Category: MIL-OSI

Source: US FBI

Fort Myers, Florida – United States District Judge Sheri P. Chappell has sentenced Tyler Williams (30, Hendry County) to 33 months in federal prison for violating an individual’s civil rights and obstructing justice. A federal jury found Williams guilty on February 7, 2025.

According to evidence presented at trial, on July 4, 2023, Williams, while acting under color of law as a deputy sheriff with the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office, willfully deprived the civil rights of an individual by throwing him to the ground while he was handcuffed, knocking him unconscious. Williams then wrote a false justification for the use of force in an incident report, obstructing justice.

The case was investigated by the FBI Tampa Field Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Patrick L. Darcey and Jesus M. Casas.

Source: US FBI

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Abraham Othman Yacoub (27, Lakeland) has pleaded guilty to bank fraud. Yacoub faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, from at least January 2021 until February 2023, Yacoub made dozens of fraudulent deposits and withdrawals on behalf of his companies, Visionary Auto Body LLC and Visionary Auto Care LLC, at financial institutions throughout the Middle District of Florida. Yacoub deposited the same previously deposited checks into business banking accounts that he controlled at different financial institutions, knowing that the checks had previously been deposited and paid, causing the victim banks to credit his accounts for the amounts of the checks. Yacoub then withdrew, transferred, or otherwise spent the funds credited to his accounts before the financial institution realized that the checks had previously been deposited.

Yacoub also drafted fraudulent business checks from closed business bank accounts in the name of Visionary Auto Body and Visionary Auto Care, knowing that those accounts had been closed and, therefore, that there were no funds remaining to cover the amount of the check he had drafted. Yacoub withdrew, transferred, or spent the funds credited by the bank based on these fraudulent checks, or attempt to do so, before the financial institution realized that the account on which the check had been drafted was closed and did not contain any funds to cover the amount of the check.

Yacoub has agreed to forfeit $ 181,540.51, the total loss to these financial institutions that Yacoub’s schemes caused.  

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karyna Valdes.

Source: US FBI

            WASHINGTON – Joly Germine, 32, of Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, was found guilty today by a federal jury in the District of Columbia for his role in orchestrating the 2021 hostage taking of 16 American citizens, including five children, and holding them hostage for 62 days.

           The verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ryan James of the Miami Field Office.

           “This office will fight aggressively to protect Americans who are taken hostage and abused, and to uphold the religious freedoms of our people, including Christians.  As the evidence demonstrated, Joly Germine orchestrated a plot that leveraged American Christian missionaries as bargaining chips to try to secure his own release from a Haitian prison,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “When you commit crimes against Americans in other countries, it makes no difference where you are — we are coming for you. Justice may not always be swift but it is certain.”

           “This conviction demonstrates the FBI’s determination to follow the evidence wherever it leads and to work our way up to the leaders of criminal plots wherever they are. Haitian gang leader and convicted kidnapper Joly Germine found out he was not beyond the reach of the FBI,” said FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge James. “Neither time nor distance will weaken our resolve. We will use all tools available and go to farthest reaches of the globe to bring to justice those who kidnap Americans.”

           Following a 10-day trial in U.S. District Court, the jury found Germine guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit hostage taking and 16 counts of hostage taking of a U.S. national for ransom. 

           The former leader and self-described “king” of the notoriously violent Haitian gang known as 400 Mawozo, Germine previously pleaded guilty to his role in a gun trafficking conspiracy that smuggled firearms to Haiti in violation of U.S. export laws and the laundering of the gang’s funds derived from ransoms paid for other U.S. hostage victims. For those crimes, he was sentenced in June 2024 to 35 years in federal prison. 

           Germine’s gang, 400 Mawozo, operated in the Croix-des-Bouquets area to the east of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. Germine directed the gang’s operations from prison using unmonitored cell phones and was constantly in touch with other 400 Mawazo leaders, most of whom were his relatives. Germine controlled the gang’s finances, supplied the gang’s weapons, and otherwise directed operations. 

           On October 16, 2021, 17 Mennonite missionaries from Christian Aid Ministries, an Ohio-based missionary aid organization, were returning from visiting an orphanage when they were stopped by 400 Mawozo’s armed and masked soldiers. Many of the gang’s soldiers were brandishing firearms supplied by Germine.  The group included 12 adults and 5 children, including a 6-year-old, 3-year-old, and an 8-month-old. Sixteen of the victims were U.S. citizens and one was a Canadian citizen.  

