Southern District of Florida

MIAMI – Palm Beach art dealer Daniel Elie Bouaziz pled guilty today to laundering money derived from his scheme to sell counterfeit artwork.

Bouaziz is the owner of art galleries in South Florida, including Danieli Fine Art (at 226A Worth Avenue) and Galerie Danieli (at 230 Worth Avenue), in Palm Beach County. According to the agreed-upon factual proffer in support of Bouaziz’s guilty plea, Bouaziz knowingly engaged in and attempted to engage in a transaction through a financial institution affecting interstate commerce of over $10,000 in money derived from the unlawful sale of counterfeit art in violation of the wire fraud statute.

Specifically, on or about October 25, 2021, Bouaziz sold counterfeit artwork to a customer, to include pieces purportedly by artist Andy Warhol (“Warhol”) out of his Palm Beach art galleries.  Bouaziz had told the customer that the works that he was selling, for between $75,000 and $240,000, were authentic, original Warhol pieces, and that some of the pieces were signed by the artist.  Relying upon these false and fraudulent representations, the customer purchased artwork from Bouaziz.  The customer gave Bouaziz a $200,000 down payment for the artwork.  The money was deposited into Bouaziz’s account and then the comingled funds were wired to other accounts, to include an account controlled by Bouaziz. 

Bouaziz’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 30, 2023 at 9:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon, in Fort Pierce.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, acting Special Agent in Charge Maged Behnam of the FBI Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line of the IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Miami Field Office made the announcement.

FBI Miami, West Palm Beach Resident Agency and IRS-CI Miami investigated this matter.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah J. Schall is prosecuting this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter A. Laserna and Daren Grove are handling the asset forfeiture aspect of this case.

If you believe you have been a victim of art fraud, please contact the FBI’s Art Crime Team at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-cr-80099.

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MIAMI – Senior United States District Judge James I. Cohn has sentenced Jonathan Cruz, 36, Eric Ortiz Melendez, 28, and Jorge Aponte Figueroa, 25, to life in federal prison for their participation in violent robberies and murders.    

The sentences follow two federal trials.  The first was a Miami trial where in March 2022, a jury found Aponte Figueroa guilty of carjacking resulting in death and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.  The second trial happened in Fort Lauderdale, where in November 2022, a jury found Cruz, Ortiz Melendez, and Aponte Figueroa guilty of committing armed robbery of nine pawn shops in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties (and conspiring to do so), as well as killing a customer during a robbery in Little Havana.  That jury also found Cruz guilty of being a felon in possession of ammunition.  

According to the trial evidence, beginning in October of 2016, Cruz, Ortiz Melendez, and Aponte Figueroa, along with five previously convicted co-conspirators, agreed to commit armed robberies of pawn shops throughout South Florida.  They would steal jewelry and resell it.  Cruz would scout the pawn shops, then organize and direct the robberies. 

After obtaining guns and tools from Cruz, the coconspirators would drive to the stores, commit the robberies, and return to Cruz’s home with the jewelry.  Cruz would sell the stolen jewelry and give coconspirators their cut.

Shots were fired during robberies in Pembroke Park, West Park, and Miami, one of which resulted in the murder of an elderly customer at a Little Havana pawn shop.

The spree began to unravel after one pawn shop robbery in Hialeah, when officers with Hialeah Police Department arrested three of the robbers at the end of a high-speed chase.  

Additionally, in May 2017, Aponte Figueroa and two co-conspirators carjacked at gunpoint an Uber driver while he slept in his minivan.  After driving the victim throughout Miami-Dade County, Aponte Figueroa pointed a gun at him, stole his wallet, and shot the victim seven times, including close range shots to the head.  The victim died.   

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and acting Special Agent in Charge Maged Benham of the FBI Miami Field Office announced the life sentences.

FBI Miami investigated the case, with assistance from Broward County Sheriff’s Office, Miami-Dade Police Department, City of Miami Police Department, Hialeah Police Department, City of Hollywood Police Department, City of Miami Gardens Police Department, City of Palm Springs Police Department, and Fort Lauderdale Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alejandra L. López and Jodi Anton prosecuted this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Annika Miranda is handling the asset forfeiture aspect of the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 17-cr-20487.

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MIAMI – Staff from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida recently held a Re-Entry Simulation at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce to give community stakeholders a better idea of what former prisoners face when attempting to reintegrate into society.

Each participant was given a folder to review, which gave them an idea of what they’d face after being released from prison. They had to navigate a set-up that included paying utilities, housing, banking, and supervision obligations, among others.

“This will be unlike any training you’ve experienced,” said Law Enforcement Coordination and Community Outreach Section Chief J.D. Smith. “I went through it twice and it was punishment both times. You’re going to get various types of customer service. Not everyone is going to be helpful.”

Approximately 60 participants filled the auditorium. Training was broken down into four 20-minute sessions with each one representing one week in the life of a returning citizen. By the end of the first session, more than 40 participants were in “jail” for failing to complete certain tasks such as finding a job or a place to live.

“Oh, I see,” said one participant who previously had spent time in prison. “This is intentionally confusing.”

The training is designed to test patience and give attendees an idea of what it’s like to begin anew. It can be frustrating and real life is no different.

Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Lineberger, Fort Pierce Office, was an attendee and her assigned situation was particularly hard to navigate.

“I played the role of a young mother previously convicted of trafficking narcotics,” she said. “I had a part-time job and several times I tested positive on my urinalysis. It was frustrating, chaotic, and hopeless at times. I was returned to jail three times before I got it right.”

More than 2 million people are incarcerated in the U.S. According to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than eight out of every 10 youth offenders are arrested again within five years and 70 percent of all prisoners released in 2012 were arrested within five years. 

“We make returning citizens jump over so many hurdles when they leave prison,” said Smith, “and then we wonder why they reoffend.”

Lack of employment can be a big trigger when it comes to reoffending. However, the easier it is for returning citizens to reintegrate, the more likely they are to become productive. When there’s a dead-end at every turn, it can feel like a “normal” life just isn’t worth it.

Society doesn’t do returning citizens any favors. Many are released from prison without a form of identification, which puts them behind the eight ball. Smith has railed against this for years.

“We preach about these lessons but getting folks to listen is the hard part,” he said. “Every time we hold one of these events people say they are going to change things but it doesn’t happen. Be the change you’d like to see. Make a difference.”

Lack of an ID is just one issue that hinders progress. According to Smith, returning citizens should be equipped with a list of service providers in the community to help them find health care, temporary housing, and other re-entry services.

“By not doing that, we’re doing ourselves a disservice because returning citizens are in our communities,” said Smith. “We should want them to do well. Imagine if a returning citizen in your community reoffends and causes harm to one of your family members. This really happens. We need to remove barriers to success … not put more in place.”

Barbara Galloway, a re-entry program facilitator with a Fort Pierce law office, understands the challenges facing returning citizens. She participated in the event at the counseling station and saw the frustrations participants had when things didn’t go right.

“Those with no experience with this were very upset when negative things—like being five minutes late for an appointment—happened,” she said. “I’d like to see more upper management go through this training … people who can influence change. Many don’t realize how difficult it is to work the system.”

One thing that can help is for organizations to partner with other community service providers to form a larger voice.

“Have meetings with like-minded people in city government, state government, and the judicial branch,” said Smith. “Work as a team to make it happen.”

Until then, Law Enforcement Coordination and Community Outreach Section staff will continue to bring this training to various areas within the footprint of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. This was the first re-entry training held in Fort Pierce.

“It was important to bring this to Fort Pierce so our stakeholders could experience a month in the life of a returning citizen,” said Lineberger. “It exposed the need for more planning and resource coordination before returning citizens are released. It really got the community talking about how best to reform re-entry in a positive way.” 

MIAMI – A 21-year-old Miami man who carjacked, kidnapped, and robbed five victims has pled guilty in South Florida federal court to 17 counts of violence. Stevenson Charles faces up to life in prison.  

As part of his guilty plea, Charles admitted that from October 23 to November 6, 2022, he targeted gay men on Grindr, a social networking application for gay and bisexual people.  In October 2022, Charles invited a man he met online to Charles’s Miami home for sex.  After the man arrived, Charles pulled a gun on him.  Charles then had the victim drive to two automated teller machines, withdraw over $1,000, and give it to him.   

The following month, Charles invited a man he met on Grindr to a Miami location for sex.  When the man arrived, Charles pulled a gun on him and demanded his cellular telephone.  Charles scrolled through the pictures on the victim’s phone, some of which showed the victim with other men.  Charles hit the victim with a gun several times, saying that he would kill everyone like the victim.  Then, Charles forced the man to drive him to retail pharmacy stores, where Charles purchased items with the victim’s credit card. 

Also, in November 2022, Charles met a different man on Grindr and arranged to meet him in Dania Beach for sex.  Once there, Charles pulled a gun on the man and told him that he hated gay people and believed they should be punished.  Charles forced the victim to drive to a home in Aventura, where the victim had been living with a couple.  When they arrived, Charles pointed a gun at the couple and demanded money from them.  Charles then forced the group into the victim’s car and instructed them to drive to automated teller machines, withdraw over $1,500, and give it to him. 

Charles had the group drive back to the Aventura home, where he stole the couple’s phones.  Charles left with the man he had met on Grindr, instructing the victim to drive to their initial meeting spot in Dania Beach.  When they neared a secluded area by some railroad tracks, Charles shot the man several times, including once in the head.  Despite the injuries, the victim was able to call 911 and survived.  Law enforcement officers located Charles in Georgia and arrested him.  

U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck will sentence Charles on April 24, in Miami.  Charles faces up to life in prison and may be subject to a hate crime enhancement under the federal sentencing guidelines. 

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and acting Special Agent in Charge Maged Behnam of FBI Miami announced the conviction.

This was a joint investigation between the FBI Miami Field Office, the City of Miami Police Department, the Miami-Dade Police Department, the Aventura Police Department, and the Broward Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elena Smukler and Dayron Silverio of the Special Prosecutions Section are prosecuting the case.  

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-cr-20596.

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KOREKSYON: Kominike de laprès orijinal ap korije pou reflete ke twa sitwayen ameriken ak yon rezidan pèmanan legal te arete jodiya.  Akize Intriago se yon sitwayen ameriken (Venezyelyen/Ameriken), pa yon rezidan pèmanan legal.

MIAMI - Maten a, Fòsdelòd Federal Lèzetazini arete yon sitwayen ameriken ansanm ak de rezidan pèmanan ki abite LaFlorid ansanm ak yon sitwayen ameriken ki abite Tampa, konfòm ak plent kriminèl yo pou patisipasyon yo nan evènman asasina Prezidan Jovenel Moise d'Ayiti ki te fèt le 7 jiyè 2021.  Aprè arestsyon yo, yon Jiri Tabli LaFlorid emèt yon nouvo akizasyon ki akize kat endividi sa yo, ansanm ak sèt lòt ki te deja arete ak akize Ozetazini  pou swadizan wòl yo nan konplo a.

Men Kat endividi yo arete jodiya nan LaFlorid:  Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, 50 lane, sitwayen Kolonbyen rezidan Miami epi rezidan pèmanan Lèzetazini; Antonio Inttriago, 59 lane sitwayen Venezyelyen rezidan Miami epi rezidan pèmanan Lèzetazini; Walter Veintemilla, 54 lane de Weston; ak Frederick Bergmann, 64 lane de Tampa.

Yap fè konparisyon inisyal yo jodiya a 2:00 de laprè midi nan Miami devan Jij Majistra Lauren Louis.

Ak tout arestasyon sa yo ki fèt jodiya, 11 moun pral fè fas a akizasyon sa yo nan Distri Sid LaFlorid ki gen rapò ak asasina a.  Twazyèm nouvo akizasyon ofisyèl la akize Ortiz, Intriago ak Veintemilla ansanm ak James Solages de 37 lane, Joseph Vincent de 57 lane, ansanm ak German Alejandro Rivera Garcia de 44 lane, ke yo transfere ba otorite Lèzetazini mwa pase;  Mario Antonio Palacios Palacios de 43 lane ke yo te arete an janvye 2022; Rodolphe Jaar, de 49 lane ke yo te arete an janvye 2022; ak Joseph Joel John, de 51 lane ke yo te arete an Me 2022.  Akize sa yo ------Ortiz, Intriago, Veintemilla, Solages, Vincent, Rivera, Palacios, Jaar, ak John-----akize de konplo pou founi sipò ak resous esansyèl nan yon konplo pou kidnape oswa touye andeyò Lèzetazini, ki abouti nan lanmò; founi sipò ak resous esansyèl nan yon konplo pou kidnape oswa touye andeyò Lèzetazini ki abouti nan lanmò; ak konplo pou touye oswa kidnape yon moun andeyò Lèzetazini.

Nouvo akizasyon ofisyèl la akize tou Christian Emmanuel Sanon de 64 lane, ansanm ak Bergmann de:  konplo pou komèt enfraksyon kont ekspòtasyon; soumèt ak bay fo enfòmasyon sou ekspòtasyon; ak kontrebann jilè parabal sòti Lèzetazini pou Haiti.  Kankou Solages, Vincent ak Rivera, yo transfere Sanon de detansyon Ayisyèn pase a detansyon Lèzetazini mwa pase.

Daprè dokiman jiridik yo, depi apeprè fevriye 2021 a jiyè 2021, LaFlorid di Sid te sèvi antan ke lokasyon santral pou planifikasyon ak finansman konplo pou dechouke Moïse de pouvwa a ak ranplase l pa yo moun ki ta itil tout bi politik ak enterè finansye konplotè yo.

Ortiz ak Intriago an Tèt Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy ak Counter Terrorist Unit Security (ki fè ansanm CTU), Veintemilla an Tèt de Worldwide Capital Lending Group (Worldwide).  CTU ak Worldwide se yon konpayi  etabli nan LaFlorid di Sid.  Bergmann, ki te abite Tampa te gen lyen ak Sanon, yon sitwayen ak doub nasyonalite Ayisyen-Ameriken ki te gen aspirasyon politik an Ayitti, daprè akizasyon ofisyèl yo.

Jan yo pretann la, an avril 2021, Ortiz, Intriago, John, Solages ak Sanon reyini nan le Sid LaFlorid epi mete yo dakò sou yon plan:  Ortiz ak Intriago ---atravè CTU--- tap sipòte dechoukay Prezidan Ayisyen Moïse epi ranplase li ak Sanon.  An echanj, yon fwa Sanon ta vinn Prezidan, li tap akòde kontra avantaje ba CTU pou pwojè enfrastrikti an Ayiti, mizandisponibilite fòs sekirite, ak mizandisponibilite ekipman tip militè ba gouvènman Ayisyen dirije pa Sanon, daprè sa yo pretann.

Yo pretann ke vè lafen avril 2021, Veintemilla ak konpayi liya Worldwide, konsanti pou ede finanse koudeta a, kote yo te pwolonje liy kredi CTU a, a $175,000 ak voye lajan ba konplotè yo an Ayiti pou minisyon.  Veintemilla te prevwa yon gwo benefis finansye atravè Worldwide si yo ta ranplase Prezidan Moïse, menm jan ak Ortiz ak Intriago te prevwa jwenn atravè CTU.

Planifikasyon ak depans adisyonèl kontinye ap dewoule nan le Sid Laflorid de avril a jwen 2021, daprè akizasyon ofisyèl yo.  Pa egzanp, Ortiz ak Intriago, antan ke Tèt CTU, reklite yon gwoup dapeprè 20 Kolonbyen ak fòmasyon militè (enkli Rivera ak Palacios) pou bay Sanon Sekirite.  Bergmann te vinn tounnen yon sipòtè ak envestisè ki ede finanse lòjman Kolonbyen yo an Ayiti, epi li travay ansanm ak Sanon ak Intriago pou ekspedye 20 jilè parabal CTU soti nan le Sid LaFlorid ale an Ayiti ak falsifikasyon egizans dokimantasyon pou ekspòtasyon.

An jwen 2021, plan a vinn chanje lè Ortiz, Intriago, Veintemilla ak zòt aparaman vinn reyalize ke Sanon pat gen ni kalifikasyon konstitisyonèl yo ni sipò popilè ansyen Jij Tribinal Siprèm Haiti a. Yo chavire sipò yo de Sanon pou Jij Lakou Siprèm la.   Nouvo kandida sa a siyen yon kontra ak CTU epi Worldwide pou sèvi enterè finansye konpayi yo yon fwa li ta vinn Prezidan.

Yo pretann tou, ke an jwen 2021, konplo  a pase de yon plan pou retire Moïse pa lafòs de pouvwa a, a asasine li.  Espesyalman, konplo a komanse konsantre sou asasina aprè yon efò rate pou yo te kenbe Prezidan Moïse lè l tounnen de youn nan vwayaj li yo ak fouke l nan yon avyon voye l nan yon lòt kote andeyò peyi a.

