Brian Silber Law

Civil Forfeiture Attorney

Free Initial Consultation

(954) 462-3636

Show the Way

Rhoderick Manhattan Faces Grand Theft Charges for Allegedly Stealing Hospital Equipment in Loxahatchee, FL

By

pexels-photo-48604-300x191A physician’s assistant at a Loxahatchee hospital has been arrested for allegedly stealing medical supplies.

Rhoderick Manhattan, 46, was charged with larceny of emergency equipment and grand theft of emergency medical equipment during a state of emergency. He was taken to Palm Beach County Jail on Friday and was later released on $15,000 bond. The press did not name an attorney for him.

According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Manhattan is accused of stealing medical supplies from Palms West Hospital on 13001 Southern Boulevard. Two hospital employees allegedly saw Manhattan, who was working as a physician’s assistant at the hospital, place medical equipment into a vehicle with a Pennsylvania tag.

Police were alerted about the alleged theft and deputies were sent to search the vehicle. They purportedly found 52 boot covers, 25 protective overalls, 12 scrub jackets, 11 head hoods, a box of gloves, and a pair of scrubs. All of the equipment is valued at more than $500. Police aren’t sure when the alleged theft occurred, but Manhattan was taken into custody on April 2. He has since bonded out of jail.

Under Florida law, grand theft is defined as the intentional and unlawful taking or using of property valued at $300 or more. Grand theft may be charged as a first, second, or third degree penalty depending on the value of the property and other factors.

“The medical equipment is valued at more than $500,” a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said in a news release. “Theft of medical equipment over $300 is a 2nd degree felony and a ‘state of emergency’ enhancement makes it a 1st degree felony.”

Manhattan’s charges have been enhanced to a first degree felony because Gov. DeSantis declared a state of emergency in Florida in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Florida’s theft statute explicitly sets forth enhanced penalties for such conduct:

However, if the property is stolen within a county that is subject to a state of emergency declared by the Governor under chapter 252, the theft is committed after the declaration of emergency is made, and the perpetration of the theft is facilitated by conditions arising from the emergency, the theft is a felony of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 

It is imperative for anyone accused of grand theft to immediately consult with an experienced attorney who can review your case and assist you in avoiding a conviction.

Palm Beach Grand Theft Attorney

Are you accused of grand theft? Contact Brian Silber, P.A. to set up a free initial consultation and work with one of South Florida’s most experienced grand theft attorneys.

Source: 4.5.20 hospital worker stole personal protective equipment, cops say.pdf

UPS Worker Michael Rowland Charged with Grand Theft for Allegedly Stealing $11,000 Cash from Package

By

cash-collection-currency-47344-300x212Police in Polk County arrested UPS worker Michael Rowland last week for allegedly stealing a large amount of cash in a package.

Rowland, 34, was charged with grand theft. He was booked into Polk County Jail and is being held on unspecified bond. It is unclear if he has acquired the services of an attorney.

According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), Rowland is accused of stealing $11,000 in cash from a package that was dropped off at the UPS store on 5337 N. Socrum Loop Road in Lakeland.

The victim, only identified as an 87-year-old Lakeland woman, reportedly mailed the package containing the cash after receiving several scam calls from someone claiming to be with the U.S. Social Security Office. Police said her family members realized she was being scammed the day after she had dropped off the package when they became aware of another phone call she received in which the caller demanded an additional $10,000.

The family prevented the second shipment and contacted UPS to have the first shipment stopped and the package returned. When the family received the package on February 26, 2020, they reportedly found it sealed inside another box and it no longer contained the money. They contacted the Polk County Sheriff’s Office to report the theft.

Investigators watched security footage from the UPS store in Lakeland, which allegedly showed Rowland receiving the package from the victim. He can purportedly be seen taking the box into a back room, opening it, removing the cash, and then re-sealing the package within a non-UPS box that he got from outside the store. The box was then prepped for shipment, the arrest report states.

Rowland was arrested on March 10 by Polk County police. He reportedly refused to tell investigators what he did with the money.

A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office reminded residents that the Social Security Administration will never call requesting cash be sent to them.

“We ask those with elderly relatives to please reach out to them and warn them about these scams,” PCSO spokesperson Bruchey said. “Ask your relatives to contact you before they send money or provide credit card information to anyone. Also, we strongly recommend that people do not send cash through the mail or shipping companies.”

