and other priority transnational criminal organizations that threaten the citizens of the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence driven, multi-agency approach to combat transnational organized crime.  The OCDETF program facilitates complex, joint operations by focusing its partner agencies on priority targets, by managing and coordinating multi-agency efforts, and by leveraging intelligence across multiple investigative platforms.

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 number 19-cr-20667-Williams.

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Miami, Florida – Today, German Nino, a former UBS Financial Advisor, made his initial appearance in federal court in Miami to face charges of defrauding over $5 million from a family who maintained several accounts at UBS.   

According to a federal information, from about 2012, and continuing to 2020, Nino, a resident of Broward County, was a financial advisor working at a branch office of UBS Financial Services Inc. in Miami.  Nino oversaw and managed UBS investment accounts for various customers, including three victims who were related and who had various investment accounts at UBS.  Nino was the financial advisor assigned to oversee and manage the victims’ money in the accounts.

It is alleged that from about May 2014 to February 2020, Nino made a total of 62 unauthorized transfers from three UBS accounts belonging to the victims, which totaled $5,833,218.59.  To accomplish the wire fraud scheme, Nino made materially false and fraudulent statements to his victims and concealed and omitted material facts including misrepresenting the true performance, balance, and rate of return of the accounts he managed; forging the signature of his clients on documents purporting to authorize transfers out of the accounts; preparing a fraudulent land purchase contract and forging a victim’s signature on the land purchase contract to make it appear that the victim was purchasing land in Colombia by using money from the victim’s account; removing one of the victim’s email from the victim’s UBS email account profile so that the victim would not receive email notifications from UBS about unauthorized transfers; and preparing fraudulent UBS account statements and client review statements, which falsely inflated the balance and value of the victims’ accounts, says the information.  

Nino made his initial appearance in federal magistrate court in Miami before United States Magistrate Lisette M. Reid.    

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, made the announcement.

FBI Miami investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Deric Zacca is prosecuting it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Stone is handling asset forfeiture.

An information contains mere allegations and 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 22-cr-20020.

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Miami, Florida – Today, 60-year-old Paul Vernon Hoeffer pled guilty in federal court in Ft. Pierce to making threatening phone calls to two members of Congress and a district attorney.

As part of the plea, Hoeffer admitted that in March 2019, he called a Congresswoman in Washington, D.C. and threatened to come a “long, long, way” to rattle her head with bullets and cut her head off.  On the same day, Hoeffer also called a district attorney in the State of Illinois, telling her bullets were going to “rattle her brain.”  Again, in November of 2020, Hoeffer called another Congresswoman, this time in New York.  During this call, he threatened that he would “rip her head off,” and told her to sleep with one eye open.

U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon will sentence Hoeffer on April 1, at 11:00 a.m., in Ft. Pierce.  Hoeffer faces up to 15 years in federal prison.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, made the announcement.

FBI Miami investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Luisa Honora Berti 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 21-cr-14042.

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Miami, Florida – A federal district judge in Fort Lauderdale has sentenced three South Florida residents to prison terms for their roles in a conspiracy to defraud the State of Michigan of more than $250,000 in unemployment insurance benefits.

Mervin Mompremier, 29, of Fort Lauderdale, and Sean Damine Ackeem Jermaine Brown, 35, of Fort Lauderdale, were sentenced on January 19, to terms of imprisonment of 65 months and 16 months, respectively.  Robert G. Jean-Baptiste, 32, of Plantation, was sentenced on December 7, 2021, to a term of 21 months’ imprisonment.  The sentences include joint and several restitution in the amount of $269,720.70 and forfeiture. 

According to court documents, the defendants carried out the conspiracy by using personally identifiable information (PII) of approximately 200 individuals to electronically file false and fraudulent unemployment insurance claims with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (MI-DLEO).  The defendants opened bank accounts to receive the proceeds of the fraudulent unemployment insurance claims, directed payment to those accounts, and withdrew such proceeds in cash using automated teller machines located throughout South Florida.

The defendants previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Mompremier also pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft. United States District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas imposed the sentence.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Mathew Broadhurst, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Atlanta Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG), made the announcement. 

DOL-OIG investigated this case, with assistance from MI-DLEO.  Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Snider prosecuted the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabrielle Charest-Turken 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 21-cr-60215.

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A dual Haitian-Chilean citizen was arrested yesterday based on criminal charges related to his alleged involvement in the assassination of the former President of Haiti, Jovenel Moise, on July 7, 2021.

Rodolphe Jaar, 49, is charged with conspiring to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States and providing material support resulting in death, knowing or intending that such material support would be used to prepare for or carry out the conspiracy to kill or kidnap. Jaar is the second individual to be charged and arrested in the United States for his role in the assassination plot.

As alleged in the complaint, which was unsealed yesterday, the defendant and others — including a group of approximately 20 Colombian citizens and a number of dual Haitian-American citizens — participated in a plot to kidnap or kill the Haitian President. In particular, as alleged, Jaar was present when another conspirator (“Co-conspirator #1”) secured the signature of a former Haitian judge on a written request for assistance to further the arrest and imprisonment of President Moise. According to the complaint, on June 28, 2021, Co-conspirator #1, a dual Haitian-American citizen traveled from Haiti to the United States in furtherance of the conspiracy and provided other individuals with the document, and flew from Florida back to Haiti on July 1, 2021, to participate in the operation against the president.

As alleged in the complaint, while the plot initially focused on conducting a kidnapping of the Haitian President as part of a purported arrest operation, it ultimately resulted in a plot to kill the president. The complaint alleges that on July 7, 2021, various co-conspirators entered President Moise’s residence in Haiti with the intent and purpose of killing him, and in fact the president was killed.

As alleged in the complaint, Jaar was responsible for providing weapons to the Colombian co-conspirators to facilitate carrying out the operation; several of the Colombian co-conspirators also stayed at a residence controlled by Jaar. After the assassination, Jaar allegedly communicated with Co-conspirator #1 and others to assist the Colombians and Co-conspirator #1 while they were in hiding from Haitian authorities.

Co-conspirator #1 was subsequently arrested by Haitian authorities and remains in custody in Haiti. Jaar was arrested in the Dominican Republic and agreed to travel to the United States. He is currently in custody and will appear at 1:30 p.m. ET today in Miami before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lauren Louisin of the Southern District of Florida for his initial appearance.

If convicted of the charges in the complaint, Jaar faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami Office made the announcement.

The FBI and HSI are investigating the case with other law enforcement partners.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Goldbarg and Walter Norkin for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case, with assistance from National Security Division Trial Attorneys Frank Russo, Jessica Fender and Emma Ellenrieder. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance. Dominican authorities provided significant assistance in securing the return of Jaar to the United States.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

A federal judge sentenced a Florida man to 30 months in prison today in connection with his participation in a conspiracy to falsify clinical drug trial data. 

U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola Jr. of the Southern District of Florida entered the sentence against Duniel Tejeda, 35, of Clewiston. The court also ordered Tejeda to pay $2.1 million in restitution.

According to court documents, Tejeda worked as a project manager and study manager for a clinical research firm based in Miami called Tellus Clinical Research. As part of his plea agreement, Tejeda admitted that he agreed with others to falsify data in medical records in connection with clinical trials intended to evaluate various medical conditions, including opioid dependency, irritable bowel syndrome and diabetic nephropathy. Among other things, Tejeda falsified data to make it appear as though subjects were participating in the trials when, in truth, they were not.

“Clinical trials help ensure that new drugs are safe and effective for the public,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Falsifying clinical trial data undermines a critical component of the drug approval process. The Department of Justice will continue to work with our partners at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate and prosecute anyone who puts personal profit over public health by falsifying clinical trial data.”

“Reliable and accurate data from clinical trials is the cornerstone of FDA’s evaluation of a new drug,” said Assistant Commissioner Catherine A. Hermsen for the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI). “Compromised clinical trial data could impact the agency’s decisions about the safety and effectiveness of the drug under review. We will continue to monitor, investigate and bring to justice those whose actions may subvert the FDA approval process and endanger the public health.”

