Southern District of Florida

Miami, Florida – A federal district judge in Fort Lauderdale has sentenced Andres Camilo Ruiz, 31, of Miramar, Florida, to 40 years in federal prison, followed by lifetime supervised release as a sexual offender, for production of child pornography, enticement of a minor, and possession and distribution of child pornography.  Ruiz was also ordered to pay restitution to his victims.

Beginning in November of 2018 and continuing through May 14, 2019, Ruiz pretended to be a 12-year-old child named “June” on social media platforms where he met other children throughout the country and tricked and coerced them into creating sexually explicit videos.  Ruiz would befriend these children on social media using web-based applications.  While pretending to be a child himself, Ruiz would prey upon the unsuspecting child victims by sending them sexually explicit videos of other children and encouraging them to perform the same sexual conduct, record it and send it back to him.  Ruiz exploited over 50 children.  The youngest child who was coerced by Ruiz into making a sexually explicit video of herself was only nine years old.  When Ruiz was arrested, law enforcement found an extensive collection of child pornography on his cell phone and in his cloud account: over 1100 images and videos including images of children engaged in sadomasochistic acts.

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 United States District Judge Roy K. Altman.  

FBI Miami investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jodi L. Anton and Francis Viamontes 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 at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case no. 19-cr-060223.

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Miami, Florida – A federal jury in Fort Lauderdale found a 32-year-old Florida woman guilty of conspiracy and wire fraud for fraudulently obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Keyaira Bostic, of Pembroke Pines, obtained a PPP loan of $84,515 for her company, I Am Liquid Inc., based on false information about the company’s number of employees and average payroll, and based on false supporting tax and bank documents.  Bostic also paid more than $21,000 to an alleged co-conspirator, James Stote, as a kickback for his assistance in preparing and submitting the fraudulent loan application.  The evidence also showed that Bostic, in exchange for kickbacks, referred other co-conspirators to the scheme on whose behalf Stote submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications.  Those loan applicants sought more than $3.3 million in fraudulent PPP loans and obtained nearly $2 million in PPP loan proceeds.

Bostic was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud and three counts of wire fraud.  She was found not guilty of bank fraud.  She is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 3, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of conviction.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Stote was charged by information on Nov. 10 with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  His case remains pending.

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 Michael J. De Palma of the IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Miami Field Office; Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the SBA’s Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG) Eastern Region made the announcement.

The IRS-CI, FBI, and SBA-OIG investigated the cases.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Turken of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Philip Trout of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture.

Criminal complaints, informations, and indictments contain mere allegations and defendants are innocent unless and until found guilty in a court of law.

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

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

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 20-cr-60139.

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Miami, Florida – Today, U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith handed down a 40-year federal prison sentence for Breshawn Hamilton, a 21-year-old Fort Lauderdale man who produced and possessed sexual abuse material of children, coerced minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct, and engaged in sextortion.  

From October 2019 through November 2020, defendant Breshawn Hamilton used social networking platforms to meet and communicate with at least seven minor females between the ages of 11 and 15.  During chats, Hamilton misrepresented his age, often pretending to be younger than he actually was in order to gain the minors’ trust.  He would convince the minors to send him sexually explicit images and videos of themselves.  After obtaining the images and videos in question, Hamilton threatened to disseminate them unless the minors agreed to meet him for sexual intercourse or continue to provide him with additional videos and images.  Even after the victims complied, Hamilton nevertheless disseminated the videos and images.  Law enforcement confirmed that Hamilton met with some of the minor victims who resided in the Fort Lauderdale area in person and raped them, often in their own homes.  At times, Hamilton recorded himself having sex with the minors and sold those videos to others.

On August 17, 2021, Hamilton pled guilty to two counts of coercing a minor, four counts of production of child pornography, three counts of sending interstate extortionate threats, and one count of possession of child pornography.

U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), announced the sentence.

“Those who exploit children are the worst of criminals and today’s sentence reflects that,” said U.S. Attorney Gonzalez. “Our Office is committed to protecting our precious children. We will use every available federal resource to investigate and prosecute these abhorrent crimes.”   

“Today’s 40-year sentence sends a clear message to those looking to exploit and victimize our children. We will spare no resource to find you and ensure your prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” said HSI Miami SAC Salisbury. “HSI and its partner law enforcement agencies are committed to protecting the most vulnerable members of our society and will always be there to protect these innocent victims and put these predators behind bars.”

Anyone with additional information about this crime or potential victims is asked to call 866-347-2423.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Fort Lauderdale investigated the case with assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Broward Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit, and the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. 

Assistant United States Attorney Ajay Alexander prosecuted this 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-60144.

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A South Florida tax preparer was sentenced today to two years in prison for perpetrating a scheme to fraudulently obtain over 100 COVID-19 relief loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

According to court documents, Leonel Rivero, 35, of Miami, owned a tax-preparation business and submitted approximately 118 fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of himself and his accomplices. Combined, the 118 loan applications sought more than $2.3 million in PPP funds. On each loan application, Rivero falsified the applicant’s prior-year sole proprietorship income and expenses and submitted fraudulent IRS tax forms. Rivero and his accomplices received approximately $900,000 in PPP loans as a result of the fraud. As part of his plea agreement, Rivero agreed to forfeit that entire amount.

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

The IRS-CI investigated the case with assistance from the SBA-OIG.

Trial Attorney Della Sentilles of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Browne of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff handled the asset-forfeiture component of the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 150 defendants in more than 95 criminal cases and has seized over $75 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.  

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.

Miami, Florida – A South Florida tax preparer was sentenced today to 24 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for carrying out a scheme to fraudulently obtain over 100 COVID-19 relief loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). He was also ordered to pay over $1 million in restitution.

Leonel Rivero, 35, of Miami, owned a tax-preparation business and submitted approximately 118 fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of himself and his accomplices. Combined, the 118 loan applications sought more than $2.3 million in PPP funds. On each loan application, Rivero falsified the applicant’s prior-year sole proprietorship income and expenses and submitted fraudulent IRS tax forms. Rivero and his accomplices received approximately $900,000 in PPP loans as a result of the fraud. As part of his plea agreement, Rivero agreed to forfeit that entire amount.

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

The IRS-CI investigated the case with assistance from SBA-OIG.

South Florida Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Browne and Trial Attorney Della Sentilles of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case. South Florida Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff handled asset-forfeiture.

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

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

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-20160.

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Miami, Florida – Carlos Vazquez, 57, of Miami, was sentenced yesterday to 42 months’ imprisonment for fraudulently obtaining $921,875 through a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

On September 13, 2021, Vazquez pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  According to court documents, Vazquez obtained a PPP loan worth $921,875 for his company, Big League LLC.  Vazquez admitted that he submitted fraudulent tax documents and false information about the number of employees and average payroll.

On November 16, 2021, the Honorable United States District Court Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks sentenced Vazquez to a term of imprisonment of 42 months, to be followed by a term of supervised release of 3 years.  Vazquez was also ordered to pay $921,875 in restitution. 

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

Assistant U.S. Attorney Hayden Patrick O’Byrne of the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Annika Miranda of the Southern District of Florida handled asset forfeiture.  The IRS-CI investigated the case.

The Fraud Section leads the department’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the PPP began, Fraud Section attorneys have prosecuted more than 100 defendants in more than 70 criminal cases. The Fraud Section has also seized more than $65 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.

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.

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-20231.

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Miami, Florida – Today, 58-year-old Miami-Dade County resident Willie Curry was sentenced to six months in federal prison by Senior United States District Judge James Lawrence King after having pled guilty to wire fraud in connection with Curry's fraudulent application to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for a low-interest COVID-19 relief loan.  In determining the sentence, Senior Judge King took into consideration Curry’s seven years of honorable service in the United States Army. 

Curry was a long-time employee of Miami-Dade County.  In 2019 and 2020, the County employed Curry full-time as a Network Manager.  As a County employee, Curry suffered no loss of salary due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Despite this, on June 24, 2020, Curry submitted to the SBA an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) application stating that he was the 100% owner of a sole proprietorship operating under the name “Will Curry Computers.”  In that application, Curry falsely and fraudulently certified that Will Curry Computers was established on January 1, 2015, and that during the twelve-month period prior to January 31, 2020, Will Curry Computers had gross revenues of approximately $755,416, a cost of goods sold of approximately $170,664, and 10 employees.  In reality, Curry established Will Curry Computers in 2020, it had only minimal gross revenues and cost of goods sold during the twelve-month period prior to January 31, 2020, and it had no employees. 

Based on the defendant’s materially false and fraudulent EIDL application, the SBA disbursed a $10,000 advance and then $150,000 in loan proceeds to Curry’s listed financial institution for Curry’s benefit.  The financial institution instead returned the money to the SBA, and after Curry was notified of this, he made numerous contacts to the SBA in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to have the money sent to an account he maintained at another financial institution.  In the end, his fraudulent efforts were uncovered by law enforcement.

The full sentence imposed by Senior Judge King was six months imprisonment, to be followed by one year of supervised release, with the first six months of supervised release to be served in home confinement.  A $100.00 special assessment was also imposed. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, and Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, Special Agent in Charge, Small Business Administration, Investigations Division’s Eastern Region (SBA-OIG) announced the sentence.

FBI Miami’s Area Corruption Task Force, which includes task force officers from the Miami-Dade Police Department’s Professional Compliance Bureau, Criminal Conspiracy Section, and SBA-OIG investigated this matter. The Miami-Dade County Office of Inspector General and United States Secret Service provided invaluable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward N. Stamm prosecuted this case.

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

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

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

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-20415.

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Miami, Florida – A South Florida federal district judge has sentenced 34-year-old Ft. Pierce resident and prior convicted felon Terry Burney Delion to five years in federal prison for possessing a firearm during a robbery that he and others staged to try to game the United States immigration system.

On August 29, 2019, law enforcement responded to a 911 call regarding an alleged robbery that took place at a grocery store in Fort Pierce.  The alleged victims told law enforcement they were just robbed at gunpoint while taking out the trash behind the grocery store and described the alleged robber as a tall male dressed in dark clothing wearing a ski mask and sweater.

