A Miami-Dade man pleaded guilty on Thursday to stealing about $14 million using fraudulent checks made out to sham companies, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida. Officials say Eri Guzman Ortiz, 69, was sent lists by a client in Canada of "thousands of people and businesses who had purportedly made purchases from sham companies" and agreed to be charged by those companies. "He created sham companies and fabricated transactions to make systematic theft look legitimate. Guzman Ortiz pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 5 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, officials said.