Southern District of Florida

Raul Castellon, 38, of the Hialeah Police Department, and Neilin Gonzalez Diaz, 32, of Hialeah, were sentenced today in Miami, Florida, by U.S. District Court Judge Federico A. Moreno of the Southern District of Florida, to 60 months and 81 months in prison, respectively, with an order for forfeiture and restitution in the amount of $64,500 to follow. Castellon and Gonzalez Diaz previously pled guilty to corruption, access device fraud, and identity theft charges.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Peter Forcelli, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, made the announcement.

According to court documents, from on or about June 1, 2016, and continuing through on or about October 19, 2016, Castellon used his position as a law enforcement officer to access a confidential database and take screen shots from the database, which contained personal identifying information of other persons. Castellon sent over 25 screen shots depicting the personal identifying information of unsuspecting victims to Gonzalez Diaz in exchange for gifts. Gonzalez Diaz used the confidential information received from Castellon to assume the identities of the victims and fraudulently obtain merchandise from retail stores throughout Florida.

As a result of this matter, the Hialeah Police Department terminated Castellon’s employment as an officer.

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, including the Miami Area Corruption Task Force, ATF, Miami-Dade Police Department, and Hialeah Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Cervantes.

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.

On Friday, July 14, 2017, a federal jury in Miami convicted Gerti Muho, 33, of Ridgewood, New York, for devising and executing a three-year fraud scheme that targeted various banks, lenders, and companies, including his former New York-based hedge fund employer and numerous real person victims.

Benjamin Greenberg, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Antonio J. Gomez, Postal Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division; Philip Bartlett, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, New York Division; George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; and John Brooks, Chief, Sunrise Police Department, made the announcement.

Following a three-week trial before U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom, a jury convicted Muho of 40 counts of bank and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering. Sentencing is scheduled before Judge Bloom on September 26, 2017 at 2:00 p.m.

According to the court record, Muho, a 2012 University of California Berkeley, School of Law graduate, was fired during May 2013 from his position at an international hedge fund company in New York. Thereafter, Muho absconded with a copy of all data and information on the company’s computer server, began creating numerous Delaware-based shell companies, and quickly attempted to syphon millions of dollars from various hedge fund bank accounts.

The evidence at trial showed that, during August 2013, after submitting a series of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and other corporate documents and materials, Muho falsely and fraudulently induced a bank in Monaco to wire him over $2 million. Thereafter, Muho fled to South Florida and quickly utilized the funds for his own personal use and benefit, including to gamble, shop, and purchase a new 2013 Maserati vehicle and an ocean-view downtown Miami condo. Muho also created and utilized various aliases and obtained driver’s licenses and identification cards from various states in order escape a civil judgment emanating from the Southern District of New York and further his fraud scheme. During 2014, Muho fraudulently obtained a $500,000 business loan, utilizing his Miami condo as collateral, which he promptly used to gamble, shop, and travel. During early 2015, Muho traded in his 2013 Maserati and also fraudulently obtained a $30,000 vehicle loan in order to purchase a new 2015 Jaguar vehicle. Utilizing the personal identifying and financial information of various employees, former interns, and others associated with his former employer, Muho unlawfully obtained and created additional fake identification cards and drivers licenses. He also fraudulently opened various bank accounts in Miami-Dade and Broward counties and created and cashed over $70,000 in false and fraudulent checks. Muho also falsely and fraudulently applied for another $250,000 in credit cards and vehicle, business, and student loans with numerous banks and other lenders. During 2016, facing eviction from his Miami condo, Muho fled South Florida and was ultimately arrested in Ridgewood, New York.

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the USPIS, FBI, and Sunrise Police Department in this matter. Mr. Greenberg also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York for their assistance. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean T. McLaughlin and Matthew Langley.

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.

Donald Paul Clippinger, 49, of Miami, was sentenced on July 14, 2017, to 58 months in prison and 25 years of supervised release, by U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga, after having pleaded guilty to three counts of accessing with intent to view child pornography. Clippinger was also ordered to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

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, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

According to court documents, ICE-HSI’s Miami Field Office received information from the agency’s Phoenix Field Office that Clippinger had accessed child pornography on three separate dates in November 2015, using a video conferencing software application. On January 31, 2017, agents with ICE-HSI’s Miami Field Office Miami, assisted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), executed a federal search warrant at Clippinger’s residence. Clippinger used the computer that law enforcement recovered from his residence to access and view child pornography through the video conferencing software.

the time of his arrest, Clippinger was an Assistant Principal at the Fienberg-Fisher K-8 Center, a Miami-Dade County public school.

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI’s Miami and Phoenix Field Offices. Mr. Greenberg also thanked FDLE for their assistance with this matter. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Cervantes.

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

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

Two Broward County, Florida tax return preparers pleaded guilty today to conspiring to file and filing fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg for the Southern District of Florida.

According to documents filed with the court, Luczor Fertilien, 39, and David Joseph, 37, owned two tax preparation businesses in Lauderhill, Florida: Imperial Taxation and Multi-Services Corp. and Aleluya Universal Accounting Services Inc. From approximately 2010 through 2016, Fertilien and Joseph filed fraudulent returns for their clients seeking refunds to which the clients were not entitled, by reporting fictitious business income, fraudulent education and fuel tax credits and claiming deceased individuals, whose identities were stolen, as dependents. They also filed returns in the names of individuals whose identities had been stolen. Fertilien and Joseph did not report the illegal proceeds they received from this scheme on their personal tax returns and each admitted to causing a tax loss of more than $550,000.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 22 before U.S. District Court Judge William P. Dimitrouleas. Fertilien and Joseph face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison on the conspiracy count and a maximum sentence of three years in prison on the false return count. The defendants also face a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and Acting U.S. Attorney Greenberg thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Karadbil and Assistant Chief Greg Tortella of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.

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

Two Broward County, Florida tax return preparers pleaded guilty today to conspiring to file and filing fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), announced Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg for the Southern District of Florida and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

According to documents filed with the court, Luczor Fertilien, 39, and David Joseph, 37, owned two tax preparation businesses in Lauderhill, Florida: Imperial Taxation and Multi-Services Corp. and Aleluya Universal Accounting Services Inc. From approximately 2010 through 2016, Fertilien and Joseph filed fraudulent returns for their clients seeking refunds to which the clients were not entitled, by reporting fictitious business income, fraudulent education and fuel tax credits and claiming deceased individuals, whose identities were stolen, as dependents. They also filed returns in the names of individuals whose identities had been stolen. Fertilien and Joseph did not report the illegal proceeds they received from this scheme on their personal tax returns and each admitted to causing a tax loss of more than $550,000.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 22 before U.S. District Court Judge William P. Dimitrouleas. Fertilien and Joseph face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison on the conspiracy count and a maximum sentence of three years in prison on the false return count. The defendants also face a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

Acting U.S. Attorney Greenberg and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Karadbil and Assistant Chief Greg Tortella of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.

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

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 doctor pled guilty for his 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, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; George L. Piro, 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); Dave Aronberg, State Attorney, Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office; Jeff Atwater, Florida Chief Financial Officer; William D. Snyder, Sheriff, Martin County Sheriff's Office; George L. Dorsett, Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, Amtrak Office of Inspector General; Rafiq Ahmad, Special Agent in Charge, United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG); Isabel Colon, Regional Director, United States Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (DOL-EBSA); Dennis Russo, Director of Operations, National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB); Ric Bradshaw, Sheriff, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office (PBSO); Bryan Kummerlen, Chief, West Palm Beach Police Department; Jeffrey S. Goldman, Chief, Delray Beach Police Department; Pam Bondi, Florida Attorney General; and Scott Rezendes, Special Agent in Charge, Office of Personnel Management, Office of Inspector General (OPM-OIG); made the announcement.

Joaquin Mendez, 52, of Miramar, 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.

Co-defendants Kenneth Chatman, Fransesia Davis, and Michael Bonds established sober homes which were purportedly in the business of providing safe and drug-free residences for individuals suffering from drug and alcohol addiction. To obtain residents for the sober homes, members of the conspiracy provided kickbacks and bribes, in the form of free or reduced rent and other benefits, to individuals with insurance who agreed to reside at the sober homes, attend drug treatment, and submit to regular drug testing that members of the conspiracy could bill to the residents’ insurance plans. Although the sober homes were purportedly drug-free residences, some of the defendants permitted the residents to continue using drugs as long as they attended treatment and submitted to drug testing.

The co-defendants referred the sober homes’ residents who had insurance to treatment centers that purportedly offered clinical treatment services for persons suffering from alcohol and drug addiction. Defendant Chatman hired doctors, including defendant Mendez, to serve as medical directors of his treatment centers. As medical director, Mendez was purportedly responsible for evaluating patients and prescribing medically necessary treatment and testing. Instead of Mendez using his medical expertise and his individual assessments of patients to decide what type of laboratory testing was needed by each patient, co-defendant Chatman dictated the type and frequency of different types of lab testing that would be performed based upon the kickbacks and bribes that he was receiving from different clinical laboratories. Mendez facilitated this testing by signing doctor’s orders for urine drug tests and certificates of medical necessity for saliva drug tests, although Mendez had never seen some of the patients. Mendez knew that insurance claims for the medically unnecessary tests that he prescribed would be submitted to the patients’ insurance companies. When he examined treatment center patients, Mendez billed those patients’ insurance plans using procedure codes that reflected more complex and lengthier examinations than Mendez actually performed.

Mendez faces a maximum of ten years’ imprisonment. Sentencing is scheduled for September 27, 2017 at 10:00 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 Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office Sober Homes Task Force, Florida Division of Investigative and Forensic Services, Martin County Sheriff's Office, Amtrak OIG, DOL-OIG, DOL-EBSA, National Insurance Crime Bureau, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, West Palm Beach Police Department, Delray Beach Police Department, Florida Attorney General Office of Statewide Prosecution, and OPM-OIG. 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 www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

On July 11, 2017, a Bahamian national was charged with bringing aliens into the United States at a place other than a designated port of entry.

Benjamin 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.

Raymond Abdul Pritchard, 43, of the Bahamas, is charged by indictment with bringing aliens into the United States at a place other than a designated port of entry, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Sections 1324(a)(1)(A)(i) and (B)(i), and with illegal reentry into the United States by an aggravated felon, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Sections 1326(a) and (b)(2). The indictment also charges Andy Jackson Mitchell, 51, of Trinidad, Kelvin Everett Esteen, 66, of Jamaica, and Devon Rankin, a/k/a “Raylon Etheridge,” 48, of Jamaica, with illegal reentry into the United States, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Sections 1326(a) and (b)(2).

According to the court docket, including a criminal complaint and indictment, on June 27, 2017, a Fort Lauderdale Police Marine Unit officer noticed a privately owned open fishing vessel coming in from the ocean that was unusually low in the water. The captain appeared to be having trouble steering the vessel. The Marine Unit officer attempted to pull over the vessel and the vessel sped off to the Sails Marina. Upon arriving at the marina, the vessel docked and individuals who had been aboard the vessel were apprehended, including Mitchell, Esteen and Rankin. Pritchard was determined to have been driving the vessel.

Pritchard is alleged to have brought Mitchell, Esteen and Rankin and an individual with the initials “D.A.J.,” into the United States, at a place other than as designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security, knowing that they were aliens. It is further alleged that Pritchard brought the aliens to the United States for financial gain.

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI and thanks the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Keene.

A criminal complaint and indictment merely contain accusations. 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.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; Shimon R. Richmond, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Miami Regional Office, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); and Pam Bondi, Florida Attorney General; announced today the largest ever health care fraud enforcement action by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, involving 412 charged defendants across 41 federal districts, including 115 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving approximately $1.3 billion in false billings. In the Southern District of Florida a total of 77 defendants were charged with offenses relating to their participation in various fraud schemes involving over $141 million in false billings for services including home health care, mental health services and pharmacy fraud.

Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg said, “Health care fraud schemes have real, long-term consequences for our South Florida community. Patients are being denied the quality of care that they deserve, doctors are turning a blind eye to their oaths, and taxpayer money is being diverted into the pockets of the greedy. Today’s announcement highlights South Florida’s united and ongoing law enforcement effort, culminating in charges against more than twenty percent of the national defendants, to thwart evolving schemes and combat the unlawful distribution of opioids and prescriptions drugs.

“The number of arrests are staggering and the dollar losses immense,” said Tim Langan, Acting Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami. “These health care fraudsters, driven by greed, sought to cheat their way to riches by bilking millions of dollars from Medicare and other health care programs. The victims are U.S. taxpayers. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will investigate and criminally prosecute such fraud to the fullest extent of the law.”

 

“Those who betray patients and commit health care fraud by either distributing or receiving thinly veiled bribes, steal from taxpayers and corrupt the integrity of our health care system,” said Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond, HHS OIG Miami. “This takedown reflects the dedication of OIG and our law enforcement partners to bring such fraudsters to justice.”

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi stated, “This massive fraud takedown targeted people abusing our health care industry and, in some cases, profiting from patients trying to recover from opioid addiction. The arrests and recoveries announced today should serve as a warning to anyone scheming to commit health care fraud that we will find them and they will be held accountable."

The following are some of the cases included in the takedown:

SOBER HOMES FRAUD

1. United States v. Eric Snyder and Christopher Fuller, Case No 17-MJ-8268-Brannon

 

Eric Snyder, 30, of Delray Beach, Florida, an owner of sober homes and addiction treatment facilities, and patient broker Christopher Fuller, 32, of West Palm Beach, Florida, are charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy to commit health care fraud for their involvement in a scheme to illegally recruit patients, pay kickbacks and defraud health care benefit programs.

 

According to the criminal complaint, Snyder established a sober home, Halfway There Florida, LLC (HWT), also known as A Safe Place LLC, in Palm Beach County, Florida, which was purportedly in the business of providing a safe and drug-free residence for individuals suffering from drug and alcohol addiction. The defendants referred the sober home’s residents to a treatment center, Real Life Recovery Delray, LLC, (RLR), which was also owned by Eric Snyder. This treatment center purportedly offered clinical treatment services for persons suffering from alcohol and drug addiction.

 

According to the criminal complaint, to obtain patients for the sober home and treatment center (collectively “HWT/RLR”), Synder and other members of the conspiracy provided kickbacks and bribes, in the form of free or reduced rent, airline tickets, and other benefits, to individuals who agreed to reside at the sober homes, attend drug treatment therapy sessions, and submit to regular drug testing that members of the conspiracy could bill to the residents’ insurance plans. These patient brokers, including Fuller, were also paid kickbacks themselves by Snyder and others for referring patients to HWT/RLR for purported treatment.

 

According to the criminal complaint, fraudulent billings were submitted by HWT/RLR for services that were not medically necessary and/or were never provided. Licensed health professionals who used to work at HWT/RLR describe treatment conducted by unqualified and non-licensed employees, and billings for treatment that never occurred. The licensed professionals were asked to sign for and/or backdate this treatment as though they had conducted it. In addition, licensed professionals at HWT/RLR were asked to complete intake forms and other documents for patients that they had not seen. In some instances, services were billed for residents who left the sober homes and were no longer receiving treatment at the treatment centers. In other instances, patients were billed for therapy sessions they never attended, and therapy sign-in sheets and other documents fraudulently reflected that these patients attended these sessions, when they did not. The defendants provided services meant solely to maximize insurance reimbursements, such as expensive urine drug screens. HWT/RLR fraudulently used urine drug screens as a profit-machine, including splitting samples to send them to different laboratories, improper duplicate testing, and fraudulently double billing for tests for the same patients at both HWT and RLR. In addition, samples were fraudulently comingled prior to testing to prevent identical test results from exposing the scheme. After a search warrant was executed at a different treatment facility in Palm Beach County, in September 2014, Snyder and others attempted to stop or modify these illegal practices, and evidence of this wrongful conduct was removed and destroyed.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the Greater Palm Beach County Health Care Fraud Task Force. Agencies of the task force that assisted with this matter include the FBI, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Amtrak Office of Inspector General (Amtrak-OIG), U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration (DOL), U.S. Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General (OPM-OIG), Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office Sober Home Task Force, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Delray Beach Police Department, Martin County Sheriff’s Office and the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James V. Hayes.

