Southern District of Florida

A 28-year-old man was extradited from Jamaica based on charges that he committed fraud as part of an international lottery scheme against elderly victims in the United States, the Justice Department announced today.

Damion Bryan Barrett is charged in a 38-count indictment in the Southern District of Florida with conspiracy and 37 counts of wire fraud, and with committing these offenses via telemarketing. According to the indictment, Barrett and his co-conspirators fraudulently induced elderly victims in the United States to send them thousands of dollars to pay purported fees for lottery winnings that victims had not in fact won. Barrett is the first Jamaican citizen to be extradited from Jamaica to the United States based on charges of defrauding Americans in connection with a lottery scheme.

Barrett arrived today in Opa-locka, Florida. He will make his initial appearance on Feb. 13 before Magistrate Judge Alicia O. Valle in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Barrett was indicted by a federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale on Aug. 9, 2012, and was arrested last month in Jamaica based on the United States’ request that he be extradited. Barrett’s extradition is the latest step in the United States’ ongoing crackdown on fraudulent lottery schemes based in Jamaica.

According to the indictment, beginning in October 2008, Barrett and his co-conspirators contacted victims in the United States announcing that the victims had won cash and prizes and persuaded the victims to send them thousands of dollars in fees to release the money. The victims never received cash or prizes. The defendant and his co-conspirators allegedly made calls from Jamaica using voice over internet protocol technology that allowed them to use a telephone number with a U.S. area code. According to the indictment, Barrett convinced victims to send money to middlemen in South Florida, who then forwarded the money to Jamaica.

“Persons who commit crimes against American seniors from outside of the United States will be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida. “This case serves as an example that there are no borders when it comes to obtaining justice for the victims of these lottery schemes.”

“The Department of Justice will find and prosecute those responsible for fraud against American consumers, no matter where the perpetrator resides,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Lottery schemes that target elderly victims for fraud cannot, and will not, be tolerated.”

“Today’s extradition signals strong partnership between the Jamaica Constabulary Force and our U.S. law enforcement partners,” said Commissioner of Police Dr. Carl Williams of the Jamaica Constabulary Force. “We use this opportunity to warn other lottery scammers who continue to prey on unsuspecting U.S. citizens, that they too will pay the penalty, whether through conviction in Jamaica or through extradition to the United States. We continue to address this with a high level of attention to contain the scourge.”

If convicted, Barrett faces a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in prison per count, a possible fine and mandatory restitution. Barrett’s co-defendant, Oneike Barnett, 29, pleaded guilty on Feb. 28, 2014, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On April 29, 2014, U.S. District Court Judge William J. Zloch sentenced Barnett to serve 60 months in prison and five years of supervised release, and to pay $94,456 in restitution for his role in this case.

“These criminal telemarking scams heartlessly target the elderly in the United States, at times stealing their life savings,” said Special Agent in Charge Alysa D. Erichs of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami. “The successful extradition of Damion Bryan Barrett sends a clear message that the cooperation between our countries is focused on bringing these offenders to justice despite borders that separate us. This extradition and hopefully others that may follow suit will have a positive impact on diminishing this crime.”

“Together with our international and domestic law enforcement partners we have proven that justice has no borders,” said U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge Ronald Verrochio of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS) Miami Division. “We will continue to investigate and prosecute those who defraud American citizens, anywhere in the world.”

“The U.S. Marshals Service, together with our federal partners, will continue to track down and bring to justice those that would pray on our most vulnerable in our country,” said U.S. Marshal Amos Rojas of the Southern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Ferrer and Acting Assistant Attorney General Branda commended the investigative efforts of USPIS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) HSI Miami and the U.S. Marshals Service. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kathryn Drenning of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha Mitrani of the Southern District of Florida.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Attachments: Indictment - Damion Bryan Barrett (PDF)

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

An Overtown resident was convicted by a jury for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Hugo J. Barrera, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, Rodolfo Llanes, Chief, City of Miami Police Department (MPD), made the announcement.

Jarod Montell Alonso, a/k/a “Rob Dough,” 29, was convicted in a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The jury was presented with evidence of the terror Alonso brought upon the residents of Overtown. The facts of the conviction include Alonso shoving the barrel of an AK-47 into the face of a 50-year old grandmother, as she walked from a neighborhood corner store. Just minutes after Alonso threatened to kill the grandmother, Alonso was tracked down to a nearby apartment and arrested. During his arrest, a defiant Alonso yelled to police, “I run that block.” Police searched the apartment where Alonso was found, and discovered the firearm Alonso used during the assault, hidden inside a 5-year old child’s bedroom.

Alonso has previously been convicted of state felony crimes, including attempted first degree murder, and now faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison as an armed career criminal.

Alonso is scheduled to be sentenced on April 17, 2015, at 9:00 a.m.

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

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of ATF and MPD. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Breezye Telfair and Benjamin Widlanski.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

After a week-long trial, a federal jury convicted a trucker and Miami, Florida resident of assault upon a federal law enforcement officer. Evidence presented at trial showed that the defendant, after being asked to leave the Claude Pepper Federal Building in downtown Miami, punched a security officer in the face.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Curtis Huston, Threat Management Branch Chief, Federal Protective Service (FPS), made the announcement.

According to the evidence presented at trial, on February 20, 2014, Lark Suddith, 67, who was in the security line in the lobby of the Claude Pepper Federal Building, began complaining about the wait time so loudly and inappropriately that he created a disturbance. A security officer asked Suddith multiple times to calm down and to stop yelling and cursing, but Suddith refused. Over the next several minutes, Suddith continued to disrupt business in the building and create a security concern, and ignored further warnings from the security officer to cease or face removal from the building. Finally, the security officer asked Suddith to leave the building and, when Suddith refused, the security officer had to use physical force to remove Suddith, who was twice the officer’s size. The security officer put his hands on Suddith’s shoulder and back and walked him out of the building. While the security officer was walking Suddith through the doors of the building, Suddith turned and punched the security officer in the face.

At trial, the security officer testified about how the incident occurred, and the jury watched the building security video, which captured the entire incident. In addition, a Special Agent with the FPS testified about how the security officer’s use of force to remove Suddith was appropriate, as Suddith’s defense at trial was that the security officer used excessive force such that he was justified in punching the officer in the face. Evidence at trial further revealed that this was not the first incident of violence involving the defendant, as he was also convicted by a jury of misdemeanor battery in 2012.

At sentencing, Suddith faces up to 33 months in prison for assault. Suddith is scheduled to be sentenced on April 6, 2015, at 3:00 p.m., before U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of FPS. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vanessa Snyder.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A lighting contractor was sentenced today to one year and a day imprisonment for agreeing to bribe a Broward County public official.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

William E. Pino, 60, of Miami, was sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Beth Bloom to one year and a day in prison, followed by one year of supervised release during which the defendant is required to perform 300 hours of community service, and was ordered to pay a $25,000 fine. Pino previously pled guilty to a one-count information charging him with offering and agreeing to give something of value to a public official with the intent to influence or reward said public official in connection with a transaction or series of transactions and thereby committing bribery in programs receiving federal funds.

According to the information and the stipulated statement of facts executed by the parties and filed with the Court, Pino was involved in a number of companies in South Florida that were in the business of installing, repairing and maintaining street lights, traffic signals, and traffic systems and the sale of products needed to make such installations and repairs, such as light poles. From in or about April 2012 through on or about June 27, 2012, Pino met with a confidential informant who advised Pino that there were upcoming public works projects in Broward County for traffic systems, traffic signs, street lights and light poles. The informant advised Pino that the informant had a contact in Broward County, but that Pino would need to “take care of” the public official. Pino agreed to ?take care of? the public official.

On or about May 24, 2012, Pino was told that the public official had a purchase order for $100,000 in light poles for Pino’s company. Pino agreed to pay the public official $5,000 in exchange for the purchase order containing $100,000 of his light poles. On or about June 27, 2012, there was a meeting between Pino, the informant, and the public official in Plantation, Florida. Pino was handed a purchase order for his company to provide Broward County with $100,000 worth of light poles and Pino then handed the public official an envelope containing $5,000 in U.S. currency.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey N. Kaplan.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Two Broward County residents pled guilty to one count of accessory after the fact for their respective roles in assisting carjacker evade law enforcement.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

According to the criminal information and statements made in court, between December 2, 2014 and December 3, 2014, Tequilla Ingram, 33, and Jonathan Marion, 23, both of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, assisted Gregory Moore with evading law enforcement after he committed a violent armed carjacking spree and a homicide.

On December 2, 2014, Gregory Moore, 35, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, carjacked numerous vehicles in order to get to his former girlfriend’s place of employment in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Once he arrived in Hallandale Beach and located his former girlfriend inside of her vehicle, Moore opened fire striking her multiple times and killing her passenger. Moore committed several additional carjackings to flee the scene and was eventually apprehended by the FBI in West Palm Beach on December 3, 2014.

Gregory Moore was charged by indictment and is currently set for trial April 6, 2015 before U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Marra in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Knowing that Moore had committed these crimes, Ingram picked Moore up in her vehicle, provided him with a safe haven, and checked Moore into a hotel room the night of December 2, 2014 using a false name. Ingram returned to retrieve Moore on December 3, 2014 and further assisted him in evading law enforcement until Moore was ultimately arrested. Ingram pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom, and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24, 2015, at 10:30 a.m.

Knowing that Moore had committed these crimes, Marion provided Moore with use of a cellular phone and safe haven for several hours while law enforcement conducted a massive manhunt. Marion pled guilty on January 27, 2015 before U.S. District Judge James Cohn, and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24, 2015, at 9:00 a.m.

At sentencing, Ingram and Moore face up to 15 years in prison on the accessory after the fact count.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigated efforts of the FBI South Florida Violent Crimes Task Force, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Broward Sherriff’s Office, Hallandale Beach Police Department, Florida Highway Patrol, West Palm Beach Police Department and Lauderhill Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jodi Anton.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office, announce that an indictment was unsealed today charging Michael Szafranski, 36, of Surfside, Florida, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The indictment was unsealed in open court in Ft. Lauderdale by U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia O. Valle. The defendant was ordered released on a $250,000 personal surety bond. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of twenty years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine on each count.

The indictment, which was returned by a grand jury in Ft. Lauderdale on January 22, 2015, charges that the defendant was a registered investment advisor who, from in or about 2008 through in or about November 2009, conspired to defraud various investors. In 2009, it was discovered that the former law firm of Rothstein, Rosenfeldt & Adler, P.A. (RRA) was being utilized by its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Scott W. Rothstein, to commit a massive Ponzi scheme stemming from the sale of fictitious confidential settlements.

The indictment charges that Szafranski and Rothstein conspired to induce various persons and entities into investing money in the confidential settlements through material misstatements and material omissions by defendant Szafranski. Those material misstatements and omissions were designed to deceive investors and potential investors as to the legitimacy and authenticity of the parties ostensibly involved in the confidential settlements. The indictment further charges that Szafranski secretly received millions of dollars in compensation from Rothstein and RRA while simultaneously employed by certain investors as a purportedly independent verifier of the legitimacy of the settlement transactions.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the IRS-CI and the FBI. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lawrence D. LaVecchio, Paul F. Schwartz, and Jeffrey N. Kaplan.

