Sealed Criminal Complaint — United States v. Joel Bellegarde (No. 1:21-cr-20056, S.D. Fla.)
Summary
A sealed criminal complaint against Joel Bellegarde, Case No. 1:20-MJ-03251-BECERRA, entered on the docket July 27, 2020 as Document 3 in Case 1:21-cr-20056-AHS, with a cover sheet and an FBI affidavit. It charges mail fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The affidavit alleges that a caller took over TRS retirement accounts by impersonating account holders and had withdrawal checks, including one for $23,956.57, mailed to Homestead addresses, and it describes an FBI controlled delivery of a $51,212.34 check that Bellegarde collected at a FedEx store. It also alleges that an IP address assigned to Bellegarde was used for fraudulent credit card applications and for state unemployment insurance claims, six of which were approved and paid.
Summary drafted by a model from the text of the original file linked on this page and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Cite this document
“Sealed Criminal Complaint — United States v. Joel Bellegarde (No. 1:21-cr-20056, S.D. Fla.).”
Original at archive.org. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/complaint-no-1-21-cr-20056-dkt-3-s-d-fla-25e6df9adf/
, SHA-256 edd2adf152e1e56c2f2b04d97f1bb0a38bc3d799c39833e0f6e5c8b01006282f.Full text
Case 1:21-cr-20056-AHS Document 3 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/27/2020 Page 1 of 12
UNITED STATE S DISTRICT CO UR T
SO UTH ER N DISTRICT O F FLOR ID A
No. 1:20-M J-03251-BECER1lA
IN RE :SEALED CR IM INAL CO M PLA INT
C RIM INA L C OV ER SH EET
1. Did this m atter originate from a m atter pending in the CentralRegion ofthe United States
Atlorney'sOfficepriortoAugust9,2013(M ag.JtldgeAliciaValle)? - Yes X No
2. Didthismatleroriginatefronzam atterpending in theNorthelnzRegion oftheUnited States
Atlom ey'sOfficepriorto August8,2014(M ag.Judge Shaniek M aynard)? Yes X No
Did this m atter originate from a m atler pending in the CentralRegion of the United States
Atlom ey'sOfficepriortoOctober3,2019(Mag.JudgeJaredStrauss)? Yes X No
Respectfully subm itled,
A RIAN A FAJARDO ORSH AN
UN ITED STATES ATTORN EY
BY :
M ICHA EL B.H OM ER
AssistantU nited States Attonzey
Coul'tID N o.A5502497
99 N ol-theast4th Street
M iam i,Florida 33132-21l1
Te1:(305)961-9289
kliclzael.Holnel'@tlsdoj.gov
Case 1:21-cr-20056-AHS Document 3 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/27/2020 Page 2 of 12
U NITED STATES D ISTRICT C OURT
forthe
Southern DistrietofFloricla
U nited StatesofAm elica
V.
caseN o.1:20-MJ-03251-BECERRA
JOEL BELLEGARDE,
kDcJe?;c/r?2J4xJ
CR IM U A L C O M PLA IN T
1,thecolnplainantin tllisoase,statethatthefollowing istnle tothebestofmy knowledgeand belief.
Onoraboutthedatets)of September2018throughJune2020 inthecounty of Vi
ami-Dade inthe
Southern Distlictof Florida ,thedefendantts)violated:
Codes'
ecf/tn/? OfgnseDdà-criyf/o?z
18 U.S.C.!1341 M ailfraud
18 U.S.C.j 1343 Vvire fraud
18 U.S.C.! 1028A(a)(1) Aggravated identity theft
Tlziscrilhinalcomplaintisbased on thesefacts:
See Attached Affidavi
t.
d Continuedontheattachedsheet.
Co plainant'
sw.
gncrz/rc
Julio Fuentes,FBlSpeci
alAgent
Prîntedname = J title
Attested to by theapplicantin accordancewith the
requirem cntsofFed.R.Clim .P.4.1by telephone.
