South Florida Criminal Attorneys Blog

US Organized Gang Violence: MS-13 Member Gets Life Sentence plus 60 Years

November 28, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

The name they use sounds like they could be a secret government agency or espionage unit but in reality MS-13 is a ferocious, violent street gang with its roots established in Los Angeles via Central America which has been infiltrating many U.S. cities over the past three decades.

It was just a few months ago, in early September when one of their members, Adalberto Ariel Guzman, a/k/a Gringo was convicted for the 2010 murder of Vanessa Argueta, a 19-year-old mother along with her 2-year-old son Diego Torres in Central Islip, New York. Guzman, 21, bolted to El Salvador after the shooting but was arrested when he reentered the United States later that same year. A total of twenty-five members and acquaintances of the gang were charged in a 70-count indictment in March 2011 that led to his conviction. According to prosecutors, Guzman shot the woman for the sole reason that he believed she had shown disrespect toward the gang. The child was killed simply for being with his mother at the wrong place at the wrong time. Guzman was the last of three defendants in this particular case, the others being Heriberto Martinez, and Rene Mendez Mejia who were previously convicted for their role in the mob-style murders.

Last week, Carlos Ortega, a/k/a Silencio, a leader of the Sitios Locos Salvatruchas faction of MS-13 received a life sentence plus sixty years for all counts listed in an indictment against him including murder, conspiracy relating to racketeering, as well as assault with dangerous weapons, and related firearms and conspiracy charges. The sentence was handed down in the Central Islip federal courthouse following a six-week trial concluding with Ortega’s conviction, this past March 21.

MS-13, the known pseudonym for Mara Salvatrucha or MS for short, was founded in Los Angeles’s Pico-Union neighborhood in 1980 by immigrants from the Central American country of El Salvador. The word “Mara” refers to the Spanish word for gang and “Salvatrucha” is a term noted in Spanish slang as a Salvadoran army ant. Another rendition of the word Salvatrucha translates to Salvadoran peasant guerrilla which was a good part of who the gang’s early manpower consisted of.

The reference to the number 13 in MS-13 is credited to the gang “Los Emes” shortened in English to “The M’s” which is the thirteenth letter of the alphabet. The M’s were a similar gang that also originated in Los Angeles.

Besides operating in numerous cities in the United States, the gang has offshoots’ mostly in Central America but has also been known to operate in South America and Canada as well. They were originally fashioned to safeguard Salvadoran immigrants from rival Mexican gangs that were victimizing them and were made up of Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, and Nicaraguans. They have been branded the most dangerous and violent gang in the United States, as well as one of the most organized. Over the years they have been considered to be the only street gang of their type that can be mirrored to a true organized crime enterprise.

The gang’s strongholds have generally been on the West Coast and in Southwest cities but over the past decade their influence has widened on the East Coast to New York including its suburb of Long Island, Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia and Florida. Midway through the first decade of the twenty-first century it was believed that their membership had grown in excess of 50,000 members.

After catching the attention of federal law enforcement agencies, an initiative named Operation Community Shield was set up as a joint effort by the FBI and ICE. In 2005 during the first year of operation OCS was responsible for more than 600 arrests against suspected gang member throughout the United States including many from MS-13 and in 2005 began a campaign of cracking down on the growing street gang. Since then, thousands of gang members, many of them members of MS-13, have been rounded up, arrested and convicted of crimes relating to diverse varieties of street violence and murder.

But in the case against “Gringo” and “Silencio” it was investigations led by the FBI Long Island Gang Task Force, which was comprised of officers and agents of the Nassau County Police Department and Sheriff’s Department, along with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department and Department of Probation as well as the Rockville Centre Police Department that led to the downfall of Adalberto Ariel Guzman who awaits sentencing in January for his conviction, for the two murders that was powerfully described as “brutal, cold-blooded executions.” by United States District Judge Joseph F. Bianco, and Carlos Ortega who’s conviction resulted in the life sentence plus 60 years for the “heinous acts of violence in the name of MS-13, cutting a swath of murder from Brentwood to Far Rockaway, all within the span of a few weeks,” as stated by U.S. Attorney Lynch.

Cyber Criminal Convicted in New York Facing Further Charges in Florida

November 28, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

A Ukrainian National seemed to be in a pretty good position to evade arrest and prosecution after fleeing to his native country once federal charges were filed against him in New York City and Broward County, Florida. But in 2008, his decision to take a vacation on the Greek island of Rhodes led to his undoing. The United States doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the Ukraine, but in Greece, a treaty is intact.

Egor Shevelev, 27 who has been called “one of the premier vendors of stolen credit card data in the world”, by federal authorities was extradited to New York in 2010 from the popular Greek resort Island to face charges including grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, scheme to defraud, and conspiracy. The charges were filed in an online identity theft case for trafficking and selling a total of more than 95,000 credit card account numbers that produced a total of over a $5 million-plus fraud.

