A businessman who pleaded guilty to defrauding the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has been sentenced to six months in prison, a year of house arrest, and a $10,000 fine.
Between 2011 and 2013, John R. Cacaro, age 59, owned and operated Employers Choice Plus LLC, a payroll processing company. Employers Choice Plus also made workers’ compensation premium payments on behalf of their clients.
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Miami police officer Dermis Hernandez was arrested by federal agents on Monday for his alleged connection to a Ponzi scheme that guaranteed investors huge returns on loans to property owners in Costa Rica.
Hernandez, 41, faces charges for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He appeared in federal court on Tuesday and is scheduled to have a bond hearing Friday. It is unclear if he has hired a defense attorney.
Dwayne Taylor, a former member of Florida’s legislature and Daytona Beach city commissioner accused of using campaign funds for his personal benefit, has been ordered to forfeit almost $63,000 as part of his sentence.
Taylor, 49, was charged with 9 counts of wire fraud on March 9. He pleaded not guilty to all charges the day after the indictment was filed.
Antoaneta Iotova and Issak Almaleh of Hollywood, Florida were arrested on January 25 for their alleged involvement in a bank fraud scheme involving properties in Florida and New York estimated to be worth $17 million.
They are being charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and making false statements to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC). It is unclear if they have acquired the services of an attorney.
Wifredo A. Ferrer
Craig Sizer of Miami, Miguel Mesa of Miami Lakes, Keith Houlihan of Boca Raton, Florida, and 10 others from Florida and California have been arrested by the FBI and face multiple fraud charges for allegedly scamming $23 million from over 700 investors across the U.S. from 2009 to 2015.
The other 10 named in the indictment are Charles K. Topping of North Bay Village, Juan M. Perez Ortega of Miami Lakes, Matthew William Wheeler of Miami, Charles David Smigrod of Coconut Grove, Jason David Hershberger of Fort Lauderdale, James Wayne Long of Miramar, Shawna Leigh Lynch of Fort Lauderdale, Jack Willard Sini of Miami, Anita Sgarro of Marina Del Ray, California, and Martin Miller of Miami Beach.
All 13 are charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and several counts of mail fraud. Sizer, Mesa, Topping, Sgarro, and Houlihan are also charged with substantive counts of wire fraud. New sources did not name attorneys for any of the defendants.
Criminal Defense and Civil Forfeiture Blog