An indictment is only an accusation and a defendant is 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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A Pembroke Pines resident who falsely represented that she was a Medical Doctor and owned and operated Vortex Medical Center & Management Services, Inc. (“Vortex”), located in Miami, Florida, was sentenced today to 17 years for defrauding Medicare. Her co-defendant was sentenced to 8 years imprisonment for his role in the scheme.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office, and Derrick Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), made the announcement.

According to the indictment and statements made at the sentencing hearing, Alejandra Collazo, 43, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, and Ricardo Corria, 49, of Miami, Florida, defrauded the Medicare program through Vortex. At Vortex, Collazo used the stolen identities of physicians to forge prescriptions that prescribed home health services. Collazo and Corria later sold these forged prescriptions to patient recruiters for $100 each. Home health agencies located in Miami-Dade County then submitted these forged prescriptions to Medicare, which represented millions of dollars in false and fraudulent claims.

During the course of this conspiracy Collazo represented that she was a State of Florida Licensed Nurse Practitioner. In previous corporate filings Collazo had represented to the State of Florida that she was a Medical Doctor. Collazo has never been a licensed medical professional in the State of Florida or any other jurisdiction. Collazo has a number of criminal convictions and has been sentenced to state prison on multiple occasions. Corria was previously convicted of cocaine trafficking and served time in federal prison.

The court also ordered each of Collazo and Corria to pay restitution to the Medicare program in the amount of $8,459,664. On December 5, 2014, Collazo pled guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, as well as one count of aggravated identity theft. On the same date, Corria pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and receive health care kickbacks, and one substantive count of receipt of health care kickbacks.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin J. Larsen.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A Parkland man was sentenced to 32 months imprisonment for conspiring to traffic in counterfeit Xanax and illegally distributing steroids.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, David W. Bourne, Special Agent in Charge, Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, Miami Field Office, and Ric Bradshaw, Sheriff, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, made the announcement.

According to court documents and statements made by the parties at the sentencing hearing, Frank Fiore, 60, sold counterfeit Xanax and Viagra to undercover officers, as well as, to a cooperating source. Fiore also sold them steroids and offered to sell them counterfeit U.S. currency. In addition, Fiore tried to help his co-defendant Anthony Carbone, 31, of Deerfield Beach, Florida, buy a kilogram of cocaine. During the course of the drug dealings, Fiore also asked an undercover officer to kill two of Fiore’s associates and to beat up Fiore’s brother-in-law.

Carbone was previously convicted of conspiracy to traffic in a counterfeit drug and distribution of controlled substances and was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment. Co-defendant Gary Lee Jones, 55, of Boca Raton, Florida, was convicted of conspiracy to traffic in a counterfeit drug and possession of a firearm after conviction for a felony and also sentenced to 24 months imprisonment.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Osborne.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Two Highlands County men who shot two law enforcement officers during the execution of the arrest warrants were sentenced for firearm and drug trafficking offenses.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, A.D. Wright, Acting Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Miami Field Division, Amos Rojas, Jr., U.S. Marshal, U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), Hugo Barrera, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), John Burke and Troy Walker, Special Agents in Charge, Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Ft. Myers and Miami Regional Offices, respectively, Susan Benton, Sheriff, Highlands County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), Paul C. May, Sheriff, Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO), and Ken J. Mascara, Sheriff, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office (SLCSO), made the announcement.

Alex Guerrier, 29, and Robin Jean Guillaume, 28, were sentenced for their convictions for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine hydrochloride and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking in Fort Pierce, Florida. Guerrier was sentenced to 330 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release and Guillaume was sentenced to 308 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release.

According to court documents, Guerrier and Guillame were part of a drug trafficking organization which operated in Highlands, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties within the Southern District of Florida and elsewhere. The drug trafficking organization was responsible for the distribution of multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine hydrochloride, cocaine base, commonly referred to as “crack” cocaine, and other illegal narcotics. During the execution of the arrest warrants for Guerrier and Guillaume, two law enforcement officers were shot.

This case 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 OCDETF mission is to identify, investigate, and prosecute high level members of drug trafficking enterprises, bringing together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the DEA, USMS, ATF, FDLE, HCSO, OCSO, and SLCSO. Mr. Ferrer also thanked the Sebring Police Department for their assistance in this matter. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer C. Nucci.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A Miami-Dade County resident was arrested and charged in a criminal complaint in connection with a Jamaica based lottery scam.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Ronald J. Verrochio, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and Alysa D. Erichs, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), made the announcement.

Rowan George Hemmings, 46, was charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud for his role in a Jamaica based telemarketing fraud scheme.

According to the criminal complaint, beginning in or about December 2012, Hemmings’ co-conspirators are alleged to have contacted victims in the U.S. and falsely informed them that they had won a lottery. The co-conspirators told victims they had to pay several thousand dollars in order to collect their purported lottery winnings. The co-conspirators then allegedly instructed the victims on how to send this money, and to whom, including to Hemmings. According to the complaint, the victims never received any lottery winnings.

In January 2013, Hemmings was contacted in Miramar, Florida, by law enforcement regarding a package, which was sent through the mail, containing money from a victim of this fraud. At that time and after being confronted with the fact that he was participating in a lottery fraud scheme, Hemmings signed a “Consent Agreement to Cease and Desist” whereby he voluntarily agreed to stop receiving money from victims of telemarketing fraud.

In January 2015, law enforcement identified a package mailed by another victim of this lottery fraud, addressed to Hemmings in Homestead, Florida. According to the complaint, Hemmings made multiple attempts to receive this package thereby continuing his participation in the lottery fraud and violating the terms of his agreement to Cease and Desist with this activity.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the USPIS, ICE-HSI, U.S. Marshals Service, Broward Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Interdiction Task Force, Miami Dade Police Department Economic Crimes Unit and the Jamaica Constabulary Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha R. Mitrani.

In 2008, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Jamaica Constabulary Force established the Project JOLT (Jamaican Operations Linked to Telemarketing) taskforce in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance’s Financial Investigative Unit, and Jamaica Customs (hereinafter, JOLT taskforce). The JOLT taskforce is focused on identifying, disrupting and dismantling the severe increase in Jamaican based telemarketing fraud operations that prey on U.S. senior citizens. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Marshal Service are domestic partners of the JOLT taskforce.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A Delray Beach doctor has been charged with eight counts of health care fraud.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office, and Derrick Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), made the announcement.

According to allegations in the indictment, Isaac Kojo Anakwah Thompson, M.D., 55, operated Isaac K. A. Thompson, M.D., P.A. in Delray Beach, and IM Medical P.A. in Boynton Beach, Florida. These clinics were Primary Care Physicians (PCP) in Humana’s HMO network. Therefore, a beneficiary enrolled in a Humana health maintenance organization (HMO) Medicare Advantage plan could choose Thompson’s clinics as the beneficiary’s PCP. Humana paid each clinic approximately 80% of the capitated fee associated with each beneficiary who had selected the clinic as his or her PCP.

Thompson defrauded Medicare by submitting fraudulent diagnoses to Humana for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. Humana reported the diagnoses to Medicare, and Medicare in turn increased the capitation payments associated with many of the beneficiaries. In total, Medicare paid at least approximately $2.1 million in excess capitation fees as a result of the scheme. Humana paid approximately 80% of the increased capitation payments to Thompson’s clinics. Because the diagnoses were false, Thompson did not have any corresponding increase in his cost to treat the patients.

According to the allegations in the indictment, the Medicare Advantage program is a voluntary program which allows Medicare beneficiaries to enroll in health insurance plans sponsored by private insurance companies. For each beneficiary who chooses to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan, Medicare pays the sponsoring insurance company a fixed, or capitated, monthly fee. Medicare does not adjust the fee based on the cost of providing medical care to the beneficiary. Instead, Medicare adjusts the fee based on the beneficiary’s medical conditions. In other words, Medicare generally pays a larger capitated fee for a beneficiary with more serious medical conditions than it does for a healthier beneficiary. Medicare determines a beneficiary’s medical conditions in part using diagnoses submitted by the beneficiary’s Medicare Advantage plan. The fraud in this case involved certain Medicare Advantage plans sponsored by Humana, Inc. These Humana plans operated as HMO: each enrolled beneficiary selected a PCP enrolled in Humana’s network. Before seeing a specialist, the beneficiary generally needed a referral from his or her PCP.

If convicted, Thompson faces maximum possible statutory sentences of 10 years in prison for each count.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Osborne.

An indictment is only an accusation and a defendant is 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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A Pompano Beach, Florida, resident was arrested and charged in a criminal complaint with bank robbery.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office, and Scott Israel, Sheriff, Broward Sherriff’s Office (BSO), made the announcement.

Craig Joseph Naughtin, 43, was arrested by the Broward Sheriff’s Office and the FBI in connection with a bank robbery. Naughtin made his initial appearance in court this morning.

According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, on February 3, 2015, a white male, later identified as Naughtin, entered the Wells Fargo Bank in Pompano Beach. Naughtin walked into the bank, approached the victim bank teller and handed the teller a white piece of paper. The teller read the first part of the note that stated “give me all the money in your drawer.” The teller stated she was in fear for her safety and gave the subject a stack of money. Naughtin then fled the bank.

The bank robbery was recorded on Wells Fargo Bank’s video surveillance cameras and the subject was later identified as Naughtin. In a search incident to Naughtin’s arrest, law enforcement officers found $3,561.00, on the defendant as well as the demand note stating “no this is not a joke all the money in the cash draw, no GPS, no dye packs, I’ll be on my way no problems.”

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, BSO and the South Florida Violent Crimes Task Force for their work on this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Katz.

A complaint is only an accusation, and a defendant is 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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Miramar resident and mortgage lender was sentenced today to 100 months imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $8,215,197.28 in restitution for his recruitment of straw buyers and other conduct in an $8,000,000 mortgage fraud scheme.

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

Karl Oreste, 56, pled guilty in July 2014 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution. According to documents filed with the court and statements made in court during the plea, Oreste, president of KMC Mortgage Corporation of Florida, a mortgage lending business located in North Miami Beach, along with co-defendants, Okechukwu Josiah Odunna, a/k/a “O.J. Odunna,” Marie Lucie Tondreau, a/k/a “Lucie Tondreau”, and Kelly Augustin, operated a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, between December 2005 and May 2008. Oreste and Tondreau, who at the time was a community activist, hosted several radio show programs in the South Florida area which catered to the South Florida Haitian community. During these programs they advertised the services offered by KMC Mortgage. Oreste and Tondreau recruited and paid some of the listeners who responded to those advertisements, as well as other individuals, to pose as borrowers to purchase properties identified by Oreste. Augustin, an employee of KMC Mortgage, also recruited straw borrowers.

According to statements made in court, Oreste, Odunna and other co-conspirators prepared or caused to be prepared applications on behalf of straw borrowers. Odunna was an attorney previously licensed to practice law in Florida and president of O.J. Odunna, P.A. and Direct Title and Escrow Services. These loan applications included false information relating to employment, wages, assets and intent to make the property being purchased a primary residence. The loan applications and documents were submitted by co-conspirators to various mortgage lenders throughout the United States. Once the loan applications were approved, the defendant wired loan funds to O.J. Odunna, P.A., Direct Title or other title companies for closing.

In some instances Oreste, Odunna and other co-conspirators created and submitted duplicate HUD-Settlement Statement Forms, which grossly inflated the true purchase price of the properties. Lenders were not told how the loan proceeds were being disbursed.

