Miami-Dade County Residents Sentenced in Identity Theft and Unemployment Insurance Fraud

Two brothers and Miami residents were sentenced for identity theft and unemployment insurance fraud. These brothers used over 600 fraudulently obtained identities to fraudulently receive approximately $815,700 in unemployment claims.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Brian McGlamery, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Regional Office, United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, Jesse Panuccio, Executive Director, State of Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity, and J.D. Patterson, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), made the announcement.

Stanley Fertil, 20, and Steven Fertil, 19, were sentenced to 111 months and 148 months, respectively, in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. The brothers were also ordered to pay $815,700.00 in restitution. According to court records, the Fertil brothers conspired to possess the personal identifying information (PII) of over four thousand unwitting individuals. The PII included individuals’ names, dates of birth and social security numbers. During the course of the scheme, the brothers used over 600 identities to fraudulently receive approximately $815,700 in unemployment claims. The individuals victimized included public and private sector employees. The defendants each previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, the State of Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity and the MDPD Public Corruption Unit. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan E. Kobrinski.

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. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.