It started when Antonella Re, a Medley shelter volunteer, shared a video on social media in May calling for help keeping the dogs cool.

“That video went viral, luckily, and we got a lot of support from the community,” Re said.

Soon, the community starting donating items to help the dogs, including several commercial fans donated by the company Big Ass Fans. 

At the time, volunteers and activists asked the county to hold weekly adoption events at Medley to help clear it out. They did but didn’t get the results they wanted. 

“We only had four adoptions this past month out of Medley,” says Miami-Dade Animal Services Director Annette Jose.

Though Medley was meant to be a temporary shelter, in her current budget, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava set aside $77,000 to repair and renovate the facility this year but NBC6 found almost all that money went into repairing the old structure and not a single taxpayer dollar was used for renovations.  

“Basically, all the renovations that we’ve seen so far in the past year, have come from the community and not the shelter,” Re said.

The renovations funded by the community include playpens that were recently installed with money raised by Antonella Re and the nonprofit FOMA. Asked why the county set aside money for renovations in Medley but didn’t use it, the mayor says plans changed. 

“We don’t really want to maintain medley in the long term so we’re making sure that it’s safe clean habitable and the plan is not to rebuild the shelter,” said the mayor.

The county is working on sending some of the Medley dogs to other states where they have a better chance of being adopted and continue to promote local adoptions.

In the meantime, activists say they will continue fighting to improve conditions inside all the shelters citing a respiratory disease that spread among pets.

Activists also claim, despite having a “no kill” designation, many animals die in Miami-Dade shelters. Public records show at least 25 dogs were euthanized this past year after they were found to be aggressive or because they were sick. 

Pets like Chanel who was put up for adoption after her family surrendered her when they became homeless.

“I went and adopted her,” said Roger Amador an animal rights activist.

Amador says Chanel was friendly but before he could take her home, animal services said they had to spay her.

“I went to pick her up the next day she was so hurt she couldn’t get up out of her kennel when they tried to force her out they alleged that she growled and they labeled her dangerous and they euthanized her,” Amador said.

Director Annette Jose disputes Roger Amador’s story. She claims the dog had shown signs of aggression before. 

“The more we saw her around other dogs we realized she would not be a good candidate for adoption especially with someone that has dogs like Mr. Amador,” Jose said.

When asked if it was a mistake to let Amador adopt the dog Jose replied “That was a mistake yes.”

The director of Animal Services says they have a 93% save rate and only euthanize dogs that are aggressive, are in behavioral distress or are suffering from a medical condition that can’t be treated.

She agrees with activist that pets don’t belong in shelters, they belong in a loving home which is why she urges people to consider adopting a sheltered animal.

NBC6 Investigates spoke with several condo owners at Commodore Plaza.

“It makes me cry, really,” Nora Mullen said. “At my age, I don’t think that I should go through something like this.”

The property owners we spoke with said for over a decade, they’ve been through several property managers, association board members and staff, but problems persist. They point to a lack of transparency.

“It’s a hassle to ask them for information. They take forever. They send you the wrong information,” said Raiza Meek, another property owner.

They said they’ve reached out to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation or DBPR’s Division of Condominiums looking for help.

Johnna Alvarez said she filed a complaint with the agency. 

“I filed a 70-page complaint with the DBPR basically, noting everything from financial issues to questionable bidding problems and everything else. And I was told, you have to litigate,” Alvarez said.

According to the DBPR annual reports, from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, the agency received 2,383 complaints about condominiums, of which 2,307 – or about 96% – were resolved within 90 days. But when we asked the agency what “resolved” meant, NBC6 didn’t receive a response.

“I really thought that we were going to have more help from DBPR, I thought that they were going to open their bright minds and with all the money and resources that we were giving them that they were going to do more and they haven’t, they haven’t bothered to even hire or have an interim ombudsman, so I’m very upset about that,” said State Sen. Ileana Garcia, (R-Miami).

When NBC6 called the DBPR office, we were told the ombudsman’s position, which is the liaison between condo owners and association boards, was vacant and that a supervisor was in charge. A supervisor we learned is an analyst who makes $51,452. 

A day after we wrote the agency asking about the position State Sen. Garcia says has been vacant for over three years, the department posted the job looking to hire an attorney for the position but didn’t respond to our request for comment. 

“If we’re filing complaints, if we’re reaching out to you, it’s because it’s gotten that bad. It can’t fall on deaf ears,” Alvarez said.

Neither the Commodore Plaza association’s president nor its attorneys responded when we asked about the owners’ complaints.

Aggravating their issues are the requirements imposed by the new condo law passed following the tragic collapse in Surfside. It requires condos to maintain reserve funds for important structural repairs and maintenance.

“The going to full reserves is going to put a lot of people on the streets,” Alvarez said.

“We signed off on this for safety reasons and it seems like we did not think of a financing mechanism and just overall consumer protections and consistency. So, their debate is, well we did this to make them safe and I said, but we can’t make them homeless and that’s the concern,” State Sen. Garcia said.

“The major concerns are people on fixed incomes that are saying that this is becoming onerous on them obviously,” said State Rep. Alex Rizo (R-Hialeah).

State Sen. Garcia and State Rep. Rizo said they’re looking at changes that can be made to the condo law.

“Extending the deadline to go ahead and have these reserves in place, seeing if perhaps there can be an offset for your age,” Rizo said. “We’re even discussing, do we even talk about the amount of the reserve?”

Those changes won’t be discussed until the next legislative session in 2025 since a special session was not approved to deal with this issue.  

But this month, those plans were nearly upended.

He started getting calls about his listing that lot for sale for $160,000.

The problem: he never listed it.

A realtor told NBC6 he was contacted by a man posing as Torrey, replete with a copy of a fake driver’s license and an email address that included Torrey’s name – so he listed it on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

After being contacted about the listing, “That’s when I said, what? So, I went home, I looked it up on Zillow and I put my address in Google, and there’s my lot for sale with every real estate company in the world,” Torrey recalled. “I had nothing to do with it.”

An impostor had begun a plot to scam him out of the lot, and, had he succeeded, “I think I would have had to spend a lot of money with lawyers to reverse it,” Torrey said.

“We hear it all the time,” said Broward Property Appraiser Marty Kiar. “You know, vacant lots are targeted constantly by criminals.”

Walls in one of his staff’s Fort Lauderdale offices are lined with a rogue’s gallery of property-title thieves.

Pointing at them, he said, “You know, unfortunately, South Florida is the title fraud capital of the world.”

And lots like Torrey’s are easy pickings.

“Unfortunately, vacant lots are properties that are really targeted by criminals. And the reason they target them is because people don’t live there,” Kiar said.

To catch them quickly, he’s created Owner Alert, https://web.bcpa.net/owneralert, a free service that sends property owners emails and texts once Kiar’s office is informed by the county clerk that a property has changed hands.

But, by then, a fraudulent deed transfer has already taken place.

Still, it allows a victim to quickly take the necessary steps to protect their property before the title is clouded further.

“I wish there was a way to stop it beforehand,” Kiar said, “but there really isn’t. But that’s why people should just be very, very vigilant.”

Or in Torrey’s case, very lucky.

Not so lucky, those caught advertising property that’s not theirs. A law just passed unanimously in Tallahassee makes that a felony.

“It’s a great law, and I cannot wait for it to be utilized,” Kiar said, “because the people that do this need to be held accountable.”

And Kiar will be glad to find more wall space for the mug shots yet to come.

After Torrey said he was passed along by the Broward Sheriff’s Office, State Attorney, Clerk of Court, Florida Attorney General, and FBI , NBC6 On Your Side put him in touch with Kiar’s investigators, who he said are looking into the case.

“We (are) hoping that this will be soon, this nightmare will be over,” the buyer, Hani Levy, told NBC6 Investigates.

A nightmare, Levy said, started as a dream for her and her husband, who owns a construction company. The plan was to invest and develop homes in their Fort Lauderdale neighborhood after seeing a vacant lot for sale around the corner from their home.

Levy shared the listing for the property, which they purchased in September 2023. It advertised the lot for “new construction, build to suit residential.” Levy said she and her husband reached out and purchased the property for $350,000.

Levy said they contacted the realtor and shared what they wanted to do with the lot.

She said the plan was to develop two to three homes. But there was a problem, which she said no one ever told her about. 

The road used to get to the property is not public. That means, technically, they don’t have a way to access their own lot. 

The lot is located at 2950 SW 17th Place, which happens to belong to the properties with homes on the other side of the narrow roadway. 

“I found out that I don’t actually have a legal access to this road,” Levy said.

She was told the lot itself was landlocked, with no access to the public street on SW 30th Terrace.

“That means that all our dreams, out of the windows,” she said.

The couple filed a lawsuit in February against the seller and real estate agent, alleging they failed to disclose “critical limitations, specifically the lack of road access…” that would prevent development.

“I do think that huge piece of information was hidden from me,” Levy said.

The attorney representing both the seller and her agent told NBC6 Investigates they deny all claims made in the lawsuit.  

It appears the seller did make an effort, before the sale, to make sure someone could build on the land. Their attorney filed a document releasing the lot from a restrictive covenant, which would have prevented new construction. 

Levy shared several emails she sent to the city asking about the possibility of developing on the lot and says she also went in person to get information.

After the sale, she says she received an email from the zoning department, saying the city “requires access to a public right of way…” adding, “It appears the lot may be unbuildable.”

“There is so many things that they could have done to avoid this,” Levy said.

A spokesperson for the city of Fort Lauderdale provided this statement from the city’s Development Services Department:

“Prior to the purchase they were provided with general information about the property’s zoning district. The City was not asked to review the actual site. Any private real estate transaction is between parties that includes certain disclosures to be made and information shared in good faith between the seller and purchaser. The City may be a resource used by a buyer when doing their due diligence about the property’s development potential. Understanding the City’s zoning regulations including permitted uses and development standards is often part of a purchaser’s due diligence. Ultimately it is up to the purchaser to use the information available to make a final decision. 

In this case the purchaser was provided general information about the zoning district’s permitted uses and development standards. Following the purchase, the new owner approached the City with a specific development plan and the owner was provided feedback on the obstacles to development as well as potential solutions to overcome those obstacles. The City continues to work with the owner and understands the unique circumstances they face.” 

Levy says in the meantime, she and her husband negotiated with a neighbor to add a strip of land to their lot, which now reaches the public street. They hope that extension of their property will give them the greenlight to build. 

“We still don’t have a clear answer with the city if they are happy,” Levy told NBC6, “If this is good enough.”

The couple said they also approached neighbors who own the private street and asked if they could purchase a portion in order to get access to their lot. But those homeowners declined. 

When NBC6 Investigates visited the lot, some of the people living in the area expressed concerns that new construction on the lot would put neighboring properties at greater risk of flooding, which is already a problem on their street. 

It started when Antonella Re, a Medley shelter volunteer, shared a video on social media in May calling for help keeping the dogs cool.

“That video went viral, luckily, and we got a lot of support from the community,” Re said.

Soon, the community starting donating items to help the dogs, including several commercial fans donated by the company Big Ass Fans. 

At the time, volunteers and activists asked the county to hold weekly adoption events at Medley to help clear it out. They did but didn’t get the results they wanted. 

“We only had four adoptions this past month out of Medley,” says Miami-Dade Animal Services Director Annette Jose.

Though Medley was meant to be a temporary shelter, in her current budget, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava set aside $77,000 to repair and renovate the facility this year but NBC6 found almost all that money went into repairing the old structure and not a single taxpayer dollar was used for renovations.  

“Basically, all the renovations that we’ve seen so far in the past year, have come from the community and not the shelter,” Re said.

The renovations funded by the community include playpens that were recently installed with money raised by Antonella Re and the nonprofit FOMA. Asked why the county set aside money for renovations in Medley but didn’t use it, the mayor says plans changed. 

“We don’t really want to maintain medley in the long term so we’re making sure that it’s safe clean habitable and the plan is not to rebuild the shelter,” said the mayor.

The county is working on sending some of the Medley dogs to other states where they have a better chance of being adopted and continue to promote local adoptions.

In the meantime, activists say they will continue fighting to improve conditions inside all the shelters citing a respiratory disease that spread among pets.

Activists also claim, despite having a “no kill” designation, many animals die in Miami-Dade shelters. Public records show at least 25 dogs were euthanized this past year after they were found to be aggressive or because they were sick. 

Pets like Chanel who was put up for adoption after her family surrendered her when they became homeless.

“I went and adopted her,” said Roger Amador an animal rights activist.

Amador says Chanel was friendly but before he could take her home, animal services said they had to spay her.

“I went to pick her up the next day she was so hurt she couldn’t get up out of her kennel when they tried to force her out they alleged that she growled and they labeled her dangerous and they euthanized her,” Amador said.

Director Annette Jose disputes Roger Amador’s story. She claims the dog had shown signs of aggression before. 

“The more we saw her around other dogs we realized she would not be a good candidate for adoption especially with someone that has dogs like Mr. Amador,” Jose said.

When asked if it was a mistake to let Amador adopt the dog Jose replied “That was a mistake yes.”

The director of Animal Services says they have a 93% save rate and only euthanize dogs that are aggressive, are in behavioral distress or are suffering from a medical condition that can’t be treated.

She agrees with activist that pets don’t belong in shelters, they belong in a loving home which is why she urges people to consider adopting a sheltered animal.

It started when Antonella Re, a Medley shelter volunteer, shared a video on social media in May calling for help keeping the dogs cool.

“That video went viral, luckily, and we got a lot of support from the community,” Re said.

Soon, the community starting donating items to help the dogs, including several commercial fans donated by the company Big Ass Fans. 

At the time, volunteers and activists asked the county to hold weekly adoption events at Medley to help clear it out. They did but didn’t get the results they wanted. 

“We only had four adoptions this past month out of Medley,” says Miami-Dade Animal Services Director Annette Jose.

Though Medley was meant to be a temporary shelter, in her current budget, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava set aside $77,000 to repair and renovate the facility this year but NBC6 found almost all that money went into repairing the old structure and not a single taxpayer dollar was used for renovations.  

“Basically, all the renovations that we’ve seen so far in the past year, have come from the community and not the shelter,” Re said.

The renovations funded by the community include playpens that were recently installed with money raised by Antonella Re and the nonprofit FOMA. Asked why the county set aside money for renovations in Medley but didn’t use it, the mayor says plans changed. 

“We don’t really want to maintain medley in the long term so we’re making sure that it’s safe clean habitable and the plan is not to rebuild the shelter,” said the mayor.

The county is working on sending some of the Medley dogs to other states where they have a better chance of being adopted and continue to promote local adoptions.

In the meantime, activists say they will continue fighting to improve conditions inside all the shelters citing a respiratory disease that spread among pets.

Activists also claim, despite having a “no kill” designation, many animals die in Miami-Dade shelters. Public records show at least 25 dogs were euthanized this past year after they were found to be aggressive or because they were sick. 

Pets like Chanel who was put up for adoption after her family surrendered her when they became homeless.

“I went and adopted her,” said Roger Amador an animal rights activist.

Amador says Chanel was friendly but before he could take her home, animal services said they had to spay her.

“I went to pick her up the next day she was so hurt she couldn’t get up out of her kennel when they tried to force her out they alleged that she growled and they labeled her dangerous and they euthanized her,” Amador said.

Director Annette Jose disputes Roger Amador’s story. She claims the dog had shown signs of aggression before. 

“The more we saw her around other dogs we realized she would not be a good candidate for adoption especially with someone that has dogs like Mr. Amador,” Jose said.

When asked if it was a mistake to let Amador adopt the dog Jose replied “That was a mistake yes.”

The director of Animal Services says they have a 93% save rate and only euthanize dogs that are aggressive, are in behavioral distress or are suffering from a medical condition that can’t be treated.

She agrees with activist that pets don’t belong in shelters, they belong in a loving home which is why she urges people to consider adopting a sheltered animal.

But federal investigators tell NBC6 Investigates those resources have been targets for fraud in recent years.

“There was a particular group of individuals that were trying to circumvent the process of how individuals became licensed therapists, specifically in South Florida,” according to Assistant Special Agent in Charge Fernando Porras with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS/OIG) in Miami.

Investigators with HHS/OIG shared video with NBC6 Investigates they say shows a woman cheating on a test to become a registered behavioral technician to provide those services. 

“It’s evident that she’s talking to somebody in the room,” Porras said of the video, in which a man can be heard telling Grisel Farinas, the woman taking the exam remotely, not to look at him. At one point the man can be seen next to her in the video.

“Paid an individual $2,000 to help her walk her through having to take the test and essentially having that person take the test for her,” Porras said.

What they didn’t know is that the testing center was recording the session and the video would become evidence against Farinas, who eventually pled guilty to one count of healthcare fraud in 2022.

 Investigators say it started with a tip about people cheating on virtual exams.

After testing centers were forced to close during the pandemic, they noticed a spike in people suddenly passing the test when allowed to take it remotely.

Investigators say it was part of a money-making scheme.

“They pay them a substantial amount of money to help them take the test,” Porras explained, “Then may or may not line them up with these providers that are also in cahoots with these individuals.”

According to court filings, once hired by a provider, Farinas purportedly provided services to two boys who were Medicaid recipients. More than $128,000 were billed to Medicaid in just a few months, for hours of therapy investigators say she admitted not providing.

Investigators conducted surveillance at the home and say Farinas would spend an hour or two inside, but was actually billing for much more.

“Ten hours a day, five days a week, holidays, summer, no breaks,” Porras said.

And according to investigators, even the mother of the two boys was getting a kickback. 

“She was receiving payment for enrolling her two children,” Porras said.

 Medicaid numbers from 2023-2024 show that of the 1.5 billion dollars paid out for ABA services in Florida, more than half was in Miami-Dade County.

Investigators say there was so much cheating in Florida, the companies ended remote testing in March 2021.

For mothers like Krystal Janet, any fraud involving these services just makes it harder for families. 

She says her 7 year-old son J.J. was diagnosed with autism and a speech delay when he was 15 months old. She describes ABA therapy as life-changing.

“We depend on it for everything,” Janet said, “From toileting, to feeding, to socialization.”  

But getting her son the help that he needs has not been easy.

“We were able to pay for it through the grants that are offered, and we qualified for, and we fought for,” she explained. “It’s really hard. And our kids, for the most part, they can’t advocate for themselves.”

 She says this fraud is cheating not just government programs, but future generations of the help they need and deserve.

“You’re cheating families, you’re cheating kids, vulnerable kids,” she said, “…and it’s just not fair.”

Farinas was sentenced to one month in prison and ordered to pay restitution for all the money billed to Medicaid. She told NBC6 Investigates by phone that anyone can make a mistake, adding she was not the only one involved and she has been punished for it.

No one else has been charged in this case. In court records, prosecutors stated Farinas agreed to cooperate with the investigation but was found to be an unreliable witness.

One of those men, Bayron Bennett, worked serving food and beverages on the Century Star, the Pinos’ yacht, the FBI alleges. The other, convicted felon Fausto Villar, is married to the owner of the company Pino contracted to reroof his Cocoplum home, according to the criminal complaint against Villar and an NBC6 Investigation.

A roofing project was underway Tuesday when an FBI SWAT team moved in to arrest Pino on murder-for-hire charges. Rather than be taken into custody, the 67-year-old leader of Century Homebuilders group fatally shot himself in his upstairs bedroom.

It was the end of his role in the twisted tale of the murder-for-hire scheme laid out by the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office in criminal complaints naming nine men.

FBI Jul 17

FBI alleges developer Sergio Pino hired crews to kill his wife

Coral Gables Jul 16

South Florida developer Sergio Pino dead amid FBI investigation

Miami-Dade County Jul 16

Who was Sergio Pino, the millionaire property developer found dead in his home?