Shortly after that, law enforcement recovered a sweatshirt, loaded Glock, Model 26, 9mm semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine, and ski mask from a carport less than mile from the grocery store.  A law enforcement K-9 tracked the scent from the sweatshirt recovered from the carport to the parking lot of a nearby dollar store, where Delion was arrested.  DNA recovered from the sweatshirt and ski mask matched Delion’s profile. 

Delion admitted to law enforcement that he possessed the Glock, Model 26, 9mm semi-automatic pistol on August 29, 2019.  Delion explained that he was paid by the wife of one of the alleged victims to stage the robberies so that the alleged victims, neither of whom were United States citizens, could obtain status as crime victims and remain in the United States. 

Delion has prior felony convictions out of the Southern District of Florida for bank robbery (2010) and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence (2010). 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Christopher Robinson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, announced the sentenced imposed by U.S. District Judge Donald L. Graham.

ATF Miami (Port St. Lucie Office) investigated the case with assistance from Fort Pierce Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Porter prosecuted it.

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-14028.

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Miami, Florida – After an eight-day trial at the Federal Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, and following three days of deliberations, a jury found Omar Shaquille Bailey and Ronaldo Garfield Green guilty for their roles in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Social Security Administration of over $1.8 million.  Senior District Court Judge James I. Cohn read the jury’s verdict and ordered the defendants imprisoned while they await sentencing in January.

A third co-defendant, Jamare Mason, pled guilty to his role in the conspiracy on the second day of trial.  Two other co-defendants, Kadeem Gordon and Mario Ricketts, had pled guilty prior to trial.  Two remaining co-defendants have yet to be apprehended.

The jury heard testimony from several witnesses that members of the conspiracy obtained the personal information (including names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers) of disabled veterans and Social Security beneficiaries.  The conspirators used this information to fraudulently open bank accounts and prepaid debit cards in the victims’ names.  They also forged documents in the victims’ names which directed the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Social Security Administration to deposit benefit payments into those fraudulent accounts, instead of the victims’ legitimate bank accounts.

The trial evidence showed that the defendants, together with other co-conspirators, withdrew these funds from ATMs and banks throughout South Florida and Georgia for their own personal use.  Much of the funds were ultimately funneled to the architects of the scheme in Jamaica. 

According to evidence presented at trial, over the course of five years, from 2012 to 2017, members of the conspiracy attempted to redirect over $1.8 million in benefits from more than a hundred disabled veterans and Social Security beneficiaries.  Although several of these attempts were blocked, the defendants’ scheme resulted in the actual loss of nearly $1 million, money that was diverted from disabled veterans and Social Security beneficiaries. In each instance, the federal government reimbursed these victims for the full amounts of their stolen benefits.

“We remain vigilant in our efforts to defend and protect our disabled veterans and our elderly,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Juan Antonio Gonzalez. “This successful prosecution demonstrates that, despite recent challenges, our Office continues to prosecute anyone who targets vulnerable members of the community.”

“Yesterday, a jury held these defendants accountable for their roles in a large-scale, transnational fraud scheme that preyed upon veterans—many of whom were elderly and at risk—by redirecting VA compensation and pension benefits to other bank accounts or by taking over veterans’ bank accounts,” said Special Agent in Charge David Spilker of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General’s Southeast Field Office. “The VA OIG, along with our law enforcement partners, is steadfast in our commitment to ensure that veterans are protected from schemes designed to steal the benefits that they earned while defending our country.”

“The jury’s verdict holds Omar Bailey and Ronaldo Green accountable for their greedy and unscrupulous actions that deprived Social Security beneficiaries and disabled veterans of their benefits,” said Rodregas W. Owens, Special Agent in Charge, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, Atlanta Field Division. “I appreciate the investigative efforts of the Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Task Force and our law enforcement partners in dismantling this conspiracy and U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecuting this case.”

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge David Spilker of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General’s Southeast Field, and Special Agent in Charge Rodregas W. Owens, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, made the announcement.

U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez commended the investigative efforts of the Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force, including our partners at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of the Inspector General, United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lois Foster-Steers and Sajjad Matin. 

Combatting elder abuse and financial fraud targeted at seniors is a key priority of the Department of Justice. The mission of the Department’s Elder Justice Initiative is to support and coordinate the Department’s enforcement and programmatic efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect and financial fraud and scams that target our nation’s seniors. To learn more visit https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice.  The public is encouraged to report their victimization and suspected fraud schemes. To find the right reporting agency visit https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/roadmap or call the victim connect hotline at 1-855-484-2846.

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 19-cr-60313.

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Miami, Florida – A Florida man pleaded guilty yesterday to unlawfully distributing opioids at his pain management clinic in Miami, Florida.

According to court documents, Habib Geagea Palacios, 40, of Miami, owned a cash-only pain management clinic in Miami, Florida named General Care Center, Inc.  At General Care Center, Palacios paid doctors to prescribe opioids to nearly all patients who visited the clinic, resulting in the illegal distribution of more than two million tablets of Oxycodone 30 mg and generating more than $3 million in cash that was deposited into various bank accounts associated with the clinic and Palacios.  Five doctors who worked at General Care Center have already pleaded guilty in connection with their unlawful prescribing practices at the clinic. 

Palacios pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and one count of distributing a controlled substance.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 26, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. and faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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; Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the DEA Miami Field Division; 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 are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin J. Larsen of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Alexander Thor Pogozelski of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

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.

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Miami, Florida – Fifty-one-year-old Kevin Dewayne Kirby was sentenced yesterday in federal district court in Ft. Lauderdale to 57 months in federal prison for laundering over $500,000 connected to two wire fraud scams.

The first was an IRS tax scam, which generally worked the following way: A fraudster, pretending to be from the IRS, called victims and convinced them that they owed back taxes to the IRS.  The fraudster would threaten arrest and other legal action if the tax obligations were not immediately paid.  Fearing the threats, victims wired their money to bank accounts that Kirby or his co-conspirators controlled. 

The second scam was one involving computer services, which generally worked the following way: Fraudsters, pretending to work for a fake computer service company, called victims and told them that they had to pay a fee to fix or update their computers.  Alternatively, the fraudsters told the victims that the fake computer company owned them refunds.  Victims allowed the fraudsters remote access to their computers, which the fraudsters used to transfer funds from the victims’ savings accounts, brokerage accounts, or home equity accounts into the victims’ checking accounts.  During this process, the fraudsters manipulated the online appearance of the victims’ accounts so that the transfers could not be seen or detected.  After making the transfers, the fraudsters would contact the victims and convinced them that the fake computer company had made accidental refund payments to their checking accounts.  They instructed victims on how to repay the money by wire transfer.  The victims then unwittingly sent their own money (previously transferred by the fraudsters from the victims’ other accounts to their checking accounts) to bank accounts that Kirby and his co-conspirators controlled.

To execute the money laundering conspiracy, Kirby and his co-conspirators used bank accounts connected to eight different companies.  After money was wired to these accounts, Kirby and his co-conspirators drained the funds from the accounts by wire transfers, cash withdrawals, money order purchases, and cashier check purchases.  Kirby knew that the transactions were designed to conceal the nature of the proceeds.  During the conspiracy, over half a million dollars was laundered.

On July 22, 2021, Kirby pled guilty to two counts of money laundering conspiracy and one count of money laundering. U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith imposed Kirby’s sentence.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Mark H. Morini, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Southern Field Division; Brian Swain, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service, Miami; and Acting SAC is Matthew D. Line, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Miami made the announcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Deric Zacca prosecuted the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove 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-60074.

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Miami, Florida – A Lake Worth, Florida man who did not report his liquor store’s cash sales to the IRS was sentenced to 18 months in prison yesterday in federal district court in West Palm Beach for tax evasion.

Ajay Kumar, 60, was the sole officer and registered agent of Kruthi, Inc, a company registered in Florida, and doing business as “Tri County Discount Liquor.”  Kumar reported credit card receipts to his accountant and on Kruthi’s federal income tax returns.  However, Kumar did not report his cash receipts.  As a result, Kruthi’s returns for tax years 2015 through 2018 underreported the liquor store’s gross receipts by approximately $1,718,945.  For those same tax years, Kumar failed to pay approximately $481,304.68 in federal income taxes.

Kumar previously pled guilty to one count of tax evasion.  U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks sentenced Kumar to 18 months in prison. Judge Middlebrooks also ordered Kumar to serve three years of supervised release and to pay a $7,500 fine and $481,304.68 in restitution.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, announced the sentence.

“Those who underreport taxable earnings violate the integrity of our federal system of taxation,” said U.S. Attorney Gonzalez. “To do so is a crime and our Office will aggressively prosecute business owners who evade their federal tax obligations.”     

“Defrauding the government with a scheme to knowingly underreport taxable income is a crime. The people of the United States are the ultimate victims in these schemes – those taxpayers who truthfully file tax returns and pay their fair share of tax each year,” said Acting SAC Line. “Let this serve as a message to both small and large businesses alike, that individuals who deliberately underreport or omit income from their tax returns will be held accountable for their actions.”

IRS-CI Miami investigated this case. Assistant U. S. Attorney Marc Osborne prosecuted it.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case no. 21-cr-80091.

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Miami, Florida – Today, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, before the Honorable Judge Rodolfo Ruiz, 28-year-old Fort Lauderdale, Florida resident Damara Holness pled guilty to a one-count information charging her with lying on a coronavirus relief loan application and fraudulently obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars intended to help small businesses financially survive the Covid-19 pandemic.

As part of her guilty plea, Holness admitted that in June 2020, she applied for a $300,000 forgivable, federally-guaranteed Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan on behalf of Holness Consulting, Inc., a Florida company that she owned.  To justify the requested loan amount, Holness claimed in the on-line loan application, and through supporting fraudulent payroll tax forms, that her company employed 18 people and spent an average of $120,000 each month on payroll.  In fact, Holness Consulting had zero employees and no payroll expenses.  A bank endorsed by the Small Business Administration to fund PPP loans approved Holness Consulting’s PPP loan application based on the lies and wired $300,000 to the company’s bank account in Florida.  

Once the money hit the bank account in July 2020, Holness spent the next few months creating a paper trail to make it appear as if Holness Consulting had employees and was spending the PPP money on legitimate, approved expenses, it is alleged.  Holness issued checks from the company bank account made out to others who agreed, for a fee, to help with the fraud.  At Holness’ direction, the people receiving the checks would endorse and return them to Holness.  Then, Holness would cash the checks at the company’s bank, give a few hundred dollars to the check endorsers, and keep the rest of the cash for herself – about $1,000 per check.  

