Southern District of Florida

Michael Anthony Minko, 36, of White Springs, Florida, was sentenced to two concurrent sentences of two months imprisonment, after pleading guilty to two counts of intimidating a flight attendant of an aircraft in flight in the United States.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

On July 18, 2017, Minko intimidated two Spirit Airlines flight attendants on a flight from Newark, New Jersey to Fort Lauderdale, and interfered with the performance of their duties.  Specifically, after the flight departed, the defendant drank an excessive amount of whiskey from a bottle in his possession and consumed prescription alprazolam (generic form of Xanax).  During the course of the flight, Minko cursed, used abusive language, made verbal threats and exhibited threatening actions.  As a result, a flight attendant and three passengers used plastic flex cuffs to secure Minko’s hands behind his back.

U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom ordered Minko to report on Friday, February 23, 2018, to commence his term of imprisonment at that time, thereby allowing the defendant to continue his treatment at an alcohol and drug treatment facility. 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the FBI in connection with this matter.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William T. Shockley.

Michael Anthony Minko, 36, of White Springs, Florida, was sentenced to two concurrent sentences of two months imprisonment, after pleading guilty to two counts of intimidating a flight attendant of an aircraft in flight in the United States.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

On July 18, 2017, Minko intimidated two Spirit Airlines flight attendants on a flight from Newark, New Jersey to Fort Lauderdale, and interfered with the performance of their duties.  Specifically, after the flight departed, the defendant drank an excessive amount of whiskey from a bottle in his possession and consumed prescription alprazolam (generic form of Xanax).  During the course of the flight, Minko cursed, used abusive language, made verbal threats and exhibited threatening actions.  As a result, a flight attendant and three passengers used plastic flex cuffs to secure Minko’s hands behind his back.

U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom ordered Minko to report on Friday, February 23, 2018, to commence his term of imprisonment at that time, thereby allowing the defendant to continue his treatment at an alcohol and drug treatment facility. 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the FBI in connection with this matter.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William T. Shockley.

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. 

City of Miami police officer Dermis Hernandez, 41, of Homestead, was arrested by the FBI for participation in a scheme where Hernandez falsely represented to victim investors that he was able to offer a low risk investment with guaranteed returns through high-interest loans his company made to Costa Rican property owners.   

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Jorge Colina, Chief, City of Miami Police Department (MPD), made the announcement. 

 

On January 29, 2018, Hernandez was arrested at the Fort Lauderdale airport before boarding a flight to Costa Rica.  Hernandez was charged by complaint with a conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.  It is alleged that, Hernandez told investors that their investment funds provided loans for the property owners in Costa Rica whose real property would be used as collateral for the loan and forfeited if the loan was not paid.  In truth, Hernandez and his co-conspirators used the majority of investor funds for personal enrichment and to pay the returns of other investors. 

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and the MPD.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Langley. 

 

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

 

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

Richard Steven Johnson, 41, of Rio Linda, California, and Jarred Alexander Goldman, 32, of Palm Beach Gardens, were arrested today, after being charged with conspiring to steal and stealing a 17th century gold bar on or about August 18, 2010, from the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum in Key West. 

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, United States Attorney, Southern District of Florida, Robert F. Lasky, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Donald J. Lee, Jr., Chief, Key West Police Department, made the announcement.

 

Johnson will make his initial appearance in Sacramento, California, later today.  Goldman will make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lurana S. Snow, in Key West, on January 30, 2018, at 9:30 a.m.

 

The defendants are accused of driving to Key West from West Palm Beach on or about August 18, 2010, and entering the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum.  It is alleged that Goldman then stood guard as a lookout to enable Johnson to steal the gold bar.  Johnson then allegedly removed the gold bar from its display case at the museum and both defendants then drove back to West Palm Beach.  The gold bar has not been recovered.

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and the Key West Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Marcet.

 

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

 

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

A New York stock promoter, a Colorado registered stock transfer agent, and a California securities attorney were recently convicted of securities fraud offenses.  These cases pertain to a conspiracy to sell shares of fraudulently registered companies that could then be used for pump and dump and other stock manipulation schemes.  To date, ten defendants have been convicted in connection with the investigation.

 

            Randy A. Hummel, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge, FBI, Washington Field Office, made the announcement.  

 

John Ahearn, 56, of Erie, Colorado and formerly of Miller Place, New York, and Andrew H. Wilson, 69, of Nevada City, California, plead guilty on January 25, 2018, of conspiracy to unlawfully sell unregistered securities, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, in Case No. 17-CR-20883-KMW.  Each defendant faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 or double the proceeds of the offense.  Sentencing is scheduled for Ahearn and Wilson on June 8, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams.

 

Yelena Furman, 36, of New York, New York, plead guilty on January 23, 2018, of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349 in Case No. 17-CR-2-713-CMA.  Furman faces a maximum statutory sentence of 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or double to proceeds of the offense.  Sentencing is scheduled for Furman on April 25, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga.

 

Seven other defendants were previously convicted in connection with this investigation: David Lubin, Case No. 17-20508-CR-MGC; Sheldon Rose and Ian Kass, Case No. 16-20706-CR-JEM; Steven Sanders and Alvin Mirman, Case No. 16-20572-CR-CMA; and, Daniel McKelvey and Jeffrey Lamson, Case No. 16-20546-CR-RNS. 

 

According to court documents, from early 2007 through at least 2014, Sanders, McKelvey, Lubin and other conspirators would fraudulently create public companies, known as issuers, by filing documents with the SEC that falsely described the companies and their share ownership.  These documents would indicate that the companies were controlled by a nominee, or straw chief executive officer (CEO).  The straw CEO would be listed as the owner of the control block, or restricted shares, but in reality the companies were controlled by the principals.  The principals would also create documents with the names of various shareholders for each company, to make it appear that these shares were owned by persons unaffiliated with the company.  These shares would later be classified as unrestricted or “free trading.”  Thereafter, the principals would sell the companies to criminal actors who would secretly obtain the control shares and the purported “free trading” shares, without disclosure to the SEC or the investing public.  This would allow the buyers to engage in stock manipulation schemes using the purported “free trading” shares.  According to documents filed in court, Furman, Ahearn and Wilson engaged in acts that furthered the conspiracy so that they could personally profit.

 

According to court filings, Lubin created Entertainment Art, Inc., (“EERT”) using false and fraudulent documents, and then sold it in approximately 2009 to Myron Gushlak (who also is charged in Case No. 17-CR-2-713-CMA).  Gushlak was convicted in a separate securities fraud case in the Eastern District of New York and was sentenced to prison in November 2010.  Shortly before he went to prison, Gusklak asked Sanders and others to sell the company and to provide the proceeds to himself and his then girlfriend, Furman.  

 

According to court filings, Sanders, Furman and Lubin and other conspirators acted together to cause securities filings in the name of EERT, that falsely described the management of the company and its share structure. 

 

According to court filings, Ahearn was the owner of Manhattan Transfer Registrar Co. (“Manhattan Transfer”), a stock transfer agent with offices in New York and Colorado.  Ahearn became aware that the EERT shares were listed in the names of straw shareholders but were in fact controlled by undisclosed principals.  In approximately October 2012, Ahearn assisted with the unlawful transfer of EERT shares to certain shell buyers, who changed the name to Biozoom, Inc. (“BIZM”) and, in May 2013, used the BIZM shares for a pump and dump stock swindle. 

 

Wilson, according to court filings, was an attorney licensed to practice law in California who authored false and fraudulent legal opinion letters for EERT.  These letters falsely stated that shares of the companies were owned by persons who were not “affiliates,” and were used by persons who acquired the shares to deposit them with brokers and unlawfully them to the investing public.  In reality, Wilson took his direction from Sanders and another conspirator, McKelvey, whom Wilson came to learn secretely controlled the companies. 

 

Furman, according to court filings, participated in the filing of certain fraudulent documents with the SEC for companies controlled by Gushlak.  Furman also assisted Gushlak with taking certain elaborate steps to conceal funds transfers to herself, including in relation to EERT.  Documents filed in court allege that, because Gushlak’s assets were frozen by the New York federal court, and he had been ordered to pay a $25 million fine and restitution of approximately $17.4 million, Gushlak, Furman, Sanders and others engaged in elaborate steps to hide and conceal the proceeds of the EERT stock sales.  This included wiring funds to an intermediary in Switzerland and to an account controlled by Furman in New York that was used to pay Gushlak’s bills while he was in prison.

 

Mr. Hummel commended the investigative efforts and coordination of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Washington Field Office.  Mr. Hummel also thanked the SEC’s Miami Regional Office and Washington Home Office for their assistance.  The SEC previously filed parallel civil enforcement actions related to this matter.  These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerrob Duffy.

 

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.

Emilio I. Vazquez, of Coral Gables, was arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with wire fraud in connection with hurricane relief efforts to Puerto Rico. 

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Brian Swain, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS), made the announcement. 

 

            According to the allegations contained in the criminal complaint, in or around September 2017, Vazquez contacted a group of volunteers working to provide hurricane relief aid to Puerto Rico.  Vazquez claimed that he was part of the Serralles family, who are the owners of Destileria Serralles, which distills, manufactures, bottles and distributes Don Q rum in Puerto Rico. Vazquez claimed to have significant resources and the ability to rent warehouses, and charter planes and trucks to transport relief supplies.

 

According to the complaint, in or around September 2017, Vazquez, using the name Emilio Serralles, contacted Commercial Property Group in Doral, Florida, regarding the rental of warehouse space.  The warehouse space was purportedly to be used to store relief supplies for Puerto Rico.  On or about September 29, 2017, Vazquez provided Commercial Property Group with a counterfeit and fraudulent UBS bank cashier’s check in the amount of $122,050.50, to pay for the warehouse space. It is alleged that the next day, Vazquez signed a lease under the name Emilio Serralles, renting five warehouse spaces from Commercial Property Group. 

 

According to the complaint, in or around October 2017, Vazquez contacted Miami Air International, a local charter airline.  Vazquez again identified himself as Emilio Serralles and claimed to own a company called Puerto Rico Relief Committee.  Subsequently, Vazquez chartered multiple flights from Miami to Puerto Rico to purportedly deliver relief supplies.  As payment for these flights, Vazquez provided a counterfeit and fraudulent American Express Centurion Bank cashier’s check in the amount of $564,036.05 to Miami Air International, which was rejected as fraudulent by U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private wealth management.

 

On January 23, 2017, a New York City Police Department officer arrested Vazquez in Brooklyn, New York.  He is scheduled to make his initial appearance on Thursday, January 25, 2018, at 2 p.m., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Viktor V. Pohorelsky, of the Eastern District of New York, in Brooklyn, New York. 

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the USSS.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joshua S. Rothstein. 

 

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. 

 

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

After a three-day trial, a federal jury today convicted a Broward County resident of stealing social security benefits years after her grandparents died. 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Margaret Moore-Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG), made the announcement.

Myriam Etienne, 49, of Pompano Beach, was convicted of ninety counts of theft of government funds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641.  Senior U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn presided over the trial.  The defendant’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 5, 2018 at 9:30 a.m.  At sentencing, the defendant faces up to ten years imprisonment on each count, a $250,000 fine as to each count and restitution. 

According to evidence presented at trial, Etienne received Social Security Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) benefits for her grandparents since 2004.  The Social Security Administration administers numerous programs to provide for the material needs of individuals and their families, including SSI.  SSI is a federal program that provides assistance to lower income individuals to meet basic food, shelter, medical and clothing needs.  Monthly SSI benefits are paid to eligible individuals. 

 

The evidence presented at trial revealed that these benefits were paid to the defendant’s grandmother and grandfather and the defendant controlled their funds as a representative payee.  The SSI funds were direct deposited into a joint bank account the defendant shared with her deceased grandparents.  The trial evidence revealed that the defendant’s grandfather died in Haiti in 2006 and the defendant’s grandmother died in Haiti in 2009.  The defendant, however, kept receiving their SSI benefits and did not report the deaths to the Social Security Administration. 

