accused Archives - Zxcoachoutlet

Suspension recommended for South Florida attorney accused of misconduct in insurance suits

October 12, 2020

A Coral Springs-based attorney accused of misconduct while pursuing thousands of cases against Florida insurance companies should be found guilty and suspended from practice for two years, a referee recommended after an eight-day trial.

The state Supreme Court has final say for how Scot Strems will ultimately be punished. The Florida Bar, which petitioned for an emergency suspension that began on June 9, argued that Strems should be disbarred.

Property insurers saw the Strems suspension and trial as vindicating their often-voiced stance that misconduct by a dozen or so law firms, which they call “bad actors,” are abusing the court system by bombarding insurers with lawsuits that drive up insurance costs for consumers.

Strems Law Firm P.A., they say, is among a dozen or so firms operating as lawsuit mills that target insurers, often without the knowledge of property owners named as plaintiffs, to generate lucrative legal fees worth

Insurance agent accused of defrauding elderly couple out of $100,000

October 10, 2020

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He’d known this couple for at least a decade, gaining their trust and friendship, before he took advantage of them at the cost of $100,000, St. Pete police say.

a man looking at the camera

© Provided by WTSP-TV Tampa-St. Petersburg

Charles Brian Kleinmetz, 52, was arrested and charged with exploitation of the elderly or disabled adult Thursday.

Detectives say Kleinmetz was the couple’s insurance agent and was friends with them, and sold the couple an insurance policy that wouldn’t be able to cover the cost of assisted living care. Eventually, the husband was diagnosed with dementia and needed the care of an assisted living facility.

According to police, Kleinmetz helped the couple cash in a $205,000 life insurance annuity to pay for the cost of the assisted living facility. Once the husband was placed in the facility’s care, Kleinmetz forged a deeper friendship with the wife and provided help with daily activities and assisted

South Florida rapper accused of buying Ferrari with federal COVID-19 relief money

October 7, 2020

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In one of the country’s largest coronvirus relief schemes, South Florida rapper and reality star Diamond Blue Smith has been charged and accused of pocketing more than $1 million from a federal loan program for struggling businesses and buying a $96,000 Ferrari with the proceeds.

Smith, 36, a cast member on “Love & Hip Hop: Miami” and a member of the group Pretty Ricky, was arrested this week along with a Pennsylvania tow truck operator for their roles in a $24 million COVID-19 relief fraud scheme.

Smith and Johnson both face federal charges of wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud in the Southern District of Florida. Smith could not be immediately reached for comment.

Eleven other defendants have also been charged in the alleged racket centered in South Florida to bilk the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program approved by Congress as

Rochester, N.Y., Mayor Lovely Warren Accused of Campaign-Finance Fraud

October 2, 2020

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The mayor of Rochester, N.Y., was charged with two felonies on Friday over allegations of campaign-finance fraud, dealing another blow to an administration that has been rocked by the police-involved asphyxiation death of Daniel Prude.

Mayor Lovely Warren is accused of unlawfully coordinating the activities of her re-election campaign committee and an outside political-action committee while running for a second term in 2017, Monroe County prosecutors say.

The Democratic mayor as well as the treasurers of both political committees were charged with engaging in a scheme to defraud and violate the state’s campaign finance law. Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley said the case arose from an investigation by the state Board of Elections enforcement counsel, which looked into a complaint by Ms. Warren’s political rivals.

Ms. Warren has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. Her attorney, Joseph Damelio, said at an afternoon news conference that it was possible mistakes were made but

Ex Head Of Nikola Accused Of Sexual Assault

September 29, 2020

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Sexual assault allegations against the founder and former chairman of Nikola prompted additional questions Tuesday about the electric truck startup and its pending deal with General Motors.

The allegations by two women concern Trevor Milton, who abruptly resigned September 21 amid accusations of fraud that had led to a big pullback in shares following the September 8 GM announcement.

Milton denied the charges through a spokesperson.

Craig Johnson, a Utah attorney representing the two women, said he was in contact with law enforcement authorities over complaints of unwanted sexual contact when they were minors.

Aubrey Smith, Milton’s cousin, alleges that in 1999 when she was 15 years old, Milton “groped her breast without her consent,” according to a press release from Johnson’s firm.

