Southern District of Florida

Miami, Florida – Today, Palm Beach art dealer Daniel Elie Bouaziz made his initial appearance before a federal magistrate judge in West Palm Beach to face charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering in connection with his alleged scheme to sell forged high-end artwork.

The criminal complaint affidavit alleges the following: Bouaziz engaged in a scheme to sell paintings and other artwork that he falsely marketed for sale as original or authentic pieces by prominent artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Banksy, and Roy Lichtenstein.  Bouaziz sold the fraudulent art from his Worth Avenue galleries in Palm Beach, Florida -- Danieli Fine Art and Galerie Danieli. Victims unknowingly purchased the fraudulent art pieces (some of which were inexpensive reproductions), for tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars.  Bouaziz purchased the low-cost reproductions from online auction sites, then drastically marked-up the prices and sold the works to victims as originals. Bouaziz used several tactics to deceive his victims, including falsifying a work’s provenance (the art’s ownership history) and adding a signature to a piece to make it appear authentic and increase its perceived value. In addition, Bouaziz laundered money he received from the fraudulent art scheme, according to the affidavit.

It is alleged that the following fake pieces, among others, were sold or offered for sale as authentic as part of this scheme:

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum print sold by Danieli Fine Art.

The fake George Rodrigue work being sold by Danieli Fine Art.

The fake Basquiat painting for sale at Danieli Fine Art for $12,000,000.00.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami; and Matthew Line, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Miami Office, made the announcement.

FBI Miami’s West Palm Beach Office and IRS-CI Miami investigated this matter.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah J. Schall is prosecuting this case.

The criminal complaint contains mere allegations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

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-mj-08209-RMM.

###

Miami, Florida – Today, following a hearing, a federal magistrate judge ordered that 21-year-old Blaine Korbin Hulten remain behind bars pending his trial on charges of sexually enticing a child, producing child pornography, and distributing child pornography.

According to the allegations in a criminal complaint affidavit, Hulten had sex with a 13-year-old and a 16-year-old, while knowing their age and after communicating with the minors through a messenger application.  It is also alleged that Hulten recorded his sex acts with the 16-year-old and distributed it on the messenger application’s platform.  If convicted, Hulten faces up to life in prison.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement. 

HSI Miami’s Fort Pierce Office and Martin County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.  Assistant United States Attorneys Luisa Berti and Christopher Hudock are prosecuting it.

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

If you have information regarding this case, or you believe you or a family member may have been a victim, please contact the HSI tip line at 1-866-347-2423.

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

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-cr-14027.

###

Miami, Florida – Federal prosecutors in Fort Pierce, Florida have charged a 38-year-old cruise ship employee from Stuart, Florida with enticing an underage girl he met on the ship into having sex with him and with producing child pornography by recording their sexual interactions. 

According to the allegations of the criminal complaint affidavit, Daniel Scott Crow met the victim while he was working aboard a cruise ship.  The victim, a 16-year-old girl at the time, was a passenger on the ship, vacationing with her family.  After the cruise, Crow remained in contact with the victim and used a messaging application to solicit lewd photographs from her, says the affidavit.  It is also alleged that Crow arranged to and later met the victim (who was still under 18) at a hotel, where he engaged in sexual activity with her while recording it.  Crow stored the conversations and videos involving the victim on his cellular telephone, according to the charging documents. 

Yesterday, Crow made his initial appearance in federal court in Fort Pierce before U.S. Magistrate Judge Shaniek A. Maynard.  A detention hearing is scheduled before Judge Maynard for 10:00 a.m. on May 27.  If convicted, Crow faces up to life in prison.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, announced the charges.

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

If you have information regarding this case, or you believe you or a family member may have been a victim, please contact the HSI tip line at 1-866-347-2423.

HSI Miami’s Fort Pierce office investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Hudock is prosecuting it. 

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

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-mj-00048.

###

Miami, Florida – After being on the lam for over a decade, the owners of a now-defunct Key Largo, Florida dive shop who maintained their vessel in such shoddy condition that is capsized and sank, killing one person, have appeared in federal court in South Florida and pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

Christopher Jones, 57, and Alison Gracey, 54, owned The Key Largo Scuba Shack, LLC, a business that operated charter scuba diving trips in the Florida Keys from approximately June 2010 to December 2011.  Their main charter boat was a 24.8-foot vessel named the M/V Get Wet.  On December 18, 2011, the M/V Get Wet departed the pier for a scuba trip with two crew members and six passengers.  During the vessel’s first dive stop, the sea conditions went from calm to choppy and the boat operator noticed that the bilge pump had failed.  As the divers reboarded the boat after the dive, the vessel began taking on water, rolled heavily, capsized, and quickly sank about 30 feet to the ocean floor.  During its descent, a 300-pound bench that was not properly secured to the vessel’s deck detached.  Made of buoyant material, the bench sprang towards the ocean’s surface, as the vessel itself sank.  The two large and heavy objects collided, pinning one passenger’s legs against the vessel’s windshield.  The passenger was trapped and drowned. 

Once salvaged, Coast Guard experts inspected the M/V Get Wet and found serious deficiencies.  Not one of the vessel’s bilge compartments - the engine spaces below the ship’s deck - was watertight.  The aft-most bilge space, called the lazarette, was covered by a deck plate with holes for 30 bolts, of which 22 were missing and eight were loose.  The wood at the bottom of the 300-pound bench was rotten, and the screws intended to secure it to the deck were too small.  Beneath the deck, holes that allowed water to flow between the various bilge compartments compromised all the bulkheads.  A bilge pump had been disassembled and re-assembled incorrectly.

In addition, a criminal investigation following the death of the diver revealed that Jones and Gracey knew before the tragedy that the vessel needed repairs. Jones and Gracey continued operating the M/V Get Wet despite the following, which all occurred prior to December 18, 2011: 

• Following inspections, the United States Coast Guard notified Jones and Gracey that the vessel needed repairs, including securing the center engine bench cover to the deck and making repairs below the deck to make sure that the bulkhead areas were watertight. 

• The dive operation’s employees repeatedly informed Jones that the M/V Get Wet flooded dangerously. The deck plates were barely attached, and the engine bench cover would rock back and forth. 

• The M/V Get Wet broke down repeatedly and equipment on the boat failed, including pumps intended to de-water the vessel.

• On one voyage with Gracey aboard as dive master, the M/V Get Wet almost sank.

• In the two months before the boat sank, a marine salvor towed the M/V Get Wet to shore on three separate occasions. 

Shortly after the diver’s death, Jones and Gracey fled the United States and spent over 10 years evading extradition each time law enforcement located them. In 2021, they left France for Spain, where Spanish authorities took them into custody based on an Interpol Red Notice.  In January 2022, Jones and Gracey were extradited from Spain to the United States to face federal charges in Southern District of Florida.

Sentencing is set for August 18, at 1:30 pm, in the Key West Federal Courthouse before Judge James Lawrence King.  Each defendant faces up to eight years in federal prison. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Zinnia James, Special Agent in Charge, Southeast Region, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS), announced the guilty pleas.  

The U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service investigated the case.  The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs provided invaluable assistance pursuing the extradition of the defendants. The U.S. Marshals Service also assisted by transporting the defendants from Spain to Florida.

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaime Raich worked on the investigation and initially prosecuted this case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald is now handling.  

For more details on the case, click

here to view the joint factual proffer. 

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 12-cr-10013. 

###

Miami, Florida – A South Florida veteran (and self-proclaimed bodybuilder) who exaggerated his mental and physical impairments to increase the disability payments he received from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) pled guilty yesterday to theft of government funds from a federal agency and now faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

As part of his guilty plea, Zachary Barton, 36, admitted he lied on a mental health test by reporting to the VA that he had been in combat, qualifying him for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder benefits.  Barton also falsely reported that he could not lift more than 10 to 20 pounds or walk without a cane.  The VA found that Barton was 100% disabled based on these lies.  In fact, Barton routinely performed strenuous weight-lifting – leg pressing 650 pounds and chest pressing over 300 pounds.  He drove, walked his pet, and shopped with no difficulty.  

As a result of his misrepresentations, Barton received approximately $245,286 in VA benefits to which he was not entitled.  Sentencing is scheduled for August 11, 2022, in Fort Pierce before Judge Aileen M. Cannon.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and David Spilker, Special Agent in Charge, VA Office of the Inspector General, Southeast Field Office, announced the guilty plea.

This case was investigated by the Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of the Inspector General.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robin Waugh.  Assistant United States 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 www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-80106.

###

Miami, Florida – A federal district judge in Miami has sentenced each of three South Florida residents to 220 months in prison after a jury found them guilty of orchestrating an elaborate fraud scheme that cheated U.S. manufacturers of infant formula, eye-care products, and other FDA-regulated items out of more than $100 million.    

Between 2013 and 2018, Johnny Grobman, 48, Raoul Doekhie, 53, and Sherida Nabi, 57, secured deep price discounts for infant formula and other items by lying to the U.S. manufacturers of the products. Doekhie and Nabi (who are married) told the manufacturers that they were purchasing the products to ship overseas, to Suriname, often in connection with purported government procurement contracts they held in Suriname.  In fact, the defendants did not have government procurement contracts and never intended to export the products to Suriname.  Instead, Grobman and others sold the products in the United States for millions of dollars, which the three defendants later split among themselves. 

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

Following a 13-day trial, on February 6, 2020, a federal jury found Grobman, Doekhie, and Nabi guilty of conspiring to commit wire fraud; wire fraud; money laundering; conspiring to obtain pre-retail medical products worth $5,000 or more by fraud or deception, theft of pre-retail medical products; and smuggling goods from the United States.

On April 25, 2022, the Court entered forfeiture money judgments for the amounts of the criminal proceeds traceable to the offenses of conviction as follows: $87,187,374.83 against Grobman and $115,699,273.61 jointly against the Defendants Doekhie and Nabi.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Justin C. Fielder, Special Agent in Charge, Miami Field Office, United States Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), announced the sentences that U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman imposed yesterday. 

“The fraud perpetrated by these defendants is nothing short of egregious,” said U.S. Attorney Gonzalez. “The 18-year prison sentences reflect the seriousness of the defendants’ crimes.  Our Office will continue to vigorously prosecute those who commit these types of offenses.”    

“Today’s announcement should serve as a reminder that those who fraudulently divert consumer products for profit will be held accountable for their actions,” said Special Agent in Charge Justin C. Fielder, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Miami Field Office.  “We will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who engage in fraudulent schemes involving FDA-regulated products.”

FDA-OCI investigated the case.  Broward County Sherriff’s Office assisted.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shannon Shaw, Christopher Browne, and John Shipley prosecuted the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Paster is handling asset forfeiture.

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

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 18-cr-20989.

###

Miami, Florida – Today, during a ceremony at Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) headquarters in Doral, Florida, MDPD Sergeants Kurt Berardino and Christopher Perez were presented with the Fifth Annual United States Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing.

The Attorney General’s Award recognizes individual state, local, Tribal, and territorial police officers, deputies, and troopers for exceptional efforts in community policing.

