Southern District of Florida

Key West, Fl. -- Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office announced that three People’s Republic of China (PRC) foreign nationals were sentenced today to prison terms for illegal photography of military installations at the U.S. Naval Air Station in Key West, Florida (NAS Key West).  

Lyuyou Liao, 27, was sentenced to the statutory maximum term of 12 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release, after pleading guilty to illegally entering NAS Key West on December 26, 2019, and taking photographs and video footage of property on the Truman Annex of the station. This included taking images of vital military equipment. (Case No. 20-10002-CR-KMM ).

In a separate case, Jielun Zhang, 25, and Yuhao Wang, 24, were sentenced to 12 months and nine months in prison, respectively, to be followed by one year of supervised release, after pleading guilty to illegally entering NAS Key West on January 4, 2020, and taking photographs of military and naval infrastructure located on the Sigbsbee Park and Trumbo Point Annexes of the station. (Case No. 20-10005-CR-KMM).  

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF).  She also commended the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, and the Key West Police Department for their assistance.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Kobrinski prosecuted this case. 

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

Fort Lauderdale, Florida – A federal judge sentenced Gabriel Albala, 45, of Margate, Florida to 30 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for possessing child pornography that included images of children under age 12 engaged in sex acts. On Albala’s release from prison, he must register as a sex offender. Albala worked as a police officer with the Boynton Beach Police Department prior to his arrest. 

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, make the announcement.

According to court records, law enforcement learned of Albala following the arrest of a man who sold child pornography on the internet. Review of the seller’s records included financial transaction and other information that led law enforcement to Albala. Officers executed a search warrant at Albala’s home. They found a desktop computer in his bedroom that contained multiple images of children engaged in sexual activity. Some of the pornographic videos involved children under 12. Law enforcement also found child pornography on Albala’s cellular telephone. On January 17, 2020, Albala pled guilty to possessing child pornography.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commends the investigative efforts of FBI and, in particular, the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. She also commends the Boynton Beach Police Department and Margate Police Department for their assistance. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney M. Kathleen Koontz prosecuted this case.  

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

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

Fort Lauderdale, Florida – A federal judge today sentenced Frank Richard Beyer (a/k/a “Rick Beyer”), 75, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to 97 months in prison for possessing child pornography that included images of boys under age 12 engaged in sex acts and exposing their genitals.  Prior to living in Florida, Beyer lived in New York, where he taught sixth grade and was an elementary school principal.       

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

According to court records, law enforcement received multiple cyber tips that an on-line user had uploaded child pornography to internet platforms. The cybertips included an email address that led law enforcement officers to Beyer. On November 20, 2019, officers executed a search warrant at Beyer’s home. They found external digital storage devices that contained multiple pictures and videos of children (some under age 12) engaging in explicit sexual conduct with other children or adults. Law enforcement later forensically examined Beyer’s devices, finding almost 4,000 pictures and over 1,200 videos of child pornography. They also discovered that Beyer communicated with at least one person on an encrypted chat program and distributed child pornography to that person.

On March 5, 2020, Beyer pled guilty to possessing child pornography.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of FBI, Broward County Sheriff’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ajay Alexander prosecuted this case.  

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

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

For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.

Miami, Fl. – Top federal law enforcement officials in South Florida urge parents to stay alert to the increased danger their children face from on-line predators during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“A parent is a child’s best defense against on-line sex predators,” said Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “Now that our children are home and spending more time on the internet due to the health crisis, I encourage parents to engage in open and frank discussions with their children on who, and what, to avoid on-line.” 

“With children spending more time on the internet, it is especially important that they do so safely,” said George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami.  “Criminals and predators will try to develop a relationship with a young online victim, then arrange a meet to abuse the child or coerce a child into producing sexually explicit images through manipulations, gifts or threats, a crime called sextortion.  Parents and guardians should set guidelines and monitor their children’s internet use and, of course, immediately report any inappropriate contact between an adult and your child to law enforcement.”

“Thousands of children right in South Florida are experiencing greater internet usage, as the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted traditional classroom settings to virtual instruction.  Increased presence online means children are at an even greater risk of encountering cyber predators who know how to exploit their vulnerabilities,” said Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HIS), Miami. “With families staying home, many children will spend even more time using social media, gaming platforms and other online applications than usual. Now is as good a time as any to ensure kids and parents are practicing online safety and know how to identify potential threats.”

To help parents navigate the increased threat during the pandemic that is keeping children indoors and on-line, U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan, FBI Special Agent in Charge Piro, and HSI Special Agent in Charge Salisbury recommend that parents do the following:  

• Tell your children to avoid communicating with strangers online.
• Monitor your children’s chats, messages, and communications with people, particularly through gaming systems.

• Explain to your children that sometimes predators will offer them gifts in exchange for their taking and sending sexually explicit images or videos. Sometimes, the predators will make threats. Parents should explain to their children that these are strategies abusers use to get what they want, and if this happens, to not feel guilty and immediately tell a parent or other adult.
• To the extent possible, educate yourself about the internet tools your children use.  For example, set up your child’s specific profile on phones, iPads, and computer devices to limit the websites and content your child can access, and have a weekly “usage” sheet sent to you for that profile.  Make sure your children use privacy settings to restrict access to their online profiles.
• Check your children’s social media and gaming profiles and posts. Talk to your children about what is appropriate to say or share.
• Explain to your children that once images or comments post online, people can share them. Explain that everyone in the world can see what they publicly post on the internet and they can never completely erase posted images and comments.
• Encourage children to choose appropriate screen names and create strong passwords.  Parents should be aware of all passwords and discourage children from keeping their passwords a secret.
• Make it a rule with your children that they cannot arrange to meet up with someone they have met online without your knowledge and supervision. 
   

Child Exploitation is a serious federal crime, carrying severe federal penalties. If you suspect or become aware of possible sexual exploitation of a child, please contact law enforcement. To alert the South Florida FBI office, call 754-703-2000. To alert the South Florida HSI office, call 866-347-2423. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) also accepts complaints of child sexual exploitation at 1-800-843-5678.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI, and HSI have prosecuted many child exploitation cases in the Southern District of Florida. In December 2019, for example, a defendant received a 50-year prison sentence after a jury found him guilty of orchestrating a sextortion ring targeting children. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI led the prosecution. For more information on this case, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/man-convicted-trial-miami-orchestrating-snapchat-sextortion-ring-targeted-children.

In February of this year, a defendant received a 20-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to coercing a 15-year-old girl into taking sexually explicit photographs and videos of herself and sending them to his cellular telephone.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office and HSI led this prosecution.  For more information on this case, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/loxahatchee-man-sentenced-20-years-federal-prison-production-child-pornography-and.

Miami, Florida. – Autoridades federales del Sur de Florida les advierten a los padres que se mantengan alertos al peligro que enfrentan sus hijos de ser víctimas de los depredadores sexuales que buscan niños por el Internet durante la pandemia COVID-19.

"Los padres son la mejor defensa de un niño contra los depredadores sexuales en línea", dijo Ariana Fajardo Orshan, Fiscal Federal para el Distrito Sur de Florida. "Ahora que nuestros hijos están en casa y pasando más tiempo en el Internet debido a la crisis de salud, le sugiero a los padres que conversen francamente con sus hijos sobre las personas y las actividades que ellos deben evitar cuando estén en línea.”

"Dado que los niños pasan más tiempo en Internet, es especialmente importante que lo hagan de manera segura," dijo George L. Piro, Agente Especial Encargado, FBI, Miami. “Los delincuentes y los depredadores intentan desarrollar relaciones con jóvenes en línea, luego organizan reuniones para abusar de ellos u obligarlos a producir imágenes sexualmente explícitas a través de manipulaciones, regalos o amenazas, un delito llamado sextorsión.  Los padres deben establecer reglas para sus hijos para controlar el uso adecuado del Internet. Sobre todo, ellos deben informar de inmediato a la policía de cualquier contacto inapropiado entre un adulto y sus hijos.”

“Miles de niños en el sur de Florida están practicando mayor uso del Internet, ya que la pandemia de COVID-19 ha cambiado el uso tradicional del aula a la instrucción virtual. Una mayor presencia en línea significa que los niños corren un riesgo aún mayor de encontrarse con depredadores cibernéticos que saben cómo explotar sus vulnerabilidades," dijo Anthony Salisbury, Agente Especial Encargado, Oficina de Investigaciones, Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (HSI, por sus siglas en inglés), Miami. “Ahora que las familias están en casa, muchos niños pasarán más tiempo usando las redes sociales, plataformas de juegos y otras aplicaciones en línea.  Es un buen momento para garantizar que los niños y los padres practiquen la seguridad en línea y sepan cómo identificar posibles amenazas.”
 
Para ayudar a los padres con la amenaza cibernética que confrontan los niños durante la pandemia, la Fiscal Federal Fajardo Orshan, el Agente Especial Encargado Piro, de FBI, y el Agente Especial Encargado Salisbury, de HSI, recomiendan que los padres hagan lo siguiente: • Dígales a sus hijos que eviten comunicarse con extraños en línea.

• Monitoreen los chats, mensajes y comunicaciones de sus hijos con las personas, particularmente a través de sistemas de juego.

• Explíqueles a sus hijos que a veces los depredadores les pudieran ofrecer regalos a cambio de que los niños tomen y envíen imágenes o videos sexualmente explícitos. A veces, los depredadores harán amenazas. Los padres deben explicarles a sus hijos que estas son estrategias que los abusadores usan para obtener lo que quieren y, si esto sucede, que los jóvenes no se deben sentirse culpables. Se lo deben decir inmediatamente a sus padres.

•Infórmese sobre las herramientas de internet que usan sus hijos. Por ejemplo, configure el perfil específico de su hijo en teléfonos, iPads y computadoras para limitar los sitios web y el contenido al que puede acceder su hijo, y reciba una hoja semanal de uso para ese perfil. Asegúrese de que sus hijos usen la configuración de privacidad para restringir el acceso a sus perfiles en línea.

• Revisen las redes sociales y los perfiles y publicaciones de sus hijos. Hablen con sus hijos sobre lo que es apropiado decir y compartir.

• Explíqueles a sus hijos que una vez que imágenes o comentarios se publican en línea, otras personas pueden compartirlos. Explíqueles que todos pueden ver lo que publican en Internet y que nunca pueden borrar completamente lo que publican.

• Anime a los niños a elegir nombres de pantalla apropiados y crear contraseñas seguras. Los padres deben conocer todas las contraseñas y desalentar a los niños de mantener sus contraseñas en secreto.

• Establezca como regla con sus hijos que no pueden organizar una reunión con personas que hayan conocido en línea sin su conocimiento y supervisión.

La explotación infantil es un delito federal grave, que conlleva penas federales severas. Si sospecha de la posible explotación sexual de un niño, comuníquese con la policía. Para alertar a la oficina del FBI del sur de Florida, llame al 754-703-2000. Para alertar a la oficina de HSI del sur de Florida, llame al 866-347-2423. El Centro Nacional para Niños Desaparecidos y Explotados (NCMEC, por sus siglas en inglés) también acepta reportes de explotación sexual infantil. El numero de NCMEC es 1-800-843-5678.

La Fiscalía Federal, el FBI y HSI han enjuiciado varios casos de explotación infantil en el Distrito Sur de Florida. En diciembre de 2019, por ejemplo, un acusado recibió una sentencia de prisión de 50 años después que un jurado lo encontró culpable de orquestar una rueda de sextorsión dirigido a niños. La Fiscalía Federal y el FBI encabezaron el caso. Para obtener más información sobre este caso, visite https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/man-convicted-trial-miami-orchestrating-snapchat-sextortion-ring-targeted-children.

En febrero de este año, un acusado recibió una sentencia de prisión de 20 años después de declararse culpable de obligar a una niña de 15 años a tomar fotografías y videos sexualmente explícitos de sí misma y enviarlos al teléfono celular del acusado. La Fiscalía Federal y HSI lideraron este caso. Para obtener más información sobre este caso, visite https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/loxahatchee-man-sentenced-20-years-federal-prison-production-child-pornography-and.

Encontrará notas de prensa que cubren otros casos federales enjuiciados en nuestro distrito en la sección "News” del sitio web de la Oficina de la Fiscal Federal, Distrito Sur de Florida: www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.

Miami, Fl. -- As part of a national effort directed by U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Ariana Fajardo Orshan is asking anyone who has witnessed or experienced sexual harassment by a landlord, property manager, maintenance worker, or anyone with control over housing to report that conduct to the Department of Justice.

The COVID-19 Pandemic has impacted the ability of many people to pay rent on time and has increased housing insecurity. The Department of Justice has heard reports of housing providers trying to exploit the crisis to sexually harass tenants. Sexual harassment in housing is illegal, and the Department of Justice stands ready to investigate such allegations and pursue enforcement actions where appropriate.

The Justice Department’s Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative is an effort to combat sexual harassment in housing led by the Civil Rights Division, in coordination with U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country. The goal of the Initiative is to address sexual harassment by landlords, property managers, maintenance workers, loan officers, or others who have control over housing.

Launched in 2017, the Initiative has led to the filing of lawsuits across the county alleging a pattern or practice of sexual harassment in housing and the recovery of millions of dollars in damages for harassment victims. The Justice Department’s investigations frequently uncover sexual harassment that has been ongoing for years.  Many individuals do not know that being sexually harassed by a housing provider can violate federal law or that the Department of Justice may be able to help.

The Department of Justice, through the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices, enforces the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, and disability. Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by the Act.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan encourages anyone in South Florida who has experienced sexual harassment in housing, or knows someone who has, to contact the Civil Rights Division by calling (844) 380-6178 or emailing [email protected].

Individuals may also file a complaint alleging harassment or discrimination in housing with the Department of Housing and Urban Development through HUD’s website or by calling (800) 669-9777.

For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, visit its website at www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.

A Peruvian man pleaded guilty today to multiple federal felonies for operating a large fraud and extortion scheme, the Department of Justice announced today.  Francesco Guerra Perez oversaw a call center in Lima, Peru, that used government impersonation, lies, and threats to take money from thousands of U.S. Spanish-speaking victims, many of whom were elderly.

A federal indictment against Guerra and his co-defendants Rodolfo Hermoza Vega and Johnny Hidalgo Marchan was unsealed upon their Dec. 18, 2019, extradition to the United States.  Hermoza and Hidalgo pleaded guilty to conspiring with Guerra to commit mail fraud and wire fraud on Jan. 15, 2020.       

According to the allegations in the indictment, Guerra, Hidalgo, Hermoza, and their co-conspirators in Peru falsely posed as attorneys affiliated with the U.S. government and U.S. courts; they threatened victims with deportation, detention, negative marks on their credit reports, confiscation of property, and community service requirements in order to obtain payments from them.  U.S. consumers lost more than $1.5 million to the defendants’ fraud scheme.  Guerra’s sentencing is set for Monday, June 1, 2020.

“The Department of Justice will pursue and prosecute transnational criminals who defraud U.S. consumers, regardless where the criminals seek to hide,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division.  “We are particularly committed to bringing to justice those abroad who falsely claim U.S. government affiliation to defraud and threaten vulnerable American consumers.”  

Guerra pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, four counts of mail fraud, seven counts of wire fraud, and one count of attempted extortion.  With Guerra’s guilty plea, all five individuals charged in connection with the scheme have been convicted.  In addition to Guerra, Hildago, and Hermoza, two other individuals, Maria Luzula, of Miami, and Juan Alejandro Rodriguez Cuya, of Lima, Peru, were previously brought to justice in connection with this scheme.  In 2014, Luzula pleaded guilty to numerous felonies and was sentenced to 165 months’ incarceration.  Rodriguez Cuya was convicted following a two-week trial and was sentenced to 210 months in prison. 

According to the allegations in the indictment, Guerra, Hidalgo, and Hermoza managed and operated a Peruvian call center called Everglades, which was based in Lima, Peru, and which worked in partnership with Angeluz Florida Corporation in Miami, Florida.  The defendants and other call center employees in Peru used Internet-based telephone calls to lie to and threaten Spanish-speaking victims in the United States.  The callers falsely accused the victims of having failed to accept delivery of certain products and claimed that the victims owed thousands of dollars in fines and that court proceedings would be brought against them.  In reality, the victims had never ordered these products and nothing had been delivered.

The defendants and other call center employees claimed that the consumers could resolve the supposed debts and avoid the threatened consequences if they immediately paid a “settlement fee.”  Consumers who contested these settlement fees were told that failure to pay could lead to harmed credit, arrest, deportation, or seizure of property.  

“Individuals who defraud American consumers will be brought to justice, no matter where they are located,” said U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida.  “Protecting the elderly and vulnerable members of our community from schemes, such as this one, is a top priority of this office and the Department of Justice.”

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service will not allow overseas criminal enterprises to illegally enrich themselves by using the mail to defraud consumers in the United States,” said Miami Division Inspector in Charge, Antonio J. Gomez.  “With the continued cooperation of foreign governments these criminals will be aggressively pursued and brought to justice.”

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Phil Toomajian and Joshua Rothman of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.  The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case.  The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida, the Diplomatic Security Service, and the Peruvian National Police provided critical assistance. 

More information about the department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative webpage.  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.

