With tens of millions of dollars in stolen Ponzi money on the line, the Department of Homeland Security agents who
arrested Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha
had to move fast.

Rocha, better known as the TelexFree mattress money mule, was caught trying to launder stolen investor funds on behalf of Carlos Wanzeler and his nephew, Leonardo Casula Francisco.

Casula, like his uncle Carlos Wanzeler, is a fugitive hiding out in Brazil. He was
indicted
along with Rocha on two counts of money laundering back in March.

Facing up to twenty years in prison if convicted, Rocha is now asking that evidence obtained from his cell phone and interrogation be suppressed.

A sixteen page memorandum filed in support of Rocha’s motion claims Rocha’s post-arrest interrogation was unlawful. He also claims a search performed on his cell phone was unconstitutional.

On January 4th, several hours after he handed over a suitcase stuffed with $2.2 million dollars to a government informant, Rocha (right) was arrested.

Rocha and his wife left a BestBuy store in Framingham between 3 and 4 p.m. that day.

As they approached their car, approximately twelve agents approached, speaking English (which Rocha did not understand), and the agents handcuffed Rocha.

He told the agents that he did not speak English. The agents approached him and removed his wallet and cell phone from his pants pockets.

They also went over to his wife, took the purse she was holding and removed Rocha’s passport.

The agents left Rocha beside the car in handcuffs for approximately 20 minutes, and he worried about what would happen to his wife, because she does not speak English and she does not know anyone in the United States.

Rocha told the agents that he needed to access his cell phone, to get a phone number so his wife could call a friend who could pick her up.

An agent motioned for Rocha to use his password to unlock the cell phone.

After Rocha’s wife had the contact information for a friend, the agent, without permission or consent, changed the settings on the cell phone in order to remove the password requirement.

After fifteen additional minutes, the law enforcement agents hauled away Rocha and the rental car.

Rocha’s wife was left at the scene, with Rocha claiming they were both “terrified”.

The federal agents brought Rocha to a DHS office and placed him in a holding cell.

The agents then moved Rocha to an interrogation room. At approximately 5:42 p.m. on January 4, 2017, approximately five or six agents began to interrogate Rocha.

The interrogation was video recorded, and the government has produced a copy of the video, which reveals the following information.

Agent Del Figueredo served as an interpreter during the interrogation, as Rocha understands and speaks only Portuguese.

Del Figueredo’s interpretation was marred by his use of a broken mix of English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

His failure to interpret both sides of the discussion in fluent Portuguese led to many inaccuracies and c

🤖 Quick Answer

Who is Cleber Rocha and what are the charges against him?
Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha, known as the TelexFree mattress money mule, was arrested by Department of Homeland Security agents for laundering stolen Ponzi scheme funds. He was indicted in March on two counts of money laundering for assisting fugitives Carlos Wanzeler and Leonardo Casula Francisco in concealing proceeds from investor fraud.

Why is Rocha seeking to suppress evidence in his case?
Rocha filed a sixteen-page memorandum arguing his post-arrest interrogation was unlawful and challenging the legality of searches conducted on his cellular phone. He contends that evidence obtained through these procedures violated his constitutional rights and should be excluded from trial proceedings.

What penalties does Rocha face if convicted?
If convicted on money laundering charges,

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