Sentencing of Former City of Miami Police Officer

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office; and Miguel A. Exposito, Chief, City of Miami Police Department, announced that former City of Miami Police Officer Charley Braynen was sentenced today on two charges of extortion under color of law, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951(a) for his actions in accepting payments of goods for providing an individual a false police report, and then for providing protection for what was represented to be a delivery of stolen property. Braynen previously pled guilty to these charges, which arose from an undercover investigation jointly conducted by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the City of Miami Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit.

In a morning hearing in Miami, Judge Marcia G. Cooke sentenced Braynen to six months in prison, to be followed by six months of home detention and an additional 18 months of supervised release. Braynen was also fined $3000 and ordered to forfeit to the government the payments he had received for providing his illegal services.

As shown in the guilty plea and sentencing proceedings, during 2010, Braynen, a 14-year veteran of the City of Miami Police Department, used his police position to provide an associate with a variety of illegal services, including providing a false police traffic accident report to be used in filing a false insurance claim, and providing protection to that individual while they were receiving what were represented to be deliveries of stolen property for resale. The stolen property supposedly being delivered included iPhones and other electronics. In exchange for his illegal services, Braynen was paid with variety of merchandise including a number of iPhones which were purportedly stolen.

Mr. Ferrer commended the dedicated work of the agents and officers of the FBI and the City of Miami Police Department who were involved in this investigation and prosecution. The sentencing in this case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Stamm.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.