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida has entered a temporary injunction halting the sale of an unapproved, unproven, and potentially dangerous coronavirus (COVID-19) treatment product, the Department of Justice announced today.

In a civil complaint and accompanying court papers filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida today, the Department of Justice alleges that the defendants, Genesis II Church of Health and Healing (Genesis) and its principals, Mark Grenon, Joseph Grenon, Jordan Grenon, and Jonathan Grenon sell and distribute a product called Miracle Mineral Solution, also referred to as MMS.  Genesis sells MMS through its websites claiming that it will cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent Coronavirus, which includes COVID-19, as well as other diseases including Alzheimer’s, autism, brain cancer, HIV/AIDS, and multiple sclerosis, among others.  MMS is a chemical product which, when combined with the included activator, creates a powerful bleach product that the defendants market for oral ingestion.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has previously issued public warnings to consumers that MMS can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and symptoms of severe dehydration.  The Justice Department sought preliminary relief from the court.

“The Department of Justice will take swift action to protect consumers from illegal and potentially harmful products being offered to treat COVID-19,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt.  “We will continue to work closely alongside our partners at the Food and Drug Administration to quickly shut down those selling illegal products during this pandemic.”

“We will zealously pursue perpetrators of fraud schemes seeking to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida.  “Not only are these products potentially harmful, but their distribution and use may prevent those who are sick from receiving the legitimate healthcare they need.”

The complaint alleges that defendants’ disease-related treatment claims are unsupported by any well-controlled clinical studies or other credible scientific substantiation.  Additionally, the complaint asserts that MMS’s labeling is false and misleading and that since defendants make disease-related treatment claims about MMS in the absence of any clinical data, the products are misbranded. 

On April 8, 2020, FDA, jointly with the Federal Trade Commission, issued a Warning Letter to Defendants notifying them that they are violating federal law (both the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as well as the Federal Trade Commission Act) by, among other things, distributing unapproved new drugs and misbranded drugs in interstate commerce.  Despite this warning, the complaint alleges, the defendants not only continue to sell MMS with claims that it cures, mitigates, treats, or prevents Coronavirus, which includes COVID-19, but they have also expressly stated that they will not take corrective action.

“Americans expect and deserve proven medical treatments and today’s action is a forceful reminder that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will use its legal authorities to quickly stop those who have proven to continuously threaten the health of the American public.  It is vital that sellers of drug products comply with the FD&C Act and do not sell products with false and misleading claims, especially to treat COVID-19 and other debilitating diseases, such as autism and Alzheimer’s disease,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D.  “Despite a previous warning, the Genesis II Church of Healing has continued to actively place consumers at risk by peddling potentially dangerous and unapproved chlorine dioxide products.  We will not stand for this, and the FDA remains fully committed to taking strong enforcement action against any sellers who place unsuspecting American consumers at risk by offering their unproven products to treat serious diseases.”

FDA’s previous warning to consumers about the dangers of MMS can be found here: https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/danger-dont-drink-miracle-mineral-solution-or-similar-products.

The enforcement action filed today is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Ross S. Goldstein and David A. Frank of the Department of Justice, Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Feeley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, with assistance from Associate Chief Counsel for Enforcement Joshua Davenport of the FDA, Office of General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services.

The claims made in the complaint are allegations that, if the case were to proceed to trial, the government must prove to receive a permanent injunction against the defendants.

Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.  For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, visit its website at www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.  For information about the Department of Justice’s efforts to stop illegal COVID-19-related activity, visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.  For the most up-to-date information on COVID-19, consumers may visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and WHO websites. 

The public is urged to report suspected fraud schemes related to COVID-19 (the Coronavirus) by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) hotline (1-866-720-5721) or by e-mailing the NCDF at [email protected].

Court Orders Defendants to Stop Operating Website Selling Unlawful Bleach Product for Coronavirus Treatment

MIAMI, Fl. – Today, a federal judge in South Florida entered a temporary injunction halting the sale of an unapproved, unproven, and potentially dangerous coronavirus (COVID-19) treatment product, announced Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

The civil complaint and accompanying court papers filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida allege that the defendants, Genesis II Church of Health and Healing (Genesis) and its principals, Mark Grenon, Joseph Grenon, Jordan Grenon, and Jonathan Grenon sell and distribute a product called Miracle Mineral Solution, also referred to as MMS. Genesis sells MMS through its websites claiming that it will cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent Coronavirus, which includes COVID-19, as well as other diseases including Alzheimer’s, autism, brain cancer, HIV/AIDS, and multiple sclerosis, among others. MMS is a chemical product which, when combined with the included activator, creates a powerful bleach product that the defendants market for oral ingestion.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has previously issued public warnings to consumers that MMS can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and symptoms of severe dehydration. The Justice Department sought emergency and preliminary relief from the court.

“We will zealously pursue perpetrators of fraud schemes seeking to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “Not only are these products potentially harmful, but their distribution and use may prevent those who are sick from receiving the legitimate healthcare they need.”

“The Department of Justice will take swift action to protect consumers from illegal and potentially harmful products being offered to treat COVID-19,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt. “We will continue to work closely alongside our partners at the Food and Drug Administration to quickly shut down those selling illegal products during this pandemic.”

The complaint alleges that defendants’ disease-related treatment claims are unsupported by any well-controlled clinical studies or other credible scientific substantiation.  Additionally, the complaint asserts that MMS’s labeling is false and misleading and that since defendants make disease-related treatment claims about MMS in the absence of any clinical data, the products are misbranded. 

On April 8, 2020, FDA, jointly with the Federal Trade Commission, issued a Warning Letter to Defendants notifying them that they are violating federal law (both the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as well as the Federal Trade Commission Act) by, among other things, distributing unapproved new drugs and misbranded drugs in interstate commerce.  Despite this warning, the complaint alleges, the defendants not only continue to sell MMS with claims that it cures, mitigates, treats, or prevents Coronavirus, which includes COVID-19, but they have also expressly stated that they will not take corrective action.

“Americans expect and deserve proven medical treatments and today’s action is a forceful reminder that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will use its legal authorities to quickly stop those who have proven to continuously threaten the health of the American public.  It is vital that sellers of drug products comply with the FD&C Act and do not sell products with false and misleading claims, especially to treat COVID-19 and other debilitating diseases, such as autism and Alzheimer’s disease,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D.  “Despite a previous warning, the Genesis II Church of Healing has continued to actively place consumers at risk by peddling potentially dangerous and unapproved chlorine dioxide products.  We will not stand for this, and the FDA remains fully committed to taking strong enforcement action against any sellers who place unsuspecting American consumers at risk by offering their unproven products to treat serious diseases.”

FDA’s previous warning to consumers about the dangers of MMS can be found here: https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/danger-dont-drink-miracle-mineral-solution-or-similar-products.

The enforcement action filed today is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Feeley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, and Senior Litigation Counsel Ross S. Goldstein and David A. Frank from the Department of Justice, Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch. Assisting with the enforcement action is Associate Chief Counsel for Enforcement Joshua Davenport of the FDA, Office of General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services.

The claims made in the complaint are allegations that, if the case were to proceed to trial, the government must prove to receive a permanent injunction against the defendants.

Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.  For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, visit its website at www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.  For information about the Department of Justice’s efforts to stop illegal COVID-19-related activity, visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.  For the most up-to-date information on COVID-19, consumers may visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and WHO websites.    

MIAMI, Fl. — U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan sent a letter to South Florida hospital executives on Monday, asking them to share information about individuals and companies that may be acquiring or selling medical supplies for the purpose of hoarding or price gouging.

“In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, our office is prioritizing the deterrence, investigation, and prosecution of wrongdoing related to the COVID-19 pandemic – including . . . hoarding and/or price-gouging with regard to critical medical supplies,” said U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan.  She asked the hospital executives for help “in identifying individuals and companies that may have acquired vital medical supplies in excess of what they would reasonably use, or for the purpose of charging exorbitant prices,” and reiterated her office’s commitment to investigating and prosecuting fraud designed to benefit from the coronavirus pandemic.

On March 20, Attorney General William Barr directed all 93 U.S. Attorneys to prioritize the investigation and prosecution of COVID-19 fraud. U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan launched the Southern District of Florida COVID-19 Task Force, through which agencies can share information and coordinate law enforcement action, and appointed AUSA Jon Juenger to lead her Office’s COVID-19 response. 

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan encourages the public to report COVID-19 related fraud to the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) hotline at 1-866-720-5721or to the email address [email protected]. 

Read U.S. Attorney Fajardo-Orshan’s letter to hospital leadership by clicking the attachment.

Attachment: 

U.S. Attorney’s Letter to South Florida Hospitals

Tapped Hidden Accounts to Buy $1.3 Million Yacht and Waterfront Property Filed False “Quiet” Disclosure

WASHINGTON – A Lake Worth, Florida, businessman pleaded guilty today to tax evasion and willful failure to file a Report of Foreign Bank or Financial Account, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida. 

According to court documents and statements made in court, Dusko Bruer owned and operated a company that bought U.S.-made agricultural machinery and parts and sold them throughout the world. Beginning in 2003, the company did not pay Bruer a salary. Instead, Bruer used millions of dollars from the company’s bank accounts to pay his personal expenses, make investments abroad, and make transfers to an employee and his family. From 2007 through 2011, Bruer transferred over $5.8 million of the company’s profits to foreign financial accounts. Bruer used the company’s profits to buy a yacht, purchase a waterfront home for his girlfriend and himself, purchase a home for an employee, and buy real property in Serbia. Between 2007 and 2014, Bruer failed to report more than $7.7 million in income and did not pay taxes of more than $2.7 million that were due to the United States.

Although Bruer’s company had a number of employees and reaped millions of dollars in profits, Bruer never filed a corporate tax return for the company nor did the company ever pay taxes on its income. Bruer also never filed employment tax returns during those years reporting wages that the company paid to its employees nor did the company withhold and pay over payroll taxes.

From 2007 through 2015, Bruer maintained financial accounts in Croatia, Germany, Serbia, and Switzerland. He did not report his ownership of the accounts to the Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCEN) by filing a Report of Foreign Bank or Financial Account (FBAR), despite knowing he had an obligation to do so. In 2010, an account he held at a subsidiary of Credit Suisse AG in Zurich, Switzerland reached a year-end high value of $6,177,586. Bruer used the assets in his foreign accounts for personal use, including the purchase of a yacht for $1,350,000 and a 3,200 square foot home in Lake Worth, Florida, with 100 feet of waterfront frontage for approximately $1,650,000.

From 1999 to 2014, Bruer never filed a personal tax return nor did he pay tax on his income. In 2015, Credit Suisse closed his account in Switzerland and advised him to enter the IRS’s Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP), by which taxpayers could avoid criminal prosecution by making a voluntary disclosure directly to IRS-Criminal Investigation, filing six years of delinquent or amended income tax returns, as well as delinquent or amended FBARs, paying back taxes, interest, and certain penalties on the six tax years in the disclosure period, and paying a penalty on the highest aggregate account balance of their noncompliant offshore assets. Bruer did not enter into the OVDP because he determined that the cost would be too high. Instead, Bruer made a “quiet” disclosure that involved filing several delinquent tax returns with the IRS, not flagging the returns in anyway or paying the taxes, penalties and interest that would be paid in OVDP.

The returns Bruer filed as part of his “quiet” disclosure were false because they disclosed only the funds he held in the Credit Suisse account and not the funds he held in the accounts in Croatia, Germany, Serbia, nor did they report the income he earned from his company.

United States District Court Judge Senior District Judge Kenneth A. Marra scheduled sentencing for June 12, 2020. Bruer faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each charge, three years of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Senior Litigation Counsel Mark F. Daly of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aurora Fagan, who are prosecuting the case. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan also thanked the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Croatia for their assistance in this matter.

Additional information about the Tax Division’s enforcement efforts can be found on the division’s website.

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.

MIAMI, Fl. -- In response to the increasing threat of fraud related to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan announced today that federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies have joined forces to form the Southern District of Florida COVID-19 Task Force. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Task Force’s mission is to identify, investigate, and aggressively prosecute fraud in South Florida related to COVID-19.  

While the Task Force will review and investigate all credible leads of COVID-19 fraud, it will focus on complaints of hoarding and price gouging of critical medical supplies and on schemes designed to exploit vulnerable populations, including the elderly. The Task Force also will prioritize schemes that have the potential to endanger public health and safety.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan has designated Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Juenger as the Southern District of Florida’s Coronavirus Fraud Coordinator. AUSA Juenger will confer with agency counterparts regularly to prioritize cases and focus resources where needed.

Some examples of COVID-19 scams include:

• Unlawful Hoarding and Price-Gouging: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has designated certain health and medical resources necessary to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic as “scarce,” including respirator masks, ventilators, and other medical protective equipment. These designated materials are subject to the hoarding prevention measures that trigger both criminal and civil remedies.
   
• Testing Scams: Scammers are selling fake at-home test kits or going door-to-door performing fake tests for money.
   
• Treatment Scams: Scammers are offering to sell fake cures, vaccines, and advice on unproven treatments for COVID-19.
   
• Supply Scams: Scammers are creating fake shops, websites, social media accounts, and email addresses claiming to sell medical supplies currently in high demand, such as surgical masks. When consumers attempt to purchase supplies through these channels, fraudsters pocket the money and never provide the promised supplies.
   
• Provider Scams: Scammers are also contacting people by phone and email, pretending to be doctors and hospitals that have treated a friend or relative for COVID-19, and demanding payment for that treatment.
   
• Charity Scams: Scammers are soliciting donations for individuals, groups, and areas affected by COVID-19.
   
• Phishing Scams and Cyber Intrusions: Scammers posing as national and global health authorities, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are sending phishing emails designed to trick recipients into clicking on a link or opening an attachment that downloads malware that steals the user’s credentials, such as usernames, credit card numbers, passwords, and other sensitive information usually stored in internet browsers.
   
• App Scams: Scammers are also creating and manipulating mobile apps designed to track the spread of COVID-19 to insert malware that will compromise users’ devices and personal information.
   
• Investment Scams: Scammers are offering online promotions on various platforms, including social media, claiming that the products or services of publicly traded companies can prevent, detect, or cure COVID-19, and that the stock of these companies will dramatically increase in value as a result.
   
• Stimulus Check Scams: Scammers are contacting people over email and are telling them that their check, as part of the stimulus package responding to COVID-19, is already waiting for them and that all they need to do is to provide personal information, such as bank account numbers and Social Security Numbers, which are the key pieces of information needed to perpetrate identity theft.
   
• Other scams include fraudsters claiming to work for the government or banks/credit cards and offering assistance for student loan relief, foreclosure or eviction relief, unemployment assistance, debt relief, and direct financial assistance, like government checks.
   

If you believe you have been a target or victim of a scam or fraud or have knowledge of any hoarding or price-gouging of critical medical supplies, please report it to the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or [email protected].

You may reach the Southern District of Florida Coronavirus Fraud Coordinator, AUSA Jon Juenger, at (305) 961-9450 or [email protected].

Attachment: 

COVID 19-Fraud Flyer

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 to be alert about possible scams relating to COVID-19 economic impact payments.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Michael J. De Palma, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement today in an effort to prevent taxpayers from falling victim to criminals using the recently approved payments as an opportunity to commit a crime.

COVID-19 economic impact payments are scheduled to be on their way in a matter of weeks. For most Americans, this will be a direct deposit into their bank accounts. For others, it will be through a check that they receive in the mail.  Scammers may try to get you to sign over your check to them or get you to “verify” your filing information in order to steal your money. Your personal information could then be used to file false tax returns in an identity theft scheme.  Because of this, everyone receiving a COVID-19 economic impact payment is at risk.

Michael J. De Palma, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-CI Miami Field Office warned, “Even as our Nation is enduring a State of Emergency, criminals will continue to engage in heinous acts to further enrich themselves demonstrating no sympathy by exploiting you during your most difficult circumstance.” 

Special Agent in Charge De Palma offers the following information and tips to spot a scam and understand how the COVID-19 related economic impact payments will be issued.

• The IRS will deposit your check into the direct deposit account you previously provided on your tax return (or, in the alternative, send you a paper check).
• The IRS will not call and ask you to verify your payment details. Do not give out your bank account, debit account, or PayPal account information – even if someone claims it’s necessary to get your check. It’s a scam.
• If you receive a call, don’t engage with scammers or thieves, even if you want to tell them that you know it’s a scam, or you think that you can beat them. Just hang up.
• If you receive texts or emails claiming that you can get your money faster by sending personal information or clicking on links, delete them. Don’t click on any links in those emails or texts.
• Reports are also swirling about bogus checks. If you receive a “check” in the mail now, it’s a fraud – it will take the Treasury a few weeks to mail those out. If you receive a “check” for an odd amount (especially one with cents), or a check that requires that you verify the check online or by calling a number, it’s a fraud.

During these unprecedented and uncertain times, our community needs to come together and fight with a purpose.  Don’t allow these criminals to victimize you by exploiting your emotions during this crisis. Stay connected and inform your loved ones including your family, friends and neighbors about these scams. 