Grand theft is one of the most serious theft charges tried in Florida courts. Anyone accused of grand theft should immediately contact an experienced attorney who can assist you in avoiding a conviction and the maximum penalties for this offense.

South Florida Grand Theft Attorney

Accused of grand theft? Contact Brian Silber, P.A. to set up a free initial consultation and work with one of South Florida’s most experienced grand theft attorneys.

3.13.20 UPS worker arrested after video shows him stealing cash from package.pdf

Former St. Petersburg Attorney Darce Jay Snyder Faces Grand Theft Charge for Stealing $279,000 from Client

By

bill-oxford-udXD2NrbXS8-unsplash-300x200A former St. Petersburg trust attorney was arrested and charged last week for allegedly stealing nearly $279,000 from a client.

Darce Jay Snyder, 68, faces a grand theft charge. He was ordered held on $150,000 bond at the Pinellas County Jail. The press did not name an attorney for him.

According to St. Petersburg police, Snyder was the overseer of a trust account valued at more than $700,000. When his client Valeria Sexton-Maher of Jacksonville turned 50 and obtained control of the account’s assets last year, she discovered that Snyder had purportedly stolen $279,000 between February and May 2015. He allegedly stole the money by writing checks to himself.

Sexton-Maher told the press that the trust account was set up after her mother passed away in 2001 and had close to a million dollars. She said it is now actually empty, but prosecutors can’t charge Snyder for stealing the entire amount because of the statute of limitations.

“What he was charged with is not the full extent of what he took from me,” Sexton-Maher said. “At the beginning of the trustee account, there was close to a million dollars in it and that was when my mother passed away in 2001. So, at a conservative rate of interest we would be talking about millions.”

Sources indicate Snyder had his license to practice law revoked by the Florida Supreme Court in 2018 after he was accused of withdrawing $1.5 million in advance fees from another client without authorization. He was admitted to practice in 1977, records show.

Sexton-Maher said she wasn’t aware of Snyder’s law license revocation, which is tantamount to disbarment, until last year.

“It’s beyond upsetting. It makes me sad that unfortunately my mother trusted this person and thought that he was going to do the right thing for me,” she said. “I’ve prided myself on not touching any money from that trust until I needed it . . . I planned on using it for my retirement. I’ve had some health issues in the last couple of years and . . . that money would be a big deal for me now and I don’t have it.”

Grand theft is one of the most commonly charged felonies in the state of Florida. It involves unlawfully taking property with a value greater than $750 with the intention of either temporarily or permanently depriving the owner of that property.

Grand theft may be charged as a first, second, or third degree felony depending on the value of the property and other factors. Because of the severity of the penalties of a conviction, it is critical for a defendant to seek guidance from a skilled grand theft attorney. There are numerous effective defense strategies to a grand theft charge depending on the facts of your case.

South Florida Grand Theft Attorneys

Are you accused of grand theft? Contact Brian Silber, P.A. to set up a free initial consultation and work with one of South Florida’s most experienced grand theft attorneys.

Source: 3.11.20 former St. Petersburg trust attorney charged with stealing $279,000 from client.pdf

Ex-College President Brenda Lee Green of West Palm Beach, FL, Accused of Using School Funds for Personal Shopping Sprees

By

pexels-photo-164501-300x200The former president of a private medical career college in West Palm Beach, FL, was arrested Tuesday for allegedly using the school’s debit card to pay for personal shopping sprees totaling more than $82,000.

Brenda Lee Green was charged with grand theft, organized fraud, and money laundering. She was booked into jail and was released hours later on $35,000 bond. The press did not name an attorney for her.

According to the arrest report, Green was president of the Health Career Institute, or HCI College, for almost three years. The school offers professional training and certification to students who want to go into emergency service medical careers. Its main campus is on 1764 N. Congress Avenue in West Palm Beach. The college also has a campus in Fort Lauderdale.

During her three-year tenure, Green is accused of the school’s debit card to pay for everything from HP laptops to multiple hotel stays in New York City and Los Angeles. A large chunk of the money was allegedly spent on gift cards.

A bookkeeper Green purportedly hired in July 2017 was the first to notice that her company debit card statements weren’t attached with receipts. When the bookkeeper was told Green kept the receipts in her office, she became suspicious and informed the school board, the arrest report states.

