Page 35 - Florida Sentinel 3-23-18

Crime
Tampa Man Gets
Two Arrested In Fatal Hit And Run Accident
Judge Sentences Man In Government Theft Scam
7 Years On Tax
Fraud Charges
A 42-year-old Tampa man was sentenced on Thursday for his role in a federal income tax refund scheme. He was ac- cused of participating in a scheme to defraud the govern- ment of money.
Rico Simmons was sen- tenced to 7 years in federal prison.
According to the federal superseding indictment, Sim- mons and his co-conspirators are accused of the theft of gov- ernment property, access de- vice fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
Officials said Simmons used the Square Inc., mer- chant accounts system related to the local restaurants to process third party debit cards that contained fraudulently- obtained income tax refunds, which Simmons provided to the restaurant owners.
The money was then with- drawn from the bank accounts that were linked to their
RICO SIMMONS
Square Inc., accounts.
The indictment outlines 8
incidents in which the debit cards were used, followed by withdrawals. The incidents began September 3, 2012 and continued through November 28, 2012.
According to the indict- ment, Simmons obtained at least $33,445 operating the scam.
He is currently serving a 3- year sentence at Polk Correc- tional Institution.
TRACY WOOD
MIRAIM MARTI-BENNING
Police have arrested two people in connection with a fatal hit and run accident that took place last Friday. Both are facing several charges.
Tips from several sources led police to a wooded area near I-75 and Wesley Chapel Blvd., in Pasco County, just off State Road 54. Tampa Police detec- tives were assisted by the Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force in making the arrests Wednesday.
Tracy Evereth Wood, 31, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving death and driving without a valid license. His bond was set at $35,000.
CHRIS J. MCDONALD, SR.
A 53-year-old Riverview man has been sentenced to serve 1 year and 1 day in fed- eral prison. He was convicted of several federal charges re- lated to tax fraud last year. His case is also linked to that of a former detective and dates back six years.
Last December, a jury found Chris J. McDonald, Sr., guilty, following a 4-day trial. On Wednesday, Judge Virginia Hernandez Cov- ington sentenced McDon- aldtoserve1yearand1dayin federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to commit theft of government property.
As part of his sentence, the Court also ordered him to pay $117,952.35 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, and it also entered a separate money judgment against Mc- Donald in the amount of $64,924.
According to Court docu- ments, a federal grand jury re- turned an indictment against McDonald and Joseph Lugo for their roles in the scheme on December 9, 2015. According to that indictment, Ms. Jeanette Hevel, a for- mer detective with the Tampa
MS. JEANETTE HEVEL
Police Department, provided 9 of the 13 stolen tax refund checks to Lugo. Lugo then delivered the checks to Robert Sanders and Mc- Donald.
McDonald reportedly de- posited the checks in his ac- count and withdrew the funds the next business day. He then shared the funds with Ms. Hevel and the other conspira- tors.
Court documents stated that Ms. Hevel admitted to stealing 13 Treasury tax refund checks, money orders, and a refund anticipation check from various locations inside the Tampa Police Department. The thefts occurred during a 9-month period beginning in September 2011.
She was arrested Septem- ber 27, 2013. In her plea agreement, Ms. Hevel agreed to cooperate in the govern- ment’s ongoing investigation of those individuals responsi- ble for cashing the checks.
In June 2017, Lugo pleaded guilty to his role in the case. Sanders pleaded guilty to his role in 2014, and testi- fied for the government during the trial.
Police Search For Truck Involved
Ms. Mariam Marti-Ben- ning, 43, was originally listed as a person of interest. She was also charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving a death. She is being held without bond.
According to police, officers were dispatched to the 4000 block of W. Hillsborough Av- enue last Saturday in reference to an accident. When they ar- rived, they discovered 80-year- old Felix De La Uz, of Tampa, dead at the scene. Witnesses told police that a vehicle was heading west on Hillsborough Avenue when, for unknown rea- sons, left the roadway. The ve- hicle, described as a white Honda Civic, hit a sign, an elec- trical box, and then struck Mr. De La Uz.
Witnesses told police that Mr. De La Uz had pushed his wife, Mrs. Narda Vazquez Ruiz, 69, out of the way, pro- tecting her, but sacrificing him- self.
The witnesses said the vehi- cle came to a stop about 500 feet after the crash and both oc- cupants fled on foot.
Police identified the driver Tracy Everett Wood. The passenger has been identified as Ms. Marti-Benning.
In Hit And Run
The Tampa Police Depart- ment is seeking help to locate a pickup truck. The truck was re- portedly involved in a hit and run accident Sunday morning.
According to police, the ac- cident took place at W. Cleve- land Street and S. Westland Avenue, around 1:38 a.m.
Dwayne Frederick was riding his bicycle westbound on Cleveland within the desig- nated bicycle lane. He was struck from behind by a newer silver, full size pickup truck. The truck is possibly a Ford F150.
After being struck by the
vehicle Frederick was thrown from the bicycle and sustained serious injuries.
He was transported to Tampa General Hospital, where he was admitted in seri- ous condition.
Detectives are asking mem- bers of the public who may have information about the ac- cident to contact Crime Stop- pers of Tampa Bay at 1-800-873-TIPS or www.crimestopperstb.com.
The video of the accident is available at https://youtu.be/YtNi6v1GVn o.
UNCLE SANDY
Any American who is prepared 7, 14, 18, 25 to run for president 10, 19, 32, 33 should automatically, by defini- tion, 4, 38, 44, 47 be disqualified from ever doing so. 1, 3, 8, 50.
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