Southern District of Florida
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Two Men Plead Guilty in Murder of Miami PlumberRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – Two 35-year-old South Florida men have pled guilty in federal district court in Ft. Lauderdale to participating in a pair of robberies that culminated in a carjacking and the murder of a Miami plumber.
According to the Factual Proffers signed by Jamal Lamar Head and Keon Travy Glanton, on July 11, 2018, Head and Glanton worked together to rob a Roto-Rooter plumber of valuable plumbing equipment in Riviera Beach, Florida. Head and Glanton lured the Roto-Rooter plumber to an abandoned residence in Riviera Beach, where Head assaulted him with a firearm. Valuable plumbing equipment was removed from the vehicle.
The Factual Proffers further state that, the following day, July 12, 2018, Head and Glanton planned to rob another plumber, this time at a vacant house in Miami Lakes, Florida. After Head and Glanton called several plumbers, plumber “L.S.H.” agreed to come to the Miami Lakes house to perform plumbing work. When L.S.H. arrived, Head forced L.S.H. into another vehicle at gunpoint, while Glanton drove away in L.S.H.’s plumbing van.
Head began driving L.S.H. away from the scene, and L.S.H. struggled with Head. Head then shot L.S.H. once in the chest and twice in the abdomen and crashed his car into a tree. Head fled the scene and called Glanton, who returned to the area in L.S.H.’s van to pick up Head. Head and Glanton then fled the area together. They later drove to another area of Miami, where they doused L.S.H.’s van in gasoline and lit it on fire.
Paramedics arrived at the murder scene and found L.S.H.’s body in the rear seat of Head’s vehicle. L.S.H. was pronounced dead on the scene. The medical examiner determined that L.S.H.’s cause of death was blood loss from the three gunshot wounds.
The crimes to which Glanton and Head pled guilty include conspiring to commit a Hobbs Act robbery, carjacking resulting in death, and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Glanton entered his guilty plea on April 2, 2021, and is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Roy K. Altman, who sits in Ft. Lauderdale, on August 25, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. Head entered his guilty plea last month and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Altman on July 20, 2021, at 10:00 a.m.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Robert Cekada, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office, and Alfredo Ramirez, Director, Miami Dade Police Department, made the announcement.
ATF Miami and MDPD investigated this case. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel J. Marcet and Jessica Kahn Obenauf.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 19-cr-20063.
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Two Miami Residents Arrested for Their Alleged Role in $8 Million Scheme to Defraud Prescription Drug Coupon ProgramsRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida -- William Clero, 44 and Cesar Armando Perez Amador, 51, residents of Miami, Florida, were arrested today for their alleged participation in a scheme to defraud prescription drug cost savings (coupon) programs offered by pharmaceutical manufacturers to reduce the cost of prescription drugs for consumers.
On February 25, 2021, Clero and Perez were indicted by a Grand Jury in the Southern District of Florida and charged with participating in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering offenses, and six counts of money laundering.
According to court documents, Clero and Perez were the beneficial owners of 15 retail pharmacies located in Miami, Florida, and concealed their ownership and control of the pharmacies by enlisting “nominee” owners. It is alleged that from approximately December 2014 through February 2021, Clero and Perez submitted and caused the submission of fraudulent claims for reimbursement to prescription drug coupon programs that falsely and fraudulently represented that prescription drugs had been prescribed by physicians and were being dispensed to patients by the pharmacies. As a result of the scheme, prescription drug coupon programs paid more than $8 million to the pharmacies. Further, Clero and Perez conspired with each other and with others to launder the proceeds of the scheme through shell companies and to engage in monetary transactions to spend the fraud proceeds on themselves and others, according to the allegations.
Both defendants had their initial appearances today in federal magistrate court. Clero’s arraignment and a pretrial detention hearing are set for April 7, 2021. Perez’s arraignment is set for April 12, 2021. These hearings will take place in federal magistrate court in Miami.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting 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.
This case is being investigated by HSI Miami. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aimee Jimenez of the Southern District of Florida.
An indictment and criminal complaint are charging instruments 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 on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-20112.
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Leader of Mexico’s United Cartels and Others Charged in South Florida Federal Court with Importing over 1100 Pounds of Crystal MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – South Florida federal prosecutors have charged the leader of a notorious Mexican drug cartel and five others for their alleged roles in importing into the United States over 500 kilograms (over 1100 pounds) of Mexican methamphetamine. In the largest methamphetamine seizure in Miami-Dade County history, law enforcement agents seized the over 1100 pounds of crystal meth before it ever hit the streets.
The defendants are charged in two separate complaints with drug conspiracy, drug trafficking, drug importation, and other crimes. One complaint charges Adalberto Fructuoso Comparan-Rodriguez, a/k/a “Fruto,”57, who is the former mayor of Aguililla, Mexico and, according to the allegations, the leader of the United Cartels in Michoacán, Mexico, with drug trafficking crimes. It also charges Alfonso Rustrian, 34, of Mexico, as a coconspirator. See Case No. 21-mj-2570. Both Comparan-Rodriguez and Rustrian were arrested in Guatemala on March 30, 2021, at the request of the United States.
A second criminal complaint charges another four defendants for their roles in the alleged methamphetamine scheme: Adalberto Fructose Comparan-Bedolla, 31 (the son of Comparan-Rodriguez), Carlos Basauri-Coto, 31, Silviano Gonzalez-Aguilar, 44, and Salvador Valdez, 34. See Case No. 21-mj-2614. Law enforcement officers arrested these four defendants in Miami on March 30, 2021. They have made their initial appearances and are scheduled for detention hearings in federal magistrate court in Miami on April 7, 2021.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Keith Weis, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Miami Field Division, made the announcement.
“These significant arrests and drug seizures of crystal methamphetamine should serve notice that the United States, working hand-in-hand with our international partners, will not stop until drug traffickers at the highest levels are brought to justice,” said Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Juan Antonio Gonzalez. “We will continue to work with our foreign and domestic partners to keep these poisonous substances from reaching our streets.”
“As the threat of methamphetamine continues to grow in Florida, this was yet another brazen attempt by a highly organized and dangerous foreign criminal group to set up a significant methamphetamine pipeline from Mexico directly into the Miami Metro Area.” said DEA’s Miami Field Division Special Agent in Charge Keith Weis. “Fortunately, our dedicated foreign and domestic investigators and prosecutors from numerous agencies, interdicted this effort by making record seizures of an extremely hazardous narcotic while simultaneously removing the primary leadership.”
According to the criminal complaint affidavits, in January 2021, Comparan-Rodriguez and Rustrian met in Cali, Colombia with a person they believed to be a money launderer and drug trafficker associated with Hezbollah (“purported drug buyer”). Rustrian explained that Comparan-Rodriguez was a leader of the United Cartels, and that they could supply hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine to the purported drug buyer, say the affidavits. They ultimately agreed that Comparan-Rodriguez and Rustrian would send 500 kilograms of methamphetamine from Mexico, through Texas, to the Miami area, according to the charges.
To make the methamphetamine undetectable, members of the methamphetamine organization hid it inside different materials. On March 20, 2021, according to the allegations, a truck carrying concrete tiles filled with methamphetamine arrived in Miami. It is alleged that Comparan-Bedolla helped crack the concrete tiles open and remove approximately 200 kilograms of methamphetamine from them. The rest of the meth (over 300 kilograms) arrived in Miami on March 26, 2021, say the court documents. This time, it was dissolved within five-gallon buckets of house paint. According to the allegations, Comparan-Bedolla and two chemists (Gonzalez-Aguilar and Valdez) worked for days inside a warehouse, extracting pure crystal methamphetamine from the paint. Law enforcement agents seized the meth before it hit the streets and made arrests.
Also according to the charging documents, throughout the conspiracy, defendant Basauri-Coto was in charge of laundering the methamphetamine sales proceeds for the organization. Basauri-Coto proposed laundering the money through two of his companies and flying out over $4,000,000 in cash via private jet, say the charging documents. It is alleged that on March 30, 2021, soon before his arrest, Basauri-Coto accepted a suitcase full of cash for this purpose.
A criminal complaint merely contains allegations and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Acting U.S. Attorney Gonzalez commends the DEA for their investigative efforts. He also commends the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs along with the DEA Mexico City, Guatemala City, and Bogota Country Offices; Hialeah Police Department; Hialeah Gardens Police Department; City of Miami Police Department; Aventura Police Department; Miami Beach Police Department; Miami-Dade County Police Department; and Miramar Police Department for their assistance in this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Frederic “Fritz” Shadley of the International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section in the Southern District of Florida is prosecuting the case.
This investigation and prosecution was carried out by members of the South Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force. The South Florida HIDTA, established in 1990, is made up of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies who, cooperatively, target the region’s drug-trafficking and money laundering organizations. The South Florida HIDTA is funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which sponsors a variety of initiatives focused on the nation’s illicit drug trafficking threats.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case numbers 21-mj-2570 and 21-mj-2614.
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Armed Standoff in Everglades National Park Leads to Federal Attempted Murder and Firearms Charges Against Miami ManRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida -- South Florida federal prosecutors have charged 37-year-old Drew Curtis Sikes with attempting to kill an officer of the United States and with a federal gun crime after an armed standoff in Everglades National Park on Sunday.
According to allegations in a criminal complaint affidavit, on March 28, 2021, Sikes shot several rounds from an AK-47 semi-automatic rifle at law enforcement officers who were attempting to get Sikes out of a wooded area inside Everglades National Park. It is alleged that Sikes had been involved in an altercation at the Park earlier that day and that law enforcement officers were responding to a call reporting the alleged incident. Sikes was not at the location of the reported altercation when officers arrived. After some initial investigating, which included observing scrapes and marks on the face of Sikes’s alleged victim, officers searched for Sikes along highway 9336, between the Mahogany Hammocks and Flamingo Park sections of Everglades National Park.
When officers arrived in marked police vehicles to the wooded area where they believed Sikes to be, they used a loudspeaker to convey information and commands to Sikes: They identified themselves as law enforcement and directed Sikes to exit the woods. At that point, according to the complaint affidavit, officers heard gunfire and felt rounds traveling over their heads. Despite officers’ continued commands that Sikes cease fire and emerge from the woods, Sikes continued shooting, says the affidavit. Law enforcement officers negotiated for over an hour with Sikes, who eventually emerged from the woods and was arrested, according to the allegations.
Sikes is scheduled to make his initial court appearance today, March 30, 2021, in federal magistrate court in Miami.
Juan Antonio “Tony” Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office, and Christopher Smith, Special Agent in Charge, National Park Service, made the announcement.
FBI Miami and the National Park Service are investigating this case. Miami Dade Police Department provided assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Manolo Reboso is prosecuting this case.
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 copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-mj-02597.
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Juan Antonio “Tony” Gonzalez Becomes Acting U.S. Attorney for Southern District of FloridaRead the Press Release
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“I look forward to leading the Office’s dedicated lawyers and staff as we continue to enforce our federal laws and seek justice on behalf of all South Florida residents,” said Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Juan Antonio “Tony” Gonzalez.
Mr. Gonzalez has been an Assistant United States Attorney in South Florida since 1998. He is a career prosecutor who has held various supervisory positions with the office. From 2002 to 2009, Mr. Gonzalez served as Deputy Chief of Narcotics in charge of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA). In 2009, Mr. Gonzalez assumed the position of HIDTA Operations Coordinator for both the Miami-Dade and Broward County HIDTA Units and, in 2011, he took the dual roles of HIDTA Operations Coordinator and Deputy Chief of Narcotics in charge of HIDTA. He continued in those roles until 2019, when he was selected to serve as First Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
Throughout his federal career, Mr. Gonzalez has investigated and tried an array of complex, high-profile cases. In United States v. Battle, et al. for example, following a six-month trial, Mr. Gonzalez secured RICO conspiracy convictions and a $1.4 billion forfeiture verdict against members of a criminal enterprise charged with various murders, arsons, acts of illegal gambling, money laundering, and narcotics trafficking.
Other notable cases prosecuted by Mr. Gonzalez include securing a money laundering conviction and significant sentence against Spanish drug lord Alvaro Lopez Tardon, and United States v. Solorzano et al., where he prosecuted a complex international money laundering investigation involving the Venezuelan parallel market. Mr. Gonzalez also participated in the investigation and ultimate guilty plea of Luis Gustavo Moreno Rivera, the Colombian Attorney General’s Director of Anticorruption; was part of the prosecution team obtaining convictions in the billion-dollar NTR/Elemetals gold money laundering prosecutions; and was the lead prosecutor securing the conviction of French national Gal Vallerius a.k.a. Oxymonster, the senior moderator of the Dark Web drug marketplace Dream Market.
Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Gonzalez began his career as a prosecutor at the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office. Mr. Gonzalez spent most of his seven years in the State Attorney’s Office in the Racketeering/Organized Crime and Public Corruption Unit where he specialized in long-term, wiretap investigations of corrupt police officers and organized crime figures. In that unit, Mr. Gonzalez spent four years as a cross-designated Special Assistant US Attorney (SAUSA) for the Southern District of Florida. As a SAUSA, Mr. Gonzalez successfully tried several organized crime cases in federal court.
Mr. Gonzalez is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist and frequently lectures domestically and abroad in the areas of international money laundering, narcotics trafficking and trans-national organized crime.
Mr. Gonzalez received his law degree from the University of Miami School of Law in 1991, and his undergraduate degree (Bachelor of Arts in Psychology) from the University of Miami in 1988.
Under the Vacancies Reform Act, Mr. Gonzalez now serves as the Acting United States Attorney until a successor is nominated by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate.
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Statement of United States Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan Following ResignationRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Ariana Fajardo Orshan makes the following statement to the residents of South Florida:
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My fellow South Floridians:
As is expected with a change in administration, I have submitted to President Biden my resignation as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, effective at midnight on March 27, 2021. Beginning March 28, 2021, Juan Antonio “Tony” Gonzalez, who currently serves as the First Assistant United States Attorney, will lead the office as Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
Serving as your United States Attorney has been the privilege and honor of my lifetime. As the first Senate-confirmed woman to lead the office, I find it moving that my tenure ends in March, the month during which we celebrate women’s contributions to society. Befittingly, I take this opportunity to share with you some of the many things that we accomplished during my time as U.S. Attorney.
We battled drug crimes head-on, from targeting local dealers feeding the fentanyl and methamphetamine epidemics in our communities to taking on the most notorious of international drug lords, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the violent leader of the Sinaloa cartel who moved tons of cocaine, heroin, and other illegal narcotics into our country. Prosecutors from my office spent three months in a federal courtroom, sitting across from El Chapo, and secured a guilty verdict and lifetime prison sentence.
We furthered our commitment to reducing violent crime and approached the problem from different angles. When a Little Havana gang used armed violence to further their drug trafficking business in South Florida, we prosecuted 24 gang members and associates. Through our outreach programs, we connected with our community’s children and encouraged them to make smarter choices; and guided adults who had made bad decisions in the past so that they could make better ones in future.
We prosecuted criminals who preyed on seniors, from the leader of a $1 billion investment Ponzi scheme that targeted older adults, to fraudsters who impersonated bank representatives to drain their elderly victims’ bank accounts.
