Miramar man accused in cross-state fraud scheme targeting elderly victim, cops say
A Miramar man is facing multiple felony charges after investigators allege he played a role in a sophisticated fraud scheme that targeted an elderly man in North Carolina and resulted in $50,000 in losses, Miramar police confirmed on Friday, Jan. 9.
It’s the second time this week a Miramar resident has been charged for taking part in a cross-state fraud scheme.
In the latest case, Nick Jenvi Niovani Pierre, 26, of the 5300 block of SW 186th Way in Miramar, was being held at the Broward Sheriff’s Office Main Jail on a $56,000 bond, jail records show.
The investigation began when detectives in Onslow County, North Carolina, traced a fraud complaint to South Florida and contacted Miramar police for assistance, according to WPLG-Local 10.
Authorities alleged in court records that in July, unknown individuals impersonated the North Carolina victim and gained unauthorized access to his MassMutual life insurance policy, taking out two fraudulent loans, one for $15,000 and another for $35,000.
Investigators said the loan proceeds were electronically deposited into a Discover Bank account opened in Pierre’s name. The money was then transferred into a Truist Bank account, a move police believe was intended to obscure the origin of the funds.
Miramar police said they first contacted Pierre at his home in October. During that interview, Pierre acknowledged that he appeared in bank surveillance footage but claimed he received no more than $3,000 and denied having a Discover account.
Detectives said further investigation contradicted those statements. When officers returned to Pierre’s Miramar home on Wednesday, Jan. 7, he was taken into custody.
According to a Miramar police arrest report, Pierre told investigators he was recruited through a Telegram chat by an unidentified individual who asked if he wanted to make money, WPLG-Local 10 reported.
Police said Pierre ultimately admitted to opening the initial Discover account used in the scheme, then transferring the funds and distributing some of the money to friends and family members. It’s unclear if Pierre met or knew the target of the fraud scheme. MassMutual reimbursed the victim, according to investigators.
Pierre also told investigators he had a local accomplice and that he left an unspecified amount of cash in a mailbox in Pembroke Pines for that person, according to the report. Police have not named the accomplice.
Pierre is charged with money laundering, identity theft involving a person 60 or older, grand theft from a person 65 or older, unlawful use of a communications device and defrauding a financial institution.
On the same day Pierre was arrested, a Miramar woman was among seven defendants sentenced in federal court in New York for their roles in a transnational telemarketing fraud scheme that targeted elderly victims and stole more than $12 million, federal prosecutors said.
Tatiana Williams, 28, of Miramar, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for her role in laundering money fraudulently obtained from victims, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
This story was originally published January 9, 2026 at 3:37 PM.