FDA OCI is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Lauren M. Elfner, Joshua D. Rothman and Matthew M. Ryan of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida has provided critical assistance.

Miami, Florida – U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez has sentenced 29-year-old Samuel Baptiste to 15 years in federal prison for attempting to materially support terrorism.  The judge ordered that the sentence run consecutive to the 80-month sentence that Baptiste is currently serving for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, in November 2016, Baptiste provided information on constructing explosive devices to persons he believed were acting on behalf of ISIS.  He shared the information by posting it on internet links and portions of a munitions manual.    

On October 22, 2021, Baptiste admitted his conduct and pled guilty to violating 18 U.S.C. 2339A.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, announced the sentence.

FBI Miami investigated the case.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marc S. Anton and Michael Thakur.

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. 18-cr-20613.

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Miami, Florida – A 27-year-old Georgia man who redirected the benefits of veterans and Social Security Administration beneficiaries to accounts that his co-conspirators set up and controlled has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. The defendant was also ordered to pay more than $1.3 million in restitution to his victims.

Defendant Jamare Mason was a member of a conspiracy that obtained the personal information (including names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers) of disabled veterans and Social Security beneficiaries.  The conspirators used this information to fraudulently open bank accounts and prepaid debit cards in the victims’ names.  They also forged documents in the victims’ names that directed the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Social Security Administration to deposit benefit payments into those fraudulent accounts, instead of the victims’ legitimate bank accounts.

Mason, together with other co-conspirators, withdrew these funds from ATMs and banks throughout South Florida and Georgia for their own personal use.  Much of the funds were ultimately funneled to the architects of the scheme in Jamaica. 

Over the course of five years, from 2012 to 2017, members of the conspiracy attempted to redirect over $1.8 million in benefits from more than a hundred disabled veterans and Social Security beneficiaries.  Although several of these attempts were blocked, the defendants’ scheme resulted in the actual loss of over $1 million, money that was diverted from disabled veterans and Social Security beneficiaries.  In each instance, the federal government reimbursed these victims for the full amounts of their stolen benefits.

In November 2021, Mason pled guilty to conspiring to commit bank and wire fraud.  U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal, who sits in Ft. Lauderdale, imposed Mason’s sentence.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Juan Antonio Gonzalez; Special Agent in Charge David Spilker of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General’s (VA-OIG) Southeast Field; Special Agent in Charge Rodregas W. Owens, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General (SSA-OIG); and Inspector in Charge Tommy D. Coke, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Atlanta Division made the announcement.

U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez commended the investigative efforts of the Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force, including our partners at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of the Inspector General, United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lois Foster-Steers and Sajjad Matin.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Annika Miranda is handling asset forfeiture.

Combatting elder abuse and financial fraud targeted at seniors is a key priority of the Department of Justice.  The mission of the Department’s Elder Justice Initiative is to support and coordinate the Department’s enforcement and programmatic efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect and financial fraud and scams that target our nation’s seniors.  To learn more visit https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice.  The public is encouraged to report their victimization and suspected fraud schemes.  To find the right reporting agency visit https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/roadmap or call the victim connect hotline at 1-855-484-2846.

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-60313.

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Miami, Florida — A federal district judge has sentenced two Florida residents for conspiring to and illegally attempting to export controlled items to Libya.

Peter Sotis, 57, of Delray Beach and Emilie Voissem, 45, of Sunrise were convicted in October 2021, following a one-week jury trial in Miami.  Sotis was sentenced to 57 months in prison and Voissem was sentenced to a split sentence of five months in prison and five months of home confinement.

The defendants were involved in a scheme that caused the illegal export of rebreather diving equipment to Libya in August 2016.  Rebreathers enable a diver to operate undetected for long periods of time underwater by producing little to no bubbles and by efficiently re-circulating the diver’s own breath after replacing its carbon dioxide with oxygen.  Because of these enhanced capabilities, rebreathers have a dual use, with both civilian and military applications, and are specifically included on the Commerce Control List, which is the list of dual use items that are export controlled and licensed by the U.S. Department of Commerce.  Such restricted items require a Commerce Department license if the rebreathers are to be exported to any countries with national security concerns, such as Libya.

Sotis was the 80% owner of Add Helium, a diving equipment and training company in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Voissem was the Add Helium office manager.  The defendants were warned that it was illegal to export the items to Libya without a Commerce Department license and they willfully attempted to export those items after receiving an instruction from a Department of Commerce special agent that such items were detained and not to be exported while a license determination was pending.  The exhibits and testimony at trial showed that the defendants lied to and mislead Ramas LLC, a shipping company in Virginia, about what the Commerce agent had told them and about whether the rebreathers had a military use.  Testimony at trial also showed that Sotis threatened a government witness not to cooperate with the federal investigation.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Ariel Joshua Leinwand, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement (DOC) Miami Field Office; and Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

DOC-Miami and HSI-Miami investigated the case, with valuable assistance from FBI Miami and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Thakur and Andy Camacho of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Nathan Swinton of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff 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 19-cr-20693.

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Two Florida residents were sentenced yesterday for conspiring to and illegally attempting to export controlled items to Libya.

Peter Sotis, 57, of Delray Beach, and Emilie Voissem of Sunrise, were convicted in October 2021 following a one-week jury trial in Miami. Sotis was sentenced to 57 months in prison, and Voissem was sentenced to a split sentence of five months in prison and five months of home confinement.

According to court documents, the charges stem from the defendants’ scheme to cause the illegal export of rebreather diving equipment to Libya in August 2016. Rebreathers enable a diver to operate undetected for long periods of time underwater by producing little to no bubbles and by efficiently re-circulating the diver’s own breath after replacing its carbon dioxide with oxygen. Because of these enhanced capabilities, rebreathers have a dual use, with both civilian and military applications, and are specifically included on the Commerce Control List, which is the list of dual use items that are export controlled and licensed by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC). Such restricted items require a Commerce Department license if the rebreathers are to be exported to any countries with national security concerns, such as Libya.

Sotis was the 80% owner of Add Helium, a diving equipment and training company in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Voissem was the Add Helium office manager. The defendants were warned that it was illegal to export the items to Libya without a DOC license and they willfully attempted to export those items after receiving an instruction from a DOC special agent that such items were detained and not to be exported while a license determination was pending. The exhibits and testimony at trial showed that the defendants lied to and misled Ramas LLC, a shipping company in Virginia, about what the DOC agent had told them and about whether the rebreathers had a military use. Testimony at trial also showed that Sotis threatened a government witness not to cooperate with the federal investigation.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division; U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Ariel Joshua Leinwand of the DOC’s Office of Export Enforcement Miami Office; and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) Miami Office made the announcement.

DOC and HSI investigated the case with valuable assistance provided by the FBI’s Miami Field Office and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Thakur and Andy Camacho of the Southern District of Florida, and Trial Attorney Nathan Swinton of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

Miami, Florida — Princess Cruise Lines Ltd. (Princess) has pleaded guilty to a second violation of probation imposed as a result of its 2017 criminal conviction for environmental crimes because it failed to establish and maintain an independent internal investigative office. Under the terms of a plea agreement, Princess was ordered to pay an additional $1 million criminal fine and required to undertake remedial measures to ensure that it and its parent Carnival Cruise Lines & plc establish and maintain the independent internal investigative office known as the Incident Analysis Group (IAG).

Princess was convicted and sentenced in April 2017 and fined $40 million after pleading guilty to felony charges stemming from its deliberate dumping of oil-contaminated waste from one of its vessels and intentional acts to cover it up. This was and remains the largest-ever criminal fine for intentional pollution from ships. While serving five years of probation, all Carnival-related cruise line vessels trading in U.S. ports were required to comply with a court approved and supervised environmental compliance plan (ECP), including audits by an outside and independent third-party auditor (TPA) and oversight by a Court Appointed Monitor (CAM).