 

The evidence showed that the defendant signed representative payee accounting records, years after their deaths, verifying that the SSI money was being utilized for her grandparents food, shelter, clothing and medical treatment.  After her grandmother’s and grandfather’s deaths, the defendant received approximately over $130,000 in SSI payments.  The evidence at trial further revealed that the defendant made several mortgage payments and additional payments on her BMW X6 vehicle utilizing the SSI funds direct deposited into the joint account.

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the SSA-OIG, the U.S. Department of State and the FBI’s Legal Attaché in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Katz.

 

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

Abhishek Shukla and Harish Shabhai Panchal, both citizens of India, entered guilty pleas, along with the India-based company, Jubilee Tobacco Industries Corp., to conspiring to smuggle counterfeit cigarettes into the United States.

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Peter H. Kuehl, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), Miami Field Office, Mark Selby, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, and Scott Israel, Sheriff, Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO), made the announcement. 

 

All three defendants pled guilty to conspiring with each other, with the intent to defraud and mislead, sell and cause the sale and dispensing of a counterfeit tobacco product (cigarettes), the containers and labeling of which bore the trade name and marks of the American brand of Newport cigarettes, a tobacco product listed with the FDA pursuant to Title 21, United States Code, Section 387(e)(i)(1), (approximately 68,600 cartons of cigarettes), while knowingly using a counterfeit mark on and in connection with such cigarettes, the use of which marks was likely to cause confusion, to cause mistake, and to deceive. The counterfeit marks were substantially indistinguishable from the marks of the United States domestic manufacturer of Newport brand cigarettes, which marks were then in use by and registered to that manufacturer on the principal register of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, all in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.

According to court records, including a Joint Factual Statement submitted by the parties, beginning in March 2015 and continuing through August 16, 2017, the defendants initiated contact with an individual cooperating with FDA-OCI, offering counterfeit cigarettes for sale. Through internet negotiations, an agreement was reached for a 20-foot container filled with counterfeit Newport brand cigarettes to be shipped from India to Miami.  Payment for the shipment was made in installments through international wire transfers to bank accounts in India and in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. On November 1, 2016, the container arrived and was seized at the Port of Miami with the assistance of U. S. Customs and Border Protection Officers. If distributed in the State of Florida, the un-taxed importation would have an approximate value of $1.2 million. Analysis conducted by FDA’s Forensic Chemistry Center determined that the cartons, packs, and cigarettes were all counterfeit.

Within two weeks of the arrival, the coconspirators sought out FDA-OCI undercover agents offering another shipment, twice as large. By April 2017, deposits totaling $55,000 had been made for more counterfeit Newport cigarettes. On June 9, 2017, the container arrived at the Port of Miami and was again seized with the assistance of Customs and Border Protection Officers, and turned over to FDA-OCI Special Agents. If distributed in the State of Florida, the un-taxed importation would have an approximate value of $3.2 million.   

According to acts described in the conspiracy charge, Shukla and Panchal traveled to Miami in August 2017 to meet with the undercover agents to promote further business dealings. During the recorded meeting, they advised the agents that they had been partners for twelve years and personally oversaw the production of all the products being offered. They also assured the agents that they could counterfeit any American-made menthol cigarette with no problem, as well as other trademarked brands, and that they could produce tobacco blends, which would closely match the legitimate product.

            Shukla and Panchal each face potential prison sentences of up to five years imprisonment.  Additionally, they face possible fines of up to $250,000, followed by supervised release of up to five years.  Jubilee faces a fine of up to $500,000.  In its Plea Agreement, Jubilee agreed to forfeit $300,000, to the United States. Sentencing in this case is scheduled for February 12, 2018, at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams.

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of FDA OCI, ICE-HSI and BSO, for their assistance with this long-term investigation.  Mr. Greenberg also thanked U.S. Customs and Border Protection for their support.  This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald.

 

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

Defendant had personal identification information of over 1,000 individuals, most of whom were Miami-Dade College students

 

A Miami resident was sentenced to 38 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $42,338.49 in restitution for his participation in an identity theft scheme.

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Peter J. Forcelli, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, Bryan Pegues, Chief, City of Aventura Police Department, and Rodolfo Llanes, Chief, City of Miami Police Department, made the announcement.

 

Thomas Jerry III, 32, of Miami, previously pled guilty to one count of possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(3), and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1).

 

In May 2014, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle that was being driven by Jerry. During the vehicle search, law enforcement found two cellular telephones. The call log on one of Jerry’s telephones reflected that the telephone had been used to call the Capital One bank customer service line several times. The defendant’s other telephone contained images of the personal identification information (PII) of an identity theft victim and images of the victim’s credit report. A Capital One credit card in the name of the victim was also found. It was determined that the telephones were used to access and take over 79 Capital One accounts, and the caller had requested that the new cards be mailed to two addresses in Miami, Florida.

 

On July 24, 2014, a search warrant was executed at the Miami addresses. In the defendant’s bedroom, law enforcement found the PII (including names, dates of birth, and social security numbers) of over 1,000 individuals, most of whom were Miami-Dade College students; multiple H&R block debit cards, one of which had been funded by a fraudulent federal income tax return; an American Express card in the name of a student at Miami Dade College; Capital One credit cards in the names of identity theft and account take over victims; and a letter from Capital One containing the personal identification number (PlN) of an identity theft victim.

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI, FBI, ATF, the City of Aventura Police Department, and the City of Miami Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daya Nathan and Gera Peoples.

 

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

A South Florida resident was sentenced to 70 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $507,495.28 for his participation in stolen identity tax fraud, a social security fraud scheme, and filing false tax returns.

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Margaret Moore-Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG), made the announcement. 

 

Stanley Joseph Laratte previously pled guilty to one count of receiving stolen government funds, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of filing a false income tax return, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 641 and 1028A(a)(1) and Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206(1).

 

According to court documents, between June 2011 and August 2015, Laratte filed approximately 600 fraudulent income tax returns with the IRS claiming approximately $1.25 million in refunds that were to be deposited into various bank accounts owned and/or controlled by the defendant. Many of the returns were filed in the names of deceased individuals or in the names of individuals who had their identities otherwise compromised. Ultimately, the IRS denied most of the claimed refunds and only deposited approximately $200,000 into Laratte’s accounts.

 

Between September 2015 and July 2017, the defendant accessed various Social Security Administration (SSA) accounts for at least two dozen SSA beneficiaries by using their personal identifiers without their knowledge or authorization. Laratte diverted approximately $302,000 of the beneficiaries' monthly retirement benefits onto Green Dot debit cards possessed and used by the defendant.

 

In June 2015 and August 2016, Laratte created and filed fraudulent personal income tax returns in his own name for the tax years 2014 and 20l5. He created and submitted phony Form W -2s to the IRS in support of these returns. When offset by various credits and deductions, these fraudulent returns generated approximately $16,000 in refunds, which were deposited into the defendant's bank account.

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI and SSA-OIG.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Milton Juenger.

 

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

A Miami-Dade County resident was sentenced to 64 months in prison for his participation in a stolen identity tax refund scheme.  Nick Rickey Choute’s sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release.  Additionally, Choute was ordered to pay $191,280 in restitution, a $500 special assessment, and a forfeiture money judgment of $452,006.  

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement. 

 

Nick Rickey Choute, 24, of Miami, previously pled guilty to charges relating to his participation in a stolen identity tax refund scheme that resulted in the submission of more than $400,000, in fraudulent refund claims to the IRS for tax years 2014 and 2015.  Specifically, Choute pled guilty, without a plea agreement, to all charges in the indictment:  one count of fraudulent use of access devices, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1029(a)(2); one count of possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices, in violation of in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1029(a)(3); and three counts of aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1).  Choute pled guilty after a jury was selected, but before jury addresses commenced.

 

According to documents filed with the court, from approximately January 2015 through March 2016, in Miami-Dade County, Choute used stolen identities, including the names, dates of birth, and social security numbers of hundreds of South Florida residents born in the 1990s, to file more than 150 tax returns with the IRS.  These fraudulent returns sought more than $450,000, in refunds.  Choute directed the refunds to be deposited into bank accounts and prepaid debit card accounts that he opened in the names of other identity theft victims.  He then withdrew the fraudulently obtained funds.  In addition, when the IRS conducted a search of Choute’s home in March 2016, more than 2,500 victims’ identities were found in notebooks recovered from Choute’s bedroom, and personal identifying information of additional victims was also discovered on Choute’s iPad. 

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa H. Miller and Quinshawna Landon. 

 

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

U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke sentenced a Miami-area man to 12 months and one day in prison and three years’ supervised release for threatening to shoot members of a mosque in Miami Gardens, Florida, announced U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg for the Southern District of Florida and Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division.

 

Gerald Wallace, 35, pleaded guilty in October 2017 in the Southern District of Florida to one count of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs for making the threatening call.  During the plea hearing, Wallace admitted that on the evening of Feb. 19, 2017, Wallace left a voicemail message for the Islamic Center of Greater Miami, located in Miami Gardens, Florida.  The defendant admitted leaving a hate-filled and profanity-laden message against Islam, the prophet Mohammed, and the Koran, during which he threatened to go to the mosque, and stated, “I’m gonna shoot all ya’ll.” He further admitted that by leaving this threatening message, he obstructed congregants who worship at the Islamic Center from freely exercising their religious beliefs.

 

“Hate crimes violate our country’s most fundamental principles,” said U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg. “Wallace was sentenced for depriving the Islamic Center’s congregants of the right to freely exercise their religion.  This office will continue to aggressively prosecute hate crimes in order to protect those in our community who would otherwise fall victim to discriminatory violence.” 

 

“Our Constitution and laws guarantee all people – regardless of where they worship – the right to live free from violence and discrimination,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore.  “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute those who commit violent acts of hate by threat or action.”

 

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Miami Area Corruption Task Force and the Miami Gardens Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Harry C. Wallace, Jr. of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Samantha Trepel of the 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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A Miami jury convicted North Miami resident Michael “Mickey” Munday of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud after a four-day trial.

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Brian Swain, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS), and Rick Maglione, Chief, Fort Lauderdale Police Department, made the announcement. 

 

Munday, 72, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, and five counts of mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341.  He faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment for each count.  Sentencing is scheduled for March 29, 2018, at 8:30 a.m. before U.S. District Court Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr.  Nine other co-defendants were indicted and pled guilty in connection with the same scheme. 

 

The evidence presented at trial established that Munday obtained vehicles from throughout the country using various fraudulent methods.  These methods included, among other things, convincing people who were behind on their car payments to turn over their vehicles to him in exchange for cash, illegally repossessing vehicles, and covertly transporting stolen cars from other states to Florida.  In order to evade detection by law enforcement, Munday and his co-conspirators used several towing and repossession companies as fronts for their illegal activity.  

 

After Munday and his co-conspirators obtained the vehicles, the automobiles were then hidden from owners, banks and lienholders at a number of locations, including at Munday’s North Miami residence.  While the vehicles were hidden, another co-conspirator prepared and sent, via U.S. mail, false and fraudulent lien notices claiming thousands of dollars in nonexistent tow services to the vehicle owners and true lienholders.  Sham auctions were then held at a strip mall, some of which were facilitated by Munday.  Of the more than 150 cars involved in the scheme, only one car appeared at an “auction,” and there were never any customers.  After the sham auction was held, the conspirators then cleaned the respective car titles by falsely and fraudulently removing the legitimate owners and lienholders from the title.  The cars were then sold to a co-conspirator in the automotive wholesale business at prices below market value and resold for a profit to local dealerships.  Overall, banks suffered more than $1.7 million in loss as a result of the scheme. 

 

During the trial, videos and social media postings were introduced showing Munday bragging about his past experience as a drug smuggler, explaining the effectiveness of tow companies as fronts for smuggling, proclaiming himself the “UPS of the smuggling industry,” and advertising himself as a master of evading law enforcement.

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the USSS and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joshua S. Rothstein and Anne P. McNamara.

