MIAMI – Five defendants pleaded guilty in federal court for their roles in a sophisticated scheme involving stolen U.S. Postal Service mail keys, which are pass keys for locked mailboxes, and counterfeit checks. These defendants were part of a ring of thieves who stole checks and other mail and then used counterfeit identification to cash the stolen checks that they had altered to higher amounts than originally intended.According to court documents, from September 2021 through May 2023, the five defendants, all of Miami Gardens ─ Angel Joe Gonzalez, 28; Evens Necler Monestime, 27; David Gonzalez, 23; Cristina Azahares, 27; and Adriana Ginel, 56 ─ conspired to defraud federally insured financial institutions — banks. The scheme involved unlawfully getting and using U.S.
Postal Service arrow keys to steal mail; opening stolen mail to acquire checks without authorization; producing counterfeit and forged checks using information from stolen checks; obtaining and using personal identifying information including names, addresses, bank account numbers, and signatures; depositing fraudulently altered checks into bank accounts they controlled; and using the illicit proceeds for personal gain and to advance the conspiracy. Some of the defendants were also involved in trafficking drugs.“These defendants targeted hardworking members of our community — stealing their mail, altering their checks, and exploiting their personal information for profit,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida.
“At the same time, they trafficked dangerous drugs and armed themselves, bringing violence and fentanyl into our neighborhoods. That combination of fraud and drug dealing puts real people at risk. The Southern District of Florida will continue to dismantle these networks and protect the financial security and safety of our community.”Police learned of defendants’ crimes when, on May 3, 2023, Miami Gardens Police Department officers responded to reports of shots fired at a Miami Gardens residence shared by Angel Joe Gonzalez, Azahares, and Monestime. Officers found approximately $1.7 million in stolen checks and stolen mail, along with personal identifying information of individuals who did not live at the residence.
Officers also seized six U.S. Postal Service mail keys; 40 debit and credit cards embossed with names of unknown individuals; additional checks addressed to and by different persons and companies; and numerous electronic devices including 27 cell phones, six laptops, a digital video recorder, and two Apple iPads.The search also uncovered multiple firearms and ammunition, various narcotics packaged for sale, including heroin, cocaine, MDMA pills, and other controlled substances. Inside a Lexus registered to Gonzalez, officers found fentanyl and more cocaine, scales and baggies used for narcotics packaging, and additional debit and credit cards in other people’s names.Angel Joe Gonzalez pleaded guilty to possession of stolen mail keys, conspiracy to commit money laundering, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Monestime pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, possession of stolen mail keys, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
David Gonzalez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and possession of stolen mail keys. Azahares and Ginel each pleaded guilty to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft for their role in cashing the altered and stolen checks.Investigation also revealed that Angel Joe Gonzalez and David Gonzalez moderated a Telegram group of approximately 2,000 individuals where they sold stolen checks.Angel Joe Gonzalez and Monestime each face a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. David Gonzalez, Azahares, and Ginel each face a mandatory minimum penalty of two years in prison and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S.
Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of FBI Miami Field Office; Inspector in Charge Bladismir Rojo of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division; Special Agent in Charge Rafael Barros of the U.S.
Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office; and City of Miami Gardens Police Department Chief Delma Noel-Pratt, announced the guilty pleas.The FBI Miami Field Office, USPIS Miami, USSS Miami, and the City of Miami Gardens Police Department investigated the case.Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Hayden P. O’Byrne, Assistant U.S. Attorney Quinshawna Landon for the Southern District of Florida, and Trial Attorneys Jennifer Burns and Alieu Kargbo of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section are prosecuting the case.This case is part of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime Initiative to prosecute violent crimes in Miami. The Criminal Division and the U.S.
Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida have partnered, along with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, to confront violent crimes committed by gang members and associates through the enforcement of federal laws and use of federal resources to prosecute offenders and prevent violence.This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children.
The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Miami comprises of agents and officers from FBI Miami Field Office, USPIS Miami, USSS Miami, and the City of Miami Gardens Police Department with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 24-cr-20353.###