A well-known Miami Beach physician who faced accusations of more than twelve sex offenses saw almost all the charges against him dismissed following the mysterious death of a crucial witness in a waterway.
Dr. Jefferey David Kamlet, aged 69, was taken into custody in March 2023 on allegations of human trafficking, utilizing a computer to entice a minor to partake in sexual activities, soliciting illegal sexual acts with a minor, and providing a controlled substance to a minor.
The allegations were linked to Kamlet’s interactions with two teenagers, aged 16 and 17, according to reporting by NBC Miami. However, in March of last year, Kamlet accepted responsibility for one charge of custody interference as part of a plea agreement, resulting in one day of probation and the forfeiture of his medical license.
The 17-year-old, dubbed Gina by the Miami Herald, was found floating face down in Miami four days after her mother reported her missing in June, 2023.
Gina was at the center of the sex trafficking case against Kamlet, an addiction doctor who specialized in drug withdrawal. The two had reportedly met on Tinder in April, 2022, before she and a 16-year-old friend were discovered by police hiding in the closet of Kamlet’s oceanfront apartment.
Gina told police that’s when she learned that Kamlet was ‘wanted for having sex with minors, like, he had a record of it, like he’s done this to multiple people.’
But it was not until several months later when a detective contacted Gina, who then revealed Kamlet had handcuffed her to a bed and they had sex on two separate occasions.
Police arrested Kamlet nearly a year later and found drugs, high-powered assault weapons, handcuffs, sex toys and almost $100,000 in cash at his home.
Dr. Jefferey David Kamlet, a prominent Miami Beach doctor who was accused of over a dozen sex crimes, had all but one of the charges dropped after a key witness was found deadÂ
Gina and Kamlet had reportedly met Kamlet on Tinder before she and a 16-year-old friend were discovered by police hiding in the closet of Kamlet’s oceanfront apartment in April, 2022
Police arrested Kamlet nearly a year later and found drugs, high-powered assault weapons, handcuffs, sex toys and almost $100,000 in cash at his home
Kamlet told the Miami Herald that he ‘did nothing illegal’ and denied any sexual involvement with the underage girls. He claimed the ‘two young ladies’ had ‘made a plan to entrap a rich man.’
A Miami Herald investigation accuses the office of Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle of fumbling the case despite her promotion of efforts to combat human trafficking.
Gina told police she met the doctor on Tinder, and he offered her $600 to have sex with him. She then asked her 16-year-old friend, Tara, to meet her at his condo.Â
Kamlet allegedly offered Gina ‘pure Colombian cocaine,’ according to police records that say Kamlet had ‘every milligram of [oxycontin] in every color’ at his home. Gina noted she had ‘never seen so much drugs and cash and guns in my life.’
Gina told police the two had unprotected sex before he gave her the promised cash and more cocaine. As the two girls talked to Kamlet about living with him, police banged on the door after tracking Gina’s phone when her mom reported her missing.
Kamlet is seen on police bodycam telling police ‘I was trying to help them…Trying to be the hero here,’ and insisting the girls showed him IDs that said they were 18 and had asked him for help.Â
‘Do you know Sgt. Motola, who just retired?’ Kamlet asked an officer at one point, referencing former sergeant Jeffrey Motola. ‘He’s a good friend of mine. If you call him, he will tell you I’m a good guy.’
The girls were then removed from the condo in handcuffs before they were picked up by their parents. Kamlet was not arrested or further questioned. Tara’s mother told the Herald no one ever followed up on the case.
Kamlet is seen on police bodycam telling police ‘I was trying to help them…Trying to be the hero here,’ and insisting the girls showed him IDs that said they were 18Â
The girls were then removed from the condo in handcuffs before they were picked up by their parents
Gina and Kamlet allegedly continued to talk through a secure app on their phones over the next weeks. In one message, the doctorreportedly told Gina ‘they can own the world if she stays off drugs and they have chemistry.’
In July, 2022, Kamlet allegedly picked her up and took her to his condo, where he showed her pornography and suggested she enter the porn industry. The two had sex and Kamlet paid Gina $400, $200 less than he promised because, Gina said, he was angry she would not let him perform oral sex on her.Â
Gina was last seen alive on June 4, 2023 – four days before her body was found.Â
The Herald notes that Kanlet’s ankle monitor sent an alert to the Department of Corrections on June 6. Records say Kamlet was contacted and said he was home, but officers were still dispatched to his home to ‘troubleshoot.’Â
A medical examiner ruled Gina’s cause of death as ‘undetermined,’ and Miami police have not opened a probe into Gina’s death.
Her stepfather claimed she had been in fear for her life before she was found dead.
‘She said “dad they are going to kill me,”‘ the stepfather told the Herald. ‘I told her to stop going out and stay home but she didn’t listen.’
Gina’s mom claims the medical examiner told her ‘she had drugs [in her system] he had never seen before and that was being investigated.’
The autopsy report shows Gina had drugs such as fentanyl and cocaine in her system when she died. However, her cause of death is not listed as an overdose or drowning.Â
Despite a series of past mugshots in 2008 and 2009. the Herald was unable to find any records of Kamlet’s past arrests
In July, Kamlet was federally indicted for illegally selling drugs including ibogaine, oxycodone, morphine and ketamine
Kamlet, himself a recovering heroin addict, promoted the use of psychedelics to treat addiction and ran a concierge-based wellness practice that catered to Miami’s most powerful and wealthy.
He charged over $10,000 a year for services like administering ketamine. Many of his clients paid in cash because they ‘wanted no paper trail,’ per court documents.’
Despite a series of past mugshots taken in 2008 and 2009, the Herald was unable to find any records of Kamlet’s past arrests.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office said: ‘The criminal case against Jeffrey Kamlet was severely impacted by the death of one victim, the focus of the Human Trafficking charges, and the unwillingness of the second victim to continue her participation in the criminal court process.
‘The lack of testimony from the victims severely weakened the ability of prosecutors to prove all the filed charges beyond a reasonable doubt. The victim’s next of kin approved the plea which was presented to the court, indicating that such action would bring a sense of closure to the victim and her family.’
Last July, Kamlet was federally indicted for illegally selling drugs including ibogaine, oxycodone, morphine and ketamine. He was arrested and released on a $100,000 bond.Â
That case is ongoing but sources told the Herald it’s likely that case will be dropped after Kamlet’s lawyers submitted a motion that prosecutors admitted presents ‘significant legal and factual issues.’