 

DRUG AND PHARMACY FRAUD SCHEMES – Medicare Part D

 

2. United States v. Orlando Bustabad, et al., Case No. 17-20441-CR-Moore

Orlando Bustabad, 61, Orlando Olver Bustabad, 31, Idilsis Manresa, 30, Sara Fernandez Escobar, 61, Mirtha Carrion Jimenez, 58, Alejandro Mena, 21, and Alejandro Sierra, 47, all of Miami, Florida, are charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and health care fraud. Orlando Bustabad and Orlando Olver Bustabad are also charged with aggravated identity theft.

 

According to the indictment, Orlando Bustabad and his son Orlando Olver Bustabad were the true owners of eight pharmacies located in Miami Dade County, namely, Med Solution Pharmacy, 17th Street Pharmacy, Rapid Pharmacy, Euro Pharmacy, A&B Pharmacy, Maxi Pharmacy, Mariposa Pharmacy, and 49th Street Pharmacy. Orlando Bustabad and Orlando Olver Bustabad operated these pharmacies under their own names or enlisted co-conspirators Manresa, Escobar, Jimenez, Mena, and Sierra to appear as owners. These pharmacies purportedly provided prescription drugs to Medicare beneficiaries. From February 2013 until June 2017, the defendants submitted and caused the submission of approximately $10,183,031 in claims for reimbursement to the Medicare Part D program, via interstate wires, that falsely and fraudulently represented that various health care benefits, primarily prescription drugs, were medically necessary, prescribed by a doctor, and had been provided by the pharmacies. As a result of such false and fraudulent claims, Medicare prescription drug plan sponsors made payments funded by the Medicare Part D Program to the corporate bank accounts of the eight pharmacies in the approximate amount of $4,649,743.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher J. Clark.

3. United States v. Victor Rocha, Case No. 17-20409-CR-Altonaga

Victor Rocha, 49, of Miami Lakes, Florida, was charged by indictment with six counts of health care fraud. The indictment charges Rocha with falsely and fraudulently submitting medical claims for prescription medications for reimbursement to Medicare Part D from September 2012 through May 2013, through his pharmacy, Med Express Pharmacy Discount, Inc. The Indictment charges that the claims were for prescription medications that were not provided and/or not medically necessary.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James V. Hayes.

4. United States v. Alejandro Hernandez Rios, Case No. 17-20442-CR-Ungaro

Alejandro Hernandez Rios, 35, of Miami, Florida, was charged by indictment with five counts of health care fraud. The indictment charges Rios with falsely and fraudulently submitting medical claims for prescription medications for reimbursement to Medicare Part D from June through September 2014, through his pharmacy Independence Pharmacy and Discount, Inc. The indictment charges that the claims were for various prescription medications that were not provided and/or not medically necessary.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James V. Hayes.

 

5. United States v. Pedro Mangano, Case No. 17-20408-CR-Martinez

Pedro Mangano, 52, of Miami, Florida, was charged by indictment with ten counts of Medicare fraud. The indictment alleges Mangano was the owner and operator of PVRX Pharmacy, located in Miami, Florida. Between March 2014 and June 2017, Mangano’s pharmacy submitted fraudulent claims for allegedly dispensing drugs to Medicare beneficiaries that the pharmacy never had in inventory to begin with. As part of the scheme, Mangano paid patient recruiters for fraudulent scripts used to defraud the Medicare Part D program. The fraudulent claims resulted in overpayments exceeding $1.1 million.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of HHS-OIG. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jon Juenger.

 

6. United States v. William Salazar Ortega, et al., Case No. 17-20454-CR-Gayles

 

On June 28, 2017, William Salazar Ortega and Oscar Alonso Gonzalez were indicted in connection with their roles at Latin Pharmacy, a pharmacy that defrauded Part D of the Medicare program of $2.38 million by billing for expensive prescription medications that were not prescribed to patients; were not necessary; and were not purchased. Salazar was the nominee owner of the pharmacy, and Gonzalez was its true owner. Each defendant was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and four counts of health care fraud. Gonzalez is also charged with one count of money laundering.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. The case is being prosecuted by Fraud Section Trial Attorney Timothy Loper.

 

7. United States v. Yara Suarez, et al., Case No. 17-20453-CR-Moreno

 

On June 29, 2017, Yara Suarez, Jesus Sanchez, Anthony Moya and Yoel Concepcion were indicted in connection with their roles at Albe Pharmacy, a pharmacy that defrauded Part D of the Medicare program of $3.4 million by billing for expensive prescription medications that were not prescribed to patients; were not necessary; and were not purchased. Sanchez and Suarez were the owners of the pharmacy, and are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, three counts of health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Moya and Concepcion owned and controlled shell corporations through which over $380,000 of the fraud proceeds were laundered. Moya and Concepcion are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of substantive money laundering.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. The case is being prosecuted by Fraud Section Trial Attorney Timothy Loper.

 

8. United States v. Lisbet Cordova, Case No. 17-20450-CR-Cooke

 

On June 29, 2017, Lisbet Cordova, the owner of Jalvarez Pharmacy, Inc. (“Jalvarez”) was indicted on four counts of health care fraud. Through Jalvarez, Cordova billed Medicare, pursuant to Part D of the Medicare program, for prescriptions that were not medically necessary, prescribed or dispensed to Medicare beneficiaries. As part of the scheme, Jalvarez submitted approximately $730,000 in fraudulent claims to Medicare.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. The case is being prosecuted by Fraud Section Attorneys Alexander Kramer and Yisel Valdes.

 

PRESCRIPTION DRUG DIVERSION

9. United States v. Jose De Jesus Rodriguez, Case No. 17-20486-CR-Scola

Jose De Jesus Rodriguez, 47, of Miami, Florida, was charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute prescription drugs and three substantive counts of improperly distributing prescription drugs, also referred to as prescription drug diversion. The indictment charges Rodriguez with illegally distributing millions of dollars’ worth of prescription medications from August 2011 through March 2015.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI), and HHS-OIG. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James V. Hayes.

 

10. United States v. Reynaldo Ocana, Case No. 17-MJ-02939-Otazo-Reyes

Reynaldo Ocana, 46, of Miami, Florida, was charged by criminal complaint with improperly distributing prescription drugs, also referred to as prescription drug diversion. The criminal complaint charges Ocana with illegally diverting prescription drugs in August 2016.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of HHS-OIG. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James V. Hayes.

 

HOME HEALTH CARE FRAUD – Medicare Part A

 

11. United States v. Hector Fajardo Ramirez, Case No. 17-20301-CR-Moreno

Hector Fajardo Ramirez, 48, of Miami, Florida, was charged by indictment with six counts of health care fraud. The indictment charges that Ramirez falsely and fraudulently submitted medical claims for home health therapy for reimbursement to Medicare from February through July 2015, through his clinic Longevity Home Health Services, Inc. The indictment charges Ramirez with submitting claims for home health services that were not medically necessary and not provided.

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James V. Hayes.

12. United States v. Duniesky Cruz and Carlos Gomez Bravo, Case No. 17-20401-CR-Scola

Duniesky Cruz, 50, of Miami, Florida, the owner of home health agency Life & Hope Healthcare, Inc., and an employee Carlos Gomez Bravo, 33, of Miami, Florida, were charged by indictment with conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay health care kickbacks and payment of kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program. The charges stem from their involvement in a home health fraud scheme involving kickback payments to patient recruiters, patients, and clinic owners in exchange for patient referrals and prescriptions.

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael E. Gilfarb.

13. United States v. Vilma Alonso, Case No. 17-20468-CR-Ungaro

Vilma Alonso, 57, of Hialeah, Florida, an employee of South Florida Physician Care Network was charged by indictment with participating in a conspiracy to defraud the United States. Alonso was charged with conspiring with others to unlawfully enrich themselves by, among other things, submitting and causing the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and concealing the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare. Alonso allegedly did this by causing the issuance of home health prescriptions that were not medical necessary and by paying recruiters for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries for home health services.

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael E. Gilfarb.

14. United States v. Maria Blanco, Case No. 17-20474-CR-Williams

 

Maria Blanco, 50 of Cape Coral, Florida, was charged by information with five counts of receiving kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program. The information charges Blanco with receiving approximately $8,500 in kickbacks on at least five occasions in 2014.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael B. Nadler.

 

15. United States v. Enrique Vilarello, et al., Case No. 17-20482-CR-Williams

 

On July 7, 2017, Enrique Vilarello and Alberto Ordaz were each indicted on one count of conspiracy to pay and receive illegal kickbacks. Ordaz was also indicted on two counts of receipt of kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program. The charges stem from their roles as patient recruiters, paying illegal kickbacks to obtain medical prescriptions from clinics and receiving illegal bribes for referring patients to pharmacies, and home health agencies in and around Miami, Florida. Several of these entities, such as Merfi and City Center, are now defunct as a result of their owners being charged and pleading guilty to multi-million dollar fraud schemes.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Angela Adams.

 

16. United States v. Juan Rodriguez, Case No. 17-20347-CR-Scola

 

On May 25, 2017, Juan Rodriguez, President and Director of Good Home Care, Inc., a now-defunct home health agency located in Miami, Florida, was indicted on five counts of health care fraud for his role in a $4 million scheme. Good Home allegedly billed Medicare for home health services that were never prescribed by a licensed physician or provided to Medicare beneficiaries.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney David Snider.

 

17. United States v. Jesus Escobar Montero, Case No. 17-20439-CR-Williams

 

On June 22, 2017, Jesus Escobar Montero, President and Director of Better Care Home Health Services, Inc., a now-defunct home health agency located in Sunrise, Florida, was indicted on four counts of health care fraud for his role in a nearly $1 million scheme. The charges arise from Montero’s ownership of Better Care, which billed Medicare for home health services that were never prescribed by a licensed physician or provided to Medicare beneficiaries.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney David Snider.

 

18. United States v. Carlos Barroso, et al., Case No. 17-20432-CR-Martinez

 

On June 22, 2017, Carlos Barroso, Andres Perez, Rolando Perez and Reiniel Garcia were indicted in connection with their roles at Sweet Home Health, Inc., a home health agency that defrauded Part A of the Medicare program of $8.4 million by billing for home health services that were not prescribed to patients; were not necessary; and were not rendered. Barroso was the owner of Sweet Home Health and was charged with seven counts of health care fraud, as well as one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. A. Perez, R. Perez and Garcia owned and controlled shell corporations through which the fraud proceeds were laundered. They are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, three counts of money laundering and three counts of structuring to avoid reporting requirements.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. The case is being prosecuted by Fraud Section Trial Attorney Timothy Loper.

 

19. United States v. Jhony A. Alfau, et al, Case No. 17-20452-CR-Ungaro

 

On June 29, 2017, Jhony A. Alfau, Hector J. Garcia, and Sergio E. Santana were indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to make false statements relating to health care matters, and one count of making false statements relating to health care matters.The charges stem from the defendants’ role in a $50 million scheme to defraud Medicare where they falsely and fraudulently certified they provided home health care physical and occupational therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries, when in fact, they had not done so.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative assistance of the FBI and HHS-OIG. This case is being prosecuted by Fraud Section Attorneys Yisel Valdes and Alexander Kramer.

20. United States v. Ernesto Velasquez, Case No. 17-20462-CR-Martinez

On July 5, 2017, Ernesto Velasquez, was charged by information with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. The charge stems from the defendant’s role as an employee of staffing agencies that sought to defraud the United States by billing Medicare for providing licensed physical and occupational therapy to home bound patients when, in fact, they had not rendered the services. As part of the scheme, these alleged services were billed to Medicare with a loss of over $3 million.

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. The case is being prosecuted by Fraud Section Attorneys Alexander Kramer and Yisel Valdes.

21. United States v. Suley Cao, Case No. 17-20451-CR-Martinez

On June 29, 2017, Suley Cao, the owner and operator of Good Friends Services, Inc. (“Good Friends”), a home health agency, was indicted on five counts of health care fraud; one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay Health Care Kickbacks; and two counts of payment of kickbacks in connection with a federal health care benefit program. The charges stem from Cao’s role as owner and operator of Good Friends, which fraudulently billed Medicare for approximately $3,017,276.89 for home health services that involved a scheme whereby Good Friends made kickback payments to induce the referral of Medicare beneficiaries.

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. The case is being prosecuted by Fraud Section Attorneys Alexander Kramer and Yisel Valdes.

 

22. United States v. Rafael Arias et al., Case No. 17-MJ-02962-Garber

 

On July 13, 2017, Rafael Arias, Aylen Gonzalez, Ana Gabriela Mursuli Caballero, and Rafael Cabrera were charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to commit health care fraud for their roles in an approximately $6 million Medicare fraud scheme involving various home health agencies in and around Miami, Florida. Arias was alleged to be the true owner of multiple home health agencies, such as Nestor’s Health Services, Inc. Arias hid the fact of his true ownership and instead directed others, like Cabrera, to fraudulently represent themselves as owners to Medicare, which allowed them to obtain Medicare provider numbers and submit claims for services purportedly provided to Medicare beneficiaries even though many of the services were medically unnecessary or were obtained as a result of illegal bribes and kickbacks. Gonzalez and Caballero were patient recruiters who facilitated kickback schemes with Arias by referring patients to home health agencies operated by Arias in exchange for bribes and kickbacks. Gonzalez and Caballero also purchased medically unnecessary prescriptions from fraudulent medical clinics. Caballero also owned and operated City of Angels Home Health Care LLC, a home health agency that she used to bill Medicare for home health services that were medically unnecessary or were obtained as a result of illegal bribes and kickbacks.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Fraud Section Trial Attorney Angela Adams.

ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY FRAUD

 

23. United States v. Bertha Blanco, Case No. 17-MJ-02949-Garber

 

On July 11, 2017, Bertha Blanco, who was employed for approximately 30 years by the State of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), was charged by complaint with bribery of a program receiving federal funds. AHCA is responsible for administering the Medicaid program in Florida, and is tasked with regulating and licensing health care facilities in Florida, including skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and assisted living facilities (ALFs). The charge alleges that Blanco solicited and received cash bribes from Medicare and Medicaid providers in exchange for providing them with confidential, nonpublic AHCA reports and information, including patient complaints and the unannounced inspection schedules of AHCA surveyors. This information was ultimately used by the purchasers, some of whom were owners of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and assisted living facilities (ALFs), 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 these facilities. The owners of these SNFs and ALFs then submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid for patients named in the complaints and inspection reports sold to them by Blanco.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. This case is being handled by Trial Attorneys David Snider, Elizabeth Young and Drew Bradylyons.