At closing, a portion of loan proceeds were disbursed to Oreste through his company, JR Investment and Mortgage Corporation, or other bank accounts controlled by him. A portion was in some instances diverted to accounts controlled by O.J. Odunna, P.A. and Direct Title. Oreste disbursed some of the proceeds that he received to pay recruiters, such as Tondreau and Augustin, and straw borrowers. Oreste also transferred a substantial portion of the funds to the bank account of LTO Investment Corporation’s, a company controlled by Tondreau. Tondreau used funds deposited in LTO Investment Corporation’s bank accounts to make payments on the falsely and fraudulently obtained mortgages in order to maintain the loans, and to conceal and further the fraud. She also used a portion of the funds deposited into LTO Investment Corporation’s bank accounts for her own personal use and benefit.

Over the course of the conspiracy, the defendants fraudulently obtained loans on approximately 20 properties, for which the lenders have suffered losses in the amount of approximately $8.2 million.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lois Foster-Steers.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Jerry Sutherland, 28, of Miami-Dade County, Florida, a former officer with the City of Miami Police Department, was charged today with two counts of extortion.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office, Rodolfo Llanes, Chief, City of Miami Police Department, made the announcement.

As alleged in the Information:

On or about January 28, 2014, Sutherland knowingly and unlawfully attempted to obstruct, delay and affect commerce through extortion by agreeing to protect and facilitate an illegal gambling operation in exchange for the receipt of cash payments.

The Information further alleges that on or about July 15, 2014, Officer Sutherland knowingly and unlawfully attempted to obstruct, delay and affect commerce through extortion by agreeing to facilitate the theft of proceeds from an illegal gambling operation in exchange for the receipt of cash payments.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI Miami Area Corruption Task Force and the City of Miami Police Department Internal Affairs Section. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Harry C. Wallace, Jr.

An indictment or information contains mere allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Attachments: Information - Jerry Sutherland (PDF)

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Three Broward Residents pled guilty for preparing false tax returns for their clients.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement.

Steven Tidas, of Tamarac, Sylvanie Junior Pierre, of Lauderdale Lakes, and Stenor Prosper, of Parkland, each pled guilty to one count of conspiracy.

According to court documents, the defendants served as officers of Value Tax Services, Inc. and/or Value Financial Group, Inc., both of Sunrise. The defendants prepared tax returns for individuals that falsely claimed tax credits for being a first time home buyer, when the defendants knew the taxpayers had not purchased a home and did not qualify for the credit. The defendants also prepared tax returns for individuals that falsely claimed that the taxpayers had household help income, or inflated household help income, and they falsely inflated other income or deductions in order to increase the amount of the taxpayers’ refunds.

Intended loss to the government committed by Tidas, Pierre, and Prosper is $531,146, $284,550, and $163,053, respectively.

Judge Robin Rosenberg will issue an order setting a sentencing date for all defendants. The defendants each face a maximum of five years in prison.

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

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A St. Lucie County resident was sentenced to 70 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Ken J. Mascara, Sheriff, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, made the announcement.

Patrick J. Ward previously pled guilty to one count of possessing fifteen or more access devices and one count of aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents, during a search warrant of Ward’s residence, law enforcement recovered two notebooks, 4 apartment applications, 55 Lexis automobile printouts, and 43 printouts of inmate information from the Florida Department of Corrections that contained a total of 572 other individuals’ names and social security numbers. Ward purchased the notebooks for $200, and obtained the Lexis customer information printouts from an employee who worked at Lexis on US l in Fort Pierce. Ward paid the Lexis employee about $80 worth of oxycodone pills for the printouts that she accessed and printed from a work computer located at her office.

According to court documents, a cell mate of Ward’s was interested in buying any social security numbers that Ward could come across to be used to prepare false tax returns. Ward admitted that he bought all the notebooks and papers to resell for profit.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI and the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney L. Coker.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announce that David Boden, 53, of Hallandale Beach, was sentenced today in West Palm Beach by United States District Judge Kenneth A. Marra to 18 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release. On October 23, 2014, Boden pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the operation of the former Fort Lauderdale law firm of Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler, P.A. (RRA). In 2009, it was discovered that RRA was being utilized by its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Scott W. Rothstein, to commit a massive Ponzi scheme stemming from the sale of fictitious confidential settlements.

Boden was an attorney who, in April 2008, began employment at RRA as a non-equity shareholder. In connection with his guilty plea, Boden admitted that, in February 2009, he began assisting broker Richard L. Pearson in the sale of the settlements. Pearson would receive a sales commission from Rothstein derived from the money paid by the investor, and would pay a portion of that sales commission to Boden for his services. Beginning in September 2009, a group of investors (the “Investor Group”) began investing in the confidential settlement agreements following a meeting with Rothstein. Boden and Pearson agreed that the Investor Group would pay a sales commission directly to Pearson. The Investor Group was not informed by Boden or Pearson that they were also receiving an additional undisclosed sales commission from the money paid by the Investor Group to Rothstein. Boden and Pearson, through material misstatements and omissions made to the Investor Group, caused it to incur a loss of approximately $2,400,000.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the IRS-CI and the FBI. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lawrence D. LaVecchio, Paul F. Schwartz, and Jeffrey N. Kaplan.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A Miami Dade County resident was sentenced today to 51 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release, for conspiring with another defendant to launder money from purported narcotics transactions.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement.

On November 20, 2014, Pavel Sosa Medina, 46, of Miami, pled guilty to a one-count information charging him with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States.

According to court documents, from January 2014 through August 2014, Sosa Medina conspired with defendant Amado Vazquez to launder money from purported narcotics transactions. In January 2014, Vazquez met with an IRS undercover agent (UCA). The UCA said he was in the business of laundering money for Mexican drug dealers from the sale of cocaine. The UCA advised Vazquez that he needed help moving $15,000 to $20,000 in cash a day, and Vazquez indicated that he could assist with the laundering of these proceeds.

On several occasions, according to court documents, from March 2014 through July 2014, the UCA provided Vazquez with over $400,000 in currency that represented purported narcotics transactions proceeds. Vazquez provided the UCA with checks to various shell companies or returned the money to the UCA via wires to the bank accounts of shell corporations.

Court documents further explain that on August 21, 2014, Vazquez admitted his involvement in the scheme and explained that he and Sosa Medina split a 15% fee for laundering this money. On that same day, Vazquez contacted Sosa Medina and advised in code that Vazquez had several hundred thousand dollars in cash. Sosa Medina arrived at Vazquez’s residence where he was arrested by law enforcement. ln Sosa Medina’s car, law enforcement found approximately twenty to thirty thousand dollars in cash and a large number of blank checks from a construction company.

On November 6, 2014, Vazquez pled guilty to the one-count information charging him with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States. On January 14, 2015, Vazquez was sentenced to 34 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the IRS-CI. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael N. Berger.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A Peruvian man charged with running an operation that threatened and defrauded Spanish-speaking U.S. residents was sentenced today to more than 17 years in prison in federal district court in Miami, the Department of Justice and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) announced.

Juan Alejandro Rodriguez Cuya, 35, was sentenced to serve 210 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for his operation of Angeluz Florida Corporation and call centers in Peru that lied to and threatened Spanish-speaking victims into paying fraudulent settlements for nonexistent debts. In addition to his prison sentence, Rodriguez Cuya was ordered to forfeit assets.

In October 2014, Rodriguez Cuya was convicted by a jury after less than two hours of deliberation following a two-week trial before U.S. District Court Judge Patricia A. Seitz. The 26 charges against him included conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and attempted extortion. His mother, Maria Luzula, pleaded guilty to all counts against her midway through trial and on Dec. 18, 2014, was sentenced to serve 165 months in prison.

“Consumer fraud that targets a specific population is shameful,” said U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer for the Southern District of Florida. “In this case, the defendants targeted Spanish-speaking consumers and falsely threatened them with arrest, deportation, forfeiture of property or harm to their credit scores when the consumers refused to settle claims for products that were not delivered or ordered. Such tactics are intolerable. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed and stands united with the Department of Justice’s Civil Division Consumer Protection Branch to protect our consumers from fraud.”

“The victims of this case tell horrible stories of false threats made against them – threats of seized property, arrest and sometimes even deportation,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will be particularly vigilant in cases such as this, in which individuals target and exploit specific populations.”

According to evidence presented at trial, the defendants’ employees in Peru used Internet-based telephone calls to threaten Spanish-speaking victims in the United States. The Peruvian callers falsely accused the victims of having failed to accept delivery of certain products and claimed that the victims owed thousands of dollars in fines and that lawsuits would be brought against them. In reality, the victims had never ordered these products and nothing had been delivered.

Additional evidence at trial established that the call center employees claimed that the consumers could resolve the fines if they immediately paid a “settlement fee.” Consumers who contested these settlement fees were told that failure to pay could lead to arrest, deportation or seizure of property. Thousands of victims succumbed to these threats and paid fees that they did not owe.

Victims who testified at trial spoke of how anxious the calls made them. The victims were so afraid of the threats that they paid fees they simply could not afford. At sentencing, victims told the judge that they have lost trust in people and that they still become nervous when their phones ring. Also at sentencing, a victim told the judge that, like many other people, she came to this country for opportunity and a better life, but the crime made her feel she was not in the United States. It made her feel assaulted without any recourse.

“The USPIS will continue to aggressively investigate and go after those who defraud citizens of their hard earned money through the use of threats and other abusive tactics,” said Postal Inspector in Charge Ronald Verrochio of the USPIS Miami Division.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Branda commended the USPIS for its investigative efforts and thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida for their contributions to the case. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Phil Toomajian and Assistant Director Richard Goldberg of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

The Department of Justice announced a sentencing and guilty plea for two members of a family run sex trafficking organization based in southern Florida. Rafael Alberto Cadena-Sosa was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Joes E. Martinez to serve 15 years in prison and Carmen Cadena pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Jose Martinez for participating in a brutal family run sex trafficking organization.

Rafael Alberto Cadena-Sosa

Cadena-Sosa, 46, a Mexican national, was sentenced to serve 15 years in prison for conspiring and holding a person in a condition of involuntary servitude. Judge Martinez also ordered Cadena-Sosa to pay $1,261,563 in restitution to sixteen different victims.

On Oct. 9, 2014, Cadena-Sosa pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to holding a person in a condition of involuntary servitude. As part of his plea, Cadena-Sosa admitted that he, along with other family members and associates, approached women and girls, some as young as fourteen years old, in Veracruz, Mexico, and lured them into coming to the United States using false promises of legitimate jobs. After illegally smuggling women and girls into the United States, Cadena-Sosa and other family members imposed a smuggling debt and used brutal physical force and violence, sexual assaults, and threats of death and bodily harm to the victims and their families to compel the victims to engage in prostitution 12 hours a day, six days a week and turn over the proceeds to the defendants to pay down the smuggling debts the defendants imposed. Cadena-Sosa and other family members would also search for victims who had run away from a brothel and subject them to beatings and rapes upon capture.

Carmen Cadena

Cadena, 48, a Mexican national, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy for conspiring with other members of the Cadena organization to unlawfully encourage and bring undocumented victims into the U.S.; unlawfully transport victims within the U.S.; unlawfully harbor victims within the U.S.; unlawfully coerce and transport victims, including victims as young as 14-years-old, into the U.S. for purposes of illegal sexual activity; and unlawfully use extortionate means to collect extensions of credit made to the victims.