The Department of Justice announced the award recipients in March, which included 18 law enforcement officers and deputies from 12 jurisdictions across the country.

During today’s ceremony, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Michelle Alvarez presented Sergeants Berardino and Perez with their awards, which included a letter to each officer from United States Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.  Miami Dade Police Department Interim Director George A. Perez attended the ceremony and publicly recognized the Sergeants for their exceptional work.   

Sergeants Berardino and Perez were honored for their tenacious criminal investigation of a July 2020 shooting in Miami that left one child dead and another child and two adults injured.  A ShotSpotter alert showed that 21 shots had been fired on a Miami street.  The investigation revealed that the victims were returning home from shopping and were fired on as they were getting out of their car.  Detectives Kurt Berardino and Christopher Perez (now both sergeants) immersed themselves in the subsequent investigation, poring over multiple Crime Stoppers tips, reviewing hours of surveillance footage, and questioning potential witnesses. As Berardino and Perez developed the case, they established a rapport with two of the survivors, and those survivors provided a positive identification of the subjects involved in the shooting.  This positive identification was key in furthering other leads that were gathered.  Evidence collected was crucial in solidifying victim statements and the timeline of the events.  Arrest warrants were eventually issued, and in September 2020, the detectives traveled to Georgia, where one suspect was taken into custody and later confessed; a second suspect was also arrested.  It was the tenacity, persistence, and determination of Detectives Berardino and Perez that closed this case and brought justice to the families of the victims and to the community.

The Department of Justice works closely with national law enforcement stakeholder groups during the award review period, taking advantage of their expertise and experience to determine the recipients in a competitive nomination process.  The Department also works closely with its components, utilizing the breadth of knowledge within the Department to ensure a successful program that honors the exceptional service of our nation’s law enforcement officers and deputies.  This year, the Department received 185 nominations from 145 agencies, recognizing a total of 347 individual officers, deputies, and troopers.  There were 39 states represented in the nomination pool, covering state, local, campus, sheriff, and other agency types.

Complete information on the Fifth Annual Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing can be found at https://www.justice.gov/ag/policing-award.

###

Miami, Florida – VirtuOx, Inc. (“VirtuOx”), based in Coral Springs, Florida and operating Medicare approved Independent Diagnostic Testing Facilities (“IDTF”), has agreed to pay $3,150,000.00 to resolve allegations that it submitted or caused to be submitted false claims to Medicare for reimbursement.

The United States alleged that, from January 2016 to December 2020, VirtuOx violated the False Claims Act by falsely identifying the place of service for certain services it performed to obtain a higher rate of reimbursement from Medicare.  In particular, the United States alleged that, in connection with its billing for overnight pulse oximetry claims, VirtuOx knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare identifying its IDTF located in San Francisco, California as the location of service for overnight pulse oximetry tests when, in fact, no services were performed at that location in relation to the overnight oximetry claims.

The United States further alleged that, from January 2016 to December 2020, VirtuOx administered overnight pulse oximetry tests and, at times, also billed Medicare for single determination pulse oximetry tests (commonly referred to as an oxygen “spot check”) for the same patient when in fact the only test performed was the overnight test.  In particular, the United States alleged that, because an awake reading is necessarily taken as part of an overnight pulse oximetry test, the separate billing of a “spot check” is redundant and generally not necessary.  Accordingly, the United States alleged that VirtuOx knowingly submitted false claims by separately billing for both an oxygen “spot check” and an overnight pulse oximetry test when only an overnight pulse oximetry test was performed. 

Contemporaneous with the civil settlement, VirtuOx entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).  The five-year CIA requires, among other things, that VirtuOx retain an outside expert to perform annual claims reviews that address the place of service identified on the claim.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Omar Pérez Aybar, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), announced the settlement.

“The fraudulent billing of Medicare results in systemically higher medical care costs for all,” said United States Attorney Gonzalez. “My Office will continue to hold accountable those health care providers who manipulate the system to benefit their own bottom line.”    

“By submitting false claims to Medicare, providers waste valuable taxpayer dollars and undermine the integrity of federal health care programs,” said Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar, at the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will continue to investigate such actions to ensure the efficiency and integrity of these programs.”

This matter arose from a lawsuit filed by Amber Watt in federal court in Miami, Florida.  The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery.  The whistleblower share to be awarded in connection with the settlement is $630,000.00.

HHS-OIG investigated the matter.  Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica R. Sievert and Miriam L. Alinikoff handled the litigation.

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 19-cv-61084.

###

Miami, Florida – A former Palm Beach County pharmacy technician and high-level executive assistant has pleaded guilty to her role in a multi-million-dollar kickback conspiracy that defrauded Tricare and CHAMPVA through a South Florida compounding pharmacy. Tricare and CHAMPVA are the health care benefit programs for the United States Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs.

In connection with pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy, Alisa Catoggio, 40, of Boca Raton, Florida, admitted that she was involved in a scheme that paid approximately $40 million in kickbacks to patient recruiters in exchange for their referring prescriptions issued to Tricare and CHAMPVA beneficiaries to a Broward compounding pharmacy.  The prescriptions were for expensive pain creams, scar creams, vitamins, and other medically unnecessary compound drugs, which were reimbursed at amounts of up to $15,000 for a one month’s supply.  In addition, the Broward pharmacy did not charge the beneficiaries the mandatory co-payments for the drugs, which constituted another form of illicit kickback.  The co-conspirators used phony charities to conceal this “no-copayment” kickback activity.  The fraudulent billings caused a loss to the military health care program of approximately $88 million.

Sentencing is scheduled for August 9, at 2:00 p.m., before U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman. Catoggio faces up to 5 years in federal prison. 

U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Cynthia A. Bruce, Department of Defense Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office; Special Agent in Charge David Spilker, Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG), Southeast Field Office; Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI Miami; and Special Agent in Charge Justin C. Fielder, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations’ Miami Field Office, announced the guilty plea entered May 17.

The DCIS, VA-OIG, FBI, and the FDA, investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Juenger prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove is handling the asset forfeiture component of the case.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-60048.

###

Miami, Florida – Kasali Opabola, Jr., a Lake Worth, Florida tax preparer who failed to report his business income to the IRS, was sentenced yesterday to 18 months in federal prison and ordered to pay over $1.2 million in restitution.

Opabola, 41, was the sole officer and registered agent of FTP Tax Solutions, LLC, a company registered in Florida.  Opabola grossly underreported his income from his business - FTP Tax Solutions, LLC, for tax years 2014 and 2015 and failed to file a 2016 income tax return.  For those tax years, Opabola failed to pay approximately $1,289,293 in federal income taxes.

Opabola previously pled guilty to two counts of filing a false individual income tax return and one count of failure to file an individual income tax return.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra, who sits in West Palm Beach.

Assistant U. S. Attorney Robin Waugh prosecuted this case.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case no. 21-cr-80042.

###

Miami, Florida – A Lake Worth, Florida man and registered sex offender who produced child pornography with a Colorado woman with whom he shared a dominant-submissive relationship has been sentenced to 50 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release.  The Colorado woman was sentenced last year to 20 years in prison.   

In November 2019, Robert Dunn and Tonya Bagley began chatting on social media and developed a consensual, online “master-slave” relationship.  Bagley and Dunn, both in their early forties, agreed that Bagley would photograph herself performing oral sex on a young boy.  Bagley, who was in Colorado, did so and sent the child sexual abuse images to Dunn in Lake Worth, Florida through a social media messenger application. 

A CyberTip from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children led law enforcement to Dunn’s Lake Worth home on March 10, 2020.  There, they found child pornography images on his electronic devices and learned of his relationship with Bagley.  Bagley was arrested at her home in Colorado.  In addition, the law enforcement investigation led to the rescue of a child.

On December 17, 2021, Dunn plead guilty in this case to conspiring to produce, producing, receiving, and possessing child pornography.  Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman handed down Dunn’s 50-year sentence.  Previously, Dunn was sentenced to serve six years in Florida state prison in a separate case in which he was charged with soliciting the parent of a child using an online message board.  

On December 10, 2020, Bagley pled guilty in West Palm Beach federal court to conspiring to produce child pornography and transmitting information about a minor.  On May 19, 2021, U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks sentenced Bagley to 20 years in a federal prison. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, made the announcement. 

FBI Miami investigated the matter.  Grand County Colorado Sheriff’s Office assisted.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller prosecuted the cases.  Assistant U.S. Attorney William T. Zloch handled asset forfeiture.

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

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case numbers 20-cr-80069 and 20-cr-80085.

###

Miami, Florida — Jesus Manuel Menocal Jr., 34, a former Hialeah Police Department Sergeant, was sentenced in federal court in Miami, Florida to 36 months in prison and one year of supervised release, the statutory maximum sentence.  Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida made the announcement.

Menocal previously pled guilty to three counts of violating the civil rights of women by sexually exploiting them.

“The police officer sentenced today violated not only his victims’ rights, but also the public’s trust,” said U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez. “As this prosecution shows, we will hold accountable those in our South Florida community who abuse their positions of power and engage in such disgraceful illegal conduct.”

“The Department of Justice will not tolerate police officers who abuse their authority to prey on those they are sworn to protect,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen M. Clarke of the Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division will continue to vigorously prosecute these cases to secure justice for the victims of these reprehensible crimes and to ensure that perpetrators who use their unique power to take advantage of others are held accountable.”

“Jesus Menocal now faces the consequences for using his position to sexually abuse women,” said Deputy Special Agent in Charge John J. Bernardo of FBI Miami. “Menocal was sentenced to the statutory maximum which is a testament to the courage of his victims to come forward and tell their stories as well as the dedication of FBI Miami’s Civil Rights Squad.”

According to court documents, Menocal kissed a woman and caused her to touch his exposed penis; had a second woman, who was in psychiatric crisis, perform oral sex on him; and coerced a third woman, who was walking alone at night, into submitting to oral and vaginal sex.  While not directly related to the offenses to which he pleaded guilty, Menocal also admitted to bringing a fourth female into a Hialeah Police Department building and ordering her to remove her shorts and underwear, causing her to expose her buttocks to him.  Menocal admitted that he was on-duty and in uniform during all of these acts, abusing his official authority.

The Miami Division of the FBI investigated the case, with assistance from the Hialeah Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward N. Stamm, Monica K. Castro, and Ilham Hosseini for the Southern District of Florida, and Trial Attorney Kyle Boynton and Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 19-cr-20822.

###

Miami, Florida – Yesterday, a federal district judge in Miami sentenced the last of 10 defendants for her role in a health care fraud scheme involving three physical therapy clinics that recruited and paid kickbacks to beneficiaries of Blue Cross Blue Shield health benefit programs (BCBS) and submitted false claims to BCBS for services that the clinics never provided to the beneficiaries or were not medically necessary. 

The three South Florida clinics involved in the scam were Life Blue Medical Center, Corp. (“Life Blue”), Blue Life Medical Center, LLC (“Blue Life”), and Miami Medical Therapy (“Miami Medical”). The defendants, all South Florida residents now convicted and sentenced, include clinic owners, a doctor, patient recruiters, a physical therapist assistant, and an office employee. 