CLINICS, MANAGED CARE, MEDICARE ADVANTAGE FRAUD –

Medicare Part C

 

24. United States v. Beatriz Carrasco, Case No. 17-20464-CR-Ungaro

On July 6, 2017, Beatriz Carrasco, 49, of Hialeah, Florida was charged by information with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. The information charges Carrasco, a Florida licensed insurance agent, with conspiring to enroll others into Medicare Advantage plans and Florida Medicaid. These individuals resided in Nicaragua, outside of the Medicare Advantage plans coverage area. As a result of Carrasco’s and her co-conspirator’s actions, Medicare and the Florida Medicaid program paid over $1,013,244 in monthly capitation payments and premiums on behalf of individuals residing in Nicaragua, who were otherwise ineligible to receive these benefits.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI, HHS-OIG and the State of Florida Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagerenesh Simmons from the Florida Attorney General’s Office, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

25. United States v. Greesy Misuraca, Case No. 17-20461-CR-Scola

On July 5, 2017, Greesy Misuraca, a licensed therapist, was charged by information with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. The charge stems from the defendant’s alleged role in billing Medicare for licensed physical and occupational therapy that was given to home bound patients when, in fact, she did not provide the therapeutic services. As part of the scheme, these alleged services were billed to Medicare with a loss of over $650,000.

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. The case is being prosecuted by Fraud Section Attorneys Alexander Kramer and Yisel Valdes.

PRIVATE INSURANCE FRAUD (Non-Medicare)

26. United States v. Leopoldo Becerra, Case No. 17-20470-CR-Moreno

 

Leopoldo Becerra, 50, of Miami, Florida was charged by indictment one count of health care fraud. The indictment charges Becerra with using Doctor Jalal Taslimi Medical Center, Inc., to falsely and fraudulently submit medical claims for reimbursement to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida from November 25, 2014 through May 25, 2015. The indictment charges Becerra with submitting fraudulent claims for beneficiaries purportedly receiving various injections.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael B. Nadler.

 

27. United States v. Jorge A. Gonzalez and Lazaro La Paz Paz,

Case No. 17-20440-CR-Martinez

 

Jorge A. Gonzalez, 50, of Miami, Florida and Lazaro La Paz Paz, 50, of Hialeah, Florida are charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. The indictment charges Gonzalez and La Paz Paz with using two companies, Xtra Health Center, Inc & Gold Medical Center, Inc, and fraudulently representing that medical services were prescribed by doctors and provided to private insurance beneficiaries by these businesses. Gonzalez and La Paz Paz then falsely and fraudulently submitted these medical claims for reimbursement to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida from April 2014 through February 2015.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael B. Nadler.

TRICARE FRAUD – Military Insurance

28. United States v. Michael Shane Matthews, Case No. 17-20463-CR-Gayles

 

On July 6, 2017, Michael Shane Matthews, 47, of Newberry, Florida, was charged by information with causing the misbranding of drugs while held for sale.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office, U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI), the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit, and HHS-OIG. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin J. Larsen.

 

29. United States v. Asciano Serna, Case No. 17-20484-CR-Altonaga

 

On July 7, 2017, Asciano Serna, owner and operator of ASC Pharmacy, Inc., was charged by information with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. The charge arises from Serna’s role in a compounding pharmacy scheme at ASC Pharmacy involving the submission of at least $3.4 million of false and fraudulent claims to private insurance companies, Medicare, TRICARE, and other federal programs.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jon Juenger and Trial Attorney David Snider.

 

UNLICENSED MONEY TRANSMITTING AND MONEY LAUNDERING

 

30. United States v. Yisel Torres, Case No. 17-20477-CR-Moreno

 

Yisel Torres, 31, of Cape Coral, Florida was charged by information with one count of participating as an unlicensed money transmitter. The information charges Torres with cashing several checks totaling $135,000 from on or about May 22, 2014, through on or about March 11, 2015. The proceeds that Torres cashed were used to pay cash kickbacks to Medicare beneficiaries that were enrolled in R&N Professional Services.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael B. Nadler.

 

31. United States v. Angel Rivero, Case No. 17-20475-CR-Cooke

 

Angel Rivero, 43, of Miami, Florida was charged by information with one count of participating as an unlicensed money transmitter. The information charges Rivero with cashing several checks totaling $100,000 from on or about May 22, 2014, through on or about March 11, 2015. The proceeds that Rivero cashed were used to pay cash kickbacks to Medicare beneficiaries that were enrolled in Happy Heart Home Health Care.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael B. Nadler.

 

32. United States v. Yailyn Marimon, et al., Case No. 17-20492-CR-Martinez

On July 11, 2017, Yailyn Marimon and Yamilka Echeverria were indicted in connection with their roles laundering money four Orlando-area medical clinics stole from Part C of the Medicare program. The Clinics, which were owned by Yosbel Marimon – the defendants’ brother and ex-husband, respectively – billed Medicare for $13.8 million of expensive infusion therapy drugs and physical therapy that were not medically necessary, and were never provided. On June 26, 2017, Yosbel Marimon was sentenced to 90 months’ imprisonment for his role in the scheme. The indictment alleges that Yailyn Marimon and Yamilka Echeverria laundered over $2 million of the fraud proceeds through shell companies they owned and controlled. Each defendant was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of substantive money laundering.

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of HHS-OIG. The case is being prosecuted by Fraud Section Trial Attorney Timothy Loper.

If convicted of a charged offense, a defendant faces a possible maximum statutory sentence of: five years in prison for participating in a conspiracy (to defraud the United States by paying and receiving health care kickbacks or by unlawfully distributing prescription drugs), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371; twenty years in prison for mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341; twenty years in prison for wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343; ten years in prison for health care fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1347; twenty years for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349; twenty years for money laundering or conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956; and ten years in prison for money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1957; and five years in prison for conducting an unlicensed money transmitting business, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1960(b)(2). In addition, a defendant may be subject to one year in prison for misbranding a drug held for sale, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 331(t) (prescription drug marketing violations are subject to a maximum penalty of ten years in prison, in accordance with Title 21, United States Code, Sections 333(b)(1)(D), and 353(e)(1)(A)) and five years in prison for payment and receipt of kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program, in violation of Title 42, United States Code, Section 1320a. Furthermore, if convicted of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A, a defendant faces a mandatory consecutive term of two years in prison.

A criminal complaint, information or federal indictment is a charging instrument containing allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent, unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

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

Largest Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action in Department of Justice History

WASHINGTON – Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price, M.D., announced today the largest ever health care fraud enforcement action by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, involving 412 charged defendants across 41 federal districts, including 115 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving approximately $1.3 billion in false billings. Of those charged, over 120 defendants, including doctors, were charged for their roles in prescribing and distributing opioids and other dangerous narcotics. Thirty state Medicaid Fraud Control Units also participated in today’s arrests. In addition, HHS has initiated suspension actions against 295 providers, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists.

Attorney General Sessions and Secretary Price were joined in the announcement by Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting Director Andrew McCabe of the FBI, Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Inspector General Daniel Levinson of the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG), Chief Don Fort of IRS Criminal Investigation, Administrator Seema Verma of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and Deputy Director Kelly P. Mayo of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS).

Today’s enforcement actions were led and coordinated by the Criminal Division, Fraud Section’s Health Care Fraud Unit in conjunction with its Medicare Fraud Strike Force (MFSF) partners, a partnership between the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, the FBI and HHS-OIG. In addition, the operation includes the participation of the DEA, DCIS, and State Medicaid Fraud Control Units.

charges announced today aggressively target schemes billing Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE (a health insurance program for members and veterans of the armed forces and their families) for medically unnecessary prescription drugs and compounded medications that often were never even purchased and/or distributed to beneficiaries. The charges also involve individuals contributing to the opioid epidemic, with a particular focus on medical professionals involved in the unlawful distribution of opioids and other prescription narcotics, a particular focus for the Department. According to the CDC, approximately 91 Americans die every day of an opioid related overdose.

“Too many trusted medical professionals like doctors, nurses, and pharmacists have chosen to violate their oaths and put greed ahead of their patients,” said Attorney General Sessions. “Amazingly, some have made their practices into multimillion dollar criminal enterprises. They seem oblivious to the disastrous consequences of their greed. Their actions not only enrich themselves often at the expense of taxpayers but also feed addictions and cause addictions to start. The consequences are real: emergency rooms, jail cells, futures lost, and graveyards. While today is a historic day, the Department's work is not finished. In fact, it is just beginning. We will continue to find, arrest, prosecute, convict, and incarcerate fraudsters and drug dealers wherever they are.”

“Healthcare fraud is not only a criminal act that costs billions of taxpayer dollars - it is an affront to all Americans who rely on our national healthcare programs for access to critical healthcare services and a violation of trust,” said Secretary Price. “The United States is home to the world’s best medical professionals, but their ability to provide affordable, high-quality care to their patients is jeopardized every time a criminal commits healthcare fraud. That is why this Administration is committed to bringing these criminals to justice, as President Trump demonstrated in his 2017 budget request calling for a new $70 million investment in the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program. The historic results of this year’s national takedown represent significant progress toward protecting the integrity and sustainability of Medicare and Medicaid, which we will continue to build upon in the years to come.”

According to court documents, the defendants allegedly participated in schemes to submit claims to Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE for treatments that were medically unnecessary and often never provided. In many cases, patient recruiters, beneficiaries and other co-conspirators were allegedly paid cash kickbacks in return for supplying beneficiary information to providers, so that the providers could then submit fraudulent bills to Medicare for services that were medically unnecessary or never performed. The number of medical professionals charged is particularly significant, because virtually every health care fraud scheme requires a corrupt medical professional to be involved in order for Medicare or Medicaid to pay the fraudulent claims. Aggressively pursuing corrupt medical professionals not only has a deterrent effect on other medical professionals, but also ensures that their licenses can no longer be used to bilk the system.

“This week, thanks to the work of dedicated investigators and analysts, we arrested once-trusted doctors, pharmacists and other medical professionals who were corrupted by greed,” said Acting Director McCabe. “The FBI is committed to working with our partners on the front lines of the fight against heath care fraud to stop those who steal from the government and deceive the American public.”

“Health care fraud is a reprehensible crime. It not only represents a theft from taxpayers who fund these vital programs, but impacts the millions of Americans who rely on Medicare and Medicaid,” said Inspector General Levinson. “In the worst fraud cases, greed overpowers care, putting patients’ health at risk. OIG will continue to play a vital leadership role in the Medicare Fraud Strike Force to track down those who abuse important federal health care programs.”

“Our enforcement actions underscore the commitment of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and our partners to vigorously investigate fraud perpetrated against the DoD's TRICARE Program. We will continue to relentlessly investigate health care fraud, ensure the taxpayers' health care dollars are properly spent, and endeavor to guarantee our service members, military retirees, and their dependents receive the high standard of care they deserve,” advised Deputy Director Mayo.

“Last year, an estimated 59,000 Americans died from a drug overdose, many linked to the misuse of prescription drugs. This is, quite simply, an epidemic,” said Acting Administrator Rosenberg. “There is a great responsibility that goes along with handling controlled prescription drugs, and DEA and its partners remain absolutely committed to fighting the opioid epidemic using all the tools at our disposal.”

“Every defendant in today’s announcement shares one common trait - greed,” said Chief Fort. “The desire for money and material items drove these individuals to perpetrate crimes against our healthcare system and prey upon many of the vulnerable in our society. Thanks to the financial expertise and diligence of IRS-CI special agents, who worked side-by-side with other federal, state and local law enforcement officers to uncover these schemes, these criminals are off the street and will now face the consequences of their actions.”

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 3500 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for over $12.5 billion.

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For the Strike Force locations, in the Southern District of Florida, a total of 77 defendants were charged with offenses relating to their participation in various fraud schemes involving over $141 million in false billings for services including home health care, mental health services and pharmacy fraud. In one case, the owner and operator of a purported addiction treatment center and home for recovering addicts and one other individual were charged in a scheme involving the submission of over $58 million in fraudulent medical insurance claims for purported drug treatment services. The allegations include actively recruiting addicted patients to move to South Florida so that the co-conspirators could bill insurance companies for fraudulent treatment and testing, in return for which, the co-conspirators offered kickbacks to patients in the form of gift cards, free airline travel, trips to casinos and strip clubs, and drugs.

In the Eastern District of Michigan, 32 defendants face charges for their alleged roles in fraud, kickback, money laundering and drug diversion schemes involving approximately $218 million in false claims for services that were medically unnecessary or never rendered. In one case, nine defendants, including six physicians, were charged with prescribing medically unnecessary controlled substances, some of which were sold on the street, and billing Medicare for $164 million in facet joint injections, drug testing, and other procedures that were medically unnecessary and/or not provided.

In the Southern District of Texas, 26 individuals were charged in cases involving over $66 million in alleged fraud. Among these defendants are a physician and a clinic owner who were indicted on one count of conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances and three substantive counts of distribution of controlled substances in connection with a purported pain management clinic that is alleged to have been the highest prescribing hydrocodone clinic in Houston, where approximately 60-70 people were seen daily, and were issued medically unnecessary prescriptions for hydrocodone in exchange for approximately $300 cash per visit.

In the Central District of California, 17 defendants were charged for their roles in schemes to defraud Medicare out of approximately $147 million. Two of these defendants were indicted for their alleged involvement in a $41.5 million scheme to defraud Medicare and a private insurer. This was purportedly done by submitting fraudulent claims, and receiving payments for, prescription drugs that were not filled by the pharmacy nor given to patients.

In the Northern District of Illinois, 15 individuals were charged in cases related to six different schemes concerning home health care services and physical therapy fraud, kickbacks, and mail and wire fraud. These schemes involved allegedly over $12.7 million in fraudulent billing. One case allegedly involved $7 million in fraudulent billing to Medicare for home health services that were not necessary nor rendered.

In the Middle District of Florida, 10 individuals were charged with participating in a variety of schemes involving almost $14 million in fraudulent billing. In one case, three defendants were charged in a $4 million scheme to defraud the TRICARE program. In that case, it is alleged that a defendant falsely represented himself to be a retired Lieutenant Commander of the United States Navy Submarine Service. It is alleged that he did so in order to gain the trust and personal identifying information from TRICARE beneficiaries, many of whom were members and veterans of the armed forces, for use in the scheme.

In the Eastern District of New York, ten individuals were charged with participating in a variety of schemes including kickbacks, services not rendered, and money laundering involving over $151 million in fraudulent billings to Medicare and Medicaid. Approximately $100 million of those fraudulent billings were allegedly part of a scheme in which five health care professionals paid illegal kickbacks in exchange for patient referrals to their own clinics.

In the Southern Louisiana Strike Force, operating in the Middle and Eastern Districts of Louisiana as well as the Southern District of Mississippi, seven defendants were charged in connection with health care fraud, wire fraud, and kickback schemes involving more than $207 million in fraudulent billing. One case involved a pharmacist who was charged with submitting and causing the submission of $192 million in false and fraudulent claims to TRICARE and other health care benefit programs for dispensing compounded medications that were not medically necessary and often based on prescriptions induced by illegal kickback payments.

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In addition to the Strike Force locations, today’s enforcement actions include cases and investigations brought by an additional 31 U.S. Attorney’s Offices, including the execution of search warrants in investigations conducted by the Eastern District of California and the Northern District of Ohio.

In the Northern and Southern Districts of Alabama, three defendants were charged for their roles in two health care fraud schemes involving pharmacy fraud and drug diversion.

In the Eastern District of Arkansas, 24 defendants were charged for their roles in three drug diversion schemes that were all investigated by the DEA.

In the Northern and Southern Districts of California, four defendants, including a physician, were charged for their roles in a drug diversion scheme and a health care fraud scheme involving kickbacks.

In the District of Connecticut, three defendants were charged in two health care fraud schemes, including a scheme involving two physicians who fraudulently billed Medicaid for services that were not rendered and for the provision of oxycodone with knowledge that the prescriptions were not medically necessary.

In the Northern and Southern Districts of Georgia, three defendants were charged in two health care fraud schemes involving nearly $1.5 million in fraudulent billing.

In the Southern District of Illinois, five defendants were charged in five separate schemes to defraud the Medicaid program.