The scheme was carried out operating through an online forum where Shevelev among other cyber-thieves trafficked in stolen, forged and fraudulent credit card numbers as well as other merchandise; turning the sales into cash with the help of unsuspecting eBay users, while Shevelev loafed in the seclusion of his apartment in Kiev.

In addition to the aforementioned criminal activities operated from that apartment, authorities said that Shevelev laundered more than $600,000 in digital currency through E-Gold, which is a worldwide electronic monetary/payments system and the Russian-based payment system WebMoney which based on their Website’s information is a “multifunctional payment tool that provides secure and immediate transactions online”.

Shevelev, who called himself Eskalibur online, also known as Esk, was one of the leaders of an International cybercrime ring that extended from Russia to the United States with stopovers in the Czech Republic. He was convicted of all charges. At the conclusion of a ten-week New York State Supreme Court trial and an eight-year-long investigation, Shevelev, along with his codefendants Anna Ciano, a/k/a “Angela Perez,” 41,and Douglas Latta, a/k/a “Realbusy,” 40, were found guilty by a jury of all charges listed in the Indictment.

Both living in Brooklyn, New York, Ciano and Latta were a duo who acquired in excess of 800 pilfered credit card numbers between the years of 2004 and 2007 from Shevelev as well as other cyber criminals as associates of the online forum.

Ciano was sentenced to up to 47 years in federal prison for her part in the scheme two days before Shevelev was given up to 40 years. Less than a month later in August, 2012, Latta’s punishment returned a term of up to 44 years behind bars.

To read the New York County District Attorney’s Office press release regarding this case in its entirety click here.
But the guilty verdict from New York and the continuance of his sentence will have to wait. In addition to the jury’s verdict and subsequent sentencing, Shevelev will now have to face further federal charges in the Sunshine State.

Late last month, Shevelev made his first appearance in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to face separate charges that were listed in an Indictment that was filed in 2008.

The Indictment charges him with selling stolen credit card numbers and forgery of credit cards for the purpose of committing identity theft. The Indictment alleges that the crimes took place in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties, as well as Martin County, which is north of Palm Beach, between the dates of September 2007 and May 2008.

The Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel conveyed that investigators who were close to the case were overheard maintaining that the fraud distributed multiple millions of dollars.

Communicating through an interpreter and wearing jail scrubs, Shevelev pleaded not guilty to the charges, during a brief appearance in court. An Assistant Federal Public Defender was appointed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Lurana Snow after Shevelev stated that he had no resources to pay for his own defense. He was mostly silent during the hearing replying to questions in his native language with a yes or no answer. He also asked for a clarification of his legal rights.

The prosecution agreed to a bond of $250,000 which is basically a formality as Shevelev will remain in custody due to his convictions in New York. At the completion of any prison term he will ultimately be deported back to his country of origin.

Iranian National Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court for Export Conspiracy

November 25, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), sanctioned in October 1977, is a United States federal law empowering the regulation of commerce after a National emergency is declared in reaction to any uncommon and/or extraordinary threat to the Nation which originates from a non-American (foreign) source.

Subsequent to the terrorist attacks which included the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., President George W. Bush enacted an Executive Order under the IEEPA to block assets of any persons or organizations deemed to have terrorist ties. He delegated blocking powers led by the U.S. Treasury to various federal agencies.

Additionally, in 2006, the United Nations Security Council passed a Resolution to impose sanctions on Iran after the government refused to suspend its uranium enrichment program.

On October 3, 2012, Seyed Ghorashi Sarvestani, an Iranian National, was arrested under the IEEPA. He pled guilty for conspiring to export merchandise from the U.S. to Iran on May 8 of this year and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison this week in front of U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe who also accepted his guilty plea. Among the items that were transported abroad over the past 7 years was sensitive satellite-related equipment that Sarvestani had been exporting through his companies. In addition to the two and one half year period of incarceration Sarvestani was also fined $100,000 and commanded to forfeit $54,000. He was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment by Judge Gardephe.

According to a press release published by the Department of Justice, the Complaint, specifies, that the Information to which Sarvestani pled guilty and the testimony delivered during the action against him is as follows.

“Sarvestani, an Iranian national, was an owner of, and served as a managing director and director of, two related companies based in the United Arab Emirates. In that capacity, he worked with others to export electronic equipment used for satellite communications and data transfer, as well as other goods, from the United States to Iran, without the requisite approval from the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Sarvestani and others conspired to acquire satellite technology and hardware from a supplier based in the United States, for shipment to Iran. To conceal the true destination of the goods from the U.S. supplier, Sarvestani and his co-conspirators arranged for the items to be shipped first to the United Arab Emirates and subsequently shipped to Iran.”

