Southern District of Florida

Miami, Florida – On Friday, a Miami federal judge sentenced a 38-year-old Arizona resident to 76 months in federal prison for his role in a sophisticated fraud scheme involving millions of dollars in diverted pharmaceutical drugs.

Joshua Ryan Joles managed one of the wholesale companies involved in the scheme.  Rather than pay full price to drug manufacturers for HIV, cancer, and other expensive medications, Joles bought his wholesale supply at a discount from co-conspirators who obtained the drugs on the streets, from black market sellers.  While the drugs were branded medications, produced by the original pharmaceutical developers, they had been diverted from legitimate, secure supply chains to the black market through health care fraud and other illegal means. Once purchased from the black-market sellers, the co-conspirators re-packaged the drugs and sold them to Joles, complete with fabricated documentation to disguise the drugs’ origins. Joles knew he was buying illegally diverted drugs that were not from legitimate suppliers. Nevertheless, he sold the diverted drugs to unwitting retail pharmacies and consumers at big mark-ups. During the conspiracy, which lasted from 2014 to 2019, $78 million in illegal proceeds was laundered through shell company bank account operated by Joles’ co-conspirators.

On May 27, Joles pled guilty to one count of conspiring to traffic in medical products with false documentation and one count of conspiring to launder money.

Joles is one of nine defendants originally charged in case no. 19-cr-20674, seven of whom have pled guilty and been sentenced.  There are five more defendants facing charges in a second superseding indictment, and one fugitive.  The charges against these five defendants are mere allegations.  They are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office, and Justin Fielder, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), announced the sentence.  

FBI Miami and FDA-OCI Miami Field Office investigated this case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of California, the District of Arizona, and the Western District of Washington, and FBI’s Los Angeles, Phoenix and Seattle Field Offices.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank Tamen and Walter Norkin are prosecuting the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture.

The prosecution was part of Operation Southern Hospitality, 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.

You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 19-cr-20674.

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Miami, Florida – Fifty-year old Broward County resident Jason Ganton pled guilty yesterday to participating in a fraud scheme that bilked investors out of more than $900,000.   

During yesterday’s hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart in West Palm Beach, Ganton admitted his role in the scheme, which ran from 2015 to 2019.  This included making baseless promises to would-be investors about the profitability of NIT Enterprises, a Palm Beach company that falsely marketed itself as being on the cusp of developing and producing radiation protective materials using an innovative technology.  Ganton, who was not a licensed securities sales agent, also admitted to lying to investors by telling them that NIT was on the verge of making an initial public offering of stock.  This created a false expectation that investors would double or triple their investments in a short amount of time.  In fact, there was no IPO on the horizon for NIT.  Ganton admitted that he reached most of his victims through cold calls and that he personally profited from the investor funds.  

Ganton pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who sits in Fort Pierce, Florida, will sentence Ganton on a date to be announced.  Ganton faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. 

As to the other defendants named in the information, the charges are mere allegations.  Those defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a parallel civil enforcement action against Ganton and others related to this activity.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, and Ronald L. Rubin, Commissioner, Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR), announced the guilty plea.  

FBI Miami and OFR investigated this matter. SEC Miami Regional Office assisted.

Assistant U. S. Attorney Lothrop Morris is prosecuting this case.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case no. 20-cr-80095.

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Miami, Florida – Prentiss K. Madden, a licensed veterinarian who recorded himself sexually abusing dogs, shared the bestiality videos on-line, and collected on-line child pornography, pled guilty today in Miami federal court.

During the hearing before U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez, Madden admitted that he repeatedly accessed a Dropbox account containing images of child pornography, received child pornography photographs and videos through social media chats, talked about child sexual abuse during chats, and stored thousands of child pornography images in his Dropbox account and cellular telephones.  Madden also admitted that he produced videos of himself engaged in sexual activity with dogs and shared them with others in chats.  Madden kept these bestiality videos, as well as chats about bestiality, in his cellular telephones.

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.

Madden’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 8, 2021, at 11:30 a.m., before Judge Martinez.  Madden faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, and a maximum penalty of 87 years in prison.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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, Director, Miami Dade Police Department, made the announcement. 

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 is prosecuting the case.

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

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

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case no. 21-cr-20248.

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Miami, FL – A federal grand jury in Miami returned an indictment today charging two Bahamian nationals, a Jamaican national, and a United Kingdom national with felony offenses related to a maritime smuggling event.

According to the indictment and a previously filed criminal complaint affidavit, Jeremy Christoph Rolle, 26, of the Bahamas, operated a 26’ foot motorboat that carried himself and 16 migrants from Bimini, Bahamas to Florida on June 17, 2021.  A Broward County Sherriff’s Office Deputy on marine patrol encountered Rolle piloting the vessel near the Hillsboro Inlet in Hillsboro Beach, Florida.  Rolle led law enforcement on a pursuit through the Intracoastal Waterway that ended after Rolle crashed the vessel with several migrants still on board into a seawall in Pompano Beach, say the court documents.   

The indictment charges Rolle in sixteen counts with encouraging or inducing migrants to enter the United States and placing in jeopardy the life of a migrant during that offense, for which he faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison as to each count if convicted.  Rolle is also charged in two counts with aiding or assisting inadmissible migrants convicted of an aggravated felony to enter the United States, for which he faces a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison as to each count if convicted.  Andrew Devaunx, 54, of the Bahamas, and Marvin Morris Carridice, 42, of Jamaica, both passengers on the boat, are each charged in one count with illegally reentering the United States after being previously removed for aggravated felony convictions.  If convicted, they each face a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.  Payam Hassanzadeh Zargar, 27, of the United Kingdom, a passenger on the boat, is charged in one count with illegally reentering the United States after being previously removed, for which he faces a statutory maximum penalty of 2 years in prison if convicted.

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 this case, with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Customs and Immigrations Enforcement, and the Broward County Sherriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Snider is 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.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

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.

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Miami, Florida – Reversing a federal magistrate judge’s ruling, United States District Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr. has ordered that Kenny Terlent, 19, will remain in a federal detention center without bond pending his trial on charges of illegally possessing a machine gun, identity theft, and Covid-19 benefit related fraud.

According to the indictment and criminal complaint affidavit filed in his case, Terlent and other members of the 77th Street gang exploited programs that offered unemployment compensation benefits to people suffering Covid-19-related job loss.  As part of their scheme, Terlent and his co-conspirators obtained stolen identities (names, social security numbers, dates of birth and other personal sensitive information) from the dark web and other sources, says the affidavit.  With the stolen identities, Terlent and his co-conspirators filed for unemployment compensation benefits meant for individuals who had lost jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic, then used bank cards in other people’s names to collect the money and transfer it to bank accounts that they controlled, it is alleged.    

On June 24, law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at Terlent’s residence.  According to the affidavit, Terlent ran from officers who approached him outside and threw his cellular telephone into a nearby lake.  Law enforcement recovered the phone, searched it pursuant to a warrant, and found that it contained stolen identity information.  Inside Terlent’s home, in addition to other evidence of fraud, officers found a stolen Glock 19 handgun with an auto-sear device affixed to it, says the affidavit.  When installed on a handgun, an auto-sear, colloquially called a “switch,” allows a handgun to expel more than one bullet by a single pull of the trigger, turning the weapon into a fully automatic machine gun. Terlent does not have a permit to possess a machine gun, according to the charges.

Law enforcement officers arrested Terlent, and a South Florida federal grand jury returned an indictment charging him with possessing 15 or more unauthorized access devices, aggravated identity theft, and the illegal possession of a machine gun.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Brian Swain, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Robert Cekada, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office, announced the charges.

A multi-agency gang task force consisting of the Miami Divisions of USSS, FBI, and ATF, as well as the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) and City of Miami Police Department (MPD) investigated the matter. 

AUSA Frederic “Fritz” Shadley is 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. 

Anyone with information related to possible gun crimes is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

This case also stems from the Department of Justice’s efforts to combat Covid-19 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.

Indictments and criminal complaints are mere allegations.  A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-20380.

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Miami, Florida – On July 16, 2021, a South Florida federal magistrate judge ordered pre-trial detention for 37- year-old Lazaro Alfredo Ramirez-Alvarado, finding that he presents a risk of flight and danger to the community if released.  Pursuant to the order, Ramirez-Alvarado will remain in jail, without bond, pending his trial on charges of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and possession with intent to sell cocaine.

According to allegations in the criminal complaint affidavit, Ramirez-Alvarado sold cocaine to others between March and July 2021.  Law enforcement arrested Ramirez-Alvarado on July 8, after one such attempted sale.  In connection with the arrest, law enforcement seized more than 500 grams of cocaine, two firearms and a suitcase filled with over $870,000 cash.  

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

DEA Miami and FBI Miami investigated the case, with assistance from Palm Beach County Sherriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam McMichael and Brian Ralston are prosecuting this case.

A criminal complaint is a charging instrument containing allegations.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-mj-08270.

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Miami, Florida – Isaac Grossman, 46, of Parkland, Florida, pled guilty today to wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering charges, for directing an elder fraud scheme in which he sold stock in his South Florida-based technology company to elderly investors across the country, and then misappropriated the investors’ funds for his own personal use.

During a hearing this morning in federal district court in Ft. Lauderdale, Grossman admitted that from September 2014 through April 2018, he raised approximately $2.4 million in investor funds for his company, Dragon-Click Corp., by soliciting investments from elderly retirees nationwide.  Grossman told potential investors that Dragon-Click was developing an internet application that would revolutionize internet shopping by allowing a user to upload a photograph of any item the user wanted to purchase, identify all retailers offering that item for sale, provide price comparisons for that item across retailers, and provide a link to retailers’ websites where the user could purchase the item.  Grossman admitted that he solicited funds by falsely telling potential investors they would double, triple, or quadruple their investments, and that Dragon-Click was on the verge of being sold to a large technology company, such as Google, Apple, or Amazon, for over $1 billion.  He concealed from investors that, prior to raising funds for Dragon-Click, he had been permanently barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) from acting as a broker-dealer or associating with any broker-dealer firm, and that he had been permanently banned from commodities trading by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”). 

Grossman admitted that he falsely told investors that their investment money would be used to complete the technological development of the Dragon-Click internet application, to pay legal fees related to the patent application process, and to close the sale of the application to a large technology company.  But rather than using investors’ money for any legitimate business purpose Grossman admitted that he misappropriated investors’ funds for his own personal use.  Specifically, Grossman admitted that he spent $1.3 million of investors’ money on gambling, diamond jewelry, luxury cars, home mortgage payments, tuition payments for his children’s private school education, and other personal expenditures.  For example, Grossman’s unlawful expenditures included a McLaren MP4-12C, a Chevrolet Corvette, and a 4.81 carat diamond ring.

Grossman is scheduled to be sentenced on September 23, at 12:00 p.m., by U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal, who sits in Ft. Lauderdale.  Grossman faces up to 50 years in prison.

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

Acting United States Gonzalez commended the investigative efforts of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and also thanked the SEC’s Miami Regional Office for their assistance, as they had filed a parallel civil enforcement action against Grossman.  See SEC v. Isaac Grossman, et al., Case No. 18-61234-CV-BB (S.D. Fla.).  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael B. Homer.

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 victimization and suspected fraud schemes by calling the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD 11 (1-833- 372-8311).  

You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 19-cr-60300.

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Miami, Florida – Today, a Miami federal grand jury returned an indictment charging two Lauderhill residents for their roles in a fraud conspiracy that sold fake nursing degrees to people who had not completed the required nursing coursework or clinicals.

According to the indictment and a previously filed criminal complaint affidavit, Geralda Adrien, 51, and Woosvelt Predestin, 35, worked for PowerfulU Health Care Services LLC.  Adrien was Powerful U’s President and Predestin was an employee. PowerfulU advertises itself on social media as a group of nurses and doctors who want to empower men and women by helping them to become health care providers.  It is alleged that Adrien and Predestin assisted various individuals in procuring fraudulent nursing diplomas and transcripts from two nursing schools in Florida by falsely documenting that the individuals had completed the necessary courses and/or clinicals to obtain nursing degrees. 

