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Ceairia Deveaux of Cutler Bay, Florida Arrested on DUI Charge After Miami Beach Crash

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Ceairia Deveaux of Cutler Bay, Florida has been arrested for allegedly causing two car crashes on April 14 in Miami Beach, including one that severely injured someone driving a scooter.

Deveaux, 28, is charged with reckless driving causing serious bodily injury and driving under the influence causing serious bodily injury. Attorney information was not available.

According to the police report, Deveaux was involved in a hit-and-run crash near Washington Avenue an Lincoln Road. As she was allegedly fleeing from the accident in her Chevrolet Cruze, Deveaux crashed into a scooter at Collins Avenue and 15th Street.

The impact of the second crash was so strong, it ejected scooter’s driver. The driver suffered severe brain bleeding and is reportedly in a coma at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center.

Deveaux was taken to the same hospital for stomach pains. The officers who apprehended her reported that she had slurred speech, droopy eyelids, and a strong odor of smoked marijuana. They also allegedly overheard Deveaux tell hospital staff that she had drunk alcohol. Her blood is being tested for alcohol content, the report indicates.

Records show that Deveaux has received eight tickets for traffic-related incidents over the past 8 years including four for driving without a license. All of the citations were dismissed.

Another DUI incident was reported in Miami-Dade earlier this month. Joseph Franco of Aventura was arrested on March 27 for his alleged involvement in the DUI crash that killed Amir Pelleg and injured his family.

Franco, 27, was charged with DUI manslaughter, DUI causing injury, reckless driving with serious bodily injury, and vehicular homicide. He is being held on $77,500 bond. It is unclear if he has acquired the services of an attorney.

According to the police report, Franco is accused of driving his Honda Odyssey onto a sidewalk on Collins Avenue near 174th Street and running over the Pelleg family. Pelleg, 34, was killed. His wife, Zulam Guillot Pelleg, was comatose but has since recover. Their two daughters, aged 6 and 2, were also injured.

Police believe Franco was high on nitrous oxide at the time of the crash. Witnesses allegedly reported seeing him get out of his vehicle after the crash to throw a bag into a nearby garbage can. Police retrieved the bag and found almost two dozen canisters of nitrous oxide hidden inside, including several that were empty.

The canisters were sent to a forensic lab for testing and the results show that they contained illegal amounts of nitrous oxide. They were reportedly bought by Franco from a smoke shop in North Miami-Dade.

Franco was initially charged with evidence tampering and illegally distributing nitrous oxide, but his charges were enhanced to include the DUI causing injury, DUI manslaughter, and vehicular homicide after his vehicle’s black box revealed that he failed to stop or even steer away before he hit the Pelleg family. Prosecutors believe he had inhaled the substance before the crash.

Miami Beach DUI Attorney

If you have been involved in a DUI car crash, then you should hire an attorney. Contact us to set up a free initial consultation and work with one of Florida’s most experienced DUI attorneys.

Source: 4.15.19 Woman arrested after hit-and-run crash in Miami Beach.pdf

Neil Greenberg of Sunrise, Florida Accused of Making, Possessing Child Pornography

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computer-hands-laptop-2115217-300x200Neil Greenberg of Sunrise, Florida was arrested on April 15 for allegedly having sex with underage girls and recording the encounters. Police claim that he also operated a website that connected men with sex workers.

Greenberg, 60, is charged with multiple counts of possession of child pornography, promoting child pornography, unlawful sexual activity with minors, unlawful use of a communication device, and promoting sexual performance by a child. He is being held in Broward County’s Main Jail on more than $1 million bond. The press did not name an attorney for him.

According to the arrest report, police received information about a possible human trafficking case involving a missing 17-year-old girl in January. The girl had reportedly been communicating with Greenberg on Facebook. Transcripts of their chats indicate that Greenberg had paid the teen for sex.

Investigators confirmed that Greenberg was the owner of the Facebook account and used that information to obtain a search warrant. They searched his home in the 2300 block of NW 139th Avenue and found a memory card hidden in a safe in his bedroom, the report said.

The card contained 28 videos from 2017 that allegedly show Greenberg having sex with girls as young as 14 years old. Investigators found eight additional videos in another folder that were recorded in 2012 containing similar content. The card also contained a text file authored by Greenberg in 2013 that attempts to explain the videos, the report claims.

“These videos are kept here for the sole purpose that they may contain evidentiary value for me because of dialogue contained may prove useful. Since learning of (redacted)’s true age. I decided it would be better if I did not delete them but instead put them offline where I could get them if it every became necessary,” Greenberg wrote, according to the report.

Greenberg wrote that he never “knowingly” had sex with minors and he would happily take a lie detector test to prove it, the report indicates.

“It is not something I am interested in and never have been,” he wrote. “I have long maintained that I enjoy the company of young ladies, but 18 years old or older is just fine with me. They do not need to be any younger than that. I would gladly take a polygraph if necessary.”