At or around the time of the alleged fraud, Damara Holness served as President of the Broward County Democratic Black Caucus.

The information to which Holness pled guilty charged her with conspiring to commit wire fraud.  The sentencing is scheduled for January 20, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.  She faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

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 this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Kaplan is prosecuting it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Stone is handling asset forfeiture. 

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.

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-60229.  

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Miami, Florida – A Palm Beach Gardens, Florida adult who enticed minor girls into sending him sexually explicit pictures of themselves by, among other things, pretending to be a teenager during on-line chats was sentenced yesterday to 25 years in federal prison and supervised release for life. 

Beginning in 2008, Dwight Castaldi, 45, communicated with at least six minor-aged girls, as young as 13, on a social networking websites.  Castaldi told the girls he was a teenager and sent the victims pictures of an unknown young man, falsely claiming they were pictures of him.  During chats, Castaldi told the minors that they were in exclusive relationships with him and convinced the minors to take sexually explicit pictures of themselves and send the images to him.  Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Castaldi’s Palm Beach County home in 2018.  They found several electronic devices containing hundreds of videos and photographs of child exploitation material and evidence of Castaldi communicating with others about the illegal material.

Castaldi previously pled guilty to production, distribution, and possession of child pornography, and online enticement of minors.  U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith, who sits in Ft. Lauderdale, imposed the sentence.  

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

FBI Miami investigated the case, together with the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department and Huntington Beach California Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller prosecuted the case. 

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

To report online child sexual exploitation, use the electronic Cyber Tip Line or call 1-800-843-5678.  The Cyber Tip Line is operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in partnership with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.

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 20-cr-80087.

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Miami, Florida – A federal district judge in Ft. Pierce, Florida has sentenced 40-year-old Gregory T. Fuller to eight years in federal prison for possessing a firearm while being a convicted felon.

In the early morning hours of April 10, 2019, in Ft. Pierce, Fuller began arguing with a female acquaintance.  Fuller then went to a nearby residence, retrieved a firearm, and returned to the scene.  While continuing to argue with the woman, Fuller pointed the firearm at her, threatened her, and hit her in the face.  Fuller then returned to the residence and hid the firearm.  Law enforcement later recovered it: a shotgun with no serial number that had its stock and barrel sawed off.  At the time that he possessed the sawed-off shotgun, Fuller had previously been convicted of 36 felonies, including convictions for robberies, burglaries, batteries, escape, and other crimes.

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

ATF Miami investigated this case, with assistance from the Fort Pierce Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Hoover 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. 

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-14001.

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Miami, Florida – Two South Florida residents have pleaded guilty to running a mental health care fraud scheme that over-billed Medicaid for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

During the change of plea hearing in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Lorena Osella, 44, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and Juan Luis Matos, 59, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay health care kickbacks.  U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas, who sits in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, will sentence both defendants on January 10, 2022.

As part of their guilty pleas, Osella and Matos admitted that they paid kickbacks of $400 in cash per month to Medicaid beneficiaries in exchange for the beneficiaries receiving psychosocial rehabilitation (PSR) services at Lighthouse Community Center LLC, in Doral, Florida.  In addition, Osella admitted that she fraudulently billed Medicaid for at least $350,206 in psychosocial rehabilitation (PSR) services that were not provided as claimed.  Psychosocial rehabilitation (PSR) services are a type of mental health group counseling designed to help people with depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders cope with their conditions and improve their ability to conduct daily life activities.  Medicaid allowed these services to be administered via telemedicine beginning in April 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Osella and Matos also admitted to illegally receiving Florida unemployment benefits during the time they committed the health care fraud.

HHS-OIG investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Abraham is prosecuting the case.  AUSA 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 21-cr-20299.

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Miami, Florida – A 21-year-old man from Port St. Lucie, Florida, Christopher Fabrisio Jimenez, has pled guilty in federal district court in Ft. Pierce to producing and distributing child pornography.  

According to court documents, in January of 2020, a fourteen-year old girl reported to police investigators that she believed she had been sexually assaulted.  Through the course of their investigation, law enforcement discovered that Jimenez had picked-up the fourteen-year-old in a vehicle, driven her around, and had given her alcoholic beverages until she passed out.  Jimenez then recorded a sexually explicit video of the girl and posted it on a social media application.  The day after the incident, Jimenez’s phone was deactivated and shortly after that, he left the State of Florida.  The FBI later arrested him in New Jersey.

Jimenez pled guilty to one count of production of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography and faces up to 50 years in prison.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  The case is currently set for sentencing on March 8, 2022 at 10:00 a.m.  

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

FBI Miami investigated the case, together with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Luisa Berti and Daniel Funk are 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 20-cr-14019.

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Miami, Florida – A 47-year-old man has pled guilty in federal district court in Fort Pierce to production of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and committing a felony offense involving a minor while being required to register as a sex offender.

According to court records, Gernard Clark first came to the attention of law enforcement after a minor reported to a school resource officer that Clark had sexually battered her.  Law enforcement investigated and discovered on the SD card of Clark’s cellular telephone more than 500 sexually explicit images and more than 40 sexually explicit videos of the minor female taken when she was between 14 and 15 years old.  Clark was previously convicted of Lewd and Lascivious Indecent Act with a Child Under 16 Years of Age in the 19th Judicial Circuit of the State of Florida, Martin County and, as a result, was required to register as a sex offender.

U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg will sentence Clark on January 20, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.  Clark faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 35 years and a total maximum sentence of 130 years, a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine per count.

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

FBI Miami, in particular, FBI Miami’s Child Exploitation Task Force, investigated this case, with the assistance of the 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 (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-14015.

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Miami, Florida — An armed robber who spent a week in October 2019 holding up convenience stores in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties was found guilty last week by a federal jury on 10 counts of Hobbs Act robbery.

During the nine-day jury trial in Miami federal court, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brooke Latta and Ajay Alexander proved that Jonathan Wayne Daniels, 39, from Miami, committed the robberies. 

The evidence included testimony from victimized store employees, multiple positive identifications of Daniels, and video surveillance footage, among other things. In addition, the AUSAs presented evidence that during law enforcement’s investigation of the robberies, officers learned that the suspected robber was staying at a motel in Miami. When officers arrived at the suspect’s motel room door and announced themselves, Daniels — who was inside the room — jumped out a window, leapt over a fence, and began sprinting towards a nearby expressway. Officers caught Daniels mid-sprint and arrested him.  

U.S. District Judge Donald L. Graham, who sits in Miami, will sentence Daniels on January 14, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. Daniels faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count of conviction.

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

FBI Miami investigated the case, with assistance from Miami Dade Police Department, Miami Gardens Police Department, City of Miami Police Department, Miramar Police Department, Broward Sheriff’s Office, and Pembroke Pines Police Department.

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 19-cr-20708.

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Miami, Florida – In a 15-count superseding indictment, a South Florida grand jury charged alleged members of a gang called “Onsight” with racketeering, armed robbery, conspiracy, murder, and other crimes following a rash of violence that plagued Broward County from 2015 to 2021.

Eric Hunter (aka “E” or “Onsight Eno”), 28, and Derrick Slade (aka “D” or “Solja”), 27, were arraigned today in federal magistrate court in Ft. Lauderdale.  Gregory Stickney (aka “Gucci Greg”), 31, was arraigned on October 18.

According to the superseding indictment, from 2015 through October 2021, the Onsight gang operated as a criminal enterprise, with an identity, a hierarchy, and a multi-layered purpose.  The gang’s name (Onsight) reflected its identity: an enterprise with members who would kill and commit other extreme acts of violence without hesitation, says the charging document.  It is alleged that Hunter was a leader of the enterprise, at the top of the hierarchy, and that he planned, organized, and supervised the gang’s criminal ventures.  Slade, Stickney and others executed those criminal ventures, which included armed home invasions, armed robberies, assaults, attempted murders, and murders, says the superseding indictment.  The purpose of the criminal enterprise was to, among other things, make money through drug-dealing, robberies, and other crimes; advance the gang’s prestige and reputation among rivals both on the street and social media; and maintain control over their territory, it is alleged. 

Hunter, Slade, and Stickney are each charged with RICO conspiracy, Hobbs Act conspiracy, conspiracy to use or carry a firearm during a crime of violence, causing the death of a person by using a firearm, various counts of Hobbs Act robbery, and various counts of using or carrying a firearm during a crime of violence.  Each defendant faces a statutory maximum of life imprisonment or death.

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

FBI Miami investigated this case, with assistance from Broward Sheriff’s Office, Hollywood Police Department, Lauderhill Police Department, Hallandale Beach Police Department, Davie Police Department, and Fort Lauderdale Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey N. Kaplan and Paul F. Schwartz are prosecuting the case. 

This prosecution was part of Operation Blood Pressure, 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.

A superseding indictment is only an accusation and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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

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Miami, Florida – Sextant Marine Consulting LLC (Sextant), a Florida-based duct cleaning company, has agreed to pay $30,000 in damages and civil penalties to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by obtaining more than one Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan in 2020.  Sextant also repaid the duplicative PPP funds in full to its lender, relieving the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) of liability to the lender for the federal guaranty of approximately $170,000 on the improper loan.

Congress created the PPP in March 2020, as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, to provide emergency financial support to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The CARES Act authorized billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses struggling to pay employees and other business expenses.  Throughout 2020, PPP loan applicants were required to certify that they would not receive more than one PPP loan prior to Dec. 31, 2020.  This settlement resolves allegations that Sextant applied for and received a second, duplicative PPP loan in 2020.

“When the Paycheck Protection Program was implemented over one year ago, our Office committed to protecting South Floridians from those trying to exploit the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “Our work is not done. We will continue to hold accountable those who wrongfully obtain funds intended to help struggling small businesses survive the current health and economic crisis.”

“PPP loans were intended to provide critical relief to small businesses so that they could retain employees and keep their doors open,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will ensure that those who improperly obtain federally guaranteed PPP loans are held accountable.”

“The Paycheck Protection Program is intended to provide a lifeline to the nation’s small businesses and its employees” said Inspector General Hannibal “Mike” Ware of the SBA Office of Inspector General (OIG). “OIG will aggressively investigate allegations of wrongdoing in SBA’s pandemic response programs. I want to thank the Department of Justice for its dedication to achieving this settlement.”