The conspiracy resulted in more than $17 million in false claims being billed to BCBS, of which BCBS paid close to $5 million.  Most of the claims were for unneeded or never-provided electrical stimulation, ultrasound therapy, therapeutic exercise, and other physical therapy procedures, as well as for allergy tests and durable medical equipment.  The conspirators spent the money they received from BCBS on personal items and to further the fraud.

Each defendant previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  United States District Judge K. Michael Moore sentenced the defendants as follows:

• Jorge Gonzalez Perez, 57, (owner of Life Blue and Blue Life clinics) was sentenced to 120 months in prison, followed by three years supervised release, and ordered to pay $4,143,892.16 in restitution;
• Orlando Leiva, 66, (a doctor at Life Blue and Miami Medical) was sentenced to 57 months in prison, followed by three years supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,867,770.57 in restitution;
• David Vladimir Sacerio, 30, (co-owner of Miami Medical) was sentenced to 51 months in prison, followed by three years supervised release, and ordered to pay $686,086.33 in restitution;
• Kiamy Perez, 36, (co-owner of Miami Medical) was sentenced to 34 months in prison, followed by three years supervised release, and ordered to pay $686,086.33 in restitution;
• Enry Guzman, 43, (patient recruiter) was sentenced to 33 months in prison, followed by three years supervised release, and ordered to pay $228,075.73 in restitution;
• Kyrenia Maquiera Rodriguez, 40, (physical therapy assistant) was sentenced to 30 months in prison, followed by three years supervised release three years supervised release, and ordered to pay $686,086.33 in restitution;
• Freymil Lozada, 34, (patient recruiter) was sentenced to 27 months in prison, followed by three years supervised release, and ordered to pay $184,393.52 in restitution; and
• Haniel Rodriguez, 45, (patient recruiter) was sentenced to 24 months in prison, followed by three years supervised release, and ordered to pay $198,540.57 in restitution.

Two defendants were ordered to pay restitution: Brian McIntosh, 53, (patient recruiter) in the amount of $119,174.66, and Melissa Cruz, 21, (Miami Medical office employee) in the amount of $686,086.33.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, made the announcement.

FBI Miami investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon Shaw prosecuted the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Annika Miranda is handling asset forfeiture.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-20376.

###

Miami, Florida – A federal district judge in South Florida has sentenced Honduran national Fredy Donaldo Marmol Vallejo, 40, to 240 months in prison for his role in an international drug trafficking conspiracy. 

In October 2021, Marmol was extradited from Honduras to the United States to face charges in the Southern District of Florida.  On January 27, Marmol pled guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine with the intent to import it into the United States. 

U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of FBI Miami, and Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Field Office announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks.

FBI Miami and DEA Miami investigated this case, with assistance from Customs and Border Protection, Miami.  U.S. Attorney Gonzalez extends his gratitude to the government of Honduras for its assistance with this matter, as well as the Agencia Técnica de Investigación Criminal (ATIC).  He also recognizes the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, which provided substantial assistance in securing Marmol’s arrest and extradition. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Hernandez and Walter Norkin are prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Paster is handling asset forfeiture.

This prosecution is a result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, and other priority transnational criminal organizations that threaten the citizens of the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence driven, multi-agency approach to combat transnational organized crime.  The OCDETF program facilitates complex, joint operations by focusing its partner agencies on priority targets, by managing and coordinating multi-agency efforts, and by leveraging intelligence across multiple investigative platforms.

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-20277.

###

Miami, Florida – A Haitian citizen was extradited from Jamaica to the United States on Friday to face criminal charges in the Southern District of Florida related to his alleged involvement in the assassination of the former President of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, on July 7, 2021.

Joseph Joel John, 51, made his initial federal court appearance today at 2:00 p.m., before United States Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis, who sits in Miami.  

John is charged with conspiring to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States and providing material support resulting in death, knowing or intending that such material support would be used to prepare for or carry out the conspiracy to kill or kidnap. This is the third individual in U.S. custody to be charged in the United States for his role in the assassination plot. The other men charged are Mario Antonio Palacios, 43, and Rodolphe Jaar, 49, who were both arrested earlier this year.

As alleged in the complaint, which was unsealed today, John and others – including approximately 20 Colombian citizens and a number of dual Haitian-American citizens – participated in a plot to kidnap or kill the Haitian President. As alleged, John was present when a co-conspirator (“Co-Conspirator #1”) secured the signature of a former Haitian judge on a written request for assistance to further the arrest and imprisonment of President Moïse, as well as purporting to provide Haitian immunity for such actions. According to the complaint, on June 28, 2021, Co-Conspirator #1, a dual Haitian-American citizen, traveled from Haiti to the United States in furtherance of the conspiracy and provided other individuals with the document, and flew from Florida back to Haiti on July 1, 2021, to participate in the operation against the president.  

As alleged in the complaint, while the plot initially focused on conducting a kidnapping of the Haitian President as part of a purported arrest operation, it ultimately resulted in a plot to kill the President. The complaint alleges that on July 7, 2021, various co-conspirators entered President Moïse’s residence in Haiti with the intent and purpose of killing him, and in fact the President was killed.

As alleged in the complaint, John helped to obtain vehicles and attempted to obtain firearms to support the operation against the president. It is also alleged that John attended a meeting with certain co-conspirators on or about July 6, 2021, after which many of the co-conspirators embarked on the mission to kill President Moïse.

Co-conspirator #1 was subsequently arrested by Haitian authorities and remains in custody in Haiti. John was arrested in Jamaica pursuant to the United States’ provisional arrest request to the Government of Jamaica for John’s extradition. On April 28, the Minister of Justice of Jamaica signed the order granting the extradition request, resulting in John’s arrival in Miami last week. John is currently in the custody of United States law enforcement.

If convicted of the charges in the complaint, John faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI is investigating the case with other law enforcement partners, with valuable assistance provided by Homeland Security Investigations.  

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Goldbarg and Walter Norkin for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case, with assistance from National Security Division Trial Attorneys Frank Russo, Jessica Fender, and Emma Ellenrieder. 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.

###

A Haitian citizen was extradited from Jamaica to the United States on Friday to face criminal charges in the Southern District of Florida related to his alleged involvement in the assassination of the former President of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, on July 7, 2021.

Joseph Joel John, 51, made his initial court appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis, who sits in Miami.  

John is charged with conspiring to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States and providing material support resulting in death, knowing or intending that such material support would be used to prepare for or carry out the conspiracy to kill or kidnap. John is the third individual to be charged and arrested in the United States for his role in the assassination plot. The other men charged are Mario Antonio Palacios, 43, and Rodolphe Jaar, 49, who were both arrested earlier this year.

As alleged in the complaint, which was unsealed today, John and others – including approximately 20 Colombian citizens and a number of dual Haitian-American citizens – participated in a plot to kidnap or kill the Haitian President. As alleged, John was present when a co-conspirator (Co-Conspirator #1) secured the signature of a former Haitian judge on a written request for assistance to further the arrest and imprisonment of President Moïse, as well as purporting to provide Haitian immunity for such actions. According to the complaint, on June 28, 2021, Co-Conspirator #1, a dual Haitian-American citizen, traveled from Haiti to the United States in furtherance of the conspiracy and provided other individuals with the document, and flew from Florida back to Haiti on July 1, 2021, to participate in the operation against the president.  

As alleged in the complaint, while the plot initially focused on conducting a kidnapping of the Haitian President as part of a purported arrest operation, it ultimately resulted in a plot to kill the President. The complaint alleges that on July 7, 2021, various co-conspirators entered President Moïse’s residence in Haiti with the intent and purpose of killing him, and in fact the President was killed.

As alleged in the complaint, John helped to obtain vehicles and attempted to obtain firearms to support the operation against the president. It is also alleged that John attended a meeting with certain co-conspirators on or about July 6, 2021, after which many of the co-conspirators embarked on the mission to kill President Moïse.

Co-conspirator #1 was subsequently arrested by Haitian authorities and remains in custody in Haiti. John was arrested in Jamaica pursuant to the United States’ provisional arrest request to the Government of Jamaica for John’s extradition. On April 28, the Minister of Justice of Jamaica signed the order granting the extradition request, resulting in John’s arrival in Miami last week. John is currently in the custody of U.S. law enforcement.

If convicted of the charges in the complaint, John faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. 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 Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge George Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI is investigating the case with other law enforcement partners, with valuable assistance provided by HSI.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Goldbarg and Walter Norkin for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case, with assistance from National Security Division Trial Attorneys Frank Russo, Jessica Fender and Emma Ellenrieder. 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.

Miami, Florida – Federal prosecutors have charged 42-year-old Royal Palm Beach, Florida resident Omar Smith with lying on a coronavirus relief loan application and fraudulently obtaining more than two hundred thousand dollars intended to help small businesses financially survive the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the information filed today in federal district court in Fort Lauderdale, in June 2020, Smith applied for a $212,500 forgivable, federally-guaranteed Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan on behalf of A Star For I, Inc., a Florida company that he owned.  It is alleged that to justify the requested loan amount, Smith claimed in the on-line loan application, and through supporting fraudulent payroll tax forms, that his company employed 30 people and spent an average of $85,000 each month on payroll.  In fact, A Star For I, Inc had zero employees and no payroll expenses.  A bank in Utah approved A Star For I, Inc.’s PPP loan application based on the lies and wired $212,500 to the company’s bank account in Florida, says the information.  

Once the money hit the bank account in July 2020, Smith spent the next few months creating a paper trail to make it appear as if A Star For I, Inc. in fact had employees and was spending the PPP money on legitimate, approved expenses, it is alleged.  According to the information, Smith issued checks from the company bank account made out to others who did little or no work for A Star For I, Inc.

The information charges Smith with conspiring to commit bank fraud and wire fraud. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.  

Smith has worked on political campaigns in South Florida.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, announced the charges.

FBI Miami investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Kaplan is prosecuting it.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans who suffered financially from the COVID-19 pandemic.  One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of hundreds of billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

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.

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.

An information is merely an allegation and a defendant 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 number 22-cr-80074.

###

Miami, Florida – SHC Home Health Services of Florida, LLC and its related entities (collectively “Signature HomeNow”) have paid $2.1 million to the United States government to settle claims of improperly billing the Medicare Program for home health services provided to beneficiaries living in Florida. 

Signature HomeNow operated home healthcare services in Florida and its corporate headquarters are located in Louisville, Kentucky.

According to a complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Signature HomeNow and the subsequent settlement agreement, it was alleged that between 2013 and 2017 Signature HomeNow knowingly submitted false or fraudulent claims seeking payment from the Medicare Program for home health services to Medicare beneficiaries who: (i) were not homebound; (ii) did not require certain skilled care; (iii) did not have a valid or otherwise appropriate plans of care in place; and/or (iv) did not have appropriate face-to-face encounters needed in order to be appropriately certified to receive home health services.

