Miami, Florida – Four Florida residents — Carlos Orlando Ledesma, 56, Nadia Esperanza Ledesma, 45, and Roberto Marrero-Cisneros, 65 (all from Miami), and Osmani Valdivia Perez, 55 (from Lehigh Acres), were arrested and have made their initial appearances in federal court to face charges in the Southern District of Florida that they exported around 600 stolen outboard engines to Mexico through a Miami-based freight forwarding company.
Nadia Ledesma is the President of a freight forwarding company in Miami, and Carlos Ledesma is the warehouse manager. According to allegations in the indictment, from 2015 to 2018, Carlos and Nadia Ledesma received stolen outboard engines from Valdivia and others for export to Mexico. Valdivia paid cash for the exportation of the stolen outboard engines he delivered to the freight company himself, as well as for the exportation of stolen outboard engines delivered by others. Marrero-Cisneros created false serial number stickers to be placed on the stolen outboard engines. Nadia and Carlos Ledesma and their co-conspirators caused false bills of sale to be created, and false export information to be submitted to the United States, it is alleged.
The indictment charges Carlos Ledesma, Nadia Ledesma, Valdivia, and Marrero-Cisneros with conspiring to export stolen outboard engines and to smuggle goods from the United States. In addition, it charges: Carlos Ledesma and Nadia Ledesma with four counts of exporting stolen outboard engines, one count of attempting to export stolen outboard engines, and four counts of smuggling goods from the United States; Valdivia with two counts of exporting stolen outboard engines and two counts of smuggling goods from the United States; and Marrero-Cisneros with one count of exporting stolen outboard engines and one count of smuggling goods from the United States.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge, Zinnia P. James, Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) Southeast Region, made the announcement.
This case is being investigated by HSI and CGIS, with assistance from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ana Maria Martinez of the Southern District of Florida. Asset forfeiture is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove.
An indictment and criminal complaint are charging instruments containing allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fla.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-cr-20269.