“The settlement in this matter demonstrates the excellent results achieved through the combined efforts of SBA and the Department of Justice to uncover and forcefully respond to Paycheck Protection Program fraud,” said General Counsel Peggy Delinois Hamilton of the SBA Office of the General Counsel. “SBA is strongly committed to identifying and aggressively pursuing instances of fraud perpetrated by those taking advantage of SBA COVID-19 assistance programs.”

Wednesday’s civil settlement includes the resolution of a claim brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by J. Bryan Quesenberry.  Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery.  Mr. Quesenberry will receive $4,500.  The matter remains under seal as to allegations against entities other than Sextant.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the, with assistance from the SBA’s Office of General Counsel and Office of the Inspector General.

This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney James A. Weinkle of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Jared S. Wiesner of the Civil Division.

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.

Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud affecting COVID-19 government relief programs can be reported by visiting the webpage of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section, which can be found here.  Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can also 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.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

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

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Miami, Florida – A 57-year-old Chinese businessman who is charged in a federal grand jury indictment with entering the United States using fraudulently-obtained visas will remain behind bars pending trial in Miami. 

Jianxiang Shi was arrested this week at a convention in Las Vegas, Nevada where he was promoting a cryptocurrency venture.  He made his first federal court appearance yesterday before a magistrate judge in Las Vegas. During the appearance, the federal magistrate judge ordered Shi detained pending his trial in Miami, finding that Shi presents a risk of flight if released.  Future court proceedings will occur in the Southern District of Florida.    

According to the superseding indictment unsealed yesterday, Shi lied in order to obtain two non-immigrant visas, which he then used to enter the United States, at Miami International Airport, in 2016.  Shi represented in both applications that he had never used another name when, in fact, he had an alternate identity and travel documents under the name “Long Niu,” it is alleged.  Shi used travel documents with the Long Niu identity to enter the United States in February 2017, and has been living in California and Nevada as “Morgan Shi” since leaving China, prosecutors alleged during yesterday’s court hearing.

The superseding indictment charges Shi with two counts of fraud and misuse of United States nonimmigrant visas.  If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Jessica Moore, Chief of the Criminal Investigations Division of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), made the announcement.

DSS investigated this matter with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Special Operations Division (DEA-SOD).  Assistant U.S. Attorney Will J. Rosenzweig is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Zloch is handling asset forfeiture.

A superseding indictment is only an accusation and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-20421.

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Miami, Florida – Fredy Donaldo Marmol Vallejo (Marmol), 40, will make his initial appearance in federal court in Miami, Florida today after being extradited from Honduras, his country of origin.  An indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida charges Marmol with conspiring to traffic narcotics internationally, distributing narcotics internationally with the intent to import it into the United States, and laundering the proceeds of the narcotics trafficking.  

Specifically, the indictment returned on May 4, charges Marmol and co-defendant Michael Adolf Dixon Rivers, 53, also a Honduran national, with participating in an international drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed cocaine in Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Mexico, with the goal of getting the drug into the United States.  The indictment further charges Marmol with laundering the proceeds of this drug trafficking activity.

Marmol will make his initial court appearance today at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Chris M. McAliley, who sits in Miami.

U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of FBI Miami, and Acting Special Agent in Charge La Verne J. Hibbert of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Field Office made the announcement. 

On August 18, Honduran authorities arrested Marmol based upon a provisional arrest request by the United States.  The Honduran Supreme Court ordered him extradited on September 24, based upon an extradition request by the United States.  U.S. Attorney Gonzalez extends his gratitude to the government of Honduras for its assistance, as well as the Agencia Técnica de Investigación Criminal (ATIC).  The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing Marmol’s arrest and extradition.  FBI’s International Operations Division transported Marmol from Honduras to the United States.

FBI Miami and DEA Miami investigated this case, with assistance from Customs and Border Protection, Miami.  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.

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

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-20277. 

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A Colorado man pleaded guilty today in connection with his participation in a scheme to falsify clinical drug trial data. 

Duniel Tejeda, 35, of Canon City, Colorado, and formerly of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola Jr. of the Southern District of Florida to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. According to court documents, Tejeda worked at Tellus Clinical Research, a medical clinic based in Miami. Tejeda served as a project manager and study coordinator for clinical drug trials. As part of his plea agreement, Tejeda admitted that he agreed with others to falsify data in medical records in connection with clinical trials intended to evaluate various medical conditions, including opioid dependency, irritable bowel syndrome and diabetic nephropathy. Among other things, Tejeda falsified data to make it appear as though subjects were participating in the trials when, in truth, they were not.

“The defendant’s conduct put profits before public health,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will continue to work with its partners at the Food and Drug Administration to investigate and prosecute anyone who engages in this conduct.”

“The public relies on the accuracy and honesty of clinical trial data,” said U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida. “Falsifying clinical data not only violates the public’s trust, it also endangers the safety of consumers. Those who unlawfully profit by compromising the public’s health in this way commit serious crimes and will be prosecuted.”

“FDA’s evaluation of a new drug begins with an analysis of reliable and accurate data from clinical trials,” said Assistant Commissioner for Criminal Investigations Catherine A. Hermsen of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations. “Compromised clinical trial data could impact the agency’s decisions about the safety and effectiveness of the drug under review. We will continue to monitor, investigate and bring to justice those whose actions may subvert the FDA approval process and endanger the public health.”

Tejeda faces a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison. The court scheduled a sentencing hearing for Jan. 20, 2022. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Lauren M. Elfner and Joshua D. Rothman of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida has provided critical assistance.

Miami, Florida – A 29-year-old man has pled guilty in federal district court in Miami to attempting to materially support terrorism, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2339A. 

According to court documents, Samuel Baptiste attempted to provide material support to a terrorist act through the use of an explosive device by providing information on November 6, 2016 pertaining to the construction of explosive devices by posting internet links and portions of a manual containing specific instructions on the construction of explosives, to persons whom he believed were acting on behalf of ISIS. 

At sentencing, Baptiste faces a maximum statutory sentence of up to 15 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.  Sentencing has been scheduled for January 5, 2021 at 1:30pm in front of the Honorable Jose E. Martinez, in Miami, Florida.

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

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marc S. Anton and Michael Thakur.

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-20613.

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Miami, Florida – A federal jury convicted a pair of Florida residents yesterday for their roles in an illegal exports scheme. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Peter Sotis, 57, of Delray Beach, and Emilie Voissem, 45, of Sunrise, participated in a scheme to cause the illegal export of rebreather diving equipment to Libya in August 2016.

Rebreathers enable a diver to operate undetected for long periods of time underwater by producing little to no bubbles and by efficiently re-circulating the diver’s own breath after replacing its carbon dioxide with oxygen. Because of these enhanced capabilities, rebreathers have a dual use, with both civilian and military applications, and are specifically included on the Commerce Control List, which is the list of dual use items that are export controlled and licensed by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (DOC-BIS). Such restricted items require a DOC-BIS license if the rebreathers are to be exported to any countries with national security concerns, such as Libya.

The defendants were warned that it was illegal to export the items to Libya without a DOC-BIS license and they willfully attempted to export those items after receiving an instruction from a Department of Commerce special agent that such items were detained and not to be exported while a license determination was pending. The exhibits and testimony at trial showed that the defendants lied to and misled Ramas LLC, a shipping company in Virginia, about what the DOC-BIS agent had told them and about whether the rebreathers had a military use. Testimony at trial also showed that Sotis threatened a government witness not to cooperate with the federal investigation.

Sotis and Voissem were both convicted of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), attempted violation of the IEEPA and smuggling. Voissem was found not guilty of making false statements to a federal agency.

They are scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 6, 2022 and face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine for attempting to violate the IEEPA, a maximum of 5 years and a $250,000 fine for the IEEPA conspiracy, and a maximum of 10 years and a $250,000 fine for smuggling. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida; Acting Assistant Attorney General Mark J. Lesko for the Justice Department’s National Security Division; Special Agent in Charge Ariel Joshua Leinwand of the DOC-BIS, Office of Export Enforcement, Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office made the announcement.

DOC-BIS Miami and HSI Miami investigated the case.  U.S. Customs and Border Protection Miami and FBI Miami assisted.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Thakur and Andy Camacho of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Nathan Swinton of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are 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 no. 19-cr-20693.

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A federal jury convicted a pair of Florida residents yesterday for their roles in an illegal exports scheme. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Peter Sotis, 57, of Delray Beach, and Emilie Voissem, 45, of Sunrise, participated in a scheme to cause the illegal export of rebreather diving equipment to Libya in August 2016.

Rebreathers enable a diver to operate undetected for long periods of time underwater by producing little to no bubbles and by efficiently re-circulating the diver’s own breath after replacing its carbon dioxide with oxygen. Because of these enhanced capabilities, rebreathers have a dual use, with both civilian and military applications, and are specifically included on the Commerce Control List, which is the list of dual use items that are export controlled and licensed by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (DOC-BIS). Such restricted items require a DOC-BIS license if the rebreathers are to be exported to any countries with national security concerns, such as Libya.

The defendants were warned that it was illegal to export the items to Libya without a license and they willfully attempted to export those items after receiving an instruction from a Department of Commerce special agent that such items were detained and not to be exported while a license determination was pending. The exhibits and testimony at trial showed that the defendants lied to and misled Ramas LLC, a shipping company in Virginia, about what the agent had told them and about whether the rebreathers had a military use. Testimony at trial also showed that Sotis threatened a government witness not to cooperate with the federal investigation.

Sotis and Voissem were both convicted of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), attempted violation of the IEEPA and smuggling. Voissem was found not guilty of making false statements to a federal agency. They are scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 6, 2022 and face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine for attempting to violate the IEEPA, a maximum of 5 years and a $250,000 fine for the IEEPA conspiracy, and a maximum of 10 years and a $250,000 fine for smuggling. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mark J. Lesko for the Justice Department’s National Security Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Ariel Joshua Leinwand,  Department of Commerce, BIS, Office of Export Enforcement Miami Field Office, which oversees investigations in the southeast; and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations’ (ICE-HSI) Miami Field Office made the announcement.