Date: July25,2020
. J r Jllrc
Cit.yand state: Hon.Jacqueline ecerra,U.S,Magistrate Judge
'
inted name= J title
Case 1:21-cr-20056-AHS Document 3 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/27/2020 Page 3 of 12
APPIDAVIT IN SVPPQRT OF CRIM INAL COM PLAINT
1,Julio Fumltts,firstbeing duly sw orn,depost and slatts asfollow s:
INTR O DUCTIO N AN D A GEN T BA CK G RO U ND
1am a SpecialAgentwith the FederalBureau of Investigation (çTBI'')and have
been so em ployed since 2008. Iam assigned to the FBI M iam iDivision's H om estead Resident
Agency.D uringm y cm-eer,lhave participated in ntlm erousinvestigationsinvolving varioustypes
offraud,including wire fraud,access device fraud,and aggravated identity thelt. A s a resultof
m y training and experience, I am fam iliar with the tactics,m ethods, and teclm iques used by
individuals who comm itvarious typesoffraud in violation offederallaw .
'Fhis Affidavit is subm itted in suppoft of a crim inal coluplaint charging JOEL
BELLEGARDE with violationsof18U.S.C.j 1341,thatis,mailfraud;18U.S.C.j 1343,thatis,
wirefraud;and 18U.S.C.j 1028A(a)(1),thatis,agm avated identitytheft.
This Affidavitis based on m y ow n personalknow ledge,training,and experience,
as w ellas infonnatipn provided to m e by other 1aw enfbrcem ent om cers and w itnesszs,and m y
review of doctlm ents,repol-ts,and recordsdtuing the course oftlzis investigation.
4. Ihave notincluded in this Affidavit each and ever.y fact know n to m e aboutthis
investigation. Rather,1have included only enough facts stlfficientto establish probable cause for
the issuance of a crim inal com plaint charging JOEL BELLEGA RD E with the above-described
crim inaloffenses.
PRO BA BLE CA USE
Fraudulentazlcc/lzazTakeoverScltem e
In or around Novelnber 2018,Transalnerica Retireluent Solutions (K&TRS''),a
colrpany'
headqual-tered in CedarRapids, Iow a,contacted law enforcenAentto repol-ta fraudulent
Case 1:21-cr-20056-AHS Document 3 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/27/2020 Page 4 of 12
schem e beilzg pem etrated against TRS. In sum , TRS reported that mA unknown suspect w as
m aldng telephonic callsto the TRS custom er selwice line and using socialengineerillg to gain
accessto TRS custom ers'accounts,andthen subsequently w itlzdraw ing fundsfrom thoseaccotlrits
withoutthe pennission ofthe TRS custoluers.
6. ln these calls,the stlspectim personated legitilnate accotlnt holders by providing
personalidentifyinginfonnation (:TIl'')suchassocialsecuritynumbers,mailingaddresses,and
m others'm aiden nam es,in orderto successfully answersecurity questionsposed by TRS custom er
service representativesand thereby pass TRS sectlrity protocols.O ncethe TRS security protocols
were m et,the suspect began a process that enabled him to w ithdraw ftm ds from the custom er
account. Thisprocesstypically proceeded as follows,
First, the suspect requested to change the account's designated em ail address,
m ailing address, and telephone number. Then, once these changes were m qde, the suspect
requested a w ithdrawalreqtlestfol-m ,w hich TRS custom ersenzice represelztatives em ailed to the
new em ailaddressprovided by the suspect. The suspectthen com pleted the w ithdrawalrequest
fonu and faxed itback to TR S. Ftu-then'
nore,because TRS requires a notarized affidavitforany
addressçhangerequests,thesuspectalso faxed TRS apm-portedly notarized afridavitindicating a
new plzysicaladdress forthe accotlnt.
ln receipt of the colnpleted withdraw al request fonn and notarized change-of-
address affidavit,TRS then m ailed a check to the new address provided by the suspect. The
suspectoran accom plice then deposited the check into theirown bank accotlnts.
9. As a result of this conduct,hum erous TR S account holders suffered sir ificant
losses to their retirelnent accounts,w ith som e accountholders suffering com plete depletions of
theirretirelzzentfunds.
