Southern District of Florida

Father and daughter, who filed fraudulent claims against the Gulf Coast Claims Facility for lost income purportedly suffered as a result of the oil spill, pled guilty to mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1341and 2.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, 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 Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement.

On April 11, 2016, Caridad Rioseco Alejandrez, 50, of Key West, Florida, pled guilty for her involvement in the filing of a false claim in connection with the Deepwater Horizon explosion and pollution incident in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010.  Alejandrez faces a possible term of imprisonment of up to twenty years on the mail fraud charge, a criminal fine of up to $250,000 or twice the intended gain or loss caused by the relevant conduct, and a period of supervised release of up to five years.  Additionally, Alejandrez may be ordered to make restitution to the identifiable victims of her crime.  Alejandrez is scheduled to be sentenced before United States District Court Judge Jose E. Martinez on July 11, 2016, at 1:30 p.m., in Key West.

On April 12, 2016, Raul Rioseco, 73, of Stock Island, Florida, was sentenced to one year and a day in prison, in connection with his involvement in a similar false claim.  Rioseco was also ordered to serve six months of house arrest and at three year term of supervised release, upon his release.  Rioseco was further ordered to make restitution payments to the Deepwater Horizon Fund, the successor to the GCCF, in the amount of $144,606.57, which represented the money he unlawfully received from the GCCF and the amounts received by certain other individuals based on fraudulent documents Rioseco provided in support of other fraudulent claims. Additionally, Rioseco was ordered to surrender to the State of Florida and the federal government all his permits and licenses associated with commercial fishing activities. 

According to court filings and proceedings, in June 2010, BP established the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) for the purpose of administering and settling certain claims of individuals and businesses for costs, damages, and other losses incurred as a result of oil discharges due to the April 20, 2010, explosion and fire on the Deepwater Horizon, an oil exploration rig operating in the Gulf of Mexico.  In August 2010, the GCCF began receiving and processing such claims of individuals and businesses for costs, damages, and other losses they had incurred as a result of the Deepwater Horizon incident, paying the claims from a $20 billion private Trust Fund established for that purpose.

Alejandrez and her father, Rioseco, filed fraudulent claims against the fund, in their own names, which resulted in them receiving $35,900 and $55,000, respectively, from the GCCF.  The scheme to defraud the GCCF was carried out through mailings and through the use of the internet, to open the claims and to provide required forms and documentation, including employment verification letters and tax return documents.  Alejandrez, produced and provided the documents to the GCCF, on behalf of herself and her father.  The documents were materially false and fraudulent and claimed Alejandrez and Rioseco were adversely affected by the spill and lost income in the months following the incident, when this was not in fact, the truth.

Rioseco represented himself to the GCCF to be a commercial fisherman, when in fact he was retired and had not been an active fisherman for many years. A lobster boat, licenses, and permits in his name were in fact being used by others, and Rioseco suffered no loss of income or other adverse effect from the oil spill.  Additionally, Rioseco admitted that he facilitated the filing of other false claims, in addition to his own fraudulent claims, by signing and providing notarized “Crewshare Statements” for at least five other individuals attesting that he had employed and paid wages to those persons as boat crewmembers during periods relevant to the GCCF claims process.  The fraudulent statements were produced to support claims for compensation which were filed by Alejandrez with the GCCF, claiming approximately $89,000 for economic losses purported to have been suffered as a result of the Deepwater Horizon incident, despite the fact that none of the individuals were crewmembers aboard the vessel or had been fishing during the relevant time period.  Additionally, according to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, the oil spill had little if any effect on the Key West fishing industry, with commercial landings in 2010, the year of the spill, and every year since.

Alejandrez created false income tax returns which she provided to the GCCF in support of her claim that her tax and document preparation business, located on Stock Island, lost income after the oil spill because her customers, primarily fishermen operating out of Stock Island, could no longer afford her services. To maximize her compensation, Alejandrez significantly increased her claimed income on returns for 2008 and 2009, over the income actually reflected in the tax returns filed with the Internal Revenue Service for those years.  Alejandrez provided similar false documentation in the support of claims for many other individuals.  A U.S. Postal Service document analyst evaluated Alejandrez’ bank records and found that contrary to the sworn statements on her claim forms, her income had increased substantially after the oil spill.  The United States advised the Court that records established an actual loss, due to the fraudulent claims, of approximately $500,000, and that the amounts claimed, although not all paid, approached $1.5 million.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, IRS-CI, the Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Law Enforcement, the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations and the support provided by the United States Postal Inspection Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald, Deputy Chief of the Economic and Environmental Crimes Section. 

Members of the public can report fraud, waste, abuse, or allegations of mismanagement involving disaster relief operations, including the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, to the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) by calling 877-NCDF-GCF (877-623-3423), sending a fax to (225) 334-4707, or emailing [email protected].

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. 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 health care clinic consultant and Medicare biller was sentenced to 135 months in prison and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine for her role in laundering money in connection with a $63 million health care fraud scheme involving a now-defunct Miami health provider.

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

Nery Cowan, 53, of Miami, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom of the Southern District of Florida.  Cowan pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering on Jan. 14, 2016. 

As part of her guilty plea, Cowan admitted to serving as a consultant and Medicare biller for Greater Miami Behavioral Healthcare Center Inc. (Greater Miami), a partial hospitalization program (PHP) located in Miami, which purported to provide intensive treatment for the severely mentally ill.  During the course of the scheme, Cowan directed and authorized the payment of kickbacks and bribes to patient brokers and others in exchange for Medicare beneficiary referrals, she admitted.  Cowan also admitted that Greater Miami personnel routinely falsified medical records affiliated with these recruited Medicare beneficiaries to support false and fraudulent claims to Medicare.  Cowan received a percentage of the Medicare reimbursement from Greater Miami’s PHP as compensation, she admitted.

Cowan also admitted that she, along with co-defendants Dean Butler and Irina Mora, took great lengths to conceal kickback payments to shell companies owned by “patient brokers” who, on behalf of Greater Miami, solicited Medicare beneficiaries from assisted living facilities, halfway houses and drug courts located throughout the Southern District of Florida.  According to her plea, Cowan, Butler and Mora disguised these monthly kickbacks as “outreach” or “marketing” payments through HNB-Stell Care Inc., a sham staffing company.

On Nov. 30, 2015, Judge Bloom sentenced Butler and Mora to 16 years and nine years in prison, respectively, following their guilty pleas. 

According to court documents, from 2006 through 2014, Greater Miami billed Medicare approximately $63 million for purported mental health services.

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated this 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.  Assistant Chief Allan J. Medina and Trial Attorney Elizabeth Young of the Fraud Section prosecuted the case.         

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.  

A former health care clinic consultant and Medicare biller was sentenced to 135 months in prison and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine for her role in laundering money in connection with a $63 million health care fraud scheme involving a now-defunct Miami health provider.

U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell 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.

Nery Cowan, 53, of Miami, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom of the Southern District of Florida.  Cowan pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering on Jan. 14, 2016. 

As part of her guilty plea, Cowan admitted to serving as a consultant and Medicare biller for Greater Miami Behavioral Healthcare Center Inc. (Greater Miami), a partial hospitalization program (PHP) located in Miami, which purported to provide intensive treatment for the severely mentally ill.  During the course of the scheme, Cowan directed and authorized the payment of kickbacks and bribes to patient brokers and others in exchange for Medicare beneficiary referrals, she admitted.  Cowan also admitted that Greater Miami personnel routinely falsified medical records affiliated with these recruited Medicare beneficiaries to support false and fraudulent claims to Medicare.  Cowan received a percentage of the Medicare reimbursement from Greater Miami’s PHP as compensation, she admitted.

Cowan also admitted that she, along with co-defendants Dean Butler and Irina Mora, took great lengths to conceal kickback payments to shell companies owned by “patient brokers” who, on behalf of Greater Miami, solicited Medicare beneficiaries from assisted living facilities, halfway houses and drug courts located throughout the Southern District of Florida.  According to her plea, Cowan, Butler and Mora disguised these monthly kickbacks as “outreach” or “marketing” payments through HNB-Stell Care Inc., a sham staffing company.

On Nov. 30, 2015, Judge Bloom sentenced Butler and Mora to 16 years and nine years in prison, respectively, following their guilty pleas. 

According to court documents, from 2006 through 2014, Greater Miami billed Medicare approximately $63 million for purported mental health services.

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated this 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.  Assistant Chief Allan J. Medina and Trial Attorney Elizabeth Young of the Fraud Section prosecuted the case.         

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov. 

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Florida Pain Medicine Associates, Inc. and its owners, Drs. Bart Gatz, Alexis Renta, and Albert Rodriguez have agreed to pay $1.1 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by billing Medicare for medically unnecessary nerve conduction studies (NCS).  

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Shimon R. Richmond, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Region, made the announcement.

“When health care providers bill for medically unnecessary procedures, they compromise patient care and the integrity of the Medicare program, for their own financial interests” said U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer.  “The United States Attorney’s Office is dedicated to investigating and resolving claims of Medicare fraud that can jeopardize the health care system.”

“When health care businesses and their owners improperly boost their profits by billing Medicare for medically unnecessary procedures, its taxpayers and patients who are left with a hefty tab,” said HHS OIG Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond.  “We are committed to uprooting such schemes and eliminating waste in Federal health care programs.”

The United States alleged that patient records indicated that a substantial percentage of the NCSs that were performed at Florida Pain Medicine Associates were medically unnecessary.  The NCSs were often administered without an accompanying electromyography (EMG) test, thereby substantially decreasing the diagnostic value of the procedure.  This was especially true where the NCS was the sole basis for performing an epidural steroid injection. 

The settlement announced today resolves allegations originally brought by Rosa Gomez, who had worked in Florida Pain Medicine Associates billing department, under the qui tam, or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government of the United States for the submission of false claims and to receive a share of any recovery.  The False Claims Act authorizes the United States to intervene in such lawsuits and take over primary responsibility for litigation.  Gomez’s will receive $242,000.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative work of HHS-OIG.  The investigation and settlement were handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Franklin Monsour.

The case is captioned United States ex rel. Gomez v. Florida Pain Medicine Associates, Inc., et al., Case No. 13-80856 CIV (S.D. Fla.).  The claims settled by the lawsuit are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

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

On April 4, 2016, Rosa E. Castrillón-Sánchez, a resident of Puerto Rico, was sentenced to 159 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $5 million in restitution to victims affected by a scheme to defraud individuals and financial institutions on the island.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Pedro Gomez, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS), Puerto Rico Office, Carlos Cases, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Puerto Rico Office, and Monsita Lecaroz, Assistant United States Trustee, Office of the United States Trustee, made the announcement.

Castrillón-Sánchez pled guilty on December 13, 2013 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028(a)(1).

According to court documents, Castrillón-Sánchez befriended individuals and falsely represented that she was the beneficiary to a Certificate of Deposit (“CD”) or trust for a large amount of money that was frozen at a local bank in Puerto Rico.  Castrillón-Sánchez would request that an individual provide her with a sum of money or take out a personal loan to assist in the releasing of the funds – with full repayment promised as soon as the CD was unfrozen.  As part of the scheme, Castrillón-Sánchez and other co-conspirators used false documents and lease agreements to obtain some of the loans and would distribute payments to individuals using Western Union wire transfers and money orders. From April 2005 to March 2010, Castrillón-Sánchez and her co-conspirators fraudulently induced over 90 individuals to loan the defendant over $5,000,000 in cash, based on false representations and promises that the individuals would be repaid in a short period of time.

Castrillón-Sánchez’s conspired with her mother Rosa Sanchez Mercado, Jorge Rivera Izquierdo, and others to use proceeds from the fraudulent scheme.  Castrillón-Sánchez stored documents used to facilitate the scheme at the home she shared with Sanchez Mercado.  Rivera Izquierdo assisted with the purchase of a Toyota Sequoia on September 13, 2008, using $40,000 of proceeds from the fraudulent scheme as down payment.  On May 29, 2009, Rivera Izquierdo assisted with the purchase of a second vehicle, a BMW 335i, using $63,419.50 of proceeds from the scheme as payment for the vehicle.

Rivera Izquierdo was found guilty, at trial, of two counts of money laundering in connection with the purchase of the two vehicles using money derived from the fraudulent scheme.  Rivera Izquierdo was sentenced on April 27, 2015 to 42 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $201,503.73.

Co-defendants Carmen Sosa Barreto, Luis Roriguez Barreto, Limarie Amalbert Birriell, Amarilys Pagan Estrella, and Noemi Delgado Alice previously pled guilty and were sentenced to probation.

Sanchez Mercado pled guilty on February 1, 2013 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.  Sanchez Mercado is scheduled to be sentenced on May 3, 2016.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI, USSS, and FBI, and thanked the United States Trustee’s Office for its assistance.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney H. Ron Davidson and Special Attorneys to the Attorney General Charles R. Walsh and Luke V. Cass.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A Jamaican national is charged in the Southern District of Florida with participating in an international telemarketing scheme based in Jamaica.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Delany De-Leon Colon, Acting Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, made the announcement.  

Joseph C. Smith, 28, of Montego Bay, Jamaica was arrested in the Southern District of Florida for his role in a Jamaica based telemarketing fraud scheme.  Smith is charged, by indictment with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341 and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 1343.  Smith faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. 

According to the indictment, beginning in or about June 2010, Smith’s co-conspirators are alleged to have contacted individual victims in the United States and falsely informed them that they had won a lottery.  These co-conspirators told victims they had to pay between several hundred to several thousand dollars, in order to collect their purported lottery winnings.  The co-conspirators then instructed the victims on how to send this money, and to whom, including directing that the funds be sent to Smith. 