 

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

 

A Mexican national was sentenced today by United States District Judge Beth Bloom to 20 years in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release for drug trafficking and firearms violations.

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Adolphus P. Wright, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, Michael W. Meade, Acting Field Officer Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO), Miami Field Office, Matthew A. Zetts, Chief Patrol Agent, United States Border Patrol, and Peter J. Forcelli, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office, made the announcement. 

 

Felipe Benitez Aguilar, 44, of West Palm Beach, previously pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute over 5 kilograms of cocaine, felon in possession of a firearm, and alien in possession of a firearm.  

 

On September 19, 2017, a West Palm Beach Grand Jury returned a five-count indictment charging Aguilar with possession with intent to distribute over 5 kilograms of cocaine, felon in possession of a firearm, alien in possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and illegal re-entry after deportation or removal.  According to court documents, Aguilar was found in possession of over 30 kilogram-sized packages of cocaine, an UZI rifle, a revolver, and multiple rounds of ammunition.  Aguilar had been previously removed from the United States in February 2004 and again in July 2012.  Aguilar’s July 2012 removal followed his 37-month federal sentence for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute over 500 grams of cocaine.

 

Judge Bloom sentenced Aguilar to the mandatory-minimum term of 20 years in prison for the drug count, and concurrent terms of 10 years in prison on each firearms count.

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the DEA, ICE-ERO, Border Patrol, and ATF.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rinku Tribuiani.

 

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

Two treatment center owners pled guilty for their participation in a multi-million dollar health care fraud and money laundering scheme that involved the filing of fraudulent insurance claim forms and defrauded health care benefit programs.

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Jimmy Patronis, Florida Chief Financial Officer; Michael J. Waters, Special Agent in Charge, Amtrak Office of Inspector General (Amtrak-OIG); Isabel Colon, Regional Director, United States Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (DOL-EBSA); and Dennis Russo, Director of Operations, National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), made the announcement.

 

Tovah Lynn Jasperson, a/k/a Tara, 48, of Wellington, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1347; all in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.

 

Alan Martin Bostom, 75, of Wellington, pled guilty to one count of making false statements related to a health care matter, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1035(a)(1).

According to court documents, Jasperson and Bostom were the owners of Angel’s Recovery, a business with multiple locations in Palm Beach County that purportedly operated as a licensed substance abuse service provider (or treatment center) offering clinical treatment services for persons suffering from alcohol and drug addiction. Angel’s Recovery also offered medication-based treatment for opioid addiction.

 

At different times, the defendants managed all aspects of Angel’s Recovery, including hiring and firing personnel, admitting and discharging patients, and making financial decisions. To secure a steady stream of patients, the defendants established illegal kickback/bribe relationships with owners of sober homes, in exchange for referring the sober homes’ insured residents to Angel’s Recovery for treatment. Sober homes were purportedly in the business of providing safe and drug-free residences for individuals suffering from drug and alcohol addiction. The defendants provided the money used to purchase or rent several properties used as “sober homes,” although the purchase agreements or leases would bear the names of third parties.

 

The defendants and co-conspirators provided kickbacks and bribes, in the form of free or reduced rent, insurance premium payments, and other benefits to individuals with insurance who agreed to reside at the sober homes and attend drug treatment, which included regular and random drug testing (typically three or more times per week), so that members of the conspiracy could bill the testing and treatment to the residents’ insurance plans. To disguise kickbacks and bribes to patients, the defendants used a separate entity to pay insurance premiums for patients of Angel’s Recovery so that Angel’s Recovery could continue to bill the patients’ insurance companies for treatment expenses.

 

Jasperson and Bostom hired a doctor to serve as the medical director of Angel’s Recovery who frequently pre-signed prescriptions that were used to dispense controlled substances to patients of Angel’s Recovery by other employees.  After the doctor’s medical license was suspended, the defendants continued to employ him and failed to inform the Florida Department of Children and Families because it could not continue to operate as a licensed facility without a licensed medical director.

 

The defendants and co-conspirators caused the submission of insurance claims that: falsely stated the testing and treatment were medically necessary, failed to disclose that patients were referred to Angel’s Recovery in exchange for kickbacks and bribes, failed to disclose that patients were not asked to pay kickbacks and deductibles, failed to disclose that the defendants paid some patients’ insurance premiums, and failed to disclose that the prescribing physician’s license was suspended. 

 

Jasperson faces a maximum of 10 years imprisonment. Bostom faces a maximum of five years imprisonment.  Sentencing is scheduled for May 11, 2018 at 10 a.m. 

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the Greater Palm Beach Health Care Fraud Task Force. Agencies of the task force include the FBI, IRS-CI, the Florida Division of Investigative and Forensic Services, Amtrak-OIG, DOL-EBSA, and NICB. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney A. Marie Villafaña.

 

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

            Daniel John Pye, 36, an Ashdown, Arkansas, resident was sentenced to 40 years of imprisonment, to be followed by 25 years of supervised release, for traveling in foreign commerce with the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, also known as child sex tourism. 

 

            Benjamin G. Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Mark Selby, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

 

            Pye, originally of Bradenton, Florida, was convicted in November 2017, after a week-long trial before U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro, of three counts of traveling in foreign commerce with the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2423(b). 

 

            According to court records and the evidence presented at trial, Pye was a missionary who operated an orphanage in Jacmel, Haiti, from the years of 2006 through 2012.  The orphanage provided shelter, clothing, food, and school tuition to children without families and to children whose families could not afford to feed or otherwise support their children.  Pye obtained financial support for the orphanage through his connections with numerous religious organizations and other nonprofit groups in the United States.  During his time operating the orphanage, Pye would regularly sexually abuse the female residents of his orphanage, including girls as young as six years old.  As described by the Haitian victims during trial, Pye routinely sexually abuse his victims both at the orphanage and while at the beach.

 

            Since leaving Haiti, Pye resided in the Liberty Hill, Texas, Texarkana, Texas, and Ashdown, Arkansas, areas.  Prior to arriving in Haiti, Pye resided in the Bradenton and Fort Lauderdale areas of Florida.

 

            Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ben Widlanski and Ilham Hosseini.

 

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.

Healthy Meds Pharmacy Corp., a pharmacy located in Hallandale, Florida has paid the United States $350,000, to settle allegations under the False Claims Act for filling prescriptions in violation of TRICARE’s policy on telemedicine. 

 

Benjamin Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and John F. Khin, Special Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), made the announcement.

 

The settlement results from an investigation initiated by the DCIS into Healthy Meds’ alleged violations of TRICARE’s policy on telemedicine.  The United States alleged that between February 2015 and May 2015, Healthy Meds engaged in unsolicited calls to TRICARE beneficiaries, provided medically unnecessary compound medications to beneficiaries, and knowingly filled prescriptions from doctors who did not meet or properly consult with TRICARE beneficiaries.  TRICARE is the Department of Defense program that provides health care benefits to active duty service members, retired service members, and their dependents.

 

“This settlement shows our continued resolve to pursue providers who improperly provide prescription drugs resulting in significantly increased costs to taxpayers,” said Benjamin Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. 

 

Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin, Southeast Field Office, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), said, “The DoD TRICARE Program relies on health care professionals to provide the best care and services available to our military members and their families, while preserving precious taxpayer dollars.  This settlement demonstrates the effectiveness of DCIS investigations to ensure that medical providers conduct business with integrity and in full compliance with Federal laws.”

 

The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and DCIS.  The case was investigated and the settlement negotiated by Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. Spaccarotella.  The claims settled by the lawsuit are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

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

Four Peruvian citizens were indicted for their alleged involvement in a multi-billion dollar, international gold money laundering scheme. 

Randy A. Hummel, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, Carlos L. Mitchem, Regional Director, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA-Peru), Southern Cone Region, Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge,  Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Mark Selby, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, Adolphus P. Wright, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA-Miami), Miami Field Office, and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

On November 16, 2017, Pedro David Perez Miranda, a/k/a “Peter Ferrari,” a/k/a “Peter,” 57, of Lima, Gian Piere Perez Gutierrez, a/k/a “GP,” 33, of Lima, Peter Davis Perez Gutierrez, a/k/a “Peter Jr.,” 33, of Lima, and Jose Estuardo Morales Diaz, a/k/a “Pepe Morales,” 50, of Lima, were charged in a single-count Indictment for their alleged participation in a gold money laundering scheme (U.S. v. Miranda, Case No. 17-cr-20814).  Gian Piere Perez Gutierrez and Peter Davis Perez Gutierrez were arrested in connection with this scheme.

Also named in the Indictment are alleged co-conspirators Samer H. Barrage, Renato J. Rodriguez, and Juan P. Granda who previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in related case:  U.S. v. Barrage, et al., Case No. 17-cr-20215.

According to Barrage and Granda’s factual proffer in Case No. 17-cr-20215, from January 2013 through March 2017, Barrage, Rodriguez, Granda, and others conspired to purchase billions of dollars of criminally derived gold from Latin America and the Caribbean, which they believed to be or which in fact were the proceeds of unlawful criminal activities (including illegal mining, foreign bribery, foreign smuggling, foreign narcotics trafficking, and the entry of goods into the United States by false means and statements), through Elemetal LLC, a dealer in precious metals operating in the Southern District of Florida and “financial institution,” as defined in Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(c)(6)(A), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section Sections 1956(h) and 1957.

In addition, Barrage, Rodriguez, Granda, and others conspired to promote criminal activities (including illegal mining, foreign bribery, foreign smuggling, foreign narcotics trafficking, and the entry of goods into the United States by false means and statements) by transmitting billions of dollars of wire payments from the United States to Latin America and the Caribbean to promote the delivery of additional criminally derived gold, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section Sections 1956(h) and 1956(a)(2)(A). 

These cases are the result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) “Operation Arch Stanton”, 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.

Mr. Hummel commended the investigative efforts of the DEA-Peru, FBI, ICE-HSI, DEA-Miami, and IRS-CI.  Mr. Hummel also thanked the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Peruvian Government for their assistance in this matter.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francisco R. Maderal. 

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 Broward resident was sentenced to 24 months and one day in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $87,562 in restitution.

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); and Brian Swain, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office; made the announcement.

 

Woodley Louis-Jacques, 31, of Tamarac, pled guilty to one count of using unauthorized access devices and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1029(a)(2) and 1028A.

 

According to court documents, in 2014 a bank noticed suspicious activity occurring at the drive through ATM at one of its branches. Excessive withdrawals were occurring with the same cards. An individual covered the camera with what appeared to be sticky notes, and then spent long periods of time inserting multiple cards into the machine to withdraw cash. The bank records showed approximately 204 transactions (on 45 different days) and approximately $66,880, in withdrawals from 41 different cards from February 2014 to September 2014.

 

ATM videos and photos show that Louis-Jacques was the person utilizing the ATM in approximately 24 of these instances, which accounted for over 100 different transactions using approximately 26 different cards.  Louis-Jacques often withdrew funds from some of the same cards multiple times on each ATM visit. The cards were prepaid cards that allow low to moderate-income families the opportunity to load their tax refunds onto these prepaid cards.

 

Ninety-nine (99) tax returns were filed requesting refunds totaling $378,688, where the refund was directed onto the cards. The tax returns were filed using the same IRS Electronic Filing Identification Number (EFIN), and the EFIN was registered to Louis-Jacques. Law enforcement interviewed some of the victims whose identities were used for the filing of federal tax returns that directed associated tax refunds to the prepaid cards. None of these individuals knew Louis-Jacques or authorized this activity.

 

On August 1, 2014, Louis-Jacques was the passenger in a vehicle stopped by law enforcement in Georgia for travelling at a high rate of speed. During a vehicle search, law enforcement found multiple phones, a laptop, a black wallet with Louis-Jacques’s identification card and a prepaid card issued in another individual’s name. Behind the glove box was a folder containing numerous printed screenshots of personal identifying information (approximately 200 names and social security numbers) that appeared to be a customer list from tax software.