On March 18, 2021, for example, Adrien and Predestin met with an individual at the PowerfulU office and offered to sell the person a false degree, according to the criminal complaint affidavit.  It is alleged that during the meeting, Adrien explained that for $16,000, Adrien would process the applicant through a Florida nursing school that was either on probation or closed, making it appear as if the applicant had in fact attended the school.  Adrien also offered to help the individual pass the nursing board certification exam, and recommended that they take the exam in New York, as that state allows for unlimited attempts to pass.  Adrien offered to fill out the application for the individual and offered to complete two continuing education unit classes which were required to apply for admission to the New York nursing board, according to the affidavit. 

After the individual paid for the false nursing degree, it is alleged that Adrien provided a backdated diploma indicating completion of an Associate Degree in Science of Nursing and a fraudulent transcript that falsely reflected that the individual had completed approximately 72 credit hours and achieved a grade point average of 3.4.  The individual’s application for licensure, which Predestin helped complete, was later forwarded to the New York State Education Department, according to the affidavit.  It included a certification of completion two continuing educations courses-Child Abuse: New York Mandated Reporter Training and Infection Control and Barrier Precautions-that the individual had never taken.

The indictment charges Adrien and Predestin each with one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud and mail fraud.  They face up to 20 years in federal prison on each count.  

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, and Omar Perez Aybar, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, announced the charges.   

FBI Miami and HHS-OIG investigated the case, with assistance from United States Postal Inspection Service.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Clark.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling the asset forfeiture component of the case.

This case is being prosecuted in conjunction with a related criminal investigation being conducted in the District of Maryland.

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

If you have information to report regarding this case or any other case involving falsified medical degrees, please call the FBI hotline: (410) 277-6999.

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.

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Miami, Florida – A former South Florida banker was sentenced this week to 42 months’ imprisonment for participating in two frauds: the first, a scheme to steal over $60 million from investors and producers seeking financing for movies and Broadway shows; the second, concealing his criminal history on applications for COVID-19 relief loans.

Benjamin Rafael, 31, of South Florida, previously admitted his role in legitimizing a sophisticated movie financing fraud scheme.  Rafael pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349 (Case No. 19-CR-20447).

According to court records, Rafael’s co-defendants, Benjamin McConley and Jason Van Eman, held themselves out as film producers and financiers.  In those roles, McConley and Van Eman allegedly offered to provide financing to investors and producers seeking funds to produce motion pictures, theater performances, and for other projects.  The indictment charges that McConley and Van Eman promised the victims that, in exchange for the victims’ cash contributions, McConley would “match” the contributions and use the combined funds to secure financing from financial institutions in South Florida and elsewhere. 

In furtherance of the scheme, McConley and Van Eman recruited Rafael, a then bank employee, to deceive victims about the security of their funds, it is alleged.  During the course of the scheme, McConley and Van Eman repeatedly directed Rafael to falsely assure victims that their contributions or loans had been “matched” as promised in the funding agreements, say the court documents. 

According to the indictment, victims sent tens of millions of dollars to accounts controlled by the defendants based on these false representations and promises.  In truth, the schemers never “matched” the victims’ contributions as promised in the funding agreements.  Instead, they stole the victims’ money by transferring the funds to their personal and corporate bank accounts, often within days of the victims’ contributions or loans, according to the court documents. 

Following his indictment and guilty plea in Case No. 19-CR-20447, Rafael submitted several applications to various banks for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).  In those applications, he concealed the fact that he had previously pled guilty in Case No. 19-CR-20447.

As a result of these fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications, Rafael was charged with making false statements to a financial institution, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1014 (Case No. 21-CR-20161).  Rafael pled guilty to the PPP fraud earlier this week.  At the same court appearance, Rafael was sentenced for his conduct in both cases during a consolidated sentencing proceeding.   

In addition to the combined sentence of 42 months’ imprisonment, Rafael was ordered to pay restitution to the victims, forfeit money and real estate traceable to the fraud schemes, and serve a term of supervised release of five years.

Co-defendant Benjamin McConley previously pled guilty in Case No. 19-CR-20447 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on September 14, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. by District Judge Raag Singhal.  Co-defendant Jason Van Eman is scheduled for trial on August 30, 2021.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), Investigations Division, Eastern Regional Office, made the announcement.

FBI Miami and SBA-OIG investigated the matters.  The 2019 case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Browne and Elizabeth Young.  The 2021 case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lacee Monk.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon is responsible for the asset forfeiture component of both cases.

The CARES Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of hundreds of billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through the PPP.

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

The EIDL program is designed to provide economic relief to small businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue.  EIDL proceeds can be used to cover a wide array of working capital and normal operating expenses, such as continuation of health care benefits, rent, utilities and fixed debt payments.  If an applicant also obtains a loan under the PPP, the EIDL funds cannot be used as the same purpose as the PPP funds.  

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.

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Miami, Florida. – A 27-year-old California man who caused a disturbance last week during a passenger flight from Los Angeles to Miami made his first appearance in federal court today on a charge of interfering with flight crew members and attendants.    

According to the criminal complaint affidavit, passenger Anthony Kevin Trujillo’s conduct became increasingly disturbing during the flight on July 7.  After announcing that he heard a gas leak, Trujillo accused a fellow passenger of storing bomb parts in her socks.  Trujillo then accused a flight attendant of carrying improvised explosive device components in his bag and tried to wrestle the bag away from him, says the affidavit.  Two air marshals who were on the flight approached Trujillo and the attendant. After ensuring that there were no explosive device components in the flight attendant’s bag, the air marshals attempted to calm the agitated Trujillo. Despite this, Trujillo got up from his seat and charged down the passenger aisle, towards the front of the airplane, it is alleged. The air marshals stopped Trujillo and, after some resistance from him, eventually secured Trujillo in an area away from other passengers. Air marshals and a flight attendant guarded Trujillo for the rest of the flight.  For about the last hour of the flight, pursuant to the captain’s instructions, all passengers had to keep their hands raised above their heads.  Law enforcement boarded the plane once it landed at Miami International Airport.

Trujillo is scheduled for a pretrial detention hearing on Friday, July 16, at 10:00 a.m., in Miami federal magistrate court. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

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

FBI Miami investigated this case, with assistance from the Transportation Security Administration (Federal Air Marshals) and Miami Dade Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Arielle Klepach is prosecuting the case.

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

You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-mj-03385.

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Miami, Florida – On July 12, 2021, Los Angeles County, California natives, Dane Roseman, 38, and Ivan Acevedo, 44, pled guilty to participating in a massive investment fraud scheme, in which more than 7,000 victims suffered financial losses, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.  Co-defendant Robert Shapiro, the former owner, president, and CEO of Woodbridge Group of Companies LLC (“Woodbridge”) was previously sentenced to the maximum sentence of 25 years in prison for his leadership role in the fraud scheme and his separate income tax fraud.

According to the indictment, superseding information, and court documents, Shapiro spearheaded and concealed an enormous Ponzi scheme through his business, Woodbridge.  Woodbridge employed approximately 130 people and had offices located throughout the United States, including in Boca Raton, Florida; Sherman Oaks, California; Colorado; Tennessee; and Connecticut.  The scheme ran from at least July 2012 to December 2017, when Woodbridge filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and defaulted on its obligations to investors.

Throughout the conspiracy, Woodbridge’s main business model was to solicit money from investors and, in exchange, issue investors promissory notes reflecting purported loans to Woodbridge that paid high monthly interest rates.  Woodbridge falsely claimed that these investments were tied to real property owned by third parties and that the third parties would be making the interest payments to Woodbridge and its investors; it was portrayed as an investment in a hard-money lending business. 

Roseman started working for Woodbridge as a sales agent in or around August 2012.  Between 2015 and 2017 he served as the sales manager of Woodbridge.  Acevedo started working for Woodbridge as a sales agent in or around 2009, and in 2013 to December 2014 he served as the sales manager of Woodbridge.  As sales managers, these defendants sold Woodbridge securities and trained and supervised Woodbridge internal sales agents who sold Woodbridge securities.  Using high-pressure sales tactics, Shapiro, Roseman, Acevedo, and others marketed and promoted these investments as low-risk, safe, simple, and conservative.  And at minimum, investors were made to believe that Woodbridge’s real estate dealings would generate the funds used to pay the return on their investments. 

The Woodbridge sales operation controlled by Shapiro, managed by Acevedo then Roseman, functioned as a “phone room” and featured high-pressure sales tactics, deception, and manipulation.  Woodbridge promoted investments through telephone and in-person conversations, e-mails and website displays.  The scheme also involved misrepresentations to financial planners who helped Woodbridge to sell investments to potential investors. 

Despite Woodbridge’s claims that these investments would be backed by properties owned by third parties, in fact, to the extent that the properties existed, they were secretly owned by Shapiro.  Unbeknownst to investors, Shapiro created and controlled a network of more than 270 limited liability companies, which he used to acquire and sell the properties pitched to investors. 

Shapiro, Roseman, and Acevedo falsely claimed that Woodbridge was profitable and advertised high rates of return to investors.  However, Shapiro’s real estate portfolio failed to generate sufficient cash flow to satisfy the loan obligations and interest payments owed to investors.  To make up for the cash deficiency, Shapiro resorted to making Ponzi payments, i.e., hundreds of millions of dollars invested by new investors were used to pay “returns” to older, existing Woodbridge investors.  In some instances, Shapiro made these fraudulent “interest” payments even when the advertised investment properties were never acquired. 

As its sole owner and chief operator, Shapiro compartmentalized Woodbridge operations to restrict access to information concerning Woodbridge’s finances.  Neither Roseman nor Acevedo had access to or knowledge of Woodbridge’s finances and were unaware that Shapiro was using new investor money to pay prior investors.  Thus, neither Roseman nor Acevedo had direct knowledge that Shapiro was operating a Ponzi scheme by using new Woodbridge investor money to pay prior investors.

In total, Shapiro and his co-conspirators convinced more than approximately 9,000 investors to invest more than $1.29 billion to Woodbridge.  According to the Superseding Information and Superseding Indictment, at least 2,600 of these investor victims invested their retirement savings, totaling approximately $400 million.  Of that, Shapiro misappropriated approximately $25 million to $95 million in investor money for himself and for the benefit of his immediate family members.  Roseman received approximately $2.5 million in Woodbridge money and Acevedo received approximately $1.1 million.  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed parallel civil enforcement actions against Woodbridge, Shapiro, his wife, and Acevedo and Roseman related to the fraud. 

Roseman is scheduled to be sentenced on September 20, at 1:00 p.m. and Acevedo is scheduled to be sentenced on September 20, at 1:30 p.m., by U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga, who sits in Miami.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Tyler R. Hatcher, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR), made the announcement.

Acting U.S. Attorney Gonzalez commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, IRS-CI and OFR in this matter.  He thanked the SEC Miami Regional Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California for their assistance.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Cruz.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Klco is handling the asset forfeiture component of the case.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 19-cr-20178.

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Miami, Florida. – A Palm Beach County resident has pled guilty to one count of hiring someone to murder a woman in her West Palm Beach home.

During a hearing yesterday in federal district court in Ft. Lauderdale, 51-year-old Daniel Slater admitted that his original plan was to kill not only the woman, but also her husband. From May to June 2020, Slater met with an associate who agreed to commit the murders.  They discussed logistics, including bringing in a third person to assist.  At some point during their discussions, Slater and his associate drove by the victim’s home, during which Slater instructed his associate on how to carry out the murders when the time came. For instance, Slater pointed out which of the home’s windows to shoot through to kill the couple. Slater also instructed his associate to spray-paint the house to make it appear as if members of the Black Lives Matter movement had committed the crime. Slater agreed that as payment for the murders, he would forgive a debt that his associate owed him. Slater also agreed to pay the fees of the third person they talked about bringing in to help. In the end, the planned murders did not occur, and the intended victims suffered no physical harm.  

Slater is scheduled to be sentenced on September 16, at 10:00 a.m., by U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn, who sits in Ft. Lauderdale. Slater faces up to 10 years in prison.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, made the announcement.   Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Obenauf and Dayron Silverio are prosecuting 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 on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 20-cr-80090.

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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 has pled guilty in federal court in West Palm Beach to production, distribution, and possession of child pornography.  