This matter arose from a complaint to the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) complaint hotline (https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud/) and from a complaint for monetary damages under the qui tam provisions of the federal False Claims Act. See United States ex rel. Barbara Mellott-Yezman and Patricia Rench v. SHC Home Health Services-Ocala, LLC et al., Case No. 15-cv-24713 (S.D. Fla.). 

“The fraudulent billing of Medicare will not be tolerated,” said Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “We will continue to aggressively pursue cases against those who erode the fabric of our federal health care programs by submitting false claims to Medicare.”

“Overbilling Medicare by submitting false claims increases the cost of medical care for all and undermines the integrity of the Medicare program,” said Michael A. Bennett, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky. “This office will continue to vigorously pursue unscrupulous health care providers who attempt to defraud the Medicare program.”

“When health care companies try to boost their profits by fraudulently billing federal health care programs, our agency will work closely with our law enforcement partners to hold them accountable for their schemes,” said HHS-OIG Atlanta Regional Office Special Agent in Charge Miles.

HHS-OIG Atlanta Regional Office investigated the case, with assistance from HHS-OIG Miami.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys James A. Weinkle and John Spaccarotella (of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida), Assistant United States Attorneys Benjamin S. Schecter, Jessica R.C. Malloy, and Matt Weyand (of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky) handled the litigation.

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

###

Miami, Florida – An indictment was unsealed yesterday charging the CEO of Mining Capital Coin (MCC), a purported cryptocurrency mining and investment platform, for allegedly orchestrating a $62 million global investment fraud scheme.

“This office is committed to protecting consumers from unscrupulous fraudsters seeking to capitalize on the relative novelty of digital currency,” said U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida. “As with any emerging market, those who invest in cryptocurrency must beware of profit-making opportunities that appear too good to be true.”

According to the indictment, Luiz Capuci Jr., 44, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, the CEO and of MCC, misled investors about MCC’s cryptocurrency mining and investment program, under which investors could invest in MCC by purchasing “Mining Packages.” Under this program, Capuci and his co-conspirators touted MCC’s purported international network of cryptocurrency mining machines as being able to generate substantial profits and guaranteed returns by using investors’ money to mine new cryptocurrency. Capuci also touted MCC’s own cryptocurrency, Capital Coin, as a purported decentralized autonomous organization that was “stabilized by revenue from the biggest cryptocurrency mining operation in the world.” As alleged in the indictment, however, Capuci operated a fraudulent investment scheme and did not use investors’ funds to mine new cryptocurrency, as promised, but instead diverted the funds to cryptocurrency wallets under his control. 

“Cryptocurrency-based fraud undermines financial markets worldwide as bad actors defraud investors and limits the ability of legitimate entrepreneurs to innovate within this emerging space,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “The department is committed to following the money — whether physical or digital — to expose criminal schemes, hold these fraudsters accountable, and protect investors.”

The indictment further alleges that Capuci touted and fraudulently marketed MCC’s purported “Trading Bots” as an additional investment mechanism for investors to invest in the cryptocurrency market. Capuci claimed that MCC joined with “top software developers in Asia, Russia, and the U.S.A. to create an improved version of Trading Bot[s] that [were] tested with new technology never seen before.” Capuci further represented that MCC’s Trading Bots operated in “very high frequency, being able to do thousands of trades per second,” and that each of MCC’s Trading Bots would generate daily returns for investors. As he did with the Mining Packages, however, Capuci allegedly operated an investment fraud scheme with the Trading Bots and was not, as he promised, using MCC Trading Bots to generate income for investors, but instead was diverting the funds to himself and co-conspirators. 

“Virtual currency markets are growing rapidly, and unfortunately so are crypto currency investment scams,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to investigating financial fraud wherever it occurs, including in the virtual currency space.”

Capuci is also alleged to have recruited promoters and affiliates to promote MCC and its various investment programs through a multi-level marketing scheme, commonly known as a pyramid scheme. For successfully luring investors to invest, Capuci promised MCC’s network of promoters and affiliates a range of gifts, from Apple watches and iPads to luxury vehicles such as a Lamborghini, Porsche, and even Capuci’s personal Ferrari. Capuci further concealed the location and control of the fraud proceeds obtained from investors by laundering the funds internationally through various foreign-based cryptocurrency exchanges.

“This case should serve as a warning to any individuals who look to illegally capitalize on the perceived ambiguity of the emerging crypto market to take advantage of innocent investors” said HSI Miami Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury. “HSI will continue to work with our partners to pursue anyone who utilizes these types of schemes to victimize would be customers.”

Capuci is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit international money laundering. If convicted of all counts, he faces a maximum total penalty of 45 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI Miami Field Office and HSI’s Miami Field Office are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Yisel Valdes of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Kevin Lowell and Sara Hallmark of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Paster of the Southern District of Florida is handling asset forfeiture.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is 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 number 22-cr-20173.

###

Miami, Florida – Fifty-four-year-old West Palm Beach, Florida resident Salvatore Renaldi has been sentenced in South Florida federal district court to 42 months in federal prison for orchestrating and running two investment fraud schemes that led victims across the country to collectively lose over $3 million.  

Renaldi was the founder and CEO of The Sanctum Group of Companies, Inc., Sanctum Publishing and Marketing, Ltd., and Sanctum Media Group, Inc. (the “Sanctum companies”).  Renaldi and others used the Sanctum companies to solicit funds from victim investors.  To induce people to invest, Renaldi lied to them, promising to use their money to build a profitable business and guaranteeing a solid return on their investment.  In addition, Renaldi failed to tell investors that he had a history of violating federal securities laws and that he used most of their money to pay for his personal expenses, make cash withdrawals, pay prior investors, and pay undisclosed commissions and fees.  From about 2011 to 2015, Renaldi defrauded approximately 14 Sanctum company investors out of almost $1.5 million.

Renaldi also was associated with Magnum Health Management, Magnum Media Management, and Magnum Media Mining (the “Magnum companies”).  Renaldi admitted that he represented himself to the public as the Magnum companies’ CEO, owner and operator.  When soliciting funds for the Magnum companies, Renaldi falsely told investors that he would use their money as working capital and to build diabetes clinics.  Instead, Renaldi used almost all the money for his personal use and benefit.  From about 2017 to 2019, Renaldi defrauded approximately 14 Magnum company investors out of more than $1.6 million. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, FBI Miami, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Yisel Valdes.

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 20-cr-80045.

###

Miami, Florida – On Friday, Craig Goldstein, 60, of Boca Raton, Florida the owner of a Lauderdale Lakes towing company, pled guilty 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.  The sentencing has been set for August 16.    

As part of his change of plea, Goldstein admitted the following: He was an owner of West Way Towing, a Lauderdale Lakes company that towed -- and stored at its yard -- 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 Personal Injury Protection Program.  Goldstein charged a fee for each patient referral, which he collected in cash and failed to report to the IRS, according to the charges.  Goldstein also failed to report cash he received from vehicle storage lien fees and from auctions of vehicles the sales prices of which were manipulated to falsely reflect that Goldstein made no profit, says the information.

Goldstein faces up to 15 years’ imprisonment and a fine up to $750,000.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Matthew D. Line, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

IRS Miami Field Office investigated this matter. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey N. Kaplan and Paul Schwartz.

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-60002.

###

Miami, Florida – Following a six-week trial, a federal jury in Fort Lauderdale has convicted a 44-year-old former actor and movie producer from Bartlesville, Oklahoma of conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering for his role in a financing scheme that defrauded movie and theatre producers out of more than $60 million.

According to court records and evidence introduced during trial, Jason Van Eman held himself out as a film producer and financier, offering to fund independent motion pictures, Broadway shows, music festivals, and other productions.  Van Eman promised the victims (producers and others seeking financing), that his partner (a co-conspirator named Benjamin McConley) would match any cash that the victims contributed to their projects.  Then, with the combined starting capital (which made the projects more attractive to investors), McConley would apply for and secure financing from financial institutions.

Based on these lies, victims sent over $60 million to accounts controlled by the fraudsters.  Contrary to what Van Eman promised victims, his partner never matched their cash contributions or applied for financing.  Instead, Van Eman and his co-conspirators stole the victims’ money by transferring it to their personal and corporate bank accounts, often within days of deposit.  To make the scam more believable, Van Eman and McConley recruited Benjamin Rafael, a bank employee, whose role was to assure victims that their cash contributions had been matched and that their money was secure – neither of which was true.

Van Eman, McConley, and Rafael used the stolen money to purchase luxury automobiles, personal watercraft, real estate, jewelry, home furnishings, designer clothes, hotel accommodations, and private and commercial air travel.  Van Eman used some of the stolen cash to fund movies in which he was cast.     

Van Eman is scheduled to be sentenced on July 21, at 10 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal.  He faces up to several decades in prison.  

McConley previously pled guilty in this case and was sentenced to a prison term of 13 years.  Rafael was sentenced to 42 months’ imprisonment for participating in two frauds: the first, the film financing scheme; the second, concealing his criminal history on applications for COVID-19 relief.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced the guilty verdict.

FBI Miami Field Division investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Browne and Yisel Valdes are prosecuting it.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Stone is handling asset forfeiture.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 19-cr-20447.

###

Miami, Florida – Miami federal prosecutors have charged British Virgin Islands (BVI) Premier Andrew Alturo Fahie, Managing Director of the BVI Ports Authority Oleanvine Pickering Maynard (O. Maynard), and the Port Director’s son, Kadeem Stephan Maynard (K. Maynard), with cocaine trafficking and money laundering conspiracies for agreeing to facilitate the safe passage through BVI ports of tons of Colombian cocaine headed to Miami. In exchange, the defendants would make millions, which would be funneled through different businesses and bank accounts to hide the money’s source.

According to the allegations of the criminal complaint affidavit, during March and April, Fahie, O. Maynard, and K. Maynard participated in a series of meetings with the purported drug trafficker to broker the deal.  Fahie and O. Maynard would secure required licenses, shield the cocaine-filled boats while in BVI’s ports, and grease the palm of a potentially problematic government official, says the affidavit. They discussed bringing 3,000 kilograms of cocaine through a BVI port as a test run, followed by 3,000 kilograms once or twice a month for four months. Fahie and O. Maynard would get a percentage of the cocaine’s sales – millions of dollars, it is alleged.   

Fahie and O. Maynard were arrested yesterday in Miami.  According to the allegations, they were here to pick up a $700,000 cash advance on their deal.  The third defendant, K. Maynard, was arrested in St. Thomas.

Fahie and O. Maynard made their initial federal court appearances today at 1:30 p.m., before United States Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman. They are scheduled for pretrial detention hearings on Wednesday, May 4, at 10:00 a.m., in federal magistrate court in Miami. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Deanne L. Reuter, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Miami Field Division, announced the charges. 

DEA Miami Field Division investigated this matter. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs assisted.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frederic “Fritz” Shadley and Shane Butland are prosecuting this case.  