Sarvestani’s actions are a clear violation of the Iran Trade Embargo. Similar cases prosecuted this year involving the transport and the exporting of American manufactured industrial products to Iran include an indictment by a federal grand jury of Ali Saboonchi, 32, a United States citizen from Parkville, Maryland, who was partnering with Arash Rashti Mohammad, 31, an Iranian resident.

Saboonchi, through his companies shipped merchandise to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which was then relayed to Iran. Selected items that were shipped are described as cyclone separators which are used in the refining process of oil. They also exported thermocouples which are used to measure the temperatures of gas and oil products. Mohammad was stationed in the United Arab Emirates. He and Saboonchi conspired to create Saboonchi’s company, Ace Electric, for the purpose of selling the prohibited goods using the UAE as a transit point before they continued on to buyers in Iran.

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) was raised in other cases dealing with foreign governments over the past two decades including the countries listed below:
Myanmar, since 1997 for its repression of democratic opposition, the Sudan, since 1997 for human rights violations and sponsoring terrorism, Russia, which was initiated in 2000 to prevent export of weapons-grade uranium, Zimbabwe, since 2003 for the destabilization of democratic institutions, Syria, since 2004 for funding and support of terrorism and later for abuses of human rights, Belarus, since 2006 for undermining democratic organizations and North Korea, since 2008 for displaying the risk of the proliferation of weapon-usable fissile material

In the Sarvestani case, Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York praised the investigative work of the New York Offices of the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service of the Department of Defense, and the Office of Export Enforcement. He also expressed thanks to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for their help with the investigation.

Real Housewives Cast Members Charged With Mortgage Fraud and Related Charges

November 23, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

Conflict and personal drama are the traditional themes in the programming of reality TV shows. These television shows have become exceedingly popular since the onset of the twenty-first century and can be found on the major television networks as well as those viewed on cable TV. They deal with a theme of unscripted situations and actual happenings and usually feature a cast that was previously unfamiliar to the viewer.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey which can be seen on the Bravo network is an offshoot of the original show; the Real Housewives of Orange County. The inspiration for these shows was the fictional Desperate Housewives which first appeared on ABC in 2004. Other spinoffs include The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, and those from many other American cities. Most of these shows have aired for multiple seasons, and are in production for future episodes with many new major cities targeted to host them.

In a case of life imitating art, two of the members of the New Jersey rendition of the show have found their own illustrations of personal drama and conflict.

U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced that two cast members of the show, Giuseppe (Joe) Giudice, 43, and his wife Teresa Giudice, 41 have been indicted on bankruptcy fraud and bank fraud which are federal offenses. A federal grand jury returned a 39-count indictment in which they were named. The indictment also carried charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and making false statements on loan applications. Additionally, the indictment charges that Giuseppe Giudice meaningfully did not file tax returns for the four year period of 2004 through 2008. It is alleged that Mr. Giudice earned close to $1 million during that time-frame.

The charges the couple faces were allegedly enacted between September 2001 and late 2008. Throughout that time period, the couple from Towaco, New Jersey, submitted fraudulent mortgage and loan applications, according to the indictment. One example demonstrated that in 2001, in an attempt to defraud the lender, Mrs. Giudice applied for a mortgage loan in an amount exceeding $120,000. She allegedly submitted fabricated pay stubs and falsified W-2 forms. She listed her occupational title as an executive assistant which was also a bogus claim. Also included in the indictment are charges of precise occasions where the couple was guilty of loan application fraud and bank fraud during the time they obtained loans from a number of banks.

The two are also accused of not divulging assets when they petitioned for bankruptcy in 2009. In October of that year they filed for Chapter Seven bankruptcy protection. Included in those effects was the non-disclosure of truthful facts and figures regarding rental properties, businesses they owned, and Mrs. Giudice’s actual compensation from the television show’s broadcasts.

Being convicted of any of the charges against them convey steep punishments A conviction for loan application fraud and bank fraud hold a penalty of a $1 million fine as well as each count carrying a maximum potential penalty of 30 years of incarceration. The fine for conspiracy to commit wire and/or mail fraud is $250,000 and each count carries a maximum prospective penalty of 20 years behind bars. The bankruptcy fraud carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count and a $250,000 fine. In regard to failing to file tax returns, the penalties carry maximums of one year in prison for each count as well as a fine of $100,000.

Unrelated to the fraud charges, Mr. Giudice is also awaiting trial for charges of impersonation and wrongfully using identification information of another individual. According to NJ.com he was arrested in 2011 and faces up to 10 years of incarceration if convicted of those unrelated charges. The case against him alleges that he used his brother’s identity to attain a driver’s license. In this separate action, Giudice has rebutted any misconduct.