           The gang drove the missionaries to a field and robbed them, while consulting by phone with Germine, their leader. The gang took the missionaries to a building in a rural area, held them at gunpoint, and demanded ransom of $1 million each for their return. In postings on social media, the gang threatened to kill all the hostages if the ransom was not paid. Early on in the negotiations, senior gang leadership said that, in lieu of the ransom monies, 400 Mawozo would accept Germine’s release from prison in exchange for the hostages. 

           On November 20, 2021, two hostages were released after one was suffering from life-threatening health conditions. On December 5, 2021, 400 Mawozo released three of the hostages, two adults who had significant medical issues and the six-year old child, after receiving a $350,000 ransom payment. Though the gang had stated they would release all the hostages for the ransom paid, at Germine’s direction, the gang thereafter refused to release any more hostages. On December 16, 2021, the remaining hostages escaped under cover of darkness while their captors were distracted, walking for five hours through the Haitian bush until they were out of the gang’s territory. They were received by the FBI, which had deployed to Haiti and arranged to immediately transport them from Haiti before the gang could respond to their escape. In total, most of the missionaries were held for 62 days. 

          The evidence at trial showed that Germine had directed the initial kidnapping, had arranged for the locations where hostages were held, and set the $17 million ransom demand, knowing it was too high to be paid and would result in the Haitian government negotiating his release from prison in exchange for the missionaries.  The evidence also showed that Germine was involved in or consulted on the decisions to release victims.

           The FBI Miami Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. During the law enforcement response to the kidnapping, extraordinary assistance was provided in a whole of government response by various agencies, including Customs and Border Protection Service, the Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of Defense, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Valuable assistance was provided by the government of Haiti, the government of the Dominican Republic, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the Department of State and the Embassy in Port-au-Prince, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida’s Special Prosecutions Section.

           The case was  prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen P. Seifert and Tom Saunders and Paralegal Specialist Jorge Casillas for the District of Columbia, with invaluable assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Paschall, Victim Advocate Yvonne Bryant, and Victim Witness Coordinators Tonya Jones and Guisela Castillo. 

Source: US FBI

MIAMI – Miami-Dade Transit Track and Guideway Supervisor Dale Robinson, his wife Marcia Robinson, and Jessie Bledsoe, a contractor doing work for Miami-Dade Transit, pled guilty in related cases to Federal charges.  Dale Robinson pled guilty to soliciting a bribe from Bledsoe in connection with the issuance of Metrorail repair and maintenance contracts. Marcia Robinson pled guilty to misprision of a felony for helping her husband cover up the bribery. Jessie Bledsoe pled guilty to paying a bribe to Dale Robinson in connection with his contracts with Miami-Dade Transit.  Dale Robinson and Marcia Robinson entered their guilty pleas before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ellen F. D’Angelo and they were accepted by U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore, while Bledsoe entered his guilty plea in Miami last week before U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom.

According to the facts admitted at the change of plea hearings, Dale Robinson was the acting General Superintendent and lead Rail Structure and Track Supervisor in the Track and Guideway unit of Miami-Dade Transit. His responsibilities included making recommendations about contractors to be chosen to do Metrorail track maintenance and repair work for the transit unit and overseeing the work done by those contractors, including Bledsoe.  Bledsoe was the co-owner and operator of JB Railroad Contracting, Inc. (JB Railroad), a North Dakota-based company that did railroad track and rail replacement, repair, and maintenance work throughout the United States, including on the Metrorail system.   

In or around January 2021, while JB Railroad was working on a previously obtained contract for the removal and replacement of Metrorail track fasteners and was in the process of seeking an additional contract to do welding work on the Metrorail system for Miami-Dade Transit, Dale Robinson requested a large bribe from Bledsoe. Bledsoe agreed to pay Robinson that bribe, which was intended to influence Robinson’s selection of the contractor for the upcoming welding project. Bledsoe also agreed to concealing the payment by making it to a company specified by Dale Robinson.

After this, in late January 2021, Dale Robinson directed his wife, Marcia Robinson, who lived in Maryland, to create a company named Tailored Railroads & Consulting LLC and to open a company checking account on which she would serve as the sole signatory.  Marcia Robinson did this, filing the company paperwork in the State of Maryland.  Dale Robinson then provided the information about Tailored Railroads to Bledsoe so that Bledsoe could disguise the payments intended for Dale Robinson’s personal benefit by making them via checks from JB Railroad to Tailored Railroads.

After the bribe had been solicited by Dale Robinson, and after Tailored Railroads was created and the checking account opened by Marcia Robinson, during the period of February 2021 through February 2022, Dale Robinson directed Marcia Robinson to send a total of four invoices from Tailored Railroads to JB Railroad.  When Marcia Robinson sent each of these invoices, she knew that Tailored Railroads had not provided goods or services of any type to JB Railroad.