According to court records, beginning in 2008, Dwight Castaldi, 45, communicated with girls as young as 13 on a social networking website.  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, after promising each girl an exclusive relationship, Castaldi 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 it.  

Castaldi’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 20, 2021, before U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith.  Castaldi faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 15 years and a maximum of life.  

Castaldi recently completed a three-year sentence in California on separate charges for similar conduct of enticing a 13-year-old girl using the internet.

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

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 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.

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 24-year-old Oakland Park man who stole from South Florida businesses during a one-month armed robbery spree pled guilty today to federal robbery and gun crimes.

During a hearing in federal district court in Ft. Lauderdale, Bryan David Burke admitted that from February 24 to March 31 of this year, he 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. On the day of his 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 had tried to discard one of the firearms while fleeing from officers.    

Burke pled guilty to five counts of federal robbery (Hobbs Act) and three counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. Burke is scheduled for sentencing at 1:15 p.m. on September 15, 2021, before U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas.  Burke faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 21 years’ imprisonment and a maximum of life imprisonment.  

Two other South Florida residents are charged in the case: Brandon Xavier Jones and Kelvyn Lavon Cross, Jr. The charges are pending. Indictments contain mere allegations and defendants are considered innocent until found guilty.

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, announced the guilty plea.

ATF Miami 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. 

You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-60144.

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Miami, FL – Yesterday, a Miami federal magistrate judge ordered that 21-year-old Tennessee rapper Lontrell D. Williams (a/k/a Pooh Shiesty) be held without bond in a federal detention center pending trial on charges that he participated in the shooting of two men during a street purchase of marijuana and high-end sneakers.  

According to an indictment returned by a federal grand jury and an earlier-filed criminal complaint affidavit, on October 9, 2020, Williams, along with 21-year-old Bobby Brown of Memphis, Tennessee and 20-year-old Jayden Darosa of Pembroke Pines, Florida, drove to a Bay Harbor Islands hotel to buy marijuana and a pair of high-end sneakers from two other men.  It is alleged that during the transaction, the defendants shot the sellers with semi-automatic weapons.  Then, Williams, Brown, and Darosa drove away from the scene, taking with them the sneakers and marijuana they had not paid for, according to the court documents.  The shooting victims survived.

The indictment charges Williams, Brown, and Darosa each with one count of conspiring to possess firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence, conspiring to commit a Hobbs Act robbery, committing a Hobbs Act robbery, and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.  

Williams and Darosa made their initial federal court appearances on June 29, 2021.  Brown was arrested in Tennessee on June 15, 2021. Brown’s first appearance in federal court in Miami is yet to be scheduled.

Yesterday, after separate hearings, Miami U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin G. Torres ordered Williams and Darosa detained in a federal detention center without bond pending their trials (pre-trial detention).

Williams also faces state criminal charges, including charges related to the shooting of a security guard at the King of Diamonds strip club in May 2021, over the Memorial Day weekend.  The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the state charges.  

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

FBI Miami investigated the case, with assistance from ATF Miami, Miami Dade Police Department, and Bay Harbor Islands Police Department.  The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office also assisted. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Arielle Klepach and Ignacio J. Vázquez, Jr. are prosecuting the case.

Indictment and criminal complaints are merely charging document.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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.  The case is also related to “Operation Summer Heat,” a Miami-Dade County antiviolence initiative.  

Anyone with information related to possible gun crimes is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-20357.

Miami, Florida -- Defendant Fabio Lopez, 62, of Weston, Florida was sentenced last week by a federal district judge in Fort Lauderdale to 10 years in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release for enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity.

According to court documents, Fabio Lopez, a former officer with Customs and Border Protection, enticed a 16-year-old child into attempting to produce child pornography.   Lopez met the child after befriending her mother while on duty in his official capacity at Miami International Airport. From July 2019 through March 2020, Lopez had a relationship with the child and texted her frequently.  According the factual proffer filed, Lopez fondled the child and offered her money in exchange for letting him take pornographic images of her.  Lopez was arrested in Davie when he arrived to meet with the child.  Prior to his arrival, Lopez had rented a local hotel room for the two and left a bag with lingerie for the child to wear.

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 Vernon T. Foret, Director of Field Operation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Miami and Tampa Field Office, announced the sentence.

HSI Miami investigated the case, with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Professional Responsibility and Pembroke Pines Police Department.  The case was investigated as part of the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jodi L. Anton prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 20-cr-60081.

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Miami, Florida – A federal indictment unsealed yesterday in the Southern District of Florida charges the caretaker of two seniors with accessing to their bank accounts to steal nearly $300,000.   

The indictment alleges that from 2016 to 2019, Sherri Lynn Smith worked as a caretaker for an elderly couple in Broward County.  As part of her duties, Smith had access to the victims’ bank accounts to assist them with paying their monthly bills.  Smith used her access to the victims’ bank accounts to embezzle approximately $300,000 out of the victims’ accounts without their knowledge or consent, according to the indictment.  She accomplished this by writing and forging the victim’s signature on a number of checks made payable to herself, her family members, and her creditors; initiating Zelle electronic money transfers from the victims’ accounts to her own bank account; and making electronic payments from the victims’ accounts to her and her husband’s numerous credit card accounts, it is alleged.

The indictment returned by a federal grand jury on June 8, 2021, charges Smith with 16 counts of bank fraud and 5 counts of aggravated identity theft.

Smith made her initial federal court appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce E. Reinhart, who sits in West Palm Beach.  If convicted, the maximum prison sentences on each bank fraud count is 30 years.  The maximum sentence on each aggravated identity fraud charge is two years.  The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who sits in Ft. Pierce.

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

FBI Miami investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey Bergstrom.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mitchell Hyman is handling asset forfeiture.

An indictment is merely a charging document.  A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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 victimization and suspected fraud schemes by calling the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD 11 (1-833-372-8311).  

You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-14023.

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Miami, Florida -- Today, Nikolas Cook, 22, of Stuart, Florida, pled guilty in federal district court in Ft. Pierce to production, distribution, and possession of 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 court will set a date for Cook’s sentencing hearing.  Cook faces a minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum possible sentence of 70 years.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence 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 guilty plea.

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 on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 21-cr-14007. 

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Miami, Fl. -- Today, Hasan Hakim Brown, 45, pled guilty in Ft. Lauderdale federal district court to working with co-conspirators to steal $24 million of COVID-19 relief money by using synthetic identities and shell companies they had created years earlier to commit other bank fraud.

Criminals manufacture synthetic identities by using the personal and financial information of real people (such as stolen social security numbers) with fraudulent, made-up information (such as fake names and dates of birth). They use the new, synthetic identities to open fraudulent bank and credit card accounts and commit other fraud.

Years before the pandemic, Brown and his co-conspirators used complex computer data storage and virtualization machines to manufacture synthetic identities, automatically open bank accounts and shell companies, and monitor bank activity tied to the synthetic (as well as stolen) identities. In 2017, they used the synthetic and stolen identities and associated bank accounts and shell companies to steal money from a bank in Texas. 

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic. 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. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the Paycheck Protection Program, which has authorized hundreds of billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses to use for payroll, rent, utility, and other approved expenses.

Brown and his co-conspirators used their already-established synthetic identities and associated shell companies to fraudulently apply for financial assistance under PPP. They applied for and received $24 million dollars in PPP relief. The money was paid to companies registered to Brown and his co-conspirators, as well as to companies registered to synthetic identities that Brown and his co-conspirators controlled.  

Brown pled guilty today to one count of conspiring to commit bank fraud.  Brown’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 9, 2021, before U.S. District Judge Singhal.  Brown faces up to 30 years in federal prison.  

The following defendants have also been charged for their role in this scheme: Kevin Kirton and Jean Renald Fleuridor (20-20262-CR-Singhal), and Raul Mauricio Gonzalez (21-mj-02959-EGT). To date, law enforcement has seized approximately $11.5 million dollars in fraudulently obtained funds from members of the conspiracy, as well as Rolex, Baume & Mercier, Hubolt, and Cartier watches.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Kyle A. Myles, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspection General - Investigations (FDIC-OIG), Atlanta Region; Brian Swain, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS); Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, Special Agent in Charge, Small Business Administration, Investigations Division (SBA-OIG), Eastern Regional Office;  George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; Rod Owens, Special Agent in Charge, Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General; and Joseph W. Cronin, Inspector in Charge, Miami Division, United States Postal Inspection Service, USPIS, made the announcement.

FDIC-OIG, USSS Miami, SBA-OIG, FBI Miami, SSA-OIG, and USPIS handled the investigation, with assistance from Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brooke Watson is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole S. Grosnof is handling asset forfeiture.

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 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 appear 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 n21-cr-20262.

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Miami, Fl. – South Florida federal prosecutors have charged a Miami-Dade County business owner with facilitating a $140 million transnational illicit gold smuggling operation aimed at laundering cash with alleged ties to criminal activity.                                       

According to the criminal complaint affidavit unsealed yesterday, Jesus Gabriel Rodriguez, Jr., 45, owned and operated Transvalue, a South Florida company that transported gold, cash, and other valuables by armored truck, both domestically and internationally.  It is alleged that from about March 2015 to September 2016, Rodriguez used his industry experience and contacts to facilitate the importation of thousands of kilograms of illicitly-sourced gold being flown into the United States from Curacao.  The sellers of the gold were co-conspirators based in the Caribbean.  The buyers of the gold were co-conspirators based in South Florida and Latin America who earned volume-based commissions by procuring gold for NTR Metals (now, Elemetals LLC).  NTR Metals was a U.S. precious metals refinery with policies in place to combat money laundering, including not buying gold from Curacao, a country with no gold mines that is commonly used as a waypoint for gold illegally mined in, and smuggled out of, South America.  Rodriguez helped co-conspirators dodge NTR Metals’ anti-money laundering policy and get the gold past U.S. Customs by working to conceal the gold’s illegal origins and connections to Curacao, says the affidavit.  

For example, it is alleged that Rodriguez coordinated transportation for the gold that routed it through different countries before reaching its final destination in Miami: from Curacao to the United States, to the Cayman Islands, and back to the United States.  According to the charges, Rodriguez hired brokers to clear the gold through U.S. Customs at Miami International Airport (MIA), where customs documentation was introduced falsely identifying the gold as having originated in the Cayman Islands, not Curacao.  Then, Rodriguez used his company’s armored trucks to transport the smuggled gold from MIA to NTR Metals’ precious metals refinery in Doral, it is alleged.  To pay for the gold, “clean” money was wire-transferred to companies owned by co-conspirators.

The criminal complaint against Jesus Gabriel Rodriguez, Jr. charges him with one count of conspiring to commit money laundering.  He is scheduled to make his first appearance in federal district court on Thursday, June 24, at 1:30 p.m., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Becerra, who sits in Miami.   

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, and Tyler R. Hatcher, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, announced the charges against Rodriguez.

FBI Miami, HSI Miami, and IRS-CI Miami investigated the case, with assistance from DEA-Miami and law enforcement partners in Curacao.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Walter M. Norkin and Andrea Goldbarg.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Klco is handling the asset forfeiture aspects of this matter.

This prosecution was part of “Operation Arch Stanton,” 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.

Criminal complaints and affidavits contain mere allegations.  Defendants are considered innocent unless and until found guilty in a court of law.

A copy of this and related press release appear on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

Court documents and information on the case appear on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-mj-03160.

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Miami, Florida -- Today, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Juan Antonio Gonzalez joins leaders from South Florida’s federal law enforcement community in observing the 16th Annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.  Each year, on June 15th, people across the world pause for a moment to reflect on the millions of older adults who have suffered abuse, neglect, and exploitation.  As part of the observance, the South Florida U.S. Attorney’s Office and its law enforcement partners affirm their ongoing commitment to combatting elder abuse in all its forms.  

"Seniors have a right to a safe and dignified life free from all forms of exploitation,”  said Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Juan Antonio Gonzalez. “Those who take advantage of South Florida’s seniors, whether through local criminal acts or through transnational fraud schemes, will be held accountable.”

