TUCSON, Arizona – The last of twenty-eight defendants charged in two sweeping investigations into the manufacture and distribution of the controlled substance commonly referred to as “spice,” a synthetic cannabinoid made with chemicals, was federally sentenced on December 10 in United States District Court.

The twenty-eight defendants were charged and convicted of a variety of crimes including conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance analogue, conspiracy to engage in interstate travel in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, and money laundering. 

As part of their sentences, the twenty-eight individuals forfeited, among other things, six residences, one business, twelve vehicles, $532,158 in U.S. currency, and obtained money judgments in the amount of $1,335,402.

The National Institute of Health describes synthetic cannabinoids as human-made, mind-altering chemicals that are either sprayed or dried, shredded plant material that can be smoked, or sold as liquid to be vaporized and inhaled in e-cigarettes and other devices. Synthetic cannabinoids are often labeled as “not for human consumption,” and may claim they contain natural materials, however they are dangerous chemicals that bind to the same receptors in the brain as THC and may have unpredictable effects.

Two separate multi-year investigations conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Border Patrol (CBP), U.S. Marshal Service (USMS), Tucson Police Department, South Tucson Police Department, Casa Grande Police Department and the Sahuarita Police Department, discovered that “spice” suppliers in Colorado and Arizona imported the precursor chemicals from China, and manufactured the controlled substances in Long Beach, California and Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona. The suppliers then distributed the controlled substances primarily to local smoke shops in Tucson, South Tucson, Dallas/Fort Worth, and other cities, where they were ultimately sold to drug users. The twenty-eight defendants each pleaded guilty and were convicted and sentenced as follows:

On December 10, 2020, Madji Khaleq, of Denver, Colorado, was sentenced to four years of probation for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and controlled substance analogues. $164,944 in United States currency and $25,320 in money orders were forfeited. Khaleq is also required to pay a personal money judgment in the amount of $75,837 to the United States.

On November 8, 2018, Ana Patricia Hidalgo-Hernandez, of Long Beach, California, was sentenced to time served in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Introduce Misbranded Drugs into Interstate Commerce.

On November 30, 2017, Najib Alghaithi, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to twenty-four months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substance Analogues. $66,299 in United States currency was forfeited.

On October 20, 2020, Abdulkader Alghaithi, of Tucson, Arizona was sentenced to thirty-six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for Conspiracy Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances, Possession with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances, and Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substance Analogues. The government forfeited Alghaithi’s vehicle and residence.

On July 12, 2018, Jamil Qasem, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to forty-two months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances and Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substance Analogues. Qasem is also required to pay $40,000 to the United States. 

On January 18, 2018, Mazin Saleh, 36, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to four years of probation for Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud. The government seized $5,000 in lieu of Saleh’s vehicle.

On January 23, 2018, Muhieldin Muhieldin, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to three years of probation for Receiving Misbranded Drugs in Interstate Commerce.

On January 4, 2018, Nasser Farah, of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced to three years of probation for Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances.

On June 29, 2017, Davoud Shayan, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to time served followed by one year of supervised release for Introduction of Misbranded Drugs in Interstate Commerce.

On August 15, 2017, Denice Michael, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to two years of probation for Receipt of Misbranded Drugs in Interstate Commerce.

On January 23, 2018, Kholoud Hamdi, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to three years of probation for Introduction of Misbranded Drugs in Interstate Commerce.

On January 5, 2018, Sharif Hamdi, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to fourteen months in prison followed by one year of supervised release for Introduction of Misbranded Drugs in Interstate Commerce.

On June 21, 2017, Junior Jacklick, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to time served, for the Introduction of Misbranded Drugs in Interstate Commerce.

On June 6, 2017, Qasem Mahmoud Shahin, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to two years of probation for Receipt of Misbranded Drugs in Interstate Commerce.

On June 22, 2017, Adam Hassan, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to two years of probation for Receipt of Misbranded Drugs in Interstate Commerce.

On February 21, 2018, Abdulaziz Shahin, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to twenty-seven months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substance Analogues. Shahin is also required to pay $14,565 to the United States.

On November 8, 2017, Nasir Ibrahim, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to thirteen months and one day in prison followed by one year of supervised release for Receiving Misbranded Drugs in Interstate Commerce.

On August 9, 2019, Samuel Salomon of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to thirty-six month in prison followed by three years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances and Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments. The government forfeited Salomon’s residence, two other parcels of land, his smoke shops, two vehicles, and $15,801 for the sale of a third vehicle. Samuel Salomon is also required to pay $1,200,000 to the United States.

On September 4, 2019, Daniel Salomon, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to six months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments. 

On November 13, 2019, Ardell Addington, of Evansville, Wyoming, was sentenced to time served followed by three years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances and Controlled Substances Analogues.

On June 18, 2019, Renee Salomon, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to four years of probation for Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments. Renee Salomon is also required to pay $50,000 to the United States.

On August 9, 2019, Rodolfo Alvarez Samaniego, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to two years of probation for Causing the Introduction of Misbranded Drugs in Interstate Commerce.

On June 7, 2019, Mauro Acuna, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to three years of probation for Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances and Controlled Substance Analogues.

On January 22, 2020, Anabel Valdez, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to two years of probation for Receipt of Misbranded Drugs in Interstate Commerce.

On March 19, 2018, Jose Edmundo Gradillas, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to two years of probation for Receipt of Misbranded Drugs in Interstate Commerce.

On June 11, 2019, Alfred Manuel Gamez, Jr., of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to three years of probation Receipt of Misbranded Drugs in Interstate Commerce.

On March 16, 2018, Daniel James Garcia, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to four years of probation for Conspiracy to Import Controlled Substances and/or Analogues and Conspiracy to Laundering of Monetary Instruments.

On July 3, 2018, Damien Ismail Sanchez, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to two years of probation for Receipt of Misbranded Drugs in Interstate Commerce.

The investigations were conducted by agencies participating in the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. The partner agencies include the DEA, IRS-CI, FBI, HSI, CBP, USMS, Tucson Police Department, South Tucson Police Department, Casa Grande Police Department and the Sahuarita Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew G. Eltringham, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecutions.

CASE NUMBERS:          16-CR-1430-TUC JGZ (LCK), 16-CR-1431-TUC JGZ (LCK), 16-CR-1432-TUC JGZ (LCK), 16-CR-1433-TUC JGZ (LCK), 16-CR-2160-TUC JGZ (DTF).

RELEASE NUMBER:    2020-111_ Synthetic Spices

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/ Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Timothy Courchaine was sworn in today as the Interim United States Attorney for the District of Arizona. United States Attorney Timothy Courchaine was appointed to the position by Attorney General Pam Bondi on February 28, 2025.As Interim United States Attorney, Mr. Courchaine supervises the prosecution of all federal crimes and the litigation of all civil matters in the District of Arizona in which the United States has an interest. He leads a staff of approximately 350 prosecutors, civil litigators, and support personnel across Arizona. The District of Arizona serves over seven million residents.Mr. Courchaine began his service to the District of Arizona in 2020 as an Assistant U.S. Attorney.  During his time with the office, Mr. Courchaine has handled numerous criminal cases related to border crimes and the predatory actions of Mexican-based cartels in the Southwest Border and OCDETF sections. Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Mr. Courchaine served in the United States Marine Corps as a Judge Advocate and left the service as a Captain. He then served as a law clerk to the Honorable William G. Montgomery on the Arizona Supreme Court from 2019 to 2020.Mr. Courchaine received his J.D., from the University of Alabama in 2014 and his B.A. from California State University, Long Beach, in 2011.  RELEASE NUMBER:    2025-028_Timothy Courchaine# # #For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/ Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

Gulfport, MS – A Long Beach, Mississippi man pleaded guilty today to three counts of producing images and videos of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct and one count of distributing images and videos of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.According to court documents, in February 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) in Gulfport learned that Jason Leonard Rhodes, a 47-year-old male, had sexual contact with three minor boys. With that information, the FBI and the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, Cybercrime Division, conducted a search warrant at the defendant’s residence on February 8, 2023.During the search warrant, the FBI found various electronic devices belonging to Rhodes. A forensic examiner with the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, Cybercrime Division conducted a forensic analysis on those devices and found videos of Rhodes engaged in sexually explicit conduct with minors. The forensic examiner also found chats between Rhodes and others in which Rhodes sent some of those videos to other people as well as videos of other children being sexually abused.During the search warrant, Rhodes gave a confession to law enforcement, admitting to videoing himself engaged in sexually explicit conduct with the minors and to sending out pictures and videos of children being sexually abused.Rhodes is scheduled to be sentenced August 26, 2025, and faces up to thirty years in prison for each count of producing images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct and up to twenty years on the count of distributing images and videos of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Lemon of the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement.The case was investigated by the FBI, Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, Cybercrime Division, and the Long Beach Police Department.Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lee Smith, Glenda Haynes, and Andrea Jones prosecuted the case.This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – April 24, 2024

SAN DIEGO – Deonathan Abdul Gaston of Long Beach, California, was sentenced in federal court Monday to nine years in prison for transporting two girls, ages 15 and 16, to San Diego in August 2023 to engage in prostitution.