To make matters worse at the time, the couple was hit with two additional charges of loan application fraud and bank fraud, adding two more counts to the indictment that was raised against them in July.

Man Responsible for 1984 Airplane Hijacking to be Held without Bail

November 21, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

Most of us that remember the Black Panther Party generally associate the name of the organization with violence. But when it was originally fashioned in Oakland, California in 1965 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, its major function was to spotlight alleged police brutality that was said to be widespread in black neighborhoods. When the group was founded, only sixteen of Oakland’s six-hundred, sixty-one police officers were of Afro-American descent. The group promoted Marxist and socialist principles, but its early nationalistic reputation appealed to a diverse participation of mostly blacks, but some non-blacks as well. By 1968 the group’s policies grew across the United States with headquarters in most major cities. They created a ten-point program professing “Land, Bread, Housing, Education, Clothing, Justice and Peace” among other ideas. The group introduced an assortment of social programs designed within black communities in attempts to alleviate poverty, improve health among those who lived in inner city neighborhoods, and moderating the overall public image of the Party.

However, as the group evolved, its reputation for violence became more noticeable. A California law afforded The Panthers the right to carry a loaded shotgun or rifle, providing it was displayed publicly, and not aimed at any individual. This practice of openly carrying weapons and publicly making statements that were threatening in nature such as “The Revolution has come; it’s time to pick up the gun” and “Off the pigs (police)!” assisted creating the Panthers’ status as a violent group.

In the mid-1980s, for all intents and purposes, the Panthers disbanded. But before their demise, William Potts, a/k/a William Freeman, now 56, was a member in good standing.

In 1984, Potts hijacked a Miami bound flight that left Newark, New Jersey, rerouting the aircraft to Cuba. Earlier this month, federal agents returned Potts to U.S. soil where he verbally admitted that what he did was “an act of terrorism”. He admitted in writing, to the action being an act of air piracy as well, after his formal arrest by FBI agents at Miami International Airport, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Medetis.

Medetis’s words were issued during Potts’ bond hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman when she requested that Potts be held pending trial due to the supposition that he’s a flight risk as well as a danger to the community. She alluded to the legal “presumption” of detention for the type of offense he allegedly committed as well as the possibility of a long prison sentence. She also mentioned that if Potts was released he would most likely be arrested by New Jersey State authorities for the robbery of a gas station that took place in that state the day before he hijacked the jet.

Summarizing the hijacking, and current air-piracy charge against him, U.S. Attorney Medetis quoted details that were found in an FBI affidavit. According to the document, On March 27, 1984 Potts declared he planted explosives aboard the New York-to-Miami bound flight. He demanded the aircraft be diverted to Havana, Cuba. The affidavit further went on to show that he then handed the flight crew of the Piedmont Airlines jet a note, describing himself as a black militant. He threatened to blow up the plane if it attempted to land in Miami. He also demanded $5 million in cash.

The day before the hijacking, Potts, held-up a gas station in Bergen County, New Jersey brandishing a knife, according to the attendant who was threatened by him. A warrant for his arrest for that case is still outstanding.

According to a CNN interview with him, Potts, who had two daughters with a Cuban wife, refused previous offers by the Cuban regime to send him back to U.S. But now, he is apparently desperate to be reunited with his two daughters. He previously sent them to the US and told CNN that as he “watched their plane take off… he was filled with regret for having hijacked a plane,” when he was a young man.

He went on to tell the network that he had not been able to reach a plea agreement with US authorities but hoped that any jail time he would be facing now, would be reduced by the time he had already served in the Cuban prison.

His attorney argued that Potts should be granted a low personal surety bond before his trial began, noting that the two girls are now living with his mother in Atlanta, Georgia. The above-mentioned children were born to him and a Cuban wife that he previously lived with on the Island Nation. “He wants to be in the United States,” his lawyer said… “He has arrived at the place where he wants to be.”

But after all considerations were pondered by Judge Goodman he told Potts “The facts are the facts,” when Potts protested the accounts during his court appearance before him. Shortly thereafter he denied him bond partially due to the New Jersey case.

Potts said he originally thought he’d be welcomed as a revolutionary when he arrived at the communist-controlled country in the early eighties. He also believed he’d be given guerrilla training. But the government of Cuba, at the time led by Fidel Castro, detained him and after trial sent him to prison for the hijacking charge. He spent 13 years in a Cuban jail for the offense.

International Cyber-Criminal and Two Americans Convicted

November 18, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

He went by the screen name “Eskalibur” which was used in his role of making online transactions at meeting places for thieves located in cyberspace. The criminal enterprise’s name on the Internet was known as the Western Express Cybercrime Group and Eskalibur was one of its ringleaders. He was personally responsible for the trafficking and sale of approximately 75,000 credit card account numbers in a fraud that would bear fruit to a tune of over a $4 million in proceeds. With two others, who lived in the United States, the trio was accountable for over 95,000 stolen and forged credit card accounts and another million dollars in profits building to a grand total of over $5 million in cybercrime earnings.

