Four Defendants Charged With COVID-19 Fraud Scheme

 

Defendants Charged With Abusing New York City’s COVID-19 Hotel Room Isolation Program by Falsely Claiming to be Healthcare Workers and by Selling Hotel Rooms to Ineligible Individuals, Defrauding the Government of $400,000

 Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Margaret Garnett, the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”), and Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General (“DOL-OIG”), announced charges against CHANETTE LEWIS, TATIANA BENJAMIN, TATIANA DANIEL, and HEAVEN WEST for participating in a scheme that defrauded New York City’s COVID-19 Hotel Room Isolation Program of more than $400,000.  LEWIS was also charged with a second COVID‑19 scheme involving unemployment benefits fraud.  LEWIS and DANIEL were arrested today in New York and will be presented before Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker in Manhattan federal court.  WEST was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia, and will be presented before Magistrate Judge Catherine M. Salinas in the Northern District of Georgia.  BENJAMIN remains at large.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, New York City designed a program to provide hotel rooms, free of cost, for qualifying individuals who could not safely self-isolate in their own homes, such as healthcare workers and individuals infected with COVID-19.  As alleged, the defendants abused this program by falsely claiming to be healthcare workers and by selling hotel rooms to non-qualifying individuals.  When, as alleged here, people illicitly exploit a public health crisis for private gain, they will find themselves facing criminal charges.”

DOI Commissioner Margaret Garnett said: “During the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, while this City grappled with soaring transmission and death rates, these defendants exploited the very City-run program meant to provide respite and isolation to healthcare workers and City residents desperately trying to find space to quarantine and stem the spread of the virus, according to the charges. These defendants shamelessly posted their illegal conduct on social media and sold personal identification information of medical professionals to further their scheme, which siphoned more than $400,000 in hotel rooms paid for by the City and federal governments, according to the criminal complaint. DOI issued recommendations to the City Emergency Management to strengthen controls over this program, which has since ended, and thanks the agency for reporting this matter to DOI. I want to also thank our federal law enforcement partners at the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Labor for working in partnership with us to uncover these charged COVID-19-related crimes and holding those involved accountable.”

DOL-OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Jonathan Mellone said: “The Unemployment Insurance Program exists to provide needed assistance to qualified individuals who are unemployed due to no fault of their own.  Fraud against the Unemployment Insurance Program distracts state workforce agencies from ensuring benefits go to individuals who are eligible to receive them.  The Office of Inspector General will continue to work closely with our many law enforcement partners, to investigate those who exploit the Unemployment Insurance Program.”

According to the allegations contained in the Complaint:[1]

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City created the COVID-19 Hotel Room Isolation Program (the “Program”).  Funded by New York City and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Program provided free hotel rooms for qualifying individuals throughout New York City.  The Program was open to: (1) healthcare workers who needed to isolate because of exposure to COVID-19; (2) patients who had tested positive for COVID-19; (3) individuals who believed, based on their symptoms, that they were infected with COVID-19; and (4) individuals who lived with someone who had COVID-19.  As stated on the City’s website describing the Program, such individuals “may qualify to self-isolate in a hotel, free of charge, for up to 14 days if you do not have a safe place to self-isolate.”  Those who wished to book a hotel room through the Program could either call a phone number or use an online hotel booking platform. 

The four defendants defrauded the Program in at least two respects.  First, they secured free Program hotel rooms for themselves by falsely claiming to be healthcare workers.  Second, they sold fraudulently obtained hotel rooms – including rooms located in Manhattan and the Bronx – to customers who were ineligible for the Program.  In total, the defendants collectively diverted more than 2,700 nights’ worth of hotel rooms through this scheme.  The defendants charged varying amounts depending on the duration of the customers’ hotel stay (e.g., $150 for one week, or $300 for two weeks).  Customers paid the defendants in cash and using electronic payment services.  The federal government and New York City paid more than approximately $400,000 for the hotel rooms that were fraudulently diverted as a result of the defendants’ scheme.

LEWIS worked at a call center (“Call Center-1”) that handled phone calls and certain reservations for the Program for several months in 2020.  LEWIS was hired specifically for the Program, and as a result of her employment, she had access to legitimate healthcare workers’ identifying information.  LEWIS abused her position, including by misappropriating healthcare workers’ identifying information, revealing the Program’s inner workings to co-conspirators, and making unauthorized sales of Program hotel rooms to ineligible individuals.  For instance, LEWIS sold BENJAMIN, for $800, personal identifying information of at least five healthcare professionals, as well as certain “codes” to use when booking hotel reservations through the Program, such as the employee ID number and license number.  LEWIS admitted, in Facebook messages, that she had stolen doctors’ identifying information in furtherance of the scheme, writing: “I work for 311 oem that how I got doctors licenses and stuff . . . I work in the part that I collect they information and I do and approval the booking . . . I take doctors and stuff certificate numbers and stuff.”  LEWIS also advertised to potential customers that, when hotels asked for a healthcare worker’s identification, LEWIS would supply a purported paystub and a letter asserting that the individual was (purportedly) a healthcare worker. 