In the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana, at least five defendants were charged in various health care fraud schemes related to the unlawful distribution and dispensing of controlled substances, kickbacks, and services not rendered.

In the Southern District of Iowa, five defendants were charged in two schemes involving the distribution of opioids.

In the Western District of Kentucky, 11 defendants were charged with defrauding the Medicaid program. In one case, four defendants, including three medical professionals, were charged with distributing controlled substances and fraudulently billing the Medicaid program.

In the District of Maine, an office manager was charged with embezzling funds from a medical office.

In the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri, 16 defendants were charged in schemes involving over $16 million in claims, including 10 defendants charged as part of a scheme involving fraudulent lab testing.

In the District of Nebraska, a dentist was charged with defrauding the Medicaid program.

In the District of Nevada, two defendants, including a physician, were charged in a scheme involving false hospice claims.

In the Northern, Southern, and Western Districts of New York, five defendants, including two physicians and two pharmacists, were charged in schemes involving drug diversion and pharmacy fraud.

In the Southern District of Ohio, five defendants, including four physicians, were charged in connection with schemes involving $12 million in claims to the Medicaid program.

In the District of Puerto Rico, 13 defendants, including three physicians and two pharmacists, were charged in four schemes involving drug diversion, Medicaid fraud, and the theft of funds from a health care program.

In the Eastern District of Tennessee, three defendants were charged in a scheme involving fraudulent billings and the distribution of opioids.

In the Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts of Texas, nine defendants were charged in schemes involving over $42 million in fraudulent billing, including a scheme involving false claims for compounded medications.

In the District of Utah, a nurse practitioner was charged in connection with fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance, tampering with a consumer product, and infecting over seven individuals with Hepatitis C.

In the Eastern District of Virginia, a defendant was charged in connection with a scheme involving identify theft and fraudulent billings to the Medicaid program.

In addition, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Washington, 96 defendants have been charged in criminal and civil actions with defrauding the Medicaid program out of over $31 million. These cases were investigated by each state’s respective Medicaid Fraud Control Units. In addition, the Medicaid Fraud Control Units of the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Utah participated in the investigation of many of the federal cases discussed above.

The cases announced today are being prosecuted and investigated by U.S. Attorney’s Offices nationwide, along with Medicare Fraud Strike Force teams from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices of the Southern District of Florida, Eastern District of Michigan, Eastern District of New York, Southern District of Texas, Central District of California, Eastern District of Louisiana, Northern District of Texas, Northern District of Illinois and the Middle District of Florida; and agents from the FBI, HHS-OIG, Drug Enforcement Administration, DCIS and state Medicaid Fraud Control Units.

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

Additional documents related to this announcement will shortly be available here: https://www.justice.gov/opa/documents-and-resources-july-13-2017.

This operation also highlights the great work being done by the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. In the past fiscal year, the Department of Justice, including the Civil Division, has collectively won or negotiated over $2.5 billion in judgements and settlements related to matters alleging health care fraud.

A licensed physician in Miami pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday for his role in a multi-faceted $4.8 million health care fraud scheme that ran from April 2011 to February 2017, involving the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and the illegal prescribing of Schedule II (e.g., oxycodone and hydrocodone) and Schedule IV (e.g., alprazolam) controlled substances.

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, 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, and Special Agent in Charge Brian Swain of the U.S. Secret Service’s (USSS) Miami Field Office made the announcement.

Roberto A. Fernandez, M.D., 51, of Miami, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Cecelia M. Altonaga of the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. Sentencing is set for September 20.

According to admissions made as part of his guilty plea, Fernandez referred Medicare beneficiaries to pharmacy owners in exchange for illegal health care kickbacks. Fernandez admitted knowing that the pharmacy owners were billing and receiving reimbursements from Medicare for prescription drugs based upon the prescriptions he sold, and that his patients did not truly need many of the medications he prescribed in exchange for the kickbacks. For example, he admitted providing prescriptions for expensive, name brand drugs, including anti-psychotics and HIV/AIDS medications that were not medically necessary.

Fernandez also solicited referrals of Medicare beneficiaries to his own practices from his co-conspirators, he admitted, including submitting claims to Medicare under his Part B provider number for services he did not, in fact, render to Medicare beneficiaries. Additionally, Fernandez admitted receiving kickbacks in return for signing plans of care and prescriptions for home health services.

Fernandez also admitted that he prescribed controlled substances, including dangerous opioids, to patients and patient recruiters in return for $100 - $200 cash per prescription. Fernandez admitted that he knew these patients did not need the controlled substances he prescribed. Furthermore, Fernandez admitted that he wrote many of these controlled substance prescriptions for patients that he did not even examine.

The FBI, HHS-OIG, and USSS investigated the case, which 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. Former Fraud Section Trial Attorney and current Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa H. Miller of the Southern District of Florida and Fraud Section Trial Attorney Adam G. Yoffie are prosecuting 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 3,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $11 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

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 licensed physician in Miami pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday for his role in a multi-faceted $4.8 million health care fraud scheme that ran from April 2011 to February 2017, involving the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and the illegal prescribing of Schedule II (e.g., oxycodone and hydrocodone) and Schedule IV (e.g., alprazolam) controlled substances.

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, 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, and Special Agent in Charge Brian Swain of the U.S. Secret Service’s (USSS) Miami Field Office made the announcement.

Roberto A. Fernandez, M.D., 51, of Miami, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Cecelia M. Altonaga of the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. Sentencing is set for September 20.

According to admissions made as part of his guilty plea, Fernandez referred Medicare beneficiaries to pharmacy owners in exchange for illegal health care kickbacks. Fernandez admitted knowing that the pharmacy owners were billing and receiving reimbursements from Medicare for prescription drugs based upon the prescriptions he sold, and that his patients did not truly need many of the medications he prescribed in exchange for the kickbacks. For example, he admitted providing prescriptions for expensive, name brand drugs, including anti-psychotics and HIV/AIDS medications that were not medically necessary.

Fernandez also solicited referrals of Medicare beneficiaries to his own practices from his co-conspirators, he admitted, including submitting claims to Medicare under his Part B provider number for services he did not, in fact, render to Medicare beneficiaries. Additionally, Fernandez admitted receiving kickbacks in return for signing plans of care and prescriptions for home health services.

Fernandez also admitted that he prescribed controlled substances, including dangerous opioids, to patients and patient recruiters in return for $100 - $200 cash per prescription. Fernandez admitted that he knew these patients did not need the controlled substances he prescribed. Furthermore, Fernandez admitted that he wrote many of these controlled substance prescriptions for patients that he did not even examine.

The FBI, HHS-OIG, and USSS investigated the case, which 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. Former Fraud Section Trial Attorney and current Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa H. Miller of the Southern District of Florida and Fraud Section Trial Attorney Adam G. Yoffie are prosecuting 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 3,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $11 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

A Miami resident was sentenced to thirty years in prison for sex trafficking six Cuban victims.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Mark Selby, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, Rodolfo Llanes, Chief, City of Miami Police Department (MPD), and Juan J. Perez, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), made the announcement.

Silvio Clark Morales, 31, originally of Cuba, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez, in April 2017, to six counts of sex trafficking by force, threats of force, fraud, and coercion, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1591(a)(1), and one count of conspiracy to encourage and induce illegal aliens to reside in the United States, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1324(a)(1)(A)(v)(I). Judge Martinez sentenced Morales today to three hundred and sixty months in prison. Morales has also been ordered to pay restitution to his sex trafficking victims.

According to court records, Morales tricked at least six victims to travel from Cuba to the United States, via Mexico, and work as “dancers.” According to the victims, there was never any indication that they would be dancing naked or performing any commercial sex acts until they arrived in Miami and Morales told them to work at various strip clubs throughout Miami and as prostitutes. When the victims protested, Morales threatened them, physically assaulted them, kept them in debt bondage, and threatened their families. He also routinely kept a close watch on the victims and constantly brandished a firearm to keep them in compliance with his wishes. On one occasion, Morales drove one of the victims to an isolated bridge near the Everglades, beat her, and told her that he was going to throw her into the swamp and let the alligators eat her, before throwing her in the trunk of his car.

Together with Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida leads the South Florida Human Trafficking Task Force, which works to increase public awareness, rescue victims, and prosecute traffickers. The task force is composed of not only federal agencies but also state and local law enforcement entities, and partners with non-law enforcement entities, such as service providers, victim advocates, faith-based organizations, academic representatives, and community members.

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI, MPD and MDPD. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Widlanski.

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.

Yesterday, a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputy re-asserted his guilt before United States District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks and admitted to providing personally identifying information to another individual who used that information in an identity theft scheme.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Mark Selby, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Sean Scheller, Chief, Town of Lantana Police Department, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Ric Bradshaw, Sheriff, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, made the announcement.

On March 23, 2017, Frantz Felisma, 42, of Boynton Beach, a deputy with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, initially pled guilty to access device fraud in connection with the identity theft scheme, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(2) and aggravated identity theft Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1) (Case No. 17-CR-80008). However, following his plea hearing Felisma moved to withdraw his guilty plea and the matter was set for trial. On June 29, 2017, in advance of the trial date, Felisma re-affirmed his guilt by pleading to the initial charges of conviction.

According to the court record, over the span of approximately eighteen months, Deputy Felisma used his police department issued laptop computer to access a law enforcement database in order to obtain personally identifying information (PII) belonging to numerous individuals. Felisma sold this information to his co-conspirator, who then used the identities of at least 15 of these victims to set up credit card and bank accounts, stealing tens of thousands of dollars in the names of the victims. Felisma’s criminal conduct caused between $150,000 and $250,000 in financial losses.

Felisma faces a mandatory minimum of two years’ imprisonment, to run consecutive to any other term of imprisonment imposed, as to the aggravated identity theft charge; and a maximum of ten years’ imprisonment as to the access device fraud charge. Felisma is scheduled to be sentenced on August 1, 2017, before Judge Middlebrooks.

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI, the Lantana Police Department, IRS-CI and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lauren Jorgensen and Rinku Tribuiani.

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 Davie resident has been sentenced to 7 years in prison for intentionally damaging a protected computer belonging to his former employer and making unauthorized purchases with credit card numbers belonging to others.

 

Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg of the Southern District of Florida, Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office made the announcement.

 

In April 2017, a jury convicted Jonathan Lee Eubanks, 29, of one count of intentionally causing damage to a protected computer without authorization, one count of access device fraud, and three counts of aggravated identity theft. According to testimony presented at trial, Eubanks worked for a private security company. After resigning from the company, Eubanks repeatedly accessed his former employer’s computer system, without authorization, using remote access software that he had surreptitiously installed on a co-worker’s computer. Through this remote access software, on January 27, 2013, Eubanks deleted all of the files on one of the company’s computer servers, including databases of client and employee information and files necessary for scheduling and tracking employee shifts. He also re-directed the company’s website, so that visitors were instead connected to the website of a competing security firm. The following day, Eubanks used the email account of a former co-worker to send multiple emails in that former co-worker’s name to the company’s employees and clients disparaging the company and accusing it of illegal practices. Several weeks later, Eubanks placed a series of online orders using credit cards and names belonging to three other individuals. The evidence presented at trial showed that Eubanks had obtained these credit card numbers by accessing the computers of another company, which made software for use by private security firms. The online orders sought rifle scopes, survivalist gear, and electronics.

 

Senior United States District Judge James I. Cohn, sentenced Eubanks to a total of 84 months in prison. The sentence consisted of 60 months for intentionally damaging a protected computer and access device fraud, followed by a consecutive term of 24 months in prison for aggravated identity theft.

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the FBI in this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared M. Strauss of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Louisa K. Marion, of the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, prosecuted this case.

 

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

A former Davie, Florida resident was sentenced to seven years in prison for intentionally damaging a protected computer belonging to his former employer and making unauthorized purchases with credit card numbers belonging to others.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg of the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office made the announcement.

In April 2017, a jury convicted Jonathan Lee Eubanks, 29, of one count of intentionally causing damage to a protected computer without authorization, one count of access device fraud, and three counts of aggravated identity theft. According to testimony presented at trial. After resigning from a private security company, Eubanks repeatedly accessed his former employer’s computer system, without authorization, using remote access software that he had surreptitiously installed on a co-worker’s computer. The evidence showed that through this remote access software, on Jan. 27, 2013, Eubanks deleted all of the files on one of the company’s computer servers, including databases of client and employee information and files necessary for scheduling and tracking employee shifts. He also re-directed the company’s website, so that visitors to that site were instead directed to the website of a competing security firm. The trial evidence also revealed that the following day, Eubanks used the email account of a former co-worker to send multiple emails in that former co-worker’s name to the company’s employees and clients disparaging the company and accusing it of illegal practices. Several weeks later, Eubanks placed a series of online orders for rifle scopes, survivalist gear and electronics using credit cards and names belonging to three other individuals, which the evidence presented at trial showed he had obtained by accessing the computers of another company, which made software for use by private security firms.

The Honorable James I. Cohn, Senior U.S. District Judge, sentenced Eubanks to a total of 84 months in prison. The sentence consisted of 60 months for intentionally damaging a protected computer and access device fraud, followed by a consecutive term of 24 months in prison for aggravated identity theft.

The FBI investigated the case. Trial Attorney Louisa K. Marion, of the Justice Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared M. Strauss of the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.

Alvin James Warrick, 40, of Beaumont, Texas, and Colitha Patrice Bush, 36, of Port Arthur, Texas were sentenced today in Miami, Florida, by U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard of the Southern District of Florida, to 235 months and 96 months in prison, respectively, with an order for a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of over $4.4 million to follow. Warrick and Bush previously pled guilty to wire and mail fraud conspiracy charges in connection with a federal prison sentencing scheme that targeted federal inmates and their families in Miami-Dade County and elsewhere by promising them assistance in obtaining a Rule 35 sentencing reduction, in exchange for money.

Rule 35 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure allows the court, upon the government’s motion, to reduce a defendant’s sentence if the defendant is found to have provided substantial assistance in investigating or prosecuting another person. Neither the government nor the court system charges inmates or their relatives a fee for requesting a sentencing reduction when an inmate provides substantial assistance.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Robert A. Bourbon, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General (DOJ-OIG), and Perrye K. Turner, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Houston Field Office, made the announcement.

According to court documents, from 2009 through September 7, 2016, Warrick, Bush, Shepherd, and others held themselves out as owners and operators of Private Services, a company that reportedly worked with a network of informants and law enforcement personnel to identify and provide information and third party cooperation that could be credited to federal inmates in Rule 35 proceedings. Using aliases such as “Peter Candlewood,” “Diane Lane,” and “Diane Rice,” the defendants repeatedly targeted federal inmates and their families by phone, text, email, mail, and in-person meetings, during which they promised that they could provide substantial assistance services, which would be used to help secure the early release of the inmates. In return, the defendants required relatives of the federal inmates to make periodic payments via cash, check, wire, Western Union, and MoneyGram, in order for the third party cooperation process to supposedly begin. Overall, more than $4.4 million was paid to the defendants by at least twenty-two victims, several of whom addressed the Court during Warrick and Bush’s sentencing hearing.

As part of the scheme, Warrick and Bush also provided fake invoices and fraudulent documents allegedly showing signed agreements between various U.S. Attorney’s Offices, including the Eastern District of New York and the Southern District of New York, and a company affiliated with Private Services. In fact, the agreements were fake, the prosecutors’ signatures were forged, and no substantial assistance was ever provided on behalf of these inmates. Instead, Warrick, Bush and Shepherd simply received payments from relatives of federal inmates, and used the fraudulently obtained funds for their personal use and benefit, including the purchase of luxury automobiles, vacations, and gambling activities.