 

After the defendant was arrested on September 21, 2017, he admitted his participation in the scheme and that he was the only one who filed taxes from that EFIN.

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI and the USSS.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cynthia R. Wood.

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 Lauderhill, Florida, resident was sentenced to 48 months in prison for his role in a stolen identity refund fraud scheme, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting United States Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg of the Southern District of Florida.

 

            According to documents and information provided to the court, from approximately 2008 through January 2015, in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, Evens Julien, 53, and others, used stolen IDs, including the personal identifying information of prisoners and deceased individuals, to file over 2,000 tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  These fraudulent returns sought more than $2 million in refunds.  Julien and his co-conspirators recruited others to obtain Electronic Filing Identification Numbers from the IRS in their names and used the EFINs to file the fraudulent returns.  They directed the refunds to debit cards and treasury checks and had them mailed to South Florida addresses.  They then cashed the fraudulently obtained refund checks at check cashing stores and used Western Union and ATMs to withdraw the funds.   

 

            Julien pleaded guilty in October to conspiring to defraud the IRS, commit wire fraud, and commit aggravated identity theft and aggravated identity theft.  In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Judge Federico A. Moreno ordered Julien to serve four years of supervised release and to pay $1,169,000 in restitution to the IRS.

 

            Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and Acting U.S. Attorney Greenberg commended special agents of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Karadbil of the Southern District of Florida and Assistant Chief Greg Tortella of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

 

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

A Lauderhill, Florida, resident was sentenced to 48 months in prison for his role in a stolen identity refund fraud scheme, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting United States Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg of the Southern District of Florida.

 

According to documents and information provided to the court, from approximately 2008 through January 2015, in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, Evens Julien, 53, and others, used stolen IDs, including the personal identifying information of prisoners and deceased individuals, to file over 2,000 tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  These fraudulent returns sought more than $2 million in refunds.  Julien and his co-conspirators recruited others to obtain Electronic Filing Identification Numbers from the IRS in their names and used the EFINs to file the fraudulent returns.  They directed the refunds to debit cards and treasury checks and had them mailed to South Florida addresses.  They then cashed the fraudulently obtained refund checks at check cashing stores and used Western Union and ATMs to withdraw the funds.   

 

Julien pleaded guilty in October to conspiring to defraud the IRS, commit wire fraud, and commit aggravated identity theft and aggravated identity theft.  In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Judge Federico A. Moreno ordered Julien to serve four years of supervised release and to pay $1,169,000 in restitution to the IRS.

 

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and Acting U.S. Attorney Greenberg commended special agents of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Karadbil of the Southern District of Florida and Assistant Chief Greg Tortella of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

 

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

Robert Charles Brady, 36, of Fort Lauderdale, was arrested after being charged for wire fraud, filing false records in federal investigation and operating an aircraft without an airman’s certificate.  U.S. Magistrate Judge Dave Lee Brannon ordered that Brady be detained.

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Marlies T. Gonzalez, Regional Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of the Inspector General (DOT-OIG), made the announcement.

 

As alleged in the Indictment, from 2012 to October 2017, Brady owned Beach Aviation, formerly located in Pompano and Boca Raton.  It is alleged that Brady operated an illegal charter air carrier service and flight school in which Brady and his employees chartered flights to and from Bahamas and other destinations in the United States without authorization from the FAA.  In addition, Brady falsified records seeking a second-in-command rating on a convair jet and claimed to be certified flight instructor on student logbooks, which were relied upon by students and FAA to verify flight hours for FAA pilot certifications and ratings.

 

The Indictment charges Brady with 56 separate counts.  If convicted, Brady faces a maximum sentence of 20 years on each of the 12 counts of wire fraud, 20 years on each of the 17 counts of filing false records in a federal investigation, and three years on each of the 27 counts of operating an aircraft without an airman’s certificate.

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of DOT-OIG and the Federal Aviation Administration.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Behnke.

 

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

 

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

Three Miami-Dade residents were sentenced today for their roles in a conspiracy to defraud the United States and to illegally export aviation parts and equipment to Syria, contrary to comprehensive U.S. economic sanctions against Syria, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371 and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), Title 50, United States Code, Sections 1701-1706. The exports were sent to Syrian Arab Airlines, a/k/a “Syrian Air” (Syrian Air).  Syrian Air had been designated as a Specially Designated National (SDN) by the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), meaning that U.S. persons and entities were prohibited from doing business with Syrian Air without a license.

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Dana J. Boente, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s National Security Division, Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Robert Luzzi, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement (DOC), Miami Field Office, and the members of the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force, made the announcement. 

 

Ali Caby, a/k/a “Alex Caby”, 40, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Beth Bloom to 24 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.  Co-defendant Arash Caby, a/k/a “Axel Caby”, 43, was sentenced to 24 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release and a $10,000 fine.  Co-defendant Marjan Caby, 34, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.  The defendants had previously pled guilty to the charged conspiracy to violate IEEPA by exporting dual-use goods, that is, articles that have both civilian and military application, without a license to Syrian Air, the Syrian government’s airline, which is an entity designated and blocked by OFAC for transporting weapons and ammunition to Syria in conjunction with Hizballah, a terrorist organization, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 

 

Ali Caby ran the Bulgaria office of AW-Tronics, a Miami export company that was managed by Arash Caby, and which shipped and exported various aircraft parts and equipment to Syrian Arab Airlines.  Ali Caby and Arash Caby closely supervised and encouraged subordinate employees of AW-Tronics in the willful exportation of the parts and equipment to SDN Syrian Air, whose activities have assisted the Syrian government’s violent crackdown on its people.  Marjan Caby, as AW-Tronics’ export compliance officer and auditor, facilitated these exports by submitting false and misleading electronic export information to federal agencies. 

 

            Mr. Greenberg and Mr. Boente commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, DOC, Department of Homeland Security (HSI), Defense Criminal Investigative Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ricardo Del Toro and Michael Thakur and Trial Attorney Matthew Walczewski of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security 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 on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A former chief financial officer for Bankrate Inc., a publicly traded financial services and marketing company headquartered in North Palm Beach, Florida, was charged in an indictment unsealed today for his alleged participation in a complex accounting and securities fraud scheme.

 

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin Greenberg of the Southern District of Florida and Inspector in Charge Regina Faulkerson of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigations Group made the announcement.

 

Edward J. DiMaria, 52, of Fairfield County, Connecticut, was charged in an indictment filed in the Southern District of Florida with one count of conspiracy to make false statements to a public company’s accountants and to falsify a public company’s books, records and accounts; six counts of false entries in a public company’s books, records and accounts; three counts of false statements to a public company’s accountants; one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud; one count of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud.  DiMaria, who previously worked at Bankrate’s offices in New York City, made his initial appearance earlier today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin G. Torres of the Southern District of Florida and was released on bond.

 

“The deceptive accounting practices that Edward DiMaria allegedly engaged in can cause real financial harm to investors, along with broader reputational harm to U.S. markets and our country,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan.  “Safeguarding the integrity of our markets – while holding responsible those executives who refuse to follow the rule of law – are important priorities for the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners.”

 

“This type of sophisticated financial fraud scheme can have a negative impact on the financial markets in the United States and around the world,” said Inspector in Charge Faulkerson.  “Anyone who engages in such conduct should know they will not go undetected and be held accountable.  The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has an extensive history of investigating complex financial fraud schemes in order to protect investors as well as the integrity of the financial marketplace from fraudulent activities by trusted insiders who abuse their positions.”

 

The indictment alleges that between 2011 and 2014, DiMaria and his co-conspirators carried out a complex scheme to manipulate Bankrate’s financial statements and artificially inflate Bankrate’s earnings.  According to the indictment, DiMaria and his co-conspirators allegedly engaged in so-called “cookie jar” or “cushion” accounting where over a million dollars in unsupported expense accruals were left on Bankrate’s books and then selectively reversed in later quarters to meet earnings goals.  In addition, DiMaria and his co-conspirators allegedly misrepresented certain company expenses as “deal costs” in order to artificially inflate publicly reported adjusted earnings metrics, and made materially false statements to conceal the improper accounting entries from Bankrate’s auditors, shareholders and the investing public.  The indictment further alleges that while Mr. DiMaria was misleading Bankrate’s auditors and the public about the company’s financial condition he realized millions of dollars from selling his own shares of Bankrate stock. 

 

An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless  proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. 

 

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington, D.C. Division investigated the case.  Assistant Chief Henry Van Dyck and Trial Attorneys Emily Scruggs and Jason Covert of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case with assistance from the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.  The Securities and Exchange Commission also provided assistance in this matter.

            A Florida escort service owner has been charged in an indictment for allegedly filing fraudulent corporate and individual income tax returns. 

 

            Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement.

 

            On December 19, Dennis Zarudny, 39, of Miami Beach, was charged in an eight count indictment with making and subscribing a false tax return, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206(1), and aiding and abetting the filing of a false tax return, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206(2).  If convicted, Zarudny faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison for each count.  He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

 

            According to the indictment, Zarudny owns Denzar, Inc., which does business as Elite Escort Service, and is located in Miami.  The indictment alleges that according to Denzar’s internet website, Denzar was a “prestigious escort agency providing 24 hour outcall escort services & adult entertainment for upscale gentlemen and couples in South Florida.”  The indictment further alleges that from 2011 through 2014 Zarudny filed with the IRS fraudulent corporate and personal income tax returns that underreported his business gross receipts and the income he earned from the business. 

 

            Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joshua S. Rothstein and Trial Attorney Grace Albinson of the Tax Division.

 

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

 

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

Glades Drugs, Inc., a pharmacy located in Palm Beach County, Florida has agreed to pay the United States $300,000, to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by waiving or failing to collect required copayments from Medicare and TRICARE beneficiaries. 

 

Benjamin Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Shimon R. Richmond, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and John F. Khin, Special Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), made the announcement.

 

The allegations arose from a lawsuit filed by a whistleblower, Elvens Vertus, under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  Under the False Claims Act, private citizens can bring suit on behalf of the government for false claims and share in any recovery.  Relator Vertus is a licensed pharmacy technician who worked at Glades Drugs in 2014 and 2015.  As set forth in the settlement agreement between the parties, the United States alleged that between July 2014 and May 2015, Glades Drugs waived or failed to collect required copayments from beneficiaries to induce beneficiaries to accept prescription medications that generated reimbursements from Medicare and TRICARE.

 

The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, HHS-OIG, and DCIS.  The case was investigated and the settlement negotiated by Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. Spaccarotella and HHS-OIG Senior Counsel Felicia Heimer.

 

The case is captioned United States of America ex. rel. Elvens Vertus v. Glades Drugs, Inc., et al., Case No. 15-CV-81627 (S.D. Fla.), and was before The Honorable Donald M. Middlebrooks.  The claims settled by the lawsuit are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

 

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

A Hialeah woman was sentenced to 36 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for embezzling over $2.6 million from local business.  

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement. 

Carmen Silvia Rodriguez, 55, previously pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343. 

According to the charging document, from April 2010 through May 2016, Rodriguez worked for Starboard Cruise Services, Inc. (“SCS”), a Florida company that operates tax- and duty-free retail stores aboard cruise ships. 

During the course of the scheme, Rodriguez worked as a supervisor in SCS’s Finance and Administration Department. There, Rodriguez accessed company records related to two former SCS vendors (“SCS Vendor #1” and “SCS Vendor #2”) and added her own bank account information to the two vendors’ accounts. SCS Vendor #1 and SCS Vendor #2 did not do business with SCS after 2010. 

Between April 1, 2010, and May 31, 2016, Rodriguez created false internal invoices that inflated the price of certain products purchased by SCS, often by overstating the shipping and handling costs associated with SCS’s purchase of the products. Rodriguez also created false internal invoices that purportedly reflected the purchase of certain products by SCS. For each of the inflated and/or false internal invoices, Rodriguez created a false purchase order, listing either SCS Vendor #1 or SCS Vendor #2 as the payee, for the difference between the money actually owed to the vendor, if any, and the inflated and/or false invoice price. 