Cadena faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $500,000. Sentencing is scheduled to occur on May 18, 2015. According to the terms of the plea agreement, the parties will jointly recommend the maximum sentence of five years in prison and $1,261,563 in restitution to 16 victims.

Sixteen defendants were charged in a superseding indictment filed in 1998. Mexican authorities arrested Rafael Alberto Cadena-Sosa and Carmen Cadena and extradited them to the United States in November 2013 and December 2014, respectively. Four other members of the Cadena sex trafficking organization have been convicted, including Cadena-Sosa’s uncle, Rogerio Cadena, who pleaded guilty in 1999 and was sentenced to 15 years; Cadena-Sosa’s brother, Abel Cadena-Sosa, who was convicted in Mexico and sentenced to 24 years, and two other brothers, Hugo and Juan Luis Cadena-Sosa—Carmen Cadena’s husband—, who pleaded guilty in 2002 and 2008, and were sentenced to five years and 15 years respectively. Six other defendants previously pleaded guilty in federal court in connection with the scheme, and one was convicted in state court for a murder outside a Cadena-run brothel.

Since 2009, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security as well as law enforcement agencies in Mexico, have worked to develop high-impact prosecutions to dismantle human trafficking networks operating across the U.S.-Mexico border, bring human traffickers to justice, restore the rights and dignity of human trafficking victims, and reunite victims with their children held under the trafficking networks’ control. These efforts have resulted in numerous successful prosecutions, including U.S. federal prosecutions of over 50 defendants in multiple cases in Georgia, New York, Florida, and Texas since 2009.

“Rafael Cadena-Sosa and Carmen Cadena preyed on vulnerable girls and young women and lured them to the United States with the promise of a better life,” said U.S. Attorney Wilfredo A. Ferrer for the Southern District of Florida. “Instead, Cadena-Sosa and his family and associates robbed these victims of their freedom and dignity, brutally beat them and subjected them to modern-day slavery. The dismantling of the Cadena organization reaffirms our unwavering commitment to prosecute those who seek to profit at the expense of the suffering of to others. We will continue to work with our domestic and international law enforcement partners to bring justice to those who engage in this inhumane practice. This case is one example of bilateral progress to effectively dismantle human trafficking networks operating across the U.S.-Mexico border.”

“No human being should have to endure the violence and brutality these young women and girls suffered at the hands of the Cadena organization,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta for the Civil Rights Division. “These violations of the victims’ individual rights and freedom are intolerable and the Department of Justice will continue in its commitment to bringing human traffickers to justice and restore the rights and dignity of the courageous survivors of this crime.”

“The long prison sentence imposed upon Rafael Alberto Cadena-Sosa is a testament to the cooperation and commitment of numerous law enforcement agencies both here and in Mexico to stop this appalling criminal activity,” said Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI Miami Office. “We will continue working with our partners to dismantle human trafficking networks such as this one that operate in the shadows and brutalize their victims.”

U.S. Attorney Ferrer and Acting Assistant Attorney General Gupta praised the collaborative efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies throughout the investigation and prosecution, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Office of International Affairs, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, West Palm Beach Police Department, Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Pierce Police Department, Avon Park Police Department, Boynton Beach Police Department, and Lee County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam McMichael and Trial Attorney Matthew Grady of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Fort Pierce tax preparer was sentenced today to 81 months, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for preparing tax returns that included fraudulent information. As part of his sentence, the court ordered Maurival to pay $349,992.00, in restitution to the IRS.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement.

On November 17, 2014, Rony Maurival, 39, pled guilty to four counts related to his filing of false tax returns, one count of theft of government funds, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

According to the indictment and details discussed in open court, from July 2008 to March 2012, Maurival owned and operated “RJ’s Tax & Services,” a tax return preparation business located in Fort Pierce, Florida. Maurival admitted to adding false wage and income information to his client’s tax returns in order to illegally maximize the earned income tax credit (EITC) claimed on their tax returns. The EITC is a refundable tax credit designed to assist low to moderate income taxpayers. Maurival admitted that his actions resulted in a tax loss to the IRS of between $1 million and $2.5 million.

Maurival also admitted to filing his own false tax returns for years 2009 and 2010. Specifically, Maurival admitted to not reporting more than $250,000 in tax preparation fee income earned through his business in those years. Maurival further admitted to using stolen identity information to file false tax returns with the IRS in order to steal money from the United States. In doing so, he would direct the false tax refunds to bank accounts that he controlled.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the IRS-CI. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Russell R. Killinger and Department of Justice Tax Division Trial Attorney Charles M. Edgar, Jr.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Three Florida lobster divers pled guilty for illegal harvesting activities. Additionally, a Florida corporation pled guilty for their illegal activity related to the illegal harvesting activities.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Tracy Dunn, Assistant Director, NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, Sean Morton, Superintendent of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS), and David Pharo, Resident Agent in Charge U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Miami, made the announcement.

Charles Veach, 39, of Coppitt Key, Florida, Ryan Veach, 41, formerly of Bay Point, Florida, and Tyson Veach, 36, of Stock Island, Florida, pled guilty to the offense of knowingly transporting, selling, receiving acquiring, and purchasing lobster, when in the exercise of due care they should have known the lobster was taken, possessed, transported, and intended to be sold in violation of the laws and regulations of the State of Florida. Additionally, Super Grouper, Inc., a Florida corporation with its principal place of business in Key West, Florida, pled guilty to knowingly engaging and attempting to engage in conduct that involved the sale and purchase of, offer of sale and purchase of, and intent to sell and purchase spiny lobster, with a market value in excess of $350.00, and did knowingly transport, sell, acquire and purchase said spiny lobster in interstate commerce, knowing that said spiny lobster was taken, possessed, transported, and sold in violation of and in a manner unlawful under the laws and regulations of the State of Florida, specifically, Florida Administrative Code, Sections 68B-24.006(10).

According to the Indictment filed against the defendants, a Joint Factual Statement submitted to the Court, and statements in Court, at all relevant times Charles Veach was the president and director of Super Grouper, Inc. The corporation was the registered owner of a 32’ Invincible, center-console fishing vessel, the “Super Grouper.”

In August 2006, on the eve of the opening of commercial lobstering season in Monroe County, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service agents placed a Global Positioning System (GPS) tracker on the fishing vessel “Super Grouper.” The GPS device permitted enforcement officers to identify sites in the Gulf of Mexico where the vessel operated by C. Veach and R. Veach had lingered for significant periods of time over the following week in the FKNMS.

On August 10, 2009, C. Veach and R. Veach operated the vessel “Super Grouper” in the course of spiny lobster harvesting activities in the FKNMS. During that voyage, surveillance aircraft operated by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC), observed and videotaped them diving within the FKNMS. Special Agents of NOAA Office of Law Enforcement videotaped the return of the “Super Grouper” to the residence of C. Veach on Big Coppitt Key. The agents also videotaped five bins and one bag of spiny lobster being unloaded from the vessel, which C. Veach sold to a wholesale dealer in Key West according to trip tickets and receipts filed with the FWCC, as required by law, and retained by the dealer.

The August 10, 2009 sites, identified by the GPS tracker and surveillance, were later surveyed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Region 4 Dive Team. Artificial habitat, also known as “casitas,” were located at each site. Additionally, thorough search of the areas surrounding the sites revealed no natural habitat suitable for sheltering spiny lobster.

On August 19, 2014, NOAA Special Agents observed and photographed C. Veach and T. Veach departing Hurricane Hole Marina, Stock Island, on the “Super Grouper” and enter the FKNMS waters in the Gulf of Mexico. During that trip, Customs and Border Protection air assets observed, videotaped, and documented multiple locations at which T. Veach engaged in diving activities within the FKNMS. On their return, NOAA Special Agents photographed the landing of spiny lobster at a Stock Island commercial wholesale dealer. T. Veach was identified as one of the two occupants of the “Super Grouper” participating in the landing and subsequent sale of spiny lobster to the wholesale dealer.

On August 15, 2014, the vessel “Super Grouper” was observed in the FKNMS by Customs and Border Protection air assets who again videotaped multiple locations at which an individual deployed from the “Super Grouper” engaged in diving activities. Surveillance videos reflect the harvesting and presence in multiple locations on board the “Super Grouper” of spiny lobster. At the conclusion of the trip NOAA Special Agents witnessed the landing and sale of spiny lobster to a Stock Island commercial wholesale dealer. The occupants of the vessel included C. Veach. The spiny lobster harvested by the “Super Grouper” were sold in two transactions, to a wholesale dealer on Stock Island and a wholesale dealer in Key West for a total exceeding $3,000.

The FKNMS is a 2,800 square nautical mile area that surrounds the entire archipelago of the Florida Keys and includes the productive waters of Florida Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic Ocean. The FKNMS encompasses coastal and oceanic waters, and the submerged lands thereunder, surrounding the Florida Keys, and extending westward to include the Tortugas islands, but excluding Dry Tortugas National Park.

Pursuant to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act and the National Marine Sanctuary Act, NOAA issued regulations in January 1997 to govern the conduct of activities within the sanctuary. Title 15, CFR Subsection 922.163(a)(3) prohibits any alteration of, or construction on, the seabed. Drilling into, dredging, or otherwise altering the seabed of the Sanctuary, or engaging in prop-dredging; or constructing, placing, or abandoning any structure, material, or other matter on the seabed of the Sanctuary is prohibited.

Pursuant to an agreement reached with the United States, the defendants agreed to jointly recommend a term of six months imprisonment, a $25,000 fine, and a one year term of supervised release, during which they will be barred from any involvement in lobster harvesting. Additionally, the defendants surrendered a list of all their illegal harvesting sites to the government, and are committed to removing all the sites at their own expense from federal and State waters under agent supervision. The defendants also agreed to forfeiture of the 2008 32” Invincible fishing vessel used in the offense, and its engines, tackle, and appurtenances as instrumentalities of the crimes, and surrender of their various crustacean and dive endorsements issued by the State of Florida.

C. Veach, R. Veach and T. Veach each face possible terms of imprisonment of up to one year. Additionally, they may be fined up to $100,000, ordered to make restitution to identifiable victims of the offenses, and be placed on supervised release for up to one year. The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on May 5, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. at the Key West Sidney M. Aronovitz Federal Courthouse by U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King.

Mr. Ferrer commended the joint investigative efforts of the Special Agents of NOAA Office of Law Enforcement, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement who led the long-term investigation into the illegal harvesting and sale of spiny lobster. Mr. Ferrer also thanked Customs and Border Protection, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service Region 4 Dive Team for their investigative efforts. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Watts-FitzGerald and Antonio Barnes.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Broward County resident pled guilty in identity theft schemes involving fraudulent income tax refunds and Social Security benefits.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Paula Reid, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, Thomas Caul, Special Agent in Charge, Social Security Administration (SSA), Office of Inspector General (OIG), and Scott Israel, Sheriff, Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), made the announcement.

Sheldon Mozie, II, 23, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Mozie’s residence and seized papers/notes containing at least 182 victims’ personal identifying information (PII), a thumb drive containing at least 99 additional victims, Mozie’s computer, and debit cards. Computer forensic investigators determined that Mozie’s computer contained the PII of many of the same victims’ that were found in the notes/papers in Mozie’s bedroom, in addition to other victims’ PII. Mozie filed 49 federal income tax returns for tax year 2013 using the PII of many of the victims that were found on the papers/notes in his bedroom. Between February 10, 2014 and May 6, 2014, for the tax year 2013, Mozie claimed $208,559 on the fraudulent tax returns.