Pino’s motive and involvement

While running a homebuilding and commercial development empire, Pino was also arranging for two groups of criminals to kill his wife before their divorce could be finalized, the federal affidavits state.

The motive, one of those charged told the FBI, was that Tatiana Pino would not accept his $20 million to end a 32-year marriage that had amassed by 2022 a net worth that divorce court records variously put at $153 million or $359 million.

As federal law enforcement sees it, all roads in the investigation led to Pino.

“In addition to Sergio Pino’s alleged role at the head of this scheme,” said FBI Miami Agent in Charge Jeffrey Veltri, “our evidence has shown he hired and gave orders to murder crews. There were at least two separate crews involved.”

Even before she filed for divorce in April 2022, the FBI alleges Pino was trying to poison his wife with fentanyl.

“First, he tried to poison her over a period of time,” said U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe. “When that failed, he put out a contract on her head on two separate occasions, hiring separate groups of hit men to do the job.”

The men in the murder crews and the plots

The criminal complaints describe a tangled web of men previously convicted of felonies including kidnapping, attempted murder, armed robbery, drug dealing and other crimes. And they were assembled by two middlemen who had direct ties to the Pinos’ $8 million waterfront home, Lapointe said.

“The individuals that were actually leading those crews, they all had some sort of special relationship with Mr. Pino,” he said.

The first crew involved four men arrested in March: Bennett, Michael Dulfo, Jerren Howard and Edner Etienne. They are not currently charged with murder, but rather arson–after cars were set afire outside Tatiana Pino’s sister’s house–and stalking. That also includes the incident in August 2023, when Tatiana Pino’s car was rammed as she returned home from “a very important divorce court hearing,” her attorney, Raymon Rafool, said.

“A hearing that had been set for a very long time so the timing was known, the date was known, everything was known,” Rafool said, including Tatiana’s whereabouts.

Tatiana Pino recognized Bennett during FBI questioning as a worker on the yacht. On Tuesday, an FBI sniper boarded the vessel to keep an eye on the back of the house as SWAT moved in.

According to the federal complaint, Fausto Villar is the man Sergio Pino engaged to lead the second crew.

NBC6 investigates revealed a connection between Villar and Pino. In May of this year, Pino filed a notice of commencement with the county clerk naming the contractor doing re-roofing of the house as Evalution Roofing LLC.

That company is owned by Villar’s wife.

Villar is now charged with murder-for-hire, along with Avery Bivins, with whom Villar spent time in state prison until 2016.

Villar, 42, was serving seven years for an armed robbery he pulled off with his cousin, a Miami-Dade police officer, in 2010. They helped a bookie recover $130,000 in cash winnings from a man they followed from the bookie’s offices and, using the cousin’s police car, pulled over and “confiscated” the cash.

Bivins, 34, was doing 15 years for attempted murder and armed robbery.

Bivins told the FBI that Villar recruited him to assemble what they called the second murder crew to eliminate Tatiana Pino for $300,000.

That crew allegedly included Diori Barnard, whose five-year burglary sentence also overlapped with Bivins and Villar;  armed robber Clementa Johnson; and Vernon Green, previously convicted of armed robbery and attempted murder.

It was Green, criminal complaints say, who played a key role on June 23–one day before Pino’s deadline to commit the murder.

That afternoon, members of the second crew followed Tatiana Pino once again to her home and, as she pulled into the driveway, Green emerged from a truck armed and ran up to her car, gun in hand, the complaint states.

She sounded her car horn, hurriedly drove into a rear parking area and managed to run into the house.

Hearing the racket, her adult daughter emerged. Green held his gun inches from her head and ordered her back into the house, the complaint states. Green then allegedly fled back into the truck, which sped away.

So far, public records show only Villar and Bivins face murder-for-hire charges, while others are charged with various crimes, including arson and stalking conspiracy.

But, Lapointe noted Tuesday, “This is an ongoing investigation as it relates to what charges have been submitted and what charges may be submitted later.”

Authorities were ‘disturbed at the level of brazenness’

The only man to escape charges was Sergio Pino. The chief federal prosecutor said he was relentless and knew authorities were onto him.

“That didn’t bother him at all,” Lapointe said. “In fact, law enforcement, to the extent we can discuss this at all, felt somewhat disturbed at the level of brazenness that he had.”

Last week, Rafool, Tatiana Pino’s divorce attorney, said he saw Pino’s arrogance up close.

“So sometimes money or power or any other type of influence aspects will turn people even against those that they loved at one time or love,” he said.

NBC6 reached out to every attorney we could find for the nine men charged. They’ve either declined comment or not responded. All who have had an opportunity have pleaded not guilty.

Sam Rabin, Sergio Pino’s criminal attorney, said they were confident they could have successfully defended the charges that were about to be filed against him.

“Heard a loud bam on my daughter’s room window,” Simmons said. “When I opened the door, there were two guns pointed at me … I said, why are you guys at my door pointing guns?”

The men with guns were Miami-Dade Police officers but she says they didn’t announce who they were before she opened the door. 

“They didn’t say anything, so I just thought it was random people,” she added. 

Simmons says officers later told her they had a warrant for a man named Marquise Wiley, wanted for a felony gun charge.

“It was an address that he had on his I.D.,” she said.

She says officers told her the address on Northwest 22nd Avenue was previously associated with Wiley, though Simmons says she and her daughter have lived in that home for over a year. 

“I’m still not sleeping, I’m still having nightmares,” she said.

Simmons, an Air Force veteran who served in Afghanistan, says the encounter left her afraid and angry. 

“I already suffer from PTSD from my time in Afghanistan,” Simmons said.

“A lot of people got killed like that,” said her neighbor Only Bryant. 

Bryant says he’s also a veteran who served in Vietnam, and officers banged on his door that day, too. 

“I heard a loud knock, so I came and opened the door the guy told me to close the door,” he said.

Simmons says as soon as officers left her home, she got on her cellphone, and within minutes, on a court website, she was able to find where Wiley actually was.   

“The person was already incarcerated,” she said. 

In fact, Wiley had been in custody for months as he was dealing with two criminal cases in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. 

In January, court records show he was transferred to a Broward jail to stand trial for his involvement in a 2020 masked robbery at a jewelry store. On May 9, he was found guilty in that case and sentenced to 10 years and three months in state prison.  

“I was able to find it with no resources and a cellphone on my couch,” Simmons said.

Miami-Dade Police tell us a judge then issued a warrant to bring Wiley back to Miami-Dade County for his ongoing gun case. 

The Broward Sheriff’s Office says he was in their jail that whole time until he was transferred to state prison on June 13, a day before Miami-Dade officers went to Simmons’ home. 

“He was at the prison before they even came to my door,” Simmons said.

NBC6 Investigates asked Miami-Dade Police how this could happen. 

After our story aired, a spokesperson told us they checked federal, state and local Miami-Dade County databases and did not see Wiley in custody. It appears they did not check the Broward County database.

MDPD told NBC6 Investigates BSO should have checked on Wiley’s status before transferring him to state custody due to his pending gun case. 

A BSO spokesperson told us they received no detainer on Wiley in their system, which is standard when requesting a transfer. 

For Simmons, it’s more than a mistake.

“Frustrating and scary because you see all these things on the news about people that look like me men and women who are getting killed because police showed up at the wrong house,” she said.  

Miami-Dade Police didn’t agree to an on-camera interview, but a spokesperson told us the department is looking into the case. 

As for Wiley, his public defender declined to comment. He’s pleaded not guilty to the gun charge he’s facing in Miami-Dade County.

Those allegations – involving claims of poisoning, arson, and stalking – are part of an ongoing federal investigation that has already resulted in the arrest of four people, including a man who Tatiana Pino identified as having worked for the couple on their yacht.

Sergio Pino has not been charged with a crime, but the FBI has confirmed it searched the couple’s $8 million Coral Gables home and his business offices as part of an ongoing investigation.

Pino heads a building empire in Miami-Dade, much of it under the auspices of Century Homebuilders Group, whose website says it is the largest Hispanic-owned homebuilder in the nation. He has served as a president of the politically powerful Latin Builders Association.

Over their decades together, Tatiana has often appeared by his side at formal events, but the public image of a happy, wealthy couple began to fade when she filed for divorce in April 2022.

If you see the word “Century” in a Miami-Dade development, it likely began with the Pino family and it’s made Sergio Pino and company very wealthy.

One financial statement cited during his November 2023 deposition in the divorce case puts his and Tatiana’s combined net worth in 2021 at $359 million; another produced in that same deposition put it at $153 million. Pino testified he created the larger statement of financial position as “a joke” that included “made up” numbers, and said the smaller net worth statement was accurate.

Whatever the amount, how much of it that is rightfully Tatiana’s lies at the heart of a two-year divorce battle, one now featured in a federal criminal case involving four men indicted in what the feds call a “stalking conspiracy.”

They were allegedly involved in an Aug. 30, 2023 hit-and-run outside Tatiana’s Pinecrest home as she was returning from a hearing in her divorce case.

Surveillance video shows a rented Home Depot flatbed truck waiting outside her home. As she arrives, the truck is thrown into reverse and circles backward, accelerating as it crashes into her passenger side door, then speeds away.

Michael Dulfo, one of the defendants investigators said was connected to the Home Depot rental, later told those investigators he was “contracted” to commit the crime “by someone working for the opposing party” in the Pino divorce case, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.

And when Tatiana was questioned about possible suspects, the FBI says she recognized one of them – 32-year-old Bayron Bennett – as having worked on the Pinos’ yacht.

The criminal complaint against Bennett says he admitted soliciting Dulfo to commit the hit and run, as well as the torching of three vehicles in 2022 and 2023 outside this house belonging to Tatiana Pino’s sister. He told agents someone asked him to seek out others to commit crimes against Tatiana, according to the complaint, which does not name who that “someone” may be.

Asked in a general sense what is going on here, Tatiana’s attorney Raymond Rafool told NBC6 that is ultimately a matter for the FBI.

“That’s what the investigation is,” he said. “And what’s going on is what they are determining, but I think it’s pretty clear to everybody what’s going on.”

Sergio Pino’s attorney, Deanna Shifrin, told NBC6 in a statement at least one thing is clear: Sergio Pino is an innocent man.

“We can categorically state that Mr. Pino was not involved in any of the alleged conduct,” Shifrin said.

And they strongly dispute Tatiana’s stated belief in a deposition that her husband had been trying to poison her, with Shifrin adding, “There is no objective evidence that Mrs. Pino was poisoned by anyone.”

Tatiana testified she had been suffering from a mystery ailment – misdiagnosed by some as epilepsy – for years. But it wasn’t until she was seen by specialists at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore that a culprit was identified: fentanyl, she said in her deposition.

“My client feels very strongly that he has been trying to poison her for two years before” filing for divorce, Rafool said.

Shifrin challenged that during Tatiana’s September 2022 deposition, asking, “Why would you accuse Mr. Pino? On what basis?”

“Well, I just don’t think that my housekeepers would have a motive. He would have a money motive maybe. A financial motive,” she replied, adding later, “I was sick for three years. I leave my house and I have never been sick again.”

Shifrin tried to delve deeper into the poisoning claims in that deposition, but Rafool objected and instructed Tatiana not to answer further because of the ongoing criminal investigation.

For his part, Sergio Pino said he, too, has been a victim.

“Mr. Pino has also been the victim of threats and acts of vandalism during his divorce proceedings,” Shifrin said. 

Among them, he has alleged in his deposition, threatening phone calls from “Colombians” demanding he quickly settle the divorce, having a firearm fired in his direction as he tried to enter his house, and having his car set afire, the latter two incidents his attorney says were reported to police. No one has been arrested in connection to the incidents yet.

“To be clear,” Shifrin said, “Mr. Pino is devastated by attacks against him and his family and denies any suggestion that he is responsible for them.”

NBC6 sought comment from attorneys for the four men arrested – Bennett, Dulfo, Edner Etienne and Jerren Howard. They either did not return calls or declined to answer our questions. They have pled not guilty and are being held in federal custody without bond.

The incident, which happened April 12 at Sewell Park on South River Drive, is now the subject of an internal police investigation.

Nicole Iyescas said she was having fun at the park with her one-year-old dog, Miso.

“26 pounds,” she said. “It was a puppy.”

Nicole told NBC6 Investigates she was sitting on a park bench with Miso on a leash when a man walked close to where they were sitting. Nicole and her daughter Esmeralda said Miso, a French bulldog-Malinois mix, began barking and Nicole lost her grip on the leash.

“He approached the man and the man got startled as well,” Esmeralda explained. 

Nicole said the man fell backward and landed at the base of a large tree. 

“I didn’t see Miso biting the guy,” she said. “When he got up, he saw something on his upper arm and he said, ‘Your dog bit me.’”

She said the man told her he was calling animal control.

“Seemed like there was some sort of an altercation with the animal and the gentleman was on his phone,” explained a witness who asked not to be identified. He said he was passing by at the time. 

“It was very calm,” he said. “The dog was on a leash, everything was under control.”

Miami Fire Rescue said they took a 27-year-old man to the hospital who said he was bit by a dog and had an injury on his left arm.

Nicole and her daughter said things took a turn when Miami Police officers arrived at the scene.

“The police officer wasn’t giving my mom the chance to speak or even to listen or give her own statement,” Esmeralda said. 

She said the officer ordered her mom to sit on another bench with the dog.

“The whole scene ended up getting very tense,” Esmeralda said. 

Nicole said one officer ordered her not to move and to stay where she was.

“But there is a way to talk to someone instead of the way he was talking to me and yelling at me,” she added. 

According to Nicole, as the officer was giving her those commands, Miso got agitated. She said she lost the leash and the dog started barking and approached one of the officers. She said the officer kicked Miso in the head, but then lost his balance and fell in the process.

She said Miso then moved on to a grassy area near the parking lot, several feet from the nearest officer.

“I heard a gunshot. My gosh,” she said. “And then I saw my dog falling on the floor.”

“I saw the dog was lying on its side,” the witness said. “It had been shot.”

The man said he didn’t see the moment Miso was shot, but he approached officers as the dog lay bleeding, but still alive.

“I did mention to more than one officer that maybe they should call somebody who would either euthanize the animal or attend to the animal,” he said.

“They left him suffering,” Nicole said. “He was breathing, bleeding.”

Nicole said officers kept her from getting close to her dog after the shooting and didn’t want to discuss why the officer opened fire.

A one-page police report has limited details about what happened. It only states officers went to Sewell Park regarding a dog bite complaint: “There was one gunshot fired” and “one dog dead on scene.” 

“For me, it was like, how did we go from dog on leash to dog dead?” the witness asked.

That question and others could potentially be addressed by video from police body cameras. The department denied NBC6’s request for the video and declined to answer questions about the incident, citing an ongoing internal affairs investigation.

Nicole has since filed a complaint with Miami Police.

“They made my life very difficult that day,” she said.

“I guess it’s a really unfortunate incident and I hope the truth comes out,” the witness added.

A source in the department who did not want to be identified by name said officers are not trained to render aid to animals.

Last week’s fatal mishap has led to questions about what exactly happened that caused the death of 28-year-old Fabian Camero, and whether the proper regulations were being followed.

State records show Fabian Camero victim was a certified EMT, and officials with American Medical Response confirmed Tuesday that he was an employee.

“American Medical Response (AMR) is deeply saddened by the recent death of one of our EMTs, Fabian Camero. His death was unrelated to his employment with AMR Miami Dade. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and coworkers during this time,” AMR said in a statement.

Fabian Camero was not employed by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.

The Virginia Gardens building, located on Northwest 36th Street and 66th Avenue, where the training was taking place on June 21 had been used by the county to do fire department drills for over a month, according to Mayor Spencer Deno. 

Miami-Dade County Jun 24

Victim of fatal fire training incident identified as Miami-Dade firefighter's son

Miami-Dade County Jun 22

‘Should not have happened': Mayor wants answers after fatal Miami-Dade Fire Rescue training incident

He said previous drills were search and rescue simulations, and the building owner, who NBC 6 has been unable to reach, did not give permission for a controlled burn. Deno described the deadly fire as accidental and not part of that day’s training. 

Live fire trainings are heavily regulated, with pages of protocols laid out by the state and county, including the use of thermal imaging cameras during training that involves structures and a requirement to immediately stop when there are indications that the combustible nature of the environment represents a potential hazard, according to a copy of Miami-Dade’s live fire training procedures. Those procedures were provided to NBC 6 by a department employee who asked not to be identified. 

One thing is clear: fighting fires is a dangerous job, even when it’s done as a practice. 

In August 2003, Wayne Mitchell, a 37-year-old recruit, was killed during a live fire training at Port Everglades. 

“Today has to be the most difficult day of my career,” former Fire Chief Tony Bared said at the time. “Firefighting is an extremely dangerous profession, and Wayne was doing what he loved the most.”

Mitchell was one of five recruits who went in along with instructors. He was the only one who didn’t make it out. 

According to a lawsuit filed by his widow, Mitchell was burned, suffered heat exhaustion, became disoriented and collapsed in the fire simulator. 

“By the time they got outside and did a headcount, it was determined firefighter Mitchell was not there,” attorney Sam Spatzer said. “Apparently, this area where these fires were being started up were not being vented between evolutions. So you had a build up of heat.”

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue now has its own training facility at its headquarters in Doral. That complex is located just three miles from the building where Friday’s deadly training took place. 

Local leaders are pushing for an investigation.

“I think a thoughtful, careful, thorough investigation is going to be carried out, probably by more than one agency,” Spatzer said. 

Vera Armbrister and her husband have lived there for 50 years.

“I really don’t know what’s going on,” Armbrister said. “And we have never seen anything like this… over here, I just cleaned the dust off of it because there’s so much dust coming from this.”

She’s referring to how, on dry days, the dust from the concrete being dumped 400 feet away makes its way to her property. On the wet ones, water rises on Northwest 17^th Court.

“It’s not draining, and thank God no children are walking to school, because when it’s so bad the children that walk to school, they can’t walk to school,” Armbrister said.

In applying for permission to fill in Rock Pit Lake, the landowner said a nearby drain would funnel any water into the lake, but after the NBC6 Investigators found discrepancies in the plans, the city came out, looked into it and found it was not draining.

And it certainly was not functioning when NBC6 visited the neighborhood on Wednesday. 

The city and county also confirmed an adjacent FPL service center lot was not contributing to the water there, just as the application to Broward County stated.

But the NBC6 Investigators found that the application did omit a 16-acre area along Northwest 16^th Street that was in fact draining into the lake.

Now the county is demanding in a letter that the landowner pay more than $10,000 to modify plans to include that water.

The landowner, Jordan Zahlene, told NBC6 that in addition to unblocking the drain on 17^th Court, they “want to do what’s right for the environment and the neighborhood.”

His engineer has concluded the additional water would still not cause flooding during major storms, but the county wants more information before approving.

Meanwhile, the filling of Rock Pit Lake goes on.

It could take 100,000 dump truck loads, clean concrete, fill and construction debris to fill the 28-acre lake that is in some spots 60 feet deep.

Meanwhile, the drain on the street remains blocked from draining.

“Anybody that’s going around the corner it’s so much water that it’s a mess,” Armbrister said.

An attorney for Benjamin Forrest McConley told NBC6 his client had “been hanging out with Navarro” while housed in the same unit of the Federal Correctional Institution-Miami minimum security camp near Homestead.

But last weekend McConley was placed in a special housing unit at the adjacent, more secure facility, his attorney confirmed. The move was two weeks after a Pennsylvania woman alerted the prison that — after sending a letter of support to Navarro — she was solicited to contribute to PayPal or Cash App accounts.

A prison source tells NBC6 that McConley is facing an investigation.

There’s no indication Navarro played any role in the solicitation and, unlike McConley, his status as a minimum-security inmate at the camp has not changed. NBC6 shared the information with Navarro’s attorney, who declined to comment.

