November, 2011

Federal Mail Fraud Defense Attorneys Whittel & Melton :: Ex-Gainesville Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Connection with Multi-Million Dollar Ponzi Scheme

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A former Florida resident was sentenced to the maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison on Thursday for mail fraud in connection with a $30 million Ponzi scheme.

His original charges also included wire fraud and conspiracy, crimes that often get charged in conjunction with mail fraud cases.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, the Florida Attorney General’s Office and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The 48-year-old man was ordered to surrender $29.9 million, numerous computers and computer equipment purchased using earnings from the scheme.

According to authorities, the man received $30 million from more than 500 investors in Florida and throughout the United States by assuring them that they could earn 10 percent interest per month by trading in foreign currency through his company located in Pasco County.

The man supposedly only invested a small portion of the assets obtained, paid investors about $15 million of other investors’ money and spent millions of dollars on personal items for himself, friends and family. He allegedly leased high-end real estate in New York City, private jets, and bought luxury cars, clothing and jewelry.

The Florida Attorney General’s Office shut down the man’s former company in April 2010 and froze its assets after investigating a grievance against the company. During that time the man had a Gainesville address and supposedly went to school in the area.

He was arrested in New York City on Nov. 4, 2010 and indicted Dec. 1.

Mail fraud and wire fraud are broad terms used in any case involving theft by mail, by Internet, by electronic transfer, by phone or any other comparable scenario. The State must prove intent beyond a reasonable doubt to obtain a conviction for this white collar offense. A mail fraud or mail theft case revolves around several points:

• Did the accused actually plan to commit fraud?

• Did the accused willfully and intentionally create a plot to cheat another person or persons
out of money or property?

• Did the accused use the postal system in their scheme to defraud?

Prosecutors and investigators for fraud cases are aggressive in pursuing charges, which means your case can drag on for a lengthy time period. If convicted of mail fraud, the penalties include stiff fines or imprisonment for up to 20 years, possibly both. If the violation concerns a financial institution such as a bank, the fine can be elevated as high as $1,000,000 and imprisonment up to 30 years.

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Posted In: Alachua County , Conspiracy , Mail Fraud , Pasco County , Wire Fraud

April, 2011

Florida Criminal Defense Attorney :: University of Florida Basketball Players Arrested for Burglary

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Two Gator basketball forwards were charged with one felony count of third-degree burglary Sunday for allegedly trying to break into a car in St. Augustine, Florida. A Florida basketball student manager was allegedly acting as a lookout for the men and was charged with principal to burglary.

According to the Gainesville Sun, the two student athletes went into Scarlett O’Hara’s Bar and Restaurant around 2 a.m. saying they lost a wallet. St. Augustine police said that the men tried to get close to a female employee who was counting cash taken in for the night.

Bouncers asked the men to leave the premises. Moments later, the bouncers told police they saw the men attempt to break into a co-worker’s car parked across the street. All three men tried to leave the scene. Two were taken into custody after a brief chase. The other man turned himself into police.

The owner of the vehicle told police that nothing appeared to be missing from the car. The two forwards were taken to jail and released on $5,000 bond.

In Florida, there are three basic types of burglary: structure, dwelling and conveyance. In this case the men are accused of burglary of a conveyance. A conveyance is classified as any motor vehicle, ship, vessel, railroad vehicle or car, trailer, aircraft, or sleeping car.

In the state of Florida you can be charged with burglary if you illegally enter any structure, dwelling or conveyance with the intent to commit an offense. Burglary usually occurs when no witnesses or victims are present, while robbery entails the use of force or fear to take another person’s property. The biggest factor in charging decisions on these types of cases is whether or not the house, garage, car, etc. was occupied during the alleged crime.

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Posted In: Alachua County , Burglary and Trespass

April, 2011

Gainesville, Florida Habitual Traffic Violation Lawyer :: Alachua Man Crashes Car Into His Home to Avoid Arrest

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The Alachua Police Department arrested a man on charges of fleeing and eluding police, possession of cocaine with intent to sell, possession of marijuana, driving while license suspended or revoked, hit and run from an accident scene and resisting an officer. The man ended a police chase by crashing into his own home.