By creating the false purchase orders and making them payable to SCS Vendor #1 and/or SCS Vendor #2, Rodriguez caused approximately $2,669,372.30, in electronic Automated Clearinghouse payments to be transmitted from SCS’s bank account to Rodriguez’s personal bank accounts.  

At sentencing, Rodriguez was ordered to pay restitution to SCS in the amount of $2,669,372.30. 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the FBI.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Browne.

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 former employee of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) was sentenced today to 57 months in prison for accepting bribes in exchange for providing confidential information about health care facilities that received Medicare and Medicaid funds.

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.

Bertha Blanco, 66, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro of the Southern District of Florida.  Judge Ungaro also ordered Blanco to pay $441,000 in restitution and to forfeit $100,000, which represents the gross proceeds traced to Blanco’s commission of the offense.  Blanco pleaded guilty on Oct. 13 to one count of bribery concerning a program receiving federal funds. 

AHCA’s Division of Health Quality Assurance is responsible for the licensure and regulation of health care facilities in Florida that receive Medicare and Medicaid funds, including skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), assisted living facilities (ALFs) and home health agencies (HHAs).  As part of her guilty plea, Blanco, who was employed by AHCA for approximately 30 years, admitted that, from at least 2007 through June 2015, she solicited and received thousands of dollars of cash bribes from Miami-area owners of SNFs, ALFs and HHAs, and intermediaries working with them, in exchange for providing the purchasers with sensitive, nonpublic AHCA reports and information related to their facilities.  The information included the schedules of future unannounced inspections by AHCA surveyors and previously undisclosed patient complaints filed with AHCA.  Blanco knew that the information she provided in exchange for bribes could ultimately be used to fabricate and falsify medical paperwork and to temporarily remedy deficiencies so that AHCA would not discover lapses in patient care and revoke the licenses of the facilities that had received the information.

The purchasers of information provided by Blanco included Philip Esformes, Isabel Lopez, Gustavo Mustelier, Gabriel Delgado, Guillermo Delgado, and Sila Luis.  Esformes is awaiting trial, presently scheduled for March 2018, on numerous charges related to health care fraud, wire fraud, kickbacks, money laundering, bribery, and obstruction of justice.  Lopez and Mustelier pleaded guilty in May 2017 to conspiracy to defraud the United States and are awaiting sentencing.  Gabriel Delgado pleaded guilty in 2015 to money laundering and was sentenced to 55 months in prison.  Guillermo Delgado pleaded guilty in 2015 to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and was sentenced to 110 months in prison.  Luis pleaded guilty in June 2017 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and was sentenced to 80 months in prison.

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated this case.  Trial Attorneys David Snider, Elizabeth Young and Drew Bradylyons of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

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

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which is part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.  The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operates in nine locations nationwide.  Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has charged over 3,500 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for over $12.5 billion.

A former employee of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) was sentenced today to 57 months in prison for accepting bribes in exchange for providing confidential information about health care facilities that received Medicare and Medicaid funds.

 

Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg of the Southern District of Florida, Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.

 

Bertha Blanco, 66, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro of the Southern District of Florida.  Judge Ungaro also ordered Blanco to pay $441,000 in restitution and to forfeit $100,000, which represents the gross proceeds traced to Blanco’s commission of the offense.  Blanco pleaded guilty on Oct. 13 to one count of bribery concerning a program receiving federal funds. 

 

AHCA’s Division of Health Quality Assurance is responsible for the licensure and regulation of health care facilities in Florida that receive Medicare and Medicaid funds, including skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), assisted living facilities (ALFs) and home health agencies (HHAs).  As part of her guilty plea, Blanco, who was employed by AHCA for approximately 30 years, admitted that, from at least 2007 through June 2015, she solicited and received thousands of dollars of cash bribes from Miami-area owners of SNFs, ALFs and HHAs, and intermediaries working with them, in exchange for providing the purchasers with sensitive, nonpublic AHCA reports and information related to their facilities.  The information included the schedules of future unannounced inspections by AHCA surveyors and previously undisclosed patient complaints filed with AHCA.  Blanco knew that the information she provided in exchange for bribes could ultimately be used to fabricate and falsify medical paperwork and to temporarily remedy deficiencies so that AHCA would not discover lapses in patient care and revoke the licenses of the facilities that had received the information.

 

The purchasers of information provided by Blanco included Philip Esformes, Isabel Lopez, Gustavo Mustelier, Gabriel Delgado, Guillermo Delgado, and Sila Luis.  Esformes is awaiting trial, presently scheduled for March 2018, on numerous charges related to health care fraud, wire fraud, kickbacks, money laundering, bribery, and obstruction of justice.  Lopez and Mustelier pleaded guilty in May 2017 to conspiracy to defraud the United States and are awaiting sentencing.  Gabriel Delgado pleaded guilty in 2015 to money laundering and was sentenced to 55 months in prison.  Guillermo Delgado pleaded guilty in 2015 to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and was sentenced to 110 months in prison.  Luis pleaded guilty in June 2017 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and was sentenced to 80 months in prison.

 

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated this case.  Trial Attorneys David Snider, Elizabeth Young and Drew Bradylyons of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

 

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

 

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which is part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.  The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operates in nine locations nationwide.  Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has charged over 3,500 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for over $12.5 billion.

 

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 Hollywood resident was sentenced yesterday to 24 months imprisonment for access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Mark Selby, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), and Dexter M. Williams, Chief, Miramar Police Department, made the announcement. 

 

Frantz Felix, Jr., 23, of Hollywood, was convicted at trial of one count of use of one or more unauthorized access devices to obtain anything of value aggregating $1,000 or more, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(2), and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1). 

 

The evidence at trial established that between September 20, 2012 and September 24, 2012, Felix used a fraudulent credit card to obtain more than $5,000 in merchandise from vendors in Miami-Dade County. 

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI and the Miramar Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Yeney Hernandez and Joshua Rothstein.

 

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

Teresa Thompson, 59, of Fort Lauderdale, was sentenced to 32 months imprisonment, for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Mark Selby, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), and W. Howard Harrison, Chief, Plantation Police Department, made the announcement. 

 

Teresa Thompson was convicted at trial of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, four counts of bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344, and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1). 

 

The evidence at trial established that between October 24, 2016 and November 29, 2016, Thompson signed and deposited over $28,000 in stolen checks into her TD Bank account.  Thompson received the checks from co-conspirator Thomas Lee Souffrant, who stole the checks from mailboxes in Plantation and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI and the Plantation Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joshua S. Rothstein and David Turken. 

 

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 Colorado registered stock transfer agent and a California securities attorney were charged with conspiracy to unlawfully sell unregistered securities in connection with a scheme to fraudulently register shell companies with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), issue a class of free-trading shares in the companies that the conspirators secretly controlled, and sell the shares to the investing public at a profit.  To date, twelve defendants have been charged in connection with the Shell Factory Fraud investigation.

 

            Randy A. Hummel, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Washington Field Office, and Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

 

John Ahearn, 56, of Erie, Colorado and formerly of Miller Place, New York, and Andrew H. Wilson, 69, of Nevada City, California, were charged by criminal information with one count of conspiracy to unlawfully sell unregistered securities, in violation of Title 15, United States Code, Sections 77e(a)(1), 77e(a)(2), and 77x, and Title 17, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 230.144, all in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, in Case No. 17-20883-CR-KMW.  The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams in Miami.  Each defendant faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 or double the proceeds of the offense. 

 

Ten defendants were previously charged in connection with the Shell Factory Fraud investigation: James Schneider, Case No. 17-20712-CR-FAM; Myron Gushlak and Yelena Furman, Case No. 17-20713-CMA; David Lubin, Case No. 17-20508-CR-MGC;  Sheldon Rose and Ian Kass, Case No. 16-20706-CR-JEM; Steven Sanders and Alvin Mirman, Case No. 16-20572-CR-CMA; and Daniel McKelvey and Jeffrey Lamson, Case No. 16-20546-CR-RNS. 

 

According to court documents, from early 2007 through at least 2014, Sanders, McKelvey, Lubin and other conspirators would fraudulently create public companies, known as issuers, by filing documents with the SEC that falsely described the the companies and their share ownership.  These documents would indicate that the companies were controlled by a nominee, or straw chief executive officer (CEO).  The straw CEO would be listed as the owner of the control block, or restricted shares, but in reality the companies were controlled by the principals.  The principals would also create documents with the names of various shareholders for each company, to make it appear that these shares were owned by persons unaffiliated with the company.  These shares would later be classified as unrestricted or “free trading.”  Thereafter, the principals would sell the companies to criminal actors who would secretly obtain the control shares and the purported “free trading” shares, without disclosure to the SEC or the investing public.  This would allow the buyers to engage in stock manipulation schemes using the purported “free trading” shares.  According to the information, Ahearn and Wilson, both securities industry professionals, joined in the conspiracy in order to unlawfully obtain fees and future business from the issuers.

 

According to the information, Ahearn was the owner of Manhattan Transfer Registrar Co. (“Manhattan Transfer”), a stock transfer agent with offices in New York and Colorado.  Ahearn specialized in penny stock transfer services, and was responsible for keeping track of the status of shares (restricted or free trading) as well as share ownership.  Ahearn and Manhattan Transfer became the stock transfer agent for Entertainment Art, Inc. (“EERT”) in 2008, and became aware that the shares were listed in the names of straw shareholders but were in fact controlled by the principals.  During the conspiracy, according to the information, Ahearn agreed to assist Sanders, McKelvey and Lubin with transferring the shares of issuers they controlled, knowing that these shares were unlawfully classified as unrestricted.  By 2012, EERT was secretly controlled by Myron Gushlak, who was serving a federal prison sentence for a separate pump and dump scheme.  In approximately October 2012, Ahearn assisted with the unlawful transfer of the EERT shares to certain shell buyers, who changed the name to Biozoom, Inc. (“BIZM”) and, in May 2013, used the BIZM shares for a massive pump and dump stock swindle.  Ahearn assisted Sanders and McKelvey with stock transfer services with other issuers as well, for shares that Ahearn knew were secretly controlled by Sanders and McKelvey but were listed in the names of various nominee shareholders.

 

Wilson, according to the information, was an attorney licensed to practice law in California who authored false and fraudulent legal opinion letters for EERT, as well as certain other issuers at the request of Sanders and McKelvey.  These letters falsely stated that shares of the companies were owned by persons who were not “affiliates,” and were used by persons who acquired the shares to deposit them with brokers and unlawfully them to the investing public.  In reality, Wilson took his direction from Sanders and McKelvey, whom Wilson came to learn secretly controlled the companies.  In certain instances, Wilson performed so-called escrow services for the sale of shares, knowing that these share sales were part of the unlawful sale of all or nearly all of the shares of the companies but without the required disclosure to the SEC and the investing public.  The actions of Ahearn and Wilson, along with their conspirators, allowed the shares of the companies to be utilized for pump and dump stock swindles or other manipulation schemes.

 

Mr. Hummel commended the investigative efforts and coordination of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and Miami Field Office.  Mr. Hummel also thanked the SEC’s Miami Regional Office and Washington Home Office for their assistance.  The SEC previously filed parallel civil enforcement actions against McKelvey, Sanders, Mirman, Rose, Kass, Lubin, Schneider, Lamson and Wilson.  This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerrob Duffy.

 

An criminal information merely contains allegations and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

 

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

On December 8, 2017, Jose Pablo Ortiz-Santizo, 32, of Miami, was sentenced to 151 months (12.5 years) imprisonment for trafficking “crystal” methamphetamine, which is a nearly pure form of the drug. 

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Adolphus P. Wright, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, and Scott Israel, Sheriff, Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), made the announcement.

