On Last Day, United States Attorney Markenzy Lapointe Reflects on the District’s Accomplishments

Press Release

Today is my last day as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. Since announcing my resignation, I have continued reflecting on my experiences over the past two years - ones made extraordinary by the attorneys, support professionals, and law enforcement partners who serve the Southern District of Florida. I am proud of the office's many accomplishments and take this opportunity to share some of those.

National Security and Hate Crimes

The office protected our nation and local communities from security threats, both foreign and domestic. For example, we have secured convictions against six individuals (five of whom received life sentences) in an ongoing prosecution charging defendants for their roles in planning and carrying out the assassination of a sitting head of state: then-Haitian president Jovenel Moïse. In addition, we charged a defendant with attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate (now United States President-elect Donald J. Trump) in the weeks leading up to the 2024 election.

The office obtained a conviction and significant prison sentence for Victor Manuel Rocha, a former United States diplomat and National Security Council member who betrayed his oath to our country by operating as a covert agent of the Cuban government; successfully prosecuted a South Florida man for attempting to bomb the New York Stock Exchange; and secured decades-long prison sentences for two former Colombian soldiers turned armed revolutionaries who attempted to kill United States military personnel with a car bomb outside a base at the Colombia-Venezuela border.

We combatted hate crimes too, using both enforcement and outreach. For example, the office successfully prosecuted the woman who made anti-Semitic phone threats to the former Executive Director of Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue, as well as the man who assaulted a Muslim United States Postal Service employee while she delivered mail wearing her hijab.

The office collaborated with local law enforcement, religious, and other leaders to teach our communities to identify, prevent, and report hate crimes. We used town hall events, print and social media, a public service announcement, and other channels to communicate our message.

Violent Crimes, Narcotics Trafficking, and Firearms Crimes

As strong as the office's commitment to battling national security and hate crimes, was its commitment to battling violence, gun crimes, and narcotics trafficking. The office put behind bars the South Florida kidnappers who dumped their victims (two of whom died) on the side of a road after torturing them. We did the same with another kidnapper who held a rideshare driver at gunpoint during a forced cross-country trip. In a case that involved murder contracts, arson, poisoning, and other violence, the office charged several men with furthering a Miami real estate mogul's terror campaign against the wife he wanted dead.

We combatted gun crimes by aggressively prosecuting international firearms smugglers, unlicensed dealers, and felons who illegally possessed these weapons. From January to May 2024 alone, we indicted 13 defendants on federal gun offenses and seized over 140 firearms.

Stopping domestic and transnational narcotics traffickers from flooding our communities with their poison was a top priority. For example, we sent seven Sinaloa Cartel members and associates to prison for fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking. The office is also part of a team prosecuting Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Garcia, one of the cartel's leaders. When a former British Virgin Islands Premier worked with others to traffic cocaine into our country and launder money, we successfully prosecuted him: a jury found him guilty and a judge sentenced him to 11 years in prison.

On deadly fentanyl, we attacked every link of the supply chain. The office charged Chinese chemical manufacturing companies and Chinese nationals with trafficking fentanyl precursor chemicals into the United States. We secured convictions and decades-long prison sentences for fentanyl distributors and dealers whose product killed people, including a baby.

Our asset forfeiture and civil division lawyers battled the drug trade from a financial angle. We secured millions in forfeiture judgments against international drug trafficking organizations (including a vast one headquartered in the Dominican Republic), whose members laundered dirty money through real estate purchases, sophisticated bank transactions, and other means. We also achieved a $475 million settlement in a False Claims Act civil lawsuit claiming that a drug manufacturer had falsely marketed its opioid product as abuse-resistant, knowing that it was, in fact, highly addictive and easy to abuse.

Financial Frauds, Cyber, and Corruption Crimes

We prosecuted hackers, doctors, business executives, local law enforcement personnel, foreign officials, and others on crimes ranging from cyber, identity theft, and insider trading to the full panoply of frauds: health care, securities, Ponzi schemes, mortgage, tax, cryptocurrency-related, and more.

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In a cybercrimes case with worldwide impact, the office was part of the prosecution team that disrupted Blackcat, the sophisticated ransomware group whose remote kidnappings of sprawling computer networks, including ones supporting critical American infrastructure, caused tens of millions of dollars in losses to victims around the world. As a result of our work, victims were able to proceed with their data and network operations.

In a fraud case that sounded patient-safety alarm bells at nursing schools, licensing boards, and medical facilities across the country, the office successfully prosecuted dozens of fraudsters involved in a scheme to sell fake school diplomas and transcripts to aspiring nurses.

On health care fraud matters, the work of our civil division was impressive. For example, the office successfully litigated a False Claims Act civil lawsuit alleging that a Florida man and his laboratories conspired to fraudulently bill Medicare for cancer genomic tests that were medically unnecessary and procured through illegal kickback payments. The owner of the laboratories agreed to pay over $27 million to settle the case.

The office also held accountable criminals who defrauded Covid-19 pandemic relief programs, stealing money intended for small business owners and others who economically struggled during the pandemic. In the last two years alone, criminal prosecutors have charged many defendants, including dozens of officers and staff employed with local law enforcement and corrections departments: Broward Sheriff's Office, Miami-Dade Police Department, City of Miami Police Department, Florida Department of Corrections, and Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department. Civil division litigators have recovered over $9.6 million, and asset forfeiture division litigators have secured multi-million-dollar forfeiture orders, in pandemic-related fraud cases.

Corrupt government officials who abused their power faced justice in this district. In one matter, we secured a conviction against a City of Miami police officer who illegally stopped vehicles to steal kilograms of cocaine and drug cash. In another, the office successfully prosecuted a former comptroller general of Ecuador (whose job it was to protect public funds and root out corruption in that country) for soliciting and taking over $10 million in bribes and laundering it through Miami real estate purchases and bank transactions. Following a three-week jury trial, guilty verdict, and asset forfeiture trial in that case, Carlos Ramon Polit Faggioni was sentenced to a decade in prison and ordered to forfeit $16.5 million. We also secured a conviction against his son, a former Miami banker, for his part in the scheme.

The office expanded enforcement efforts for certain non-violent crimes by launching a Whistleblower Non-Prosecution Pilot Program with twin goals: helping to identify high-level offenders within significant governmental and private organizations and encouraging organizations to develop robust compliance programs.

Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Matters

The office aggressively combatted human trafficking and child exploitation, using enforcement and outreach. We secured a 30-year prison sentence against a cruise ship employee who used hidden cameras planted in staterooms to secretly record children; a 15-year prison sentence for a Miami attorney and former prosecutor who solicited minors online; long prison terms (14 and 30 years) for cross country sex-traffickers; and a conviction against a man who forced women and girls into commercial sex acts through beatings, near-drownings, food deprivation, and other violence and intimidation.

Through a public service announcement, visits to schools and community centers, and other engagement, we warned parents and children about the dangers of online sex crimes and offered tips to identify and prevent them. Interacting with the community has been one of the most meaningful parts of this job.

Moving Forward

Beginning January 18, 2025, First Assistant United States Attorney Michael S. Davis, who has served the office for over 30 years, will be Acting United States Attorney. Having witnessed the passion, dedication, and commitment that the members of the office bring to their jobs - including the 45 lawyers we hired despite budget challenges - I know that I leave the district in strong and capable hands.

-Markenzy Lapointe

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Updated January 17, 2025