Hialeah Woman Accused of Embezzling $2.6 Million

MIAMI, FL — A 55-year-old Hialeah woman is accused of embezzling some $2.6 million from her employer over a six-year period. Carmen Silvia Rodriguez is facing federal fraud charges related to a series of alleged thefts that took place between 2010 and 2016. Federal prosecutors said Rodriguez took the money from Starboard Cruise Services, Inc., which operates tax- and duty-free retail stores aboard cruise ships.

The charges were announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg, and Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Miami Field Office George L. Piro.

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Federal prosecutors said Rodriguez worked in the company's Finance and Administration Department. "There, Rodriguez accessed company records related to two former SCS vendors . . and added her own bank account information to the two vendors’ accounts," officials said.

Rodriguez allegedly created false internal invoices that reflected inflated prices of goods purchased by Starboard. Prosecutors said she often overstated the shipping and handling costs associated with purchases and pocketed the difference.

"For each of the inflated and/or false internal invoices, Rodriguez created a false purchase order," prosecutors said. The company paid $2,669,372.30 in electronic Automated Clearinghouse payments to Rodriguez’s personal bank accounts.

Rodriguez was charged with two counts of wire fraud. Each count carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison. Rodriguez made her initial appearance in federal court earlier this week before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin G. Torres.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Browne.

Photo of the U.S. courthouse in Miami courtesy of the federal courthouse