All four defendants used Facebook to advertise the sale of fraudulently obtained Program hotel rooms; communicate with co-conspirators; and communicate directly with customers.  LEWIS worked directly with BENJAMIN and DANIEL, while WEST worked with, among others, DANIEL.  The defendants made various incriminating statements via Facebook, including the following statements: (1) LEWIS told one hotel customer, “I’m booking it as u a health care worker”; (2) BENJAMIN told a Facebook user, “Friend at 311 gave me the juice for the hotel so I been booking ppl rooms”; (3) DANIEL told LEWIS, “We gotta relocate that bitch they keep asking for employee ID”; and (4) when asked whether she had “rooms” available, WEST replied, “Nah I dead don’t bro / All essential hotels are clipped” and added: “They finding out we was scamming the system lol.”  All four defendants were paid by, among other means, Cash App, and their Cash App accounts revealed payments where the memo line said, for instance, “1 month telly”, “Hotel Manhattan 2 week extension for Kenny []”, “for the 2 week room”, “ayo telly”, “2 week stay in Manhattan”, “the room”, and “hotel for july 4-6”.

LEWIS is also charged with a second COVID-19 scheme involving unemployment benefits fraud.  LEWIS fraudulently obtained more than $45,000 in unemployment benefits by claiming falsely that she had not been employed since February 2020 due to a lack of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  In fact, LEWIS was employed for at least some of that period at Call Center-1, and LEWIS’s employment there ceased not because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but because LEWIS stopped showing up to work.

The Complaint contains five counts.  A chart containing the names, ages, residences, charges for each defendant, and maximum penalties, is set forth below.  The statutory maximum sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding efforts of agents, investigators, and analysts from DOI, DOL-OIG, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.  Ms. Strauss also thanked the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Intelligence Analysts for their support and assistance in this investigation.  She also expressed gratitude to the New York City Police Department, the New York State Department of Labor, and the DOL-OIG Atlanta Regional Office for their assistance.  She added that the investigation is continuing. 

The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

 

Defendant, Age, Hometown	Charges, Maximum Penalties
CHANETTE LEWIS, 30 Brooklyn, New York	Wire fraud: 20 years’ imprisonment Wire fraud conspiracy: 20 years’ imprisonment Honest services fraud: 20 years’ imprisonment Aggravated identity theft: mandatory minimum term of 2 years’ imprisonment, consecutive to any other term of imprisonment Theft of Government funds: 10 years’ imprisonment
TATIANA BENJAMIN, 26 Queens, New York	Wire fraud: 20 years’ imprisonment Wire fraud conspiracy: 20 years’ imprisonment Aggravated identity theft: mandatory minimum term of 2 years’ imprisonment, consecutive to any other term of imprisonment
TATIANA DANIEL, 27 Brooklyn, New York	Wire fraud: 20 years’ imprisonment Wire fraud conspiracy: 20 years’ imprisonment
HEAVEN WEST, 21 Brooklyn, New York	Wire fraud: 20 years’ imprisonment Wire fraud conspiracy: 20 years’ imprisonment

 

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

BRONX MAN INDICTED FOR MANSLAUGHTER FOR DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE AND COLLIDING INTO MTA BUS

 

Passenger in Defendant’s Car Was Killed in Crash

 Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been indicted on Manslaughter, Vehicular Manslaughter and additional charges for rear-ending an MTA bus, killing a passenger in his own car. 

 District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant was allegedly under the influence and speeding when he slammed into an MTA bus, killing his front-seat 21-year-old passenger. The defendant’s reckless actions cut short the life of a young man. Thankfully, none of the passengers in the bus, which had just picked up riders, were seriously injured.” 

 District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Abraham Brown, 20, of 2562 Kingsland Avenue, was arraigned on October 4, 2021 on second-degree Manslaughter, second-degree Vehicular Manslaughter, Criminally Negligent Homicide, two counts of Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of Alcohol, two counts of Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs, and Reckless Driving before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Michael Gross. The defendant is due back in court on January 18, 2022.