This case and prosecution was carried out by members of the South Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force.  The South Florida HIDTA, established in 1990, is made up of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies who, cooperatively, target the region’s drug-trafficking and money laundering organizations.  The South Florida HIDTA is funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which sponsors a variety of initiatives focused on the nation’s illicit drug trafficking threats.

Criminal complaints contain mere allegations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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

###

Miami, Florida – Following a nine-week trial, a federal jury in Miami has found two leaders and an associate of a violent drug trafficking and money laundering organization operating in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood guilty of various firearms, narcotics, and money laundering crimes.  

According to the trial evidence, from 2013 to 2018, Ulysses Cabrera, a/k/a “Uley,” a/k/a “Big Cuz,” 32, and Bernardo Quinonez, a/k/a “Macho,” 34, both of Miami, led a continuing criminal enterprise that distributed cocaine, crack cocaine, and marijuana onto the streets of Little Havana. Cabrera supplied the cocaine and managed the operation. B. Quinonez was a co-manager who supervised the people turning the cocaine into crack inside local homes. The third trial defendant, Victor Smith, a/k/a “OGP,” 26, of Miami, oversaw the street-level drug sales.  When rival drug dealers threatened the territory that they controlled or questioned their authority, Cabrera and B. Quinonez directed Smith and other armed members of the ring to intimidate, maim, and, in some instances, kill people. Innocent bystanders were sometimes shot and injured.  Cabrera and B. Quinonez laundered the dirty drug money in various ways, including buying Opa-Locka real estate.   

Law enforcement seizures in this case included approximately 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, several grams of crack cocaine, more than 26 pounds of marijuana, four assault rifles, 10 pistols, 10 extended magazines, 10 semi-automatic firearms, a short barrel rifle, a revolver and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

The jury convicted Cabrera of one count of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, one count of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, one count of conspiring to possess firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, four counts of money laundering crimes, and four counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine.  The jury convicted B. Quinonez of one count of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, one count of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, crack cocaine, and marijuana, one count of conspiring to possess firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, one count of drive-by shooting, one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, three counts of money laundering, seven counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and one count of maintaining an establishment to distribute controlled substances.  It convicted Smith of one count of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine, one count of conspiring to possess firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, as well as one count of armed robbery and one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.  

Sentencing is set for August 1, before Chief United States District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga.  Cabrera, B. Quinonez, and Smith face up to life in prison. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Christopher A. Robinson, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division; George A. Perez, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD); Manuel A. Morales, Chief of Police, City of Miami Police Department (MPD); and Gadyaces S. Serralta, U.S. Marshal, U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), made the announcement.

This case stems from Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. 

This case and prosecution were carried out by members of the South Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force.  The South Florida HIDTA, established in 1990, is made up of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies who, cooperatively, target the region’s drug-trafficking and money laundering organizations.  The South Florida HIDTA is funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which sponsors a variety of initiatives focused on the nation’s illicit drug trafficking threats.

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

ATF Miami, MDPD (including the MDPD Street Terror Offender Program (STOP)), MPD, and U.S. Marshals Service investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ellen D’Angelo and Rilwan Adeduntan are prosecuting it.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 18-cr-20946.

###

Miami, Florida – A 31-year-old Miami man was sentenced yesterday in Miami federal court to 20 years in prison followed by 50 years of supervised release for distributing child pornography over the course of one year.

Gross spent a year on a social media messenger application, chatting and sharing videos and images of children being sexually abused.  In the chats, Gross boasted about his sexual exploits with young girls, asked for explicit videos of young girls having sex, and sent a picture of his penis to ask if a young girl could “handle” it. During trial, he took to the witness stand and lied about his actions and signing a statement confessing to his actions, among other things, which caused an obstruction of justice enhancement to be applied at sentencing.

In addition to his 20-year prison sentence, Gross will be placed on supervised release for 50 years. A restitution hearing will be held in a few months to determine what he will have to pay the victims.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck.  

FBI Miami - in particular FBI Miami’s Child Exploitation Task Force -, and the Miami Dade Human Trafficking Unit investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph Egozi and Abbie D. Waxman.

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 21-cr-20532.

###

Miami, Florida – Today, a federal district judge in West Palm Beach sentenced a 31-year-old man from Okeechobee County, Florida, to 130 months in prison for drug trafficking.

Juan Manuel Nieves previously pled guilty to distribution of five grams or more of methamphetamine.  (Case No. 21-cr-14039).  

According to the court record, Nieves sold methamphetamine on three separate occasions in 2021.  Specifically, on June 15, 2021, Nieves sold 3.5 grams of methamphetamine to a buyer in Okeechobee, Florida, on July 2, 2021, Nieves sold 27.86 grams of methamphetamine to a buyer in Okeechobee, and on July 14, 2021, Nieves sold 26.12 grams of methamphetamine to a buyer in Okeechobee. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Deanne L. Reuter, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Miami Field Division announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Porter.  Assistant U.S. Attorney William T. Zloch is handling asset forfeiture.

This prosecution is a result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, and other priority transnational criminal organizations that threaten the citizens of the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence driven, multi-agency approach to combat transnational organized crime.  The OCDETF program facilitates complex, joint operations by focusing its partner agencies on priority targets, by managing and coordinating multi-agency efforts, and by leveraging intelligence across multiple investigative platforms.

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-14039.

###

Miami, Florida – A 29-year-old Mexican national living in Boca Raton and Pompano Beach, Florida was sentenced yesterday in West Palm Beach federal court to 25 years in prison for posing on social media as a nine-year-old girl named “Sophia 12901,” encouraging young children to produce sexual exploitation material, trading child sexual exploitation material with others online, and being in the United States illegally.  

In 2020, Andres Rivera Reyes used a social media messenger application to find young girls for live video chats.  During the chats, Reyes would try to convince the children to take pornographic images of themselves.  A law enforcement investigation revealed that from January to May 2020, Reyes had engaged in these interactions with dozens of girls who were between eight and 12-years-old.  The investigation also revealed that Reyes had over 5,000 images and videos of child sexual exploitation material in his cellular telephone and that he exchanged this material with others using social media applications.  Reyes was previously removed from the United States in 2013 and was in the country illegally when he committed these crimes.

On August 19, 2021, Reyes pled guilty to one count of attempted production of child pornography, two counts of receipt of child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography, and one count of illegal reentry after removal.

In addition to his 25-year prison sentence, Reyes will be placed on supervised release for the remainder of his life as a registered sex offender.  He was also ordered to pay in excess of $160,000 restitution to victims.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg.

FBI Miami’s West Palm Beach Office investigated this child exploitation case, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami’s West Palm Beach Office and the Lincoln Police Department of Lincoln, Nebraska.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller 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. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-80064.

###

Miami, Florida – A Delray Beach, Florida man who fueled an international firearms smuggling ring with guns he illegally purchased at South Florida gun shows through straw buyers has been sentenced to 200 months in federal prison.

Mackenzie Delmas, 27, pled guilty in May 2021 to numerous federal offenses, including conspiracy, firearms smuggling, straw purchasing of firearms, possession of firearms by a convicted felon, and possession with intent to distribute MDMA.

Delmas was a convicted felon during the conspiracy, which operated from about 2018 to 2019. Unable to buy firearms himself due to his prior conviction, Delmas deployed straw buyers to gun shows throughout South Florida to buy firearms on his behalf. The straw buyers would falsely represent to the federally licensed firearms dealers at the shows that the firearms were for them, when in fact they were for Delmas. In a little over one year, Delmas obtained 25 firearms through straw buyers.  In September 2018, Canadian law enforcement intercepted some of these guns as they were being smuggled from New York to Canada.  In November 2019, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police seized another gun connected to Delmas during a criminal investigation. 

Delmas was one of seven defendants convicted and sentenced in the Southern District of Florida in this matter. Two additional defendants, Shalena Mary Haynes and Enza Esposito, are fugitives. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Christopher A. Robinson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Miami, announced the sentenced imposed by U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman.   

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case, with assistance from numerous federal, local, and foreign agencies, including the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (DOJ - ATR), the United States Secret Service (USSS), the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO), the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), the Toronto Police Service (TPS), and the Laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de médecine légale (LSJML).

Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam McMichael and former DOJ Anti-Trust Trial Attorney, Paola Henry prosecuted the case.

You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 19-cr-80045. 

###

Miami, Florida - The Department of Justice, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), today announced a civil enforcement action against defendants Legacy Cremation Services LLC, Funeral & Cremation Group of North America LLC and Anthony Joseph Damiano for alleged violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act) and the FTC’s Trade Regulation Rule Concerning Funeral Industry Practices (Funeral Rule).

According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the defendants, who arrange third-party cremation services, made deceptive statements to consumers about pricing for funeral and cremation services, misrepresented the location where services were to be provided and wrongfully withheld loved one’s remains. The FTC Act prohibits unfair and deceptive conduct and false advertising. The Funeral Rule prohibits providing consumers with inaccurate price information and requires certain disclosures to consumers regarding pricing for funeral-related goods.

The complaint seeks monetary relief, civil penalties, and injunctive relief to stop defendants from continuing to violate the FTC Act and the Funeral Rule.

“The financial and emotional exploitation of people when they are at their most vulnerable will not be tolerated in this district,” said Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.  “Together with our federal partners, we will continue to protect South Florida residents through vigorous enforcement of consumer protection laws.”

“Consumers are particularly vulnerable when a loved one passes,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to stopping companies and individuals from profiting off of consumers’ grief by engaging in unlawful and deceptive marketing practices when offering funeral arrangements. The department will continue to partner with the FTC to prevent unlawful and deceptive practices that take advantage of vulnerable consumers.”

“Preying on consumers when they are dealing with the loss of a loved one is outrageous, and it’s illegal,” said Director Samuel Levine of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC is committed to enforcing the Funeral Rule to protect both grieving consumers and honest funeral homes.”

This matter is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney James A. Weinkle from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Cody Matthew Herche and Wandaly Fernández García and Assistant Director Lisa K. Hsiao of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch. Rebecca Plett and Thomas Harris represent the FTC.

###

The Department of Justice, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), today announced a civil enforcement action against defendants Legacy Cremation Services LLC, Funeral & Cremation Group of North America LLC and Anthony Joseph Damiano for alleged violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act) and the FTC’s Trade Regulation Rule Concerning Funeral Industry Practices (Funeral Rule).

According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the defendants, who arrange third-party cremation services, made deceptive statements to consumers about pricing for funeral and cremation services, misrepresented the location where services were to be provided and wrongfully withheld loved one’s remains. The FTC Act prohibits unfair and deceptive conduct and false advertising. The Funeral Rule prohibits providing consumers with inaccurate price information and requires certain disclosures to consumers regarding pricing for funeral-related goods.

The complaint seeks monetary relief, civil penalties and injunctive relief to stop defendants from continuing to violate the FTC Act and the Funeral Rule.

“Consumers are particularly vulnerable when a loved one passes,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to stopping companies and individuals from profiting off of consumers’ grief by engaging in unlawful and deceptive marketing practices when offering funeral arrangements. The department will continue to partner with the FTC to prevent unlawful and deceptive practices that take advantage of vulnerable consumers.”

