Press Release
TWO PHARMED DIRECTORS CHARGED IN WIRE FRAUD CONSPIRACY AND TAX EVASION SCHEME
July 22, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office, and Michael E. Yasofsky, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), announced that defendants Carlos De Cespedes and Jorge De Cespedes, brothers and majority shareholders of The Pharmed Group, Corp. (“Pharmed”), were charged in two separate Informations with conspiracy to commit health care-related wire fraud and tax evasion. Both defendants were arraigned in federal court today.
Healthcare Wire Fraud Charges:
In the first Information, defendants Jorge De Cespedes and Carlos De Cespedes are charged with conspiring to commit health care-related wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343 and 1349, through a purchase order fraud scheme victimizing Kendall Regional Medical Center (“Kendall Regional”), a hospital located in Southwest Miami Dade.
According to the Information, defendant Carlos De Cespedes is the Chief Executive Officer and a Director, and defendant Jorge De Cespedes is the President and a Director, of Pharmed Group, Corp. (“Pharmed”), a medical supply company doing business in Miami-Dade County. Together, the De Cespedes brothers exercised control over all aspects of Pharmed’s business operations. The Information alleges that defendants Carlos and Jorge De Cespedes and their co-conspirators devised a scheme to defraud Kendall Regional and unlawfully enrich themselves by creating fraudulent purchase orders for medical supplies that were never delivered by Pharmed to Kendall Regional, falsely recording Kendall Regional’s purported receipt of those non-existent supplies, and then diverting the proceeds of the fraud to themselves and their co-conspirators through a series of shell corporations.
According to the charges, in January 2001, defendant Jorge De Cespedes met with co-conspirator Sylvia Oramas, a former employee of Kendall Regional, and devised the purchase order fraud scheme. To execute the scheme, Oramas met with co-conspirators Joanna Delfel and Victor Garcia, former employees of Kendall Regional, both of whom had access to the hospital’s computerized supply management system. Delfel and Garcia allegedly used the computer system to generate phony Kendall Regional purchase orders for Pharmed medical supplies, and later, to falsely record that Pharmed had in fact delivered and the hospital had received the ordered items. Accordingly, Pharmed would receive payments from Kendall Regional for medical supplies that were fraudulently ordered and never actually delivered.
Upon receiving payment from Kendall Regional, the De Cespedes brothers would transfer the funds from Pharmed to shell corporations they controlled, for further distribution to Soho Marketing, Inc. (“SoHo”), a shell company controlled by Sylvia Oramas, and Gator Sports Collectibles, Inc. (“Gator Sports”), a shell company controlled by an unindicted coconspirator who held a position of authority at Pharmed. SoHo and Gator Sports then distributed the fraud proceeds to Oramas, Delfel, Garcia, and others. The Information further alleges that Jorge De Cespedes personally made at least one cash payment directly to Sylvia Oramas to compensate her for her role in the fraud scheme.
Tax Evasion Charges:
In a separate Information, both defendants are charged with willfully evading and attempting to evade income taxes due for each calendar year 2001, 2002, and 2003 by preparing and submitting false Income Tax Returns, Form 1040s.
More specifically, the Information alleges that defendant Carlos De Cespedes substantially under-reported his income by the following amounts: $2,286,199 for tax year 2001, $4,858,147 for tax year 2002, and $3,751,750 for tax year 2003. The unreported income resulted in tax liabilities of $893,904 for tax year 2001, $1,875,245 for 2002, and $1,313,113 for 2003.
Similarly, defendant Jorge De Cespedes allegedly under-reported his income by the following amounts: $2,286,199 for tax year 2001, $4,858,147 for tax year 2002, and $3,751,750 for tax year 2003. The unreported income resulted in tax liabilities of $893,903 for tax year 2001, $1,875,231 for 2002, and $1,313,113 for 2003.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of twenty years’ imprisonment on the conspiracy to health care wire fraud, and five years’ imprisonment on tax evasion.
U.S. Attorney Acosta stated, “These individuals had it all – success, money, and the admiration of their community. But they have tarnished their good names and reputations because they wanted even more than they already had, and they wanted it the quick and easy way. As this case shows, the quick and easy way usually leads to jail.”
Jonathan Solomon, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’S Miami Field Division, noted, “The FBI and its partners are determined to stem the tide of health care fraud in South Florida. This case confirms that regardless of one’s wealth or position, fraud will not be tolerated.”
Michael Yasofsky, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-CI, added, “Today, two prominent South Florida residents have been charged with deliberately evading their tax obligations. Tax evasion is a serious crime against the American public. This case sends a clear message that the IRS is committed to vigorously enforcing the tax laws.”
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. The health care fraud case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ryan Stumphauzer. The tax evasion case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Tom Mulvihill and Steve Schlessinger.
Attachments:
Information 1 (PDF)
Information 2 (PDF)
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.
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