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of USPIS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, U.S. Marshals Service, Broward County Drug Task Force and the Miami-Dade Police Department Economic Crimes Bureau.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bertha R. Mitrani.

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

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

On April 8, 2016, a Fort Pierce jury found an Indiantown resident guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Carlos A. Canino, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office, and William Snyder, Sheriff, Martin County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), made the announcement.

Andrew Cunningham, III, 32, of Indiantown, Florida was convicted at trial, of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g).   Cunningham faces a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison.  He is scheduled to be sentenced by U. S. District Court Senior Judge Paul Huck on June 17, 2016.

According to the court record, including testimony at trial, on May 4, 2015, MCSO Deputies responded to 911 calls reporting that Cunningham had broken a window at a cousin’s residence and threatened relatives after breaking another cousin’s truck window. During the early morning hours of May 5, 2015, Cunningham was brought to the Indiantown Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Station.  Cunningham had been shot in the abdomen while outside his residence, but refused to name his shooter.  During the course of the shooting investigation, law enforcement responded to Cunningham’s residence.  MCSO deputies received consent to search the residence for evidence of the shooting and discovered Cunningham’s bloody jacket, with a bullet hole consistent with his gunshot injury, inside the defendant’s bedroom.  In the pocket of the jacket, MCSO detectives found a Ruger .357 revolver, wrapped in a bandana.  Cunningham was previously convicted of felony offenses and was prohibited from possessing a firearm. 

This case is the result of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is a Department of Justice nationwide initiative that combines traditional law enforcement activities with community-based support and intervention programs. The two primary goals of the PSN initiative are to reduce and prevent violent crimes and to help past offenders adjust and re-enter the community.

Mr. Ferrer commends the investigative efforts of the ATF and MCSO for their work on this case.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carmen M. Lineberger and Daniel E. Funk.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A government contractor is charged with sexually exploiting and trafficking in children, while working overseas.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, 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. 

Christopher Rennie Glenn, 36, of West Palm Beach, Florida is charged by superseding indictment with:  two counts of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by fraud and of a minor in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1594(c); two counts of sex trafficking by fraud and of a minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1591(a)(1); four counts of attempting to engage in sex trafficking by fraud and of a minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1594(a); one count of traveling overseas with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2423(b); one count of sexually assaulting a minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2243(a); and one count of possession of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(4)(A).  All of the charged conduct occurred outside of the United States, in either Iraq or Honduras, and largely while Glenn, a United States citizen, was working as a network system administrator contracted by the United States Department of Defense.  Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1596, 3261, and 3271, provide for extraterritorial jurisdiction in the sex trafficking and child exploitation offenses charged.  

Glenn is accused of engaging in an elaborate scheme to sexually exploit young girls in 2010 and from 2012 through 2014 in Honduras, where he had moved to work at the U.S. Army Southern Command’s Joint Task Force Bravo, in Soto Cano Air Base.  The criminal complaint filed in August of 2015 claims that Glenn, with the aid of coconspirators, fraudulently recruited young girls living in rural villages to work as housekeepers at his home.  In exchange, Glenn promised to pay a significant amount of money to the families. The government alleges that, shortly after the girls’ arrival to Glenn’s home in Honduras, he sexually assaulted the girls, or sought to “marry” the minors to engage in sexual acts with them.  Some victims claim that Glenn gave them pills that made them sleepy and dizzy.  Some pills seized by law enforcement from Glenn’s Honduras residence in March of 2014 were determined to be drugs that can be used as sedatives.  At the detention hearing, the Government further alleged that Glenn had engaged in sexual acts with a minor female from Mexico and that, in 2005, he possessed electronic images of this sexual abuse in Iraq while working as a government contract worker.  These images of child pornography were also recovered from Glenn’s residence in Honduras in 2014. 

Glenn was initially arrested in February 2014, and charged in the Southern District of Florida with national-security and espionage related violations (Case No. 14-80031-CR-KAM(s)).  In 2015, Glenn pled guilty to charges in that case and was sentenced to a ten-year term of imprisonment.  

The child exploitation charges are the culmination of a two-year long investigation led by the FBI Miami Field Office’s Violent Crimes Against Children Squad.  The case is being prosecuted by Special Prosecutions Assistant United States Attorneys Barbara A. Martinez, Olivia S. Choe, and Vanessa Singh Johannes, from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. 

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Six defendants have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment for their participation in an extensive stolen identity tax refund fraud scheme involving the personal identifying information (PII) of more than 29,000 individuals.  The defendants used the PII, including names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, to file thousands of fraudulent federal income tax returns with the IRS claiming, collectively, tens of millions of dollars in refunds.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Robert C. Hutchinson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Delany De-Leon Colon, Acting Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, Rafiq Ahmad, Special Agent in Charge, United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations Miami Office (DOL-OIG), Carlos A. Canino, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Dexter Williams, Chief, City of Miramar Police Department, Steve Steinberg, Chief, Aventura Police Department, William Hernandez, Chief, North Miami Beach Police Department (NMBPD), and Franklin Adderley, Chief, Fort Lauderdale Police Department, made the announcement.  

Harlan Decoste, a/k/a “Money King,” a/k/a “Moneyking_111,” 27, of Miramar, was sentenced to a total of 234 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay joint and several restitution in the amount of $28,211,434.  Kerby Luma, a/k/a "Money Makin Kerb," 26, of Miramar, was sentenced to a total of 132 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay joint and several restitution in the amount of $28,211,434.  Frantz Decoste, a/k/a "Gripe_111," 21, of Miramar, was sentenced to a total of 54 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay joint and several restitution in the amount of $28,211,434.  Francis Jeudy, a/k/a "Money Makin Rab," a/k/a "Brizzleon111," 26, of Miramar, was sentenced to a total of 116 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay joint and several restitution in the amount of $28,211,434.  Andy Cherrelus, a/k/a "Risktakers111," 24, of Miami, was sentenced to 94 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay joint and several restitution in the amount of $10,000,000.  Each of the defendants previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 286, one count of conspiracy to possess fifteen or more unauthorized access devices, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(b)(2), one count of possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(3), and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(1)(a). Frantz Decoste and Jeudy also pled guilty to one count of possession of stolen mail, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1708. 

In a separate sentencing hearing, Chad Davis, a/k/a "Chadillac," a/k/a "Chadillac 305," 29, of Miami, was sentenced to 4 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Davis previously pled guilty to one count of possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(3).

“During the course of this stolen identity tax refund scheme, the defendants targeted our U.S. taxpayers and the IRS by unlawfully possessing and using personal information to submit tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent tax refund claims,” said U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer.  “The prosecution of those who attempt to steal our tax dollars will continue to remain a top priority for the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners.”

Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), stated, “This is one of the largest stolen identity tax refund fraud schemes prosecuted in the United States. These defendants perpetuated an elaborate scheme driven by insatiable greed and a blatant disregard for the integrity of the United States tax system. This case is another example of IRS-CI’s commitment to investigate individuals who participate in stolen identity tax refund fraud and hold them accountable for their actions.”

“We continue to utilize our vast resources to disrupt and dismantle these criminal organizations,” stated Robert C. Hutchinson, Special Agent in Charge, ICE's Homeland Security Investigations.

"We work together with the common goal of making our communities safer," said Delany De Leon Colon, Acting Inspector In Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Miami Division.  "We will continue to work collaboratively to take criminals off our streets."

“The Department of Labor Office of Inspector General is committed to working with our Identity Theft Strike Force partners to combat fraud involving the unemployment insurance program in the Southern District of Florida and other affected areas. This collaborative effort has been an invaluable tool in bringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice,” stated Rafiq Ahmad, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations.

“A great example of local and federal agencies working together to remove from our streets those who seek fraudulent financial gain by stealing identity information from honest citizens,” said Carlos A. Canino, Special Agent in Charge, ATF.        

“This massive stolen identity scheme impacted thousands of victims and fraudulently claimed tens of millions of dollars in IRS refunds,” said George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami.  “The investigation highlights the necessary and extensive cooperation by numerous law enforcement agencies that brought these fraudsters to justice.  I commend these agencies for their commitment to investigate cyber intrusions that rob citizens of their identities.”

According to court documents, while officers from the Miramar Police Department were investigating an armed home invasion that occurred at a home occupied by Harlan Decoste, Frantz Decoste, Luma, and Jeudy, in the Silver Falls Subdivision in Miramar, they discovered evidence of narcotics activity within the home. As a result, officers obtained a state court search warrant for the residence. 

While officers were searching the home pursuant to the state court warrant, they found evidence of fraud related activity in various bedrooms and common areas, consisting of approximately 500 debit cards issued in other persons’ names, one ledger/notebook that contained PII, one ledger/notebook that contained information related to tax returns, five United States income tax refund checks in other persons’ names, and various tax return documentation in other persons’ names.  In addition, the officers seized approximately 10 computers and 3 USB drives. There were also significant amounts of United States currency, jewelry, expensive shoes and clothing, and other valuable items in the home. 

Federal Agents obtained a search warrant to review the electronic and other evidence recovered from the residence. A forensic review of those items revealed that the computers contained over 29,000 individual pieces of PII. Some of the PII appeared in photographs of computer screens (screenshots) from a medical center. The screenshots each contained approximately twelve patient names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. The PII was also contained in rich text format document files. Many of the rich text document files contained the PII from the patient screenshots, along with additional user-inputted information such as the victims’ true addresses, fictitious addresses associated with tax returns, account numbers, IRS filing personal identification numbers, and refund amounts. 

Further analysis revealed that the defendants filed and caused to be filed numerous fraudulent federal tax returns claiming, collectively, tens of millions of dollars associated with the PII recovered from the residence. The defendants provided payment instructions on the tax returns, directing the IRS to transfer the tax refunds to various accounts in other persons' names that the defendants and their co-conspirators controlled. The defendants then withdrew the unlawfully obtained tax proceeds for their personal use and to further the fraud scheme. 

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI, ICE-HSI, USPIS, DOL-OIG, ATF, FBI Miami Cyber Task Force, as well as the Miramar, Aventura, North Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale Police Departments.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brooke Watson.

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 patient recruiter for several Miami-area home health agencies was convicted today for his role in a fraud and kickback scheme that resulted in the submission of millions of dollars in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Division 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.

Carlos Rodriguez Nerey, 45, of Miami, was convicted after trial of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay and receive health care kickbacks and one count of receiving health care kickbacks.

According to evidence presented at trial, Nerey claimed to work at a staffing company called Sweet Life Staffing Inc. but was in fact a patient recruiter for D&D&D Home Health Inc. (D&D&D) and Mercy Home Care, Inc. (Mercy), two fraudulent home health care agencies in Miami.  Evidence at trial demonstrated that Nerey worked for a number of fraudulent home health care companies in Miami before he began accepting kickbacks from D&D&D and Mercy.  The defendant created a shell company for the purpose of accepting kickbacks from Mercy and D&D&D and received approximately $250,000 as a result of his role in the scheme, evidence at trial showed.     

The evidence introduced at trial showed that Medicare paid more than $2 million to D&D&D and Mercy for those claims.

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida.  Fraud Section Trial Attorneys Lisa H. Miller and Elizabeth W. Young 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 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 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.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.  

A foreign national pled guilty to orchestrating an international mail fraud scheme.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Delany De-Leon Colon, Acting Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, made the announcement.  

Cristian Mariano Pardo, 30, and Jorge Gabriel Barca, 33, both of Buenos Aires, Argentina, were indicted in West Palm Beach on a single count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341 and fifteen counts of mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1349.   Barca has not been arrested and remains a fugitive.  Pardo pled guilty to the conspiracy to commit mail fraud and a single count of mail fraud.  Pardo faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the two counts of conviction, plus $250,000 in fines and mandatory restitution as to each charge. 

According to the indictment and court records, between September 2008 and September 2015, Pardo and Barca operated telemarketing call centers or “boiler rooms,” in Argentina that targeted Spanish-speaking consumers residing in the United States.  The defendants obtained the names of these consumers from lead lists which they had purchased in Argentina.  The lists included names of consumers who had previously made online or direct mail purchases of various items, including items sold on Spanish language television, such as English classes.

The telemarketers, acting at the direction of the defendants, would call Spanish-speaking U.S. residents to tell them that they would be receiving a small parcel in the mail that the consumers had ordered.  The callers would state that if the consumers failed to pay for the cost on delivery (C.O.D.) package – typically a charge of $500 - they would be subject to lawsuits, expensive attorney’s fees and court costs, arrest, deportation, and/or have their credit ruined.

In truth, these consumers had not ordered any merchandise, and only paid the $500 demanded for the C.O.D. because of the numerous threats made by the boiler room callers.   

When consumers refused delivery of a package sent by the defendants’ companies, they frequently were contacted again by the Argentinian telemarketers, who often identified themselves as attorneys.  The callers reiterated that the consumers had agreed to receive the products and pay for them, and again threatened the consumers if they refused to accept the packages, including threats of lawsuits, expensive court and attorney’s fees, arrest, deportation, and that the consumer’s credit would be ruined. 

As a result of these threats, numerous consumers paid an average of $500 for products of nominal value that they in fact had never ordered, fearing the consequences of failing to do so.  In order to avoid detection and the filing of consumer complaints, Pardo and Barca changed the names of their companies frequently, and at one point moved the operation from West Palm Beach to Los Angeles, CA.  During the course of the conspiracy, Pardo and Barca, through their companies, collected proceeds from the targeted consumers of over $1 million.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of USPIS.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Jorgensen.