 According to the investigation, at approximately 11:11 p.m. on February 13, 2021, the defendant was driving with front-seat passenger, Jermaine Paul, 21, on Bartow Avenue and Coop City Boulevard at 57 miles an hour instead of the 25 mile-per-hour speed limit. The defendant allegedly did not apply the brakes and rear-ended an MTA bus that had just picked up passengers at the time. Paul suffered multiple blunt injuries and was pronounced dead less than an hour after the incident at Jacobi Medical Center. Brown was allegedly driving while intoxicated and under the influence of marijuana.

 District Attorney Clark thanked Trial Preparation Assistant Jamece Hill of the Vehicular Crimes Unit, and NYPD Detective Randal McFarland of the Collision Investigation Squad for their assistance in the investigation.

An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.

Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - OCTOBER 5, 2021

 

46,455 Vaccine Doses Administered Over Last 24 Hours

38 COVID-19 Deaths Statewide Yesterday

Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19.  

"Our focus remains keeping kids in schools, returning people to work, and reopening New York safely," Governor Hochul said. "We all know the best way to ensure our continued progress is to get more shots in arms. If you are still unvaccinated you are far more vulnerable. I urge everyone who still needs their shot to get it as soon as possible because we cannot afford to take risks with all the progress we've achieved."

 

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Test Results Reported - 142,635
• Total Positive - 3,877
• Percent Positive - 2.72%
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 2.34%
• Patient Hospitalization - 2,231 (+23)
• Patients Newly Admitted - 246
• Patients in ICU - 519 (-10)
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 288 (-12)
• Total Discharges - 201,994 (+187)
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 38
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 44,703

The Health Electronic Response Data System is a NYS DOH data source that collects confirmed daily death data as reported by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities only.

• Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC - 56,978

This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by NYS DOH and NYC to the CDC includes those who died in any location, including hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, at home, in hospice and other settings.

• Total vaccine doses administered - 25,567,201
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 46,455
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 454,265
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose - 82.1%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 74.1%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 84.8%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 76.0%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose - 69.5%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 62.6%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 71.9%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 64.2%

RECOVERY FOR ALL OF US: MAYOR DE BLASIO SIGNS LEGISLATION TO REQUIRE SEVERANCE PAY FOR HOTEL SERVICE EMPLOYEES

 

 Today, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed Intro. 2397-A, sponsored by Council Member Francisco Moya, into law. This legislation requires severance pay for hotel service employees if a hotel with over 100 rooms that laid off over 75% of its employees or closed during the pandemic fails to reopen by November 1^st, 2021. If a hotel does not reopen by November 1^st, the legislation requires the hotel to pay a weekly benefit of $500 per employee for a period of up to 30 weeks. 

“This legislation is about justice for working New Yorkers and giving our hotel workers their fair share,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “The tourism sector is critical to New York City, and having hotels reopen and employees back to work will supercharge our recovery.”

 

“The signing of this bill is another step forward towards a fair economic recovery from COVID, a pandemic that has hit hard the very communities that hotel workers represent. This legislation is not only providing our city’s greatest ambassadors with a much-needed economic lifeline, we are also protecting the livelihoods of families and revitalizing New York City’s hotel industry. We are already seeing the impact of this legislation with two major NYC hotels announcing they’re reopening, representing 1,000 jobs and counting. I look forward to seeing more hotels reopening, more people getting back to work, more tourism, and a better and stronger NYC. I thank the Mayor and my colleagues in the NYC Council for supporting this legislation and our city's hotel workers,” said Council Member Francisco Moya. 

 

“It’s not often you see legislation have such a clear and immediate positive impact, but today is one of those days. By encouraging hotels to reopen and recall their workers, this bill will give thousands of jobless New Yorkers the hope and financial security they so desperately need.  Major hotels have already announced their reopening and started calling workers back to their jobs thanks to this legislation. We thank Mayor de Blasio for signing it into law and Council Member Moya for leading the charge,” said Rich Maroko, President of the NY Hotel Trades Council (HTC).

 

88 Days and Counting

 

Ever since I visited Rikers Island those pesky reporters have stopped asking me when I am going to visit that hell hole. Now they question my figures on school staff vaccination figures. The New York City public school system is one of if not the safest place for your children, or my name isn't Bill de Blasio.

We are restoring a historic Chinatown building and requiring severance pay for hotel service employees. What's that, the feds went after Sergeants Benevolent Association President Ed Mullins Long Island Home and the police unions Manhattan headquarters. No I have no comment, thank you, no more questions.