Egor Shevelev a/k/a Eskalibur, 27 was safe from prosecution. Living in Kiev in the Ukraine, there was no way US law enforcement was able to apprehend him. However in 2008, he decided to spend some of his ill-gotten gains and take a vacation to Greece. It was there on the Island of Rhodes that Greek law enforcement apprehended him after the issuance of an international arrest request. Shortly after, Ukrainian authorities executed a search warrant of his apartment, finding evidence that allowed Greek officials to detain him in preparation for extradition back to New York State on July 2, 2010 for the cybercrime of identity theft and the global trafficking of stolen and forged credit card accounts.

The two Americans who lived in United States were easier to apprehend and arrest. Douglas Latta, 40 whose online handle was “Realbusy” and Anna Ciano, 41, a/k/a “Angela Perez,” were both picked up in the Brooklyn, New York apartment they shared.
Along with Shevelev, the three were indicted and found guilty by a jury of all charges listed in the Indictment in New York State Supreme Court, after a ten-week trial in August of this year.

Shevelev operated his part in the scheme out of his apartment in Kiev. He was among five other men of Eastern European descent who were listed in the Indictment that was originally filed in 2009, where the case was prosecuted by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. The ring as stated operated a carding forum on the Internet by the name of the International Association for the Advancement of Criminal Activity. Thieves interacted in stolen credit card activities as well as other transactions in violation of law. They also purportedly forged credit cards using the hijacked numbers, turning them into cash with the unsuspecting, innocent assistance of eBay shoppers.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. made the announcements of the extradition, Indictment and the results of the trial. After the indictment was revealed Vance said “The extradition and indictment of this defendant bring us a step closer to apprehending the members of an international identity theft ring. This Office is committed to shutting down criminal operations that traffic in stolen information used to steal identities and illegally acquire money.”

After the verdict by the jury was made public, Vance was quoted as saying “It was a highly profitable scheme that netted the principals millions of dollars. I am pleased that these defendants have been sentenced to prison sentences appropriate to the scope and breadth of their misconduct.”

Aside from the results of this trial four others included in the 173-count Indictment were Dzimitry Burak, aka “Graph,” 30, a native of Belarus who like Shevelev was living in the Ukraine, Oleg Kovelin (Covelin), aka “DoZ,” 32, from Moldova, and Vladimir Kramarenko, aka “Envisor,” 35, a Moldovan national, as well as Viatcheslav Vasilyev, aka “The Viver,” 37 from the Czech Republic. Kramarenko and Vasilyev were arrested in July 2008 in Prague and subsequently extradited to the U.S. the following year.

According to officials, the five Eastern European men, worked in line with seventeen other accused individuals who were named in the November 2007 indictment, as well as a company based in New York called Western Express International Inc. WEI was managed by an additional defendant named Vadim Vassilenko, which authorities say was used to coordinate and facilitate the illegal activities and launder the ring’s ill-gotten gains.

Vasilyev and Kramarenko previously pleaded guilty. Burak and Kovelin (Covelin) still remain fugitives to this point, avoiding capture.

Corruption Charges against Three South Florida Mayors Brings One Guilty Plea

November 13, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

According to the Department of Justice, Florida led the nation with a staggering 781 convictions of public officials between the years 2000 and 2010. In the second decade of this century, the trend continues. A current example shows that between September and October of this year, three more local politicians were added to the list of those willing to let down their constituents by breaking the law.

In late August, the mayor of Homestead was arrested and accused of using his elected office to secure a secret consulting job as well as accepting a bribe from Community Health Care of South Florida Inc. The health care company was looking to build a clinic in the area according to the state attorney’s office for Miami-Dade. On Nov 1, further charges were filed against him when he was charged with seven election law violations. Former Mayor Steven Bateman, 58, was accused of misusing campaign funds according to state attorney spokesperson Terry Chavez. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released without bond.

Earlier that month, two other mayors of South Florida cities were charged by the government in ongoing corruption investigations. Florida Governor Rick Scott suspended all three of the mayors pending outcome of their criminal cases.

Michael A. Pizzi, 51, the mayor of Miami Lakes, and Manuel L. Maroño, 41, the mayor of Sweetwater and current president of the Florida League of Cities, were charged in two unrelated complaints concerning public corruption allegations along with two lobbyists of which one was connected to both of the mayors. The United States attorney’s office has accused them of involvement in bribery and kickback schemes relating to federal grants. The two lobbyists, Jorge L. Forte, 41, and Richard F. Candia, 49 both of Miami were named in the Maroño case and Candia was also named as part of the complaint involving Pizzi.