Daprè akizasyon ofisyèl yo de LaFlorid di Sid, Ortiz ak Intriago jere ak dirije tout lòt manm konplo a- enkli Solages, yon Reprezantan CTU an Ayiti (ki te kowòdine ak Vincent epi Sanon) ansanm ak Kolonbyen ki te patisipe nan asasina a (atravè Riviera ak/oswa yon lòt lidè Kolonbyen an Ayiti ke yo te touye pandan li tap eseye chape de lye asasina a).

Yo pretann ke John, yon ansyen Senatè Ayisyen, ak Jaar ede sekirize zam yo ak founi lòt sipò.

Le 6 jiyè 2021, tout konplotè yo reyini nan yon kay tou pre rezidans Prezidan Moïse kote distribisyon zam afe ak ekipman te fèt, ak kote yo anonse ke misyon an se touye Prezidan Moīse, daprè sa yo swadizan di.  Le 7 jiyè 2021, plizyè endividi rive deyò rezidans Prezidan Moïse la, kote kèk ladann yo te gen jilè parabal mak CTU sou yo.  Yo rantre nan kay Prezidan a epi yo touye l.

Si yo ta deklare Ortiz, Intriago, Veintemilla, Solages, Vincent, Garcia, Palacios, Jaar ak John koupab yap kontanple yon santans a vi nan prizon.  Bergmann ak Sanon ap kontanple 20 lane si yo ta deklare yo koupab.  Yon Jij Tribinal Distri Federal va detèmine ki santans yap resevwa aprè li finn konsidere Direktiv Sou Santans Lézetazini ak lòt faktè de lalwa.

Se Pwokirè Distri Sid LaFlorid la, Markenzy Lapointe, Adjwen Komisè Gouvènman Jeneral Matthew G. Olsen de Seksyon Sekirite Depatman Lajistis la, Ajan Espesyal Responsab Entèrimè Maged Behman de Biwo Lokal FBI nan Miami, Ajan Espesyal Responsab ak Direktè Egzekitif Asosye Adjwen Envestigasyon Sekirite Nasyonal Anthony Salisbury  ki fè anons la.

FBI ak HSI envestige dosye sa yo, ak bon jan asistans founi pa Depatman dEta, Biwo Alkòl, Taba, Zam afe ak Eksplozif, Biwo Endistri ak Sekirite, ak Sèvis Envestigasyon Kriminèl Depatman la Defans.

Adjwen Komisè Gouvènman Andrea Goldbarg ak Monica Castro de Distri Sid LaFlorid, Avoka Litij Frank Russo ak Jessica Fender de Seksyon Anti-Teworis Sekirite Nasyonal, ak Emma Ellenrieder de Seksyon Kont-entelijans ak Kontwòl Ekspò Sekirite Nasyonal kap jere dosye sa a.  Adjwen Komisè Gouvènman Joshua Paster ap jere tout koze konfiskasyon byen yo.  Biwo Afè Entènasyonal Depatman Lajistis te bay bon jan asistans.

Yon akizasyon ofisyèl se tou jis yon swadizan, tout akize prezime inosan jiskaske yo pwouve yo antò o dela de yon dout rezonab nan yon tribinal.

W ap jwenn tout lòt dokiman jidisyè ak enfòmasyon sou sit web Tribinal Distri pou Distri Sid LaFlorid sou www.flsd.uscourts.gov oswa sou http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.org.

MIAMI – This morning, U.S. federal law enforcement arrested a U.S. citizen and two legal permanent residents living in South Florida and one U.S. citizen living in Tampa pursuant to criminal complaints on charges relating to their participation in the events leading to the July 7, 2021, assassination of President Jovenel Moise of Haiti. Following the arrests, a South Florida grand jury returned a third superseding indictment charging these four individuals, along with seven others previously arrested and charged in the U.S., for their alleged roles in the plot.

The four men arrested in Florida today are: Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, 50, a Colombian national and U.S. permanent resident of Miami; Antonio Intriago 59, a Venezuelan national and U.S. permanent resident of Miami; Walter Veintemilla, 54, of Weston; and Frederick Bergmann, 64, of Tampa.

They are scheduled for initial federal court appearances today in Miami before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lauren F. Louis.

With today’s arrests, 11 people now face charges in the Southern District of Florida in connection with the assassination. The third superseding indictment charges Ortiz, Intriago, and Veintemilla as well as James Solages, 37, Joseph Vincent, 57, and German Alejandro Rivera Garcia, 44, who were transferred into U.S. custody last month; Mario Antonio Palacios Palacios, 43, arrested January 2022; Rodolphe Jaar, 49, arrested January 2022; and Joseph Joel John, 51, arrested May 2022. These defendants—Ortiz, Intriago, Veintemilla, Solages, Vincent, Rivera, Palacios, Jaar, and John—are charged with conspiracy to provide material support and resources to a conspiracy to kidnap or kill outside the United States, resulting in death; providing material support and resources to a conspiracy to kidnap or kill outside the United States, resulting in death; and conspiracy to kill or kidnap a person outside the United States. 

The superseding indictment additionally charges Christian Emmanuel Sanon, 64, and Bergmann with: conspiracy to commit export violations; submitting false and misleading export information; and smuggling ballistic vests from the United States to Haiti. As with Solages, Vincent, and Rivera, Sanon was transferred from Haitian custody into U.S. custody last month.

According to court documents, from at least February 2021 to July 2021, South Florida served as a central location for planning and financing the plot to oust President Moïse from power and replace him with someone who would serve the coconspirators’ political goals and financial interests.

Ortiz and Intriago are principals of Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy and Counter Terrorist Unit Security (collectively, CTU), and Veintemilla is a principal of Worldwide Capital Lending Group (Worldwide). CTU and Worldwide are South Florida companies. Bergmann, who lived in Tampa, had ties to Sanon, a dual Haitian-American citizen who held political aspirations in Haiti, say the charging documents.  

As alleged, in April 2021, Ortiz, Intriago, John, Solages and Sanon met in South Florida and agreed to a plan: Ortiz and Intriago – through CTU – would support ousting Haitian President Moïse and replacing him with Sanon. In exchange, once Sanon became President, he would award lucrative contracts to CTU for infrastructure projects in Haiti, the provision of security forces, and the provision of military type equipment to a Sanon-led Haitian government, according to the allegations.

It is alleged that in late April 2021, Veintemilla and his company Worldwide, agreed to help finance the coup d’etat, extending a $175,000 line of credit to CTU and sending money to co-conspirators in Haiti to purchase ammunition. Veintemilla expected to reap significant financial benefits through Worldwide should President Moise be replaced as president, as did Ortiz and Intriago through CTU.

Further planning and spending continued in South Florida from April to June 2021, according to the charging documents. For example, Ortiz and Intriago, as principals of CTU, retained a group of about 20 Colombian nationals with military training (including Rivera and Palacios) to provide security to Sanon. Bergmann became a supporter and investor who helped fund the Colombians’ lodging in Haiti and worked with Sanon and Intriago to ship 20 CTU-branded ballistic vests from South Florida to Haiti by falsifying the required export documentation.  

By June 2021, the plan evolved as Ortiz, Intriago, Veintemilla and others apparently realized that Sanon had neither the constitutional qualifications nor the popular support of the Haitian people to become President. They shifted their support from Sanon to a former Haitian Supreme Court judge. This new candidate contracted with CTU and Worldwide to serve the companies’ financial interests upon becoming President. 

It is also alleged that by June 2021, the plot progressed from forcibly removing Moïse from power to assassinating him. In particular, the conspiracy began to focus on assassination after an unsuccessful effort to seize President Moïse on a return trip to Haiti and spirit him away by airplane to a location outside the country.

According to the charging documents, from South Florida, Ortiz and Intriago managed and directed other members of the conspiracy – including Solages, a CTU representative in Haiti (who coordinated with Vincent and Sanon) and the Colombian nationals who participated in the assassination (through Rivera and/or another Colombian leader in Haiti who was killed while attempting to leave the scene of the assassination).

It is alleged that John, a former Haitian Senator, and Jaar both helped secure weapons and provided other support.  

On July 6, 2021, co-conspirators met at a house near President Moïse’s residence, where firearms and equipment were distributed, and it was announced that the mission was to kill President Moïse, according to the allegations. On July 7, 2021, several individuals arrived outside President Moïse’s residence, some of whom were wearing CTU-branded ballistic vests. They entered the President’s home and killed him.  

If convicted, Ortiz, Intriago, Veintemilla, Solages, Vincent, Garcia, Palacios, Jaar, and John face up to life in prison. Bergmann and Sanon face up to 20 years, if convicted. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge Maged Behnam of the FBI Miami Field Office, and Acting Deputy Executive Associate Director for Homeland Security Investigations Anthony Salisbury.

FBI and HSI investigated these cases, with valuable assistance provided by Department of State, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security Office of Export Enforcement, and the Department of Defense’s Criminal Investigative Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Goldbarg and Monica Castro of the Southern District of Florida, Trial Attorneys Frank Russo and Jessica Fender of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, and Emma Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Paster is handling asset forfeiture. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance.

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

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

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This morning, U.S. federal law enforcement arrested two U.S. citizens and a legal permanent resident living in South Florida and one U.S. citizen living in Tampa pursuant to criminal complaints on charges relating to their participation in the events leading to the July 7, 2021, assassination of President Jovenel Moïse of Haiti. Following the arrests, a South Florida grand jury returned a third superseding indictment charging these four individuals, along with seven others previously arrested and charged in the United States for their alleged roles in the plot.

The four men arrested in Florida today are: Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, 50, a Colombian national and U.S. permanent resident of Miami; Antonio Intriago 59, a Venezuelan-American of Miami; Walter Veintemilla, 54, of Weston; and Frederick Bergmann, 64, of Tampa.

They made their initial federal court appearances today at 2:00 p.m. in Miami before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis.

“Today, individuals who we allege participated in the planning, financing, and orchestration of the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse will face justice in an American courtroom,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The court documents unsealed today outline an alleged plan by the defendants, some of whom were operating within the United States, to remove President Moise from office by either killing or kidnapping him in order to replace him with a candidate who would serve their political goals and financial interests. The Justice Department will not tolerate individuals plotting violent attacks from U.S. soil that undermine the rule of law abroad.”

“Today’s arrests show the FBI’s commitment to vigorously pursue the individuals involved in the brazen plot to kidnap or kill the former Haitian president,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “As demonstrated by this case, the men and women of the FBI will work tirelessly across borders and oceans to uphold the rule of law. The FBI will not tolerate these acts of violence perpetrated abroad against our international partners.”

“Today marks the culmination of a nearly two-year investigation into the assassination of President Moïse. Homeland Security Investigations special agents leveraged their authority to further investigative efforts with whole-of-government partners to bring justice to the Moïse family and people of Haiti,” said Deputy Secretary John K. Tien of the Department of Homeland Security. “The Department of Homeland Security is deeply committed to combating transnational organized crime. To those engaged in illicit activities, let today stand as a reminder that we remain relentless and vigilant in holding you accountable and dismantling your unlawful operations.”

With today’s arrests, 11 people now face charges in the Southern District of Florida in connection with the assassination. The third superseding indictment charges Ortiz, Intriago, and Veintemilla as well as James Solages, 37, Joseph Vincent, 57, and German Alejandro Rivera Garcia, 44, who were transferred into U.S. custody last month; Mario Antonio Palacios Palacios, 43, arrested January 2022; Rodolphe Jaar, 49, arrested January 2022; and Joseph Joel John, 51, arrested May 2022. These defendants – Ortiz, Intriago, Veintemilla, Solages, Vincent, Rivera, Palacios, Jaar and John – are charged with conspiracy to provide material support and resources to a conspiracy to kidnap or kill outside the United States, resulting in death; providing material support and resources to a conspiracy to kidnap or kill outside the United States, resulting in death; and conspiracy to kill or kidnap a person outside the United States.

The superseding indictment additionally charges Christian Emmanuel Sanon, 64, and Bergmann with conspiracy to commit export violations; submitting false and misleading export information; and smuggling ballistic vests from the United States to Haiti. As with Solages, Vincent and Rivera, Sanon was transferred from Haitian custody into U.S. custody last month.

“A central tenet of every democracy in the world is that those who want to change their government, must do so peacefully — through ballots, not bullets. These defendants thought they could secure immunity for their crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “We will now deliver justice in a U.S. courtroom.”

“Haiti is no stranger to hardship and suffering. While most human beings would consider events that destroy hundreds of thousands of lives, homes, schools and infrastructure tragedies, there are others who consider them opportunities to gain money and power,” said U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida. “When greed and ambition lead to violations of U.S. law, we will prosecute.” 

“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) leveraged its expertise in investigating transnational crime to identify the international network of co-conspirators who allegedly sought to overthrow the Haitian government through violence,” said Deputy Director and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director Tae D. Johnson of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “HSI continues to work with domestic and international law enforcement partners to investigate transnational criminal organizations that pose a significant threat to global security.”

According to court documents, from at least February 2021 to July 2021, South Florida served as a central location for planning and financing the plot to oust President Moïse from power and replace him with someone who would serve the coconspirators’ political goals and financial interests.

Ortiz and Intriago are principals of Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy and Counter Terrorist Unit Security (collectively, CTU), and Veintemilla is a principal of Worldwide Capital Lending Group (Worldwide). CTU and Worldwide are South Florida companies. According to charging documents, Bergmann, who lived in Tampa, had ties to Sanon, a dual Haitian-American citizen who held political aspirations in Haiti.

As alleged, in April 2021, Ortiz, Intriago, John, Solages and Sanon met in South Florida and agreed to a plan: Ortiz and Intriago – through CTU – would support ousting Haitian President Moïse and replacing him with Sanon. In exchange, once Sanon became President, he would award lucrative contracts to CTU for infrastructure projects in Haiti, the provision of security forces, and the provision of military type equipment to a Sanon-led Haitian government, according to the allegations.

It is alleged that in late April 2021, Veintemilla and his company Worldwide, agreed to help finance the coup d’etat, extending a $175,000 line of credit to CTU and sending money to co-conspirators in Haiti to purchase ammunition. Veintemilla expected to reap significant financial benefits through Worldwide should President Moïse be replaced as president, as did Ortiz and Intriago through CTU.

Further planning and spending continued in South Florida from April to June 2021, according to the charging documents. For example, Ortiz and Intriago, as principals of CTU, retained a group of about 20 Colombian nationals with military training (including Rivera and Palacios) to provide security to Sanon. Bergmann became a supporter and investor who helped fund the Colombians’ lodging in Haiti and worked with Sanon and Intriago to ship 20 CTU-branded ballistic vests from South Florida to Haiti by falsifying the required export documentation.

By June 2021, the plan evolved as Ortiz, Intriago, Veintemilla and others apparently realized that Sanon had neither the constitutional qualifications nor the popular support of the Haitian people to become President. They shifted their support from Sanon to a former Haitian Supreme Court judge. This new candidate contracted with CTU and Worldwide to serve the companies’ financial interests upon becoming President.

It is also alleged that by June 2021, the plot progressed from forcibly removing Moïse from power to assassinating him. In particular, the conspiracy began to focus on assassination after an unsuccessful effort to seize President Moïse on a return trip to Haiti and spirit him away by airplane to a location outside the country.

According to the charging documents, from South Florida, Ortiz and Intriago managed and directed other members of the conspiracy – including Solages, a CTU representative in Haiti (who coordinated with Vincent and Sanon) and the Colombian nationals who participated in the assassination (through Rivera and/or another Colombian leader in Haiti who was killed while attempting to leave the scene of the assassination).

It is alleged that John, a former Haitian Senator, and Jaar both helped secure weapons and provided other support.

On July 6, 2021, co-conspirators met at a house near President Moïse’s residence, where firearms and equipment were distributed, and it was announced that the mission was to kill President Moïse, according to the allegations. On July 7, 2021, several individuals arrived outside President Moïse’s residence, some of whom were wearing CTU-branded ballistic vests. They entered the President’s home and killed him.

If convicted, Ortiz, Intriago, Veintemilla, Solages, Vincent, Garcia, Palacios, Jaar and John face up to life in prison. Bergmann and Sanon face up to 20 years if convicted. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Acting Special Agent in Charge Maged Behnam of the FBI Miami Field Office, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Buckley of HSI Miami made the announcement.

The FBI and HSI investigated these cases, with valuable assistance provided by the Department of State; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security Office of Export Enforcement; and the Department of Defense’s Criminal Investigative Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Goldbarg and Monica Castro for the Southern District of Florida, Trial Attorneys Frank Russo and Jessica Fender of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, and Emma Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Paster is handling asset forfeiture. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance.

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

CORRECTION: The original press release is corrected to reflect that three U.S. citizens and one legal permanent were arrested today. Defendant Intriago is a U.S. citizen (Venezuelan American), not a legal permanent resident.

MIAMI – This morning, U.S. federal law enforcement arrested two U.S. citizens and a legal permanent resident living in South Florida and one U.S. citizen living in Tampa pursuant to criminal complaints on charges relating to their participation in the events leading to the July 7, 2021, assassination of President Jovenel Moise of Haiti. Following the arrests, a South Florida grand jury returned a third superseding indictment charging these four individuals, along with seven others previously arrested and charged in the U.S., for their alleged roles in the plot.

