The United Cities will need funny money to pay bail

[sombrero guy]

Oh, how sweet it is to wake up to these news:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/communit ... 7646.story

2 charged in attempt to con $214 million from bank

Victor Manuel Ramos | Sentinel Staff Writer
August 23, 2008

A Miami man who printed his own money, issued invalid checks and was trying to establish a currency to rival the U.S. dollar has been charged with conspiracy and bank fraud along with one of his Orlando associates, federal officials revealed Friday.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa said Angel Cruz, 49, is a fugitive in the case involving a complicated scheme by which his company, operating as The United Cities Group, sought to withdraw more than $214 million from Bank of America.

Go here to read the rest: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/communit ... 7646.story

So? Your thoughts? I've been enjoying your posts on this subject.

[fortinbras]

A news report from a year ago about the Kissimmee fuss:

http://thefloridamasochist.blogspot.com ... re_23.html

and a followup:

http://thefloridamasochist.blogspot.com ... rd_26.html

also:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/8/25 ... 248/376052

This item has a picture of an early version of TUC funny money, which was not so easily mistaken for the real thing although it called itself "The United States Private Dollar".

The Orlando Sentinel reported on it at the time but its article is not readily available on the net. An Orlando Sentinel article from July 2008 is here:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/loc ... ?track=rss

and another recent one here:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-funn ... ?track=rss

A Sept 2007 article in the Orlando Sentinel was reprinted in an earlier Quatloos column, which I find I cannot reference directly, so I present a full copy:

Embattled company ups the ante
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
September 1, 2007 Saturday
Victor Manuel Ramos, Sentinel Staff Writer

Not content with printing its own "private dollars," a Kissimmee company under federal investigation for issuing fraudulent checks announced it is now going to print actual U.S. dollars.

Angel Cruz, chairman of The United Cities Corp., said Friday that he has given notice to several federal agencies about his new plan.

He is also calling for the Department of Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency as well as the Federal Reserve System -- which he has called "Satan's banking system"-- "to prove or retract their false claims within 48 hours" about his company issuing "worthless" checks.

Cruz said the U.S. government is not doing its job by allowing the Federal Reserve, the autonomous central bank that issues U.S. dollars, to take care of its currency.

So he and his network of business affiliates will do it.

He said he will be printing "real U.S. dollars," because he considers those issued by the Federal Reserve illegal, since they are not backed by gold, silver or any other tangible assets.

"Who gave me the right? The American people within the network, by signing all the contracts, by providing legit currency, legal currency, because the reserve note is not a legal currency. It's a monopoly, which is against the law."

Treasury officials could not be reached for comment Friday, but a U.S. Secret Service official said the agency would add the new development to its probe.

"We will let the chips fall where they may later on," said Jim Glendinning, assistant special agent-in-charge with the service's Orlando field office. "We will investigate, and we will let the U.S. Attorney's Office [make] the decision on the appropriate action."

The unusual case surfaced last month after dozens who had joined the project as employees for Kissimmee nonprofit JC Consultores Laborales, a partner of Cruz's company, deposited checks rejected as fraudulent.

Dozens of employees, mostly of Hispanic origin, had accepted work with the nonprofit, counting on an offer from United Cities. They were told their jobs would be guaranteed for 30 years, with unusual benefits such as a house purchased at a low-interest rate, a new leased car every three years and free health insurance. The company also offered to pay all their debts and utilities.

All was done using checks printed by United Cities. Those were backed by "The United States Private Dollar" that Cruz conceived. He said his currency is backed by undisclosed assets and the future earnings of his network's employees.

Those employees encountered problems with banks, utility companies and creditors when they used checks lacking standard routing numbers. Some of them remain faithful to the project, but more are questioning what will happen.

"I am losing sleep over this," said Rafael Perez, a Miami resident who signed a United Cities employee contract.

His credit-card companies closed his accounts after United Cities sent the checks it printed to pay Perez's debts. He was concerned the same might happen with his mortgage.

"I don't want to lose my house," said Perez, 45.

However, nonprofit president Josefina Calderon said Friday that despite the concerns, she remains on Cruz's side. Calderon is responsible for co-signing "private dollar" grants that Cruz issues, authorizing his money's use.

"We are definitely with him," Calderon said, "especially now, seeing the bad situation of our economy."

And here is the 2007 alert issued by the Comptroller of the Currency about TUC funny money:

http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/alert/2007-52.html

[wserra]

This is interesting.

The case appears not to be open yet in PACER. However, when I was looking for it, I found something else. Remember that guy H. William Marrero, who kept trying to represent TUC (a corporation) despite the fact that he isn't a lawyer? As the Orlando Sentinel article notes, he was charged along with Cruz. Well, PACER does show something interesting about one "Harry William Marrero". Back in 1994, he was indicted in Tampa for conspiracy to defraud. The lengthy indictment is here. The fraud centered around something called "Premier Benefit Capital Trust Corporation", for which Marrero claimed he was the attorney. Sound familiar?

