Suspects who stole Surfside condo collapse victims' identities to go shopping to appear in court

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The three alleged thieves charged with stealing the identities of the victims of the June 24 collapse of a condominium complex in Surfside, Fla., are expected to appear in bond court Thursday. 

The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday that Betsy Alexandra Cacho Medina, 30, Rodney Choute, 38, and Kimberly Michelle Johnson, 34, all of Northeast Miami-Dade, have been arrested in the alleged scheme, which targeted at least seven victims in the collapse of the Champlain Tower South Condominium. Five of the seven victims were killed, while the other two whose identities were stolen survived. 

Charges include organized scheme to defraud and several counts of identity fraud, the Miami Herald reported. 

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The three were booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center Wednesday night. Medina was being held on a $1 million bond, with Johnson on $500,000 bond and Choute on a $430,000 bond.

The three suspects stole at least $45,000 using the identities of Surfside victims and unsuccessfully attempted to make withdrawals and purchases totaling an additional $67,000, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.

"We discussed that cyber-grave robbers move quickly after the collapse to grab what they could from deceased victims while families and friends were in emotional turmoil," Fernandez Rundle said. "These individuals appear to be very skilled identity thieves." 

"Their motto could’ve been, ‘Your loss is our gain'," she added. 

Their actions were first noticed by Nicole Ortiz, a sister of one of the deceased Surfside victims, Ana Ortiz, on July 9, just 16 days after the collapse. The sister notified the Surfside Police Department that Ana Ortiz’s mailing address had been changed as well as other information with her financial institution; that replacement credit cards were requested to be mailed to a new address; and that there were multiple unauthorized wire transfers initiated from the deceased’s account to other accounts. 

State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, right, gestures as Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levina Cava holds a board with details of three people arrested, Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021, in Miami.  ((AP Photo/Marta Lavandier))

Fernandez Rundle said the new credit cards were used to make numerous fraudulent purchases, including a $374 pair of Medusa sandals at the Nordstrom in Aventura, as well as a Versace purse valued at nearly $1,700 and goods at Target. Security camera footage showed a female leaving the mall with the sandals in a Mercedes-Benz investigators found to be registered to Medina, arrest warrants said. 

A recorded phone call released Wednesday suggested Medina reached out to Barclays bank to order a replacement bank card in Ana Ortiz’s name.

"Yes, because I was a victim of the towers that just collapsed [in] Surfside," a female voice says, explaining the reason for the replacement. "All my personal belongings were in there."

A security representative replies, "Oh, my gosh. Sorry about that."

A surviving victim, identified only as S.K., told investigators she applied for relief assistance from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency following the collapse. But police said one of the thieves called FEMA’s customer assistance hotline and changed her address on file to one for a vacant apartment in Hallandale, which was allegedly used by the ring only to pick up mail. 

"Today, they got what they deserved," Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said Wednesday. 

Search and rescue personnel remove remains on a stretcher as they work atop the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condo building where scores of people remain missing more than a week after it partially collapsed, Friday, July 2, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

The 12-story Champlain Tower South Condominium suddenly collapsed during the early morning hours on June 24, killing 98 people and leaving just three survivors who were pulled from the rubble. 

Two of the three survivors spoke out for the first time during an NBC "Today" show interview aired last week. 

Angela Gonzalez, 45, and her 16-year-old daughter, Deven, described being up around 1:30 a.m. watching a horror film when they heard a loud noise and the floor caved from under them. Gonzalez’s husband and Deven’s father, who was in the bed with them, did not survive. 

About a month after the incident, Burkett described how the relatives of those killed have begun coming forward to report credit cards being opened and purchases being made in the names of the victims. He warned that thieves had taken advantage of victims’ names being published in newspapers and by media outlets around the country, WTVJ reported.

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Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the 40-year-old building to collapse years after initial warnings about serious structural flaws. Debris has been cleared from the site and taken to a warehouse near the Miami International Airport for examination.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.