TAMPA, Fla. — A Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa investigation has led to two additional arrests in a nationwide multimillion dollar mail fraud scheme.
Brock David Fischer, 27, of Robins, Iowa, aka iFruit, and Miguel Angel Fortier Jr., 24, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, aka Destined, were on an indictment charging them with conspiracy to commit mail fraud. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies the defendants that the United States is seeking an order of forfeiture in the amount of the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct. Fortier made his initial appearance on June 28, 2024, in Milwaukee and was released on conditions pending his trial in Tampa. Fischer made his initial appearance in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
According to court documents, beginning around December 2021, the co-conspirators gained unauthorized access to the tracking platform of a multinational shipping, receiving and supply chain management company. This allowed the co-conspirators to enter false and fraudulent tracking information for merchandise shipped by the victim company on behalf of victim retailers located all over the country.
Fischer, Fortier and Matthew Frederic Bergwall, 22, of Darien, Connecticut — who has been charged federally with conspiracy, mail fraud and computer fraud in a separate case — served as administrators for “the Service,” a chat room marketplace on an encrypted messaging platform. The Service sold access to the victim company’s tracking platform. Specifically, customers used the Service to obtain full refunds from victim-retailers while maintaining physical possession of merchandise ordered, such as high-end electronics, jewelry and designer clothing and accessories. During a five-month period, the return-fraud scheme caused nearly 10,000 fraudulent returns and resulted in victim-retailers losing more than $8 million in merchandise.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by HSI Tampa, with valuable assistance from HSI Cedar Rapids, HSI Milwaukee and the FBI’s Newark office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlton C. Gammons.
About HSI
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce consists of over 10,000 employees, assigned to 235 offices within the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI's international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.