Mozie also utilized the stolen PII to divert Social Security benefit payments to himself that belonged to additional identity theft victims. To accomplish this scheme, Mozie logged onto the Social Security Administration website, “my Social Security,” with the victims’ names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers to open online accounts in those victims’ identities. Once the online accounts were opened, Mozie was able to divert the Social Security benefit payments from the victims to himself by having the funds deposited onto prepaid debit cards (mostly Green Dot cards) or by directly depositing the funds into his personal bank account. Between September 2013 and May 2014, Mozie diverted approximately $25,027 in Social Security benefits to himself.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 6, 2015, at 1:15 p.m. At sentencing, Mozie faces up to twenty years in prison for the wire fraud charge, and a mandatory term of two years in prison, consecutive to any other term in prison, for the aggravated identity theft charge.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI, the USSS, SSA-OIG, and BSO. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia E. Shick.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

West Palm Beach resident pled guilty to willful retention of classified national defense information pursuant to the Espionage Act, one count of computer intrusion pursuant to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and one count of conspiracy to commit naturalization fraud, while employed as a computer systems administrator at a U.S. Military installation in Honduras.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, John P. Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, George Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and the members of the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force, made the announcement.

Christopher R. Glenn, 34, gained unauthorized access to classified computer files containing national defense information that belonged to the Department of Defense and U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Task Force Bravo in Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras. Once Glenn accessed those files, he copied classified information stored under the Joint Task Force Commander’s account, which information he retained.

Glenn also conspired with his wife, Khadraa A. Glenn, 28, to commit naturalization fraud for her benefit by fabricating fraudulent documents and submitting false statements and the documents to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Khadraa A. Glenn previously pled guilty to naturalization fraud conspiracy and was sentenced on October 7, 2014.

“Obtaining national defense information when you are not entitled to it is a serious threat to our national security,” said U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer. “In committing this crime, Christopher Glenn abused his position of trust. Violations of the espionage act and computer intrusion are unacceptable and we will continue to investigate and seek to hold accountable those who engage in it.”

“Christopher Glenn accessed, copied and retained classified information that belonged to the Department of Defense and the U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Task Force, without authorization,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “Systems administrators occupy a place of unique trust in an organization due to their extensive access to the cyber systems they maintain. With today’s plea, Mr. Glenn is being held accountable for his violation of that trust.”

“The Cold War may be over, but espionage, spies trying to steal our nation’s most valuable secrets are still at it,” said George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami. “More than ever, the FBI remains vigilant to protect critical national secrets and assets. If you are aware of this type of activity, report it immediately to the FBI.”

Glenn is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra, on April 17, 2015, at 2:00 p.m. He faces a possible statutory maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison on each of counts 1 and 5, and up to 5 years in prison on count 10; 3 years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, U.S. Army’s 470th Military Intelligence Brigade, U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigations Division, the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), USCIS, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Homeland Security and the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ricardo Del Toro and Trial Attorney Christian Ford of the Counterespionage Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A Miami-Dade County resident was sentenced to 61 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Paula Reid, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

Noel Barrientos previously pled guilty to one count of possessing fifteen or more access devices (social security numbers of other people) and one count of aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Barrientos’ residence based on suspected narcotics activity. During the search warrant, officers observed and recovered a total of 15 credit/debit cards that were located throughout the premises all in different names including names of men and women not associated with Barrientos or his residence. Three of the cards were located in Barrientos’ wallet.

Court documents also state that during the search warrant, law enforcement found a computer that contained a file with the names, dates of birth, and social security numbers of 8,678 unique patients. Agents determined that the list came from a doctor’s office located on Sunset Drive in South Miami. A former doctor’s office employee, Gillian Armstrong [1:14-cr-20339], had access to the patient list and sold it to Barrientos. Barrientos sold the names to other individuals who used the fraudulently obtained names to file fraudulent income tax returns. Law enforcement officers also tracked fraudulent income tax return filings to Barrientos’ residence.

On September 16, 2015, Armstrong was sentenced to 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for her role in the scheme. Armstrong previously pled guilty to one count of possessing fifteen or more access devices (social security numbers of other people) and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI and the USSS. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brooke C. Watson.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A Broward County resident was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra to 36 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $350,470.00 in restitution in a loan modification scheme.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Paula Reid, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, and Ronald J. Verrochio, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, made the announcement.

Jeffrey Charles Leroy Taylor, 40, of Fort Lauderdale, previously pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, and mail fraud.

According to the indictment and other documents filed in the case, between September 2008 and August 2009, the defendants operated boiler rooms that collected advance fees from distressed homeowners purportedly in exchange for obtaining loan modifications for the homeowners which were, with few exceptions, never provided. All ten defendants charged in this case have pled guilty to the charges, which involved a scheme to bilk thousands of homeowners who were struggling to make their mortgage payments. Taylor’s co-defendants received initial sentences ranging from 21 months to 134 months in prison.

The indictment alleges that Jason Vitulano was the organizer and operator of FHA All Day.com, Inc. and two other companies, Housing Assistance Law Center, Inc. and Safety Financial Corp., which operated the boiler rooms in Boca Raton and later in Deerfield Beach. According to the indictment and the factual proffers submitted in support of the guilty pleas, Jeffrey Taylor served as a team manager of four to eight telemarketers who made thousands of phone calls to homeowners behind on their mortgage payments. According to the Sentencing Memorandum filed by the defendant, Jeffrey Taylor previously played football for the University of Miami and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

As alleged in the indictment, the defendants made false statements to the homeowners including telling homeowners they had already been approved or pre-approved for a loan modification that would save the homeowner a specific amount off their mortgage payment, reducing the interest rate and often the principal balance on the mortgage loan. The defendants, according to the indictment, routinely told customers that they had been approved by an “underwriter” and that they had a team of “expert attorneys” who would finalize the loan modifications.

The indictment further alleges that the defendants targeted homeowners across the country who were facing foreclosure, falsely telling them that the company would stop the foreclosure process and that homeowners could stop making mortgage payments while they waited for the company to finalize their loan modifications. FHA All Day, as alleged in the indictment, moved its offices and changed the corporate name several times to avoid law enforcement scrutiny and to hamper consumer complaints. Through the use of these and other false representations, the defendants, according to the indictment, induced over 2,000 distressed homeowners to pay up front fees totaling more than seven million dollars to the defendants.

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

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Two Florida marine life dealers pled guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lurana Snow in Key West, Florida, for trafficking wildlife.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Tracey Dunn, Assistant Director, NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, and David Pharo, Resident Agent in Charge, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement, made the announcement.

Robert V. Kelton, 60, of Hollywood, and Bruce Brande, 59, of Cooper City, pled guilty to conspiring together and with others to transport, sell, receive, acquire, and purchase Live Rock and invertebrates, specifically Ricordea florida, with a fair market value in excess of $350, knowing the wildlife was taken, possessed, transported, sold, in violation of the laws and regulations of the State of Florida, and for knowingly making and submitting false records and accounts for wildlife, by submitting required declarations to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service which intentionally understated the value of the wildlife, said wildlife having been and intended to be imported, transported, sold, purchased, and received from a foreign country.

According to the information filed against the defendants, a joint factual statement submitted to the Court, and statements in Court, beginning in October 2006, the defendants conspired with different marine life collectors located in the Florida Keys to purchase quantities of live rock with marine life attached to it, such as Ricordea florida, which was illegally harvested and transported from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS). Live rock is an essential building block of the reef system of the Florida Keys. To conceal the transactions, Kelton produced numerous false invoices through October 2010, reflecting sales of live rock with marine life attached, purportedly imported from Haiti, to the marine life collectors on Grassy Key, to serve as a cover in case questions arose regarding the legality of the products, which were actually harvested from the FKNMS. Records seized by the federal agents reflect $37,108.41 in wholesale sales of live rock with Ricordea and other marine life by Kelton and Brande through the business known as D. R. Imports, Inc. (DRI), a Florida corporation with its principal place of business in Miami. The records also demonstrated that from November 12, 2008 through 2010, 11,567 Ricordea polyps were sold to DRI for a wholesale price totaling $38,637.50, half of that value being attributable to live rock illegally harvested from the FKNMS.

The government’s evidence includes photographs, shipping, and sales records reflecting that from February 2011 through May 2011, Kelton and Brande, shipped and sold in interstate commerce to a dealer in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, large pieces of live rock with a wholesale value of almost $5,000, bearing Ricordea florida and Zoanthus pulchellus which they knew had been illegally harvested from the FKNMS. The live rock was falsely advertised for sale as originating from Haiti. Unknown to the various co-conspirators federal agents had begun to monitor their harvest and sales activities, including covertly recording harvest operations and marking illegally acquired products to trace them through their interstate sales.

Pursuant to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act and the National Marine Sanctuary Act, the NOAA has established regulations governing the conduct of activities within the Sanctuary. Title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 922.163(a)(2) prohibits the removal of, injury to, or possession of coral or live rock. Section 922.163(a)(2)(I) prohibits moving, removing, taking, harvesting, damaging, disturbing, breaking, cutting, or otherwise injuring any living or dead coral or coral formation, or attempting any of these activities.

Florida Administrative Code, Section 68B-42.008, prohibits the harvest of live rock. Florida Statute 370.07 requires that a person who sells salt water marine related wildlife such as Ricordea florida, to hold a State wholesale and retail license. None of the individuals and corporations, including the defendants herein, were authorized to harvest or attempt to harvest any live rock from the FKNMS or State waters during the time period relevant to this Information, or held the marine related wholesale and retail permits required by Florida Statute 370.07

During the period from January 2009 through December 2012, Kelton and Brande made and submitted declarations to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Customs and Border Protection which were required by law in order to secure the clearance through those agencies of shipments of marine wildlife imported by and at their direction from the Dominican Republic and Haiti for commercial re-sale. Comparison of the entry documents submitted to the government agencies with records seized from the business premises of DRI pursuant to execution of a federal search warrant revealed a consistent pattern of misrepresentation in the records. By linking and comparing documents related to each transaction (e.g., air waybill, CBP entry, FWS declarations, and commercial invoices), investigators identified importations from the Dominican Republic and Haiti businesses for which a second set of “supplier’s” invoices existed at DRI, reflecting commercial values significantly higher than on the invoices and records submitted by Kelton and Brande on behalf of DRI. The value declared to the federal agencies in the course of the presentation of the importations for clearance was intentionally understated by $352,594.

Sentencing for Kelton and Brande is scheduled for March 23, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. in Key West before U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King. Kelton and Brande each face possible up to five years in prison on each of the two counts to which they have pled. Additionally, they may be fined up to $250,000 per count of conviction, ordered to make restitution to identifiable victims of the offenses, and placed on supervised release for up to three years per count.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of NOAA Office of Law Enforcement, analysts with the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement Crime Trade Analyst Team, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement who participated in the long-term investigation into the illegal harvesting and sale of marine life resources from the Florida Keys known as Operation Rock Bottom. This 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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Miami-Dade County resident pled guilty to unauthorized possession of stolen identities.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Paula Reid, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

Brandon K. Jenkins, 23, pled guilty to one count of possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices (social security numbers of other people), and one count of aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents, on March 18, 2014, the IRS and USSS executed a search warrant at a residence where law enforcement discovered and recovered over 3,000 items (papers, notebooks, etc.) that contained personal identifying information (PII) of various individuals. Located in the bedroom where Jenkins was sleeping was an envelope that had “Mr. Brandon K Jenkins” written on the front. Inside the envelope was a wallet that contained a Social Security card in the defendant’s name, other documents in the defendant’s name, three debit cards in the names of other individuals, and five “Student Selection Form Cards” containing the names and social security numbers of other individuals.