The four men arrested in Florida today are: Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, 50, a Colombian national and U.S. permanent resident of Miami; Antonio Intriago 59, a Venezuelan American, Walter Veintemilla, 54, an Ecuadorian American of Weston; and Frederick Bergmann, 64, of Tampa.

They are scheduled for initial federal court appearances today in Miami before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lauren F. Louis.

With today’s arrests, 11 people now face charges in the Southern District of Florida in connection with the assassination. The third superseding indictment charges Ortiz, Intriago, and Veintemilla as well as James Solages, 37, Joseph Vincent, 57, and German Alejandro Rivera Garcia, 44, who were transferred into U.S. custody last month; Mario Antonio Palacios Palacios, 43, arrested January 2022; Rodolphe Jaar, 49, arrested January 2022; and Joseph Joel John, 51, arrested May 2022. These defendants—Ortiz, Intriago, Veintemilla, Solages, Vincent, Rivera, Palacios, Jaar, and John—are charged with conspiracy to provide material support and resources to a conspiracy to kidnap or kill outside the United States, resulting in death; providing material support and resources to a conspiracy to kidnap or kill outside the United States, resulting in death; and conspiracy to kill or kidnap a person outside the United States. 

The superseding indictment additionally charges Christian Emmanuel Sanon, 64, and Bergmann with: conspiracy to commit export violations; submitting false and misleading export information; and smuggling ballistic vests from the United States to Haiti. As with Solages, Vincent, and Rivera, Sanon was transferred from Haitian custody into U.S. custody last month.

According to court documents, from at least February 2021 to July 2021, South Florida served as a central location for planning and financing the plot to oust President Moïse from power and replace him with someone who would serve the coconspirators’ political goals and financial interests.

Ortiz and Intriago are principals of Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy and Counter Terrorist Unit Security (collectively, CTU), and Veintemilla is a principal of Worldwide Capital Lending Group (Worldwide). CTU and Worldwide are South Florida companies. Bergmann, who lived in Tampa, had ties to Sanon, a dual Haitian-American citizen who held political aspirations in Haiti, say the charging documents.  

As alleged, in April 2021, Ortiz, Intriago, John, Solages and Sanon met in South Florida and agreed to a plan: Ortiz and Intriago – through CTU – would support ousting Haitian President Moïse and replacing him with Sanon. In exchange, once Sanon became President, he would award lucrative contracts to CTU for infrastructure projects in Haiti, the provision of security forces, and the provision of military type equipment to a Sanon-led Haitian government, according to the allegations.

It is alleged that in late April 2021, Veintemilla and his company Worldwide, agreed to help finance the coup d’etat, extending a $175,000 line of credit to CTU and sending money to co-conspirators in Haiti to purchase ammunition. Veintemilla expected to reap significant financial benefits through Worldwide should President Moise be replaced as president, as did Ortiz and Intriago through CTU.

Further planning and spending continued in South Florida from April to June 2021, according to the charging documents. For example, Ortiz and Intriago, as principals of CTU, retained a group of about 20 Colombian nationals with military training (including Rivera and Palacios) to provide security to Sanon. Bergmann became a supporter and investor who helped fund the Colombians’ lodging in Haiti and worked with Sanon and Intriago to ship 20 CTU-branded ballistic vests from South Florida to Haiti by falsifying the required export documentation.  

By June 2021, the plan evolved as Ortiz, Intriago, Veintemilla and others apparently realized that Sanon had neither the constitutional qualifications nor the popular support of the Haitian people to become President. They shifted their support from Sanon to a former Haitian Supreme Court judge. This new candidate contracted with CTU and Worldwide to serve the companies’ financial interests upon becoming President. 

It is also alleged that by June 2021, the plot progressed from forcibly removing Moïse from power to assassinating him. In particular, the conspiracy began to focus on assassination after an unsuccessful effort to seize President Moïse on a return trip to Haiti and spirit him away by airplane to a location outside the country.

According to the charging documents, from South Florida, Ortiz and Intriago managed and directed other members of the conspiracy – including Solages, a CTU representative in Haiti (who coordinated with Vincent and Sanon) and the Colombian nationals who participated in the assassination (through Rivera and/or another Colombian leader in Haiti who was killed while attempting to leave the scene of the assassination).

It is alleged that John, a former Haitian Senator, and Jaar both helped secure weapons and provided other support.  

On July 6, 2021, co-conspirators met at a house near President Moïse’s residence, where firearms and equipment were distributed, and it was announced that the mission was to kill President Moïse, according to the allegations. On July 7, 2021, several individuals arrived outside President Moïse’s residence, some of whom were wearing CTU-branded ballistic vests. They entered the President’s home and killed him.  

If convicted, Ortiz, Intriago, Veintemilla, Solages, Vincent, Garcia, Palacios, Jaar, and John face up to life in prison. Bergmann and Sanon face up to 20 years, if convicted. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge Maged Behnam of the FBI Miami Field Office, and Acting Deputy Executive Associate Director for Homeland Security Investigations Anthony Salisbury.

FBI and HSI investigated these cases, with valuable assistance provided by Department of State, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security Office of Export Enforcement, and the Department of Defense’s Criminal Investigative Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Goldbarg and Monica Castro of the Southern District of Florida, Trial Attorneys Frank Russo and Jessica Fender of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, and Emma Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Paster is handling asset forfeiture. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance.

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

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

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MIAMI – Reading is crucial to a child’s educational development and future success. This is why staff from the Law Enforcement Coordination and Community Outreach Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida hold weekly readings for pre-kindergarten children in at-risk South Florida schools.

“Good morning, everyone,” said Law Enforcement Coordination Specialist Mark McKinney to a group of pre-kindergarten students at Robert Ingram Elementary School in Opa-locka. “Are you all excited? We have to begin a new book to keep building your vocabularies.”

The children got quiet, sat down, and listened with great attention as McKinney read books predominately about animals. In between books he would stand the children up and play a quick game with them before grabbing the next one from his bag.

“He has such an impact on these kids,” said Adriana Ruiz, a pre-kindergarten teacher at Robert Ingram Elementary School. “He sparks a curiosity about books. After he leaves, we have playtime and the children choose a book even though they can’t read it yet—they pretend. There is a big difference between having to read and wanting to read. Mark motivates them.”

That is the reason for this program, to build a solid educational base by giving children a love for reading.

“We’ve been doing these readings for at least six years,” said Law Enforcement Coordination and Community Outreach Section Chief J.D. Smith. “We started this because research indicates that if children don’t read at grade level by the end of the fourth grade, they start to fall behind their peers academically. This can result in many of them eventually dropping out.”

Research suggests that poor readers are, in fact, four times as likely to drop out of school. Law Enforcement Coordination and Community Outreach Section staff organize these readings at schools in areas considered to be book deserts. These communities lack access to certain resources, books among them. 

“Some of the most vulnerable pre-kindergarten kids don’t have access to a library so we bring books with us to help build up their home libraries and develop that love of reading,” said McKinney. “If they get that at an early age, it will help their odds of success in the future.”

Anyone interested in donating children’s books may do so by emailing U.S. Attorney’s Office staff at usafls.vrp@usdoj.gov or by calling (305) 961-9134.

MIAMI – Nicholas James Sorgenfrey, 38, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., who previously had been convicted of a sex offense, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for possessing child sexual abuse material on his cell phone and cloud storage account.

According to the affidavit, Sorgenfrey uploaded child sexual abuse material to his cell phone service provider’s cloud storage system. A review of this content revealed material of prepubescent minors. After a search of his residence, Sorgenfrey admitted to using social media apps to obtain sexually explicit images and videos. A search of his phone revealed several videos depicting sexually explicit conduct of children, including preteen children.

United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe and acting Special Agent in Charge Maged Behnam, FBI Miami, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon who sits in Ft. Pierce, Fla.

FBI and the Martin County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hudock prosecuted it. 

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, PSC 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 PSC’s initiative and information regarding internet safety, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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

MIAMI – Following a trial in Fort Lauderdale federal court, a jury has found Joff Stenn Wroy Philossaint, 32, guilty of illegally obtaining his U.S. citizenship by lying about fraud that he committed while his citizenship application was pending.

According to evidence presented at trial, prior to April 2020, Philossaint – a Haitian national – had applied to become a U.S. citizen.  While his U.S. citizenship application was pending, Philossaint engaged in a sophisticated Covid-19 fraud scheme.  Specifically, from April 2020 through May 2021, Philossaint submitted fraudulent applications on behalf of 11 businesses seeking a total of about $3 million from Covid-19 relief programs.  On December 15, 2020, while Philossaint’s wire fraud scheme was ongoing, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer interviewed Philossaint in connection with his citizenship application. During the sworn interview, Philossaint falsely stated that he had never committed a crime for which he had not been arrested and that he had never made misrepresentations to receive a public benefit in the United States. Philossaint was naturalized as a U.S. citizen based on these false representations.

An indictment charged Philossaint with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money in connection with the Covid-19 relief application and with procuring naturalization contrary to law.  Philossaint pled guilty to the wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges and proceeded to trial on the immigration charge.  The jury found him guilty on the immigration charge. 

Philossaint is scheduled to be sentenced on March 29 at 9:00 a.m. in Ft. Lauderdale before U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith.  In addition to any prison sentence that the judge imposes, Philossaint is subject to mandatory denaturalization after sentencing.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of the Inspector General (SBA-OIG), Investigations Division, Eastern Regional Office, Special Agent in Charge Rafael Barros of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, acting Special Agent in Charge Maged Behnam of the FBI Miami Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line of the IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, and acting Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Buckley, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami, announced the conviction.

SBA OIG, USSS, FBI, IRS CI, and HSI investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marc Osborne and Shannon O’Shea Darsch prosecuted it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Paster is handling asset forfeiture.

In March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act was enacted. It was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other sources of relief, the CARES Act authorized and provided funding to the SBA to provide Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDLs”) to eligible small businesses, including sole proprietorships and independent contractors, experiencing substantial financial disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic to allow them to meet financial obligations and operating expenses that could otherwise have been met had the disaster not occurred.  EIDL applications were submitted directly to the SBA via the SBA’s on-line application website, and the applications were processed and the loans funded for qualifying applicants directly by the SBA.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

On September 15, 2022, the Attorney General selected the Southern District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to head one of three national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams. The Department of Justice established the Strike Force to enhance existing efforts to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please click here. 

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-cr-80144.

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MIAMI – A 29-year-old man from Martin County, Florida, German Oliver Jose Martin, has pled guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Shaniek M. Maynard, to production of child pornography.

As part of his guilty plea, Martin admitted that on May 26, 2022, he picked up a 15-year-old girl from her school bus stop, drove her to his trailer, and used his cellular telephone to produce several videos of them engaging in sexually explicit conduct.  Law enforcement learned of the activity and, in early June 2022, executed a federal search warrant on Martin’s phone.  They found two sexually explicit videos involving the minor victim.

Martin has pled guilty to one count of production of visual depictions of sexual exploitation of a minor.  He faces up to 30 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release.  

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, acting Special Agent in Charge Maged Behnam of the FBI Miami Field Office, and Sheriff William D. Snyder of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office announced the guilty plea.  

FBI Miami, Fort Pierce Resident Agency, and the Martin County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.  Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Lineberger is prosecuting the case.

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.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-cr-14043.

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MIAMI – Following a trial in West Palm Beach federal court, a jury found Elizabeth Genna Suarez, formerly known as “Elizabeth Mirson Suit,” 34, guilty of wire fraud.

According to evidence presented by federal prosecutors, from August 2018 to November 2019, Suarez executed a scheme to defraud Piper’s Angels Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting individuals with cystic fibrosis and their families. During that time, Suarez was married to the foundation’s executive director and used her access to the foundation money to divert it to herself. For example, Suarez used her copy of the foundation’s corporate credit card in July 2019 to make an $8,000 deposit on a cosmetic surgical procedure, pay $1,680 for a cosmetic laser procedure, and spend $800 on a necklace.     

Suarez was convicted on three counts of wire fraud and acquitted on one. Suarez is scheduled to be sentenced April 6, at 2:00 p.m. in West Palm Beach before the Honorable Donald M. Middlebrooks.

Markenzy Lapointe, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Maged Behnam, Acting Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, announced the conviction.  

FBI Miami investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra Chase prosecuted it.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabrielle Charest-Turken is handling asset forfeiture.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-cr-80185.

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MIAMI – Colleen Marie Kilnapp, 56, of Boca Raton, Fla., has made her first appearance in federal court to face charges that she violated a Captain of the Port Order issued by U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Captain of the Port, Miami.   

A South Florida federal grand jury indicted Kilnapp on January 26, 2023, charging her with three counts of Violating a Captain of the Port Order. If convicted, she faces up to six years in prison.

According to indictment allegations, on February 10, 2020, Kilnapp was issued an order of the USCG Captain of the Port, Miami, restricting her vessel the COLLEEN MARIE from operating commercially as the vessel did not have a USCG Certificate of Inspection. USCG boarding teams subsequently found the COLLEEN MARIE operating as an illegal passenger vessel on three different occasions after Kilnapp was issued the order.

United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe and Special Agent in Charge Zinnia James, USCG Investigative Service (CGIS) Southeast Region, made the announcement.

CGIS investigated this case with assistance from USCG Sector Miami. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton is prosecuting it.

An indictment contains mere allegations and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. 

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-CR-60025.

MIAMI — Daniela Rendon, 31, of Miami made her appearance in federal magistrate court today and was charged with fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 relief loans and grants under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Relief Program.

According to the indictment, Rendon submitted fraudulent applications seeking COVID-19 relief funds from the Small Business Administration and PPP. She is alleged to have falsified her revenue and payroll and submitted fraudulent IRS tax forms. According to the charges, Rendon received approximately $381,000 in fraudulent funds. To disburse the funds, she is alleged to have enrolled with a payroll processor to issue fraudulent payroll checks to herself, family members, and friends. She is alleged to have used the fraudulently obtained funds to lease a 2021 Bentley Bentayga, rent a luxury Biscayne Bay apartment, pay for cosmetic dermatology procedures, and refinish her designer shoes.

The indictment charges Rendon with seven counts of wire fraud, two counts of money laundering, and one count of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe and acting Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Buckley, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami, made the announcement.

HSI Miami investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Bailyn is prosecuting it.

An indictment is a mere allegation. A defendant is presumed innocent until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

On September 15, 2022, the Attorney General selected the Southern District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to head one of three national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams. The Department of Justice established the Strike Force to enhance existing efforts to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please click here. 

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case no. 23-cr-20036.  

MIAMI – Benito Montes de Oca Cruz, 60, of Miami-Dade County, has pled guilty to abusive sexual contact with a woman serving part of her 51-month prison sentence in home confinement under his authority.

Cruz, a site supervisor employed by Riverside House, conducted home visits to monitor compliance of federal inmates on home confinement. Riverside House, pursuant to a contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, is responsible for providing custodial, supervisory, and disciplinary oversight to federal inmates on home confinement.

As admitted at the change of plea, on December 28, 2020, Cruz conducted a home confinement supervision visit to the victim’s residence. While there, he engaged in sexual contact with and by the victim, including sexually explicit touching of the victim while they both were naked.

Law enforcement received information regarding this illicit activity and promptly interviewed the victim. Facts also showed that this illegal activity was captured on video and there was DNA evidence left behind by Cruz that conclusively established his involvement.

Cruz is scheduled for sentencing on April 14, 2023, before U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola. He faces a possible maximum sentence of two years in prison.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe and Special Agent in Charge James Boyersmith of the Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General (DOJ-OIG), made the announcement.

DOJ-OIG investigated this case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward N. Stamm is prosecuting it.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-cr-20459.

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MIAMI – Defendants Vivian Machado, 62, Eric Flaquer, 39, as well as Miami-based companies Quick Tricks Automotive Performance, Inc., and Kloud9Nine, LLC have pled guilty in federal district court to conspiring to tamper with monitoring devices on diesel vehicles, in violation of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The purpose of the CAA, among other things, is “to protect and enhance the quality of the Nation’s air resources so as to promote the public health and welfare and the productive capacity of its population.”  Motor vehicles, including those with heavy duty diesel engines, cause or contribute to air pollution which may endanger public health or welfare and are thus regulated including the requirement that manufacturers design and install emissions control systems to treat exhaust.  Those systems are monitored by an on-board diagnostic system (OBD).  The OBD is software and sensors that monitor emissions-related engine systems and components.  It is a felony to tamper with CAA-required monitoring devices.

According to court records and a Joint Factual Statement filed in Court, between January 2018 and December 2020, defendants Machado, Flaquer, and Quick Tricks were paid approximately $230,830.61 for 1,100 transactions for the sale of “delete tune files” that tamper with or disable the OBDs on heavy-duty diesel motor vehicles that were required under the CAA to have OBD systems to monitor the emissions control systems.  Similarly, between October 2019 and March 2021, Machado, Flaquer, and Kloud9Nine were paid $141,162.70 for an additional 657 transactions.  The defendants would customize the delete tune files based on the vehicle identification number and desired parameters and would conduct active customer service for the automotive businesses.  Knowing the conduct was illegal, the defendants would often warn customers by e-mail not to tell anyone about the purchases and to take steps to avoid detection by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and “stay under the radar.”