Navarro, a Harvard-educated economist who as a top Trump administration adviser rubbed elbows with a president and captains of industry, met McConley after surrendering in March to the minimum-security camp that is part of FCI-Miami.

Navarro is serving a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress, having refused to appear before and produce evidence to the select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. 

The events unfolded last month after Sue (who does not want her last name disclosed) sent Navarro that supportive letter from Pennsylvania on May 13.

“I decided to craft a letter of support for Mr. Navarro,” she told NBC6, “to lift his spirits and to let him know that four months was not a forever-type thing and to try to glean something positive out of an otherwise negative experience.”

Three days later, “I received a text message from someone who had obviously read that letter,” she recalled.

“Greetings from Dr. Navarro. Thank you for your continued support. We need all the support we can get. We must get the message out to the thousands of voters for MAGA!” it read, before making a pitch for money.

“Should you want to contribute to stamps – commissary: you can send any amount by paypal… or cashapp…,” it continued. “All contributed funds go toward stamps for correspondence. God bless you. God bless MAGA. God bless America.”

Suspicious, Sue checked the phone number used to text her and she says it revealed an association with McConley, who she quickly discovered is serving a 13-year sentence for scamming investors who thought they were buying into movies and Broadway shows of $60 million, according to court records and the U.S. Attorney’s office in Miami.

“So, I thought – whoa — so this is not cool,” she said.

When she checked a BOP website and found McConley was, like Navarro, housed at FCI-Miami, she contacted prison officials and, after getting no response for two weeks, NBC6.

The NBC6 Investigators then looked into the PayPal account mentioned in the text and found it used the name Forrest McConley – Forrest being McConley’s middle name and also the first name of his father, who we’ve been unable to reach by phone, email or through McConley’s attorney.

Two weeks after Sue alerted prison authorities of what she found, McConley last weekend was moved into the SHU — a special housing unit — his attorney confirmed, locked up 23 hours a day with limited privileges while the BOP investigates. While in the SHU, McConley’s attorney said he is unable to communicate with him or others, so McConley could not be reached for comment.

For her part, Sue said, “I thought, man, something’s got to stop this because that’s not very good. I don’t want people taken advantage of. People don’t have a lot of money to spend and while I applaud their trying to give support to Mr. Navarro, he doesn’t need our money.”

Navarro has his own fundraising site for a legal defense fund, which shows more than $1.3 million raised.

It’s unclear whether Navarro ever saw Sue’s letter and both current and former BOP employees tell NBC6 security lapses can lead to inmates getting access others’ mail.

Video taken from the FCI-Miami visitor parking lot this spring, obtained by the NBC6 Investigators, shows a camp inmate carrying a bag like those that contain mail, according to those sources. 

In the event Navarro sees this report, Sue said she has a message for him: “Hang in there. Four months will be over in a hurry and there’s a lot of people out here that are supporting you and wish you well.” 

The Bureau of Prisons will not comment on what it’s doing to prevent inmates from soliciting funds into PayPal or other outside accounts by intercepting mail meant for other inmates. If that’s what happened here, it’s a clear violation of prison rules and possibly federal laws against wire or mail fraud, an attorney familiar with the matter told us.

“Miami has become a different city,” said Miami-Dade firefighter Meric Tendrich. “I’m born and raised here, and I’ve never seen so many boats out on the water.”

Tendrich works on the department’s fireboats, which respond to dangerous calls on South Florida’s waterways.

“There’s many accidents that are happening,” he said. “Drownings… and we are just trying to do our best to prevent all these things from happening.”

Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is the agency that tracks boating accidents throughout the state.

Biscayne Bay May 17

Video shows boater before and after teen's tragic death in Biscayne Bay

Biscayne Bay May 16

Biscayne Bay water sports safety takes center stage after teen's tragic death

According to the agency’s Florida Boating Accident Statistical Report for 2023, these were the numbers by county:

Miami-Dade: 61 accidents, 7 deaths and 21 accidents with injuries.

Monroe: 87 accidents, 3 deaths and 39 accidents with injuries.

Broward: 26 accidents, no deaths and 8 accidents with injuries.

NBC6 Investigators obtained preliminary data from the FWC for 2024 (January-May 21), which a spokesperson said represents cases being investigated currently and are not final numbers. Monroe County reported the highest number of accidents across the state. Here’s the breakdown:

Miami-Dade: 54 accidents, 5 deaths and 19 accidents with injuries.

Monroe: 64 accidents, 6 deaths and 12 accidents with injuries.

Broward: 23 accidents, no deaths and 3 accidents with injuries.

NBC6 Investigators got exclusive access to the process for Miami-Dade firefighters to get certified to work on the department’s fireboats, which patrol the county’s waterways. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Andy Alvarez says they have been responding to more dangerous and often deadly boating calls than ever.

NBC6 has covered several recent boating incidents involving serious injuries or deaths.

Miami Mar 21

Illinois couple injured in speedboat crash near PortMiami sues boat companies

Miami Mar 21

Friends of tourist who died after falling into Miami River say he was hesitant to take Miami trip

In February, several people were injured in a crash between a tour bout and a private charter. In March, a man drowned in the Miami River after falling overboard from a charter boat. In April, two men died near Elliot Key after a crash between their motorboat and a large yacht. And in May, 15-year-old Ella Adler was killed in the water near Key Biscayne after a boat struck her.

“This is critical. South Florida, number one, has the most boats in the state. And the state of Florida has the most registered boats in the entire nation,” said Chief Andy Alvarez. “It’s already been a tragic year so far.”

Candidates for the fireboat positions conducted nighttime dives, simulating rescue scenarios such as a baby overboard with little to no visibility in the dark water. They also had to conduct swimming rescue operations in challenging conditions, against the current.

They said these calls are not only dangerous for the public, but first responders as well.

“We all have families, whether or not it’s my family or citizens’, it’s important you want everyone to be safe,” Tendrich said. “Every call is hard, and you know we take them to heart.”

They say part of their work is educating boaters on water safety and keeping a look out for other boaters or hazards. In fact, data from the FWC shows the number one cause of boating accidents in 2023 was boating crashes. Other incidents involve people falling to the water or boats crashing to obstacles.

It started when Antonella Re, a Medley shelter volunteer, shared a video on social media in May calling for help keeping the dogs cool.

“That video went viral, luckily, and we got a lot of support from the community,” Re said.

Soon, the community starting donating items to help the dogs, including several commercial fans donated by the company Big Ass Fans. 

At the time, volunteers and activists asked the county to hold weekly adoption events at Medley to help clear it out. They did but didn’t get the results they wanted. 

“We only had four adoptions this past month out of Medley,” says Miami-Dade Animal Services Director Annette Jose.

Though Medley was meant to be a temporary shelter, in her current budget, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava set aside $77,000 to repair and renovate the facility this year but NBC6 found almost all that money went into repairing the old structure and not a single taxpayer dollar was used for renovations.  

“Basically, all the renovations that we’ve seen so far in the past year, have come from the community and not the shelter,” Re said.

The renovations funded by the community include playpens that were recently installed with money raised by Antonella Re and the nonprofit FOMA. Asked why the county set aside money for renovations in Medley but didn’t use it, the mayor says plans changed. 

“We don’t really want to maintain medley in the long term so we’re making sure that it’s safe clean habitable and the plan is not to rebuild the shelter,” said the mayor.

The county is working on sending some of the Medley dogs to other states where they have a better chance of being adopted and continue to promote local adoptions.

In the meantime, activists say they will continue fighting to improve conditions inside all the shelters citing a respiratory disease that spread among pets.

Activists also claim, despite having a “no kill” designation, many animals die in Miami-Dade shelters. Public records show at least 25 dogs were euthanized this past year after they were found to be aggressive or because they were sick. 

Pets like Chanel who was put up for adoption after her family surrendered her when they became homeless.

“I went and adopted her,” said Roger Amador an animal rights activist.

Amador says Chanel was friendly but before he could take her home, animal services said they had to spay her.

“I went to pick her up the next day she was so hurt she couldn’t get up out of her kennel when they tried to force her out they alleged that she growled and they labeled her dangerous and they euthanized her,” Amador said.

Director Annette Jose disputes Roger Amador’s story. She claims the dog had shown signs of aggression before. 

“The more we saw her around other dogs we realized she would not be a good candidate for adoption especially with someone that has dogs like Mr. Amador,” Jose said.

When asked if it was a mistake to let Amador adopt the dog Jose replied “That was a mistake yes.”

The director of Animal Services says they have a 93% save rate and only euthanize dogs that are aggressive, are in behavioral distress or are suffering from a medical condition that can’t be treated.

She agrees with activist that pets don’t belong in shelters, they belong in a loving home which is why she urges people to consider adopting a sheltered animal.

Engineers form the Chicago-based national engineering firm Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates were hired by the court-appointed receiver for the condo association to investigate the collapse.

Tuesday, they released a webinar on their website detailing their findings.

Matthew Fadden, a WJE associate principal in the firm’s Fort Lauderdale office, told the NBC6 Investigators the cause of the collapse could not be laid to one thing or person.

“No, no. There never is with anything like this, right?” he said.

The engineers agree with preliminary reports from federal investigators with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, who have cited several issues: flawed designs that overloaded certain areas of the structure; construction that did not meet building codes; additions and modifications to the building over its 40 years that made matters worse; and the degradation of certain critical areas.

And, like NIST, the WJE team focused on the pool deck that witnesses said was the first part of the building to fail, some seven to 12 minutes before the first part of the tower collapsed at 1:22 a.m. June 24, 2021.

But the exact location of the initial failure has yet to be determined by NIST, which is expected to take another year or more to issue its conclusion.

In its webinar, and in an interview with NBC6 Friday, Madden laid out his team’s best conclusion.

“There were punching shear failures in the pool deck,” he said, “and that pool deck then applied loads to the building that then collapsed the structure.”

To demonstrate how punching shear works, he placed a pen beneath a sheet of paper and pushed the paper down – as gravity and loads would exert forces on a slab of concrete – until the pen punched through the paper, as a concrete column would in a punching shear failure.

“Punching shear is a mechanism essentially where the deck would come down and the column punches through,” he said.

And it was such a failure on the west edge of the pool deck where they think that the first failure occurred, pointing to two columns specifically: L-13.1 and K-13.1.

“They’re both in the pool deck area and we have photos of both of those issues,” he said, pointing to a composite photo of L-13.1 taken in the parking garage on Nov. 13, 2020 – about seven months before the collapse.

“We see water coming in along the face of the column,” he said, “which is very indicative of punching shear related distress.”

And he displayed photos of planters on the west side of the pool deck taken just three weeks before the collapse showing large cracks in planters just west of the area supported by column L-13.1.

Beneath the planters was the area supported by K-13.1, “which is actually the most heavily loaded column we believe on that pool deck,” Fadden said. “K-13.1 and punching shear certainly is the mechanism that brought down the building. It is almost, you know, with very high certainty.”

There have been many theories about the triggering event thrown around since the collapse — everything from a heavy object falling from the roof onto the pool deck, to a car hitting a column in the garage, to corroded steel reinforcement breaking away from where the pool deck met the south retaining wall.

But, aside from NIST, Fadden and his colleagues – in the unique position of working for what remained of condo association itself — have been closest to the evidence that led to their conclusion as of now.

Fadden said, though, that they will await NIST’s final report before making any further, final determination.

But, in summarizing what they have determined, the webinar by Ladden and the firm’s executive vice president Gary Klein lays out this scenario:

Sometime between April 2020 (when a photo showed the planters appeared sound) and June 2021 (when the large cracks appeared), the pool deck slab beneath the planters began to bend, causing cracks in the area where the suspect columns met the pool deck.

Then, beginning around 1:10 a.m. the initial failure, likely at K-13.1, followed by nearby columns punching through the deck, causing a larger area of deck to cave in around 1:15 a.m.

The resulting loss of stability in the deck was so great, seven minutes later the towers to the north and east could no longer withstand the loads and forces and came crashing down.

From tragedies like this, engineers are hoping to learn, but Ladden also wants the public to know how rare they are.

“Nearly all buildings are extremely safe. Our safety factors are robust. Our designs are robust and it takes many more factors than just one typically to cause a failure like this,” he said.

Determining which entities were at fault and to what degree turned out to be legally unnecessary. Without admitting fault, dozens of actual and potential defendants in the ensuing lawsuits wound up settling for more than $1.1 billion in a deal reached almost exactly one year after the collapse.

“The other children that are along with my son in the same classroom, all of them have behavioral problems,” Vargas said.

The mother said her son was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, and oppositional defiant disorder, or ODD.

“Unfortunately, when he’s mad, sometimes he responds or he acts aggressively,” she said.

According to a report Vargas filed with Miami Dade Public Schools Police, that’s what happened in late March. Police said the teacher told them she “removed the boy’s desk because he was disrupting the class by tapping on the desk, and tilting the desk towards another student, and she felt it was a safety concern,” adding that she gave him a clipboard to continue his work. 

But according to a behavioral therapist assigned to the boy — who took a picture of the child and sent it to Vargas — the boy ended up kneeling on the floor and doing his work for at least three days because the teacher didn’t return the desk. 

In the report, police said the teacher told them the boy “got on his knees on his own and did his work.” Two witnesses told officers they did not hear the teacher tell him to do his work on the ground.

Police said the therapist told them the boy “was not comfortable doing his work on the clipboard, so he got on his knees.” The report concludes that “no injuries were reported.”  

“It is okay to remove the desk temporarily, but we would never suggest or for anyone to remove the desk completely,” said Mia Layman, a certified behavior analyst who supervises behavioral therapists in Broward schools. 

She doesn’t know what happened in this case in Miami-Dade but said generally, when a desk is taken away due to behavior problems, it’s usually returned the same day.  

“Let’s say the kid is shaking the desk, and won’t stop shaking it. We’d have removed the desk for a minute, and we’d ask them, are you all done shaking or make sure your hands are on the table? You know, we tell them what to do, what the expectation is, and then put the desk back,” Layman explained.

It’s unclear how many days Vargas’ son didn’t have a desk. The mother said it was for more than a week and the district said it was less than two class days. Over the phone, the therapist told NBC6 it was for at least three days. He doesn’t know when the desk was returned because he was removed from the school after he took the pictures, something that is not allowed. 

Nathalia said she reached out to NBC6 and Telemundo 51 in hopes she could have her children moved to another school.

“So I have to find out another school who has the same program that he is,” she said.

After NBC6 contacted them, the school district said they are finding a suitable school site for the student without sacrificing his development and will assist the family in transportation logistics. The district already contacted Vargas and she has submitted paperwork to make the change.  

The Miami-Dade school district, the mother, and the behavior analyst all agreed that working with children with emotional and behavior disorders is a challenge. After NBC6 contacted the school district about the incident, they launched an internal investigation that is ongoing.

James Dobson, 52, had been with the department for six years, the last four as chief, when he was fired in August 2020.

He filed suit the next month, claiming his firing was retaliation because he refused requests of elected and appointed leaders to discipline officers who “properly enforced the law against politically connected citizens and businesses.”

“I was fired because I would not allow political influence in the police department,” Dobson told NBC6 on Wednesday.

“The people in that city were amazing, meaning the citizens, the residents, the visitors,” Dobson said. “The political involvement of the commissioners or the elected officials – it created the problems in that city, wanting to control the police department and, by law, I would not allow that to occur.”

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One example cited in his lawsuit: Dobson was fired the day after an officer ticketed the cousin of ex-Mayor Matthew Pigatt for driving without a seat belt and violations involving her tag, registration and insurance.

That officer reported the cousin threatened him, saying, “She will have my badge.” But Dobson said he told the city manager at the time he would not discipline the officer.

Dobson was fired the next day in “direct retaliation for his protected activities,” his lawsuit stated.

A judge in October denied the city’s motion to have the case thrown out, saying there were disputes about facts that only a jury could decide.

Among the evidence Dobson’s attorney uncovered during the case, according to court pleadings: the city manager who fired him later said he was ordered to do so by the mayor, or the city manager would be fired instead.

Emails sent Wednesday morning to Opa-locka’s mayor and city manager seeking comment on the settlement have not been answered.

At the time, the city said Dobson was fired because an assessment of the department found “absent leadership, a scarcity of strategy and planning in guiding the department’s day-to-day operations, the increased crime rate and the overall lack of progress.”

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“That’s definitely not true,” Dobson countered. “We put plans in place where actually, crime was down and most of those issues were financial,” as the city had been placed under state oversight because of a raft of problems.

In settling the lawsuit, which sought more than $4 million in damages, the city did not admit the allegations made by Dobson and both sides agreed to pay their own attorneys’ fees and costs.

One of Dobson’s attorneys, Michael Pizzi, told NBC6 he sees the settlement as vindication for his client. 

“Today is a day when Chief Dobson has been completely, 100 percent exonerated. He got a check for half a million dollars. He was willing to risk his career and his livelihood to do things the right way and stand for the right things,” Pizzi said.

The settlement avoids a trial where, if Dobson prevailed on his whistleblower claim, a defense expert was prepared to testify he suffered lost wages and benefits of $1.4 million, had he remained chief until 2031.

Dobson said the payment, which court records indicate will come from the city’s insurers, “definitely helps,” but added, “I haven’t been able to get a job — not in the public sector, government, not in private sector. I know because of what occurred to me in that city is why I can’t get a job.”

A question that could only be answered by the Florida Supreme Court if a complaint ever rises to its level: Did Broward Circuit Judge Stefanie Moon violate judicial canons that forbid, among other things, “campaign activity” in courthouses during court hours?

Judges seeking reelection and their opponents fall under very strict rules about when and how they can campaign, and courthouse facilities are usually off limits.

While judges and candidates cannot directly solicit contributions to their campaigns, they are allowed to recruit a “committee of responsible persons” whose members may seek contributions and manage their expenditures, as well as gather public statements of support for the judge, according to the Florida canons that govern judicial conduct.

So Moon did nothing wrong when she called attorney Michael Jones from her personal cellphone on Friday, Jan. 19, after courthouse hours and left a voicemail saying: “This is Judge Stefanie Moon. I hope you are well. I’m reaching out because I’m putting together my reelection committee and I was wondering if you would agree to serve. If you would kindly return my call, I’d greatly appreciate it.”

But Jones did not return her call.

“I didn’t have that kind of relationship with Judge Moon and I supported (her opponent) Johnny Weekes,” a longtime friend, Jones said in an interview.

So he never responded to Moon – until, a month later, when Moon raised the subject in her courtroom after she dismissed a restraining order case at Jones’ client’s request.

A court reporter’s audio recording of that Feb. 23 proceeding reveals typical exchanges among the judge, lawyers and parties. The legal discussion ends after Judge Moon says, “The matter is hereby dismissed. I wish you health and safety. Have a good day.”

Then her attention turned to Jones.

“Mr. Jones.”

“Yes, judge,” Jones replied.

“I left you a message,” the judge states, just before the audio recording ends.

Jones recounted to NBC6 what he said happened next.

“I said, ‘Yes, judge. You did.’ And she asked me why I didn’t return the court’s call. I hesitated and I said, ‘I’d be happy to explain why I didn’t return the court’s call if we can go sidebar,'” the place in the courtroom where the judge can speak with lawyers without others in the courtroom hearing them. “And she paused as I started to approach. She said, ‘No. Not at this time. That won’t be necessary.'”

NBC6 reached out to Judge Moon for her account of what was said after the recording stopped — offering to follow-up with her after hours when she was outside of the courthouse — but she said she would have no comment and would not address further questions.

Jones said the exchange left him intimidated and “uncomfortable. Extremely uncomfortable,” so much so he vowed to ask her to recuse herself from any future cases he may have before her.