In addition to their sentences for the Southern District of Florida matter (Case No. 16-CR-20698-JAL), Warrick and Bush were also sentenced in a related case originally brought in the Eastern District of Texas, and subsequently transferred to Florida (Case No. 17-CR-20194-JAL). On May 24, 2017, co-conspirator Roland Bennett Shepherd, 32, of Houston, Texas, was also sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard of the Southern District of Florida to 28 months’ imprisonment, after having previously pled guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, in connection with his participation in the multi-year sentencing reduction fraud scheme.

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the DOJ-OIG, the FBI, the Houston Police Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Eastern District of New York, Northern District of New York, Southern District of New York, Eastern District of Texas, and Eastern District of Virginia, who provided significant and valuable support to this joint investigation. The Southern District of Florida case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anne P. McNamara. The Eastern District of Texas case was jointly prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert L. Rawls 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 www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Today, a Broward County School District employee was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks to three years in prison for obstructing a drug investigation.

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

Porsha Session, 31, of Boynton Beach, Florida, previously pled guilty to obstructing an official proceeding, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1512(c)(2).

According to the court record, federal, state and local law enforcement agencies were investigating drug trafficking and other criminal offenses in Lauderhill, Florida. Session’s relative was one of the detectives from the Lauderhill Police Department assigned to the Lauderhill investigation. During the course of the Lauderhill investigation, law enforcement, including the defendant’s relative, received information, including details from a confidential informant, regarding individuals involved with drug trafficking, and vehicles used by and telephone numbers associated with, members of the criminal enterprise. Session obtained information provided to her relative concerning the Lauderhill investigation. Session, while working as an employee of the Broward County School District, then made a series of telephone calls to a target of the drug trafficking investigation and warned the individual that he/she and other persons were being monitored by law enforcement. Session also warned the target that an inside source, an informant, was providing details of the criminal enterprise to law enforcement. As a result of Session’s disclosure, the target changed his/her telephone number in an attempt to avoid detection by law enforcement and the confidential informant was moved for his/her safety.

Mr. Greenberg commended the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, Lauderhill Police Department, and Sunrise Police Department for their investigative assistance with this matter. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey N. Kaplan.

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 criminal complaint was unsealed today in connection with the arrest of the National Director of Anti-Corruption in Colombia who is charged with conspiracy to launder money with the intent to promote foreign bribery.

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

Luis Gustavo Moreno Rivera, 35, the National Director of Anti-Corruption in Colombia and Leonardo Pinilla Gomez, 31, an attorney practicing in Colombia, were charged on June 23, 2017 by criminal complaint in the Southern District of Florida. The complaint charges the defendants with one count of conspiracy to launder money in order to promote foreign bribery. Both Rivera and Pinilla were arrested in Colombia pursuant to an Interpol Red Notice.

According to the criminal complaint, beginning in November 2016, a cooperating source of information (CS) was approached by Moreno and Pinilla who attempted to entice a bribe from the CS. Specifically, in exchange for 100 million Colombian pesos, Moreno and Pinilla offered to give the CS copies of sworn statements taken from cooperators who had testified against the CS. In June 2017, Moreno and Pinilla traveled to Miami, Florida and met with the CS who, under the direction of the DEA, provided Moreno and Pinilla with a $10,000 deposit of the bribe money. Recorded conversations revealed that Moreno and Pinilla discussed Moreno’s ability to control the investigation into the CS and that Moreno could inundate his prosecutors with work so that they would be unable to focus on the CS’s investigation. In exchange, Moreno and Pinilla were asking for a 400 million Colombian peso payment with an additional $30,000 to be paid prior to Moreno’s leaving the United States.

A criminal complaint further alleges that several of the $100 bills from the $10,000 paid to Moreno and Pinilla were found on Moreno and his family as they boarded their flight back to Bogota from Miami.

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

Mr. Greenberg commends the DEA for their investigative assistance with this case. Mr. Greenberg also thanked the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and Office of Judicial Attache in Colombia along with the DEA Bogota Country Office; the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office and Attache Office in Colombia; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office and Attache Office in Colombia; U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Miami Office of Field Operations; and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Legal Attache Office in Colombia, for their assistance in this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Juan Antonio Gonzalez and Lynn M. Kirkpatrick of the International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section in the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our federal partners commend the Attorney General of Colombia and the Cuerpo Tecnico de Investigacion (CTI) for their cooperative efforts in this investigation.

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.

Yesterday, a federal jury in Miami convicted Charles K. Topping, 40, of North Bay Village, Anita Sgarro, 54, of Marina Del Ray, Charles David Smigrod, 69, of Coconut Grove, Matthew William Wheeler, 33, of Miami, and James Wayne Long, 60, of Miramar, for their roles in two telephone sales room (“boiler room”) fraud schemes that targeted investors throughout the nation and defrauded over 700 victims out of $23 million. The fraud schemes operated out of Miami Lakes, Florida, and Marina Del Ray, California. Eight other co-conspirators who were involved in the fraud schemes previously pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

 

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

 

Following a two-month trial before U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke, a jury convicted Topping, Sgarro, Smigrod, Wheeler, and Long of multiple counts of mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in a conspiracy that operated from as early as 2009 until about August 2015.

 

According to the court record, from April 2009 to August 2015, Topping, Sgarro, Smigrod and Wheeler, along with their co-conspirators Craig Sizer, Keith Houlihan, Miguel (“Mike”) Mesa, Jack Willard Sini, Juan M. Perez Ortega, Martin Miller, Jason David Hershberger, and Shawna Leigh Lynch used false and fraudulent claims to solicit investors throughout the United States to buy shares of stock in Sanomedics International Holdings, Inc. (“Sanomedics”), a company that sold non-contact infrared thermometers for home healthcare and for dogs.

 

The evidence at trial showed that the sales agents used sales pitches that included several materially false statements, including that: stock sales did not include commissions or fees; sales agents were compensated with stock or paid by the hour; the stock could be sold after six months; the sales agents worked directly for Sanomedics; stock purchases were safe and secure; and famous and wealthy individuals, such as former CEOs of Apple Inc., PepsiCo, and IVAX Corp., and the “Dog Whisperer,” were either heavily invested in the company or were company representatives. In truth, the co-conspirator sales agents worked for Mesa and Sgarro in two boiler rooms, not for Sanomedics. Investors were never able to sell their stock. Approximately 90% of investor proceeds were misappropriated by the co-conspirators to cover commissions and fees. The co-conspirator sales agents were not paid by the hour and did not receive stock options, but were in fact paid hefty commissions. Additionally, there were no actual endorsements by celebrities or wealthy individuals. The investors relied on the fraudulent statements. As a result of the scheme, the co-conspirators defrauded over 700 people out of approximately $21 million.

 

Also, from approximately August 2014 to August 2105, Topping, Smigrod, Wheeler and Long, along with Sizer, Mesa, Sini, Perez, and Miller used a fraud scheme, similar to the one described above, to sell shares of stock in Fun Cool Free (“FCF”), a company that claimed to own a smartphone gaming portfolio with over 500 gaming applications. Mesa oversaw the boiler room that was utilized to facilitate the fraudulent scheme. The co-conspirators used false claims, including assertions that they worked directly for the company and that FCF was partners with Apple Computers, to defraud over 70 other investors out of $1.5 million.

 

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI in this matter. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Cruz, and Trial Attorneys Ryan D. Tansey and Kevin B. Hart from the Antitrust Division of the U.S. 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.

Guy Philippe, a former high-ranking Haitian National Police officer was sentenced today in Miami, Florida, to 108 months in prison with an order for a money judgement in the amount of $1.5 million to follow. Philippe previously pled guilty to a money laundering charge in connection with an international narcotics scheme.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Adolphus P. Wright, Special Agent in Charge, United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division; Matthew G. Donahue, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Caribbean Division; and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

Philippe, 49, of Haiti was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga of the Southern District of Florida, after having previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering stemming from his receipt of cash payments derived from the proceeds of narcotics sales that occurred in Miami, Florida and elsewhere in the United States in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

According to admissions made in connection with the plea, beginning in the late 1990s, Philippe knowingly using his position as a high-ranking Haitian National Police Officer to provide protection for the shipments of drugs and drug proceeds arriving into Haiti in exchange for cash payments. Philippe admitted that from approximately June 1999 to April 2003, he received between $1.5 and $3.5 million in bribes from drug traffickers, knowing that the payments he received constituted proceeds of cocaine sales that occurred in Miami, Florida, and elsewhere in the United States. Philippe also admitted that he shared a portion of these payments with Haitian National Police officials and other security personnel to ensure their continued support for future drug shipments arriving into Haiti. Philippe used these payments to purchase a residence in Broward County, Florida; and to support himself and to support his family in the United States.

In addition, Philippe wired proceeds derived from the sale of cocaine, in the amount of $376,000, from banks in Haiti and Ecuador to a joint bank account in Miami. To avoid detection, Philippe used the names of others to wire the funds to his account. Philippe further admitted that he arranged for over $70,000 in drug proceeds to be deposited into his account that were conducted in a series of deposits each less than $10,000 to avoid the U.S. federal reporting requirements.

The DEA and IRS-CI investigated the case. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, DEA Port-au-Prince Country Office, Caribbean Field Division, U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Miami Office of Field Operations provided assistance in this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lynn M. Kirkpatrick and Andy R. Camacho of the Southern District of Florida and Senior Trial Counsel Mark A. Irish of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section prosecuted this case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our federal partners commend the Government of Haiti, including the Ministry of Justice, Haitian National Police, and La Brigade de Lutte contre le Trafic de Stupéfiants (BLTS) for upholding the rule of law and assisting U.S. counterparts.

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

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.

Brian Charles Tolley, 32, of Bedford, Virginia, was sentenced today to 9 years in prison, after having been previously convicted at trial in West Palm Beach, Florida of wire fraud, identity theft, aggravated identity theft, possession of counterfeit government seals with the intent to defraud, money laundering, making and subscribing false federal income tax returns, and failing to file federal income tax returns.

Benjamin G. 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; Brian A. Hauck, Special Agent-in-Charge, North Central Fraud Field Office, United States Army Criminal Investigation Command; Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); and Special Agent in Charge Wendell W. Palmer, United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Procurement Fraud Detachment Southeast, made the announcement.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra sentenced Tolley to 108 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, and ordered the defendant to pay $2,344,439 in restitution. In addition, Tolley was ordered to forfeit real estate in Bedford, Virginia, a 2011 Buick Enclave, and a 2011 Lincoln Navigator.

According to the evidence presented at trial, the forfeiture hearing, and sentencing, Tolley was employed by PartsBase, Inc., which is located in Boca Raton, Florida, as Vice President from 2001 through 2001, as Chief Information Officer from 2001 through January 2014, and President from 2010 until January 2014. Between June 2007 and September 2013, Tolley submitted to PartsBase forged documentation from various branches of the U.S. military and other government agencies. These documents purported to acknowledge Tolley’s orders of procurement data on PartsBase’s behalf, and purported to be signed by real federal employees. Tolley then requested reimbursement from PartsBase for charges he had purportedly incurred from the government agencies. In total, PartsBase paid Tolley approximately $1.7 million in reimbursements based on this fraudulent scheme. Tolley used the money he procured from the fraudulent scheme to purchase the 2011 Buick Enclave, the 2011 Lincoln Navigator, the real estate in Bedford, Virginia and other items. In addition, Tolley failed to report the proceeds of his fraud scheme as income on the federal income tax returns he filed for tax years 2007 through 2011. Tolley failed to file returns for tax years 2012 or 2013.

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of DCIS, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command Major Procurement Fraud Unit, IRS-CI, and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations Procurement Fraud Unit. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marc Osborne and Mark Dispoto.

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.

Dr. Willem Ouw, 84, of Broward County, is charged in a ten-count indictment with conspiracy to dispense oxycodone, attempting to dispense oxycodone, morphine and amphetamine, and dispensing a controlled substance without authorization by law. Sarah Shoopman, 36, Orange County, and Donna Licata, 62, and Belafonte Byard, a/k/a “Quincy,” 50, of Broward County, were each charged with one count of conspiracy to dispense a controlled substance, oxycodone, without authorization by law. If convicted, each of the defendants face a maximum statutory sentence of twenty years’ imprisonment on each count.

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

According to allegations made in court and in the indictment, between December 16, 2015 and June 13, 2017, defendants Dr. Ouw, Shoopman, Licata and Byard conspired to dispense controlled substances without authorization by law. On nine separate dates, Dr. Ouw is alleged to have provided a prescription for controlled substances, including oxycodone, morphine and amphetamine without having conducted a proper medical examination. On one of the nine dates, Dr. Ouw allegedly dispensed oxycodone without authorization. Shoopman, Licata and Byard conspired with Dr. Ouw to unlawfully dispense the controlled substances by, among other things, taking cash payments, handling files and obtaining samples.

The indictment also includes allegations seeking criminal forfeiture of property derived from or used in furtherance of the charged offenses, including various real properties owned by Dr. Ouw valued in excess of $2.8 million.

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of DEA, BSO and the Department of Defense Criminal Investigative Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Tamen and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eloisa Fernandez is handling forfeiture matters.

An indictment is a formal charging document containing allegations. All persons charged by indictment are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

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

Gerald Wallace, 35, of Miami, was indicted by a federal grand jury on a hate crime charge for obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs by threatening to shoot members of a mosque in Miami Gardens, Florida.

 

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting Unites States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

According to court documents, during the evening of February 19, 2017, Wallace left a voicemail message for the Islamic Center of Greater Miami, located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The defendant is alleged to have left a 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 y'all."

 

Counts One and Two of the superseding indictment charge Wallace with obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs and the interstate transmission of a threatening communication for leaving this threating voicemail. Wallace was previously indicted, on May 25, 2017, for the interstate transmission of a threatening communication for making this threat. If convicted of both counts, Wallace faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison.

 

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

 

This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Miami Area Corruption Task Force and the Miami Gardens Police Department. This case is being 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 www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A Boynton Beach resident was detained today after being charged federally for sex trafficking, producing child pornography, and enticing a minor.

 

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

 

Marco Vinicio Orrego, 31, of Boynton Beach, Florida, was indicted on charges of sex trafficking a minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1591(a), production of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2251(a), distribution of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(2), and enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2422(b) (Case No. 17-CR-XXX). If convicted, defendant Orrego faces a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison. Orrego is currently being detained pending trial.

 

According to court records, including the indictment, from May 2 through May 6, 2017, Orrego prostituted a sixteen-year-old girl using Backpage.com. He provided her transportation and a hotel for these illicit activities, taking all of the proceeds for himself. Additionally, Orrego, had sex with the minor during that same period created videos of the sexual abuse and texted the child pornography to another person.

 

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 and the Boynton Beach Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory Schiller.

An indictment is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

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

A mother and daughter who secretly co-owned and operated seven home health care agencies in the Miami, Florida area were each sentenced to over 10 years in prison today for their roles in a $20 million Medicare fraud conspiracy that involved paying illegal health care kickbacks to patient recruiters and medical professionals.

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, Special Agent in Charge Brian Swain of the U.S. Secret Service’s Miami Regional 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.

Mildrey Gonzalez, 61, and her daughter, Milka Alfaro, 39, both of Miami, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez of the Southern District of Florida to 135 and 151 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in the scheme. The defendants were further ordered to pay approximately $22,900,000 in joint and several restitution. Gonzalez and Alfaro each pleaded guilty on March 2, having been charged in a July 2016 superseding indictment. Gonzalez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of health care fraud, while Alfaro pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud.