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

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

The last of five defendants involved in a stolen identity tax refund scheme have been sentenced in United States District Court.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, 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 Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement.

According to court documents, from January 2014, through April 2014, defendants, John Mackenley Cesar, a/k/a “Cesar,” 26, of Miami, Lawrence Bernadel, a/k/a “Bernadel,” 22, of Tallahassee, Chedlor Dorilus, a/k/a “Dorilus,” 22, of Hollywood, Lubens Inalien, a/k/a “Lubaby,” a/k/a “Inalien,” 29, of Fort Lauderdale, and Ariel Ronet Walker, a/k/a “Walker,” 22, of Tallahassee, used the same Electronic Filing Identification Number (“EFIN”) at residences located in Broward County and Leon County, Florida, to file approximately 158 fraudulent tax returns with the IRS using stolen personal identifying information (“PII”) that belonged to other individuals.  In order to receive the tax refunds from those fraudulent tax returns, the defendants arranged to have the tax refunds deposited onto pre-paid debit cards, including pre-paid debit cards from H & R Block.   Once the tax refunds were deposited onto the pre-paid debit cards, the funds were used to purchase personal items or were withdrawn from ATMs in Broward County and elsewhere.

During the search of the residences used by the defendants to facilitate the fraudulent scheme, law enforcement recovered over 1,800 names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers belonging to other individuals.  The total intended loss amount from the unauthorized tax filings and PII recovered from the residences was between $1 million and $2.5 million dollars.

Cesar, Bernadel and Dorilus pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 286; and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1028A(a)(1) and 2.  Walker pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 286.  Inalien pleaded guilty to one count of misprision of a felony, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 4. 

On August 14, 2015, Dorilus was sentenced to 70 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  On December 11, 2015, Inalien was sentenced to 8 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release.  On January 22, 2016, Walker was sentenced to 5 years’ probation.  On March 23, 2016, Cesar was sentenced to 58 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.   On March 30, 2016, Bernadel was sentenced to 42 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  Cesar, Bernadel, Dorilus and Inalien were also ordered to pay joint and several restitution in the amount of $580,584.  Walker was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $124,631.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Task Force, with special commendation to the FBI and IRS-CI.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurice A. Johnson.      

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

John Milton Nagel, 47, pled guilty to three counts of mailing threatening communications from a foreign country, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 877.  At sentencing, Nagel faces a maximum statutory sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine on each count.  Sentencing has been scheduled for May 26, 2016 at 2 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez.

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

According to court documents, between September 1, 2015 and September 18, 2015, Nagel entered the Mexico City main post office located at Palacio Postal, Avenida Tacuba No. 1, Centro Historico, Delegacion Cuachtemoc, 06002 Mexico City, Mexico, and knowingly deposited for mailing thirty-seven (37) envelopes all addressed to prominent United States political figures and business leaders, each containing a threatening letter and a white powdery substance.  A sample of the powder, removed from within the suspect letters, was thereafter sent to both Mexican and U.S. laboratories for analysis and ultimately revealed that the contents were bicarbonate.                                                      

The first page of each letter read “FREE SAMPLE OF EXECUTIVE TOOTH POWDER - ACTIVATES WITH HYDROGEN PEROXIDE.  DO NOT SWALLOW!  H2O2 MAY BE POISONOUS IF SWALLOWED DON'T PANIC, EVACUATE OR CALL 911…or there will be consequences...Mathew 13:49.”  According to the King James version of the Bible, Matthew 13:49 states: “So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just.” 

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Marc S. Anton and Ricardo A. Del Toro.

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 tax service business owner and co-defendant pled guilty for their participation in a stolen identity tax refund fraud scheme. 

Wifredo A. Ferrer, 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), and Robert C. Hutchinson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

Johny Wolf Jasmin, 32, of Boca Raton, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 286, and one count of aggravated identity theft in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1028A and 2. Carneisha Patrice Mitchell, 31, of Miami, pled guilty to one count of theft of government funds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 641 and 2. At sentencing, the defendants each face up to ten years in prison for the conspiracy and theft of government money charges. Jasmin also faces a mandatory term of two years’ imprisonment, consecutive to any other prison term, for the aggravated identity theft charge.

According to court documents, Jasmin owned and operated a tax service business called Wolf Vision, Inc. at an address located in Hollywood, Florida.  During the course of the investigation, law enforcement learned three separate Electronic Filing Identification Numbers (EFINs) were used to file false and fraudulent tax returns from Jasmin’s business.  One of those EFINs was assigned to Mitchell.  Based upon this information, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Jasmin’s business and recovered computers, thumb drives, prepaid debit cards, and numerous documents that contained over 2,100 names, dates of birth, and social security numbers that belonged to living and deceased individuals.

In fact, a review of Jasmin’s personal income tax for the 2014 tax year showed that Jasmin obtained the name, date of birth and social security number of a child who had passed away and later used that information to fraudulently claim the deceased child as one of his dependents. 

In addition, law enforcement learned that an IRS treasury tax refund check in the name of a deceased individual was deposited into Mitchell’s personal checking account.  Thereafter, Mitchell used the money from the IRS treasury check for her personal use. 

As a result of Jasmin and his co-conspirator’s fraudulent conduct, over 220 false and fraudulent federal income tax returns were filed with the IRS using stolen personal identifying information (PII) of living and deceased individuals.  Further, over $550,000 in tax refunds were sought from the false and fraudulent income tax returns filed from Jasmin’s tax business.

Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for June 3, 2016 before U.S. District Judge William J. Zloch.   

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of FBI, IRS-CI and ICE-HSI. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurice A. Johnson.  

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 resident was sentenced to 34 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for his participation in a stolen identity tax fraud scheme.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Delany De-Leon Colon, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, made the announcement.

Ronel Junior Lamour, 25, previously pled guilty to one count of possession of fifteen or more counterfeit access devices, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(3), and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1028A(a)(1) and 2.

According to court documents, in 2013, Lamour used names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers of other people to file 2012 tax returns. As part of the scheme, Lamour set up bank accounts using unauthorized debit cards in the names of the filers and had the refunds wired into the accounts.

Court documents state that Lamour also fraudulently used debit card account numbers, issued to other persons, to purchase United States Postal Service (USPS) money orders.  On two separate occasions, Lamour deposited these USPS money orders into a bank account.

Federal law enforcement conducted an electronic search of Lamour’s cell phone pursuant to a warrant. The phone contained copies of passports, driver’s licenses and Social Security cards of over fifty (50) individuals. This information was forwarded to the IRS Scheme Development Center and twenty-five (25) of those individuals were found to have had false 2012 tax returns filed in their names.   

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI and the USPIS.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Joshua S. Rothstein.

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

Two leaders of Colombia’s largest and most influential BACRIM (banda criminal or criminal group), CLAN USUGA (formerly referred to as Los Urabeños), were sentenced to 20 and 24 year prison terms for their involvement in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy. 

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and A.D. Wright, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

On June 4, 2015, nine defendants, including Oscar David Pulgarin-Ganan, a/k/a “Niño,” a/k/a “Coroso,” and Ramiro Caro-Pineda, a/k/a “Nolasco,” a/k/a “Hugo” were charged in a single-count Indictment, in the Southern District of Florida, for their participation in large-scale drug trafficking organization based out of Colombia (Case No. 15cr20403).  Pulgarin-Ganan and Caro-Pineda conspired to traffic large amounts of cocaine from Colombia, through Central America, with the eventual destination being the United States, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 959 and 960.  Pulgarin-Ganan and Caro-Pineda pled guilty to the indictment and were respectively sentenced, in 2016, to 240 and 284 months’ imprisonment.

Pulgarin-Ganan and Caro-Pineda were top-level members of the CLAN USUGA drug trafficking organization.  Caro-Pineda oversaw transportation and shipments of all loads owned, controlled, or protected by the criminal group.  Pulgarin-Ganan was an owner, manager, and investor in loads with other high-level members of the drug trafficking organization.  Pulgarin-Ganan managed multi-ton loads being sent by airplane and go-fast vessels to Central American and eventually being imported into the United States.  In addition, Pulgarin-Ganan was in charge of coordinating all CLAN USUGA cocaine loads that arrived in Central America, with the final eventual destination being the United States. 

Caro-Pineda was also indicted in the Middle District of Florida, Eastern District of Texas, and Eastern District of New York and pled guilty to each indictment.

These cases are the result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The OCDETF mission is to identify, investigate, and prosecute high level members of drug trafficking enterprises, bringing together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the DEA.  Mr. Ferrer also recognized the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Middle District of Florida, Eastern District of Texas, and Eastern District of New York for their collective assistance with the prosecution of CLAN USUGA leaders and high-ranking members. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael B. Nadler.

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 Colombian nationals were each sentenced to more than 19 years in prison for their involvement in an international cocaine trafficking conspiracy. 

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and A.D. Wright, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

On July 20, 2010, German Bustos-Alarcon a/k/a “Puma” and Rafael Alvarez-Pineda a/k/a “Chepe,” were charged in a single-count indictment in the Southern District of Florida for their participation in large-scale drug trafficking organization based out of Colombia (Case No. 10cr20554).  Bustos-Alarcon and Alvarez-Pineda conspired to traffic large amounts of cocaine from Colombia, through Central America, with the eventual destination being the United States, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 959 and 960.  On March 23, 2015, German Bustos-Alarcon was extradited from Colombia to the Southern District of Florida.  On April 29, 2015, Alvarez-Pineda was also extradited from Colombia to the Southern District of Florida.  Bustos-Alarcon and Alvarez-Pineda each pled guilty to the indictment and were sentenced to 235 months’ imprisonment.

Bustos-Alarcon and Alvarez-Pineda were members of the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) and were principal lieutenants of AUC Leader Ramiro Vanoy-Murrillo a/k/a “Cuco Vanoy” (Case No. 99-CR-6153-KMM).  After the AUC leaders were extradited from Colombia to the United States in May 2008, Bustos-Alarcon and Alvarez-Pineda moved into leadership roles in the area of Caucasia, Colombia.  Bustos-Alarcon and Alvarez-Pineda formed a drug trafficking alliance with Colombia’s largest and most influential BACRIM (banda criminal or criminal group), CLAN USUGA (formerly referred to as Los Urabeños).  Bustos-Alarcon and Alvarez-Pineda purchased cocaine from laboratories and sold it to members of the CLAN USUGA, who then transported the narcotics to Central America and eventually on to the United States. 

These cases are the result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The OCDETF mission is to identify, investigate, and prosecute high level members of drug trafficking enterprises, bringing together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the DEA.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael B. Nadler.

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

The president of a transportation company based in Miami was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for his role in a health care fraud scheme involving three mental health centers that resulted in the submission of approximately $70 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Division made the announcement.

Damian Mayol, 45, of Miami, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro of the Southern District of Florida, who also ordered Mayol to pay $26,808,841 in restitution and to forfeit the same amount.  In January 2016, Mayol was convicted of conspiracy to pay health care kickbacks after a five-day trial.

According to evidence presented at trial, Mayol was the president of Transportation Services Providers Inc. and, along with his co-conspirators, used the company to coordinate the payment of illegal health care kickbacks to recruiters, who in return referred patients to three now-defunct clinics in the Miami area: R&S Community Mental Health Inc. (R&S), St. Theresa Community Mental Health Center Inc. (St. Theresa) and New Day Community Mental Health Center LLC (New Day). 

The evidence introduced at trial further established that R&S, St. Theresa and New Day were community mental health centers that purported to provide intensive mental health services to Medicare beneficiaries.  On behalf of the recruited beneficiaries, the centers billed Medicare for costly partial hospitalization program (PHP) services that were not medically necessary or not provided to patients, according to trial evidence.  Trial evidence demonstrated that patient records, including group therapy session notes, were falsified to support claims for reimbursement from Medicare.  Between January 2008 and December 2010, the centers submitted approximately $70 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare.  Medicare paid approximately $28 million on those claims, the evidence showed. 

In December 2015, co-defendants Santiago Borges, Erik Alonso and Cristina Alonso were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 28 months to 120 months on related charges. 

The FBI investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida.  Trial Attorneys A. Brendan Stewart and Timothy Loper of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case. 

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged over 2,300 defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for over $7 billion.  In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS Office of Inspector General, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.  

The president of a transportation company based in Miami was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for his role in a health care fraud scheme involving three mental health centers that resulted in the submission of approximately $70 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare.

U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Division made the announcement.

Damian Mayol, 45, of Miami, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro of the Southern District of Florida, who also ordered Mayol to pay $26,808,841 in restitution and to forfeit the same amount.  In January 2016, Mayol was convicted of conspiracy to pay health care kickbacks after a five-day trial.

According to evidence presented at trial, Mayol was the president of Transportation Services Providers Inc. and, along with his co-conspirators, used the company to coordinate the payment of illegal health care kickbacks to recruiters, who in return referred patients to three now-defunct clinics in the Miami area: R&S Community Mental Health Inc. (R&S), St. Theresa Community Mental Health Center Inc. (St. Theresa) and New Day Community Mental Health Center LLC (New Day). 

The evidence introduced at trial further established that R&S, St. Theresa and New Day were community mental health centers that purported to provide intensive mental health services to Medicare beneficiaries.  On behalf of the recruited beneficiaries, the centers billed Medicare for costly partial hospitalization program (PHP) services that were not medically necessary or not provided to patients, according to trial evidence.  Trial evidence demonstrated that patient records, including group therapy session notes, were falsified to support claims for reimbursement from Medicare.  Between January 2008 and December 2010, the centers submitted approximately $70 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare.  Medicare paid approximately $28 million on those claims, the evidence showed. 