Bledsoe then caused JB Railroad to issue checks to Tailored Railroads to pay these invoices, even though Tailored Railroads provided no goods or services to JB Railroad, because these actually were the payments of the bribe solicited by Dale Robinson.  A total of four checks were issued from JB Railroad to Tailored Railroads during the period of February 2021 through March 2022 to pay these four invoices.  These four checks totaled approximately $75,956, the amount that Bledsoe ultimately provided to Tailored Railroads for the personal benefit of Dale Robinson in response to Dale Robinson’s bribe solicitation.

While not knowing all the details of her husband’s illegal bribery agreement with Bledsoe, when the four checks were issued to Tailored Railroads, Marcia Robinson knew that the funds were being paid by Bledsoe for Dale Robinson’s personal benefit in connection with Dale Robinson’s recommendation of JB Railroad for work to be performed for Miami-Dade Transit. Despite this, she did not inform authorities of her husband’s crime, and her actions all helped to conceal his criminal activity.  In addition, beyond issuing these four invoices and receiving the four payments from JB Railroad, Tailored Railroads engaged in no other activity of any type, and it eventually was administratively dissolved by the State of Maryland.

Dale Robinson and Marcia Robinson are scheduled for sentencing on July 10, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore in Miami.  Dale Robinson faces a possible maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison and Marcia Robinson faces a possible maximum sentence of up to three years in prison.

Jessie Bledsoe is scheduled for sentencing on August 1, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom in Miami.  Bledsoe faces a possible maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison

U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida, acting Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of FBI Miami, and Inspector General Felix Jimenez of the Miami-Dade County Office of Inspector General (MDC-OIG) announced the guilty pleas.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward N. Stamm is prosecuting both cases and Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon is handling the forfeiture matters on both cases.    

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 25-cr-20168.

###

Source: US FBI

MIAMI – A former financier previously disciplined by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission pled guilty today in the Southern District of Florida to defrauding his elderly family member out of approximately $8.4 million.

According to court documents, Brett Thomas Graham, 61, began assisting his family member after she became a widow in approximately 2017. In approximately November 2018, Graham assisted her with retaining a financial advisor headquartered in New York, New York. In approximately February 2019, the family member sold a townhouse in New York, New York, for approximately $9 million. In approximately September 2019, Graham began transferring money from her accounts into his own checking account.  Graham spent the money on himself.  In approximately December 2020, Graham assumed the role of the family member’s power of attorney, by which he was obligated to act in her best interest.  Graham used the opportunity to continue his scheme to defraud.

In one instance, in December 2020, Graham asked the financial advisor for an additional $250,000, writing that the money was needed for the family member’s “higher medical & care expenses.” After receiving the money, Graham spent it on himself. In another instance, in November 2022, Graham asked that the financial advisor make an additional $400,000 available, writing that the funds were necessary for “[a]mazing [investment] opps…” After receiving the money, Graham spent over $300,000 on his credit card, art, travel, and rent.

Law enforcement was able to seize approximately $2 million worth of jewelry and art purchased with fraud proceeds.

Graham’s sentencing is scheduled to take place before Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks on September 16.

U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida and Acting Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Miami Field Office investigated the case.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli S. Rubin is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra Demirci for the Southern District of Florida handled asset forfeiture.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 25-cr-20103.

###

Source: US FBI

MIAMI –The last of three defendants made his initial appearance in Miami federal court yesterday to face an indictment charging the men with conspiracy to commit wire fraud while scheming to fraudulently obtain Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.

PPP loans were intended to provide economic relief to small businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the allegations in the indictment, between May 2020 and March 2021, Guillermo Lopez Carrazana, Christian Mendoza, and Max Alberto Mera Ulloa, all residents of Miami-Dade County, conspired to submit over 165 false and fraudulent PPP loan applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), which administered the emergency relief program under the CARES Act. The PPP was designed to help businesses maintain payroll and cover essential expenses during the pandemic. It is alleged that the defendants received $6.5 million in COVID relief money through the fraud.  

It is alleged that Carrazana, Mendoza (a tax preparer) and Ulloa owned and operated various businesses, including G LUX LLC, Global Tax & Accounting Group Corp, CM Logistics Systems LLC and Max Mera Corporation. Along with others, the defendants allegedly submitted fraudulent loan applications that misrepresented payroll and employee information to obtain large sums of money under false pretenses.

