Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Deputy’s alibi: I was working
Officer charged in ID theft says he was investigating; judge says he’ll stay in jail
A Palm Beach sheriff ’s deputy accused of using his job to steal identities claimed he was conducting his own investigation of a convicted fraudster, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Deputy Frantz Felisma, who has been placed on paid leave while the case is pending, will remain jailed on the grounds that he might try to flee from justice and that he might intimidate potential witnesses or their family members, a judge ruled.
Felisma’s lawyers argued that Felisma, who they said was named Deputy of the Year for the Delray Beach region of the Sheriff’s Office just two days before his arrest last month, has a long history of helping the community.
U.S. Magistrate Judge James Hopkins rejected the defense’s request to release Felisma on bond or with an electronic monitor.
"I can’t imagine a much more serious offense than this," the judge said. "For a law enforcement officer to be selling his position and selling ... information to a known fraudster is one of the most serious crimes I can possibly imagine."
Investigators said they found no evidence that Felisma, 42, a road patrol deputy, told his colleagues or supervisors what he was doing or that he was conducting any legitimate investigation.
One allegation the judge said
he found particularly troubling was that Felisma was investigated in 2011 after witnesses said he pulled either a gun or a Taser on a man accused of causing a disturbance at a Palm Beach County nightclub owned by a friend of Felisma’s brother. Witnesses said Felisma, who was off duty at the time, showed up in a marked patrol car and wearing his deputy uniform, but fled when someone called 911 during the incident.
State prosecutors declined to file charges because of conflicting witness accounts but federal prosecutors said it showed Felisma’s “lack of judgment and a willingness to use his official authority to get his way or show his authority.”
In the identity theft and fraud case, federal prosecutors said an acquaintance of Felisma’s offered him $10,000 per month to use his access to law enforcement computers and databases to steal dozens of identities and personal information.
They said they don’t have evidence he was actually paid that much money but that there were at least $14,000 worth of unusual cash deposits into his account during the alleged conspiracy.
Prosecutor Lauren Jorgensen said that, during an 18-month period in 2013 and 2014, Felisma repeatedly logged on to secured law enforcement databases to get information for a man he knew had multiple prior state convictions, including one for felony fraud.
That felon, Kesner Joaseus, is currently jailed awaiting sentencing in March for three new federal convictions in two cases. He pleaded guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge linked to a scam where he and others illegally took over control of homes in Broward and Palm Beach counties that were in foreclosure and rented them out to about 150 tenants. Joaseus also pleaded guilty to two identity theft charges in a related credit card fraud case.
Joaseus, 47, of Wellington, admitted he used the credit cards and money he illegally obtained to buy three vehicles, including two Mercedes-Benz automobiles, to pay tuition for his children at two private schools and to make other purchases and pay personal expenses, according to his plea agreement.
Joaseus agreed he owes more than $670,000 to victims of his twin frauds. He told investigators from Homeland Security Investigations and Lantana police that he targeted victims in the credit card fraud by jotting down license plate numbers from “fancy cars” he noticed, including Maseratis, Jaguars and a Bentley.
Joaseus said he then passed along that information to Felisma, who could look up the owners’ names, dates of birth and other personal information that Joaseus used to illegally obtain lines of credit.
Prosecutors said Joaseus was jailed for months before he agreed to cooperate with them. They said he was “scared” that Felisma would harm him or his family and only reluctantly cooperated after pleading guilty in August.
In a four-hour statement to investigators after he was arrested on Dec. 21, Felisma told investigators that Joaseus had victimized his brother twice in the rental fraud. Investigators said Felisma’s brother told them that he knew he was living in an illegal rental and just moved his belongings out when the bank officials realized he was living there.
Felisma is a former goalkeeper for the Haitian national soccer team who moved to the U.S., became a citizen and has worked as a sheriff’s deputy for about seven years, his lawyer Jason Kreiss said.
Felisma, of Boynton Beach, won at least three significant awards for his service during his time in law enforcement and is also a popular volunteer and soccer coach. Kreiss attempted to attack Joaseus’s credibility as a witness during the hearing.
Felisma faces a federal prison term of seven or eight years if convicted, authorities said. The prosecution said he was linked to about $250,000 worth of fraud.
More than 30 supporters attended the hearing and Felisma’s wife, Daphnee, collapsed in the hallway outside the courtroom moments after the judge announced his decision.
A deputy U.S. marshal provided medical care to the woman who appeared to be unconscious and paramedics later took her to a hospital. Kreiss said late Thursday that Daphnee Felisma was expected to remain in the hospital overnight for monitoring.
Kreiss said Felisma will likely appeal the judge’s decision to keep him locked up pending trial.