Leader Of Cellphone Account Takeover Fraud Scheme Pleads Guilty

 

Defendant Impersonated Legitimate Account holders and Charged Over Half a Million Dollars’ Worth of Devices to Victim Accounts

 Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that defendant HENRY PEREZ pled guilty today to leading a multi-year cellphone account takeover fraud conspiracy.  PEREZ impersonated legitimate cellphone accountholders in order to fraudulently obtain smartphones and electronic devices that he charged to compromised accounts.  The fraud scheme also caused more than 300 victims across the United States to lose cellphone service for a period of time.  PEREZ pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman, to whom the case is assigned.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “As he admitted today, Henry Perez led a sophisticated fraud scheme that impersonated victims, changed victims’ account information so victims would not receive fraud alerts, charged purchases to victims’ accounts, and deprived victims of cellphone service.  Thanks to the dedicated work of our partners at Homeland Security, Perez stands convicted of this cellphone fraud scheme and now awaits sentencing for his crime.”

According to the allegations in the Indictment, public court filings, and statements made in court:

From June 2017 through December 2019, PEREZ was the leader of a criminal fraud ring that committed cellphone account takeover fraud and identity theft across the United States, including in the Southern District of New York.  The scheme’s primary objective was to obtain new, valuable electronic devices, including iPhones, and charge these purchases to victims’ accounts, without the knowledge or consent of the victim accountholders.  Over the course of the conspiracy, participants in the scheme attempted to fraudulently obtain more than $1 million worth of devices and, in fact, fraudulently obtained more than $530,000 worth of devices (e.g., iPhones, iPads, and AirPods), by charging purchases to victims’ accounts.

To conduct the scheme, members of the conspiracy, including PEREZ, used stolen identity information to impersonate victims who had cellphone accounts with a particular cellphone service provider (“Provider-1”).  Members of the conspiracy then called customer service representatives of Provider-1 and used social engineering techniques to take over accounts by making various misrepresentations, including impersonating accountholders and expressing a purported need to regain access to their accounts.  Through these misrepresentations, conspirators were able to gain unauthorized access to, and control of, accounts belonging to victim accountholders.  Once they gained access, members of the conspiracy made various unauthorized changes to victim accounts, so that fraud alerts and emails relating to account changes were sent to a conspiracy member, rather than to the legitimate accountholders.  Participants in the conspiracy then purchased new electronic devices, which they charged to victim accounts, without the knowledge or consent of the victims. 

In many instances, conspirators arranged for the fraudulently ordered devices to be shipped to addresses under their control.  In other instances, members of the scheme, including PEREZ, personally entered stores operated by Provider-1 to pick up fraudulently obtained devices.  In total, participants in the conspiracy conducted in-store pickups of fraudulently obtained devices in at least 10 different states.

Once they had successfully exploited a particular victim’s account, members of the conspiracy typically relinquished control of that account, and moved on to exploiting other victim accounts.  During the period in which the conspiracy compromised, and retained control of, a particular victim’s cellphone account, that victim typically lost cellphone service.  In total, the scheme caused more than 300 victims across the United States to lose cellphone service for a period of time.

PEREZ was integrally involved in all aspects of the scheme, including using victims’ personal identifying information to dupe Provider-1; gaining unauthorized access to victim accounts; making unauthorized changes to victim accounts; receiving fraudulently obtained devices; and recruiting, directing, and paying a subordinate, including supplying that subordinate with victim information.

PEREZ, 33, of Fort Lee, New Jersey, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. 

PEREZ is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Berman on January 18, 2022, at 10:00 a.m.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, PEREZ also agreed to pay restitution of $539,654.96 and forfeiture of $532,374.96.

Ms. Strauss praised the New York Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) and its El Dorado Task Force for its outstanding work on this case.

Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19- OCTOBER 4, 2021

 

42,162 Vaccine Doses Administered Over Last 24 Hours

24 COVID-19 Deaths Statewide Yesterday

 Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19.  

"We have made great strides in getting New Yorkers vaccinated, but it is important we stay vigilant," Governor Hochul said. "Remember to keep washing your hands and wearing your mask to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. Most importantly, make sure you and your family get vaccinated as soon as possible, as vaccines are our greatest weapon against the pandemic."

 

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

•  Test Results Reported - 122,193
•  Total Positive - 2,896
•  Percent Positive - 2.37%
•  7-Day Average Percent Positive - 2.37%
•  Patient Hospitalization - 2,208 (+57)
•  Patients Newly Admitted - 245
•  Patients in ICU - 529 (+4)
•  Patients in ICU with Intubation - 300 (+15)
•  Total Discharges - 201,807 (+197)
•  New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 24
•  Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 44,665

The Health Electronic Response Data System is a NYS DOH data source that collects confirmed daily death data as reported by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities only.

• Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC - 56,917

This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by NYS DOH and NYC to the CDC includes those who died in any location, including hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, at home, in hospice and other settings.