“Fraudsters are constantly on the lookout for new opportunities to swindle innocent people out of their hard-earned money.  My Office and other law enforcers are on the lookout too -- for them.  We will not tolerate fraudsters taking advantage of South Floridians during the COVID-19 crisis,” said Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

“IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to pursue criminals who violate the law and attack our community.  IRS-CI will work diligently alongside the Department of Justice and our law enforcement counterparts to identify scams, stop the con-artists in their tracks and bring them to justice.” said Special Agent in Charge De Palma.

For more information, visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov/coronavirus.

To report a COVID-19 fraud scheme or suspicious activity, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) by calling the NCDF Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or sending an email to [email protected].

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.

Miami, Florida – Two South Florida residents appeared in federal court today on charges of using an assault firearm to rob money from drive-through cashiers at a Miami Gardens Burger King and a Miami Gardens Wendy’s.

According to the criminal complaint affidavit, on March 31, 2020, at about 10:40 am, Amos Roberts, 34, and Tyra Nance, 21, placed an order at a drive-through speaker at a Miami Gardens Burger King restaurant. The affidavit alleges that Nance drove the car while Roberts, who wore a black hoodie sweatshirt and black skull cap, sat in the backseat. Once the car was at the drive-through window and the cash register was open, Roberts allegedly pushed the cashier out of the way with a large assault-style firearm and took money from the cash tray.  Roberts and Nance allegedly drove off with the money.

The criminal complaint affidavit also alleges that Roberts and Nance repeated the crime later that day, this time at a Miami Gardens Wendy’s restaurant.  With Nance allegedly at the wheel, they placed an order at the drive-through speaker, then drove up to the payment window. Once the cash register was open, Roberts allegedly exited the back of the car carrying a rifle, which he pointed at the drive-through cashier. The cashier ran away from the register and Roberts allegedly grabbed money from the cash tray.   

Officers investigated and located Roberts and Nance. They pulled the defendants over as they were driving a car that matched the one involved in the robberies. Officers found a black hoodie, black skull cap, and an AR15 style semi-automatic firearm inside the car.  They arrested Roberts and Nance.  The criminal complaint charges them with robbery and firearm offenses.

Roberts and Nance had their initial appearances and detention hearings today. They will be detained without bond pending trial.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Alfredo Ramirez III, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) made the announcement.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the FBI, MDPD, and Miami Gardens Police Department for their investigative efforts and the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office for its assistance.  U.S. Attorney Cary O. Aronovitz is prosecuting this case.  

During the current COVID-19 health crisis, the United States Attorney’s Office and its federal, state, and local law enforcement partners continue investigating and prosecuting all forms of crime in South Florida.

This case involved the U.S. Attorney’s Office Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP) initiative. Through the VRP, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and its federal and local law enforcement allies have sought to dismantle the most violent criminal networks that plague communities throughout the Southern District of Florida.

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

A Lake Worth, Florida, businessman pleaded guilty today to tax evasion and willful failure to file a Report of Foreign Bank or Financial Account, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida. 

According to court documents and statements made in court, Dusko Bruer owned and operated a company that bought U.S.-made agricultural machinery and parts and sold them throughout the world. Beginning in 2003, the company did not pay Bruer a salary. Instead, Bruer used millions of dollars from the company’s bank accounts to pay his personal expenses, make investments abroad, and make transfers to an employee and his family. From 2007 through 2011, Bruer transferred over $5.8 million of the company’s profits to foreign financial accounts. Bruer used the company’s profits to buy a yacht, purchase a waterfront home for his girlfriend and himself, purchase a home for an employee, and buy real property in Serbia. Between 2007 and 2014, Bruer failed to report more than $7.7 million in income and did not pay taxes of more than $2.7 million that were due to the United States.

Although Bruer’s company had a number of employees and reaped millions of dollars in profits, Bruer never filed a corporate tax return for the company nor did the company ever pay taxes on its income. Bruer also never filed employment tax returns during those years reporting wages that the company paid to its employees nor did the company withhold and pay over payroll taxes.

From 2007 through 2015, Bruer maintained financial accounts in Croatia, Germany, Serbia, and Switzerland. He did not report his ownership of the accounts to the Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCEN) by filing a Report of Foreign Bank or Financial Account (FBAR), despite knowing he had an obligation to do so. In 2010, an account he held at a subsidiary of Credit Suisse AG in Zurich, Switzerland reached a year-end high value of $6,177,586. Bruer used the assets in his foreign accounts for personal use, including the purchase of a yacht for $1,350,000 and a 3,200 square foot home in Lake Worth, Florida, with 100 feet of waterfront frontage for approximately $1,650,000.

From 1999 to 2014, Bruer never filed a personal tax return nor did he pay tax on his income. In 2015, Credit Suisse closed his account in Switzerland and advised him to enter the IRS’s Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP), by which taxpayers could avoid criminal prosecution by making a voluntary disclosure directly to IRS-Criminal Investigation, filing six years of delinquent or amended income tax returns, as well as delinquent or amended FBARs, paying back taxes, interest, and certain penalties on the six tax years in the disclosure period, and paying a penalty on the highest aggregate account balance of their noncompliant offshore assets. Bruer did not enter into the OVDP because he determined that the cost would be too high. Instead, Bruer made a “quiet” disclosure that involved filing several delinquent tax returns with the IRS, not flagging the returns in anyway or paying the taxes, penalties and interest that would be paid in OVDP.

The returns Bruer filed as part of his “quiet” disclosure were false because they disclosed only the funds he held in the Credit Suisse account and not the funds he held in the accounts in Croatia, Germany, Serbia, nor did they report the income he earned from his company.

United States District Court Judge Senior District Judge Kenneth A. Marra scheduled sentencing for June 12, 2020. Bruer faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each charge, three years of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Senior Litigation Counsel Mark F. Daly of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aurora Fagan, who are prosecuting the case. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan also thanked the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Croatia for their assistance in this matter.

Additional information about the Tax Division’s enforcement efforts can be found on the division’s website.

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For additional information and documents please visit: Documents Related to the March 26, 2020 Press Conference

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Former President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro Moros, Venezuela’s vice president for the economy, Venezuela’s Minister of Defense, and Venezuela’s Chief Supreme Court Justice are among those charged in New York City; Washington, DC; and Miami, along with current and former Venezuelan government officials as well as two Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) leaders, announced U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman of the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Acting Executive Associate Director Alysa D. Erichs of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

“The Venezuelan regime, once led by Nicolás Maduro Moros, remains plagued by criminality and corruption,” said Attorney General Barr.  “For more than 20 years, Maduro and a number of high-ranking colleagues allegedly conspired with the FARC, causing tons of cocaine to enter and devastate American communities.  Today’s announcement is focused on rooting out the extensive corruption within the Venezuelan government – a system constructed and controlled to enrich those at the highest levels of the government.  The United States will not allow these corrupt Venezuelan officials to use the U.S. banking system to move their illicit proceeds from South America nor further their criminal schemes.” 

“Today we announce criminal charges against Nicolás Maduro Moros for running, together with his top lieutenants, a narco-terrorism partnership with the FARC for the past 20 years,” said U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman.  “The scope and magnitude of the drug trafficking alleged was made possible only because Maduro and others corrupted the institutions of Venezuela and provided political and military protection for the rampant narco-terrorism crimes described in our charges.  As alleged, Maduro and the other defendants expressly intended to flood the United States with cocaine in order to undermine the health and wellbeing of our nation.  Maduro very deliberately deployed cocaine as a weapon.  While Maduro and other cartel members held lofty titles in Venezuela’s political and military leadership, the conduct described in the Indictment wasn’t statecraft or service to the Venezuelan people.  As alleged, the defendants betrayed the Venezuelan people and corrupted Venezuelan institutions to line their pockets with drug money.”

“Over the last decade, corrupt Venezuelan government officials have systematically looted Venezuela of billions of dollars,” said U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan.  “Far too often, these corrupt officials and their co-conspirators have used South Florida banks and real estate to conceal and perpetuate their illegal activity.  As the recent charges show, Venezuelan corruption and money laundering in South Florida extends to even the highest levels of Venezuela’s judicial system.  In the last couple of years, the US Attorney’s Office in South Florida and its federal law enforcement partners have united to bring dozens of criminal charges against high-level regime officials and co-conspirators resulting in seizures of approximately $450 million dollars.”  

“These indictments expose the devastating systemic corruption at the highest levels of Nicolas Maduro’s regime,” said DEA Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon.  “These officials repeatedly and knowingly betrayed the people of Venezuela, conspiring, for personal gain, with drug traffickers and designated foreign terrorist organizations like the FARC.  Today’s actions send a clear message to corrupt officials everywhere that no one is above the law or beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement.  The Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration will continue to protect the American people from ruthless drug traffickers – no matter who they are or where they live.”

“The collaborative nature of this investigation is representative of the ongoing work HSI and international law enforcement agencies perform each day, often behind the scenes and unknown to the public, to make our communities safer and free from corruption,” said HSI’s Acting Executive Associate Director Alysa D. Erichs.  “Today’s announcement highlights HSI’s global reach and commitment to aggressively identify, target and investigate individuals who violate U.S. laws, exploit financial systems, and hide behind cryptocurrency to further their illicit criminal activity.  Let this indictment be a reminder that no one is above the law - not even powerful political officials.”

A four-count superseding indictment unsealed today in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) charges Nicolás Maduro Moros, 57; Diosdado Cabello Rondón, 56, head of Venezuela’s National Constituent Assembly; Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios aka “El Pollo,” 59, former director of military intelligence; Clíver Antonio Alcalá Cordones, 58, former General in the Venezuelan armed forces; Luciano Marín Arango aka “Ivan Marquez,” 64, a member of the FARC’s Secretariat, which is the FARC’s highest leadership body; and Seuxis Paucis Hernández Solarte aka “Jesús Santrich,” 53, a member of the FARC’s Central High Command, which is the FARC’s second-highest leadership body.  The case is pending before U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.

The U.S. Department of State, through its Narcotics Rewards Program, is offering rewards of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Maduro Moros, up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Cabello Rondón, Carvajal Barrios, and Alcalá Cordones, and up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Marín Arango.

Maduro Moros, Cabello Rondón, Carvajal Barrios, Alcalá Cordones, Marín Arango, and Hernández Solarte have each been charged with: (1) participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy, which carries a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence and a maximum of life in prison; (2) conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, which carries a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence and a maximum of life in prison; (3) using and carrying machine guns and destructive devices during and in relation to, and possessing machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the narco-terrorism and cocaine-importation conspiracies, which carries a 30-year mandatory minimum sentence and a maximum of life in prison; and (4) conspiring to use and carry machine guns and destructive devices during and in relation to, and to possess machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the narco-terrorism and cocaine-importation conspiracies, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.  The potential mandatory minimum and maximum sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

According to the allegations contained in the superseding indictment, other court filings, and statements made during court proceedings:

Since at least 1999, Maduro Moros, Cabello Rondón, Carvajal Barrios and Alcalá Cordones, acted as leaders and managers of the Cártel de Los Soles, or “Cartel of the Suns.”  The Cartel’s name refers to the sun insignias affixed to the uniforms of high-ranking Venezuelan military officials.  Maduro Moros and the other charged Cartel members abused the Venezuelan people and corrupted the legitimate institutions of Venezuela—including parts of the military, intelligence apparatus, legislature, and the judiciary—to facilitate the importation of tons of cocaine into the United States.  The Cártel de Los Soles sought to not only enrich its members and enhance their power, but also to “flood” the United States with cocaine and inflict the drug’s harmful and addictive effects on users in the United States.

Marín Arango and Hernández Solarte are leaders of the FARC.  Beginning in approximately 1999, while the FARC was purporting to negotiate toward peace with the Colombian government, FARC leaders agreed with leaders of the Cártel de Los Soles to relocate some of the FARC’s operations to Venezuela under the protection of the Cartel.  Thereafter, the FARC and the Cártel de Los Soles dispatched processed cocaine from Venezuela to the United States via transshipment points in the Caribbean and Central America, such as Honduras.  By approximately 2004, the U.S. Department of State estimated that 250 or more tons of cocaine were transiting Venezuela per year.  The maritime shipments were shipped north from Venezuela’s coastline using go-fast vessels, fishing boats, and container ships.  Air shipments were often dispatched from clandestine airstrips, typically made of dirt or grass, concentrated in the Apure State. According to the U.S. Department of State, approximately 75 unauthorized flights suspected of drug-trafficking activities entered Honduran airspace in 2010 alone, using what is known as the “air bridge” cocaine route between Venezuela and Honduras.

In his role as a leader of the Cártel de Los Soles, Maduro Moros negotiated multi-ton shipments of FARC-produced cocaine; directed that the Cártel de Los Soles provide military-grade weapons to the FARC; coordinated foreign affairs with Honduras and other countries to facilitate large-scale drug trafficking; and solicited assistance from FARC leadership in training an unsanctioned militia group that functioned, in essence, as an armed forces unit for the Cártel de Los Soles.

DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit, New York Strike Force, and Miami Field Division conducted the investigation.  This case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda L. Houle, Matthew J. Laroche, Jason A. Richman, and Kyle A. Wirshba are in charge of the prosecution.

*                *                *

An indictment unsealed today in the District of Columbia charges Vladimir Padrino Lopez, 56, Minister of Defense of Venezuela. The indictment alleges that from March 2014 until May 2019, Padrino Lopez conspired with others to distribute cocaine on board an aircraft registered in the United States. 

Padrino Lopez, who holds the rank of General in the Venezuelan armed forces, held the authority for interdicting aircraft, many of which are registered in the United States, suspected of being used to traffic drugs from Venezuela to countries in Central America.  On numerous occasions, Padrino Lopez ordered or authorized the Venezuelan military to force suspected trafficking aircraft to land or to shoot down the aircraft.  However, Padrino Lopez allowed for other aircraft whose drug trafficking coordinators paid bribes to him to safely transit Venezuelan airspace. 

On Sept. 25, 2018, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) included Padrino Lopez on its Specially Designated Nationals List.  Pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, this means that his assets are blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from having financial transactions with him. 

The DEA Orlando District Office led the investigation, which was supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force program and the Criminal Division’s Office of Enforcement Operations. Acting Deputy Chief Charles Miracle and Trial Attorneys Michael Christin and Kirt Marsh of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section are prosecuting the case.

*                *                *

Maikel Jose Moreno Perez, 54, current Chief Justice of the Venezuelan Supreme Court, was charged via a criminal complaint in the Southern District of Florida with conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering in connection with the alleged corrupt receipt or intended receipt of tens of millions of dollars and bribes to illegally fix dozens of civil and criminal cases in Venezuela.  

The complaint alleges, for example, that the defendant authorized a seizure and sale of a General Motors auto plant with an estimated value of $100 million in exchange for a personal percentage of the proceeds.  Similarly, the complaint alleges that the defendant received bribes to authorize the dismissal of charges or release against Venezuelans, including one charged in a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme against the Venezuelan state-owned oil company.

According to the criminal complaint, in or around October 2014, Moreno Perez told U.S. authorities in a visa application that he earned the equivalent of about $12,000 per year from his work in Venezuela. From 2012 to 2016, the defendant’s U.S. bank records show approximately $3 million in inflows to the defendant’s accounts, primarily from large round-dollar transfers from shell corporations with foreign bank accounts linked to Co-Conspirator 1, who is a former criminal defense attorney in Venezuela that currently controls a media company in Venezuela.

As set out in the criminal complaint, the defendant’s bank records allegedly show that from 2012 to 2016, the defendant spent approximately $3 million, primarily in the geographical area of South Florida. For example, bank records allegedly show that Moreno Perez spent about $1 million for a private aircraft and private pilot, more than $600,000 in credit or debit card purchases at stores primarily in South Florida (including tens of thousands of dollars at luxury stores in Bal Harbor, such as Prada and Salvatore Ferragamo), about $50,000 in payments to a luxury watch repair store in Aventura, and approximately $40,000 in payments to a Venezuelan beauty pageant director.

HSI’s Miami Field Office conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael N. Berger of the Southern District of Florida is in charge of the prosecution.

*                *                *

A separate superseding indictment unsealed today in the Southern District of New York charges Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah, 45, Venezuela’s vice president for the economy, Joselit Ramirez Camacho, 33, Venezuela’s superintendent of cryptocurrency (Sunacrip), and Samark Lopez Bello, 45, a Venezuelan businessman, with a series of crimes relating to efforts to evade sanctions imposed by OFAC against Maduro Moros, El Aissami Maddah, and Lopez Bello.  

The indictment alleges that from February 2017 until March 2019, El Aissami Maddah and Ramirez Camacho worked with U.S. persons and U.S.-based entities to provide private flight services for the benefit of Maduro’s 2018 presidential campaign, in violation of OFAC’s sanctions targeting Maduro after he organized elections for the illegitimate National Constituent Assembly that Cabello Rondon now leads.  

The U.S. Department of State, through its Narcotics Rewards Program, is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of El Aissami Maddah.

HSI’s New York Field Office conducted the investigation.  This case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg and Amanda L. Houle are in charge of the prosecution.