“The financial and emotional exploitation of people when they are at their most vulnerable will not be tolerated in this district,” said U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida. “Together with our federal partners, we will continue to protect South Florida residents through vigorous enforcement of consumer protection laws.”

“Preying on consumers when they are dealing with the loss of a loved one is outrageous, and it’s illegal,” said Director Samuel Levine of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC is committed to enforcing the Funeral Rule to protect both grieving consumers and honest funeral homes.”

This matter is being handled by Trial Attorneys Cody Matthew Herche and Wandaly Fernández García and Assistant Director Lisa K. Hsiao of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, and Assistant U.S. Attorney James A. Weinkle for the Southern District of Florida. Rebecca Plett and Thomas Harris represent the FTC.

Miami, Florida – This week, following a six-day trial, a federal jury in Fort Lauderdale, Florida returned guilty verdicts against Jeffrey Alan Horn (“Horn”), 47, of Coral Springs, Florida, and Omar Leon Plummer (“Plummer”), 54, of Margate, Florida, for their involvement in a fraudulent private placement offering of restricted common shares of Sunset Capital Assets, Inc., formerly known as Sunset Brands, Inc., a Nevada corporation (“Sunset”).  Horn was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and four counts of securities fraud.  Plummer was convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

According to evidence presented at trial, between October 2014 and April 2016, Horn, Plummer, and their co-conspirators cold-called prospective investors and made materially false statements and omissions about the offering, including failing to disclose that they would receive exorbitant commissions from selling Sunset stock.  Plummer, who disguised his identity by using the alias “Al Goldstein” when contacting prospective investors, also failed to disclose his extensive disciplinary history in the securities industry, which included cease and desist orders issued by state regulators that prohibited Plummer from engaging in certain securities activities in Arkansas and Colorado. 

The trial evidence further showed that, in connection with the Sunset offering, Horn sent prospective investors Private Placement Memoranda and other written offering materials that included misrepresentations regarding Sunset’s purported assets, and how Sunset would use the investors’ funds, among other misrepresentations.  Of the approximately $1.6 million raised from investors during the offering, nearly all of the money was diverted away from Sunset and into the pockets of the defendants and their co-conspirators.  Horn and Plummer were formerly licensed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to sell securities, and Plummer was also formerly licensed by FINRA to act an investment advisor, but neither defendant held any active securities licenses during the Sunset offering.

Horn and Plummer are scheduled to appear for sentencing on July 6, before United States District Judge Rodney Smith, at the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, announced the verdicts.

FBI Miami investigated this case. FINRA assisted.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dwayne Williams and David Snider prosecuted the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Stone is handling asset forfeiture.

The 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-60019-Smith.

###

Miami, Florida – A federal district judge in Miami has sentenced Michael Van Nostrand, 55, of Davie, Florida and Strictly Reptiles, Inc., a company also located in Davie, for their roles in a scheme to unlawfully enrich themselves and others by smuggling illegally-harvested Florida turtles out of the United States and into China, Japan, and other places.    

According to court records, from approximately April 2017 through April 2019 the defendants and their co-conspirators established a network of “collectors” to capture specimens of various wild fresh-water turtles within the State of Florida.  They then marketed and sold the turtles as “captive bred” to both domestic and international customers to provide the appearance the turtles were legally obtained.  In text messages, Van Nostrand repeatedly exhorted his suppliers to acquire more of the principal species: Florida three-stripe mud turtles (Kinosternon baurii) for his company.  To complete the scheme and evade detection, the coconspirators would falsely mark required federal export declarations with a code denoting the turtles were captive bred, rather than wild caught.

An investigation conducted by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service documented the illegal acquisition and sale of approximately 3,500 of Florida fresh-water turtles.  

Michael Van Nostrand was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of seven months, followed by a term of supervised release of three years, the first year of which will be served in home confinement.  In addition, the Court ordered Van Nostrand to immediately pay a $100,000 fine to the Lacey Act Reward Fund and restricted Van Nostrand’s freedom to engage in the wildlife trade during the period of supervised release.  During the sentencing hearing, the Court cited Van Nostrand’s compromised health (which was the subject of several filings and courtroom arguments) as the sole reason for not imposing a higher sentence. Strictly Reptiles, Inc. was sentenced to a term of five years’ probation, a fine of $150,000 also payable immediately to the Lacey Act Reward Fund, and oversight by an independent monitor/auditor, to be selected and appointed with the court’s approval.

The Lacey Act Reward Fund is a Congressionally authorized fund available to pay for the care, treatment, and rehabilitation of wildlife pending their disposition at the conclusion of civil and criminal matters and to compensate witnesses and cooperators in criminal investigations.   

In pleadings and courtroom statements, the government noted that significant pressure is being placed on native species – especially turtles and tortoises - throughout the United States to satisfy the black-market pet trade, and that the United States is facing the specter of some species becoming extinct in the wild because of illegal poaching activities.  The State of Florida has restricted the commercialization of wild-caught turtles since 2009 as part of its conservation effort.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and David Pharo, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement, SAC Office Atlanta, GA announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service investigated this case, with the cooperation of the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald is prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-20495-Williams.

###

Miami, Florida – German Nino, a former UBS Financial Advisor, has pled guilty in federal court in Miami to defrauding over $5 million from a family who maintained several accounts at UBS.   

As part of his change of plea, from about 2012, and continuing to 2020, Nino, a resident of Broward County, was a financial advisor working at a branch office of UBS Financial Services Inc. in Miami.  Nino oversaw and managed UBS investment accounts for various customers, including three victims who were related and who had various investment accounts at UBS.  Nino was the financial advisor assigned to oversee and manage the victims’ money in the accounts.

From about May 2014 to February 2020, Nino made a total of 62 unauthorized transfers from three UBS accounts belonging to the victims, which totaled $5,833,218.59.  To accomplish the wire fraud scheme, Nino made materially false and fraudulent statements to his victims and concealed and omitted material facts including misrepresenting the true performance, balance, and rate of return of the accounts he managed; forging the signature of his clients on documents purporting to authorize transfers out of the accounts; preparing a fraudulent land purchase contract and forging a victim’s signature on the land purchase contract to make it appear that the victim was purchasing land in Colombia by using money from the victim’s account; removing one of the victim’s email from the victim’s UBS email account profile so that the victim would not receive email notifications from UBS about unauthorized transfers; and preparing fraudulent UBS account statements and client review statements, which falsely inflated the balance and value of the victims’ accounts. 

Nino is scheduled for sentencing on June 21, 2022, before U.S. District Judge Donald L. Graham.  He faces up to 60 years imprisonment. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, made the announcement.

FBI Miami investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Deric Zacca is prosecuting it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Stone is handling asset forfeiture.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-cr-20020.

###

Miami, Florida – A 28-year-old Sunrise, Florida, man has pled guilty to federal carjacking, kidnapping, bank robbery, and firearms offenses.

Court filings reveal that from January 1, 2021, through January 29, 2021, defendant Tevin Shane Souffranc committed multiple violent crimes throughout Broward and Collier Counties.  During his crime spree, Souffranc kidnapped a woman and forcefully struck her in the face three times with his gun, chipping two of her teeth and causing lacerations on her face; stole a vehicle at gunpoint and attempted another woman on a different occasion; robbed two banks; and attempted to rob two other banks.  At the time of his arrest, Souffranc was in possession of the firearm that he used in the crimes.

Souffranc pled guilty to one count of carjacking, one count of kidnapping, two counts of bank robbery, one count of attempted bank robbery, and two counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.  Souffranc is scheduled for sentencing at 11:00 am on June 15, before U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman, who sits in Fort Lauderdale.  He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment and a maximum of life imprisonment.  

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, announced the guilty plea.

FBI Miami investigated the case, with assistance from Broward Sheriff’s Office, Fort Lauderdale Police Department, Hollywood Police Department, Collier County Police Department, Boca Raton Police Department, and Sunrise Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorneys Ajay Alexander and Brooke Latta are prosecuting this case.  Assistant United States Attorney Annika Miranda is handling asset forfeiture.

This case stems from Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  In 2017, PSN was reinvigorated as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime. 

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-60069.

###

Note: Still images of surveillance video showing defendant Thomas Daniels pointing firearm appear at end of this release.

Miami, Florida – A Homestead man who held two people at gun-point, shot them, and stole their car and jewelry has been found guilty by a South Florida federal jury of carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury, discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and possessing ammunition by a convicted felon.  He faces life in prison.

Assistant United States Attorneys Elena Smukler and Dayron Silverio proved at trial that on February 14, 2020, Thomas Daniels showed up at a tow yard in Homestead, Florida, and attempted to break into a car parked just outside the yard.  When he could not get in, Daniels approached the owners of the car who were inside the yard.  Daniels pointed a gun at them, demanding that they hand over their jewelry and other items.  One victim turned around and, with his back to Daniels, started to unclasp and remove his necklace.  Daniels lost patience, shot the victim in the neck, and proceeded to yank the necklace from the victim’s collapsed body.  As that was taking place, the second victim ran, trying get away.  He was not successful.  Daniels chased the second victim and shot him multiple times.  Daniels robbed the second victim of his keys, which Daniels used to steal the car that he had earlier tried to enter.  The two gunshot victims survived.  A law enforcement investigation led to the arrest of Daniels.  

Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr. will sentence Daniels at 8:30 a.m., on June 13, in federal district court in Miami. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Christopher A. Robinson, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office, announced the guilty verdict.

ATF Miami investigated the case, with assistance from the Homestead Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elena Smukler and Dayron Silverio are prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Paster is handling asset forfeiture.

This case stems from Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  In 2017, PSN was reinvigorated as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

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 20-cr-20138.

Screenshots, Part of Government’s Trial Exhibit 2:

###

Miami, Florida – A police officer from Jamaica has pled guilty in federal district court in Fort Lauderdale to importing cocaine into the United States.

As part of her guilty plea, 42-year-old Shelian Cherine Allen, a Jamaican citizen, admitted the following: On February 3, Allen arrived at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on a flight from Montego Bay, Jamaica.  An inspection by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) revealed that Allen had a package of cocaine inside her vagina and a package of cocaine inside each of her bra cups.  Allen also had 90 pellets of packaged cocaine inside her stomach, which she had swallowed.  CBP officers took Allen to a local hospital, where she expelled the 90 pellets.  In total, Allen had over 1,000 grams of cocaine on or inside her body when she entered the United States: about 200 in her vagina, about 143 grams in her bra, and about 690 grams inside her stomach.

At the time of her arrest, Allen was a law enforcement officer employed by the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

United States District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II will sentence Allen on June 15, at 1:30p.m., in federal district court in Fort Lauderdale.  Allen faces up to 40 years in federal prison.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Anthony Salisbury, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

HSI Miami investigated the case. CBP assisted in the matter.  Assistant U.S. Attorney William T. Shockley 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-60024.