“Elder fraud takes many shapes and sizes as criminal elements seek to take advantage of this vulnerable and growing population,” said George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami. “If you believe you are a victim of fraud, or know a senior who may be, regardless of financial loss, immediately report the incident to your local FBI field office or other law enforcement agency, or by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI or online at https://tips.fbi.gov.”

“It is the elderly that have paved the ways in our communities; therefore, we must strive together to protect them. Abuse of the elderly is inexcusable and will not be tolerated by IRS Criminal Investigation. We will continue our efforts in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring justice to those who have been financially stripped of their lifelong earnings and victimized by appalling acts,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Tyler R. Hatcher, IRS Criminal Investigation, Miami Field Office.

The Southern District of Florida is at the forefront of our nation’s elder justice efforts.  For example, through their work on the Department of Justice’s Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force, the South Florida U.S. Attorney’s Office and its partners investigate and prosecute foreign-based criminal organizations that target seniors in schemes including mass mailing fraud, grandparent scams, romance scams, lottery and sweepstakes scams, IRS and Social Security Administration imposter scams, and technical-support scams. Through the Southern District of Florida Covid-19 Fraud Task Force created at the start of the pandemic, they investigate and prosecute criminals who devise coronavirus testing, treatment, and financial relief scams to prey on people with increased vulnerabilities, including seniors who in 2020 quickly found themselves in isolation and at high risk of serious illness.   

Recognizing the importance of prevention, the District complements its prosecution efforts with public awareness and education campaigns that seek to help seniors identify, avoid, and report potential fraud or abuse. These include direct outreach to seniors at residential living facilities and adult daycare centers, communicating through print, broadcast, and social media, and otherwise making themselves to concerned seniors and their loved ones.  

“By educating others on how to recognize an elder fraud scheme and how to report it, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and its law enforcement partners are providing the necessary tools to prevent elder victimization,” said Joseph W. Cronin, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Miami Division.  “We will continue to protect our most vulnerable population of elderly individuals by educating everyone on elder fraud schemes and bringing the fraud schemers to justice, today and every day.”

As the world takes this day to remember seniors, know that the Southern District of Florida’s federal prosecutors and law enforcement officers are relentlessly committed to preventing and prosecuting fraud and abuse on America’s seniors.

Miami, Florida – A 28-year-old man from Jupiter, Florida has pled guilty in federal district court in Ft. Pierce to producing and distributing pornography involving children as young as 12-years-old.  

According to court documents, from approximately November 2019 through February 2020, Coltin Rylie Plummer used an internet-based application to send child pornography, as well as lewd and threatening messages, to minors across Florida, Ohio, South Carolina, and Canada.  In some messages, Plummer claimed to have raped the children in the pictures he sent.  In others, Plummer suggested to the children with whom he communicated that he knew where they lived and where to find them.  Plummer tried to coerce children into complying with his demands, including requests for pictures, by threatening to kill their families if they refused.  Plummer convinced two young girls (one 13, the other 14) to take, and send to him, sexually explicit images of themselves.  

Plummer pled guilty to one count of production of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.  Plummer faces up to 50 years in prison, if convicted.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  Once the court sets a sentencing hearing, that date and time information will appear in Pacer.  

Acting 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 that occurred on June 11, 2021.  

FBI Miami investigated the case, together with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Hoover is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney William Zloch 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.

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-14023.

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Miami, Florida – A South Florida grand jury has charged five additional defendants for their alleged roles in a sophisticated scheme to purchase and distribute millions of dollars in diverted pharmaceutical drugs.  A total of 14 defendants have now been charged in this case (19-cr-20674).

Diverted pharmaceutical drugs are branded medications, produced by the original pharmaceutical developers, that make their way into the underground market through fraud, pharmacy burglaries, and cargo thefts. Diverted pharmaceuticals typically are high-priced medical drugs used to treat conditions such as mental illness, human immunodeficiency (HIV), and cancer. 

The Second Superseding Indictment returned on June 10, 2021, charges South Florida residents Stephen Manuel Costa, 37, Leah Solomon, 51, Rafael Angel Romero, 50, Ruben Reynaldo Rodriguez Diaz, 43, and Phoenix, Arizona resident David Ramirez Garcia, Sr., 58, with money laundering, mail fraud and violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act. It is alleged these defendants and their earlier charged co-conspirators purchased large quantities of diverted pharmaceutical drugs on the unregulated, underground market at a cost well below normal wholesale prices. Then, they used seemingly legitimate wholesale companies and fraudulent paperwork to introduce the diverted drugs back into the legitimate marketplace by selling them to unwitting pharmacies and consumers at big mark-ups, it is alleged. According to the Second Superseding Indictment, the operation was so large that co-conspirators purchased two wholesale pharmaceutical companies and chartered a plane to deliver the drugs. See also prior press release at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/two-ceos-wholesale-pharmaceutical-companies-and-two-owners-bank-accounts-used-money.

Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Juan Antonio Gonzalez, FBI Miami Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations’ (FDA-OCI) Miami Field Office Special Agent in Charge Justin Fielder announced the charges.

Costa, Romero, and Rodriguez Diaz were arrested this morning and will have their initial appearance this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis, who sits in Miami.  Garcia Sr. and Solomon will have their initial appearances on later dates.   

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

FBI Miami and FDA-OCI Miami Field Office investigated this case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of California, the District of Arizona, and the Western District of Washington, the United States Secret Service in Miami, FBI’s Los Angeles, Phoenix and Seattle Field Offices, the U.S. Marshal’s Service in Miami, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Attorney General's Office of Statewide Prosecution in Fort Lauderdale, and Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank Tamen and Walter M. Norkin of the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff 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, including charges against other co-conspirators, 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 19-cr-20674.

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Miami, Florida -- A prior convicted felon from Miami with alleged ties to the national “Bloods” gang and the local “77 Street” gang has been indicted by a South Florida grand jury on federal firearms charges, including illegal possession of machine guns. 

According to the Indictment, an earlier-filed criminal complaint, and statements made in court, law enforcement officers approached 22-year-old Ty’ree Dixon on May 17, 2021, as part of an investigation into gang-related violent crime and fraud. When police confronted him, they discovered that Dixon was armed with a Glock 20 and a 10mm semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine, it is alleged. They also located a large amount of ammunition and several firearms inside Dixon’s residence while executing a search warrant that same day, including three Glock semi-automatic pistols, a Century Arms International AK style pistol, and two pistols that had been converted into machine guns using “switch” devices, according to the allegations.  When installed on a handgun, a “switch” (technically called an auto-sear) allows the handgun to expel more than one bullet by a single pull of the trigger, turning the weapon into a fully automatic machine gun, according to statements made in court.

Law enforcement officers arrested Dixon on May 17, and South Florida federal prosecutors charged him by criminal complaint with being a felon in possession of a firearm.  On May 21, following a hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge John J. O’Sullivan ordered that Dixon be held in a federal detention center without bond pending his trial (pre-trial detention).  On June 1, a South Florida grand jury returned an indictment charging Dixon with two counts of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, and two counts of illegally possessing a machine gun. Dixon faces up to 40 years in federal prison, if convicted. He is scheduled for arraignment in federal magistrate court in Miami on June 16.  

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Brian Swain, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Robert Cekada, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office, announced the charges.

A multi-agency gang task force consisting of the Miami Divisions of USSS, FBI, and ATF, as well as the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) and City of Miami Police Department (MPD) investigated the matter. 

AUSA Frederic “Fritz” Shadley is 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. 

Anyone with information related to possible gun crimes is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

Indictments and criminal complaints are mere allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 21-cr-20325.

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Miami, Florida – A 26-year-old Miami man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for stealing mail and packages from mailboxes, porches, and other outside areas of several homes in Miami and Coral Gables.   

According to court records, Yunior L. Blanco-Pedroso, was pulled over on September 8, 2020, while driving a blue BMW that matched the description of a vehicle associated with mail and package thefts in South Florida. Inside the BMW, officers discovered mail, packages and checks addressed to other people that Blanco-Pedroso had stolen. Blanco-Pedroso later admitted to committing 10 porch burglaries between August and September 2020 in Miami and Coral Gables. Other evidence in the case included home surveillance recordings showing Blanco-Pedroso following delivery trucks, walking up to front doors to steal packages, and stealing mail from mailboxes. When he committed these burglaries in 2020, Blanco-Pedroso was on supervised release following a previous conviction and sentence for robbing a letter carrier. 

On March 26, 2021, Blanco-Pedroso pled guilty in this case to theft of mail and possession of stolen mail.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Inspector in Charge Joseph W. Cronin, United States Postal Inspection Service, announced the sentence.

United States Postal Inspection Service, Miami Division, investigated the case, in collaboration with Coral Gables Police Department and City of Miami Police Department. United States Coast Guard Investigative Service Southeast Region assisted. Assistant United States Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne prosecuted the case. 

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-20049-KMM.

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Miami, Florida – A Plantation man convicted of possessing over 5,000 electronic images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children was sentenced today to 121 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II, who sits in Ft. Lauderdale.

Tyler Washington, 26, used a social networking application to communicate with others who shared his interest in child pornography. Washington provided access to his collection of child sexual abuse material to users who agreed to send him videos of themselves masturbating to Washington’s collection. During one chat session that involved masturbating to a child sex abuse video, Washington claimed that the activity was “sexual nirvana” for him. On March 25, 2021, Washington pled guilty to possessing child sexual abuse material.

Acting 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.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Fort Lauderdale investigated the case with assistance from the Broward Sheriff’s Office, Plantation Police Department, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, all of which are members of the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ajay Alexander prosecuted the case. 

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

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 21-cr-60068.

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A Florida couple was sentenced to prison today for their participation in a scheme to file four fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $1.1 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. 

Latoya Stanley, 38, and Johnny Philus, 33, both of Miami, were sentenced today to 18 and 30 months in prison, respectively. They each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on March 8. As set forth in court documents, in Stanley’s PPP application, she claimed to employ 18 individuals from her company, Dream Gurl Beauty Supply LLC. Philus, meanwhile, stated that he employed 29 individuals at his company, Elegance Auto Boutique LLC. In actuality, Stanley and Philus did not employ anyone at their respective companies. 

According to court documents, in her EIDL application, Stanley claimed to generate over $800,000 in income and to employ five individuals from a farm based in the yard of her Miami home. In his EIDL application, Philus claimed to generate $400,000 in income and to employ 10 individuals from a farm located in the yard of a small residential home. But, in reality, Stanley and Philus employed no one and the farms did not exist.

As they admitted in their plea agreements, Stanley and Philus worked together to effectuate the fraud and ultimately received over $1 million in funds from the fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications before their schemes were uncovered.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio “Tony” Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida; Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) J. Russell George; Inspector General Hannibal “Mike” Ware of the SBA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG); and Inspector in Charge Joseph Cronin of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Miami Division made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the SBA-OIG, USPIS, and TIGTA.

Trial Attorney Louis Manzo of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.

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

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

The EIDL program is designed to provide economic relief to small businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue. EIDL proceeds can be used to cover a wide array of working capital and normal operating expenses, such as continuation of health care benefits, rent, utilities and fixed debt payments. If an applicant also obtains a loan under the PPP, the EIDL funds cannot be used as the same purpose as the PPP funds.   

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 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 former procurement director at Broward Health pled guilty today in federal district court in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to a federal conspiracy charge, admitting that he accepted kickbacks from vendors and a consultant in exchange for awarding them lucrative government contracts.

From 2005 through 2015, Brian Bravo, 46, of Pembroke Pines, Florida worked as the Corporate Procurement Officer and Director of Materials Management of North Broward Hospital District, known in the community as Broward Health.  As Procurement Director, one of Bravo’s responsibilities was to decide which vendors would provide goods and services to Broward Health, including health care products, linens, compression sleeves, and printer repairs. During his change of plea hearing, Bravo admitted to accepting approximately $427,000 in kickback payments ($150,000 of it in cash) from two vendors and a consultant for two additional vendors in exchange for awarding them Broward Health goods and services contracts. In 2015, Bravo steered kickback payments to designated bank accounts in order to conceal the illegal activity.     

Bravo’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on August 12, 2021, before U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal, who sits in Ft. Lauderdale.  Bravo faces up to five years in prison.

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

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

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 20-cr-60125.