“Not returning a judge’s call who directly looks for your help puts me in a bad situation,” Jones said.

A question not clearly answered by a review of the judicial canons and advice from the committee that seeks to explain them: was Judge Moon in violation for not refraining from “inappropriate political activity.”

The committee has previously advised judges should “strive to arrange campaign activities to be conducted outside regular courthouse hours.”

While it doesn’t clearly define all “campaign activities,” Jones has his opinion:
“Yeah, I would call that a campaign activity. I don’t know how else you can look at it,” Jones said.

The committee also advised judges not “take a cavalier attitude towards the use of judicial facilities” and Jones noted Moon was in her courtroom when she inquired about his not returning the political call.

But two lawyers who did join Moon’s committee told NBC6 they doubt she would cross the line.

“Judge Moon is one of the most ethical, methodical, thorough judges I’ve ever appeared in front of. Everything in her courtroom is by the book,” said attorney Valerie Small-Williams, adding, “I don’t think her intent was to violate anything.”

Moon, a lawyer for 30 years, has been assigned to family court since she was first elected to a six-year term in 2018 after handling both civil and criminal cases as an assistant US attorney and in private practice.

NBC6 spoke to lawyers or reviewed records showing others have had issues with Moon.

One successfully moved for her disqualification after Moon on her own outside of court called and questioned a mental health counselor for a man accused of stalking before that counselor could testify in her court, according to court filings.

Another lawyer repeatedly appeared before Moon to get an injunction dismissed because Moon had ruled against a client who had to appear without his lawyer present, court records show.

The lawyer said she informed Moon’s office she needed to be in a criminal courtroom at that time for what turned out to be the reading of a multi-defendant murder verdict. But Moon proceeded with the case despite her unavoidable absence, ruling against her client, the case file shows.

Weekes said he decided to run against Moon last fall after she declined to postpone an early Monday morning hearing for a half day or more so he could fly back from a weekend lacrosse tournament with his teenage son.

They skipped the lacrosse trip.

“She wanted me in that courtroom, and I was there,” he told NBC6. “And she wasn’t. She, in fact, didn’t show up until around 11 o’clock.”

He and Jones, who also had a hearing in her courtroom that morning, said they were told by Moon’s assistant that the judge was delayed by her own weekend travels.

Weekes said his concerns about her go beyond just the scheduling issue.

“The candor, the respect that’s in that courtroom just is not there. And I thought Broward County needed something different,” he said.

Weekes also must be careful how he campaigns, as the Supreme Court has ruled judicial candidates cannot “knowingly misrepresent a fact about an opponent.”

“I believe I’m under constraints, but at the same time I’m allowed to tell the truth,” Weekes said. “I’m allowed to say how she’s affected my perception of the bench and things that I’ve seen.”

The non-partisan judicial election is set for primary Election Day, August 20.

“We had at the time of the eviction around 35 employees…most of them from Little Haiti or from Hialeah,” says Jose Molina, one of the owners of Pastry Express.

Workers he says were left unemployed August of 2022 when the City of Miami evicted them after deeming the building an unsafe structure.  

“Typically if a landlord wants to repurpose the property they’ll negotiate with the tenant and compensate them for the value of their lease,” says Attorney Robert Stok, who represents Grupo Sur, the owners of Pastry Express.

In a lawsuit, Grupo Sur alleges their landlord, LRMF abused the 40-year recertification process to evict them, years before their lease was up.

“In my opinion they manufactured the whole situation. It all started with a certification that was upon them to comply with. It had been expired for 10 years. They never did anything about it one day they decided that it was all about getting that done,” says Raul Ortiz de la Renta, the other owner of Pastry Express.

The lawsuit claims LRMF hired the engineering firm Plaza and Associates to inspect the building with the pretext of getting the 40-year recertification but instead of making any necessary repairs, that firm handed the city of Miami a report deeming the building unsafe which prompted the eviction.  

“They used the lack of compliance in their favor to get the tenant out,” says Molina.

In a motion, Grupo Sur cites an internal memo where a vice-president of LRMF’s parent company writes in May of 2022, “How are we looking at Grupo Sur? Sounded like there might be a strategy to get them out.”

Get them out to make way for a neighborhood development project they now tout on their website…project that according to the lawsuit doesn’t “jibe” with the operation of the “industrial factory and bakery business.”

“In the process we found out that they hired an engineering firm…they did it with the intention of tailoring the report they were going to produce to their liking,” says Ortiz de la Renta.

In court records Grupo Sur alleges “LRMF discussed in internal memos it felt confident they could control (William) Plaza and his team to provide them the exact report they needed for Grupo.”

“We saw a clear indication that the landlord felt that they could control the engineering firm,” says Attorney Robert Stok.In an email, the owner of that engineering firm told us “Due to this being a pending legal matter, we hereby decline to comment on your story.”

But in court records, they denied the allegations.

After that firm deemed the building unsafe, Grupo Sur hired another engineering firm who concluded “… the building could have and should have been able to remain occupied while specific repairs were made to comply with the 40-year inspection certification” but they say they were never able to return to the building, not even to retrieve their equipment.

The owners of Grupo Sur say they are not anti-development, they just feel the way they were removed was wrong and it destroyed a family business that took them 19 years to build.

Attorneys for LRMF declined to comment, but in court they denied allegations of breach of contract and conspiring to evict their tenant.

Fernando Porras, assistant special agent in charge with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’, Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG) says the practice of skipping your HIV meds to sell them is dangerous.  “Their viral levels could increase, and they could potentially infect a partner or the population…And for patients that consume medications that were stored under perhaps not the best of conditions, it may affect the quality of the medication,” says Porras.

HHS OIG says drug diversion is just one of the ways criminals steal billions of dollars from Medicare each year. “Unfortunately South Florida is the epicenter of Medicare fraud,” states Porras.

Drug Diversion Works like this:  A patient picks up a prescription valued at thousands of dollars and sells it to an aggregator for a fraction of the price. The buyer, known as an aggregator, removes the label and sells it to a wholesaler who then sells it back to a pharmacy at a discount. “A pharmacy could easily bill the Medicare program two and three million dollars doing this scheme,” Porras says.

The family from the video was found guilty and served 2-to-3-year prison sentences for Defrauding the United States and Engaging in the Unlicensed Distribution of Prescription Drugs.

In another case, Lázaro Hernández pleaded guilty to running an elaborate scheme to distribute more than $230 million dollars’ worth of adulterated and misbranded prescription drugs and sentenced to 15 years behind bars. “Weoften hear about providers, owners of clinics or medical facilities being arrested or indicted. And unfortunately, we’ve arrested a lot of doctors as well…but it’s not uncommon for us to arrest beneficiaries as well for being on the take,” says Porras.

HHS OIG stresses it’s important to be on the lookout for these types of schemes.  The fraud usually happens when someone bills Medicare for unnecessary equipment, treatments, or prescription drugs.  It can also happen when someone offers to pay a Medicare beneficiary to enroll in a program or treatment they don’t need or calls them claiming they are from Medicare and want to send them a free genetic test.

To combat Medicare fraud, HHS OIG asks beneficiaries to be thorough. “We ask them to review their explanation of benefits, although it says it’s not a bill, it potentially could indicate whether there’s fraudulent activity in their account,” Porras explains. He says if you see fraudulent activity, you should report it to Medicare immediately and if you’re having a hard time reading that document, you can ask it be sent in your language or in bigger font. 

Among the complaints: uncollected trash piling up in bins and inside the building’s trash chutes.

“If you went to throw out your trash on the ninth floor, you would open the box and bags of garbage would come out,” said owner Frankie Trullenque.

He and other residents filed a lawsuit in November, claiming the association’s board of directors took their assigned parking spots and tried to charge people for access to convenient spaces.

“One day somebody calls me from downstairs telling me that my car is being towed,” said resident Aleksej Nikitins.

“He towed 20 cars in one day”, said Moredechai Zarger who owns six units at the building.

“They wanted to reassign the parking, but not only reassign the parking, but also charge for that parking,” Trullenque explained.

In their complaint, the owners claimed the association “contrived a plan to sell or lease spaces… Offering spaces at a premium price based on location and leasing spaces close to entrances or exits to the highest bidder.”

It’s something those owners say violated the association’s bylaws.

Fliers posted around the property advertised different payment plans to bid on parking spaces or pay a specific monthly for a space close to the building’s entrance. Records provided to NBC6 show several residents paid hundreds of dollars to the association in an effort to secure a space.

“One night at three in the morning, I came home and there were maybe nine, 10 tow trucks,” Trullenque added. “I call it the tow truck massacre.”

The residents reached out to NBC6 after filing the lawsuit and several complaints with Florida’s Department of Business and Professional, or DBPR, the state agency that oversees condo communities. 

 “We have been pretty much battling for over seven, eight months,” Trullenque said.

Owners pointed out where the numbers on assigned parking spots had even been painted over when NBC6 visited the condominium.

Nikitins said his spot was reassigned to another unit, but he was never given a new one.

“It’s been parked on the street, wherever I can find a spot,” he said.

That was until an order from a Miami-Dade judge required the association to return spots to previous owners and stop towing on the property.

“The Defendant is hereby ordered to take any and all necessary actions to revert the parking lot to the way it appeared when parking spots were last assigned,” adding, “There shall be no towing permitted on Defendant’s property, for any reason…”

The conflict between some of the board members and owners was on display when NBC6 Investigators visited the property seeking answers in late April.

The board secretary at the time, Janvier Villars spoke with NBC6 about the parking dispute. “The assigned space is not theirs,” he said. “That means if the association needs more funds, the association has the right to collect.”

According to Villars, they did collect thousands in just over a week. “About $28,000,” he said, was brought in over eleven days from the paid parking revenue.

He says owners voted for the change, which included turning several assigned spaces into guest spots and putting up pay parking signs. Money, he said, went to the association.

He filed forms in court, which he says were signed by homeowners in support of the parking change. The forms, titled “A New Path,” proposed commercializing the association in order to avoid paying special assessments. One line mentions bidding for extra parking but there is no mention of giving up assigned spaces.

A QR code on the form leads to a website for something called “POWER”, which stands for Property Owners Wanting Equal Rights. It’s a for-profit entity created by Villars to monetize condo resources. But in one motion, some owners claimed Villars created POWER to funnel money from the parking payments to himself. Villars told NBC6 Power’s profits would go toward administrative and legal costs to fight corruption.

NBC6 asked the DBPR about this case and if board members are allowed to create a separate company getting money from the association’s funds. They have not yet responded. Under Florida law, board members should serve without compensation, unless the association’s bylaws say otherwise.  

On April 24, a judge ordered the community to hold an election supervised by an outside monitor. Villars and other board members were voted out to cheers from several owners gathered to hear the results.

Trullenque was elected as the new president. But videos from that night show a chaotic scene, a locksmith was called in to get into the office, with Villars still inside.

An attorney for Villars told NBC6 Investigators they contest the circumstances surrounding the election.
“Each step of the way, there’s been nothing but hurdles,” Trullenque explained.

He said this case shows there’s not enough protection for homeowners, despite recent reforms.

 “There seems to be a disconnect between the laws that we’ve created and the actual application of those laws. And the enforcement of those laws,” he said.

As for the trash troubles, Villars said that was due to switching providers, but the new board said that never happened. They shared an invoice showing a past-due balance of nearly $18,000 for trash services.

As for the rest of the funds from the association, the new members of the board said they are now trying to determine where the money is and how it has been spent.

It started when Antonella Re, a Medley shelter volunteer, shared a video on social media in May calling for help keeping the dogs cool.

“That video went viral, luckily, and we got a lot of support from the community,” Re said.

Soon, the community starting donating items to help the dogs, including several commercial fans donated by the company Big Ass Fans. 

At the time, volunteers and activists asked the county to hold weekly adoption events at Medley to help clear it out. They did but didn’t get the results they wanted. 

“We only had four adoptions this past month out of Medley,” says Miami-Dade Animal Services Director Annette Jose.

Though Medley was meant to be a temporary shelter, in her current budget, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava set aside $77,000 to repair and renovate the facility this year but NBC6 found almost all that money went into repairing the old structure and not a single taxpayer dollar was used for renovations.  

“Basically, all the renovations that we’ve seen so far in the past year, have come from the community and not the shelter,” Re said.

The renovations funded by the community include playpens that were recently installed with money raised by Antonella Re and the nonprofit FOMA. Asked why the county set aside money for renovations in Medley but didn’t use it, the mayor says plans changed. 

“We don’t really want to maintain medley in the long term so we’re making sure that it’s safe clean habitable and the plan is not to rebuild the shelter,” said the mayor.

The county is working on sending some of the Medley dogs to other states where they have a better chance of being adopted and continue to promote local adoptions.

In the meantime, activists say they will continue fighting to improve conditions inside all the shelters citing a respiratory disease that spread among pets.

Activists also claim, despite having a “no kill” designation, many animals die in Miami-Dade shelters. Public records show at least 25 dogs were euthanized this past year after they were found to be aggressive or because they were sick. 

Pets like Chanel who was put up for adoption after her family surrendered her when they became homeless.

“I went and adopted her,” said Roger Amador an animal rights activist.

Amador says Chanel was friendly but before he could take her home, animal services said they had to spay her.

“I went to pick her up the next day she was so hurt she couldn’t get up out of her kennel when they tried to force her out they alleged that she growled and they labeled her dangerous and they euthanized her,” Amador said.

Director Annette Jose disputes Roger Amador’s story. She claims the dog had shown signs of aggression before. 

“The more we saw her around other dogs we realized she would not be a good candidate for adoption especially with someone that has dogs like Mr. Amador,” Jose said.

When asked if it was a mistake to let Amador adopt the dog Jose replied “That was a mistake yes.”

The director of Animal Services says they have a 93% save rate and only euthanize dogs that are aggressive, are in behavioral distress or are suffering from a medical condition that can’t be treated.

She agrees with activist that pets don’t belong in shelters, they belong in a loving home which is why she urges people to consider adopting a sheltered animal.

It started when Antonella Re, a Medley shelter volunteer, shared a video on social media in May calling for help keeping the dogs cool.

“That video went viral, luckily, and we got a lot of support from the community,” Re said.

Soon, the community starting donating items to help the dogs, including several commercial fans donated by the company Big Ass Fans. 

At the time, volunteers and activists asked the county to hold weekly adoption events at Medley to help clear it out. They did but didn’t get the results they wanted. 

“We only had four adoptions this past month out of Medley,” says Miami-Dade Animal Services Director Annette Jose.

Though Medley was meant to be a temporary shelter, in her current budget, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava set aside $77,000 to repair and renovate the facility this year but NBC6 found almost all that money went into repairing the old structure and not a single taxpayer dollar was used for renovations.  

“Basically, all the renovations that we’ve seen so far in the past year, have come from the community and not the shelter,” Re said.

The renovations funded by the community include playpens that were recently installed with money raised by Antonella Re and the nonprofit FOMA. Asked why the county set aside money for renovations in Medley but didn’t use it, the mayor says plans changed. 

“We don’t really want to maintain medley in the long term so we’re making sure that it’s safe clean habitable and the plan is not to rebuild the shelter,” said the mayor.

The county is working on sending some of the Medley dogs to other states where they have a better chance of being adopted and continue to promote local adoptions.

In the meantime, activists say they will continue fighting to improve conditions inside all the shelters citing a respiratory disease that spread among pets.

Activists also claim, despite having a “no kill” designation, many animals die in Miami-Dade shelters. Public records show at least 25 dogs were euthanized this past year after they were found to be aggressive or because they were sick. 

Pets like Chanel who was put up for adoption after her family surrendered her when they became homeless.

“I went and adopted her,” said Roger Amador an animal rights activist.

Amador says Chanel was friendly but before he could take her home, animal services said they had to spay her.

“I went to pick her up the next day she was so hurt she couldn’t get up out of her kennel when they tried to force her out they alleged that she growled and they labeled her dangerous and they euthanized her,” Amador said.

Director Annette Jose disputes Roger Amador’s story. She claims the dog had shown signs of aggression before. 

“The more we saw her around other dogs we realized she would not be a good candidate for adoption especially with someone that has dogs like Mr. Amador,” Jose said.

When asked if it was a mistake to let Amador adopt the dog Jose replied “That was a mistake yes.”

The director of Animal Services says they have a 93% save rate and only euthanize dogs that are aggressive, are in behavioral distress or are suffering from a medical condition that can’t be treated.

She agrees with activist that pets don’t belong in shelters, they belong in a loving home which is why she urges people to consider adopting a sheltered animal.

It started when Antonella Re, a Medley shelter volunteer, shared a video on social media in May calling for help keeping the dogs cool.

“That video went viral, luckily, and we got a lot of support from the community,” Re said.

Soon, the community starting donating items to help the dogs, including several commercial fans donated by the company Big Ass Fans. 

At the time, volunteers and activists asked the county to hold weekly adoption events at Medley to help clear it out. They did but didn’t get the results they wanted. 

“We only had four adoptions this past month out of Medley,” says Miami-Dade Animal Services Director Annette Jose.

Though Medley was meant to be a temporary shelter, in her current budget, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava set aside $77,000 to repair and renovate the facility this year but NBC6 found almost all that money went into repairing the old structure and not a single taxpayer dollar was used for renovations.  

“Basically, all the renovations that we’ve seen so far in the past year, have come from the community and not the shelter,” Re said.

The renovations funded by the community include playpens that were recently installed with money raised by Antonella Re and the nonprofit FOMA. Asked why the county set aside money for renovations in Medley but didn’t use it, the mayor says plans changed. 

“We don’t really want to maintain medley in the long term so we’re making sure that it’s safe clean habitable and the plan is not to rebuild the shelter,” said the mayor.

The county is working on sending some of the Medley dogs to other states where they have a better chance of being adopted and continue to promote local adoptions.

In the meantime, activists say they will continue fighting to improve conditions inside all the shelters citing a respiratory disease that spread among pets.

Activists also claim, despite having a “no kill” designation, many animals die in Miami-Dade shelters. Public records show at least 25 dogs were euthanized this past year after they were found to be aggressive or because they were sick. 

Pets like Chanel who was put up for adoption after her family surrendered her when they became homeless.

“I went and adopted her,” said Roger Amador an animal rights activist.

Amador says Chanel was friendly but before he could take her home, animal services said they had to spay her.

“I went to pick her up the next day she was so hurt she couldn’t get up out of her kennel when they tried to force her out they alleged that she growled and they labeled her dangerous and they euthanized her,” Amador said.

Director Annette Jose disputes Roger Amador’s story. She claims the dog had shown signs of aggression before. 

“The more we saw her around other dogs we realized she would not be a good candidate for adoption especially with someone that has dogs like Mr. Amador,” Jose said.

When asked if it was a mistake to let Amador adopt the dog Jose replied “That was a mistake yes.”

The director of Animal Services says they have a 93% save rate and only euthanize dogs that are aggressive, are in behavioral distress or are suffering from a medical condition that can’t be treated.

She agrees with activist that pets don’t belong in shelters, they belong in a loving home which is why she urges people to consider adopting a sheltered animal.

It started when Antonella Re, a Medley shelter volunteer, shared a video on social media in May calling for help keeping the dogs cool.

“That video went viral, luckily, and we got a lot of support from the community,” Re said.

Soon, the community starting donating items to help the dogs, including several commercial fans donated by the company Big Ass Fans. 

At the time, volunteers and activists asked the county to hold weekly adoption events at Medley to help clear it out. They did but didn’t get the results they wanted. 

“We only had four adoptions this past month out of Medley,” says Miami-Dade Animal Services Director Annette Jose.

Though Medley was meant to be a temporary shelter, in her current budget, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava set aside $77,000 to repair and renovate the facility this year but NBC6 found almost all that money went into repairing the old structure and not a single taxpayer dollar was used for renovations.  