One of the victims had been reported missing from Arizona prior to being transported by Gaston from Arizona to Los Angeles and then to San Diego to engage in prostitution. Gaston had known one of the victims since she was 14.

The victims were rescued by the National City Police Department on August 13, 2023, when officers conducted a traffic stop on the defendant in a high-crime area known for prostitution. He had no driver’s license on him and was not going to be allowed to drive the car. He called his “girlfriend” to come pick up the car from the traffic stop; the girl turned out to be the missing Arizona teen. Officers then responded to the hotel where the girl said they were staying and found the other victim. The case was turned over to the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force.



“Selling children for sex is a reprehensible crime that impacts victims for a lifetime,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “We can all play a part in protecting the vulnerable by paying close attention to warning signs and reporting concerns. Our children are not necessarily being grabbed from the street. They are being groomed and recruited online.” Please see https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/human-trafficking/recognizing-signs



If you are living or working under threat of violence or extortion, or you suspect someone else may be, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center toll free, 24/7 Hotline: CALL: (888) 373-7888 or TEXT BeFree or 233733.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lyndzie M. Carter and Derek Ko.

DEFENDANTS                                             Case Number 23-cr-1944-AGS                  

Deonathan Abdul Gaston                                           Age: 26                                   Long Beach, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Transportation for Purpose of Prostitution – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 2421(a)

Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison and $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

National City Police Department

San Diego County District Attorney’s Office

Homeland Security Investigations

Federal Bureau of Investigation

San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force

SAN DIEGO – Felipe de Jesus Rosales-Herrera of Riverside was sentenced in federal court today to 120 months in prison for leading an extensive migrant smuggling ring responsible for illegally transporting more than 100 migrants and causing one death.According to his plea agreement, Rosales-Herrera employed foot guides to lead migrants over the border and drivers to pick them up on the U.S. side and deliver them to a stash house to meet a sponsor. Rosales-Herrera admitted that he charged approximately $10,000 per migrant. According to court documents, some of the smuggling events in the conspiracy resulted in high-speed chases and crashes, which placed the migrants, drivers, law enforcement and members of the public at risk. This culminated in a tragic collision on December 25, 2021.Rosales admitted in his plea agreement that, even after learning his driver killed someone, he and his co-conspirators continued the conspiracy. As co-defendant John Douglas Oglesby III admitted in his plea agreement, drivers were told to flee if Border Patrol attempted to pull them over. Unfortunately, many drivers did just that, resulting in numerous high-speed chases and several crashes.During the Christmas Day event in 2021, Kevin Antonio Quevedo-Moncada, acting under the supervision of co-defendant (and Rosales’ subordinate in the smuggling ring) Jose Luis Alejo-Cruz, picked up three undocumented migrants in a remote area. When Border Patrol attempted to pull him over, Quevedo-Moncada fled into a nearby campground, swerving wildly and careening around a field at high speed before ramming a Border Patrol vehicle to escape. As agents pursued him, he sped away on wet, winding roads, reaching speeds of close to 100 mph. Quevedo-Moncada lost control of his car and struck a tree, killing one of the migrants and leaving the other two in critical condition. Quevedo-Moncada pleaded guilty to charges related to this incident. Alejo-Cruz discussed the smuggling event with Rosales before the crash. Shortly after the crash, Rosales sent Alejo-Cruz a news article about the accident and confirmed that it was their driver.Alejo-Cruz also relied on intimidation to preserve his position, tracking down and robbing two of his former drivers at gunpoint when he felt they had wronged him and plotting to kidnap a rival migrant smuggler.“You traded in human life, trafficked in people… to line your own pockets” U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo told the defendant at todays hearing. “The worst-case scenario in alien smuggling, where someone died, did not deter you.” Judge Bencivengo ultimately ruled that the appropriate sentence was “fully and fairly the statutory maximum.”“These smugglers viewed migrants as dollar signs, not people,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “This significant sentence demonstrates the importance of protecting the public from the reckless tactics of criminal networks.”“This event highlights the danger that these criminal organizations pose to the migrants they are transporting as well as the general public.” said U.S. Border Patrol, San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Patrica McGurk-Daniel. “This outcome is the result of a concerted effort by Border Patrol agents and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to dismantle human smuggling networks and bring those responsible to justice.  The sentencing today sends a clear message; if you smuggle people across our borders, you will face serious consequences.”Co-defendants Alejo-Cruz and Oglesby were previously sentenced to 120 months and 70 months in federal prison, respectively. The final defendant, Miguel Isaac Villa-Gomez, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 6, 2024.This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Benjamin.DEFENDANTS                                             Case Number 23-CR-871-CABFelipe de Jesus Rosales-Herrera                     Age: 38                                   Riverside County, CAJose Luis Alejo-Cruz                                      Age: 23                                   Long Beach, CAJohn Douglas Oglesby III                               Age: 20                                   Chesapeake, VAMiguel Isaac Villa-Gomez                             Age: 27                                   Downey, CACase Number 22-CR-1995-B__John Douglas Oglesby III                               Age: 20                                   Chesapeake, VASUMMARY OF CHARGESConspiracy to Transport Aliens – Title 8, U.S.C., Section 1324Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison and $250,000 fineINVESTIGATING AGENCYUnited States Border Patrol