 

On September 27, 2017, a jury convicted Ortiz-Santizo for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

 

Between December 2016 and February 2017, the DEA, in conjunction with the Broward County Drug Task Force (BCDTF), conducted an investigation into Ortiz-Santizo’s methamphetamine-trafficking activities.  During this period, a BCDTF confidential source conducted controlled purchases of methamphetamine from Ortiz-Santizo.  Specifically, on December 10, 2016, the confidential source purchased 82.9 net grams (about 3 ounces) of 98% pure methamphetamine for $1.950 from Ortiz-Santizo in Miami.  One gram of methamphetamine approximately constitutes a personal use amount.  Ortiz-Santizo obtained two of the three ounces he sold to the confidential source from Ulysses Guevara-Ocana, 31, of Los Angeles, California.  On July 28, 2017, Guevara-Ocana was sentenced to 120 months imprisonment for methamphetamine trafficking. 

 

On January 11, 2017, the confidential source purchased 54.2 net grams (about 2 ounces) of 98% pure methamphetamine for $1,300 from Ortiz-Santizo.  On that occasion, Ortiz-Santizo directed the confidential source to meet Ortiz-Santizo’s brother near a Checker’s restaurant in Miami to consummate the drug deal.  In addition, on February 16, 2017, while attempting to assist Ortiz-Santizo in his disabled vehicle on I-95 North in Miami, a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) officer seized 111.6 net grams (about 4 ounces) of 99% pure methamphetamine from him.

 

Additional evidence at trial disclosed that Ortiz-Santizo transported significant quantities of “crystal” methamphetamine from southern California to south Florida for further distribution.  The trial evidence also established that given the purity of the methamphetamine it likely originated in Mexico and was smuggled into the United States across the southwest border.

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the DEA, BSO and FHP.  This case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Brady, Jr.

 

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.

The owner and operator of a defunct Miami, Florida home health agency was sentenced to 115 months in prison today for his role in a $15 million conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program. 

 

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Brian Swain of the U.S. Secret Service’s (USSS) Miami Field Office made the announcement.

 

Yunesky Fornaris, 38, of Miami, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard of the Southern District of Florida, who also ordered Fornaris to pay $15.1 million in restitution and forfeit the gross proceeds traced to the offense.  Fornaris pleaded guilty on Oct. 3 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

 

As part of his guilty plea, Fornaris admitted that between April 2010 and July 2016, he owned, controlled, and managed the business at Elite Home Care LLC (Elite), and that he and his co-conspirators submitted false and fraudulent home health care claims from Elite to the Medicare program via interstate wire.  Fornaris further admitted to concealing his true ownership interest in Elite by not listing his ownership interest on the Medicare enrollment application and to enlisting patient recruiters to recruit patients to Elite in exchange for illegal bribes and kickbacks.

 

Fornaris admitted that he knew or had reason to believe that most of Elite’s patients were not eligible to receive home health services because they were not homebound.  Had Medicare known that Fornaris paid bribes and kickbacks to attract beneficiaries to Elite, Medicare would not have paid any claims submitted on behalf of those beneficiaries.     

 

The FBI, HHS-OIG and USSS investigated this case.  Senior Litigation Counsel John A. Michelich and Trial Attorney Adam G. Yoffie of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa H. Miller of the Southern District of Florida, a former Fraud Section trial attorney, prosecuted the case.

 

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force.  Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 3,500 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $12.5 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

Two Martin County residents were indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury for producing child pornography. One was also charged with the distribution of child pornography.

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Ken Mascara, Sheriff, St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office (SLCSO), and William D. Snyder, Sheriff, Martin County Sheriff's Office (MCSO), made the announcement. 

 

Joshua Lane Rogers, 34, and Richard William Lockley, 34, both of Stuart, were charged in a superseding indictment.  Both defendants have been detained pending trial as a risk of flight and danger to the community.

 

More specifically, the 10 count superseding indictment charges Rogers with five counts of production of visual depictions of sexual exploitation of minors, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2251(a) and (e); and five counts of distribution production of visual depictions of sexual exploitation of minors, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, 2252(a)(2) and (b)(1). Lockley is charged together with Rogers in one count of production of visual depictions of sexual exploitation of minors.  If convicted of the production or distribution charges, Rogers and Lockley face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years up to 30 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release, and mandatory sex offender registration.

 

According to the criminal complaints filed in this matter, on September 3, 2017, SLCSO deputies responded to a “Missing Person Juvenile/ Runaway” call for a missing 16-year-old minor.   On September 27, 2017, Rogers was arrested when he was located at a Stuart Dunkin Donuts with the minor victim.  After meeting her online, Rogers offered the minor victim to come live with him.  A forensic analysis of Roger’s cellular smart phone revealed that Rogers had recorded sexually explicit activity with the minor victim on numerous occasions, using his cellular smartphone.  Detectives later discovered that Rogers distributed several of the images and videos to other individuals, via MMS text communications, and a social media networking program. Detectives found that Rogers and another male produced a video of sexually explicit conduct and activity with the minor victim.  MCSO detectives identified this male to be Lockley and arrested him on November 15, 2017.  Detectives executed a federal search warrant on Lockley’s cellular smartphone, locating videos of Rogers and Lockley engaged in sexually explicit activity with the victim, produced inside of Rogers’ Martin County residence.

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, SLCSO and the MCSO for their work on this case.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Lineberger.

 

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

 

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

A Port St. Lucie resident was sentenced to life in prison for producing and distributing child pornography, coercing minors to produce child pornography, and possessing child pornography.

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Mark Selby, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), made the announcement.

 

Scott Joseph Trader, 32, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, previously pled guilty to enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b); distribution of material containing visual depictions of sexual exploitation of minors, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2252(a)(2) & (b)(1); possession of matter containing visual depictions of sexual exploitation of minors, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2252(a)(4)(B) & (b)(2); and production of material containing visual depictions of sexual exploitation of minors, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C §§ 2251(a) & (e) (Case No. 17-CR-14047-Middlebrooks).   

 

            According to court records, since at least November 2014 through May 31, 2017, Trader video recorded himself sexually abusing two minor girls entrusted to his care, one of whom was two years old.  Trader also coerced dozens of minor victims online to send him child pornography using social media applications and collected vast amounts of child pornography from the internet, including the sexual abuse of infants and toddlers, sadism and masochism, and bestiality.  Trader distributed large amounts of child pornography over the internet to adults and to minor victims as young as eight years old, which included the videos/images of the defendant’s own sexual abuse of 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.

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigation efforts of ICE-HSI, ICE-HSI in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and the Port Saint Lucie Police Department.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Marton Gyires.

 

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.

On November 28, 2017, Oreste Abreu, 50, of Hialeah, was sentenced to 51 months imprisonment, and Daniel Lezcano-Morejon, 39, of Hialeah, to 46 months imprisonment, for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute the opioid hydromorphone. 

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Adolphus P. Wright, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, and Juan J. Perez, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), made the announcement. 

 

Abreu and Lezcano-Morejon previously pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute hydromorphone.  Hydromorphone, sold under the brand name Diluadid, is an opioid that has contributed to the current crisis involving this class of drugs.

 

Between March 21, 2012 and August 16, 2012, DEA, in coordination with MDPD, conducted controlled purchases of hydromorphone pills from Abreu and Lezcano-Morejon.  During this period, on various occasions, an undercover MDPD detective purchased hydromorphone pills from Abreu, typically at Abreu’s south Florida residence.  Specifically, on March 21, 2012, the undercover officer purchased 100 pills from Abreu for $1,200; on April 18, 2012, the undercover officer purchased 200 pills from Abreu for $2,400; and on May 31, 2012, the undercover officer purchased 200 pills from Abreu for $2,600.  On each of these occasions, Lezcano-Morejon supplied Abreu the hydromorphone pills.  In addition, on July 6, 2012, the undercover officer purchased 100 hydromorphone pills from Abreu for $1,300 at a Wal-Mart parking lot in Hialeah; and on August 16, 2012, the undercover officer purchased 230 hydromorphone pills from Abreu for $3,000 at Abreu’s residence. 

 

During that same time, law enforcement also intercepted Abreu’s phone conversations.  The interceptions often involved Abreu requesting pills from either Lezcano-Morejon or other drug sources-of-supply for further illicit distribution.

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the DEA and MDPD.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Brady.

 

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

Joseph Hilton, a/k/a Joseph Yurkin, a/k/a Joseph Starr, 57, of Lake Worth, and Adam Forman, 48, of Coconut Creek, were sentenced today to 63 months imprisonment for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  The court also ordered Hilton to pay $1.4 million in restitution, and ordered forfeiture in the amount of $1.4 million and $600,000 against Hilton and Forman, respectively.

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Brian Swain, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS), and Tony Pustizzi, Chief, Coral Springs Police Department, made the announcement. 

 

According to the allegations contained in the Information, from in or about September 2013, and continuing through in or around August 2016, Hilton and Forman operated a series of businesses purporting to be law firms, legal referral firms, or providers of support services to law firms (collectively, the “Foreclosure Firms”).  Mortgage holders were contacted by the defendants and falsely told that the Foreclosure Firms could provide legal assistance with mortgage modifications and foreclosure defense.

 

The defendants represented, inter alia, that (i) the Foreclosure Firms were law firms comprised of licensed attorneys, (ii) the attorneys were experienced and highly skilled at halting the foreclosure process and enabling mortgage holders to stay in their homes, and (iii) the attorneys could reduce the principal and monthly payments on the mortgage holder’s loan.

 

Moreover, in order to disguise the Foreclosure Firms as law firms with licensed attorneys, Hilton and Forman hired attorneys for limited purposes, such as document review, without advising them of the false and fraudulent statements being made to the mortgage holders.  Employees of the Foreclosure Firms created letters and legal pleadings using the attorneys’ names without the attorneys’ review, knowledge or consent.  The total loss amount is approximately $2,000,000.

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of USSS and the Coral Springs Police Department.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert Juman. 

 

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.

Gerald Petion, 33, of Delray Beach, was sentenced by United States District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg to 240 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release for being an armed career criminal in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Peter J. Forcelli, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Ric L. Bradshaw, Sheriff, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO), and Jeffrey S. Goldman, Chief, Delray Beach Police Department (DBPD), made the announcement.

            Petion was prosecuted under the federal Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), which provides for an enhanced sentence for persons with at least three prior felony convictions for violent felonies or serious drug trafficking crimes.

            According to court documents, on March 14, 2016, DBPD Officers responded to a heroin overdose in the City of Delray Beach. The victim, who was in extreme respiratory distress, survived the incident, and once revived, cooperated with law enforcement officials.  Petion was identified as the street level heroin dealer and DBPD initiated a narcotics investigation.  After multiple undercover purchases of heroin, DBPD obtained an arrest warrant for Petion for two counts of sale of heroin within 1,000 feet of a park.

On April 15, 2016, DBPD Officers located Petion.  Petion refused to surrender and instead fled from the scene on foot.  As Petion fled he dropped a fully loaded FN Herstal, Model Five-seveN, 5.7 x 28 mm, semi-automatic pistol.

On April 24, 2016, DBPD Officers located Petion and after a brief standoff, he surrendered to the officers.  Petion was arrested for his outstanding felony warrants.

Prior to his commission of both offenses, Petion had three separate prior felony convictions for aggravated battery, one prior felony conviction for trafficking in cocaine, and one prior felony conviction for delivery of Oxycodone within a 1,000 feet of a school. As a consequence, Petion was subject to the enhanced sentencing provisions of ACCA.

            This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the anti-gang, anti-gun violence initiative of the United States Department of Justice. This program emphasizes and facilitates cooperative federal, state and local prosecution of firearm crimes, violent criminals, repeat violent offenders and gang related criminal activity.

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of ATF, PBSO, and DBPD.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. McMillan.   

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 dual citizen of Australia and the United Kingdom pled guilty to transporting stolen gold and silver collectible coins in interstate and foreign commerce.

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney of the Southern District of Florida, Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Thomas Robarge, Special Agent in Charge, United States Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS), Southeast Region, made the announcement. 

 

            Lewis Bennett, 40, of Delray Beach, pled guilty to one count of transporting stolen property valued at $5,000 or more in interstate or foreign commerce.  Sentencing is scheduled for February 12, 2018, before United States District Judge James Lawrence King in Key West, Florida.  At sentencing, Bennett faces a statutory maximum of ten years in prison.

