A former Miami police officer has been apprehended on costs of cash laundering and COVID-19 aid fraud, based on officers.
Djimy Joseph, 47, was arrested for alleged violations together with an organized scheme to defraud exceeding $50,000, cash laundering surpassing $100,000, and making false official statements, as disclosed by the Miami-Dade State Lawyer’s Workplace on Monday.
Surprising discovery
The investigation unfolded throughout a routine licensing inspection performed by the Florida Division of Alcoholic Drinks and Tobacco, the place it was found that Joseph was the proprietor of a bar and grill.
This revelation breached a state statute prohibiting officers from proudly owning or working alcohol-serving institutions.
A better look
Subsequent inquiries into Joseph’s affairs unearthed a extra intricate internet of alleged misconduct.
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Detectives uncovered Joseph’s possession of extra companies and his purported fraudulent actions in acquiring over $246,000 in COVID aid loans.
These funds have been acquired by the Paycheck Safety Program and different authorities initiatives facilitated by the Coronavirus Assist, Aid, and Financial Safety Act.
Misleading maneuvers
Authorities assert that Joseph resorted to submitting falsified statements, misrepresenting crucial features such because the variety of staff, month-to-month payroll figures, enterprise revenues, and bills.
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These misleading techniques have been allegedly employed to safe inflated mortgage quantities.
Authorized implications
The fees introduced towards Joseph embody first-degree felonies for organized scheme to defraud and cash laundering, alongside a second-degree misdemeanor cost for false official statements.
In response to the unfolding occasions, Miami-Dade State Lawyer Katherine Fernandez Rundle condemned Joseph’s actions, emphasizing the gravity of public corruption.
She additional underscored the importance of upholding the regulation and preserving public belief.