The vehicles at issue in this case were driven in the Southern District of Florida and throughout the United States on public roads and highways.  Diesel exhaust contains a mix of acidic and hydrocarbon gases that are harmful to human health.  Excess emissions from illegally tampered vehicles can have important environmental justice implications for overburdened communities near major roads and highways.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams has set a sentencing hearing for all four defendants for April 7, at 3:00 p.m., in federal district court in Miami. Machado and Flaquer face up to five years in prison and a criminal fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the offense.  The companies face a term of probation up to five years and a criminal fine of up to $500,000 or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the offense.

Markenzy Lapointe, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and Charles Carfagno, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Criminal Investigation Division, Southeast Area Branch, announced the conviction. 

EPA, Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case.  Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jodi A. Mazer is prosecuting it.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-cr-20516.

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MIAMI – Collice Reid, 23, has been convicted for aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during a robbery that resulted in the death of a Lauderhill, Fla., resident.

According to trial evidence, in October 2015 Reid partnered with criminal associates that committed armed home invasions, armed robberies, assaults, attempted murders, and murders. On November 4, 2015, Reid and his criminal associates robbed Donald “Eddie” Johnston in Lauderhill with Reid serving as lookout and getaway driver.

During the robbery one of Reid’s criminal associates shot and killed Johnston, whose parents worked for Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) and Fort Lauderdale Police Department, respectively.

One of Reid’s criminal associates, Derrick Slade, was previously found guilty of his involvement with this criminal group and was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 30 years.

Reid is scheduled to be sentenced April 7, 2023, at 2 p.m. in Miami before the Honorable Paul Huck.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe and acting Special Agent in Charge Maged Behnam, FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.  

FBI investigated this case with assistance from BSO, Hollywood Police Department, Lauderhill Police Department, Hallandale Beach Police Department, Davie Police Department, and Fort Lauderdale Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul F. Schwartz and Jeffrey N. Kaplan prosecuted it.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 20-CR-60107.

MIAMI – Today, U.S. federal law enforcement transferred into U.S. custody four men detained in Haiti to face criminal charges in the Southern District of Florida related to their alleged involvement in the July 7, 2021 assassination of former Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.

A criminal complaint charges dual Haitian-American citizens James Solages, 37, Joseph Vincent, 57, and Colombian citizen German Alejandro Rivera Garcia, 44, with conspiring to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States and providing material support and resources resulting in death, and conspiring to do so, knowing or intending that such support and resources would be used to prepare for or carry out the conspiracy to kill or kidnap.

A separate criminal complaint charges dual Haitian-American citizen Christian Sanon, 54, with conspiring to smuggle goods from the United States and cause export information not to be filed, as well as with smuggling goods from the United States and providing unlawful export information.  

Solages, Vincent, Rivera, and Sanon are scheduled to make their initial federal court appearances tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia Otazo-Reyes in Miami.    

Including these four defendants, seven individuals are now in U.S. custody, charged with U.S. crimes for their roles in the assassination plot. The other men charged are Mario Antonio Palacios Palacios, 43, Rodolphe Jaar, 49, and Joseph Joel John, 51, who were arrested last year.

As alleged in the complaints, Solages, Vincent, Rivera, Sanon, and others participated in crimes that culminated in the assassination of the Haitian President.

It is alleged that in April 2021, Solages, Sanon, and others met in South Florida to discuss regime change in Haiti and support for Sanon, an aspiring Haitian political candidate. After that meeting, a list of equipment and weapons needed for the regime change operation was shared with Solages, who then shared it with Sanon. According to the complaint, items on that list included rifles, machineguns, tear gas, grenades, ammunition, bulletproof vests, and other weapons and equipment. 

In May 2021, Sanon contracted for equipment needed to support his “private military” forces in Haiti. His private forces included about 20 Colombian nationals with military training who were recruited to assist in the operation and provide security to Sanon. Rivera led the Colombian group, according to the allegations.

It is alleged that Sanon conspired with others to ship 20 ballistic vests for use by his private military forces from South Florida to Haiti on June 10, 2021. The vests were shipped without the required export license from the U.S. Department of Commerce and without the required export information filings.

In mid-June 2021, support for President Moïse’s replacement shifted to a former Haitian Supreme Court Judge. That Judge signed a document requesting assistance to further the arrest and imprisonment of President Moïse. In addition, a document purportedly signed by that Judge claimed to provide immunity in Haiti to those who participated in the operation.

On June 19, 2021, Solages, Vincent, Rivera, and others communicated about their plans to arrest President Moïse, detain him, and take him away in an airplane to an unknown location. The plan did not go forward when the conspirators failed to obtain the plane and necessary weapons for the operation. 

On June 28, 2021, according to the charging documents, Solages traveled from Haiti to South Florida to share with others the documents purportedly signed by the Haitian Judge requesting assistance and immunity. Solages flew back to Haiti on July 1, 2021, to participate in the operation against the President.  

It is alleged that on July 6, 2021, Solages, Vincent, Rivera, and others met at a house near President Moïse’s residence, where firearms and equipment were distributed and Solages announced that the mission was to kill President Moïse. On July 7, 2021, several individuals arrived outside President Moïse’s residence, some of whom were wearing ballistic vests. They entered the President’s home and killed him, according to the allegations.  

Haitian authorities arrested Solages, Vincent, Rivera, and Sanon. They were detained in Haiti until today’s transfer to the United States.

Solages, Vincent, and Rivera face up to life imprisonment if convicted. Sanon faces up to 20 years if convicted. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge Maged Behnam of the FBI Miami Field Office, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Buckley of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami made the announcement.

FBI and HSI investigated these cases.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Goldbarg and Monica Castro of the Southern District of Florida, Trial Attorneys Frank Russo and Jessica Fender of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, and Emma Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Paster is handling asset forfeiture. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance.

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

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case numbers 22-mj-04161 and 23-mj-02178.

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Today, U.S. federal law enforcement transferred into U.S. custody four men detained in Haiti to face criminal charges in the Southern District of Florida related to their alleged involvement in the July 7, 2021, assassination of former Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.

A criminal complaint charges dual Haitian-American citizens James Solages, 37, Joseph Vincent, 57, and Colombian citizen German Alejandro Rivera Garcia, 44, with conspiring to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States and providing material support and resources resulting in death, and conspiring to do so, knowing or intending that such support and resources would be used to prepare for or carry out the conspiracy to kill or kidnap.

A separate criminal complaint charges dual Haitian-American citizen Christian Sanon, 54, with conspiring to smuggle goods from the United States and cause export information not to be filed, as well as with smuggling goods from the United States and providing unlawful export information.

Solages, Vincent, Rivera and Sanon are scheduled to make their initial federal court appearances tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia Otazo-Reyes in Miami.    

Including these four defendants, seven individuals are now in U.S. custody, charged with U.S. crimes for their roles in the assassination plot. The other men charged are Mario Antonio Palacios Palacios, 43, Rodolphe Jaar, 49, and Joseph Joel John, 51, who were arrested last year.

As alleged in the complaints, Solages, Vincent, Rivera, Sanon and others participated in crimes that culminated in the assassination of the Haitian President.

It is alleged that in April 2021, Solages, Sanon and others met in South Florida to discuss regime change in Haiti and support for Sanon, an aspiring Haitian political candidate. After that meeting, a list of equipment and weapons needed for the regime change operation was shared with Solages, who then shared it with Sanon. According to the complaint, items on that list included rifles, machineguns, tear gas, grenades, ammunition, bulletproof vests, and other weapons and equipment.

In May 2021, Sanon contracted for equipment needed to support his “private military” forces in Haiti. His private forces included about 20 Colombian nationals with military training who were recruited to assist in the operation and provide security to Sanon. Rivera led the Colombian group, according to the allegations.

It is alleged that Sanon conspired with others to ship 20 ballistic vests for use by his private military forces from South Florida to Haiti on June 10, 2021. The vests were shipped without the required export license from the U.S. Department of Commerce and without the required export information filings.

In mid-June 2021, support for President Moïse’s replacement shifted to a former Haitian Supreme Court Judge. That Judge signed a document requesting assistance to further the arrest and imprisonment of President Moïse. In addition, a document purportedly signed by that Judge claimed to provide immunity in Haiti to those who participated in the operation.   

On June 19, 2021, Solages, Vincent, Rivera and others communicated about their plans to arrest President Moïse, detain him and take him away in an airplane to an unknown location. The plan did not go forward when the conspirators failed to obtain the plane and necessary weapons for the operation. 

On June 28, 2021, according to the charging documents, Solages traveled from Haiti to South Florida to share with others the documents purportedly signed by the Haitian Judge requesting assistance and immunity. Solages flew back to Haiti on July 1, 2021, to participate in the operation against the President.  

It is alleged that on July 6, 2021, Solages, Vincent, Rivera and others met at a house near President Moïse’s residence, where firearms and equipment were distributed and Solages announced that the mission was to kill President Moïse. On July 7, 2021, several individuals arrived outside President Moïse’s residence, some of whom were wearing ballistic vests. They entered the President’s home and killed him, according to the allegations.  

Haitian authorities arrested Solages, Vincent, Rivera and Sanon. They were detained in Haiti until today’s transfer to the United States.

Solages, Vincent and Rivera face up to life imprisonment if convicted. Sanon faces up to 20 years if convicted. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Acting Special Agent in Charge Maged Behnam of the FBI Miami Field Office and Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Buckley of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami made the announcement.

The FBI and HSI investigated these cases.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Goldbarg and Monica Castro for the Southern District of Florida, Trial Attorneys Frank Russo and Jessica Fender of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, and Emma Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Paster is handling asset forfeiture. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance.

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

Today, Ka Yeung Marvin Chan, a Canadian national, was sentenced to a term of 14 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for his role in a conspiracy to smuggle reptiles from the United States to Asia.

Chan is the last of three defendants sentenced for their roles in this reptile trafficking scheme. According to court documents and information in the public record, Chan and another conspirator, Daisuke Miyauchi, owned and operated businesses overseas and engaged in the sale of reptiles. Both men periodically traveled to the United States to purchase, among other things, ball pythons, blood pythons, common tegus, Argentine tegus and iguanas, which are protected under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Chan and Miyachi then worked with co-conspirator Chun Ku to smuggle the reptiles out of the country using Ku’s Master File CITES permit and fraudulent export paperwork. CITES regulates trade in endangered or threatened species through permit requirements.

Over a seven-year period, the conspirators collectively engaged in at least 107 separate criminal acts, smuggling to Asia a total of 8,738 CITES II protected animals with a retail market value in excess of $5.13 million. In addition to the CITES II species, the fraudulent shipments contained 61,622 non-CITES animals, many of which were also smuggled. 

Chan and his co-conspirators each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to falsely label wildlife being exported from the United States and to smuggle goods and merchandise out of the United States as well as submitting false records and false identification of wildlife intended to be exported. 

On Nov. 18, 2022, Ku was sentenced to concurrent terms of one year and one day imprisonment, two years’ supervised release and a $20,000 fine. On Feb. 22, 2022, Miyauchi was sentenced to concurrent terms of 13 months in prison. Each received favorable consideration at sentencing due to their cooperation with authorities during the investigation.

“The defendants abused a system designed to streamline the exportation of captive-bred reptiles for law-abiding breeders. They allowed other business owners to sell and ship reptiles to buyers in Asia without going through the federal agency vetting process,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “These prosecutions reflect law enforcement’s commitment to combat illegal wildlife trafficking.”

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement is committed to conduct criminal investigations combating the illegal international reptile trade,” said Assistant Director Ed Grace of the Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement “The Office of Law Enforcement takes violations of the Lacey Act seriously. The three-year long investigation involving the three defendants uncovered at least 107 criminal acts, a combined monetary value of $5,134,000, and involved a conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, smuggle CITES Appendix II reptiles out of the United States, and create and submit fraudulent documents to the government prior to export. We will continue to work combating wildlife smuggling while striving to maintain the integrity of the legal export process.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigated the case with special thanks to U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s Division of Management Authority.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald for the Southern District of Florida and Senior Trial Attorney Banumathi Rangarajan of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section prosecuted the case.

MIAMI – A South Florida man pled guilty in federal court today to conspiring to buy and sell more than 2.6 million Medicare beneficiary identification numbers, along with other personal identifiers.

Charles William McElwee, 36, pled guilty to one count of conspiring to violate the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), Title 42, United States Code, Section 1320a-7b(b)(4). MACRA is a law that makes it illegal to buy, sell, or distribute Medicare beneficiary identification numbers without proper authority. This is one of the first prosecutions brought under MACRA.

As part of his plea, McElwee admitted that he and his co-conspirators used “data mining” and “social engineering techniques” to collect Medicare beneficiary information, which McElwee then advertised and sold online. The trafficked information included beneficiary names, addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers, and Medicare beneficiary identification numbers. According to the charges, some of the illicit transactions involved foreign actors, including sellers in the Philippines.

McElwee’s sentencing hearing is set for April 7, at 1:15 p.m., before U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas.  McElwee faces up to five years in federal prison.  

Markenzy Lapointe, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Omar Pérez Aybar, Special Agent in Charge, Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Region; and Chad Yarbrough, Acting Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami announced the guilty plea.

HHS-OIG Miami and FBI Miami are investigating this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Juenger is prosecuting it.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.

Medicare beneficiaries who believe they have been a victim of medical identity theft can file a complaint with the HHS-OIG hotline by calling 1-800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477) or with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-cr-60202.

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MIAMI – Tyre Marquise Bradley, 31, of Palm Beach County, Fla., pled guilty today before Senior U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, among other controlled substances. 

On May 15, 2019, Bradley sold crack cocaine to an undercover officer. From about August 22, 2022, to September 20, 2022, he imported MDMA (ecstasy) into the United States via packages from Amsterdam. Law enforcement delivered the package under surveillance and Bradley was taken into custody when he arrived to retrieve it. A 9mm semiautomatic pistol was discovered in his backpack. A state search warrant for Bradley’s home residence was acquired and law enforcement found drugs in the refrigerator, in a cabinet, inside the garbage can, and in the children’s bedroom that tested positive for the following: 

   Blue fentanyl pills weighing 1.6 pounds

   Cocaine weighing 1.3 pounds

   Crack cocaine weighing 15 grams

   Marijuana weighing more than four pounds

Bradley pled guilty to four counts that included distribution of crack cocaine; importation of a controlled substance (ecstasy); attempted possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance (ecstasy); and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance (fentanyl, cocaine, and crack cocaine). 

Sentencing has been scheduled for April 14, 2023. At sentencing, Bradley faces a maximum term of imprisonment of up to 20 years on counts one, two and three and a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum term of up to life in prison on count five.  

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe, acting Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Buckley, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, and Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw made the announcement. 

HSI, West Palm Beach Office, investigated this case with assistance from Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lothrop Morris is prosecuting it. 

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

A New York woman was sentenced today to 45 months in prison for her role in the submission of fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $9.2 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Sherry Joseph, 34, of New York, New York, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on Nov. 10, 2022. According to court documents, Joseph recruited multiple individuals to apply for fraudulent PPP loans in exchange for kickbacks from their PPP loan proceeds. Joseph used aliases to send the information of her recruits to co-conspirators, who used this information to prepare fraudulent PPP loan applications that included falsified bank statements and payroll tax forms and falsely represented the borrowing entities’ number of employees and amount of monthly payroll. Joseph engaged in the scheme while on pretrial release for separate federal fraud-related offenses in the District of New Jersey.

In addition to her prison sentence, Joseph was ordered to serve three years of supervised released and pay $1,612,837.78 in restitution and $55,000 in forfeiture.

In total, 30 people have been charged for their participation in this scheme in the Southern District of Florida, Northern District of Ohio, and Middle District of North Carolina. All 30 of those defendants have been convicted.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), Eastern Region made the announcement.

The IRS-CI and SBA-OIG investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Philip Trout of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kiran Bhat for the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case.

In May 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 200 defendants in more than 130 criminal cases and has seized over $78 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.

MIAMI – Anthony Wayne Santiago, 28, of Novi, Mich.; Jacob Dominic VanDyke, 25, of Muskegon, Mich.; Johnathan Scott Fleak, 32, of Pryor, Okla.; Aaron Ray Iuliano, 27, of Ravenna, Ohio; and Michael Paul Gianfrancesco, 39, of Livingston, Tenn., all have pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute child sexual abuse material and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) of children under the age of 13 years.

According to Court records, from September to October 2021, the five defendants entered and participated in a private chat room within a social networking application. Each had to distribute CSAM of children under the age of 13 to enter the chat room. These defendants all distributed and solicited CSAM and discussed the sexual abuse of children among more than 50 other individuals. The children in the images and videos were as young as 4-years-old.

Johnathan Scott Fleak, who also was distributing CSAM through another online message board, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. Anthony Wayne Santiago, a registered sex offender who was on a GPS monitor at the time of his arrest, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. Aaron Ray Iuliano is to be sentenced February 16, 2023. Michael Paul Gianfrancesco and Jacob Dominic VanDyke will be sentenced March 31, 2023.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe, acting Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Buckley, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, and Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw made the announcement.