In 2019, Princess was convicted of six violations of probation, fined an additional $20 million, and required to undertake more remedial measures. In that case, two of the violations involved interfering with the court’s supervision of probation by sending undisclosed teams to ships to prepare them for the independent inspections required during probation. Documents filed in court showed that one purpose of the vessel visit programs was to avoid adverse findings by the independent outside auditors working on behalf of the court.

Beginning with the first year of probation, there have been repeated findings that the Company’s internal investigation program was and is inadequate. In November 2021, the Office of Probation issued a petition to revoke probation after adverse findings by the CAM and TPA.

In an October 2021 letter to U.S. District Court Judge Patricia A. Seitz, the CAM and TPA concluded that the continuing failure “reflects a deeper barrier: a culture that seeks to minimize or avoid information that is negative, uncomfortable, or threatening to the company, including to top leadership (i.e., the Board of Directors, C-Suite executives and Brand Presidents/CEOs).”

A joint factual basis for today’s guilty plea was submitted to the court in which Princess and Carnival admitted to the failure to establish and maintain an independent investigative office. Princess admitted that internal investigators had not been allowed to determine the scope of their investigations, and that draft internal investigations had been impacted and delayed by management.

Changes required under a plea agreement with the Department of Justice resolving the probation violation include:

• Carnival must restructure so that its investigative office reports directly to a committee of Carnival’s Board of Directors;
• Carnival’s internal investigative office must be given the authority to initiate investigations on its own and to determine their scope;
• Carnival’s management will be restricted in its ability to remove the head of the “Incident Analysis Group” that performs internal investigations;
• Carnival must conduct an assessment to ensure independent investigators have sufficient resources;
• Carnival must assess the effectiveness of required changes and correct deficiencies.
• Failure to meet deadlines in the plea agreement will initially subject the defendant to fines of $100,000 per day, and $500,000 per day after 10 days.

“Just like individual defendants, corporate defendants must also comply with court orders. They are not above the law”, said U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida. “The corporate defendant here ignored the court, choosing instead to thwart the compliance plan that was put in place to protect our environment. As this probation violation proceeding demonstrates, the government will not tolerate defendant’s blatant violation of court orders.”

“This case shows the importance of addressing issues of corporate culture and structure, and the root causes of environmental non-compliance,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This was a serious and ongoing violation of probation that reflected Carnival’s failure to prioritize compliance with court orders. I thank the court, the Office of Probation, court appointed monitor and third-party auditor for the close attention that they have devoted to this important matter.”

The plea agreement and factual statement were signed by Micky Arison, Chairman of Carnival’s Board of Directors and Arnold Donald, the Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors. Both attended the hearing as they have quarterly status hearings pursuant to court order.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald, Environmental Crimes Coordinator, Economic & Environmental Crimes Section, Southern District of Florida, and Richard A. Udell, Senior Litigation Counsel with the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice.

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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Miami, Florida – A federal district judge in Fort Lauderdale has sentenced Jeremy Christoph Rolle, 27, of the Bahamas, to 60 months in prison for trying to smuggle into the United States a migrant previously removed from the country following aggravated felony convictions, including murder.  Rolle pleaded guilty on November 2, 2021, to aiding and abetting certain migrants to enter the United Sates.

According to court documents, Rolle operated a 26-foot motorboat to transport himself and sixteen migrants from Bimini, Bahamas to the east coast of Florida on June 17, 2021.  One such migrant passenger was Marvin Morris Carridice, 43, of Jamaica, who according to court documents, was removed from the United States in 2018 after serving a 14-year prison sentence for convictions in Florida for murder and other felonies.

Carridice, who was charged in the same indictment as Rolle, pleaded guilty to illegal entry of a removed alien and was sentenced on January 5, 2022, to 42 months’ imprisonment.  In addition, migrant passengers Andrew Devaunx, 54, of the Bahamas and Payam Hassanzadeh Zargar, 27, of the United Kingdom, were each charged and pleaded guilty to illegal entry of a removed alien.  Devaunx was sentenced on October 26, 2021, to time served and Zargar is scheduled to be sentenced on January 25, 2022.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement. 

HSI Miami investigated this case, with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Customs and Immigrations Enforcement, and the Broward County Sherriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Snider prosecuted the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabrielle Charest-Turken 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 21-60214-CR-AHS.

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A Florida woman pleaded guilty today to obstructing a 2017 regulatory inspection in connection with an alleged scheme to fraudulently falsify clinical drug trial data. 

According to court documents, Olga Torres, 49, of Miami, co-owned a clinical research site called Unlimited Medical Research. Unlimited Medical Research was one of many companies hired to conduct a clinical trial designed to investigate the safety and efficacy of an asthma medication in children. As part of her plea agreement, Torres admitted that she knowingly lied to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigator during a 2017 regulatory inspection concerning the firm. Specifically, Torres admitted that she falsely portrayed the clinical trial as having been conducted legitimately and honestly, when in fact Torres knew that certain data associated with the clinical trial had been falsified. Three other defendants — Yvelice Villaman Bencosme M.D., Lisett Raventos and Maytee Lledo — previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced in connection with falsifying data associated with the clinical trial at Unlimited Medical Research.

“Clinical trials help ensure the safety of new drugs, and falsifying clinical trial data can put the public at risk,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael D. Granston of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to work with our partners at the FDA to investigate and prosecute those who undermine the integrity of the clinical trial process.”

“The public depends on the accuracy and integrity of clinical trial data,” said U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida. “Falsifying clinical data violates the public’s trust and endangers the safety of consumers. Those who unlawfully profit by compromising the public’s health in this way commit serious crimes and will be prosecuted.”

“Reliable clinical trial data is a foundation for FDA drug approval. Falsifying that data leaves consumers at risk of taking drugs that are neither safe nor effective,” said Assistant Commissioner Catherine A. Hermsen for the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI). “We will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who endanger the public health when they engage in conduct that might subvert the FDA approval process.”

The FDA OCI is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Joshua D. Rothman and Marilee L. Miller and Senior Litigation Counsel David Frank of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida provided critical assistance.

Miami, Florida – Foot Care Store, Inc. d/b/a Dia-Foot (Dia-Foot), a diabetic shoe company based in Wellington, Florida, and its President and CEO Robert Gaynor, have agreed to pay $5,538,338 to settle allegations that the company sold custom diabetic shoe inserts that were not actually custom-fabricated in accordance with Medicare standards.  The agreement is part of a civil settlement that resolves claims brought under the False Claims Act.

The United States alleged that between 2013 and 2018, Dia-Foot sold diabetic shoe inserts to customers nationwide, representing that many of those inserts were custom-made for an individual’s foot, when the inserts were actually made using generic foot models.  The inserts were dispensed to diabetic patients who had a prescription from a health care provider and who believed they were getting a custom product.  According to the government, despite fabricating the inserts using generic models, Dia-Foot billed Medicare and Medicaid for the custom version, or sold the inserts to other providers who then billed government health care programs for custom inserts.  This allowed Dia-Foot to produce and sell more inserts and increase profits by cutting corners.  The government also alleged that Dia-Foot advertised to customers that it was proud to be Medicare-compliant and had received Medicare approval for its custom diabetic shoe inserts, even though Dia-Foot received the Medicare approvals based on false information.

Individuals with diabetes can in some cases suffer from foot problems, including nerve damage, ulcers, and poor circulation.  In severe cases, untreated problems can even lead to amputation.  Foot orthotics such as custom shoe inserts are prescribed to help diabetic patients prevent such problems and are covered by Medicare and Medicaid.

In connection with the settlement, Dia-Foot and Robert Gaynor entered into a three-year Integrity Agreement (IA) with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).  The IA requires, among other things, that Dia-Foot implement updated policies and procedures as part of its compliance program, and hire an Independent Review Organization to review quarterly Dia-Foot’s claims to Medicare and Medicaid.

The allegations were brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by a former Dia-Foot employee.  Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery.  The whistleblower who brought the allegations in this case will receive a share of the settlement amount.  The case is captioned U.S. ex rel. Newman v. Foot Care Store, Inc. d/b/a Dia-Foot, No. 9:18-CV-80702 (S.D. Fla.).