Case 1:21-cr-20056-AHS Document 3 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/27/2020 Page 5 of 12
Viaim azlcctllgzza
1O, In oraround Septem ber2018,following the process described above,the suspect
clianged the m ailing addressforthe TRS accotmtbelonging to victim A .T.,who resided in Ohio,
to aresidencelocatedon Southwesl304t1:Street,Homestead,Florida33033 (the:&304th Street
Address'').ThestlspectalsochangedtheemailaddressfortheTRSaccountbelongingtovictim
A.T.tollaitifol-etenlity@ pnailxcom.ThestlspectcalledTRSfrom telephonenumbers786-494-
9292(the1:9292PhoneNumber'')and786-214-2719(the::2719PhoneNumber'').Atthesuspect's
reqtlest,TRSm ailed acheckfor$23,956.57tothe304th StreetAddress.
In or around Odober 2018,follow ing the process described above,the suspect
clzanged the mailing address for the TRS accotmt belonging to victim J.M .S.,who resided in
Georgia,toaresidencelocatedonNortheast12th Aventle,Homestead,Florida33030tthe4112th
AvenueAddress''). '
I'
hesuspectcalledTRSfrom the9292PhoneNumberandthe2719 Phone
Number. Atthe suspect's request,TRS mailed a check for $40,000.23 to the 12th Avenue
Address. Sim ilm'
ly, in or arotmd N ovem ber 2018,the suspect subm itted a second w ithdraw al
request,asking TRS to m ailawithdrawalcheck in the am ountof$51,865.23to the 12th Avenue
Address. Thisw itlldrawalrequestwas identified by TRS asfraudulent,and TRS did notm ailthe
requested withdraw alcheck.
12. ln or around Novem ber2018,follow ing the process described above,the suspect
clzanged the lnailing address for the TRS account belonging to victim J.R.S.,w ho resided in
Pennsylvania,to the 304th Stred Address. The suspectcalled TRS from the 9292 PhoneN um ber
andtelepholzenumber718-864-7499 (the117499 PhoneNu1Azber''l.Atthesuspect'srequest,TRS
mailed a éheck for$68,000.00to the 304th StreetAddress. Sim ilarly,atthe suspect'srecluest,
TRS subsequelztly mailedasecondcheck for$79,985.00tothe304th StreetAddress.
3
Case 1:21-cr-20056-AHS Document 3 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/27/2020 Page 6 of 12
ln or around Decem ber2018,follow ing the process described above,the suspect
changed the m ailing address for the TRS account belonging to victim J.R.IV.,who resided in
Pennsylvaniw toaresidencelocatedon Southwest269t1:Teln-ace,Homestead,Florida33032(the
1.269t.
11Ten-aceAddress').ThesuspectcalledTRSfrom the7499 PhoneNtlmber.Atthesuspect's
request,TRS m ailed a check for $94,999.97 to the 269th Teln-ace Address.
l4. ln or around M arch 2019, follow ing the process described above, the suspect
changedthem ailing addressfortheTRS accountbelonging to victim S.R .,whoresided in Nevada,
to aresidencelocated on MidlandAvenue,Galfield,New Jersey07026 (the G'klidlalld Avenue
Address'').'
IhesuspectcalledTRSfrom the7499PhoneNumber.Atthesuspect'srequest,TRS
mailed acheck for$93,984,66totheM idland AvenueAddress.
In orderto effecttlate each ofthe fraudtllentaccotlnttakeovers detailed above,tlze
suspect faxed docum ents from s'
Iiam i-D ade County, Floridw to Linn C ognty, Ioww thereby
transm itling w ire com m tlnications in interstate colum erce.
16. The FB Iintelwiew ed a11ofthe above victim s,al1ofwhom confinzzed they did not
authorize anyoneto nzake any changesto theirrespective TRS accounts.
TRS also identified severalother accountsthatappeared to betargeted by the sam e
pem etrators, but TRS was able to identify and decline the attem pted fraudulent withdraw al
requestsbeforethe withdraw alchecksw ere issued.
Ident+ cation OfJOEL BELLEGARDE
Law enforcem ent requested subscriber records for the telephone num bers
referenced above thatthe susped had used to callTRS and com prom ise the TRS accounts. These
recordsrevealed thatthe 2719 PhoneN um berand tlze 7499 Phone N um berwere 170th subscribed
to JOEL BELLEGA RD E.