In December 2015, co-defendants Santiago Borges, Erik Alonso and Cristina Alonso were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 28 months to 120 months on related charges. 

The FBI investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida.  Trial Attorneys A. Brendan Stewart and Timothy Loper of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.                  

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged over 2,300 defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for over $7 billion.  In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS Office of Inspector General, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.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.

Following a three-day trial before United States District Court Judge Kenneth A. Marra, a jury convicted a Lauderhill resident for his participation in a stolen identity tax fraud scheme which occurred in Palm Beach and Broward Counties.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, 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. 

Jean Daniel Julien, of Lauderhill, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, and one count of theft of government money, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641.

According to evidence presented at trial, Julien received a $56,000 U.S. Treasury refund check in the name of “D.H.”  Another individual opened a bank account in D.H.’s name, and the defendant deposited the refund check into this account.  Julien then deposited a $55,000 starter check written on the D.H. account into a business account opened by Julien’s wife.  During the next two days, most of the $55,000 was withdrawn from the account.

Julien is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Court Judge Kenneth A. Marra on June 10, 2016. At sentencing, Julien faces up to thirty years in prison for the conspiracy charge, and up to ten years in prison for the theft of government money charge.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William Zloch.

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 Martin County man was convicted yesterday, following a federal jury trial, on charges stemming from his harassment of police officers and the obstruction of civil lawsuits, during the course of extensive bank and mail fraud schemes.  

Wifredo A. Ferrer, 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.

Mark Alan Yoder, 55, of Hobe Sound, was charged by indictment with five counts of bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344; and four counts of mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341.  Yoder was convicted on all counts of the indictment and faces a statutory maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison and/or a $1,000,000 fine.  A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.  Sentencing will be imposed by Senior United States District Judge Paul C. Huck in Fort Pierce. 

According to trial testimony and court documents, Yoder carried out bank and mail fraud schemes.  On October 18, 2010, Yoder received a traffic citation, for driving without a seat belt, from a Tequesta Police Department Officer.  Yoder objected to the ticket, demanded to speak to a supervisor and denied the officer had any authority for the stop. The officer’s supervisor arrived on the scene to provide assistance.  Beginning in the months following the traffic stop and into early 2011, Yoder sent, by mail, a succession of fraudulent formal demands and notices, claiming the two police officers and the Tequesta Police Department each owed him $150,000 in damages.  Yoder also sent similar demands for large damage payments to officers and executives of the bank that was foreclosing upon his home.  Not long after the final judgment of foreclosure was entered in the state court, Yoder filed a fraudulent mechanic’s lien against the bank’s property, falsely claiming that he was owed thousands of dollars for his maintenance of the home prior to the foreclosure.  Yoder renewed the fraudulent mechanic’s lien, with successive filings, in 2014 and 2015.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI.  Mr. Ferrer also thanked the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, the Tequesta Police Department, and the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Martin County, Florida, for their assistance with this investigation.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Theodore Cooperstein and Kerry Baron.   

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 man pleaded guilty yesterday for his role in a scheme to defraud two commercial lenders and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) out of more than $11 million.

U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Inspector General Michael McCarthy of EXIM made the announcement.

Guillermo A. Sanchez-Badia, 61, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard of the Southern District of Florida in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.  Sentencing is scheduled for June 3 before Judge Lenard.

According to admissions made as part of his plea agreement, from 2007 through 2012, Sanchez and his co-conspirators utilized companies they controlled to create fictitious invoices for sales of merchandise that never occurred.  These invoices were sold to two Miami-area commercial lenders in a process called “factoring,” which allowed the conspirators to receive cash for approximately 90 percent of the value of the merchandise listed on the fake invoices, according to the plea.  Sanchez admitted that, in order to continue the scheme, he and his co-conspirators created additional fictitious invoices, transferred the funds they received through numerous bank accounts under their control and, in a Ponzi-style scheme, used a portion of the new proceeds to pay off prior factored invoices. 

Sanchez admitted that when the Miami lenders refused to extend further credit, he and his co-conspirators created false invoices and shipping documents to obtain a loan guaranteed by the EXIM.  Rather than acquiring, selling and shipping American manufactured goods as required for an EXIM guaranteed loan, Sanchez and his co-conspirators used the loan proceeds to pay off earlier factored invoices, thereby extending the scheme, and kept the balance of the loan proceeds for themselves, Sanchez admitted.  The factoring loans and the EXIM-guaranteed loan ultimately defaulted, causing more than $11 million dollars in losses to the lenders and the United States, according to the plea. 

Five other individuals have been convicted for their roles in this scheme.  Isabel C. Sanchez, 36, of Miami, the daughter of Sanchez-Badia, and Gustavo Giral, 38, of Miami, who were charged in the same indictment as Sanchez-Badia, pleaded guilty on Feb. 26, 2016, for their participation in this scheme to defraud, and will be sentenced on May 13, 2016.  Isabel Sanchez created the false sales and shipping documents and arranged for the transfer of criminal proceeds through over 50 bank accounts.  Giral assisted in circulating the fraudulent documents and in converting loan proceeds to currency, facilitating the money-laundering concealment by making the source of funds more difficult to trace.  Freddy Moreno-Beltran, 43, of Bogota, Colombia; Ricardo Beato, 62, of Miami; and Jorge Amad, 48, of Miramar, Florida, were separately charged and have each pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme.  According to admissions in their plea agreements, Moreno-Beltran owned Clientric, a company in Colombia, which purportedly purchased goods from companies that the defendants controlled.  Beato and Amad owned Approach Technologies International, a company offering call center software.  The conspirators admitted that they told the EXIM that Approach Technologies International had sold more than $1 million in American manufactured software and equipment to Clientric, which was false, in order to obtain an EXIM-guaranteed loan.  Moreno-Beltran and Beato were each sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison and ordered to pay $1,951,643.05 in restitution. 

Ultimately, the EXIM-guaranteed loan defaulted, causing a loss to the United States of nearly $2 million.

The EXIM Office of Inspector General investigated the case, and Senior Litigation Counsel Patrick Donley and Trial Attorney William Bowne of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.

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

A Miami man pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to defraud two commercial lenders and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) out of more than $11 million.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida and Inspector General Michael McCarthy of EXIM made the announcement.

Guillermo A. Sanchez-Badia, 61, pleaded today before U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard of the Southern District of Florida in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.  Sentencing is scheduled for June 3 before Judge Lenard.

According to admissions made as part of his plea agreement, from 2007 through 2012, Sanchez and his co-conspirators utilized companies they controlled to create fictitious invoices for sales of merchandise that never occurred.  These invoices were sold to two Miami-area commercial lenders in a process called “factoring,” which allowed the conspirators to receive cash for approximately 90 percent of the value of the merchandise listed on the fake invoices, according to the plea.  Sanchez admitted that, in order to continue the scheme, he and his co-conspirators created additional fictitious invoices, transferred the funds they received through numerous bank accounts under their control and, in a Ponzi-style scheme, used a portion of the new proceeds to pay off prior factored invoices. 

Sanchez admitted that when the Miami lenders refused to extend further credit, he and his co-conspirators created false invoices and shipping documents to obtain a loan guaranteed by the EXIM.  Rather than acquiring, selling and shipping American manufactured goods as required for an EXIM guaranteed loan, Sanchez and his co-conspirators used the loan proceeds to pay off earlier factored invoices, thereby extending the scheme, and kept the balance of the loan proceeds for themselves, Sanchez admitted.  The factoring loans and the EXIM-guaranteed loan ultimately defaulted, causing more than $11 million dollars in losses to the lenders and the United States, according to the plea. 

Five other individuals have been convicted for their roles in this scheme.  Isabel C. Sanchez, 36, of Miami, the daughter of Sanchez-Badia, and Gustavo Giral, 38, of Miami, who were charged in the same indictment as Sanchez-Badia, pleaded guilty on Feb. 26, 2016, for their participation in this scheme to defraud, and will be sentenced on May 13, 2016.  Isabel Sanchez created the false sales and shipping documents and arranged for the transfer of criminal proceeds through over 50 bank accounts.  Giral assisted in circulating the fraudulent documents and in converting loan proceeds to currency, facilitating the money-laundering concealment by making the source of funds more difficult to trace.  Freddy Moreno-Beltran, 43, of Bogota, Colombia; Ricardo Beato, 62, of Miami; and Jorge Amad, 48, of Miramar, Florida, were separately charged and have each pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme.  According to admissions in their plea agreements, Moreno-Beltran owned Clientric, a company in Colombia, which purportedly purchased goods from companies that the defendants controlled.  Beato and Amad owned Approach Technologies International, a company offering call center software.  The conspirators admitted that they told the EXIM that Approach Technologies International had sold more than $1 million in American manufactured software and equipment to Clientric, which was false, in order to obtain an EXIM-guaranteed loan.  Moreno-Beltran and Beato were each sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison and ordered to pay $1,951,643.05 in restitution. 

Ultimately, the EXIM-guaranteed loan defaulted, causing a loss to the United States of nearly $2 million.

The EXIM Office of Inspector General investigated the case, and Senior Litigation Counsel Patrick Donley and Trial Attorney William Bowne of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.

Two Mexican nationals, who were working in the Homestead, Florida area and elsewhere, have been charged by indictment with participating in a conspiracy to provide and obtain forced labor.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Robert C. Hutchinson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), made the announcement.

Agustin Mendez-Vazquez, 43, and his son, Ever Mendez-Perez, 23, both originally of Mexico, were charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to provide and obtain forced labor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1594(b). Agustin Mendez-Vazquez was also charged with one count of providing and obtaining forced labor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1589(a).  If convicted, Agustin Mendez-Vazquez faces a statutory maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years.  Ever Mendez-Perez faces a statutory maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

According to court records, Agustin Mendez-Vazquez and Ever Mendez-Perez, who work as unlicensed labor subcontractors on tomato farms in the Homestead area, utilized physical force, threats of physical force, threats of deportation, and debt bondage to maintain control over other migrant workers.  Workers under the defendants’ control were beaten if they did not work every day; were subjected to harassment and abuse; and were required to relinquish large portions of their paychecks – sometimes their entire paychecks – to the Mendezes. The defendants are currently being held without bond pending trial.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Widlanski. 

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

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

An owner of two fraudulent medical clinics in the Miami area was sentenced to 82 months in prison today for his role in a Medicare fraud scheme that caused more than $3 million in losses.

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

Carlos Medina, 56, of Miami, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga of the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud in January 2016.  In addition to his prison sentence, Judge Altonaga ordered Medina to forfeit $3,067,898.69.

According to admissions in the factual basis for his plea agreement, Medina was the owner of Doral Community Clinic Inc. and Advanced Medical of Doral Inc., however, other individuals served as the owners on the clinics’ corporate paperwork.  Medina’s clinics purportedly provided medically necessary services to Medicare beneficiaries, but in reality the clinics charged cash kickbacks ranging from $100 to $200 in exchange for prescriptions for home health care services, and some of the beneficiaries who frequented the clinics did not meet Medicare’s criteria for the prescribed services, according to the factual basis.  Some of the services prescribed by the medical professionals at Doral and Advanced Medical were never provided by the home health agencies to which the patients were referred, according to admissions in the factual basis. 

The factual basis for the plea agreement states that Medina’s clinics sold prescriptions that were used to facilitate submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare by more than 20 home health agencies in the Miami area.  Medicare paid more than $3 million in payments as a direct result of prescriptions sold by Doral and Advanced during a period of less than two years, according to the factual basis. 

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida.  Fraud Section Trial Attorneys Lisa H. Miller and Jon M. Juenger 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 over 2,300 defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for over $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.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov. 

A North Miami Beach resident was sentenced to 84 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $585,070, for his participation in stolen identity tax and unemployment insurance claims fraud schemes.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), William Hernandez, Chief, North Miami Beach Police Department (NMBPD), Rafiq Ahmad, Special Agent in Charge, United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations Miami Office (DOL-OIG), Robert C. Hutchinson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, and Carlos Canino, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), made the announcement.

Elton Lloyd Bandoo, a/k/a “Ebdaiceman”, previously pled guilty to one count of possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(3), and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1). 

According to court documents, on February 6, 2015, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at Bandoo's residence. While executing the search warrant, law enforcement seized several computers and external media devices that contained the personal identification information (PII) of approximately 27,000 victims.  In addition, law enforcement discovered papers, including billing forms from a medical facility, handwritten lists of names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, and printed lists of names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, of approximately 1,400 individuals. Bandoo's fingerprints were discovered on the papers containing the victims' PII.

The IRS confirmed that the PII on which Bandoo's fingerprints were discovered was used to file fraudulent tax returns, many in the names of deceased individuals, seeking $1,073,112 in fraudulent refunds. Bandoo’s IP address was used to request $11,804 in unauthorized payments on nine fraudulent unemployment insurance claims.

In total, the amount of intended loss resulting from Bandoo’s fraudulent schemes is $14,826,443.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI, NMBPD, DOL-OIG, ICE-HSI, and ATF.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie R. Galvin.

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 Guyanese national was convicted following a federal jury trial on charges stemming from his leadership and participation in an extensive mortgage fraud scheme.  

Wifredo A. Ferrer, 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.

Ravindranauth “Ravi” Roopnarine, 56, of Guyana, was charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349; mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341; and wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.  On Friday, March 11, 2016, a twelve-person jury convicted Roopnarine on all three counts, after a four day trial presided over by United States District Judge Jose E. Martinez. 