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, with assistance from the HHS-OIG.  Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Omar Pérez Aybar, Special Agent in Charge, HHS-OIG, announced the settlement.

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrate the government’s emphasis on combatting health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477) or at http://tips.hhs.gov/.  

The matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Clarissa Pinheiro Schild of the Southern District of Florida.  The integrity agreement was negotiated by OIG Senior Counsel Tonya Keusseyan.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

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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Miami, Florida – Federal prosecutors in Ft. Lauderdale have charged an owner of a Lauderdale Lakes towing company with underreporting income and failing to pay federal tax on money he received through a Personal Injury Protection (PIP) kickback scheme and other cash-based fraud.     

Craig Goldstein, 60, of Boca Raton, Florida was an owner of West Way Towing, a Lauderdale Lakes company that towed, and stored at its yard, disabled vehicles, including ones involved in accidents.  According to the information filed today in the Southern District of Florida, Goldstein referred accident victims to certain attorneys and chiropractors who would then illegally charge insurance companies for unneeded services under Florida’s Personal Injury Protection Program.  Goldstein received a fee for each patient referral, which he collected in cash and failed to report to the IRS, according to the charges.  Goldstein also failed to report cash he received from vehicle storage lien fees and from auctions of vehicles the sales prices of which were manipulated to falsely reflect that Goldstein made no profit, says the information.  It is alleged that Goldstein owes the U.S. government over $130,000 in income tax.

The information charges Goldstein with three counts of tax evasion.  He faces up to 15 years’ imprisonment and a fine up to $750,000.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Matthew D. Line, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), made the announcement.

IRS Miami investigated this matter. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey N. Kaplan and Paul Schwartz.

An information is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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-60002.

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Miami, Florida – A federal district judge in West Palm Beach, Florida sentenced a 26-year- old Arizona man to 160 months in prison for selling crystal methamphetamine, cocaine, and other illegal drugs on the dark web to buyers across the country, including South Florida.   

From 2018 to 2020, Jose Rodolfo Barraza Flores advertised and sold crystal methamphetamine, cocaine, M-30 pills (fentanyl-laced Percocet pills), and other narcotics through vendor accounts that he established on darknet marketplaces like White House Market, Empire Market and Yellowbrick Road.  Once a buyer placed an on-line order and paid for it with bitcoin, Barraza Flores would mail the illegal drugs to the buyer.  To avoid detection, Barraza Flores concealed the narcotics inside wax candles, which he melted, molded, and packaged inside a trailer in Arizona. 

In October 2021, Barraza Flores pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and three counts of distribution of a controlled substance.  U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon imposed the sentence.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami; Joseph W. Cronin, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Investigation Service (USPIS), Miami Division; and Deanne L. Reuter, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division announced the sentence.

FBI Miami, USPIS Miami, and DEA Miami investigated the case, with assistance from their Phoenix counterparts.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Aurora Fagan is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney William Zloch is handling the asset forfeiture aspect of 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 21-cr-80029.

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Miami, Florida – Yesterday, United States District Court Judge Aileen M. Cannon sentenced Nicholas Antonio Zamudio-Hernandez, 19, of Vero Beach, Florida, to 360 months in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for production and possession of child pornography.

In May 2021, law enforcement agents learned that someone was using multiple social media accounts to store images of child pornography.  After an investigation, agents executed a search warrant at Zamudio-Hernandez’s residence in Vero Beach.  They recovered several videos and images that Zamudio-Hernandez created of himself sexually abusing a child under the age of 13.  Zamudio-Hernandez later admitted to producing the videos and images, and abusing the child.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

HSI Miami (Fort Pierce office) investigated this case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Hoover. 

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 21-14031-CR-AMC.

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Miami, Florida – A New Haven, Connecticut man who coerced two women and a girl into selling themselves for sex in Miami during Super Bowl LIV was sentenced yesterday in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to 25 years’ imprisonment.

The sentence of 48-year-old Edward Walker follows his conviction after an eight-day trial in October 2021.  In that trial, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alejandra L. López and Brian Dobbins presented evidence that in January 2020, Walker brought two adult women and a 17-year-old girl to Miami from Connecticut to engage in commercial sex acts during the Super Bowl.  While in Miami, Walker emotionally, psychologically, and financially coerced the victims into soliciting customers and having sex with them in exchange for money, all of which Walker kept.  Additional evidence showed that after the Superbowl in Miami, Walker planned to take the victims to Chicago, Illinois (during the NBA All-Star Game), New Orleans, Lousiana (during Mardi Gras), Las Vegas, Nevada, and other places to further sexually exploit them.  The jury found Walker guilty of sex trafficking by force and coercion, sex trafficking of a minor and by force and coercion, and transporting a person for sexual activity. 

United States Senior District Court Judge James I. Cohn imposed the sentence, which also includes a supervised release term of 25 years following incarceration.

Walker will soon be transported to the State of Connecticut where he will face charges in United States District Court for the District of Connecticut for the Production of Child Pornography.  As to those charges, Walker is innocent unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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 the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions 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.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami; and Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez III, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), announced the guilty verdict.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, in partnership with MDPD’s Human Trafficking Squad, and the South Florida Human Trafficking Task Force.  FBI New Haven; Homeland Security Investigations Miami; Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Miami Office; Miami Beach Police Department; and Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office assisted.  

To report suspected human trafficking or to obtain resources for victims, please call 1-888-373-7888; text “BeFree” (233733), or live chat at HumanTraffickingHotline.org.  The toll-free phone, SMS text lines, and online chat function are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  Help is available in English, Spanish, Creole, or in more than 200 additional languages.  The National Hotline is not managed by law enforcement, immigration or an investigative agency.  Correspondence with the National Hotline is confidential and you may request assistance or report a tip anonymously.

To learn more about the National Resource Hotline visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org.  To learn more about the U.S. Department of Justice’s efforts to combat human trafficking visit www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

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. 20-cr-20087.

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Miami, Florida – A Florida man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for attempting to entice a minor to engage in illicit sexual conduct while he was working in Japan as a U.S. military contractor. 

Garrett Michael Pako, 29, is a United States Citizen who worked for a Department of Defense (DOD) contractor in Japan.  For months, Pako engaged in an online “relationship” with someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl.  Pako met the girl on a proximity-based social media dating application while travelling in Okinawa.  During the relationship, Pako sent the girl sexually-explicit images and videos, including Hentai cartoons of young toddlers being sexually abused, and a video of himself masturbating.  Pako then attempted to arrange to have the purported girl fly to visit him in Northern Japan to have sex.  No meeting occurred.  Pako was later arrested.  

Pako is being prosecuted under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, which provides jurisdiction over certain offenses committed by United States citizens employed by the Department of Defense outside the United States.  Pako pled guilty to the charge on October 22, 2021.  U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon imposed today’s sentence.

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 the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions 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.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; and Julio Escareno, Resident Agent in Charge, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, Japan Office, announced the sentence. 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division with support from the Air Force Office of Special Investigation and Naval Criminal Investigative Service.  This case was prosecuted by Southern District of Florida Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lacee Monk and Dayron Silverio and Trial Attorney Charles Schmitz of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. 

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. 21-cr-14021.

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Miami, Florida – Two Miami residents, Reinier Gonzalez Caballero age 39, and Alexeis Napoles Manresa, age 37, were each sentenced yesterday to 51 months in federal prison for their role in a money laundering conspiracy. The two co-defendants were convicted of money laundering after a jury trial in September 2021. 

Based on court documents and the record at trial, from July 2019 to October 2019, these defendants and two other co-defendants, Alfredo Ruiz a/k/a “Mike,” and Pedro Ferreiro Conde a/k/a “Titi,” conspired to launder over $4,366,039 in health care fraud proceeds by setting up shell corporations and opening corporate bank accounts to conceal and disguise the source and the ownership of the illegally obtained money.  Gonzalez Caballero and Napoles Manresa established themselves as the sole officers for their own shell corporations, RGC Flooring Corp. and JMP Flooring Corp., respectively, and each laundered over $400,000 through their corporate bank accounts.

