In cases shedding light on the darker facets of pandemic relief efforts, two former public servants from South Florida have been sentenced after pleading guilty to COVID-19 relief program fraud. Angelo Stephen, 33, a former Federal Bureau of Prisons Correctional Officer, faced wire fraud charges. Simultaneously, George Arestuche, 47, a former employee with the Miami-Dade County Aviation Department, was caught in a conspiracy to commit the same crime. Their deceit sent tremors through systems built for emergency relief when fallout from the global health crisis demanded integrity, not exploitation.
According to a recent press release by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, Stephen was handed a four-month prison sentence, which is to be followed by three years of supervised release, and he's been ordered to pay $75,513 in restitution. To add weight to this reckoning, a forfeiture money judgment of another $71,166 lingers over him, as stated in the official announcement. Chief U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga marked the end of a fraudulent saga that began with Stephen's falsified claims of an event planning and entertainment business, with non-existent employees and exaggerated income.
On the other side, the story of Arestuche was supplemented with a taste of house arrest – 210 days' worth – and a five-year probation sentence. Senior U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck also tasked Arestuche with paying $114,679 in restitution and completing community service. The web they wove with lies about owning an automotive repair business resulted in an inflated $149,900 EIDL and an additional $10,000 advance, the details of which were outlined in their plea agreement. While the CARES Act was set to ease the pandemic's economic pain, individuals like Arestuche leveraged it for personal gain, at the cost of those genuinely in need, as detailed by the same press release.
These cases, one investigated by the DOJ-OIG and SBA-OIG, the other by the SBA-OIG and the FBI's Miami Area Corruption Task Force, underscore a commitment to transparency and accountability during times when public trust in governance hangs on thin strands. The U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne, standing firm against pandemic profiteering, pointed out the diligent efforts of these investigative bodies.
For those harboring information about potential COVID-19 related fraud, the Department of Justice encourages citizens to step forward. Reports can be made by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or through the online NCDF Web Complaint Form.
