MIAMI – A South Florida man has been arrested after nearly 20 years on the run, according to U.S. marshals.
Robert Lopez is in U.S. custody after he was found and arrested in Nicaragua in November by the Nicaraguan National Police. Authorities said he was deported Saturday to South Florida to face federal charges.
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A team of deputy U.S. marshals flew Saturday to Nicaragua and returned Lopez to the U.S.
"The arrest of Robert Allen Lopez demonstrates the commitment of the U.S. Marshals and our federal, state and local partners to pursue those wanted on an international level," U.S. Marshal Amos Rojas Jr. said. "Lopez's apprehension sends a strong message to criminals around the globe that it's not a matter if we find you, it's when. Crossing global boundaries to avoid prosecution is no longer a viable option with the substantial resources and law enforcement cooperation in place. His capture is a victory for law enforcement and the U.S. government."
From July 1991 to June 1994, Lopez and others conspired to defraud the U.S. government by establishing numerous fake companies that filed false Medicare claims totaling more than $4.3 million on behalf of patients for services that were medically unnecessary or were never provided, according to an indictment.
Lopez was arrested and charged with conspiracy in July 1995. U.S. Marshals said Lopez pleaded guilty Dec. 14, 1995 to an indictment that was filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami federal court.
Lopez was released on bail on the condition that he not change his residence or leave the area without permission. U.S. Marshals said Lopez violated the terms of his release when he could not be found at his home and later failed to appear for sentencing, which branded him a fugitive from the law.
Lopez is facing additional charges for being a fugitive for two decades in addition to the original indictment. U.S. Marshals said Lopez was indicted on July 22, 1997 by a federal grand jury on charges of failure to appear for sentencing.
Lopez took his two children with him when he fled South Florida, but left his wife behind, U.S. Marshals said. Miami-Dade police charged him with interference with the custody of a child.
Authorities said Lopez's 10-year-old son was found in 2000 wandering the streets of Cancun, Mexico. The child was taken into protective custody.
When a person claiming to be the boy’s uncle came to visit him, Mexican police were able to identify that person as Lopez after obtaining his fingerprints from a coffee cup, but he eluded capture, according to U.S. Marshals. Lopez's son was returned March 2000 to the U.S., where he was returned to his mother in Miami.
U.S. Marshals said the fugitive investigation for Lopez recently gained momentum when federal agents from the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service and Department of Health and Human Services received information that Lopez was living in Nicaragua under a fake name.
The information was forwarded to the U.S. Marshals Service, where investigators coordinated with the U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua and the Nicaraguan Ministry of Foreign Affairs to arrest him, authorities said.
Lopez has remained at a detention facility in Nicaragua since November, pending his deportation back to the U.S., according to U.S. Marshals.
"We stand resolute in our pursuit of those, like Lopez, who would defraud Medicare and the American taxpayer. Even after 20 years on the run, justice can and will be served," said Office of the Inspector General Special Agent in Charge Shimon Richmond.
"I am thankful for all the interagency cooperation that helped bring closure to this long-standing case," Rojas said.