 

According to court documents, including the agreed upon factual proffer, Bennett knowingly transported stolen gold and silver coins from St. Maarten to the United States.  In May 2016, Bennett was serving as a crewmember on board a sailing vessel, KITTY R.  On or about May 5, 2016, collectible gold and silver coins were stolen from KITTY R while the vessel was located in St. Maarten.  Bennett knew the location where the coins were located on KITTY R and filed a police report in St. Maarten concerning the stolen coins.

 

In the early morning of May 15, 2017, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) received an emergency alert approximately 26 nautical miles from Cay Sal Bank, Bahamas, in international waters.   An USCG helicopter ultimately rescued Bennett from a life raft and transferred him to an airport in Marathon, Florida.  Bennett reported to the USCG that he had been on board an approximately 40-foot catamaran with his wife, and deployed his life raft after his catamaran began taking on water. 

 

Collectible coins stolen from KITTY R were recovered from Bennett’s life raft and his residence in Palm Beach County, Florida.  As of May 15, 2017, the market value of the recovered gold and silver coins was approximately $38,480.00.  Bennett had knowingly transported these coins from St. Maarten to the United States.

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and CGIS in this matter.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt K. Lunkenheimer and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily A. Rose. 

 

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.

Express Plus Pharmacy, LLC, a pharmacy that operated in Davie, Florida and its owner, Antonio Primo, have agreed to pay $170,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting fraudulent claims to Tricare for compounded medications such as pain creams, the United States Attorney’s Office announced today. 

            “This case demonstrates the United States Attorney’s Office’s commitment to combat compounding pharmacy fraud, which targets federal health care programs and especially TRICARE,” said Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.  “Our office will aggressively pursue those who abuse federal health care programs for personal profit.”

As set forth in the settlement agreement between the parties, the United States alleged that, between January and May, 2015, Express Plus Pharmacy knowingly submitted claims to TRICARE for compounded medications that were not reimbursable because they were not issued pursuant to valid physician-patient relationships; the prescriptions were issued after brief phone calls with patients that violated applicable law on telemedicine; the prescriptions were medically unnecessary; and/or the prescriptions were tainted by kickbacks to marketers. This settlement, which was based on the defendants’ ability to pay, resolves these allegations as to prescriptions written by one physician.

“The Defense Criminal Investigative Service is committed to protecting the integrity of the U.S. military health care program to provide top quality medical care to America’s warfighters and their families, while ensuring that health care providers and facilities comply with Federal laws,” said John F. Khin, Special Agent in Charge, DCIS - Southeast Field Office. “DCIS aggressively pursues all available remedies to bring violators to justice.  This settlement demonstrates the effectiveness of our investigative efforts.”

This case was developed through an initiative to track and prosecute compounding pharmacies that submitted millions of dollars in improper claims to the TRICARE program.  The government estimates that, in 2015, approximately $1.5 billion of tainted and unnecessary compound prescriptions were paid by the government.

The investigation of this case was the result of a coordinated effort by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service. The settlement was negotiated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Torres. 

The claims asserted against the defendants are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

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

Four Florida residents were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 42 months imprisonment to 84 months imprisonment for participating in a sweepstakes mail fraud scheme.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Antonio J. Gomez, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, made the announcement.

Matthew Pisoni, 44, of Fort Lauderdale, Marcus Pradel, 41, of Boca Raton, and Victor Ramirez, 38, of Aventura, were found guilty of conspiring to commit mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, after a five-week trial that ended on July 26, 2017. John Leon, 50, of Fort Lauderdale, previously pled guilty to conspiring to commit mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.

Today, United States District Court Judge Gayles sentenced Pisoni and Ramirez to 84 months imprisonment; Pradel to 78 months imprisonment; and Leon to 42 months imprisonment. 

The trial evidence established that the four defendants, Pisoni, Pradel, Ramirez and Leon, falsely notified individuals by mail that they had won a substantial prize. The letters the defendants sent fraudulently represented that the recipients needed to pay a fee ranging from $20 to $50 to the defendants in order to redeem their purported winnings. During the course of the mail fraud conspiracy, more than 100,000 victims in the United States and abroad were fraudulently induced to pay the fees by the defendants’ misleading claims that they had won a prize. The fraudulent letters directed victims to pay the fees in cash or by check or money order payable to fictitious companies. The defendants then either processed the victims’ payments through independent payment processors or deposited them into shell bank accounts controlled directly and indirectly by the defendants and their co-conspirators. In total, over $25 million in victim payments went into the defendants’ and co-conspirators’ bank accounts.  

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the IRS-CI, USPIS, Federal Trade Commission, Aventura Police Department, and other local and international law enforcement agencies. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elijah Levitt, and H. Ron Davidson.

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 grand jury in Miami indicted three individuals for their alleged participation in an investment fraud scheme that targeted investors throughout the United States, defrauding them out of approximately $15 million. The main office operated out of Sunrise, Florida.

 

​            Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

 

Daniel Joseph Touizer, 44, of Aventura, Saul Daniel Suster, 65, of Sunny Isles, and John Kevin Reech, 55 of Delray Beach, were charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud and substantive mail fraud charges.  In addition, Touizer was charged with substantive wire fraud charges as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering and substantive money laundering charges. 

 

​            The Indictment charges a conspiracy involving the sale of stock in various investment companies owned and operated by Touizer. According to the Indictment, from July 2010 to November 2017, the defendants solicited investors located throughout the United States to buy shares or ownership units in several companies, including, Omni Guard, LLC, Infinity Diamonds, LLC, Infinity Direct Insurance, LLC, d/b/a Covida Holdings, LLC, Wheat Capital Management, LLC, Wheat Self-Storage Partners I, LP, Wheat Self-Storage II, LP, and Wheat Self-Storage Partners III, LP (collectively referred to as the “Investment Companies”).

 

The materially false statements, included, but were not limited to, statements that the Investment Companies were successful and profitable and would provide a “safe and profitable investment,” that the value of the investment would increase significantly, investor funds would be used for sales and marketing, working capital and general corporate purposes, and that Touizer did not personally take a salary or draw on funds invested in certain Investment Companies.

 

As stated in the Indictment, depending on which Investment Company stock they offered, the defendants and their co-conspirators’ stole between 50% and 80% of investor proceeds in undisclosed commissions and fees.

 

​            Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the FBI. Mr. Greenberg also thanked the Florida Office of Financial Regulation.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Cruz.

 

            Individuals who believe that they may be a victim in this case should contact the FBI at www.fbi.gov for more information.

 

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

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

A 46 year old resident of Bay harbor was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles to serve one year in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release, for impersonating a U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard officer.

Benjamin Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, John F. Khin, Special Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office, and Thomas Robarge, Special Agent in Charge, Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS), made the announcement.

George I. Lopez, a/k/a “Ray Lo, Master Lo, and Israel Lo,” was indicted on July 13, 2017, with two counts of impersonation of an officer and employee of the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 912.  He pled guilty to both counts on August 22, 2017. 

According to the court filings, Lopez falsely represented himself to be a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps and a Lieutenant in the U.S. Coast Guard.  He befriended a woman as her mixed martial arts instructor.  In her pursuit to join the military, Lopez offered her entry into the United States Coast Guard through the fictitious character of Lt. Jenna Lee.  Lopez convinced the woman to pose for naked photographs in order for her application to be considered.  Lopez had previously been other than honorably discharged from the United States Army in 2003. 

Mr. Greenburg commended the investigative efforts of DCIS and CGIS.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg 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.

James Gonzalo Medina was sentenced today to 25 years in prison for attempting to attack an Aventura, Florida synagogue, and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

           

            During the plea proceedings, Medina admitted that in March and April 2016, he planned to conduct a firearms or explosives attack on the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center. Medina took steps to prepare for this attack including conducting surveillance of the Jewish Center. On April 29, 2016, Medina took possession of what he believed to be an explosive device, obtained from a Southern Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force agent, and approached the Jewish Center on foot with the device in hand, intending to commit the attack.

            “The defendant’s concrete steps to commit an act of domestic terror against a place of worship because of the congregants’ religious beliefs posed a grave threat to all residents of Miami-Dade County,” said Acting United States Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will investigate and prosecute terrorism and hate-inspired violent crimes motivated by a victim’s religion, race, ethnicity, sexual preference, or gender identity.”

“Medina wanted to kill innocent people by detonating an explosive device at the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center, but was denied his terroristic goals by the dedicated professionals of the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force,” said Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami.  “We remain committed in our steadfast efforts to detect, deter and disrupt every threat to the United States.”

            Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and the Southern Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marc Anton and Michael Thakur, with the assistance of the Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Counsel Steve Curran and National Security Division’s Trial Attorney Taryn Meeks.

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.

Eighteen defendants have been charged by federal and state authorities in connection with a scheme to traffic in stolen credit card account numbers and to manufacture counterfeit credit cards.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Brian Swain, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service (USSS), and Juan J. Perez, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), made the announcement. 

Jaime Fernandez Del Pino, 27, of Miami, Florida, Julio Arjona Gomez, 50, of Miami Gardens, Florida, and Dayan Borges, 29,  of Doral, Florida have been charged by federal criminal complaint with conspiracy to commit access device fraud in connection with the scheme.  An additional fifteen defendants have been charged by the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office.

 

Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg stated, “This investigation demonstrates law enforcement’s commitment to find, apprehend and bring to justice organized criminal enterprises such as this that use technology and the Internet to steal and sell personal identifying information for personal gain. It should also serve as notice to those thinking about engaging in, or those engaging in, this type of criminal activity, the days of hiding behind technology and the Internet are over.”

 

“In conjunction with the excellent investigative team at the Miami-Dade Police Department and other partner agencies, we remain focused in dismantling the proliferation of these criminal fraud organizations that are based in South Florida and traversing across the United States,” said U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Brian Swain.

 

Director Juan J. Perez said, “The Miami-Dade Police Department will continue to collaborate with local and federal law enforcement agencies to stop organized criminals from preying on our community. The hard work demonstrated during this investigation should serve as a reminder to those who seek to victimize the people of Miami-Dade County; we will aggressively pursue each and every one of you.”

 

According to the Complaint, the investigation began as a joint effort between the United States Secret Service and the Miami Dade Police Organized Crime Section.  Law enforcement identified an organized criminal enterprise (“OCE”) involved in an ongoing scheme to traffic in stolen credit card account numbers and manufacture counterfeit credit cards.  Certain members of the OCE were tasked with illegally installing credit card scanning devices (“skimmers”) at gas station pumps throughout the United States, for the purpose of stealing the credit card account information of gas station customers.  Once the numbers were obtained, they were sent to Miami for use in the production of counterfeit credit cards.  The counterfeit credit cards were then passed on to “mules” who either travelled back to the cities where the stolen credit card account numbers were obtained or were deployed locally to make fraudulent purchases.  Although stolen credit card numbers were generally “skimmed” from gasoline pumps, the OCE also obtained them through the use of illegal websites.

 

The investigation revealed an email account linked to Del Pino and Arjona, who were using the account to operate a clandestine credit card manufacturing facility capable of producing up to 1,000 counterfeit credit cards daily.  On April 19, 2017, investigators obtained authorization to intercept the electronic communications occurring over the email account and over the next month, investigators intercepted emails from an additional thirteen email accounts, containing the stolen credit card information of nearly 900 victims.  Investigators thereafter obtained additional authorization to intercept communications occurring over the email account for an additional thirty days, which uncovered similar stolen credit card information and indicators of fraud.

 

Thousands of victims’ personal identifying information was used in the scheme, resulting in millions of dollars in losses to both victims and financial institutions. Today’s announcement reaffirms law enforcement’s commitment to crack down on credit card and other access device fraud.

