Florida Criminal Defense Blog | Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group

Are government agencies now buying incriminating evidence?

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Oct 3, 2020 | Criminal Charges

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects each of us against unreasonable search and seizure by law enforcement. Most of the time, this means that police and other agencies need to obtain a warrant before invading our privacy and conducting searches of our property. Unfortunately, in the age of big data held by private corporations, our Fourth Amendment protections are constantly under attack. In recent years, several federal agencies have decided to bypass the need to obtain warrants from a judge by buying bulk data collected by private companies. Some of the most valuable data...

OFAC Sanctions Several Entities And Individuals For Alleged Involvement In Iran Nuke Program

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Oct 1, 2020 | OFAC

The federal government announced sanctions last week against several different individuals and organizations linked to Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the move is another step in adding pressure to the country to eliminate its nuclear weapons program, which is also targeted for sanctions by the United Nations. Last week's designations include three Deputy Directors of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and several of its subsidiaries. Also sanctioned were firms supplying...

Miami Teen Facing Murder Charged In Slaying Of High School Football Coach

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Sep 30, 2020 | Capital Murder

A teenager in Miami is facing murder charges after authorities say he shot and killed a local high school football coach. Police say the 15-year-old was living at the victim's home at the time of the murder. They say he had a close relationship with the defendant, stepping in after his father was killed several years earlier. According to police, the defendant used the victim's 9mm handgun to commit the crime. He allegedly approached the victim while in the den of his home with a black bag and shot him. The defendant allegedly then took over $7,000 of the victim's money from the home and...

Crystal Beach Man Facing Murder Charges After Allegedly Shooting Brother

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Sep 25, 2020 | Criminal Charges

A Crystal Beach man is facing a charge of attempted murder after Pinellas County authorities say he shot and seriously wounded his brother. Deputies say they were summoned to a residence on Avery Avenue last weekend to find a 36-year-old man critically wounded. They say the man's father told them that the man had been in an argument with his 28-year-old brother earlier in the day. In the course of the argument, deputies say the younger man told his brother that he "had something for" him and produced a firearm. The younger man fired a shot that hit his brother in the abdomen, per deputies,...

Fight In Nightclub Leads To Murder Charge For Largo Man

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Sep 22, 2020 | Criminal Charges

A Largo man is facing a murder charge after deputies say he shot and killed another man in the course of an argument at a local night spot. The 32-year-old man was allegedly at the nightclub in the pre-dawn hours of September 19th when some sort of argument took place among the hundreds of people at the venue. Though details are scarce, authorities say the situation caused many people within the club to flee. The defendant was among those who left, and deputies say he began firing into the crowd from his vehicle as he drove away. Also outside the club was a 24-year-old man who ultimately...

West Virginia Hospital Agrees To Pay Feds $50 Million To Drop Medicare Fraud Allegations

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Sep 18, 2020 | Government Fraud

A West Virginia hospital has agreed to pay $50 million to the Federal government to dismiss claims that it paid illegal kickbacks to physicians in exchange for referrals of Medicare beneficiaries. Investigators say the former executive vice president approached them and said the hospital began in 2007 to pay illegal payments to doctors under previous ownership. They say the kickbacks were based upon the quantity and quality of the patients referred them, or if the services provided would be of a higher value than the then-going rate. Prosecutors say the kickbacks are a violation of the...

Seven Men From Georgia And South Carolina Facing Money Laundering Charges Involving Funds From The Paycheck Protection Program

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Sep 16, 2020 | White Collar Crimes

Four Georgians and three South Carolinians are facing Federal fraud charges for allegedly submitting false information to obtain a loan from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which they laundered among over $2.1 million in other fraudulently-obtained funds. Federal prosecutors say one of the defendants submitted a fraudulent application for a loan under the PPP to a financial institution on behalf of an entertainment business he ran. They say the loan misstated several pertinent facts about his business, including its number of employees and payroll expenses. On the strength of the...

St. Pete Pro Football Player Facing Federal Fraud Charges In Alleged Connection With PPP Fraud Scheme

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Sep 14, 2020 | Government Fraud

A professional football player from St. Petersburg is facing Federal fraud charges over allegations that he was involved in a plot to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of over $24 million. Federal prosecutors say the 31-year-old man was part of a larger conspiracy that began with a co-conspirator obtaining fraudulent documents for his own company. Upon submitting the fraudulent form of his own, he then allegedly recruited others, including this defendant, to submit several more fraudulent PPP applications. In addition, prosecutors say they found several other individuals who...

NYC Man Sentenced To 13 Years In Federal Prison For Illegal Health Care Kickbacks

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Sep 11, 2020 | White Collar Crimes

A New York City man will be spending the next thirteen years in prison on a Federal conviction for his alleged involvement in a health care kickback scheme involving millions of dollars. The 45-year-old man was allegedly part of a network of several medical clinics in the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn that employed medical professionals enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid. Per prosecutors, the medical professionals paid the defendant kickbacks to refer Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries to them, which they allegedly did for over a decade. In order to camouflage the scheme, prosecutors say...

Eleven Tampa-Area Defendants Face Charges Relating To Fentanyl Overdoses In Town ‘N Country

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Sep 10, 2020 | Drug Charges

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office announced the arrest of almost a dozen individuals it says were involved in a drug trafficking organization involved in several fentanyl overdoses in the Town 'N Country area. Per the Sheriff's Office, the eleven defendants were involved in an operation to distribute heroin and fentanyl by the pound throughout the Hillsborough County area, with their drug activity allegedly yielding more than a dozen overdoses and at least one fatality. Two of the defendants are from Tampa, three are from Clearwater, and six are of Kissimmee. They join an Orlando man...