We held accountable doctors and other professionals who stole millions of dollars from our Medicare and Medicaid programs by fraudulently billing for medically unnecessary home health services, prescription drugs, durable medical equipment, and addiction treatment services.
We focused on getting child sex predators off our streets. In one case, we prosecuted the mastermind of an on-line sextortion ring who coerced children into producing and distributing child pornography. In another, we brought a child predator to justice after he lied about his age and enticed an 11-year-old girl into an on-line sexual relationship. These defendants will spend years in prison. We also charged persons you would never expect would commit child exploitation crimes: a former police officer, a former elementary school principal, a veterinarian and a pediatrician.
We took on foreign corruption and money laundering, crimes that deeply impact our community, the treasured gateway to Latin America. We charged the former Economics Minister of Guatemala with laundering millions of dollars in dirty drug proceeds through South Florida banks. To deal with the kleptocrats stealing money from their countries and trying to hide it in South Florida real estate, I established a dedicated Money Laundering Section at the office. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Venezuela, Venezuela’s Minister of Electrical Energy, and officials and businesspeople connected to Venezuela’s state-owned oil company (PDVSA) and similar institutions are among those we have charged with money laundering crimes. And, we seized for forfeiture approximately $450 million in currency and assets from foreign corrupt actors.
We rooted out corruption in local government too, including corruption in government contracting and spending, and in shady deal making that involved bribes. We held to account police officers who furthered illegal drug activity for personal profit.
We sought justice in civil rights cases by securing prison sentences for a former police chief who tried to boost his department’s statistics by directing officers to make baseless arrests and for two corrections officers who used physical assault and intimidation to discipline young inmates in their care. And, we are actively prosecuting a case against a local police officer charged by a grand jury with violating the civil rights of a minor and an adult woman.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, closing our courthouses and forcing us to turn home spaces into workspaces, we pulled together. Thanks in large part to the strength of our information technology staff and administrative personnel, the close to 500 employees of this office adapted and did not miss a beat. We forcefully tackled the new breed of crime, emerging as national leaders in Covid-19 relief fraud prosecutions. And when a father and his sons peddled industrial bleach as a miracle cure for Covid-19, we shut them down in a civil case and charged them in a criminal one.
Of course, our office could not have achieved these successes without the firm partnerships we maintain with ATF, DEA, FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, IRS, HHS, Postal Inspection Service, Secret Service, U.S. Marshal’s Service, and other federal, state, and local agencies. Nor could we have succeeded without help from South Florida’s community and religious leaders. I thank the wonderful people of these organizations for their enduring commitment to justice and for their support and friendship.
Finally, it is important to note that we achieved these successes during very challenging times. Three months into my tenure, we faced the longest federal government shutdown in history. In my second year as U.S. Attorney, the global pandemic and ensuing economic crash hit us, changing our lives in unimaginable ways. Amid that crisis, came the months of civil unrest, causing us to self-evaluate and confront difficult and painful race issues. The year 2021 started no better, as violence rocked our nation’s Capitol building on January 6, leading to nationwide investigations and arrests. Lastly, our district suffered the tragic killing of two FBI Miami agents while in the line of duty last month. Having worked through these challenges alongside the dedicated public servants of this office, I know that I leave the residents of South Florida in the best of hands.
I could not have served as U.S. Attorney for the last two and a half years without the support of this community. God bless South Florida and the United States of America!
With warmest regards,
Ariana Fajardo Orshan
United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida
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Southern District of Florida Takes Sweeping Action Against CARES Act FraudRead the Press Release
Miami, Fl. – The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, the Acting Assistant Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, and representatives from their partner law enforcement agencies announced today an update on their criminal enforcement efforts in South Florida to combat fraud under the CARES Act, the relief legislation that Congress passed one year ago to help individuals and businesses financially survive the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the enforcement efforts announced today include prosecutions against defendants accused of trying to steal funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and the Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefit program.
The Southern District of Florida is a national leader in Covid-19 financial fraud prosecutions. In the last month, the district has charged the 18 federal criminal cases listed below alleging Covid-19/CARES Act-related financial fraud. Since passage of the CARES Act one year ago, the South Florida U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged a total of 38 COVID-19 financial fraud cases, with fraud scheme dollar amounts totaling over $75 million.
“When the CARES Act was first passed a year ago, our office promised South Floridians that we would prioritize the prosecution of fraudsters who tried to capitalize on this global health and economic crisis,” said Ariana Fajardo Orshan, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “Our work has just begun, and we will continue to work together with our partners to hold accountable those who try to cheat South Floridians of much needed relief money.”
“To anyone thinking of using the global pandemic as an opportunity to scam and steal from hardworking Americans, my advice is simple – don’t,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “No matter where you are or who you are, we will find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
“The Cares Act was founded to provide financial assistance to millions of Americans and small businesses who are suffering the devastating economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is appalling to see that so many fraudsters orchestrated COVID-19 schemes of this magnitude. It is these indeterminate times where it is imperative for law enforcement partners to combat those who continue to enrich themselves by stealing from Americans in dire need of these funds”, said Acting Special Agent in Charge Tyler R. Hatcher, of IRS Criminal Investigation, Miami Field Office.
“Combatting fraud in the economic stimulus programs focused on providing aid to the nation’s small businesses requires a whole of government response,” said SBA OIG’s Eastern Region Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite. “SBA OIG will aggressively pursue evidence of fraud with its law enforcement partners. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for its leadership and dedication to pursuing justice.”
“Our investigations quickly identified individuals willing to capitalize on this national emergency to enrich themselves at the expense of struggling businesses and their employees,” said George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office. “Today does not represent the end of our efforts in this fight. The FBI will continue to pursue those who defraud the government until they are all prosecuted.”
“The egregious act of stealing from the U.S. government hurts the well-deserving American workers and families that truly deserve the financial assistance provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act,” said Juan A. Vargas, Acting Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Miami Division. “Together with our federal, state, and local partners we will continue to investigate these types of crimes and seek justice for all Americans trying to make it through this pandemic. We stand together with Americans and strive to obtain justice for all.”
“An important mission of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations of fraud relating to the unemployment insurance program. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate these types of allegations,” stated Rafiq Ahmad, Special Agent-in-Charge, Atlanta Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
“Taking advantage of a program designated to assist businesses in the midst of a pandemic is truly reprehensible,” said Special Agent in Charge Zinnia James of the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Southeast Region. “CGIS and our law enforcement partners will continue to aggressively pursue all manner of fraud within the maritime community.”
“Today’s announcement is the culmination of hard work by numerous agencies. It sends a clear message – federal law enforcement is watching, and will relentlessly pursue fraudsters and bring them to justice,” said Wayne Rosen, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Miami Regional Office, Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. “We are proud to work with our law enforcement partners in this endeavor.”
Other law enforcement agency partners involved in recent prosecutions of alleged Covid-19 relief financial fraud are United States Secret Service and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General.
On March 27, 2020, Congress passed a $2.2 trillion economic relief bill known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Anticipating the need to protect the integrity of these taxpayer funds and to otherwise protect South Floridians from financial fraud related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Southern District of Florida immediately established multiple efforts dedicated to identifying, investigating, and prosecuting such fraud. The multifaceted approach to enforcement during this national health emergency continues.
Criminal enforcement in the Southern District of Florida to combat COVID-19/CARES Act- related financial fraud schemes have proceeded on numerous fronts, including:
- Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud: Prominent among the District’s efforts have been cases involving attempts to obtain PPP loans through fraud. These loans were intended to help small businesses financially survive the COVID-19 pandemic. The cases charged in the District involve a range of conduct, from individual business owners who have inflated their payroll expenses to obtain larger loans than they otherwise would have qualified for, to serial fraudsters who revived dormant corporations and purchased shell companies with no actual operations to apply for multiple loans falsely stating they had significant payroll, to organized criminal networks submitting identical loan applications and supporting documents under the names of different companies.
- Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) fraud: Another type of fraud charged in the District has been fraud against the EIDL program, which was designed to provide loans to small businesses, agricultural, and non-profit entities. Fraudsters have targeted the program by applying for EIDL advances and loans on behalf of ineligible newly-created, shell, or non-existent businesses, and diverting the funds for illegal purposes.
- Unemployment Insurance (UI) fraud: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than $860 billion in federal funds has been appropriated for UI benefits through September 2021. People looking to exploit UI benefits during the pandemic use stolen identities to fraudulently file for UI benefits.
The following Covid-19 relief fraud cases were charged in the Southern District of Florida in the last 30 days:
United States v. Cleare, Case No. 21-mj-02515
Kimberly Cleare, 53, of Miami Gardens, Florida, was charged by criminal complaint with wire fraud. The complaint alleges that the defendant was involved in the submission of at least 13 fraudulent EIDL applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration on behalf of herself and other individuals. The complaint further alleges that Cleare provided substantially similar data on all the applications that she submitted, even though the applications were being submitted on behalf of different business entities. USPIS Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Astigarraga is prosecuting it.
United States v. Thames, Case No. 21-mj-06101
Devonte Thames, 28, of Hollywood, South Carolina, was charged by criminal complaint with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy and attempt to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. The criminal complaint against Thames alleges that Thames participated in a conspiracy to submit at least $34 million worth of fraudulent PPP loan applications. Specifically, the criminal complaint alleges that Thames received a fraudulent PPP loan of $409,735 for his own company, the Berneta E. Thames Foundation LLC. The criminal complaint also alleges that Thames conspired to submit additional fraudulent PPP loan applications for other companies by recruiting others to submit such applications in exchange for kickbacks. IRS-CI Miami and FBI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kiran N. Bhat and DOJ Trial Attorney Philip B. Trout are prosecuting it.
United States v. Rosado, Case No. 21-mj-6145
Jericca Rosado, 27, of Buford, Georgia, was charged by criminal complaint with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy and attempt to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. The criminal complaint alleges that Rosado participated in a conspiracy to submit at least $34 million worth of fraudulent PPP loan applications. Specifically, the criminal complaint alleges that Rosado received a $50,000 kickback payment in connection with a fraudulent PPP loan of $454,272, of which she passed $25,000 to a co-conspirator, as well as a second kickback payment in connection with a fraudulent PPP loan obtained by Devonte Thames, 28, of Hollywood, South Carolina, charged by separate criminal complaint. The criminal complaint against Rosado also alleges that Rosado conspired with Thames and others to receive additional kickback payments from fraudulently obtained PPP loan proceeds, and directed kickback payments from fraudulently obtained PPP loan proceeds to other co-conspirators and their businesses. IRS-CI Miami and FBI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kiran N. Bhat and DOJ Trial Attorney Philip B. Trout are prosecuting it.
United States v. Kralievits, Case No. 21-cr-20157
Ioannis Kralievits, 30, of Miami, Florida, was charged in an information with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, relating to the alleged fraudulent receipt of a PPP loan of approximately $767,000. FDIC-OIG and IRS-CI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael N. Berger and DOJ Trial Attorney Emily Scruggs are prosecuting it.
United States v. Etwaru, Case No. 21-cr-20156
Justin Etwaru, 25 of Boca Raton, Florida, was charged in an information with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, relating to the alleged fraudulent receipt of a PPP loan of approximately $57,000. FDIC-OIG and IRS-CI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael N. Berger and DOJ Trial Attorney Emily Scruggs are prosecuting it.
United States v. Rivero, Case No. 21-cr-20160
Leonel Rivero, 35, of Miami, Florida was charged by information for his alleged participation in a scheme to obtain fraudulent PPP loans based on falsified income and expense information and tax documentation. According to the allegations in the information, Rivero owned a tax-preparation business in Hialeah Gardens and submitted approximately 118 fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of himself and his accomplices. Combined, the 118 PPP loan applications sought more than $2.3 million in PPP loans. On each PPP loan application, Rivero allegedly falsified the applicant’s prior-year income and expenses and submitted fraudulent IRS tax forms. Rivero and his accomplices allegedly received approximately $975,582 in PPP loans as a result of the fraud. IRS-CI Miami and SBA-OIG investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Browne and DOJ Trial Attorney Della Sentilles are prosecuting it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset-forfeiture.
United States v. Thompkins, Case No. 21-cr-20136
Kenbrell Armod Thompkins, 32, of Miami, Florida, a former National Football League (NFL) player, was charged by federal indictment with access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. It is alleged in court documents that Thompkins used the stolen identities of numerous Florida residents to obtain fraudulent unemployment insurance benefits from the State of California. California distributed these unemployment benefit funds in the form of debit cards, which were subsequently mailed to addresses associated with Thompkins in Miami and Aventura, Florida. Court documents allege that from August 16 through September 23, 2020, Thompkins used these debit cards to withdraw funds at various ATMs in Miami-Dade County. The alleged scheme involves approximately $300,000 in California unemployment insurance funds credited to the fraudulent debit cards associated with Thompkins, out of which approximately $230,000 of the funds were withdrawn. U.S. Secret Service, DOL-OIG, and City of Aventura Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eduardo Gardea, Jr., is prosecuting it.
United States v. Travis, Case No. 21-mj-6173
Johnesha Travis, 21 of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and his alleged co-conspirator were charged by federal criminal complaint in the Southern District of Florida with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud. They are alleged to have obtained a PPP loan of $152,605 for their company, Luxury Yacht Rentals Plus, LLC, using falsified documents. The complaint also alleges that Luxury Yacht Rentals Plus LLC did not have real employees and that they used the loan funds on personal items such as restaurants and hotels. Coast Guard Investigative Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertila Fernandez is prosecuting it.
United States v. Garcia, Case No. 21-mj-6150
Dennes Garcia, 27, of Atlanta, Georgia was charged in a federal criminal complaint with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy and attempt to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. The criminal complaint against Garcia alleges that Garcia obtained a PPP loan of $285,742 for his company, Dhanda Corporation, using falsified documents. It is alleged that Garcia failed to use the PPP loan on business-related or payroll-related expenses and instead made substantial payments to himself and others. According to the complaint, Garcia participated in a conspiracy to submit at least $34 million worth of fraudulent PPP loan applications. Many of those loan applications were approved and funded by financial institutions, paying out at least $17.6 million. IRS-CI Miami and FBI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Friedman is prosecuting it.
United States v. Denton, Case No. 21-mj-6149
Cindi Ellis Denton, 62, of Eastvale, California was charged in a federal criminal complaint with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy and attempt to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. The criminal complaint against Denton alleges that Denton obtained a PPP loan of $491,310 for her company Emerald Jade Business Solutions, using falsified documents. It is alleged that Denton failed to use the PPP loan on business-related or payroll-related expenses and instead made substantial payments to herself and others. According to the complaint, Denton conspired with others to obtain millions of dollars in fraudulent PPP loans. According to the complaint, Denton participated in a conspiracy to submit at least $34 million worth of fraudulent PPP loan applications. Many of those loan applications were approved and funded by financial institutions, paying out at least $17.6 million. IRS-CI Miami and FBI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Friedman is prosecuting it.