A large portion of the money that was being laundered was received directly from a fraudulent durable medical equipment company called Universal Ortho Supplies, Inc. located in Miami, that was filing false claims with Medicare.  Between July 2019 and October 2019, Universal Ortho Supplies, Inc. billed Medicare for over $3 million dollars in durable medical equipment, such as orthosis and prosthetics, that were never prescribed by physicians or provided to patients.  These four defendants were convicted for participating in a conspiracy to launder those health care fraud proceeds.

On September 14, 2021, the lead defendant Alfredo Ruiz a/k/a “Mike,” age 30 from Miami, was sentenced to 105 months in prison for his role in the money laundering conspiracy and agreed to forfeit over $4,366,039, following his money laundering conviction.  Ruiz was also held accountable for at least $648,731 in money laundering based on a separate wire fraud scheme.  As part of his plea, Ruiz agreed to forfeit assets valued in excess of $360,000 including:  $141,580.76 in proceeds from the sale of a Rolls Royce and Lamborghini; $120,480 in proceeds from the sale of pawned jewelry, and $70,000 in cash seized from him at the time of his arrest.  United States v. Alfredo Ruiz et al., 21-CR-20111-CMA.

On October 28, 2021, another co-defendant Pedro Ferreiro Conde a/k/a “Titi,” age 34 from Miami, who participated in the money laundering conspiracy was sentenced to 42 months in prison for money laundering and has agreed to forfeit over $766,155, following his money laundering conviction.

Two other co-conspirators from related cases have been charged with, and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with this criminal activity:

• Yunior Alberto Lopez Concepcion, 38, of Miami, Florida pleaded guilty on June 4, 2020 was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment on September 29, 2020.  United States v. Yunior Alberto Lopez Concepcion, 20-CR-20115-RS
• Liliam Maria Castro, 59, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty on June 9, 2021 and was sentenced to 48 months’ imprisonment on August 21, 2021.  USA v. Liliam Maria Castro et al., 21-CR-20152-JEM 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Region, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Kyle A. Myles, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), Atlanta Region and Special Agent in Charge Brian Swain, U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office made the announcement.  

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy Abraham, Aimee Jimenez, and Stephanie Hauser. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Stone is handling forfeiture proceedings.

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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Miami, FL – Today, Tennessee rapper Lontrell D. Williams, Jr. (a/k/a Pooh Shiesty) pled guilty to conspiring to possess firearms in furtherance of crimes of violence and drug trafficking.

As part of the plea, Williams, Jr. admitted to participating in the conspiracy on the following three occasions. First, on July 7, 2020, in Memphis, Tennessee, Williams, Jr. was inside a car when an occupant of the car discharged a firearm at a gas station. Second, on October 9, 2020, in Bay Harbor Islands, Florida, Williams, Jr. and his co-conspirators arrived at a meeting to acquire marijuana, codeine, and sneakers.  During this meeting, members of Williams’ group brandished firearms and assaulted two victims. Following the assault, the group departed the scene with the victims’ marijuana, codeine, and sneakers. Third, on May 30, 2021, Williams, Jr. assaulted a victim with a firearm at a Miami strip club.

United States District Judge K. Michael Moore will sentence Williams, Jr. on a date to be announced.  Williams, Jr. faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.   

FBI Miami investigated the case, with assistance from ATF Miami, ATF Memphis, Miami Dade Police Department, Memphis Police Department, and Bay Harbor Islands Police Department.  The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office also assisted. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Arielle Klepach, Ignacio J. Vázquez, Jr., and Dayron Silverio are prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney William T. Zloch is handling asset forfeiture.

This case stems from Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  In 2017, PSN was reinvigorated as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.  The case is also related to “Operation Summer Heat,” a Miami-Dade County antiviolence initiative.  

This prosecution was part of Operation Northern Light, which is a result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, and other priority transnational criminal organizations that threaten the citizens of the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence driven, multi-agency approach to combat transnational organized crime.  The OCDETF program facilitates complex, joint operations by focusing its partner agencies on priority targets, by managing and coordinating multi-agency efforts, and by leveraging intelligence across multiple investigative platforms.

Anyone with information related to possible gun crimes is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

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-20357.

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A Colombian national was arrested based on a criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of Florida.

Mario Antonio Palacios, 43, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States and providing material support resulting in death, knowing or intending that such material support would be used to prepare for or carry out the conspiracy to kill or kidnap.

As alleged in the complaint, which was unsealed today, these charges relate to the July 7, 2021, assassination of the former President of Haiti, Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. As alleged, the defendant and others, including a group of approximately 20 other Colombian citizens and a group of Haiti-based dual Haitian-American citizens, participated in a plot to kidnap or kill the Haitian President, with one conspirator (“Co-conspirator #1”) traveling to the United States on June 28, 2021, to, among other things, provide other individuals with a written request for assistance to further the plot relating to the Haitian President.

As alleged in the complaint, while the plot initially focused on conducting a kidnapping of the president as part of a purported arrest operation, it ultimately resulted in a plot to kill the Haitian President. The complaint affidavit alleges that, on July 7, 2021, Palacios and others entered the president’s residence in Haiti with the intent and purpose of killing President Moise, and in fact the president was killed.

Co-conspirator #1, a dual Haitian-American citizen, was subsequently arrested by Haitian authorities and remains in custody in Haiti. Palacios eluded arrest and traveled to Jamaica. 

Palacios was recently deported from Jamaica and, during a layover in Panama, agreed to travel to the United States. He is currently in custody and will appear in court for his initial appearance later today.

If convicted of the charges in the complaint, Palacios faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge George Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office.

The FBI is investigating the case with other law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Goldbarg and Walter Norkin are prosecuting the case with assistance from National Security Division Trial Attorneys Frank Russo and Emma Ellenrieder. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance.

A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Miami, Florida — A Florida man charged with fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 relief loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) made his first appearance today in federal magistrate court in Ft. Lauderdale.

According to the allegations in the indictment, Valesky Barosy, 27, of Ft. Lauderdale, submitted fraudulent loan applications on behalf of himself and his accomplices, seeking more than $4.2 million in PPP loans.  In each loan application, Barosy falsified the applicant’s prior-year expenses, net profit, and payroll, and submitted fraudulent IRS tax forms, says the indictment. 

According to the charges, Barosy and his accomplices received approximately $2.1 million in PPP loans from the fraudulent scheme.  Barosy used the fraudulently-obtained proceeds to purchase a Lamborghini Huracán EVO, Rolex and Hublot watches, and designer clothing from Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Chanel, it is alleged.

The indictment charges Barosy with five counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, and one count of aggravated identity theft.  If convicted, Barosy faces up to 132 years in prison.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Brian Swain, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

USSS Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Bailyn is prosecuting the case.  Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture. 

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through the PPP. In April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding.

The PPP allows qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of 1%. PPP loan proceeds must be used by businesses on payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal on the PPP loan to be forgiven if the business spends the loan proceeds on these expense items within a designated period of time after receiving the proceeds and uses at least a certain percentage of the PPP loan proceeds on payroll expenses. 

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.

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.

An indictment is a mere allegation.  A defendant is presumed innocent until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt 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 no. 21-cr-60345.  

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Miami, Florida – A 43-year-old Pembroke Pines, Florida man made his first appearance in Fort Lauderdale federal magistrate court today to face a charge that he used the U.S. mail system to solicit, plan, and pay for the murder of his former girlfriend’s new love interest.

According to the criminal complaint affidavit, Ryan Hadeed’s first piece of murder correspondence was his request to the intended hitman that said: “I need someone eliminated. I've been told you can arrange that. $10,000 All in cash and upfront. Person located in Tampa.”  It is alleged that in that first letter, mailed in September, and in two subsequent mailings, Hadeed instructed the intended hitman to signal acceptance of the offer by posting marked sheets of paper on his store-front window, among other things.  According to the complaint affidavit, on November 10, the intended hitman received a final mailing from Hadeed that included a description and pictures of the man that Hadeed wanted killed, the victim’s home address and likely travel schedule, as well as a deadline for the murder.  Also inside the envelope was $10,000 cash, says the affidavit.  It is alleged that Hadeed left the country on a one-way ticket the same day the hitman received the cash and pictures of the intended victim. 

