Five residents of Miami Gardens have pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related to a scheme involving stolen U.S. Postal Service mail keys, counterfeit checks, and drug trafficking. The group is accused of stealing checks and other mail, then using fake identification to cash altered checks for higher amounts.
Court documents show that between September 2021 and May 2023, Angel Joe Gonzalez, Evens Necler Monestime, David Gonzalez, Cristina Azahares, and Adriana Ginel conspired to defraud federally insured banks. Their activities included obtaining U.S. Postal Service arrow keys without authorization to access locked mailboxes, stealing mail to acquire checks, creating forged checks using information from the stolen items, and using personal data such as names and bank account numbers for fraudulent purposes. They deposited the altered checks into accounts they controlled and used the proceeds for personal gain.
Some members of the group were also involved in drug trafficking.
“These defendants targeted hardworking members of our community — stealing their mail, altering their checks, and exploiting their personal information for profit,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “At the same time, they trafficked dangerous drugs and armed themselves, bringing violence and fentanyl into our neighborhoods. That combination of fraud and drug dealing puts real people at risk. The Southern District of Florida will continue to dismantle these networks and protect the financial security and safety of our community.”
The investigation began on May 3, 2023 when Miami Gardens Police responded to reports of gunfire at a residence shared by Angel Joe Gonzalez, Azahares, and Monestime. Authorities discovered about $1.7 million in stolen checks along with stolen mail containing personal information belonging to others who did not live there. Police also seized six postal service keys; forty debit or credit cards with names not matching those present; additional checks addressed to various individuals or companies; as well as electronic devices including twenty-seven cell phones and six laptops.
Police also found firearms with ammunition at the scene alongside narcotics packaged for sale such as heroin, cocaine, MDMA pills, fentanyl (found inside a Lexus registered to Gonzalez), scales used for packaging drugs, baggies for distribution purposes, plus more debit or credit cards issued under different names.
Angel Joe Gonzalez pleaded guilty to possession of stolen mail keys; conspiracy to commit money laundering; possession with intent to distribute controlled substances; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes. Monestime admitted guilt on charges including conspiracy to commit bank fraud; possession with intent to distribute controlled substances; possessing stolen postal keys; plus having a firearm during drug offenses. David Gonzalez pleaded guilty on counts involving conspiracy to commit bank fraud; aggravated identity theft; possessing stolen postal keys while Azahares and Ginel each admitted guilt regarding bank fraud plus aggravated identity theft related specifically toward cashing altered or stolen checks.
Investigators learned that Angel Joe Gonzalez along with David Gonzalez moderated an online Telegram group consisting of around two thousand users where they sold stolen checks.
Angel Joe Gonzalez and Monestime each face mandatory minimum sentences of five years in prison up to life imprisonment if convicted on all counts while David Gonzalez together with Azahares or Ginel could receive between two years minimum up through thirty years maximum incarceration.
The case was announced by Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division along with U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones (Southern District of Florida), Special Agent Brett D. Skiles (FBI Miami), Inspector Bladismir Rojo (U.S Postal Inspection Service Miami), Special Agent Rafael Barros (U.S Secret Service Miami), plus City Police Chief Delma Noel-Pratt (Miami Gardens).
Multiple agencies participated in investigating this case: FBI Miami Field Office; USPIS Miami Division; USSS Miami Field Office; City of Miami Gardens Police Department.
Prosecution is being handled by Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Hayden P. O’Byrne together with Assistant U.S Attorney Quinshawna Landon (Southern District Florida) as well as Trial Attorneys Jennifer Burns & Alieu Kargbo from DOJ’s Violent Crime & Racketeering Section.
This prosecution falls under the Justice Department’s Violent Crime Initiative which coordinates local/state/federal resources against violent crime committed by gang members or associates within Miami communities.
Related court documents can be accessed via www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 24-cr-20353.