“Basically, all the renovations that we’ve seen so far in the past year, have come from the community and not the shelter,” Re said.

The renovations funded by the community include playpens that were recently installed with money raised by Antonella Re and the nonprofit FOMA. Asked why the county set aside money for renovations in Medley but didn’t use it, the mayor says plans changed. 

“We don’t really want to maintain medley in the long term so we’re making sure that it’s safe clean habitable and the plan is not to rebuild the shelter,” said the mayor.

The county is working on sending some of the Medley dogs to other states where they have a better chance of being adopted and continue to promote local adoptions.

In the meantime, activists say they will continue fighting to improve conditions inside all the shelters citing a respiratory disease that spread among pets.

Activists also claim, despite having a “no kill” designation, many animals die in Miami-Dade shelters. Public records show at least 25 dogs were euthanized this past year after they were found to be aggressive or because they were sick. 

Pets like Chanel who was put up for adoption after her family surrendered her when they became homeless.

“I went and adopted her,” said Roger Amador an animal rights activist.

Amador says Chanel was friendly but before he could take her home, animal services said they had to spay her.

“I went to pick her up the next day she was so hurt she couldn’t get up out of her kennel when they tried to force her out they alleged that she growled and they labeled her dangerous and they euthanized her,” Amador said.

Director Annette Jose disputes Roger Amador’s story. She claims the dog had shown signs of aggression before. 

“The more we saw her around other dogs we realized she would not be a good candidate for adoption especially with someone that has dogs like Mr. Amador,” Jose said.

When asked if it was a mistake to let Amador adopt the dog Jose replied “That was a mistake yes.”

The director of Animal Services says they have a 93% save rate and only euthanize dogs that are aggressive, are in behavioral distress or are suffering from a medical condition that can’t be treated.

She agrees with activist that pets don’t belong in shelters, they belong in a loving home which is why she urges people to consider adopting a sheltered animal.

“I started to get notifications that someone tried to log into my account, that my password had been changed,” he said. 

The Chatsworth man tried to call the bank, but he had no signal. 

“Why’s my phone not working? What happened? I don’t know,” he said.

When Drobman got to a phone to call Bank of America, a chunk of money was gone from his account. 

“They go, ‘They’ve already withdrawn $21,000 from your account.’ Are you kidding me? That’s half of my bank account,” he said. 

Here’s what likely happened: It’s called SIM swapping. A crook got a hold of Drobman’s personal information, like his name, address and cell number, and convinced Drobman’s cellphone company, Spectrum, to transfer his cellphone number to a new phone. The crook then had access to Drobman’s text messages and used text message two-factor authentication to get into Drobman’s bank account and steal his money. 

“So the text message went not to my phone, but their phone. So by hijacking my phone, they intercept my text back codes,” he said.

According to the FBI’s most recent data, victims lost more than $68 million to this scam in 2021, five times more than in years past. 

Cybersecurity expert Stan Stahl is trying to bring those numbers down. He founded Secure the Village, a nonprofit dedicated to educating people about cybersecurity.

He says what happened to Drobman can happen to you. 

“Jeff was not specifically targeted because he was Jeff. He may have been specifically targeted because they ran across his information. But that could happen to any of us,” said Stahl. 

Stahl largely blames Spectrum for its lack of security. He says they made it too easy for crooks to steal Drobman’s cellphone number. 

“So Spectrum wants to make it as easy as possible for people to go buy a new phone. But in thinking about that, Spectrum, and every company like them, has to think about the risk side of the equation,” he said.

Stahl said all wireless companies should require customers to have a personal identification number (PIN) that they must use to make any account changes. 

A trade group for wireless providers agrees. 

Spectrum told the I-Team it recently started requiring PINs for number transfers, but it wouldn’t comment on how crooks bypassed this to steal Drobman’s number. 

“Our mobile carriers have to be called on the carpet for that, they’ve got to fix that. They can’t just transfer phone numbers because somebody asked you to,” said Drobman.

On the banking side of this scam, Stahl said text codes for two-factor authentication aren’t safe either. He said banks should instead use face recognition or an authentication app.

But the banking industry defends text back codes. Bank of America pointed us to a banking trade group for comment. The American Bankers Association said the industry invests billions of dollars in cybersecurity, and text back codes provide a significant defense against account takeover. 

Drobman doesn’t buy it. 

“I want to get the word out that text back codes are not safe,” he said. 

After the I-Team reached out to Bank of America about Drobman’s case, it put $21,000 — the amount stolen from him — back into his account. In a statement, it said it takes identity theft seriously. 

Drobman believes he’s now as secure as he can be. But he’s disappointed that these two companies both failed to keep his money and identity safe. 

Tips to keep your money safe:

• Create a PIN with your wireless carrier.
• If your bank allows it, use facial recognition, instead of two-factor authentication, to make account changes.
• If you unexpectedly lose your cellphone signal, contact your carrier right away to make sure your number hasn’t been hacked.

It started when Antonella Re, a Medley shelter volunteer, shared a video on social media in May calling for help keeping the dogs cool.

“That video went viral, luckily, and we got a lot of support from the community,” Re said.

Soon, the community starting donating items to help the dogs, including several commercial fans donated by the company Big Ass Fans. 

At the time, volunteers and activists asked the county to hold weekly adoption events at Medley to help clear it out. They did but didn’t get the results they wanted. 

“We only had four adoptions this past month out of Medley,” says Miami-Dade Animal Services Director Annette Jose.

Though Medley was meant to be a temporary shelter, in her current budget, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava set aside $77,000 to repair and renovate the facility this year but NBC6 found almost all that money went into repairing the old structure and not a single taxpayer dollar was used for renovations.  

“Basically, all the renovations that we’ve seen so far in the past year, have come from the community and not the shelter,” Re said.

The renovations funded by the community include playpens that were recently installed with money raised by Antonella Re and the nonprofit FOMA. Asked why the county set aside money for renovations in Medley but didn’t use it, the mayor says plans changed. 

“We don’t really want to maintain medley in the long term so we’re making sure that it’s safe clean habitable and the plan is not to rebuild the shelter,” said the mayor.

The county is working on sending some of the Medley dogs to other states where they have a better chance of being adopted and continue to promote local adoptions.

In the meantime, activists say they will continue fighting to improve conditions inside all the shelters citing a respiratory disease that spread among pets.

Activists also claim, despite having a “no kill” designation, many animals die in Miami-Dade shelters. Public records show at least 25 dogs were euthanized this past year after they were found to be aggressive or because they were sick. 

Pets like Chanel who was put up for adoption after her family surrendered her when they became homeless.

“I went and adopted her,” said Roger Amador an animal rights activist.

Amador says Chanel was friendly but before he could take her home, animal services said they had to spay her.

“I went to pick her up the next day she was so hurt she couldn’t get up out of her kennel when they tried to force her out they alleged that she growled and they labeled her dangerous and they euthanized her,” Amador said.

Director Annette Jose disputes Roger Amador’s story. She claims the dog had shown signs of aggression before. 

“The more we saw her around other dogs we realized she would not be a good candidate for adoption especially with someone that has dogs like Mr. Amador,” Jose said.

When asked if it was a mistake to let Amador adopt the dog Jose replied “That was a mistake yes.”

The director of Animal Services says they have a 93% save rate and only euthanize dogs that are aggressive, are in behavioral distress or are suffering from a medical condition that can’t be treated.

She agrees with activist that pets don’t belong in shelters, they belong in a loving home which is why she urges people to consider adopting a sheltered animal.

The NBC6 Investigators found the at-fault driver who they suspected was under the influence was Willy Knapp, a prominent Miami-Dade police officer himself, husband of a police major and brother of Mario Knapp, a candidate for sheriff.

And while the crash occurred more than 18 months ago, the department has still not released the crash report or other records requested by the NBC6 Investigators in December.

For months, the department said a related internal investigation was ongoing and withheld the responding officer’s body-worn camera video.

The video was released last month, on the morning after NBC6 visited the MDPD Professional Compliance Bureau, which conducts internal investigations, and questioned how long it was taking them to investigate the matter.

While MDPD has yet to release any other record, the responding officer Anthony Santillan’s body-worn camera confirms what the driver of the car and his mother told NBC6 about their encounter with police.

At 11:47 p.m. on Oct. 1, 2022, it shows Santillan pulling up to the rear-end crash on SW 216th Street, where he was greeted with a fist bump by a then-police recruit who drove to the scene to retrieve Knapp.

“Everybody’s good,” the recruit said. “I’m going to take him home because he’s a little shaken up.”

“Is he alright?” Santillan asked.

“He’s okay,” the recruit responded.

The pair then walked up toward and past Knapp, who, assigned to the department’s training bureau, had been one of the recruit’s instructors.

“How’s it going?” Santillan asked Knapp.

“What’s up, my brother. How are you?” replied Knapp, still wearing the jersey from that morning’s charity softball event for a fallen colleague, Det. Cesar Echaverry.

On the back of the jersey, the last name of Knapp’s wife, Major Vanessa Holden-Knapp; on the front, the name of the police district she commands, the Hammocks.

After softball, the couple, the recruit and others spent a few hours at the Tap 42 bar and restaurant in Kendall, according to a source who was there that night.

But the couple split up and as midnight approached, Willy Knapp rear-ended a 2010 Lexus IS3 whose 16-year-old driver was stopped in line at the red light at SW 112th Avenue.

Santillan asked if the woman standing by the Lexus was in the car.

“No. He was in this car,” said Juliet Samalot, pointing to her son, RJ. “I’m his mom. I showed up after the fact.”

Samalot had summoned RJ from their home to pick her up at a friend’s house nearby.

Instead, she got a call parents dread.

“He had just been driving all of 30 days,” Samalot told NBC6. “And it was like, ‘Mom, I just got in a car accident.’ It’s like, the worst, like, one of the top 10 worst phrases.”

There were no injuries or major damage.

But first RJ and later his mom said they sensed something wrong with Officer Willy Knapp.

RJ said Knapp offered him cash for the damage if he did not call police, a request Samalot said RJ relayed to her by phone while she was still at her friend’s house.

Then, as Samalot told the investigating officer almost immediately, “My concern really is that he’s under the influence. And it’s very obvious.”

“Yeah, he can’t even stand straight,” added RJ, who later told NBC6, “There was one point where he actually fell on me.”

Samalot recalled, “He couldn’t stand straight. He kept doing the swaying thing. And then he was waving his arms and dropping his phone everywhere. At one point, his phone, like, he swung his arm, and his phone went, like, literally flying.”

But Santillan’s body-worn camera does not record him saying anything in response to Samalot and RJ’s complaint that Knapp was under the influence.

After a friend of Samalot’s on scene said she just wants to make sure Knapp gets home safely, Santillan does say, “Okay. Yeah. I’ll make sure. I’ll double-check.”

But when Santillan first walks back toward his patrol car past Knapp’s 2022 Jeep – bearing a tag that, the crash report states, expired five months earlier – he walks on the passenger’s side, while Knapp remained outside the driver’s side door.

Though Santillan was told twice those on scene felt Knapp was intoxicated, his body cam does not show him talking to Knapp again during the remainder of the 15-minute crash investigation.

When he submitted his report, it said no alcohol use was suspected.

The lesson RJ said he takes away from all this: “There’s a lot of power differential. One, I’m a minor, and he’s a grown man, and he’s a cop and I’m just another person.”

Asked what he thinks may have happened if the roles were reversed, and he had rear-ended a police officer under similar circumstances?

“Yeah, I definitely would have lost my license, gone to jail,” he said.

Santillan concluded Knapp was at fault for following too closely but did not cite him for that or for having an expired tag.

Without a DUI investigation, there’s no proof of whether or not Knapp was in fact impaired.

He was driven home from the scene in his SUV by the recruit, alleviating a concern the video suggests Santillan harbored as he returned Knapp’s license and a copy of a crash record to the recruit.

“Good to go?” the recruit asked Santillan as he took the license and crash record.

“Yeah. Who’s going to take this one?” Santillan asked, referring in the direction of Knapp and the Jeep, “or you gonna need a ride?”

“I got it,” the recruit replied.

Santillan: “You got it? … Okay.”

“Thank you,” the recruit said.

“No problem,” Santillan replied.

NBC6’s requests to interview Santillan and Knapp, relayed through an MDPD public information officer,  have not received a response.

Still unknown: what discipline, if any, resulted from this.

The department says it’s still processing our months-old request for records involving a crash that happened more than 18 months ago.

It started when Antonella Re, a Medley shelter volunteer, shared a video on social media in May calling for help keeping the dogs cool.

“That video went viral, luckily, and we got a lot of support from the community,” Re said.

Soon, the community starting donating items to help the dogs, including several commercial fans donated by the company Big Ass Fans. 

At the time, volunteers and activists asked the county to hold weekly adoption events at Medley to help clear it out. They did but didn’t get the results they wanted. 

“We only had four adoptions this past month out of Medley,” says Miami-Dade Animal Services Director Annette Jose.

Though Medley was meant to be a temporary shelter, in her current budget, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava set aside $77,000 to repair and renovate the facility this year but NBC6 found almost all that money went into repairing the old structure and not a single taxpayer dollar was used for renovations.  

“Basically, all the renovations that we’ve seen so far in the past year, have come from the community and not the shelter,” Re said.

The renovations funded by the community include playpens that were recently installed with money raised by Antonella Re and the nonprofit FOMA. Asked why the county set aside money for renovations in Medley but didn’t use it, the mayor says plans changed. 

“We don’t really want to maintain medley in the long term so we’re making sure that it’s safe clean habitable and the plan is not to rebuild the shelter,” said the mayor.

The county is working on sending some of the Medley dogs to other states where they have a better chance of being adopted and continue to promote local adoptions.

In the meantime, activists say they will continue fighting to improve conditions inside all the shelters citing a respiratory disease that spread among pets.

Activists also claim, despite having a “no kill” designation, many animals die in Miami-Dade shelters. Public records show at least 25 dogs were euthanized this past year after they were found to be aggressive or because they were sick. 

Pets like Chanel who was put up for adoption after her family surrendered her when they became homeless.

“I went and adopted her,” said Roger Amador an animal rights activist.

Amador says Chanel was friendly but before he could take her home, animal services said they had to spay her.

“I went to pick her up the next day she was so hurt she couldn’t get up out of her kennel when they tried to force her out they alleged that she growled and they labeled her dangerous and they euthanized her,” Amador said.

Director Annette Jose disputes Roger Amador’s story. She claims the dog had shown signs of aggression before. 

“The more we saw her around other dogs we realized she would not be a good candidate for adoption especially with someone that has dogs like Mr. Amador,” Jose said.

When asked if it was a mistake to let Amador adopt the dog Jose replied “That was a mistake yes.”

The director of Animal Services says they have a 93% save rate and only euthanize dogs that are aggressive, are in behavioral distress or are suffering from a medical condition that can’t be treated.

She agrees with activist that pets don’t belong in shelters, they belong in a loving home which is why she urges people to consider adopting a sheltered animal.

“Like many folks across the country come to Florida and seek to have these plastic surgery procedures,” said Stephen Cain, a partner with the law firm Stewart Tilghman Fox Bianchi & Cain, who is representing Russell’s family.

Russell had the popular plastic surgery at Seduction Cosmetic Center on SW 8th Street.  State records show her surgeon, Dr. John Sampson, entered the operating room at about 6:32 that morning and performed six other surgeries before Russell’s procedure, which began at about 8:31 in the evening.

“By the time he got around to our client, after 8:30 at night, he was now on his seventh procedure of the day,” Cain said.

According to her autopsy, Russell died of fat emboli and internal bleeding after the doctor perforated organs during the liposuction portion of the surgery and then injected fat too deep into her buttocks, hitting the muscle — something that is prohibited by law because it has been shown to be the cause of most BBL deaths.

“She effectively bled to death along with having this emboli, this fatty emboli,” Cain said.

Russell’s family is now suing Seduction Cosmetic Center and Dr. Sampson, alleging, among other things, that the center should not have let the doctor “perform an unsafe number of procedures in a single day,” especially since state records had him as the “designated physician” for the center and not as a surgeon who would be performing BBLs.

During a medical board hearing in 2022, NBC6 asked Dr. Sampson if he was pressured into doing that many surgeries in one day, but he didn’t answer. He ended up accepting a settlement from the state that prohibits him from doing BBLs again.

“Frankly, people expect better care in the United States in these procedures, and it’s care that they’re just not getting unfortunately at a lot of these facilities in Miami-Dade and Broward,” Cain said.

When asked about the lawsuit filed by Russell’s family, Dr. Sampson’s legal representative told NBC6 he was “…unable to comment on active litigation.” A letter his previous attorney sent to the state says the doctor is “understandably upset by what happened in this case” and that “He has performed over 10,000 liposuction procedures, and approximately 7,500 BBLs in his practice, and this is the first time he has had any significant complication from either of these procedures, much less a patient death.”

Representatives for Seduction Cosmetic Center didn’t respond when NBC6 asked about this lawsuit.

According to the Russell family’s attorney, they are filing this lawsuit to raise awareness and try to prevent this from happening to another family since recovering money is always difficult in these cases because many centers and doctors do not carry malpractice insurance.

They believe a new disinfectant they began using in December made them sick and say the company they work for, Encompass Onsite, did not take their concerns seriously.

“I felt like I couldn’t get air. All of this burned,” said worker Alba Ramirez, pointing to her throat.

Another worker Angel Valdes said when he grabbed the liquid, he began having trouble breathing.

“A rash broke out on my face, my entire body,” a third worker, Maria Teresa Hernandez, told NBC6 Investigators.

Helene O’Brien is the union leader of 32BJ SEIU, which represents janitorial workers in Florida.

She says the union learned of safety concerns in December, after Encompass Onsite workers at Nova were instructed to use a new type of multi-purpose disinfectant known as aqueous ozone.

“The product is made on-site, on campus,” O’Brien said. “I think there’s one or two machines that mix it. And the workers were told the product is really just water with some electricity.”

The solution is made on-site in a machine produced by Nebraska-based company BioSecurity Technology. The product’s label says it’s almost entirely made of water with less than 0.01% ozone – well below OSHA’s recommended limit for human exposure in a workday.

It’s often described as a “green” product better for the environment than harsh industrial cleaners. But some workers are questioning whether it’s better for them after they say some began getting sick, including two women who went to the hospital.

“We had more than eight workers who were reporting shortness of breath and some kind of skin or physical reactions,” O’Brien said.

Workers who spoke with NBC6 Investigators shared photos and medical records detailing symptoms including acute allergic reaction, shortness of breath, throat irritation and hives.

“I’m very afraid,” Ramirez said while fighting back tears. “I’ve been afraid since we started using the product.”

Angel Valdes says it took two visits to the worker’s compensation doctor before Encompass Onsite agreed to move him to a different work area.

In February, the union, which represents around 250 Encompass workers at Nova, joined employees at the campus to protest over safety concerns. They also protested the job status of another worker, Maria Elena Hernandez, who serves as the union shop steward. Hernandez says she has been on paid administrative leave since reporting workers’ health fears.

“I feel they suspended me for raising my voice and asking questions,” Hernandez said.

Encompass said they could not comment on personnel matters, but the company denied Hernandez’s claims.  

“We actually think the company should stop using this product and use another product,” O’Brien said.

The union also filed a complaint with OSHA, who sent inspectors to the campus on Feb. 16, detailing the workers’ allegations. 