HSI, West Palm Beach Office, and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case as part of a joint effort of the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory Schiller and Brian Ralston are prosecuting it.

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.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov  or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-cr-80127.

MIAMI – Port St. Lucie, Fla., resident Elijah Daniel Shaw, 22, has pled guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Melissa Damian to producing and possessing child sexual abuse material.

According to Court records, in July, 2022, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent and Martin County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) detectives received information that tattoo artist Dustin Singleton aka “Greenhouse” exchanged narcotics and tattoos for sexual activity with minor females while at his Port St. Lucie tattoo shop.

Two rounds of search warrants were obtained—the first for narcotics and the second for child sexual abuse material, which targeted Singleton’s electronic devices. Forensic examinations of the devices revealed numerous images of Singleton and Shaw engaging in sexually explicit activity with a freshly tattooed minor female victim—recorded inside the tattoo shop.

On August 02, 2022, law enforcement arrested Shaw who identified images/videos of himself, Singleton, and the minor female victim and confirmed that the video was recorded at the tattoo parlor. Shaw’s iCloud account also contained numerous videos, including one of Singleton holding a smoking glass pipe for the minor female victim while he and Shaw engaged in sexually explicit activity with her. 

Shaw faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and up to 30 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release. In addition, he will be required to register as a sex offender.

Singleton, who also was arrested, has a trial date set for April 10, 2023. Singleton, who also was arrested, has a trial date set for April 10, 2023. An indictment is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe and acting Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Buckley, HSI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement. 

HSI Fort Pierce Office along with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, and Port St. Lucie Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carmen Lineberger and Michael Porter are prosecuting it.

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, PSC 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 PSC initiative and for information regarding Internet safety, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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

MIAMI – A Miami federal grand jury has indicted Maikel Jose Moreno Perez, 57, former president of the Venezuelan Supreme Court and current Venezuelan Supreme Court justice, with conspiring to launder and laundering bribes he received in exchange for using his position to resolve civil and criminal cases in Venezuela to favor bribe payers. 

According to the criminal charging documents, as president of the Venezuelan Supreme Court, Moreno had the power to influence judicial decisions in Venezuela because he had the authority to determine the panel of judges hearing cases at the Supreme Court and the power to appoint or remove lower court judges on the trial and appellate level in Venezuela. This activity went on from 2014 through March 2019.

It is alleged that Moreno received more than $10 million dollars in bribes, typically from Venezuelan contractors who had received contracts from Venezuelan government-owned entities. In 2014, prior to his appointment as president of the Supreme Court, he received $1 million via wire transfers to his personal bank account in Miami from a Venezuelan contractor. This money was for agreeing to resolve future Venezuelan criminal cases in favor of this contractor. 

During his tenure on the Supreme Court, Moreno received bribes in exchange for influencing actions in criminal cases, including dismissing criminal charges and arrest warrants or ordering home confinement for charged defendants, according to the criminal charging documents. Moreno received bribes from a contractor charged in the United States with a multi-billion-dollar fraud scheme to have a Venezuelan criminal case dismissed. He also received bribes in exchange for taking official actions in Venezuelan civil cases. He agreed to authorize the judicial seizure of a General Motors auto plant (valued at approximately $100 million) as part of a civil dispute in exchange for a percentage interest in proceeds from the sale of the plant, it is alleged. He maintained a bribe ledger that tracked millions of dollars of incoming bribes and personal expenses.

Moreno allegedly used bribe proceeds to purchase or renovate real estate around the world, including a villa in Tuscany, Italy, for 2.4 million euros, a luxury villa in La Romana, Dominican Republic, for $1.5 million, a building in Las Mercedes in Caracas, Venezuela, for $1.3 million, and an apartment in Miami for $1.3 million. He also used bribe proceeds for cars, luxury goods, luxury travel, and more than $300,000 for a musical performance at his wedding.

The indictment charges Moreno with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, one count of concealment of money laundering, and two counts of engaging in transactions in criminally derived property. The money laundering counts each carry a 20-year maximum sentence and the engaging in transactions in criminally derived property counts each carry a 10-year maximum sentence. 

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

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe and Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Buckley, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

HSI Fort Lauderdale, El Dorado Task Force-South investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael N. Berger is prosecuting it and Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx P. Calderón is handling asset forfeiture.

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

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MIAMI - Plis de yon douzèn endividi akize nan Distri Sid la Florid pou swadizan patisipasyon yo nan yon konplo fwòd elektwonik ki kreye yon chemen dekoupe ilegal pou kandida enfimyè jwenn lisans ak travay.

Daprè twa akizasyon ofisyèl resan ki pa sele epi ki te emèt pa Jiri Tabli Federal Sid La Florid la, ak twa akizasyoon ke komisè gouvènman federal te depoze, tout akize yo te angaje nan yon konplo pou vann fo diplom enfimyè ansanm ak tout relve ke yo pran nan men lekòl enfimyè akredite yo ba endividi ki tap chache lisans ak travay antan ke enfimyè diplome (RNs) ak enfimyè kalifye/enfimyè vokasyonèl (LPN/VNs).

Fo diplòm yo ak relve yo kalifye tout achtè yo pou prezante devan egzamen leta a, epi aprè yo finn pase l, jwenn lisans ak travay nan divè leta antan ke RNs ak LPN/VNs.  Plan global konplo a te gen pou wè ak distribisyon de plis de 7600 fo diplòm enfimye ke tout lekòl enfimye ki chita nan Sid La Florid la te emèt:  Siena College nan Broward County, Fla., Palm Beach School of Nursing nan Palm Beach County, Fla., ak Sacred Heart International Institute nan Broward County.  Lekòl sa yo fèmen kounyeya.

Chak akize ap fè fas a 20 lane prizon.

Markenzy Lapointe, Pwokire Distri Sid La Florid la di: "Demann pou enfimyè wo anpil epi li kontinye ap grandi," "Se domaj ke sèten moun ansanm ak enstitisyon ki konekte ak metye enfimyè a eseye eskive tout egzijans edikasyonèl yo.  Biwo sa a ansanm ak patnè fòsdelòd li yo angaje l pou l pouswiv konplo fwòd sa yo ak tout lòt konplo pou komèt fwòd sanblab yo ki mete lavi piblik la an danje.

Tip zak kriminèl sa yo kontinye ap parèt, sitou nan zòn sa a.

"Fwòd Swen Sante pa anyen nouvo pou La Florid di Sid, piske anpil nan magouyè sa yo wè l kankou yon fason pou yo fè lajan fasil, byen ke ilegal, se sa "Ajan FBI Chad Yarbrough, ajan responsab kap mennen dosye a nan Miami" di.  "Sa ki pi enkyetan konsènan envestigassyon sa a se ke gen plis de 7600 moun atravè peyi a kap mache ak akreditasyon enfimye ki fo, ki pwobableman ap trete pasyan ki nan swen kritik.  Si se pat pou dilijans ak gwo travay di envestigatè yo sou dosye sa a, degre fwòd la patap janm dekouvri."

Akizasyon sa yo konsantre sou bi lisans pou enfimyè a, ki la pou pwoteje piblik la de donmaj lè w etabli yon minimòm de kalifikasyon ak konpetans.

"Swadizan lavant ak acha diplòm ak relve enfimyè yo ba endividi ki disponib men ki pa kalifye se yon krim ki gen potansyèl pou l mete an danje sante ak sekirite tout pasyan yo epi li denigre metye enfimyè a," se sa Ajan Espesyal Omar Pérez Aybar, responsab Depatman Sante ak Sèvis Sosyal la, Biwo Enspektè Jeneral (HHS-OIG), di.  "An kowòdinasyon ak tout patnè nan fòsdelòd nou yo, HHS-OIG ap kontinye envestige ak agresivite tout move aktè yo ki, kareman meprize byenèt lèzòt pou anrichi tèt yo ak fwòd."

Akizasyon ki gen Rapò ak Fo Diplòm Enfimyè ak Relve de Siena College.

U.S. v. Witherspoon, et al., dosye no.: 23-60005-Cr-Smith

U.S. v. Sanon, dosye no.: 23-60013-Cr-Moreno

Dokiman akizasyon ofisyèl yo dekri Siena College antan ke yon lekòl akredite pa Komisyon Anseyman Endepandan La Florid ak Konsèy Enfimyè La Florid nan Konte Broward la ki ofri yon Pwogram Enfimyè Oksilyè ansanm ak yon pwogram Enfimyè Diplome (RN) rive jis a yon diplòm inivèsitè nan Syans pou Enfimyè.  Se Eugene Sanon ki te manadjè Siena College.

Akizasyon ofisyèl la akize Stanton Witherspoon nan Konte Burlington N.J.: Alfred Sellu nan Konte Burlington N.J.; Rene Bernadel nan Konte Westchester, N.Y. de konplote pou komèt ak komèt fwòd elektwonik.  Akizasyon a pretann ke Witherspoon, Sellu ak Bernadel solisite ak rekrite endividi ki tap chache akreditasyon enfimyè pou jwenn anplwa antan ke RN oswa LPN/VN.  Yo pretann ke akize sa yo fè aranjman ak Sanon ki tap jere Siena College epi ki akize pa rekizitwa de konplo pou komèt fwòd elektwonik, pou kreye ak distribiye fo diplòm ak relve yo.  Yo afime ke aspiran RN ak LPN/VN yo te asiste Pwogram pou Enfimyè nan Siena College nan Konte Broward la epi ke yo konplete tout kou nesesè yo ansanm ak tout fòmasyon klinik yo pou yo te ka jwenn diplòm RN oswa LPN/VN yo.  Ofèt, aspiran a enfimyè yo pa janmè konplete ni tout kou nesesè yo ni fòmasyon klinik yo.

Rekizitwa kont Sanon a pretann ke li menm ansanm ak lòt vann milye fo diplòm Enfimyè de Siena College ansanm ak tout relve yo ba aplikan metye enfimyè yo ki itilize yo pou jwenn lisans RN oswa LPN/VN nan divè leta ak travay enfimyè ak tout pouvwayè swen sante yo san yo pat okouran atravè peyi a.

Akizasyon ki gen Rapò ak Fo Diplòm Enfimyè ak tout Relve yo de Palm Beach School of Nursing.

U.S. v. Russ, et al., dosye no.: 23-60007-Cr-Singhal

Daprè dokiman akizasyon ofisyèl yo, bi Palm Beach School of Nursing se te prepare elèev yo pou ranpli tout egzijans Lisans la Florid ak Konsèy Enfimyè yo, ak kalifye pou pran egzamen leta pou jwenn lisans la pou ka travay antan ke enfimye diplome.

Akizasyon ofisyèl la akize Gail Russ nan Konte Broward la; Cheryl Stanley nan Konte Collier, Fla.; Krystal Lopez nan Konte Palm Beach; Ricky Riley nan Konte Broward; Norberto Lopez nan Konte Palm Beach; Damian Lopez nan Konte Palm Beach; Francois Legagneur nan Konte Nassay, N.Y.; Reynoso Seide nan Konte Union, N.J.; Cassandre Jean nan Konte Palm Beach; Yelva Saint Preux nan Konte Suffolk, N.Y.; Evangeline Naissant nan Konte Nassau, N.Y.; Rony Michel nan Konte Monmouth, N.J.; Vilaire Duroseau nan Konte Essex, N.J.; ak Yvrose Thermitus, a/k/a "Yvrose Thompson," nan Konte Union, N.J., de konplote pou komèt, ak komèt fwòd elektwonik.  Rekizitwa a pretann ke akize sa yo solisite ak rekrite endividi ki tap chache akreditasyon enfimyè pou jwenn travay antan ke RN oswa LPN/VN.

Yo pretann ke akize rekritè sa yo fè aranjman ak mèt Palm Beach School of Nursing la, Johanah Napoleon ansanm ak tout anplwaye lekòl la Gail Russ, Cheryl Stanley, Krystal Lopez, ak Ricky Riley pou kreye ak distribiye fo diplòm fwodè ak relve yo ki afime ke aspiran RN ak LPN/VN te asiste Palm Beach School of Nursing e ke yo konplete tout kou nesesè yo ansanm ak fòmasyon klinik yo pou yo te ka jwenn diplòm RN oswa LPN/VN yo.  Ofèt, enfimyè aspiran yo pat janmè konplete ni kou nesesè yo ni fòmasyon klinik yo.

Aplikan pou pòs enfimyè yo itilize fo diplòm ansanm ak tout relve yo te achte yo de mèt ak anplwaye Palm Beach School of Nurssing la pou jwenn lisans RN oswa LPN/VN nan divè leta ak travay kom enfimyè ak pouvwayè swen sante san yo pat okouran atravè peyi a.

Napoleon te deja akize pa rekizitwa e li plede koupab de konplote pou komèt fwòd swen de sante ak fwòd elektwonik, ansanm ak fwòd elektwonik (dosye nimewo 22-60111-Cr-Smith ak 22-60118-Cr-Smith).

Akizasyon ki gen Rapò ak Fo Diplòm Enfimyè ak Relve de Sacred Heart International Institute

U.S. v Jean, et al., dosye no.: 23-60010-Cr-Smith

U.S. v. Etienne, dosye no.: 23-60012-Cr-Singhal

Daprè dokiman akizasyon ofisyèl yo, Sacred Heart International Institute se yon Lekòl akredite pa Konsèy Enfimye La Florid nan Konte Broward la ki te ofri yon pwogram enfimyè destine a prepare elèv yo pou anplwa antan ke enfimyè oksilyè otorize.

Akizasyon Ofisyèl la akize Ludnie Jean nan Konte Harris, Texas; Serge Jean Simoon Itaman nan Konte Harris, Texas; Anna Itaman nan Konte Harris; Rhomy Louis nan Konte Suffolk, N.Y.; ak Nadege Auguste nan Konte Broward la de konplote pou ak komèt fwòd elektwonik.  Yo pretann ke akize sa yo solisite ak rekrite endividi ki tap chache jwenn akreditasyon enfimyè pou jwenn travay antan ke LPN/VN.  Rekritè sa yo fè aranjman ak Charles Etienne, mèt Sacred Heart, pou kreye ak distribiye relve fo ak fwodè ki afime ke aspiran a te asiste Sacred Heart ak konplete tout kou nesesè yo ansanm ak fòmasyon klinik yo pou yo te ka jwenn diplom LPN/VN.  Ofèt, enfimyè aspiran yo pat janmè konplete tout kou nesesè yo ni fòmasyon klinik yo.  Etienne akize pa Rekizitwa ak konplo pou komèt fwòd elektwonik.

Tout kandida pou enfimyè yo itilize fo diplòm ak relve ke yo te achte de Sacred Heart pou jwenn lisans LPN/VN nan divè leta ak travay enfimyè ak pouvwayè swen de sante ki pat okouran atravè tout peyi a.

Anons la fèt pa Markenzie Lapointe, Pwokirè Distri Sid La Florid la; Ajan Espesyal Enterimè FBI Chad Yarbrough, Biwo Rejyonal Miami; ak Ajan Espesyal Responsab, Omar Perez Aybar, HHS-OIG.

Yon enkilpasyon se sèlman yon akizasyon, epi yon akize inosan jiskaske yo pwouve li koupab.

Se FBI Miami ansanm ak HHS-OIG Miami ki envestige tout dosye sa yo.  Depatman Envestigasyon Sekirite Nasyonal te bay asistans ki te itil anpil, Biwo Rejyonal Miami; Depatman Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General Dèzetazini; Depatman Enspeksyon Lapòs Dèzetazini, Miami; ansanm ak Pwokirè Jeneral La Florid Seksyon Kontwòl Fwòd nan Medicaid, Biwo Rejyonal Mid-Atlantic.  Adjwen Komisè Gouvènman Christopher J. Clark kap pouswiv dosye a ansanm ak Adjwen Komisè Gouvènman nicole Grosnoff kap jere tout konfiskasyon byen yo.  Dosye sa a ap pouswiv devan leta ansanm ak tout lòt dosye kriminèl ki gen rapò ak yo nan Distri Alès Maryland.

W ap jwenn tout dokiman jidisyè ki gen rapò ak enfòmasyon sou sit entènèt Tribinal Distri pou Distri Sid La Florid sou www.flsd.uscourts.gov oswa sou http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

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MIAMI – More than two dozen individuals have been charged in the Southern District of Florida for their alleged participation in a wire fraud scheme that created an illegal licensing and employment shortcut for aspiring nurses.  

According to three recently unsealed indictments returned by a South Florida federal grand jury and two informations filed by federal prosecutors, defendants engaged in a scheme to sell fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts obtained from accredited Florida-based nursing schools to individuals seeking licenses and jobs as registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPN/VNs).

The bogus diplomas and transcripts qualified purchasers to sit for the national nursing board exam and, after passing it, to obtain licenses and jobs in various states as RNs and LPN/VNs.  The overall scheme involved the distribution of more than 7,600 fake nursing diplomas issued by three South Florida-based nursing schools: Siena College in Broward County, Fla., Palm Beach School of Nursing in Palm Beach County, Fla., and Sacred Heart International Institute in Broward County. These schools are now closed.