According to the Gainesville Sun, a 20-year-old Alachua man was spotted by an officer driving around 2:30 p.m. on Monday. The officer supposedly knew the man’s license has been suspended and attempted to pull him over.

The man allegedly lead police on a chase ignoring traffic control signs for about 15 blocks.

The man pulled into his driveway and ended the chase by crashing the car into his house. He was arrested in his back yard. The defendant was handcuffed and a search turned up marijuana and cocaine. The accused was taken to the Alachua County jail.

According to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, around 30 percent of Florida’s motoring public is currently under a license suspension, revocation or disqualification. That translates to a whopping 4.6 million drivers that have their license suspended or revoked. A license can be administratively suspended through the DHSMV or it can be revoked through the court system.

In Florida, if you have three convictions for driving while your license suspended, your driver’s license will be revoked for five years as a habitual traffic offender. In 2008 the DHSMV mailed out 22,742 HTO announcements to Florida drivers. Over the course of the last three years more than 20,000 warnings went out.

You can be issued a ticket for driving with a suspended license knowingly or unknowingly.
DWLS knowingly is a criminal traffic offense that can be charged as a misdemeanor or felony. DWLS unknowingly is a civil violation. If someone is arrested for DWLS while on a HTO revocation, they could face a third degree felony punishable by up to five years in state prison.

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Posted In: Alachua County , Criminal Traffic

April, 2011

Gainesville, Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer :: NFL Wide Receiver for the Oakland Raiders Arrested in Alachua County

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Gainesville Police arrested a former University of Florida football player, Louis Morris Murphy Jr., Sunday morning for three misdemeanors. He was charged with possession of a drug without a valid prescription, failure to obey a police officer and resisting arrest without violence.

Murphy, currently a wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders, was taken into custody just after midnight.

A Gainesville police officer said he saw Murphy’s Cadillac Escalade blasting music and told him to pull over. Murphy allegedly continued driving to a city parking lot, exited the SUV with his passengers and walked away.

The officer flashed his lights and demanded Murphy to stop and identify himself. According to the Gainesville Sun, Murphy refused to show identification and insisted on finding out why he was stopped. After Murphy continuously failed to produce his ID, three officers had to place handcuffs on the 6-foot-2-inch, 180-pound NFL player because he refused to put his hands behind his back.

Officers said that Murphy consented to a search of his vehicle where an alleged non-labeled prescription bottle was found with 11 pills inside, later identified as Viagra. Murphy supposedly could not show a valid prescription for the bottle and claimed to have peeled the label off because he did not want his girlfriend to see it.

This is Murphy’s second arrest in Gainesville. He was arrested in 2006 for possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana. He accepted a plea deal and no jail time was served.

For the drug charge Murphy faces, a defense does exist. It is clearly identified in Florida Statute 893.13. If Murphy’s alleged statement to police about the prescription for Viagra being valid is true, a follow-up with his doctor could clear his charge of possession of a drug without a valid prescription. The statute says that a legitimate prescription for a medication that requires a prescription will undo a charge related to that medication. If Murphy lawfully obtained a prescription for Viagra, past or present, the drug charges could be dropped.

If Murphy’s claims prove false, he could be facing harsh consequences such as a two year driver’s license suspension, civil forfeiture and jail time.

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Posted In: Alachua County , Drug Charges

March, 2011

Gainesville, FL Criminal Lawyer :: Alachua County Woman Recently Released from Prison Arrested for Robbery

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A Florida woman just released from state prison earlier this month was arrested by the Gainesville Police Department Sunday night for robbery by sudden snatching.

The Gainesville Sun reported the woman was charged with two counts of robbery by sudden snatching. The nearly identical crimes took place at motels on Southwest 13th St. where the male victims say they were speaking with the woman when she allegedly grabbed hundreds of dollars from their wallets and drove away in a black Chevy Impala.