A latent print analysis of documents recovered from the residence revealed 29 of Jenkins’ fingerprints on documents containing PII. Jenkins’ fingerprints were also found on a piece of paper containing the name, date of birth, and social security number of another person who had a fraudulent income tax refund filed in her name. Jenkins lived at the target residence and participated in filing fraudulent income tax refunds from that residence until the execution of the search warrant.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 10, 2015 at 11:30 a.m. At sentencing, Jenkins faces up to ten years in prison for the access device charge, and a mandatory term of two years in prison, consecutive to any other term in prison, for the aggravated identity theft charge.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI and the USSS. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brooke C. Watson and Gera R. Peoples.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A Broward County resident was sentenced to 102 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $876,215.00 in restitution in an identity theft tax refund fraud scheme.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Paula Reid, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

Nick Caty, 44, of Tamarac, previously pled guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Co-defendant Junior Thompson, 35, of Tamarac, previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to use unauthorized access devices and one count of aggravated identity theft. Thompson is scheduled to be sentenced on February 13, 2015 before U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn. At sentencing, Thompson faces up to five years in prison for the access device charge, and a mandatory term of two years in prison, consecutive to any other term in prison, for the aggravated identity theft charge.

According to court documents, from January 2014 through March 2014, the defendants engaged in an identity theft tax refund fraud scheme in which they caused 352 fraudulent tax returns to be submitted to the IRS using stolen personal identity information (PII). The defendants sought $945,554 in refunds for deposit onto prepaid debit cards. In February 2014, the defendants withdrew money from different prepaid debit cards registered in different people's names and loaded with fraudulent tax refunds. Caty and Thomson agreed to share in the proceeds together from the debit cards and they also transferred debit cards between each other. In March 2014, law enforcement executed a search warrant at the defendants’ business and residence in Broward County and found lists with over 4,000 individuals’ PII.

Court documents also state that from January 2012 through October 2013, Caty used stolen PII to file fraudulent tax returns to the IRS seeking approximately $1 million in fraudulently obtained refunds for deposit into bank accounts he controlled.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI and the USSS. The case was being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael N. Berger.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A Broward real estate broker was sentenced today to 41 months in prison, three years supervised release and ordered to pay $4,029,892, in restitution to victims in three separate fraud cases by U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office, Alysa D. Erichs, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Drew J. Breakspear, Commissioner, Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation, and Scott Israel, Sheriff, Broward Sheriff’s Office, made the announcement.

Christopher Wayne White, 44, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, pled guilty on November 21, 2014 in Case No. 14-60283-CR-Dimitrouleas to one count of wire fraud. According to documents filed with the court, White made numerous false statements to the mortgage lender in connection with the purchase of a luxury home on Sea Island Drive in Fort Lauderdale. According to court records, White inflated his bank account balances, income, deposit and assets to fraudulently induce the mortgage lender to issue a mortgage loan in excess of $4.9 million dollars. The property was subsequently foreclosed by the lender resulting in substantial losses.

In Case No. 14-60282-CR-Dimitrouleas, White pled guilty on November 21, 2014 to six counts of wire fraud. According to court documents, White was a licensed real estate broker and owner and operator of the Christopher White Group in Fort Lauderdale. White obtained multiple real estate deposits in excess of $750,000 via wire transfers involving properties in Broward County from individuals and refused to return the escrow deposits. Subsequently, the Secretary of Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation ordered an emergency suspension of White’s real estate broker’s license.

In Case No. 14-60216-CR-Dimitrouleas, White pled guilty on November 21, 2014 to three counts of making material false statements to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. According to documents filed with the court, these statements were included on White’s April 16, 2014, application for naturalization submitted to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. White made the following material false statements in his naturalization application: (1) that he had never claimed to be a U.S. Citizen; (2) that he had never committed, assisted in committing or attempted to commit a crime or offense for which he was never arrested; and (3) that he had never failed to support his dependents.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, ICE-HSI, Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation, and the Broward Sheriff’s Office. Mr. Ferrer also thanked the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation for their assistance. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randy Katz and Thomas P. Lanigan.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Paula Reid, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, announce that Providencia Llanos, a/k/a Providensia Llanos, a/k/a Providencia Allison, 36, of Miami Gardens, was sentenced to 81 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $42,828 in restitution.

Llanos previously pled guilty to one count of access device fraud, in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 1029(a)(3), and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1).

According to court documents, on March 18, 2014, IRS-CI and USSS special agents conducted a search warrant at Llanos’ residence where they found numerous prepaid debit cards, multiple computers, and printed lists and notebooks containing the names, date of births, and social security numbers of at least 3,192 individuals. Eighty-six tax returns were filed from the IP address registered to the residence where Llanos lived using the names and social security numbers of individuals listed on the printed lists and notebooks. Numerous taxpayers stated that they did not know Llanos, that they did not authorize Llanos to possess their names, date of births, and social security numbers, and that they did not authorize Llanos to file federal tax returns for the 2013 tax year.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI and the USSS. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gera R. Peoples.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell has sentenced Nicholas Quinton Hanson (23, Lakeland) to five years and ten months in federal prison for being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition. He pleaded guilty on October 1, 2014.

According to court documents, on May 10, 2014, law enforcement officers responded to a shooting at a Chevron gas station in Lakeland. Surveillance video from the gas station captured the shooting, and the individuals involved. That night, numerous individuals, including Hanson, arrived at the gas station in multiple vehicles and congregated around the gas pumps. After conversing for a short time, and as the individuals returned to their vehicles, gunfire erupted from a nearby location. The shots were aimed at Hanson and the others. Hanson returned fire from the rear passenger window of his vehicle and fled the scene. Although the firearm Hanson had used was not located, five of his shell casings were recovered from the scene. Hanson has a lengthy criminal history, including convictions for burglary, grand theft, and retaliation against a witness. As a previously convicted felon, he was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Lakeland Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Josephine W. Thomas.

This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy. United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Regina Lombardo, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. It is also another example of ATF’s Frontline Strategy to impact violent crime within our communities.

Qazi brothers, naturalized U.S. citizens originally from Pakistan, were charged today with additional terrorism violations and attempted murder of two Deputy U.S. Marshals while the brothers were in custody.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, John Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office, and members of the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) made the announcement.

Raees Alam Qazi, 22, and Sheheryar Alam Qazi, 32, were previously charged in November 2012 with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction (explosives).

As alleged in the Superseding Indictment:

From at least July 2011 through Nov. 29, 2012, the defendants conspired to provide material support and resources – including property, service, lodging, communications equipment, and personnel – knowing and intending that this support be used in preparation for and in carrying out a violation of law – namely, a conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction. The indictment further alleges that during this time frame the defendants conspired to use a weapon of mass destruction (explosives) against persons and property within the United States. During the same time frame, the indictment alleges that the Qazi brothers conspired and attempted to provide material support to al-Qa’ida and al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula.

As further alleged, on or about April 8, 2014, while being moved within the United States Courthouse complex, the Qazi brothers simultaneously motioned with their heads to cause the Deputy U.S. Marshals to look at the ceiling, the Qazi brothers then simultaneously punched the Deputies in the face and struggled with them.

Further, while struggling with the Deputy U.S. Marshals, the Qazi brothers attempted to use potentially lethal force on them while exclaiming “Allahu Akbar,” an Arabic exhortation meaning “God is Great.”

The Superseding Indictment charges the Qazi brothers with the following counts:

Conspiring to Provide Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization, al-Qa’ida and al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula;

Attempting to Provide Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization, al-Qa’ida and al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula:

Conspiring to Forcibly Assault a Federal Employee, a deputy United States Marshal;

Forcibly Assaulting a Federal Employee, a deputy United States Marshal; and

Attempting to Murder a Federal Employee, a deputy United States Marshal.

The charge of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists carries a maximum potential sentence of 15 years in prison. The charge of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction carries a maximum potential sentence of life in prison. The charge of conspiring to provide and providing material support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization, al-Qa’ida and al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula, carries a maximum potential sentence of 15 years in prison.

The charge of conspiring to forcibility assault a federal employee carries a maximum potential sentence of 5 years in prison; the charge of forcibly assaulting a federal employee carries a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison; and the charge of attempting to murder a federal employee carries a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen E. Gilbert and Adam Fels, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, and Jennifer Levy, Trial Attorney, Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

An indictment contains mere allegations. Defendants are 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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Auction House Agrees to Ban of Wildlife Sales and $1.5 Million Fine After Getting Caught Illegally Selling Endangered Black Rhino Horn, Elephant Ivory and Coral

Elite Estate Buyers Inc., dba Elite Decorative Arts, an auction house located in Boynton Beach, Florida, and the company’s President and owner, Christopher Hayes, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Miami to an illegal wildlife trafficking and smuggling conspiracy in which rhinoceros horns and objects made from rhino horn, elephant ivory, and coral, that were smuggled from the United States to China.

The guilty plea was announced today by U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer for the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice, and Director Dan Ashe of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The prosecution of Elite and Hayes is part of Operation Crash, a continuing effort by the Special Investigations Unit of the FWS Office of Law Enforcement in coordination with the Department of Justice to detect, deter, and prosecute those engaged in the illegal killing of rhinoceros and the unlawful trafficking of rhinoceros horns.

According to records filed in court, Hayes and his company sold six endangered black rhino horns. Two of the horns were sold for $80,500 to a Texas resident involved in smuggling the horns to China. Two more rhino horns were purchased by an undercover FWS special agent. Another undercover agent with the FWS consigned two horns for auction.

As part of today’s plea agreement, Hayes and Elite have admitted to being part of a far reaching felony conspiracy in which the company helped smugglers traffic in endangered and protected species in interstate and foreign commerce and falsified records and shipping documents related to the wildlife purchases in order to avoid the scrutiny of the FWS and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Elite aided foreign buyers by directing them to third-party shipping stores that were willing to send the wildlife out of the country with false paperwork.

“Not only did Hayes and his company illegally profit from obtaining rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory, but his greed and indifference contributed to the senseless slaughter of these animals,” said U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer. “Trafficking in endangered and threatened species is illegal. Together with our law enforcement partners, we will strictly enforce the laws that protect our environment and our wildlife.”

“In pleading guilty this auction house is admitting that it played a key role in the supply chain of rhino horn and elephant ivory to wildlife smugglers and foreign markets. Auction houses and art galleries should be especially mindful of abiding by the laws designed to prevent the extinction of these species rather than devoting their expertise to help smugglers evade the law,” said Assistant Attorney General Cruden. “This prosecution is the result of a sophisticated and long-ranging investigation into every aspect of the illegal wildlife trade and we will hold all law violators fully accountable for their actions.”

“As this guilty plea demonstrates, ivory and rhino horn trafficking is not just a problem for other countries to solve. The ongoing slaughter of rhinos and elephants in Africa is driven by rising consumer demand and United States citizens like Christopher Hayes are intimately involved in illegal trade both here and abroad,” said FWS Director Dan Ashe. “We will continue to work with international law enforcement agencies and the international community to apprehend and bring to justice those whose callous disregard threatens the survival of the world’s wildlife heritage.”