Each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison.

“Not only is this a public safety concern, it also tarnishes the reputation of nurses who actually complete the demanding clinical and course work required to obtain their professional licenses and employment,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe, who added that “a fraud scheme like this erodes public trust in our health care system.” 

Crimes such as these unfortunately continue to spring up, especially in this area.  

 “Health care fraud is nothing new to South Florida, as many scammers see this as a way to earn easy, though illegal, money, “said acting Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough, FBI Miami. “What is disturbing about this investigation is that there are over 7,600 people around the country with fraudulent nursing credentials who are potentially in critical health care roles treating patients. Were it not for the diligence and hard work of the investigators on this case, the extent of this fraud may not have been discovered.”

The charges speak to the purpose of a nursing license which is to protect the public from harm by setting minimum qualifications and competencies. 

“The alleged selling and purchasing of nursing diplomas and transcripts to willing but unqualified individuals is a crime that potentially endangers the health and safety of patients and insults the honorable profession of nursing,” said Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “In coordination with our law enforcement partners, HHS-OIG continues to aggressively investigate bad actors who so brazenly disregard the well-being of others in order to enrich themselves fraudulently.”                            

Charges Related to Fraudulent Nursing Diplomas and Transcripts from Siena College.

U.S. v. Witherspoon, et al., case no.: 23-60005-Cr-Smith

U.S. v. Sanon, case no.: 23-60013-Cr-Moreno

The charging documents describe Siena College as a Broward County school licensed by the Florida Commission for Independent Education and the Florida Board of Nursing that offers a Practical Nursing Program and an RN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program. Eunide Sanon managed Siena College.

The indictment charges defendants Stanton Witherspoon of Burlington County N.J.; Alfred Sellu of Burlington County N.J.; and Rene Bernadel of Westchester County, N.Y. with conspiring to commit and committing wire fraud. The indictment alleges that Witherspoon, Sellu, and Bernadel solicited and recruited individuals who sought nursing credentials to gain employment as an RN or LPN/VN. It is alleged that these defendants arranged with Sanon, who managed Siena College and is charged by information with wire fraud conspiracy, to create and distribute false and fraudulent diplomas and transcripts. These fake documents represented that the aspiring RN and LPN/VN candidates had attended Siena College’s nursing program in Broward County and completed the necessary courses and clinicals to obtain RN or LPN/VN diplomas. In fact, the aspiring nurses never completed the necessary courses and clinicals.

The information against Sanon alleges that he and others sold thousands of fake Siena College nursing diplomas and educational transcripts to nursing applicants who used them to obtain RN or LPN/VN licenses in various states and nursing jobs with unwitting health care providers throughout the country.

Charges Related to Fraudulent Nursing Diplomas and Transcripts from Palm Beach School of Nursing.

U.S. v. Russ, et al., case no.: 23-60007-Cr-Singhal

According to the charging documents, Palm Beach School of Nursing’s objective was to prepare students to meet Florida’s licensing and nursing board requirements and become eligible to take the national licensing exam in order to work as registered nurses.

The indictment charges Gail Russ of Broward County; Cheryl Stanley of Collier County, Fla.; Krystal Lopez of Palm Beach County; Ricky Riley of Broward County; Norberto Lopez of Palm Beach County; Damian Lopez of Palm Beach County; Francois Legagneur of Nassau County, N.Y.; Reynoso Seide of Union County, N.J.; Cassandre Jean of Palm Beach County; Yelva Saint Preux of Suffolk County, N.Y.; Evangeline Naissant of Nassau County, N.Y.; Rony Michel of Monmouth County, N.J.; Vilaire Duroseau of Essex County, N.J.; and Yvrose Thermitus, a/k/a “Yvrose Thompson,” of Union County, N.J., with conspiring to commit, and committing, wire fraud. The indictment alleges that these defendants solicited and recruited individuals who sought nursing credentials to gain employment as an RN or LPN/VN.

It is alleged that these recruiter defendants then arranged with Palm Beach School of Nursing’s owner Johanah Napoleon and school employees Gail Russ, Cheryl Stanley, Krystal Lopez, and Ricky Riley to create and distribute false and fraudulent diplomas and transcripts representing that the aspiring RN and LPN/VN candidates had attended Palm Beach School of Nursing and completed the necessary courses and clinicals to obtain RN or LPN/VN diplomas. In fact, the aspiring nurses never completed the necessary courses and clinicals.

The nursing applicants used the fake diplomas and transcripts they purchased from the owner and employees of Palm Beach School of Nursing to obtain RN or LPN/VN licenses in various states and nursing jobs with unwitting health care providers throughout the country. Napoleon was previously charged by information and has pled guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, as well as wire fraud (case nos. 22-60111-Cr-Smith and 22-60118-Cr-Smith).

Charges Related to Fraudulent Nursing Diplomas and Transcripts from Sacred Heart International Institute

U.S. v. Jean, et al., case no.: 23-60010-Cr-Smith 

U.S. v. Etienne, case no.: 23-60012-Cr-Singhal

According to charging documents, Sacred Heart International Institute was a Broward County School licensed by the Florida Board of Nursing that offered a nursing program designed to prepare students for employment as practical nurses.  

The indictment charges Ludnie Jean of Harris County, Texas; Serge Jean of Harris County, Texas; Simon Itaman of Harris County, Texas; Anna Itaman of Harris County, Texas; Rhomy Louis of Suffolk County, N.Y.; and Nadege Auguste of Broward County with conspiring to and committing wire fraud. It is alleged that these defendants solicited and recruited individuals who sought nursing credentials to gain employment as an LPN/VN. These recruiters then arranged with Charles Etienne, Sacred Heart’s owner, to create and distribute false and fraudulent transcripts and diplomas representing that the aspiring candidates had attended Sacred Heart and completed the necessary courses and clinicals to obtain LPN/VN diplomas. In fact, the aspiring nurses never completed the necessary courses and clinicals. Etienne is charged by information with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  

The nursing candidates used the fake diplomas and transcripts they purchased from Sacred Heart to obtain LPN/VN licenses in various states and nursing jobs with unwitting health care providers throughout the country.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe; acting Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough, FBI, Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Omar Perez Aybar, HHS-OIG, made the announcement.

FBI Miami and HHS-OIG Miami investigated these cases. Valuable assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations, Miami Field Office; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General; United States Postal Inspection Service, Miami; and Florida Attorney General-Florida Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Mid-Atlantic Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Clark is prosecuting this case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture. This case is being prosecuted in conjunction with a related criminal matter in the District of Maryland.

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

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

Click here to access charging documents.

23-CR-60005

 

23-CR-60007

 

23-CR-60010

 

23-CR-60012

 

23-CR-60013

MIAMI - Más de dos docenas de individuos han sido imputados en el Distrito Sur de Florida por su presunta participación en un ardid de fraude electrónico que creó un método abreviado de empleo y licenciatura ilegal para aspirantes a enfermeros(as).

Según tres acusaciones de conocimiento público emitidas por el jurado acusatorio federal del sur de Florida, y tres denuncias radicadas por los fiscales federales, los acusados participaron en un ardid para vender títulos de enfermería y transcripciones fraudulentas obtenidas de escuelas acreditadas de enfermería en Florida a individuos buscando licencias y puestos de trabajo como enfermeros(as) diplomados (RNs) y enfermera práctica titulada/auxiliar de enfermería (LPN/VNs).

Los diplomas y transcripciones falsos calificaban a los compradores para presentarse al examen nacional de enfermería, y después de haberlo aprobado, para obtener títulos y puestos en varios estados como RNs y LPN/VNs.  El esquema general implicaba la distribución de mas de 7,600 títulos de enfermería falsos emitidos por tres escuelas de enfermería en Florida:  Siena College en el Condado de Broward, Fla., Palm Beach School of Nursing en el Condado de Palm Beach, Fla., y Sacred Heart International Institute en el Condado de Broward.  Estas escuelas hoy en día están cerradas.

Cada acusado contempla hasta 20 años de reclusión en prisión.

"La demanda de enfermeros es muy alta y continua creciendo," dijo el Fiscal Federal para el Distrito Sur de Florida, Markenzy Lapointe.  "Es una lástima que ciertas personas e instituciones vinculadas a la profesión de enfermería traten de eludir los requisitos educativos.  Esta oficina y sus socios de las fuerzas del orden están comprometidos a enjuiciar este ardid de estafa tanto como a otras estafas similares que pongan en peligro al público."

Este tipo de delito, lamentablemente sigue surgiendo, especialmente en esta zona.

"El fraude del cuidado de salud no es nada nuevo para el sur de Florida, ya que muchos estafadores lo consideran, aún siendo ilegal, como una manera fácil de ganar dinero" dijo Chad Yarbrough, Agente Interino Especial a Cargo, FBI Miami.  "Lo más perturbador de ésta investigación es que hay más de 7,600 personas a

 través del país con credenciales de enfermería fraudulentos quienes potencialmente trabajan en funciones de cuidados críticos tratando a pacientes.  Si no fuera por la diligencia y el arduo trabajo de los investigadores en este caso, el alcance de este fraude puede no hubiera podido ser descubierto."

Los cargos hablan de la finalidad de una licencia de enfermería que es la de proteger al público de los daños estableciendo calificaciones y competencias mínimas.

"La presunta venta y compra de títulos y transcripciones de enfermería a personas dispuestas y no calificadas es un delito que potencialmente pone en peligro la salud y seguridad de los pacientes, y un insulto a la profesión de enfermería," dijo Omar Pérez Aybar, Agente Especial a Cargo del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Sociales, Oficina del Inspector General (HHS-OIG).  "En coordinación con nuestros socios de las fuerzas del orden, HHS-OIG continúa investigando agresivamente a estos malos agentes quienes desprecian descaradamente el bienestar de los demás para enriquecerse fraudulentamente."

Cargos Relacionados a Títulos de Enfermería y Transcripciones Fraudulentas de Siena College.

U.S. v. Witherspoon, et al., no. de caso: 23-60005-Cr-Smith

U.S. v. Sanon, no. de caso: 23-60013-Cr-Moreno

Los documentos acusatorios describen a Siena College como una escuela acreditada en el Condado de Broward por la Comisión de Educación Independiente y el Consejo de Enfermería Profesional del Estado de Florida que ofrece un Programa de Enfermería Práctica Titulada y de Enfermería Diplomada hasta un programa en Ciencias de Enfermería.  Eunide Sanon era el gerente de Siena College.

La acusación imputa a los acusados Stanton Witherspoon del Condado de Burlington, N.J.; Alfred Sellu del Condado de Burlington, N.J.; y Rene Bernadel del Condado de Westchester, N.Y. de conspirar para cometer o cometiendo fraude electrónico.  La acusación alega que Witherspoon, Sellu y Bernadel contactaron y reclutaron a individuos que buscaban credenciales de enfermería para obtener puestos de empleo como RN o LPN/VN.  Se alega que estos acusados acordaron con Sanon quien dirigía a Siena College y quien está acusado através de una denuncia de conspiración de fraude electrónico, para crear y distribuir títulos y transcripciones falsas y fraudulentas.  Estos representaban que los aspirantes a RN y candidatos de LPN/VN habían asistido el programa de enfermería de Siena College en el Condado de Broward y habían completado los cursos y formación clínica necesarios para obtener sus títulos de RN o LPN/VN.  De hecho, los aspirantes a la enfermería nunca completaron los cursos y formación clínica necesarios.

La información en contra de Sanon alega que él y otros vendieron miles de títulos de enfermería y transcripciones de educación falsos a los solicitantes de enfermería quienes, a cambio los utilizaron para obtener sus títulos de RN o LPN/VN en varios estados y puestos de trabajo con proveedores del cuidado de salud desinformados a través del país.

Cargos Relacionados a Títulos y Transcripcionsoes de Enfermería Fraudulentas de Palm Beach School of Nursing.

U.S. v. Russ, et al., no. de caso: 23-60007-Cr-Singhal

Según los documentos acusatorios, el objetivo de Palm Beach School of Nursing era la preparación de los alumnos para reunir todos los requisitos de títulos de Florida y los requisitos del Consejo de Enfermería Profesional y calificar para presentarse al examen nacional para poder trabajar como enfermeros(as) titulado(a).

La acusación imputa a Gail Russ del Condado de Broward; Cheryl Stanley del Condado de Collier, Fla; Krystal Lopez del Condado de Palm Beach; Damian Lopez del Condado de Palm Beach; François Legagneur del Condado Nassau, N.Y.; Reynoso Seide del Condado de Union, N.J.; Casssandre Jean del Condado de Palm Beach; Yelva Saint Preux del Condado Suffolk, N.Y.; Evangeline Naissant del Condado de Nassau, N.Y.; Rony Michel del Condado de Monmouth, N.J.; Vilaire Duroseau del Condado Esssex, N.J.; y Yvrose Thermitus, a/k/a "Yvrose Thompson," del Condado Union, N.J., de conspirar para cometer y cometiendo fraude electrónico.  La acusación alega que estos acusados contactaron y reclutaron a individuos que buscaban credenciales de enfermería para obtener puestos de trabajo como RN o LPN/VN.

Se alega que éstos acusados reclutadores acordaron con Johanah Napoleon, dueña del Palm Beach School of Nursing, y empleados de la escuela Gail Russ, Cheryl Stanley, Krystal Lopez, y Ricky Riley para crear y distribuir títulos y transcripciones falsas y fraudulentas representando que el aspirante a RN y candidatos al LPN/VN habían asistido al Palm Beach School of Nursing y completado todos los cursos y formación clínicas necesarios para obtener el título de RN o LPN/VN.  De hecho, los aspirantes a la enfermería nunca completaron los cursos y formación clínicas necesarios.

Los solicitantes de enfermería utilizaron éstos títulos y transcripciones falsas que habían comprado del dueño y empleados del Palm Beach School of Nursing para obtener títulos de RN o LPN/VN en varios estados y obtener puestos de trabajo con proveedores de cuidado de salud desinformados a través del país.

Napoleon había sido acusada anteriormente mediante una información y se ha declarado culpable de conspirar para cometer fraude al cuidado de salud y fraude electrónico, tanto como fraude electrónico (nos. de casos 22-60111-Cr-Smith y 22-60118-Cr-Smith).

Cargos Relacionados a Títulos y Transcripciones Fraudulentas del Sacred Heart International Institute.

U.S v. Jean, et al., no. de caso: 23-60010-Cr-Smith

U.S. v. Etienne, no. de caso: 23-60012-Cr-Singhal

Según los documentos acusatorios, Sacred Heart International Institute era una escuela acreditada en el Condado de Broward por el Consejo de Enfermería Profesional que ofrecía un programa diseñado para preparar a los alumnos para puestos de empleos como enfermero(a) práctica titulado.

La acusación imputa a Ludnie Jean del Condado Harris, Texas; Serge Jean Simon Itaman del Condado de Harris, Texas; Anna Itaman del Condado de Harris, Texas; Rhomy Louis del Condado Suffolk, N.Y.; Nadege Auguste del Condado de Broward de conspirar a y cometer fraude electrónico.  Se alega que éstos acusados contactaban y reclutaban a individuos en busca de credenciales en enfermería para obtener puestos de empleo como LPN/VN.  Estos reclutadores acordaron con Charles Etienne, dueño de Sacred Heart para crear y distribuir transcripciones y diplomas falsos y fraudulentos representando que el candidato aspirante había asistido a Sacred Heart y completado todos los cursos y formación clínicas necesarios para obtener sus títulos de LPN/VN.  De hecho, los aspirantes a enfermería nunca completaron los cursos y formación clínica necesarios.  Etienne ha sido imputado mediante una denuncia de conspiración para cometer fraude electrónico.

Los candidatos de enfermería utilizaron estos títulos y transcripciones falsas que habían comprado de Sacred Heart para obtener sus títulos de LPN/VN en varios estados y puestos de trabajo con proveedores del cuidado de salud desinformados a través del país.

Una denuncia criminal contiene alegaciones.  Todo acusado es considerado inocente hasta que se demuestre su culpabilidad. 

El anuncio fué hecho por el Fiscal Federal del Distrito Sur de Florida, Markenzy Lapointe; el Agente Interino a Cargo Chad Yarbrough, FBI Oficina local de Miami; Oficina del Inspector General de Asuntos dee Veteranos de EE.UU.; Servicio de Inspección Postal de EE.UU., Miami; Unidad de Control del Fraude a Medicaid del Fiscal General de la Florida, Oficina de Mid-Atlantic.  Fiscal Federal Adjunto de los Estados Unidos Christopher J. Clark que está llevando este caso y la Fiscal Federal Adjunta de los Estados Unidos Nicole Grosnoff que gestiona el decomiso de bienes.  Este caso está siendo enjuiciado en conjunto con un asunto penal relacionado con el Distrito de Maryland.