Ironically, the Florida League of Cities displays a June 8, 2012 article on their website that leads to a story about a newly formed advocacy group called Integrity Florida; “a nonprofit, nonpartisan group” that released a report showing that Florida led the nation in federal public corruption convictions through the years referenced above.

Carla Miller, an ethics officer and a former federal prosecutor stated “We bought the trifecta… It’s bad when three mayors get led out in handcuffs. What’s left of the public trust gets ground into little pieces.”

On November 13, former mayor Maroño and lobbyist Jorge L. Forte both pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud for their involvement in a plan to individually benefit through the use of the station of the mayor of Sweetwater which was held by Maroño. They were originally charged by way of Information with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud on October 17.
Forte and Maroño both face a maximum statutory sentence of 5-years of incarceration under the terms of the agreement. Sentencing is scheduled for January 23, 2014 and will be imposed by US District Judge William J. Zloch.

The guilty pleas were announced in a press release by Wifredo A. Ferrer, US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Field Office Investigations.

In what may be the most interesting of the three cases, Michael Pizzi, the suspended Miami Lakes Mayor pleaded not guilty in late-October to the indictment that charged him with pursuing kickbacks that prosecutors’ state was intended to enrich him in exchange for backing federal grant applications in the latest allegations against him.

South Miami-Dade lobbyist Michael Kesti first approached the FBI in 2011 informing them of his suspicions that Candia was in league with corrupt politicians in South Florida.

Before this latest indictment was filed, an undercover investigation was instituted by detectives of the Miami-Dade Police, established on purported threats that Pizzi expressed to a confidential informant working for that police agency.

In a conversation covertly recorded, Pizzi clearly stated that he wanted to “take out” a Miami Lakes town councilman who was apparently a rival, by the method of either rigging the brakes of his vehicle or planting cocaine in his car. The probe was dropped by police after a substantial amount of time had passed and no action was taken that supported the statements. The “then” mayor called his remarks in the recording as no more than “silly, ridiculous drinking talk.”

The current indictment, filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Dwyer, depicts Pizzi as a politician who had knowledge that the purported federal grant scheme was a “money grab.”

In the latest criminal complaint, Pizzi was accused of an extortion plot along with lobbyist Richard Candia who was accused of the same offense, as mentioned above with Manny Maroño and lobbyist Jorge Forte.

They were accused of participating in what has been termed a “bogus” grant scheme planned to net the participants thousands of dollars, whereas their cities would receive nothing. Posing as businessmen from Chicago, an FBI anti-corruption team coordinated the sting. The agents stated that they would obtain the grant money with the intention of performing an economic development study. The proceeds would then be split between the four of them.

The indictment charges that Pizzi collected $6,000 in total cash, received in three payments. He also is alleged to have received an additional $750 paid by checks for his 2012 reelection campaign. These payments were allegedly in return for advocating resolutions that simplified the establishment for grant applications in Medley and Miami Lakes.

Pizzi has unequivocally denied accepting any cash as charged. Subsequent to his arrest, he said that he “accepted no money inappropriately or illegally from anyone, ever.” in a prepared statement.

To read the complete press release charging Maroño and Pizzi and the two lobbyists on the FBI Website, click here. The press release regarding Maroño’s guilty plea can be read in full by clicking here.

Computer Hacker Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Securities Fraud

November 8, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

In the real world, it seems the more effort put into constructing locks and security systems to safeguard our possessions; lawbreakers develop abilities to build enhanced keys, and a superior illicit method to gain access to what is being guarded. Protecting the contents of our homes, cash and valuables is an ever-present, unending challenge. But in the Cyber world the level of sophistication reached by criminals responsible for computer incursions and hacking activities is constantly tested by our ability to thwart their entry.

The phenomena of modern technology has grown exponentially over the past have century. And most individuals use the Internet for a variety of purposes. For the most part when we visit our online banking or brokerage accounts the belief is that the transactions that are processed are secure, encrypted, and veiled from prying eyes.

But clever cyber-crooks are always out there, lurking in the shadows constantly attempting to find ways to cash in on activities in this virtual world.

Petr Murmylyuk, a.k.a. Dmitry Tokar, a Russian National who made his home in Brooklyn, NY is one of those shadow lurkers.

Murmylyuk’s cultivated knowledge in the workings of computers was substantiated by his arrest in November, 2011 when he was caught red-handed with a laptop in his possession containing more than enough evidence to implicate him in a substantial scam, along with his accomplices.