EL CENTRO – Five indictments were unsealed in federal court today charging 48 alleged members of an Imperial Valley-based, Sinaloa Cartel-linked drug trafficking organization accused of distributing methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin and bulk cash smuggling.In a coordinated takedown this morning, more than 140 federal, state, and local law enforcement officials arrested 25 defendants and executed 15 search warrants in Imperial County, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Stockton, as well as in Yuma, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada. As of this afternoon, the search continues for 23 fugitives.Including seizures today and throughout this long-term investigation, authorities have seized more than 3,600 kg (about 8,000 pounds) of methamphetamine; substantial quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin; and one firearm.Crimes charged in the indictments include drug trafficking, conspiracy, and bulk cash smuggling.According to court records, the defendants belonged to a drug trafficking organization based in the Imperial Valley and Mexicali, Mexico with ties to Los Rusos, one of the most violent and significant factions of the Sinaloa Cartel.“This investigation represents another blow to traffickers of deadly drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “With the indictment of four dozen individuals, we are not only disrupting a major drug trafficking network but also taking significant steps to protect our community from the devastation these drugs cause. We are committed to dismantling these dangerous operations and ensuring that those who fuel the crisis are held accountable.”“HSI’s challenge with investigating cases tied to the Sinaloa Cartel is to not just chase those who profit from addiction, but to dismantle the transnational network responsible for plaguing our communities and tearing families apart,” said Shawn Gibson, special agent in charge for HSI San Diego. “The success of today’s takedown would not have been possible without the unwavering support and assistance from our law enforcement partners. By working together, we each bring a unique skillset to the fight against these trafficking organizations and can disrupt and dismantle cells like these.”“This successful operation underscores the pivotal role that collaboration among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies plays in safeguarding our communities,” stated Roque Caza, Area Port Director for the Calexico Port of Entry. “At U.S. Customs and Border Protection, our mission is to protect the nation’s public by preventing dangerous substances from entering the United States. This joint effort highlights our commitment to disrupting the flow of methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin, addressing the dangerous impacts on public health and safety. Together, we stand strong in our fight against these illicit activities and remain steadfast in protecting our borders and communities.”“The Sinaloa Cartel and any other criminal organization will fare poorly here in the Imperial Valley as we have just seen,” said El Centro Sector Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino. “With seamless coordination between HSI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and a multitude of state and local agencies, yet another set of alleged traffickers and criminals were prevented from harming the community.”According to court records, employing undercover operations and four rounds of wiretaps, agents conducted numerous controlled purchases, traffic stops of personal vehicles and several tractor trailers, and searches of houses and stash locations leading to large seizures of narcotics. In one instance on April 27, 2022, authorities seized 256 pounds of methamphetamine after intercepting phone conversations between several defendants about a big sale. Federal agents watched the transaction from afar, then conducted a traffic stop on the drug-laden tractor-trailer. Law enforcement officials located four duffel bags containing 256 pounds of methamphetamine in the cab of the truck.This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Van Demark and Owen Roth.DEFENDANT                                               Case Number 24cr2316-WQH                         Adrian Garcia                                                 Age: 28                                   El Centro, CASUMMARY OF CHARGESDistribution of Controlled Substances – Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 841(a) and (b)(1)Maximum penalty: Life in prison with a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a $10 million fine.DEFENDANTS                                             Case Number  24cr2320-WQHFausto Herrera-Lopez, AKA “Vecino”*        50                    Mexicali, MXRodolfo Ramirez-Palacios, AKA “Rudy”*   34                    Mexicali, MXTereso Ramirez-Velasquez                            54                    San Bernadino, CAJuan Carlos Ojeda-Saldana                            35                    Brawley, CAJose David Morales-Rodriguez*                    46                    Brawley, CAErnesto Morales-Rodriguez*                          41                    Mexicali, MXVicente Barrera-Robles*                                32                    Mexicali, MXRicardo Ruben Pinzon                                    24                    El Centro, CAJose Ramon Ochoa-Monteverde                    31                    El Centro, CASalvador Martinez                                          54                    Los Angeles, CAJuan Carlos Martinez*                                    52                    Los Angeles, CARogelio Robledo-Valdez*                              26                    Mexicali, MXMaria Elena Reyes                                          50                    Wichita, KSGabriela Estrada*                                           46                    Mexicali, MXJaime Mayoral                                                40                    El Centro, CAMarcos Arturo Barrera                                   28                    Brawley, CAOscar Silvas-Gamez                                       32                    Fresno, CAJuan Ernesto Salas Villela*                            37                    Fontana, CAYeiming Hernandez                                        34                    Calexico, CAFrank Gustavo Zendejas                                 56                    Calipatria, CAGerardo Medina Plancencia                           45                    Calexico, CAJose Andres Leyva                                          55                    El Centro, CAStephanie Melgoza*                                       21                    Salinas, CAVictor Rene Herrera*                                     24                    Los Angeles, CAArnulfo Morfin-Moreno*                               52                    Pasco, WAEdgar Garcia*                                                 24                    Las Vegas, NVRoberto Valenzuela De La Torre*                 27                     Sonora, MXLeonardo Saldivar*                                       38                     San Bernardino, CAFrancisco Ramirez*                                       52                    Tolleson, ArizonaLuis Fernando Simental Palacios*                34                     Mexicali, MXAbraham Noe Esparza-Garcia*                     36                      Mexicali, MXAngelica Guerrero                                        29                      Calexico, CASergio Sanchez                                             46                      Long Beach, CANicholas Adam Fortier                                  41                      Portland, ORLuis Alberto Felix*                                        38                      Pacoima, CAElizabeth Echeverria                                      43                      Las Vega, NVPedro Estrada*                                              50                      San Diego, CABernadette Lucero Vallejos*                          33                      Goodyear, AZMaribel Garcia Barajas                                  56                      El Centro, CAJose Arturo Mendiola Porras*                       57                      Mexicali, MXEnrique Villalobos                                         43                      Stockton, CAIsrael Alejandro Ramirez-Velasquez             60                      Perris, CA                      SUMMARY OF CHARGESConspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances - Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 841(a)(1), (b)(1), and 846Maximum penalty: Life in prison with a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a $10 million fineDistribution of Controlled Substances – Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 841(a) and (b)(1)Maximum penalty: Life in prison with a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a $10 million finePossession of Controlled Substances with Intent to Distribute – Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 841(a) and (b)(1)Maximum penalty: Life in prison with a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a $10 million fineBulk Cash Smuggling – Title 31, U.S.C., Section 5332(a) and (b)Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and a $250,000 fineConspiracy to Commit Bulk Cash Smuggling – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 371Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and a $250,000 fineDEFENDANT                                               Case Number 24cr2318-WQH                         Nilda Charlenne Ledon                                   Age: 34                                   El Centro, CASUMMARY OF CHARGESBulk Cash Smuggling – Title 31, U.S.C., Section 5332(a) and (b)Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and a $250,000 fineDEFENDANT                                               Case Number 24cr2319-WQH                         Jasmine Santos                                                Age: 34                                   Los Angeles, CASUMMARY OF CHARGESBulk Cash Smuggling – Title 31, U.S.C., Section 5332(a) and (b)Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and a $250,000 fineDEFENDANT                                               Case Number 24cr217-WQH                         Brenda Lara*                                                  Age: 32                                   Los Angeles, CARomulada Contreras*                                     Age: 75                                   Mexicali, MXSUMMARY OF CHARGESConspiracy to Commit Bulk Cash Smuggling – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 371Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and a $250,000 fineBulk Cash Smuggling – Title 31, U.S.C., Section 5332(a) and (b)Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and a $250,000 fine*FugitivesINVESTIGATING AGENCIESHomeland Security Investigations, Calexico OfficeUnited States Border Patrol, El Centro Sector Intelligence UnitCustoms and Border Protection, Calexico Intelligence DivisionImperial County Narcotics Task ForceDrug Enforcement Administration, Imperial County OfficeUnited States Postal InspectorsFederal Bureau of Investigations, Imperial County OfficeUnited States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal OperationsUnited States Marshals ServiceCalexico Police DepartmentImperial County Sheriff’s OfficeBrawley Police DepartmentSan Bernardino Police Department Narcotics UnitCalifornia Highway PatrolEl Centro Police DepartmentThe charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.This case is the result of ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership that brings together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, dismantle and prosecute high-level members of drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations and enterprises.This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ari D. Fitzwater (619) 546-8756 and Assistant U. S. Attorney Patrick J. Bumatay (619) 546-8450

 

NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – February 1, 2017

 

SAN DIEGO – Christopher Switzer and Mark Gillette pleaded guilty in federal court today to conspiring to destroy their own vessel, the “Commander,” a 57-ft boat used for charter sport-fishing trips, in order to fraudulently collect an insurance payout.

 

According to their plea agreement, on October 11, 2016, Switzer and Gillette headed out to sea on the Commander from its homeport in Mission Bay and headed toward Long Beach. The two had planned to intentionally sink the Commander and submit a claim to their insurance company.

 

Switzer and Gillette admitted how they attempted to sink the Commander while off the coast of California by destroying plastic PVC piping in the ship’s engine room, which caused sea water to flood into the vessel. They also pumped sea water onto the vessel and punctured its bulkhead to let sea water spread faster throughout the boat.

 

After sea water had flooded the Commander and as it was starting to go under, Switzer and Gillette called the United States Coast Guard for help which promptly launched a helicopter to find the two. A Dana Point Harbor Patrol rescue fireboat later found the two boatmen atop the partially submerged ship. As part of their plea agreement, Switzer and Gillette acknowledged that their actions subjected themselves and the emergency responders to the risk of death or serious injury.

 

Upon their rescue, Switzer and Gillette gave a series of false statements to officials to cover their plot to sink the Commander for insurance money. They indicated the first sign of a problem on the Commander was a power failure and they could not figure out why the vessel was flooding.

 

Switzer and Gillette’s actions failed to completely sink the Commander and it was found adrift near Dana Point, California the next day. A commercial salvage company was able to successfully tow the Commander back to San Diego Bay, California, where investigators uncovered the scheme to intentionally sink the ship.

 

Switzer and Gillette pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill L. Burkhardt. They face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. As part of their plea, they are required to reimburse the U.S. Coast Guard over $15,000 for the price of launching the rescue helicopter and other costs.

 

Sentencing is scheduled for March 6, 2017 at 9 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Michael M. Anello.

 

DEFENDANTS                                             Case Number 17cr0251-MMA

 

Christopher Switzer                                        Age: 39

Mark Gillette                                                  Age: 37

 

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

 

Conspiracy to Destroy Vessels – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 2271

 

AGENCY

 

U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





 

NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – July 31, 2024

SAN DIEGO – An indictment was unsealed today alleging that five individuals participated in a massive, complex fraud and money laundering scheme that resulted in losses of more than $27 million to over 2,000 seniors.

During a coordinated law enforcement operation this morning in Los Angeles, California and Las Vegas, Nevada, about 60 federal, state and local law enforcement officials arrested four of the defendants—Zhao Wang of Henderson, Nevada; Jiandong Chen of Pomona, California; Jun Li of West Covina, California; and Xin Wang of San Gabriel, California—and searched their homes. The fifth defendant, Youfei Gong, was arrested on April 9, 2024, at his home in San Gabriel, California and was in custody on state charges.

According to the indictment and publicly filed documents, the five defendants and their co-conspirators operated a multinational organized fraud ring targeting elderly victims throughout the United States. 

The indictment said conspirators contacted victims through unsolicited pop-up ads, emails and phone calls designed to get victims to contact scam call centers in India. The conspirators used social engineering techniques to build trust with victims.  In many cases, the conspirators had victims install remote desktop software that the conspirators used to gain remote access to victims’ computers. After building trust with a victim based on fraudulent pretenses, the conspirators used technical support, government impersonation, bank impersonation and/or refund scams to induce victims to send money to other members of the conspiracy, including the five defendants charged in the indictment. 

At the direction of conspirators, victims sent wire transfers or cash in express mail packages to locations throughout Southern California, Nevada and elsewhere. The defendants provided fake names and addresses corresponding with retail locations, including CVS Pharmacy locations, where packages were picked up. The defendants and co-conspirators picked up money-laden packages using fake IDs. 

