FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Miami Shores police detective arrested in August on Washington state charges that he scammed a senior is now in heaps more trouble. He and his accused co-conspirators face four federal fraud and identity theft charges, according to court documents obtained by Local 10 News on Tuesday.
Detective Shmueal Mauda, a 36-year-old lawman also known as Sam Mauda, is accused of ― among other things ― using a dead person’s credit card to pay for a vacation to South Korea. Records show all three made appearances in Fort Lauderdale federal court on Monday.
He joins alleged accomplices Elisha Mauda, 39, and Brent Small, 58, in staring down the possibility of decades in federal prison after authorities said they targeted “elderly and deceased victims” across the country, including multiple seniors in their 90s.
Feds: Scheme targeted vulnerable victims
In a federal criminal complaint, a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service wrote that the Maudas, of Pembroke Pines, and Small, of Hollywood, stole victims’ identities and funneled money to companies they controlled. Authorities have not elaborated on how the Maudas may be related, but noted that the two live close on the same street…