The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian private island owner, who has been accused of masterminding a $40m fraud, has had his bail revoked over fears he may flee to this nation and has engaged in human smuggling.

Judge Chad Kennedy, sitting in the eastern Pennsylvania federal court, found on March 10 that the US authorities had established “probable cause” that Joseph Cammarata brought his Colombian girlfriend into Florida through The Bahamas even though she lacked the necessary visa and other entry documents.

Evidence presented by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also revealed that Mr Cammarata, who owns Sandy Cay, a private island near Man-O-War Cay in the Abacos, had plotted fleeing to The Bahamas along with his co-accused in a bid to escape charges that they stole monies intended to compensate victims of securities frauds.

Edward Conway, an FBI special agent, alleged that Mr Cammarata had discussed with associates his plan to obtain “Bahamian residency” just prior to his indictment last November, and that “when the s* hits the fan in the US I will be in the wind”.

Given that his extradition back to the US would be made more difficult if he attained such status, Mr Conway claimed Mr Cammarata had also spoken to a “co-conspirator” about how all should flee to The Bahamas and hide in another house he owned separate from Sandy Cay if the scheme was uncovered and it became necessary to evade prosecution.

And Mr Cammarata, who has figured prominently in Abaco’s post-Hurricane Dorian restoration, and at the time of his indictment sat on the Board for the Man-O-War Relief Fund, was also alleged to have “knowingly smuggled” his girlfriend, Jessica Vanessa Carrillo Beltrán, into the US via The Bahamas after he had been charged and was out on bail.

Mr Conway, in a March 7, 2022, affidavit, alleged that he had obtained much of the necessary evidence from Mr Cammarata’s cell phone when the latter was arrested at Miami International Airport (MIA) on November 3 last year in connection with the fraud charges.

Mr Cammarata had been returning from Colombia, and was tipped-off that the FBI was raiding his firm’s offices while in the air en route to Miami. “I learned from my review of Cammarata’s phone that on October 12, 2021, Cammarata told his associates that he had applied for Bahamian residency and that he expected to receive a Colombian residency visa in the coming days,” Mr Conway said.

“In the message, Cammarata stated: ‘I am applying for Bahamian residency, and Colombian residency visa is coming next week. When the s* hits the fan in the US I will be in the wind.’

“It remains unclear as to what Cammarata means by “when the s* hits the fan’. Regardless, the message further emphasises Cammarata’s ability and intention to leave the US. Foreign residency would likely complicate extradition proceedings.” The affidavit did not specify what type of Bahamian residency was being sought, permanent or otherwise.

Nevertheless, Mr Conway added: “A co-conspirator also told me that, during the course of the scheme, the co-conspirators had agreed to use the code phrase ‘blue house’ to communicate among themselves that law enforcement may have become aware of their scheme, and to signal that they should flee.

“This co-conspirator told me that the phrase referred to a small blue house that Cammarata owned in The Bahamas, separate from a larger private island that Cammarata also owns. The co- conspirator told me that the co-conspirators had discussed among themselves fleeing to The Bahamas to avoid prosecution if and when their scheme was discovered.”

Mr Cammarata and his fellow co-accused, Erik Cohen and David Punturieri, were never seemingly given a chance by the FBI to put their escape plan into action. The trio have been accused of submitting false or “sham” claims to relief funds that were created to distribute the monies recovered from securities frauds to victimised investors.

Around 400 such claims were purportedly made during the scheme’s lifetime. “Starting in approximately 2014, defendants orchestrated a scheme to steal money from distribution funds established for the benefit of securities fraud victims,” the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged in a separate lawsuit to the federal authorities’ criminal action.

“Defendants defrauded these distribution funds (and their rightful beneficiaries) by submitting false claims and falsified supporting documents to the distribution fund administrators in the names of at least three entities that did not trade in the underlying securities, and thus were ineligible to recover.”

Meanwhile, Mr Conway alleged that just five days prior to being charged, Cammarata “continued to conspire with others to obtain a visa under fraudulent terms” for his Colombian girlfriend and bring her into the US via The Bahamas disguised as a crew member on one of his yachts.

One of Cammarata’s friends, referred to as JK, sent him a What’s App message on September 14 last year that stated: “He has a girl in Nassau that dies [sic, does] expedited processing for B1 B2.”

Mr Conway said: “I know B1 B2 to refer to a business and tourism visa, the same visa for which Jessica Beltran unsuccessfully applied. The next message read: ‘She is connected w someone and has crew processing biz out of Nassau’.

“I know from my training and experience that crew or D visas are issued to crew members of sea vessels. I also know that alien smugglers obtain D visas in order to smuggle individuals into the United States. I believe JK to be referring to D visas. JK continued: ‘If you want for Vanessa let me know’ Cammarata replied: ‘Yes, of course, Wherever [sic] it takes’.”

The FBI agent said he found no record of any visa being issued to Ms Beltran, and added: “A co-conspirator told me that he saw Jessica Beltran in the United States in or around June 2021 and August 2021, and that Cammarata had admitted to devising a way to sneak her into the United States.

“The co-conspirator also told me that the co-conspirator understood from talking to Cammarata that Cammarata’s plan specifically involved arriving at a time when he could avoid a face-to- face inspection at a US port of entry.”

Further research uncovered that Ms Beltran arrived in Nassau around August 12, 2021, and January 16, 2022, both of which were times that immediately preceded her departure from the US. And a Homeland Security agent assigned to the US embassy in Nassau also informed Mr Conway that she arrived at the Lynden Pindling International Airport on June 12 last year.

“I further located screen shots in Cammarata’s phone that indicated that he then travelled from Bogotá to the Bahamas with Jessica Beltran,” Mr Conway alleged. “For instance, a screen shot dated June 12, 2021, memorialised a successful check-in for a June 12 flight from Bogotá to Nassau, The Bahamas, connecting through Panama.

“The listed passengers are Cammarata and Jessica Beltran. I also located a screenshot dated June 11, 2021, which confirms Cammarata’s reservation at the [Grand] Hyatt Hotels & Resort located at One Baha Mar Boulevard, Nassau, Bahamas. The reservation notes a check in date of June 12, 2021, and a check out date of June 15, 2021.

“A co-conspirator also told me that Cammarata had successfully smuggled Jessica Beltran into the United States via watercraft traveling from The Bahamas to Florida, and then Jessica Beltran travelled to New Jersey via private aircraft.”

Mr Conway alleged that Mr Cammarata declared his entry into the US, via a Bahamas-registered boat, at 8pm on June 21, 2021, via Customs and Border Patrol’s (CBP) ROAM system. This enables pleasure boats to digitally report their entry, and provides an alternative to clearing these protocols if the port of entry is closed.

The FBL agent alleged that Cammarata did not declare his girlfriend’s presence, and instead waited to arrive at the Port of Miami until after 10pm so that the vessel did not have to undergo a face-to-face inspection.

“Cammarata used the CBP ROAM application and intentionally waited until after the port had closed to avoid a face-to-face inspection and smuggle Jessica Beltran into the US,” Mr Conway alleged, having obtained screen shots and videos from the Sandy Cay owner’s phone showing the Colombian national celebrating her birthday in Miami that same June 21, 2021, night.

“As of November 3, 2021, Cammarata knew that Jessica Beltran did not have a visa.... I believe that Cammarata knowingly smuggled Jessica Beltran, a Colombian national with no legal authorisation to enter the United States, into the United States both before his indictment and also while he was under the supervision of the court, in violation of the terms of his release.”