MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Two people have been arrested after false drug test results were presented to a Miami-Dade County judge, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday in a press release.
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According to the press release, Cedric Lee Pharr was a 6-month employee of a drug testing company that provides services for Miami-Dade Drug Court and Luis Maldonado was an alleged drug offender.
Prosecutors say in late August 2024, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Public Corruption Section was informed that Pharr had been “manipulating the urine test process.”
“Earlier in August, after a routine Drug Court urine test and court appearance, Maldonado was in court with his mother and his girlfriend,” the news release stated. “During the court hearing, Maldonado’s mother presented evidence to the Drug Court that Pharr was allegedly receiving payments from Maldonado, approximately $375 in small $20 or $30 amounts, for clean test results.”
According to the news release, Pharr certified in 12 drug tests that Maldonado was negative for all tested substances, although Maldonado’s mother claimed that her son was still abusing drugs.
Prosecutors say Maldonado made 14 CashApp payments to Pharr.
“Maldonado’s mother desperately wanted her son to stop using drugs, which he had not done,” the news release stated. “Maldonado needed to have negative drug test results to ‘graduate’ from the program and have the criminal court loosen its jurisdiction.”
Pharr is charged with one count of unlawful compensation and one count of conspiracy to commit unlawful compensation.
Maldonado, meanwhile, is charged with one count of unlawful compensation.
“When I helped create Miami-Dade County’s Drug Court program, the first therapeutic court program in America, the goal was to help low-level drug offenders kick their drug habits, come back to their families, and successfully remerge into our community. The criminal court’s oversight has helped thousands beat addiction,” said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. “The alleged actions of Pharr and Maldonado deliberately undermined these goals, insulting our community’s goodwill and corrupting our criminal court processes just for a few measly dollars.”
“The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office (MDSO) works to investigate allegations of corruption, misconduct, and criminal activities involving public officials and those in positions of trust,” said Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz. “These individuals’ actions are a betrayal of the trust placed on them by our community and specifically those seeking remedy from drug addiction. The collaboration of MDSO and the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office leads to comprehensive investigations and the effective prosecution of public corruption cases. Public corruption of any kind will not be tolerated.”