Cop Filed Fake Reports to Help Clean Up Customers' Credit History

Miami is a town full of bad credit and bad cops, but rarely do they convene is such a direct way. Rafael Duran, 43, of the Miami-Dade Police Department, was indicted today on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and other wire fraud offenses. The officer had partnered with a credit...

By Kyle Munzenrieder

April 2, 2015

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Miami is a town full of bad credit and bad cops, but rarely do they convene in such a direct way. Rafael Duran, a 43-year veteran of the Miami-Dade Police Department, was indicted today on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and other wire fraud offenses. The officer had partnered with a credit repair business and filed fake police reports to help clear the credit histories of customers.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, in conjunction with the FBI and Miami-Dade Police Department, announced the arrest and indictment today.

Duran had partnered with an unnamed credit repair business. The feds say the business would provide Duran with personal identifying information of its costumers. The officer would then file fake police reports indicating the customers had reported claims of identity theft to the MDPD, and would then officially file them. The credit repair business would transmit those fake reports to credit-reporting agencies, which would then reduce or eliminate negative parts of the client's personal credit history.

Duran received cash and other gifts for his help. He also received free credit repair himself. And while Duran's credit history may now be cleaner, his criminal record is now muddied.

He is scheduled for arraignment April 16 and, if convicted, could face 20 years behind bars.

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