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Miami, Florida -- A Georgia man was sentenced yesterday to over 11 years in federal prison for defrauding Tricare of approximately $12 million through a South Florida compounding pharmacy fraud scheme.  Tricare is the health care benefit program covering military personnel and their dependents.

According to court documents, 51-year-old Erik Santos and his co-conspirators ran the scheme as follows: Santos paid recruiters to convince Tricare beneficiaries to fill prescriptions for expensive, supposedly tailor-made, compounded medications that the beneficiaries did not need.  Santos paid doctors to approve pre-printed prescriptions for large amounts of these medications.  The doctors did not see the beneficiaries or otherwise consider their medical needs before approving the prescriptions.  Lastly, Santos steered the Tricare beneficiaries to fill their prescriptions with Patient Care America (PCA), a compounding pharmacy located in Broward County, Florida.  PCA would bill Tricare for expensive drug formulations that had little to no therapeutic value.  Many of the compounded medications were billed to Tricare at $10,000 to $15,000 for a month’s supply, even though the ingredients used in the mixtures were little more than common pain or scar creams.  Santos’s fraudulent referrals caused an actual loss to the Tricare program of approximately $12 million.  PCA pharmacy paid Santos over $7 million in prescription referral kickbacks.

In addition to the prison sentence, the Court imposed restitution in the amount of $11.8 million and entered a forfeiture judgement of approximately $7.6 million.  On January 27, 2021, Santos pled guilty in federal district court in Ft. Lauderdale to one count of conspiring to commit health care fraud and wire fraud.

Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Cynthia A. Bruce of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of FBI Miami announced the sentence.

“Criminals steal exorbitant amounts of money from our government health programs through prescription medication fraud schemes. This significant sentence recognizes the seriousness of the crime,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gonzalez.  “Those who use kickbacks and other illegal activity to bilk taxpayer dollars from vital public programs will be held accountable.”

“Billing healthcare programs for medically unnecessary medications not only undermines the viability of those programs, it exploits all citizens,” said DCIS Special Agent in Charge Bruce.  “I am pleased with the significant outcome of this investigation and would like to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the investigative team for their tireless effort and great work to hold accountable those who fraudulently bill the Defense Health Agency.”

“Illegal kickbacks undermined the integrity of the Tricare health benefit program by putting profits in front of patient welfare,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Piro.  “The investigators who unraveled this scam are to be commended for their diligence and commitment.  The FBI and our partners will continue to pursue those individuals who pay kickbacks and fraudulently bill for medical services that are not necessary.”

DCIS investigated the case with assistance from FBI Miami, and the Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigation.  The superseding indictment also named CHAMPVA (the Department of Veterans Affairs’ version of Tricare) as a fraud target and the Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General assisted with the investigation.  

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

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 20-cr-60089.

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Miami, Fl. -- Yoelvis Denis Hernandez, a/k/a “Guajiro,” 42, was arrested yesterday in Del Rio, Texas, on a South Florida indictment charging him with stealing 192 U.S. government-owned medical ventilators worth about three million dollars.  According to court documents, the ventilators were heading to a COVID-19 intensive care facility in El Salvador as part of a United States Government COVID-19 aid program when they were stolen in South Florida, while in transit.

The indictment charges Hernandez and Luis Urra Montero, a/k/a “Flaco,” 24, with federal conspiracy, possession of stolen goods being shipped interstate, and theft of government property.  According to the indictment and other court documents, on August 9, 2020, Hernandez and Montero stole a tractor trailer loaded with 192 medical ventilators, during its transport by truck to Miami International Airport.  USAID had acquired the ventilators and was sending them to the Government of El Salvador as part of an aid program to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients there.  According to court documents, Hernandez and Montero stole the trailer from a lot where the driver had left it overnight.  Following an investigation, law enforcement recovered most of the stolen ventilators. 

Hernandez made his initial federal court appearance today in the Western District of Texas.  Future proceeding will occur in the Southern District of Florida, where the case is pending.  Co-defendant Montero was arrested on September 15, 2020, in the Southern District of Florida.  He is being detained without bond pending trial.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office, and Tom Ullom, Acting Inspector General, United States Agency for International Development, Office of Inspector General (“USAID-OIG”), made the announcement.

FBI, FBI Miami’s Major Theft Task Force, and USAID-OIG investigated this case, with assistance from Boynton Beach Police Department, Miami Dade Police Department, Medley Police Department, City of Miami Gardens Police Department, and Broward Sheriff’s Office. Customs and Border Protection Del Rio and FBI San Antonio also assisted. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Lazopoulos Friedman is prosecuting it.

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

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 Hotline at 866-720-5721.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 20-cr-20252.

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Miami, Fl. – Two Bolivian nationals and three United States citizens were arrested last week in Florida and Georgia on criminal charges related to their alleged roles in a bribery and money laundering scheme.  The former Minister of the Government of Bolivia and another former Bolivian official are accused of receiving bribes paid by a U.S. company and individuals to secure a Bolivian government contract, and then using the U.S. financial system to launder those bribes.

According to court documents, Arturo Carlos Murillo Prijic, 57, Sergio Rodrigo Mendez Mendizabal, 51, Luis Berkman, 58, Bryan Berkman, 36, and Philip Lichtenfeld, 48, engaged in the bribery scheme between approximately November 2019 and April 2020. During that time, Luis Berkman, Bryan Berkman, and Lichtenfeld paid $602,000 in bribes to Bolivian government officials for the benefit of Murillo, the former Minister of Government of Bolivia, Mendez, the former Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Government of Bolivia, and another Bolivian government official.  The bribes were paid so that Bryan Berkman’s Florida-based company would obtain and retain business from the Bolivian Ministry of Defense, specifically, an approximately $5.6 million contract to provide to the Bolivian Ministry of Defense tear gas and other non-lethal equipment.  To promote the bribery scheme, Bryan Berkman, Luis Berkman, and Lichtenfeld then laundered the payments to Bolivian government officials through bank accounts in Florida and Bolivia and orchestrated the payment of $582,000 in cash for Murillo and Mendez, according to the charges.

All five individuals are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 20 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 for the Southern District of Florida Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami office made the announcement.

HSI Miami investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli S. Rubin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Jil Simon and Assistant Chief Gerald M. Moody Jr. of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx P. Calderón is handling asset forfeiture.

The charges in the complaint are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov., under case number 21-mj-06320.

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Two Bolivian nationals and three U.S. citizens were arrested on May 21, and May 22, in Florida and Georgia on criminal charges related to their alleged roles in a bribery and money laundering scheme. The former Minister of Government of Bolivia and another former Bolivian official are accused of receiving bribes paid by a U.S. company and individuals to secure a Bolivian government contract, and then using the U.S. financial system to launder those bribes.

According to court documents, Arturo Carlos Murillo Prijic, 57, Sergio Rodrigo Mendez Mendizabal, 51, Luis Berkman, 58, Bryan Berkman, 36, and Philip Lichtenfeld, 48, engaged in the bribery scheme between approximately November 2019 and April 2020. During that time, Luis Berkman, Bryan Berkman, and Lichtenfeld paid $602,000 in bribes to Bolivian government officials for the benefit of Murillo, the former Minister of Government of Bolivia, Mendez, the former Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Government of Bolivia, and another Bolivian government official. The bribes were paid so that Bryan Berkman’s Florida-based company would obtain and retain business from the Bolivian Ministry of Defense, specifically, an approximately $5.6 million contract to provide to the Bolivian Ministry of Defense tear gas and other non-lethal equipment. To promote the bribery scheme, Bryan Berkman, Luis Berkman, and Lichtenfeld then laundered the payments to Bolivian government officials through bank accounts in Florida and Bolivia and orchestrated the payment of $582,000 in cash for Murillo and Mendez.

All five individuals are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Juan Antonio Gonzalez; and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami office made the announcement.

Trial Attorney Jil Simon and Assistant Chief Gerald M. Moody Jr. of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli S. Rubin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx P. Calderón is handling asset forfeiture.

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

The charges in the complaint are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Miami, Florida -- Un hombre de California fue sentenciado a 10 años en prisión por asociarse con centros de llamadas en Perú que defraudaron a ciudadanos de habla hispana de Estados Unidos, por medio de mentiras y amenazas.

De acuerdo con los documentos del tribunal, Angel Armando Adrianzen, 46, se asoció con una serie de centros de llamadas peruanos que se comunicaron con consumidores estadounidenses, muchos de ellos eran personas recién inmigradas vulnerables, utilizando llamadas telefónicas basadas en internet. Quienes hicieron las llamadas decían ser abogados o representantes del gobierno y le indicaron falsamente a las víctimas que no habían recibido el pago de o la entrega de productos. Las personas que llamaron también amenazaron a las víctimas con procesos judiciales, calificaciones negativas en sus reportes de crédito, encarcelamiento o consecuencias de inmigración falsos si no pagaban de inmediato los productos que supuestamente entregaron o los honorarios de liquidación. Muchas víctimas hicieron pagos basados en estas amenazas infundadas. Adrianzen recibió los pagos de las víctimas y envió productos a las víctimas de estos centros de llamadas, a sabiendas que los centros de llamadas utilizaron medios engañosos y excesivos para extraer dinero de las víctimas vulnerables. A Adrianzen se le declaró culpable y fue sentenciado por dos cargos de posesión de pornografía infantil, que encontraron en su computadora portátil y en su teléfono celular cuando se ejecutaron las órdenes de registro en esos dispositivos.

Como parte de su admisión de culpabilidad, Adrianzen admitió que desde abril de 2011 hasta al menos septiembre de 2019, era el dueño y operador del Centro de Aprendizaje AAD (AAD). Adrianzen operaba y supervisaba AAD en California y trabajaba en asociación con los centros de llamadas en Perú para contactar a consumidores de habla hispana en Estados Unidos, incluyendo el Distrito Sur de Florida. En ADD, Adrianzen participaba en un esquema de telemercadeo fraudulento que ofrecía varios productos para consumidores de habla hispana en para obtener pagos de víctimas vulnerables.

“La sentencia de hoy no solo sirve como castigo para el acusado, pero como aviso a otras personas que podrían aprovechar de víctimas vulnerables¨, dijo el Fiscal Federal Interino, Juan Antonio González, del Distrito Sur de Florida. “El Departamento de Justicia y sus socios investigarán energéticamente dicha actividad criminal. Los encontraremos y nos aseguraremos que se hacen responsables de sus crímenes.”

“Esta sustancial sentencia de prisión demuestra que la Rama de Protección al Consumidor del Departamento de Justicia perseguirá vigorosamente y enjuiciará a los estafadores que victimizan a otras personas por medio de esquemas de telemercadeo internacionales”, dijo Brian M. Boynton, Fiscal General Adjunto Interino, de la División Civil del Departamento de Justicia. “La Rama de Protección al Consumidor, que trabaja junto con el Servicio de Inspección Postal y nuestros socios de la Oficina del Fiscal Federal, llevará justicia a quienes amenazaron y defraudaron a los consumidores, que incluyen a inmigrantes que pueden ser vulnerables a losbesquemas que involucran amenazas a su libertad falsas y la habilidad de permanecer en los Estados Unidos”..

“En este esquema internacional de telemercadeo, se usaron tácticas de intimidación engañosas para amenazar a miles de consumidores de Estados Unidos, para que compraran productos que no se entregaron, al afirmar falsamente que usarían el sistema legal americano en su contra y al coaccionarles con millones de dólares”, declaró el Inspector Responsable, Joseph Cronin, del Servicio de Inspección Postal de EE.UU., División de Miami. “Esperamos que la sentencia de hoy brinde alivio a  los residentes e inmigrantes de Estados Unidos que fueron víctimas de este esquema transnacional fraudulento. El Servicio de Inspección Postal, junto con la rama de Protección al Consumidor del Departamento de Justicia y la Oficina del Fiscal de EE.UU., están comprometidos a hacer responsables a las personas que usan el correo de EE.UU. para defraudar a consumidores”.