Alfaro and Gonzalez previously admitted that they secretly co-owned and operated seven home health agencies in the Miami area, yet failed to disclose their ownership interests in any of these agencies to Medicare, as required by relevant rules and regulations. In addition, Alfaro and Gonzalez admitted to paying illegal health care kickbacks to a network of patient recruiters in order to bring Medicare beneficiaries into the scheme, to paying bribes and kickbacks to medical professionals in return for providing home health referrals, and to directing co-conspirators to open shell corporations, into which millions of dollars’ worth of fraud proceeds were funneled. Furthermore, Alfaro and Gonzalez each admitted to perjuring themselves at a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman of the Southern District of Florida, to attempting to influence the testimony of potential trial witnesses, and to submitting false affidavits concerning their assets to the court.

This case was investigated by the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service and HHS-OIG. Former Fraud Section Trial Attorney and current Southern District of Florida Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa H. Miller and Fraud Section Trial Attorney L. Rush Atkinson prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Evelyn B. Sheehan and Alison W. Lehr also provided assistance regarding asset forfeiture issues in this case.

The Criminal Division’s 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 2,300 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $7 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

Former Miami-Dade Police Department Officer Michael Freshko has entered a guilty plea to a criminal information charging him with conspiracy to unlawfully export firearms from the United States to the Dominican Republic, on flights from Miami International Airport.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; and Juan J. Perez, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), made the announcement.

Freshko, 48, entered his guilty plea today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia M. Otazo-Reyes.

As part of his guilty plea, Freshko admitted that after receiving firearms from a co-conspirator, he used his official position as a MDPD officer to transport the firearms past the passenger screening area and into the portion of Miami International Airport that housed the departure gates. Freshko thereafter would deliver the firearms to a co-conspirator, who in turn would store the firearms within carry-on baggage. Next, a co-conspirator would travel to the Dominican Republic aboard a commercial flight, with the firearms within carry-on baggage. After arriving in the Dominican Republic, a co-conspirator would deliver the firearms to an associate.

Freshko further admitted that one or more firearms were smuggled in this manner on October 5, 2012, and multiple firearms were smuggled on December 7, 2012. Freshko also admitted that he and his co-conspirators smuggled six firearms from Miami International Airport to the Dominican Republic. The smuggled firearms consisted of four Glock .9 mm pistols, one Sig Sauer .9 mm pistol, and one Sig Sauer 5.56 rifle.

As a result of his guilty plea, Freshko faces a maximum potential term of imprisonment of five years.

The case was investigated by law enforcement officers in South Florida and New Jersey. Mr. Greenberg thanked the FBI Miami Area Corruption Task Force; the MDPD Professional Compliance Bureau; the FBI Newark Division-Franklin Township Resident Agency; the Drug Enforcement Administration Newark Division-Patterson Post of Duty; and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Davis.

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 man was charged in an indictment unsealed today for his alleged participation in a $63 million health care fraud scheme involving a now-defunct community mental health center located in Miami.

 

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.

 

Samuel Konell, 69, of Boca Raton, Florida, was charged in an indictment filed in the Southern District of Florida with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and receive health care kickbacks, one count of receiving health care kickbacks and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Konell was arrested this morning and appeared this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick A. White of the Southern District of Florida.

 

The indictment alleges that from approximately January 2006 through June 2012, Konell accepted kickbacks in exchange for referring Medicare beneficiaries to Greater Miami Behavioral Healthcare Center, Inc. (Greater Miami) to serve as patients so that Greater Miami could bill Medicare for mental health treatment purportedly provided to those beneficiaries. The indictment further alleges that Konell knew that the beneficiaries he referred to Greater Miami did not need, qualify for nor receive such treatment. In addition, the indictment alleges that Konell and co-conspirators took steps to disguise the true nature of the bribes and kickbacks Greater Miami paid to Konell and other patient brokers.

 

According to the indictment and other court documents, Konell and his co-conspirators caused the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for mental health treatment purportedly provided by Greater Miami in an amount exceeding $63 million.

 

1. date, 11 individuals have pleaded guilty for their role in the scheme, including the owner of Greater Miami, three administrators and seven patient brokers.

 

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

 

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. Fraud Section Trial Attorneys Elizabeth Young and Leslie Wright are prosecuting the case.

 

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,300 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $7 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

 

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 federal grand jury in West Palm Beach, Florida, returned a six-count indictment yesterday charging Boynton Beach Police Officer Michael Brown and former Boynton Beach Police Officers Justin Harris and Ronald Ryan, Jr., with unlawfully assaulting an arrestee, J.B., during a traffic stop on August 20, 2014 and then filing false reports of the incident. Boynton Beach Police Sergeant Phillip Antico is charged in the indictment with filing a false report of the incident and obstructing justice during the incident.

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

The indictment alleges that while serving as patrol officers and conducting a traffic stop of a vehicle, Brown, Harris and Ryan unlawfully assaulted one of that vehicle’s passengers, J.B. The indictment further alleges that Antico, as the patrolmen’s supervisor, and Harris aided and abetted one another in falsifying a report of the incident, and that Antico further intentionally misled federal agents who conducted an investigation of the incident. The indictment also alleges that Brown, Harris and Ryan made false entries in reports of the incident.

If convicted, Antico, Brown and Ryan each face a maximum punishment of 30 years in prison, and Harris faces a maximum punishment of 50 years in prison.

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

1. Greenberg commended the investigative assistance of the FBI and Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Rhee 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.

 

A Tampa resident pled guilty today before United States District Judge James I. Cohn and was sentenced to prison for threatening a Sandy Hook parent residing in the Southern District of Florida.

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

Lucy Richards, 57, of Tampa, pled guilty in the Southern District of Florida (Case No. 16-CR-80206) to one count of transmitting threats in interstate commerce, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 875(c). Judge Cohn sentenced Richards to 5 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by 5 months’ home confinement. In addition, Richards will be placed on 3 years of supervised release.

On December 14, 2012, the Sandy Hook School shooting occurred in Newtown, Connecticut, and resulted in the death of 20 children and 6 adults. According to the court record in this case, on or about January 10, 2016, Richards made a series of death threats to a parent of a child killed in the Sandy Hook School shooting. The parent resides in South Florida. Richards’ belief that the school shooting was a hoax and never happened motivated her to make the threats.

Mr. Greenberg commended the outstanding investigative efforts of the FBI. This case was prosecuted in the Southern District of Florida by Assistant United States Attorney Karen E. Gilbert.

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.

 

Benjamin G. 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 Mark Selby, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, announced the Indictment of Merice Perez Colon.

The Indictment charges Perez Colon, 35, of Homestead, Florida with attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity and attempted production of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2422(b) and 2251(a) (Case No. 17-CR-20375). A criminal complaint was also filed against the defendant. At the time the charged offenses were allegedly committed, Perez Colon was employed as a youth care worker at an emergency influx shelter in Homestead that provides services to unaccompanied alien children present in the United States.

Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg said, “All shelters, including those that take in unaccompanied minors who arrive in the United States without adult supervision, should be safe havens. Youth workers have a duty to protect and serve the minors who reside at these shelters and are under their care. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners stand united against child exploitation and abuse that is carried out against minor residents, citizens, or refugees. Any individual who victimizes these children will face severe consequences within the federal criminal justice system. We implore anyone with information regarding these offenses to contact the police.”

HHS-OIG Special Agent in Shimon R. Richmond stated, “Our society expects youth workers and other caretakers to protect all children, including those under the U.S. government’s care,” said Shimon R. Richmond, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “Our agents, working closely with our partners, will continue to investigate those who violate their position of trust by sexually exploiting and abusing minors. Those who commit such horrible crimes will be brought to justice.”

 

“Children are some of the most vulnerable members of our society and there is no bigger betrayal than when those entrusted with their protection abuse that trust,” said Mark Selby, Special Agent in Charge, ICE-HSI. “The men and women of HSI are committed to bringing anyone who preys on our children to justice. We encourage anyone who may have additional information regarding this case to contact us by calling 866-DHS-2ICE (866-347-2423).”

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

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum term of life imprisonment.

A criminal complaint and Indictment merely contain accusations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Mr. Greenberg commends HHS-OIG and ICE-HSI for the investigative assistance provided in support of this matter. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan Kobrinski.

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 June 6, 2017, a security guard at a local grocery store had his initial appearance on a federal indictment in Miami that charges him with making threatening communications to The Islamic Center of Greater Miami-Masjid Miami Gardens.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting Unites States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

Gerald Sloane Wallace, 35, of Miami, Florida, is charged by indictment with the interstate transmission of a threatening communication, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 875(c) (Case No. 17-CR-20354). If convicted, Wallace faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine. Wallace’s arraignment on the indictment and a hearing on the government’s motion for pretrial detention has been set for June 9, 2017 at 10 a.m.

According to the court record, including the allegations contained in the indictment, on February 19, 2017, a threatening message had been left on the mosque’s voicemail system. The voicemail stated, “F… you Muslims, f… Mohammed, f… the Koran and f… Islam. I hate you Muslims, you Muslims are terrible. I hate you people. I’m gonna go down to your center, I’m gonna shoot all ya’ll. F… you, I hate your Allah, I hate your Koran, I hate everything about Islam. You people are worthless s…. Go to hell. F… you.”

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI Miami Area Corruption Task Force and the Miami Gardens Police Department. Mr. Greenberg also thanked the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office for their assistance in this matter. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Harry C. Wallace, Jr and Trial Attorney Samantha Trepel of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

An indictment merely contains accusations. 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.

A resident of Syracuse, New York was charged with stealing over $3.5 million from the City of Miami Beach’s bank account through unauthorized electronic transfers.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Daniel J. Oates, Chief, City of Miami Beach Police Department, made the announcement.

David J. Miller, 44, of Syracuse, New York, was charged by criminal complaint with bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344; and aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1). The bank fraud offense carries a maximum penalty of twenty years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. The aggravated identity theft offense carries a mandatory, consecutive two-year term of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

According to the complaint, Miller was responsible for the theft of approximately $3.5 million from the City of Miami Beach’s general depository account at SunTrust Bank. The complaint alleges that Miller caused the electronic transfer of these stolen funds to an account opened in the name of “Company A.” According to the complaint, Company A provides a service that allows customers to purchase, sell, and transfer seat licenses and seat location rights at sporting venues around the United States, including National Football League (NFL) stadiums.

The complaint alleges that between July 2016 and October 2016, Miller used the identity of victim “R.W.” in connection with the bank fraud scheme. Specifically, Miller used R.W.’s identity to create an online profile on Company A’s website. Miller also supplied Company A with the bank account number and routing number for one of the City of Miami Beach’s SunTrust Bank accounts.

Using funds from the City of Miami Beach’s account, Miller purchased approximately 157 seat licenses at NFL stadiums around the country. Miller also used stolen funds to purchase season and individual game tickets at NFL games and other sporting events. According to the complaint, Miller further used the City of Miami Beach’s money to pay his utilities bills. In one instance, Miller caused a counterfeit check, purportedly issued by the City of Miami Beach, to be deposited into a family member’s bank account.

According to court records, Miller is currently in custody in Onondaga County, New York, on state identity theft charges.

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and the City of Miami Beach Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher B. Browne, Harold E. Schimkat, and Nalina Sombuntham.

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

After pleading guilty to producing child pornography, a former Miami-Dade County resident was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge Marcia G. Cooke to 225 months (19 years) in prison, to be followed by twenty-five years of supervised release.

 

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, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

 

Justin Shawn Smith, 35, formerly of Miami Beach, pled guilty on February 8, 2017, to two counts of production of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2251(a).

 

The investigation began when ICE-HSI received a tip from the Cyber Crime Center, via INTERPOL London, that an 11-year-old girl in London reported that a 13-year-old boy named “Cody Mathews” convinced her to commit sexually provocative acts on the video-chat internet program Skype. The victim stated that she met “Cody” on the website kidschat.net. HSI identified Smith as the user of the “Cody Mathews” moniker.

 

Smith acknowledged that he pretended to be 13 years old while chatting on the website kidschat.net using various usernames. Forensic examination of Smith’s computer revealed an extensive chat history within the Skype program, showing that Smith engaged in hundreds of chats with different minor females using various aliases. HSI identified approximately 31 potential victims Smith chatted with in the United States and interviewed approximately 19, who were between the ages of 7 and 14 at the time they chatted with Smith. Generally, Smith would convince the minor girls to undress and to engage in sexually explicit conduct with a sibling or pet. Smith would often threaten the minor girls, stating that he would publish their nude photos or tell their parents if they did not do what he wanted.

 

Known as sextortion, online predators use this type of behavior to produce child pornography and take advantage of children through terror and manipulation. ICE-HSI aggressively investigates allegations of sextortion and other online offenses against children.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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 investigative efforts of ICE-HSI, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and INTERPOL. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elina A. Rubin-Smith and Ben Widlanski.

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 South Florida resident was sentenced today, by U.S. District Court Donald L. Graham, to 12 years in prison for committing an armed robbery of a jewelry store in the Seybold Building in downtown Miami.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Katherine Fernandez Rundle, Miami-Dade State Attorney; George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge (FBI), Miami Field Division; and Rodolfo Llanes, Chief, City of Miami Police Department (MPD), made the announcement.

Jessie Wooden, 29, of Miami, pled guilty in May of 2017 to conspiring to commit an armed robbery, armed robbery, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Judge Graham sentenced Wooden to 154 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.

According to the court record, including the agreed upon factual proffer, on October 29, 2016, Wooden and his co-conspirator robbed a jewelry store located in the Seybold Building in downtown Miami. Once inside the jewelry store, Wooden brandished a firearm while the co-conspirator bound the victim’s hands and feet. The defendant and his co-conspirator stole approximately 35 watches and over $250,000 in U.S. currency.

On January 11, 2017, law enforcement officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle Wooden was driving. Wooden refused to stop and sideswiped an officer’s vehicle in an attempt to evade capture. Ultimately, Wooden crashed his vehicle and was taken into custody. A search of the vehicle revealed a loaded firearm. An additional search of Wooden’s residence revealed over 100 rounds of ammunition.

Mr. Greenberg commends the FBI and MPD for their collaborative work as part of the South Florida Violent Crime Task Force. Mr. Greenberg also thanked the U.S. Marshals Service for their assistance with this matter. This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Marianne Curtis from the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.

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-Dade, Florida man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to use stolen IDs to file fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), announced Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg for the Southern District of Florida and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

According to documents filed with the court, from approximately 2008 through January 2015, in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, Jean Leroy Destine, 36, and others, obtained stolen IDs, to include the personal identifying information of prisoners and deceased individuals. They used this information to prepare and file with the IRS approximately 2,000 tax returns seeking more than $2 million in fraudulent refunds. Destine and his co-conspirators covered their tracks by recruiting individuals to obtain Electronic Filing Identification Numbers (EFINs) in their names from the IRS and then used these EFINs to electronically file the fraudulent returns. The conspirators directed the refunds to debit cards as well as treasury checks mailed to various addresses. The refund checks were cashed at different check cashing stores and funds were withdrawn from the debit cards at Western Union locations and ATMs.

Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 14. Destine faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy charge and a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft charge. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

Acting U.S. Attorney Greenberg and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg commended special agents of IRS–Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Karadbil and Assistant Chief Greg Tortella of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

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

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-Dade, Florida man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to use stolen IDs to file fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg for the Southern District of Florida.

 

According to documents filed with the court, from approximately 2008 through January 2015, in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, Jean Leroy Destine, 36, and others, obtained stolen IDs, to include the personal identifying information of prisoners and deceased individuals. They used this information to prepare and file with the IRS approximately 2,000 tax returns seeking more than $2 million in fraudulent refunds. Destine and his co-conspirators covered their tracks by recruiting individuals to obtain Electronic Filing Identification Numbers (EFINs) in their names from the IRS and then used these EFINs to electronically file the fraudulent returns. The conspirators directed the refunds to debit cards as well as treasury checks mailed to various addresses. The refund checks were cashed at different check cashing stores and funds were withdrawn from the debit cards at Western Union locations and ATMs.

