Jeweler accused of Ponzi scheme made political campaign donations

Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina acknowledged he received campaign contributions and had a business relationship with Luis Felipe Perez, a Cuban jeweler accused of scamming dozens of Hispanic business owners in South Florida.

Robaina told El Nuevo Herald that he received donations from Perez for his campaigns ``just like other politicians did'' although he did not specify how much.

``I can't remember [the amount] exactly there were so many campaigns that I don't have the figure,'' Robaina said.

According to a complaint by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Perez, 39, swindled 35 investors out of at least $40 million while running a Ponzi scheme from 2006 until June 2009. The complaint also indicates that he made about $100,000 in campaign contributions to local politicians.

According to Hialeah city documents, Perez donated at least $18,500 to municipal campaigns. For the 2005 and 2009 elections, he gave $1,500 to Robaina. Councilman Carlos Hernandez received $1,250 for his campaigns in 2005 and 2009. Perez gave $950 to Councilwoman Vivian Casals-Muñoz in 2007. Neither council member responded to calls.

Miami-Dade County records show Perez also gave $10,000 to the political committee The Truth for Our Community/La Verdad para Nuestra Comunidad, which Julio Ponce oversaw. The group ran a campaign in 2008 to promote an amendment to eliminate term limits for the office of Hialeah mayor.

Ponce said that he knew Perez but he did not remember if he had received that donation.

``I know [Perez] from the Hialeah Chamber of Commerce [and Industries]. He always was a very upright person and it really surprised me when I started to hear that he was involved in this problem,'' Ponce said.

Perez, known in the Hispanic business world as Felipito, is the owner of the companies Lucky Star Diamonds and Luis Felipe Jewelry Designs Corp, through which he may have funneled some of his political donations.

Perez could not be reached for comment at his office in Hialeah. His attorney, Alvin Entin, was out of town, according to an assistant at his law office in Fort Lauderdale.

The SEC complaint alleges that in 2006 Perez started to offer his clients dividends of 18 to 36 percent, paid in monthy installments. Later in 2007 he told them that he would invest the money in pawn shops in New York where supposedly he could obtain monthly returns of 5 to 10 percent -- or 60 to 120 percent annually.

According to the SEC, Perez persuaded various friends to become clients and also bragged about his ties with local politicians.

With the money from investors, he started to turn over payments under his name and relatives for a total of $6 million -- in theory for salaries and commissions -- the complaint alleged. He bought a $3.2 million house and spent $1 million in jewelry.

He also rented luxury cars for $400,000 and spent $200,000 on vacations, $200,000 on clothes for his wife and $200,000 on dinners at fancy restaurants, where he would arrived accompanied by bodyguards, according to the complaint.

Among the victims: the president of the Hialeah Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Daniel Hernandez, allegedly swindled out of $2 million, according to El Nuevo sources.

Hernandez, owner of the Farmacia Ideal in Hialeah, could not be reached for comment. However, pharmacy staff confirmed he was one of the victims.

Ex-Florida GOP chief Jim Greer charged with siphoning cash