The indictment further alleges that the defendants engaged in a kickback scheme, offering and receiving payments in exchange for referring additional individuals to participate in the fraudulent loan applications. It is also alleged that the defendants and the other fraudsters did not use the proceeds of the PPP loans for their intended purpose, instead they used the funds to enrich themselves.

U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of the FBI, Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Emmanuel Gomez of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office made the announcement.

FBI Miami and IRS-CI, Miami Field Office are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Cruz is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 25-cr-20178.

###

Source: US FBI

Note: This press release was corrected to reflect the proper announcing officials.  

MIAMI – On May 15, 2025, Adam Jonathan Lowe, 43, of West Pittston, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to over 6 years in federal prison by the Honorable David Leibowitz, stemming from his conviction for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, mail fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341, and engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived proceeds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1957.  Upon release from custody, Lowe must serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution to the victims of his offense.

Previously, on May 13, 2025, co-defendant Murray Todd Petersen, 73, of Fair Oaks, California, was sentenced to 9 years in federal prison by the Honorable James I. Cohn stemming from his conviction after a seven-day jury trial in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349 and wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.  Upon release from custody, Petersen must serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution to the victims of his offense.

On October 18, 2024, co-defendant Scott Schafer, 62, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, was sentenced to five years probation stemming from his stemming from his conviction for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.

         As outlined in court documents and trial testimony, Adam Jonathan Lowe, as the president of The Diamond Desk and as the manager of PetersenLowe, LLC., was the supplier of fancy-colored diamonds sourced worldwide.  Murray Todd Petersen worked as a salesman for PetersenLowe, LLC., who induced investors to purchase Lowe’s fancy-colored diamonds using materially false and fraudulent representations concerning the safety and security of the investments, the value of the investments, the expected profits and rates of return, and the use of investors’ funds. After selling his victims expensive fancy-colored diamonds supplied with fraudulent overvalued appraisals from co-defendant Scott Schafer, Petersen instructed his clients to hold onto their investments often for one to two years prior to looking to liquidate. When trying to cover his investors cash out demands at the overpriced appraisal prices, Petersen and Lowe used another false representation of a China investment program, where they would purportedly invest the victims’ money into the Chinese diamond market with a purported guaranteed five to eight percent monthly dividend return on investment. Unbeknownst to their victims, this new investment program was really a Ponzi scheme in disguise designed to pay off his first round of investor clients. When customers began to complain about missing promised returns and highly inaccurate overvalued appraisals, the scheme pivoted again to a theft model, where investors prepaid for diamonds that were never delivered by either Lowe or Petersen. Petersen took approximately $850,000 in sales commissions from his victims, which he used to pay off his high IRS tax liens and cover his business operating expenses.  In total, the scheme netted approximately $13 million and defrauded in excess of 100 victims.

         U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida and acting Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of FBI Miami made the announcement.   

         FBI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marc Anton and Latoya Brown prosecuted the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon is handling asset forfeiture.

         You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.

         Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov  or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 23-cr-60225.

###

Source: US FBI

Kristin Rehler, special agent in charge of the Jacksonville Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has announced her retirement, with a departure date of April 17, 2025. She retires after more than 29 years of honorable and dedicated service to the FBI.

Reflecting on her career, Ms. Rehler stated, “Leading FBI Jacksonville has been the honor of a lifetime. I’ve had the privilege of working alongside some of the most dedicated professionals in law enforcement—both within the FBI and among our incredible local, state, and federal partners. Our shared mission to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution is made stronger through these vital partnerships. I’m endlessly proud of the work we’ve accomplished together and deeply grateful for the men and women, past and present, whose selfless service make our communities and our country safer.”

Ms. Rehler began her FBI career in 1996 as a special agent in the Houston Field Office, where she investigated myriad criminal violations, including violent crime, narcotics, and financial crimes. In 2008, she was promoted to supervisor of Houston’s Civil Rights Squad, overseeing the Human Trafficking Task Force.

In 2012, she was assigned to FBI Headquarters as an assistant inspector/team leader in the Inspection Division, conducting field office inspections, agent-involved shooting investigations, and national program reviews.

She returned to Houston in 2013 as a supervisor and later served as acting assistant special agent in charge (ASAC) of both the Criminal Branch and the newly formed Technical and Administrative Branch.

In 2015, Ms. Rehler was promoted to ASAC in the Tampa Field Office, leading the Criminal Branch and overseeing the Evidence Response Team and Operation Panama Express. In 2021, she was appointed ASAC over Tampa’s Counterintelligence and Cyber Branch, managing human intelligence, surveillance, and administrative programs.

Later that year, she returned to the Inspection Division, where she served as an Inspector prior to being appointed by the Director to lead the Jacksonville Division in April 2024.