 

During the week of November 13, 2017, law enforcement executed fifteen search warrants and two consent searches arising out of the investigation, at different locations throughout Miami, West Palm Beach, and Orlando, Florida and Colorado Springs, Colorado. During those searches, law enforcement recovered, among other things, the following items:

 

• Thousands of counterfeit credit cards

• Over 50,000 blank credit card stock used to manufacture counterfeit credit cards

• Numerous electronics containing thousands of stolen credit card account numbers

• Hundreds of counterfeit state identifications

• Hundreds of gas pump skimmers used to steal the credit card account numbers

• Numerous credit card printers and embossers, including several credit card making labs containing all products necessary to create counterfeit credit cards

• Approximately $95,000 in United States cash

• Nine vehicle seizures including a Mercedes Benz, Chevrolet Tahoe, Ford F350, Range Rover, BMW, a Kia Sonata, and a bladder truck used to steal gasoline

• High-end jewelry including nine watches worth over $100,000

• 70 marijuana plants and 27 lbs of packaged marijuana

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the USSS and the MDPD Organized Crime Section, the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Orlando Police Department, and Colorado Springs Police Department.  Mr. Greenberg also thanked the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office for their assistance in this investigation. This case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan D. Stratton and Robert Juman.

 

A criminal complaint is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

 

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

The owner and operator of two defunct Miami home health agencies was sentenced today to 80 months in prison for her role in a $74 million conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program.

Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg of the Southern District of Florida, Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office, made the announcement.

Sila Luis, 59, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke of the Southern District of Florida.  Judge Cooke also ordered the defendant to pay $45 million in restitution and to forfeit the gross proceeds traced to the offense.  Luis pleaded guilty on June 28, to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. 

As part of her guilty plea, Luis admitted that, between January 2006 and June 2012, she and her co-conspirators agreed to, and actually did, operate LTC Professional Consultants Inc. (LTC) in order to fraudulently bill the Medicare program for home health care services, including diabetic injections, skilled nursing visits, physical therapy, and other treatments and services.  Professional Home Care Solutions Inc. was another home health agency under Luis’s ownership and control that was involved in the conspiracy.  Luis further admitted that she and her co-conspirators enlisted and paid patient recruiters kickbacks and bribes in exchange for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries to LTC.  Had Medicare known that Luis paid bribes and kickbacks to attract beneficiaries to her facilities, Medicare would not have paid any claims submitted on behalf of those beneficiaries.

Judge Cooke determined at sentencing that Luis was responsible for an intended loss of $74 million to the Medicare program.

Luis was charged along with Elsa Ruiz, 49, and Myriam Acevedo, 68, both of Miami, Florida, in an indictment returned on Oct. 3, 2012.  Acevedo pleaded guilty in May 2013 to conspiracy to pay health care kickbacks and payment of kickbacks in connection with a federal health care benefit program.  She was sentenced to 60 months in prison and ordered to pay $27 million in restitution.  Ruiz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  She was sentenced to 80 months in prison and ordered to pay $45 million in restitution. 

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated this case.  Trial Attorneys David Snider, Patrick Mott, and L. Rush Atkinson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which is part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.  The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operates in nine locations nationwide.  Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has charged over 3,500 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for over $12.5 billion.

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.

The owner and operator of two defunct Miami home health agencies was sentenced today to 80 months in prison for her role in a $74 million conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.

Sila Luis, 59, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke of the Southern District of Florida.  Judge Cooke also ordered the defendant to pay $45 million in restitution and to forfeit the gross proceeds traced to the offense.  Luis pleaded guilty on June 28, to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. 

As part of her guilty plea, Luis admitted that, between January 2006 and June 2012, she and her co-conspirators agreed to, and actually did, operate LTC Professional Consultants Inc. (LTC) in order to fraudulently bill the Medicare program for home health care services, including diabetic injections, skilled nursing visits, physical therapy, and other treatments and services.  Professional Home Care Solutions Inc. was another home health agency under Luis’s ownership and control that was involved in the conspiracy.  Luis further admitted that she and her co-conspirators enlisted and paid patient recruiters kickbacks and bribes in exchange for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries to LTC.  Had Medicare known that Luis paid bribes and kickbacks to attract beneficiaries to her facilities, Medicare would not have paid any claims submitted on behalf of those beneficiaries.

Judge Cooke determined at sentencing that Luis was responsible for an intended loss of $74 million to the Medicare program.  

Luis was charged along with Elsa Ruiz, 49, and Myriam Acevedo, 68, both of Miami, Florida, in an indictment returned on Oct. 3, 2012.  Acevedo pleaded guilty in May 2013 to conspiracy to pay health care kickbacks and payment of kickbacks in connection with a federal health care benefit program.  She was sentenced to 60 months in prison and ordered to pay $27 million in restitution.  Ruiz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  She was sentenced to 80 months in prison and ordered to pay $45 million in restitution. 

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated this case.  Trial Attorneys David Snider, Patrick Mott, and L. Rush Atkinson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which is part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.  The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operates in nine locations nationwide.  Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has charged over 3,500 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for over $12.5 billion.

A Miami-area, Florida man pleaded guilty today for his role in a $63 million health care fraud scheme involving a now-defunct community mental health center located in Miami that purported to provide partial hospitalization program (PHP) services to individuals suffering from mental illness.

 

            Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg of the Southern District of Florida, Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Robert Lasky of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office, made the announcement.

 

Samuel Konell, 70, of Boca Raton, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to receive health care kickbacks before U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez of the Southern District of Florida.  Sentencing has been scheduled for Jan. 30 before Judge Martinez.  Konell was charged in an indictment unsealed on June 9. 

 

As part of his guilty plea, Konell admitted that from approximately January 2006 through June 2012, he received kickbacks and/or bribes in return for referring Medicare beneficiaries from the Miami-Dade state court system to Greater Miami Behavioral Healthcare Center Inc. (Greater Miami) to serve as patients. 

 

Specifically, Konell admitted that he coordinated with criminal defendants in the state court system to obtain court orders for mental health treatment in lieu of incarceration so that Konell could refer those individuals to Greater Miami to serve as patients in return for kickbacks and/or bribes.  Konell further admitted that he did so knowing that certain of those individuals were not mentally ill or otherwise did not meet the criteria for PHP treatment.

 

In addition, Konell admitted that he and his co-conspirators at Greater Miami took steps to disguise the true nature of the kickbacks and/or bribes that Greater Miami paid to Konell and other patient brokers. Specifically, Konell was placed on the Greater Miami payroll to make the kickbacks and/or bribes appear as though they were legitimate salary payments, Konell admitted.

 

Konell further admitted that he was originally paid a flat monthly rate that was based on the number of patients he referred to Greater Miami from the state court system, and when Konell referred more patients to Greater Miami, his co-conspirators found ways to pay him over and above his regular kickback payments, including by providing him with holiday bonuses.

 

In furtherance of the kickback conspiracy, Konell made representations to judges and others in the Miami-Dade state court system that the individuals he referred to Greater Miami received medically necessary PHP services from Greater Miami when in reality such services were not always needed, he admitted.

 

According to plea documents, Konell’s co-conspirators caused the submission of over $63 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare.  These claims were based on kickbacks and/or bribes paid to Konell and others and were for services that were medically unnecessary, were not eligible for Medicare reimbursement or were never provided by Greater Miami.  Konell admitted that his participation in the Greater Miami scheme resulted in the submission of claims to Medicare totaling between at least approximately $9.5 and $25 million.

 

            Eleven other individuals have pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme, including the owner of Greater Miami, three administrators and seven patient brokers.

           

This case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.  Senior Trial Attorney Christopher J. Hunter and Trial Attorneys Elizabeth Young and Leslie Wright of the Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. 

 

The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations are part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.  The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operates in nine locations nationwide.  Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has charged over 3,500 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for over $12.5 billion.

 

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-area, Florida man pleaded guilty today for his role in a $63 million health care fraud scheme involving a now-defunct community mental health center located in Miami that purported to provide partial hospitalization program (PHP) services to individuals suffering from mental illness.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Robert Lasky of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.

Samuel Konell, 70, of Boca Raton, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to receive health care kickbacks before U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez of the Southern District of Florida.  Sentencing has been scheduled for Jan. 30 before Judge Martinez.  Konell was charged in an indictment unsealed on June 9. 

As part of his guilty plea, Konell admitted that from approximately January 2006 through June 2012, he received kickbacks and/or bribes in return for referring Medicare beneficiaries from the Miami-Dade state court system to Greater Miami Behavioral Healthcare Center Inc. (Greater Miami) to serve as patients.  

Specifically, Konell admitted that he coordinated with criminal defendants in the state court system to obtain court orders for mental health treatment in lieu of incarceration so that Konell could refer those individuals to Greater Miami to serve as patients in return for kickbacks and/or bribes.  Konell further admitted that he did so knowing that certain of those individuals were not mentally ill or otherwise did not meet the criteria for PHP treatment.

In addition, Konell admitted that he and his co-conspirators at Greater Miami took steps to disguise the true nature of the kickbacks and/or bribes that Greater Miami paid to Konell and other patient brokers. Specifically, Konell was placed on the Greater Miami payroll to make the kickbacks and/or bribes appear as though they were legitimate salary payments, Konell admitted.

Konell further admitted that he was originally paid a flat monthly rate that was based on the number of patients he referred to Greater Miami from the state court system, and when Konell referred more patients to Greater Miami, his co-conspirators found ways to pay him over and above his regular kickback payments, including by providing him with holiday bonuses.

In furtherance of the kickback conspiracy, Konell made representations to judges and others in the Miami-Dade state court system that the individuals he referred to Greater Miami received medically necessary PHP services from Greater Miami when in reality such services were not always needed, he admitted.

According to plea documents, Konell’s co-conspirators caused the submission of over $63 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare.  These claims were based on kickbacks and/or bribes paid to Konell and others and were for services that were medically unnecessary, were not eligible for Medicare reimbursement or were never provided by Greater Miami.  Konell admitted that his participation in the Greater Miami scheme resulted in the submission of claims to Medicare totaling between at least approximately $9.5 and $25 million.

Eleven other individuals have pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme, including the owner of Greater Miami, three administrators and seven patient brokers.

This case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.  Senior Trial Attorney Christopher J. Hunter and Trial Attorneys Elizabeth Young and Leslie Wright of the Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. 

The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations are part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.  The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operates in nine locations nationwide.  Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has charged over 3,500 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for over $12.5 billion.

A federal jury on Friday convicted Boynton Beach Police Sergeant Philip Antico for obstruction of justice during a federal investigation into the excessive use of force by officers after an August 2014 traffic stop, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg of the Southern District of Florida and Acting Assistant Attorney General John M. Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  Last week a federal jury convicted Officer Michael Brown of using excessive force and using a firearm during a crime of violence for repeatedly striking an arrestee multiple times while holding his firearm after that traffic stop.

 

Evidence presented at both trials established that after Brown used excessive force, he wrote a report omitting that he had kicked the arrestee and struck the arrestee while holding a gun in his hand. At trial, the government presented evidence that Brown’s report changed significantly over the course of a week. In February 2015, after the Federal Bureau of Investigation began a criminal investigation into the officers’ use of force, Antico, Brown’s supervisor, misled a federal agent who was conducting the investigation. Specifically, Antico falsely claimed that Brown’s report of the arrest and his use of force never changed, when in fact Antico approved the report knowing that Brown had made material changes to his report about his use of force after a video recording of the arrest came to light.

 

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Department of Justice and the FBI stand committed to holding those who betray the public trust accountable for their actions, while supporting the men and women who proudly uphold their duties to serve and protect the community,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Greenberg. 

 

“Police officers must abide by the laws they enforce and protect the constitutional rights of all persons,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Gore.  “The department will continue to vigorously enforce our nation’s laws that ensure the civil rights of all persons are protected.”

 

Brown faces a maximum penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment for the civil rights violation and 5 years imprisonment for his use of a firearm in the commission of that crime. Antico faces a maximum penalty of up to 20 years imprisonment. Sentencing will be set at a later date before U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg of the Southern District of Florida. 

 

The case was investigated by the West Palm Beach Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Osborne of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney D.W. Tunnage of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

 

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