Florida – Alberico Ahias Crespo, a 48-year-old former special agent of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), has been sentenced to a prison term of 97 months following his conviction on multiple charges. These charges include witness tampering, conspiracy to commit witness tampering, and conspiracy to obstruct justice. After his prison term, Crespo will be under supervised release for three years, as ordered by U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles.
Crespo’s Involvement in Oxycodone Trafficking and Obstruction of Justice
Trial evidence revealed Crespo’s illicit activities while he was actively serving as part of the South Florida Health Care Fraud Strike Force. This team, consisting of federal investigators and prosecutors, focuses on health care fraud and health care-related narcotics trafficking in South Florida. Crespo took advantage of his position as a federal agent to both facilitate and protect an extensive oxycodone trafficking operation. Additionally, he sought to obstruct ongoing federal health care fraud investigations, some of which he was personally involved in.
From November 2016 until July 2020, patient recruiters Jorge Diaz Gutierrez, Yandre Trujillo Hernandez, and Anais Lorenzo were part of an illegal scheme involving oxycodone distribution. They directed patients to specific medical clinics to obtain unnecessary oxycodone prescriptions. These prescriptions were then exchanged for money, filled at designated pharmacies, and the oxycodone sold to third-party dealers.
Crespo’s close association with Diaz Gutierrez, a target of the Strike Force, played a pivotal role in his criminal activities. He used his position to protect Diaz Gutierrez’s oxycodone operation by monitoring investigations involving Diaz Gutierrez, leaking sensitive information, and advising on how to mislead investigators and tamper with evidence.
The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Jeffrey B. Veltri, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, Miami Field Office, and Christian J. Schrank, Deputy Inspector General for Investigations at HHS-OIG. Lapointe applauded the efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG in their investigative work.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean T. McLaughlin and Christopher Clark. Court-related documents and information for this case can be accessed on the Southern District of Florida District Court’s website at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or through http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, by searching for case number 21-cr-20005.
