Over 15 Years of Experience Fighting for the Rights of the Accused in Federal Court
Southern District of Florida Federal White Collar Crime Defense Legal Blog
What is the First Step Act and How Does it Apply to My Case?
The FIRST STEP Act (“Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person Act”) was signed into law by President Trump on December 21, 2018. As with any new legislation, there are many questions federal criminal defendants have about...
What is the Constitutional Right to Counsel?
The 6th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to an attorney to anyone facing federal criminal charges. The 14th Amendment and some state constitutions also afford this right to anyone facing state felony charges. Those who are indigent and cannot...
What are Mandatory Minimum Sentences and how do they Impact my Federal Case?
With acquittal rates at historic lows in the federal system, sentencing has become the most crucial stage of the federal criminal justice process. In most cases, the pre-sentence investigation report (PSI) prepared by the probation officer and the sentencing hearing...
Boca Attorney Convicted by Federal Jury of 33 Counts Related to Securities Fraud Scheme
James Schneider, a Boca Raton securities attorney was convicted by a federal jury last week after a two-week trial in Miami of one count conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud, five counts of securities fraud, six counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit...
Miami Man, Woman Plead Guilty to $8.6M Medicare Fraud Scheme
Alexander Ros Lazo, 54, of Homestead, an owner and operator of T.L.C. Health Services Inc., a home health agency, pleaded guilty this week to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez of the Southern District of...
Ft. Lauderdale Man Sentenced to 78 Mths. in Prison for Participation in $16M Fraud
Salvatore Colonna, 69, of Fort Lauderdale, was sentenced on November 30, 2018, to 78 months in prison for his role in a $16 million precious metals and securities fraud scheme and ordered to pay approximately $13 million in restitution. According to court documents,...
What is the Difference Between a 2255 and a 2241 Habeas Petition?
Habeas Corpus Petitions Habeas corpus is a kind of petition that you can file in federal court to claim that your imprisonment violates federal law, which includes federal statutes, and the U.S. Constitution. Whether you are a state or federal prisoner, a federal...
Man Sentenced to 41 Months for Embezzeling Over $2M from Palm Beach Charity
A former board member of a revered Palm Beach charity was sentenced on Friday for embezzling at least $2 million from its pension fund in a carefully orchestrated scheme that spanned 25 years. 69-year-old William Minor pleaded guilty in September to one count of...
How Do Cooperation Agreements Work in a Federal Case?
Substantial Assistance Cooperation agreements are usually embodied in the text of a plea agreement and require the defendant to perform some act of "substantial assistance" to the government. Substantial assistance can involve providing information that will lead to...
Former Venezuelan Treasurer Sentenced to 10 yrs for Accepting Over $1B in Bribes
Alejandro Andrade Cedeno (Andrade), 54, a Venezuelan citizen residing in Wellington, Florida and a former Venezuelan national treasurer, was sentenced yesterday to 10 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg in the West Palm Beach Division of the...
What constitutes money laundering?
When an individual earns income via illegal channels, they will often take measures to conceal where that money came from. While the concept of money laundering may evoke images of organized crime, it is also a practice that occurs in white collar settings, and it can...
Bipartisan Prison Reform Act has Support of Trump White House
President Trump announced his support for the First Step Act, a bipartisan agreement for prison reform, at the White House yesterday. The First Step Act passed the House in May with only prison reform included, earning support from virtually all Republicans and more...
West Palm Beach Man Convicted of Making False Statements on US Citizenship Application
Etevaldo Ferreira De Souza, 47, of West Palm Beach, was found guilty by a jury on November 9 of one count of making false statements in a naturalization proceeding, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1015(a). According to the evidence presented at trial, De Souza was charged...
Federal Trial of Palm Beach Developer, Wife and Real Estate Lawyer Delayed
A federal judge delayed the criminal trial of Palm House developer Robert Matthews, his wife and a real estate attorney until next summer. All three defendants, who are free on bond, face charges related to the unfinished Palm House hotel-condominium project in Palm...
The Top 10 “Most Depraved” Fraudulent Schemes in South Florida
The Sun Sentinel published an article today asking "What is it about South Florida that makes the region such an effective hatchery for scams and schemes?" Today's article cites to a 2015 article that calls South Florida the nation's organized fraud capital,...
West Palm Man Pleads Guilty to International Cell Phone Fraud Scheme
A former West Palm Beach, Florida resident pleaded guilty today in federal court the Southern District of Florida to conspiracy, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft in connection with a sophisticated international cell phone fraud scheme that involved compromising cellphone customers’ accounts and “cloning” their phones to make fraudulent international calls.
Port St. Lucie Tax Preparer Convicted of Filing False Tax Returns
A Port St. Lucie, Florida, man was convicted by a federal jury yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida of ten counts of aiding and assisting in the filing of false income tax returns and three counts of filing false income tax returns. This case dates back to April 2014 when the FBI announced the filing of federal charges against 25 defendants in 19 separate cases in the Southern District of Florida dealing with thousands of stolen identities and millions of dollars of fraudulent identity theft tax filings.
Fort Lauderdale Financial Advisor Pleads Guilty to $16M Fraud
A Fort Lauderdale broker for Liberty International Financial Services ("Liberty") has pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the Southern District of Florida. According to the plea documents, from January 2010 through October 2013, Salvatore...
Wellington Pharmacist Found Guilty of Health Care Fraud
As previously blogged on this site, on June 28, 2018 the Department of Justice announced what was called “the largest health-care fraud takedown in history,” with more than 1,000 law enforcement officers charging 601 people — including 76 doctors, 23 pharmacists, 19...
NACDL: Federal Defendants Penalized if They Don’t Plead Guilty
In a recent publication, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) found, “There is ample evidence that federal criminal defendants are being coerced to plead guilty because the penalty for exercising their constitutional rights is simply too high...
SEC Alleges Cash Advance Company Defrauded Investors out of $287M
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil fraud charges against Hallandale Beach-based 1 Global Capital and former CEO Carl Ruderman, of Aventura, for allegedly defrauding over 3,400 investors out of about $287 million. Read the SEC Press Release here: SEC...
Former Vero Beach Attorney Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Eric Granitur, a former Vero Beach real estate and probate attorney, was sentenced yesterday in the Southern District of Florida (West Palm Beach Division) to twelve months and a day in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Granitur was...
Card Skimming Frauds Originate in South Florida, Spread to other States
Credit card skimming is rapidly on the rise across the state of Florida, and South Florida is being called "ground zero" for skimming frauds. According to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, inspectors found 169 skimmers in 2015, 219 skimmers...
Miami Man Gets 33 Months in Fed. Prison for Card Skimming Fraud
Credit card skimming is rapidly on the rise across the state of Florida, and South Florida is being called "ground zero" for skimming frauds. According to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, inspectors found 169 skimmers in 2015, 219 skimmers...
Ex-Swiss Banker Pleads Guilty to $1B Money Laundering Conspiracy
Matthias Krull, a German national and resident of Panama, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in the Southern District of Florida (Miami Division) to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cecilia M....