United States v. Dorlus, Marc, and Geronimo, Case No. 21-mj-06175
Wally Dorlus, 41, of Margate, Florida, Marcgenson Marc, 37, of Coconut Creek, Florida, and Roberto Geronimo, 40, of Miami Gardens, Florida, were charged by criminal complaint for their alleged participation in a scheme and conspiracy to obtain fraudulent PPP loans based on falsified employee and payroll obligations and documentation. According to the complaint, Dorlus was a tax preparer who, in exchange for kickbacks, facilitated the filing of over 167 fraudulent PPP loan applications, which included falsified supporting payroll tax documentation, seeking over $28 million in PPP loan funds on behalf of companies under his control and over 100 other companies. Of those, approximately 33 PPP loans were funded in the approximate amount of $5.5 million. It is alleged that Dorlus collected kickbacks ranging from 12.5% to 25% of the PPP loan proceeds and that Marc was a recruiter for Dorlus who shared in the kickbacks, which were paid to entities under the control of Dorlus and Marc or in cash. Marc, in turn, recruited at least one other individual to apply for fraudulent PPP loans through Dorlus and recruited additional applicants in exchange for a credit on the kickback he owed, says the complaint. Geronimo, who was on bond pending trial on federal drug conspiracy charges in Case No. 20-cr-20066, allegedly received a fraudulent PPP loan for approximately $250,000 based on falsified payroll tax documentation submitted by Dorlus. Geronimo paid 25% of the fraudulent PPP loan proceeds as a kickback, which was shared between Dorlus and Marc, and spent the remainder on personal expenditures, according to the allegations. As an individual subject to federal indictment, Geronimo was prohibited from applying for a PPP loan on behalf of any entities under his control. It is alleged that after receiving his own fraudulent PPP loan, Geromino attempted to recruit additional applicants for a share of the kickbacks. IRS-CI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Hauser is prosecuting it.
United States v. Saintfumin and Adras, Case No. 21-mj-02529
Oldley Saintfumin, 40, and Lucie Adras, 38, of North Miami Beach, Florida, were charged by criminal complaint for their alleged unauthorized use of debit cards issued in other individuals’ names by various state employment offices that distribute unemployment insurance benefits. From in or around May 2020, through September 2020, various states reported that dozens of unemployment insurance benefit claims had been submitted or accessed from an Internet Protocol address associated with the defendants’ residence. During execution of a search warrant at the residence, law enforcement seized at least 15 debit cards issued by the various states’ employment offices in the names of individuals other than Saintfumin and Adras. Both Saintfumin and Adras were allegedly captured on ATM surveillance video withdrawing funds from accounts associated with unemployment insurance benefits issued in other individuals’ names. DOL-OIG investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Hauser is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mitchell Hymen is handling asset forfeiture.
United States v. James Medard, a/k/a “James Menard,” a/k/a “James Joseph,” Case No. 21-mj-02514
James Medard, 47, of Miramar, Florida was charged with wire fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft in a criminal complaint that alleges that he applied for fraudulent loans under the CARES Act. According to the complaint, the defendant, who is on federal supervised release in Case No. 14-cr-20469, obtained two EIDL loans, one under the name of a business he controlled, and a second one in his name, and submitted false earnings information, a falsified IRS form, as well as false personal identifying information to conceal his true identity and obtain approval for the loans. The complaint also alleges that the defendant applied for a fraudulent PPP loan, for which he submitted falsified IRS forms, and lists of purported employees containing the means of identification of real people who did not work for the defendant or his business, and did not authorize the defendant or his business to use their means of identification to support a PPP loan application. The defendant used some of the fraud proceeds to purchase a parcel of real property, according to the complaint. IRS-CI Miami investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aimee C. Jimenez is prosecuting it.
United States v. Blanco, Case No. 21-mj-08094
Yansel Jimenez Blanco, 30, of Greenacres, Florida, and the owner of a trucking company, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of wire fraud, one count of bank fraud, and one count of money laundering. The complaint alleges that the defendant applied for and received a $487,500 PPP loan to pay business expenses for his trucking company, such as employee payroll. The defendant then used the funds to pay for personal expenses, or transferred the funds to multiple individuals who were not employees, according to the complaint. FBI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Osborne is prosecuting it.
United States v. Wolf, Case No. 21-mj-08099
Barry Wolf, 57, of Boca Raton, Florida, was charged with wire fraud. The criminal complaint alleges that defendant received over $500,000, primarily from two fraudulent PPP loans. The defendant also submitted five fraudulent EIDL applications, according to the complaint. FBI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli S. Rubin is prosecuting the case.
United States v. Herrera, Case No. 21-mj-02532
Yamil Herrera, 49, of Miami, Florida, was charged with wire fraud, in a criminal complaint that alleges that defendant received over $300,000 from two fraudulent EIDL loans and advances. FBI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli S. Rubin is prosecuting it.
United States v. Duhart, Case No. 21-mj-06153
Shanrika Shantae Duhart, 35, of Miramar, Florida was charged in a federal criminal complaint with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy and attempt to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. The criminal complaint against Duhart alleges that Duhart obtained a PPP loan of $388,790 for her company Hair She Goes, Inc., using falsified documents. It is alleged that Duhart failed to use the PPP loan on business-related or payroll-related expenses and instead made substantial payments to herself and to others, withdrew large amounts in cash, transferred money to other entities, and used money to pay for her personal expenses. According to the complaint, Duhart participated in a conspiracy to submit at least $34 million worth of fraudulent PPP loan applications. Many of those loan applications were approved and funded by financial institutions, paying out at least $17.6 million. IRS-CI and FBI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Yisel Valdes and DOJ Trial Attorney Philip B. Trout are prosecuting it.
United States v. Bain, Case No. 21-mj-06152
Yashica Sherea Bain, 38, of Miramar, Florida was charged in a federal criminal complaint with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy and attempt to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. The criminal complaint against Bain alleges that Bain obtained a PPP loan of $415,232 for her company Microblading Brow Studio, LLC, using falsified documents. It is alleged that Bain failed to use the PPP loan on business-related or payroll-related expenses and, instead, made substantial payments to herself and others, withdrew large amounts in cash, and used money towards the purchase of a bar and lounge in Miami, Florida. According to the complaint, Bain conspired with others to obtain millions of dollars in fraudulent PPP loans. According to the complaint, Bain participated in a conspiracy to submit at least $34 million worth of fraudulent PPP loan applications. Many of those loan applications were approved and funded by financial institutions, paying out at least $17.6 million. IRS-CI and FBI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Yisel Valdes and DOJ Trial Attorney Philip B. Trout are prosecuting it.
Indictments, criminal complaints, and other criminal charges referenced above are merely allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
To learn more about the Southern District of Florida’s COVID response, visit: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.
To report a COVID-19-related fraud scheme or suspicious activity, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) by calling the NCDF Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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Home Health Aide Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud Involving Check Taken from Elderly ClientRead the Press Release
Miami, Fl. -- Jamie Jakia Cofer, a/k/a “Anna Bell,” 24, of Lake Worth, Florida, pled guilty yesterday to bank fraud, after depositing and cashing an unauthorized check that was taken from an elderly client.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office and Brian J. Smith, Chief, Juno Beach Police Department made the announcement.
According to the agreed upon factual proffer, from at least on or about January 24, 2019, through no earlier than the first quarter of 2020, Cofer worked as a home health aide (HHA) for senior citizens in the South Florida community.
On May 31, 2019, without the knowledge or consent of a senior citizen client, Cofer deposited a $4,200.00 fraudulent check, belonging to the victim, into a bank account belonging to another individual. The authorized accountholder of the bank account gave Cofer permission and authority to use her account to deposit the stolen check and access the deposited funds. Cofer withdrew funds from the account and used the proceeds she obtained from cashing the unauthorized check for her own, and others’, personal benefit.
During the course of her employment, through at least two companies and as a private HHA, Cofer victimized at least five senior citizens, including the bank fraud victim. Cofer stole the personal identifying information (PII) of her elderly clients (to include: name, date of birth, Social Security number, bank account and credit card information); gained unauthorized access to the victims' bank and credit card accounts; added herself on victims' accounts; made unauthorized and fraudulent purchases and transactions using victims' accounts (to include credit cards and a bank accounts); deposited checks; and used stolen PII to open unauthorized accounts and make fraudulent purchases. In addition, Cofer stole an iPhone and credit cards from a sixth victim.
Cofer is scheduled to be sentenced on June 3, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. by U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the FBI and Juno Beach Police Department for its work on this investigation. She also thanked the Lantana Police Department and Boca Raton Police Department for their assistance.
Assistant United States Attorney Sarah J. Schall is prosecuting this case.
Anyone with information about allegations of elder fraud can report it by calling the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 or 833–372–8311.
More information about the Department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative at https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Department of Justice provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at https://www.ovc.gov.
You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case numbers 20-MJ-8273 and 21-CR-80003-Middlebrooks.
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Two South Florida Residents Indicted on Federal Sex Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – A federal grand jury has indicted two South Florida residents in connection with the alleged sex trafficking of a 16-year-old girl.
According to allegations in the criminal complaint affidavit previously filed in this case, the minor victim was a runaway from a group home, with no place to stay, when she met defendants Frantz Mersier, 30, of Hollywood, and Paula Barboza, 25, of Miami Gardens, on December 6, 2020. After offering the child a couch in his house on which to sleep, Mersier took the child in and had sex with her, says the affidavit. In the days that followed, according to the court documents, Mersier and Barboza sexually trafficked the victim. It is alleged that Barboza took nude photographs of the 16-year-old girl and posted them in on-line advertising and that Mersier and Barboza sold sex with the victim to four different men in Broward County, Florida, for $100 each. On December 9, 2020, the victim was able to call a relative. Later that day, law enforcement rescued her.
Mersier and Barboza are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and one count of sex trafficking of a minor. Barboza also is charged with production of child pornography. They face life-time prison sentences, if convicted. Mersier and Barboza are being detained pending trial.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI’s Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
The investigation was a collaborative effort of the Broward County Human Trafficking Task Force, and it was led by task force members FBI Miami’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Squad, Hollywood Police Department, Miramar Police Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Broward County State Attorney’s Office. The Task Force was established to combat all forms of human trafficking while also providing assistance and resources to address the specialized needs of trafficking victims. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brooke Latta.
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.
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.
An indictment and criminal complaint are charging documents containing allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent unless 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, under case number 21-cr-60094.
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Six Family Members Sentenced in Short Sale Mortgage Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – Today, the last of six South Florida family members was sentenced to a term of imprisonment, and ordered to pay a total of $1,342,928.77 in restitution, following her conviction by way of guilty plea in August 2020, to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Ana Cummings, 61 years old of Davie, Florida, was sentenced to 27 months of imprisonment.
During prior hearings, Cummings’s sons, Valentin Pazmino (34 years old) and Rene A. Pazmino (36 years old), were sentenced to 27 months and 18 months of imprisonment, respectively. Her daughters, Grace Pazmino (43 years old) and Diana Pazmino (31 years old), were sentenced to 27 months and 22 months of imprisonment, respectively. Her son-in-law Jared Marble (43 years old, Grace Pazmino’s husband), was sentenced to 16 months of imprisonment. All sentences were imposed by United States District Judge Jose E. Martinez following guilty pleas. Pursuant to their plea agreements, the defendants made a full payment of the restitution judgment prior to their sentencings.
According to court documents, various defendants participated in a series of ten fraudulent real estate short sale transactions in South Florida between May of 2012 and June of 2015. Cummings and Grace Pazmino participated in all ten of the fraudulent short sales. Diana Pazmino and Valentin Pazmino each participated in nine of the fraudulent short sales. Marble participated in three of the fraudulent short sales. Rene A. Pazmino participated in two of the fraudulent short sales. In each short sale transaction in which they participated, the defendants made materially false statements to a financial institution in order to defraud it into approving the short sale. Specifically, the defendants executed short sale affidavits and affidavits of arm’s length transactions falsely attesting that the sales were between unrelated, unaffiliated parties. In reality, the sales were between and among the defendants, companies controlled by the defendants, and/or individuals recruited by a defendant to participate in the fraud scheme. Members of the conspiracy also executed HUD-1 Settlement statements misrepresenting that the named buyer made the required cash-to-close payment. In reliance on these material representations, various financial institutions authorized property sales for amounts less than the outstanding principal balances due on mortgages they held on the properties, thereby incurring losses.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Tyler R. Hatcher, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Edwin S. Bonano of the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG) Southeast Region made the announcement.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Miami Field Division and the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General Southeast Region.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 19-cr-20606-JEM.
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Medical Doctor Turned Crystal Meth Dealer Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – A federal district judge in Miami has sentenced 49-year-old Carlton Cash, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to ten years in prison for dealing crystal methamphetamine. Cash holds an active Florida medical license.
Cash was charged and convicted of selling over 150 grams of crystal methamphetamine in Broward County, Florida over an eight-month period starting in 2019. Cash had worked as an emergency room physician until 2014, when he was declared disabled due to injuries he suffered in a car accident ten years earlier. Cash was receiving $15,000 each month in disability payments when he purchased about $100,000 worth of crystal methamphetamine in the year before his arrest and sold crystal methamphetamine to others. Besides his Florida license, public records show that Cash has held medical licenses in Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, New York, Michigan, and Mississippi.
In December 2020, Cash pled guilty in Miami federal court to five counts of possession with the intent to distribute crystal methamphetamine.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Keith Weis, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Miami Field Office, and Jonathan Shaw, Chief, Margate Police Department, made the announcement.
DEA and Margate Police Department investigated the case, with assistance from Broward County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Donald F. Chase, II prosecuted this case.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 20-CR-60118.
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Tax Preparer Charged with COVID-19 Loan FraudRead the Press Release
A South Florida tax preparer was charged Tuesday by criminal information with wire fraud in connection with a scheme to obtain over 100 COVID-19-relief loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
According to the allegations in the information, Leonel Rivero, 35, of Miami, owned a tax-preparation business and submitted approximately 118 fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of himself and his accomplices. Combined, the 118 PPP loan applications sought more than $2.3 million in PPP loans. On each PPP loan application, Rivero allegedly falsified the applicant’s prior-year income and expenses and submitted fraudulent IRS tax forms. Rivero and his accomplices allegedly received approximately $975,582 in PPP loans as a result of the fraud.
Rivero is scheduled for his initial court appearance on March 23 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. If convicted, Rivero faces 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.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Michael J. De Palma of the IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Miami Office; and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), Investigations Division, Eastern Regional Office, made the announcement.
The IRS-CI is investigating the case with assistance from the SBA-OIG.
Trial Attorney Della Sentilles of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Browne of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling the asset-forfeiture component of the case.
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.
The Fraud Section leads the Department of Justice’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the CARES Act. In the months since the CARES Act was passed, Fraud Section attorneys have prosecuted more than 100 defendants in more than 70 criminal cases. The Fraud Section has also seized more than $65 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/cares-act-fraud.
Anyone with general information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
An information is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Hialeah Tax Preparer Charged with COVID-19 Loan FraudRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – A South Florida tax preparer was charged Tuesday by criminal information with wire fraud in connection with a scheme to obtain over 100 COVID-19-relief loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
According to the allegations in the information, Leonel Rivero, 35, of Miami, owned a tax-preparation business and submitted approximately 118 fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of himself and his accomplices. Combined, the 118 PPP loan applications sought more than $2.3 million in PPP loans. On each PPP loan application, Rivero allegedly falsified the applicant’s prior-year income and expenses and submitted fraudulent IRS tax forms. Rivero and his accomplices allegedly received approximately $975,582 in PPP loans as a result of the fraud.