According to the indictment, the defendants specifically targeted elderly Americans. After receiving the victims’ money, the defendants laundered it through cryptocurrency transactions to their India-based co-conspirators. As defendant Xin Wang stated in a text message:



The FBI uncovered the multinational conspiracy showing the coordination between the defendants in the United States and their India-based co-conspirators who were in direct contact with victims. Between just 2021 to 2023, agents identified approximately 2,000 victims who lost more than $27 million to the conspirators.  The indictment said the conspiracy continued through June 2024. 



“Every day swindlers entangle unsuspecting seniors into scams to steal their hard-earned savings,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “We urge everyone to use caution and consult with others before sending money to strangers they know only through phone calls, texts, or a computer.”



“Southern California is sadly a target rich environment for foreign and domestic scam artists who relentlessly prey on vulnerable Americans and their bank accounts,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Today's arrests follow hard work by many dedicated law enforcement agencies and will aid our continuing efforts to educate potential victims to avoid responding to strangers who claim to care about them, and never give or send hard-earned money in response to a solicitation.”

“FBI San Diego Elder Justice Task Force, along with FBI LA, has worked tirelessly to bring justice to individuals who target, exploit, and victimize our most vulnerable citizens,” said Stacey Moy Special Agent in Charge for the Federal Bureau of Investigation San Diego Field Office. “The FBI remains resolute in our commitment to disrupt and dismantle foreign-based fraud schemes that prey on our older Americans. We will continue to work side by side with our law enforcement partners to deter and defeat organized fraud rings, no matter where they are located.”

This case was investigated by the San Diego Elder Justice Task Force and its member agencies, including the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, Carlsbad Police Department, San Diego Police Department, and the California Highway Patrol.

If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available through the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833 FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). You can also report fraud to any local law enforcement agency or on the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mokhtari.

DEFENDANTS                                             Case Number 24CR1317-RSH                                

Zhao Wang, aka “Oscar”                                Age: 40                                   Henderson, NV

Jiandong Chen, aka “Little Tiger”                  Age: 40                                   Pomona, CA

Jun Li                                                              Age: 40                                   West Covina, CA

Xin Wang                                                       Age: 36                                   San Gabriel, CA

Youfei Gong                                                   Age: 29                                   San Gabriel, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Conspiracy to Commit Mail and Wire Fraud – Title 18, U.S.C., Sections 1349, 2326

Maximum Penalties: Forty years in prison; $1 million fine

Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments – Title 18, U.S.C., Sections 1956(a)(1)(A)(i), 1956(a)(1)(B)(i) and 1956(h)

Maximum Penalties: Twenty years in prison; maximum fine of $500,000 or twice the amount laundered

Criminal Forfeiture – Title 18, U.S.C., Sections 981(a)(1)(C), 982(a)(1), 982(a)(2)(a), 2328 and Title 28, U.S.C., Section 2461(c)

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of Inspector General

Homeland Security Investigations

San Diego County District Attorney’s Office

San Diego County Sheriff’s Department

San Diego Police Department

San Diego Elder Justice Task Force

Chino Police Department

Coronado Police Department

Escondido Police Department

Glendora Police Department

Long Beach Police Department

Orange County Sheriff’s Department

*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty. 

NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – July 11, 2024

SAN DIEGO – Felipe de Jesus Rosales-Herrera of Riverside pleaded guilty in federal court today to human smuggling charges, admitting he was a leader of an organization that smuggled more than 100 unauthorized migrants into the United States, in some instances imperiling public safety by leading authorities on high-speed chases.

According to his plea agreement, Rosales-Herrera employed foot guides to lead migrants over the border and drivers to pick them up on the U.S. side and deliver them to a stash house to meet a sponsor. Rosales-Herrera admitted that he charged approximately $10,000 per migrant.

According to court documents, some of the smuggling events in the conspiracy resulted in high-speed chases and crashes, which placed the migrants, drivers, law enforcement, and members of the public at risk. This culminated in a tragic collision on December 25, 2021. Kevin Antonio Quevedo-Moncada, acting under co-defendant Jose Luis Alejo-Cruz’s supervision, picked up three undocumented migrants in a remote area. When Border Patrol attempted to pull him over, Quevedo-Moncada fled into a nearby campground, swerving wildly and careening around a field at high speed before ramming a Border Patrol vehicle to escape. As agents pursued him, he sped away on wet, winding roads, reaching speeds of close to 100 mph. Quevedo-Moncada lost control of his car and struck a tree, killing one of the migrants and leaving the other two in critical condition. Quevedo-Moncada pleaded guilty to charges related to this incident.

Even after learning that his driver had killed someone, Rosales admitted in his plea agreement that he and his co-conspirators continued the conspiracy. As co-defendant John Douglas Oglesby III admitted in his plea agreement, drivers were told to flee if Border Patrol attempted to pull them over. Unfortunately, many drivers did just that, resulting in numerous high-speed chases and several crashes. Alejo-Cruz also relied on intimidation to preserve his position, tracking down and robbing two of his former drivers at gunpoint when he felt they had wronged him and plotting to kidnap a rival migrant smuggler.



“These smugglers treated humans as a commodity, endangering not only the migrants’ lives, but the safety of every driver on the road,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “This office is focused on dismantling smuggling organizations and holding their leaders accountable.”



“We will never stop targeting these criminal organizations who prioritize profit over lives,” said U.S. Border Patrol, San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Patrica McGurk-Daniel. “Our agents are committed to the safety and security of migrants, the public, and our nation. It is only through strong partnerships with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and all our law enforcement partners, that we ensure justice is served and consequences are delivered to these criminals.”

Co-defendants Alejo-Cruz and Oglesby were previously sentenced to 120 months and 70 months in federal prison, respectively. Sentencing for Rosales-Herrera is scheduled to take place on October 11, 2024. A motion hearing and trial setting for the final defendant, Miguel Isaac Villa-Gomez, is scheduled for July 12, 2024.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Benjamin.

DEFENDANTS                                            

Case Number 23-CR-871-CAB                                           

Felipe de Jesus Rosales-Herrera                     Age: 38                                   Riverside County, CA

Jose Luis Alejo-Cruz                                      Age: 23                                   Long Beach, CA

John Douglas Oglesby III                               Age: 20                                   Chesapeake, VA

Miguel Isaac Villa-Gomez                             Age: 27                                   Downey, CA

Case Number 22-CR-1995-CAB

John Douglas Oglesby III                               Age: 20                                   Chesapeake, VA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Conspiracy to Transport Aliens – Title 8, U.S.C., Section 1324

Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison and $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCY

United States Border Patrol

SAN DIEGO – A federal grand jury has indicted alleged Sinaloa Cartel associates Poly Antunez, Antonio Quinones and Jovanny Enriquez for directing a plot to execute a cartel target in Chula Vista in March 2024 using two teen gang members as hitmen because the 15-year-olds were thought to be too young for serious legal consequences.The indictment, unsealed today, charges the defendants with Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering; Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering; Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering; Conspiracy to Commit Murder for Hire; and Use of Interstate Facilities in Commission of Murder for Hire. Antunez was already in custody on another federal case in San Diego. Quinones and Enriquez were arrested by FBI agents yesterday and today, and they made their first appearances in San Diego federal court this afternoon.“You want cowardice. I give you the Sinaloa Cartel hiring teenagers to do their dirty work,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon."Today’s indictment against violent Sinaloa Cartel associates for directing teenagers to be their personal hitmen is one step closer to obtaining the final justice in this case,” said TJ Holland, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain committed to investigating, dismantling and eliminating these violent groups threatening our neighborhoods and holding them accountable for their roles in these cowardly criminal acts.”According to the government’s detention memorandum, the adult defendants participated in the murder scheme and directed the actions of the teen hitmen, Andrew Nunez and Johncarlo Quintero, unleashing violence in a suburban strip mall and complex of family homes in Chula Vista. The adult defendants arranged for overnight lodging for the Los Angeles-based teen hitmen at an Airbnb in La Mesa; along with Nunez and Quintero, they stalked the target and his family throughout San Ysidro and Chula Vista; they were the critical points of contact between the hitmen, the Cartel, and Mexican Mafia; they coordinated with the hitmen as they attempted to kill the victim during the evening of March 26, 2024, but failed; and they regrouped with Nunez and Quintero before sending them on the second attempt in the early hours of March 27, 2024.The detention memo notes that the violence was sparked by a cartel war in Tijuana. It was widely reported that in November 2023, the Cartel Arellano Felix (“CAF”) stole a massive load of methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl from the Sinaloa Cartel in Tijuana, Mexico. The fallout in Tijuana was immediate. There were rampant retaliatory murders on CAF members and Tijuana law enforcement. Seeking retribution for the stolen drug load, the Cartel placed a hit on individuals the Cartel viewed as responsible, including the targeted victim in this case.The Sinaloa Cartel first attempted to kill the victim at his home in Tijuana. The victim fled to the United States. Undeterred, the Cartel began using its contacts in San Diego to stalk the victim within the Southern District of California and attempt to kill him in March 2024.The Cartel simultaneously used associates in the Mexican Mafia and Westside Wilmas, a sureños gang, to hire the teen hitmen to complete the job. Enriquez had just turned 18 years old, ran the Wilmas juvenile members, and coordinated with a high-ranking Mexican Mafia associate and Wilmas member Ricardo Sanchez to have Nunez and Quintero hired to commit the job. The benefit to Enriquez was clear in messages—he would be paid part of the money the teen assassins would receive and it would elevate his position.According to the government’s detention memo, in a group chat between Enriquez, Nunez, Quintero, and fellow Wilmas gang members, the other members warn them: “Bru u guys are gonna do some stupid shit.” Enriquez answers: “We all getting new cars new chains new toys.” A gang member responds: “Be safe guys. I don’t wanna lose my friends. I need u guys.” Another unnamed gang member asks: “U guys hitmans now or what” and Quintero answers: “Basically.” And a gang member responds: “Anw Don’t Die Come back in one piece.”The reason Enriquez and others chose Nunez and Quintero was clear in messages—Nunez and Quintero were only 15 years old at the time of the offenses, meaning under California law there was no possibility of them being treated as adults in California state court. The teen hitmen—, members of the Mexican Mafia-affiliated Westside Wilmas gang from the greater Los Angeles area—were not immune to prosecution under federal law. They were charged federally as adults and pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder charges, admitting they were acting as hired hitmen for the Sinaloa Cartel when they made two attempts in five hours to kill the cartel’s target. Please see press release here.The first murder attempt occurred on March 26, 2024, in the parking lot of a Chili’s restaurant in Chula Vista, where the target was dining with his family. Nunez and Quintero pulled up behind the victim and his family. Quintero got out of the car and fired a single bullet that struck the target’s legs. After that single shot, Quintero’s firearm jammed, and he was unable to unjam the weapon in time to shoot again. Quintero got back into the car Nunez was driving, and Nunez attempted unsuccessfully to hit and kill the target with the vehicle. Quintero and Nunez then fled the scene.Later that night, in the early hours of March 27, 2024, allegedly guided by the adult defendants, the teen hitmen showed up at the intended victim’s home to finish the job. They were joined this time by an older accomplice, 28-year-old Ricardo Sanchez. Each gang member expected to be paid approximately $50,000. The trio approached the target’s home, carrying at least one firearm apiece.The intended target was at a hospital seeking medical treatment, but the victim’s family – including a child – and a friend were present in the home. Sanchez banged on the front door, and once the friend responded, Quintero and Nunez shot the friend and fired indiscriminately at the family home.  The friend was hit in the hand, arm, and face by Quintero and Nunez, but he survived. In response to the gunfire, the friend shot toward Nunez, Quintero and Sanchez to protect himself and the others within the home and, in so doing, shot and killed Sanchez—a provocative-act murder to which Nunez and Quintero pleaded guilty. After that, the hitmen fled the scene.This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Goff, Joshua Mellor, and Peter Horn.DEFENDANTS                                            Case Number 26cr0402-TWR                                Poly Antunez                                                 Age: 30                                     Chula Vista, CAAntonio Quinones                                          Age: 27                                      Oceanside, CAJovanny Enriquez                                            Age: 20                                      Long Beach, CASUMMARY OF CHARGESConspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1959(a)(5)Maximum penalty: Ten years imprisonmentAttempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1959(a)(5), 2Maximum penalty: Ten years imprisonment yAssault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1959(a)(3), 2Maximum penalty: Twenty years imprisonmentConspiracy to Commit Murder for Hire – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1958(a)Maximum penalty: Twenty years imprisonmentUse of Interstate Facilities in Commission of Murder for Hire – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1958(a)Maximum penalty: Twenty years imprisonmentINVESTIGATING AGENCIESFederal Bureau of InvestigationChula Vista Police DepartmentBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and ExplosivesUnited States Marshals ServiceCalifornia Highway Patrol*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF San Diego comprises agents and officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Department of Defense, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Interpol, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.

ALBUQUERQUE – Today, U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez for the District of New Mexico, Acting Special Agent in Charge Jason T. Stevens of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso, and Chief Patrol Agent Anthony Scott Good of the U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector, announced the unsealing of an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on July 17, 2024, charging eight members of the leadership and middle management of the Lopez Human Smuggling Organization, a transnational criminal organization operating in Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States. Law enforcement officials effected the arrest of two alleged members of the Lopez Human Smuggling Organization in California and Florida in a coordinated, multistate enforcement operation.

In addition, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against the Lopez Human Smuggling Organization today as part of its ongoing efforts to address the national security threat posed by human smuggling. Pursuant to Executive Order 13581, as amended, OFAC has taken action to freeze assets and limit financial transactions of the Lopez Human Smuggling Organization.

According to the indictment, Ronaldo Galindo Lopez-Escobar, aka “Tio Roni,” 46, of Malacatan, Guatemala, leads and oversees the Lopez Human Smuggling Organization from Guatemala.

Elvis Bersai Lopez-Ambrosio, aka “Pepe,” and Whiskey Hans Lopez-Ambrosio, aka “Hands,” coordinated with Mexican human smugglers, including Jumilca Sandivel Hernandez-Perez and a La Linea Cartel member known as “Chikis,” “Chiquis,” “Enano,” and “Chicken” to cross undocumented aliens from Guatemala through Mexico, and into the United States through Southern New Mexico.

Upon smuggling undocumented aliens into the United States through Southern New Mexico, Elvis and Whiskey would oversee and direct a network of mid-level smugglers including Eli Adonis Esteban-Lopez and Wenry Gabriel Gomez-Lopez, who assisted in carrying out the day-to-day operations of the Lopez Human Smuggling Organization, and Karen Stefany Hernandez-Vanegas, who received deposits and made payments to co-conspirators through the United States banking system, peer-to-peer money transfer applications, and bulk cash that were derived from the Lopez Human Smuggling Organization.

Furthermore, Elvis would instruct co-conspirators to open U.S. bank accounts in order to receive smuggling fees from smuggled aliens on Elvis’s behalf and in a manner that would be untraceable to Elvis. Elvis would then instruct co-conspirators to withdraw the funds and either: give the funds to Elvis, convert the funds into assets including real estate, or send funds to Lopez-Escobar or his nominees in Guatemala, utilizing money service business money wires, to minimize the trackability of the funds to Lopez-Escobar.

Federal investigators have uncovered evidence suggesting that the Lopez Human Smuggling Organization generated between $104 million and $416 million in illicit proceeds from their human smuggling activities between September 2020 and April 2023.

“Border security is about neighbors taking care of neighbors, reaching across jurisdictional and agency boundaries to protect our community,” said U.S. Attorney Uballez. “With this indictment, we bring the fight across borders to the transnational criminal organizations and their leadership. No long will you profit in safety while migrants suffer and load-drivers take the risks, and the fall, for your greed. We are coming for you and your bank accounts.”

“HSI remains steadfast in vigorously using our broad investigative authority and international footprint to pursue transnational criminal organizations that not only put the lives of migrants at peril, but pose a threat to our national security,” said Jason T. Stevens, Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI El Paso. “This case exemplifies a coalesced commitment among our federal law enforcement partners to ensure public safety by locking up violent criminal elements associated with these networks. Our message is clear: Human smugglers will not operate with impunity in our communities.”

“On behalf of the U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our local law enforcement partners for their role in this significant criminal apprehension,” said Anthony Scott Good, Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector. “The successes in the investigation of the Lopez Human Smuggling Organization represents our unified goal as law enforcement partners: protecting the very communities we live in. Border Patrol's mission extends beyond immigration; we strategically collaborate with local law enforcement to deter and address criminal threats.”

If convicted of the current charges, Lopez-Escobar faces up to 20 years in prison. Lopez-Escobar and nine co-defendants were charged with conspiracy to bring in, transport and harbor illegal aliens on May 24, 2023. Lopez-Escobar remains a fugitive.

If convicted of the current charges, Elvis Bersai Lopez-Ambrosio faces up to 20 years in prison.

If convicted of the current charges, Whiskey Hans Lopez-Ambrosio faces up to 10 years in prison.

If convicted of the current charges, Hernandez-Perez faces up to 10 years in prison.

If convicted of the current charges, Chikis faces up to 10 years in prison.

If convicted of the current charges, Esteban-Lopez faces up to 10 years in prison.

If convicted of the current charges, Gomez-Lopez faces up to 10 years in prison.

If convicted of the current charges, Hernandez-Vanegas faces up to 10 years in prison.