The second victim, who is unnamed, alleges that in 2004 when she was 15, Milton “digitally penetrated her vagina with his finger after work one day,” according

A second woman has reportedly accused Nikola Motors founder Trevor Milton of sexual assault

September 29, 2020

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a man standing in front of a car: Trevor Milton resigned from Nikola amid fraud allegations. REUTERS/Massimo Pinca

A second woman has come forward with a sexual assault allegation against Nikola Motors founder Trevor Milton, CNBC reported on Monday.

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The woman’s lawyer, Craig Johnson, told CNBC that the alleged assault happened in 2004 when she was 15 and Milton would have been 22, after he hired her as an office assistant for a security company he ran in St. George, Utah.

“The allegation by my client is that he digitally penetrated her vagina with his fingers, which under Utah law constitutes object rape, and that is the charge the police will be investigating, in addition to forcible sexual abuse, which includes any ancillary touching of the vagina during the assault,” Johnson said, according to CNBC.

The first woman, Aubrey Ferrin Smith, Milton’s cousin, came forward with a separate allegation on Twitter last week

Nikola’s Trevor Milton Accused by Second Woman of Sexual Assault

September 29, 2020

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(Bloomberg) — Nikola Corp. founder Trevor Milton has been accused by a second woman of sexual assault.

a sign on the side of a road: Signage is displayed outside Nikola Corp. headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020.

© Bloomberg
Signage is displayed outside Nikola Corp. headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020.

The woman used to be Milton’s work assistant and was 15-years-old at the time of the alleged attack, which she says occurred in Utah, according to a statement from the law firm representing both victims.

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A spokesperson for Milton said he “strongly denies these false allegations.”

“At no point in his life has Mr. Milton ever engaged in any inappropriate physical contact with anyone,” the spokesperson said.

Milton has had a tumultuous few weeks, forced out of the electric-truck company he established after claims of deception leveled by short seller Hindenburg Research sent Nikola’s stock spiraling. He’s also been accused by his first cousin, Aubrey Smith, of sexual assault in 1999 when she

Accused Peruvian gold smuggler in massive Miami money laundering case dies of COVID-19

September 28, 2020

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An infamous Peruvian gold trader at the center of a multibillion-dollar money laundering case in Miami has died of COVID-19 in his homeland, according to authorities and news accounts.

Pedro David Pérez Miranda, 60, died Saturday at a hospital in Lima, Peru, after struggling with the coronavirus respiratory disease since late August.

His alias was “Peter Ferrari,” dubbed with that nickname by the news media because of his love for flashy cars, beautiful women and the yellow precious metal, gold.

Ferrari, who had been in custody in Peru before his hospitalization, was accused in a 2017 indictment of trading tons of gold illegally mined in the country’s rainforest and selling it to three Miami brokers at NTR Metals. They pleaded guilty to a $3.6 billion money laundering conspiracy were sentenced to several years in prison.

Ferrari, changed along with his two sons and a former bodyguard, had earned a

Accused Peruvian gold smuggler in Miami case dies of COVID-19

September 28, 2020

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title= — Pedro Pérez Miranda, alias ‘Peter Ferrari,’ is pictured in 2017 after his arrest by Peruvian authorities on money laundering charges involving the gold trade. Ferrari was also charged in a similar money laundering indictment in Miami the following year.

Alessandro Currarino

El Comercio

An infamous Peruvian gold trader at the center of a multibillion-dollar money laundering case in Miami has died of COVID-19 in his homeland, according to authorities and news accounts.

Pedro David Pérez Miranda, 60, died Saturday at a hospital in Lima, Peru, after struggling with the coronavirus respiratory disease since late August.

His alias was “Peter Ferrari,” dubbed with that nickname by the news media because of his love for flashy cars, beautiful women and the yellow precious metal, gold.

Ferrari, who had been in custody in Peru before his hospitalization, was accused in a 2017 indictment of trading tons of gold illegally mined in the country’s

Activist accused of spending donated money for personal use

September 26, 2020

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TOLEDO, Ohio

An activist is accused of spending for personal use some $200,000 in donations to what was represented as a Black Lives Matter charity.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said Sir Maejor Page, previously known as Tyree Conyers-Page, is charged with one count of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering. The arrest followed a raid Friday at a Toledo, Ohio, home owned by his organization, Hi-Frequency Ohio.

Authorities said Page created created and operated a Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta social media page and registered it as a nonprofit with state and federal officials in 2016. In 2019, the group’s charity tax exemption was revoked and the corporation dissolved after the required paperwork wasn’t filed, but the group remained listed as a nonprofit on social media sites and took in hundreds of thousands of dollars over the summer, authorities said.

Authorities said Page responded to social