Al declararse culpable, Adrianzen admitió que ayudaba a sus co-conspiradores en Perú a establecer y a contratar personal para los centros de llamadas que contactaban a las víctimas en Estados Unidos y, a veces, le proporcionaba listas de consumidores a contactar a los centros de llamadas y les daba guiones para usarlos en las llamadas. Los guiones incorporaban varias declaraciones falsas, incluyendo dirigir a las personas que realizaban la llamada a afirmar falsamente que eran abogados del Departamento de Educación de EE.UU. En otros guiones, las personas que llamaban afirmaban falsamente que estaban asociados con los canales de televisión, estaciones de radio o empresas de pasta de dientes de habla hispana.

Adrianzen admitió además que sus co-conspiradores afirmaban falsamente que eran abogados, algunas veces llamaban del “departamento legal” de una compañía o de un supuesto “tribunal de delitos menores”. Los co-conspiradores de Adrianzen amenazaban falsamente a las víctimas de deportarlas, arrestarlas o acusarlas de crímenes y de poner calificaciones negativas en sus reportes de crédito si no pagaban cientos de dólares en honorarios exigidos. Por último, Adrianzen proceso más de $3,500,000 en pagos como parte de este esquema.

El Juez de Distrito de EE.UU., Robert N. Scola Jr., sentenció a Adrianzen a una condena de 121 meses en prisión, seguida de quince años de liberación supervisada. También se le ordenó que restituyera el pago a las víctimas de sus ofensas. El 16 de septiembre de 2010 arrestaron a Adrianzen y ha permanecido encarcelado. El 21 de noviembre de 2019, se declaró culpable de conspiración de uso fraudulento del correo y giros bancarios.

La División de Miami del Servicio de Inspección Postal de EE.UU. y la Rama de Protección al Consumidor del Departamento de Justicia investigaron el caso.

Los abogados litigantes Phil Toomajian y Joshua Rothman de la Rama de Protección al Consumidor procesaron el caso. La Fiscal Federal Auxiliar, Bertila Fernandez, del Distrito Sur de Florida asistió con el proceso de los cargos de pornografía infantil.

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Miami, Florida -- A California man has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for partnering with call centers in Peru that defrauded Spanish-speaking U.S. residents through lies and threats.

According to court documents, Angel Armando Adrianzen, 46, partnered with a series of Peruvian call centers that contacted U.S. consumers, many of whom were vulnerable recent immigrants, using internet-based telephone calls. Those callers claimed to be attorneys or government representatives, and falsely told victims that they had failed to pay for or receive delivery of products. The callers also falsely threatened victims with court proceedings, negative marks on their credit reports, imprisonment, or immigration consequences if they did not immediately pay for the purportedly delivered products and settlement fees. Many victims made payments based on these baseless threats. Adrianzen received the victims’ payments and shipped products to the victims for these call centers, knowing that the call centers used fraudulent and extortionate means to extract money from vulnerable victims. Adrianzen was also convicted of and sentenced for two counts of possession of child pornography, found on his laptop computer and cell phone when search warrants were executed upon those devices.

As part of his guilty plea, Adrianzen admitted that from April 2011 until at least September 2019, he was the owner and operator of AAD Learning Center (AAD). Adrianzen operated and oversaw AAD from California and worked in partnership with call centers in Peru to contact Spanish-speaking consumers in the United States, including in the Southern District of Florida. At AAD, Adrianzen participated in a fraudulent telemarketing scheme that offered various products to Spanish-speaking consumers in the United States to obtain payments from vulnerable victims.

“Today’s sentence serves not only as just punishment for this defendant, but also as notice to others who may prey on vulnerable victims,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida.  “The Justice Department and its partners will aggressively investigate such criminal activity. We will find you and ensure you are held accountable for your crimes.”

“The Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch will vigorously pursue and prosecute fraudsters who prey on others through international telemarketing schemes,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Consumer Protection Branch, working alongside the Postal Inspection Service and our U.S. Attorney’s Office partners, will bring to justice those who threaten and defraud consumers, including immigrants who may be vulnerable to schemes that involve false threats to their liberty and ability to remain in the United States.”

“In this international telemarketing scheme, deceptive scare tactics were used to threaten thousands of vulnerable U.S. consumers into purchasing undelivered products by falsely purporting to use America’s legal system against them and coercing them out of millions of dollars,” stated Inspector in Charge Joseph Cronin of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Miami Division. “Today’s sentencing hopefully brings relief to U.S. residents and immigrants who were victimized by this transnational fraudulent scheme. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, along with the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection branch and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, are committed to holding individuals who use the U.S. Mail to defraud consumers accountable.”

In pleading guilty, Adrianzen admitted that he assisted his co-conspirators in Peru in setting up and staffing call centers that contacted victims in the United States and, at times, provided the call centers with lists of consumers to contact and call scripts to use when doing so. The scripts incorporated various false statements, including directing callers to falsely claim to be attorneys with the U.S. Department of Education. In other scripts, the callers were directed to falsely claim to be associated with Spanish language television channels, radio stations, or toothpaste companies.

Adrianzen further admitted that his co-conspirators falsely claimed that they were lawyers, sometimes calling from a “legal department” of a company, or from a supposed “minor crimes court.” Adrianzen’s co-conspirators falsely threatened to have victims deported, arrested, and charged with crimes, and to have negative marks placed on their credit reports if they failed to pay the hundreds of dollars of demanded fees. Ultimately, Adrianzen processed over $3,500,000 in payments as part of the scheme.

Adrianzen was sentenced to serve 121 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola Jr., to be followed by fifteen years’ supervised release. He was also ordered to make restitution payments to victims of his offenses. Adrianzen was arrested on Sept. 16, 2019, and has remained incarcerated. On Nov. 21, 2019, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Miami Division and the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Phil Toomajian and Joshua Rothman of the Consumer Protection Branch prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertila Fernandez of the Southern District of Florida assisted with the prosecution of the child pornography charges.

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Miami, Florida – A Boca Raton man convicted of producing, distributing, and possessing sexual abuse material of children, including a toddler, was sentenced yesterday by a West Palm Beach federal district judge to 50 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release.  He also was ordered to pay $1.3 million in restitution to his victims. 

Robert Solove, 29, used social networking applications on his cellular telephone to communicate with children and to solicit and distribute child sexual abuse material.  Solove created illegal photos and videos of an 18-month-old child in his care and shared them in chat rooms using his smartphone’s social networking application and with individuals. Solove also developed an online relationship with a 13-year-old girl in a different state. He directed the 13-year-old to take pornographic photographs and videos of herself and send them to Solove through a second smartphone application.  In addition, Solove acquired sexual abuse material of other children from several internet platforms and stored them on his cellular telephone.  In connection with this matter, officers rescued an 18-month-old girl. 

Solove pled guilty to producing, distributing, and possessing child pornography during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks on March 4, 2021.

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

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), West Palm Beach investigated the case with assistance from the HSI Chattanooga and HSI Detroit field offices, PBSO, and the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office.  Victim services were provided by the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller prosecuted the case.

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

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 20-cr-80025.

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Miami, FL – Last night, federal law enforcement officers arrested a foreign elected official charged in the United States with drug trafficking, following the official’s international flight from the Dominican Republic to Miami.  

Fifty-eight-year-old Miguel Andres Gutierrez Diaz, of Santiago, is an elected member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican Republic. According to the indictment returned by a Miami federal grand jury on March 11, 2021, from about 2014 to 2017, Congressman Gutierrez Diaz was part of a transnational drug ring that operated in the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and the United States. The federal indictment charges Gutierrez Diaz and others with three counts: conspiring to distribute cocaine, knowing that it would be imported into the United States; conspiring to import cocaine into the United States; and conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. If convicted, Gutierrez Diaz faces up to life imprisonment.   

Gutierrez Diaz will make his initial federal court appearance today at 2:00 p.m. before United States Magistrate Judge Alicia Otazo-Reyes, who sits in Miami.  

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and La Verne J. Hibbert, Acting Special Agent in Charge, United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, announced the charges and arrest.

DEA Miami investigated the case, with assistance from the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, DEA Santo Domingo Country Office, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Miami Office of Field Operations.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Getchell and Ellen D’Angelo of the International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section in the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and its federal partners commend the Office of the Presidency of the Dominican Republic and the Dirección Nacional de Control de Drogas (DNCD) for their cooperation in this investigation.

This prosecution is the result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  The 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 merely contains allegations and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and 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 http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

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A Canadian national was sentenced to 32 months in prison for conspiracy to bring undocumented immigrants to the United States for private financial gain in connection with his role in a scheme to smuggle undocumented immigrants from Sri Lanka through the Caribbean and into the United States.

Sri Kajamukam Chelliah, aka Mohan, aka Richie, 55, of Sri Lanka, pleaded guilty on Feb. 24, to conspiracy to bring aliens to the United States for private financial gain. Chelliah admitted to conspiring with others to facilitate the travel of undocumented immigrants from Sri Lanka through Haiti, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Bahamas to the United States from on or about July 1, 2019, through on or about Oct. 10, 2019. During the course of the conspiracy, Chelliah worked with other human smugglers, arranging housing and transport for undocumented immigrants en route to Canada through the United States. Chelliah arranged for the individuals to be transported from the airport in Port Au Prince, Haiti, to a hotel where Chelliah housed and provided them with food. Chelliah then arranged for transportation by boat from Haiti to Turks and Caicos Islands, then to the Bahamas, and then by boat to Miami, Florida. Chelliah accompanied the individuals, including traveling with them by boat during their journey. The actions undertaken by Chelliah and co-conspirators in furtherance of their smuggling activities were done in exchange for payment.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida; and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami made the announcement.

HSI Miami investigated the case with assistance from the HSI Human Smuggling Unit and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The investigation was conducted under the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program, a joint partnership between the Criminal Division and HSI. The ECT program focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence and prosecutorial resources. ECT coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.

Trial Attorneys Rami S. Badawy and John Alex-Romano of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Dobbins of the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case with support from HRSP Trial Attorney Jim Hepburn. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in the investigation and in securing the defendant’s extradition to the United States. The Department of Justice gratefully acknowledges the government of Turks and Caicos Islands for their valuable assistance.

Miami, Fl. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment last week charging Miami residents Lorena Osella, 43, and Juan Luis Matos, 58, with running a mental health care fraud scheme that bilked Medicaid out of almost $1 million.

According to the indictment, Osella owned Lighthouse Community Center LLC, a clinic in Doral, Florida that claimed to offer psychosocial rehabilitation (PSR) services,  a type of mental health counseling designed to help people with depression, anxiety, and other  mental disorders cope with their conditions and improve their ability to perform job tasks and daily life activities.  Osella and Matos used bribes to generate business for the clinic, says the indictment:  They offered and paid kickbacks to Medicaid beneficiaries.  In exchange, the beneficiaries registered as patients with the clinic and agreed to receive PSR services via telemedicine that they either did not need or that were not billed as provided.  During the time they fraudulently billed Medicaid, Osella and Matos are charged with illegally receiving Florida unemployment benefits as well.    

The indictment charges Osella and Matos with conspiring to defraud the United States and to pay health care kickbacks, paying kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program, and theft of government property.  In addition, the indictment charges Osella with conspiring to, and committing, health care fraud and wire fraud.  The count charging conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud count is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The counts charging health care fraud, anti-kickback violations, and theft of government funds are each punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison.  Finally, the conspiracy to pay kickbacks is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison.  A federal district judge will determine any sentence 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 Omar Pérez Aybar, Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) announced the charges.

HHS-OIG investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Abraham is prosecuting the case.  AUSA Emily Stone is handling asset forfeiture.

An indictment is a charging instrument containing allegations.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

You may find court documents and other information at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-20299.

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Miami, Fl. – A resident of Palm Beach County, Florida, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for not reporting his foreign financial accounts from 2006 through 2015 and for willfully evading the assessment of millions in taxes from 2007 through 2014.

According to court documents, from 2003 through 2009, Dusko Bruer owned and operated a company that bought U.S.-made agricultural machinery and parts and sold them throughout the world.  Bruer’s company had numerous employees and reaped millions of dollars in annual gross receipts.  Despite its success, Bruer’s company did not file employment or corporate tax returns, nor did the company pay employment or income taxes.  Furthermore, from 2003 forward, the company never paid Bruer a salary.  Instead, Bruer directed that millions of dollars from the company’s bank accounts be used to pay his personal expenses, to make foreign investments, and to transfer funds to his family members.

