The mother and her son pretended to be in the construction business, the federal government says.
However, according to authorities, they really hired illegal immigrants as workers and ran mini banks from homes that accommodated local contractors who paid cash under the table.
Over the past eight years, the Motherson team has been operating an illegal check washing business of $37 million, providing employee payroll services to numerous Miami-Dade construction companies and charging large fees, according to criminal charges filed by federal prosecutors in Miami.
Anneri Sagrario Izurieta, 60, a legal US resident in Honduras, was ordered to be detained Tuesday after a Federal Judge Miami judge determined she was at risk of flying to her home country.
“Even though Izlieta has strong family and community ties in Florida… because she has a residence established in Honduras, regularly visits Honduras and has a residence in Honduras, Izlieta has similarly strong bonds in Honduras,” wrote Judge Jenjolik A. Lett on the order in which her mother was detained.
Her son, Joseph Abdel Navarro Verde, 33, is a US citizen and was granted a personal guaranteed debt of $200,000 and was released from custody last week on an agreement between federal prosecutor Anna Martinez and his defense attorney Juan Bellio.
Both the mother and son are facing charges this month with what is expected to charge them with conspiracy to carry out crimes related to unlicensed money sending businesses.
It is operated at a homestead house
Izurieta and Navarro operated several illegal check-control companies from their mother’s homeland, according to a Homeland Security Investigation complaint and affidavit.
Founded in March 2017, JANV Construction Services, LLC maintains a website that claims to take part in construction work, the affidavit says. However, federal agents discovered that numerous construction companies were actually writing checks to JANV, and that the company cashed them at local banks, while charging at least 5% of the fees for its services.
Similarly, construction companies will use cash to pay workers who do not have the appropriate immigration documents, authorities said. In doing so, employers avoided paying Social Security and other payroll taxes.
As part of the scheme, “Izlieta also drives to pick up a check from the construction company,” according to the affidavit. “The construction company representative will drive to Izlieta’s house in Homestead.”
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Checks over $32 million
Izurieta and Navarro deposited construction business checks in total of more than $32 million in JANV accounts from mid-2016 to November 2024, with TD Bank, TD Bank and Regional Banks, the affidavit says.
Of that total, they deposited checks worth approximately $17 million in JANV bank accounts between January 2020 and November 2024. They and other families have withdrawn more than $11 million in cash from these accounts.
About $700,000 was transferred to Janv’s bank account in Honduras, according to the affidavit. Most of the remaining JANV funds were transferred to Izlieta, Navarro and their spouses’ personal bank accounts.
The mother and son used different businesses, all construction services in a similar way, the affidavit says. Izurieta and Navarro deposited more than $5.3 million in checks into TD Bank’s ECS accounts, winning around $4 million.
Deposits to the ECS account included checks from the construction company and transfers from the family business, Janv.
As part of the plot, Izlieta cashed out a JANV check that will be paid for $14,900 on August 2, 2024, the affidavit states. And on November 12, 2024, Navarro signed his name with a regional bank withdrawal slip with $15,000 in cash.