Todos los documentos e información relacionada se pueden encontrar en el sitio web del Tribunal de Distrito, Distrito Sur de Florida en www.flsd.uscourts.gov o en http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Haga click aquí para accesar los documentos acusatorios:

 

23-cr-60005

 

23-cr-60007

 

23-cr-60010

 

23-cr-60012

 

23-cr-60013

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MIAMI – Former Miami-Dade County resident Judith Dianne Paris-Pinder, 49, has been sentenced to 48 months in prison for defrauding more than 500 people out of $2.4 million through a Ponzi investment fraud scheme.

A Ponzi scheme is a form of fraud where belief is created in a nonexistent venture by paying strong returns to initial investors using money paid in by later investors.

According to facts admitted during her guilty plea, Paris-Pinder was president of Pinder Associates Inc. and from November 2019 to August 2021 she obtained money from investors by lying to them. She told them she worked with or for lawyers who represented litigation plaintiffs. She told investors these plaintiffs had settled claims and were just awaiting payouts from insurance companies.

Paris-Pinder told investors she was looking for “hard money lenders” to finance payments to the attorneys’ clients. Investor funds would be used to loan plaintiffs a portion of their settlement amounts and in exchange the plaintiffs would provide their full settlement money to Paris-Pinder. Then, once the settlement checks were received from the insurance companies, Paris-Pinder supposedly would distribute to investors their initial contributions plus any returns–which could be as high as 50 percent. 

According to her plea, the entire investment was a scam. Paris-Pinder did not work for or with lawyers with litigation clients and there were no settlement agreements. It is alleged that Paris-Pinder kept the Ponzi scheme going by using money from new investors to pay existing investors and that she raised approximately $4.6 million causing $2.4 million in investor losses. 

In addition to prison time, Paris-Pinder will have three years of supervised release, 200 hours of community service, and must pay $2.4 million in restitution. 

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe; acting Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough, FBI, Miami Field Office; and Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) Commissioner Russell C. Weigel III made the announcement.

FBI, Miami Field Office, and OFR investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric E. Morales prosecuted it.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-CR-20452. 

MIAMI –James Nevin Moorman, 62, of Coral Springs, Fla., has been charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, distributing a controlled substance, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum one of life in prison.   

According to the indictment, in August 2022 law enforcement conducted two controlled buys with Moorman where he sold approximately 100 grams of fentanyl to a confidential source.

The following month the confidential source and an undercover officer successfully purchased 266 grams of fentanyl from Moorman on a single occasion, said the indictment. In January 2023 law enforcement executed a search warrant on Moorman’s storage unit and seized over one kilogram of fentanyl, more than 500 grams of cocaine, an assortment of pills, and two AR-style rifles—one of which was a machine gun.  

U.S. Attorney for the Southern Disrtict of Florida Markenzy Lapointe and Special Agent in Charge Christopher A. Robinson, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, made the announcement.

ATF, Miami Field Division, is investigating the case with assistance from Broward Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney M. Catherine Koontz is prosecuting it.  

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

You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-MJ-06017.

MIAMI – Cast Lucas, 36, of Deerfield Beach, Fla., has been sentenced to 10 years in prison as a career offender by Federal District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

Lucas received an enhanced sentence for having at least two prior felony convictions for controlled substance offenses. On two separate occasions he had been convicted of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.  

On August 18, 2022, Lucas went to a Deerfield Beach gas station to sell fentanyl to a confidential informant. Prior to the attempted sale, law enforcement followed Lucas to the gas station and arrested him. At the time of his arrest, law enforcement recovered fentanyl from Lucas.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe of the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, made the announcement.

DEA, West Palm Beach Office, investigated this case with assistance from Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and Broward Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon O’Shea Darsch prosecuted it.

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

MIAMI – Four South Florida residents have been sentenced to prison for participating in a conspiracy to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) out of loan proceeds. These loans are guaranteed by the Small Business Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

Marcgenson Marc, 37, of Coconut Creek, Fla., was sentenced today to 15 months in prison. Previously, Wally Dorlus, 41, of Margate, Fla., was sentenced to 48 months in prison; Edward Moise, 45, of Coral Springs, Fla., was sentenced to 18 months in prison; and Roberto Geronimo, 40, of Miami Gardens, Fla., was sentenced to 70 months in prison, to run concurrently with his sentence for drug conspiracy charges.

According to facts admitted by the defendants as part of their guilty pleas, Dorlus was a tax preparer who—in exchange for kickbacks—filed approximately 170 fraudulent PPP loan applications. These applications misrepresented the number of employees, payroll expenses, and gross revenues to qualify for the loans seeking more than $28 million on behalf of companies he controlled and more than 100 other ones. Of those loans, approximately 33 were funded to the tune of $5.5 million. Dorlus’ kickbacks ranged from 12.5 to 25 percent of the PPP loan proceeds.

Marc was a recruiter for Dorlus who shared in and facilitated the payments of kickbacks to Dorlus. Marc, in turn, recruited Moise to apply for fraudulent PPP loans run through Dorlus and to recruit additional applicants.

One of Moise’s recruits was Geronimo, who at that time was on bond pending trial on federal drug conspiracy charges in Case No. 20-CR-20066. As an individual subject to federal indictment, Geronimo was prohibited from applying for a PPP loan on behalf of any entities he controlled. Despite that, he applied for and received a fraudulent PPP loan for approximately $250,000 for a liquor store business under his control based on falsified payroll tax documentation submitted by Dorlus. Geronimo paid 25% of the loan proceeds as a kickback shared between Dorlus and Marc. It was Geronimo’s PPP loan on the liquor store that tipped law enforcement off and led to the broader investigation into Dorlus’ fraudulent PPP loan scheme and recruitment structure.

In addition to prison time, Dorlus will have two years of supervised release and must pay $5.6 million in restitution. Marc will have two years of supervised release and must pay $886,809 in restitution. Moise will have three years of supervised release and must pay approximately $860,000 in restitution. Geronimo will have five years of supervised release and must pay approximately $262,000 in restitution, as well as forfeit more than $86,000 from the sale of his liquor store through which he received the PPP loan. 

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe of the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line, IRS Criminal Investigation, Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, made the announcement.

 IRS Criminal Investigation, Miami Field Office, and DEA, Miami Field Division, investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Hauser prosecuted it and Assistant U.S. Attorney Annika Miranda handled asset forfeiture. Assistant U.S. Attorney Monique Botero prosecuted Geronimo in case number 20-CR-20066.

You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case numbers 21-CR-60119 (Dorlus and Geronimo), 21-CR-60199 (Marc), and 21-CR-60293 (Moise).

MIAMI – Nicholas Deraway, 41, of Delray Beach, Fla., has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and 15 years of supervised release for possessing child sexual exploitation material and failing to properly register as a sex offender.

In January 2022, Google alerted the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children that one of its users had uploaded child sexual exploitation material to an account. An investigation into this CyberTip led law enforcement to Deraway’s home where they executed a search warrant and found thousands of sexually explicit images and videos of children.   

In 2004, Deraway was convicted in the Southern District of Florida for an offense that required him to comply with the ongoing requirements of the federal sex offender registration law. According to allegations, Deraway used an online alias (Nick Meenachan), yet failed to update his sex offender registration information with the associated email addresses.  The name “Nick Meenachan” is linked to the child sexual exploitation material uploads that led to the January 2022 CyberTip.  

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe of the Southern District of Florida, acting Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough, FBI, Miami Field Office, and U.S. Marshal Gadyaces S. Serralta, Southern District of Florida, made the announcement.  

FBI Miami and U.S. Marshal Service investigated the case with assistance from the Delray Beach Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller prosecuted it.

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, PSC 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 PSC initiative and for information regarding Internet safety, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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

MIAMI – Dr. Ronald Lubetsky was sentenced today to five years in prison by U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks for unlawfully dispensing narcotics—specifically oxycodone and morphine.

Lubetsky was convicted at trial in November on seven counts of unlawfully dispensing narcotics. Trial evidence showed that law enforcement learned of Lubetsky’s operation and practices over the course of more than two years. They learned that Lubetsky prescribed large doses of opioid pain medication that were not supported by any demonstrable medical need and were therefore without any legal basis. 

An expert medical witness called by the government testified that Lubetsky’s prescribing practices were far outside the scope of generally accepted medical practices, were not prescribed for any legitimate medical purpose, and could have had dangerous effects on the patients.

On two different occasions, law enforcement discovered that a patient had told Lubetsky that she had sold or given away some of her oxycodone pills. When hearing this, the doctor simply issued her more prescriptions. Even an expert medical witness called to testify on behalf of the doctor conceded that some of the doses of opioids Lubetsky prescribed could have sent his patient to the emergency room had she taken them.

At sentencing, the United States also provided evidence that during the course of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) investigation, four of Lubetsky’s patients had been arrested for drug deals they set up while in the waiting room of the doctor’s office.

Markenzy Lapointe, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter, DEA, Miami Field Division, made the announcement.

DEA, Miami Field Division, investigated this case with assistance from City of Miami Police Department; Miami Gardens Police Department; Miami-Dade Police Department; and Aventura Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Tamen prosecuted it.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 21-CR-20485. 

MIAMI – Michael E. Simpson Jr., 24, of Pompano Beach, Fla., has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith to 20 years in prison for enticing a 10-year-old child into criminal sexual activity. 

In 2021, while sitting in a parked vehicle with his then fiancé’s 10-year-old daughter, Simpson began playing a sexually explicit video on his phone. He intentionally positioned it so the child could see it. While the video played, Simpson exposed himself to the child, touched himself, and solicited the child to have inappropriate contact with him.

The child reported the incident and law enforcement began an investigation into Simpson and discovered he possessed approximately 264 videos and 1,146 images of child sexual abuse material of prepubescent children to include infants and toddlers. In addition, law enforcement found evidence that Simpson attended events in which grown adults dressed up in infant attire and engaged in sexual activity.

On October 17, 2022, Simpson pled guilty to one count of enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity. In addition to his prison sentence, he will have 15 years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe of the Southern District of Florida and acting Special Agent In Charge Michael E. Buckley of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made the announcement.

HSI Fort Lauderdale investigated the case with assistance from Broward Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ajay Alexander and Brooke Latta prosecuted the case.

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

You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-60332.

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MIAMI – Markenzy Lapointe prestó juramento hoy como fiscal federal del distrito sur de Florida ante la jueza presidente del distrito federal de los Estados Unidos, Cecilia M. Altonaga.

Nombrado por el presidente Joseph Biden y confirmado por el Senado de los Estados Unidos, Lapointe dirige ahora la oficina de casi 500 abogados y profesionales de apoyo responsables de la investigación y persecución de delitos federales en el sur de Florida, tanto como litigios civiles en los que los Estados Unidos tiene interés jurídico.

"Siento profunda honra de servir a mi país y a la comunidad como fiscal federal del distrito sur de Florida," dijo Lapointe.  "La gloriosa historia de ésta oficina procede de décadas de compromiso con la justicia, equidad, integridad, y el servicio a la comunidad.  Me comprometo a respetar estos principios y esforzarme por mantener el nivel de excelencia sobre el que se construyó esta oficina."

Antes de su nombramiento como fiscal federal de los Estados Unidos, Lapointe fué socio en el despacho de Miami de Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, donde se ocupaba de asuntos comerciales, responsabilidad civil de productos defectuosos de alto riesgo, negligencia profesional, y asuntos de investigación penal.  También copresidió el comité de promoción de la diversidad de abogados del bufete, promoviendo la retención y promoción de abogados de diversas procedencias.

Lapointe comenzó su carrera judicial en el Tribunal Supremo de Florida, donde trabajó como asistente jurídico del Honorable Harry Lee Anstead del 1999 al 2001.  Pasó a ser fiscal adjunto del distrito sur de Florida del 2002 al 2006, donde se encargaba de asuntos penales federales que van desde delitos relacionados con estupefacientes y armas de fuego hasta fraudes bancarios e hipotecarios.   Lapointe trabajó como asociado de litigios, y más tarde como socio en el bufete de Miami de Boise Schiller Flexner LLP del 2006 hasta el 2017.  Después de eso, se unió a Pillsbury como socio.

A lo largo de su carrera, Lapointe mantuvo una destacada práctica pro bono.

Recibió el Premio de Asistencia Jurídica/Premio Pro Bono de Devolver Algo a Cambio en la Defensa del Menor y el Premio de Abogado más Eficiente en el Daily Business Review por Trabajo Pro Bono en Derecho de Familia.

Lapointe recibió su licenciatura en derecho de la Facultad de Derecho de Florida State University y una licenciatura en finanzas de la Facultad Empresarial de Florida State University.  También estudió en Miami Dade College.

Lapointe es un veterano de la Guerra del Golfo en la Marina y el primer abogado estadounidense de origen haitiano en servir al país como fiscal federal.  Emigró de Haití a los Estados Unidos siendo adolescente, vivió en el vecindario de Liberty City, y se graduó de Edison High School.

El sustituye a Juan Antonio Gonzalez, fiscal federal de carrera que dirigía la oficina desde marzo 2021.

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MIAMI – Markenzy Lapointe was sworn in today as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida by Chief U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga.

Nominated by President Joseph Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Lapointe now leads an office of nearly 500 attorneys and support professionals responsible for investigating and prosecuting federal crimes in South Florida and for litigating civil matters in which the U.S. has an interest.

“I am deeply honored to serve my country and community as U.S.  Attorney for the Southern District of Florida,” said Lapointe. “The proud history of this office stems from decades of commitment to justice, fairness, integrity, and community service. I will follow these principles and strive to uphold the standard of excellence on which this office is built.”

Prior to his appointment, Lapointe was a partner in the Miami office of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, where he handled commercial, high exposure product liability, professional malpractice, and criminal investigation matters. He also co-chaired the law firm’s Advancement of Diverse Attorneys Committee, promoting the retention and advancement of attorneys from diverse backgrounds. 

Lapointe began his legal career with the Florida Supreme Court, where he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Harry Lee Anstead from 1999 to 2001. He went on to serve as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida from 2002 to 2006, handling federal criminal matters that ranged from narcotics and firearms crimes to bank and mortgage fraud. Lapointe worked as a litigation associate, and later partner, for the Miami office of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP from 2006 to 2017. After that, he joined Pillsbury as a partner.

Throughout his career, Lapointe has maintained a notable pro bono practice. He received the Legal Aid/Put Something Back Pro Bono Award in Child Advocacy and the Daily Business Review’s Most Effective Lawyer Award for Pro Bono in Family Law.

Lapointe received his law degree from Florida State University College of Law and a degree in finance from Florida State University College of Business. He also attended Miami Dade College.

Lapointe is a U.S. Marine Gulf War veteran and the first Haitian-born American lawyer to serve the country as U.S. Attorney. He emigrated from Haiti to the U.S. as a teenager, lived in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood, and graduated from Edison High School. 

He replaces Juan Antonio Gonzalez, a career federal prosecutor who had led the office since March 2021.

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MIAMI - Markenzy Lapointe prete sèman jodiya kom Pwokirè Jeneral Distri Sid Laflorid devan Chèf Jij Distri Dèzetazini Cecilia M. Altonaga.

Nonmen pa Prezidan Joseph Biden epi konfimè pa Sena Lèzetazini, Lapointe an tèt yon biwo ki gen prèske 500 Avoka ak tout profesyonèl dapwi yo ki responsab envestige ak pouswiv tout zak kriminèl federal nan Laflorid di Sid, ak litij koze sivil kote entère Lèzetazini an je.

"Se avèk anpil onè ke ma va sèvi peyi m ak kominote a antan ke Pwokirè Jeneral  Distri Sid Laflorid la." Msye Lapointe di.  "Istwa fyète biwo sa a pran nesans nan deseni de angajman ak la jistis, san patipri, entegrite, ak sèvis kominòtè.  Mwen angaje m a swiv tout prensip sa yo ak fè tout efò pou respekte tout nòm ekselans ki se fondasyon biwo sa a.

Anvan yo te nonmen l, Lapointee te patnè nan kabinè Pillssbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, kote li te jere litij komèsyal, ak responsabilite sivil pwodwi defektye a gwo risk, neglijans pwofesyonèl, ak koze envestigasyon kriminèl.  Li te ko-prezidan tou, nan Komite  pou Avansman Divèsite Avoka, pou pwomouvwa retansyon ak avansman avoka divès orijin.

Lapointe te komanse karyè legal li nan Tribinal Siprèm Laflorid kote li te sèvi antan ke Asistan Legal Onorab Harry Lee Anstead de 1999 a 2001.  Aprè sa li pase a Adjidan Komisè Gouvènman nan Distri Sid Laflorid de 2002 a 2006, kote li tap jere tout koze zak kriminèl depi sou zak ki gen rapò ak dwòg, zamafe rive jiska fwòd bankè ak fwòd ipotèk.  Lapointe travay tou kom assosye litij, epi li vinn fè patnè nan Kabinè Boise Schiller Flexner nan Miami a de 2006 a 2007.  Aprè sa li rantre nan Pillsbury antan ke asosye

Atravè karyè li, Lapointe te kenbe yon pratik asistans legal gratis solid.  Li resevwa Pri de Legal Aid/Put Something Back Pro bono pou defans timoun ak Pri Avoka pi Efisyan nan Daily Business Review pou travay pro bono nan Dwa Koze Familyal.

