Mother-son duo accused of embezzling $620k from Medley business for luxury goods

Over the last few years, a Miami-Dade mother and son allegedly spent a lot of money on luxury things: a yacht party, Alexander McQueen sneakers and a Mercedes-Benz S-Class rental, among others.

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The problem, according to the Medley Police Department, is that money wasn’t theirs. The duo are accused of siphoning more than $620,000 in funds from a manufacturing company into their own pockets.

Maria Rodriguez and Miguel Perez were arrested this week after a 15-month investigation into fraud and embezzlement at a Medley waste equipment manufacturer, Iron Container, police said in a Wednesday statement.

Detectives started looking into the pair after officers responded in April 2025 to the business over an allegation of financial fraud, police said. Rodriguez, who was the company president, was entrusted with financial accounts, credit cards, records and payroll.

She used her position to benefit herself and her son, Perez, and hired him on as a security guard at $42,000 a year, police said. Despite Perez working remotely, his salary was later raised to $114,000.

Investigators allege Rodriguez manually entered Perez’s time punches, and there were 49 occasions when Perez checked into his gym while company records showed him working, police said. His payroll conservatively accounted for around $454,540 of the misappropriated funds.

They are also accused of using corporate funds to pay for condo rent, a luxury yacht party, a Mercedes-Benz S-Class rental — plus “crash-related expenses” — gym dues, personal auto insurance and designer merchandise. They also allegedly spent some of the cash on criminal-defense legal fees.

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Certified Saks Fifth Avenue records showed that Rodriguez used the Iron Container corporate Visa to purchase thousands of dollars in men’s designer clothing including Alexander McQueen sneakers and an Amiri cashmere sweater, police said.

For around five years, Rodriguez and Perez allegedly obfuscated the various thefts as miscellaneous business expenses.

They are both facing charges of organized scheme to defraud of $50,000 or more, grand theft of $100,000 or more and conspiracy to commit organized scheme to defraud of $50,000 or more, police said.

Rodriguez and Perez didn’t appear in Miami-Dade court or jail records as of Wednesday afternoon, and they didn’t have their respective attorneys listed yet.

“We will not tolerate individuals in positions of trust exploiting that trust for personal gain at the expense of local businesses, their employees and our community,” the Medley Police Department said.

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