HSI El Paso led U.S. investigative efforts, with enforcement assistance from HSI in the Middle District of Florida and the Central District of California. HSI received investigative assistance from HSI Long Beach and San Jose, U.S. Border Patrol Deming, Lordsburg, Blythe, El Centro, Yuma, and Tucson, the U.S. Marshal Service’s Organized Crime and Gangs Branch, as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center/Operation Sentinel, and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department. The Justice Department’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) of the Department’s Criminal Division also provided support in this matter.

The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Ramirez for the District of New Mexico.

The indictment of these defendants is the result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico is part of JTFA, which was established by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in June 2021 to marshal the investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Justice Department, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to enhance U.S. enforcement efforts against the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and most recently in the Darién to include Colombia and Panama. The task force focuses on disrupting and dismantling smuggling and trafficking networks that abuse, exploit, or endanger migrants, pose national security threats, and are involved in organized crime. JTFA is comprised of detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border, including the Southern District of Texas, the Western District of Texas, the District of New Mexico, the District of Arizona, and the Southern District of California. Dedicated support is also provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division that are part of JTFA, led by HRSP, and supported by the Office of Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training (OPDAT), the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS), MLARS, the Office of Enforcement Operations (OEO), the Office of International Affairs (OIA), and the Violent Crime and Racketeering Section. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in over 310 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of human smuggling; over 250 U.S. convictions; over 185 significant sentences of 30 years or more in prison imposed; and substantial seizures and forfeiture of substantial assets and contraband, including hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, real property, vehicles, firearms and ammunition, and drugs; multiple indictments and successful extradition requests against foreign leadership targets.





View the Indictment





Treasury Press Release

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

# # #

Gulfport, Miss. –   A California man was sentenced to 237 months in prison for Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley of the Drug Enforcement Administration.  

Brent Alan Wright, age 50, of Yorba Linda, California, was sentenced on August 3, 2023 in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.

According to court records, on December 29, 2021, DEA agents received information regarding a drug trafficking organization in Long Beach, MS.  The investigation revealed that the leader of this drug trafficking organization (DTO), Antonina Troyer, was receiving multi-pound packages of methamphetamine from Brent Alan Wright in California.  Wright used the United States Postal Service to ship methamphetamine to Troyer on several occasions. During the course of the conspiracy, Wright shipped approximately 2.9 kilograms of methamphetamine to South Mississippi. 

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Hancock County Sheriff’s Office. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Rose.

          The long-time manager of a Hoquiam wood shavings business was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to three years in prison and three years of supervised release for thirteen federal felonies related to his theft of $1.3 million from a family business, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. WILLIS D. “BILL” LONN, JR., 68, of Aberdeen was convicted in October 2016 of nine counts of mail fraud, two counts of income tax evasion, one count of money laundering conspiracy and one count of interstate transportation of stolen property following a six-day trial. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle said LONN “profoundly abused the trust of his employer [and] callously betrayed family members and took what belonged to the company.”

          “This defendant did not commit just a single act of embezzlement, rather, over the course of years, he stole from the company almost every day,” said U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “He betrayed the trust of his family members to satisfy his greed and then used the stolen money to start his competing business harming his victims even further.”

          According to records filed in the case and testimony at trial, LONN was a long time manager for Long Beach Shavings Company (LBS). The company was owned by LONN’s uncle and cousins and was based in California. The company had one plant in Hoquiam, Washington where it processed wood shavings for use on farms, at horse shows or in pet stores. LONN had worked at the Hoquiam plant for about a decade when he launched a scheme in the 2000s to steal and sell the wood shavings products for his own enrichment. LONN did this by selling the shavings directly to customers in Washington and Oregon without turning the proceeds over to the company. Later in the scheme, LONN arranged to get wood chips for free from a Montesano lumber mill, but he informed the parent company that an entity named M & R Lumber needed to be paid for the wood shavings. LONN posed as M & R Lumber and created phony invoices that he mailed to LBS to bill them for the shavings. LONN then kept the money. Between the two schemes LONN obtained more than $1.3 million from LBS. He was terminated by the company in 2011 when the full scope of the scheme came to light.

          Testimony at trial revealed that LONN never paid income taxes on the ill-gotten gain in tax years 2009 and 2010. Had LONN reported the income his tax bill for those years would have increased by more than $80,000.

          “At this time of year most Americans are busy fulfilling their obligations as citizens of our country by preparing and filing honest and accurate tax returns. However, a small percentage of the population selfishly shuns their civic duty by dodging the tax laws that the majority of us observe,” stated Special Agent in Charge Darrell Waldon of IRS Criminal Investigation. “When this happens, IRS Special Agents stand ready to defend our nation’s tax system by bringing scofflaws to justice and ensuring a level playing field for all of us.”

 

          Anthony Galetti, Inspector in Charge of Seattle Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, stated, “Today’s sentencing confirms that anyone who uses the U.S. Mail to operate a fraud scheme will be held accountable. I’m pleased to see justice in a case which had such an impact on the community of Hoquiam.”

 

          The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).

          The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Brian D. Werner and Nicholas Manheim.

LOS ANGELES – A former Long Beach resident was sentenced today to 121 months in federal prison for leading a telemarketing scheme in which boiler room tactics were used to scam dozens of timeshare owners out of more than $5 million by giving them false promises of financial relief.

Michael McDonagh, 43, who currently resides in Cohasset, Massachusetts, was sentenced by United States District Judge David O. Carter, who also ordered him to pay $5,469,271 in restitution.

McDonagh pleaded guilty in May 2023 to one count of wire fraud.

This criminal case’s lead defendant, McDonagh founded and/or controlled several telemarketing companies – Irvine-based Global Transfer Inc., Costa Mesa-based Global Transfer SoCal Inc., Santa Ana-based Nationwide Transfer Inc., and Signal Hill-based Nationwide Exit Specialist Inc. – that purported to offer timeshare relief. Once one telemarketing company became inundated with consumer complaints, McDonagh would form a new telemarketing company to perpetuate the fraud.

From 2015 to May 2019, “openers” who worked for the McDonagh-controlled telemarketing companies contacted timeshare owners and offered to help them terminate their timeshare interest for a fixed fee. If the timeshare owner expressed interest in the telemarketing companies’ services, the call was transferred to a “closer” who convinced victims to sign contracts with the telemarketing companies to get them out of their timeshare for a “one-time fee.”

Within weeks of the victim paying the fee, the victims were contacted and told a series of lies to induce them to pay more money. For example, some victims were falsely told that they would obtain – for an additional fee – a large settlement payment based on purported litigation against the victim’s timeshare company.

McDonagh and his co-schemers also made false promises of securing – for an additional fee – a large “restitution” payment from the victim’s timeshare company because the timeshare company had purportedly rented out the victim’s timeshare property without the victim’s permission.

More than $5 million in actual losses were caused by McDonagh or his co-schemers whom he employed at his telemarketing companies.

The other four defendants charged with along with McDonagh also have pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and await sentencing.

“[McDonagh] and those who operated in the scheme he orchestrated defrauded over 500 victims, robbing many of them of significant savings – and some of over $100,000,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “During the multi-year scheme, [McDonagh] exhibited callousness to the plight of his victims, including telling his co-schemers to take ‘no prisoners’ and have ‘[n]o remorse.’”

The United States Secret Service and the Huntington Beach Police Department investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas F. Rybarczyk of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section and Ian V. Yanniello of the General Crimes Section prosecuted this case.

          LOS ANGELES –The United States Attorney’s Office and IRS Criminal Investigation today announced a 10-year prison sentence against one defendant and the filing of three criminal cases against four individuals who were involved in the preparation of fraudulent income tax returns.

          While the vast majority of tax professionals provide honest and high-quality services, there are some dishonest return preparers who operate each filing season and perpetrate refund fraud, identity theft and other scams that hurt taxpayers. IRS Criminal Investigation and federal prosecutors work closely to shut down tax fraud schemes and prosecute the criminals behind them.

          “The majority of tax return preparers are focused on helping taxpayers comply with their obligations to file timely and honest tax returns. The IRS relies upon these professionals to file truthful and accurate returns to deter tax fraud,” said Acting United States Attorney Sandra R. Brown. “Dishonest tax return preparers who defy the tax laws, whether for their own personal financial gain or to fraudulently obtain money for their clients, will be shut down permanently and face federal prosecution, which can result in significant prison sentences.”

          “With the April 18th tax deadline looming, those who might consider preparing false tax returns should be aware of the extremely negative consequences of doing so,” stated Special Agent in Charge R. Damon Rowe of IRS Criminal Investigation. “The IRS enforces the nation’s tax laws, but also takes particular interest in return preparers who unjustly enrich either themselves or their clients by preparing false claims for refunds. Be assured that the IRS Criminal Investigation, together with our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, will hold those who engage in similar behavior fully accountable.”