Law enforcement officers learned of the plan.  During a secondary customs inspection of Hadeed when he returned from his international trip, additional evidence of the crime was uncovered, according to the affidavit.  Pursuant to a court-issued warrant, law enforcement officers arrested Hadeed on December 22.  

The intended victim, who remains alive, is romantically involved with Hadeed’s former girlfriend, says the criminal complaint affidavit.        

Hadeed is charged with one count of using interstate commerce facilities –  the U.S. mail system – in the commission of murder for hire, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1958.  If convicted, Hadeed faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

A pretrial detention hearing for Hadeed is scheduled for December 29, at 11:00 a.m., in federal magistrate court in Fort Lauderdale.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), Miami Field Office; Joseph W. Cronin, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Region; and Troy Walker, Special Agent in Charge, Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Miami Region, announced the charges.

HSI Miami, USPIS Miami, and FDLE investigated the case, with assistance from Florida Highway Patrol.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph A. Cooley and Deric Zacca are prosecuting the case. 

A criminal complaint contains mere allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt 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 no. 21-mj-6697.  

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Miami, Florida – Drug trafficker, Pablo Alexander Reyes-Sanchez, a 33-year-old Mexican national, was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Miami to 97 months in prison by Chief United States District Court Cecilia M. Altonaga.

Reyes-Sanchez brokered a deal involving the purchase of five kilograms of cocaine for $160,000.  Reyes-Sanchez traveled to Miami with a co-conspirator, obtained a sample of cocaine for inspection, and then completed the transaction by providing the seller the cash in exchange for the cocaine.  Law enforcement officers arrested Reyes-Sanchez and his co-conspirator and seized the currency for forfeiture.

Reyes-Sanchez previously pled guilty to a three-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and reentry of a removed alien.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Deanne L. Reuter, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Miami Field Division, made the announcement.

DEA Miami and Hialeah Police Department investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hudock prosecuted it.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mitchell Hyman 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 no. 21-cr-20032. 

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Miami, Florida – A federal district judge in Miami sentenced Anthony Louis Cardona, 30, of Key West, Florida, to 97 months in federal prison, followed by 25 years of supervised release as a sexual offender, for possession of child pornography.  Cardona was also ordered to pay restitution to his victims.

In December 2020, FBI agents learned that an individual located at a residence in Key West, Florida was downloading child pornography using peer-to-peer software.  On January 25, 2021, FBI agents executed a search warrant at the residence, where Cardona lived.  Agents found that Cardona possessed multiple hard drives containing thousands of images and videos of child pornography.

A search of Cardona’s electronics produced over 89,000 images and videos of child pornography dating from 2010-2021.  The images and videos included infants and pre-pubescent children engaged in sadomasochism and bestiality.  In addition to those images, agents found a videoconference chat message from 2014 where Cardona distributed and received child pornography.  In the chat message, Cardona stated that he previously fondled a pre-pubescent female child over her pants.

At the time of his arrest, Cardona was an air traffic controller as an active-duty member of the United States Navy.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, announced the sentence imposed by United States District K. Michael Moore.  

FBI Miami, Key West Office, investigated the case.  Assistant United States Attorney Hillary T. Irvin prosecuted it.  Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture.

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-10003.

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Miami, Florida – On Friday, a Lake Worth man and registered sex offender who produced child pornography together with a Colorado woman with whom he shared a dominant-submissive relationship pled guilty to child exploitation crimes in Miami federal court.  The Colorado woman pled guilty last year and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

In November 2019, Robert Dunn and Tonya Bagley began chatting on social media and developed an online relationship.  Bagley and Dunn, both in their early forties, agreed in writing for Bagley to photograph herself performing oral sex on a six-year-old boy.  Bagley, who was in Colorado, did so and sent the child sexual abuse images to Dunn in Lake Worth, Florida through a social media messenger application.  Law enforcement officers arrested Dunn at his home on March 10, 2020.  After later learning about Bagley, the FBI arrested Bagley at her Colorado home.

Dunn pleaded guilty to conspiring to produce, producing, receiving, and possessing child pornography.  U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman will sentence Dunn in federal court in Miami on February 25, 2022.  Dunn faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years imprisonment and a maximum sentence of 120 years’ imprisonment.  

On December 10, 2020, Bagley pled guilty in West Palm Beach federal court to conspiring to produce child pornography and transmitting information about a minor.  On May 19, 2021, U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks sentenced Bagley to 20 years in a federal prison.  In addition, the judge ordered Bagley to pay restitution to the abused boy.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, made the announcement.  

FBI Miami investigated the matter.  Grand County Colorado Sheriff’s Office assisted.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller prosecuted the cases.  Assistant U.S. Attorney William T. Zloch handled asset forfeiture.

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 numbers 20-cr-80069 and 20-cr-80085.

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Miami, Florida – A federal district judge in Miami last week sentenced 35-year-old Christopher Grant Proby to 30 years in prison for sex trafficking a minor and for participating in the armed robbery of a Riviera Beach plumber.

In December 2017, Proby initiated a social media conversation with a 14-year-old girl.  Proby asked about the minor’s sexual experience and said that he wanted to have sex with her.  In late January 2018, the girl ran away from her foster home to meet with Proby in Riviera Beach.  They engaged in sexual activity. 

In June 2018, Proby used on-line social media to advertise the girl for commercial sex.  When men responded to the advertisement requesting to have sex with the minor, Proby communicated with them by text message to arrange a price, meeting location, and specify the sex acts that the minor would perform.  Proby drove the minor to meet with these men to engage in commercial sex acts, and took any money that she earned.  

On July 11, 2018, Proby and his codefendants, Jamal Lamar Head and Keon Travy Glanton, worked together to rob a Roto-Rooter plumber of valuable plumbing equipment in Riviera Beach, Florida.  Head, Proby, and Glanton directed the minor to place a service all to Roto-Rooter.  At their direction, the minor lured the Roto-Rooter plumber to an abandoned residence in Riviera Beach, where Head assaulted him with a firearm.  Proby and Glanton took valuable plumbing equipment from the vehicle while Head held the victim at gunpoint.   

Head and Glanton were previously sentenced to 60 and 33 years in prison, respectively, for the armed robbery of the Riviera Beach plumber, as well as for other crimes, including the murder of a different plumber from Miami.  

U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman imposed the sentences.

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 the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions 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.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Christopher Robinson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office; and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami made the announcement.   

This case was investigated by ATF Miami, the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, and Miami Dade Police Department.  The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and Riviera Beach Police Department assisted.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel J. Marcet and Jessica Kahn Obenauf.  AUSA Richard Brown is handling asset forfeiture.

To report suspected human trafficking or to obtain resources for victims, please call 1-888-373-7888; text “BeFree” (233733), or live chat at HumanTraffickingHotline.org.  The toll-free phone, SMS text lines, and online chat function are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  Help is available in English, Spanish, Creole, or in more than 200 additional languages.  The National Hotline is not managed by law enforcement, immigration or an investigative agency.  Correspondence with the National Hotline is confidential and you may request assistance or report a tip anonymously.

To learn more about the National Resource Hotline visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org.  To learn more about the U.S. Department of Justice’s efforts to combat human trafficking visit www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

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-20063.

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Miami, Florida – U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon has sentenced a 49-year-old man from Highlands County, Florida, to 130 months in prison for drug trafficking.

According to the court record, Michael Barnett sold methamphetamine on two separate occasions in 2019.  Specifically, on April 4, 2019, Barnett sold 27.60 grams of methamphetamine to a buyer in Avon Park, Highlands County, Florida, and on April 17, 2019, Barnett sold 28.00 grams of methamphetamine to a buyer in Avon Park. 