Elite and Hayes also admitted to selling items made from rhinoceros horn, elephant ivory, and coral an antiques dealer in Canadian who they then directed to a local shipper that agreed to mail the items in Canada without required permits. The defendants also admitted to selling raw rhinoceros horns, which they believed were from a black rhinoceros, to a person in Texas.

Hayes, 55, of Wellington, Florida, will be sentenced by Judge Daniel Hurley on date to be determined. The maximum penalty is five years in prison and a maximum fine of $500,000 for Elite and $250,000 for Hayes, or up to twice the gross gain. Elite has agreed to pay a $1.5 million fine and to no longer engage in the receipt, consignment, or sale, of endangered or protected wildlife or items containing endangered or protected wildlife, including items containing rhinoceros horn, elephant ivory and red coral.

The investigation is continuing and is being handled by the FWS Office of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald and Trial Attorney Gary N. Donner of the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Alysa D. Erichs, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), announce that Wisly Toussaint, 36, of Miami, was sentenced to 14 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $317,557 in restitution.

Toussaint was previously convicted by a federal jury of one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(b), two counts of access device fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a), and five counts of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A.

According to evidence presented during the five-day trial, Toussaint possessed and trafficked in personal identifying information (PII), that is names, dates of birth and social security numbers, stolen from a mental health facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In October of 2013, Toussaint was approached by two individuals cooperating with law enforcement and agreed to sell the cooperators the stolen PII, which Toussaint stated he obtained from a partner in Sarasota, Florida. Toussaint later sold the cooperators hundreds of identities stolen from the mental health facility in two separately recorded meetings.

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

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Five Miami Dade College students, three of whom were employees of Target, pled guilty for their role in stolen identity tax refund fraud.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Ronald J. Verrochio, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Alysa D. Erichs, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), made the announcement.

Andy Lamour, 22, Tamica Smith, 26, Marie Joseph, 25, Gerrey Cherrelus, 22, and Sandy Jean-Louis, 21, all of Miami, each pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and to one count of theft of government property or money. As part of their plea agreements, Lamour, Smith, Joseph, Cherrelus and Jean-Louis agreed to pay restitution in the amounts of $26,172.00, $17,395.00, $22.399.00, $13,242.00, and $28,561.63, respectively.

According to court documents, Lamour, Cherrelus and Jean-Louis were students at Miami Dade College; Lamour, Smith and Joseph were employees of Target. From April 17, 2012 to January 24, 2013, the defendants participated in a tax fraud scheme with co-defendant Emmanuel Avrilien, 22, of Miami, where the defendants received fraudulently obtained tax refunds in their personal Higher One, Inc. and Citibank accounts. Defendant Avrilien paid the other defendants for allowing their accounts to receive the stolen tax refunds, and paid Lamour for recruiting Joseph and other individuals to participate in the scheme.

Court documents also state that defendant Avrilien and unknown co-conspirators filed a total of 139 fraudulent tax returns which directed the tax refunds to be deposited into one of the other defendant's accounts. After the tax refunds were deposited into a defendant’s account, that defendant withdrew the money from the account at ATMs or through counter withdrawals.

Sentencing for the defendants is scheduled for March 26, 2015. At sentencing, the defendants face up to five years in prison for the conspiracy charge, and up to ten years in prison for the theft of government property charge.

Avrilien is scheduled to commence trial on May 4, 2015.

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

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A former Palm Beach County resident was sentenced today to serve 24 months in prison for charging an undocumented worker an annual interest rate of 180% on a $10,000.00 loan.

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

The evidence at trial revealed that in September 2009, Francisco Aletto, Sr., 60, worked at a pawn shop in Boca Raton, Florida. An undocumented worker entered the pawn shop to pawn a gold chain for his gas station business located nearby. Instead of accepting the chain as collateral, Aletto loaned the worker $10,000 and charged him $375 interest per week (180% annually). After the worker made several weekly payments, Aletto introduced him to several of Aletto’s friends who subsequently loaned the victim an additional $30,000. After 13 months, the victim paid over $57,000 in interest and lost to Aletto a 2004 Dodge Ram truck on a $3,000 pawn. When the victim was unable to continue to pay the mounting debt, Aletto and his friends threatened to kill him. Based on information received from a confidential source, the FBI located the victim and prevented him from being harmed. Four of Aletto’s accomplices have pled guilty and also have been sentenced for their roles in making and collecting extortionate extensions of credit. .

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of FBI’s Organized Crime Task Force and the Broward Sheriff’s Office. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Dispoto and William Shockley.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Individual was sentenced for his role in illegal mortgage fraud kick-back scheme, which resulted in his and his co-conspirators fraudulently obtaining $3,000,000 in 12 fraudulent mortgage loans at Marina Oaks Condominiums.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Timothy Mowery, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG), and Scott Israel, Sheriff, Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), made that announcement.

Jaime Sanchez, 43, was sentenced to 168 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. On October 29, 2014, Sanchez pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud affecting a financial institution. Sanchez had been previously charged in connection with fraudulently obtaining mortgages for the purchase of 12 condominium units at Marina Oaks Condominiums in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

According to the indictment from January 2007 through September 2008, in the Southern District of Florida and elsewhere, Sanchez and others conspired to recruit individuals who would be willing to purchase condominium units at Marina Oaks Condominiums. These buyers were promised a “buyer’s incentive” which in actuality was an indirect payment or “kick-back” to the buyers not disclosed to the lenders or reflected on any of the closing documents. Sanchez and others would then prepare materially false and fraudulent mortgage applications for the buyers on the Uniform Loan Application Form 1003 which contained false and fraudulent information as to material facts about the borrower’s credit worthiness in order to obtain mortgage money from lenders to fund the purchase of the Marina Oaks Condominiums. The conspirators would create false and fraudulent documents to support the mortgage applications. Once the loans closed, the conspirators would fraudulently and unlawfully divert portions of the mortgage proceeds for their own personal use and benefit.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of FHFA-OIG and BSO. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Lanigan.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Eighty-one year old fugitive arrested 37 years after failing to surrender to commence a 10-month prison sentence.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Amos Rojas, Jr., United States Marshal for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

Robert Anton Woodring, formerly of Fort Lauderdale, Boyton Beach, and Pompano Beach, Florida, was arrested on charges of failing to surrender for service of sentence. In 1984, Woodring was indicted for failing to surrender in September 1977, to commence a 10-month sentence imposed in October 1975, for removing a yacht in order to prevent seizure by authorized persons. Woodring had also been sentenced in a related case to seven year imprisonment after a jury found him guilty of mail fraud and conspiracy to conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Woodring is set to be arraigned on January 14, 2015, at 10:00 a.m.

U.S. Marshals, with the assistance of the FBI and Mexican authorities, apprehended Woodring in Guadalajara, Mexico, in December 2014. On December 22, 2014, Woodring appeared in federal court in Los Angeles, California, where a U.S. Magistrate Judge ordered him detained pending trial as a risk of flight. Woodring waived his right to an identity hearing and removal hearing and agreed to be transported to Miami for further proceedings.

Mr. Ferrer commended the efforts of the U.S. Marshals Service and FBI in apprehending the defendant. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert T. Watson.

An indictment is only an accusation and a defendant is 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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

California resident pled guilty today to his leading of a commodities and investment fraud scheme that yielded an aggregate amount of over $16 million in investments from victims for the purported purchase of precious metal positions and over-the-counter stock.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Ronald J. Verrochio, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, and Commissioner Drew J. Breakspear, Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR), made the announcement.

According to the charging and plea documents:

From 2010 to December 2011, Liberty International Financial Services, Inc. (LIFS) was an investment firm in Fort Lauderdale with brokers who solicited investors for the purchase of purported precious metals positions in gold, silver, and palladium. Christopher Anzalone, 31, was a co-founder of LIFS and was responsible for overseeing LIFS brokers. Contrary to representations made to investors by LIFS brokers, LIFS invested less than $200,000 of the approximately $4 million provided by investors for the purchase of precious metals positions.

From mid-2011 through 2013, Liberty International Holding Corporation (LIHC) was a holding corporation in Fort Lauderdale whose stock traded in the over-the-counter market. LIHC brokers solicited investors for the purchase of LIHC stock. Anzalone was the co-founder of LIHC. Anzalone represented to brokers, and had brokers represent to potential investors, that LIHC had substantial assets, including a substantial position in metals held in a Panamanian depository. In truth and in fact, as Anzalone well knew, LIHC did not hold these positons or any assets of real value. Induced by misrepresentations made by LIHC brokers, investors purchased more than $9 million in LIHC shares.

From October 2012 through October 2013, Allied Financial Strategies, Inc. (Allied) was an investment firm operating in Miami. Allied brokers solicited investors primarily for the purchase of LIHC stock. Anzalone and co-conspirators induced investors to purchase LIHC shares by falsely and fraudulently representing to investors that a hedge fund or other large investment funds intended to purchase a substantial block of LIHC shares at an over-inflated price compared to the LIHC market price of those same shares. Anzalone used co-conspirators to falsely and fraudulently pose as other investors or hedge fund representatives to induce prospective investors to invest monies. Based on these false representations by these co-conspirators, investors wired over $3 million to accounts controlled by the co-conspirators.

Anzalone is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Federico A. Moreno on March 27, 2015, at 9:00 a.m.

Mr. Ferrer thanked the FBI, USPIS, and OFR for their work on this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael N. Berger

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announce that Richard L. Pearson, 57, of Miami, was sentenced today in West Palm Beach by U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra to 24 months imprisonment, to be followed by one year of supervised release. On October 16, 2014, Pearson pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the operation of the former Fort Lauderdale law firm of Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler, P.A. (RRA). In 2009, it was discovered that RRA was being utilized by its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Scott W. Rothstein, to commit a massive Ponzi scheme stemming from the sale of fictitious confidential settlements.

In connection with his guilty plea, Pearson admitted that he agreed to act as a broker for Rothstein’s settlements. Pearson would receive a sales commission from Rothstein derived from the money paid by the investor, and would pay a portion of that sales commission to RRA attorney David Boden for his assistance in the sale of these settlement. Beginning in September 2009, a group of investors (the “Investor Group”) began investing in the confidential settlement agreements following a meeting with Rothstein. Boden and Pearson agreed that the Investor Group would pay a sales commission directly to Pearson. The Investor Group was not informed by Boden or Pearson that they were also receiving an additional undisclosed sales commission from the money paid by the Investor Group to Rothstein. Pearson further admitted that, through material misstatements and omissions made to the Investor Group, Pearson and Boden caused the Investor Group to incur a loss of approximately $2,400,000.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the IRS-CI and FBI. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lawrence D. LaVecchio, Paul F. Schwartz, and Jeffrey N. Kaplan.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Two brothers and Miami residents were sentenced for identity theft and unemployment insurance fraud. These brothers used over 600 fraudulently obtained identities to fraudulently receive approximately $815,700 in unemployment claims.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Brian McGlamery, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Regional Office, United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, Jesse Panuccio, Executive Director, State of Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity, and J.D. Patterson, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), made the announcement.