Investigators also purportedly connected Greenberg to an escort service website that connected paying members with “independent escorts” through a private forum. Police believe there may be more victims and are asking anyone with information to come forward.

South Florida Child Pornography Attorney

If you are involved in a child pornography case, then you should hire an attorney. Contact us to set up a free initial consultation and work with one of Florida’s most experienced child pornography attorneys.

Source: 4.16.19 Sunrise man paid underage girls for sex, recorded them, police say.pdf

Idaho State Police Seize Hemp Worth $1.3 Million Using Civil Asset Forfeiture

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rope-1149730_1920-300x200In January, Denis Palamarchuk, age 36, was driving a semitruck when he was pulled over by police. The truck contained nearly 7,000 pounds of hemp. Law enforcement arrested Palamarchuk on a drug trafficking charge and also seized both the hemp and the truck using civil asset forfeiture.

While law enforcement officers believed the material in the truck to be marijuana, Palamarchuk attempted to explain that it was, in fact, industrial hemp. Although cannabis and hemp are closely related plants, hemp contains only a small amount of the psychoactive agent which makes cannabis so potent. Industrial hemp is used in a wide variety of products, including foods, beauty products, and rope. In December 2018, President Trump signed the Farm Bill which made hemp legal federally.

Big Sky Scientific—the company Palamarchuk was working for—were able to prove the product in the truck was indeed hemp. This was later confirmed by tests commissioned by the Idaho State Police.

Law enforcement officers seized the truck and hemp using a process known as civil asset forfeiture. This is where police may take possession of an individual’s property if it is suspected of involvement in a crime. In Idaho, the standard of proof for civil forfeitures is low, only requiring law enforcement show the property was involved in a crime by “a preponderance of the evidence.” This is far short of the “beyond a reasonable doubt” required in criminal cases. Additionally, no criminal conviction is required for police to permanently seize property.

Since police in Idaho can receive up to 100 percent of the proceeds of civil asset forfeiture, there is an incentive for law enforcement to conduct seizure. This is known as “policing for profit” by critics of civil forfeiture. Additionally, law enforcement agencies in the state are not required to report forfeitures, so there is little oversight on the process.

While hemp is now legal at a federal level, it is still banned in Idaho. Attempts by the Idaho legislature to legalize year have failed although a bill which would offer protections to out-of-state truckers transporting industrial hemp through the state is still working its way through the legislature.

The current situation, where Idaho state law is at variance with federal law, “creates a big problem right now because now we have this split,” explained Ian Stewart of the Wilson Elser Cannabis Law practice based in Los Angeles.

In March, Chief Magistrate Judge Ronald Bush of the U.S District Court for Idaho handed down a decision saying that the hemp found in the truck was not protected by federal law as it had not been grown in compliance with the 2018 Farm Bill. As such, the state would be allowed to keep both the hemp and truck. Big Sky Scientific’s lawyer has appealed this decision, and it will be heard by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in due course.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the excessive fines clause of the Constitution applied at the state level. In this particular case, it could be argued that the seizure not only of a semitruck but also of $1.3 million of a product that is legal in all the states bordering Idaho may constitute an excessive fine. In addition to the civil asset forfeiture procedure, Palamarchuk is facing five years in prison for trafficking drugs.

“There should be some mitigation here. This is not drug running in the classical sense,” said Stewart. “Even the trial judge… seemed to sympathize, frankly, with the plight of Big Sky [Scientific], but more importantly, with the driver.”

Civil Asset Forfeiture Attorney

If your lawful property has been seized, then you should hire a lawyer. Contact us to set up a free initial consultation and work with one of Florida’s most experienced civil forfeiture defense attorneys.

Source

2019-02-13 ISP Files to Seize, Sell Truck in Hemp Case, as U.S. Supreme Court Frowns on Practice

Massachusetts Business Owner Charged with Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fraud

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calculator-1680905_1920-300x200The operator of an employment agency in central Massachusetts has been arrested for allegedly concealing his company’s payroll in order to lower his workers’ compensation insurance dues.

Tam Vuong, age 43, ran employment agency UT Services Inc., although it is his father, Ut, who appears as the company’s president and treasurer on the business registration. Vuong allegedly told UT Services’ workers’ compensation insurance carrier that the business had just one employee and a payroll of only $50,000 per year. UT Services, in fact, had several dozen employees and a considerably higher payroll.

According to court filings, Vuong also underreported payroll on filings with both federal and state authorities. He allegedly showed falsified certificates of insurance to clients. Additionally, to help conceal the true costs of his business, Vuong paid the majority of UT Services’ employees in cash.

Vuong has operated or owned several other employment agencies. Before UT Services, he ran Prime Labor Services. He moved his business operations from Prime Labor Services to UT Services in late 2017 when federal agents carried out search warrants on that business. Vuong had also underreported payroll on Prime Labor Services.