In various emailed statements, Encompass Onsite wrote:

“We can tell you that we partner with a workers’ compensation carrier that relies on an independent third-party medical diagnosis to determine if an injury or accident is work related. The claims processed thus far have been denied or found inconclusive. When an employee has provided independent documentation from a physician recommending that they avoid the product as a precautionary measure, they have been offered reassignment to tasks that do not require using cleansers … Last year, in an effort to improve sanitation and reduce the use of harsh chemicals, our company began using aqueous ozone, a long-time FDA-approved, non-chemical cleaner that is widely adopted by major corporations and food processors around the globe. The product is 100% organic and Green Seal certified, which ensures that it is safe and effective. It does not leave harmful residue on surfaces and has proven to be a safer alternative to many common disinfectants.”

According to the product safety data sheet, there are no hazards associated with it in “normal use.” 

BioSecurity Technology CEO Dan Lynn spoke with NBC6 Investigators about what could have caused the workers’ reactions.

“We’ve never had any issues whatsoever,” Lynn said, adding the company’s product is used by dozens of major corporations and ozone is FDA-approved for direct use on food.

He says he spoke with OSHA’s inspector when they visited Nova in February.

“It was obvious the machine was working as it was supposed to work,” according to Lynn.

He shared a theory about what could’ve gone wrong. He believes residual chemicals previously used to clean the site could have reacted with the aqueous ozone. It’s something he says one of his colleagues tried to simulate with a chemical cleaner once they learned of the worker reactions.

“We laid our solution on top of the chemical,” he explained. “Then, he wiped it once and he could see the residue plainly on there and then he smelled it, and he could smell the chemical.”

The CDC and OSHA’s regional office said they have not received prior complaints about any aqueous ozone product. 

NBC6 Investigators spoke with Dr. Bill Carroll, who is a member of the American Chemical Society and teaches chemistry at the University of Indiana, about aqueous ozone in general and its use in the cleaning industry.

“Literally, there’s nothing in it but oxygen. So in that sense you’re using oxygen out of the air, what you’re doing is you’re adding a little electric power to it,” he explained.

Carroll says when it’s used correctly, it should not pose a risk. He says it needs to be mixed onsite because ozone doesn’t have much of a shelf life.

“Ozone is not stable…so, when you make it, it will over a time go back to regular oxygen,” Carroll said. “Where I would exercise some caution is if you’re generating it and making it on site, it would be useful to have someone who knows how to do that and do it in a safe fashion.”

The union said only two workers have been offered reassignments so far. No additional employees have reported health issues from using the product.

“They are being put in this position of choosing to use a product that could hurt them or go to work,” O’Brien said.

A spokesperson for Nova Southeastern University provided a statement which read:

“NSU officials are aware of the allegations that have been made by workers of a third-party vendor that works for the university. NSU has been in communication with Encompass, who assures the university it is taking the complaint seriously and working directly with the union representing the employees in question.”

A representative for OSHA would not comment on the details of their case, but said it remains open.

That longtime senior prosecutor – Michael Von Zamft – resigned within hours of the judge handing down her order last week and has not responded to email and a voicemail seeking his comment.

While Judge Andrea Ricker Wolfson said she did not believe Von Zamft was relaying a desire to “eliminate” the witness when he told the jailed convicted murderer he might “find a way to make her unavailable,” “reasonable minds may reach a different conclusion based on the totality of the circumstances,” she wrote in her order.

Those circumstances include the state manipulating witnesses, improperly withholding relevant records from the defense, and trying to set up a jailhouse courtyard meeting between two witnesses and a third man with a history of helping prosecutors make cases against other inmates.

The developments come in the case of Corey Smith, sentenced to death for two of four murders he was convicted of committing or arranging in the 1990s as, prosecutors argued, the leader of the John Does, a violent drug gang based in Liberty City. Because the jury was not unanimous for death in 2005, he is being resentenced in accordance with more recent court decisions.

But Judge Wolfson is also considering a request to throw out his convictions and sentences, which would require the state to retry him more than 25 years after his arrest or drop the case entirely. In her disqualification order, she refers to evidence that she says would be relevant to that motion, as well.

Both the jailhouse meeting and the prospect of making a witness “unavailable” were discussed in the same August 2022 jail call, what the judge dubbed the “smoking gun” — a copy of which was obtained by the NBC6 Investigators.

Von Zamft took the call from Latravis Gallashaw, a partner of Smith in the John Does, who was also convicted of murder and drug trafficking in the case and has been seeking a reduction in his 70-year federal prison sentence based on his cooperation with prosecutors.

The newly uncooperative witness, Tricia Geter, was once Smith’s girlfriend, but she turned against him and was a key witness in the trial that resulted in his death sentences.

But when she started backing off that testimony, she testified last month, Von Zamft told her, “if she was dead, he would simply read her prior testimony into the record,” the judge recounted in her order.

Here is the exchange the judge cited:

Von Zamft: She gave full and complete testimony in the last trial.
Gallashaw: Yeah.
Von Zamft: If I call her and she refuses, then I will find a way to make her unavailable, and then I can read her whole testimony.
Gallashaw: You would want to do that?
Von Zamft: No. I don’t want to do it. I’d rather she testified and did a good job. But can I count on it? No.

The judge said the smoking gun call “totally and completely corroborates” Geter’s testimony.

“She had developed a fear or concern that Michael Von Zamft would prefer her to be dead, that his case and his ability to prosecute Corey Smith would be improved if she were out of the picture,” said Craig Whisenhunt, one of the defense attorneys who unearthed the new evidence that led to the disqualifications.

The order disqualifying Von Zamft, his co-counsel and a third prosecutor who resigned before he could be disqualified has shaken the Miami-Dade state attorney’s office and put Smith’s death penalty conviction in jeopardy.

Von Zamft obtained the state indictment against the John Does in 2000 and returning him to death row after resentencing was to be the cap of his 40-year legal career.

“He did in fact end his career with Corey Smith, but just not in the way he envisioned,” said Whisenhunt. He said the “misconduct included a heavy reliance on snitches and particularly where these snitches were either fed information or allowed to coordinate with other witnesses in order to establish their testimony.”

He is now calling for a criminal investigation of the matter, but the state attorney’s office has not responded to NBC6’s inquiry on whether it will ask the governor for an executive order assigning such an investigation to another state attorney.

In a press release noting the judge did not grant the defense request to disqualify her entire office, State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle wrote, “I will ask my top litigators to examine every aspect of this case and determine the best path forward. The 24-year-old case is massive, and it will take my team some time to ensure that we are proceeding in accordance with the law and with justice. Be assured that we will get the job done.”

Geter wasn’t the only witness Von Zamft was concerned about. He also discussed with Gallashaw another former John Does colleague, Demetrius Jones.

Judge Wolfson cited this passage from their phone call in her order:

Gallashaw: And you don’t know about rehabilitating Jones, huh?
Von Zamft: Which one?
Gallashaw: Jones. Meat Head.
Von Zamft: Yeah. His problem is – well, Jones, I’ve told you. His contradictory statements. I’ve asked to allow you, Jones and (a third inmate Von Zamft has used in other cases) to go to the, you know, courtyard together. I’ve asked them to do that, but Corrections has not agreed.

Just trying to set up that meeting behind bars “reeks of the appearance of impropriety,” Judge Wolfson found, adding at one point in her order the state’s withholding of critical records from the defense was “at best … incompetence.”

Whisenhunt said it goes beyond mere incompetence.

“Manipulating testimony to pursue something that was untrue and to encourage someone to lie or mislead the court is not only a grievable offense as an attorney and reprehensible behavior, it is also in and of itself criminal conduct,” Whisenhunt said, citing laws against assisting someone in committing perjury.

In May 2022, Von Zamft himself accused Smith’s defense of that crime, called subornation of perjury, and launched a criminal investigation that forced two of Smith’s investigators off the case to avoid a potential conflict of interest as Von Zamft investigated them.

No charges ever resulted, but the Smith team argued losing the investigators prejudiced them due to what they called Von Zamft’s unfounded inquiry.

Now it is Von Zamft facing a similar accusation, though there is no indication any law enforcement is investigating him.

Attempts to reach the two other prosecutors involved have been unsuccessful.

As for Smith — who even if freed on the state convictions still faces 60 years in federal prison for drug trafficking — he “may not have been an angel,” said Whisenhunt, “but he wasn’t who they painted him to be and he was sentenced to die for things he didn’t have a hand in by this same state attorney and this same state attorney’s office.”

“Big blue arrow on the side of the blue truck,” said Garland, referring to an Amazon delivery truck that he says sideswiped him.

Garland said the incident caused roughly $2,000 in damages to his truck and trailer. And he thought after exchanging information with the driver, repairs would be easy.

“You just wouldn’t believe how many different scenarios that played out in this and how many different people that I’ve talked to over this,” said Garland. 

That’s because Garland found out that the truck emblazoned with the Amazon logo — and the driver who he said hit him — really wasn’t Amazon.

‘Not Amazon employees’

“These people are not Amazon employees. The person that comes to your door with your package says ‘Amazon’ and on the uniform. The truck says ‘Prime’ and ‘Amazon.’ They’re not,” said Patrick Regan, a personal injury lawyer in Washington, D.C.

He said he’s handled dozens of these kinds of cases involving Amazon delivery trucks. Including this crash on Dec. 30 when, Regan said, a delivery truck hit a D.C. woman while she was in the crosswalk at the intersection of Cathedral and Massachusetts avenues.

“Her son called me and said, ‘My mother was hit by an Amazon van,’” Regan said. “Your viewers are going to look at this, saying, ‘Yeah, that’s an Amazon van.’”

“She faces a very, a very difficult, a very long recovery,” said Regan.

Despite the Prime logo on the truck, Regan said the vehicle was actually a third-party company, what Amazon calls a delivery service partner (DSP). An Amazon spokesperson told the I-Team the company uses more than 3,500 DSPs to deliver 20 million packages a day across 19 countries.

“They say Amazon on their uniform, they say Prime and Amazon on the truck, but they disavow any legal responsibility,” said Regan. 

In the police report, the driver admitted “he was tired.” When asked who was responsible for the $5,000 in damage to Means’ landscaping, she replied, “Amazon is responsible to pay for this damage.”

But Means said calling Amazon got her nowhere. She was directed to contact a company she’d never heard of. Turns out it was a DSP. But their insurance company never responded to her, Means said. So, she filed with her insurance company, which took over the fight.

“I would drop dead if I heard back from Amazon two months after the fact,” said Means.

Eight months later, she did hear back, but not from Amazon. Her insurance company told her the DSP, which owned the vehicle, ended up paying her claim. 

The News4 I-Team reached out to Amazon about its DSP program. Spokesperson Branden Baribeau said: “Since 2018, the Delivery Service Partner (DSP) program has empowered entrepreneurs who want to launch and operate their own delivery service to do business with Amazon. Now, more than 3,500 DSPs are delivering over 20 million packages every day across 19 countries. As has always been the case, nothing is more important to us than safety, which is why over the last five years we’ve invested more than $8 billion in state-of-the-art technology, safety enhancements, vehicle fleets, and exclusive services for DSPs and their drivers. These investments in safety technology and programs in delivery vehicles have decreased collision rates by 40%. And we’re not done; we’re always innovating with new technology, making process improvements, and helping DSPs provide better training to their employees to improve the safety of drivers, customers and the communities we serve.”

Third-party delivery service partners can cause confusion

When it comes to those vans and trucks, according to Amazon, DSPs can use their own vehicles or lease Amazon branded vehicles through a third party.

But Regan argues the blurred lines can be confusing to customers.

“Amazon controls every aspect of it, including their uniform, including equipment that’s in the vehicle, including the software that tells them where to take the packages,” Regan said.

Amazon disputes this, saying that they make their relationship with DSPs very clear.

Garland said the DSP driver that hit him initially gave him an expired insurance card. He was finally able to file a claim with a different insurance company, but three months later they denied it.

Neither DSP in Garland’s or Means’ case responded to News4’s emails or calls. Amazon said DSPs are required to carry general liability, insurance policies and workers’ compensation. Lapses in insurance can result in a breach of contract, Amazon said.

Amazon said it also offers training to drivers on how to handle accidents and shared a recent release about the program.

Regan said he’s planning to file a lawsuit against Amazon and the DSP to help pay for his client’s recovery.

Reported by Susan Hogan; produced by Rick Yarborough; shot by Steve Jones, Carlos Olazagasti and Lance Ing; and edited by Steve Jones.

She chose to have a surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital to remove her fallopian tubes to prevent future pregnancies.

“My baby was two months old,” Rodriguez told the NBC6 Investigators. “The same day I went into surgery, he turned two months.”

It was supposed to be a simple outpatient procedure. Rodriguez says her doctor told her it would last up to 30 minutes with minimal risk of complications.

“It will be an in-and-out thing,” she said she was told. “You’ll be home the same night. Back with the baby.”

Instead, she says, she almost lost her life and ended up hospitalized for months. And the active life she enjoyed as a busy working mom was changed forever.  

“Unfortunately, because of defective equipment that was supplied to the hospital, this procedure turned into a disaster and a nightmare for this poor family,” said Andrew Yaffa, the attorney representing Rodriguez.

In a lawsuit, Yaffa says the problems began with a piece of equipment called a trocar, which is described as a pen-shaped instrument used in minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery. In Rodriguez’s case, it was used to access her abdomen and guide doctors through the procedure.

“Well, it broke and it fragmented, and pieces were lost inside of her,” Yaffa explained.

Then, he says, it happened again.  

“And when they went to try and do the procedure with a second trocar, the second trocar, manufactured by the same company and the same lot, also broke. So Maria now had two sets of fragments floating within her body,” he said.

Yaffa says the 30-minute procedure turned into 10 hours. During that time, doctors opened Rodriguez’s wounds to look for the plastic pieces inside her belly.

The suit filed against the trocar’s manufacturer, Applied Medical Resources Corporation, and Jackson Health System, among others, claims doctors used X-ray, ultrasound and CT scans but were unable to find the plastic pieces. It goes on to say at least one surgeon advised doctors to “fully inspect Ms. Rodriguez’s bowel” to make sure it wasn’t punctured in the process, before closing her up. But “this was never done.”

“The feces, if you will, which is never supposed to be outside of the intestines, were leaked into the belly, and she became systemically infected. And unfortunately, it became a fight for her life at that point,” Yaffa said.

The lawsuit claims Rodriguez was in critical condition and endured surgery after surgery due to the infection and other complications, including a stroke, psychological disturbances, blood clots, blurred vision, and ultimately the forced amputation of several fingers on her right hand.

“And as a woman, when you look down, you’re reminded every day,” Rodriguez said. “My dominant hand is the right one, losing three digits. I can’t open anything. I can’t feed my kids right.”

Rodriguez says the surgeries left her so fragile, she is unable to do the simplest tasks, like driving or even picking up her children.

“It’s torture when you are limited in carrying your kid,” she said. “Because you can’t. Because you could get hurt.”

“She’s always been a really strong woman and now she’s very weak,” her husband Rolando Oliva said. “Mentally, she’s beat up and it’s tough.”

The couple believes it could all have been prevented.

“No question. This company knew that their products were breaking,” Yaffa said.

Since 2015, NBC6 Investigators found over a dozen reports to the FDA of reports of problems involving the device that broke inside Rodriguez. In each of those cases, it either cracked, bent or broke.   

“These doctors are not being told that these plastic trocars are prone to breaking,” Yaffa said.

We reached out to the manufacturer Applied Medical. In a statement, they wrote: “Applied Medical is sympathetic to the events alleged by Mrs. Rodriguez’s attorneys in her Complaint. As a healthcare company, we take Mrs. Rodriguez’s claims and any reports of adverse patient outcomes seriously. Applied Medical produces millions of trocars every year and follows stringent manufacturing practices. We have always been known for high-quality devices and are thoroughly investigating this matter.”

When asked about the lawsuit, a representative for Jackson Health System told NBC6 they do not comment on pending litigation.

“It’s unfair, it’s wrong,” Oliva said. “Especially, I would never think that that will happen here in this country.”

Rodriguez just wishes she had known the risks beforehand.

“When we go in, you know, and we put our lives in people’s hands, we expect the truth, you know, honesty,” she said.

Rodriguez says the plastic pieces from the broken devices have still not been found or removed from her body.

Victims of one such effort, including those in South Florida, say millions were lost late last year to the criminals who try to stay out of reach of American law enforcement.

The plot is familiar: get investors to buy inflated stocks in a way that artificially pumps up the price — then sell them at a huge profit.

It’s called pump-and-dump, or ramp-and-dump, or pig-butchering, but to its victims, it’s just a cruel scam.

It starts with bogus online advertisements featuring purloined images of well-known successful investors, promising to share their expertise to help others profit as well. 

One such Facebook ad – falsely claiming to be from a hedge fund billionaire – pitched returns as high as “a staggering 45% … in just one month.”

“They make you click the link,” said Peter Bourget, a Georgia home remodeling contractor, “and the link actually takes you to a WhatsApp group.”

That is where hustlers on the other ends – using what victims believe are aliases and fake photos – start to reel them in.

After monitoring the comments in the group of the “investor assistant” named “Ava” for weeks, Mark Dimmer, a London medical delivery driver, said, “I thought she knew what they were talking about. And then she asked me about my life and the money I’m willing to invest and how much I’ve invested before.”

Bourget, Dimmer and Marco Sclocchi, an oil and gas executive in Houston, were already somewhat experienced, cautious investors, before getting caught up in what called itself the Red Sea Fortune investment group.

At first, they were given free tips to well-traded US stocks and bought them through their own legitimate online brokerage accounts.

That reassured Sclocchi, who said, “Controlling my money where I physically had the transaction, not assigning the money to somebody, I felt pretty safe.”

But the tips eventually shifted to companies on the legitimate Hong Kong exchange.

Then came the hard sell.

“They had very strong information that this was going to be a successful investment and at that point the return was really going to be a 5 to 10-day play for about maybe a 20- to 30% gain,” Bourget recalled.

Adding to the implied inside information, sometimes about an impending merger, was a sense of urgency.

“So you got money in one stock already and then they’re pumping you for the other stock,” said Bourget. “And then right around Christmas, which is when this happened, both those stocks dropped 95 percent overnight. Boom.”

“So that’s a pump-and-dump,” said Collin Connors, cyber and crypto security consultant for ERMProtect in Coral Gables. “And that dump will happen in the blink of an eye.”

Connors has seen the pattern before.

“These are sophisticated organizations. This is their job,” he said. “They are professional scammers” hiding behind social media ads and aliases on WhatsApp, likely from afar.

“With these overseas crimes, it can be very difficult for local law enforcement to go after that and then federal law enforcement is very overwhelmed with these kinds of scams,” Connors said.

The three victims who spoke to NBC6 lost more than $85,000 of what they say is $3 million drained from about two dozen victims they have identified from their WhatsApp groups.

But they are having trouble getting the attention of or response from law enforcement, brokerages, regulators, social media companies and the Hong Kong exchange where the stocks were traded.

“There’s no person or authority you can actually talk to, to tell them, ‘Hey, look. People are losing real money over this stuff and it’s hurting American investors,’” Bourget said.

The Federal Trade Commission this month confirmed that much, finding a record $10 billion in consumer losses in 2023, a 14% increase in one year.

And when it comes to the amount of money lost, investment scams topped the list at more than $4.6 billion—up from $1.7 billion in 2021.

More evidence that the days are short for smoke-filled boiler rooms and call centers cold-dialing targets from a list of phone numbers: the most lucrative form of contact for scammers was via social media, fleecing victims out of $1.4 billion last year, according to the FTC.

Recovery for victims can be difficult, but it is possible, said Rosario Mendez, an FTC attorney. “We always try to get money back and when we do get money back, we give it back to the consumers that were affected by the scam.”

But better, she said, to avoid red flags, including, in this case, “the fact they transferred to another platform to communicate in a different way.” Another, she added, is when they claim, “they can teach you something no one else can teach you, that they have a secret for investment to help you invest the money that way.”

While federal authorities often bring criminal cases against perpetrators of investment fraud in the US, targets in China are largely out of their reach.