*                *                *

Other individuals charged in separate indictments include:

• Luis Motta Dominguez, 67, Former Minister of Energy, was charged in the Southern District of Florida for his alleged role in laundering the proceeds of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in connection with his alleged receipt of bribes to award Corpoelec business to U.S.-based companies;
• Nestor Reverol Torres, 55, former General Director of Venezuela’s La Oficina Nacional Antidrogas (ONA) and former commander of Venezuela’s National Guard and Edylberto Jose Molina Molina, 57, former Sub-Director of Venezuela’s ONA and currently Venezuela’s military attaché to Germany, were charged in the Eastern District of New York with participating in an international cocaine distribution conspiracy where they allegedly assisted narcotics traffickers in importing cocaine into the United States;
• Vassyly Kotosky Villarroel Ramirez aka “Mauro” and “Angel,” 47, a former captain in the Venezuelan Guardia Nacional, was charged in a third superseding indictment in the Eastern District of New York with participating in an international cocaine distribution conspiracy between Jan. 1, 2004, and Dec. 1, 2009;
• Rafael Antonio Villasana Fernandez, 48, a former officer in the Venezuelan Guardia Nacional, was charged in the Eastern District of New York with participating in an international cocaine distribution conspiracy between Jan. 1, 2004, and Dec. 1, 2009. According to court documents, Kotosky and Villasana allegedly used official government vehicles to transport more than seven metric tons of cocaine from the Colombian border to various airports and seaports in Venezuela for ultimate importation into the United States;
• Nervis Gerardo Villalobos Cardenas, 52, former Vice Minister of Energy of Venezuela, was charged in a 20-count indictment in the Southern District of Texas with conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering and conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for his alleged role in an international money laundering scheme involving bribes paid by the owners of U.S.-based companies to Venezuelan government officials to corruptly secure energy contracts and payment priority on outstanding invoices; and
• Oscar Rafael Colmenarez Villalobos, 51, former Venezuelan Air Force Officer, charged in the District of Arizona with violations of the Arms Export Control Act. He allegedly conspired with others, including individuals associated with an aviation company in Arizona, to smuggle from the United States to Venezuela T-76 military aircraft engines used on OV-10 Bronco aircraft to individuals in Venezuela and allegedly made false and misleading statements on shipping and export control documents to conceal the prohibited activities and transactions from detection of the U.S. government.
   

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

The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and Office of Enforcement Operations provided valuable assistance.

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.

Maduro and Other High Ranking Venezuelan Officials Allegedly Partnered With the FARC to Use Cocaine as a Weapon to “Flood” the United States

WASHINGTON – Former President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro Moros, Venezuela’s vice president for the economy, Venezuela’s Minister of Defense, and Venezuela’s Chief Supreme Court Justice are among those charged in New York City; Washington, DC; and Miami, along with current and former Venezuelan government officials as well as two Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) leaders, announced U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman of the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Acting Executive Associate Director Alysa D. Erichs of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

“The Venezuelan regime, once led by Nicolás Maduro Moros, remains plagued by criminality and corruption,” said Attorney General Barr. “For more than 20 years, Maduro and a number of high-ranking colleagues allegedly conspired with the FARC, causing tons of cocaine to enter and devastate American communities. Today’s announcement is focused on rooting out the extensive corruption within the Venezuelan government – a system constructed and controlled to enrich those at the highest levels of the government. The United States will not allow these corrupt Venezuelan officials to use the U.S. banking system to move their illicit proceeds from South America nor further their criminal schemes.” 

“Today we announce criminal charges against Nicolás Maduro Moros for running, together with his top lieutenants, a narco-terrorism partnership with the FARC for the past 20 years,” said U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman. “The scope and magnitude of the drug trafficking alleged was made possible only because Maduro and others corrupted the institutions of Venezuela and provided political and military protection for the rampant narco-terrorism crimes described in our charges.  As alleged, Maduro and the other defendants expressly intended to flood the United States with cocaine in order to undermine the health and wellbeing of our nation.  Maduro very deliberately deployed cocaine as a weapon.  While Maduro and other cartel members held lofty titles in Venezuela’s political and military leadership, the conduct described in the Indictment wasn’t statecraft or service to the Venezuelan people.  As alleged, the defendants betrayed the Venezuelan people and corrupted Venezuelan institutions to line their pockets with drug money.”

“Over the last decade, corrupt Venezuelan government officials have systematically looted Venezuela of billions of dollars,” said U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan. “Far too often, these corrupt officials and their co-conspirators have used South Florida banks and real estate to conceal and perpetuate their illegal activity.  As the recent charges show, Venezuelan corruption and money laundering in South Florida extends to even the highest levels of Venezuela’s judicial system.  In the last couple of years, the US Attorney’s Office in South Florida and its federal law enforcement partners have united to bring dozens of criminal charges against high-level regime officials and co-conspirators resulting in seizures of approximately $450 million dollars.”  

“These indictments expose the devastating systemic corruption at the highest levels of Nicolas Maduro’s regime,” said DEA Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon. “These officials repeatedly and knowingly betrayed the people of Venezuela, conspiring, for personal gain, with drug traffickers and designated foreign terrorist organizations like the FARC. Today’s actions send a clear message to corrupt officials everywhere that no one is above the law or beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement.  The Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration will continue to protect the American people from ruthless drug traffickers – no matter who they are or where they live.”

“The collaborative nature of this investigation is representative of the ongoing work HSI and international law enforcement agencies perform each day, often behind the scenes and unknown to the public, to make our communities safer and free from corruption,” said HSI’s Acting Executive Associate Director Alysa D. Erichs. “Today’s announcement highlights HSI’s global reach and commitment to aggressively identify, target and investigate individuals who violate U.S. laws, exploit financial systems, and hide behind cryptocurrency to further their illicit criminal activity. Let this indictment be a reminder that no one is above the law - not even powerful political officials.”

A four-count superseding indictment unsealed today in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) charges Nicolás Maduro Moros, 57; Diosdado Cabello Rondón, 56, head of Venezuela’s National Constituent Assembly; Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios aka “El Pollo,” 59, former director of military intelligence; Clíver Antonio Alcalá Cordones, 58, former General in the Venezuelan armed forces; Luciano Marín Arango aka “Ivan Marquez,” 64, a member of the FARC’s Secretariat, which is the FARC’s highest leadership body; and Seuxis Paucis Hernández Solarte aka “Jesús Santrich,” 53, a member of the FARC’s Central High Command, which is the FARC’s second-highest leadership body. The case is pending before U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.

The U.S. Department of State, through its Narcotics Rewards Program, is offering rewards of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Maduro Moros, up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Cabello Rondón, Carvajal Barrios, and Alcalá Cordones, and up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Marín Arango.

Maduro Moros, Cabello Rondón, Carvajal Barrios, Alcalá Cordones, Marín Arango, and Hernández Solarte have each been charged with: (1) participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy, which carries a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence and a maximum of life in prison; (2) conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, which carries a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence and a maximum of life in prison; (3) using and carrying machine guns and destructive devices during and in relation to, and possessing machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the narco-terrorism and cocaine-importation conspiracies, which carries a 30-year mandatory minimum sentence and a maximum of life in prison; and (4) conspiring to use and carry machine guns and destructive devices during and in relation to, and to possess machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the narco-terrorism and cocaine-importation conspiracies, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. The potential mandatory minimum and maximum sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

According to the allegations contained in the superseding indictment, other court filings, and statements made during court proceedings:

Since at least 1999, Maduro Moros, Cabello Rondón, Carvajal Barrios and Alcalá Cordones, acted as leaders and managers of the Cártel de Los Soles, or “Cartel of the Suns.” The Cartel’s name refers to the sun insignias affixed to the uniforms of high-ranking Venezuelan military officials. Maduro Moros and the other charged Cartel members abused the Venezuelan people and corrupted the legitimate institutions of Venezuela—including parts of the military, intelligence apparatus, legislature, and the judiciary—to facilitate the importation of tons of cocaine into the United States. The Cártel de Los Soles sought to not only enrich its members and enhance their power, but also to “flood” the United States with cocaine and inflict the drug’s harmful and addictive effects on users in the United States.

Marín Arango and Hernández Solarte are leaders of the FARC. Beginning in approximately 1999, while the FARC was purporting to negotiate toward peace with the Colombian government, FARC leaders agreed with leaders of the Cártel de Los Soles to relocate some of the FARC’s operations to Venezuela under the protection of the Cartel. Thereafter, the FARC and the Cártel de Los Soles dispatched processed cocaine from Venezuela to the United States via transshipment points in the Caribbean and Central America, such as Honduras. By approximately 2004, the U.S. Department of State estimated that 250 or more tons of cocaine were transiting Venezuela per year. The maritime shipments were shipped north from Venezuela’s coastline using go-fast vessels, fishing boats, and container ships. Air shipments were often dispatched from clandestine airstrips, typically made of dirt or grass, concentrated in the Apure State. According to the U.S. Department of State, approximately 75 unauthorized flights suspected of drug-trafficking activities entered Honduran airspace in 2010 alone, using what is known as the “air bridge” cocaine route between Venezuela and Honduras.

In his role as a leader of the Cártel de Los Soles, Maduro Moros negotiated multi-ton shipments of FARC-produced cocaine; directed that the Cártel de Los Soles provide military-grade weapons to the FARC; coordinated foreign affairs with Honduras and other countries to facilitate large-scale drug trafficking; and solicited assistance from FARC leadership in training an unsanctioned militia group that functioned, in essence, as an armed forces unit for the Cártel de Los Soles.

DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit, New York Strike Force, and Miami Field Division conducted the investigation. This case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda L. Houle, Matthew J. Laroche, Jason A. Richman, and Kyle A. Wirshba are in charge of the prosecution.

*               *               *

An indictment unsealed today in the District of Columbia charges Vladimir Padrino Lopez, 56, Minister of Defense of Venezuela. The indictment alleges that from March 2014 until May 2019, Padrino Lopez conspired with others to distribute cocaine on board an aircraft registered in the United States.

Padrino Lopez, who holds the rank of General in the Venezuelan armed forces, held the authority for interdicting aircraft, many of which are registered in the United States, suspected of being used to traffic drugs from Venezuela to countries in Central America. On numerous occasions, Padrino Lopez ordered or authorized the Venezuelan military to force suspected trafficking aircraft to land or to shoot down the aircraft. However, Padrino Lopez allowed for other aircraft whose drug trafficking coordinators paid bribes to him to safely transit Venezuelan airspace.

On Sept. 25, 2018, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) included Padrino Lopez on its Specially Designated Nationals List. Pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, this means that his assets are blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from having financial transactions with him.

The DEA Orlando District Office led the investigation, which was supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force program and the Criminal Division’s Office of Enforcement Operations. Acting Deputy Chief Charles Miracle and Trial Attorneys Michael Christin and Kirt Marsh of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section are prosecuting the case.

*               *               *

Maikel Jose Moreno Perez, 54, current Chief Justice of the Venezuelan Supreme Court, was charged via a criminal complaint in the Southern District of Florida with conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering in connection with the alleged corrupt receipt or intended receipt of tens of millions of dollars and bribes to illegally fix dozens of civil and criminal cases in Venezuela.

The complaint alleges, for example, that the defendant authorized a seizure and sale of a General Motors auto plant with an estimated value of $100 million in exchange for a personal percentage of the proceeds.  Similarly, the complaint alleges that the defendant received bribes to authorize the dismissal of charges or release against Venezuelans, including one charged in a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme against the Venezuelan state-owned oil company.

According to the criminal complaint, in or around October 2014, Moreno Perez told U.S. authorities in a visa application that he earned the equivalent of about $12,000 per year from his work in Venezuela. From 2012 to 2016, the defendant’s U.S. bank records show approximately $3 million in inflows to the defendant’s accounts, primarily from large round-dollar transfers from shell corporations with foreign bank accounts linked to Co-Conspirator 1, who is a former criminal defense attorney in Venezuela that currently controls a media company in Venezuela.

As set out in the criminal complaint, the defendant’s bank records allegedly show that from 2012 to 2016, the defendant spent approximately $3 million, primarily in the geographical area of South Florida. For example, bank records allegedly show that Moreno Perez spent about $1 million for a private aircraft and private pilot, more than $600,000 in credit or debit card purchases at stores primarily in South Florida (including tens of thousands of dollars at luxury stores in Bal Harbor, such as Prada and Salvatore Ferragamo), about $50,000 in payments to a luxury watch repair store in Aventura, and approximately $40,000 in payments to a Venezuelan beauty pageant director.

HSI’s Miami Field Office conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael N. Berger of the Southern District of Florida is in charge of the prosecution.

*               *               *

A separate superseding indictment unsealed today in the Southern District of New York charges Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah, 45, Venezuela’s vice president for the economy, Joselit Ramirez Camacho, 33, Venezuela’s superintendent of cryptocurrency (Sunacrip), and Samark Lopez Bello, 45, a Venezuelan businessman, with a series of crimes relating to efforts to evade sanctions imposed by OFAC against Maduro Moros, El Aissami Maddah, and Lopez Bello.  

The indictment alleges that from February 2017 until March 2019, El Aissami Maddah and Ramirez Camacho worked with U.S. persons and U.S.-based entities to provide private flight services for the benefit of Maduro’s 2018 presidential campaign, in violation of OFAC’s sanctions targeting Maduro after he organized elections for the illegitimate National Constituent Assembly that Cabello Rondon now leads.  

The U.S. Department of State, through its Narcotics Rewards Program, is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of El Aissami Maddah.

HSI’s New York Field Office conducted the investigation.  This case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg and Amanda L. Houle are in charge of the prosecution.

*               *               *

Other individuals charged in separate indictments include:

• Luis Motta Dominguez, 67, Former Minister of Energy, was charged in the Southern District of Florida for his alleged role in laundering the proceeds of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in connection with his alleged receipt of bribes to award Corpoelec business to U.S.-based companies;
• Nestor Reverol Torres, 55, former General Director of Venezuela’s La Oficina Nacional Antidrogas (ONA) and former commander of Venezuela’s National Guard and Edylberto Jose Molina Molina, 57, former Sub-Director of Venezuela’s ONA and currently Venezuela’s military attaché to Germany, were charged in the Eastern District of New York with participating in an international cocaine distribution conspiracy where they allegedly assisted narcotics traffickers in importing cocaine into the United States;
• Vassyly Kotosky Villarroel Ramirez aka “Mauro” and “Angel,” 47, a former captain in the Venezuelan Guardia Nacional, was charged in a third superseding indictment in the Eastern District of New York with participating in an international cocaine distribution conspiracy between Jan. 1, 2004, and Dec. 1, 2009;
• Rafael Antonio Villasana Fernandez, 48, a former officer in the Venezuelan Guardia Nacional, was charged in the Eastern District of New York with participating in an international cocaine distribution conspiracy between Jan. 1, 2004, and Dec. 1, 2009. According to court documents, Kotosky and Villasana allegedly used official government vehicles to transport more than seven metric tons of cocaine from the Colombian border to various airports and seaports in Venezuela for ultimate importation into the United States;
• Nervis Gerardo Villalobos Cardenas, 52, former Vice Minister of Energy of Venezuela, was charged in a 20-count indictment in the Southern District of Texas with conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering and conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for his alleged role in an international money laundering scheme involving bribes paid by the owners of U.S.-based companies to Venezuelan government officials to corruptly secure energy contracts and payment priority on outstanding invoices; and
• Oscar Rafael Colmenarez Villalobos, 51, former Venezuelan Air Force Officer, charged in the District of Arizona with violations of the Arms Export Control Act. He allegedly conspired with others, including individuals associated with an aviation company in Arizona, to smuggle from the United States to Venezuela T-76 military aircraft engines used on OV-10 Bronco aircraft to individuals in Venezuela and allegedly made false and misleading statements on shipping and export control documents to conceal the prohibited activities and transactions from detection of the U.S. government.

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

The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and Office of Enforcement Operations provided valuable assistance.

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.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida -- Sebastian Ahmed, 42, of Delray Beach, Florida, has been convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, five counts of health care fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and eleven counts of money laundering.  As part of the scheme, the conspirators exploited vulnerable drug addicts, the majority of whom were 18 to 26 years ago; falsified paperwork; and entered into various kickback arrangements, all in order to receive millions of dollars of falsely and fraudulently obtained funds for their own personal use and benefit.  As demonstrated by the trial record, of all the conspirators, no one profited more than Sebastian Ahmed, who netted more than $2.8 million in less than three years. 

On Monday, March 23, 2020, following a six-week jury trial, Ahmed was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, ten counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and eleven counts of money laundering, in case number 19-cr-60200-MORENO(COHN)(s). 

Sentencing is scheduled for August 6, 2020 before United States District Judge James I. Cohn in Fort Lauderdale.  As to the health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy counts, the defendant faces a statutory maximum of 20 years as to each count.  As to each of the health care fraud and money laundering counts, the defendant faces an additional maximum statutory sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Omar Perez Aybar, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General made the announcement.