Case 1:21-cr-20056-AHS Document 3 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/27/2020 Page 7 of 12
Asdescribed above,during thecom prom iseof1heTRS accountbelongingtovictim
A.T.,the suspect changed the emailaddress on the accountto haitt
-tordemity@ puail.com.
Accordingtoinfonuationprovidedby GoogleLLC (&tGoogle''),tlzatemailaddresswasassociated
witharecoveryemailaddresslofjuelz3zo@ gmailacom.
2O. JOEL BELLEGARDE listed the email address juelz3zo@gmail.com on his
custom el-profile atRegions Bankowhere he held personaland business'
bank accotmts.
21. Asdescribed above,duringthecom prom iseoftheTRS accquntbelonging to vidim
J.MI.S,the suspect changed the lnailing address on the accountto the 12th Avenue Address. A
public records search ofthe 12th Avenue A ddress revealed thataddressw as listed asthe address
forD ialuondbacksBlue Col'
p,w ith the Florida D ivision ofCorporations.
22. JOEL BELLEGARDE was listed as the President of D iam ondbacks Blue Corp.
with the Florida Division ofCol-porations.
23. Asdescribed above,durilzgthecom pronlise oftheTR S accountbelongingto victiln
J.R.S.,the suspect changed the m ailing address on the accountto the 304th Street Address,and
TRS m ailed tw o withdraw al checks to that address. TRS provided law ellforcem ent with the
FedEx tracking num ber for the package containing the second w ithdraw alcheck. According to
.
inform ation provided by FedEx,beforethispackage w asdelivered to the 3041 StreetA ddress,an
individualim personating victim J.R.S.called FedEx and asked for the package to be held at a
nearby FedEx retailstore forpickup.
.
l lntenaet providers such as Google often requestthat subsclibers of an em ailaccount
providealtrecovel-y em ailaddressy''i.e.asecond em ailaddresswhichtheprovidercan tlseto em ail
password reset or recovery instlmctions forthe prim al'y em ailaddress ifthe subscriber becom es
unableto access the prim ary em ailaddress.
5
Case 1:21-cr-20056-AHS Document 3 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/27/2020 Page 8 of 12
24. Ihavereview ed video sulweillancefrom thisFedEx retailstore,w hich show sJOEL
BELLEGARD E an-iving attheFedEx store and picking up thepackage addressed to victim J.R.S,
containing the '
T'
R S w ithdraw alcheck.
25. In orarotm d Novem ber 2018,1review ed the publicly available Facebook profile
for JOEL BELLEGARDE. The Facebook profile feattlres photographs depicting large sum s of
cash. One such photograpllincltlded the caption,ttu llderstalld Ionly w ork a 9-5 cause 1choseto,
andthejobslgoforpaymeverywell,butarealzoegonhustleinmanyways.Justalilsumthing
Imade in lessthan 30 mintltes,notbad fora Sunday.amightjustspoilmyselfand somebody
daughtertoday.,//zoem oneybaby #w ewilm ing.''
26. A query ofthe Florida D epartm entof Econom ic Oppol4unity revealed that JO EL
BELLEGARDE w asnotem ployed during 2018.
FSf Controlled D e/ipcry
27. In or m-ound Februal-y 2019,TRS identified thatthe TRS accountbelonging to
victim A .S.wasbeing targeted perthefraudulentschem e described above. TRS notified the FBI
thatthe suspecthad called TRS from the 7499 Phone N um ber,requested thatthe address on the
accotlntbe changed to the 12th Avenue Address,and requested a withdraw alcheck be m ailed to
the 12th Avenue Address.