According to publicly filed documents and statements made in court, on December 9, 2010, a Fort Pierce federal grand jury indicted Roopnarine, Gergawattie “Kamla” Seecharan, Bhaardwaj “Deo” Seecharan and Linda Rovetto for their participation in a mortgage fraud scheme.  Kamla Seecharan, Deo Seecharan and Rovetto previously pled guilty and were sentenced.  Roopnarine in mid-2015 waived extradition and returned from Trinidad and Tobago to the Southern District of Florida. 

According to the court documents, Roopnarine recruited and led his co-conspirators in a widespread mortgage fraud scheme involving more than 150 residential real estate properties in Indian River, Miami-Dade, and Orlando-Orange Counties.  Roopnarine, along with Kamla Seecharan and her husband Deo Seecharan, conspired to solicit mainly Guyanese residents of Florida and other States to act as straw buyers on fraudulent mortgage loan applications.  Approximately 80 individuals served as straw buyers of properties in Vero Lake Estates (VLE), in Indian River County, and other developments.  This scheme resulted in the issuance of more than $50 million in fraudulent mortgage loans.  The co-conspirators then used the proceeds to purchase additional properties, fund pre-existing fraudulent mortgage loans, and pay kickbacks to the straw buyers.  In addition, Kamla Seecharan and Rovetto unlawfully diverted more than $3.5 million in mortgage loans from real estate closing escrow accounts to Raviworld New Homes, Inc., a company managed by Roopnarine and Deo Seecharan. 

Kamla Seecharan pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy involving more than $50 million dollars in fraudulent mortgage loan funds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1341, 1343 and 1349.  Deo Seecharan and Rovetto each pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud involving $3.5 million dollars in diverted real estate escrow funds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1349 and 1344. 

 U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez sentenced Kamla Seecharan and Deo Seecharan, to 121 months and 60 months, respectively, in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release.  In addition, Kamla Seecharan and Deo Seecharan were ordered to pay restitution, in the amount of $2,040,343.14 and $9,041,133.46, respectively.  U.S. District Judge Martinez sentenced Rovetto to 42 months in prison.

Judge Martinez has set a sentencing hearing for Roopnarine on May 10, 2016, at 1:30 p.m. in the Fort Pierce U.S. Courthouse.  Roopnarine faces a statutory maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison and/or a $1,000,000 fine.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI.  Mr. Ferrer also thanked the State of Florida Office of Financial Regulation, Bureau of Finance, West Palm Beach Regional Office for their work on this investigation, and the United States Marshals Service for their assistance with the extradition and return of Roopnarine to Florida from Trinidad & Tobago.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Theodore Cooperstein and James V. Hayes.   

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.

Tyler Scott Topolski, 20, of Vero Beach, pled guilty today before Chief United States Magistrate Judge Frank J. Lynch, Jr. in Ft. Pierce.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Deryl Loar, Sheriff, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, and David E. Currey, Chief, Vero Beach Police Department, made the announcement. 

Topolski pled guilty to an indictment charging him with bank robbery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 2113(a).  Sentencing is scheduled for June 3, 2016 before United States District Judge Kenneth A. Marra in Ft. Pierce.  At sentencing, Topolski faces a possible maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison.

According to Court records, on November 6, 2015, at approximately 2:28 p.m., Topolski entered the Florida Community Bank, located at 4000 20th Street, Vero Beach, with a demand note, which read, “NO dye Paacs, I need All the 50’s & 100’s In the Bag! Fan the bills out first. Any restiance I will kill you & myself.”  Topolski left with approximately $973.00 in cash.  The note was later recovered in a nearby parking lot. 

After Vero Beach Police Department detectives received information from the community, identifying Topolski from bank surveillance photographs, they obtained a South Carolina driver’s license in order to confirm his identity.  Several bank witnesses positively identified Toploski from photographic lineups.  As a result, the detectives obtained a State of Florida Arrest Warrant for Topolski and notified the Horry County Police Department in South Carolina.  On November 7, 2015, Topolski was successfully captured, after he was located, hiding in his mother’s closet in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  Topolski gave detectives a full confession, admitting that he had cut his facial hair, in order to conceal his identity.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, Vero Beach Police Department, and Horry County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina for their work on this case.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Lineberger.

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.

Enrique Martinez Mathews, a former Registered Nurse at Veteran Affairs (VA) Medical Center Miami, was sentenced on March 2, 2016, to 60 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to altering and falsifying VA Computer Records (obstruction and computer related fraud), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1519 and 1030. 

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Monty Stokes, Special Agent in Charge, United States Department of Veteran Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigations Division (VA OIG), made the announcement.

According to the court record, Martinez interfered with an internal investigation at the VA Medical Center Miami.  The internal investigation related to the death of a veteran in Martinez’s care.  The internal investigation revealed that Martinez altered VA patient records of the veteran under his care, while the patient recovered in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at the VA in Miami.  The defendant’s actions caused appropriate medical treatment to be withheld from the veteran, who later passed away.  Martinez then altered additional records in an attempt to conceal his actions. 

U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer stated, “Protecting our veterans is a national concern.  Together with our partners at the Veterans Affairs Administration, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will identify for prosecution those individuals who compromise the personal information and potential safety and security of our citizens.”

Special Agent in Charge Monty Stokes said, “This investigation represents the VA OIG’s commitment to investigate obstruction as well as alterations of medical records that needlessly compromise veterans’ care and subject them to harm.  We will continue to vigorously investigate employees whose actions corrupt the integrity of VA’s health care records relied upon by VA clinicians who treat our nation’s heroes.”

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the VA OIG.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Widlanski and 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.

The final defendant pled guilty in a stolen identity tax refund fraud scheme involving student financial services accounts.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Delany De-Leon Colon, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

Emmanuel Avrilien, 23, of Miami, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, and one count of theft of government money, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641.  The defendant was remanded into custody after his guilty plea was accepted by the Court.

Co-defendants Andy Lamour, 22, Tamica Smith, 26, Marie Joseph, 25, and Gerrey Cherrelus, 22, all of Miami, each previously pled guilty to the same two charges, and Sandy Jean-Louis, 21, of Miami, previously pled guilty to the conspiracy charge. All of the co-defendants have been sentenced. As part of their plea agreements, Avrilien, Lamour, Smith, Joseph, Cherrelus and Jean-Louis agreed to pay restitution in the amounts of $98,481.00, $26,172.00, $17,395.00, $22.399.00, $13,242.00, and $28,561.63, respectively.

According to court documents, Lamour, Cherrelus and Jean-Louis were students at Miami Dade College; Avrilien, Lamour, Smith and Joseph were employees of a Target Store. From April 17, 2012 to January 24, 2013, the defendants participated in a tax fraud scheme where the defendants received fraudulently obtained tax refunds in their personal Higher One, Inc. and/or Citibank accounts.   Avrilien paid the other defendants for allowing their accounts to receive the stolen tax refunds, and directed Lamour to recruit other Target Store employees and Miami Dade College students to participate in the scheme.

Court documents also state that Avrilien and unknown co-conspirators filed a total of 145 fraudulent tax returns which directed the tax refunds to be deposited into one of the other defendant’s accounts. After the tax refunds were deposited into a defendant’s account, that defendant withdrew the money from the account at ATMs or through counter withdrawals.

Sentencing for Avrilien is scheduled for May 19, 2016 at 10:30 a.m. before Chief Judge K. Michael Moore. At sentencing, the Avrilien faces up to five years in prison for the conspiracy charge, and up to ten years in prison for the theft of government money charge.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Identity Theft Tax Refund Strike Force, with special commendation to USPIS, IRS-CI, and the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gera Peoples.

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

A Broward County resident pled guilty today for his role in a Jamaica based telemarketing fraud scheme.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and Delany De-Leon Colon, Acting Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, made the announcement.

Delroy Drummond, 26, of Broward County, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.  Drummond is scheduled to be sentenced on May 31, 2016 at 1:15 p.m. by U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas.  At sentencing, Drummond faces a maximum statutory sentence of up to twenty years in prison. 

According to documents and information presented in Court, beginning in or about April 2015, Drummond’s co-conspirators contacted elderly victims in the United States and falsely informed them that they had won a lottery.  These co-conspirators told victims they had to pay several thousand dollars in taxes and fees in order to collect their purported lottery winnings. The co-conspirators then instructed the victims on how to send this money, and to whom, including directing that the funds be sent to Drummond.

In September 2013, Drummond was contacted in Miami, Florida, by law enforcement regarding a package, which was sent through the mail, containing money from a victim of the fraudulent scheme.  At that time, Drummond was confronted with the fact that he was participating in a lottery scheme and was warned by law enforcement to stop receiving money from victims of telemarketing fraud.

In April 2015, Drummond obtained money wired to him under a fictitious name from a victim who had been falsely told he/she had won a $2.5 million lottery prize.  Drummond used fraudulent identification in order to receive these funds.  In May 2015, Drummond obtained money wired to him under a fictitious name from another victim who was falsely informed he/she had won a lottery prize.  Between April 2015 and December 2015, Drummond received numerous packages containing money via the United States Mail, Federal Express, and United Parcel Service from multiple victims located throughout the United States.  As a result of the fraudulent scheme, the victims lost approximately $500,000.  

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of USPIS, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Marshal Service, Broward Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Interdiction Task Force and the Miami Dade Police Department Economic Crimes Unit.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randy Katz.

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

Sunland Pest Control Services, Inc. (Sunland), Grenale Williams, 53, of South Bay, and Canarie Deon Curry, 40, of Riviera Beach, pled guilty today in federal court in Fort Pierce before United States District Court Judge Jose E. Martinez in connection with the illegal application of a pesticide that resulted in injuries to a minor child. 

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Andy Castro, Acting Special Agent in Charge, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Criminal Investigation Division, Atlanta Area Office, made the announcement. 

Sunland, Williams, and Curry, pled guilty for their involvement in the illegal application of sulfuryl fluoride (a pesticide), contrary to the label’s safety requirements, in violation of Title 7, United States Code, Section 136i(b)(1)(B).  Sunland also pled guilty to making false statements in connection with the investigation, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001. Williams and Curry face a statutory maximum sentence of up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000, to be followed by and a period of supervised release.  In addition, Sunland faces up to five years of probation and a $500,000 fine for the false statements conviction.  Sentencing is scheduled for May 11, 2016 at 12:00 p.m. in Fort Pierce. 

According to court documents, the federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) regulates the use of pesticides, including those designated for restricted use due to their potential adverse effects, including serious injury.  Application of restricted use pesticides is limited to certified applicators or those under the direct supervision of certified applicators.  Sulfuryl fluoride, a commonly used antimicrobial in structural fumigations for termites, is one such restricted use pesticide that is registered with the EPA.  At the heart of the safe use of such pesticides is compliance with the product label, which includes the written, printed, or graphic matter associated with the pesticide.  Under FIFRA, the label is the law, and strict compliance with it is critical to the safe application of the restricted use pesticide.  Federal law also prohibits the making of material false statements in a matter within the jurisdiction of the EPA.

Court records and a joint factual statement indicate that in June 2015 residents contracted with Terminix for a home fumigation for termites under an existing warranty.  Terminix, without warning or approval, subcontracted the job to Sunland.  The fumigation occurred over a weekend and the residents returned to their home on Sunday, August 16, 2015 to find a clearance tag on the front door indicating that it was safe to enter.  During the evening several family members became ill, and medical attention was sought for their nine year old son.  It was determined that the family’s symptoms were consistent with pesticide poisoning. 

A subsequent investigation revealed that contrary to the label requirements for use of the potentially deadly gas, the defendants failed, among other violations, to: provide the Fact Sheet for the pesticide being used; have the required number of properly trained personnel on site following the application of the pesticide; properly aerate the fumigated space; and conduct clearance testing with an approved and calibrated Low Fumigant Level Detection Device.  In addition, a clearance tag was left at the premises indicating it was safe to enter when in fact the requisite procedures had not been completed.  The family was falsely assured by Terminix and Sunland that the aeration and clearance requirements had been met.  Additionally, Sunland representatives misrepresented the specific brand of pesticide that was used and indicated that the fumigation, aeration, and clearance of the home was in accordance with the law when in truth and fact, the defendants were not in compliance.

United States Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer stated, “Federal regulations are in place to ensure that the public is protected.  Individuals and corporations who knowingly side-step the safety protocols that have been instituted expose others to potentially dangerous consequences.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold those accountable who violate the law.”

“The preventable toxic poisoning of a young boy is a stark reminder of why pesticides must be used properly and responsibly,” said Andy Castro, Acting Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Florida.  “EPA’s investigation revealed numerous FIFRA violations before, during, and after the defendants’ fumigated the victims’ home.  These charges demonstrate that those who knowingly misuse pesticide products threaten the most vulnerable among us, and can expect to be prosecuted.”  

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the EPA, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Bureau of Pesticide and Incident Response, and the Florida Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement.  The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jodi A. Mazer and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald of the Economic & Environmental Crimes Section.

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

Today, a former youth pastor pleaded guilty to the production and distribution of child pornography before Chief Magistrate Judge Frank J. Lynch, Jr., in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, 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 William Snyder, Sheriff, Martin County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), made the announcement.

Jeffrey Brian Mobley, 24 of Ocala, formerly of Stuart, Florida pleaded guilty to an indictment, charging four counts of production of visual depictions of sexual exploitation of minors, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2251(a) and (e) and two counts of distribution of visual depictions of sexual exploitation of minors, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252(a)(2) and (b)(1).  Mobley faces a mandatory minimum of 15 to 30 years’ imprisonment for the production counts and a mandatory minimum of 5 to 20 years’ imprisonment for the distribution offenses.  Mobley is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez on May 9, 2016 at 1:30 p.m.