To conceal his income from the IRS, from 2006 through at least 2015, Bruer owned and controlled bank accounts held at financial institutions in Croatia, Germany, Serbia, and Switzerland, which he did not report, in violation of the law.  Between 2007 to 2011 alone, Bruer transferred $5.8 million from domestic accounts to these foreign financial accounts.  In total, between 2007 and 2014, Bruer did not report receiving $7,726,213 in income, nor did he pay $2,789,538 in taxes.  Bruer used his unreported offshore accounts to fund his lifestyle, including the purchase of foreign property, a $1,350,000 yacht, and a 3,200 square foot home in Lake Worth, Florida, with 100 feet of frontage on the Intracoastal Waterway for $1,650,000.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, Senior U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth A. Marra ordered Bruer to serve two years of supervised release and to pay approximately $2,789,538 in restitution to the United States.

Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.  Further, Acting U.S. Attorney Gonzalez and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg would like to thank the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Croatia for their assistance in this matter.  The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Aurora Fagan of the Southern District of Florida and Senior Litigation Counsel Mark F. Daly of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case. 

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 20-cr-80013.

 

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A Florida man was sentenced today to more than four years in prison for operating an investment scheme in which he used investor funds to repay other investors and misappropriated funds for himself.

David C. Coggins, 42, of Miami, pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud on March 2, 2021. According to court documents, Coggins solicited investors to his investment fund between 2015 and 2020 by touting the fund’s successful performance and total assets under management. Over time, the fund lost money and Coggins used money from new investors to pay other investors. Coggins also misappropriated funds for his personal purposes. To conceal the fund’s actual losses and persuade investors to part with their money, Coggins fabricated reports purportedly showing the fund’s successful performance and created a fraudulent independent auditor’s report. By the end of 2020, the net asset value of the fund was nearly zero. 

In addition to the prison sentence, Coggins was also ordered to pay $1,305,000 in restitution.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida; and Inspector in Charge Delany De León-Colón of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigations Group made the announcement.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigations Group investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Emily Scruggs of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case. 

A Florida man was sentenced today to more than six years in prison for fraudulently obtaining approximately $3.9 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and using those funds, in part, to purchase a $318,000 Lamborghini luxury car for himself.

David T. Hines, 29, of Miami, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on Feb. 10. According to court documents, Hines submitted multiple PPP applications to a PPP-participating lender, claiming to have had dozens of employees and millions of dollars in monthly payroll. In addition to submitting false and fraudulent IRS forms to support the applications, Hines also assisted other individuals in obtaining fraudulent PPP loans. As part of the sentence, the court ordered Hines to forfeit the $3.4 million in fraudulent loan proceeds that law enforcement seized and the 2020 Lamborghini Huracan that Hines purchased for approximately $318,000.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio “Tony” Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Kyle A. Myles of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), Office of Investigation’s Atlanta Regional Office; Inspector in Charge Joseph W. Cronin of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Miami Division; Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) OIG, Investigations Division, Eastern Regional Office; Acting Special Agent in Charge Tyler R. Hatcher of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Miami Office; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Stephen Donnelly of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection OIG, Eastern Region, made the announcement.  

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through the PPP. In April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding, and in December 2020, Congress authorized another $284 billion in additional funding.

The PPP allows qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of 1%. Businesses must use PPP loan proceeds for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spend the proceeds on these expenses within a set time period and use at least a certain percentage of the loan towards payroll expenses.

The FDIC-OIG, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, IRS-CI, SBA-OIG, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection OIG investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Emily Scruggs of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Berger of the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture.

The Fraud Section leads the department’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. In the months since the CARES Act passed, Fraud Section attorneys have prosecuted more than 100 defendants in more than 70 criminal cases. The Fraud Section has also seized more than $60 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.

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 Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF web complaint form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Miami, Fl. -- The University of Miami (UM) has agreed to pay $22 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by ordering medically unnecessary laboratory tests, and submitting false claims through its laboratory and off campus hospital based facilities (“Hospital Facilities”).

According to court documents, the United States alleged that UM engaged in three practices that violated the False Claims Act. First, the government alleged that UM knowingly engaged in improper billing relating to its Hospital Facilities. Medicare regulations allow medical systems to convert physician offices into Hospital Facilities provided they satisfy certain requirements. Billing as a Hospital Facility results in higher costs to the Medicare program and beneficiaries. Hospital Facilities are required to give notice to Medicare beneficiaries that explains the financial ramifications of receiving services at Hospital Facilities as opposed to physician offices. Here, the government alleged that UM converted multiple physician offices to Hospital Facilities, and then sought payment at higher rates without providing beneficiaries the required notice, even after being advised by a Medicare Administrative Contractor that its notice practices were deficient.

Second, the government alleged that UM billed federal health care programs for medically unnecessary laboratory tests for patients who received kidney transplants at the Miami Transplant Institute (MTI) — a transplant program operated by UM and Jackson Memorial Hospital (JMH). Each time a patient checked into the MTI, UM’s electronic ordering system triggered a pre-set “protocol” of tests to be run for the patient at UM’s laboratory. The government alleged that several tests on the protocol for all kidney transplant patients were medically unnecessary and dictated by financial considerations rather than patient care.

Third, the government alleged that UM caused JMH to submit inflated claims for reimbursement for pre-transplant laboratory testing conducted at the MTI in violation of related party regulations, which limit the reimbursement a provider can obtain for tests performed by a related entity to that entity’s actual costs. The government alleged that UM did so by controlling JMH’s decision to purchase pre-transplant laboratory tests from UM at inflated rates in exchange for UM’s surgeons and Department of Surgery continuing to perform surgeries at JMH. In a separate agreement, the United States has reached a $1.1 million settlement with JMH relating to this conduct. 

“Medical providers who submit fraudulent claims to our taxpayer-funded health care programs not only violate the public’s trust, they compromise the very integrity of these programs,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida. “Our office will aggressively pursue investigations against all providers who knowingly violate these billing rules no matter their size.”   

“Health care providers who charge for medically unnecessary services and knowingly violate billing rules contribute to the soaring cost of health care,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will investigate and hold accountable those who seek to profit at the expense of federal health care programs and their beneficiaries.” 

“Bilking the Medicare program and patients by charging for medically unnecessary services will always draw the attention of my office,” said Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Working with our law enforcement partners, our agents are committed to investigating alleged billing scams that result in tremendous costs to federal health care programs and its beneficiaries.” 

Contemporaneous with the civil settlement, UM has also agreed to enter into a corporate integrity agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services.

The civil settlement resolves allegations made in three lawsuits filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery. The relator share of the recovery in this case has not yet been determined.     

The case was handled jointly by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida (AUSAs Jessica Sievert and Jessica Elliott) and the Civil Division’s Fraud Section, with assistance from HHS-OIG, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the U.S. Defense Health Agency, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Office of the Inspector General, and the Florida Attorney General’s Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. 

The cases are captioned United States ex rel. Jonathan Lord, M.D. v. University of Miami, Civ. No. 13-22500 (S.D. Fla.); United States ex rel. Philip Chen, M.D. and Joshua Yelen v. University of Miami and Miami-Dade Public Health Trust, Civ. No. 13-24320 (S.D. Fla.); and United States ex rel. Mitchell Wallace v. University of Miami and Miami-Dade Public Health Trust, Civ. No. 14-21206 (S.D. Fla.). 

The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.

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Miami, Fl. – Henry J. Danzig, 57, of Tavernier, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Key West by United States Magistrate Judge Lurana S. Snow, for illegally harvesting commercial quantities of demersal finfish from the vicinity of Cay Sal Bank, in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, and  transporting the fish into the United States in violation of the Lacey Act.  Demersal finfish are those that live and feed on ocean bottoms.

Magistrate Judge Snow sentenced Danzig to a period of probation of one year and a $25 special assessment.  In addition, Danzig was ordered to make restitution to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas for his illegal harvesting activities, by forfeiting a newly constructed and outfitted 30’ Contender Tournament boat, which will be employed by the Royal Bahamas Defense Force to prevent, deter, and eliminate illegal and unreported fishing within the archipelagic waters of the Bahamas.

According to the Information to which the defendant pled guilty on April 26, 2021, a Joint Factual Statement filed by the parties, and statements in court, on May 9, 2020, Danzig, and four others were intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard in the Atlantic Ocean outside of Tavernier, in the Florida Keys, while they were returning from Bahamian waters. Danzig and his companions were aboard Danzig’s 39’ Contender fishing vessel, the “Bodacious.” On boarding the vessel, the Coast Guard and found and seized 167 reef fish, totaling approximately 529 pounds. At the time, Bahamian waters were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Additional investigation revealed that Danzig was co-owner of the City Hall Café, in Tavernier, FL, through which some illegally sourced Bahamian fish had been sold on prior occasions.

The Lacey Act, Title 16, United States Code, Section 3372(a)(2), prohibits the import, export, transport, sale, receipt, acquisition, or purchase of any fish in foreign commerce which was taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any foreign law.

Statute Law of the Bahamas, Revised Edition 2010, Fisheries Resources (Jurisdiction & Conservation), Chapter 244, Part V, Section 70(1), in effect at the time of the conduct at issue, prohibited the export of any fishery product or resource from the Bahamas, except under and in accordance with the terms of a license granted by the Government of the Bahamas, and after presentation of the product or resource to a fisheries inspector.

According to the Joint Factual Statement, neither Danzig nor those associated with him in the charged conduct possessed a lawfully issued license from the Bahamas, to take, export or sell any fishery product or resource fish from Bahamian waters.

Operation Bahamarama is a joint enforcement effort by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Office for Law Enforcement (OLE), the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) to specifically target Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing to and from the waters of the United State Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and in conformity with the Port States Measure Agreement (PSMA), an international agreement designed to target IUU fishing. In conjunction with the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and the Bahamas Defense Force (BDF), air and marine assets, and intelligence gathering efforts were instrumental in the success of this particular mission. Information had been received by NOAA Special Agents regarding Florida-origin IUU fishing in the Bahamas, resulting in enforcement efforts focused on known violators.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Manny Antonaras, Special Agent in Charge, NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, Southeast Division, made the announcement.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to helping protect the fishery resources of our neighbors in the Bahamas from poachers and others who seek to profit at the expense of scarce natural resources,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gonzalez.  “We will prosecute those who violate conservation laws intended to promote and secure sustainable fisheries.”

“Preventing illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a high priority for NOAA OLE,” said Manny Antonaras, Assistant Director of NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement, Southeast Division.  “OLE will continue to cooperate with The Bahamas to help combat IUU fishing through bilateral enforcement operations, setting an example for effective fisheries enforcement cooperation.”

Mr. Gonzalez commended the coordinated investigative efforts of the NOAA Office for Enforcement, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission which brought the matter to a successful conclusion. The criminal case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 20-cr-10011.

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Miami, Fl. – A South Florida female who stole cash deposits from different retailers participating in the U.S. Postal Service Deposit by Mail program was sentenced today to five years’ probation, 180 days of home detention, and ordered to pay $49,235.42 in restitution. 

According to court documents, Christina M. Bolden, 37, worked as a United States Postal Service rural carrier from October 9, 2015 to December 6, 2019.  She collected cash deposits from the Vero Beach Outlet Mall from October 27, 2018 to July 5, 2019.  In early July of 2019, the Outlet Mall was assigned to another mail carrier but still processed at the same post office.  After receiving multiple mail theft complaints of cash deposits submitted by participating retailers located at the Outlet Mall, USPS OIG began conducting various surveillance operations at the Citrus Ridge Post Office.  On October 28, 2019, and November 18, 2019, Bolden removed cash deposits from the Priority Mail hamper as she processed the mail from her assigned route.  Bolden admitted to stealing these cash deposits and others.  Bolden also relinquished $505.00 in cash deposits that she still had in her possession which she had stolen from May 28, 2019 through December 2, 2019.  

In addition to imposing a five-year term of probation and 180 days of home detention electronic monitoring, Judge Kenneth A. Marra ordered Bolden to pay $49,235.42 to the retailers.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Scott Pierce, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG), Southern Area Field Office, made the announcement. 