The woman told police she took less than $100 from each man. As of Monday, she was being held at the Alachua County jail.

The robberies were reported on March 11 and 18. This was within two weeks from the woman’s release from prison on March 4, after serving 10 months for convictions of grand theft, credit card fraud and providing false information to a pawn broker.

Robbery by sudden snatching means taking money or some other property from a person with the intent to momentarily or everlastingly rob the victim or owner of the money or property and in the process the victim became aware of the theft. The woman is most likely facing a felony of the third degree since there was no reported weapon or firearm used to carry out the robbery.

Robbery is a crime of dishonesty and can be used in court for impeachment purposes. As a general rule, if you have a conviction for any crime of dishonesty a judge or jury is permitted to hear so even in the most remote of matters, if you plan on testifying. It has been the rule that this goes to your credibility of a witness. Critics often argue that it is a form of double jeopardy, but at least in Florida, it’s quite common.

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Posted In: Alachua County , Robbery , Theft

January, 2009

Gainesville man arrested for Alachua County DUI...Again.

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Karen Voyles from the Gainesville Sun is reporting that a Gainesville driver whose license was permanently revoked in November for drunk driving was arrested again for DUI early Wednesday morning. His blood alcohol level was calculated at three times the legal limit.

According to the article, allegedly this is at the very least, the man's fourth DUI. An Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy noticed a Chevrolet truck veer into the westbound lane of NE 39th Avenue and pulled him over. The driver eventually submitted to a breath test which police records indicate blood alcohol levels of .246 and .254. Under Florida law, a driver is presumed drunk when their blood alcohol level reaches .08.

These are very serious and complicated cases. Under Florida law, a fourth and subsequent DUI charge is a felony punishable up to 5 years in state prison as well as a litany of statutorily-mandatory requirements such as fines, probation, DUI school and the instillation of an ignition interlock device.

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Posted In: Alachua County , DUI

July, 2008

DUI Arrest Pending for Former Gainesville, FL UF Gator Jevon Kearse

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According to news reports, the former Gainesville, FL and Alachua County resident was charged with DUI after a traffic stop in Nashville Tennessee, where it was alleged the former UF Gator was speeding and swerved several times. Kearse refused the breathylizer or breath test, but during the criminal investigation, allegedly made an admission to police that he drank one vodka with red bull.

According to reports, a field sobriety test was also conducted but Kearse did not perform to the officer’s satisfaction.

If the stop of Kearse’s vehicle occurred in Gainesville, where Florida Law applies, a Judge would have to determine whether the Police had Probable Cause to believe a traffic infraction had occurred (example – speeding or weaving) OR whether or not the Police had Reasonable Suspicion to believe a crime was occurring (example – DUI)- which could justify the reason for the police pulling over Kearse.

Assuming there is credible evidence that the traffic stop was justified, in order for the DUI Prosecutors to proceed, the State would still need to establish that there was Probable Cause for an arrest for DUI. This could be proven by the “failed” sobriety test, admission of drinking and the alleged bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and smell of alcohol. However, a court can also consider how the tests were conducted, the credibility of the officers testifying and the overall reasonableness of the situation to determine whether the arrest was lawful.

Should this case go to trial it is important to remember that Kearse never gave a breath sample and the potential evidence of impairment will be limited to whatever testimonial evidence the Judge allows the State to offer regarding Kearse's driving pattern, his roadside demeanor and the field sobriety tests that he allegedly failed. The potential sanctions for misdemeanor DUI in Florida are similar to sanctions in Tennessee.

If you have any DUI questions for Gainesville, FL DUI Lawyer Whittel & Melton, LLC or need more information about our Recent DUI Results in Alachua County, FL and your rights during a DUI investigation, please contact us now at 1-866-608-5LAW.

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Posted In: Alachua County , DUI

Jason M. Melton

Criminal Defense Attorney

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