###

Miami, Florida – The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida has ordered Florida company, Windows Service Center LLC, and its owner and operator, Erica Herson, 41, of Miami, to stop operating a technical-support fraud scheme that is alleged to have defrauded elderly and vulnerable U.S. victims out of over $1 million.

In a complaint filed on March 30, the United States alleges that Herson operated a scheme through Windows Service Center, as well as through her prior company USEL Support LLC, in which she contacted individuals over the phone and convinced them to purchase overpriced and unnecessary technical support services and anti-virus software by falsely claiming that their computers were infected with viruses or malware or were accessed by hackers. The complaint alleges that, in reality, Herson had no specific knowledge of the security of the victims’ computers prior to making the calls.

The complaint also alleges that Herson charged victims thousands of dollars for the installation of software that is available online for free or for a low cost. In addition, the complaint alleges that once a victim had made a purchase from USEL Support, Herson and USEL Support contacted that same victim repeatedly to try to obtain further payments by falsely claiming that the victim’s computer had additional security problems. The complaint alleges that Herson is continuing the same technical support fraud scheme through her new company, Windows Service Center.

The temporary restraining order entered March 31 prohibits Herson and Windows Service Center from engaging in telemarketing activity related to computer or software technical support and from accepting consumer payments related to any computer or software technical support service.

This case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney James A. Weinkle for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Amy Kaplan and Ann Entwistle of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.

The department’s extensive and broad-based efforts to combat elder fraud seeks to halt the widespread losses seniors suffer from fraud schemes. The best method for prevention, however, is by sharing information about the various types of elder fraud schemes with relatives, friends, neighbors and other seniors who can use that information to protect themselves.

The public can report suspected fraud to law enforcement and file a complaint at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/ and/or www.ic3.gov/Home/FileComplaint.

If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Department of Justice hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies, and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud, and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is staffed seven days a week from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish and other languages are available.

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-cv-20964.

###

Miami, Florida – Joseph Furey Lusk, 47, of Orlando, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Aileen M. Cannon in Ft. Pierce, Florida to attempted production of child pornography and committing an offense involving a minor while required to register as a sex offender.  As the result of a previous 2018 Florida state conviction for traveling to meet a minor, Lusk is required to register as a sex offender.  

According to court records, in August of 2021, less than one month after his release from state custody, Lusk reached out on social media to someone he believed to be a 15-year-old girl.  Over the course of several weeks, Lusk engaged in sexually explicit chats with the girl, in which he encouraged her to send him nude images and videos of herself and friends engaged in sexual activity.  Lusk also shared several photographs of his erect penis on social media.

U.S. District Court Judge Aileen M. Cannon will sentence Lusk on June 13, at 10:00 a.m., in Fort Pierce.  Lusk faces between 20 years and life in federal prison.  

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

HSI Fort Pierce investigated the case, with assistance from Martin County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey Bergstrom is prosecuting 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. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-14036.

###

Miami, Florida – A former police officer with the Sewall’s Point, Florida Police Department has pled guilty in Ft. Pierce federal court to attempting to sexually entice a 15-year-old boy and produce child pornography.

According to court records, Juan Antonio Garcia, 30, of Stuart, met the 15-year-old victim at a local park.  Garcia befriended the boy and communicated with him in person and by text message.  During one meeting, Garcia gave the boy condoms.  Through text messages, Garcia taught the boy how to put on a condom, then directed the boy to masturbate, ejaculate into the condom, and send Garcia a photograph of the used item.  Garcia also asked the boy to send him a video of the boy masturbating.  In another text message, Garcia asked the minor to meet him at a local park for oral sex.  When Garcia arrived at the park, law enforcement officers arrested him.

United States District Court Judge Aileen M. Cannon will sentence Garcia on June 13, at 11:00 a.m., in Fort Pierce.  Garcia faces between 15 years to life in prison.  

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

HSI Fort Pierce investigated the case, with assistance from Martin County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey Bergstrom is prosecuting 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. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-14044.

###

Miami, Florida - A Florida man was sentenced today in the Southern District of Florida to 200 months in prison for illegally distributing opioids at his pain management clinic in Miami.

Habib Geagea Palacios, 40, of Miami, owned General Care Center Inc., a cash-only pain management clinic. At General Care, Palacios paid doctors to prescribe opioids to nearly all patients who visited the clinic, resulting in the illegal distribution of more than three million oxycodone pills and generating $9 million in cash. Seven doctors who worked at General Care have been charged in connection with their unlawful prescribing practices at the clinic, and six have pleaded guilty to date.    

Palacios pleaded guilty on Nov. 9, 2021, to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and one count of distributing a controlled substance. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Palacios was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release. 

U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida; Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Regional Office; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the DEA’s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Brian Swain of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

HHS-OIG, FBI, DEA, and USSS investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin J. Larsen for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Alexander Thor Pogozelski of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section  prosecuted the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture.

This prosecution was part of Operation General Care-Less (FC/FLS/2227), which is a result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, and other priority transnational criminal organizations that threaten the citizens of the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence driven, multi-agency approach to combat transnational organized crime.  The OCDETF program facilitates complex, joint operations by focusing its partner agencies on priority targets, by managing and coordinating multi-agency efforts, and by leveraging intelligence across multiple investigative platforms.

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

###

Miami, Florida – U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith sentenced Steven Dexter Gangoo, 20, to 15 years in federal prison followed by 25 years of supervised release for enticing and coercing young girls, as young as 13-years-old, into producing and transmitting sexually explicit photographs and videos of themselves.  Making good on a threat to one of his victims, Gangoo shared nude photographs of the 16-year-old girl with her Instagram friends.

According to court records, Gangoo contacted his victims on social media.  Gangoo’s tactic with the young girls was to “friend” them on social media, tell them they were pretty, and have the girls send him suggestive photographs of themselves.  Gangoo initially offered the victims money to perform such acts.  However, once the victims sent the requested images and or videos, Gangoo would extort them by using initial images and videos as leverage to gain compliance into taking and sending additional nude photographs, in poses that he selected.  If the victims refused to comply with his demands, he would threaten the victims by sharing their nude images and videos with their family and friends.  As the chats progressed, the demands became more sexually explicit.  When one of his victims stopped communicating with Gangoo, he did just that.  He sent nude pictures of the minor to her school friends, whom he identified through the victim’s social media contacts.

One of Gangoo’s victims told her parents about Gangoo’s demands.  This prompted a South Florida law enforcement investigation.  Officers located Gangoo in Broward County and arrested him.  On January 11, 2022, Gangoo pled guilty to producing child pornography. 

It should be noted that Gangoo was actively trading Child sex abuse material with other like-minded subjects using various online social media platforms. 

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

U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez commended the investigative efforts of FBI, and, in particular, FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force who worked in partnership with the Plantation Police Department and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department on the matter. The U.S. Attorney also thanks the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

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

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 19-cr-60385.

###

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida has ordered Florida company, Windows Service Center LLC, and its owner and operator, Erica Herson, 41, of Miami, to stop operating a technical-support fraud scheme that is alleged to have defrauded elderly and vulnerable U.S. victims out of over $1 million.

In a complaint filed on March 30, the United States alleges that Herson operated a scheme through Windows Service Center, as well as through her prior company USEL Support LLC, in which she contacted individuals over the phone and convinced them to purchase overpriced and unnecessary technical support services and anti-virus software by falsely claiming that their computers were infected with viruses or malware or were accessed by hackers. The complaint alleges that, in reality, Herson had no specific knowledge of the security of the victims’ computers prior to making the calls.

The complaint also alleges that Herson charged victims thousands of dollars for the installation of software that is available online for free or for a low cost. In addition, the complaint alleges that once a victim had made a purchase from USEL Support, Herson and USEL Support contacted that same victim repeatedly to try to obtain further payments by falsely claiming that the victim’s computer had additional security problems. The complaint alleges that Herson is continuing the same technical support fraud scheme through her new company, Windows Service Center.

“Technical support fraud schemes often prey on America’s seniors, exploiting their fear of online threats to steal their hard-earned savings,” said Principal Deputy Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to using all tools available to protect seniors from telemarketing fraud, whether those fraudulent phone calls are coming from call centers abroad, or from right here in the United States.”

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will hold accountable anyone engaging in schemes to defraud our seniors,” said U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida. “We urge the public to avoid giving computer access to unsolicited callers claiming a computer needs repair, to use caution before clicking on links in emails or on social media and to report suspected fraud to the appropriate authorities.” 

“Schemes of this nature target our elderly citizens under the guise of helping them,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigation Division. “The FBI works hand-in-hand with our law enforcement partners to dismantle crimes and scams like these, and we will bring to justice those fraudsters who commit them. Protecting our nation’s senior and vulnerable citizens is of the utmost importance to the FBI.”

The temporary restraining order entered March 31 prohibits Herson and Windows Service Center from engaging in telemarketing activity related to computer or software technical support and from accepting consumer payments related to any computer or software technical support service.

This case is being handled by Trial Attorneys Amy Kaplan and Ann Entwistle of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney James A. Weinkle for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida.

The department’s extensive and broad-based efforts to combat elder fraud seeks to halt the widespread losses seniors suffer from fraud schemes. The best method for prevention, however, is by sharing information about the various types of elder fraud schemes with relatives, friends, neighbors and other seniors who can use that information to protect themselves.

The public can report suspected fraud to law enforcement and file a complaint at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/ and/or www.ic3.gov/Home/FileComplaint.

If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Department of Justice hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies, and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud, and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is staffed seven days a week from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish and other languages are available.

Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Information about the Department of Justice’s Elder Fraud Initiative is available at www.justice.gov/elderjustice.

Miami, Florida – A 46-year-old Miami man who bought child pornography on the Dark Web using cryptocurrency has been sentenced to 151 months in federal prison, to be followed by 30 years of supervised release.  

Adolfo Fernandez stored the child exploitation material on various electronic devices that he kept at his home, including over 2,000 pictures and 300 videos of minors being sexually abused.  In addition to the purchased items, Fernandez also stored digital images that showed him in his living room, engaged in explicit sex acts with a minor.    

On December 13, 2021, Fernandez pled guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, HSI, Miami Field Office, announced the sentence that U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom imposed.   

HSI Miami investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Hapner prosecuted it.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Klco is handling asset forfeiture. 

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 21-cr-20337.

###

Miami, Florida – In one of the largest cryptocurrency forfeiture actions ever filed by the United States, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida successfully forfeited approximately $34 million worth of cryptocurrency tied to illegal Dark Web activity.  

According to the U.S. Government’s civil forfeiture complaint, law enforcement agents identified a South Florida resident raking in millions by using an on-line alias to make over 100,000 sales of illicit items and hacked online account information on several of the world’s largest Dark Web marketplaces.  For example, the South Florida resident sold hacked online account information for popular services such as HBO, Netflix, and Uber, among others, and accessed the Dark Web by utilizing the TOR (The Onion Router) Network. The Onion Router Network is a special network of computers distributed around the world designed to anonymize a user’s internet traffic by concealing computers’ IP (Internet Protocol) addresses. 