The Complaint against Murmylyuk asserts that he, along with an accomplice recruited Russian, as well as other foreign nationals in an online stock rigging scheme. The foreigners were either already living in the United States, or were visiting. Some were students. Three residents of Houston, Texas: Mikhail Shatov, Anton Mezentsev and Galina Korelina were among them as well as other unnamed participants. The group was instructed to open new bank accounts where illegal profits resultant from the proposed operation would be deposited.

Murmylyuk’s hacking abilities allowed him to gain illegal entry to online accounts of brokerage firm customer accounts at Fidelity, Scottrade, E-Trade, and Schwab among other brokerage firms not specifically listed. Telephone numbers and email addresses of the owners were then altered giving the group complete control of the hacked accounts. He and his connections then used identities that were originally illegally obtained or stolen to open new accounts at other brokerage houses. These accounts were termed “Profit Accounts” in the Information. After this method was introduced, they then made irrational and unprofitable trades using the victimized accounts leading to losses in the victims’ accounts and gains in the “Profit Accounts”.

An example of the swindle involved initiating trades that sold options contracts directly to the “Profit Accounts”. After the trade was offered the same contracts were specifically purchased back minutes later for “at times” almost ten times the original price. They also used “short selling” to achieve the same results. (Selling an issue short is a sale of stock that a shareholder doesn’t actually own, but instead borrows from an investor willing to do so with the hope of eventually returning it after the stock price drops resulting in a profit to the original shareholder who “sold it short”.)

This was done by using the “Profit Accounts” offering a short sale of a stock at a worth grossly inflated above the market price for that particular day for the given stock. Moments after the offering was proposed on the open market from the Hackers Accounts, the Hackers used their ability over the Victim Accounts to purchase the shares of the stock at the inflated price, which resulted in a profit for the owner of the “Profit Account” at the Victim Account’s expense. Murmylyuk and/or his associates then covered the falsified short sale by re-purchasing the security which was borrowed at the lower market price.

All proceeds were then transferred from the “Profit Accounts” into the new accounts and then transmitted to the bank accounts that were opened by Mezentsev, Korelina and Shatov as well as others involved in the scheme.

The profits received by Murmylyuk and his associates, generated by the scam, resulted in combined losses of roughly $1 million to the three named major brokerage houses as well as others.

Mikhail Shatov, Anton Mezentsev and Galina Korelina were previously charged in New Jersey and convicted for charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. U. S. District Judge Esther Salas sentenced Mezentsev to 27 months in federal prison. Korelina and Shatov were sentenced to14 months each, earlier in 2012.

Murmylyuk was formally charged in April, 2012, charged with unauthorized access to computers, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and securities fraud. The SEC is also filing a comparable civil action. He is currently in state custody looking at charges from a separate investigation directed by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office where he is charged with identity theft of more than three-hundred individuals that were unemployed. He then allegedly collected bogus tax returns using their names and information.

Murmylyuk has pleaded guilty to the conspiracy to commit securities fraud charge. He pleaded guilty to identity theft and tax fraud charges earlier. He’ll face a $250,000 fine and a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the New Jersey case and fifteen years in prison for the case against him brought forward by the Manhattan district attorney. Sentencing is scheduled for November 12 for the securities fraud case.

Parkland Woman Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering Conspiracy Charge

November 1, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

A Parkland Florida resident pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Launder Money after admitting to her part in an expansive $8 million illegal gambling setup that used phony corporations, offshore accounts and operated using the Internet and direct telephone call contact.

Michele Lasso-Barraza, 30, a Panamanian national, delivered her plea from Florida via a video feed which was filed in U.S. District Court in Albany, New York. The prosecution alleged that she laundered the proceeds gained from gambling websites that was made available to her; allowing gamblers to place wagers via the Internet. She then transferred the ill-gotten gains, using bogus entities which she created, into bank accounts that were located offshore.

Lasso-Barraza’s role in the case is connected to Philip Gurian, another Florida man who was purportedly linked to the Mafia and was an important operative in the gambling entity which offered online and by phone sports betting from Costa Rica and Panama to its player base which was predominantly made up of residents of the United States. Gurian, 52, of Boca Raton, and Lasso-Barraza were among over thirty persons that were charged last April for their connection to the Panama-based Corporation known as Legends a/k/a Legendz Sports.

The indictment against a total of 23 companies and 34 individuals accused Legendz of offering betting options by credit, as well as maintained accounts known as “post-ups.” Both types of betting methods combined, netted the company profits of over two-billion dollars over the past ten years.

Those named in the indictment face charges of operating an illegal gambling business, racketeering, conspiring to commit money laundering and money laundering. Penalties for these crimes can range from five to twenty years.

The Department of Justice is also pursuing the forfeiture of a minimum of one-billion dollars of tangible assets of the firm which include balances in bank accounts, real estate, vehicles, as well as other monetary holdings of value.