Oxnard Return Preparer Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison in Scheme that Filed Nearly 13,000 Returns that Sought over $56 Million in Refunds

          An Oxnard-based tax return preparer was sentenced this morning to 120 months in federal prison for his participation in a conspiracy to prepare and file approximately 12,825 fraudulent income tax returns that claimed more than $56 million in refunds.

          Rodrigo Pablo “Paul” Lozano, also known as “El Profe,” 61, was sentenced by United States District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez.

          Before the Internal Revenue Service was able to identify and stop the scheme, it had already paid out more than $23 million in refunds to Lozano and his co-conspirators. During today’s sentencing, Judge Gutierrez ordered Lozano to pay restitution of $23,094,300 to the IRS.

          Lozano owned and operated an income tax preparation business – Lozano & Associates - Ayuda (“help” in Spanish) – where he hired, trained and supervised primarily Latino females in their late teens or early 20s to prepare clients’ federal income tax returns. Lozano operated his business by renting space from businesses that catered to Latino clients, such as a meat market on Hueneme Road in Oxnard. Lozano, a naturalized United States citizen from Mexico, went by the name “El Profe,” as he was a teacher before he began preparing tax returns.

          Following a two-week jury trial last July, Lozano was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. According to the evidence presented at trial, members of the conspiracy obtained Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITINs), which are issued in lieu of a social security number to undocumented workers in the United States to allow them to file tax returns. The evidence demonstrated that co-conspirators provided Lozano with fake identification documents, such as Mexican Consular Identification Cards – also known as Matrícula cards – and birth certificates, which Lozano used to obtain ITINs in the names shown on the fake identification documents.

          Using fake wage and tax statements (Forms W-2) and fictitious dependents, Lozano used the ITINs to file income tax returns that claimed the Additional Child Tax Credit, an IRS refund program designed to assist lower-income taxpayers with children. The fraudulent tax returns typically sought $3,000 to $4,000 in refunds. Lozano submitted nearly 13,000 false tax returns in an 18-month period in 2011 and 2012 while his employees were telling him that the identity and W-2 documents looked suspicious and the IRS was sending hundreds of warning notices stating that the tax returns and W-2s were invalid. Despite the repeated warnings, Lozano continued to direct his employees to file the fraudulent tax returns.

          Lozano split the tax refunds with his co-conspirators. At times, he had employees count out tens of thousands of dollars in cash in a bathroom located next to his office space.

          The case against Lozano was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Byron J. McLain of the Major Frauds Section.

Owner of West Covina Tax Preparation Business and Associate Face Conspiracy and Other Federal Charges for Filing Hundreds of Allegedly Fraudulent Returns

          The former owner of a West Covina tax preparation business has been arrested on charges that he and a co-conspirator used stolen identities to file 341 fraudulent federal and state tax returns that caused tax authorities to issue approximately $741,099 in tax refunds.

          Ashrf Mohammed Aly, 42, the former owner and operator of Speedy Tax Service in West Covina, was arrested on April 3 by special agents with IRS Criminal Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

          Aly and a second defendant in the case – Arthur Bakunts, 39 – were named in a 13-count indictment returned on March 14 by a federal grand jury. The indictment charges Aly and Bakunts with conspiracy, wire fraud, unlawful possession of another person’s identification, and aggravated identity theft. Bakunts was arrested in February pursuant to a criminal complaint initially filed in this case.

          According to court documents, Aly and Bakunts obtained stolen identities and filed fraudulent federal and state income tax returns in the names of the identity theft victims. The fraudulent tax returns were filed electronically from locations in Mexico and Chula Vista, and the refunds were diverted to Aly and Bakunts.

          Bakunts had multiple identity profiles, tax refund checks, and other trappings of identity fraud in his car when he was stopped at a sobriety checkpoint in Glendale on May 24, 2014, according to court documents.

          Aly and Bakunts each have entered not guilty pleas to the charges in the indictment. Both men are in custody without bond pending trial. United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer has scheduled trials on May 9 for Bakunts and May 30 for Aly.

          If convicted of the charges in the indictment, each defendant would face a maximum sentence of 145 years, plus consecutive two-year sentences for each of four counts of aggravated identity theft.

          The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ranee A. Katzenstein.

Carson Resident Indicted for Tax Return Preparer Fraud

          Minon Miller, 52, of Carson, was indicted last week on charges that she prepared and filed fraudulent federal income tax returns for both her clients and herself. Miller will be summonsed to appear for an arraignment in United States District Court.

          A federal grand jury returned a 41-count indictment last Thursday that charges Miller with 37 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of fraudulent income tax returns, two counts of subscribing to fraudulent tax returns that she filed on her own behalf, and two counts of failing to file an individual tax return.

          The indictment alleges that, from 2011 through 2016, Miller prepared and filed 37 tax returns on behalf of her clients that falsely claimed itemized deductions, business income and expenses, education credits and residential energy credits.

          The indictment also alleges that Miller filed two personal tax returns that under- reported her actual income. Miller’s 2010 and 2011 tax returns claimed gross receipts, respectively, of $12,155 and $26,200, when Miller knew she received substantially more than the figures on the tax returns, according to the indictment.

          In addition, Miller failed to file her 2012 and 2013 individual income tax returns.

          If she is convicted, Miller would face a statutory maximum sentence of three years in federal prison for each of the 41 counts in the indictment.



          The case against Miller is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul Rochmes of the Tax Division.



Long Beach Resident Indicted for Tax Fraud

          A Long Beach man has been named by a federal grand jury in a 10-count superseding indictment that alleges he prepared and filed fraudulent federal income tax returns for both his clients and himself.

          Lewis Jefferson Jr., 60, was charged last Wednesday and will be ordered to appear for an arraignment in United States District Court.

          The superseding indictment charges Jefferson with eight counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of fraudulent income tax returns and two counts of subscribing to fraudulent tax returns that he filed on his own behalf.

          The superseding indictment replaces a eight-count indictment filed in January.

          The superseding indictment alleges that over the course of 2011, Jefferson prepared and filed eight tax returns on behalf of seven clients that claimed false itemized deductions. The taxpayers were not entitled to claim the deductions – which ranged from $4,272 to $38,493 – on their tax returns.

          The indictment also alleges that Jefferson filed two personal tax returns that under-reported his actual income. The 2010 and 2011 tax returns claimed gross receipts of $207,545 and $242,590, respectively, and Jefferson knew he received substantially more gross receipts than stated on the returns, according to the indictment.

          If he is convicted of the 10 counts in the indictment, Jefferson will face a statutory maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison.

          The case against Jefferson is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Charles Parker and James C. Hughes of the Tax Division.

          An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in court.

          Most tax return preparers provide professional tax service. However, a few set out to use the personal and financial information provided to them to perpetrate fraud or other scams that can hurt their customers. Earlier this year, the IRS warned taxpayers that they are legally responsible for what is on the tax return even if someone else prepared the tax return. Taxpayers should be vigilant and ensure that their chosen return preparer reports accurate information. The IRS also warned the public about various schemes deployed by dishonest return preparers in its Dirty Dozen Tax Scams.

LOS ANGELES – Authorities have arrested five defendants – including several Southern California residents – for their alleged participation in a years-long scheme to steal millions of dollars from American consumers’ bank accounts, the Justice Department announced today.

The arrests follow a federal grand jury last week returning a seven-count indictment that charges a total of 14 defendants with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

According to the indictment, various members and associates of the alleged criminal enterprise created shell entities that claimed to offer products or services, such as cloud storage. Then, after obtaining identifying and banking information for victims, the enterprise allegedly executed unauthorized debits against victims’ bank accounts, which it falsely represented to banks were authorized by the victims.

Because some of the unauthorized debits resulted in returned transactions – which generated high return rates and could raise red flags at financial institutions – the indictment alleges the enterprise’s shell entities also generated “micro debits” against other bank accounts controlled by the enterprise. The micro debits allegedly artificially lowered shell entities’ return rates to levels that conspirators believed would reduce bank scrutiny and lessen potential negative impact on the enterprise’s banking relations.

The five defendants arrested Tuesday are:



Edward Courdy, 73, of Hawaiian Gardens;

Eric Bauer, 65, of Huntington Beach;

Veronica Crosswell, 35, of Long Beach;

Jenny Sullivan, 46, of Denver; and

John Beebe, 52, of Honolulu;



Defendant Linden Fellerman, 67, of Las Vegas, has agreed to surrender himself on Friday, May 5, 2023 to authorities in Los Angeles. 

Three other defendants have been summoned to appear in United States District Court in Los Angeles on May 24. Those defendants are:



Michael Young, 41, of Hollywood, Florida;

Randy Grabeel, 71, of Pittsburg, California; and

Debra Vogel, 68, of Las Vegas.



Seven other defendants are currently fugitives being sought by federal authorities. They are:



Guy Benoit, 68, a resident of Canada and Cyprus;

Steven Kennedy, 54, of Canada;

Sayyid Quadri of Canada;

Ahmad Shoaib, 63, of Canada; and

Lance Johnson, 52, of Laveen, Arizona;



In addition to the RICO offense alleged in the indictment, all of the defendants – except Grabeel and Vogel – are charged with at least one count of wire fraud.