Rivero is scheduled for his initial court appearance on March 23 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. If convicted, Rivero faces 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.
U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida; Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Tyler R. Hatcher of the IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Miami Office; and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), Investigations Division, Eastern Regional Office, made the announcement.
The IRS-CI is investigating the case with assistance from the SBA-OIG.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Browne of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Della Sentilles of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling the asset-forfeiture component of the case.
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.
The Fraud Section leads the Department of Justice’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the CARES Act. In the months since the CARES Act was passed, Fraud Section attorneys have prosecuted more than 100 defendants in more than 70 criminal cases. The Fraud Section has also seized more than $65 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/cares-act-fraud.
An information is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-20160.
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Aventura Veterinarian Charged with Federal Child Exploitation and Animal Abuse CrimesRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – South Florida federal prosecutors have charged 40-year-old Prentiss K. Madden with receiving and possessing child pornography and with animal crushing, a federal crime that punishes acts of animal torture. Madden is a licensed veterinarian in Aventura, Florida.
The criminal complaint affidavit unsealed today contains the following allegations against Madden: Law enforcement agents received a Cyber Tip that an IP Address registered to Madden’s home in Miami repeatedly accessed a cloud-based file-sharing service containing images of child pornography. As part of the investigation, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant on Madden’s home. They discovered a cellular telephone alleged to belong to Madden that contained several sexually explicit videos and images of minors, as well as chats that discussed the sexual abuse of children and animals. According to the affidavit, some of the chats contained images that appeared to be of Madden engaged in sexual activity with dogs. Agents also discovered over 1000 images of child pornography and other animal abuse in Madden’s cloud-based sharing account, says the court filing. The geolocation information to one of the images depicting alleged bestiality links to the animal hospital in Aventura where Madden serves as Medical Director and Veterinarian (Caring Hands Animal Hospital), according to the complaint affidavit.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, and Alfredo Ramirez, Director, Miami Dade Police Department, made the announcement.
The criminal complaint charges Madden with one count of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(2), one count of possession of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(4)(B), and one count of animal crushing, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 48(a)(1). If convicted, Madden faces up to 37 years in prison. Madden’s detention hearing is scheduled for March 19, 2021 in magistrate court in Miami.
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.
If you have information regarding this case, or you believe you or a family member may have been a victim, please contact the HSI tip line at 1-866-347-2423.
HSI Miami and Miami-Dade Police Department investigated this case, with assistance from U.S Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Hialeah Police Department, and City of Miami Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Hudock is prosecuting this case.
A criminal complaint is merely an accusation and 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 on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 21-mj-02479.
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Miami Man Charged with Multiple Bank RobberiesRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – Federal prosecutors have charged 43-year-old Christopher C. Pinkston of Miami with robbing two banks in South Florida last month.
According to allegations in the criminal complaint affidavit, at about 1:30 p.m. on February 11, 2020, Pinkston entered the Chase Bank located at 13745 S.W. 152nd Street in Miami, approached a teller window, and handed the teller a note saying: "I need 30,000 Dollars or everybodys [sic] Dead." The victim teller gave Pinkston $1,000 in cash, after which Pinkston exited the bank, leaving the demand note behind, says the affidavit.
The complaint charges Pinkston with robbing a second bank at about 1:30 p.m. on February 19, 2020. On that day, according to the affidavit, Pinkston entered the City National Bank located at 13780 S.W. 88th St. in Miami, approached a teller window, and handed the teller a note saying: "Goodmorning this is a robbery Handover $30,000 you have less than one min no ink bombs or trackers Thank you [sic]." The victim teller handed Pinkston $5,100 in cash, after which Pinkston exited the bank, leaving the demand note behind, according to the affidavit.
Following an investigation, law enforcement arrested Pinkston on March 11, 2021. He will make his initial appearance today at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge John J. O’Sullivan, who sits in Miami.
U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District of Florida and FBI Miami Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro made the announcement.
FBI Miami investigated this case, with cooperation and assistance from Miami Dade Police Department and City of Miami Police Department, Special Investigations Section. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Egozi is prosecuting this case.
Each bank robbery charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
A criminal complaint is merely an accusation containing allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until found guilty in a court of law.
You may find a copy of this press release on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.
You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-mj-20462.
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Man Sentenced in Ft. Pierce to over 12 Years in Prison for Smuggling Migrants by Sea as Hurricane ApproachedRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – Yesterday, a federal judge in Ft. Pierce sentenced a Bahamian man to 151 months in prison for trying to smuggle migrants into the United States on a poorly-equipped and overloaded boat while the area was under a hurricane warning.
According to court documents, on the night of July 30, 2020, Vonne Rolle, 29, of Coopers Town, Bahamas, attempted to pilot a vessel from Freeport, Bahamas, to the St. Lucie Inlet, with twelve migrants on board. At the time, the area was under a hurricane warning due to the approaching storm, Isaias. The vessel, which was overloaded and not equipped with food, water, or life jackets, broke down prior to arriving in Florida. It drifted until a boater discovered it the next day. The United States Coast Guard rescued Rolle and the other migrants, including a minor, 26 miles off the coast of Stuart, Florida. Rolle was arrested and charged. On December 11, 2020, Rolle pled guilty to migrant smuggling.
Rolle was convicted and sentenced in 2016 on a separate alien smuggling charge investigated by HSI in Fort Pierce, Florida. Rolle was previously deported from the U.S. in April 2018.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, 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 investigated this case, with assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Hoover is prosecuting the case.
You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 20-14029-CR-JEM.
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Poachers of 93 Protected Sea Turtle Eggs Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – Bruce Wayne Bivins and Carl Lawrence Cobb, both of Riviera Beach, Florida, will serve federal prison terms after pleading guilty to poaching federally-protected sea turtle eggs.
U.S. District Court Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II sentenced Bivins to a seven-month term of imprisonment followed by one year of supervised release for his role in violating the Endangered Species Act, a federal law designed, in part, to protect imperiled species.
U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth A. Marra sentenced Cobb, Bivins’ co-conspirator, to a nine-month term of imprisonment followed by one year of supervised released for his role in violating the Endangered Species Act.
Florida Fish and Wildlife investigators caught Bivins and Cobb on the evening of May 24, 2020, while conducting a surveillance operation and observed Cobb (who was on Federal Supervised Probation for his January 26, 2018 conviction at the time), driving a green Ford Truck in the vicinity of 5060 North Ocean Drive, Riviera Beach, Florida. Cobb dropped Bivins off, and investigators observed Bivins digging in the sand, probing the sand with a stick, and placing his hand in and out of a dark-colored bag. Investigators later observed Bivins enter a vehicle, also driven by Cobb, with the now- heavily laden dark-colored bag. According to court records, after investigators stopped the two men, it was determined that the dark-colored bag contained freshly harvested, Federally- and State-protected sea turtle eggs.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Director Edward Grace of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement, and Law Enforcement Director Colonel Curtis Brown of the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, made the announcement.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission investigated this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney John McMillan is prosecuting it.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 20-cr-80091.
Images taken by Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. Sea Turtle nest chamber which eggs were removed from.
Images taken by Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. Dark colored bag containing illegally harvested Sea Turtle eggs.
Images taken by Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. Image of seized Loggerhead Sea Turtle eggs.
Images taken by Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. Image of seized Loggerhead Sea Turtle eggs.###
Florida Doctor, Clinic Owner and Staff Charged with Falsifying Clinical Trial DataRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – A federal grand jury in Miami has charged a Florida medical doctor and three others for their roles in an alleged scheme to falsify clinical trial data.
According to court documents, Dr. Martin Valdes, 64, of Coral Gables, Florida, Fidalgis Font, 53, of Miami, Julio Lopez, 54, of Miami, and Duniel Tejeda, 35, of Canon City, Colorado, were charged in a six-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Feb. 23, 2021. Each defendant was charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and at least one substantive count of mail fraud. In addition, Valdes and Font were charged with money laundering and Valdes was further charged with making a false statement to inspectors with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“Falsifying clinical data is a violation of the public’s trust and it endangers the safety of consumers,” said Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “Those who enrich themselves while compromising public health in this way commit serious crimes and will be prosecuted.”
“The public must be able to rely on the accuracy and honesty of clinical trial data, which is essential to ensuring the safety of drugs approved for patient use,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The defendants undermined that process and put patients at risk. The Department of Justice will pursue and prosecute those who put personal profit before public health.”
According to the indictment, from at least February 2014 through at least July 2016, the defendants fabricated clinical trial data for profit while working at Tellus Clinical Research, a medical clinic based in Miami. The indictment alleges that the defendants knowingly enrolled subjects in clinical trials when those subjects failed to meet eligibility criteria, falsified subject laboratory results, falsified subject medical records, and falsely represented that subjects were taking the drugs being studied when in fact they were not. Valdes served as primary investigator for the clinical trials conducted at Tellus, Font was the owner of the business, and Lopez and Tejeda were senior Tellus employees.
“Reliable and accurate data from clinical trials is the cornerstone of FDA’s evaluation of a new drug,” said Catherine A. Hermsen, FDA Assistant Commissioner for Criminal Investigations. “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.”
If convicted of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud or mail fraud, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment. If convicted of money laundering, Valdes faces a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment, and Font faces a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment. If convicted of making a false statement to the FDA, Valdes faces a maximum of five years’ imprisonment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida provided critical assistance in this case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant Director Clint Narver, Trial Attorney Lauren M. Elfner, and Trial Attorney Joshua Rothman of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch. The FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, Miami Field Office, investigated the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-20106.
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Couple Pleads Guilty to $1.1 Million COVID-Relief Fraud After Falsely Claiming to Be FarmersRead the Press Release
A Florida couple pleaded guilty for their participation in a scheme to file four fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $1.1 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
On Aug. 26, 2020, Latoya Stanley, 38, and Johnny Philus, 33, both of Miami, were originally charged via a complaint filed in the Southern District of Florida.
In Stanley’s PPP application, she claimed to employ 18 individuals from her company, Dream Gurl Beauty Supply LLC. Philus, meanwhile, stated that he employed 29 individuals at his company, Elegance Auto Boutique LLC. In actuality, Stanley and Philus did not employ anyone at their respective companies.
In her EIDL application, Stanley claimed to generate over $800,000 in income and to employ five individuals from a farm based in the yard of her Miami home. In his EIDL application, Philus claimed to generate $400,000 in income and to employ 10 individuals from a farm located in the yard of a small residential home. In actuality, Stanley and Philus employed no one and the farms did not exist.
Stanley and Philus worked together to effectuate the fraud and ultimately received over $1 million in fraudulent funds from the fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications before their schemes were uncovered.
Sentencing has been scheduled for June 2.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District of Florida; Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) J. Russell George; Inspector General Hannibal “Mike” Ware of the SBA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG); and Inspector in Charge Antonio Gomez of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Miami Division made the announcement.
The 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.
The EIDL program is designed to provide economic relief to small businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue. EIDL proceeds can be used to cover a wide array of working capital and normal operating expenses, such as continuation of health care benefits, rent, utilities and fixed debt payments. If an applicant also obtains a loan under the PPP, the EIDL funds cannot be used as the same purpose as the PPP funds.
This case was investigated by the SBA-OIG, USPIS, and TITGA. Trial Attorney Louis Manzo of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.
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 Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
South Florida Escort Sentenced to Prison for Tax FraudRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – A South Florida male escort who lied to the IRS about his income was sentenced today to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay $278,325 in restitution.
According to court documents, 46-year-old Jami Kopacz worked as a paid escort directly with individual clients and with a private escort company as an independent contractor. Kopacz accepted payment for his work through cash, check, wire transfer, and electronic money transfer to JK Trading LLC, a Florida “Subchapter S” corporation that he established in 2015. Kopacz, the sole owner of JK Trading, elected to report the company’s income and losses on his personal tax returns. This meant that JK Trading’s income, losses, deductions, and credits would pass through to Kopacz’s individual tax returns and that Kopacz would pay tax on the company’s earnings at the individual, and not the corporate, tax rate.
From 2015 to 2018, Kopacz filed false corporate tax returns with the IRS that substantially underreported JK Trading’s gross receipts and total income. This understatement on JK Training’s corporate tax returns passed through to Kopacz’s individual tax returns, which were also false because they underreported his total income. Kopacz caused a total tax loss to the Internal Revenue Service of $278,325.
In addition to imposing a term of imprisonment, Judge Roy K. Altman ordered Kopacz to pay $278,325 in restitution to the IRS.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and Tyler R. Hatcher, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman commended the investigative efforts of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Miami Field Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Browne and Trial Attorney Grace Albinson.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 20-cr-60096-RKA.
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Escort Sentenced to Prison for Underreporting IncomeRead the Press Release
A Florida man was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for filing a false tax return.
Jami Kopacz, of Fort Lauderdale, pleaded guilty to filing a false corporate tax return on Dec. 16, 2020. According to court documents and statements made in court, Kopacz worked as a paid escort for clients across the United States. Kopacz received payments directly from his escort clients, and from a private business for whom he worked as an independent contractor. From 2015 to 2018, Kopacz used his corporation, JK Training LLC, to receive income, and then filed false corporate tax returns (Forms 1120S) that substantially underreported the company’s gross receipts and total income. The understatement on JK Training’s corporate tax returns was passed through to Kopacz’s individual tax returns, which were also false as they underreported his total personal income. Kopacz caused a total tax loss to the IRS of $278,325.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Court Judge Roy K. Altman ordered Kopacz to pay $278,325 in restitution to the IRS.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Grace Albinson of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Browne of the Southern District of Florida prosecuted this case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
Boca Raton Man Used Messenger Applications to Produce Child Pornography of Toddler and Other MinorsRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – A Boca Raton man pleaded guilty today in West Palm Beach federal court to producing, distributing, and possessing child sexual abuse material.
As part of his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks, Robert Solove, 29, admitted to using social networking applications on his phone to communicate with children and to solicit and distribute child sexual abuse material. Solove admitted during the hearing that he created illegal photos and videos of an 18-month-old child in his care and shared them in his smartphone social networking application’s chat rooms and with other individuals. Solove also developed an online relationship with a middle school-aged girl in a different state. He directed the middle schooler to take pornographic photographs and videos of herself and send them to Solove through a second smartphone application. In addition, Solove admitted during the hearing that he acquired sexual abuse material of other children from several internet platforms and stored them on his cellular telephone.
Solove’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 20, 2021 at 10am before U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks. Solove faces up to 120 years in federal prison, plus payment of restitution to his victims.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
HSI Miami investigated the case, with assistance from Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller is prosecuting it.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov or https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/project-safe-childhood.
You may find related court documents on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 20-cr-80025.
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Federal Detainee Who Threw a Chair at an Assistant United States Attorney and Threatened to Kill Him Arraigned on Federal ChargesRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – A South Florida federal grand jury has indicted Tavorris Wilkins, 33, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with assaulting an Assistant United States Attorney and threatening to assault and kill an Assistant United States Attorney.