The board was still trying to acquire the receipts from Green when she was fired in September 2017 for reasons unrelated to the investigation, sources indicate. School officials were able to find a box full of receipts, but the collection was incomplete and contained several receipts for personal items.

The school informed the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office about Green’s actions in October 2017. They enlisted the help of police to track down every purchase Green had allegedly made and sorted out the ones unrelated to official school business.

Green’s unauthorized spending reportedly included two hotel stays in Los Angeles, a car rental for one of those stays, and plane tickets from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale for her, her husband, and her daughter. She purportedly traveled to New York three times and used the company card to book hotel stays via Expedia on each occasion.

She also shopped and bought gift cards wherever she went. Her alleged purchases include a pink Apple watch, two HP laptops, a purple water bottle, and software. She spent almost $6,000 on Amazon gift cards and also bought toys, beauty supplies, video games, jewelry, household items, musical instruments, and auto accessories—all using her name and home address, investigators said.

Green allegedly spent over $82,000 for personal expenses unrelated to her official duties, and almost half of that amount was spent on gift cards. She would often buy the cards with a low-priced item like a bottle of water in order to hide “the proceeds of organized fraud and grand theft,” according to arrest report.

The arrest report was filed in August 2019 and Green was arrested on December 31.

South Florida Grand Theft Attorney

If you are involved in a grand theft case, then you should hire an attorney. Contact Brian Silber, P.A. to set up a free initial consultation and work with one of South Florida’s most experienced grand theft attorneys.

Source: 1.2.20 ex-college president spent $82,000 on trips, gift cards on school’s dime, police say.pdf

Antonio DiMarco of Hallandale Beach, Florida Arrested on Grand Theft Charges

By

money-eye-300x169Interior designer Antonio DiMarco was arrested on October 10 for allegedly stealing more than a million dollars from clients to finance his own lavish lifestyle.

DiMarco, 42, is charged with money laundering, two counts of grand theft of more than $100,000, and obtaining property worth over $50,000 by fraud. He was ordered held on $400,000 bond during a court hearing Thursday.

According to the arrest report, DiMarco was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for his interior decorating services, but two of his clients told investigators that he didn’t complete their construction projects, provide them with their custom furnishings, or give them refunds.

One of the clients, an oral surgeon in Fort Lauderdale identified as Roland Hernandez, told investigators that he paid DiMarco $700,000 for home repairs and prepaid for custom furniture that would purportedly take up to three months to be manufactured and delivered. Hernandez also allegedly lent DiMarco $250,000.

Another client, an unidentified woman in Bal Harbour, told investigators that she paid DiMarco $440,000 for decorations, furniture, carpeting, tile work, and painting. She reportedly shopped with DiMarco at design centers and paid him for furniture that cost up to $30,000 per purchase. The only services she received was the re-framing of her artwork for $8,000 and the re-tiling of her foyer for around $45,000.

Both clients told investigators that the work they paid DiMarco to complete was not finished after more than a year and the interior designer refused to give them refunds.

An analysis of DiMarco’s bank account revealed that over $1 million was stolen and spent on clothing, entertainment, daily living costs, and other expenses, the report said. The expenses included charges of $156,620 for clothing and accessories from Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Versace, Chanel, and other stores; $45,652 spent at Walgreens, CVS, Publix, Apple iTunes, and utilities; and $21,542 spent at restaurants.

Also listed in the report were expenses of $15,876 for movies, bowling, and tickets to attractions; $15,732 for spa and nail salon treatments; and $274,268 for a hot tub, back loans, a wedding gift, and real estate escrow payments.

Another grand theft case was reported in Miami last week. Antwoine Shane Brown of Miami was arrested for allegedly taking fraudulent payment from six people on Craigslist for heavy equipment he never delivered.

Brown, 24, is charged with grand theft, money laundering, defrauding a financial institution, and other charges. He was ordered held on $145,000 bond at Broward County Jail. Attorney information was not available.

According to the arrest report, Brown posted fake ads selling heavy equipment on Craigslist and scammed a total of $88,000 from six different people. The money was purportedly wired to Brown’s bank account between July and August 2018. He allegedly used the money to pay his rent and other living expenses.

Florida Grand Theft Attorney

If you are involved in a grand theft 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 grand theft attorneys.

Source: 10.12.18 Decorator steals $1 million-plus from wealthy South Florida clients, cops say.pdf