The government’s theory of prosecution advanced in opening statement and closing arguments was that Sebastian Ahmed was the CEO, president and CFO of the two substance abuse treatment centers: Jacob’s Well and Medí MD; and the medical health clinic, Arnica Health, all of which he operated under the umbrella of Serenity Treatment Center, Serenity Living, and “Serenity Ranch Recovery” in Davie, Florida.  Ahmed operated the three clinics from in or around June 2016 through May 2019.  He employed his brother, Al a/k/a “Ali” Ahmed as the COO.  Testimony revealed that Al Ahmed had previously declared bankruptcy having been found liable in a civil suit brought by his former employer, Kaplan University, for stealing confidential lead information from Kaplan. 

The government emphasized  at trial that defendant  (1) engaged in illegal billing to private insurance plans through Jacob’s Well prior to the clinic being certified by DCF in February 9, 2017; (2) provided unlawful inducements to the approximately 500 patients consisting of free airline travel, housing, vapes, manicures, cash, and failure to collect patient responsibilities for co-pays and deductibles; and (3) billed for medically unnecessary therapeutic services consisting of therapy and urine analyses, the former having not been provided but billed by defendant’s substance abuse clinics.  The patients were also permitted to reside in co-ed housing in which destructive sexual relationships, not conducive to real addiction treatment, formed – sometimes between the staff and patients, according to the testimony and evidence.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the patients consisted of young adults in their twenties who primarily were addicted to opioids and other drugs of abuse.  Many of the patients were permitted to remain on their parents’ private insurance plans up to age 26.

The patients resided in a series of so-called sober homes maintained by defendant in Davie, Southwest Ranches, Hollywood and Pompano.  None of these homes were certified by DCF as approved community housing for persons engaged in a substance abuse treatment program.

Former Serenity employees including co-defendants Mauren Morel and Hector Alvarez, both  Clinical Social Workers in the State of Florida,  testified that they prepared fake progress notes to support fraudulent billing for daily group therapy sessions that patients did not attend.  They testified that they did so at the defendant’s direction, and that claims were even submitted for dates when patients were not physically present.

Government expert witness Dr. Kelly Clark was a board certified addiction medicine specialist and clinical psychiatrist.  She focused her career on issues of addictive disease.  She testified that the manner in which Serenity’s medical providers prescribed buprenorphine and benzodiazepines to a drug abusing population was medically inappropriate and potentially dangerous.  Patient-witnesses and the parent of a former patient likewise testified that Serenity caused their addictions to intensify rather than improve, and that multiple patients suffered overdoses and relapses that went unaddressed by the staff at Serenity.  Indeed, the record showed that Sebastian Ahmed failed to report a single overdose incident to DCF as required by law, and that multiple patients were cycled back and forth between detox centers and Serenity without apparent improvement in their condition.  Evidence that Serenity permitted and even procured addictive drugs for its patients was presented at trial, and medical records introduced as trial exhibits revealed that the doctors did not check the expensive urine screens that were being ordered until well after patients’ discharge.  These urine screens revealed repeat positives for, among other drugs, methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and prescription narcotics.

From June 2016 through May 2019, the government attributed approximately $38 million in fraudulent billing submitted by defendant’s clinics which resulted in the reimbursement of over $6 million in payments.

            Co-conspirators and former co-defendants Al a/k/a Ali Ahmed, the defendant’s brother; and Hector Alvarez and Mauren Morel, the clinical directors at two of the facilities, were also charged and pled guilty in connection with the fraud.  Al a/k/a Ali Ahmed, who served as a Chief Operating Officer and co-owner of the facilities, was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment.  Hector Alvarez and Mauren Morel, both of whom testified at trial against Sebastian Ahmed, each received sentences of 32 months’ imprisonment.  These three former co-defendants were sentenced by United States District Judge Federico A. Moreno prior to the trial.

Ms. Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of FBI and HHS-OIG. Support for the investigation was also provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Davie Police Department, Broward Sheriff’s Office, Palm Beach Sober Homes Task Force, and the Florida Department of Children and Families.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Clark and Lisa H. Miller.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicole Grosnoff and Peter Laserna are handling the asset forfeiture component of the case.

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

Miami, Florida – The federal government has criminally charged a 35-year-old Miami man for using an on-line messaging system to threaten others with rape and murder.

According to the allegations of the criminal complaint affidavit, Matthew James Choy sent on-line messages to at least two people located outside the state of Florida. The affidavit alleges that in the messages, Choy threatened to rape and kill the victims and their families. According to one example set forth in the affidavit, Choy allegedly wrote to a victim that Choy knew he was “probably being investigated,” that if he was going to jail then “someone is getting killed,” and that he would not be going to jail “for anything less than murder.” In another example, Choy allegedly wrote to a victim that if he had to “slaughter a family so be it,” and that if he had to “make a pit stop to rape and kill your sister so be it.” According to the affidavit, in his messages, Choy allegedly admitted to owning firearms.

Choy had his initial appearance last week before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lauren F. Louis in Miami, during which the judge held part of Choy’s detention hearing. Judge Louis will continue the detention hearing on Tuesday, March 24.   

Criminal complaints and their affidavits are allegations of criminal conduct. A defendant is presumed innocent until found guilty.

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

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of FBI and Homestead Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Gilbert is prosecuting this case.

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

MIAMI, FLORIDA – Today, South Florida U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan joined the U.S. Attorneys for the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to warn scam artists that they will vigorously pursue anyone trying to capitalize on the coronavirus pandemic by cheating Florida consumers, especially the state’s vulnerable elders. Florida’s three top federal prosecutors are now actively collaborating and cooperating with the state’s top prosecutor in a concerted effort to stop scams relating to coronavirus.

The federal and state prosecutors vowed that their offices are committed to remaining vigilant in preventing, pursuing, prosecuting, and punishing individuals and businesses that try to take advantage of the crisis for personal profit. They emphasized the importance of this effort in light of Florida’s large elderly population and reports of everything from bogus COVID-19 “cures” to phishing scams that purport to be official government health websites.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, said the risk of scams is particularly high in her district, which is home to a large portion of Florida elders and has seen many of the state’s confirmed COVID-19 cases. “As communities across our nation confront the COVID-19 pandemic, know that my office will not waver in its commitment to protecting South Floridians, including our vulnerable seniors. We are focused on COVID-19 scams and will prioritize prosecuting fraudsters who try to capitalize on this health crisis,” Fajardo Orshan said.

“The real threat of this pandemic is bad enough on its own – but we are going to have zero tolerance for the added risk created by lowlife scammers who would prey on Floridians at a time when their focus needs to be on protecting their own health and well-being,” said Lawrence Keefe, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. “We will be vigilant and aggressive in our efforts to find and stop anyone trying to make even one dirty dollar off the backs of anxious Floridians.”

Added United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, Maria Chapa Lopez: “Unfortunately, there are those who seek to exploit others in times of crisis, without regard to who they harm or the damage they cause. Those criminals should know that we will combine our resources, at every level, to investigate and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”

Earlier this week, Florida Attorney General Moody issued a strong consumer alert urging the public to beware of potential coronavirus scams when researching information about COVID-19. 

“Floridians are eager for any meaningful guidance they can find about coronavirus, but they must be careful not to believe everything they hear,” said Attorney General Moody. “Scammers are expert at taking advantage of such emotions, but we cannot and will not let them succeed.” 

The prosecutors’ warning comes on the heels of U.S. Attorney General William Barr’s directive on Monday for all United States Attorneys around the country to place a high priority on stopping scam artists trying to take advantage of the coronavirus situation. In a memo to the U.S. Attorneys, Barr wrote, “The pandemic is dangerous enough without wrongdoers seeking to profit from public panic and this sort of conduct cannot be tolerated.”

Some common scams being reported around the nation include:

• Individuals and businesses selling fake cures for COVID-19 online;
• Phishing emails sent from entities posing as the World Health Organization (“WHO”) or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”); and
• Malware being inserted onto mobile phones by apps pretending to track the spread of the virus.
   

The officials advised the public to remain vigilant during this time. Citizens should not click on computer links from sources they do not know. They should be cautious when it comes to donations, whether through charities or crowdfunding sites. They should not allow anyone to rush them into making donations.  And, they should not make donations in cash, by gift card, or by wiring money.  

The three U.S. Attorneys said their offices are working with the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch, Fraud Section, and Antitrust Division to coordinate efforts to stop scammers preying on concerned Floridians. Citizens are asked to report potential scams to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.IC3.gov. 

The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. Visit www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl for more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida.

Today, a federal judge in Ft. Lauderdale sentenced two brothers whose family owns one of the largest emerald mines in Boyacá, Colombia to prison terms for conspiring with Boyacá’s cocaine producers, leading to thousands of kilograms of Colombian cocaine entering the United States.

United States District Judge Rodney Smith sentenced the leader of the “Clan Rincon,”53- year-old Colombian national Pedro Nel Rincon-Castillo, to 235 month in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. The judge sentenced the leader’s brother, Omar Rincon-Castillo, 50, of Colombia, to 210 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. On January 6, 2020, both defendants pled guilty to conspiring to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, knowing that the cocaine was heading for the United States. 

According to court documents, two major exports of Boyacá, Colombia are emeralds and cocaine. Most of the world’s emeralds come from Boyacá and the region is rife with coca farms that yield cocaine base and laboratories that manufacture cocaine for export.

Pedro and Omar are part of the Rincon-Castillo family, known as Clan Rincon. The family owns emerald mines in Boyacá, Colombia.  Clan Rincon is powerful and has significant influence in the region. 

In the early 2000s, communist guerilla members of FARC were making their way into Boyacá. They demanded that cocoa farmers, owners of drug laboratories, and owners of emerald mines pay “taxes” to FARC.  To stop FARC from taxing the family’s emerald mines, Pedro -- the leader of Clan Rincon -- arranged intervention from the Defense Forces of Colombia (known by its Spanish acronym, AUC).  AUC, which is a right-wing paramilitary and drug trafficking group that is enemy to FARC, arrived in Boyacá and kept FARC out of the region. 

AUC wanted compensation for its services. In exchange for continuing to keep Boyacá free of FARC, AUC sought to tax the emerald mine owners.  Clan Rincon offered another idea.  Clan Rincon, through Pedro, Omar, and others, proposed that AUC tax the area’s cocoa farmers and owners of the cocaine drug laboratories, instead of the mine owners. They reached a deal.

With Clan Rincon’s assistance and approval, cocoa farmers and owners of drug laboratories paid a fee for AUC’s protection. This protection deal, which Clan Rincon orchestrated and approved, allowed the cocoa farmers and drug laboratory owners to continue their criminal activities, leading to the export of thousands of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia for eventual entry into the United States.  

On November 15, 2019, the judge sentenced co-defendant Jose Rogelio Nieto Molina, 46, of Colombia, to 168 months in prison, for his role in the conspiracy. The sentencing of co-defendant Horacio Triana is set for April 28th. The sentencing of co-defendant Gilberto Rincon is set for May 4th.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and Kevin W. Carter, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Miami Field Division, made the announcement.  U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the DEA Miami Field Division, DEA Bogota Country Office, the Government of Colombia, the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the Office of the Judicial Attaché in Colombia, and the U.S. State Department for their assistance in this matter. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Emery, Andrea Goldbarg, and Michael B. Nadler are prosecuting this case.

The prosecution was part of Operation Money Badger, which is a result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  The OCDETF mission is to identify, investigate, and prosecute high-level members of drug trafficking enterprises, bringing together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement.

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.

WEST PALM BEACH – Today, U.S. District Court Judge Robyn Rosenberg sentenced Brian Sigouin, 33, on one count of receipt of child pornography, and three counts of possession of child pornography.  Judge Rosenberg sentenced Sigouin to a prison term of 97 months, followed by 15 years of supervised release. Sigouin must also pay restitution to the victims in the amount of $36,000.

Sigouin previously pled guilty to these charges on January 2, 2020. Sigouin admitted that from 2016 through 2018, he accessed peer-to-peer networks to obtain images and videos of child pornography.  Those images and videos included pre-pubescent children engaged in forced sexual acts.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

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.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigation efforts of the FBI and FBI Miami’s Child Exploitation Task Force.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller.

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.

Miami, Florida -- U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke sentenced six defendants, all from South Florida, to prison terms for their roles in an extensive drug trafficking operation located in Perrine, Florida.  Their prison sentences are as follows:

• Tedrick King, 45, the leader of the drug ring, received 148 months.  
• Wilhemnia Nottage, 35, received 20 months.   
• Cory Evans, 28, received 30 months. 
• Christopher McCollur (a/k/a “Block”), 32, received 48 months. 
• Keyon Harris, 37, received 60 months. 
• Jonis Webster (a/k/a “J.J.”), 39, received 18 months. 

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office,  Kevin W. Carter, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Office, and Alfredo Ramirez III, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) made the announcement. 

According to court records, from at least October 2018 through June 2019, Defendants ran a 24-hour, seven-day per week drug operation out of two locations in Perrine, Florida. In July 2019, law enforcement officers executed search warrants at the two locations and at the home of defendant King, the leader of the drug operation. They seized approximately 941 grams of cocaine, 221 grams of crack cocaine, 1006 grams of marijuana, and 145 grams of eutylone (which defendants sold as “Molly”). 

Prior to receiving their prison sentences, each defendant pled guilty to his or her role in the drug trafficking operation.    

This case is the result of ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership that brings together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, dismantle and prosecute high-level members of drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations and enterprises.

The case also involved the U.S. Attorney’s Office Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP) initiative. Through the VRP, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and its federal and local law enforcement allies have sought to dismantle the most violent criminal networks that plague communities throughout the Southern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the FBI, DEA, and MDPD for their investigative efforts and the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office for its assistance.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Cary O. Aronovitz 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.

Miami – Today, in federal court in Miami, a 43-year-old Los Angeles man pled guilty to defrauding a South Florida art gallery by trying to sell forgeries of works by renowned contemporary artists Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat to the gallery’s owner for more than $1 million.   

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

According to court records, Philip Righter’s fraud scheme started with buying art forgeries on-line, at marketplaces and auction sites.  Once he had the fakes, Righter tried to make them appear legitimate by creating letters that falsely certified their authenticity.  For example, he created letters that appeared to be from “The Estate of Keith Haring” and the “Authentication Committee of the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat.” In fact, they were not. Righter even designed and purchased embossers bearing the names of Haring and Basquiat.  He stamped the fake letters with the custom embossers, trying to sharpen the look of legitimacy.  

With the forgeries and letters in hand, Righter offered to sell the fraudulent art pieces to a South Florida gallery, auction houses, and others.  When the gallery owner showed interest, Righter (who was in Los Angeles) shipped a number of the forgeries to a warehouse in South Florida. Righter’s price for the forgeries was $1,056,000.  He directed the gallery owner to wire the money to Righter’s bank account.   

Righter pled guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. His sentencing hearing is set for May 18, 2020, at 9:30 a.m. before United States District Judge Marcia G. Cooke. Righter faces up to 20 years in prison on the mail fraud charge. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a minimum prison sentence of two years, in addition to whatever Righter receives for mail fraud.    

Righter also faces federal charges in the Central District of California, where he allegedly sold forgeries of works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI’s Art Crime Team. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Browne is prosecuting this case. 

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.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida -- Today, the federal government charged Fabio Lopez, 61, of Weston, Florida, with enticing a 16-year-old girl into engaging in sexual activity and with attempting to produce child pornography by trying to convince the underage girl to pose for sexually suggestive pictures. 

According to the allegations of the criminal complaint affidavit, Lopez met the 16-year-old through her mother. While on duty as a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer at Miami International Airport, Lopez allegedly stopped the mother as she was about to board an international flight. Lopez requested the mother’s cell phone number, which she gave him. They developed a friendship.  Lopez visited the mother at home, where he met the 16-year-old daughter.  Over about eight months, Lopez developed a relationship with the child, texting her often. It allegedly progressed to Lopez fondling the child and offering to pay her money to let him take pornographic pictures of her. The child told her mother about Lopez’s conduct. The mother contacted law enforcement, who later arrested Lopez.

Lopez had his initial appearance today at 11:00 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jared M. Strauss in Fort Lauderdale. Lopez’s pretrial detention hearing is set for Monday, March 16 at 10:00 a.m. before Judge Strauss. His arraignment is set for March 25.  

Criminal complaints and their affidavits are allegations of criminal conduct. A defendant is innocent until found guilty.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office; Jeffrey Arndt, Special Agent in Charge, CBP Office of Professional Responsibility (CBP-OPR); and Chief Kipp Shimpeno, Pembroke Pines Police Department, made the announcement. 

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of HSI, CBP-OPR, and Pembroke Pines Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jodi L. Anton is prosecuting this case.

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

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

A Miami, Florida, business owner was sentenced to 24 months in prison today for failing to pay over employment taxes, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida.

According to court documents and statements made in court, between 2002 and 2017, Ricardo Betancourt owned and operated multiple parcel delivery businesses in the South Florida area.  Betancourt’s businesses earned gross revenues of more than $100 million.

Through his businesses, Betancourt employed hundreds of employees and was responsible for collecting and paying over to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the taxes withheld from employees’ paychecks. Between 2009 and 2016, Betancourt withheld over $10.8 million in payroll taxes from his employees but instead of paying those funds to the IRS, Betancourt transferred the money to an investment company he used to fund a lavish lifestyle and other business ventures. Betancourt spent over $190,000 on motorcycles, including several Harley-Davidson bikes, purchased classic and sports cars, bought expensive jewelry, and paid for cosmetic surgery.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke ordered Betancourt to serve three years of supervised release and to pay approximately $9,033,318 in restitution to the United States.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan thanked special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney Michael Boteler of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.