The DOC-BIS and ICE-HSI investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Nathan Swinton of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Thakur and Andy Camacho of the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.

Miami, Florida – A man who coerced two women and a girl into selling themselves for sex in Miami during the 2020 Superbowl was found guilty of commercial sex trafficking by a federal jury in Ft. Lauderdale this week.  

During the eight-day trial, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alejandra L. López and Brian Dobbins presented evidence that in January 2020, Edward Walker, 48, of New Haven, Connecticut, brought two adult women and a 17-year-old girl to Miami from Connecticut to engage in commercial sex acts during the SuperBowl.  While in Miami, Walker emotionally, psychologically, and financially coerced the victims into soliciting customers and having sex with them in exchange for money, all of which Walker kept.  Additional evidence showed that after the Superbowl in Miami, Walker planned to take the victims to Chicago, Illinois (during the NBA All-Star Game), New Orleans, Louisana (during Mardi Gras), Las Vegas, Nevada, and other places to further sexually exploit them.   

The jury found Walker guilty of sex trafficking by force and coercion, sex trafficking of a minor and by force and coercion, and transporting a person for sexual activity.  U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn will sentence Walker on January 6, 2022, in federal court in Ft. Lauderdale.  He faces a sentence of up to life in prison.

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.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami; and Alfredo Ramirez, III, Director of Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), announced the guilty verdict.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, in partnership with MDPD’s Human Trafficking Squad, and the South Florida Human Trafficking Task Force.  FBI New Haven; Homeland Security Investigations Miami; Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Miami Office; Miami Beach Police Department; and Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office assisted.  

To report suspected human trafficking or to obtain resources for victims, please call 1-888-373-7888; text “BeFree” (233733), or live chat at HumanTraffickingHotline.org.  The toll-free phone, SMS text lines, and online chat function are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  Help is available in English, Spanish, Creole, or in more than 200 additional languages.  The National Hotline is not managed by law enforcement, immigration or an investigative agency.  Correspondence with the National Hotline is confidential and you may request assistance or report a tip anonymously.

To learn more about the National Resource Hotline visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org.  To learn more about the U.S. Department of Justice’s efforts to combat human trafficking visit www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

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. 20-cr-20087.

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Miami, Florida – A Highlands County, Florida tax return preparer was sentenced yesterday to 37 months imprisonment for filing fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Benny Aguilar, 49, of Lake Placid, owned and operated B&A Services, a tax preparation business, located in Lake Placid.  From approximately 2014 through 2018, Aguilar filed fraudulent returns for his clients seeking refunds to which the clients were not entitled by reporting fictitious residential energy credits and inflating the federal income tax withholdings.  For each of the years 2014 through 2018, Aguilar submitted approximately 2,235 returns claiming residential energy credits.  At sentencing, it was uncontested that Aguilar’s submission of fraudulent tax returns resulted in a loss amount to the IRS of $2,988,702.00.

U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon also sentenced Aguilar to one year of supervised release and ordered him to pay $92,230.00 in restitution.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Brian Payne, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.

IRS-CI Tampa Field Office investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana M. Acosta prosecuted it.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-14020.

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Miami, Florida – A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment on Oct. 7, which was unsealed today, charging three Colombian nationals and two Venezuelan nationals for their alleged roles in laundering the proceeds of contracts to provide food and medicine to Venezuela that were obtained through bribes.

According to court documents, Alvaro Pulido Vargas, aka German Enrique Rubio Salas, aka Cuchi, 57, of Colombia; Jose Gregorio Vielma-Mora, 55, of Venezuela; Emmanuel Enrique Rubio Gonzalez, 32, of Colombia; Carlos Rolando Lizcano Manrique, 50, of Colombia; and Ana Guillermo Luis, 49, of Venezuela, were charged in an indictment for their alleged roles in laundering the proceeds of a bribery scheme to obtain and retain inflated contracts through the Comité Local de Abastecimiento y Producción (CLAP), a Venezuelan state-owned and state-controlled food and medicine distribution program for the people of Venezuela.

The indictment alleges that beginning in or around July 2015 and continuing until at least 2020, Pulido, Vielma-Mora, Rubio, Lizcano, and Guillermo conspired with others to launder the proceeds of an illegal bribery scheme from bank accounts located in Antigua, United Arab Emirates, and elsewhere to and through bank accounts in the United States. According to the indictment, Pulido, Vielma-Mora, Rubio, Lizcano, and Guillermo and others obtained contracts with Venezuelan governmental entities to import and distribute boxes of food and medicine in Venezuela through CLAP by paying bribes to Venezuelan government officials, including Vielma-Mora. The defendants and their co-conspirators knowingly inflated the costs of the contracts to pay the bribes and unjustly enrich themselves. The indictment also alleges that co-conspirators directed funds to be transferred to promote the bribery scheme while in the United States, and wired money related to the scheme to bank accounts in the Southern District of Florida. As a result of the scheme, Pulido, Vielma-Mora, Rubio, Lizcano, Guillermo, and their co-conspirators allegedly received approximately $1.6 billion from the Republic of Venezuela, and transferred approximately $180 million through or to the United States.

The defendants are each charged in a five-count indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and four counts of money laundering. If convicted, they each face a maximum total penalty of 100 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Acting Special Agent in Charge La Verne J. Hibbert of the DEA Miami Field Office made the announcement.  

This case was investigated by DEA Miami with assistance from the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Homeland Security Investigation’s Miami Field Office. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt K. Lunkenheimer of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Alexander J. Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

To see indictment, click here: /media/1173176/dl?inline.

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

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-20509. 

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A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment on Oct. 7, which was unsealed today, charging three Colombian nationals and two Venezuelan nationals for their alleged roles in laundering the proceeds of contracts to provide food and medicine to Venezuela that were obtained through bribes.

According to court documents, Alvaro Pulido Vargas, aka German Enrique Rubio Salas, aka Cuchi, 57, of Colombia; Jose Gregorio Vielma-Mora, 55, of Venezuela; Emmanuel Enrique Rubio Gonzalez, 32, of Colombia; Carlos Rolando Lizcano Manrique, 50, of Colombia; and Ana Guillermo Luis, 49, of Venezuela, were charged in an indictment for their alleged roles in laundering the proceeds of a bribery scheme to obtain and retain inflated contracts through the Comité Local de Abastecimiento y Producción (CLAP), a Venezuelan state-owned and state-controlled food and medicine distribution program for the people of Venezuela.

The indictment alleges that beginning in or around July 2015 and continuing until at least 2020, Pulido, Vielma-Mora, Rubio, Lizcano, and Guillermo conspired with others to launder the proceeds of an illegal bribery scheme from bank accounts located in Antigua, United Arab Emirates, and elsewhere to and through bank accounts in the United States. According to the indictment, Pulido, Vielma-Mora, Rubio, Lizcano, and Guillermo and others obtained contracts with Venezuelan governmental entities to import and distribute boxes of food and medicine in Venezuela through CLAP by paying bribes to Venezuelan government officials, including Vielma-Mora. The defendants and their co-conspirators knowingly inflated the costs of the contracts to pay the bribes and unjustly enrich themselves. The indictment also alleges that co-conspirators directed funds to be transferred to promote the bribery scheme while in the United States, and wired money related to the scheme to bank accounts in the Southern District of Florida. As a result of the scheme, Pulido, Vielma-Mora, Rubio, Lizcano, Guillermo, and their co-conspirators allegedly received approximately $1.6 billion from the Republic of Venezuela, and transferred approximately $180 million through or to the United States.

The defendants are each charged in a five-count indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and four counts of money laundering. If convicted, they each face a maximum total penalty of 100 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida, and Acting Special Agent in Charge La Verne J. Hibbert of the DEA Miami Field Office made the announcement.  

This case was investigated by DEA Miami with assistance from the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Homeland Security Investigation’s Miami Field Office. 

Trial Attorney Alexander J. Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt K. Lunkenheimer of the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.

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

Miami, Florida – This week, a federal district judge sent six South Florida residents and one New Jersey resident to federal prison for their roles in a fraud scheme that involved stealing identities, creating and using fake foreign passports, impersonating homeowners, and falsifying loan documents to trick lenders into providing millions of dollars of mortgage loans on unencumbered residential properties. 

The scheme followed a general pattern.  First, the fraudsters would identify residential homes with no mortgages, and absent owners, located in high-end South Florida neighborhoods.  Next, using the names and other identity information of the true homeowners, the fraudsters created fake passports.  Alongside the homeowners’ names, the fraudsters placed photographs of co-conspirators.  Some of those co-conspirators appeared at loan closings posing as the homeowners.  The fraudsters used the fake passports to apply for mortgage loans from private lenders and to open bank accounts in the homeowners’ names -- accounts into which lenders wired the loan money.  They used the stolen money to buy luxury cars, expensive watches, and other items.  In total, the scheme drained close to $10 million of equity from South Florida homes.  

The prison sentences in this case include:

• Carlos Rafael Castaneda Mendez, 34, of Miami, was sentenced to 78 months.
• Alejandro Boada Oliveros, 45, of Miami, was sentenced to 46 months.
• Jonnathan Jesus Gonzalez, 33, of Miami, was sentenced to 44 months.
• Yanjeisis Alejandra Pompa Villafane, 25, of Hialeah, was sentenced to 28 months.
• Lilia Rosa Morales Moreno, 45, of Miami, was sentenced to 30 months.
• Katherine Hansen Mendoza, 25, of Miami, was sentenced to seven months.
• Isbel Rodriguez Batista, 23, of Teaneck, New Jersey was sentenced to 30 months.

Charges against other defendants are pending.  An indictment is only an accusation and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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

USSS Miami, HSI Miami, and Aventura Police Department investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Hauser is prosecuting the case.  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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case no.: 20-cr-20155.

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Miami, Florida – South Florida native and former National Football League (NFL) Player Kenbrell Armod Thompkins, 33, pled guilty this week in federal district court to stealing other peoples’ identities to fraudulently obtain Covid-19-related unemployment insurance benefits.

Thompkins admitted that from August 16, 2020 through September 25, 2020, he used the social security numbers and other protected personal information of unsuspecting Florida residents to obtain prepaid unemployment insurance debit cards from California and to withdraw thousands of dollars from such cards.  Thompkins pled guilty to one count of unauthorized access device fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Court Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr. will sentence Thompkins on January 6, 2022 at 8:30 a.m. in Miami.  He faces up to 12 years in prison.