Barnett previously pled guilty to distribution of five grams or more of methamphetamine. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Deanne L. Reuter, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Miami Field Division made the announcement.

DEA Miami investigated the case.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Porter.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Klco 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 21-cr-14026.

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Two Florida men pleaded guilty this week in the Northern District of Ohio for leading a nationwide scheme to fraudulently obtain over $35 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

According to court documents, James R. Stote, 55, of Hollywood, and Phillip J. Augustin, 52, of Coral Springs, conspired to obtain millions of dollars in fraudulent PPP loans. Augustin and Stote obtained a fraudulent PPP loan for Augustin’s company, Clear Vision Music Group LLC, using falsified documents. After submitting that application, Stote and Augustin immediately began working to obtain larger PPP loans for themselves and their associates. Stote and Augustin recruited additional PPP loan applicants and prepared and submitted fraudulent loan applications for them in exchange for a share of the loan proceeds. The applications they submitted for all of the loans in the scheme relied on fake payroll numbers, falsified IRS forms and phony bank statements. They submitted or facilitated at least 79 fraudulent loan applications worth at least $35 million and planned to submit more.

“These convictions, and the numerous convictions of others involved in this wide-ranging conspiracy, demonstrate that people will be held accountable for defrauding the PPP Program,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Fraud against PPP programs directly harms taxpayers and undermine public trust in essential government support during the pandemic. We will continue to combat fraud and ensure that COVID-19 relief goes to those who deserve it.”

“While many businesses in our communities relied upon relief funds to keep their doors open and employees paid, these defendants profited off a scheme that stole millions of taxpayer dollars intended for struggling businesses and spent it lavishly on themselves,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler for the Northern District of Ohio. “Theft of government funds will not be tolerated, and prosecuting PPP fraud remains a priority for law enforcement.”

Stote and Augustin each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. They are scheduled to be sentenced at a later date and each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

In addition, Diamond Smith, 37, of Miramar, was sentenced today to 20 months after pleading guilty on Aug. 4 in the Southern District of Florida to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Smith, a recording artist, admitted to obtaining a PPP loan of $426,717 for his company, Throwbackjersey.com LLC, using falsified documents and false information. Upon completion of that loan, Smith then sought and obtained another PPP loan of $708,065 for his other company, Blue Star Records LLC, using falsified documents and false information. Smith admitted to using PPP loan proceeds at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and on luxury items, including a Ferrari. Authorities seized the Ferrari at the time of Smith’s arrest. Smith further admitted that he paid more than $250,000 to Stote and Augustin as kickbacks for their assistance in preparing and submitting the fraudulent loan applications. Smith was ordered to pay $1,111345.23 in restitution and $1,134,782 in forfeiture in addition to his term of imprisonment.   

“When the Paycheck Protection Program was implemented over one year ago, our Office committed to protecting South Floridians from those trying to exploit the Covid-19 pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida. “Our work is not done. We will continue to hold accountable those who wrongfully obtain funds intended to help struggling small businesses survive the current health and economic crisis.”

“From submitting false documentation to recruiting other individuals, the defendants went to great lengths to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program of millions of dollars,” said Special Agent in Charge Bryant Jackson of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Cincinnati Field Office. “IRS-CI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold those accountable that defraud programs designed to help struggling Americans and businesses.”

“This sentencing serves as a deterrent to anyone who would commit fraud targeting COVID-19 relief programs,” said Acting Assistant Director Jay Greenberg of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Programs like these were created to help individuals during a pandemic, not for fraudsters to take advantage for personal gain. The FBI will continue to pursue criminal actors who engage in this activity.”

“Conspiring to fraudulently use SBA program funds is unacceptable,” said Special Agent in Charge Sharon Johnson of the SBA Office of Inspector General’s (SBA-OIG) Central Region. “OIG will aggressively root out fraud to protect the integrity of SBA’s programs, which are intended to provide vital assistance to the nation’s small businesses. I want to thank the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and commitment to seeing justice served.” 

In total, 25 people have been charged for their participation in this scheme in the Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of Florida and Middle District of North Carolina. To date, 20 of those defendants have been convicted.

The IRS-CI, FBI and SBA-OIG are investigating the cases.

Trial Attorney Philip Trout of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elliot Morrison of the Northern District of Ohio and David Turken and Aimee Jimenez of the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the cases.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 150 defendants in more than 95 criminal cases and has seized over $75 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.

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.

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.

Miami, Florida – Two men pled guilty to willfully and knowingly conspiring to acquire, sell, transport, and import three species of spiny-tailed skinks into the United States from Australia in violation of federal regulations.

Jose Francesco Munoz Di Rocco, of Miami, Florida, and Francisco Manuel Rodriguez, of Medford, Oregon, pled guilty to the charge in Miami.  In connection with their guilty plea, Munoz and Rodriguez admitted that they traveled from their respective hometowns in the United States and met up in Broome, Western Australia for the purpose of capturing spiny-tailed skinks in their native habitat and importing them into the United States for resale.  Once in Western Australia, Munoz and Rodriguez captured various species of spiny-tailed skinks and prepared them for shipping to the United States, knowing it was illegal to export the wildlife from Australia.  While in Australia, Munoz mailed two packages containing a total of 33 spiny-tailed skinks, one to Miami, Florida and the other to Medford, Oregon.  In order to conceal the illegally imported wildlife, Munoz packaged the spiny-tailed skinks within gift-wrapped containers with other souvenirs and neither Rodriguez nor Munoz declared them on the Customs Declaration forms attached to the shipping boxes or via a Declaration for Importation or Exportation of Fish and Wildlife (Form 3-177) with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Australian law prohibits the exportation of its native wildlife.  

Rodriguez’s sentencing has been set on February 4, 2022 at 3 p.m. and Munoz’s sentencing has been set on February 23, 2022 at 2 p.m. before District Court Judge Kathleen M. Williams.  Rodriguez and Munoz face a possible prison sentence of up to five years in jail, a term of supervised release thereafter of up to three years, and a criminal fine of up to $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Stephen Clark of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), Southeast Region made the announcement.

USFWS investigated the case with assistance of the Australian Border Force.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Marty Fulgueira Elfenbein of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida 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 21-cr-20361.

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Miami, Florida – A former National Football League (NFL) player was sentenced Friday to 37 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining over $1.2 million through a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

According to court documents, Joshua J. Bellamy, 32, of St. Petersburg, Florida, a former NFL player pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on June 9. As part of the fraud scheme, Bellamy obtained a PPP loan of $1,246,565 for his company, Drip Entertainment LLC, using falsified documents and false information. Bellamy admitted to using the PPP loan proceeds on personal items, such as jewelry, and a stay at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Bellamy also sought PPP loans on behalf of his family members and close associates. Bellamy further admitted that he paid more than $311,000 to an alleged co-conspirator, James Stote, as a kickback for his assistance in preparing and submitting the fraudulent loan application. In addition to his prison sentence, Bellamy was ordered to serve three years of supervised released and pay $1,246,565 in restitution and $1,246,565 in forfeiture.   

In addition, a Florida woman was sentenced on Dec. 9 to two years in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining a PPP loan as part of this criminal scheme. According to court documents, Yashica Bain, 38, of Miramar, Florida, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on Sept. 30. As part of the fraud scheme, Bain obtained a PPP loan of $415,232 for her company, Microblading Brow Studio LLC, using falsified documents and false information. Bain used the PPP loan proceeds to enrich herself and others who never worked for her company. She falsely described those payments as “payroll” and “wages” to perpetrate this fraud. Bain admitted that she paid more than $28,000 to Stote as a kickback for his assistance in preparing and submitting the fraudulent loan application. In addition to her prison sentence, Bain was ordered to serve three years of supervised released and pay $415,232 in restitution and $415,232 in forfeiture.   

Stote was charged by complaint on June 24, 2020, with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. His case remains pending.

U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida; Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Michael J. De Palma of the IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Miami Field Office; Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the SBA’s Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG) Eastern Region made the announcement.