Gurian had previously waived the grand jury indictment and accepted a guilty plea for the charge of conspiracy in association to the role he played in the international sports betting operation.

A charge and conviction for his type of allegation can yield a prison term of up to twenty years behind bars. However under the plea agreement negotiated between Gurian’s attorneys and the government, combined with sentencing guideline calculations that are utilized in federal cases, it is expected that he will be sentenced to two years in prison at a maximum. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 6, 2014
As part of her acceptance of the guilty plea, Lasso-Barraza admitted her participation in the illegal gambling business which was directed by Gurian as well as other individuals that permitted bettors to wager thousands of bets originating from Florida, California, Texas, Indiana Nevada and the District of Columbia. She also confessed to participating in at least $8 million of the laundering of money which was fashioned from the unlawful gaming enterprise that she was a part of on Gurian’s behalf. She then had the currency transported to offshore accounts that were deceptively created and set up by her with locations in Panama, Andorra, and the Cayman Islands.

Lasso-Barraza faces a fine of a half a million USD and up to twenty years in prison for her role in her illicit activities. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 28, 2014.

These proceedings are being prosecuted by AUSA Robert A. Sharpe. All charges were the product of a combined investigation introduced by the Albany County Sheriff’s Office and further assisted by the Albany County District Attorney’s Office, as well as the Saratoga District Attorney’s Office in New York. In Florida, the Broward County Money Laundering Task Force is credited with the role they played. Federal law enforcement agencies recognized for their assistance in the case are the FBI and the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division.

Man Charged in Greenwich Village Hate Crime Murder

October 30, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

Greenwich Village is a mostly residential area of the west side of Lower Manhattan. The largest majority of people who live there are basically upper middle class families. Known in the latter part of the 19th century through the present, the “Village” has been labeled a haven for artists, as well as the bohemian capital of New York City. It is also credited as the birthplace of the Beat movement of the East Coast. The neighborhood is encompassed by Broadway to the east and the Hudson River to its furthest point west. To the south lies Houston Street and it travels north to 14th Street. The neighborhood essentially centers New York University and Washington Square Park.

Living among the wealthy residents who live in stylish apartment buildings or own their own renovated brownstones, there is a large gay community. This group is known to mostly frequent the bars and clubs of the west village.

While traveling through the Village it is not unusual to run across openly gay members of its population. Two men, or two women, walking together holding hands with each other is more the rule than its exception. Especially north of the Avenue of the Americas which is the unofficial line of demarcation separating the east and west village. Within the community’s whole there is the realm of gay men and lesbians and the bars they frequent as well as the domain of straight men and women who visit clubs that fit a heterosexual lifestyle.

It was on a corner of the Avenue of the Americas that Mark Carson, 32, heard the words “You want to die tonight?”

Carson was walking with a companion as he was being followed by Elliot Morales, who was repeatedly shouting anti-gay slurs at the two. After his final hateful proclamation, he allegedly shot Carson in the face with a silver revolver. Carson was found fatally wounded by police lying in the street and later died of his injuries after being taken to Beth Israel Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

A short time later, Morales was picked up when a police officer spotted him a few blocks away from the crime scene. The officer heard the description of the perpetrator on his radio and made the arrest upon seeing Morales.

Approximately 15 minutes before the murder took place, the alleged killer was noticed urinating outside a fashionable restaurant a few blocks from the crime scene, according to New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. Kelly labeled the murder a hate crime. “There were no words that would aggravate the situation, and the victim did not know the perpetrator,” he said.

Before a commencement address that he delivered in White Plains, when speaking about the incident, he went on to say “It is clear that the victim here was killed only because and just because he was thought to be gay. There is no question about that.”

Police also questioned two unidentified individuals who had been seen with Morales moments before the shooting took place. The Police Department’s chief spokesman, Paul J. Browne, said that the two men were questioned as witnesses to the murder and were not, considered suspects at this time. He also said that they were cooperating with the authorities.

According to state Department of Correction records it was found that Mr. Morales had been found guilty of a robbery and served more than 10 years in prison for his conviction of that crime. Until his arrest he had been staying with one of the two men who is now being questioned as a witness at his home in Far Rockaway, Queens. Police found another gun amongst Mr. Morales’s belongings at that location.

According to an undisclosed source, Mr. Morales’s sister, Edith Gutierrez, said she did not believe her brother could have committed a crime of such bias. She said that they have gay relatives and her brother had never shown any signs of homophobia. She also said that when she spoke with her brother in jail, “he said he doesn’t remember anything; he was under the influence, he was drinking.”

After making his first appearance in Manhattan Criminal Court, he was charged with murder and weapons charges, according to the Wall Street Journal. Pending his next court appearance he is being held without bail as ordered by Judge Robert Stolz.

Morales, said nothing at his arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court and his attorney chose not to comment on the case.