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

USSS Miami and the Aventura Police Department investigated the case.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eduardo Gardea, Jr.

In 2020, Congress passed the Covid Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help individuals and businesses financially survive the COVID-19 pandemic, including through the provision of federal funds to state unemployment insurance benefit programs.

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.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-20136.

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Miami, Florida – In a 30-count indictment unsealed today, a Miami federal grand jury charged eight defendants for their roles in a fraudulent check and money laundering scheme.  

The indictment charges Christopher Salermo, 30, from Miami; Rene Ripes III, 22, from Hialeah; Carlo Luvara Escobar, 26, from Miami; Clifton Taylor, Jr., 33, from Miami; Edwin Castillo, 23, from Hialeah; John Anthony Perez, 23, from Hialeah Gardens; Ana Figueroa, 22, from Miami; and Brandon Cooper, 28, from the Bahamas, for participating in a fraud scheme that operated as follows, according to the indictment: Members of the conspiracy would steal bank account and routing numbers belonging to legitimate companies and individuals.  Then they would: create fraudulent checks containing the stolen account and routing number information; forge victim signatures on the checks; and deposit the checks into bank accounts under the control of members of the conspiracy.  After the checks cleared, but before the financial institutions discovered the fraud, members of the conspiracy would withdraw money from those accounts for their personal gain, it is alleged.

Seven of the eight defendants were arrested today. Defendants Salermo, Ripes, Taylor, Castillo, and Cooper made their initial appearances today in federal magistrate court in Miami before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge John J. O’Sullivan.  Defendants Escobar and Perez will make their initial appearances tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. before Judge O’Sullivan. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting 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 Miami investigated the case, with assistance from HSI Tampa, Miami Beach Police Department, Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Gang Strike Force, Miami-Dade Police Department, and City of Miami Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt K. Lunkenheimer is prosecuting this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Paster is handling asset forfeiture.

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 21-cr-20491.

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Alex Nain Saab Moran (Saab), de 47 años y nacionalidad colombiana, hará su primera comparecencia hoy ante un tribunal federal en Miami, Florida, tras ser extraditado de la República de Cabo Verde. Saab ha sido acusado formalmente de haber blanqueado el lucro obtenido como resultado de violaciones de la Ley sobre Prácticas Corruptas en el Extranjero (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, FCPA) en relación con un mecanismo de pago de sobornos que tenía como propósito sacar provecho del sistema cambiario controlado por el gobierno venezolano. Se espera que su primera comparecencia sea hoy a la 1:00 p.m. ante el juez John J. O’Sullivan del Tribunal de Distrito Federal para el Distrito Sur de Florida.

Concretamente, el 25 de julio de 2019, se acusó a Saab junto con Álvaro Pulido Vargas, alias Germán Enrique Rubio Salas, de 55 años, también de nacionalidad colombiana, mediante una imputación por ocho cargos, uno de ellos por conspiración para llevar a cabo lavado de dinero y otros siete cargos por lavado de dinero. La acusación sostiene que desde noviembre de 2011 o aproximadamente desde esa fecha y hasta al menos septiembre de 2015, Saab y Pulido conspiraron con otras personas para blanquear el lucro obtenido mediante un mecanismo ilegal de sobornos pagados desde cuentas bancarias en Venezuela hacia cuentas en Estados Unidos y a través de estas. Según la acusación, Saab y Pulido obtuvieron un contrato con el gobierno venezolano en noviembre de 2011 para la construcción de viviendas en sectores de bajos recursos. Los acusados y los demás partícipes en la conspiración luego aprovecharon el tipo de cambio que controla el gobierno de Venezuela, que permitía obtener dólares estadounidenses a una tasa conveniente, presentando documentos de importación falsos y fraudulentos para artículos y materiales que nunca se importaron a Venezuela y sobornando a funcionarios públicos venezolanos con el fin de que aprobaran esos documentos. La acusación sostiene que la actividad ilegal consistió en un mecanismo de soborno que vulneró lo establecido en la FCPA e involucró delitos de soborno contra Venezuela. También afirma que se llevaron a cabo en Miami reuniones para coordinar los pagos de sobornos y que Saab y Pulido transfirieron dinero relacionado con este mecanismo a cuentas bancarias en el Distrito Sur de Florida. Como resultado de este mecanismo, Saab y Pulido transfirieron aproximadamente USD 350 millones desde Venezuela, a través de Estados Unidos, a cuentas en el extranjero sobre las que tenían la titularidad o el control.

A pedido de Estados Unidos, el 12 de junio de 2020, Saab fue detenido en la República de Cabo Verde, una nación conformada por varias islas al oeste de África continental. A continuación, Estados Unidos presentó un pedido de extradición formal, que Saab objetó. El 16 de marzo, la Corte Suprema de Cabo Verde aprobó la extradición de Saab. Tras un litigio relativo a la detención y extradición de Saab que involucró a sus abogados y a la Fiscalía General de Cabo Verde, el 30 de agosto la Corte Constitucional de Cabo Verde desestimó la apelación, y el 31 de octubre denegó el último pedido de reconsideración que presentó Saab y certificó la finalización del proceso relativo a la extradición de Saab a Estados Unidos. La Ministra de Justicia de Cabo Verde ordenó que fuera entregado en cumplimiento de lo establecido en las órdenes judiciales, lo cual permitió que Saab llegara a Estados Unidos el 16 de octubre.

El anuncio fue realizado por el fiscal general adjunto Kenneth A. Polite Jr. de la División Penal del Departamento de Justicia, el fiscal federal interino Juan Antonio González para el Distrito Sur de Florida y la agente especial interina a cargo La Verne J. Hibbert de la Oficina Local en Miami de la Agencia Antinarcóticos de EE. UU. (DEA).

El fiscal general adjunto Polite y el fiscal federal interino González reconocieron y agradecieron al Gobierno de la República de Cabo Verde por su colaboración para la extradición de Saab a Estados Unidos. La Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales del Departamento de Justicia brindó asistencia sustancial para que se concretaran la detención y la extradición de Saab, al igual que INTERPOL Washington.

El caso fue investigado por DEA Miami con la colaboración de la Oficina Local en Miami del FBI y la Oficina en Miami de Investigaciones de Seguridad Nacional. La División de Operaciones Internacionales del FBI transportó a Saab desde Cabo Verde hasta Estados Unidos.

La acción penal la impulsan el fiscal de primera instancia Alexander Kramer de la Sección de Fraude de la División Penal y el fiscal auxiliar federal Kurt K. Lunkenheimer del Distrito Sur de Florida.

Una acusación formal es solo una acusación y todos los acusados se presumen inocentes hasta tanto se demuestre su culpabilidad sin lugar a duda razonable en un tribunal de justicia.

Para ver el texto original, ir a: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/colombian-businessman-charged-money-laundering-extradited-united-states-cabo-verde

Miami, Florida – Alex Nain Saab Moran (Saab), 49, a Colombian citizen, will make his initial appearance in federal court in Miami, Florida, today after being extradited from the Republic of Cabo Verde. Saab is charged in an indictment with laundering the proceeds of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in connection with a scheme to pay bribes to take advantage of Venezuela’s government-controlled exchange rate. He is expected to make his initial court appearance today at 1:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge John J. O’Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Specifically, on July 25, 2019, Saab was charged along with Alvaro Pulido Vargas, aka German Enrique Rubio Salas, 55, also a Colombian citizen, in an eight-count indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and seven counts of money laundering. The indictment alleges that beginning in or around November 2011 and continuing until at least September 2015, Saab and Pulido conspired with others to launder the proceeds of an illegal bribery scheme from bank accounts located in Venezuela to and through bank accounts located in the United States. According to the indictment, Saab and Pulido obtained a contract with the Venezuelan government in November 2011 to build low-income housing units. The defendants and their co-conspirators then took advantage of Venezuela’s government-controlled exchange rate, under which U.S. dollars could be obtained at a favorable rate, by submitting false and fraudulent import documents for goods and materials that were never imported into Venezuela and bribing Venezuelan government officials to approve those documents. The indictment alleges that the unlawful activity was a bribery scheme that violated the FCPA and involved bribery offenses against Venezuela. It also alleges that meetings in furtherance of the bribe payments occurred in Miami and that Saab and Pulido wired money related to the scheme to bank accounts in the Southern District of Florida. As a result of the scheme, Saab and Pulido transferred approximately $350 million out of Venezuela, through the United States, to overseas accounts they owned or controlled. 

On June 12, 2020, Saab was detained in the Republic of Cabo Verde, an archipelago nation west of continental Africa, at the request of the United States. The United States thereafter submitted a formal extradition request, which Saab opposed. On March 16, the Cabo Verdean Supreme Court approved the extradition of Saab. After further litigation concerning Saab’s detention and extradition between Saab’s lawyers and the Cabo Verdean Attorney General’s Office, on Aug. 30, the Constitutional Court of Cabo Verde dismissed his appeal; and on Oct. 13, it denied the last reconsideration request by Saab and certified the completion of the proceedings concerning the extradition of Saab to the United States. The Minister of Justice of Cabo Verde then ordered his surrender, consistent with the court orders, resulting in Saab’s arrival in the United States on Oct. 16. 

Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge La Verne J. Hibbert of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of FBI Miami made the announcement. 

Acting U.S. Attorney Gonzalez and Assistant Attorney General Polite commended and thanked the Government of the Republic of Cabo Verde for their assistance in the extradition of Saab to the United States. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing Saab’s arrest and extradition, as did INTERPOL Washington.

This case was investigated by DEA Miami with assistance from the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Homeland Security Investigation’s Miami Field Office. FBI’s International Operations Division transported Saab from Cabo Verde to the United States.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt K. Lunkenheimer of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Alexander Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

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

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.