Atthe FBI's direction, TRS qgreed to issue and m ailthe requested w ithdrawal
check so thatthe FBIcould conducta controlled delivery ofthe check. Accordingly,TR S issued
a check m ade outto victim A.S..,in the am otm tof $51,212.34,and m ailed the clleck to 1he 12th
Avenue A ddress via FedEx. 1 then w orked with FedEx security specialists to an'ange forthe
pacltage containing the check to be lzeld at a local FedEx retail store for pickup,rather than
délivered to the 12tlzAvenueAddresj. TRS provided thesuspectwitlla FedEx trackingnum ber
Case 1:21-cr-20056-AHS Document 3 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/27/2020 Page 9 of 12
forthepackagecontaining1hecheck which would havealiowedthesuspectto learn,oncehe
aqcessedtlw.FedExwebsittand entertdthetracking munber,thatthepackagewasbdngiwld for
pick'
up atthe FedEx store,ratherthan being delivered to the 12th Avenue Address.
0n oraboutFebrual'
y 13,2019,atapproxim ately l:10 p.m .,FBIsmweillatlce unlts
observed JOEL BELLEGAR DE arrive by vehicle atthe 12th Avenue Address.
30. Laterthatsam e day,atapproxim ately 02:41p.m .,FB1surveillance ulzits observed
a fem ale entering the FedEx store where the package from TRS w as being held forpickup. This
fem alerequestedtopick upthepackageforA .S.,on behalfofherpurported boyfriend.Thefelnale
provided a Florida D riverLicense to the FedEx em ployee operatilzg tlle counteratthe store. That
license depicted the 12th Avenue Address, and the nmue R,J, Th: FedEx em ployee took a
photograph ofthelicense,andnotifiedR.J.thatA.S.neededto retrievethepackagehimself.
Laterthatsam e day,atapproxim ately 06:40 p.m .,FB Isurveillance units obselwed
JOEL BELLEG ARD E anive atatzd enterthe FedEx store. JOEL BELLEG ARDE requested to
pick up the package for A .S., and provided a Flolida Driver License to the FedEx employee
operating the counter atthe store. Thatlicense depicted the 12th Avenue A ddress,tlze nam e of
viqtim A .S.,and aphotograph ofJOEL BELLEGARDE.The FedEx em ployeetook a photograph
ofthe license,and released the package to JOEL BELLEGA RD E. JOEL BELLEG ARDE then
leftthe store w ith thepackage addressed to victim A .S.containing the check from TRS.
32. Victim A.S.was interview ed by the FB1and confinned that11edid notknow JOEL
BELLEGARDE mld thathehad notauthorized anyoneto m ake any changesto hisTR S accokmt.
FraudulentC'
rez/k CardApplication Scltem e
33. In orarotmdNlarch2020,CapitalOneFinancialCorp.(çtcapitalOne'')contacted
law ellforcem enttorepoli afraudulentschem ethatwasbeing perpetrated againstCapitalOne. In
Case 1:21-cr-20056-AHS Document 3 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/27/2020 Page 10 of 12
stun,CapitalOnerepol-ted thatan unknown suspectwas using stolen P1Ito fratldulently apply for
CapitalOne creditcards, CapitalOne identified twenty-two fraudulentapplications,subm itted
from in oraround September2019tlzrough in oraround M arch 2020,which w ere linkedby m ailing
addresses,Intem etProtocol(IP)addresses,telephonenumbers,andemailaddresses.CapitalOne
approved five of the tw enty-tw o fraudulent.appltcations, resulting in Capital One suffering a
financialloss.
34. CapitalOnereportedthatthemajorityofthesetwenty-twofraudulentapplications
iisted the sam e m ailing addl-ess 8830 N orthw est 36th Street, Apiu-tm ent 1305, D oral, Fiorida
33178.
35, A publicrecordssearch revealsthat,from in orarotmd September2019tlzrough in
Orétfolm d M arch 2020,JOEL BELLEGARDE resided at 8830 N orthw est36th Street, Apallm ent
1305,Doral,Florida 33178.
36. CapitalOneftlrtherrepol-tedthatthemajorityofthesefraudulentapplicationswere
submittedfrom IP address108.226.110.82 (thettsuspectIP Address'').
37. Records provided by Citibank N.A.(Itcitibmzk'') indicate tllatthe SuspectIP
Addresswaspreviously used to accessJOEL BELLEG ARD E'SCitibank online banking account.
Sim ilarly,records provided by Regions Bal)k indicatethatthe SuspectIP Address
w aspreviously used to accessJOEL BELLEG ARDE'S Regions Balzk online ballking accotlnt.