According to court documents, on November 7, 2019, a jury returned a verdict in a separate case finding Wilkins guilty of multiple federal charges. As the members of the jury were exiting the courtroom, Wilkins picked up a chair at his table and threw it at the Assistant United States Attorney prosecuting his case, barely missing him, alleges the indictment. Multiple Deputy United States Marshals tackled Wilkins and attempted to restrain him. It is alleged that while this occurred, Wilkins threatened to kill and assault the Assistant United States Attorney.
The indictment is only an allegation. Wilkins is innocent until such time that he is proven guilty. If convicted, Wilkins faces a maximum sentence of (20) years’ imprisonment.
U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida, United States Marshal Gadyaces S. Serralta of the USM’s Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Robert Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, made the announcement.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigatory efforts of the USMS and ATF in this matter. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ajay J. Alexander.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 19-cr-80032.
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South Florida Pediatrician Detained on Federal Child Pornography Possession ChargeRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – Today, a federal magistrate judge in Ft. Lauderdale ordered South Florida pediatrician Michael Mizrachy, 49, of Parkland, Florida, held without bond pending trial on a federal charge of possession of child pornography.
According to the federal criminal complaint affidavit, in June 2020, the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received a CyberTip from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children about files depicting child pornography being uploaded to an e-mail account, including a video of a prepubescent child being sexually abused. An investigation led law enforcement to Mizrachy, who worked as a pediatrician in Broward County, Florida. The affidavit alleges that during execution of a search warrant at Mizrachy’s home in Parkland, Florida, law enforcement officers obtained evidence that Mizrachy used an instant messenger application to obtain child pornography and communicate with minors about sex.
During a hearing today in Ft. Lauderdale, U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia O. Valle ordered pre-trial detention for Mizrachy, meaning he will remain in custody pending his federal trial. If convicted on the federal charge, Mizrachy faces up to 20 years in prison. Mizrachy also faces a pending state criminal case in connection with the alleged conduct.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, and Gregory Tony, Sheriff, Broward County Sheriff’s Office, made the announcement.
HSI Miami investigated this matter, with Broward County Sheriff’s Office and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brooke Latta and Ajay Alexander are prosecuting the case.
A federal criminal complaint is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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.
You may find related court documents on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 21-mj-6102.
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Pharmaceutical Business Owner Sentenced in Miami for Role in Prescription Medication Diversion SchemeRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – A Miami federal judge has sentenced a wholesale pharmaceutical business owner to 103 months imprisonment for his role in a scheme to pass off expensive and delicate prescription medications illegally procured on the streets as ones that came directly from legitimate prescription drug manufacturers. The illegally obtained prescription medications to treat conditions like cancer, HIV, and psychiatric illness ended up in pharmacies and in the hands of unsuspecting patients.
Mohammad Salemi, 35 years old, of Medina, Washington, operated a wholesale pharmaceutical business that obtained its supply from an underground health care fraud market. Criminals would obtain bottles of medications from health care fraud, including from patients who had prescriptions for the medicines but sold them instead of using them. During backstreet exchanges, many of which occurred in Miami, unmarked boxes filled with bottles of these illegally obtained medications were turned over to others who worked with Salemi. Many of the drugs involved required storage in controlled conditions, the types of which usually do not exist during street drug exchanges.
Salemi fabricated documents to make it appear that the drugs were obtained directly from the manufacturers. Other participants in the scheme cleaned the bottles to remove patient prescription labels and make them look like legitimate medical products. Salemi shipped the drugs, with falsified papers, to another co-conspirator who had a pharmaceutical wholesale company in Arizona. The co-conspirator then sold the drugs to pharmacies, which sold them to unsuspecting patients. Salemi sold approximately $78 million worth of these medicines. He hid his profits and kept the scheme going through an extensive series of wire transfers and the use of shell corporations.
In connection with his conduct, on October 13, 2020, Salemi pled guilty to engaging in a conspiracy to traffic in medical products with false documentation and money laundering conspiracy. He is one of seven defendants to plead guilty to charges in the indictment.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami Field Office, and Justin C. Fielder, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations’ (FDA-OCI) Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
FBI Miami and FDA investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank Tamen and Walter Norkin are prosecuting it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture.
You may find related court documents on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 19-cr-20674.
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Canadian National Pleads Guilty to Human Smuggling ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A Canadian national pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to bring aliens to the United States for private financial gain in connection with his role in a scheme to smuggle aliens from Sri Lanka through the Caribbean and into the United States.
As part of the plea, Sri Kajamukam Chelliah, aka Mohan, aka Richie, 55, of Sri Lanka, admitted to conspiring with others to facilitate the travel of aliens from Sri Lanka through Haiti, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Bahamas to the United States from on or about July 1, 2019 through on or about Oct. 10, 2019. During the course of the conspiracy, Chelliah worked with other human smugglers, arranging housing and transport for illegal aliens en route to Canada through the United States. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
“By participating in a smuggling operation which planned to illegally transport individuals through various countries, including the United States, the defendant jeopardized the national security of the United States for his own financial benefit” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “As this case demonstrates, the Criminal Division is committed to working with our law enforcement partners both here and abroad to bring human smugglers to justice and to disrupt and dismantle the international networks they operate.”
Chelliah arranged for the individuals to be transported from the airport in Port Au Prince, Haiti, to a hotel where Chelliah housed and provided them with food. Chelliah then arranged for transportation by boat from Haiti to Turks and Caicos Islands, then to the Bahamas, and then by boat to Miami, Florida. Chelliah accompanied the individuals, including traveling with them by boat during their journey. The actions undertaken by Chelliah and co-conspirators in furtherance of their smuggling activities were done in exchange for payment.
Specifically, Chelliah further admitted as part of the plea that from approximately October 2017 to approximately September 2019, six Sri Lankan nationals with no legal right to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, travelled from Sri Lanka to Haiti with the assistance of human smugglers. Upon arrival in Haiti, Chelliah arranged for the six individuals to be picked up at the airport and taken to a hotel. Chelliah arranged for the individuals to be housed and fed at the hotel, then travel by boat from Haiti to Turks and Caicos Islands and from Turks and Caicos Islands to the Bahamas. The six aliens would then travel from the Bahamas to Miami, Florida, by boat.
According to the plea agreement, on Oct. 10, 2019, the six aliens, accompanied by Chelliah, boarded a Haitian sloop sailboat heading for Turks and Caicos Islands. The Haitian sloop sailboat carrying approximately 154 aliens, including Chelliah, was subsequently interdicted by Turks and Caicos authorities. Chelliah was arrested and ultimately convicted in Turks and Caicos on local immigration charges and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment. Following the completion of his prison sentence, he was placed in immigration detention in Turks and Caicos.
Chelliah was later arrested on July 28, 2020, by Turks and Caicos authorities, based on a provisional arrest request submitted by the United States premised on a sealed U.S. criminal complaint. He consented to extradition and, on Aug. 15, 2020, the Governor of Turks and Caicos issued an order allowing the extradition to the United States. Chelliah was extradited to the United States on Aug. 17, 2020, and the criminal complaint was unsealed at his initial appearance on the same date.
This case is being investigated by HSI Miami, with assistance from the HSI Human Smuggling Unit and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The investigation is being conducted under the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program, a joint partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI. The ECT program focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence and prosecutorial resources. ECT coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Rami S. Badawy and John Alex-Romano of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP), and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Dobbins of the Southern District of Florida, with support from HRSP Trial Attorney Jim Hepburn. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in the investigation and in securing the defendant’s extradition to the United States. The Department of Justice gratefully acknowledges the government of Turks and Caicos Islands for their valuable assistance.
Justice Department Sues to Shut Down Florida Tax Return PreparersRead the Press Release
The United States has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida seeking to bar three Miami Gardens-area tax return preparers and their businesses and franchises, from owning or operating a tax return preparation business and preparing tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. The United States has simultaneously filed a request for a preliminary injunction that would immediately prohibit defendants from further preparing taxes during the pendency of the suit.
The civil suit against John L. Gay Jr., Tammi King, and Norman G. Williams Jr. also seeks an order requiring defendants to disgorge ill-gotten return preparation fees obtained through their alleged misconduct. According to the complaint, Gay is the owner of The Tax Doctor LLC, and operates three locations in the Miami Gardens-area under that name. The complaint further alleges that The Tax Doctor LLC has two franchises, one in Miami and one in Ft. Lauderdale, that are owned and operated by King under the names Kingsworld Financial Services Inc. and Brightstar Management Corp. The complaint also alleges that Williams works as one of King’s tax return preparers as a second job.
According to the complaint, defendants manipulated Florida-area taxpayers’ returns — often without taxpayers’ knowledge — to significantly understate their tax liabilities or falsely render them eligible for tax credits. The complaint alleges they did so by fabricating charitable contributions, unreimbursed employee expenses, residential energy credits, and head-of-household filing status, as well as by fabricating business income or expenses in order to overstate claims for earned income tax credits. According to the complaint, defendants’ consistent understatement of liabilities and overstatement of refunds has resulted in millions of dollars of lost tax revenue to the United States.
As an example, the complaint alleges that Williams claimed more than $1.3 million in false or inflated charitable contributions for 96 of his fellow firefighters in 2020 alone. These individuals, and many other of defendants’ customers, are now liable for repayment of income tax refunds wrongly claimed in their names, plus penalties and interest.
Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’ Dirty Dozen Tax Scams and taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant. More information can also be found here. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. In addition, IRS Free File, a public-private partnership, offers free online tax preparation and filing options on IRS partner websites for individuals whose adjusted gross income is under $72,000. For individuals whose income is over that threshold, IRS Free File offers electronical federal tax forms that can be filled out and filed online for free.
In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.
Boca Raton Resident Who Threatened to Kill FBI Agents Charged in West Palm Beach Federal CourtRead the Press Release
Miami, Fl. – South Florida federal prosecutors have charged a 59-year-old woman from Boca Raton with making a communication in interstate commerce that threatened to kill agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
According to the allegations in the criminal complaint affidavit, the FBI received an online tip to the National Threat Operation Center (NTOC) on January 16, 2021, that Suzanne Kaye posted information on her Facebook page that she was present at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021. On January 28, 2021, agents contacted Kaye by phone and informed her of the FBI’s interest in interviewing her about her travel to Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021. Kaye asked the agents if they had proof that she traveled to Washington D.C., says the affidavit. Agents stated that the FBI would like to interview her about her travel. Kaye denied having traveled to Washington D.C., but claimed she was aware of individuals who did travel there. She agreed to speak with the FBI and provided her current address in Boca Raton, Florida.
The complaint affidavit also alleges that on January 31, 2021, at approximately 10:38 p.m., Kaye posted a video on her Facebook page titled “ANGRY Patriot Hippie” which was captioned, “F--- the FBI!!” In the video, Kaye announced that she received a telephone call from the FBI asking about her travel to Washington D.C. Kaye then told her audience in the video that she will not talk to the FBI without counsel, and that she will exercise “my second amendment right to shoot your f------ ass if you come here,” implying that she will use violence against FBI Agents if they come to her residence. On that same day, Kaye posted the same video to her Instagram and TikTok social media platforms as well, alleges the affidavit.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, made the announcement.
Kaye had her initial appearance this week before a federal magistrate judge in West Palm Beach, where law enforcement officers arrested her. A bond hearing has been scheduled for February 24, 2021.
FBI West Palm Beach is handling the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Dispoto of the Southern District of Florida is prosecuting the case.
A federal criminal complaint is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
You may find related court documents on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 21-mj-08055.
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Man Purchased Lamborghini After Receiving $3.9 Million PPP LoanRead the Press Release
Miami, Fl. – A Florida man pleaded guilty for fraudulently obtaining approximately $3.9 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and using those funds, in part, to purchase a $318,000 Lamborghini sports car for himself.
Authorities seized the Lamborghini and $3.4 million from the bank accounts of David T. Hines, 29, of Miami, at the time of his arrest. Hines pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 14.
As part of his guilty plea, Hines admitted that he fraudulently sought millions of dollars in PPP loans through applications to an insured financial institution on behalf of different companies. Hines caused to be submitted fraudulent loan applications that made numerous false and misleading statements about the companies’ respective payroll expenses. The financial institution approved and funded approximately $3.9 million in PPP loans.
Hines further admitted that within days of receiving the PPP funds, he used the funds to purchase a 2020 Lamborghini Huracan sports car for approximately $318,000. Plea documents indicate that in the days and weeks following the disbursement of PPP funds, Hines did not make payroll payments that he claimed on his loan applications. He did, however, use the PPP proceeds for personal expenses.
U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District of Florida, Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Kyle A. Myles of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Office of Inspector General (OIG), Office of Investigation’s Atlanta Regional Office, Inspector in Charge Antonio Gomez of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS) Miami Division, Special Agent in Charge Kevin A. Kupperbusch of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) OIG, Investigations Division, Eastern Regional Office, Special Agent in Charge Michael J. De Palma of the IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Miami Office, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Stephen Donnelly of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection OIG, Eastern Region, made the announcement.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020. It is designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act is 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 one percent. Businesses must use PPP loan proceeds for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spend the proceeds on these expenses within a set time period and use at least a certain percentage of the loan towards payroll expenses.
This case was investigated by the FDIC-OIG, USPIS, IRS-CI, the SBA-OIG, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection OIG. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Berger of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Emily Scruggs of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Department’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. In the months since the CARES Act passed, Fraud Section attorneys have prosecuted more than 100 defendants in more than 70 criminal cases. The Fraud Section has also seized more than $60 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.
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 Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
You may find related court documents on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 21-cr-20011.
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Man Purchased Lamborghini After Receiving $3.9 Million in PPP LoansRead the Press Release
A Florida man pleaded guilty today for fraudulently obtaining approximately $3.9 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and using those funds, in part, to purchase a $318,000 Lamborghini sports car for himself.
Authorities seized the Lamborghini and $3.4 million from the bank accounts of David T. Hines, 29, of Miami, at the time of his arrest. Hines pleaded guilty today to one count of wire fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 14.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Kyle A. Myles of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), Office of Investigation’s Atlanta Regional Office, Inspector in Charge Antonio Gomez of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Miami Division, Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) OIG, Investigations Division, Eastern Regional Office, Acting Special Agent in Charge Tyler R. Hatcher of the IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Miami Office, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Stephen Donnelly of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection OIG, Eastern Region, made the announcement.
As part of his guilty plea, Hines admitted that he fraudulently sought millions of dollars in PPP loans through applications to an insured financial institution on behalf of different companies. Hines caused to be submitted fraudulent loan applications that made numerous false and misleading statements about the companies’ respective payroll expenses. The financial institution approved and funded approximately $3.9 million in PPP loans.
Hines further admitted that within days of receiving the PPP funds, he used the funds to purchase a 2020 Lamborghini Huracan sports car for approximately $318,000. Plea documents indicate that in the days and weeks following the disbursement of PPP funds, Hines did not make payroll payments that he claimed on his loan applications. He did, however, use the PPP proceeds for personal expenses.
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, and in December 2020, Congress authorized another $284 billion in additional 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%. Businesses must use PPP loan proceeds for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spend the proceeds on these expenses within a set time period and use at least a certain percentage of the loan towards payroll expenses.
This case was investigated by the FDIC-OIG, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, IRS-CI, the SBA-OIG, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection OIG. Trial Attorney Emily Scruggs of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Berger of the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Department’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. In the months since the CARES Act passed, Fraud Section attorneys have prosecuted more than 100 defendants in more than 70 criminal cases. The Fraud Section has also seized more than $60 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.
