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$4.8M Con Artists Busted in Florida IDs Heist
Four Florida residents have been convicted in federal court in Providence, Rhode Island, for their individual roles in a wide-ranging conspiracy to use stolen personal identifying information (PII) of unsuspecting individuals to fraudulently obtain more than $4.8 million by defrauding banks and fraudulently obtaining benefits and payments from federal and state agencies in multiple jurisdictions.
In pleading guilty, James Legerme, 33, of Sunrise, Fl, and Allen Bien-Aime, 33, of Lehigh Acres, Fl, each pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft; Junior Mertile, 35, of Miramar, Fl, and Tony Mertile, 33, of Miramar, FL, each pleaded guilty on April 12, 2024, to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
The defendants admitted to using stolen PII to obtain debit and credit cards, and to open bank accounts that were used to receive, deposit, and transfer fraudulently obtained government benefits and payments; to submit fraudulent applications to multiple state unemployment agencies, including the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, for pandemic-related benefits made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act; and to submit fraudulent applications in the names of other persons to federal and state agencies to obtain tax refunds, stimulus payments, and disaster relief funds.
Junior Mertile and Tony Mertile are scheduled to be sentenced on August 26, 2024; James Legerme and Allen Bien-Aime are scheduled to be sentenced on August 27, 2024. The defendants’ sentences will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The defendants have agreed to forfeit $1,214,294.75 in funds that constitute proceeds of the conspiracy, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of Rolex watches and assorted jewelry, and over $1.1 million in cash seized from the residences of Tony Mertile, Junior Mertile, and James Legerme at the time of their arrests. Each defendant also agrees that, separate from the money and items to be forfeited, each is jointly and several liable for $4,857,191 in restitution to be paid to agencies and financial institutions that were defrauded.
The case is being prosecuted in U.S. District Court by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Denise M. Barton and Stacey A. Erickson and Rhode Island Assistant Attorney General John M. Moreira, chief of the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Public Integrity Unit. The investigation was conducted by the United States Attorney’s Office, Rhode Island Department of the Attorney General, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Rhode Island State Police, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, and the Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, with substantial assistance from the United States Postal Inspection Service, United States Secret Service, and United States Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General/Office of Investigations.
United States Attorney Cunha, Rhode Island Attorney General Neronha, and FBI Boston Division Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen thank the Miami Division of the FBI, the Fort Myers Resident Agency of the FBI Tampa Division, the FBI’s Complex Financial Crimes Unit, and the U.S. Marshal Service in Florida for their assistance at the time the defendants were arrested and detained in Florida.
Key Facts
- State: Rhode Island
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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