 

Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 14. Destine faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy charge and a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft charge. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

 

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and Acting U.S. Attorney Greenberg commended special agents of IRS–Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Karadbil and Assistant Chief Greg Tortella of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

 

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

Two conspirators were sentenced by Senior United States District Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley in South Florida for importing counterfeit Microsoft software into the United States.

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

Clifford Eric Lundgren, 33, of Reseda, California and Robert J. Wolff, 54, of Boca Raton, Florida, previously pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2320(a)(1) and committing criminal copyright infringement, in violation of Title 17, United States Code, Section 506(a)(1)(A) and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2319(a) and (b)(1). Defendants Lundgren was sentenced to 15 months in prison and a $50,000 fine. Defendant Wolff was sentenced to 6 months house arrest and four years probation.

According to documents filed with the court, Lundgren and Wolf manufactured and imported 28,000 discs containing Microsoft Windows programming, specifically, 7 Dell reinstallation Edition and XP Service Pack 3 Dell reinstallation Edition. Lundgren and Wolff violated Microsoft’s intellectual property rights by illegally manufacturing the software in China and then importing the discs into the United States.

The production, importation and/or sale of counterfeit and pirated goods can have substantial consequences for: the manufacturing industry in the form of lost sales, lost brand value, and reduced incentives to innovate; consumers who use substandard counterfeit goods; governments which may lose tax revenue and face risks of counterfeits entering national security or critical infrastructure supply chains; and the nation’s economic growth which may be slowed by reduced innovation and lost trade revenue.

Anyone with information regarding the production or trafficking of counterfeit goods is encouraged to contact law enforcement at 866-DHS-2ICE (866-347-2423).

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lothrop Morris.

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.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Officer Jovany Perez, 34, of Miami, Florida, was arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with receiving a bribe while a public official.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and Jay Donly, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General (DHS-OIG), made the announcement.

According to the allegations contained in the criminal complaint, on April 20, 2017, Perez interviewed a female alien beneficiary in his capacity as a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) officer. The interview related to the validity of the beneficiary’s marriage, which would have afforded her lawful permanent residency in the United States if found to be valid. During the interview, Officer Perez confronted the beneficiary with his belief that her marriage was fraudulent. Perez completed a written statement, purporting to be a confession by beneficiary that she had committed marriage fraud. He directed the beneficiary to sign the statement. The beneficiary signed the written statement and submitted it to Perez. At the conclusion of the interview, Perez provided the beneficiary with his contact information and told her that he could help her with her case, but that he could not do so at the USCIS office.

Later that same day, the beneficiary contacted Perez and they scheduled to meet later that day in the parking lot of a restaurant located in Miami-Dade County. During the meeting, while sitting with the beneficiary in his vehicle, Perez fondled the beneficiary’s breasts, asked her whether she was wearing a wire, and exposed his penis to her. Perez also explained to her that he was the ultimate decision maker in her case, and stated that the two could have a sexual encounter there in the vehicle. The beneficiary declined and the two agreed to meet on a later date.

On May 9, 2017, the beneficiary met with Perez and Perez informed her that he possessed her file, that he would remove her written statement from the file, and that he would replace it with another statement that he would help her draft. When the beneficiary asked Perez what she would have to do in exchange for his assistance, Perez stated that she could pay him money. The two agreed that the beneficiary would pay Perez $2,000.00 in exchange for his assistance.

May 17, 2017, Perez accepted $2,000.00 from the beneficiary, in return for his promise to remove the previously-written statement regarding the validity of her marriage and replace it with a statement to assist her permanent residency petition. Perez was arrested that same day.

Perez is scheduled to be arraigned on June 1, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. before the U.S. Magistrate Duty Judge in Miami.

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the DHS-OIG. This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michele Vigilance and Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Kahn Obenauf.

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 atwww.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

The last of seven individuals associated with a string of violent armed robberies in Miami-Dade County has been sentenced to over 138 years in prison.

Benjamin C. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Pete J. Forcelli, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office, Juan J. Perez, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), Daniel Junior, Interim Director, Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department (MDCR), and Rodolfo Llanes, Chief, Miami Police Department (MPD), made the announcement.

Seven defendants were charged and convicted for their roles in a violent armed robbery conspiracy that began operating in Miami-Dade County, as early as 2006. Andrew Nelson, 24, of Miami, was the final defendant to be sentenced, after having been convicted at trial, in January of 2017, of one count of participating in a Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy, six counts of Hobbs Act robbery, and six counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence (Case No. 16-CR-20119). On May 16, 2017, United States District Court Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks sentenced Nelson to 1,662 months in prison.

According to evidence presented at trial, starting in 2006, members of the conspiracy began committing armed robberies of civilians, businesses, a bank, and illegal enterprises, including narcotics traffickers in Miami-Dade County. As part of the robbery conspiracy, Nelson and his co-conspirators would shoot at victims and sell the narcotics they stole from other drug dealers. After their arrest, members of the conspiracy used jailhouse telephone calls to communicate with their conspirators about planning crimes, collecting debts, and attempting to obstruct justice by planning to attack state prosecution witnesses.

Six co-conspirators were sentenced to varying prison terms following their guilty pleas to associated criminal offenses, including unlawful firearms possession. Steven Stafford, 18, of Miami, was sentenced to 20 years; Anthony Stuckey, 19, of Miami, was sentenced to 32 years; Jarvis Robinson, 25, of Miami, was sentenced to 32 years; Leon Pearson, 27, of Miami, was sentenced to 36 months, and Terril Kinchen, 25, of Miami, was sentenced to 35 years, in prison (Case No. 16-CR-20119). Torrence Lawton, 19, of Miami, was charged in a separate indictment (Case No. 15-CR-20783) and plead guilty to using a firearm in furtherance of two armed robberies, which he committed with members of the conspiracy. Lawton was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Mr. Greenberg commended the collaborative investigative efforts of the ATF Miami Field Office/MDPD Street Terror Offender Program, FBI Miami Field Office, MDPD’s Robbery Bureau, MDCR’s Security Threat Group Unit, and the MPD Robbery Unit. These cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ignacio J. Vazquez, Jr., Brian Dobbins and Cary Aronovitz.

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

A Port St. Lucie resident was sentenced to 30 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release, after pleading guilty to assisting in the preparation of false tax returns and filing false tax returns, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Sections 7206(2) and (1).

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.

Dianne Mowatt, 39, of Port St. Lucie, was charged in a fifty-two count indictment with running a fraudulent tax preparation business in order to file fraudulent tax returns on behalf of her clients and for filing false individual returns on her own behalf. She had pleaded guilty to five of the counts on March 6, 2017.

According to the indictment and factual proffer in support of the guilty plea, from tax years 2011 through 2014, Mowatt owned, operated, or otherwise provided services to Mowatt Financial Services and Proven Tax Services, both being tax return preparation businesses located in Port Saint Lucie and Miami, Florida. Mowatt prepared and submitted individual tax returns (Forms 1040), with accompanying schedules, to the IRS on behalf of taxpayers claiming false deductions and credits for tax years 2011 through 2014. Mowatt also filed false individual returns for herself for the tax years 2010 and 2011 by falsely claiming five different people as her dependents.

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. 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.

Matthew Vaughn Hawks, 29, of Vero Beach, Florida, was sentenced on May 16, 2017, by United States District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks to 360 months in prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release, after previously pleading guilty to three counts of producing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Mark Selby, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Deryl Loar, Sheriff, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, and James Stuart, Sheriff, Anoka County, Minnesota, Sheriff’s Office, made the announcement.

According to the court record, Hawks was on probation for making a false bomb threat in Indian River County, Florida, when he began communicating over the internet with multiple female children. Over a period of three months, Hawks cultivated an increasingly personal online relationship with the children. He began soliciting sexually explicit photographs from the minors and sent them sexually explicit images of himself. Hawks then requested increasingly explicit photographs. When some of the children resisted, Hawks threatened to post images of them on the internet if they did not comply with his demands. Hawks’ victims were located in Minnesota, Michigan, Massachusetts, Texas, and Florida.

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, and the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Butler and Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Funk.

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 Church Hill, Maryland, resident was sentenced today to 20 years in prison to be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release for enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and attempting to transfer obscene materials to a minor, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg of the Southern District of Florida.

 

Lee Robert Moore, 38, pleaded guilty March 1, 2017, before U.S. District Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley of the Southern District of Florida. Moore was employed by the U.S. Secret Service-Uniformed Division and was assigned to the White House at the time of his arrest on Nov. 9, 2015, and has remained in custody since that time. Moore has since been terminated from his Secret Service position.

 

According to admissions made in connection with his plea, Moore maintained a profile on the social media application “Meet24,” which provides a mobile-based platform for exchanging digital images, as well as voice and text messages. Delaware State Police Detectives with the Delaware Child Predator Task Force created a profile on this site, posing as a 14-year-old girl, with whom Moore engaged in a number of online chat sessions, via the “Meet24” and “Kik” mobile apps over a two-month period, including while Moore was at work. A number of the online chats between Moore and the undercover officers posing as a female minor were sexual in nature and, on several occasions, Moore sent pictures of himself, including one sexually explicit image.

 

According to the plea documents, after his arrest, law enforcement discovered that Moore had communicated with a minor in Florida. Moore admitted that in those communications, he sent sexually explicit images of himself and enticed the minor to send sexually explicit photos of herself as well. Moore engaged in the same type of behavior with a 14-year-old girl in Texas and another 17-year-old girl in Missouri. Moore requested that his federal charges in Delaware be transferred to the Southern District of Florida so that he could plead guilty to both charges at one time.

 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Delaware Child Predator Task Force investigated the case. Trial Attorney Austin M. Berry of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Steinberg of the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware.

 

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 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 http://www.justice.gov/psc.

A Church Hill, Maryland, resident was sentenced today to 20 years in prison to be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release for enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and attempting to transfer obscene materials to a minor, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg of the Southern District of Florida and Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

 

Lee Robert Moore, 38, pleaded guilty March 1, 2017, before U.S. District Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley of the Southern District of Florida. Moore was employed by the U.S. Secret Service-Uniformed Division and was assigned to the White House at the time of his arrest on Nov. 9, 2015, and has remained in custody since that time. Moore has since been terminated from his Secret Service position.

 

According to admissions made in connection with his plea, Moore maintained a profile on the social media application “Meet24,” which provides a mobile-based platform for exchanging digital images, as well as voice and text messages. Delaware State Police Detectives with the Delaware Child Predator Task Force created a profile on this site, posing as a 14-year-old girl, with whom Moore engaged in a number of online chat sessions, via the “Meet24” and “Kik” mobile apps over a two-month period, including while Moore was at work. A number of the online chats between Moore and the undercover officers posing as a female minor were sexual in nature and, on several occasions, Moore sent pictures of himself, including one sexually explicit image.

 

According to the plea documents, after his arrest, law enforcement discovered that Moore had communicated with a minor in Florida. Moore admitted that in those communications, he sent sexually explicit images of himself and enticed the minor to send sexually explicit photos of herself as well. Moore engaged in the same type of behavior with a 14-year-old girl in Texas and another 17-year-old girl in Missouri. Moore requested that his federal charges in Delaware be transferred to the Southern District of Florida so that he could plead guilty to both charges at one time.

 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Delaware Child Predator Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Steinberg of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Austin M. Berry of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) prosecuted the case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware.

 

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 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 http://www.justice.gov/psc.

 

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

A Fort Lauderdale resident was sentenced yesterday to 108 months in prison by United States District Judge William Zloch for violently carjacking a CarMax employee.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Scott Israel, Sheriff, Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), Patrick Lynn, Chief, Davie Police Department, and W. Howard Harrison, Chief, Plantation Police Department, made the announcement.

Defendant Joshua Maxwell 28, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, previously pled guilty to one count of carjacking, in violation of, Title 18, United States Code, Section 2119(1).

According to the court record, on November 11, 2016, defendant Maxwell entered the CarMax dealership located in Davie, Florida pretending to be a bona fide customer, and inquired about a 2012 Dodge Charger that was on the lot. He thereafter provided a driver’s license in order to take a test drive. Upon checking Maxwell’s name in the CarMax database, the salesman learned that the defendant had previously been entered into their system and had, in fact, visited that same CarMax location one-day prior. Maxwell went on the test drive of the Charger with the salesman and as they were nearing the end of the test drive, the salesman asked the defendant to stop the car so that they could switch positions and drive the Charger back into the CarMax lot. Maxwell, while in the driver’s seat, then assaulted the salesman by repeatedly striking him on the head with a copper metal pipe that he had secreted in his pocket. The salesman attempted to escape, but Maxwell continued to beat him and ultimately stabbed him in the chest. Maxwell fled in the 2012 Dodge Charger, and left the wounded salesman in the roadway. The victim was subsequently transported to a medical trauma center with serious injuries. Ultimately, Maxwell was arrested by law enforcement and admitted to committing the carjacking.

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, BSO, Davie Police Department and the Plantation Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jodi L. Anton.

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

An owner of a tax preparation business and his employee are charged with filing hundreds of fraudulent returns and claiming over $3,000,000 in fraudulent refunds.

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.

 

In an indictment unsealed today, Corry E. Pearson, of Riviera Beach, and Stephane Cindy Anor, a/k/a “Stephanie Anor,” of West Palm Beach, are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349; wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343; and aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A. Pearson is also charged with money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1956(a)(1)(B)(i) and 1957.

 

According to allegations contained in the indictment, defendant Pearson owned Tax King, Inc., a tax preparation business, where defendant Anor was an employee. For tax years 2012 and 2013, Pearson and Anor electronically filed at least 862 fraudulent federal income tax returns. In some cases, the defendants stole other people’s identities and filed Federal income tax returns in the victims’ names, collecting the refunds for themselves. The defendants also filed returns that inflated the taxpayers’ refunds. In some cases, the filed returns falsely reported that money had been withheld from taxpayers’ wages and gambling winnings. In others, the defendants filed returns falsely claiming education credits to which the taxpayers were not entitled. In total, the returns filed by the defendants claimed at least $3,747,125 in fraudulent refunds. Pearson also engaged in financial transactions with the proceeds of the fraud, some of which were designed to disguise his control over the illicit refunds.

 

If convicted, the defendants face maximum possible statutory sentences of 20 years' incarceration for the conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 20 years' incarceration on each count of wire fraud, and a mandatory sentence of 2 years' incarceration on each count of aggravated identity theft. In addition, Pearson faces maximum possible statutory sentences of 20 years’ incarceration on each count of money laundering in violation of Section 1956 and 10 years’ incarceration on each count of Section 1957.

 

An indictment is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Osborne.

 

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 at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls

Two owners of sober homes and alcohol and drug addiction treatment centers were sentenced to 27 and 3 years in prison, respectively, 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, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, 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), Dave Aronberg, State Attorney, Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office, Jeff Atwater, Florida Chief Financial Officer, William D. Snyder, Sheriff Martin County Sheriff's Office, George L. Dorsett, Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, Amtrak Office of Inspector General, 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.

After hearing victim impact statements from a number of parents whose children suffered fatal and non-fatal overdoses, U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks sentenced Kenneth Chatman, a/k/a “Kenny,” 46, of Boynton Beach, to 330 months in prison, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Chatman was also ordered to register as a sex offender. He had previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349; conspiracy to commit money laundering in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(h); and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1594(c). His wife, Laura Chatman, 44, of Boynton Beach, was sentenced by Judge Middlebrooks to 36 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, after having pled guilty to two counts of making a false statement related to a health care matter, in violation of Title18, United States Code, Section 1035(a)(1).

