Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

Eleven months have passed since Richard Mallia, a podiatrist from Palm Springs, Florida, admitted guilt to a $3.4 million fraud in Medicare.While Mallia should have been sent to prison after his sentence, COVID has kept him from going.

For Medicare fraud to occur, a doctor must write prescriptions, which is precisely what Mallia did when he worked at Sunshine Medical Care Group and one other healthcare clinic. Mallias had been a licensed podiatrist since the summer of 2001.

His admission states that he wrote home health prescriptions and signed plans of Medicare beneficiaries, aware of the fact they did not need home health services. He was well acquainted with the owners and operators of several home health care agencies like D&V Elite Home Care and Florida Patient Care. He then used the prescriptions and planned to submit fraudulent claims to gain reimbursement for home health services that were never needed. As a result, the Medicare program has taken a loss of $3.4 million.

Driving while under the influence is never a good idea. Even if you believe you are coherent, it is best to find an alternative mode of transportation to avoid fatal consequences such as DUI charges and DUI manslaughter charges if you have been drinking.

The average sentence time for DUI manslaughter is ten years nationwide. Each state has its own DUI laws, but it is a felony and federal charges can exist. However, if a driver has been found guilty of gross negligence, prison time can climb up to 60 years.

DUI Manslaughter is the criminal charge faced when a driver under the influence takes the life of another person. This includes pedestrians, motorists, other drivers, and passengers. Even if there was no intent to harm, you could still face these charges. If you are faced with negligence, your case can be categorized as either ordinary negligence or gross negligence.

On Tuesday, May 18, federal law enforcement officers arrested 58-year-old Miguel Andres Gutierrez Diaz of Santiago, an elected member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican Republic. This happened following Guitierrez Diaz’s international flight arriving in Miami from the Dominican Republic. The arrest was made at Miami International Airport. 

Congressman Guitierrez Diaz was part of a transnational drug ring operating in the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and the United States. His charges include conspiring to distribute cocaine, knowingly allowing it to be imported into the United States, conspiring to import into the United States, and conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute. If Gutierrez Diaz is convicted, he faces life in prison. 

The prosecution is a result of the ongoing investigations by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership with law enforcement agencies at the federal, state, and local levels.

Two South Florida residents have been arrested by a federal grand jury in connection with the suspected sex abuse of a 16-year-old teen.

The minor suspect was a fugitive from a group home on December 6, 2020, when she encountered the male and female suspects, according to charges in the criminal complaint affidavit originally lodged in this case. The man took the girl in and engaged in sex with her after providing a sofa for her to sleep on in his home, according to the affidavit. According to legal records, the two defendants physically trafficked the victim in the following days.

The female defendant is accused of taking nude photos of the 16-year-old girl and posting them on the internet, and both defendants are accused of selling sex with the girl to four separate men in Broward County, Florida, for $100 each. The girl was able to reach a relative on December 9, 2020. Later that day, she was saved by law enforcement.

Federal prosecutors in South Florida have accused the head of an infamous Mexican drug gang and five others of allegedly smuggling over 500 kilograms (1,000+ pounds) of Mexican methamphetamine into the United States. Law enforcement officers intercepted over 1,100 pounds of crystal meth before it could enter the streets in what is now the biggest methamphetamine bust ever in Miami-Dade County.

The accused have received drug conspiracy, drug distribution, drug importation, and other charges in a pair of separate lawsuits. One lawsuit accused one man of drug trafficking offenses. He is a past mayor of Aguililla, Mexico, and, per the charges, the chief of the United Cartels in Michoacán, Mexico. It even suspects another person of being a co-conspirator. On March 30, 2021, both men were detained in Guatemala at the behest of the United States.

Another four suspects are accused with a second federal complaint about their involvement in the suspected drug operation. On March 30, 2021, law enforcement agents arrested these four suspects in Miami. They have made their first appearances and are expected in federal magistrate court in Miami on April 7, 2021, for custody hearings.

In Ocala, a 24-year-old Florida man has been charged with a federal hate crime. A federal grand jury in Orlando charged the man from Dunnellon with setting alight and destroying the Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Ocala, returning an accusation against him.

In July of last year, the man set fire to the Queen of Peace Catholic Church, according to the indictment. According to the complaint, he was inspired to start the fire because of the church’s religious nature. He faces a single count of causing malicious harm to religious property, a hate crime offense under the Church Arson Prevention Act, and a single count of committing a felony through the use of fuel.

The man faces a potential sentence of 20 years in jail if accused of causing malicious damage to religious property. For using fire to commit a crime, he faces an extra statutory sentence of ten years in prison. He may also face a three-year supervised release sentence, as well as a $250,000 fine and restitution.