8 January 2004 – LAWFUEL – Best for law news – Marcos Daniel Jiménez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Barbara Barnet, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General; Guy Fallen, Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General; Cliff Weiss, Manager of the Miami Office, Federal Aviation Administration, Security and Investigations Division; Michael S. Clemens, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Jesus Torres, Special Agent in Charge, Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and Robert Harris, Special Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Services, announced today that defendant, Jose Francisco Guasch, was sentenced on January 5, 2005 to thirty-seven (37) months’ imprisonment by United States District Court Chief Judge William J. Zloch, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, following his October 26, 2004 guilty plea to (1) count of transporting a stolen aircraft in foreign commerce, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2312 and 2. This sentence was ordered to run consecutive to the eight (8) month sentence dated, December 29, 2004, imposed by United States District Court Judge Federico Moreno, in Miami, Florida, in connection with the defendant’s plea to one (1) count of knowingly possessing five (5) or more authentication devices and false identification documents, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028.
According to statements made in court, on December 15, 1997, the defendant, without the owner’s consent, piloted a 1975 Gates Lear Jet 35 from the Ft. Lauderdale
Executive airport and transported the aircraft to Nicaragua where he used the plane
for charter services. The government estimated the aircraft’s value at the time of
the incident to be approximately $2.3 million. The defendant remained a fugitive
until his arrest in June 2003.
On June 27, 2003, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at the
defendant’s residence shortly after he was arrested in Miami, Florida, pursuant to
an arrest warrant issued in connection with the criminal prosecution out of the
Middle District of Florida. The defendant had been using the alias of Jesus Manuel
Rios at the time of his arrest. During the execution of the search warrant, law
enforcement agents discovered numerous fraudulent identification documents
belonging to the defendant, but bearing the names of Jesus Rios or John Andrew
Shearer. These documents included, but were not limited to, three (3) Federal
Aviation Administration Instructor Certificates, three (3) Federal Aviation
Administration Airline Transport Certificates, two (2) Social Security cards, three
(3) Florida driver’s licenses, one (1) California driver’s license, three (3)
Puerto Rico Birth Certificates, two (2) International Driving permits, one (1)
honorable discharge certificate, one (1) United States Passport, two (2) medical
certificates, one (1) pilot crew identification card, and numerous credit cards and
checking account cards.
The agents also discovered packages of unopened blank ID cards, a laminator, an
embossing sealer for the “Puerto Rico, Departmento de Salud,” an embossing sealer
for the “State of Florida,” a Stamp for the Guayanabo, Departmento de Salud
Registro Demografico Distrito MUN0128, a Stamp for the Republic of Paraguay, one
(1) package of holograms, and an identification card printer.
Mr. Jiménez commended the investigative efforts of the Department of
Transportation, Office of Inspector General; Social Security Administration, Office
of Inspector General; Federal Aviation Administration Security – Investigations
Division; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and
Defense Criminal Investigative Services. This case is being prosecuted by
Assistant United States Attorneys Lynn Kirkpatrick and Melanie Allen.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States
Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls
. 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 on
.