“The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General did an excellent job uncovering and investigating this crime.  Their work helped preserve the integrity of the U.S. Postal Service workforce and the public’s trust in the U.S. Postal Service,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez.  “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work with the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and our other law enforcement partners to maintain the integrity of our federal agencies.”

“The vast majority of our Postal Service employees are honest, hardworking individuals who would never dream of violating the public trust in this manner,” said Special Agent in Charge Pierce. “An employee who decides otherwise, however, will be aggressively investigated by OIG special agents. This case serves as an excellent example of the successful partnership between the USPS OIG and U.S. Attorney’s Office to pursue and prosecute employees involved in criminal activity.”

USPS OIG investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana M. Acosta prosecuted it.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 20-cr-14030.

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Miami, Fl. – Three telemarking company owners were charged for their alleged participation in a $47 million health care fraud, kickback, and money laundering scheme involving the referral of medically unnecessary cancer genetic tests to labs in exchange for kickbacks. 

An indictment, unsealed today, charges Christian McKeon, 35, and Athanasios Ziros, 42, each of Boca Raton, Florida, with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, multiple counts of substantive health care fraud and kickback offenses, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and substantive counts of money laundering offenses. Also, an information, unsealed today, charges Gregory Orr, 64, of Boca Raton, with one count of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks and one substantive count of receipt of kickbacks for his alleged role in this scheme.

According to the indictment, McKeon and Ziros allegedly participated in a scheme to operate a telemarketing campaign targeting Medicare beneficiaries in an effort to induce them to accept cancer genetic tests regardless of whether the tests were medically necessary or eligible for Medicare reimbursement. As part of the scheme, McKeon and Ziros allegedly offered and paid illegal kickbacks and bribes to telemedicine companies in exchange for doctors’ orders for expensive cancer genetic tests. The doctors’ orders were written by doctors contracted with telemedicine companies, even though those telemedicine doctors had no prior relationship with the beneficiaries, were not treating the beneficiaries for cancer or symptoms of cancer, did not use the test results in the treatment of the beneficiaries, and did not conduct a proper telemedicine visit.

According to court documents, all three men sold these signed doctors’ orders for cancer genetic tests to labs in exchange for illegal kickbacks. The indictment and information allege that the defendants caused one of the labs to submit approximately $46 million in claims to Medicare, of which over $27 million was paid. The indictment further alleges that the lab paid McKeon, Ziros, and others kickbacks totaling over $14 million, and that McKeon and Ziros laundered these unlawful proceeds knowing that the transactions at issue had been designed to conceal and disguise the nature, source, and control of the proceeds. 

McKeon made his initial court appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge William Matthewman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, West Palm Division. Ziros and Orr are scheduled to appear for their initial appearances in front of Magistrate Judge Matthewman on May 5.

The counts charging conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud count, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and substantive money laundering are each punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The counts charging health care fraud and anti-kickback violations are each punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison. Finally, the conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks count is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of five 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 of the Southern District of Florida; Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Omar Perez of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Region made the announcement.

Trial Attorney Patrick Queenan of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Brown of the Southern District of Florida is handling the forfeiture aspect of the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged more than 4,200 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for nearly $19 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

Any doctors or medical professionals who have been involved with alleged fraudulent telemedicine or genetic testing marketing schemes should call to report this conduct to the FBI hotline at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

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

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

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Three telemarketing company owners were charged for their alleged participation in a $47 million health care fraud, kickback, and money laundering scheme involving the referral of medically unnecessary cancer genetic tests to labs in exchange for kickbacks.  

An indictment, unsealed today, charges Christian McKeon, 35, and Athanasios Ziros, 42, each of Boca Raton, Florida, with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, multiple counts of substantive health care fraud and kickback offenses, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and substantive counts of money laundering offenses. Also, an information, unsealed today, charges Gregory Orr, 64, of Boca Raton, with one count of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks and one substantive count of receipt of kickbacks for his alleged role in this scheme.

According to the indictment, McKeon and Ziros allegedly participated in a scheme to operate a telemarketing campaign targeting Medicare beneficiaries in an effort to induce them to accept cancer genetic tests regardless of whether the tests were medically necessary or eligible for Medicare reimbursement. As part of the scheme, McKeon and Ziros allegedly offered and paid illegal kickbacks and bribes to telemedicine companies in exchange for doctors’ orders for expensive cancer genetic tests. The doctors’ orders were written by doctors contracted with telemedicine companies, even though those telemedicine doctors had no prior relationship with the beneficiaries, were not treating the beneficiaries for cancer or symptoms of cancer, did not use the test results in the treatment of the beneficiaries, and did not conduct a proper telemedicine visit.

According to court documents, all three men sold these signed doctors’ orders for cancer genetic tests to labs in exchange for illegal kickbacks. The indictment and information allege that the defendants caused one of the labs to submit approximately $46 million in claims to Medicare, of which over $27 million was paid. The indictment further alleges that the lab paid McKeon, Ziros, and others kickbacks totaling over $14 million, and that McKeon and Ziros laundered these unlawful proceeds knowing that the transactions at issue had been designed to conceal and disguise the nature, source, and control of the proceeds. 

McKeon made his initial court appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge William Matthewman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, West Palm Division. Ziros and Orr are scheduled to appear for their initial appearances in front of Magistrate Judge Matthewman on May 5.

The counts charging conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud count, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and substantive money laundering are each punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The counts charging health care fraud and anti-kickback violations are each punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison. Finally, the conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks count is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Omar Perez of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Region made the announcement.

Trial Attorney Patrick Queenan of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Brown of the Southern District of Florida is handling the forfeiture aspect of the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged more than 4,200 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for nearly $19 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

Any doctors or medical professionals who have been involved with alleged fraudulent telemedicine or genetic testing marketing schemes should call to report this conduct to the FBI hotline at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

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

MIAMI, FL. – Today, a federal magistrate judge in Ft. Lauderdale ordered Horvin McKenzie, Jr., 28, detained pending his federal trial on attempted murder, narcotics, and firearms charges.  McKenzie is one of the two men arrested last month after shots were fired at law enforcement officers working a drug trafficking investigation in Dania Beach, Florida.   

According to court documents, McKenzie and his co-defendant, David Johnathan Ventura, 32, of Miami, conspired to sell two kilograms of cocaine to another person. The criminal complaint affidavit alleges the following: McKenzie, Ventura, and the buyer met at a retail store parking lot in Dania Beach on Friday, April 23, to make the deal. Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) learned of the scheduled deal and went to the meeting location. After confirming that McKenzie and Ventura had arrived at the parking lot, LEOs activated the emergency lights on their vehicles. While wearing protective vests that identified the LEOs as such, LEOs approached the defendants, who were in separate cars. As they neared Ventura’s car, Ventura produced a firearm and began shooting at the approaching LEOs, hitting a detective in his arm and his bullet-proof vest. LEOs returned fire, hitting Ventura. McKenzie and Ventura were taken into custody. Ventura is currently in the hospital in stable condition. LEOs found a bag containing approximately two kilograms of cocaine and a Beretta .9mm semi-automatic handgun in Ventura’s car. They also found a loaded Glock .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun in McKenzie’s car. 

McKenzie and Ventura are charged with Attempted Murder of a Person Assisting DEA Agents in Performance of Their Duties; Conspiracy to Distribute 500 Grams or More of Cocaine; Possession with Intent to Distribute 500 Grams or More of Cocaine; and Possession of a Firearm During and Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. If convicted, both men face up to life in prison with a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years. 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 of the Southern District of Florida; and La Verne Hibbert, Acting Special Agent in Charge of DEA’s Miami Field Office, made the announcement.  

DEA Miami investigated this narcotics case, with assistance from Broward Sheriff’s Office, Fort Lauderdale Police Department, Margate Police Department, Coconut Creek Police Department, Plantation Police Department, and Wilton Manors Police Department.  Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ajay J. Alexander is prosecuting the case.

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

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-MJ-6264.

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MIAMI – CareCloud Health, Inc. f/k/a CareCloud Corporation (CareCloud), a Miami-based developer of electronic health records (EHR) software products and related services, has agreed to pay $3,806,966.70 to resolve allegations that it paid unlawful kickbacks to generate sales of its EHR products.

The United States alleged that CareCloud violated the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute through its marketing referral program called the “Champions Program,” In particular, it is alleged that between January 1, 2012 and March 31, 2017, CareCloud offered and provided its existing clients cash equivalent credits, cash bonuses and percentage success payments to recommend CareCloud’s EHR products to prospective clients. Existing clients who participated in the Champions Program (“participants”) executed written agreements prohibiting them from providing negative information about CareCloud’s EHR products to prospective CareCloud clients. Prospective CareCloud clients were not told about this referral-kickback arrangement or about the contract that prohibited participants from sharing negative company information with them.

The United States alleged that CareCloud’s payments to participants violated the federal Anti-Kickback Statute.  In addition, the United States alleged that CareCloud violated the False Claims Act because the kickback payments rendered false the claims submitted by CareCloud for federal incentive payments under the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records Incentive Programs (also known as Meaningful Use Programs) and the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (also known as MIPS). 

CareCloud was acquired by MTBC, Inc. (MTBC), a public company, in January 2020.  CareCloud has discontinued the prior version of the marketing referral program that is the basis for this settlement.

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

“Product functionality, reliability, and safety should drive a medical software company’s success, not illegal kickbacks paid to promote its products,” said Acting United States Attorney Gonzalez. “There is simply no place for kickbacks in our country’s healthcare system. Companies who ignore this will be held accountable.”  

“Medical software executives who unlawfully promote the capabilities of their electronic health record technology, and pay others to do the same, diminish their credibility and waste taxpayer money,” said Special Agent in Charge Pérez Aybar. “My Office will continue to investigate such actions to protect the funding for federal health care programs.”

The settlement resolves allegations in a lawsuit filed by Ada De La Vega in federal court in Miami, Florida.  The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery.  The Act allows the government to intervene and take over the action, as it did in this case.  The whistleblower share to be awarded in connection with the settlement is $803,269,97. 

HHS-OIG investigated the matter. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew J. Feeley handled the litigation.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court of the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 17-cv-23762.

Note:  A copy of the settlement agreement is available

here .

MIAMI – On April 23, 2021, a federal magistrate judge in Ft. Pierce ordered Gernard Keiwon Clark, Sr., 46, of Stuart, Florida, detained pending trial on charges of using an underaged girl to produce child pornography.  

According to court records, on August 31, 2020, a report of alleged child abuse led law enforcement officers to Clark, a registered sex offender. A forensic analysis of the SD card of Clark’s cellular telephone showed over 500 sexually explicit photographs and over 40 sexually explicit videos of a particular underaged girl.      

An indictment unsealed on April 15, 2021, charges Clark with two counts of producing child pornography, one count of possessing child pornography, and two counts of committing a felony involving a minor by a registered sex offender. If convicted, Clark faces a statutory minimum mandatory sentence of 35 years in prison.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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

FBI Miami -- in particular, FBI Miami’s Child Exploitation Task Force -- investigated this case, Martin County Sheriff’s Office assisted. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rosa C. Rodriguez-Mera 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.

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

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-14015.

Miami, Fl. – A Broward County resident was charged by indictment with forty counts of theft of government property in connection with a scheme to steal over 37,000 stamps from the United States Postal Service.

According to the allegations in the indictment, from on or about September 11, 2019 through on or about September 13, 2019, Jeffery Allan Grant, Jr., 38, of Fort Lauderdale, visited twenty-nine post offices located in Palm Beach and Broward counties and presented forty checks drawn on his personal bank account to purchase a total of 37,100 stamps.  The stamps were property of value belonging to the United States Postal Service.  Grant’s bank account had insufficient funds to cover the checks presented for the transactions.  As a result of Grant’s theft of the stamps, the United States Postal Service lost approximately $20,405. 

Grant had his initial appearance on the indictment today before U.S. Magistrate Judge William Matthewman in the Southern District of Florida.  Grant’s arraignment is scheduled for May 3, 2021. If convicted, Grant faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Joseph W. Cronin, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, made the announcement.

USPIS investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah J. Schall is 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.

You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-80045.

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