The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a ruling Monday in a consolidated criminal appeal involving multiple defendants convicted in federal court in South Florida. The court affirmed the convictions of Oscar Jose Carreno Fernandez, also known as Oscar Correno, and Luis Jose Alfonzo Rodriguez, also known as Luis Jose Alfonzo, along with at least one other defendant identified as Jesus Alberto Hernande.
The appeals, designated as case numbers 23-12337, 23-12338, and 23-12376, were consolidated for review by the Eleventh Circuit. All three cases originated from the same underlying criminal prosecution in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, where the defendants were prosecuted under docket number 1:22-cr-20592-BB.
The district court case began in 2022 and resulted in convictions for all three appellants. The specific charges and nature of the criminal activity were not detailed in the appellate court's opinion header, though the consolidated nature of the appeals and the involvement of multiple defendants with aliases suggests a coordinated criminal enterprise.
Carreno Fernandez was designated as defendant number three in the original prosecution, while Alfonzo Rodriguez was defendant number four. The sequential numbering indicates the case involved at least four defendants total, with Jesus Alberto Hernande's position in the charging scheme not immediately clear from the available court documents.
The Eleventh Circuit processed all three appeals through its non-argument calendar, indicating the court determined that oral arguments were not necessary for resolution of the legal issues presented. This procedural designation typically applies to cases where the legal questions are straightforward or where the appeals lack merit.
The court's opinion was designated as "Not for Publication," meaning it will not appear in the Federal Reporter and cannot be cited as precedential authority in future cases. This designation is common for routine criminal appeals that do not establish new legal principles or involve novel interpretations of federal law.
The timing of the appeals process followed typical federal court procedures. The original criminal case was filed in 2022 in the Southern District of Florida, with the appeals filed in 2023 following the completion of district court proceedings including sentencing. The Eleventh Circuit's resolution of the appeals in early 2026 reflects the standard timeline for federal criminal appeals, which often take two to three years from filing to resolution.
The Southern District of Florida, where the original prosecution took place, covers federal judicial districts including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Key West. The district frequently handles cases involving drug trafficking, money laundering, and other federal crimes due to Florida's position as a major entry point for illegal narcotics entering the United States.
The use of aliases by multiple defendants in the case suggests possible identity fraud or attempts to evade law enforcement detection. Federal prosecutors commonly encounter defendants using false names or multiple identities in cases involving organized criminal activity, particularly in drug trafficking and immigration-related prosecutions.
The Eleventh Circuit, which covers Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, regularly reviews criminal appeals from the Southern District of Florida. The court's jurisdiction includes some of the nation's busiest federal criminal dockets, particularly those handling drug trafficking cases originating from South America and the Caribbean.
While the specific details of the underlying criminal activity remain unclear from the appellate opinion header, the involvement of multiple defendants with aliases and the federal court's jurisdiction suggest the case likely involved serious federal crimes. The consolidation of three separate appeals indicates the defendants' legal challenges were sufficiently similar to warrant joint review by the appellate court.
The affirmance of the district court's convictions means the defendants' sentences will stand as imposed by the trial court. The defendants may seek further review by petitioning the Supreme Court for certiorari, though such petitions are rarely granted in routine criminal cases.
The resolution of these appeals concludes a multi-year federal prosecution that began in 2022 and involved extensive coordination between federal law enforcement agencies and prosecutors in South Florida. The case represents another example of the federal court system's ongoing efforts to prosecute multi-defendant criminal enterprises operating in one of the nation's key jurisdictions for federal crime.