The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Middle District of Florida has announced the arrests of two men, Brock David Fischer of Robins, Iowa, and Miguel Angel Fortier, Jr. from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in connection with an elaborate return-fraud scheme. Fischer, also known as "iFruit," and Fortier, known by the alias "Destined," are facing charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. If convicted, they could each be looking at up to 20 years in a federal prison. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the duo is part of a larger operation that has impacted retailers nationwide, with losses totaling more than $8 million.
Court documents reveal that since around December 2021, these actors managed to gain access to a major shipping company's tracking system to insert fraudulent information. This sophisticated incident enabled them to mislead retailers into issuing refunds for items that were never actually returned—items that included high-priced products like electronics and designer fashion. The initial appearance for Fortier was on June 28, and he has been released conditionally to await trial. Fischer is set to make his own initial court appearance today.
"The Service," as it was referred to, acted as an underground market within an encrypted messaging platform where Fischer, Fortier, and another accused, Matthew Frederic Bergwall, provided illegal access to the shipping company's system. Here, customers could conspire to keep acquired merchandise while still receiving full refunds from the victimized retailers. In just half a year, the scheme is said to have caused nearly 10,000 false returns., as mentioned by th U.S. Attorney's Office.
The investigation was a coordinated effort involving Homeland Security Investigations teams from Tampa, Cedar Rapids, and Milwaukee, with the addition of FBI assistance from their Newark office. The Assistant United States Attorney Carlton C. Gammons will lead the prosecution. It's imperative to remember that an indictment is not an assumption of guilt; it is a way to formally accuse suspects of criminal activity, and defendants are to be presumed innocent until they are proven to be anything but.