39. Furthennore,records provided by FedEx indicate thatthe StlspectIP Addressw as
used to check the tracking infbl-
m ation forthe package sentby TR S'as partofthe FBIcontrolled
delivery described above in Paragraphs27 through 32.
40. Records provided by the intelmet selwice provider that leased the Stlspect IP
Address revealed that atvarioustim esfrom on or aboutDecem ber 1,20l8,through on or about
8
Case 1:21-cr-20056-AHS Document 3 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/27/2020 Page 11 of 12
June 28,2020,the Suspect IP A ddress w as assigned to JO EL BELLEGA RD E and the address
8830 N orthw est3601Street Apartm ent 1305 Doral, Florida 33178 i.e.JOEL BELLEGARDE'S
residence.
FrfllzfllzlaltCA RES ztc/Schem e
41. 'TheSocialSecurity Actof1935establislzedthetmemploymentinsurance(&t
UI'')
system . The U 1system is designed to provide benefhs to personsoutofw ork dueto no fault of
theirown,and isadm inistered forthefederalgovermnentbythevarious stateem ploym entom ces.
42. Jh the State of Oldahom a,the state agency.responsible for adm ilzistering the U1
system isknownastheOklahomaEluploymentSecurityConunission(thel'OklahomaESC'').
43, The Coronavil-us Aid,Relietl t
md Economic Security (CARES)Ad,passed by
Conv ess and signed into 1aw on oraboutM arch 27,2020,provided protectionsto the Am erican
peoplefrom the public health and econom ic im pacts ofCOV ID-19.
44. Am ong otherthings,the CA RES A ct expanded tlnem ploym entbenefhsto people
affbcted by CO VID -19 by expanding eligibility fortheU lsystem and increasing the dollaram ount
ofU Ibenefitpaym ents.
45. In or around June 2020,the State of Oklahom a notified 1aw enforceluentthatthe
Oklalzom a ESC had received num erous fraudulent U I claim s which had been filed using the
SuspectP Address. Specifically,State ofOklahom arecords retlectthatfrom on or aboutApril
23,2020,through on oraboutJune 23,2020,the SuspectIP A ddressaccessed theO klahom a ESC
website over l00 tim es in an attem pt to file at least tw enty-two tm ique and fratldulent State of
OklaholhaU Iclaim s.
46. A11ofthesefkaudulentU Iclaim sw ereaccessed onlineusingtheStlspectIP Address
wlzile the Suspect P Address was assigned to JOEL BELLEGARDE anttthe address 8830
Case 1:21-cr-20056-AHS Document 3 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/27/2020 Page 12 of 12
N Orthw est 36th street, Apallm ent 1305, Doral, Florida 33178, i.e. JOEL BELLEG ARDE'S
address.
47. TheOklalzom a ESC ultim ately approved a)d paid six ofthefratldulentunem ployed
U Iclaim s. The Oklahom a ESC distributed the approved U1 benefitfunds in the fonn of direct
deposits onto prepaid debit cards,whiclzw ere subsequently m ailed to addressesprovided by the
claim ant.
48. '
lahe m ailing addressprovided by the clailnantfortw o ofthese U 1prepaid debit
CardS W aS 8830 N ol-thw est 36th Street, Apal-tm ent 1305, D oral, Florida 33178, i.e. JOEL
BELLEG ARDE'S address.
CO N CLUSIO N
49. Based on theforegoing,1respectftllly subm itthere isprobablecauseto believethat
JOEL B, ELLEGARDE did commitviolationsof18 U.S.
C.j 1341,thatis,mailfraud'
,18U.S.C.
j 1343,thatis,wirefraud;and 18 U.S.C.j 1028A(a)(1),thatis,aggravatedidentitythefl.
FURTHER YOUR AFFIANT SAYETH NAUGHT.
l-- -
JULIO FUEN TES
fBISPECIAL A GEN T
Atlested to in accqrdancew ith the requirem entq
ofFed.R.Cl-im .P.4.1 by telephone
this 25 day ofJuly,2020.
HONORABLE . k INE BECERRA
U NITED STAT S M AG ISTRAR'E JUD GE
10
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