Michael John Alcocer Roa, 34, of Kissimmee, Florida, is headed to federal prison for more than 17 years after being convicted at trial on five counts of wire fraud. U.S. District Court Senior Judge Patricia A. Seitz handed down a 210-month sentence, followed by three years of supervised release, slamming the door on a scheme that ripped off nearly 300 victims and funneled over $7 million into a web of lies and offshore accounts.
Alcocer set up Inovatrade Inc., a Florida corporation, in October 2008, and spent the next three years peddling false promises of guaranteed 15% annual returns through foreign currency trading. He claimed client funds were segregated and protected in trust accounts—none of it true. Instead, according to trial evidence, Alcocer used new investor deposits to pay fake ‘returns’ and cover promotional payouts, creating the illusion of a thriving operation while conducting little to no actual trading.
Over 300 individuals and entities transferred more than $7 million into Inovatrade accounts, many receiving fabricated account statements showing growth and activity. But when they tried to withdraw funds, the excuses began—delays, technical issues, pending approvals. Eventually, communications stopped altogether. Victims were left empty-handed, while Alcocer siphoned millions into personal accounts in the U.S. and Panama, living off the stolen cash as the scheme collapsed.
Bank records presented at trial laid bare the fraud: inflows came almost entirely from new investors, not business profits. Transfers from Inovatrade accounts to Alcocer’s personal holdings ran into the millions. The operation bore all the hallmarks of a classic Ponzi scheme, propped up by deceit and brazen financial manipulation, until federal investigators caught up.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, announced the sentencing. Ferrer credited the FBI’s relentless investigation for bringing Alcocer to justice. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John P. Gonsoulin and Vanessa S. Snyder, who methodically dismantled Alcocer’s defense over the course of the trial.
A restitution hearing is scheduled for December 13, 2016, at 10:00 a.m., where the court will determine how much Alcocer must repay his victims. Court documents and case details are available through the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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