Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announce the arrests of eight individuals charged in four separate cases for their alleged participation in various cyber fraud schemes.

The cases announced today are, in large part, the result of the Miami Cyber Task Force (MCTF) initiative launched by the FBI in January 2014. The MCTF initiative is designed to combat the growing cyber fraud threat in South Florida. The MCTF initiative brings together federal, state, and local law enforcement to investigate and prosecute federally a myriad of cyber fraud offenders, including personal identity thieves, hackers, access device manufacturers, runners, and others.

U.S. Attorney Ferrer, joined by members of the MCTF, announce the following cases:

1. United States v. Kenneth Key, et al., Case No. 14-60122-Cr-Zloch. United States v. Kaleb Trotman, et al., Case No. 14-60123-Cr-Hurley

On May 29, 2014, Kenneth Key, 32, of Pompano Beach; Jonathan Mackey, 23, of Fort Lauderdale; Quenikka Brown, 28, of Atlanta, Georgia; Kaleb Trotman, 25, of Pompano Beach; Tsafiq Samuels, 24, of Miramar; and Tanya Morgan, 27, of Miami Gardens, were charged by indictment in two related schemes to steal AT&T customer information for the purpose of committing cell phone insurance fraud.

According to the indictments, defendants Key, Mackey, Brown, Samuels, and Morgan were employed as customer service representatives at two private companies that operated call centers located in Broward County on behalf of AT&T. As customer service representatives, the defendants used their access to corporate databases to steal AT&T customer personal identification and account information.

The defendants are charged with conspiring to sell the stolen AT&T customer information to co-conspirators, including Trotman, who used the information to impersonate AT&T customers and submit fraudulent cell phone insurance claims.

The indictments also charge the defendants with conspiracy to commit computer fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher B. Browne.

2. United States v. Richard Garcia Diaz, Case No. 14-2682-MJ-JG

On June 2, 2014, Richard Garcia Diaz, 50, of Hialeah, was charged by complaint for his involvement in a scheme to steal thousands of cable boxes and modems and to illegally modify these cable boxes and modems to receive free service.

According to the complaint, between April 2013 and July 2013, thousands of cable boxes and modems were ordered from Comcast with similar names and identity information for delivery to addresses in or around Coral Way in Miami. FBI surveillance revealed that co-conspirator J.L.B. (a UPS driver) took these Comcast packages loaded with cable boxes and/or modems to addresses on his delivery route and diverted them to co-conspirator J.R.P.’s residence in Miami. Post-arrest, J.R.P. advised that J.R.P. provided the cable boxes and modems to the defendant so that the modems could be provisioned to receive unlimited service.

The defendant was charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and unauthorized reception of cable service.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael N. Berger.

3. United States v. Ricardo Prieto, Case No. 14-20389-Cr-Moreno

On May 30, 2014, Ricardo Prieto, 49, of Miami, was charged by indictment with access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.

According to the indictment, Prieto trafficked in and used counterfeit credit cards on several dates from August 2011 through February 2012 and used the means of identification of a real person in connection with that activity.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Maderal.

If convicted, the defendants face the following possible maximum terms in prison: conspiracy to commit mail fraud: 20 years in prison; access device fraud: 10 or 20 years in prison; conspiracy to commit access device fraud: five years in prison; conspiracy to commit computer fraud: five years in prison; and aggravated identity theft: mandatory two years in prison consecutive to any sentence.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of all the federal, state, and local agencies participating in the MCTF, including the FBI, the city of Miami Police Department, the Miami-Dade Police Department, the Hialeah Police Department, the Bal Barbour Police Department, the Davie Police Department, the Florida Division of Insurance Fraud, and the Palm Beach Sherriff’s Office.

A complaint or indictment is only an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent 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 http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.