But the regulatory agency that oversees the Hong Kong market has made some strides.

In 2022 and early 2023, the agency announced the arrest of two dozen people and froze $650 million in accounts tied to “ramp-and-dump” scams.

But that failed to prevent the con worked at the end of last year, as others stepped in to replace those arrested. And the victims tell NBC6 more victims are currently being solicited in Facebook ads.

Regulators say to avoid becoming a victim, don’t respond to unsolicited investment offers, including ads on social media, or discuss finances with people met online.

Among the red flags: promises of big returns coupled with the urgency to invest quickly.

A recorded phone call provided to NBC6 by federal investigators shows how criminals are targeting seniors from our own backyard. 

In the recording, which was used as evidence in a criminal case, an 84-year-old man receives a phone call from someone who identifies herself as working with “lab services.” She asked if he received a FedEx package that was previously sent to him.

“I didn’t order it, but I got it,” the man responds. 

Investigators of the U.S. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) say the call was actually a telemarketer, trying to convince the man to take a genetic test for heart issues. 

“I’m a genetics advocate here,” she continues. “My job is just to help walk you through taking that test.” 

The man responds, “No, it’s another CMS scam is what it is, so they can make money. And that’s why Medicare is in such a damn bad shape as it is!” 

As the man suspects, that call has nothing to do with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS as he calls it. 

Investigators say it came from a call center tucked away inside an office building in Boca Raton. 

“So, the way this center worked was they would contact beneficiaries or Medicare enrollees and convince them to get a genetic test for cardiac or a cancer genetic test all from through the call center here,” explained Stephen Mahmood, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the Miami office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. 

In the phone call, the Medicare recipient is heard arguing against taking the genetic test until a man, who describes himself as a supervisor, gets on the phone and tries to convince him why he needs it. 

“To identify if you are in a high-risk category for certain illnesses such as … heart attack, stroke, coronary artery disease,” the caller can be heard saying.

The man replies, “Well at 84 years old, I’m probably a candidate for all of those, wouldn’t you say?” 

Mahmood drove us along a stretch of U.S. 1 in Boca Raton and said most of the call centers involved in this sort of telemarketing fraud are located here in South Florida. 

“They’re all over the place,” he said. 

He says the scheme starts when telemarketing companies contact Medicare recipients—using illegally obtained personal data. 

“They may say ‘I’m with Medicare. You have this benefit, or you need to take advantage of this benefit,’” he added.  

Then they get doctors or other providers to sign off on the unnecessary genetic testing,  usually for cancer or heart conditions. A shell lab then bills Medicare for the worthless test, and everyone involved will get a cut.  

“The money kind of flows down. The lab owner profits from it,” Mahmood said. “So the lab owner submits a claim to Medicare. One genetic testing claim, I’ve seen them as high as $24,000 for one claim.

He describes South Florida as ground zero for this type of healthcare fraud, which targets people all over the country. The Office of Inspector General works with state and federal partners like the FBI, Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to crack down on these crimes. 

“We have a health care fraud strike force…Miami is the largest in the country,” he said. 

The cost of genetic testing fraud is staggering.  

“From 2018 to present, according to the data, genetic testing fraud is responsible for about $7 billion in fraud,” according to Mahmood. 

Despite that, in 2022 only about 2 cents of every $100 spent by Health and Human Services went to oversight and enforcement — prompting the agency to ask for additional funding this year. 

“We have arrested people. But, you know, the fraud hasn’t stopped. We have limited resources. We do the best we can”, Mahmood said. 

Several people were charged in connection with the Boca Raton call center, including brothers Daniel and Louis “Gino” Carver who pleaded guilty last year for submitting over $67 million dollars in false claims for genetic testing and durable medical equipment patients didn’t need.  A third man, Jose Goyos was convicted for tricking physicians into signing off on the fraudulent orders. 

“It took up, you know, a major part of one of the floors in this large building,” Mahmood said of the call center, “But I would say at least 100 employees just, you know, you see heads just at cubicles and you just hear the phones. And they’re constantly calling Medicare enrollees, convincing them to get the tests.”

They’re so convincing, even that skeptical 84-year-old man who fought telemarketers the whole call, eventually agreed to the test. 

“It really is a win-win,” the caller claimed, “There’s no reason you should be scared or object to a test that your doctor approves.” 

“Yeah, well. Okay,” responded the man. “If I can find it, I’ll do it.” 

“CMS is committed to preventing fraud and protecting people with Medicare from falling victim to fraud. We can take swift actions to prevent illegitimate payments from going to bad actors when we have credible allegations of fraud,” said a CMS spokesperson. “CMS does not confirm or discuss the existence of any ongoing investigation to ensure we do not compromise the integrity of the investigative process. However, that does not mean actions are not taken behind the scenes.”

“There are currently 146 companies using my NPI (national provider identifier) number without my authorization,” she told the responding officer.

But federal investigators say Hernandez was the one breaking the law.

“She contacted the Miami-Dade Police Department and made a fake police report…just to cover her tracks,” said Stephen Mahmood, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Miami regional office for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General.

Hernandez, a mother of five, claimed someone else was billing in her name. But investigators said they discovered she was involved in a genetic testing scheme that cost taxpayers millions and she was doing it from her own home, in Southwest Miami-Dade.

“We identified several providers who were ordering a lot of genetic testing, and Elizabeth Hernandez, of all of those was the number one,” Mahmood said, adding she would also “bill Medicare for a telehealth visit for a person that she never saw, a person she never spoke to on the telephone.”

Mahmood’s office is tasked with criminal investigations of fraud and abuse involving programs like Medicare.

“Based on the data she ordered approximately 200,000 genetic tests for about 70,000 Medicare beneficiaries that resulted in about $200 million dollars worth of fraudulent claims,” he explained.

Here’s how investigators say the scheme works: Telemarketing companies contact Medicare recipients – using illegally obtained personal data. They then get doctors or other providers to sign off on unnecessary genetic testing, supposedly for cancer or heart conditions, in exchange for a kickback. In many of these cases, investigators say the providers never even spoke to the patients.

“A telemarketing company will call the beneficiary and say, ‘Hey we’re with Medicare and you qualify, or you need this genetic test,’” Mahmood explained, adding Medicare representatives would not call someone to offer or market a service or request personal information.

Then, he says they would mail a kit to the Medicare recipient.  “A kit would be mailed to them. They would swab themselves, repackage it back up and then mail it back to a call center. Medicine doesn’t work that way.”

Investigators say many of the people targeted by call centers were elderly and vulnerable. Some didn’t even remember agreeing to the test. And when results were sent back to them, Mahmood says, “they’re gobbledygook, they garbage.”

He says the lab bills Medicare thousands for the tests, and everyone gets a cut.

“They pay the telemarketer, the telemarketer then pays kickbacks or bribes to the doctor that signed the order,” Mahmood said.

The nurse Elizabeth Hernandez was among several people charged in connection to genetic testing fraud. In December, she was sentenced to 20 years behind bars.

NBC6 Investigators corresponded with Hernandez from prison.

She sent a lengthy email, writing in part, “I ordered tests only for those patients that met the medical necessity requirements…” and it was the lab that was committing the fraud. She added prosecutors  “twisted the evidence, lied, and cherry-picked sentences in text messages and emails to fit into their fabricated story…”

But a jury found this was a true story and investigators say the evidence backs it up.

Evidence including Hernandez’ monthly deposits highlighted in one chart provided by investigators. It shows her income skyrocketed in 2020—at one point reaching more than $280,000 for just one month of remote telehealth work. In all, prosecutors said Hernandez pocketed approximately $1.6 million in the scheme.

Investigators shared text messages they say show a conversation between Hernandez and a friend, celebrating how many orders they signed one month.

One reads, “we have to be over 500 pts (patients) by now…”

Then, she sent a meme with the words, “We getting’ money.”

One analysis provided by investigators showed in most cases, it took Hernandez fewer than 15 seconds to sign an order once she got it.

“She had so much that she had her family sign them,” according to Mahmood. “She had her friends sign them because there weren’t enough hours in the day for her to sign them.”

Investigators also shared an email in which a friend questioned Hernandez about ordering a genetic test for ovarian cancer for a man.

Hernandez responded, “Change it to prostate.”

When asked about that email, Hernandez told NBC6 Investigators she was merely correcting an error.

“This type of fraud puts pressure on the Medicare program,” Mahmood said. “It creates billions of dollars going out the door just to line the pocket of criminals, thieves. That’s your money that you’re putting into the system that person is using.”

Hernandez was convicted on several counts, including healthcare fraud and making false statements. She has since hired a new attorney and is appealing her case. Her attorney declined to comment on her appeal.

If you suspect a provider is engaging in telefraud, investigators with the Office of the Inspector General for HHS want you to call 1-800-447-8477 or visit TIPS.HHS.GOV

Linda Perez knows all too well how costly plastic surgery procedure complications can be. She was in a coma following a breast augmentation procedure and now has permanent brain damage that requires a lifetime of expensive therapy.

Heather Meadow’s children suffered a devastating loss after she died following a Brazilian Butt lift procedure, or BBL. The West Virginia woman traveled to Miami for the surgery.

Loyda Hernandez from Kissimmee says complications from a BBL she had in Miami left her fighting for her life and racking up a huge hospital bill.

“I have about half a million dollars in medical bills,” she said.

Her lawyer, Peter Sotolongo, said outpatient plastic surgery centers make a lot of money off their patients but waive responsibility when something goes wrong after they are discharged.

“There’s a crisis in plastic surgery in Miami-Dade County. People are coming here from all over the country and all over the world for plastic surgery,” Sotolongo said.

Dr. Christopher Salgado, a board-certified plastic surgeon, spent years working at local hospitals and caring for patients with complications from plastic surgeries performed at outpatient surgical centers.

“At times I’ve had four or five patients that have had complications from plastic surgery procedures in these facilities end up in these hospitals. What happens at that point is that a lot of these patients may not be insured. About 90% of them don’t even live in Florida,” Dr. Salgado said.

According to Dr. Salgado, the complications he saw were often not covered by medical insurance companies because they are elective procedures. 

“The complications end up in many of our hospitals, not only UM Jackson, where I worked for ten years, but also in a lot of hospitals that are community hospitals,” he said.

Christina Masvidal is a critical care nurse who’s now Jackson Health System’s Senior Director of Risk Management and Patient Safety. 

“When they show up to Jackson, when they present to us because of a complication that is coming out of the pockets of Miami-Dade residents,” she explained.

According to Jackson Health System’s records, between September 2021 and January of this year, Jackson received 273 patients with complications from plastic surgeries performed in local plastic surgery centers. Of those, only 5% were Miami-Dade residents, 25% were from other parts of the state and 70% didn’t even live in Florida.

Their records show the total cost of treatment for all the patients was $7,690,897. After adjustments and reimbursements, the hospital or taxpayers lost $629,807 that couldn’t be collected.

“There are implications far beyond just taking a hospital bed. They are using up blood products…our Miami-Dade residents are the ones that are supplying our blood banks,” Masdival said.

Masvidal said Jackson doesn’t focus on money — they prioritize patient care, but she is concerned about the lack of post-operative care these plastic surgical centers offer. She said she’s reported all 273 cases to the Health Department because she believes these complications need to be investigated.

It started when Antonella Re, a Medley shelter volunteer, shared a video on social media in May calling for help keeping the dogs cool.

“That video went viral, luckily, and we got a lot of support from the community,” Re said.

Soon, the community starting donating items to help the dogs, including several commercial fans donated by the company Big Ass Fans. 

At the time, volunteers and activists asked the county to hold weekly adoption events at Medley to help clear it out. They did but didn’t get the results they wanted. 

“We only had four adoptions this past month out of Medley,” says Miami-Dade Animal Services Director Annette Jose.

Though Medley was meant to be a temporary shelter, in her current budget, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava set aside $77,000 to repair and renovate the facility this year but NBC6 found almost all that money went into repairing the old structure and not a single taxpayer dollar was used for renovations.  

“Basically, all the renovations that we’ve seen so far in the past year, have come from the community and not the shelter,” Re said.

The renovations funded by the community include playpens that were recently installed with money raised by Antonella Re and the nonprofit FOMA. Asked why the county set aside money for renovations in Medley but didn’t use it, the mayor says plans changed. 

“We don’t really want to maintain medley in the long term so we’re making sure that it’s safe clean habitable and the plan is not to rebuild the shelter,” said the mayor.

The county is working on sending some of the Medley dogs to other states where they have a better chance of being adopted and continue to promote local adoptions.

In the meantime, activists say they will continue fighting to improve conditions inside all the shelters citing a respiratory disease that spread among pets.

Activists also claim, despite having a “no kill” designation, many animals die in Miami-Dade shelters. Public records show at least 25 dogs were euthanized this past year after they were found to be aggressive or because they were sick. 

Pets like Chanel who was put up for adoption after her family surrendered her when they became homeless.

“I went and adopted her,” said Roger Amador an animal rights activist.

Amador says Chanel was friendly but before he could take her home, animal services said they had to spay her.

“I went to pick her up the next day she was so hurt she couldn’t get up out of her kennel when they tried to force her out they alleged that she growled and they labeled her dangerous and they euthanized her,” Amador said.

Director Annette Jose disputes Roger Amador’s story. She claims the dog had shown signs of aggression before. 

“The more we saw her around other dogs we realized she would not be a good candidate for adoption especially with someone that has dogs like Mr. Amador,” Jose said.

When asked if it was a mistake to let Amador adopt the dog Jose replied “That was a mistake yes.”

The director of Animal Services says they have a 93% save rate and only euthanize dogs that are aggressive, are in behavioral distress or are suffering from a medical condition that can’t be treated.

She agrees with activist that pets don’t belong in shelters, they belong in a loving home which is why she urges people to consider adopting a sheltered animal.

It started when Antonella Re, a Medley shelter volunteer, shared a video on social media in May calling for help keeping the dogs cool.

“That video went viral, luckily, and we got a lot of support from the community,” Re said.

Soon, the community starting donating items to help the dogs, including several commercial fans donated by the company Big Ass Fans. 

At the time, volunteers and activists asked the county to hold weekly adoption events at Medley to help clear it out. They did but didn’t get the results they wanted. 

“We only had four adoptions this past month out of Medley,” says Miami-Dade Animal Services Director Annette Jose.

Though Medley was meant to be a temporary shelter, in her current budget, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava set aside $77,000 to repair and renovate the facility this year but NBC6 found almost all that money went into repairing the old structure and not a single taxpayer dollar was used for renovations.  

“Basically, all the renovations that we’ve seen so far in the past year, have come from the community and not the shelter,” Re said.

The renovations funded by the community include playpens that were recently installed with money raised by Antonella Re and the nonprofit FOMA. Asked why the county set aside money for renovations in Medley but didn’t use it, the mayor says plans changed. 

“We don’t really want to maintain medley in the long term so we’re making sure that it’s safe clean habitable and the plan is not to rebuild the shelter,” said the mayor.

The county is working on sending some of the Medley dogs to other states where they have a better chance of being adopted and continue to promote local adoptions.

In the meantime, activists say they will continue fighting to improve conditions inside all the shelters citing a respiratory disease that spread among pets.

Activists also claim, despite having a “no kill” designation, many animals die in Miami-Dade shelters. Public records show at least 25 dogs were euthanized this past year after they were found to be aggressive or because they were sick. 

Pets like Chanel who was put up for adoption after her family surrendered her when they became homeless.

“I went and adopted her,” said Roger Amador an animal rights activist.

Amador says Chanel was friendly but before he could take her home, animal services said they had to spay her.

“I went to pick her up the next day she was so hurt she couldn’t get up out of her kennel when they tried to force her out they alleged that she growled and they labeled her dangerous and they euthanized her,” Amador said.

Director Annette Jose disputes Roger Amador’s story. She claims the dog had shown signs of aggression before. 

“The more we saw her around other dogs we realized she would not be a good candidate for adoption especially with someone that has dogs like Mr. Amador,” Jose said.

When asked if it was a mistake to let Amador adopt the dog Jose replied “That was a mistake yes.”

The director of Animal Services says they have a 93% save rate and only euthanize dogs that are aggressive, are in behavioral distress or are suffering from a medical condition that can’t be treated.

She agrees with activist that pets don’t belong in shelters, they belong in a loving home which is why she urges people to consider adopting a sheltered animal.

“It was a dream until it was a nightmare, in an instant, and here we are,” Caroline said.

Michael was killed in a car crash during their trip. Caroline was severely injured.

“Michael was 31 [years old]. We were not planning on a funeral,” she said.

The couple had lived in Orange, Connecticut. Caroline now lives in Guilford, CT.

Five years after his passing, she surrounds herself with memories made with her late husband from the pictures around her home to his wedding ring she wears around her neck.

“I wear it every single day and every time I hear it [jangle] I think of him, and I hope he’s with me,” she said, clutching the necklace.

But something’s missing, “I remember distinctly on our trip there were some pictures that he took, that I never saw.”

And now she says, “They’re just floating out there in Google.”

After his death abroad and Caroline’s return to Connecticut, he says a friend uploaded Michael’s photos to his Google Drive for safekeeping before they got rid of his phone.

Caroline says at that time, “We assumed that I would be able to access somehow. I’ve tried to log into his computer, apparently, I don’t know his passwords either.”

Now, time is ticking for Caroline to get access to these photos after Google announced they’d be deleting all inactive accounts beginning in December.

“Finally, I was like, ‘I don’t know what to do’ and that’s when I emailed you,” she said about reaching out to NBC CT Responds.

Even though Caroline is Michael’s widow, and she has his death certificate and their marriage certificate, Google won’t just give her the photos.

“While she is the next of kin, or the surviving spouse, or the legal representative, whichever term you wish to choose, there’s still the issue of Google having to comply with federal law,” said Wayne Unger, assistant professor of law at Quinnipiac University School of Law.

That law is the Stored Communications Act. Unger says simply put, it was created to protect our online communications, so a computer service or messaging provider used by the public legally cannot disclose our texts, emails and pictures for example, unless there’s an exception like a police warrant.

So, even though she’s his widow, in an email to Caroline, Google says she needs to get an exception through a judge, writing “In order to proceed, a court order is required by U.S. law.”

We reached out to Google for comment but haven’t heard back.

Unger explains, “By receiving the court order that allows Google to disclose it, in a way provides the legal cover for Google in sharing or passing on or disclosing these kind of digital assets.”

“I know that they’re trying to protect his privacy, but these are pictures of me too. You know? These are my honeymoon pictures,” Caroline said.

Robyn Sechler feels for Caroline. She, too, struggled to get access to special memories located on a phone after the passing of her father.

“Nobody wants to think about what happens when they’re not here anymore, but the reality is if we can plan ahead, we’re making it easier for our family members and easier for our loved ones to be able to navigate those waters afterward,” said Sechler, who is an estate planner and works for GoodTrust.

GoodTrust is a one-of-a-kind estate planning tool that creates an online vault of sorts to organize your digital assets and accounts and assign their beneficiaries before your passing.

“When you think of estate planning or creating your will, we generally think about passing on your home, or your money, or your car,” Sechler said. “But we don’t think about our online life. We don’t tend to put value on that. But there are lots of things that have value, both monetary and sentimental.”

From photos and videos uploaded onto sites online to funds accumulated in peer-to-peer payment apps, who will know where they are when you die?

What about the airline points you’ve accumulated? And your financial and social media accounts, too?

“If we just leave them open and out there for anybody, they can become a risk for cybersecurity where people can access your information, take over your identity,” Sechler said.

She encourages people of any age and income to start estate planning, so your legacy doesn’t get lost. Unger suggests people work with a probate attorney and leave important passwords in their will.

Another easy step is to add trusted contacts to your online accounts so they can take over control after your death. It takes just a minute or two.

