Samuel T. Johnson, Wire Fraud, Pennsylvania 2020

Miami Couple Charged in $3.3M Verizon Wireless Scam

A Miami couple, Samuel T. Johnson, 31, and Daphne Debrosse, 30, has been indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to a federal grand jury in Pennsylvania.

The indictment, returned on September 23, 2020, accuses Johnson and Debrosse of conspiring to defraud Verizon Wireless by obtaining new, in-box cellular devices and reselling them on the illicit market. The duo allegedly compromised existing Verizon accounts, charged devices to them, and then retrieved the devices from various Apple Stores and other third-party vendors across the United States.

According to the indictment, Johnson and Debrosse obtained approximately 2,941 devices worth approximately $3,398,394.21. The devices were purchased in the names of various aliases. When law enforcement executed a search warrant at the apartment Johnson and Debrosse shared, they recovered currency totaling $619,184.00, which was seized. A 2019 Lamborghini Urus, purchased by Johnson, was also seized due to its alleged connection to the scam.

Johnson and Debrosse are accused of depositing the scam proceeds into 13 different bank accounts, totaling $813,227.59, between January 2017 and April 2019. Johnson allegedly used some of this money to pay for traveling expenses when retrieving the devices, which he obtained in 21 different states.

Assistant United States Attorney Michael Leo Ivory is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government. The Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations, with the assistance of Verizon Global Corporate Security Solutions and Apple Global Security Loss Prevention, conducted the investigation.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Johnson and Debrosse face a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, a fine of $6,796,788.00, or both.

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