FLORIDA – A federal jury in South Florida has found a federal agent guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice for using his position as an agent to protect an oxycodone trafficking scheme, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida (USAO).
Alberico Ahias Crespo, 48, a Special Agent with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), was convicted last month of three substantive counts of witness tampering, conspiracy to commit witness tampering, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
According to evidence introduced at trial, during the time of the criminal activity, Crespo worked as part of the South Florida Health Care Fraud Strike Force, made up of interagency teams of federal investigators and prosecutors focused on combating healthcare fraud and healthcare-related narcotics trafficking in Southern Florida.
Evidence showed that Crespo used his position as an agent to obstruct relevant federal healthcare fraud investigations, including ones in which Crespo himself was implicated, and safeguard and develop a multi-year oxycodone trafficking conspiracy.
“The vast majority of law enforcement officers uphold their duties with the highest level of integrity. But, where the toxic mix of ego, arrogance, and corruption taint an agent’s convictions, the criminal justice system will hold the officer accountable,” stated Markenzy Lapointe, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
“The verdict in this matter reminds us that no one is untouchable, no one is above the law, and that there are severe consequences for anyone who engages in witness tampering and the obstruction of justice.”
From November 2016 to July 2020, previously convicted patient recruiters Jorge Diaz Gutierrez, Yandre Trujillo Hernandez, and Anais Lorenzo, were part of the illegal oxycodone trafficking scheme involving patients, pharmacies, and medical clinics. The patient recruiters reportedly directed people to certain medical facilities to get unnecessary oxycodone prescriptions.
According to court documents, once the patients obtained the prescriptions, they would give them to the patient recruiters in exchange for money. The patients would sell the oxycodone tablets (at a markup) to independent street dealers after filling the prescriptions at pharmacies chosen by the recruiters.
Crespo and Diaz Gutierrez were close friends and coworkers, even though Diaz Gutierrez was a wanted felon by the Strike Force.
Prosecutors said Crespo used his position as an HHS-OIG Special Agent working on healthcare fraud cases to protect Diaz Gutierrez’s oxycodone operation. Crespo reportedly accomplished this by keeping track of Diaz Gutierrez’s involvement in Strike Force investigations, gaining access to information, sharing sensitive law enforcement information with Diaz Gutierrez, keeping Diaz Gutierrez informed of the status of healthcare fraud investigations, and teaching Diaz Gutierrez how to fabricate evidence and lie to investigators.
Crespo was acquitted on the charge of conspiracy to traffic oxycodone. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each count of conviction.
Crespo is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles on November 28, 2023.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, and Christian J. Schrank, Deputy Inspector General for Investigations, HHS-OIG,, made the announcement.
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U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe commended the investigative efforts of FBI and HHS-OIG. Assistant United States Attorneys Sean T. McLaughlin and Christopher Clark prosecuted this case.
You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-20005.