MIAMI−Following a three-day trial, a federal jury found Donald Howard Conkright, 63, of Key West, Florida, guilty for his role in laundering more than $2 million that was stolen from a Texas school district.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Matthew J. DeSarno, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Dallas Field Office, made the announcement.

According to the evidence presented at trial, a spoofed email was used to trick a Texas school district into sending approximately $2 million to a bank account that Conkright controlled. The school district had that money earmarked for the construction of a new elementary school.

Once the $2 million hit the bank account, Conkright began to spend and conceal the money. He purchased $70,000 worth of Rolex watches, over $13,000 at Apple stores, and a $128,000 BMW, among other transactions. Conkright also withdrew more than $60,000 in cash from the account, in increments below $10,000. He wired out of the country about $875,000, and sent over $70,000 worth of computers to Nigeria.  In addition to laundering the school district’s money, there was evidence presented at trial that Conkright had laundered, and attempted to launder, other victims’ money as part of the same conspiracy between 2017 and 2019.

The jury found Conkright guilty of conspiring to commit money laundering and substantive money laundering. Sentencing is scheduled in Key West, Florida for May 11, 2020.   

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsey Lazopoulos Friedman and Yisel Valdes prosecuted the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture.

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

Miami, Florida -- U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke sentenced six defendants, all from South Florida, to prison terms for their roles in an extensive drug trafficking operation located in Perrine, Florida.  Their prison sentences are as follows:

• Tedrick King, 45, the leader of the drug ring, received 148 months.  
• Wilhemnia Nottage, 35, received 20 months.   
• Cory Evans, 28, received 30 months. 
• Christopher McCollur (a/k/a “Block”), 32, received 48 months. 
• Keyon Harris, 37, received 60 months. 
• Jonis Webster (a/k/a “J.J.”), 39, received 18 months.

 

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office,  Kevin W. Carter, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Office, and Alfredo Ramirez III, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) made the announcement. 

According to court records, from at least October 2018 through June 2019, Defendants ran a 24-hour, seven-day per week drug operation out of two locations in Perrine, Florida. In July 2019, law enforcement officers executed search warrants at the two locations and at the home of defendant King, the leader of the drug operation. They seized approximately 941 grams of cocaine, 221 grams of crack cocaine, 1006 grams of marijuana, and 145 grams of eutylone (which defendants sold as “Molly”). 

Prior to receiving their prison sentences, each defendant pled guilty to his or her role in the drug trafficking operation.    

This case is the result of ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership that brings together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, dismantle and prosecute high-level members of drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations and enterprises.

The case also involved the U.S. Attorney’s Office Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP) initiative. Through the VRP, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and its federal and local law enforcement allies have sought to dismantle the most violent criminal networks that plague communities throughout the Southern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the FBI, DEA, and MDPD for their investigative efforts and the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office for its assistance.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Cary O. Aronovitz 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.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Today before a federal judge, Frank Richard Beyer (a/k/a “Rick Beyer”), 75, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, pled guilty to possessing child pornography that included images of boys under age 12 engaged in sex acts and exposing their genitals.    

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

According to court records, law enforcement received multiple cyber tips that an on-line user had uploaded child pornography to internet platforms. The cybertips included an email address that led law enforcement officers to Beyer. On November 20, 2019, officers executed a search warrant at Beyer’s home.  During the search, law enforcement found external digital storage devices that contained multiple images and videos of children (some under age 12) engaging in explicit sexual conduct with other children or adults. 

Beyer’s sentencing is scheduled for May 18, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. before United States District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  Beyer faces up to 20 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, Broward County Sheriff’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ajay Alexander is prosecuting this case.  

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

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

MIAMI−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 announced that Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani, 60, of Tracy, California was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke to 37 months in prison, after previously pleading guilty to the federal charge of attempted destruction of an aircraft.

According to the court record, including the facts admitted at the change of plea hearing, on or about July 17, 2019, Alani, a mechanic then employed by American Airlines at Miami International Airport (MIA), tampered with the air data module (ADM) system of an aircraft that was scheduled to depart MIA for Nassau, Bahamas. 

On or about July 17, 2019, approximately two hours after its arrival into MIA, the aircraft pulled out for its scheduled departure to the Bahamas.  Passengers and crew members were aboard the aircraft.  While on the departure runway, the flight crew increased power to the aircraft engines in preparation for take-off.  This resulted in an error reading by the aircraft’s computer related to the ADM system and the take-off was aborted. 

Prior to the aircraft’s scheduled take-off from MIA, it was discovered that Alani had inserted a foam substance into the ADM system and used super glue to hold the substance in place.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI’s South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF).  She thanked the U.S. Federal Air Marshal Service, Miami-Dade Police Department’s Airport Division, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Transportation and Security Administration (TSA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Miami-Dade County Aviation Authority and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for their invaluable assistance.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randy A. Hummel and Maria K. Medetis.

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.

WASHINGTON – Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida joined Attorney General William P. Barr in announcing today the Department of Justice’s National Nursing Home Initiative, which will coordinate and enhance civil and criminal efforts to pursue nursing homes that provide grossly substandard care to their residents. 

This initiative is focusing on some of the worst nursing homes around the country and the Department has already initiated investigations into approximately thirty individual nursing facilities in nine states as part of this effort. 

“Millions of seniors count on nursing homes to provide them with quality care, and to treat them with dignity and respect when they are most vulnerable,” said Attorney General William P. Barr.  “Yet, all too often, we have found nursing home owners or operators who put profits over patients, leading to instances of gross abuse and neglect. This national initiative will bring to justice those owners and operators who have profited at the expense of their residents, and help to ensure residents receive the care to which they are entitled.” 

“Senior American need to be cherished. Unfortunately, many nursing home operators forget that. Our Office pledges its strong commitment to the national nursing home initiative announced today,” say U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan. “We must make certain that our seniors receive the respect and care that they deserve and that substandard nursing homes pay for their unconscionable acts of neglect.”

“The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) continues to pursue nursing home operators who provide potentially harmful care to residents who are often unable to protect themselves,” said Chief Counsel to the Inspector General Gregory Demske of HHS. “Creating this Initiative sends a message to those in charge of caring for these beneficiaries that grossly substandard care will not be tolerated.”

The department considers a number of factors in identifying the most problematic nursing homes.  For example, the department looks for nursing homes that consistently fail to provide adequate nursing staff to care for their residents, fail to adhere to basic protocols of hygiene and infection control, fail to provide their residents with enough food to eat so that they become emaciated and weak, withhold pain medication, or use physical or chemical restraints to restrain or otherwise sedate their residents.  These care failures cause residents to suffer in pain and to be exposed to the great indignities.  Care failures cause residents to develop pressure sores down to the bone, to lie in their own waste for hours, to starve because they cannot reach the food on their trays and to remain unwashed for weeks at a time.  Nursing homes that provide grossly substandard care also force vulnerable elderly residents who cannot leave the facilities to live in filthy and dangerous conditions where there are leaks in the roofs, mold is found growing and rodents found living in residents’ rooms.  These are some of the actions and the inactions that the department intends to pursue.

The National Nursing Home Initiative reflects the department’s larger strategy and commitment to protecting our nation’s seniors, coordinated by the department’s Elder Justice Initiative in conjunction with the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices.  The Elder Justice Initiative and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices are essential to the department’s investigative and enforcement efforts against nursing homes and other long-term care entities that deliver grossly substandard care to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.  The Initiative and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices also support the efforts of state and local prosecutors, law enforcement, and other elder justice professionals to combat elder abuse, neglect and financial exploitation, with the development of training, resources, and information.  Learn more about the Justice Department’s Elder Justice Initiative at http://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/.

Seventeen Defendants Charged in the Southern District of Florida

MIAMI – United States Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan joined Special Agent in Charge Michael J. De Palma of the IRS Criminal Investigation Miami Field Office; Inspector in Charge Antonio J. Gomez of the United States Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS) Miami Division; and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro FBI Miami today in announcing the largest coordinated sweep of elder fraud cases in history.  This year, prosecutors charged more than 400 defendants, far surpassing the 260 defendants charged in cases as part of last year’s sweep.  In each case, offenders allegedly engaged in financial schemes that targeted or largely affected seniors.  In total, the charged elder fraud schemes caused alleged losses of over a billion dollars.

United States v. Adrianzen, Case No. 1:19-CR-20658: Indictment

United States v. Bindranauth, Case No. 4:19-CR-10016: Indictment

United States v. Burchell, Case No. 0:19-CR-60313: Indictment

United States v. Grossman, Case No. 0:19-CR-60300

United States v. Marchena, Case No. 1:19-CR-20622: Indictment

United States v. Perez, Case No. 1:19-CR-20850: Indictment

United States v. Shapiro, Case No. 1:19-CR-20178: Indictment

United States v. Turk , Case No. 9:19-CR-80148: Information

“Americans are fed up with the constant barrage of scams that maliciously target the elderly and other vulnerable citizens,” said Attorney General William P. Barr.  “This year, the Department of Justice prosecuted more than 400 defendants, whose schemes totaled more than a billion dollars.  I want to thank the men and women of the department’s Consumer Protection Branch, which coordinated this effort, and all those in the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and Criminal Division who worked tirelessly to bring these cases.  The department is committed to stopping the full range of criminal activities that exploit America’s seniors.”

“Fraudsters who brazenly prey on our seniors will pay for their crimes. Protecting our seniors is top priority of our Office,” said U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan. “We will not cease in our efforts, both criminal and civil, to prevent the pernicious crimes and punish the perpetrators.”

“Elder abuse is a serious crime and IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to investigate individuals who perpetrate schemes against the elderly community and those exhibiting vulnerability in our society. IRS-CI will not stop its efforts as demonstrated in the United States v. Shapiro case until the fraudsters of such cold and calculated crimes are captured and sentenced” said Special Agent in Charge Michael J. De Palma. “With the support and assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida, IRS-CI will continue to enforce the law and foster public trust as an active agency in the Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force.”

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has a long tradition of protecting the American consumer from these types of predatory schemes and bringing those responsible to justice particularly when they target the elderly,” said Inspector in Charge Antonio J. Gomez. “Every day we protect our postal customers and the general public from falling victim to these scams.”

“The greed of fraudsters who target senior citizens knows no bounds.  Using a variety of tactics such as false romance and law enforcement impersonation, these scam artists bilk hard earned money from their aging marks – leaving many so financially devastated that they cannot recover because of their stage of life,” said Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro.  “The FBI is doing everything we can to be sure our elder fellow citizens are protected and not defrauded.”

This interactive map provides state by state information on the elder fraud cases and education and prevention community outreach efforts highlighted by today’s sweep announcement.  

Elder Fraud Hotline

Attorney General Barr also announced the launch of a National Elder Fraud Hotline, which will provide services to seniors who may be victims of financial fraud.  The Hotline will be staffed by experienced case managers who can provide personalized support to callers.  Case managers will assist callers with reporting the suspected fraud to relevant agencies and by providing resources and referrals to other appropriate services as needed.  When applicable, case managers will complete a complaint form with the Federal Bureau of Investigation Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) for Internet-facilitated crimes and submit a consumer complaint to the Federal Trade Commission on behalf of the caller.  The Hotline’s toll free number is 833-FRAUD-11 (833-372-8311).

Watch USA Fajardo Orshan’s related public service announcement here:

For English Speakers

For Spanish Speakers

Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force

The Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force prosecuted more than one quarter of the defendants charged as part of the announced sweep.  Established in June 2019, the Strike Force is composed of the Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and six U.S. Attorneys’ Offices (Central District of California, Middle and Southern Districts of Florida, Northern District of Georgia, Eastern District of New York, Southern District of Texas), along with FBI special agents, Postal Inspectors, and numerous other law enforcement personnel.  Prosecutors in Strike Force districts brought cases against more than 140 sweep defendants.  FBI and the Postal Inspection Service served as lead agencies in the Strike Force and committed substantial investigative resources to pursuing elder fraud cases as part of Strike Force efforts. The Strike Force has held dozens of meetings with industry, victim groups, and law enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels to identify the most harmful schemes victimizing American seniors and to bolster preventive measures against further losses. 

For the second year, the Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners also took comprehensive action against the money mule network that facilitates foreign-based elder fraud. Generally, perpetrators use a “money mule” to transfer fraud proceeds from a victim to ringleaders of fraud schemes who often reside in other countries. Some of these money mules act unwittingly, and intervention can effectively end their involvement in the fraud. The FBI and the Postal Inspection Service took action against over 600 alleged money mules nationwide by conducting interviews, issuing warning letters, and bringing civil and criminal cases. Agents and prosecutors in more than 85 federal district participated in this effort to halt the money flow from victim to fraudster. These actions against money mules were in addition to the criminal and civil cases announced as part of this year’s elder fraud sweep.

These outreach efforts have helped to prevent seniors from falling prey to scams and have frustrated offenders’ efforts to obtain even more money from vulnerable elders.

The charges announced today are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

MIAMI –Brandon Michael Fleury, 22, of Santa Ana, California, was sentenced to 66 months in federal prison today for cyberstalking and sending a kidnapping threat to families of victims of a mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, announced U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office.

According to evidence introduced during the South Florida jury trial, Fleury used thirteen different Instagram accounts, using aliases including alleged Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz, notorious serial killer Ted Bundy, and others, to target families and friends of Parkland shooting victims with messages over the course of three weeks between Dec. 22, 2018 and Jan. 11, 2019.  Many of the messages, including ones written under usernames referring to Cruz and containing Cruz’s profile picture, taunted the message recipients about the deaths of loved ones in the Parkland shooting.  On Dec. 25, 2018, Fleury, sent a message stating, “I’m your abductor I’m kidnapping you fool.”  On Jan. 9, 10, and 11, 2019, Fleury continued to harass, intimidate, and threaten the message recipients from multiple Instagram accounts.  These included messages sent under the username “the.douglas.shooter,” and using a profile picture of Nikolas Cruz.  These messages included statements like, “With the power of my AR-15, you all die,” and “With the power of my AR-15, I take your loved ones away from you PERMANENTLY.”

After examining Fleury’s tablets, law enforcement found thousands of saved images of Ted Bundy, images of the targeted victims, and saved screenshots of the messages that he had sent the victims.

Fleury was convicted of interstate transmission of a threat to kidnap, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 875(c), and interstate cyberstalking, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2261A (Case No. 19cr60056).  He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Rudolfo A. Ruiz II to 60 months as to Counts 1-3 to run concurrently and 6 months as to Count 4, to run consecutive to Counts 1-3.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigatory efforts of the FBI’s South Florida Violent Crime Fugitive Task Force and Broward Sheriff’s Office in this matter.  U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan also thanked the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office and task force members.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ajay 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

Jim Lundi, 38, of Miami, was sentenced to a total of 300 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr. after pleading guilty to sex trafficking a minor.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI’s Miami Field Office, and Alfredo Ramirez, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), made the announcement.

According to the court record, in November 2017, the defendant met the 16-year-old victim, who was homeless and addicted to drugs, and saw an opportunity. The victim began living with him in an abandoned house in Miami.  Shortly thereafter, the defendant discussed going into “business” with the victim.  The defendant taught the victim how to use websites such as Backpage to advertise sex for money.  He took nude photographs of the victim and then posted them on various websites including Backpage and listed his phone number in the advertisements as the method of contact.The defendant communicated with potential customers who responded to the advertisements and set up dates for the victim.  Before meeting with a customer, the defendant often told the victim, “condoms, money, don’t play games.”  He set the prices for the commercial sex acts and kept all of the money.  The defendant regularly beat the victim for not making enough money from commercial sex acts or for trying to keep some of the money that she had earned.  He  frequently only gave the victim small amounts of drugs at a time, knowing that she had a strong addiction, in order to maintain control over her. 

Also according to the court record, sometime in January 2018, the defendant transported the victim to a motel in Hollywood, Florida, where they stayed for approximately two weeks. During this time, the victim engaged in commercial sex acts inside the motel room while the defendant hid in the closet.  The defendant then took the victim back to Miami because he wanted to make more money.  After returning to Miami, the victim escaped from the defendant after he beat her and dragged her down a street.  The victim broke away from the defendant and ran into a nearby restaurant – scraped, battered, and without pants.  A good samaritan called the police and the victim was transported to a hospital. 

Following his release from prison, Lundi will be on supervised release for 25 years and must register as a sexual offender (Case No. 19cr20075).

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.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, in partnership with MDPD’s Human Trafficking Squad, and assistance from the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit and Operational Technology Division, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigatory efforts of the FBI Miami Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, MDPD, and all those who assisted in this matter.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Kahn Obenauf and Rilwan Adeduntan.

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

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

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

MIAMI – This week, U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga sentenced five defendants, including a doctor, to federal prison terms for their roles in a scheme that defrauded Tricare and Medicare out of more than $9.6 million. The defendants tricked beneficiaries into having the federal health care programs pay for medically unnecessary compounded prescription medicines and cancer genetic tests. Their sentences are as follows:

• Dr. Mangala Ramamurthy, 64, of Texas was sentenced to 34 months for her role in the scheme: prescribing compounded pain creams and referring Genetic Cancer tests that were medically unnecessary. Dr.  Ramamurthy earlier pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and conspiracy to receive healthcare kickbacks.
   
