Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

Last week in Miami, a nurse appeared in federal court to face allegations of fraud linked to more than $450,000 in coronavirus relief fraud, according to prosecutors. The nurse is accused of defrauding a pair of government relief programs: the Paycheck Security Program (PPP) aimed at avoiding layoffs as a result of the pandemic, and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) aimed at enabling small companies to remain afloat during the crisis.

Per federal prosecutors, the nurse claimed he had workers via his business, when in fact he did not. Prosecutors said he received around $420,000 of PPP help and $55,000 of EIDL assistance by providing untrue information on the applications for these assistance programs.

FBI agents allege that the nurse used the money from taxpayers allocated to help salvage jobs and keep companies going for personal expenses during the pandemic. Prosecutors said there is proof that he then deposited just over $200,000 into a personal bank account.

As an investigation into a 2019 shooting involving a Baton Rouge, Louisiana rapper moves on, federal and state investigators from Louisiana paid a visit to Florida.

In May 2019, a black Cadillac Escalade pulled up and opened fire while the rapper and his friends were leaving Trump International Beach Club.

The rapper did not suffer a gunshot. His girlfriend, though, did receive an injury and had to be taken to a hospital. A young boy also suffered grazed by a bullet during the incident. The boy was examined and released. Another victim lost his life in the crossfire when he was shot in the head while inside his vehicle.

A court battle over a Florida bill that increased the age of purchasing rifles and other long weapons from 18 to 21 saw increased activity recently, with lawyers representing the National Rifle Association and state officials seeking to undermine expert witnesses from each side.

Following the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, the age limit was included as part of sweeping legislation. When the then-19-year-old gunman opened fire at the school with the use of a semi-automatic rifle, 14 students and a trio of staff members lost their lives.

Although the statute banned anyone under the age of 21 from purchasing long weapons, it did not prohibit them from owning the guns or getting the guns as gifts. The marketing of handguns to persons younger than 21 has long been banned under federal legislation.

According to court documents, a Cuban-born man alleged to be secretly helping an international militant organization by posting recruitment videos on social media is being held in a Miami federal lockup.

The 23-year-old man who resides close to Fort Myers was refused bail and convicted in Miami last week of supplying material assistance to ISIS, an al-Qaeda offshoot that has achieved prominence through Middle Eastern conflicts and the decapitation of Western hostages. In September, the man was arrested in Miami while meeting with an FBI operative acting undercover.

A naturalized U.S. citizen, the man faces a single terrorist charge of up to 20 years in jail and has an arraignment scheduled for January 7. In the U.S. counter-terrorism section, his defense counsel says he plans to carry out a plea bargain with U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecutors to limit his future punishment.

A popular American rapper, singer, and songwriter is generating headlines after recently being charged with alleged possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The charge is a federal offense and could land the rapper in prison for up to ten years.

Documents filed in Miami federal court claim the rapper, even with recognizing he had the previous conviction on his record, had a firearm and ammo in December of last year.

Authorities said that after his baggage was searched upon arrival in Miami on a private jet, the 38-year-old rapper admitted possessing the gold-plated handgun. First published by the Miami Herald, a search warrant said the rapper told police the gun was a Father’s Day present. Investigators also mentioned the rapper having alleged illicit drugs in the baggage, but no drug violation has been filed against the musician.

A sealed federal lawsuit was finally unsealed earlier this week, revealing fraud allegations by a one-time senior executive of a highly regarded private Miami university. The lawsuit alleges that the healthcare system of the school billed Medicare millions of dollars in needless diagnostic testing and saddled patients with undisclosed costs for trips to the clinic.

The U.S. Department of Justice started investigating the claims after the former chief executive officer of the university’s school of medicine, who filed a 2013 whistle-blower lawsuit, first raised them. At a time when the university was dealing with huge debt after completing an unprecedented expansion of its medical school into a sprawling academic health system, the man accused the university of making false charges with Medicare for needless organ donation testing and overcharging patients for clinic visits.

To read more, visit https://www.miamiherald.com/news/health-care/article246919602.html.