Stanley Fertil, 20, and Steven Fertil, 19, were sentenced to 111 months and 148 months, respectively, in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. The brothers were also ordered to pay $815,700.00 in restitution. According to court records, the Fertil brothers conspired to possess the personal identifying information (PII) of over four thousand unwitting individuals. The PII included individuals’ names, dates of birth and social security numbers. During the course of the scheme, the brothers used over 600 identities to fraudulently receive approximately $815,700 in unemployment claims. The individuals victimized included public and private sector employees. The defendants each previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, the State of Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity and the MDPD Public Corruption Unit. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan E. Kobrinski.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A Holland America cruise line crew member was sentenced to 30 years and five months imprisonment, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for his brutal attack and attempted murder of a female passenger.

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

On February 14, 2014, Ketut Pujayasa, 29, Indonesian national, brutally attacked a female passenger, CLW, 32, United States citizen. During the attack, Pujayasa, choked, strangled, and beat the victim repeated with various objects. CLW continually attempted to scream for help and resist the violent attack but Pujayasa was relentless with his assault and attempts to silence her. Pujayasa strangled CLW with several items including a telephone cord and the cord to her curling iron.

The attack continued onto the stateroom’s balcony. While on the balcony, Pujayasa attempted to throw CLW overboard. The violent encounter then proceeded back to the interior of the state room where the violent assault continued. Pujayasa rendered CLW unconscious at least once during the attack, at which time he sexually assaulted her. CLW was eventually able to flee her stateroom and run down the corridor until she encountered an unknown passenger who rendered aid.

On September 29, 2014, Pujayasa pled guilty to the attack. He is expected to be deported after serving his sentence.

Mr. Ferrer commended the FBI for its investigation of this matter and thanked the Broward Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Customs and Border Protection for their assistance. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Francis Viamontes and Cathy Koontz.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Palm Beach County resident and licensed physician in the State of Florida specializing in gastroenterology pled guilty today to filing corporate and personal income tax returns in which his income was underrepresented, representing a tax loss over the course of four years in excess of $6,000,000.00.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office, and John F. Khin, Special Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office, made the announcement.

Krishna Tripuraneni’s, 56, primary place of business is Palm Beach Gastroenterology Consultants LLC (PBGC), located at 1157 South State Road 7, Wellington, Florida. Tripuraneni also operates two other businesses from this same address identified as Palm Beach Surgery Center (PBSC) and PB Anesthesia Associates, LLC (PBA). According to Florida corporate records, Tripuraneni is the listed owner of record of PBGC and the Manager and Registered Agent for PBSC and PBA.

For the tax years 2004 to 2008, Tripuraneni knowingly and willfully underreported his income from the above mentioned entities. Tripuraneni received income in the form of direct compensation, distributions, and corporate funds used to pay for personal expenditures. This resulted in the filing of false corporate and personal tax returns by Tripuraneni.

Tripuraneni utilized funds from the above companies to pay for expenses of a home he built in Manalapan, Florida, to service mortgage payments on condominiums he owned, interior design improvements to his residences, and tuition payments for his children. Some of these payments were then classified as professional consulting, building repairs, and miscellaneous expenses by the companies listed above.

These payments resulted in falsified profit and loss statements being provided to the tax return preparer. These profit and loss statements were used for the preparation of the corporate tax returns and the personal tax returns for Tripuraneni. By providing the return preparer with the false profit and loss statements, Tripuraneni caused the preparation and filing of a false 2006 U.S. Income Tax Return for an S Corporation, IRS Form 1120S; a U.S. Return of Partnership Income, IRS Form 1065 and a U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, IRS Form 1040. These returns were false in that the corporate returns included fraudulent business expenses which reduced the corporations’ income and failed to include the diverted corporate income and to correctly report the defendant’s share of the income generated by these companies, thereby understating the defendant’s total income and the tax due and owing on his personal return.

The false returns described herein resulted in a tax loss detailed below:

Tax Year Underreported Income Additional Tax Due & Owing 2004 $3,256,616 $1,139,815 $3,940,641 $1,369,581 2006 $4,158,162 $1,533,048 2007 $3,688,283 $1,291,940 2008 $3,084,364 $1,049,593 TOTALS $18,128,066 $6,383,977

U.S. Attorney Ferrer stated, “An individual cannot avoid his income tax obligations by creative labeling. Today’s plea demonstrates our commitment to every American taxpayer that we will identify and prosecute those who use corporations as shields to evade the payment of personal income taxes.”

IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Jackson stated, “As we approach tax filing season, those Americans who file accurate, honest and timely returns can be assured that the government will hold accountable those who don't. IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to investigating individuals who use their corporations as personal piggy banks to live an untaxed lavish lifestyle and evade their corporate and personal income taxes. We will remain diligent in enforcing the laws to protect our nation’s tax system.”

“As citizens of this country, we have a responsibility to pay our fair share of taxes,” said Kelly M. Darden, Acting Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami. “Do not, as in this case, attempt to knowingly and willfully underreport income - you will be caught. I especially want to thank all the law enforcement agencies of the Greater Palm Beach County Healthcare Fraud Task Force who investigated this case.”

DCIS Special Agent in Charge Khin stated, “This guilty plea is the result of ‎a multi-agency effort to investigate this physician who defrauded the American taxpayer for personal gain. His criminal activities also defrauded the health care system intended to serve US military members.”

Tripuraneni is scheduled to be sentenced on March 19, 2015, at 9:30 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI, FBI and DCIS. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Clark.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

A Miami dock builder was sentenced to one year probation for building illegal structures in navigable waters.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Maureen O’Mara, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division (EPA-CID), and Colonel Alan M. Dodd, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, made the announcement.

Jose Miguel Calvo, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced for the violation of federal law involving the illegal construction of structures, including docks and piers, in navigable waters of the U.S., in violation of the Rivers and Harbors Act. He was sentenced on one misdemeanor count of knowingly placing and erecting structures, docks, and piers within navigable waters of the U.S., without, or in violation of, valid permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorizing such conduct.

Pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement, Calvo must file any necessary permit applications for ten Miami-area installations, and complete any corrective action required by the Army Corps of Engineers pursuant to the Rivers and Harbors Act, to include modifications or alterations of the structures, including the payment of mitigation for damage to natural resources.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jodi A. Mazer and 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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and J. Scott Dennis, Chief, North Miami Beach Police Department, announce that Jude Estama, 42 of Pembroke Pines, Florida, was sentenced to 87 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $759,992 in restitution.

Estama previously pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A.

According to court documents, from January 2008 through August 2012, Estama engaged in an identity theft tax refund fraud scheme. In furtherance of the scheme, the defendant opened and controlled bank accounts at various banks in his own name and in the name of two corporations that listed him as president. Estama caused fraudulent individual income tax returns to be filed with the IRS using the identity information primarily of high school students and deceased persons. The defendant caused over $700,000 in refund monies to be direct deposited to the bank accounts he controlled, and he withdrew money from these refunds for his own personal use and benefit.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael N. Berger.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Philadelphia resident who traveled to Miami pled guilty today for making false threats to blow up Miami International Airpot (MIA).

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and J.D. Patterson, Jr., Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), made the announcement.

According to court documents, on September 2, 2014, Joseph Reyes Rivera, 23, of Philadelphia Pennsylvania, and his stepfather were traveling from Puerto Rico to Philadelphia, with a connecting flight through MIA. As Rivera walked through Concourse E, the he shouted, “I am going to blow this place up!”

A schoolteacher and a law enforcement officer from London, England overheard Rivera. Concerned for the safety of fellow travelers, the law enforcement officer from London sought out local officials. As he did, the officer noticed a hysterical woman speaking to law enforcement and pointing towards Rivera. Law enforcement officers from FBI and Miami-Dade Police Department made contact with Rivera and his companion who both stated that Rivera threatened to blow up the airport in the presence of several people who appeared to hear the statement. Law enforcement officers searched Rivera and did not find any firearms, explosive devices, or other materials that could be used to effectuate his threat. For that reason, his statement was deemed to be a false threat.

When questioned, Rivera told law enforcement officers that he started yelling at some children who were “disrespecting” him. Rivera indicated that a woman he did not know approached him and told him to leave the children alone. Rivera said he felt disrespected and yelled, “I am going to blow this place up.”

Rivera is scheduled to be sentenced on March 3, 2015, at 9:00 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga. At sentencing, he faces up to five years imprisonment.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and Miami-Dade Police Department, who are members of the Miami Joint Terrorism Task Force. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brooke C. Watson.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), announce that Wyman Pittman, 47, of Okeechobee, Florida, pled guilty today to one count of aiding in the preparation and presentation of false tax returns, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206(2). Sentencing is scheduled for March 6, 2015, at 9:30 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg in Ft. Pierce. At sentencing, Pittman faces up to three years in prison.

According to court documents, Pittman was a paid tax preparer who, together with his former partner Ventrell Bouie, of Fort Pierce, Florida, had prepared individual income tax returns for customers from 2008 through 2012. Pittman assisted in the preparation of multiple, fraudulent tax returns by supplying false income and deduction figures, failing to review them in detail with the taxpayers, and then electronically filing them for the taxpayers.

Specifically, Pittman filed a Form 1040 income tax return for a taxpayer for the 2008 tax filing year. That Form 1040 tax return stated false itemized deductions for, among other things, medical expenses and work expenses. As a result, the taxpayer received an inflated and unmerited tax refund payment. Pittman knew that the taxpayer had not claimed, or provided to Pittman, the information regarding those deductions for inclusion in the tax return.

Bouie had been separately charged and convicted for identical offenses. On December 17, 2013, U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez sentenced Bouie to 24 months in prison for his offense.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodore M. Cooperstein.

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 http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and J. Scott Dennis, Chief, North Miami Beach Police Department, announce that Frenchy Thermidor, 25, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced today to 24 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $700.00 in restitution.

Thermidor previously pled guilty to one count of possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(3), and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1).

According to court documents, on April 20, 2011, an officer from the North Miami Beach Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a car driven by Thermidor. During a lawful search, the officer found a receipt in the name of another individual for an attempted ATM withdrawal from a checking account. A few days later, this individual told the officer that she did not know Thermidor and had not given him permission to use any card.

Court documents also state that on July 20, 2011, officers arrested the defendant based on suspicion of identity theft. The defendant gave officers consent to search the motel room where he was staying. During the search, police found a laptop computer, three turbo tax cards, various credit cards, four metro PCS phones, $1,400.00 in cash, and a composition notebook with 32 handwritten names. Next to each of these names was a date of birth and social security number. In another part of the notebook there were several different handwritten email addresses, and next to each of these addresses was a dollar figure and the word “accepted” or “rejected.” A fraudulent tax return was filed on behalf of one of the names written in the notebook.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI and the North Miami Beach Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John R. Byrne.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Alysa D. Erichs, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), announce that Daniel Ogletree, 25, was sentenced today to 30 months in prison.

Ogletree previously pled guilty to one count of possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(3), and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1).

According to court documents, law enforcement accompanied state probation officers during a probation check on the defendant’s residence. The defendant gave verbal consent for a search of his bedroom, and law enforcement found a handwritten sheet of paper containing a list of 15 names, dates of birth, and social security numbers. Law enforcement also found a bank statement in another person’s name that had that person’s social security number and date of birth handwritten on the bank statement. Ogletree admitted that it was his handwriting on the sheet of paper and bank statement, and that he did not personally know the people whose personal identifying information he wrote on the sheet.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI and IRS-CI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy J. Abraham and John R. Byrne.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.