LTC 285-2011 MB Police Detective Ricardo Arias IAFCI Officer of the Year ` .. M IAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER � NNOV NO LTC # 285-2011 LETTER TO CU 0 9
CI i Y U GF r' ICI:
TO Mayor Matti Herrera Bower and Members of the City Commission
FROM Jorge M Gonzalez, City Manager
DATE November 10, 2011 di •
SUBJECT Miami Beach Police Detective Ricardo Arias IAFCI Officer of the Year
This Letter to the Mayor and City Commission is to recognize MBPD Detective Ricardo
Arias for being selected as the International Association of Financial Crimes
Investigators (IAFCI) Officer of the Year Detective Arias is a fourteen year veteran of
the MBPD had has been assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division's Economic
Crimes Squad for the last four years In this capacity, Detective Arias has developed an
extraordinary expertise in the areas of credit card fraud, check fraud, Internet fraud,
computer crimes, merchandise trademark infringements, and embezzlement
Economic Crimes investigations are multifaceted, involved, technical, and long term
They require Intensive investigation, patience, knowledge and the ability to understand
and interpret complex data Detective Arias does a phenomenal job and has the ability
to apply the almost impossible requirements of the legal system as well as all regulations
set forth by of the banking, retail, and finance industries Detective Arias is a member of
the U S Secret Service's Miami Electronic Crimes Task Force (MECTF) and works on a
variety of electronic crime cases He also maintains regular contact with various fraud
networks such as FISA (Financial Institutions Security Association) and IC3 (Internet
Crime Complaint Center)
Detective Arias was recognized for this prestigious award for his outstanding work on a
number of high profile investigative cases as well as his willingness to go above and
beyond to assist during the prosecutorial portion of the case as well as the initial
investigation Below are just a few of the extremely challenging cases he has been
involved in recently
• On October 13, 2009, Detective Arias received a Unit Citation for his work with
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents regarding fraudulent
passports being intercepted by the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA)
Intelligence Directorate The package was delivered to the UPS store on Miami
Beach After hours of surveillance, a mobile surveillance was established which
subsequently lead to the arrest and recovery of $145,000 00, additional
counterfeit passports, credit cards, one (1) laptop computer, and Western Union
and Money Gram receipts The subject was a citizen and national of Romania
and had an active NCIC warrant out of Chicago for Federal fraud and money
laundering charges Additionally, the subject was a fugitive and had an extensive
fraud history, including previous cases in Miami Beach
• On December 9, 2009, Detective Arias was nominated for Officer of the Month
following his arrest of a bank teller who had accessed three accounts and had
passed along sensitive banking information pertaining to the three victims Two
additional suspects then used this information to set up wire transfers to commit
the theft Detective Arias interviewed the defendant (band teller) and confronted
her with the three compromised accounts The defendant admitted to the transfer
of over $841,500 00
• On December 16, 2009, Detective Arias worked a prostitution detail with our
department's gang unit The sergeant of the unit, Sergeant C Weiss was very
impressed with Detective Arias' knowledge and willingness to assist in their
detail Detective Arias educated them on Economic Crimes and worked hand in
hand with them showing them what to look for when dealing with prostitutes and
Economic Crime related cases Sergeant Weiss was very appreciative for the
opportunity to work with Detective Arias
• On December 29, 2009, Detective Arias received a Unit Citation for his
participation during "Operation Grinch Busters " Detective Arias was one of
several Miami Beach detectives who along with Immigration and Customs
Enforcement Agency (ICE), Miami Dade Police Department detectives, and a
group of trademark experts, which raided five target locations where fraudulent
trademark merchandise were being sold Fraudulent merchandise was
recovered and removed from the shelves of the various locations
• On January 26, 2010, Detective Arias received accolades from Vazquez
Major Vaz
1 q
with regards to an arrest he made where over $6,000 00 in merchandise was
recovered and a GMC Yukon was confiscated
• On March 12, 2010, Detective Arias was nominated for a Letter of
Commendation for his presentation in our department's "2010 Spring Break
Symposium " Detective Arias amongst a few other selected detectives, educated
the business community regarding responsible practices Over 40 attendees
were present for the meeting, representing numerous nightclubs, hotels, and
restaurants The symposium was well received and educational due to the
professional manner in which the presentations were given
• On April 8, 2010, Detective Arias met with business owners of the Gansevoort
Hotel and Restaurant at their request and shared with them an educational
presentation on how to protect themselves from credit card fraud and skimming
devices The hotel management was very impressed and appreciative with
Detective Arias and his presentation
• On April 30th, 2010, Miami Electronic Crimes Task Force Supervisor, Robert
Villanueva, of the US Secret Service sent the Miami Beach Police Department a
letter of appreciation for Detective Arias' assistance and professionalism
following an arrest they made Detective Arias was instrumental during the
interview process of the "detained suspect" of an international organized criminal
group
• On May 2010, Detective Arias was instrumental in the initiation and development
of the Secret Service Operation regarding an ongoing ACH fraud investigation
involving an organized criminal group with members located throughout the US,
Eastern Europe and Russia This group is responsible for millions of dollars of
loss to victims throughout the U S and is a constant drain on the U S financial
infrastructure Detective Arias has played a major role in this investigation from
its inception through to the present prosecutorial phase
• On June 2, 2010, Chief Noriega and Major Vazquez gave Detective Arias
accolades for his arrest of a subject who was stopped and found to be in
possession of $12,420 00 in quick count bundles all in denominations of $20 00
as well as 16 re- encoded gift cards, aff with PIN (personal Identification
numbers) The gift cards contained stolen checking account information for
unknown victims with PIN information thus allowing the defendant to illegally
access these accounts via ATM to steal the monies contained therein Detective
Arias' exceptional investigative skills and interview techniques lead to the
confiscation of $12,420 00
• On June 2, 2010, Detective Arias also received accolades from US Secret
Service Supervisor Robert Villanueva with regards to a fraud investigation and
arrest of a Russian national The take down of the subject was very smooth and
professional Detective Arias was the lead investigator of this very high profile
case, which lead to several additional international arrests and pending money
seizure
• Detective Arias was selected to attend the Basic Investigation of Computers and
Electronic Crimes Program (BICEP) in Hoover Alabama in April 2010 These
selections were made from a total of 69 nominations
• On March 24, 2011, Detective Arias aggressively pursued an investigation of
$110,000 check fraud investigation, in which the suspect was a key witness to an
attempted homicide in Dade County The investigation, to include multiple
interviews and photo line -ups, were concluded within the same day the lead was
provided The following day a warrant was issued and the defendant was
subsequently taken into custody without incident Due to Detective Arias
aggressive investigation, the defendant in this case agreed to cooperate as
witness of the attempted homicide case
• On May 11, 2011, Detective Arias investigated a group of foreign nationals who
came to the United States for the purpose of committing ACH fraud Detective
Arias' swift and aggressive investigation resulted in three arrests and the seizure
of the proceeds of the group's activities The seized items included money,
expensive electronics, and jewelry In addition, to sixty -five (65) access devices
to include both credit and debit cards were also seized
Please join me in congratulating Detective Arias on this remarkable accomplishment.
The Miami Beach Police Department is proud to have individuals of his caliber,
impressive work habits, dedication, and professionalism as part of their team
JMG RAM tr