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 Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Former Florida Resident Indicted for Tax Evasion and Failing to Report Foreign Bank AccountsRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging Lucia Andrea Gatta, a former resident of Palm Beach County, Florida, with tax evasion and failing to file Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs), among other offenses, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida.
According to the indictment, Gatta was born in Chile and became a naturalized U.S. Citizen in 2012. The indictment alleges that, for calendar years 2012 through 2014, Gatta failed to disclose her interest in a Swiss bank account on annual FBARs as required by law. Gatta also allegedly evaded assessment of income taxes on the interest and dividend income she earned in her Swiss bank account and failed to file tax returns with the IRS for tax years 2011 through 2014.
The indictment also charges Gatta with naturalization fraud. According to the indictment, Gatta did not disclose to the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that she had failed to report foreign dividend and interest income during her citizenship application process, and she allegedly presented misleading documents to USCIS to substantiate the false statements she made during her naturalization interview.
If convicted, Gatta faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each count relating to her failure to file an FBAR and tax evasion. She also faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison for each of the counts concerning the failure to file tax returns. If convicted of naturalization fraud, Gatta faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison and automatic denaturalization.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case was investigated by special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations. Trial Attorneys Sean Beaty and Parker Tobin of the Tax Division are prosecuting this case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan’s Statement Regarding Today’s Agent-Involved Shooting in South FloridaRead the Press Release
Miami, Fl. – South Florida U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan today issued the following statement on the tragic agent-involved shooting in Sunrise, Florida:
“It is with heavy hearts that we mourn the deaths of FBI Special Agent Daniel Alfin and Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger, who were shot and killed today in the line of duty while executing a federal court-ordered warrant in Sunrise, Florida. We pray for the loved ones of these Special Agents and for their three colleagues who were injured during the shooting. Today’s tragic events remind us of the bravery of federal agents, who risk their lives to protect our communities and our country. We must never forget that, just as we will never forget the ultimate sacrifice made by Special Agents Alfin and Schwartzenberger.”
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Martin County Resident Detained on Charges of Child ExploitationRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – Today, Nikolas Cook, 22, of Stuart, Florida, appeared in federal court and was ordered detained pending trial on charges of using a three-year old girl to produce child pornography and then distributing the images in an internet chat room. Cook is also charged with possessing of child pornography.
According to the allegations in the criminal complaint affidavit, on September 10, 2020, Cook was in a social media chat room used by individuals interested in child sexual abuse material. While participating in the group chat, Cook, while using a pseudonym, distributed multiple pornographic images of a three-year-old girl. FBI learned of the activity and investigated. Within hours, FBI determined Cook’s real identity and residential address and arrested him. During a search of Cook’s residence, agents located a cell phone containing multiple sexually explicit images and videos of minor children being sexually abused.
During a hearing today in federal magistrate court in Ft. Pierce, Cooke was ordered detained pending trial. His arraignment date is set for February 12.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. 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 this case, with assistance from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel E. Funk is prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 20-058-SMM.
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Man Accused of Kidnapping Ex-girlfriend and her parents Charged in South Florida Federal CourtRead the Press Release
Miami, Fl. – Today, federal prosecutors in Ft. Lauderdale filed a criminal complaint charging a 37-year-old West Palm Beach man with kidnapping his ex-girlfriend and her parents at gunpoint from their Pembroke Pines home earlier this month.
The criminal complaint affidavit alleges the following against Jaddier Thomas Sanchez: Around midnight on January 17, 2020, as the parents of Sanchez’s ex-girlfriend arrived in their truck at their Pembroke Pines home and attempted to go inside, Sanchez appeared with a gun in his hand. Sanchez grabbed the mother by the hair, forced the father into the driver’s seat of their truck, and forced the mother into the bank seat, where Sanchez sat beside her, says the affidavit. With firearm in hand, Sanchez forced the father to drive to several local ATM machines and withdraw thousands of dollars from the couples’ bank accounts. Then, Sanchez directed the couple to drive back to their house for their daughter, whom the defendant had earlier dated for about a month. As with the parents, Sanchez forced his ex-girlfriend into the truck, according to the affidavit. They drove north for several hours, at Sanchez’ direction. Once they reached Belle Glade, Florida, Sanchez left the parents on the side of a road, with their hands and feet bound. Sanchez continued to drive across Florida with the ex-girlfriend, whom he repeatedly hit in the face and threatened to kill, according to the affidavit. On January 18, 2020, police in Alexandria, Virginia stopped the vehicle with Sanchez and the victim inside. Police arrested Sanchez. He has been in law enforcement custody since then.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
FBI Miami and its Violent Crimes Task Force investigated the case with assistance from FBI Washington Field Office, Pembroke Pines Police Department, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia State Police, and Fairfax County Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brooke Latta and Francis Viamontes are prosecuting this federal case. Sanchez also faces state charges in Virginia and Florida.
A federal criminal complaint is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. If convicted in this federal kidnapping case, Sanchez faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
You may find related court documents on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 21-MJ-6046.
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Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down Southern Florida Tax Return PreparerRead the Press Release
The United States has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida seeking to bar a Belle Glade, Florida, tax return preparer from owning or operating a tax return preparation business and preparing tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.
The civil suit against Brandhi Shaw alleges that Shaw prepares returns claiming false refundable fuel credits and American Opportunity tax credits. In addition, the complaint alleges that Shaw prepares returns claiming fabricated businesses income and/or expenses, and related fictitious losses. As a result, the complaint alleges Shaw offset the amount of taxable income reported to make it appear that her customers were entitled to earned income tax credits when they were not.
For example, the complaint alleges that Shaw prepared a return for an individual who did not own a business nor tell Shaw that he or she did. As alleged in the complaint, Shaw claimed a fabricated loss of $37,413 for the non-existent business, which fraudulently reduced the amount of the individual’s taxable income and, in return, his or her reported tax liability.
The complaint further alleges that, by repeatedly underreporting tax liabilities and claiming bogus refunds on behalf of her customers, Shaw has caused her customers to incorrectly report their federal tax liabilities and underpay their taxes, resulting in lost tax revenue to the United States that could exceed $6 million. Moreover, the complaint alleges that Shaw is not and never has been an enrolled return preparer. Rather, according to the complaint, she files tax returns using another tax preparer’s personal identifying information, which makes it difficult to determine the full extent of the harm she has caused.
Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’ Dirty Dozen Tax Scams and taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant (more information can also be found here). The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. In addition, IRS Free File, a public-private partnership, offers free online tax preparation and filing options on IRS partner websites for individuals whose adjusted gross income is under $72,000. For individuals whose income is over that threshold, IRS Free File offers electronical federal tax forms that can be filled out and filed online for free.
In the past decade, the Justice Department's Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.
Federal Court Permanently Bars Southern Florida Tax Preparer from Preparing ReturnsRead the Press Release
A federal court in the Southern District of Florida has permanently enjoined a West Palm Beach tax return preparer and her business from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. According to the court’s order, it issued the injunction in response to violations of a prior order in the case that had allowed the preparer and her business to prepare returns subject to certain restrictions.
In April 2017, the United States filed a complaint against Lena D. Cotton and Professional Accounting LDC LLC, that alleged the defendants prepared returns with improper education credits, manipulated filing statuses, and improper vehicle deductions, among other issues. In November 2017, the court permanently enjoined both defendants from this and other specific conduct and required defendants to engage a “neutral monitor” to “determin[e] and/or secur[e] compliance” with injunction.
In an August 2019 order, the court held Cotton and Professional Accounting LDC in contempt of the November 2017 order and “imposed additional limits on [d]efendants’ operations[,]” including restrictions on the number and type of returns they could prepare. The order stated that “[t]hese new restrictions are [d]efendants’ final opportunity” and that the remedy for any further violations “shall be a permanent ban on tax return preparation.”
On Jan. 27, 2021, the court issued an order holding defendants in contempt a second time. According to the order, defendants “have attempted to circumvent the terms of the injunction” and subsequent orders “and have, in some cases, violated the restrictions placed upon them by those [o]rders.” In particular, the court found that Cotton and Professional Accounting LDC “in effect . . . employ[ed] and overs[aw]” other individuals and entities who prepared prohibited returns out of Professional Accounting LDC’s West Palm Beach office, with Cotton and Professional Accounting LDC “retaining a great deal of the profits.” In light of previous violations by Cotton and Professional Accounting LDC, the court found that “any remedy short of a permanent injunction on return preparation is inadequate.”
In addition, the court barred Cotton and Professional Accounting LDC from selling their customer lists to certain non-party individuals or entities, citing the “significant risk” that any such sale could be an “attempt to perpetuate” the “fraudulent schemes” employed by defendants. According to the order, defendants “in effect . . . employ[ed] and overs[aw]” these non-parties and both “individually and through [the non-parties]” attempted to evade and/or violate the restrictions imposed by the injunction and ensuing orders. The order states, “the evidence tends to support a finding that [the non-parties] were aware of” the restrictions that had been placed on defendants and that “most of them worked in active concert or participation” with defendants.
The order specifically names the following individuals and entities: Anthony Boone, Donellar Wims-Boone, Latesha Temple, Melissa Morgan-Wright, Kelly Dunlop, Matthew Dunlop, Richard Wise, Professional Accounting by R&K, Professional Accounting by MM, and Temple Financial Solutions. The order finds that Morgan-Wright founded Professional Accounting by MM. It further finds that Wise and Kelly Dunlop formed Professional Accounting by R&K, and that Matthew Dunlop and Wims-Boone are also “involved with” that entity. Additionally, the order finds that Temple formed Temple Financial Solutions, and Boone prepared tax returns using Temple Financial System’s federal preparer identification. According to the order, Boone, Wims-Boone, Temple, Morgan-Wright, and Kelly and Matthew Dunlop all “previously worked in some capacity for [defendants],” and Wise is a former customer.
According to the order, defendant Cotton referred customers to Temple Financial Solutions, Professional Accounting by MM, and Professional Accounting by R&K, all three of which operated out of defendant Professional Accounting LDC’s office. The order notes that “[a]s of May 13, 2020, approximately 80% of the returns filed in 2020” by the non-parties “were for customers that previously used [d]efendants as their return preparer.” The order notes that “customers who previously had returns prepared by [d]efendants may have thought they were returning to [d]efendants’ business.” In addition, according to the order, defendants “retained a great deal of the profits” on the returns prepared by the non-parties and at least some of the non-parties were compensated by defendants like employees.
Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’ Dirty Dozen Tax Scams and taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant (more information can also be found here). The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. In addition, IRS Free File, a public-private partnership, offers free online tax preparation and filing options on IRS partner websites for individuals whose adjusted gross income is under $72,000. For individuals whose income is over that threshold, IRS Free File offers electronical federal tax forms that can be filled out and filed online for free.
In the past decade, the Department of Justice’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.
Three Charged in West Palm Beach Federal Court with Conspiring to Traffic Crystal MethRead the Press Release
West Palm Beach, FL. – West Palm Beach federal prosecutors have charged three defendants with conspiring to distribute over 30 pounds of crystal methamphetamine. The three defendants are Mexican nationals. Two of the defendants made their initial appearances today in federal magistrate court in West Palm Beach. The third defendant made his initial appearance on Friday, January 22, before a federal magistrate judge in Wisconsin, where he was arrested.
The criminal complaint affidavits filed in federal court allege that Armando Arizmendi-Garcia, 24, Bianey Gonzalez-Arizmendi, 28, and Oscar Daniel Martinez-Nunez, 21, conspired to move methamphetamine from Atlanta, Georgia for distribution in West Palm Beach, Florida. The plan was interrupted on January 22, 2021, when Arizmendi-Garcia and Gonzalez-Arizmendi delivered over 30 pounds of crystal methamphetamine to an undercover officer, say the affidavits. Arizmendi-Garcia and Gonzalez-Arizmendi were arrested on January 22, in West Palm Beach. The third man charged, Martinez-Nunez, was arrested the same day close to Madison, Wisconsin. According to the charges, Martinez-Nunez was responsible for coordinating the drug delivery.
Upon conviction, each defendant faces a mandatory sentence of ten years imprisonment, and up to a maximum of life imprisonment. Arizmendi-Garcia and Gonzalez-Arizmendi made their initial appearances today in federal magistrate court in West Palm Beach. Martinez-Nunez made his initial appearance on January 22, before a federal magistrate judge in Madison, Wisconsin.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Keith Weis, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Miami Field Division made the announcement.
The DEA West Palm Beach District Office handled the investigation, with assistance from DEA-Chicago, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, West Palm Beach Police Department, and Town of Jupiter Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam C. McMichael is prosecuting the case.
This prosecution is the 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.
Criminal complaints are accusations that contain 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 numbers 21-MJ-8011 and 21-MJ-8017.
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South Florida U.S. Attorney’s Office and IRS-CI Warn Taxpayers about New Wave of COVID-19 Scams as Second Round of Economic Impact Payments are DeliveredRead the Press Release
MIAMI, Florida -- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, are warning taxpayers about a new wave of COVID-19-related scams as the agency delivers the second round of Economic Impact Payments.
In the last several months, IRS-CI has seen a variety of Economic Impact Payment (EIP) scams and other financial schemes designed to steal money and personal information from taxpayers. Criminals are taking advantage of the second round of Economic Impact Payments – as well as the approaching filing season – to trick honest taxpayers out of their hard-earned money.
“I have two messages concerning the second round of economic impact payments,” said Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “The first is to South Florida residents: As our community continues to grapple with the impacts of the pandemic, know that my office remains committed to protecting you and that we will continue to prioritize the prosecution of Covid-19 fraud. My second message is to those fraudsters who seek to capitalize on this ongoing crisis by trying to cheat South Floridians out of relief money: Don’t do it! You will be found. You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted.”
Tyler R. Hatcher, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-CI Miami Field Office warned, “Economic relief efforts are meant to assist those in most need who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Criminals think these funds are an easy target to take advantage of innocent people. But we have other plans for those who try to prey on the public, and we are committed to hold them accountable for their criminal actions. Report any phone calls, emails, or text messages asking for your personal information or offering a deal that seems too good to be true.”
Some common COVID-19 scams include:
- Text messages asking taxpayers to disclose bank account information under the guise of receiving the $1,200 Economic Impact Payments.
- Phishing schemes using email, letters and social media messages with key words such as “Coronavirus,” “COVID-19,” and “stimulus” in varying ways. These communications are blasted to large numbers of people and aim to access personally identifying information and financial account information (including account numbers and passwords).
- The organized and unofficial sale of fake at-home COVID-19 test kits (as well as offers to sell fake cures, vaccines, pills, and professional medical advice regarding unproven COVID-19 treatments).
- Fake donation requests for individuals, groups and areas heavily affected by the disease.
- Bogus opportunities to invest in companies developing COVID-19 vaccines while promising that the “company” will dramatically increase in value as a result.
Although criminals are constantly changing their tactics, taxpayers can help protect themselves by acting as the first line of defense. The best way to avoid falling victim to a scam is knowing how the IRS communicates with taxpayers. The IRS does not send unsolicited texts or emails. The IRS does not call people with threats of jail or lawsuits, nor does it demand tax payments on gift cards.