IRS-CI, the FBI, and SBA-OIG investigated the cases.

Trial Attorney Philip Trout of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Turken and Yisel Valdes of the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the cases.

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.

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.

A complaint is merely an allegation, and Stote is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt 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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Miami, Florida – A Miami man charged with submitting approximately $38 million in fraudulent health care claims to United Healthcare and Blue Cross Blue Shield was arrested this morning by federal law enforcement agents.

According to allegations in the federal grand jury indictment, from February 2015 through July 2021, 63-year-old Armando Valdes owned and operated Gasiel Medical Services, Corp. (“Gasiel”) a medical clinic in Miami, Florida.  It is alleged that Gasiel submitted approximately $38 million in false and fraudulent claims to United and Blue Cross for infusions of Infliximab which were medically unnecessary and not provided to patients as billed.  Infliximab, known by the brand name Remicade, is an expensive prescription immunosuppressive drug approved for the treatment of Crohn’s disease, pediatric Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, pediatric ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and plaque psoriasis.  The indictment alleges that United and Blue Cross paid Gasiel nearly $8 million as a result of the fraudulent claims for Infliximab submitted by Valdes.  According to the indictment, Valdes used his ill-gotten proceeds to purchase four real estate properties, including a beachfront condo in Pompano Beach, as well as luxury vehicles including a Cadillac Escalade and a Tesla Model S.

The indictment charges Valdes with ten counts of health care fraud.  If convicted, Valdes faces up to 100 years in prison.  A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Valdes will make his initial appearance today at 1:30 p.m., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Becerra, who sits in Miami.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office announced the charges.   

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael B. Homer is prosecuting this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Annika Miranda is handling asset 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 21-cr-20590.

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Miami, Florida – This week, a federal jury in Miami returned a guilty verdict against 56-year-old Serge Nkorina, a man who kidnapped a victim at gunpoint and later tortured him inside a storage container with a blow torch.    

At trial, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert F. Moore and Marc Chattah presented evidence that from late 2018 to early 2019, Serge Nkorina and his co-conspirator, Justin Boccio, plotted to kidnap and torture a victim in an attempt to obtain tens of thousands of dollars from him.  The victim was a South Florida plastic surgeon who had treated Nkorina’s wife.  To learn the victim’s daily movements, Nkorina and Boccio stalked the victim at home and work and placed a GPS tracker on the bottom of his car.  To get ready for the torture session, Nkorina and Boccio purchased devices from hardware and medical supply stores and rented a storage container in Margate, Florida to use as the torture site.

Prosecutors presented evidence that on January 14, 2019, Nkorina and Boccio followed the victim from work to a supermarket.  When the victim returned to his car with groceries, they tased his neck and threw him into a van.  Nkorina and Boccio took the victim to the Margate storage container, where they tortured him for hours.  Nkorina burned the victim’s hands with a blow torch, forcing the victim to reveal the security gate and door codes to his home.  When Nkorina and Boccio tried to use the information that night to enter the victim’s home, they were scared off by a light connected to the doorbell camera.  Nkorina and Boocio aborted the plan and dumped the victim at a strip club parking lot.

The jury found Nkorina guilty of conspiring to commit kidnapping and kidnapping.  Senior U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck will sentence Nkorina on February 15, 2022, at 9:30 a.m., in federal district court in Miami.  Nkorina faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. 

Justin Boccio previously pled guilty and is currently serving a 135-month sentence.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

FBI Miami investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert F. Moore and Marc Chattah are prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove 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 19-cr-20261.

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A former National Football League (NFL) player was sentenced today to 37 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining over $1.2 million through a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

According to court documents, Joshua J. Bellamy, 32, of St. Petersburg, Florida, a former NFL player, pleaded guilty on June 9 in the Southern District of Florida to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. As part of the fraud scheme, Bellamy obtained a PPP loan of $1,246,565 for his company, Drip Entertainment LLC, using falsified documents and false information. Bellamy admitted to using the PPP loan proceeds on personal items, such as jewelry, and a stay at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Bellamy also sought PPP loans on behalf of his family members and close associates. Bellamy further admitted that he paid more than $311,000 to an alleged co-conspirator, James Stote, as a kickback for his assistance in preparing and submitting the fraudulent loan application. In addition to his prison sentence, Bellamy was ordered to serve three years of supervised released and pay $1,246,565 in restitution and $1,246,565 in forfeiture.   

In addition, a Florida woman was sentenced on Dec. 9 to two years in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining a PPP loan as part of this criminal scheme. According to court documents, Yashica Bain, 38, of Miramar, Florida, pleaded guilty on Sept. 30 in the Southern District of Florida to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. As part of the fraud scheme, Bain obtained a PPP loan of $415,232 for her company, Microblading Brow Studio LLC, using falsified documents and false information. Bain used the PPP loan proceeds to enrich herself and others who never worked for her company. She falsely described those payments as “payroll” and “wages” to perpetrate this fraud. Bain admitted that she paid more than $28,000 to Stote as a kickback for his assistance in preparing and submitting the fraudulent loan application. In addition to her prison sentence, Bain was ordered to serve three years of supervised released and pay $415,232 in restitution and $415,232 in forfeiture.   

Stote was charged by complaint on June 24, 2020, with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. His case remains pending.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Michael J. De Palma of the IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Miami Field Office; Acting Assistant Director Jay Greenberg of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the SBA’s Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG) Eastern Region made the announcement.

IRS-CI, the FBI, and SBA-OIG investigated the cases.

Trial Attorney Philip Trout of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Turken and Yisel Valdes of the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the cases.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 150 defendants in more than 95 criminal cases and has seized over $75 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.

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.

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.

A complaint is merely an allegation, and Stote is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Miami, Florida – A Boynton Beach, Florida woman who illegally imported unapproved prescription drugs was sentenced today in federal district court in Ft. Pierce to six months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

In August 2018, Jhanna Novikov, 58, agreed to provide “Botox” treatments to an undercover investigator with the Florida Department of Health for $600.  Agents of the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations then searched Novikov’s home, which included an area set up to look like a medical treatment office.  Agents seized various drugs containing botulinum toxin, the active ingredient in Botox.  However, those drugs had not been approved by FDA and were not properly labeled for shipment in the United States.  Agents did not find any Botox or other FDA-approved drugs containing botulinum toxin in Novikov’s home.  Forensic analysis of Novikov’s cell phone revealed that Novikov had imported the drugs from Mexico, in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and had been importing such drugs since 2016.

Novikov previously pled guilty to one count of importation of merchandise contrary to law.  U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon imposed today’s sentence, which also included a fine, a special assessment, and a $6,813.15 restitution order.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Justin Fielder, Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), Miami Field Office, announced the sentence.

FDA-OCI Miami investigated the case, with assistance from Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Osborne prosecuted this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabrielle Charest-Turken 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 21-cr-80108.

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Miami, Florida – This week, 60-year-old Paul Vernon Hoeffer was arraigned in federal court in West Palm Beach on charges that he called and threatened to injure two members of Congress and a district attorney.

The indictment charges Hoeffer with three counts of interstate transmission of threats to injure.  According to allegations made by prosecutors during a court hearing, in March 2019, Hoeffer called a congresswoman in Washington, D.C., and threatened to come a “long, long, way” to rattle her head with bullets and cut her head off.  On the same day, Hoeffer called a district attorney in the State of Illinois, telling her bullets were going to “rattle her brain,” it is alleged.  In November 2020, Hoeffer called another congresswoman, this time in New York.  Hoeffer told her that he would “rip her head off” and cautioned her to sleep with one eye open, according to allegations made by prosecutors.  

If convicted, Hoeffer faces a total of up to 15 years in prison.  Hoeffer pled not guilty during the arraignment.  His trial is set to start during the two-week period beginning January 18, 2022.  Particular trial dates will be addressed during calendar call before U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon on January 11, 2022.   

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, made the announcement.

FBI Miami investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Luisa Honora Berti is prosecuting it.  

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 21-cr-14042.

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