• John Scholtes, 56 of Boca Raton, Florida, was sentenced to 97 months for his role in the scheme. Scholtes earlier pled guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, conspiracy to defraud the U.S., and conspiracy to receive healthcare kickbacks.
   
• Anthony Mauzy, 43, of California, was sentenced to 49 months for his role in the scheme. Mauzy earlier pled guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud.
   
• Thomas Sahs, 41, of California, was sentenced to 45 months for his role in the scheme. Sahs earlier pled guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud.
   
• Rajesh Mahbubani, 46, of Texas, was sentenced to 49 months for his role in the scheme. Mahbubani earlier pled guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud.

On January 31, 2020, a sixth co-conspirator, Senthil Kumar Ramamurthy, 38, of Texas, was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison for his role in the scheme. S.K. Ramamurthy earlier pled guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, conspiracy to defraud the US, and conspiracy to receive healthcare kickbacks. S.K. Ramamurthy is the son of Dr. Ramamurthy. 

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Cynthia Bruce, Special Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office, and SAC Omar Pérez Aybar, Special Agent in Charge for Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement. 

Tricare is the health care program for the U.S. military that pays the health care costs of active and retired military personnel and their families, including the costs of medically necessary prescription medications. Medicare is a federally-funded program that provides free or below-cost health care benefits to certain individuals, primarily the blind, elderly, and disabled.

According to court records, the co-conspirators targeted Tricare for about 10 months, starting in 2014. After making their way onto U.S. military bases, co-conspirators convinced Tricare beneficiaries to sign-up for compounded prescription medications that the beneficiaries did not need. To encourage sign-up, co-conspirators falsely told the beneficiaries that the pharmacies would custom-design their medications or that the medications were free. In fact, the medications were not custom-designed and the patients had co-payments. Compounding pharmacies paid the co-conspirators millions of dollars in kickbacks in exchange for sending the pharmacies expensive prescription orders. 

In mid-2015, Tricare scaled back its reimbursements for compounded medications. The defendants turned to Medicare. They paid doctors to refer Medicare beneficiaries to a lab in Georgia for cancer genetic screening testing, even though the doctors had never examined the beneficiaries. As with the compounded medications, the cancer genetic screening tests were not medically necessary.

The owner of the Georgia lab, Minal Patel, 40, was indicted in the Southern District of Florida in September 2019. An indictment is an accusation and a defendant is innocent until proven guilty. 

To date, fraudulent compounding pharmacy schemes have caused estimated losses to Tricare in excess of $2 billion. Fraudulent genetic testing lab schemes have caused estimated losses to Medicare of approximately $2.1 billion.   

U.S. Attorney Fajardo-Orshan commended the investigative efforts of DCIS and HHS-OIG.  Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin J. Larsen, Anna Maria Martinez, and John C. Shipley prosecuted the case. Assistant United States Attorney Daren Grove is handling the asset forfeiture matters. 

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.

A West Palm Beach tax return preparer was sentenced to 90 months in prison on Friday for aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns and theft of government funds, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida.

According to the evidence presented at trial, from at least 2012 to 2016, Paul Senat was the owner and operator of multiple tax return preparation businesses in Palm Beach and surrounding areas. Through the businesses, Senat falsified his clients’ returns by reporting fictitious business losses and education credits in order to fraudulently inflate their refunds.  Senat also stole a federal tax refund check worth nearly $10,000.

A federal jury in Fort Lauderdale, Florida convicted Senat on Nov. 6, 2019.  Following the jury verdict, Senat was taken into custody.

At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz found that Senat caused a tax loss of more than $3.5 million to the United States. 

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Ruiz ordered Senat to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $9,779 in restitution to the United States.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Alexander Effendi and Lauren Archer of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the Division’s website.

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.

Former Florida Department of Corrections officer, Terrance Reynolds, 30, was convicted Friday following a 14-day trial for conspiring to assault youthful offender inmates, announced the Department of Justice. The jury acquitted Reynolds of two counts of depriving the youthful offender inmates of their civil rights.

Evidence presented at trial established that on March 27, 2017, Reynolds and former Sergeant Brendan Butler, 30, conspired to physically assault and intimidate youthful offender inmates for being disruptive and disrespectful earlier that morning. Reynolds and Butler then instructed three of the inmates to exit their housing unit and took them into a mop closet. Once inside the mop closet, Reynolds and Butler assaulted one of the inmates with a stick, causing him bodily injury, while the other two inmates stood nearby. The following day, Reynolds and Butler assaulted one of the other inmates to punish him for being disrespectful. Inmates may be classified as youthful offenders by a court or the Department of Corrections, and are generally 24 years old or younger. Butler previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the inmates’ civil rights.     

“Corrections officers who use unjustified force against inmates in their custody violate the Constitution,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to vigorously investigating and prosecuting officers who break the public trust in this way.” 

“In the Southern District of Florida, abuse by corrections officers will not be tolerated. Let this be a message to them: If you are an officer who violates the civil rights of those entrusted to your protection, my Office will prosecute you,” said Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

“Former corrections officer Terrance Reynolds was found guilty of conspiring to assault youthful offender inmates. Such conduct violates the public’s trust in our institutions and officials,” said George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami. “I commend the professionalism and hard work of the Florida Department of Corrections Office of the Inspector General and the FBI’s Miami Area Corruption Task Force with this investigation.”

Reynolds faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. 

This case was being investigated by the FBI’s Miami Area Corruption Task Force and the Florida Department of Corrections Office of the Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Senior and Brian Dobbins of the Southern District of Florida and Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel of the Civil Rights Division.

MIAMI, Florida — Today, following a 14-day trial, a federal jury found former Florida Department of Corrections Officer Terrance Reynolds, 30, guilty of conspiring to assault youthful offender inmates, announced Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Eric S. Dreiband, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Division.  The jury acquitted Reynolds of two counts of depriving the youthful offender inmates of their civil rights.

According to the evidence presented at trial, on March 27, 2017, Reynolds and former Sergeant Brendan Butler, 30, conspired to physically assault and intimidate youthful offender inmates for being disruptive and disrespectful earlier that morning. Reynolds and Butler instructed three of the inmates to exit their housing unit and took them into a mop closet. Once inside the mop closet, Reynolds and Butler assaulted one of the inmates with a stick, causing him bodily injury, while the other two inmates stood nearby. The following day, Reynolds and Butler assaulted one of the other inmates to punish him for being disrespectful.  Inmates may be classified as youthful offenders by a court or the Department of Corrections, and are generally twenty-four years old or younger. Butler previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the inmates’ civil rights.    

“In the Southern District of Florida, abuse by corrections officers will not be tolerated. If you are an officer who violates the civil rights of those entrusted to your protection, know this: My Office will prosecute you,” said Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

“Corrections officers who use unjustified force against inmates in their custody violate the Constitution,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to vigorously investigating and prosecuting officers who break the public trust in this way.” 

“Former corrections officer Terrance Reynolds was found guilty of conspiring to assault youthful offender inmates.  Such conduct violates the public’s trust in our institutions and officials,” said George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami.   “I commend the professionalism and hard work of the Florida Department of Corrections Office of the Inspector General and the FBI’s Miami Area Corruption Task Force with this investigation.”

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan and Acting Assistant Attorney General Gore also commended the investigative efforts of the FBI’s Miami Area Corruption Task Force and the Florida Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Senior and Brian Dobbins, of the Southern District of Florida, and Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel, of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

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

West Palm Beach, Florida – Robert Solove, 28, of Boca Raton, Florida, was arrested and charged by federal criminal complaint with production, distribution, and possession of child  pornography. 

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

According to court records, KiK username rsolove99 was observed posting images in an internet chat room of a young girl engaged in sexually explicit acts. The girl in the images appeared to be a female toddler.  During a chat, rsolove99 said that he had taken the images of the female toddler. Investigation of the username led law enforcement to Solove and his residence. While executing a search warrant at Solove’s home on February 18, 2020, law enforcement officers observed a female toddler. The officers determined that the toddler needed medical attention and called for an ambulance to transport her to the hospital.  Solove had two cellular telephones that contained videos of children who appeared to be under 12 engaged in sexually explicit acts.  Federal agents arrested Solove for production, distribution, and possession of child pornography.     

Solove’s pretrial detention hearing is set for 10:00 a.m. on March 26, 2020, in federal magistrate court in West Palm Beach, Florida.

U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan commended the investigation efforts of HSI and the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller is prosecuting this case.  Anyone with information about this matter should contact Homeland Security Investigations by telephone at (866) 347-2423 (HSI Tipline Number) or on-line at www.ice.gov/webform/hsi-tip-form.  

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.

A criminal complaint is an accusation and defendant is presumed innocent unless and until he is found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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

Miami, Florida -- A federal grand jury returned an indictment yesterday charging the owners of a Miami, Florida tire import business with conspiracy to defraud the government and tax evasion, announced Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Richard E. Zuckerman, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. 

According to the indictment, Marco Parra and Eira Luces-Parra, a married couple, owned and operated Road Tire Plus, Corp (Road Tire), a tire importer located in Miami, Florida. From 2013 through 2016, the Parras allegedly conspired with others in the tire industry to evade paying federal excise taxes on tires.

Truck tires marked for highway use are subject to excise taxes. A tire importer is liable for the excise tax when the truck tires are sold.  Tire importers typically pass on the cost of the excise tax to the tire retailers (their customers) and collect the excise taxes from them. But if the tires are later exported rather than sold domestically, the law provides for a credit for the excise taxes paid.

From 2013 through 2016, the Parras sold taxable truck tires to various tire retailers in South Florida.  According to the indictment, the Parras collected from some customers the excise taxes that were due, but did not remit those taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and did not file tax returns reporting the tire sales as they were obligated to do.

For other customers, the Parras allegedly never collected the federal excise taxes due on the tire sales. Instead, the Parras allegedly obtained from these coconspirators false bills of lading claiming that the tires were exported, so that the Parras could obtain an excise tax credit even though they knew the tires were not exported. 

If convicted, the Parras face a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each count. They also face a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. 

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman commended IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Larsen, Tax Division Trial Attorney Mara Strier, and Tax Division Assistant Chief Greg Tortella are prosecuting the case. 

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

A federal grand jury returned an indictment yesterday charging the owners of a Miami, Florida, tire import business with conspiracy to defraud the government and tax evasion, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida.

According to the indictment, Marco Parra and Eira Luces-Parra, a married couple, owned and operated Road Tire Plus Corp (Road Tire), a tire importer located in Miami, Florida. From 2013 through 2016, the Parras allegedly conspired with others in the tire industry to evade paying federal excise taxes on tires.

Truck tires marked for highway use are subject to excise taxes. A tire importer is liable for the excise tax when the truck tires are sold. Tire importers typically pass on the cost of the excise tax to the tire retailers, their customers, and collect the excise taxes from them. But if the tires are later exported rather than sold domestically, the law provides for a credit for the excise taxes paid.

From 2013 through 2016, the Parras sold taxable truck tires to various tire retailers in South Florida. According to the indictment, the Parras collected from some customers the excise taxes that were due, but did not remit those taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and did not file tax returns reporting the tire sales as they were obligated to do.

For other customers, the Parras allegedly never collected the federal excise taxes due on the tire sales. Instead, the Parras allegedly obtained from these coconspirators false bills of lading claiming that the tires were exported, so that the Parras could obtain an excise tax credit even though they knew the tires were not exported. 

If convicted, the Parras face a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each count. They also face a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney Mara Strier and Assistant Chief Greg Tortella of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Larsen, who are prosecuting the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the Division’s website.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Michael J. De Palma, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Anthony Ramirez, Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), Miami Field Office; George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and James S. Jackson, Deputy Inspector General for Investigations, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) announced that U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg sentenced Danielle Takeila Edmonson, 35, and Kenneth Roger Edmonson, 51, both of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to prison terms for their involvement in a scheme that involved the filing of false and fraudulent tax returns seeking large-dollar tax refunds.  D. Edmonson received a 72-month sentence.  K. Edmonson received a 51-month sentence.

According to the evidence presented at trial, from 2015 through 2018, D. Edmonson and K. Edmonson filed large-dollar tax refund claims with the IRS totaling over $100 million, including individual refund claims ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to as high as eighty million dollars.  Despite the false nature of the claims, the Department of Treasury paid out approximately $3.4 million in refunds through the issuance of U.S. Treasury checks. 

In addition, D. Edmonson filed a fraudulent tax return seeking a large refund for tax year 2014, falsely indicating on handwritten forms that she had paid taxes of over $300,000.  The IRS did not receive any corresponding forms to support the payment of any of these taxes.  Despite the false nature of the tax return, the Department of Treasury issued a tax refund check for $239,700 in 2015.  D. Edmonson deposited this tax refund check into her bank account and used the funds to purchase a luxury vehicle. 

D. Edmonson also filed fraudulent tax returns for each of tax years 2015, 2016, and 2017, seeking refunds of approximately $80 million, $2.4 million, and $9 million, respectively.  These tax returns contained forms falsely claiming that she had paid over $145 million in taxes during this period.  The IRS did not receive any corresponding forms to support the payment of any of these taxes.  Despite the false nature of the tax returns, the Department of Treasury issued a tax refund check to K. Edmonson in the amount of $2,405,703 on September 4, 2017.  D. Edmonson subsequently deposited this tax refund check into her bank account.  

In September 2017, K. Edmonson filed a fraudulent tax return seeking a refund of approximately $725,111.  The return contained false and fraudulent claims that he had paid a substantial amount of withholding taxes.  The IRS did not receive corresponding forms to support the claimed payments.  Despite the false nature of the tax return, on January 28, 2018, the Department of Treasury mailed a tax refund check to K. Edmonson for $734,266.27 (including interest).  Shortly thereafter, K. Edmonson deposited this tax refund check into his bank account.  

Trial evidence also established that in January 2018, law enforcement conducted a search of the Edmonson residence. During the search, in the bedrooms of D. Edmonson and K. Edmonson, law enforcement found letters addressed to both individuals warning them of the frivolous nature of their returns.  Shortly after law enforcement left, despite warnings not to do so, K. Edmonson went to his bank to attempt to withdraw the funds from the account that received the fraudulent refund check. 

D. Edmonson was convicted on four counts of filing false, fictitious and fraudulent claims, two counts of mail fraud, and one count of false statements. 

K. Edmonson was convicted at trial of two counts of filing false, fraudulent, and fictitious claims, one count of mail fraud, and one count of false statements. 

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended IRS-CI, DSS, FBI and TIGTA for their work on the case.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael N. Berger and Adrienne Rosen.

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.

A 19-count indictment in Tampa, Florida, was unsealed today against a former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent and his wife for their alleged roles to divert drug proceeds from undercover money laundering investigations into bank accounts they, along with family members and criminal associates, controlled.   

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak of the Northern District of Georgia, Special Agent in Charge James F. Boyersmith of the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General Miami Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Michael F. McPherson of the FBI’s Tampa Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Mary E. Hammond of IRS-Criminal Investigation (CI) and Acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin Sibley of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa made the announcement.

The FBI arrested Jose I. Irizarry, 46, and Nathalia Gomez-Irizarry (Gomez), 36, this morning at their residence near San Juan, Puerto Rico. Irizarry and Gomez made their first appearance in U.S. District Court in San Juan today and were released on bond.  Their next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 26.

The indictment alleges that while working as an agent for the DEA in Miami and Cartagena, Colombia, Irizarry engaged in an illegal scheme to divert drug proceeds from undercover money laundering investigations into bank accounts controlled by himself and Gomez, their family members, and their criminal associates.  To carry out the plot, Irizarry and his criminal associates are alleged to have opened a bank account with a stolen identity and then utilized the account to secretly send and receive drug proceeds from active DEA investigations.

The indictment further alleges that Irizarry and Gomez used drug proceeds to purchase jewelry, a home and multiple luxury vehicles for themselves and their family.  As alleged,  Irizarry was in personal bankruptcy proceedings for nearly the duration of this criminal conduct and failed to disclose any of his illicit income to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Irizarry is charged with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, honest services wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to commit identity theft and aggravated identity theft.  Gomez is charged with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.

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

Trial Attorney Joseph Palazzo of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section is prosecuting the case.

The Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General, FBI, DEA, IRS-CI, and HSI investigated the case. The U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Judicial Attaché’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida and District of Puerto Rico, the Colombian Attorney General’s Office (Fiscalia General de la Nacion) and the South Florida Money Laundering Strike Force at the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office provided valuable assistance.

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.

WEST PALM BEACH−U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith sentenced Gary Roger Kolligian, 65, of South Palm Beach, Florida, to 97 months in prison for possessing child pornography, some of which depicted children under age 12.  The judge also sentenced Kolligian to 15 years of supervised release following his prison term.

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.

Kolligian pled guilty to possessing child pornography on November 19, 2019.