• Total vaccine doses administered - 25,520,746
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 42,162
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 453,511
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose - 82.0%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 74.0%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 84.7%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 75.9%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose - 69.5%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 62.5%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 71.8%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 64.1%

Councilman Rev. Ruben Diaz - The Bronx District Attorney Does a Tremendous Favor For Senator Luis Sepulveda

 

You should know that nine 9 months ago, on Tuesday, January 12, 2021, Senator Luis Sepulveda was arrested, his wife, Elizabeth Sepulveda accused him of domestic violence and attempting to strangle her. 

 

According to the article published by the New York Post dated Tuesday, January 12, Ms. Elizabeth Sepulveda appeared at the police precinct accusing Senator Sepulveda of his attempting to strangle her during a family dispute that occurred on January 15, 2021, in their apartment located on Daly Avenue in the Bronx.

 

You should know that according to press reports this has been the second time that Ms. Sepulveda appeared in court seeking a restraining order of protection for domestic abuse against her husband Senator Luis Sepulveda.  Given that this is not the first time that Ms. Sepulveda has filed for an order of protection, it’s apparent that Senator Luis Sepulveda is the kind of man who likes to abuse women.

 

It is important for you to know that I just read an article in the New York Post dated Monday, October 4, 2021, that reports that the Bronx County Prosecutor's Office has dismissed the charges against Senator Luis Sepulveda.  

 

The article also explains that a spokesman for the prosecution indicates that the case against Senator Sepúlveda was dismissed because the "Complainant" meaning Ms. Sepulveda no longer wants to testify.

 

I remember when former Senator Hiram Monserrate was accused of having assaulted his partner and was expelled from the Senate in spite of the fact that she testified that Senator Hiram Monserrate was not the cause of her injuries, and that it was an accident.   Nonetheless he was expelled from the Senate.   

 

You should know that the Bronx prosecutor's office not only dismissed all the charges against Senator Luis Sepulveda but shelved and seal the case records.   What a tremendous favor from the Bronx prosecutor wow!    Let me remind you this was not the first time that Ms. Sepúlveda accused the Senator of physical assault, this was the second time.   This his second time Ms. Sepulveda, according to rumors, when Ms. Sepulveda appeared at the police precinct, she had visible injuries to her face and neck.

 

So, we must wonder how is it that former Senator Hiram Monserrate is expelled from the Senate,because supposedly we protect women and because we had to send a message that this would not be tolerated especially from an elected official.  In Senator Monserrate’s case it didn’t matter that his companion continuously said and testified that Hiram was innocent of the accusations.

 

Also know that the Bronx Prosecutor's office waited 9 months, since the criminal charges were filed to now not only dismiss all charges against Senator Sepulveda but to also seal them.   What a Spectacle!  Is this how we protect women?

 

On the other hand, there is a law that punishes anyone who files a false report, causing the Department of Justice, police department and the prosecutor's office time and money by filing false allegations.

 

I wonder if Ms. Elizabeth Sepulveda having accused Senator Luis Sepulveda on two separate occasions of physical abuse, has she lied to the police and is she guilty of having filed false allegations?   What would be the consequences?

 

To the honorable Darcel Clark, Prosecutor of Bronx County, I leave these questions in your hands.   I don't want to think that the Bronx prosecutor's office has ignored our laws to do Senator Luis Sepulveda a big favor.   

 

I am Councilman  Rev. Ruben Diaz and this is what you should know.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

'If Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. had any evidence he should have given it to the Bronx District Attorney's office, rather than ranting here as he is doing. 

It seems that Councilman Diaz Sr. fails to remember that the incident of former State Senator Hiram Monserrate was that he was convicted of misdemeanor assault after dragging his girlfriend and assaulting her on video. 

Councilman Diaz is being a bully as he and his son then Assemblyman Ruben Diaz Jr. tried to do to former Bronx Democratic Party leader Jose Rivera when there was a judicial race where the Diaz's had a different candidate than the Bronx  Democratic Party Leader had. The argument got to a point where Bronx Democratic Party Leader Jose Rivera said to the Diaz's "Get out of here you two bums, and don't come back". How do I know that fact? I was in the office of the Bronx Democratic Party at the right time, heard the argument, and saw both Diaz's leave. 

The Diaz's became part of the Rainbow Coalition that overthrew Bronx Democratic Party Leader Jose Rivera by defeating Bronx Democratic County Leader Rivera's candidate for judge, and then installing Assemblyman Carl Heastie as the new Bronx Democratic Party Leader at the Bronx Democratic Party County Committee meeting that year 2008.