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Alex Nain Saab Moran (Saab), 49, a Colombian citizen, will make his initial appearance in federal court in Miami, Florida, today after being extradited from the Republic of Cabo Verde. Saab is charged in an indictment with laundering the proceeds of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in connection with a scheme to pay bribes to take advantage of Venezuela’s government-controlled exchange rate. He is expected to make his initial court appearance today at 1:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge John J. O’Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Specifically, on July 25, 2019, Saab was charged along with Alvaro Pulido Vargas, aka German Enrique Rubio Salas, 55, also a Colombian citizen, in an eight-count indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and seven counts of money laundering. The indictment alleges that beginning in or around November 2011 and continuing until at least September 2015, Saab and Pulido conspired with others to launder the proceeds of an illegal bribery scheme from bank accounts located in Venezuela to and through bank accounts located in the United States. According to the indictment, Saab and Pulido obtained a contract with the Venezuelan government in November 2011 to build low-income housing units. The defendants and their co-conspirators then took advantage of Venezuela’s government-controlled exchange rate, under which U.S. dollars could be obtained at a favorable rate, by submitting false and fraudulent import documents for goods and materials that were never imported into Venezuela and bribing Venezuelan government officials to approve those documents. The indictment alleges that the unlawful activity was a bribery scheme that violated the FCPA and involved bribery offenses against Venezuela. It also alleges that meetings in furtherance of the bribe payments occurred in Miami and that Saab and Pulido wired money related to the scheme to bank accounts in the Southern District of Florida. As a result of the scheme, Saab and Pulido transferred approximately $350 million out of Venezuela, through the United States, to overseas accounts they owned or controlled. 

On June 12, 2020, Saab was detained in the Republic of Cabo Verde, an archipelago nation west of continental Africa, at the request of the United States. The United States thereafter submitted a formal extradition request, which Saab opposed. On March 16, the Cabo Verdean Supreme Court approved the extradition of Saab. After further litigation concerning Saab’s detention and extradition between Saab’s lawyers and the Cabo Verdean Attorney General’s Office, on Aug. 30, the Constitutional Court of Cabo Verde dismissed his appeal; and on Oct. 13, it denied the last reconsideration request by Saab and certified the completion of the proceedings concerning the extradition of Saab to the United States. The Minister of Justice of Cabo Verde then ordered his surrender, consistent with the court orders, resulting in Saab’s arrival in the United States on Oct. 16. 

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida, and Acting Special Agent in Charge La Verne J. Hibbert of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Field Office made the announcement. 

Assistant Attorney General Polite and Acting U.S. Attorney Gonzalez commended and thanked the Government of the Republic of Cabo Verde for their assistance in the extradition of Saab to the United States. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing Saab’s arrest and extradition, as did INTERPOL Washington.

This case was investigated by DEA Miami with assistance from the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Homeland Security Investigation’s Miami Field Office. FBI’s International Operations Division transported Saab from Cabo Verde to the United States.

Trial Attorney Alexander Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt K. Lunkenheimer of the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.

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

En Español

Miami, Florida – Today, United States District Judge Aileen M. Cannon sentenced 51-year-old Donald Reid to seven and one-half years in prison for dealing methamphetamine.

Reid distributed methamphetamine on four separate occasions in 2019. On July 3, 2019, Reid sold 26.4 grams of methamphetamine in Lake Placid, Highlands County, Florida.  On August 9, 2019, Reid sold 55.7 grams of methamphetamine in Arcadia, DeSoto County, Florida.  On August 16, 2019, Reid sold 55.8 grams of methamphetamine in Arcadia. And, on September 9, 2019, Reid sold 110.14 grams of methamphetamine in Arcadia.  

On October 22, 2019, a Highlands County Sheriff’s Deputy stopped Reid as he was driving to Highlands County from DeSoto County.  After a K-9 alerted on the vehicle, law enforcement seized 209.8 grams of methamphetamine and over $6,000 cash from the vehicle.  Reid admitted that he was a drug dealer and that he obtained at least eight to 16 ounces of methamphetamine a week from his supplier.  Reid was on bond for a pending felon-in-possession charge out of DeSoto County, Florida at time of the traffic stop. 

Reid previously pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and La Verne J. Hibbert, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Miami Field Division announced the sentence.

DEA Miami investigated this case, with assistance from Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Highlands County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Porter 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 at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-14019.

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Miami, Florida – A United States federal district judge has sentenced Nikolas Cook, 23, of Stuart, Florida, to 840 months in prison and lifetime supervised release for producing, distributing, and possessing child pornography.

According to court documents, on September 10, 2020, Cook communicated with others in a social media group created for individuals interested in child sexual abuse material.  While participating in the chat group, Cook produced and distributed multiple pornographic images of a three-year-old girl.  An investigation led agents to Cook’s residence. Agents arrested Cook within 12 hours of learning of his activity in the chat group.  During a search of Cook’s residence, agents located electronic devices containing multiple sexually explicit images and videos of minor children being sexually abused. 

The sentence was imposed by Judge K. Michael Moore after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Martin County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel E. Funk and Luisa Berti are prosecuting it.

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

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-14007.

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Miami, Florida – A Texas man was sentenced in federal district court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida yesterday for knowingly and willfully making a materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement and representation to Special Agents of the United States Fish & Wildlife Service during a criminal investigation of international trafficking of primates into the United States.

Gary Tucker, 64, of Alice, Texas, was sentenced to serve a three-year term of probation, with a special condition of home confinement for a period of three months, and to pay a criminal fine in the amount of $5,000 by U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas.  Tucker had previously pled guilty to the charge before William P. Dimitrouleas.  In connection with his guilty plea, Tucker admitted that in the course of an interview by Special Agents of the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) about potential illegal trafficking of wildlife, he was asked about his involvement in the procurement and importation to the U.S. of long-tailed macaques -- small non-human primates regularly employed in scientific research -- from Southeast Asia.  See included image.  In particular, agents asked Tucker whether he or others working for his employer, Orient BioResource Center (OBRC), prepared or submitted to OBRC any audits or reports concerning their visits to supplier sites in Cambodia.  Tucker responded to those questions in the negative, that is, that no supplier site visits were memorialized in any written reports to OBRC.  In fact, as Tucker well knew, during the relevant period from 2017 – 2019, preparation and submission of site visit reports was a standard procedure at OBRC.

Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Burke of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), Special Investigations Unit made the announcement.

USFWS investigated the case with assistance from Special Agent in Charge Jason Molina of Homeland Security Investigations in Newark, New Jersey.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida 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 numbers 21-cr-20263.

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Miami, Florida – Yesterday, Coltin Plummer, 29, of Jupiter, Florida, appeared in Fort Pierce federal court and was sentenced to 600 months in prison after being convicted of production and distribution of child pornography.

According to court documents, in February of 2020, children in Martin County, Florida, notified school officials that they had received threatening and lewd messages from an individual on a social media application.  Investigators later located more than a dozen child victims, most between 11 and 15 years old, in Florida, Ohio, South Carolina, and Canada.  Agents learned that Plummer had sent child pornography to the children, claiming that the images depicted his previous victims, and then threatened to rape or kill the children or their families.  Plummer sent lewd images of himself, made lewd demands of many of the children, and extorted some of the children into sending compromising images of themselves.  Plummer was later found in possession of child pornography, and admitted to downloading it from the “dark web” and sending it to others.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting 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 this case, with assistance from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Hoover 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 20-cr-14023.

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Miami, Florida – U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore has sentenced a 53-year-old man from Highlands County, Florida, to 120 months in prison for drug trafficking.

According to the court record, in 2019, Leon McNeil Roberts sold methamphetamine in Avon Park, Highlands County on three separate occasions. Specifically, on June 19, 2019, Roberts sold 27.38 grams of methamphetamine (actual) to a buyer.  On June 28, 2019, Roberts sold 27.227 grams of methamphetamine (actual) to a buyer.  And, on July 24, 2019, Roberts he sold 26.949 grams of methamphetamine (actual) to a buyer.  

Roberts previously pled guilty to distribution of five grams or more of methamphetamine. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and La Verne J. Hibbert, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Miami Field Division made the announcement.

DEA Miami investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Porter 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 21-cr-14005.

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Miami, Florida – A Georgia man was sentenced today to 18 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining $285,742 through a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Dennes Garcia, 28, of Atlanta, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on July 6.  According to court documents, Garcia admitted to obtaining a PPP loan of $285,742 for his own company, Dhanda Corporation, based on false information about the company’s number of employees and average payroll and based on false supporting tax documents. Garcia also admitted that he wrote himself a check for $100,000 using the PPP loan proceeds, and further admitted that he paid $71,435.50 to an alleged co-conspirator, James Stote, as a kickback for his assistance in preparing and submitting the fraudulent loan application.  In addition to his prison sentence, Garcia was ordered to pay $285,742 in restitution and $285,742 in forfeiture. 

Relatedly, Cindi Denton, 63, of Eastvale, California, was sentenced on Oct. 8 to six months in prison and 12 months of home confinement after pleading guilty in the Southern District of Florida to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on July 22.  According to court documents, Denton admitted to obtaining a PPP loan of $491,310 for her own company, Emerald Jade Solutions Inc., based on false information about the company’s number of employees and average payroll and based on false supporting tax documents.  Denton also admitted that she sent a $150,000 wire to her personal checking account using the PPP loan proceeds, and further admitted that she paid $98,262 to alleged co-conspirator Stote as a kickback for his assistance in preparing and submitting the fraudulent PPP loan application.  In addition to her prison sentence, Denton was ordered to serve three years of supervised release, and to pay $377,883.91 in restitution and $377,883.91 in forfeiture.   

Stote was charged by complaint on June 24, 2020, with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and his case remains pending.

Acting 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 Michael J. De Palma of the IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Miami Field Office; Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the SBA’s Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG) Eastern Region made the announcement.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Lazopoulos Friedman and of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Philip Trout of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.

The Fraud Section leads the department’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the PPP began, Fraud Section attorneys have prosecuted more than 100 defendants in more than 70 criminal cases. The Fraud Section has also seized more than $65 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.

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.

A 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.

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Miami, Florida – U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas handed down a 30-year federal prison sentence for Bryan David Burke, an Oakland Park man who went on a one-month armed robbery spree in South Florida earlier this year. The judge sentenced a second armed robber, Fort Lauderdale resident Kelvyn Lavon Cross, Jr., to 17 years’ imprisonment.  