            According to court records, Kolligian posted sexual abuse images of minors on Twitter. Twitter reported the activity to the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children. Once law enforcement learned about the activity, they located and spoke with Kolligian. Kolligian admitted to officers that he possessed child pornography, that he chatted with people on-line about child pornography, and that he downloaded child pornography from an on-line chat group. Kolligian saved his collection of child pornography on different devices including a laptop computer, hard drives, and CD/DVDs. In total, he possessed over 300 images and videos of child pornography. Some of the saved material went back 20 years. The child pornography that Kolligian collected on these devices included pictures and videos of children who appeared to be as young as seven or eight-years-old posing sexually or engaging in sexually explicit acts. 

U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan commended the investigation efforts of HSI, the South Palm Beach Police Department, and the Lantana Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller prosecuted this case.

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

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

Hector Alejandro Cabrera Fuentes, a Mexican citizen residing in Singapore, was arrested based on a Complaint charging him with acting within the United States on behalf of a foreign government (Russia), without notifying the Attorney General, and conspiracy to do the same.

John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; George Piro, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; and Diane J. Sabatino, Director of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Miami Field Office, made the announcement. 

According to court documents, a Russian government official recruited Fuentes in 2019 and directed Fuentes to rent a specific property in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The Russian official told Fuentes not to rent the apartment in Fuentes’s own name and not to tell his family about their meetings.  Fuentes traveled to Russia and informed the Russian government official about the arrangements.  The official approved and told Fuentes to see him again on his next trip to Russia.

In February 2020, Fuentes traveled to Moscow again and met with the Russian government official. At this meeting, the Russian government official provided Fuentes with a physical description of a U.S. Government source’s vehicle and told Fuentes to locate the car, obtain the source’s vehicle license plate number, and note the physical location of the source’s vehicle. The Russian official instructed Fuentes to meet the Russian official again in April or May 2020, to inform him of the results of the search for the source’s vehicle.

Furthermore, according to court documents, Fuentes traveled to Miami on Feb. 13, 2020, from Mexico City. The next day, on February 14, Fuentes’s rental car drew the attention of a security guard where the U.S. government source resided because it entered its premises by tailgating another vehicle to gain access.  When a security guard approached Fuentes’s rental car, Fuentes’s travel companion, who resides and is legally married to Fuentes in Mexico, walked away from Fuentes’s rental car to the U.S. Government source’s vehicle and took a photograph of the source’s vehicle’s license plate. When security questioned Fuentes and his travel companion on the nature of their business in the building, Fuentes provided a name of an individual whom they were purportedly visiting. Security did not recognize the person as living there and told Fuentes to leave the premises.

On the evening of February 16, 2020, Fuentes and his travel companion arrived at Miami International Airport to leave to United States, on their way to Mexico City.  U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspected the phone of Fuentes’s travel companion and found a close-up image of the license plate of the U.S. Government source’s vehicle in the “recently deleted folder” of her phone. When asked about the photo, Fuentes admitted tasking his travel companion to take the photo of the vehicle’s license plate. CBP’s review of Fuentes’s phone revealed a WhatsApp message from his travel companion sent to Fuentes with the same photograph of the vehicle license plate. Fuentes admitted to law enforcement officers that he was directed by a Russian government official to conduct this operation. According to court documents, messages on Fuentes’s phone showed that the Russian official initiated and directed the meetings.  

A pretrial detention hearing is set for 10:00 a.m. on Friday, February 21, 2020. Fuentes’s arraignment is set for 10:00 a.m. on March 3, 2020. Both hearings will occur in U.S. magistrate court in Miami, Florida.

Assistant Attorney General Demers and U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and CBP. 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Thakur of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Thea Kendler and Matthew McKenzie of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

A criminal complaint is an accusation and defendant is presumed innocent unless and until he is found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

WEST PALM BEACH – United States District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg sentenced Scott Woolley, 59, of Delray Beach, Florida, to five months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for scheming to defraud the owner of a skin care product company out of about half a million dollars. 

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Brian Swain, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, made the announcement. 

On December 3, 2020, Woolley pled guilty to two counts of wire fraud. According to court records, the victim was the majority owner of Aubio Life, LLC, Aubio Life Sciences, LLC (Aubio Life), a skin care products company. The victim appointed Woolley as the CEO of Aubio Life, with a salary of $13,000 per month. In 2017, without the victim’s consent, Woolley transferred about $500,000 from Aubio Life bank accounts to bank accounts that Woolley controlled. The bank accounts that Woolley controlled were located in Palm Beach County, Florida. Woolley used the money to make a down payment on a house in Delray Beach, Florida. 

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the USSS and the Delray Beach Police Department in this matter.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Lothrop Morris prosecuted this case.  

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

EAST ST. LOUIS, ILL. – Two former owners of a fraudulent tech support business known as Client Care Experts, LLC (“Client Care”) are going to prison for a long time. Yesterday, in federal district court in East St. Louis, Illinois, Michael Austin Seward, 32, of Deerfield Beach, Florida, and Kevin James McCormick, 47, of Hollywood, Florida, were sentenced to prison terms of 113 months and 132 months respectively. Both men previously pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Seward was the founder and chief executive officer of Client Care, while McCormick served as another high-level executive for the Boynton Beach, Florida company, which was formerly known as First Choice Tech Support. For about 15 months, Seward and McCormick also operated a similar tech support business called ABC Repair Tech (ABC), located in Costa Rica.

According to court documents, the defendants purchased pop-up advertisements that appeared suddenly on a person’s computer screen. The pop-ups were made to look like system warnings and falsely informed the victims that serious problems, such as viruses or malware, had been detected on their computers. Often, the pop-ups caused the person’s internet browser to freeze up and stop responding. The pop-ups also typically warned the victims not to shut down their computers or else they would lose all their data. Instead, the ads directed them to call a toll-free number, where they were connected to sales representatives who continued the fraud.

The sales representatives convinced the victims to grant them remote access to their computers, where normal computer functions and routine processes were highlighted as evidence of serious computer problems. Victims were never told that the pop-ups that had hijacked their computers were just advertisements purchased by the tech support company, or that in most instances they could make the pop-ups go away simply by rebooting their computers. Instead, they were sold remote “tune-ups” for $250 and anti-virus protection software for another $400. If victims balked at the steep prices, the sales representatives would offer them discounts, such as senior citizen and veterans discounts.

From 2013 to 2016, the two companies – Client Care and ABC – combined to defraud more than 40,000 people. Victims were located in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, several U.S. territories, all 10 Canadian provinces, the United Kingdom, and several other foreign countries. At least 57 victims of the scams were residents of the Southern District of Illinois, representing 22 of the district’s 38 counties, including St. Clair and Madison. All told, the two companies took in over $25 million.

As part of their sentence, the court ordered both Seward and McCormick to pay over $11.5 million in restitution to the victims of their fraud scheme.

“As the court observed, there is a growing gap between our ever-increasing reliance on technology and the average person’s understanding of how that technology works,” said U.S. Attorney Weinhoeft. “These men took advantage of that gap to line their own pockets. What’s even more disturbing is that many of the victims were senior citizens. Following Attorney General Barr’s Elder Justice Initiative, we want would-be scammers to know that if they reach out and defraud people in southern Illinois, we’re going to haul them into federal court in this district and hold them accountable for their crimes.”

Over the past three years, 17 other employees of Client Care and ABC have also pleaded guilty to federal fraud violations in the Southern District of Illinois:

Joseph Ralph Aievoli, IV, 26, of Boynton Beach, FL – Salesperson at Client Care

Cory Steven Bachman, 26, of Boynton Beach, FL – Salesperson at Client Care

Andrew Douglas Broad, 27, of Boynton Beach, FL – Director of Training at Client Care

Ryan Stocker Carr, 24, of Mount Laurel, NJ – Team Leader at Client Care

Joshua Dennis Cortez, 38, of Lake Worth, FL – Director of Training at Client Care

Erica Marie Crowell, 30, of Maple Shade, NJ – Salesperson at Client Care

Nicholas James Davidson, 27, of Boynton Beach, FL – Salesperson at Client Care

Patrick M. Dougherty, 36, of Boynton Beach, FL – Salesperson at Client Care

Tatum Elyse Espenshade, 27, of West Palm Beach, FL – Salesperson at Client Care

Eric M. Iannaccone, 33, of Monroe Township, NJ – Sales Manager at Client Care

Michael Cary Lawing, 34, of Lincolnton, NC – CEO of ABC

Anthony Vincent Ludena, 30, of Boca Raton, FL – Salesperson at Client Care

Robert Thomas McCart, 33, of Boynton Beach, FL – Team Leader at Client Care

Timothy James Miller, II, 28, of Schwenksville, PA – Salesperson at Client Care

Jonathan Matthew Richardson, 28, of Lake Worth, FL – Salesperson at Client Care

Kyle Evan Swinson, 27, of Boynton Beach, FL – Team Leader at ABC/Client Care

Grant Clark Wasik, 36, of Oakland Park, FL – Vice President and Sales Manager of Client Care

All 17 of those defendants have already been sentenced, as follows:

Date

Defendant

Prison Sentence

Restitution

Mar. 8, 2018

Ryan Carr

12 months + 1 day

$20,384.36

May 7, 2018

Joshua Cortez

18 months

$3,034.00

June 8, 2018

Patrick Dougherty

12 months + 1 day

$240,966.94

June 14, 2018

Anthony Ludena

12 months + 1 day

$176,692.26

June 29, 2018

Nicholas Davidson

5 years probation

$181,808.40

July 26, 2018

Timothy Miller

5 years probation

200 hours community service

$127,042.06

Aug. 3, 2018

Tatum Espenshade

1 day + 18 months home detention

$132,683.68

Sept. 11, 2018

Andrew Broad

12 months + 1 day

$55,238.28

Sept. 20, 2018

Jonathan Richardson

12 months + 1 day

$78,638.99

Oct. 4, 2018

Corey Bachman

1 day + 400 hours community service

$156,806.25

Oct. 8, 2019

Grant Wasik

125 months

$10,619,430.95

Oct. 10, 2019

Joseph Aievoli

1 day + 200 hours community service

$106,355.82

Oct. 15, 2019

Michael Lawing

18 months

$266,501.94

Oct. 23, 2019

Eric Iannaccone

12 months + 1 day

(pending)

Dec. 10, 2019

Robert McCart

Time served

100 hours community service

none

Dec. 10, 2019

Kyle Swinson

1 day + 400 hours community service

$7,589.31

Jan. 8, 2020

Erica Crowell

Time served

12 months home detention

$123,815.60

 

These cases were part of an investigation by the St. Louis Field Office of the Chicago Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service. The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Scott A. Verseman, Ranley R. Killian, and Nathan D. Stump. The Florida Attorney General’s Office raided Client Care in June 2016 and has been cooperating with the federal investigation, in addition to bringing its own civil enforcement action against the fraudulent company under Florida state law.

The Federal Trade Commission has been working for some time to shut down illegal tech support scams. For more information about the FTC’s “2019 Tech Support Takedown,” please visit https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2019/03/ftcs-tech-support-takedown-2019.

Some consumers who were victimized by ABC or Client Care / First Choice Tech Support have received additional fraudulent calls. These calls typically come from companies claiming either (a) that the technical support the victims purchased has been transferred to them and additional funds are now needed; or (b) that they can help the victims obtain a refund. Victims should be advised that no companies have been authorized to provide them with any tech support services on behalf of ABC or CLIENT CARE / First Choice Tech Support, or to provide them with a refund for any previous purchases.

MIAMI – Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Justin Green, Special Agent in Charge, Miami Field Office, United States Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), announced the convictions of three defendants for various offenses relating to an international fraud scheme.

Following a 13-day trial, on February 6, 2020, a jury found Raoul Doekhie, 51, of Suriname, Johnny Grobman 46, of Golden Beach, Florida, and Sherida Nabi, 55, of Suriname, guilty of conspiring to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, conspiring to obtain pre-retail medical products worth $5,000 or more by fraud or deception, theft of pre-retail medical products, and smuggling goods from the United States. Sentencing is scheduled in Miami, Florida for April 23, 2020.

A fourth conspirator, Edgar Torres, 61, of Brandford, Florida, pled guilty to wire fraud conspiracy on June 24, 2019. Torres is scheduled to be sentenced in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on February 11, 2020. 

According to the evidence presented at trial, between 2013 and 2018, the defendants, who also maintained residences in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, orchestrated an elaborate scheme to obtain FDA-regulated products from manufacturers in the United States at deeply discounted prices, including infant formula, eye-care products, and other food and medical devices. To get these discounts, Doekhie and Nabi told the manufacturers that they were purchasing the products to ship overseas, to Suriname, often in connection with purported government procurement contracts they held in Suriname. In fact, Defendants did not have government procurement contracts and never intended to export the products to Suriname. Instead, Grobman and others sold the products in the United States for tens of millions of dollars, which the three defendants later split among themselves. 

The defendants hid their activity from the victim companies in one of three ways.  The first was to send “dummy” shipments abroad. The dummy shipments did not contain the products purchased from the manufacturers, but they did generate documentation to prove that an export occurred. The second method was to “U-turn” the products: The products were shipped abroad, generating export documentation. As soon as they arrived overseas, they were shipped back to the United States. The third method was to create fraudulent export shipping documentation showing that the products were exported when they actually never left the country.

According to the superseding indictment, over $61 million in criminal proceeds is traceable to Grobman. Over $69 million is traceable to Doekhie and Nabi. 

This case is the second large-scale prosecution by the South Florida U.S. Attorney’s Office and FDA-OCI targeting fraud schemes related to the so-called “gray market,” which involves the diversion and re-sale of certain goods that were not intended for distribution in the United States.  Previously on September 4, 2019, U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan announced the convictions of five defendants, including Byramji Javat, a citizen of Pakistan and Chairman of the Dubai-based Uniworld Group, for various offenses relating to a global fraud scheme that relied upon false claims about the United States military and the Government of Afghanistan. 

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of FDA-OCI. She also thanked the Broward County Sherriff’s Office for their assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shannon Shaw, Christopher Browne, and John Shipley prosecuted the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrienne Rosen is handling asset forfeiture.

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

U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks sentenced Andrew Melendez-Gonzalez, 22, of Loxahatchee, Florida, to 20 years in federal prison, followed by 25 years of supervised release, for coercing a 15-year-old girl from the Philippines into taking sexually explicit photographs and videos of herself and sending them to his cellular telephone.     

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, and Rick Bradshaw, Sheriff, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) made the announcement.

Melendez-Gonzalez pled guilty on December 4, 2019, to producing child pornography, possessing child pornography, transferring obscene material to a minor, and stalking.

According to court records, Melendez-Gonzalez met the 15-year-old victim in an on-line chat room in 2018.  He was in Florida. The minor was in the Philippines. After the initial on-line contact, Melendez-Gonzalez communicated with the minor through text messages.  He texted the minor an image of his penis and directed her to record sexually explicit photographs and videos of herself and send those to him by text message. The defendant told the minor that if she did not continue texting sexually explicit images to him, he would post the ones he had of her on the internet and send them to the press. Melendez-Gonzalez also texted the minor that he knew where she lived and went to school and that if she did not respond to his messages, he would travel to see her.  He also threatened to kill himself if she did not respond. 

Law enforcement officers located and arrested Gonzalez after receiving a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

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.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigation efforts of HSI and PBSO. She also thanked the 15th Judicial Circuit Palm Beach County State Attorney Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller 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.

Two defendants involved in a stolen identity and tax refund fraud scheme were sentenced to federal prison terms by U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke.  The scheme involved using stolen identities to file fraudulent income tax returns that falsely claimed refunds. 

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Michael J. De Palma, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office made the announcement.

Maurice Marcellus, 37, of Miami, Florida, received a prison term of 60 months and three years of supervised release.  Ludrick Joseph, 38, of North Miami Beach, Florida, received a prison term of 48 months and three years of supervised release. Both defendants are jointly responsible for paying $563,210 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

A federal grand jury indicted Marcellus and Joseph on February 14, 2019. They pled guilty on November 13, 2019. 

According to court documents, Joseph worked for Capital Financial Management, LLC, a tax preparation business incorporated in Miami-Dade County. Marcellus was the manager and sole registered agent of the company and ran the day-to-day operations of the business. Between 2012 and 2014, Joseph and Marcellus prepared and electronically filed federal tax returns for individuals who either did not authorize Joseph or Marcellus to possess their personal identifying information or did not authorize the defendants to file returns on their behalf. Some of the returns were electronically filed under an Electronic Filing ldentification Number (EFIN) assigned to a person later determined by agents to be a victim of identity theft.

Joseph and Marcellus stored thousands of victims’ personal identifying information in electronic and physical files at Capital Financial Management, LLC. One of the lists in Joseph’s folder contained the personal identifying information of people who Joseph knew were deceased. A spreadsheet located in both Joseph’s and Marcellus's computer files contained the names, addresses, phone numbers, and social security numbers of over two thousand students who attended the ATI College of Health in Miami, Florida.  Marcellus obtained that spreadsheet while working for the ATI College of Health as an academic advisor. He provided a copy to Joseph in order to file fraudulent tax returns using the student victims’ information.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the IRS-CI. She also thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shane Butland prosecuted this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Zloch is handling asset forfeiture.

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