As detailed in the complaint, records analyses revealed that the South Florida resident utilized so-called “tumblers” and illegal Dark Web money transmitter services to launder one cryptocurrency for another—a technique called “chain hopping”—in violation of federal money laundering statutes.  A tumbler is a Dark Web mixing service that pools together multiple cryptocurrency transactions. Then, the tumbler distributes the cryptocurrency to a designated cryptocurrency wallet at random times, and in random increments. The goal is to obscure the original source of funds. Law enforcement agents seized various cryptocurrency wallets associated with the illegal Dark Web conduct.   

This forfeiture action is the result of Operation TORnado, a joint investigation that stems from the ongoing efforts by OCDETF, a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, and other priority transnational criminal organizations that threaten the citizens of the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence driven, multi-agency approach to combat transnational organized crime.  The OCDETF program facilitates complex, joint operations by focusing its partner agencies on priority targets, by managing and coordinating multi-agency efforts, and by leveraging intelligence across multiple investigative platforms.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Matthew D. Line, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office; George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami; Deanne L. Reuter, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Miami; Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, and Joseph W. Cronin, Inspector in Charge, Miami Division, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), made the announcement.

IRS-CI, FBI, DEA, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) investigated the case.

Asset Forfeiture Division Assistant U.S. Attorney Mitch Hyman and Deputy Chiefs Nicole Grosnoff and Nalina Sombuntham prosecuted this asset forfeiture action. Monique Botero, Chief of the Southern District of Florida’s International Money Laundering and Narcotics Section, is the lead prosecutor on Operation TORnado.

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-cv-62182.

###

Miami, Florida – A 34-year-old Palm Beach Gardens man who hurled a chair at, and threatened to kill, an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) after receiving an unfavorable jury verdict has been sentenced to 80 months in federal prison.  

On November 7, 2019, a South Florida federal jury found Christopher Tavorris Wilkins guilty of committing various firearms and witness tampering crimes.  As members of the jury left the courtroom after delivering their verdict, Wilkins picked up a chair close to him and flung it at the AUSA prosecuting his case, barely missing the prosecutor.  While Deputy United States Marshals worked to restrain the defendant, Wilkins yelled at the AUSA that Wilkins would kill him.

Wilkins was charged in a separate case with assaulting and threatening to kill a federal prosecutor.  A jury found Wilkins guilty, and U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon sentenced him to 80 months in prison. This sentence will run consecutive to the 210-month sentence that Wilkins received on the underlying gun and witness tampering convictions. In short, Wilkins can expect to spend the next 24 years in federal prison.  

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Gadyaces S. Serralta, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Florida; and Christopher A. Robinson, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

The U.S. Marshal’s Service for the Southern District of Florida and Miami ATF investigated this matter.  Assistant United States Attorneys Ajay J. Alexander and Brooke E. Latta prosecuted the case.  

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-60037. 

###

Miami, Florida – Raidel Figueroa, the former CEO and co-owner of Pharmatech, LLC, a drug and dietary supplement manufacturer that operated in Broward County, Florida, has made his initial appearance in Fort Lauderdale federal magistrate court to face charges that he conspired to manufacture and distribute drugs outside the regulatory oversight of the FDA, to interfere with and obstruct the FDA. 

The unsealed indictment charges Figueroa with conspiracy to defraud the United States, falsification of records in a federal investigation, obstruction of proceedings before an agency of the United States, and distribution of adulterated drugs in interstate commerce.   

The indictment alleges the following: From 2016 to 2017, Pharmatech manufactured and distributed Diocto Liquid, a drug used to treat constipation.  In July 2016, FDA initiated an inspection at Pharmatech as part of an investigation into an outbreak of Burkholderia cepacia (“B. cepacia”) infections.  B. cepacia is the name for a group or “complex” of bacteria typically found in soil and water. These bacteria pose little medical risk to healthy people, but people who have certain health problems like weak immune systems or chronic lung diseases may be more susceptible to B. cepacia infections.  The effects of B. cepacia can include serious respiratory infections and other types of infections.  Contaminated medicines can transmit B. cepacia, and the bacteria are often resistant to common antibiotics.

At the close of the FDA’s Pharmatech inspection in August 2016, the FDA notified Figueroa that a water sample taken from Pharmatech’s system had tested positive for B. cepacia.  In response, Figueroa advised the FDA that Pharmatech was re-engineering its purified water system to prevent future contaminations, according to the allegations. 

In March 2017, the FDA started another inspection at Pharmatech. FDA investigators asked Figueroa to disclose all products that Pharmatech had manufactured after it resumed manufacturing.  It is alleged that Figueroa lied to the FDA investigators by, among other things, knowingly excluding Diocto Liquid from its products list (even though Pharmatech shipped over 7,000 units of the drug earlier that month) and by falsely stating to the FDA that Pharmatech’s new water system had met “acceptance criteria,” which was not true.

According to the indictment, in July 2017, the CDC notified the FDA of multiple cases of B. cepacia infections in pediatric patients at Stanford Children’s Health Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto, California and Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, Maryland.  FDA investigated and collected bottles of Diocto Liquid from these medical centers.  It is alleged that the collected bottles were from the same lot that Pharmatech distributed in March 2017 – the same one that Pharmatech failed to disclose to the FDA.  Several of the bottles contained total aerobic microbial counts and total yeast and mold counts over acceptable limits and some of the bottles also tested positive for the presence of B. cepacia, says the indictment.   

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Justin C. Fielder, Special Agent in Charge, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations Miami Field Office, made the announcement. 

The FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Miami Field Office investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Deric Zacca is prosecuting this case, with assistance from Laura Akowuah, from FDA’s Office of Chief Counsel.   

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 at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-cr-60033.

###

Miami, Florida – A federal jury in Fort Pierce, Florida has found Zachary S. Spiegel, 38, of Jensen Beach, guilty of attempted on-line enticement of a minor.

According to evidence presented at trial, for several weeks in January of this year, Spiegel communicated online and by text message with someone whom he believed was a 14-year-old girl named Shayla. In reality, “Shayla” was a fictional persona created by a 16-year-old boy who was trying to identify child predators in the area. On January 9, Spiegel attempted to persuade Shayla to meet him in the parking lot of a Fort Pierce shopping plaza for sex in his car.  Spiegel sent Shayla graphic descriptions of the sex acts he would perform on her, as well as photos of his erect penis. They agreed on a time and place to meet, but Spiegel did not make it. Spiegel later explained to Shayla that while on his way to their rendezvous, law enforcement officers pulled him over for speeding and he decided to return home. After this incident, the 16-year-old boy contacted law enforcement.

Spiegel kept communicating with a person he believed was the 14-year-old Shayla. As he had done before, Spiegel made sexually explicit comments, sent several more photos of his face and penis, and talked about meeting Shayla in person.

A law enforcement investigation led officers to Spiegel.  They executed a search warrant at his Jensen Beach home on January 20, where they found him in possession of the cellular phone he had used to communicate with “Shayla.”

U.S. District Court Judge Paul C. Huck will sentence Spiegel on May 23, at 9:30 a.m., in Fort Pierce federal court. Spiegel faces 10 years to life in federal prison.

(Photograph of Spiegel, Government’s Trial Exhibit 5).

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, announced the guilty verdict.

HSI Miami and the Fort Pierce Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stacey Bergstrom and Justin Hoover are prosecuting it.  

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

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-14017.

###

Miami, Florida – A South Florida grand jury has charged a 38-year-old felon from Lauderhill, Florida with illegally possessing a cache of firearms and ammunition, as well as sensitive identity and financial information belonging to others.

According to the indictment, an earlier-filed criminal complaint affidavit, and government exhibits filed with the court, a narcotics investigation led law enforcement officers to Deshawn Lemonte Wheeler. On March 3, officers executed a search warrant at Wheeler’s home, where they recovered 10 firearms (including pistols, revolvers, and a rifle), multiple high-capacity-drums and other magazines, and a vast amount of multiple caliber ammunition.  They also recovered numerous credit and debit card account numbers, bank account numbers, driver’s license identification numbers, and a Department of Defense identification number, all belonging to other people, say the court filings. 

On March 3, Wheeler was a felon, having been previously convicted in federal court of conspiring to commit a Hobbs Act robbery and using a firearm during a crime of violence.

The indictment charges Wheeler with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition, one count of possessing 15 or more unauthorized access devices, and three counts of aggravated identity theft.  If convicted on all counts, Wheeler faces up to 26 years in federal prison.

Wheeler is scheduled for arraignment on Monday, April 4, at 11:00 a.m., in federal magistrate court in Ft. Lauderdale.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, announced the charges.

FBI Miami investigated the case, with assistance from Broward County Sheriff’s Office, Lauderhill Police Department, and Fort Lauderdale Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph A. Cooley is prosecuting the case.

This case stems from Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  In 2017, PSN was reinvigorated as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

Indictments and criminal complaints contain mere allegations.  A defendant is innocent unless and until found 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 number 22-cr-60063.

Note: Included photograph from Court docket: entry #8, exhibit #1.

###

Miami, Florida – A Florida tax return preparer was sentenced in March 2022 to 97 months in prison for preparing false tax returns for his clients.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Fred Pickett Jr., of Belle Glade, owned and operated a tax return business he used to prepare false individual income tax returns. From 2013 to 2016, Pickett prepared tax returns for some of his clients claiming they owned fictitious businesses that lost tens of thousands of dollars each year. Pickett included these nonexistent companies, as well as other false deductions and tax credits, on his clients’ returns to generate refunds they were not entitled to receive. In December 2021, Pickett was convicted at trial of 22 counts of aiding and assisting the preparation of false tax returns.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg ordered Pickett to serve one year of supervised release and pay approximately $169,639 in restitution to the IRS.

U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Parker Tobin and Patrick Elwell of the Tax Division prosecuted the case. Southern District of Florida Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Osborne indicted Pickett.

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

###

Miami, Florida – A 52-year-old Hialeah man with a prior felony conviction who went on a four-month bank robbery spree was federally indicted yesterday on 11 counts of bank robbery.

According to the criminal complaint, Jorge Ariel Cabrera (“Cabrera”) robbed 11 banks in Miami, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.  During each robbery, Cabrera approached the teller window and pressed a handwritten note to the window, demanding money and threatening that he had a gun.  The victims complied with Cabrera’s demands, at which point Cabrera grabbed the money and fled the banks.  Cabrera was successful in stealing $65,950. 

On the day of his arrest, leaving the last bank that he had robbed, Cabrera fled from officers in his vehicle, led them to his apartment complex, and was found hiding in the apartment complex’s fitness center, after discarding the clothes he was wearing in the robbery.

After taking Cabrera into custody, Cabrera admitted to law enforcement that he robbed each of the 11 banks. 

Cabrera faces a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment for each of the 11 counts in the indictment.  

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, announced the indictment. 

FBI Miami investigated this case, with assistance from Hialeah Police Department and Miami-Dade Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Brooke Latta is prosecuting this case.  

Criminal complaints, informations, and indictments contain mere allegations and defendants are innocent unless and until found 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, under case number 22-cr-60056.

###