According to the court record, in September 2015, a suspicious conduct report was made to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office concerning a youth pastor, Jeffrey Brian Mobley, and a minor who was under his trust and care through a religious based youth program in Stuart, Florida.  During the course of the investigation law enforcement learned that Mobley, while the youth pastor, engaged in sexual intercourse with a minor who was a participant in the church’s youth program.  Using various forms of electronic communication, Mobley induced the minor to engage in sexual activity and produced sexually explicit images of their illicit relationship. 

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

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and Martin County Sheriff’s Office for their work on this case.  Mr. Ferrer also thanked the members of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida for their assistance with this matter.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Lineberger.

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

A Broward County resident was convicted today by a jury in federal court for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Carlos Canino, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, and Scott Israel, Sheriff, Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), made the announcement.                                     

Derek Danard Slade, 25, of Hollywood, was convicted, following a four-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas, of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  Slade faces a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison for the crime of conviction.  Slade is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Dimitrouleas on May 20, 2016, at 1:45 p.m. in Fort Lauderdale.

According to evidence presented at trial, a deputy with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office observed a “hand-to-hand” narcotics transaction take place in a vehicle in the area of Dania Beach.  In addition to Slade, the vehicle had three other occupants.  After being stopped by law enforcement, Slade refused to show his hands to the deputies and kept them hidden under a hat.  The other occupants of the vehicle complied with law enforcement’s directives.  Once he finally complied with the deputy’s orders, Slade was handcuffed.  After he was handcuffed, Slade broke away from the deputies and fled the scene on foot.  Slade was eventually apprehended and deputies located, under the hat in the vehicle, a .380 caliber Beretta firearm, fully loaded with fourteen rounds of .380 caliber ammunition.  

This case is, in large part, the result of the Violence Reduction Partnership, launched by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  Through this Partnership, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and its federal and local law enforcement allies have sought to dismantle the most violent criminal networks in various neighborhoods, while simultaneously working with community leaders and concerned citizens to mentor at-risk youths, provide jobs and job training to young families, and help probationers and parolees successfully re-enter society.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of ATF and BSO.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rosa Rodriguez-Mera and Randy Katz.

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 County resident was sentenced to 44 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for filing more than $7 million in false refund claims with the Internal Revenue Service.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, 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.

Efrain Galvez, 53, of Miami, Florida, previously pled guilty to one count of making a false, fictitious, and fraudulent claim against the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 287.

According to court documents, Galvez filed false 2005 through 2008 federal income tax returns with the IRS claiming a total of $7,421,987 in fraudulent refunds.  In the returns, Galvez falsely asserted that he was owed millions of dollars in income from various entities, and that those entities had withheld the money as federal income tax paid to the IRS.  In fact, the entities owed no such income to Galvez, and withheld no such taxes on his behalf.  Specifically, Galvez filed a 2007 amended tax return requesting a tax refund of $2,852,566 claiming that he received income from two county courts among other entities.  Galvez attached Forms 1099-OID to the tax return, purportedly from the two courts, reflecting that the courts paid the amounts to the IRS on Galvez’s behalf as taxes.  The filed 1099-OID forms contained false information. Neither court paid or owed income to Galvez or withheld taxes on his behalf.  The amounts referenced in the court documents were in fact foreclosure judgments filed against Galvez for his failure to pay mortgages.

Court documents indicate that Galvez had previously filed legitimate tax returns that did not include fabricated income and withholding amounts and he knew that he had not received the income from the various entities reported on the fraudulent returns, the taxes claimed had not been withheld, and the 1099-OID forms were false. 

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. Gonsoulin.

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.

Simon E. Zablah, 29, of Boca Raton, Florida, was sentenced by U.S. District Senior Judge Daniel Hurley in West Palm Beach to one year and a day in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to two counts of impersonating a federal official and one count of access device fraud.  Zablah was also order to pay $3,500 in restitution.          

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Miami Field Office, and John F. Khin, Special Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Southeast Field Office, made the announcement.        

According to documents and statements introduced in court, Zablah was stopped for speeding on April 8, 2015 by an officer of the Hollywood Police Department.  During this traffic stop, Zablah presented a counterfeit identification card which falsely identified him as a Staff Sergeant assigned to United States Special Operations in order to get out of a $205 traffic ticket.            

In April 2013, Zablah also falsely claimed to be a Sergeant First Class in the United Starts Army Reserve in order to obtain a job with a uniform supply company in Broward County.  In August 2013, while working in the call center for this uniform supply company, Zablah obtained the credit card number of a customer which he then used to make six unauthorized charges totaling approximately $3,669.  Zablah used the customer’s credit card to purchase items on the internet, including a personal computer, which were delivered to an address associated with the defendant in Fort Lauderdale.              

Zablah admitted that in actuality he only served as a soldier in the United States Army for approximately two weeks in January 2005.  Other that this brief service, Zablah has never been employed or otherwise associated with any branch of the military or law enforcement.           

“The federal sentencing of Simon E. Zablah is a warning for others that the false impersonation of a member of the U.S. military or law enforcement will have legal consequences,” stated U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer. 

“Falsely claiming to be a federal official to obtain something of value can and does have serious consequences,” said Michael A. D’Alonzo, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami.  “Law enforcement took note of Simon E. Zablah’s scam and now he has a federal conviction and a prison sentence as a result of his actions.  Let this serve as a lesson to other would-be impersonators.”        

“Today's sentencing sends a clear warning to anyone who would impersonate a U.S. military member and make false claims about military service for personal and monetary gain,” said Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Southeast Field Office. “DCIS will continue to work tirelessly to investigate fraud, waste, and abuse involving the Department of Defense."

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, DCIS, Hollywood Florida Police Department, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Bell.

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

The State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service Miami Field Office, working with multiple federal, state, and local enforcement authorities, has apprehended nine individuals suspected of passport fraud.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and Robert Grech, Special Agent in Charge of the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

Operation Heat Wave, a Florida statewide law enforcement operation that resulted in the suspects’ apprehension was conducted from February 18, 2016 through February 26, 2016 and spanned from Key Largo to Jacksonville.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our federal, state and local law enforcement partners will continue to investigate and identify for prosecution individuals who compromise our nation’s security through passport fraud,” stated U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer. 

“The apprehension of fugitives and suspects delivers a clear message that federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities will find and bring to justice any individuals who attempt to defraud the U.S. government,” said Robert Grech, Special Agent in Charge of the DSS Miami Field Office.  “If you engage in passport or visa fraud or engage in other forms of identity theft, sooner or later we will track you down.”

Operation Heat Wave generated the filing of federal criminal charges, by complaint, information or indictment, against a total of nine individuals for passport and/or visa fraud offenses.  Seven individuals were charged in the Southern District of Florida for making false statements in passport applications.  Two additional individuals were charged in the Middle District of Florida for making false statements in applications for a passport.

If convicted, individuals charged with falsifying a passport application will face a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment, and up to a $250,000 fine.

The DSS Miami Field Office is responsible for eight southern states.  DSS personnel from across the region and approximately 100 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers were among those involved in support of Operation Heat Wave.

DSS partnered with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida, along with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Enforcement and Removal Operations; DHS Homeland Security Investigations; U.S. Marshals Service; Florida Highway Patrol; Miami-Dade Police Department; and several other local law enforcement agencies.

Mr. Ferrer commended DSS for leading this operation, and thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida and all participating agencies for their investigative efforts and assistance. The cases in the Southern District of Florida are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Keene, Theodore Cooperstein, Carmen Lineberger, Jonathan Stratton and Brian Shack.        

An information, complaint and indictment are merely legal filings containing accusations and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, A.D. Wright, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Office, and Ric Bradshaw, Sheriff, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, (PBSO) announce the filing of federal charges against 9 defendants for their alleged participation in conspiracies to distribute controlled substances, specifically marijuana and cocaine, in and around Palm Beach County.  The defendants have been charged in a single indictment in the matter of United States v. Herbert Grant, et. al., 16-CR-80030-Marra. 

The federal indictment charges Herbert Grant, a/k/a “Earl Fleming,” a/k/a “Devon Breen,” a/k/a/ “Robert Breen,” a/k/a “Earl Flinn,” a/k/a “Dwayne,” 36, of Boynton Beach, Ricardo Simpson, a/k/a “Radio,” a/k/a “Ricky,” a/k/a “Tippa,” 39, of Boynton Beach, Gavin McLaren, 32, of West Palm Beach, Marvin Belton, a/k/a “Trinni,” a/k/a “Damian Henry,” 45, of Los Angeles, California, and Rohando Morris, a/k/a “Tampa Man,” 36, of Bradenton, for their alleged participation in a marijuana distribution conspiracy.  The indictment also charges Grant, McLaren, Ricardo Mills, a/k/a “Tuggy,” 35, of Lauderhill, Lorenzo Walker, 34, of Royal Palm Beach, Erick Morgan, a/k/a “E,” 37, Riviera Beach, and Sheldon Ralph Turner, 34, of West Palm Beach for their alleged participation in a cocaine distribution conspiracy.

The indictment alleges that Grant, Simpson, McLaren, Belton, and Morris conspired to distribute marijuana from as early as July 2014 and continuing to March 2015, in Palm Beach County, in the Southern District of Florida, and other locations, and that Grant, McLaren, Mills, Walker, Morgan, and Turner conspired to distribute cocaine from as early as January of 2015 and continuing to April 28, 2015, in Palm Beach County and other locations, both conspiracies were committed in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 846. 

In addition to the conspiracy charges, a number of defendants were also indicted for possession with intent to distribute marijuana, in various amounts, up to 100 kilograms or more, and cocaine, in various amounts, up to five hundred grams or more, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1).

• Herbert Grant was charged with possession with intent to distribute less than fifty kilograms of marijuana on October 25, December 8, and December 8-10 of 2014, and 50 kilograms or more of marijuana on December 7, 2014.  Grant was also charged with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine on February 25, 2015, and less than 500 grams of cocaine on March 3, 2015 and April 28, 2015.

• Rohando Morris was charged with possession with intent to distribute 50 kilograms or more of marijuana on December 7, 2014. 

•  

  Ricardo Simpson was charged with possession with intent to distribute 50 kilograms or more of marijuana on December 7, 2014, and less than 50 kilograms of marijuana on December 8, 2014.

• Gavin McLaren was charged with attempted possession with intent to distribute 50 kilograms or more of marijuana on December 7, 2015.  McLaren was also charged with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine on February 25, 2015.

• Marvin Belton was charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana from December 8, 2014 through December 10, 2014.

• Sheldon Ralph Turner was charged with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine on February 25, 2015.

   

During the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized a significant amount of marijuana and cocaine.

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

The federal indictment is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandy Brentari Galler.  

If convicted in federal court, the defendants face the following possible statutory sentences: a mandatory minimum of five years and up to forty years in prison for the conspiracy to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana and/or 500 grams or more of cocaine; twenty years in prison for the conspiracy to distribute and/or possession with intent to distribute 50 kilograms or more of marijuana and/or less than 500 grams of cocaine; and up to five years in prison for the conspiracy to distribute and/or possession with intent to distribute less than 50 kilograms of marijuana. 

Mr. Ferrer commended the collaborative efforts of the OCDETF law enforcement agencies that assisted with this multi-faceted investigation, including the DEA, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Task Force and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI). 

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

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

Dr. Isaac Kojo Anakwah Thompson, 57, of Delray Beach, pled guilty to one count of health care fraud.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General William J. Baer, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Shimon R. Richmond, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), made the announcement.

“The Medicare system relies on our nation’s doctors to diagnose and treat our Medicare beneficiaries,” stated U.S. Attorney Ferrer.  “When doctors intentionally misdiagnose their patients for personal gain, they betray the trust of the Medicare system and the patients themselves. This case demonstrates our commitment to the investigation and prosecution of Medicare fraud, in all its varieties and against all groups of offenders.”

“Instead of using the Medicare Advantage program for its intended purpose, Isaac Kojo Anakwah Thompson, a medical doctor, sought to enrich himself by defrauding Medicare of millions of dollars through the submission of false diagnoses for hundreds of patients,” said Michael A. D’Alonzo, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami.  “The FBI will not relent in its pursuit of Medicare fraudsters – including greedy doctors.”

“When physicians cheat Medicare by misrepresenting the medical conditions of their patients, our agents will work with our law enforcement partners to hold these individuals accountable for their deceptive schemes,” said Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond, HHS Office of Inspector General. 

According to the court record, including facts admitted during the plea hearing, Dr. Thompson engaged in a scheme to defraud the Medicare Advantage program, a voluntary system which allows Medicare beneficiaries to enroll in health insurance plans sponsored by private insurance companies.  For each beneficiary who chooses to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan, Medicare pays the sponsoring insurance company a fixed, or capitated, monthly fee.  Medicare does not adjust the fee based on the cost of providing medical care to the beneficiary.  Instead, Medicare adjusts the fee based on the beneficiary's medical conditions.  As a result, Medicare generally pays a larger capitated fee for a beneficiary with more serious medical conditions than it does for a healthier beneficiary.  Medicare determines a beneficiary's medical conditions in part using diagnoses submitted by the beneficiary's Medicare Advantage plan physician. 

Dr. Thompson’s fraudulent conduct involved certain Medicare Advantage plans sponsored by Humana, Inc. These Humana plans operated as health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and each enrolled beneficiary selected a primary care physician (PCP) enrolled in Humana’s network.  Before seeing a specialist, the beneficiary generally needed a referral from his or her PCP.  Dr. Thompson was an internist who operated a medical clinic in Delray Beach and was a PCP in Humana’s HMO network.  As such, a beneficiary enrolled in a Humana HMO Medicare Advantage plan could choose Dr. Thompson as the beneficiary’s PCP.   Humana paid Dr. Thompson approximately 80% of the capitated fee for each beneficiary who had selected the defendant as his or her PCP.