Among other things, the conspirators sold "common-law trusts" - seen them before, right? - which would, in effect, render their assets untouchable. In addition, they sold high-yield "capital notes", which they claimed were completely safe and insured. They also claimed to have huge "cash reserves" to back these things up. Does any of this sound familiar? They were also charged with ignoring an injunction to cease this crap, and with forging documents (such as an arrest warrant) to use against people who crossed them. They bought considerable real estate with the swag they stole.

Marrero went to trial, lost, and got fourteen years. Just say no. He can't be out long.

Finally, just in case it still is not clear that we have the right guy, here is a "lodgment" Marrero filed in 2006. Look familiar?

If there are ultimately a lot of people indicted here, the feeding frenzy at the door of the U.S. Attorney's Office is going to be a sight to behold, once the others find out (or pretend to find out) about Marrero. They'll have to take numbers.

[Demosthenes]

United States Attorney Robert E. O'Neill
Middle District of Florida

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: STEVE COLE
August 22, 2008

ORLANDO AND MIAMI MEN INDICTED FOR BANK FRAUD

Orlando, Florida - United States Attorney Robert E. O'Neill today announced the unsealing of an Indictment of Angel Cruz, a 49-year-old resident of Miami, and Harry William Marrero, a 50-year-old resident of Orlando, charging them with one count of conspiracy and six counts of bank fraud. If convicted, Cruz and Marrero each face a maximum term of imprisonment of five years for the conspiracy count and 30 years for each of the bank fraud counts, for a total of up to 185 years’ imprisonment.

According to the Indictment, Cruz and Marrero conspired to execute a scheme to defraud Bank of America out of $214,380,137.00 by making and depositing false and fictitious drafts. The following is an overview of the scheme that is alleged in the Indictment:

--Cruz prepared fictitious drafts for an entity by the name of “The United Cities.” On the TUC drafts that he made, Cruz used a fictitious American Banking Association (ABA) routing number.

--Marrero opened bank accounts at Bank of America, in the name of “Orlando Escrow Services, Inc.,” for the purpose of depositing the fictitious drafts.

--Marrero and an unindicted coconspirator deposited six of the fictitious drafts that had been prepared by Cruz into one of the bank accounts that had been opened at Bank of America. One of the deposits was made on June 20, 2008. The other five were made on June 26, 2008. The total amount of the six fictitious drafts was $214,380,137.00.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, Orlando and Miami Divisions. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlos A. Perez-Irizarry.

[Demosthenes]

So? Your thoughts? I've been enjoying your posts on this subject.

Welcome to Quatloos, sombrero guy!

[Famspear]

I believe the case is number 6:08-cr-00177-PCF-DAB

U.S. District Court
Middle District of Florida
Orlando Division

United States of America

v.

Angel Cruz
Harry William Marrero

The indictment is linked at entry 1.

Count 1 is conspiracy
18 USC 371

Counts 2 thu 7
bank fraud
18 USC 1344 and 18 USC 2

Forfeiture
18 USC 982(a)(2)(A).

[wserra]

Bienvenido, sombrerero.

[Famspear]

Regarding Harry Marrero's prior record, Federal Bureau of Prisons does show someone by that name, released in 2006:

http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderSe ... &x=94&y=18

The docket in this case does show that he was arrested yesterday (Friday Aug 22).

[wserra]

I believe the case is number 6:08-cr-00177-PCF-DAB

What am I missing (other than the case)?

1 GONZALEZ, LORENZO PEREZ flmdce 3:2008cr00177 05/07/2008
2 USA flmdce 3:2008cr00177 05/07/2008
3 DEES, ROBERT LAWRENCE flmdce 8:2008cr00177 04/16/2008
4 USA flmdce 8:2008cr00177 04/16/2008

[Famspear]

I believe the case is number 6:08-cr-00177-PCF-DAB

What am I missing (other than the case)?

1 GONZALEZ, LORENZO PEREZ flmdce 3:2008cr00177 05/07/2008
2 USA flmdce 3:2008cr00177 05/07/2008
3 DEES, ROBERT LAWRENCE flmdce 8:2008cr00177 04/16/2008
4 USA flmdce 8:2008cr00177 04/16/2008

Hmmmm..... I found the case by doing the "query" search based on "Angel" for first name and "Cruz" for last name (leaving middle name blank).

Also I guess I'm not as familiar with case numbers as I should be. I didn't realize that they assigned such similar case numbers to different cases. The main difference appears to be the prefix ("6-08" in the case of the Cruz case, versus "3" for the Gonzalez case). Maybe there's a place on the PACER web site that explains the "3" prefix and the "6," etc.

[wserra]

The main difference appears to be the prefix ("6-08" in the case of the Cruz case, versus "3" for the Gonzalez case). Maybe there's a place on the PACER web site that explains the "3" prefix and the "6," etc.

