Boca Raton is part of the Southern District of Florida, which has jurisdiction over nine counties including Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Miami Dade, Broward, and Monroe. The current United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida is Wifredo A. Ferrer. Boca Raton is one of the largest cities in Palm Beach County with a population of 85,329 as of 2011.
Miami has been known as the epicenter of various types of fraud because of the various large scale boiler rooms and Ponzi schemes that have operated there. Boca Raton, and by extension, Palm Beach County, is no different. Known for its upscale and lavish communities, this lovely city suffers from criminal activity just like any other. What makes Boca unique is that it’s a hot spot for frauds and swindles.
The following two cases are examples of the type of fraudulent activity that is common in Boca, and South Florida as a whole.
William J. Reilly, a Boca resident, was arrested for securities fraud on October 25, 2012. The defendant was running a scheme where he sold the stock of Caribbean Pacific Marketing, INC. ahead of the company’s initial public offering (IPO); an act that violates the registration provisions of the Securities Act. Reilly sold the stock to a confidential source; an informant of the FBI working on an investigation of Penny Stock fraud in South Florida. He is being charged with securities fraud. Other charges include violating antifraud provisions of the federal securities law.
Another case from Boca Raton demonstrates the level of sophistication of some of these white collar schemes. The staged accident fraud scheme is common in South Florida, in part due to Florida’s “No Fault” Insurance law, which requires insurers to provide $10,000 in Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage per person. This scheme involves recruiters finding participants to stage “accidents” and requires chiropractic clinics to willfully play a part in the scheme.
On November 5, 2012, Boca Raton chiropractor Jennifer Adams pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud in connection with a staged accident fraud scheme. Adams prescribed medication and offered treatments that her patients clearly didn’t need. Initially, she thought both businesses she worked in were legitimate. Despite uncovering the truth, she continued to prescribe medication knowing that she was playing a part in the scheme. According to the investigation, over $1.9 million in payments were collected from these fraudulent claims -all during Adams tenure in both clinics. Even more, Adams agreed to place her name on the corporate paperwork used in these fraudulent claim packets. The chiropractor received a salary for her work but most of the profits went to the co-conspirators.
At sentencing, Adams faces a maximum sentence of 20 years, to be followed by supervised release for 3 years, a fine of $250,000, and mandatory restitution of $1.9 million. The dangerous part of this type of scheme is that an innocent employer, someone with no idea of the scheme and with no intention to commit fraud, can be caught in this web of lies and deceit, engendering the chance of being prosecuted.
Attorney Ken Swartz is experienced and successful in handling frauds and other white collar crimes. Whether in the Boca Raton community or anywhere in Florida, If you are being investigated for a federal or state crime, or if you or a loved one has been charged, call the Swartz Law Firm and have criminal defense attorney Swartz represent you! An effective and strong defense will be built so that your liberties are not compromised. Call now for your consultation.