From February 24 to March 31, Burke robbed 10 stores in Broward and Palm Beach counties at gunpoint (including convenience stores, a liquor store, and a gas station).  During each robbery, Burke pointed a firearm at the store cashier while an accomplice grabbed money, lottery tickets, and other valuables. Burke recruited Kelvyn Lavon Cross Jr. – who was on state probation after serving 13 years in prison for committing multiple robberies – to assist him on six of the robberies.  Cross brandished a firearm during two of those robberies.  On the day of Burke’s arrest, before officers took him into custody, Burke led officers on a high-speed chase, abandoned his vehicle, ran through multiple private backyards, and broke into a home where he had a fist fight with someone inside.  After taking Burke into custody, officers seized two firearms and ammunition from him. Burke tried to discard one of the firearms while fleeing from officers. 

On July 7, Burke pled guilty to five counts of federal robbery (Hobbs Act) and three counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. On July 28, Cross pled guilty to three counts of federal robbery (Hobbs Act) and two counts of possessing a firearm during a crime of violence.  

A third South Florida resident, Brandon Xavier Jones, pled guilty in this case to two counts of federal robbery (Hobbs Act).  Judge Dimitrouleas will sentence Jones on November 19, at 1:15 p.m., in federal district court in Fort Lauderdale.  

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Robert Cekada, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.  

ATF Miami (Plantation) investigated the case, with assistance from Broward Sheriff’s Office, Fort Lauderdale Police Department, Wilton Manors Police Department, and Delray Beach Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Ajay Alexander and Brooke Latta are prosecuting this 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. 

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-60144.

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Miami, Florida – Miami resident Michael Mendoza, 61, pled guilty last week in South Florida federal district court to receiving and possessing child pornography.   He faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the counts. 

According to case documents and statements made in court, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at Mendoza’s home, where he lived with his wife and two adult children.  Officers found a desktop computer and two external hard drives containing videos and photographs of child pornography and 11 compact discs with labels indicative of child pornography.  Some of the over 300 videos and photographs of child pornography that Mendoza had showed toddlers being forced to perform sexual acts on adults.  Forensic analysis of the media showed Mendoza has been viewing and storing child pornography for almost two decades.  Mendoza admitted that he downloaded child pornography to his computer using a peer-to-peer sharing application and that he stored child pornography for later viewing.  

U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez will sentence Mendoza on December 17, 2021 at 11:30 a.m. in Miami.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting 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 plea.

HSI Miami investigated the case with assistance from Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Miami-Dade Police Department, Hialeah Police Department, and City of Miami Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Yara Dodin and Quinshawna Landon are prosecuting this case.  AUSA Peter Laserna 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 20-cr-20113.

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Miami, Florida – Fifty-four-year-old West Palm Beach, Florida resident Salvatore Renaldi pled guilty this week in South Florida federal district court to 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”).  During the change of plea hearing before U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman, Renaldi admitted that he 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”).  During the change of plea hearing, 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. 

Renaldi pled guilty to one count of wire fraud.  Judge Altman will sentence Renaldi on January 4, 2022, at 2:00 p.m., in federal district court in Fort Lauderdale.  He faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

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

This case is 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-Altman/Brannon.

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Miami, Florida – Today, federal district judge Kenneth A. Marra sentenced Larry Ray Bon, 62, a former West Palm Beach resident who shot a firearm inside the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Palm Beach to a federal prison term of 198 months.

According to court records, Bon brought the firearm and ammunition to the emergency room of the VA Medical Center in West Palm Beach.  When he became frustrated with medical staff, Bon retrieved the firearm from his wheelchair and fired several shots.  He placed VA Medical Center employees in fear for their lives, including two employees who were near Bon.  An emergency room doctor attempted to disarm Bon, who fired the gun again, hitting the doctor in the neck. Despite being injured, the doctor was still able to disarm Bon.  VA Medical Center staff then subdued Bon. The doctor survived the gunshot wound.

On March 13, 2020, Bon pleaded guilty to three counts of Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Federal Employees, and one count of Possession of a Firearm in a Federal Facility with Intent to Commit a Crime.  Judge Marra originally committed Bon to the custody of the U.S. Attorney General for 25 years of mental health care and treatment at a suitable medical facility.  This was a provisional sentence allowable under federal law where a judge “finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant is presently suffering from a mental disease or defect and that he should, in lieu of being sentenced to imprisonment, be committed to a suitable facility...” 18 U.S.C. §4244 (d). Bon was determined to no longer need psychiatric hospitalization, and was sentenced today.       

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI’s Miami Field Office, and David Spilker, Special Agent in Charge, Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, made the announcement.

“When this defendant fired shots inside the West Palm Beach VA medical center, he turned a place of healing and comfort into one of violence, fear, and confusion for the U.S. military veterans and medical personnel who were present that day.  For this, he is being held accountable,” said Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.  “We are committed to protecting our veterans, their families, and the dedicated employees of the South Florida VA medical clinics who treat them.”

“On February 27, 2019, Larry Ray Bon entered a Veterans Affairs Medical Center then fired several shots from a firearm that resulted in fear and confusion and the severe wounding an emergency room doctor,” said George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami.  “While this sentence cannot erase what happened, he is now being held accountable for this senseless and cowardly act of violence.”

“Today’s sentence sends a clear message that the VA OIG and our law enforcement partners remain vigilant and resolute in holding accountable anyone who commits an act of violence at a VA facility,” said Special Agent in Charge David Spilker, Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Southeast Field Office. “The VA OIG wants to ensure that VA employees have a safe environment in which they can work and veterans can receive quality healthcare."

Acting U.S. Attorney Gonzalez commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and VA OIG.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Susan Osborne and Rinku Tribuiani prosecuted this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Croke handled the asset forfeiture aspects 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.

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The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida entered a permanent injunction against three individuals and two companies who had been operating an international mail fraud scheme. The order bars defendants from operating or otherwise engaging in a psychic mailing scheme and, more broadly, from engaging in any mass-mail or prize promotion marketing in the United States, the Justice Department announced.

As alleged in the complaint, Robert Lhez, Mireille Dayer and Julie Poulleau, all residents of France, utilized corporate defendants Arcana Center, a Delaware corporation, and Partners VAD International Sàrl, a Swiss corporation, to facilitate and promote various psychic mail fraud schemes. In particular, the complaint alleges that the defendants mailed hundreds of thousands of solicitations purportedly sent on behalf of individuals or companies offering psychic, clairvoyant or astrological services to recipients throughout the United States. These solicitations were riddled with false and misleading statements that gave the false impression that in exchange for payment of a small fee, typically of $45 or $50, the individual recipient would come into good fortune resulting in an imminent financial windfall though the lottery, inheritance or other game of chance. The complaint further alleged that tens of thousands of victims, primarily the elderly or vulnerable, sent payments totaling millions of dollars to defendants. From March 2017 to June 2018 alone, victims sent in more than 34,000 payments, for a total of more than $1.4 million. These victims, however, never received the promised benefit. 

“The Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch will continue to investigate and bring cases to stop mass mailing fraud when it arises,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Individuals who perpetrate fraud schemes like those at issue here must be held accountable.”

“Beyond financial losses, predatory fraud schemes like this one lead to immense emotional suffering for victims,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida. “We urge the public to question promotions that seem too good to be true and immediately report suspected fraud to law enforcement.”

“Thursday’s defendants have been known to Postal Inspectors for years, constantly changing their fraudulent schemes in the attempt to stay one step ahead of the law,” said Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigations Group. “The permanent injunctions make it clear, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and its law enforcement partners will peel back the layers until we find the individuals behind these schemes and hold them accountable."

Under the terms of the consent decree and final judgment, defendants agreed to be permanently barred from sending any mass mail marketing material to the United States, including any pieces referencing psychic services and prizes, as well as from participating in such activities by serving as a consultant or working for a company engaged in those efforts. Defendants also agreed to be prohibited from selling or leasing lists of U.S. residents who have responded to these and similar solicitations. The order also granted the U.S. Postal Service the ability to detain any mail responding to defendants’ solicitations and return, where possible, money to victims.  

The government is represented by Trial Attorneys Ann Entwistle and Yolanda McCray Jones of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney James Weinkle for the Southern District of Florida. The United States Postal Inspection Service provided investigative support. 

The department’s extensive and broad-based efforts to combat elder fraud seeks to halt the billions of dollars seniors lose to fraud schemes, including those perpetrated by transnational criminal organizations. 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.

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. Eastern time.  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. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl. Information about the Department of Justice’s Elder Fraud Initiative is available at www.justice.gov/elderjustice.

Miami, Florida – A licensed veterinarian based in Aventura, Florida who recorded himself sexually abusing dogs, shared the bestiality videos on-line, and collected on-line child pornography, was sentenced today in Miami federal court to over 21 years in prison. 

Prentiss K. Madden, is guilty of producing videos of himself engaged in sexual activity with dogs and sharing them with others in chats. Madden kept these bestiality videos, as well as chats about bestiality, in his cellular telephones. Madden also is guilty of accessing a Dropbox account containing images of child pornography, receiving child pornography photographs and videos through social media chats, talking about child sexual abuse during chats, and storing thousands of child pornography images in his Dropbox account and cellular telephones.  

On July 29, Madden pleaded guilty to three counts of receipt of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(2); one count of possession of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(4)(B); and one count of creation of an animal crush video, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 48(a)(2)(B), a federal statute that punishes acts of animal torture, including bestiality.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office; and Alfredo Ramirez, III, Director, Miami Dade Police Department, announced the sentence.  

HSI Miami and Miami Dade Police Department investigated the case, with assistance from Hialeah Police Department, U.S Customs and Border Protection, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Hudock 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.

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.

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-20248.

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Miami, Florida – A 42-year-old Coral Gables, Florida man pled guilty yesterday in federal district court to threatening the defense attorney of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted earlier this year of murdering George Floyd.

During yesterday’s hearing before U.S. District Judge Donald L. Graham, William John Hartnett admitted that on April 6, from his location in Miami, he called the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (“MPPOA”) in St. Paul, an organization that funded Chauvin’s defense.  Hartnett left an 18-second message on MPPOA’s voicemail in which he threatened to kill Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s defense lawyer.  In his message, Hartnett yelled: “Hey you and your whole f------ family are going to f------ die, you motherf-----, for representing Chauvin, a f------ murderer.  Now, you all are going to f------ die a worse death than Floyd, you motherf-----.  All of you piece of s----.”    

Hartnett pled guilty to one count of transmitting a threat through interstate communications. Judge Graham, who sits in Miami, will sentence Hartnett on December 15.  He faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting 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 the MPPOA.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne 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-20412.

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