Between 2006 and 2010, Dr. Thompson defrauded Medicare by diagnosing 387 Medicare Advantage beneficiaries with ankylosing spondylitis, a rare chronic inflammatory disease of the spine.  Dr. Thompson reported these diagnoses to Humana, which in turn reported them to Medicare. As a result, Medicare paid approximately $2.1 million in excess capitation fees, approximately 80% of which went to the defendant. All or almost all of these ankylosing spondylitis diagnoses were false because in fact, the patients did not have the condition.  Because the diagnoses were false, the defendant did not have any corresponding increase in his cost to treat the patients.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 18, 2016.  At sentencing, the Dr. Thompson faces a maximum possible statutory sentence of 10 years in prison.

Mr. Ferrer and Mr. Baer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Osborne and Trial Attorney Paul Gallagher, United States Department of Justice, Antitrust 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 Boca Raton attorney pled guilty to evading the payment of approximately $1,501,724 in income tax due to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for calendar years 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2004 through 2007, by concealing his income, assets, and liabilities.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, 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.

William J. Reilly, 62, pled guilty to one count of tax evasion, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7201.

According to court documents, Reilly was an attorney and member of the New York Bar who owned William J. Reilly, Esq. P.C., a law firm through which the defendant practiced securities law.  The law firm operated in New York City until 1998, when Reilly moved his law practice to Boca Raton, Florida.

From 1992 through 1997, Reilly worked as the outside securities counsel for a corporation and was paid, in part, with options to purchase stock in the corporation.  In 1997, Reilly exercised some of his stock options and then sold some of the shares for more than $1.6 million.

From October 1997 through January 1998, shortly after exercising his stock options, Reilly acquired significant assets, including two residences in Boca Raton, Florida, a residence in Chittenden, Vermont, and oceanfront property in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.  Only one of these assets, a Boca Raton residence, was titled in Reilly’s name.  On May 17, 1999, Reilly purchased a ten acre parcel of land located across the road from his Chittenden, Vermont home, and Reilly used a shell company to hold title to this land.  The Portsmouth land, where Reilly began to construct a home, was also transferred to the name of a shell corporation.  Reilly also purchased a 2001 Jaguar XJ8 and a 2002 Chevrolet Suburban in the name of a nominee.

From 2005 through 2010, Reilly used bank accounts for his law firm and the shell corporation to receive personal income, transfer funds into his personal accounts, and pay personal expenses directly, including his Visa credit card account, his children’s private school and college tuition, support his daughter’s equestrian business, make vehicle and mortgage payments, contribute to his son’s political campaign, and purchase more than $50,000 in tickets for sporting events and concerts.  Reilly also caused clients and others who owed money to the defendant to pay monies to shell corporations controlled by Reilly or to pay Reilly’s personal expenses directly.

The defendant’s sentencing date has not yet been set.  Reilly faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ellen L. Cohen and Stephanie D. Evans.

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 resident pled guilty for his participation in an identity theft tax fraud scheme where he used stolen personal identification information (PII) to access the IRS “Get Transcript” service and obtain tax records of his identity theft victims.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Timothy Camus, Deputy Inspector General for Investigations, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and William Hernandez, Chief, North Miami Beach Police Department (NMBPD), made the announcement.

Marvin Ricardo Herard, 26, of Miami, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, one count of possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(3), and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1). As part of the plea agreement, Herard agreed to restitution in the amount of $172,521. At sentencing, Herard faces a maximum statutory sentence of twenty years in prison for the wire fraud charge, a maximum statutory sentence of ten years in prison for the access device charge, and a mandatory term of two years’ imprisonment, consecutive to any other prison term, for the aggravated identity theft charge.

According to court documents, the IRS maintained a “Get Transcript” service that allowed an individual taxpayer to request and receive a transcript of their IRS tax records online, including line-by-line tax return information for prior years. To obtain access to the “Get Transcript” service, the user was required to create a user account and provide PII.

Log files from the “Get Transcript” service revealed that an email address controlled by defendant Herard attempted to access 38 different taxpayers’ accounts in “Get Transcript”, and had successfully accessed 22 accounts. Additionally, log files captured the IP addresses from which Herard’s email address was used to access the “Get Transcript” service. For the 2014 tax year, over 100 fraudulent tax returns, seeking over $500,000 in refunds, were filed from these IP addresses. The IRS paid out $172,521 in refunds on these fraudulent tax returns. Some of these fraudulent tax returns were for taxpayers whose information was accessed in the “Get Transcript” service using Herard’s email address.

Law enforcement obtained a federal search warrant for the contents of Herard’s email account. The email account contained over 1,150 unique pieces of PII, including names, dates of births, and Social Security numbers. In addition, there were hundreds of automated messages from the IRS “Get Transcript” service, indicating that Herard’s email account had been used to attempt to access numerous taxpayers’ accounts.

Herard is scheduled to be sentenced on May 10, 2016 at 9:30 a.m. before United States District Judge Darrin P. Gayles.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of TIGTA, IRS-CI, and NMBPD.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daya Nathan.

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 woman is charged with stealing immigration application payments from her clients when she prepared at least 146 fraudulent petitions filed with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Robert C. Hutchinson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, and Linda M. Swacina, District Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), made the announcement.

Josefa M. Siverio, 60, of Miami-Dade, is charged by indictment with five counts of mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341; and three counts of conversion of postal money orders, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 500. 

As alleged in the indictment, Siverio is an immigration consulting and services provider who prepared immigration petitions and applications for aliens seeking immigration benefits from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.  Siverio is alleged to have prepared at least 146 fraudulent petitions and stolen checks and money orders entrusted to her to pay the fees associated with the petitions and applications for immigration benefits.  It is alleged that Siverio’s clients provided her with blank checks and money orders for the application fees and Siverio made the checks and money orders payable to herself and deposited the checks and money orders into her own personal bank accounts.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI and USCIS.  This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica Beamer.

An indictment is merely an accusation and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

The Justice Department has reached a comprehensive settlement agreement with the city of Miami and the Miami Police Department (MPD) resolving the Justice Department’s investigation of officer-involved shootings by MPD officers, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida.

The settlement, which was approved by Miami’s city commission today and will go into effect when the agreement is signed by all parties, resolves claims stemming from the Justice Department’s investigation into officer-involved shootings by MPD officers, which was conducted under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.  The investigation’s findings, issued in July 2013, identified a pattern or practice of excessive use of force through officer-involved shootings in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. 

The city’s compliance with the settlement will be monitored by an independent reviewer, former Tampa, Florida, Police Chief Jane Castor.  Under the settlement agreement, the city will implement comprehensive reforms to ensure constitutional policing and support public trust.  The settlement agreement is designed to minimize officer-involved shootings and to more effectively and quickly investigate officer-involved shootings that do occur, through measures that include:

• enhanced supervision of first-line officers;
• enhanced training, including de-escalation training;
• improvements to internal investigations of officer-involved shootings;
• a more stringent mechanism under which a shooting officer’s return to work is authorized; and
• a mechanism to ensure community participation in the monitoring process.

“This settlement represents a renewed commitment by the city of Miami and Chief Rodolfo Llanes to provide constitutional policing for Miami residents and to protect public safety through sustainable reform,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gupta.  “The agreement will help to strengthen the relationship between the MPD and the communities they serve by improving accountability for officers who fire their weapons unlawfully, and provides for community participation in the enforcement of this agreement.” 

“Today's agreement is the result of a joint effort between the Department of Justice and the City of Miami to ensure that the Miami Police Department continues its efforts to make our community safe while protecting the sacred Constitutional rights of all of our citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Ferrer.  “Through oversight and communication, the agreement seeks to make permanent the positive changes that former Chief Orosa and Chief Llanes have made, and we applaud the City Commission’s vote.”

The settlement agreement builds upon important reforms implemented by the city since the Justice Department issued its findings, including: 

• transfer of responsibility for criminal investigations of officer involved shootings from the MPD Homicide Unit to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement;
• downsizing of the Tactical Operations Section, which included some of the more aggressive specialized units; and
• creation of High-Liability Review Board to review problematic incidents.

The investigation was conducted by attorneys and staff from the Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section and the Civil Division of the U. S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida.

Following a five-day trial before United States District Court Judge William P. Dimitrouleas, a jury convicted two brothers of all seven counts in the indictment for their participation in an identity theft scheme.  

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Robert C. Hutchinson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement. 

Bechir Delva, 24, and Dan Kenny Delva, 27, both of Miramar, were each convicted of one count of conspiracy to possess fifteen or more unauthorized access devices, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(b)(2), one count of possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(3), and five counts of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1).  The defendants were remanded into custody following their conviction.

According to evidence presented at trial, the defendants conspired to possess and did possess debit cards and over 1,600 Social Security numbers issued to other persons.  To protect the stolen items in their possession, the defendants possessed several firearms, including an AR-15 rifle, a SIG 522 rifle and a .380 pistol.  At trial, eight victims testified that they neither knew the defendants nor authorized them to possess their Social Security numbers and other personal information. 

The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Court Judge William P. Dimitrouleas on May 11, 2016.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI and ICE-HSI.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John R. Byrne.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A former police officer with the Port St. Lucie Police Department pled guilty yesterday to multiple federal child exploitation charges before United States District Court Judge Robin L. Rosenberg in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Robert C. Hutchinson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, and John A. Bolduc, Chief, Port St. Lucie Police Department, made the announcement.

Michael Edwin Harding, 28, of Port St. Lucie, pleaded guilty to three counts of distributing material involving sexual exploitation of minors, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(2), possession of material involving sexual exploitation of minors, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(4)(B), attempt to coerce and entice a minor to engage in sexual activity, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2422(b), and producing child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2251(a)(e).  Harding is facing a 5 year mandatory minimum term of imprisonment and a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment, for each count of distribution of child pornography; a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment for possessing child pornography; a mandatory minimum of 10 years’ imprisonment and a potential life sentence for the attempted enticement of a minor child to engage in sexual activity; and  a 15 year mandatory minimum sentence of imprisonment and a maximum term of 30 years’ imprisonment for producing child pornography. In addition, Harding faces a lifetime term of supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender.

According to filed documents and statements made in court, Harding distributed videos and still images involving the sexual exploitation of minors on three separate dates.  Between July 23, 2015, and August 4, 2015, Michael Harding posted multiple images and videos to a chat room on a popular social media application.  The still images and videos depicted minor children engaging in sexually explicit acts.  The images posted to the chat room were discovered during a forensic examination of a cell phone owned by Harding. 

During the execution of a search warrant at Harding’s house, agents with HSI located electronic devices and thumb drives containing hundreds of videos and still images depicting the sexual exploitation of minors.  A large number of the images and videos depicted prepubescent minors engaging in sexual acts with adults. 

Additionally, Harding attempted to coerce and entice a minor to engage in sexual activity over the internet.  Chat messages recovered from Harding’s phone memorialized a conversation between the defendant and another individual, wherein they claimed to have custody of minor children whom they offered to exchange for their own sexual gratification.

Harding also produced child pornography by using his cell phone to create a video depicting his sexual contact with a child under the age of 12.  A thumbnail image from the video was located on Harding’s cell phone during a computer forensic examination. 

Harding is scheduled to be sentenced on May 16, 2016, by U.S. District Court Judge Robin L. Rosenberg in Fort Pierce, Florida. 

This case is part of Operation Predator, an international law enforcement initiative, led by ICE-HSI, to combat the sexual exploitation of children. Through this collaborative effort, law enforcement strives to protect children from sexual predators, including individuals who travel overseas in order to engage in sexual conduct with minors, individuals who possess, trade and produce child pornography, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers.  Anyone with information about suspected child exploitation is encouraged to call 1‑866‑872-4973.  For additional information regarding the initiative and resources, visit www.ice.gov.

Mr. Ferrer commended ICE-HSI for their investigative efforts and the Port St. Lucie Police Department for their assistance with this investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel E. Funk and Russell R. Killinger.  

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

The former Cay Clubs Chief Executive Officer was sentenced to 40 years in prison, by United States District Judge Jose E. Martinez in Key West, for his participation in a $300 million dollar vacation rental fraud scheme.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Timothy Mowery, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG), made the announcement.  

Fred Davis Clark, Jr., a/k/a Dave Clark, 57, formerly of Monroe County, was convicted on December 11, 2015 after a five-week trial, of three counts of bank fraud, and three counts of making a false statement to a financial institution, all in connection with a $300 million dollar fraud scheme involving sales of vacation rental units.  The scheme involved sales at Cay Clubs Resorts and Marinas (Cay Clubs), to approximately 1,400 investors in the Florida Keys and elsewhere.  Clark also was convicted of obstruction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in connection with the SEC’s efforts to investigate his conduct related to Cay Clubs.  Clark was sentenced to 480 months’ imprisonment and the Court entered forfeiture money judgments against Clark, including in the amount of $303,800,000 for the bank fraud and $3,300,000 for the SEC obstruction.  In addition, the Court ordered forfeiture of specific assets, located overseas, totaling approximately $2.6 million dollars.

U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer stated, “Dave Clark was the leader and orchestrator of an elaborate fraud scheme, that deceived nearly 1,400 Cay Clubs investors and lenders, in order to reap millions of dollars for his own personal benefit.  Today, Dave Clark was held accountable in a court of law, for his extensive deceit and the long-standing harm he caused to others.”

Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), stated, “Promoters of Ponzi schemes prey upon trusting investors and then steal their hard earned money. Mr. Clark made a conscious decision to deceive others, and he benefitted personally at the expense of the citizens of the Keys and elsewhere. We are pleased with today’s sentence, as justice is served for those victims of Mr. Clark’s elaborate scheme.”

“In lieu of providing honest services to thousands of investors, Dave Clark decided to deceive and swindle them out of their hard earned money,” stated Timothy Mowery, Special Agent in Charge, FHFA-OIG. “Today he is being held accountable for his actions and being afforded the opportunity to reflect on his own character.”

According to evidence submitted in court, Clark was the Chief Executive Officer of Cay Clubs, which operated from 2004 through 2008 from offices in the Florida Keys and Clearwater.  Cay Clubs marketed vacation rental units for 17 locations in Florida, Las Vegas and the Caribbean, to investors throughout the United States.  Cay Clubs raised more than $300 million from investors by promising to develop dilapidated properties into luxury resorts, and promising investors an upfront “leaseback” payment of 15 to 20% of the sales price of the unit at the time of closing.  Evidence at trial showed that, in reality, Cay Clubs never developed the properites it had promised to investors and it came to operate as a Ponzi scheme, using proceeds from sales to new investors to pay overdue obligations to earlier investors. 

Evidence showed that by at least September 2006, Cay Clubs experienced serious financial difficulties.  In order to meet Cay Clubs’ financial obligations and obtain funds for himself, evidence at trial showed that Clark engaged in a serious of fraudlent mortgage transactions totalling more than $20 million worth of bank loans.  According to documents and testimony introduced at trial, during these sham transactions, Clark sold units Cay Clubs had acquired, to himself, while increasing the sales price.  On paper, Clark sold the units to family members and certain insiders, while causing various lending institutions to fund the transactions.  Clark directed his administrative assistant and his bookkeeper to forge signatures on loan documents and falsely notarize mortgage paperwork to make it appear that family members and other insiders listed on paperwork, were in fact executing the documents.  In reality, Clark was providing the deposits and down payments, directing his subordinates to execute the loan documents, and then using the proceeds of the transactions to fund Cay Club’s operations and for his own personal benefit.  The financial institutions that funded the fraudulently obtained loans were insured by the FDIC.

Evidence at trial showed that while Cay Clubs continued to experience significant financial difficulties, Clark lived a lavish lifestyle, extracting more than $22 million from the operations of Cay Clubs between 2005 and 2007.  Clark also obtained a personal portfolio of properties he valued at $23 million but that were held in the names of other persons.  Clark also used proceeds from the investor sales to purchase a gold mine, a coal reclamation project and a rum distillery for his personal benefit.

After the collapse of Cay Clubs, the SEC began an investigation into alleged securities fraud at Cay Clubs.  According to evidence presented in court, Clark engaged in conduct aimed at thwarting the SEC’s investigation, including by concealing the location of assets under his control and providing false sworn testimony before the SEC in May 2011.  In March 2013, after the SEC filed a civil fraud action against him, Clark transferred more than $2.5 million to accounts he controlled in Honduras.  After these transfers, U.S. law enforcement and authorities in Honduras were able to abtain a court order freezing these funds.

Clark was expelled from Panama in June 2014, and returned to the United States by Panamanian authorities at the request of U.S. law enforcement in connection with the charges set forth in the indictment. 

In related cases, former Cay Clubs executives Barry J. Graham, 59, and Ricky Lynn Stokes, 54, both of Ft. Myers, Florida pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in connection with the scheme to defraud Cay Clubs investors.  Graham, who was Director of Sales, was sentenced on March 30, 2015, and Stokes, who was the Director of Investor Relations, was sentenced on March 24, 2015.  Each was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment, and was ordered to pay restitution of $163,530,377.21 to numerous individual and financial institution victims. 

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the IRS-CI and FHFA-OIG, and the extensive assistance of the SEC’s Miami Regional Office.  The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jerrob Duffy, Thomas A. Watts-FitzGerald and Alison Lehr, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Padula.  Mr. Ferrer also commended the efforts of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Key West Regional Office, for its assistance with this matter.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

On February 11, 2016, following a four-day trial, a federal jury in West Palm Beach, Florida, convicted Kevin Raphael Bully of narcotics trafficking and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and A.D. Wright, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Miami Field Office, made the announcement. 

This case stemmed from an investigation into the importation of Alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone (“α-PVP”), aka “Flakka,” from China into the United States.  In March of 2015, as a part of an ongoing investigation regarding the illegal drug trafficking of synthetic cathinones, specifically Flakka, DEA agents received information about suspected narcotics packages being delivered to Palm Beach County.  DEA agents in London, England received information from the British authorities regarding multiple packages that were intercepted coming from a chemical company in Hong Kong, China.  The Chinese based chemical company had been utilizing a shipping company to transport chemicals to buyers in the United States.  The British authorities found approximately seven packages that contained a white crystallized substance which tested positive for the presence of α-PVP.  DEA agents in London provided West Palm Beach agents with the packages’ address information and forwarded the deliveries.  The local agents, including a law enforcement officer dressed as a DHL employee, delivered a package to the listed address.  Kevin Raphael Bully, 26, of Palm Beach County, answered the door of the identified address and took possession of the package upon delivery. 

During the course of the investigation, Bully’s cell phone was found to contain text messages discussing the importation and receipt of packages containing Flakka.  In July of 2015, Bully was found at a hotel in Boca Raton, Florida, in possession of over 50 grams of heroin, 1,600 tablets of Zanax, a digital scale and packaging used for the distribution of narcotics.       

At trial, Bully was found guilty of seven of the eight counts charged in a superseding indictment, to wit: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute α-PVP, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 846;  attempted possession with intent to distribute α-PVP, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1);  conspiracy to import α-PVP, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 963;  attempting to import α-PVP, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 963;  possession with intent to distribute heroin and Zanax, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1); and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1).  Bully was found not guilty of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a violent or drug-trafficking offense, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A). 

Bully faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the drug importation and trafficking counts.  He also faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the firearm offense.

“The manufacture, importation and sale of synthetic drugs such as ‘Flakka’ presents a danger to our citizens, since these illicit narcotics are being produced without regard to safety protocols and can have grave negative health effects upon human consumption,” said United States Attorney Ferrer.  “Floridians can continue to be proud of the hard work and cooperation by federal, state and local law enforcement to identify, investigate, and prosecute the offenders who bring synthetic drugs into our communities.”

DEA Special Agent in Charge A.D. Wright stated, “The presence of Flakka in our communities is extremely dangerous.  Because of the violent and uncontrollable effects it has when ingested, it threatens everyone’s safety and highly jeopardizes the community’s well-being.  DEA, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue its commitment to the fight against synthetic drugs, particularly Flakka, by identifying and investigating its trafficking and distribution throughout the state of Florida.”

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the DEA and support of the United States Marshals Service.  The 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.

A Palm Beach County resident was sentenced to prison for her participation in a stolen identity tax fraud scheme involving at least 790 stolen identities.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Nadine Gurley, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General (HUD-OIG), and Karen Citizen-Wilcox, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General (USDA OIG), made the announcement.

Kelli Witherspoon McIntosh, 39, of Palm Beach County, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley to 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release (Case No. 14-CR-80158).  McIntosh was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $775,242.91.  In October 2015, McIntosh pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349; and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1).  McIntosh’s sentence includes a term of 12 months in prison for her participation in the conspiracy and a mandatory consecutive term of 24 months in prison, for the aggravated identity theft conviction.

Co-conspirators Latonia Verdell (Case No. 14-CR-80158) and Starling Willis (Case No. 15-CR-80119), both of Palm Beach County, were previously convicted of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1), and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343 and 1349.  Verdell was also convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1); possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(3); theft of government property, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641; and making a false statement to a federal government agency, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001(a)(2) and sentenced in January 2016. 

Verdell was sentenced to 94 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $947,296.81.  Verdell’s sentence included a concurrent term of 70 months in prison for each count of conviction for theft of government money, felon in possession, and unauthorized access devices; and a concurrent sentence of 5 years in prison for the false statement conviction.  In addition, Verdell was sentenced to a mandatory term of 24 months in prison, to run consecutive to all other sentences, for the aggravated identity theft conviction.

Willis was sentenced to 33 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered jointly and severally liable for restitution, with Verdell, in the amount of $32,4551.  Willis was sentenced to 9 months in prison for the conspiracy, to be followed by a mandatory consecutive term of 24 months in prison for the aggravated identity theft conviction.

According to court documents and the defendants’ testimony during the sentencing hearings, Verdell, Willis and co-defendant McIntosh, participated in a widespread stolen identity refund fraud scheme involving at least 790 stolen identities and personal identification information (PII).  The PII was used to file fraudulent on-line income tax returns, with those refunds being directed to various bank accounts created and maintained by Verdell, McIntosh and Willis, as well as to reloadable debit cards.  Identity theft victims whose personal information was used for this scheme spanned from Indian River, Highlands, St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach Counties, as well as persons outside the State of Florida.  This scheme resulted in the submission to the IRS of more than 590 fraudulent returns in the names of other persons, seeking approximately $1.5 million in fraudulent income tax refunds.

Court documents also indicate that on September 1, 2010, while Verdell was receiving unauthorized income from the filing of fraudulent income tax returns with the IRS, she received a housing assistance payment funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), while knowing she was not entitled to receive such a payment.  On September 24, 2013, Verdell submitted an application for enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also referred to as ‘food stamps.’  In her application, Verdell knowingly stated that her only monthly income was $715, without any other source of income, when she was in fact receiving significant income from fraudulent tax refund payments.

Court documents also indicate that evidence of the stolen PII, a list of bank accounts belonging to Willis, information regarding accounts which received fraudulent refunds, and a stolen .38 caliber pistol, were found in Verdell’s home during the execution of a federal search warrant.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the IRS-CI, HUD-OIG, and USDA OIG.  Mr. Ferrer also thanked the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance with this investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodore Cooperstein.  

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 staff mentor at the Florida Keys Children’s Shelter, a residential facility in Tavernier, Florida, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Marcia G. Cooke to 380 months’ imprisonment, following his conviction for child sex trafficking.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, 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 three-week jury trial beginning on October 19, 2015, Ricky Jermaine Atkins, 29, of Key Largo, was convicted of conspiracy to engage in the sex trafficking of minors, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1594(c), as well as two counts of sex trafficking of a minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1591(a)(1).  The Court sentenced Atkins to concurrent terms of 380 months’ imprisonment as to each count, to be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release.

Atkins’ co-defendant, Sandra Simon, 24, of Homestead, previously pled guilty to one count of sex trafficking of a minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1591(a)(1).  On November 20, 2015, Simon was sentenced to 136 months’ imprisonment.

According to evidence presented at trial, Atkins worked overnight shifts as a staff mentor at the Florida Keys Children’s Shelter, a residential facility in Tavernier for minor children.  Atkins obtained two of the children living at the shelter, girls aged fifteen and sixteen, to be brought from Tavernier to a hotel in Cutler Bay, where Simon supervised their prostitution.  On the night of August 15, 2014, Atkins personally transported the minor victims from Tavernier to Cutler Bay, where he left them with Simon.  Earlier on that day, Simon had pled guilty in state court to procuring a minor for prostitution, and had received a sentence of probation.

Evidence presented at trial further established that Atkins subsequently collected money earned from the minor victims’ prostitution, and delivered to Simon a cellular phone and other items intended to facilitate the prostitution of the minor victims.  Further evidence admitted at trial established that Atkins simultaneously prostituted an 18-year-old woman whom Atkins had met while the woman was a minor child living at the shelter.

Mr. Ferrer thanked the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, the State Attorney’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force, the Monroe County Sherriff’s Office and the North Port Police Department for their work on this case.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth M. Schlessinger and Elina A. Rubin-Smith.

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.

Ezra L. Ealy, 21, a convicted felon, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for possessing a sawed off shotgun and ammunition while on the streets of Fort Pierce by U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth A. Marra, sitting in Fort Pierce.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Carlos A. Canino, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office, and Diane Hobley-Burney, Chief, Fort Pierce Police Department (FTPPD), made the announcement.  

Ealy, a Fort Pierce resident, was charged by indictment with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on July 13, 2015, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1).  Ealy faced a maximum statutory penalty of ten years in prison. 

According to the allegations contained in court filings and detention hearing testimony, on July 13, 2015, an ATF Special Agent and a FTPPD Detective responded to a radio call of shots being fired by a large bearded male with a shotgun in the area of 31st & Avenue F in Fort Pierce, Florida. Upon arrival, the law enforcement officers observed Ealy, who fit the description, running away from the site of the call. During their pursuit, the agents observed Ealy stop, and open and close the lid of a recycling bin. Thereafter, agents recovered a sawed off Winchester 12 gauge shotgun in the trash bin. After his apprehension, agents recovered two (2) unspent Winchester shotgun shells from Ealy’s pocket, and one spent shotgun shell from the chamber of the shotgun.  Fingerprints also linked Ealy to the shotgun.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is a Department of Justice nationwide initiative that combines traditional law enforcement activities with community-based support and intervention programs. The two primary goals of the PSN initiative are to reduce and prevent violent crimes and to help past offenders adjust and re-enter the community.  This program emphasizes and facilitates cooperative federal, state and local prosecution of firearm crimes, violent criminals, repeat violent offenders and gang related criminal activity. 

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of ATF and the Fort Pierce Police Department.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Lineberger.

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.