Lapointe resevwa diplòm avoka liya de Fakilte Dwa Florida State University ak dipòm nan finans de Lekòl Komès Florida State University.  Li te etidye nan Miami Dade College tou.

Lapointe se yon Veteran Gè Golf la Marin ak premye Avoka Ameriken ki fèt an Ayiti ka pral sèvi peyi a antan ke Pwokirè Jeneral.  Li emigre de Ayiti vinn Lèzetazini lè li te yon jèn adolesan, li te abite nan vwazinaj Liberty City epi li gradye de Edison High School.

Li ranplase Juan Antonio Gonzalez, yon pwokirè de karyè ki tap dirije biwo a depi mas 2021.

MIAMI – A Florida doctor was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for engaging in a massive multi-year scheme to bill health care benefit programs for fraudulent tests and treatments for vulnerable patients seeking treatment for drug and/or alcohol addiction. This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Sober Homes Initiative.

According to court documents, Michael J. Ligotti, D.O., 48, of Delray Beach, served as Medical Director or Authorizing Physician for over 50 sober homes, substance abuse treatment facilities, and clinical testing laboratories in the Palm Beach County area, often signing standing orders for expensive, medically unnecessary urine drug tests for patients at various addiction treatment facilities. These facilities routinely sent patients’ urine specimens to clinical testing laboratories, which then billed health care benefit programs for unnecessary urine drug tests, often thousands of dollars for a single test. In exchange for Ligotti’s authorization of these urine drug tests, the treatment centers required their patients to regularly visit Ligotti’s clinic, Whole Health LLC, for additional treatment and testing, or allowed Ligotti’s staff to come to their facilities to conduct tests and treatment there. This allowed Ligotti to profit by billing patients’ private health insurance plans for duplicative, medically unnecessary, and expensive urine drug tests, blood tests, and other addiction treatments. As a result of this conduct, which took place from 2011 to 2020, health care benefit programs were billed over $746 million and paid approximately $127 million for fraudulent urine drug tests and addiction treatments. Ligotti pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud in the Southern District of Florida in October 2022 and was ordered today to surrender his medical license.  

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough of the FBI Miami Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Mike Waters of the Amtrak Office of Inspector General’s Eastern Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Miami Division Palm Beach Resident Agency, with assistance from DEA West Palm Beach Diversion Group; IRS Criminal Investigation Miami Field Office; Amtrak Office of Inspector General; United States Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA); Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Investigative and Forensic Services; and Palm Beach County Office of the State Attorney investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra Chase, Chief, Transnational, Trafficking & Cyber Crimes Unit for the Southern District of Florida and Senior Litigation Counsel James V. Hayes and Trial Attorney Ligia M. Markman of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.

The National Rapid Response Strike Force, Los Angeles Strike Force, and Miami Strike Force of the Criminal Division, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Southern District of Florida and Central District of California lead the Department of Justice’s Sober Homes Initiative, which was initiated in September 2020 to prosecute defendants who exploit vulnerable patients seeking treatment for drug and/or alcohol addiction. Since its inception, the Sober Homes Initiative has resulted in charges and guilty pleas or convictions involving 28 criminal defendants in two judicial districts in connection with over $1 billion in alleged false billings for fraudulent tests and treatments for vulnerable patients seeking treatment for drug and/or alcohol addiction. 

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

A Florida doctor was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for engaging in a massive multi-year scheme to bill health care benefit programs for fraudulent tests and treatments for vulnerable patients seeking treatment for drug and/or alcohol addiction. This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Sober Homes Initiative.

“For nearly a decade, Michael Ligotti exploited vulnerable patients seeking addiction treatment, a reprehensible abuse of trust by a physician,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This defendant will now serve many years in federal prison for using his medical license to authorize fraudulent tests and treatments for addicted patients at treatment centers and sober homes throughout South Florida. This marks the largest addiction fraud treatment case ever charged by the Department of Justice, demonstrating our continuing commitment to tackling health care fraud throughout the country.”

According to court documents, Michael J. Ligotti, D.O., 48, of Delray Beach, served as Medical Director or Authorizing Physician for over 50 sober homes, substance abuse treatment facilities, and clinical testing laboratories in the Palm Beach County area, often signing standing orders for expensive, medically unnecessary urine drug tests for patients at various addiction treatment facilities. These facilities routinely sent patients’ urine specimens to clinical testing laboratories, which then billed health care benefit programs for unnecessary urine drug tests, often thousands of dollars for a single test. In exchange for Ligotti’s authorization of these urine drug tests, the treatment centers required their patients to regularly visit Ligotti’s clinic, Whole Health LLC, for additional treatment and testing, or allowed Ligotti’s staff to come to their facilities to conduct tests and treatment there. This allowed Ligotti to profit by billing patients’ private health insurance plans for duplicative, medically unnecessary, and expensive urine drug tests, blood tests, and other addiction treatments. As a result of this conduct, which took place from 2011 to 2020, health care benefit programs were billed over $746 million and paid approximately $127 million for fraudulent urine drug tests and addiction treatments. Ligotti pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud in the Southern District of Florida in October 2022 and was ordered today to surrender his medical license.  

“The victims are real, and the losses are immense,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough of the FBI Miami Field Office. “Instead of ensuring the proper treatment of the vulnerable patients under his care in over 50 sober homes, Michael J. Ligotti gamed the system for millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains. The investigators who unraveled this scam are to be commended for their diligence and commitment. The FBI and our partners will continue to pursue those individuals who use our health care system to prey on the vulnerable and steal from the taxpayers.”

“The results in this case reinforce our commitment and determination to pursue those who would defraud Amtrak’s health care programs and target vulnerable populations,” said Special Agent in Charge Mike Waters of the Amtrak Office of Inspector General’s Eastern Field Office. “Our agents will continue to work closely with the task force and partner agencies to hold perpetrators accountable and protect Amtrak’s resources, its employees, and their dependents.”

The FBI Miami Division Palm Beach Resident Agency, with assistance from DEA West Palm Beach Diversion Group; IRS Criminal Investigation Miami Field Office; Amtrak Office of Inspector General; Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration; Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Investigative and Forensic Services; and Palm Beach County Office of the State Attorney investigated the case.

Senior Litigation Counsel James V. Hayes and Trial Attorney Ligia M. Markman of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra Chase, Chief, Transnational, Trafficking & Cyber Crimes Unit for the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case.

The National Rapid Response Strike Force, Los Angeles Strike Force, and Miami Strike Force of the Criminal Division, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Southern District of Florida and Central District of California lead the Department of Justice’s Sober Homes Initiative, which was initiated in September 2020 to prosecute defendants who exploit vulnerable patients seeking treatment for drug and/or alcohol addiction. Since its inception, the Sober Homes Initiative has resulted in charges and guilty pleas or convictions involving 28 criminal defendants in two judicial districts in connection with over $1 billion in alleged false billings for fraudulent tests and treatments for vulnerable patients seeking treatment for drug and/or alcohol addiction. 

The former Bolivian Minister of Government was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for conspiracy to launder bribes he received in exchange for corruptly helping a U.S. company win a lucrative contract from the Bolivian government.

Arturo Carlos Murillo Prijic, 58, of Bolivia, pleaded guilty on Oct. 20, 2022, to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to court documents, Murillo received at least $532,000 in bribe payments from a Florida-based company in exchange for helping that company secure an approximately $5.6 million contract in 2019 to provide tear gas and other non-lethal equipment to the Bolivian Ministry of Defense. Murillo and his co-conspirators laundered the proceeds of the bribery scheme through the U.S. financial system, including bank accounts in Miami. Murillo received approximately $130,000 in cash bribe payments at a family member’s home in Miami. 

Murillo’s co-conspirators – Sergio Rodrigo Mendez Mendizabal, Luis Berkman, Bryan Berkman, and Philip Lichtenfeld – previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the same scheme and were each sentenced in June 2022.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Buckley of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami Field Office made the announcement.

HSI’s Miami Field Office (Fort Lauderdale Unit) investigated the case. 

Trial Attorney Jil Simon and Assistant Chief Gerald M. Moody Jr. of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli S. Rubin for the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabrielle Charest-Turken handled asset forfeiture.

The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.

MIAMI – Derek James Acree, 47, of Palm Beach County, Fla., was sentenced today to 41 months in prison for submitting fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $1.6 million in forgivable Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. These loans are guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.  

Acree obtained approximately $1.6 million by submitting fraudulent EIDL and PPP loan applications for companies he owned either in whole or in part. These companies included National Financial Holdings Inc., NFH Florida LLC, DBA Finova Financial LLC, and National Financial Holding Technology LLC. The loans misrepresented the number of employees, payroll expenses, and gross revenues.

After obtaining the fraudulent loan proceeds, Acree transferred some of it to others and a portion was used as a down payment for the purchase of his home, as well as used to purchase jewelry, travel, and make repairs on his boat/home.

Acree had entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in October 2022. In addition to prison, he was ordered to pay $1.26 million in restitution and $1.6 million in asset forfeiture.     

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; and Special Agent in Charge Robert M. Dewitt, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement. 

FBI West Palm Beach investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin W. Waugh prosecuted it and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Pastor handled asset forfeiture.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

On September 15, 2022, the Attorney General selected the Southern District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to head one of three national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams. The Department of Justice established the Strike Force to enhance existing efforts to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please click here.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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

MIAMI – Craig Goldstein, 60, of Boca Raton, Fla., former owner of a Lauderdale Lakes towing company, was sentenced to 15 months in prison after having pled guilty previously to three counts of tax evasion for underreporting income and failing to pay federal tax on money he received through a Personal Injury Protection (PIP) kickback scheme and other cash-based fraud. 

According to the pleadings, Goldstein was an owner of West Way Towing, a Lauderdale Lakes company that towed and stored disabled vehicles, including ones involved in accidents. Goldstein referred accident victims to certain attorneys and chiropractors who would then illegally charge insurance companies for unneeded services under Florida’s PIP program. Goldstein charged a fee for each patient referral, which he collected in cash and failed to report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Goldstein also failed to report cash he received from vehicle storage lien fees and from vehicle auctions, the sales prices of which were manipulated to falsely reflect that he made no profit. Goldstein admitted owing the U.S. government over $130,000 in income tax.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line, IRS Criminal Investigation, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

IRS-CI, Miami Field Office, investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey N. Kaplan and Paul Schwartz prosecuted it.

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

MIAMI – Gang member Derrick Slade (aka “D” or “Solja”), 28, has been sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years for murders committed during a series of home invasion robberies in Broward County.

According to evidence presented at trial, Slade joined a criminal enterprise in November 2015 that committed armed home invasions and robberies, assaults, and murders. He was convicted of engaging in a racketeering conspiracy that included the commission of murder. On November 3, 2015, Slade shot and killed a man during the course of a home invasion robbery in Dania Beach, Fla. The next day, November 4, 2015, he was involved in another home invasion robbery in Lauderhill, Fla., that resulted in the death of a second man. On November 25, 2015, Slade shot a third man and left him for dead during a home invasion robbery in Hollywood, Fla., which was captured on a security camera. Slade also committed two other burglaries in Hollywood in November 2015. He and his fellow gang members advertised their success on social media to advance the gang’s prestige and reputation. 

Slade was convicted on 10 counts, including RICO conspiracy, Hobbs Act conspiracy, conspiracy to use or carry a firearm during a crime of violence, causing the death of a person by using a firearm, three counts of Hobbs Act robbery, and three counts of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and acting Special Agent in Charge Maged Behnam, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement. 

FBI Miami investigated this case with assistance from Broward Sheriff’s Office, Hollywood Police Department, Lauderhill Police Department, Hallandale Beach Police Department, Davie Police Department, and Fort Lauderdale Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul F. Schwartz and Jeffrey N. Kaplan prosecuted it. 

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 20-CR-60107.

MIAMI – Jason Scott Carter, a 45-year-old former Coral Springs, Fla., police officer, must serve five years of probation and pay restitution following a federal conviction for fraudulently applying to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for a COVID-19 relief advance grant and low-interest loan.

According to court records, Carter submitted a fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) application and loan agreement on behalf of Jason S. Carter Inc., a South Florida business he allegedly owned and operated. That application falsely certified that during the 12 months prior to January 31, 2020, the business had gross revenues of $100,000. In reality, the business had only minimal gross revenues. He also falsely certified in his SBA application that he would use the funds for business expenses to alleviate pandemic-related economic injury. Instead, Carter spent more than $21,000 of the SBA loan obtaining high-end repairs on his 1969 Ford Mustang.

Carter pled guilty to one count of wire fraud on October 12, 2022. In addition to his probation, he must serve six months home confinement, pay a $5,000 fine, and pay restitution in the amount of $30,000.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Omar Perez Aybar, Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Regional Office; and Special Agent in Charge David Walker, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Tampa, Fla., Field Office, made the announcement.

HHS-OIG Miami, Tampa Field Office, and FBI Tampa investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Will J. Rosenzweig prosecuted it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Laserna is handling asset forfeiture.

In March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was enacted. It was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act authorized and provided funding to SBA to provide EIDLs to eligible small businesses, including sole proprietorships and independent contractors experiencing substantial financial disruptions due to the pandemic. This allowed them to meet financial obligations and fund operating expenses. EIDL applications were submitted directly via the SBA’s website where the applications were processed and loans funded for qualifying applicants.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

-Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case no. 22-CR-80094.

 

MIAMI –Carlos Alexis Torres, aka Cesar Soto Lopez, 43, of Honduras, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon to 46 months in prison for unlawfully entering the United States after previously being removed.  

Torres, who is not a natural-born or naturalized citizen, or a national of the United States, was first removed from the U.S. and sent back to Honduras in October 2007. He had been convicted of assault in the second degree in Minnesota—an aggravated felony. 

Sometime thereafter, Torres unlawfully re-entered the United States. In 2009, he was convicted of identity theft in Sioux County, Iowa. In August 2010, he again was removed from the United States and sent back to Honduras. 

Torres once again unlawfully re-entered the U.S. and in August 2022 he was arrested for driving without a license in St. Lucie County, Fla. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Field Office Director Garrett Ripa made the announcement.

ICE-ERO investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Porter prosecuted it.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-CR-14051.

MIAMI – Shawn Anthony Jackson Outler, a 23-year-old former Florida Atlantic University student, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon to 24 years in prison for producing child sexual abuse material of a 14-year-old girl.

According to court records, Outler used social media applications to form relationships with nine minor females ranging in ages from 13 to 17. After befriending the minors, he enticed them to create sexually explicit videos and directed them to engage in sexually explicit activity via video conferencing. With some of these minor females, Outler succeeded in establishing dominant/submissive relationships during which time he verbally belittled and humiliated them and had some engage in self-harm such as burning, carving, and cutting. He had some of the females perform degrading acts and threatened to post them online should the minor female fail to comply with his requests for production of sexually explicit acts.

Outler was arrested without incident by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on March 3, 2022.

In addition to Outler’s prison sentence, he will have 25 years of supervised release, pay restitution, and register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and acting Special Agent in Charge Maged Behnam, FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

FBI Miami and Florida Atlantic University Police Department investigated the case. Assistance U.S. Attorney Diana M. Acosta prosecuted it.

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.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-CR-14018.

MIAMI — Valesky Barosy, 27, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., has been convicted for fraudulent submission of COVID-19 relief loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Barosy submitted dozens of fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of himself and his accomplices that sought more than $4.2 million and successfully obtained more than $2 million. In each loan application, Barosy falsified the applicant’s prior year expenses, net profit or payroll, and submitted fraudulent Internal Revenue Service tax forms. Barosy’s fraudulent loan applications, and their accompanying fabricated tax documents, were found on his computer along with text messages soliciting information from prospective clients.

For each loan application, Barosy’s accomplices paid him a 20 to 30 percent kickback that he used to purchase a Lamborghini Huracán EVO, Rolex and Hublot watches, and designer clothing from Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Chanel. Barosy posted photos on his Instagram account of the Lamborghini and watches, detailing his success as an entrepreneur. But his greatest success, according to one text message, was his ability to “max out ppp.  I do them very good,” he boasted.

Barosy was convicted by a jury on five counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, and aggravated identity theft. Sentencing is set for February 23, 2023.  He is facing at least two years and up to 132 years in prison, as well as restitution and forfeiture of the loan proceeds. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Brian Swain, U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

USSS, Miami Field Office, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Bailyn and Joseph Egozi are prosecuting it.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture. 

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through PPP. In April 2020 Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding.

PPP allows qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of 1%. PPP loan proceeds must be used by businesses on payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. PPP allows the interest and principal on the loan to be forgiven if the business spends the loan proceeds on these expense items within a designated period of time after receiving the proceeds and uses at least a certain percentage of the PPP loan proceeds on payroll expenses. 

On September 15, 2022, the Attorney General selected the Southern District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to head one of three national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams. The Department of Justice established the Strike Force to enhance existing efforts to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please click here.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 21-cr-60345.