IRS-CI continues investigating hundreds of COVID-19-related cases with law enforcement agencies domestically and abroad and educating taxpayers about scams.
COVID-19 scams should be reported to the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or submitted through the NCDF Web Complaint Form. The NCDF is a national coordinating agency within the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division dedicated to improving the detection, prevention, investigation and prosecution of criminal conduct related to natural and man-made disasters and other emergencies.
Taxpayers can also report fraud or theft of their Economic Impact Payments to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). Reports can be made online at TIPS.TIGTA.GOV.
Taxpayers who receive unsolicited emails or social media attempts to gather information that appear to be from either the IRS or an organization closely linked to the IRS, should forward the message to [email protected]. Taxpayers are encouraged not to engage potential scammers online or on the phone.
To learn more about COVID-19 scams and other financial schemes visit IRS.gov. Official IRS information about COVID-19 and Economic Impact Payments can be found on the Coronavirus Tax Relief page, which is updated frequently.
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Defendant Accused of Kidnapping and Torture Extradited to U.S. to Face Federal Charges in MiamiRead the Press Release
Miami, Fl. -- Sergei Nkorina, a 55-year-old American citizen indicted in the Southern District of Florida on kidnapping charges, arrived in Miami last night on a flight from Spain pursuant to a request from the U.S. government to extradite the fugitive.
According to an indictment returned by a South Florida grand jury, on January 14, 2019, Nkorina and his co-defendant, Justin Boccio, abducted their victim from a Walmart parking lot in Broward County, Florida, by grabbing the victim, blindfolding him, and forcing him into a van. It is alleged that Nkorina and Boccio drove the victim to a storage facility where they blowtorched the victim’s hands and threatened to kill him with a firearm and other weapons. Nkorina and his co-defendant demanded the address and entry code to the victim’s home, which the conspirators later visited while armed, says the indictment. According to other court documents, on January 15, 2019, local law enforcement officers found the victim, with his hands and feet bound, hands burned, and lacerations on his face, inside a car parked at a Broward County gentlemen’s club.
Nkorina was classified as a fugitive on May 24, 2019. Nkorina was arrested in Spain for purposes of extradition based on a request from the United States in accordance with the U.S.-Spain Extradition Treaty. He arrived in Miami last night.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, of the FBI’s Miami Field Office made the announcement.
Boccio, Nkorina’s co-defendant, pled guilty to the kidnapping charges on September 26, 2019. On December 5, 2019, United States District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga sentenced Boccio to more than 11 years in prison.
An indictment is merely an accusation and Nkorina is presumed innocent unless and until found guilty in a court of law. Nkorina made his initial appearance today in federal court. A pre-trial detention hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, January 26, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., in federal magistrate court in Miami.
FBI Miami investigated this case. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Demanovich and Lisa H. Miller, former South Florida Assistant U.S. Attorney, now Chief of the Market Integrity & Major Frauds Unit, within the Department of Justice, Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan extends her gratitude to the FBI Miami Violent Crimes/Fugitive Task Force and the Hallandale Beach Police Department for their work, to the government of Spain for making the extradition possible, and to the Department of Justice, Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs who provided significant assistance in securing the defendant’s extradition. The U.S. Attorney also extends her gratitude to the Spanish Civil Guard and Interpol for their assistance in capturing this fugitive and in bringing him back to the United States.
You may find related court documents on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 19-cr-20261.
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Defendants Sentenced for Roles in International Firearms TraffickingRead the Press Release
Fort Lauderdale, FL. – Two defendants were sentenced last week in federal court for their roles in an international firearms trafficking ring. On Monday, January 11, 2021, Naomi Natal Haynes, 41, a citizen of Canada and United States legal resident, was sentenced to 84 months in prison by United States District Judge Roy K. Altman for conspiracy to make false statements to firearms dealers and to smuggle firearms to Canada from the United States, as well as aggravated identity fraud. On January 14, 2020, Marco Ian Almeida-Barreto, 24, of Pompano Beach, FL, was sentenced to 120 months in prison by United States District Judge James I. Cohn, for possession of firearms as a convicted felon.
According to court records, on September 22, 2018, the Canadian Border Service Agency (“CBSA”) intercepted 19 handguns and one silencer which were hidden inside a vehicle with a trap compartment. The seizure occurred after the vehicle entered Canada from Plattsburg, New York. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) traced nearly all of the firearms to South Florida and determined several handguns were purchased at gun shows in Palm Beach and Broward Counties. Additionally, three of the firearms, including a Glock Model 43, 9 mm handgun, a Sig Sauer .45 caliber handgun and a Gemtech .45 caliber silencer were reported stolen.
According to court documents, Ameida-Barreto ensured that firearms made their way to Haynes. Haynes drove the 19 firearms and silencer from South Florida to Plattsburg, New York. A co-conspirator drove them the rest of the way into Canada.
Others charged for their alleged roles in the scheme are Mackenzie Delmas, Enza Esposito, Shalena Mary Haynes, and Jeremy Ruwan Rosello.
Rosello was sentenced on July 24, 2020 to 108 months in prison for his role in the offense.
Delmas is set for trial in July 2021. Esposito and Shalena Haynes are fugitives.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney, Southern District of Florida, Robert Cekada, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Miami Field Division, Gregory Tony, Sheriff, Broward County Sheriff’s Office made the announcement.
Ms. Fajardo and Mr. Cekada also wish to acknowledge the assistance of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, United States Customs and Border Protection, and the cooperation of the many international law enforcement agencies, including CBSA, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Montreal Police Services, Toronto Police Services and the Ontario Provincial Police, all of which contributed to the successful prosecution of these defendants.
Assistant United States Attorney Adam C. McMichael and Department of Justice Trial Attorney Paola Henry prosecuted these cases.
Delmas, Esposito, and Shalena Haynes are presumed innocent until found 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 numbers 19-cr-80045 and 19-cr-60383.
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Two Police Officers and Others Face Cocaine Trafficking Charges in MiamiRead the Press Release
Miami, Fl. – South Florida federal prosecutors have charged two U.S. Virgin Islands police officers and four others with drug trafficking crimes after federal agents discovered more than 300 kilograms of cocaine being carried inside travel bags on a private passenger flight from the Virgin Islands to Miami this week.
Criminal complaints filed in federal court identify the defendants as Teshawn Adams, 26, Tevon Adams, 26, Anthon Berkeley, 26, Roystin David, 28, Maleek Leonard, 27, and Shakim Mike, 29. Teshawn Adams and Mike live in St. Thomas and are officers with the U.S. Virgin Islands Police Department. David and Leonard also live in St. Thomas. Tevon Adams lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Berkeley lives in Orlando.
The criminal complaint affidavits allege the following: Teshawn Adams accepted an offer from someone in the Virgin Islands to transport cocaine to South Florida in exchange for money. Together with fellow police officer Mike, Teshawn Adams arranged a private flight from the Virgin Islands to South Florida. On January 12, the two officers boarded the jet, joined by defendants David and Leonard and travel bags containing more than 300 kilograms of cocaine. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers discovered the cocaine, packaged as 294 individually plastic-wrapped bricks, during a security check: They saw the bricks on the screen of the X-ray machine that scanned the men’s bags at the Opa Locka Executive Airport on arrival. Tevon Adams, twin brother to one of the police officers, and Berkeley stood ready to transport the jet travelers and the cocaine from the Opa-Locka Airport to other areas of Florida, alleges the complaint affidavits.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Vernon T. Foret, Director of Miami and Tampa Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), made the announcement.
HSI and CBP investigated the matter, with assistance from Miami-Dade Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Yeney Hernandez is prosecuting this case.
Criminal complaints are accusations that contain allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
You may find the criminal complaints and related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case numbers 21-mj-02049, 21-mj-02050 and 21-mj-02066.
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Former Procurement Director at Broward Health Charged with Bribery, Extortion, and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
Miami, Fl. – On Friday, the former Procurement Director for Broward Health appeared in Ft. Lauderdale federal court to face charges accusing him of awarding lucrative government contracts to vendors in exchange for bribes and of trying to conceal his crimes by directing the bribe money to various bank accounts.
For about 10 years, Brian Bravo, 46, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, worked as the Corporate Procurement Officer and Director of Materials Management for the North Broward Hospital District, known in the community as Broward Health. According to the five-count indictment, from 2008 to 2015, Bravo engaged in a kickback scheme with vendors that provided products and services to Broward Health, including health care products, linens, compression sleeves, and printer repairs. During that time, two of the vendors and a consultant for two other vendors made illegal kickback payments totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars to Bravo in order to secure tens of millions of dollars of business from Broward Health, says the indictment. In 2015, Bravo directed the vendors to pay the bribes to two companies that Bravo controlled in order to hide the unlawful nature of the scheme, according to the indictment.
Bravo had his initial appearance and arraignment hearings on Friday before Magistrate Judge Patrick M. Hunt, who sits in Ft. Lauderdale.
Southern District of Florida U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan and FBI Miami Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro made the announcement.
FBI Miami investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey N. Kaplan is prosecuting it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.
An indictment is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
You may find a copy of this press release on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 20-cr-60125.
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Statement of South Florida U.S. Attorney Concerning Attack on Nation’s Capitol BuildingRead the Press Release
Miami, Fl. – Southern District of Florida U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan issued the following statement:
“I condemn Wednesday’s violence at our Nation’s Capitol Building as an intolerable attack on our democracy. My office stands with the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners as this tragedy is investigated and the offenders are prosecuted. Those responsible for these criminal acts, including any South Florida resident who is found to have participated in the violent attack, will be held accountable.”
Miami Nurse Charged with Defrauding Covid-19 Relief ProgramsRead the Press Release
Miami, Fl. – Federal prosecutors have charged a Miami nurse with fraud and other crimes in a criminal complaint that accuses him of lying on coronavirus relief loan applications and fraudulently obtaining close to half a million dollars in relief money intended to help small businesses survive disasters like the current pandemic.
The complaint affidavit alleges that Giraldo Caraballo, 55, falsely applied for and received approximately $420,000 in a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan from a bank on behalf of Professional Skills Inc., a company that he controlled. According to the affidavit, Caraballo falsely claimed on the PPP loan application that the company had 28 employees and an average monthly payroll of $168,000. The affidavit also alleges that Caraballo applied for and received approximately $55,000 in Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) relief. In his EIDL application, Caraballo falsely claimed that his company had four employees and a 12-month gross revenue of $180,000. In fact, Caraballo’s company had zero employees and no payroll expenses. Caraballo spent the relief money on personal expenses and transferred $239,000 into a personal bank account, says the affidavit.
Caraballo made his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Becerra. His arraignment is scheduled for January 29, 2020, in federal magistrate court in Miami.
U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI Miami Field Office made the announcement.
FBI investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli S. Rubin is prosecuting it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted March 29, 2020. It is designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act is the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the PPP. Since its enactment, Congress has authorized hundreds of billions of 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 one percent. Businesses must use PPP loan proceeds for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spend the proceeds on these expenses within a set time period and use at least a certain percentage of the loan towards payroll expenses.
Another source of relief is funding for the EIDL program, which is administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The EIDL program provides low-interest financing to small businesses, renter, and homeowners in regions affected by declared disasters. The EIDL Advance is issued to affected employers based on the number of employees the applicant certifies having.
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 Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
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.
You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-mj-02014.
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Home Health Aide Charged in Twenty-Two Count Indictment for Stealing Elderly Clients’ Identity, Banking, and Credit Card Information and Using it to Commit Financial FraudRead the Press Release
Miami, Fl. -- Jamie Jakia Cofer, a/k/a “Anna Bell,” 24, of Lake Worth, Florida, was charged in a twenty-two count indictment with bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and fraudulent use of unauthorized access devices after using the social security numbers, dates of birth, and other identity and financial information of victims to steal money from their bank accounts, deposit unauthorized checks, make unauthorized credit card purchases, and engage in other fraudulent transactions. During the alleged crimes, Cofer worked as a home health aide. Cofer’s victims included elderly clients of Cofer’s, whose homes she entered with the supposed purpose of helping them with their home health needs.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office and Brian J. Smith, Chief, Juno Beach Police Department made the announcement.
According to allegations contained in the indictment and previously filed criminal complaint, for over a year starting in January 2019, Cofer worked as a home health aide servicing senior citizens in the South Florida community. During that time, Cofer gained access to her elderly clients’ social security numbers, dates of birth, bank accounts, credit cards, and other information. Without the knowledge or consent of these elderly clients, Cofer allegedly used the information to steal money from bank accounts, open unauthorized credit card accounts, deposit unauthorized checks, make herself an authorized user on credit accounts, make unauthorized purchases of items such as a mannequin head and wig stand, pay her mobile phone, insurance, and other bills, and send money to a prison inmate, among other things.
For example, Cofer allegedly used one elderly client’s bank account information to set up auto pay on one of Cofer’s utility accounts. Cofer allegedly used her own phone number and email to set up paperless account notifications to prevent this victim from receiving alerts.
Cofer is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment on January 25, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., before the West Palm Beach Duty Magistrate Judge.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the FBI and Juno Beach Police Department for its work on this investigation. She also thanked the Lantana Police Department and Boca Raton Police Department for their assistance.
Assistant United States Attorney Sarah J. Schall is prosecuting this case.
Anyone with information about allegations of elder fraud can report it by calling the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 or 833–372–8311.
More information about the Department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative at https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Department of Justice provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at https://www.ovc.gov.
An indictment and criminal complaint are charging instruments containing allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case numbers 20-MJ-8273 and 21-CR-80003-Middlebrooks.
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Former Federal Agent and Others Indicted in South FloridaRead the Press Release
Miami, Fl. – A South Florida federal grand jury indicted a former federal agent and three other Miami-Dade residents for their alleged roles in an operation that involved illegal Oxycodone distribution, federal witness tampering, and obstruction of justice.
The indictment charges Alberico Ahias Crespo, 46, a former Special Agent with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), with conspiring to traffic oxycodone, tamper with witnesses, and obstruct justice and with substantive counts of witness tampering. During the time of the alleged crimes, Crespo worked as part of the South Florida Health Care Fraud Strike Force, made up of interagency teams of federal investigators and prosecutors focused on combating health care fraud and health care-related narcotics trafficking in Southern Florida.
Also charged in the indictment are Jorge Diaz Gutierrez, 66, Yandre Trujillo Hernandez, 41 and Anais Lorenzo, 32. Diaz Gutierrez, identified in the indictment as a patient recruiter, is charged with drug trafficking, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice crimes. Hernandez Trujillo and Lorenzo face drug trafficking charges.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office, and Derrick L. Franklin, Special Agent in Charge, HHS-OIG, Special Investigations Branch, made the announcement.
Crespo and Diaz Gutierrez were initially charged for their conduct by criminal complaint filed on July 22, 2020. See case number 20-mj-03211. According to the criminal complaint affidavit, the illegal Oxycodone distribution system involved patients, pharmacies, and medical clinics. Patients were recruited and sent to medical clinics to obtain Oxycodone prescriptions that they did not need. Once the patients obtained the prescriptions, they would give them to the recruiter in exchange for money. Recruiters would fill the prescriptions at certain pharmacies and sell the Oxycodone pills (at a mark-up) to third party street dealers.
