Wire fraud is one of the most common federal charges in the U.S. This is largely because this offense is so easy to commit that you may not realize you are doing so. The "wire" is any form of telecommunication. This can be over the phone or via fax, text message,...
A well-known Palm Beach art dealer whose Worth Avenue gallery was raided by at least a dozen federal agents in December has been indicted on charges of mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering in connection with an alleged scheme to sell forged high-end artwork....
A 58 year-old man pled guilty on August 31, 2021 in Miami federal court to a felony Information charging him with wire fraud in connection with his fraudulent application to the U.S. Small Business Administration for a low-interest COVID-19 relief loan. According to the facts admitted at the change of plea, during 2019 and 2020 the man was employed on…
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 money laundering, and 20 counts of money laundering in connection with a scheme to fraudulently register…
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, from January 2010 through October 2013, the defendant worked as a broker for Liberty International Financial Services…
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 Beach. Judge Victor A. Bolden of the U.S. District Court in Bridgeport, Connecticut, said in an order…
A former West Palm Beach, Florida resident pleaded guilty today to multiple criminal charges in connection with a sophisticated global cell phone fraud scheme that involved compromising cellphone customers’ accounts and “cloning” their phones to make fraudulent international calls. Braulio De la Cruz Vasquez, 54, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, access device fraud, the…
According to information disclosed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District (Miami Division), Michael Mazar was employed as a BOP correctional officer at the Federal Detention Center in Miami from July 2009 through April 2017. In February 2017, Mazar provided an inmate with several cell phones, which the inmate used to pretend he was an employee of various…
Although the nation-wide trend is showing a decline in federal white collar criminal cases, the number of cases in the Southern District of Florida over the last 20 years has drastically increased. So far in FY 2018, the Southern District of Florida (Miami Division) is ranked as the second most active federal district in the country for white collar prosecutions…
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 Colonna agreed to participate in a scheme with other co-conspirators to obtain money from investors by means of materially false…