MIAMI – Abdallah Masoud Mustafa (Mustafa), 27, President of Rezkitna Corporation, a Miami-Dade County grant recipient, was arrested today in Lee County by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office for fraud in connection with an award of grant funds.
The arrest resulted from an investigation by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office. Mustafa was charged with one (1) count of Organized Scheme to Defraud, one (1) count of Grand Theft, five (5) Counts of Notary Fraud, six counts of Uttering a Forged Instrument, and five counts of Communications Fraud for defrauding the County’s Office of Community and Economic Development (OCED) of nearly $50,000. Rezkitna Corporation was also named in the warrant and is expected to be charged.
OCED provides grants for community redevelopment and improvement projects. In August 2005, Rezkitna Corporation, through its president, Mustafa, entered into a contract with OCED to receive a grant of $50,000 for the rehabilitation, repair, and enhancement of the M&M Supermarket in Homestead. M&M Supermarket is owned by the Rezkitna Corporation. The OCED grant required the business to pay $5,000 towards the repairs or improvement costs. Additionally, the award was contingent on Mustafa submitting proof of insurance and maintaining the insurance for the duration of the contract. Rezkitna Corporation was required to maintain public/general liability insurance, worker’s compensation insurance, and automobile liability insurance with the County listed as an additional insured. These requirements were set to reduce the risk to Miami-Dade.
The OIG investigation uncovered that Mustafa faxed or delivered numerous forged and fraudulent certificates of insurance to the County. In fact, the corporation’s insurance had been cancelled for failure to pay the premium before the execution of the contract with Miami-Dade. The investigation also revealed that Mustafa illegally notarized his own signature on at least five separate occasions in executing the original contract and in providing other documents required by the contract. Based on the fraudulent documents, Rezkitna Corporation and Mustafa caused the County to pay $49,636 to various companies for substantial improvements made to the M&M Supermarket. These improvements benefited Rezkitna Corporation and Mustafa.