Also according to the criminal complaint affidavit, Crespo used his position as an HHS-OIG Special Agent working on health care fraud cases to protect the Oxycodone operation by monitoring Strike Force investigations involving the operation, accessing and disclosing sensitive law enforcement information to Diaz Gutierrez, a patient recruiter, updating Diaz Gutierrez on the progress of health care fraud investigations, and coaching Diaz Gutierrez on how to lie to investigators and tamper with evidence.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of FBI and HHS-OIG, Special Investigations Branch. Assistant United States Attorneys Sean T. McLaughlin and Christopher Clark are prosecuting this case.
Indictments and criminal complaints are accusations that contain allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
You may find the indictment and related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-20005.
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Florida Medical Doctor Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Falsify Clinical Trial DataRead the Press Release
Miami, Fl. -- A Florida medical doctor pleaded guilty today in Miami federal court to conspiring to falsify clinical trial data relating to an asthma medication.
Yvelice Villaman Bencosme, 64, of Miami, Florida, was a licensed medical doctor who served as the primary investigator for clinical trials purportedly conducted at a medical clinic called Unlimited Medical Research (Unlimited Medical) in Miami. In pleading guilty, Bencosme admitted that from approximately 2013 to 2016, she participated in a scheme to defraud a pharmaceutical company by fabricating the data and participation of subjects in a clinical trial at Unlimited Medical. The clinical trial was designed to investigate the safety and efficacy of an asthma medication in children between the ages of four and 11. Bencosme admitted that she falsified medical records to make it appear that pediatric subjects arrived for scheduled visits at Unlimited Medical, took study drugs as required, and received checks as payment for site visits.
“When those charged with investigating the efficacy of new drugs manipulate the data for personal profit, they violate the public’s trust and pose serious threats to our collective health and safety,” said U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida. “Such selfish and irresponsible behavior is criminal and will be prosecuted.”
“Clinical trials are critical to ensuring the safety and effectiveness of new drugs. Falsifying that data can endanger consumers,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work hand-in-hand with the FDA to investigate and prosecute fraudsters who put personal profit before public health.”
“FDA’s evaluation of a new drug begins with an analysis of reliable and accurate data from clinical trials. Compromised clinical trial data could impact the agency’s decisions about the safety and effectiveness of the drug under review,” said Special Agent in Charge Justin C. Fielder of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations, Miami Field Office. “We will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who deny the public their right to safe and effective medicines.”
Bencosme pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Beth Bloom. Bencosme faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Bencosme is the second defendant to plead guilty in this matter. Lisett Raventos, a former study coordinator at Unlimited Medical Research, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in November 2020. Two other defendants were charged in connection with the scheme, and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Trial Attorneys Joshua Rothman and Kara M. Traster of the Department of Justice Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the case. The FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, Miami Field Office, investigated the case, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida provided critical assistance.
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Accountant Who Aided Worldwide Scam Charged with Small Business Administration Loan FraudRead the Press Release
Miami, Fl. -- A former accountant who assisted in a scam involving valuable artwork and a Swiss bank account has been charged in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain a Small Business Administration (“SBA”) loan.
Daniel Gibson, 57, of Marlboro, New Jersey, was charged today by Information with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, announced United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Ariana Fajardo Orshan, Special Agent in Charge for the FBI Miami Field Office George L. Piro, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the IRS Criminal Investigation Miami Field Office Tyler R. Hatcher, and Special Agent in Charge for the FDIC, Office of Inspector General Kyle A. Myles.
According to court documents, 1 Global Capital LLC was a commercial lending business based in Hallandale Beach, Florida, that made the equivalent of “pay day” loans to small businesses at high interest rates beginning in or around 2013. Gibson was a certified public accountant licensed in the State of New York who served as the accountant for 1 Global, 1 Global’s former chairman, and a number of businesses owend and operated by 1 Global’s former chairman.
The Information alleges that in 2011, 1 Global’s former chairman took out an approximately $3 million loan backed by the SBA, purportedly to be used as working capital for a nutraceutical business that he owned at the time. 1 Global’s former chairman and his wife were required to personally guarantee the SBA loan in full.
From about 2013 to 2018, Gibson and 1 Global’s former chairmain misrepresented to the SBA that the nutraceutical company failed as a business and that 1 Global’s former chairman had no other assets or income to make his payments on the SBA loan. According to the Information, Gibson and 1 Global’s former chairman concealed from the SBA certain assets and income that could have been used to repay the loan, including: (a) money that 1 Global’s former chairman received from 1 Global beginning in 2013, which totaled hundreds of thousands of dollars during the period in question; (b) valuable artwork that belonged to 1 Global’s former chairman; and (c) an offshore Swiss bank account in the name of and controlled by 1 Global’s former chairman, containing at one point over $1 million. Acccording to the Information, the SBA is currently owed $1,783,019.14 on this loan.
FBI Miami, IRS-CI Miami, and FDIC-OIG investigated the case. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Elizabeth Young is prosecuting it, together with DOJ Criminal Division Fraud Section Trial Attorneys Jerrob Duffy, Lisa H. Miller, and L. Rush Atkinson. Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture.
You may find a copy of this press release and more information about the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at its website: www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.
You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-20009.
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Justice Department Seeks Forfeiture of Third Commercial Property Purchased with Funds Misappropriated from PrivatBank in UkraineRead the Press Release
Today, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida alleging that commercial real estate in Cleveland, Ohio, was acquired using funds misappropriated from PrivatBank in Ukraine as part of a multi-billion-dollar loan scheme.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Kevin Driscoll of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Justin E. Herdman for the Northern District of Ohio and Special Agent in Charge Eric B. Smith of the FBI’s Cleveland Field Office made the announcement.
In August 2020, two other civil forfeiture complaints were filed in the Southern District of Florida involving properties in Louisville, Kentucky and Dallas, Texas, in which it was alleged that those properties were also acquired using funds misappropriated from PrivatBank in Ukraine. All three properties are alleged to be subject to forfeiture based on violations of federal money laundering statutes.
The three complaints allege that Ihor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Boholiubov, who owned PrivatBank, one of the largest banks in Ukraine, embezzled and defrauded the bank of billions of dollars. The two obtained fraudulent loans and lines of credit from approximately 2008 through 2016, when the scheme was uncovered, and the bank was nationalized by the National Bank of Ukraine. The complaints allege that they laundered a portion of the criminal proceeds using an array of shell companies’ bank accounts, primarily at PrivatBank’s Cyprus branch, before they transferred the funds to the United States. As alleged in the complaint, the loans were rarely repaid except with more fraudulently obtained loan proceeds.
As alleged in the complaints, in the United States, associates of Kolomoisky and Boholiubov, Mordechai Korf and Uriel Laber, operating out of offices in Miami, created a web of entities, usually under some variation of the name “Optima,” to further launder the misappropriated funds and invest them. They purchased hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate and businesses across the country, including the properties subject to forfeiture: the office tower known as 55 Public Square in Cleveland, Ohio, the Louisville office tower known as PNC Plaza, and the Dallas office park known as the former CompuCom Headquarters. The buildings have a combined value of more than $60 million.
A complaint is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
FBI’s Cleveland Division is investigating the case with support from FBI’s International Corruption Unit, IRS Criminal Investigation, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. International Unit Chief Mary K. Butler, Senior Trial Attorney Michael C. Olmsted, Trial Attorneys Shai D. Bronshtein and Peter Steciuk, and Law Clerk Robert Blaney of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrienne Rosen of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida are handling these cases. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs has provided substantial assistance in the investigation.
The Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative is led by a team of dedicated prosecutors in the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, in partnership with federal law enforcement agencies, and often with U.S. Attorney’s Offices, to forfeit the proceeds of foreign official corruption and, where appropriate, to use those recovered assets to benefit the people harmed by these acts of corruption and abuse of office. In 2015, the FBI formed International Corruption Squads across the country to address national and international implications of foreign corruption. Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through the United States should contact federal law enforcement or send an email to [email protected] (link sends e-mail) or https://tips.fbi.gov/.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
Owner of Immigration Business Pleads Guilty to Defrauding USCIS and IRSRead the Press Release
West Palm Beach, FL. – On Monday, December 28th, Laura Luz Maria Torres Romero a/k/a Antonieta Mena, a/k/a Antonieta Vinkelried, a/k/a Antonieta Winkelried, of Lake Worth, Florida, the lead defendant in a $4 million scheme to defraud the US immigration and tax systems, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra, in the Southern District of Florida. Torres pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit immigration and mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to steal and launder government money, and one count of false statements to the US Department of Agriculture’s food assistance program. Co-conspirator Melanie Wilhelm, of West Palm Beach, previously pled guilty to the two conspiracy charges.
According to court documents, from approximately 2012 through March 2020, Torres, with the assistance of Wilhelm and other co-conspirators, operated a multiservice business, which provided immigration and other services to the public. The business operated under different names, including El Latino Multiservices, Inc., M&K Multiservices, Inc., L&L Document Services, Inc., and AYE Services, Inc. from different locations in Lake Worth and West Palm Beach, Florida. Torres was the true owner and controlled all aspects of the business.
Torres solicited clients primarily by word of mouth. Most of the clients who sought her assistance had illegally entered the United States many years earlier and were ineligible for asylum benefits. Most of her clients were from Guatemala or Honduras, did not speak English, had little formal education, and minimal knowledge of the immigration rules and procedures in the United States. Torres represented herself as an experienced and knowledgeable immigration document preparer, who could assist them with identifying the proper immigration program to secure legal status.
Torres would obtain background information from the clients, but never asked them if they had suffered persecution in their native countries. Although she had no information to support that the clients were eligible for asylum or other immigration benefits, Torres falsely prepared fraudulent asylum applications for her clients. Torres knowingly made up false and fictitious narratives of persecution the clients had purportedly suffered in their native countries. Most of the applications contained similar, and at times identical, stories of persecution.
Torres never showed the false and fraudulent asylum applications to the clients. Instead, she presented the clients with only the signature page and had them sign the asylum application in blank. More often, Torres, Wilhelm or another co-conspirator would simply forge the client’s name on the fraudulent asylum application. Torres never completed or signed the preparer section of the asylum application so that she could conceal from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) her role in preparing the false applications. Torres, Wilhelm or another co-conspirator sent the false asylum applications to USCIS for processing.
Torres required the clients to pay up-front cash fees for her services. Torres’ fees varied from client to client and increased as the scheme went on, but typically ranged from $2,500 to $4,000 for the initial asylum application.
Torres knew the clients would be eligible to apply for employment authorization cards (“work permits”) if their asylum applicants were pending for more than 150 days. Torres routinely filed such applications for her clients, claiming that the clients were eligible for work permits based on the pending false asylum applications. Torres, Wilhelm or another co-conspirator forged the clients’ names on the fraudulent applications for employment authorization. Torres falsely listed her office address as the mailing address on the employment authorization applications so she would receive the work permits and all USCIS correspondence. When the work permits arrived, Torres demanded additional fees from the clients. If a client declined to pay the additional fees, Torres threatened to return the client’s work permit which, she claimed, would result in the client’s arrest and deportation.
Torres or a co-conspirator met with the clients at her office to prepare them for their asylum interviews. At the meetings, the clients saw the false and fraudulent asylum applications for the first time. Torres directed the clients to memorize the details of the false asylum claims and repeat them to the asylum officers. Torres warned the clients they would not be permitted to stay in the United States if they did not tell the asylum officer exactly what was written in their application.
During the course of the scheme, Torres collected more than $2 million in cash fees from hundreds of clients and filed approximately 1,000 false and fraudulent asylum and employment authorization applications. The false applications caused USCIS to issue work permits to hundreds of ineligible aliens. In addition, Torres, Wilhelm and their co-conspirators deceived and misled hundreds of clients by promising to provide them with legitimate immigration services and instead filing false immigration applications in their names and providing them with fraudulently procured work permits.
Throughout the immigration scheme, Torres and her co-conspirators obtained personal identifying information, including names, dates of birth, and social security numbers, from her immigration clients. Without the knowledge or consent of her clients, Torres used the information to prepare false and fraudulent tax returns, seeking significant refunds. The returns included one or more materially false statements, including false addresses, fake education credits, fictitious dependents, false childcare and earned income credits, and false business income, expenses and deductions.
Torres and the co-conspirators forged the clients' names on the fraudulent tax returns and then submitted the returns to the IRS. In support of the false and fraudulent tax returns, Torres, Wilhelm and the co-conspirators created and submitted to the IRS false and fictitious documents, including fake leases, fake childcare receipts, and fake business receipts.
During the first few years of the scheme, Torres directed the IRS to direct deposit the fraudulent refunds into a TD bank account, which Torres opened using a stolen identity. Later in the scheme, Torres had the IRS mail the fraudulent refund checks to the "home addresses" listed on the returns. These "home addresses" were in fact properties owned and/or controlled by Torres. Wilhelm and the co-conspirators would retrieve the fraudulent tax refund checks from the home addresses listed on the returns and deliver them to Torres. Torres, Wilhelm and other co-conspirators forged the names of the clients on the back of the refund checks. To conceal her receipt of and control over the refund checks, Torres arranged to have a co-conspirator attorney in California launder the refund checks through her attorney trust account, in return for a 10 percent fee. The co-conspirator attorney issued checks drawn on her attorney trust account for 90 percent of the value of the refund check. At Torres' direction, the co-conspirator attorney made the resulting checks for 90 percent of the proceeds payable to companies owned or controlled by Torres and then mailed the checks to Torres' office. Torres, Wilhelm or another co-conspirator deposited the checks issued by the co-conspirator attorney into business accounts controlled by Torres. The monies from these checks were withdrawn from the Torres company accounts by ATM withdrawals, checks or wire transfers and used by Torres to benefit herself, Wilhelm and the other co-conspirators.
During the course of the tax and money laundering scheme, which ran from approximately 2011 through April 2019, Torres used the names, dates of birth and social security numbers of the immigration clients to file over 200 false tax returns with the IRS, seeking fraudulent refunds totaling approximately $1.8 million.
While Torres was collecting millions of dollars from the immigration and tax fraud schemes, she also applied for benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). She received SNAP benefits from at least as early as 2008 through 2020. To establish her continued eligibility for SNAP benefits, Torres submitted annual recertification applications to the United States Department of Agriculture, through the Florida Department of Children and Families. In the recertification forms, Torres knowingly and willfully made numerous materially false statements, including that her name was “Antonieta A. Mena,” that she was a US citizen, that she had received no income other than Social Security benefits, and that her deceased mother was a member of the household. Based on her false statements, Torres received approximately $67,000 in SNAP benefits for which she was not eligible, during the period 2008 through 2020.
At sentencing, Torres faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Wilhelm faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Both Torres and Wilhelm also will be sentenced to supervised release, penalties, and restitution. Torres’ sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 12, 2021, in West Palm Beach before the Honorable U.S. District Judge Marra and Wilhelm is scheduled for sentencing on March 5, 2021.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, and Tyler R. Hatcher, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
HSI Miami and IRS-CI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adrienne Rabinowitz and Ellen Cohen prosecuted this case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 20-80072-CR-MARRA/MATTHEWMAN.
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