Yoelvis Denis Hernandez, Theft of Government Property, Florida 2020

Two Miami men have been sentenced to prison for stealing medical ventilators worth approximately $3 million.

Yoelvis Denis Hernandez, 42, also known as ‘Guajiro,’ and Luis Urra Montero, 25, also known as ‘Flaco,’ stole 192 medical ventilators from a tractor trailer in South Florida in August 2020.

The ventilators were owned by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and were bound for a COVID-19 intensive care facility in El Salvador as part of a United States COVID-19 aid program.

The two men stole the trailer from a lot where the driver had left it overnight on August 9, 2020.

According to court documents, Hernandez and Montero stole the tractor trailer loaded with 192 medical ventilators during its transport by truck to Miami International Airport.

Following an investigation, federal law enforcement agents recovered most of the stolen ventilators.

Hernandez and Montero previously pled guilty to theft of government property.

Montero was sentenced to 41 months imprisonment this week, while Hernandez was sentenced to 41 months imprisonment in December 2021.

The case was investigated by FBI Miami, FBI Miami’s Major Theft Task Force, and USAID-OIG, with assistance from the Boynton Beach Police Department, Miami Dade Police Department, Medley Police Department, City of Miami Gardens Police Department, and Broward Sheriff’s Office.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsey Lazopoulos Friedman and Michael B. Homer. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Stone is handling asset forfeiture.

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