Broward Man Charged with Impersonating an FBI Agent and Possession of Federal Badges and Identification
| U.S. Attorney’s Office January 19, 2011 |
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announced that defendant Daniel F. Cleary, 48, of Weston, Florida, made his initial appearance in federal court yesterday on charges of impersonating an FBI special agent and possession of federal agency badges and credentials, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 912 and 701. If convicted, Cleary faces up to three years’ imprisonment on each count of impersonation and six months’ on each count of possession of federal agency badges and credentials.
According to the complaint and information presented in court at the defendant’s initial appearance yesterday morning before U.S. Magistrate Robin Rosenbaum, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO) contacted the FBI because Cleary presented himself as an FBI agent when BSO deputies responded to his apartment complex in response to a call on January 13, 2011. When BSO deputies contacted Cleary regarding a property damage report, Cleary identified himself as an FBI agent and had, in his possession, a Glock, model 17 firearm, counterfeit FBI credentials bearing his name and photograph, two counterfeit gold FBI badges, and 28 other federal badges, including badges of the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Treasury, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, among others. Also recovered from the apartment and a storage unit were 26 other assorted firearms and approximately 1000 rounds of ammunition belonging to Cleary.
If anyone has any information about this individual, they are urged to contact the FBI at 305-944-9101. Mr. Ferrer thanked the FBI and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office for their outstanding work on this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Lanigan.
An indictment is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.