I have reported on similar cases across the country, where employers have attempted to avoid paying workers’ compensation insurance. These premiums can be a sizeable overhead for businesses, especially for businesses in high-risk categories such as construction. In Washington state, for example, James Miller was indicted with underreporting payroll in order to lower the workers’ compensation premiums of Barret Business Services Inc. Miller faces 20 years in prison if convicted. In Ohio, Craig Snee was found guilty of concealing payroll and misclassifying employees—including classifying semitruck drivers as office workers—to pay lower workers’ compensation insurance dues.

This is not the first time Vuong has been charged with workers’ compensation insurance fraud. In 2010, he pleaded guilty to tax and insurance fraud. Between 2004 and 2008, Labor Solutions, the employment agency Vuong ran at the time, failed to disclose $11 million in payroll. By doing so, Vuong avoided paying not only the correct workers’ compensation insurance premiums for Labor Solutions, but also underpaid the company’s corporate excise tax and unemployment insurance contributions.

It was estimated that, through the fraud conducted between 2004 and 2008, Vuong had avoided paying his workers’ compensation insurance carrier over half a million dollars. The loss to the state from unpaid unemployment insurance dues was in excess of $650,000.

Vuong was also found to have violated 59 of Massachusetts’ wage and hours laws. For example, Vuong’s employees did not receive overtime pay during 2007-2008. Many were also paid below the minimum wage, while others were illegally charged $2 or $3 per day for transportation—something which then reduced their pay below the minimum wage.

Judge Janet Kenton-Walker said Vuong had taken advantage of his employees for personal gain and, at the same time, had defrauded Massachusetts of a great deal of money. She ordered Vuong pay $500,000 in restitution and placed him on probation for five years.

In the current case, Vuong has been charged with two counts of wire fraud. If found guilty and convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison and a maximum of three years of supervised release. He also faces a fine for each count of wire fraud up to $500,000 in total.

Florida Workers’ Compensation Fraud Defense Attorney

If you are involved in a worker’s compensation fraud investigation, then you should hire a lawyer. Contact us to set up a free initial consultation and work with one of Florida’s most experienced workers’ compensation fraud defense attorneys.

Sources

2019-04-12 Worcester Employment Agency Owner Charged with Wire Fraud

2010-08-20 Ex-Temp Owner Guilty of Frauud

Uber Driver Emilio Victores Accused of Sexually Assaulting Woman in North Miami Beach

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cab-hand-iphone-34239-300x200Uber driver Emilio Victores is accused of attempting to sexually assault a female passenger after she fell asleep in his vehicle.

Victores, 45, is charged with attempted sexual battery on a helpless victim. He was ordered held on $25,000 bond. The press did not name an attorney for him.

According to the arrest report, the alleged sexual battery occurred on March 17. The victim, who was on vacation from South Carolina, ordered an Uber Pool from a house in North Miami Beach to a place in Biscayne Park where she was planning to meet her friends.

Victores was allegedly her Uber driver. When he picked up three additional customers, the woman moved to the front seat to make room for them. She told police that she fell asleep during the trip and woke to find the car parked on the side of the road. She was alone with Victores and she noticed that her pants were pulled down. She also noticed that Victores’ pants were unbuttoned and his genitals exposed, according to the report.

“The victim fell asleep in the front seat and was awakened when the driver known to her as Emilio, was on top of her kissing her on the lips,” the report said, according to CBS 4 News. “The victim said that she pushed him off and yelled ‘Stop! Get off me!’ and that Emilio replied, ‘I’m sorry,’ and he complied and got off of her.”

The woman demanded that Victores drop her off at her original destination, which was 12 miles away, and he reportedly complied.

Police didn’t speak to Victores until a few weeks later when he turned himself in. He purportedly agreed to give them a DNA sample and admitted that he had stopped his vehicle on the side of the road on the night of the incident, but he said he did it to check his vehicle’s tires.

Records show that Victores has a criminal history. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2002 for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and was released in 2016. Records also show that he went to jail in the 90s on several charges, including grand theft, attempted robbery with a deadly weapon, and aggravated assault with a weapon.

During his bond hearing, the prosecutor was alarmed that someone with such a criminal history would be allowed to drive for Uber. An Uber spokesperson sent the following statement to news sources on Friday:

“What’s been described is deeply upsetting and our thoughts are with the rider during this difficult time. The driver’s access to the app was removed as soon as it was reported to us.”

Uber reportedly does background checks on all of its drivers and follows the Florida law that requires drivers for ride-sharing companies to have not been convicted of a felony for the past five years. Victores’ last conviction was in 2001.

Miami Sex Crime Attorney

If you are involved in a sex crime, then you should hire an attorney. Contact us to set up a free initial consultation and work with one of Miami’s most experienced sex crime attorneys.

Source: 4.12.19 Uber driver accused of sexually assaulting woman.pdf