Ex-Miramar employee pleads guilty to fraud

A former Miramar city employee is facing up to 60 years in prison after pleading guilty to mail fraud charges in a cellphone peddling scheme, federal prosecutors said.

Brian M. Chen, 39, of Weston, was an Information Technology Analyst with the Miramar Police Department since 2007. He used his position to order and sell more than 1,000 illegally obtained cellphones over a five year period and pocketed about $800,000, according to federal court documents.

Police discovered fluctuations in billing for the department’s service provider Verizon Wireless, said spokeswoman Tania Rues.

An audit and internal investigation concluded that Chen had been running the scheme, since 2013, as the administrator in charge of the purchase and use of cellular devices, she said.

Chief Dexter Williams contacted the FBI and Chen was indicted in January.

“Brian’s actions certainly do not reflect the integrity and dedication of the hardworking employees who serve the Miramar Police Department,” Williams said in a statement, Thursday.

The department lost an estimated $350,000 and has since implemented additional layers of approval and oversight to prevent the misappropriation of funds and assets, Rues said.

Chen is scheduled to be sentenced May 2 in federal court in Fort Lauderdale. In addition to prison time, he could be fined up to $750,000, prosecutors said.