Most sites have these legacy options. Google does, too.

“At 30, 31 [years old] who thinks to put a legacy thing in?” asked Caroline, who says she is sharing her heartbreak to help others avoid her headache.

NBC CT Responds has helped her reopen her case with Google after she became overwhelmed with the process a couple of years back.

After we reached out to the company, Google connected with Caroline and said it will continue to keep Michael’s account until she gets the court order.

“There are no more memories that I’m going to have with him. Those are the memories that I have,” she said.

NBC CT Responds was happy to help Caroline as best we could, but her struggle is still far from over. She tells us she’s having a really hard time finding a lawyer who wants to help her.

Those she’s spoken to say her court process will be costly and time-consuming, too.

How to add legacy contacts to popular social media and email sites

Google:

Google has users set up something called an “inactive account manager.” You can customize what this person has access to and you can set up for this person to be contacted automatically if you stop using Google products for an extended amount of time. You can sign up here.

Apple ID:

You can follow the steps on their website.

Facebook:

Facebook’s legacy contact enables a loved one to close your account after your passing or “memorialize” someone’s Facebook page with a pinned post, among other things. More details can be found here.

To add one – go to Settings & Privacy, click on Settings, then Accounts Center, then Personal Details, then Account Ownership & Control, then Memorialization Settings.

Instagram:

Instagram does not have a “legacy contact” option, so make sure to leave instructions in your will for what your hope is for the account after your passing. Someone can request your account to be “memorialized” after your passing.

X:

X does not have a legacy policy but can work on behalf of the estate to remove a deceased user’s account. Details are available here.

NBC 6 Investigators learned their allegations are among dozens of similar incidents reported on cruises last year.

These incidents allegedly took place on two separate MSC cruise ships. One involved a girl who said another child touched her inappropriately on board. We are not identifying the passengers or their families because of the nature of the cases. 

The mother of the six-year-old described the terrifying moment in an exclusive interview with NBC6.

“I got a phone call one night when she was on the cruise,” she said. “She told me while she was at kids’ club that she had to go to the bathroom, and a boy kept walking in and out of the stall and ended up touching her hip and private area while she was using the toilet.”

She says it happened last January while on board the MSC Divina.

“As a mom not being there for your kid when they got through something like that is extremely difficult,” she added.

According to this lawsuit, the girl was at the ship’s “mini club” for kids when she had to use the restroom. She claims an employee instructed her not to lock the restroom door and “failed to monitor” it. Then, the boy went inside. 

“I went right back to the kids’ club and I filed a report with the staff there,” the girl’s grandmother said.

But the girl’s family claims the ship didn’t report the incident to authorities. 

“There were no actions taken to begin with,” the mother said.

In a separate lawsuit, a passenger on the MSC Meraviglia says she was attacked in March after her waiter on the ship followed her cousin back to the room the women were sharing.

“Very scary,” she said. “As soon as she opened the door and was walking in, he came out of nowhere so when she turned around he was in the room right behind her, closing the door.”

The lawsuit alleges he refused to leave after several requests.

At some point, she claims in the suit her cousin went to the restroom and the crew member “got on top” of her and “began undoing his belt…throughout the physical struggle…continuously licking her face and trying to undress her.” 

“My cousin came running out of the bathroom and it kind of startled him,” she said. “He kind of loosened up a little bit and I was able to slide out from under him.”

The woman explained she ran to the hallway and shouted for help.

“He threatened us that if we were to say anything if anything was to happen that he was going to come back,” she said.

Records provided to NBC6 by Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Monday show the cruise line interviewed the accused crew member after the alleged incident and shared his statement with law enforcement. In it, he claimed the women invited him to their room and there was no physical interaction between them.

The report states “the ship plans on dismissing this crew member upon arrival,” to port.

The Brevard County State Attorney’s Office didn’t press charges against the crew member.

NBC6 Investigators found reports of this type of incident went up last year.

A total of 131 sexual assault cases, including rape, were reported to the FBI, compared to 87 in 2022. The cases involve different cruise lines. In most of them, the attacker was a passenger.

Attorney Jack Hickey says the number is likely higher.

“So everything involving a non-U.S. citizen, not reported,” he said. “Everything that the cruise lines deem not a sexual assault under those definitions. Not reported.”

Hickey, who is representing the passengers suing MSC, says the company needs more rigorous training and screening of employees.

“I think the training, supervision and vetting in the beginning really does need to change,” he said. “Will it do so? I fear not.”

A spokesperson for MSC Cruises tells NBC6 the company is unable to comment on pending litigation.

But a representative for the industry group Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) sent us a statement, writing in part, cruise lines “are heavily regulated” and “have zero tolerance” for criminal behavior, adding “allegations of major crimes on cruise ships are extremely rare”

“If it could happen to me, it could happen to anybody else,” said the passenger on the MSC Meraviglia. “And that is a scary thing when you’re stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean”

The Department of Transportation began publishing data on sexual assault incidents after Congress passed legislation in 2010 related to safety on cruise ships. CLIA calls that type of reporting “unprecedented” compared to other sectors of travel and tourism. 

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include additional information provided by law enforcement.

More than $200,000 was raised in the 2023 Men of Style fundraiser, where men from a dozen charities and other nonprofits strut their stuff like runway models in a quest for donations.

But last month, criminals managed to intercept some checks the event organizer tried to mail to three of the charities.

That’s the first step in a crime called check-washing.

Stolen checks are dipped into trays containing a solution that erases the ink then, once dried, the checks are made out to whoever the criminal wants.

“It doesn’t take a lot of brain matter,” said U.S. Postal Inspector Ivan Ramirez. “It’s simple enough where any average consumer can buy these products over the counter and go ahead and clean the check, wash it, dry it and have it ready for their use.”

That was news to Michael Goodman, the public relations executive who coordinated the Men of Style event and placed the checks in a pickup box used by mail carriers who come inside his Oakland Park office.

“The checks were just somehow confiscated at some point in the mailing process,” Goodman said, adding the culprits “changed the name on the checks and they were cashed.”

The total amount of the fraud: $27,000.

Goodman said the checks were made out to the Art and Culture Center Hollywood, Jack and Jill Center and the Florida Children’s Theatre.

When he finally saw the cashed checks, Goodman said he was amazed. “It was the right check number. It was the right signature and I said this is so strange. The only thing different was the name” of the payee.

Ramirez, the postal inspector, said, “Unfortunately right now it’s common because everything that’s old is new again and we’re in a situation nationally where everyone is taking advantage of what’s out there.”

Easiest to intercept are checks put in public collection boxes or left in mailboxes with the flags raised on porches or roadsides.

But thieves tend to target checks they suspect are tied to the biggest back account balances.

“Usually it’s businesses,” Ramirez said. “They have a good amount of money available.”

Once victimized, it takes time to recoup the losses, if that’s even possible.

“Right now there is no recourse until there’s an investigation [by the banks] that takes up to 90 days. So just have to kind of wait and see,” said Goodman. He reported the crime this week to the Broward Sheriff’s Office and said he will inform the postal service, as well.

The hope is the banks that cashed the altered checks will make good on the payments to the charities.

To lower the risk of being a victim of check washing, you can always pay bills online, write checks with a gel point pen (their ink doesn’t dissolve as easily as other pens) or use the mail drop box inside a post office.

It started when Antonella Re, a Medley shelter volunteer, shared a video on social media in May calling for help keeping the dogs cool.

“That video went viral, luckily, and we got a lot of support from the community,” Re said.

Soon, the community starting donating items to help the dogs, including several commercial fans donated by the company Big Ass Fans. 

At the time, volunteers and activists asked the county to hold weekly adoption events at Medley to help clear it out. They did but didn’t get the results they wanted. 

“We only had four adoptions this past month out of Medley,” says Miami-Dade Animal Services Director Annette Jose.

Though Medley was meant to be a temporary shelter, in her current budget, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava set aside $77,000 to repair and renovate the facility this year but NBC6 found almost all that money went into repairing the old structure and not a single taxpayer dollar was used for renovations.  

“Basically, all the renovations that we’ve seen so far in the past year, have come from the community and not the shelter,” Re said.

The renovations funded by the community include playpens that were recently installed with money raised by Antonella Re and the nonprofit FOMA. Asked why the county set aside money for renovations in Medley but didn’t use it, the mayor says plans changed. 

“We don’t really want to maintain medley in the long term so we’re making sure that it’s safe clean habitable and the plan is not to rebuild the shelter,” said the mayor.

The county is working on sending some of the Medley dogs to other states where they have a better chance of being adopted and continue to promote local adoptions.

In the meantime, activists say they will continue fighting to improve conditions inside all the shelters citing a respiratory disease that spread among pets.

Activists also claim, despite having a “no kill” designation, many animals die in Miami-Dade shelters. Public records show at least 25 dogs were euthanized this past year after they were found to be aggressive or because they were sick. 

Pets like Chanel who was put up for adoption after her family surrendered her when they became homeless.

“I went and adopted her,” said Roger Amador an animal rights activist.

Amador says Chanel was friendly but before he could take her home, animal services said they had to spay her.

“I went to pick her up the next day she was so hurt she couldn’t get up out of her kennel when they tried to force her out they alleged that she growled and they labeled her dangerous and they euthanized her,” Amador said.

Director Annette Jose disputes Roger Amador’s story. She claims the dog had shown signs of aggression before. 

“The more we saw her around other dogs we realized she would not be a good candidate for adoption especially with someone that has dogs like Mr. Amador,” Jose said.

When asked if it was a mistake to let Amador adopt the dog Jose replied “That was a mistake yes.”

The director of Animal Services says they have a 93% save rate and only euthanize dogs that are aggressive, are in behavioral distress or are suffering from a medical condition that can’t be treated.

She agrees with activist that pets don’t belong in shelters, they belong in a loving home which is why she urges people to consider adopting a sheltered animal.

Store policies and exchanges aren’t what they used to be, according to the Better Business Bureau, which notes that the previous idea of “the customer is always right” may no longer be the case.

According to the National Retail Federation, almost 20% of gifts will be returned or exchanged after the holidays.

So how can you avoid some of the common pitfalls?

Here are some tips suggested by the BBB:

Know the policies

The BBB suggests customers check return policies for various stores and recognize that holiday return policies may differ from a store’s regular policy. There are things like restocking fees that could apply. Some may offer exchanges only or store credit only.

“The fact is – now it’s a matter of goodwill and customer service. However, stores are not legally required to accept exchanges or give refunds unless the merchandise was defective or misrepresented,” Steve J. Bernas, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau, said in a statement. “While most retailers offer refund and exchange programs, how and when they do is strictly up to them. Be sure to double-check policies this holiday season, even if you are familiar with the brand, as stores can change their policies whenever they want.”

Check online policies

“If you are shopping online, search for the seller’s return policy and read it through before clicking ‘buy,'” the group says. “Find out if they accept returns or exchanges and who pays for the shipping when an item is returned. In some cases, you can save on shipping fees by returning an online purchase to the local brick-and-mortar store.”

Find the warranty

For those who may have received electronics or appliances, many come with a warranty, but those likely won’t come from the retailer where the item was purchased. Instead, they come from the manufacturer.

“Find out how returns and repairs are handled if an item stops working or needs replacement parts. Will the retailer ship the item to the manufacturer for you? Or will you need to deal with the manufacturer directly? Knowing the answers will leave you well-prepared for any future issues,” the BBB said.

Keep receipts

Some stores will only accept returns and exchanges with an item’s receipt and original packaging, according to the BBB.

“Always include a gift receipt with items you give and hold on to any gift receipts you receive,” the group said.

Bring your ID

In some cases, stores will ask to see a customer’s ID as they return an item, or the original form of payment.

“If this is the policy of the store where your gift is from, you may need the assistance of the gift giver in order to be reimbursed,” the BBB said.

Do it sooner than later

The BBB advises shoppers to “make returns in a timely fashion.”

“Almost all return policies are valid during a specific time period,” the group said. “Some stores modify their return period during the holidays, so don’t risk missing your chance to make your return. Take the item back to the store without delay.”

“Your body never bounces back to what it used to be,” Hernandez said. 

That’s how she ended up at Xiluet Plastic Surgery Center in Miami, which she is now suing along with the doctor who performed the operation. Hernandez claims in her suit that a botched operation left her more than half a million dollars in debt for follow-up care — and emotionally, mentally and physically scarred. 

“Everything seemed like, you know, like they were a great place to go,” she said.  

In June 2022, Hernandez traveled from her home in Orlando to Xiluet in Miami to undergo a Brazilian butt lift or BBL.  

According to a lawsuit she filed against Xiluet, during the electronic intake process, “…she noted several times that she was diabetic,”  and was assured “…she was a good candidate for the procedure.”

Hernandez claims Xiluet “did not arrange for a consultation…(with the doctor) until the day of her procedure…”  and the day after the surgery she met with a “…physician assistant…” with Xiluet and pointed out “… a large laceration on the left side of her stomach/hip and one on her back that looked like bruises” 

“They said, ‘Oh, that’s normal,’” Hernandez said. “I did not see the doctor that morning and I was sent on my way.”

But as weeks passed, she says the wounds filled with liquid and smelled bad, and she had to drive back to Miami to see the doctor. 

“He pretty much drained the fluid out of there and then he told my husband, ‘Oh, if it happens again, so you guys don’t have to drive all the way over here for a four-hour drive, you can just do it yourself, order, you know, order stuff from Amazon,” Loyda said. “It’s normal, just drain it out.”

Days later, Loyda says she ended up in an emergency room in Orlando where they immediately began giving her antibiotics.

“It was necrosis at this point,” she said. “I had ten different bacteria…two of them were mortal bacterias that could have killed me.”

The company responded to Hernandez’s lawsuit denying any wrongdoing and calling her surgeon an independent contractor.

Hernanez’s attorney Peter Sotolongo pushed back on that claim, saying the clinic advertised with the surgeon as part of their team.

“We have evidence through documentation and some other things…that they held the doctor out to be part of their surgeons,” he said. 

A quick search of the internet turned up a Xiluet ad promoting procedures with the same doctor in April of 2022.

“You can now get your BBL for only $4,850 right here at Xiluet plastic surgery with our amazing doctor Tomasz Kosowski,” a woman can be heard saying in the video. 

The doctor no longer appears on Xiluet’s website, as of this story’s publishing. 

Earlier this year, Kosowski was charged in the murder of an attorney in an unrelated case. He’s awaiting trial. His lawyer didn’t reply to inquiries regarding Hernandez’s lawsuit.

As for Xiluet, the Florida Health Department has filed two administrative complaints against the center saying they failed   “…to only have licensed physicians perform surgical procedures at the office…”  failed “…to utilize surgeons who have transfer agreements or hospital staff privileges for a licensed hospital within reasonable proximity…” failed “…to maintain compliance with physician training requirements…”  and have “…an actively licensed anesthesia provider.” 

Though the Florida Health Department says the center corrected some of these failures, it is requesting the medical board impose a penalty, including revoking the license of Xiluet and another one of their doctors listed as their designated physician. 

As for Hernandez, she says the surgery took an emotional, physical and financial toll on her.  

“From being in the hospital for all that time, I have about half a million dollars in medical bills. I lost my job. I lost my car,” she said. 

She says she’s also on a slew of medications to deal with depression, anxiety, and panic attacks she’s experienced after the hospitalization. She says she tells her story to warn others of the possible consequences of plastic surgery gone wrong.

But the $33 million deal omits those who put $20 million down on homes and lots where, their lawsuits allege, the developer fraudulently delayed completion while collecting multiple deposits and obtaining loans on the same properties.

NBC6 first exposed complaints from the homeowners last year.

The settlement, approved by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Thomas Rebull, resolved the biggest financial claim, made by Altamar Financial Group LLC. As of last month, Altamar was arguing it was owed $48 million in principal and interest on loans made to the developer, Send Enterprises, according to the motion to approve the settlement. At 24.5% interest, the balance was increasing by $670,000 a month, said Alan Fine, the receiver appointed by the court to take control of the developer’s companies.

Instead, Altamar will accept about $33 million – half of it from a planned $16.5 million sale of 12 vacant lots that had been acquired by the companies, which were run by Douglas Cox and attorney Nicole Pearl.

The purchaser of those lots will now lend the receiver another approximately $16.5 million, which would be used to complete the payout to Altamar.

In exchange, the Altamar is dropping all its claims and its appeal challenging the sale of the lots.

Fine, the receiver, will now market and sell the 14 substantially completed townhomes and one single-family house that’s about two-thirds completed. Those proceeds will be first used to pay back principal and interest on the $16.5 million loan from the purchaser of the vacant lots. And the receiver will continue to seek damages from Cox, Pearl, Pearl’s law firm and others involved in their alleged scheme, while defending against nearly $21 million in claims from investors in and lenders to the companies once controlled by Cox and Pearl.

A lawyer for the couple has declined comment.

After covering the costs and fees of the receivership – already more than $1 million — whatever money remains from the sales and judgments the receiver may obtain against others involved will go to the people who put up more than $20 million in down payments on the properties.

The settlement was hammered out last month in a 15-hour mediation led by retired Judge Michael Hanzman, who while still on the bench oversaw the landmark $1.2 billion settlement resolving the Surfside condo collapse litigation.

It started when Antonella Re, a Medley shelter volunteer, shared a video on social media in May calling for help keeping the dogs cool.

“That video went viral, luckily, and we got a lot of support from the community,” Re said.

Soon, the community starting donating items to help the dogs, including several commercial fans donated by the company Big Ass Fans. 

At the time, volunteers and activists asked the county to hold weekly adoption events at Medley to help clear it out. They did but didn’t get the results they wanted. 

“We only had four adoptions this past month out of Medley,” says Miami-Dade Animal Services Director Annette Jose.

Though Medley was meant to be a temporary shelter, in her current budget, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava set aside $77,000 to repair and renovate the facility this year but NBC6 found almost all that money went into repairing the old structure and not a single taxpayer dollar was used for renovations.  

“Basically, all the renovations that we’ve seen so far in the past year, have come from the community and not the shelter,” Re said.

The renovations funded by the community include playpens that were recently installed with money raised by Antonella Re and the nonprofit FOMA. Asked why the county set aside money for renovations in Medley but didn’t use it, the mayor says plans changed. 

“We don’t really want to maintain medley in the long term so we’re making sure that it’s safe clean habitable and the plan is not to rebuild the shelter,” said the mayor.

The county is working on sending some of the Medley dogs to other states where they have a better chance of being adopted and continue to promote local adoptions.

In the meantime, activists say they will continue fighting to improve conditions inside all the shelters citing a respiratory disease that spread among pets.

Activists also claim, despite having a “no kill” designation, many animals die in Miami-Dade shelters. Public records show at least 25 dogs were euthanized this past year after they were found to be aggressive or because they were sick. 

Pets like Chanel who was put up for adoption after her family surrendered her when they became homeless.

“I went and adopted her,” said Roger Amador an animal rights activist.

Amador says Chanel was friendly but before he could take her home, animal services said they had to spay her.

“I went to pick her up the next day she was so hurt she couldn’t get up out of her kennel when they tried to force her out they alleged that she growled and they labeled her dangerous and they euthanized her,” Amador said.

Director Annette Jose disputes Roger Amador’s story. She claims the dog had shown signs of aggression before. 

“The more we saw her around other dogs we realized she would not be a good candidate for adoption especially with someone that has dogs like Mr. Amador,” Jose said.

When asked if it was a mistake to let Amador adopt the dog Jose replied “That was a mistake yes.”

The director of Animal Services says they have a 93% save rate and only euthanize dogs that are aggressive, are in behavioral distress or are suffering from a medical condition that can’t be treated.

She agrees with activist that pets don’t belong in shelters, they belong in a loving home which is why she urges people to consider adopting a sheltered animal.