“Kenneth Chatman will spend the next 27 years in prison for orchestrating an egregious fraud scheme that denied addicts and their families the legitimate treatment and supportive services they desperately needed,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg. “Instead of helping his patients to achieve sobriety, Chatman exploited the vulnerable victims to satisfy his personal greed. He provided drugs to addicts, solicited and accepted kickbacks and bribes, and used his position of power to sexually exploit his patients. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to shut down and hold accountable the unscrupulous sober home owners, treatment facility providers and medical labs that carry out fraudulent and abusive treatment practices.”

“Kenneth Chatman took advantage of persons with serious addiction problems to satisfy his greed. He exploited people who were vulnerable and weak,” said Michael A. D’Alonzo, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami. “Instead of providing a safe and sober living environment, Chatman gave his patients illegal drugs, fraudulent insurance bills and demanded they engage in illegal prostitution under duress. The FBI and our partners are serving notice to sober home operators, treatment facility owners and medical professionals who choose to engage in these types of fraud schemes, you will be investigated and criminally prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), stated, “This is an appalling case of pure greed where these defendants tore families apart and put patients’ health and safety at risk. As the Chatmans were living a lavish lifestyle funded by their fraud scheme, patients suffering from addiction were utilized as mere pawns in a master plan to defraud insurance companies. IRS-CI will continue to provide our expertise in conducting financial analysis in money laundering cases to combat the huge healthcare fraud compliance issue facing South Florida.”

 

“Sober homes are meant to be a place of refuge for those recovering from addiction, but some of these facilities are anything but a sanctuary,” said Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater. “Many do nothing more than siphon residents’ insurance benefits until there’s nothing left to be paid, only to return the newly-recovering back to the streets. I am proud of the collaborative state, local, and federal efforts to hold the line on this crime, and I hope this sentencing sends a shockwave to others who may be engaging in similar behavior.”

"It's shameful and disgusting that a treatment home, which should be a place of healing and recovery, could be so badly corrupted as a vehicle for fraud.” said Regional Director for the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration Isabel Colon. “We are gratified to be part of the effort of so many state and federal agencies to put a stop to this sort of criminal activity.”

 

"Our office, in partnership with our fellow investigative agencies, will continue to uncompromisingly investigate and bring to justice the people who perpetrate these criminal acts," said Amtrak Inspector General Tom Howard. "Their actions take advantage of a vulnerable population that is seeking treatment. Our office will remain vigilant in protecting Amtrak employees, retirees, and their dependents, and ensuring that our health care dollars are not wasted on these fraudulent providers."

According to court documents, defendant Kenneth Chatman established a series of sober homes, including Stay’n Alive, Inc., Total Recovery Sober Living LLC, and several other multi-bed residences operating as sober homes in Palm Beach and Broward Counties. These sober home facilities were purportedly in the business of providing safe and drug-free residences for individuals suffering from drug and alcohol addiction. Kenneth Chatman conspired with others to obtain patients who would receive ineffective and medically unnecessary substance abuse treatment and testing that could be billed to the patients’ insurance in order to enrich Chatman and the members of the conspiracy.

To achieve this goal, defendant Kenneth Chatman paid kickbacks and bribes to other sober home owners for referring their residents to Reflections Treatment Center LLC in Margate, Florida and Journey to Recovery LLC in Lake Worth, Florida for treatment, and disguised these kickbacks and bribes as “case management fees,” “consulting fees,” “marketing fees,” and “commissions.” The co-defendants met with Kenneth Chatman on a weekly basis to collect their kickbacks and bribes, which were based on the number of insured patients that received treatment each week.

To obtain residents for the sober homes, defendant Kenneth Chatman and others involved in the conspiracy provided kickbacks and bribes, including free or reduced rent, gift cards, and controlled substances to individuals with insurance who agreed to reside at the sober homes, attend drug treatment, and submit to regular drug testing that members of the conspiracy could bill to the residents’ insurance plans. Although the sober homes were purportedly drug-free residences, some of the defendants permitted the residents to continue using drugs as long as they attended treatment and submitted to drug testing, and Kenneth Chatman marketed his treatment facilities as places where patients could continue to use controlled substances while receiving “treatment.”

Defendants Kenneth and Laura Chatman submitted to the Florida Department of Children and Families fraudulent applications for licensure for Journey to Recovery and Reflections Treatment Center, stating that Laura Chatman was the sole owner of those entities, thereby hiding the fact that Kenneth Chatman, a convicted felon who was prohibited from owning and operating treatment centers, managed all aspects of these facilities including the hiring and firing of personnel; admitting and discharging patients and making financial decisions.

Defendant Laura Chatman appeared at Reflections and Journey for audits and inspections by DCF and other accrediting agencies to make it seem that she was the sole owner and officer of the companies. Defendant Laura Chatman also filed corporate documents and opened bank accounts in the name of Reflections and Journey to allow co-defendant Kenneth Chatman access to deposit proceeds from the health care fraud scheme and to conduct transactions meant to promote the scheme. .

Defendant Kenneth Chatman dictated which patients were admitted and discharged and the type and frequency of different types of lab testing that would be performed based on the kickbacks and bribes that he was receiving from different clinical laboratories rather than based upon the individual patients’ needs. Kenneth Chatman dictated that confirmatory urine drug testing; duplicative saliva drug testing, DNA and allergy testing occur regardless of whether patients complained of allergies. These tests were medically unnecessary and not used to direct the treatment of patients. Many of the test results were never reviewed and new samples were submitted before older tests were received and reviewed. In some instances when a patient’s insurance benefits were about to run out, Kenneth Chatman would provide controlled substances to the patient so that the patient would have a positive drug test. Kenneth Chatman would then inform the patient’s insurance provider that the patient had “relapsed” so that additional treatment benefits would be approved and Chatman could continue billing services.

Defendant Kenneth Chatman also recruited and coerced female patients and residents into prostitution, telling them that they would not have to pay rent or participate in treatment or testing so long as they would allow him to continue to bill their insurance companies for substance abuse treatment and testing that the patients did not receive.

Defendants Kenneth Chatman and other co-conspirators recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided, obtained, and maintained some female patients into performing commercial sex acts. The defendant provided housing for the female patients, who would be made to perform sex acts in exchange for money that would then have to be paid to defendant Kenneth Chatman as “rent.” The commercial sex activity occurred at some of the sober homes controlled by the defendant or at hotels and motels. Kenneth Chatman provided condoms and advertised and caused the advertisement of the commercial sexual activity. Kenneth Chatman and other co-conspirators provided controlled substances to these addicted patients to induce them to perform sexual acts.

Kenneth Chatman also used intimidation tactics and threats of legal process, including evicting the patients from his sober homes to maintain their compliance. These patients were not required to attend treatment at Reflections or provide bodily fluid samples for testing but he submitted and caused the submission of claims to the patients’ Insurance Plans for substance abuse treatment and testing that they did not receive.

Kenneth Chatman further maintained control over patients who attended Reflections and Journey by threats and confiscating their belongings, car keys, telephones, medications, and food stamps, in order to maintain the ability to continue billing their Insurance Plans.

The proceeds of the health care fraud scheme were deposited into bank accounts that Kenneth Chatman and co-defendant Laura Chatman opened at Wells Fargo Bank in the name of Reflections and Journey. Kenneth Chatman and the co-conspirators agreed to use the proceeds to promote the ongoing fraud scheme including the making of kickback and bribe payments in the form of checks to sober home owners. These checks were for the referral of insured clients to Reflections for treatment and often noted that they were for “case management.” Kenneth Chatman, Laura Chatman and their co-conspirators also made payments to the medical directors, clinical directors, employees and others to continue their involvement with the fraud. Monies from these accounts were also used to pay kickbacks and bribes to patients, including providing prescription and illicit drugs to patients and potential patients.

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 Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office Sober Homes Task Force, Florida Division of Investigative and Forensic Services, Martin County Sheriff's Office, Amtrak OIG, DOL-Office of Inspector General, DOL-EBSA, NICB, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, West Palm Beach Police Department, Delray Beach Police Department, Florida Attorney General Office of Statewide Prosecution, and Office of Personnel Management, Office of Inspector General. This case was 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 at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls

The former Chief Executive Officer of Essex Holdings, Inc., was sentenced to 15 years in prison by United States District Judge Darrin P. Gayles in Miami, in connection with two separate fraud schemes totaling more than $33 million in fraudulently obtained funds. The first scheme involved nearly 100 investors who purchased $30 million of promissory notes purported secured by interests in iron ore mining in Chile. The second scheme involved unlawfully obtaining $1.2 million in economic development funds as well as valuable industrial property from the State of South Carolina.

 

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

 

Navin Shankar Subramaniam Xavier, a/k/a "Navin Xavier," a/k/a "Dr. Navin Xavier" (Xavier), 44, of Miramar, was convicted by guilty plea on January 13, 2017 of two counts of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343. One wire fraud count pertained to the investment fraud scheme and the other count pertained to the South Carolina economic development scheme. A restitution hearing is scheduled for July 14, 2017 before Judge Gayles.

 

According to documents filed in court, from September 2010 through May 2014, Xavier operated Essex Holdings, Inc. (“Essex Holdings”) from an office in Miami Gardens, and raised more than $30 million from nearly 100 investors for supposed investments in sugar transportation and shipping, as well as iron ore mining in Chile. Xavier used a false financial statement, forged documents, and false promises of fixed rates of return, to induce investors to invest with Essex Holdings. Most of the money was used for purposes other than what was promised, including to support lavish spending by Xavier and his wife for expensive jewelry, luxury vehicles, wedding expenses, and cosmetic surgery. Eventually, Xavier used new investor money to pay old investors in a Ponzi-like fashion before the scheme collapsed. Evidence filed in court showed that actual investor losses from the scheme exceeded $29 million.

 

The second scheme involved Xavier using Essex Holdings to obtain $1.2 million in payments and approximately $1.5 million worth of commercial real estate from the South Carolina Coordinating Council for Economic Development (“SCCCED”), a division of the South Carolina state government, that was supposed to be used to develop a dilapidated industrial property into a diaper plant and rice packaging facility. According to documents filed in court, Xavier provided false financial documentation to SCCCED in order to obtain the contract, and later provided fake contractor invoices and fake bank statements in order to get paid under the contract. As with the investment fraud scheme, Xavier spent a significant portion of the development money for his personal living expenses, and wired some of it to the same overseas accounts used in the investment fraud.

 

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, the Miami Regional Office of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the South Carolina Office of Inspector General, for assisting with this matter. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jerrob Duffy and Alison Lehr.

 

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

Two South Florida residents are charged with shooting at a U.S. Postal Service Letter Carrier during the performance of his official duties.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Antonio J. Gomez, Postal Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, Juan J. Perez, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) made the announcement.

Jacoby Myrick, 19, of Miami, and Marques Brown, 19, of Miami, are charged in a two count indictment with Assaulting a Federal Employee, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 111(a)(1) and (b), and Discharging a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A)(iii). Brown was arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge William C. Turnoff. Brown was ordered detained pending trial. Myrick is pending an appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge.

 

According to the court record, including the indictment, on March 2, 2017, a U.S. Postal Service Letter Carrier was delivering mail at a residence in Southwest Miami-Dade County, as the home was being burglarized. Defendants Myrick and Brown allegedly fled the scene of the burglary in a single vehicle. While driving from the crime scene, one of the defendants shot at the letter carrier. The letter carrier was unharmed.

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the USPIS and MDPD. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Beranton J. Whisenant, Jr.

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 http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Six defendants were recently sentenced to prison for their participation in a massive insurance fraud scheme that resulted in federal judicial orders for more than $130 million in restitution.

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, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Michael J. Satz, Broward State Attorney, announced the sentencing of six of sixteen defendants who were previously charged in a five-count criminal Information.

A criminal Information charged sixteen defendants for their participation in a complex fraud scheme regarding the manufacture and distribution of compounded medications. The fraud involved material misrepresentations to health insurance providers and illegal payments to coconspirators and medical professionals, including physicians. The fraud generated in excess of $172,000,000 in criminal proceeds for the members of the criminal enterprise.

All sixteen defendants have pled guilty for their participation in the fraudulent scheme. Most recently, six defendants were sentenced to prison by United States District Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley, for their roles in the insurance fraud. The six defendants received the following sentences: Rhett Gordon, 36 months’ imprisonment; Brett Nadel, 36 months’ imprisonment; Lisa Goldberg, 46 months’ imprisonment; Dr. John Johnson, 60 months’ imprisonment; Frederick Thomas Giampa, 30 months’ imprisonment and Timothy Clinton, 60 months’ imprisonment. In relation to the fraudulent scheme, the Court has ordered restitution totaling in excess of $130 million dollars. In addition, the defendants have forfeited over $30 million in assets.

According to the court record, the defendants participated in a two-year conspiracy, which they used various business entities, including Numed Care, LLC, Clinical Corp, LLC, RX of Boca, and American Custom Compound Pharmacy, to perpetrate a complex fraud on numerous health care insurance providers. The defendants prepared medications in bulk quantities, which they alleged to be compounded medications for specific individualized patient needs. The defendants falsely represented to the health insurance providers that these medications were prepared in limited quantities for individual patients and were exempt from FDA inspection.

The health insurance providers compensated the defendants for the alleged costs of the ingredients for such medications. The defendants concealed from the health insurance providers that the defendants paid illegal kickbacks to physicians for the issuance of the compounded medications. The defendants unlawfully provided the physicians with pre-printed prescription pads. In order to facilitate the fraudulent scheme, the defendants used mass-marketing techniques and call centers, which made material misrepresentations in order to solicit potential patients. defendants induced owners of failing pharmacies throughout the United States to participate in the scheme in order to perpetuate the fraud.

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the DEA, IRS-CI, and the Broward State Attorney’s Office in connection with the investigation of this matter. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul F. Schwartz and Jeffrey N. Kaplan.

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

Miami-Dade Police Department Officer Michael Freshko has been charged in a criminal information with conspiracy to unlawfully export firearms from the United States to the Dominican Republic, on flights from Miami International Airport.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; and Juan J. Perez, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), made the announcement.

Freshko, 48, had his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge William C. Turnoff. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles.

According to the allegations in the criminal information, after receiving firearms from a co-conspirator, Freshko used his official position as a MDPD officer to transport the firearms past the passenger screening area and into the portion of Miami International Airport that housed the departure gates. The criminal information further alleges that Freshko thereafter would deliver the firearms to a co-conspirator, who in turn would store the firearms within carry-on baggage. Next, a co-conspirator would travel to the Dominican Republic aboard a commercial flight, with the firearms within carry-on baggage. After arriving in the Dominican Republic, a co-conspirator would deliver the firearms to an associate.

The criminal information states that one or more firearms were smuggled in this manner on October 5, 2012, and multiple firearms were smuggled on December 7, 2012. The information alleges that Freshko and the members of the conspiracy smuggled six firearms from Miami International Airport to the Dominican Republic. The smuggled firearms consisted of four Glock .9 mm pistols, one Sig Sauer .9 mm pistol, and one Sig Sauer 5.56 rifle.

The case was investigated by law enforcement officers in South Florida and New Jersey. Mr. Greenberg thanked the FBI Miami Area Corruption Task Force; the MDPD Professional Compliance Bureau; the FBI Newark Division-Franklin Township Resident Agency; the Drug Enforcement Administration Newark Division-Patterson Post of Duty; and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Davis.

A criminal information 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.