Those are the different "Divisions" (courthouses) of the same District. I still have no idea why a general PACER search doesn't find the case, though. The docket search should turn up all Divisions (as it did come up with two different ones).

In any event, though, I went to the FLMD ECF site, and came up with it there. I've never seen this happen before - I always assumed that all entries went at once nationwide. Anyway, here is the present indictment. It's clearly not in final form. Marrero has a detention hearing on September 2, and is detained pending the hearing. Since he is still on supervised release from the last time, I'd predict that he should settle in.

[Judge Roy Bean]

I long ago abandoned using the case number lookup on PACER. The results are too unpredictable.

[Famspear]

Marrero has a detention hearing on September 2, and is detained pending the hearing. Since he is still on supervised release from the last time, I'd predict that he should settle in.

Yeah. Just look at this guy Marrero. Spent years in prison, just got out in 2006. Didn't take him long to get into major trouble again. To put it charitably, he's a "slow learner."

I long ago abandoned using the case number lookup on PACER. The results are too unpredictable.

I agree on that point, too. I tend to prefer the "name" query.

[webhick]

He is also calling for the Department of Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency as well as the Federal Reserve System -- which he has called "Satan's banking system"-- "to prove or retract their false claims within 48 hours" about his company issuing "worthless" checks.

Satan does not use FRNs, he uses Beelzebub Bucks, which are backed by your immortal souls. Luckily, a friend of a friend of a friend of mine reported great success in "opting out" of the system. So I arranged a meeting with the guy and he said that the only way to do it is to set up an immortal trust under my "true" name and it will squarely put my soul under the jurisdiction and protection of God. He said that it usually costs a million FRNs to set up because of the high value on souls and the fact that God has upped her filing fees, but he was willing to do it at cost for only 666,666 FRN if I could set it up that day. So I paid him the cash and signed the trust agreement in blood. Now I'm totally protected from the collapse of Beelzebub Bucks.

If anyone wants to guarantee their safety in this ever-changing financial market, just keep an eye out for a red guy with horns, a forked tongue, and a tail. I know, I know, but he assured me that it was just a disguise to throw off the Dark Master's minions.

[fortinbras]

Does anyone have a picture of those "Beelzebucks"?

[sombrero guy]

So? Your thoughts? I've been enjoying your posts on this subject.

Welcome to Quatloos, sombrero guy!

Thanks for the welcome... I've been lurking here for a while. Google brought me here... I live in Florida and I am surprised all the time about how many scams are out there in this state. Florida authorities and the feds here seem slow to act on anything. These things show up in the papers all the time and it seems to take some major fraud attempt like these guys trying to rip off a huge bank to see some action. ...is it this way everywhere or do we have something in the water --maybe the heat and humidity-- in Florida?

i also wonder how likely it'd be for more arrests to come in a case like this and for a bunch other charges to be filed? i'll give you an example related to this -- today's Sentinel has a picture of Cruz holding a printout of what appear to be U.S. notes... isn't that illegal in itself? and what about those claims that anyone can start their own currency?

[webhick]

Does anyone have a picture of those "Beelzebucks"?

No such picture exists. We had interns trying to photocopy them, trace them, mimeograph them, scan them, snap a photo of them indirectly using a mirror...and the results were always the same - crispy intern, and a pile of ashes where Kinko's used to be. Worst part is that it wasn't anywhere near as entertaining as it should have been.

[LPC]

and what about those claims that anyone can start their own currency?

Not exactly.

It's not illegal (or unusual) for private businesses to issue coupons, credit memos, or "scrip" that serves as a kind of "private currency." For example, in "company towns" dominated by one industry and one employer, the company might issue scrip that can be used like money to buy food, clothing, and other goods at the company store. Paying the employees in scrip rather than currency insures that the employees only spend their wages at the company store, so the company can jack up the prices and make money by both underpaying and overcharging the employee.

What's illegal is to print and distribute (i.e., "utter") something that looks like, or is represented as, legal tender. The word "currency" implies a kind of general acceptance, so uttering something that is represented to be "currency" is probably illegal.

[TheSaint]

Hooray! About time Florida got around to apprehending these thugs.

And I hope their "private security force" finds itself in jail as well.

[The Observer]

Guillermo Ramos, a Kissimmee resident who had joined Cruz's project through the nonprofit, remains a believer. He had just signed his house over to the group Friday, saying it had offered him a 4.5 percent interest rate on a refinanced mortgage.

"It worries me to hear this," Ramos said. "I don't see where the fraud is because they are trying to help us, and it doesn't seem as if [Cruz] is trying to enrich himself by doing this."

The irony is that this guy probably had heard bad things in the community already (given Cruz had been issuing those phony checks last year) and yet still he decided it was a good thing to sign his house over these hucksters. Greed and desperation should not be the motivation for financial decisions.