The Midland County Prosecutor’s Office has filed charges jointly with the Department of Attorney General against Rafael Rodriguez and Juan Miguel Rodriguez-Venegas, both from Florida, for Conducting a Criminal Enterprise (CCE) and six counts of Larceny in a Building, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced.
Additional charges include two counts of Uttering and Publishing for Rodriguez and Possession of Burglar’s tools for Rodriguez-Venegas. Under the CCE charge, predicate acts include:
- Six instances of Larceny in a Building in Midland County;
- One instance of Larceny in a Building in Bay County;
- Four instances of Larceny in a Building in Oakland County; and
- Two instances of Larceny in a Building in Saginaw County.
The men are charged for allegedly fishing money orders and cash out of drop boxes at apartment complexes and mobile home parks. They then allegedly cashed the money orders and kept the cash. The crimes are alleged to have taken place in 2019 and 2022.
“Michigan residents who submit their rental payments through dedicated drop boxes should beable to trust that those payments will be used for their intended purposes and not to line the pockets of criminals,” Nessel said. “I’m grateful for our partnership with J. Dee Brooks and the Midland County Prosecutors Office that will allow these defendants to be held accountable.”
“This is a very unusual but important case in that it involves many apparent criminal offenses in multiple jurisdictions, and we look forward to partnering with the Attorney General’s Office to address the problem with out of state actors coming into Michigan to victimize our citizens,” said J. Dee Brooks, Midland County Prosecuting Attorney.
Rodriguez was arraigned in Midland County on March 15, 2024, and returns to court on March 26, 2024, for a Probable Cause Conference. Rodriguez-Venegas was arraigned on February 5, 2024, and has a Probable Cause Conference on April 9, 2024. Both cases are before Judge Michael Carpenter in the 75th District Court.
