LAWFUEL – Legal News, Legal Jobs Network – R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Howard Krongard, Inspector General, U. S. Department of State, and Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office, announced today that defendant, Jose M. Miranda, a/k/a “Chema,” was indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami, for unlawfully participating in government matters in which he had a financial interest, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 208. Miranda was also charged with making false representations to the U.S. government, in that he falsely reported no outside income in financial disclosure reports filed with the government, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001. The defendant made his initial appearance in federal court today, and was released on a $250,000 personal surety bond.
Defendant Miranda was Programs Director at TV Marti. As such, Miranda was responsible for the selection and acquisition of programs for broadcast at TV Marti. As part of his duties, the defendant was involved in the approval of payment for programs, features, supporting materials, supplies, and in the selection of vendors, contractors, and suppliers at TV Marti.
TV Marti is operated by the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), a component of the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB). The IBB provides administrative and engineering support for United States government-funded non-military international broadcast services. The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), an independent federal agency responsible for all United States government and government sponsored, non-military, international broadcasting, supervises the IBB.
According to Count 1 of the Indictment, defendant Miranda participated personally and substantially as a Government officer and employee through decision, approval, and otherwise, in particular matters in which he had a financial interest. Specifically, the Indictment alleges that the defendant personally received more than $100,000 from Perfect Image Film and Video Productions, a vendor that was doing business with TV Marti. Miranda was accepting these monies during the same time that he approved requisitions and invoices for services rendered by Perfect Image to TV Marti.
Counts 2 through 4 of the Indictment allege that in a matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the Government of the United States, that is, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, defendant Miranda made a materially false representation in Confidential Financial Disclosure Report Forms filed in the years 2002, 2003 and 2004. In each of these financial disclosure reports, the defendant represented that he had no sources of income other than his United States Government salary, when in fact he had received income from Perfect Image during those years.
If convicted, the defendant faces maximum term of imprisonment of up to five years on each count in the indictment. Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Department of State and the FBI. The United States is represented in this case by Assistant United States Attorney Eloisa D. Fernandez.
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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/ or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov/ .
