Sunday, September 02, 2018

Miami-Dade Police Officer Indicted on Conspiracy and Theft of Government Money Charges


A Miami-Dade Police Officer had her initial appearance today on conspiracy and theft of government money charges.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Michael J. De Palma, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Juan J. Perez, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), made the announcement.

Ebony Nesbitt, 28, of North Miami, was charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371; and one count of theft of government money, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641.  If convicted, Nesbitt faces a maximum statutory sentence of 5 years in prison for the conspiracy and 10 years in prison for the theft.  Nesbitt is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment on September 12, 2018.

According to the indictment, Nesbitt participated in a scheme in which she and her co-conspirators designated Nesbitt’s Higher One, Inc. bank account to receive the direct deposit of a fraudulently obtained federal income tax refund.  The refund was deposited into Nesbitt’s Higher One, Inc. account on October 2, 2013, before Nesbitt joined the MDPD as a police officer.

An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the FBI, IRS-CI, MDPD, and FBI Miami Area Corruption Task Force in this matter.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Dobbins.

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