Harold Sobel previously was convicted for his role in the scheme in Las Vegas federal court and sentenced to 3½ years in prison. In a related civil case also filed in Los Angeles federal court, injunctive relief and settlements totaling nearly $5 million were obtained against various persons, including several who are charged in this criminal indictment.

“This sophisticated scheme allegedly generated millions of dollars in revenue by  using consumers’ personal information to fraudulently reach straight into the bank accounts of thousands of Americans,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “The indictment alleges that an international network of fraudsters engaged in a wide-ranging scheme which sought to victimize consumers while concealing their activities from banks and law enforcement authorities. Thanks to law enforcement, the defendants’ alleged efforts to continue this scheme have failed.”

“The scheme alleged in the indictment involved an elaborate plot to reach into consumers’ bank accounts and steal their hard-earned savings,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will use all of the tools at its disposal to prosecute such schemes.”

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant committed a crime. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Some defendants made their initial court appearances yesterday. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy and, if applicable, 30 years in prison for each count of wire fraud.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is investigating the case.

Assistant United States Attorney Monica Tait of the Major Frauds Section, and Trial Attorneys Wei Xiang, Meredith Healy and Amy Kaplan of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the case. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas provided substantial assistance.

The Department of Justice urges individuals to be on the lookout for unauthorized debits to their accounts. Regularly check your bank, credit card, and other financial statements and contact your financial institution if you see a charge you do not recognize. Report any fraudulent debit you identify to law enforcement. Reports may be filed with the FTC at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov or at 877-FTC-HELP.

The Consumer Protection Branch, in conjunction with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, is pursing wrongdoers who disguise the unlawful nature of business activities by, among other methods, artificially lowering financial account return rates. These tactics are designed to deceive banks, resulting in bank accounts remaining open and facilitating fraud schemes and other illegal activities, including schemes that debit consumers’ bank accounts without authorization, tech support scams, and subscription traps.

          RIVERSIDE, California – An Orange County man who was part of a crew that committed a series of armed robberies at Southern California cell phone stores has been sentenced to 114 months in federal prison, the Justice Department announced today.

          Anthony Wimbley, 28, of Irvine, was sentenced on Monday by United States District Judge Jesus G. Bernal. Wimbley pleaded guilty in September 2020 to one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

          Wimbley’s sentencing was announced today after a federal jury in Fort Worth, Texas late Wednesday convicted another member of Wimbley’s crew – Edward Eugene Robinson, 49, of Long Beach – of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, two counts of interfering with commerce by robbery, and two counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. Robinson also faces criminal charges in Wimbley’s federal case in Riverside.

          According to the evidence presented at trial, on May 21, 2019, Wimbley, brandishing a handgun and accompanied by three co-conspirators, robbed an AT&T Wireless store in Fullerton, stealing $23,339 worth of electronic devices and cell phones. During the robbery, one of the conspirators pointed a gun at employee’s abdomen and forced her to go to the back of the store after she said she was scared, according to court documents. Law enforcement later found the robbers in a parked car and found nearby the handgun and stolen goods.

          A federal grand jury in October 2019 charged Wimbley, Robinson and four other men in an indictment that alleged a conspiracy to rob cellular phone stores in Chino, Fullerton, Long Beach, Victorville, and Beaumont. The defendants targeted cell phones that did not contain tracking devices, and, in total, stole approximately $191,053 worth of cell phones and electronic devices, and approximately $2,434 in cash, according to the indictment.

          Three other defendants in this case – Wimbley’s cousin, Robert Wimbley, 28, of Pomona; Wimbley’s brother, Darron Wimbley, 29, of Fontana; and Djovonte Lewis, 23, of Pomona – each pleaded guilty in August 2020 to one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of using a firearm during a violent crime. Robert Wimbley was sentenced to 114 months in federal prison, and Darron Wimbley is serving a 100-month federal prison sentence for his crimes. Lewis is expected to be sentenced on April 19.

          The indictment’s lead defendant, Aaron Tremmell Hardrick, 33, of Fort Worth, Texas, also was transferred to the Northern District of Texas, where some of crewmembers committed additional robberies. Hardrick pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and a firearms offense, admitted to committing the robberies in Southern California, and was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison.

          This matter was investigated by the FBI, the Redlands Police Department, the Rialto Police Department, the Glendora Police Department, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, the Chino Police Department, the Fullerton Police Department, the Long Beach Police Department, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, the Beaumont Police Department, and the Pomona Police Department.

          This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jerry C. Yang, Chief of the Riverside Branch Office, and Peter H. Dahlquist, also of the Riverside Branch Office. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas is providing substantial assistance by prosecuting the cases against Hardrick and Robinson, which were handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Weybrecht and Nancy Larson.

          LOS ANGELES – An accountant who enabled the owner of a corrupt Long Beach hospital to pay more than $40 million in illegal kickbacks to doctors in exchange for them referring thousands of spinal surgery patients was sentenced today to 15 months in federal prison for a tax offense related to the scheme.

          George William Hammer, 69, of Palm Desert, was sentenced by United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton, who also ordered Hammer to pay an $8,000 fine and forfeit $500,000 in proceeds from the scheme.

          Hammer pleaded guilty in August 2018 to one count of filing a false tax return.

          Hammer was the financial officer for various companies controlled by Michael D. Drobot, who owned Pacific Hospital in Long Beach. Drobot conspired with doctors, chiropractors, and marketers to pay kickbacks in return for the referral of thousands of patients to Pacific Hospital for spinal surgeries and other medical services paid for primarily through the California workers’ compensation system.

          During its final five years, the scheme resulted in the submission of more than $500 million in bills for kickback tainted surgeries. To date, 22 defendants have been convicted for participating in the kickback scheme.

          Beginning in 1997, Hammer supported the kickback scheme by facilitating payments to individuals receiving bribes and kickbacks pursuant to sham contracts that were used to conceal the illicit payments. Hammer falsified tax returns by characterizing the bribes as legitimate business expenses.

          “Through his role at the Drobot-controlled entities, [Hammer] ensured that doctors were paid more than $40 million…in kickbacks,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “The scheme was too complex for Drobot to do alone. It could not have been accomplished without complicit executives like [Hammer] who furthered the scheme.”

          Hammer was a salaried employee and did not directly profit from the kickbacks and bribes.

          In January 2018, Drobot was sentenced to five years in federal prison for his crimes in this matter and awaits a March 2023 sentencing hearing after pleading guilty to three criminal charges for violating a court forfeiture order in the Pacific Hospital case by illegally selling his luxury cars.

          The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, the California Department of Insurance, and the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General investigated this matter.

          Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph T. McNally and Billy Joe McLain of the Violent and Organized Crime Section and Assistant United States Attorney Victor Rodgers of the Asset Forfeiture Section prosecuted this case.

          LOS ANGELES – A former cheerleading coach was sentenced today to 78 months in federal prison for sexually assaulting an intoxicated woman on a cruise ship bound from Long Beach to Ensenada, Mexico during the summer of 2015.

          Anthony Paul De La Torriente, 30, of Simi Valley, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer, who also ordered him to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. In imposing sentence, Judge Fischer said, “I hope that the fact that a jury of (the victim’s) peers believed her provides some comfort. I believe her too.”

          On February 13, a federal jury found De La Torriente guilty of one count of sexual abuse and one count of abusive sexual contact. In reaching the verdict, the jury found that De La Torriente knew the victim was physically unable to decline participation or she had communicated unwillingness to engage in the sexual act.

          According to the evidence presented at trial, De La Torriente volunteered to stay alone in the victim’s cabin with the victim, whose severe intoxication from a daytime excursion in Ensenada had worried their colleagues. Once alone with the victim, while the colleagues were away getting food on the cruise ship, De La Torriente sexually assaulted her. When their colleagues returned, they found the victim’s cabin door had been double-locked from the inside. When De La Torriente eventually unlocked the door and allowed their colleagues inside, the victim identified De La Torriente as her attacker.

          The victim reported the assault to the cruise ship’s medical and security staff. Swabs taken from the victim’s body matched De La Torriente’s DNA, while swabs taken from inside and outside of his underwear matched the victim’s DNA.

          This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

          This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Cassie D. Palmer of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section and Jeffrey M. Chemerinsky of the Violent and Organized Crime Section.

LOS ANGELES – A Cerritos drug trafficker was sentenced today to 270 months in federal prison today for narcotics and firearms offenses, including providing fentanyl to a victim who later ingested the powerful synthetic opioid and died from it.

Shaun Alan Rosa, 45, was sentenced by United States District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez.

Rosa pleaded guilty in July 2022 to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and to maintain a drug-involved premises, one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of distribution of fentanyl. He has been in federal custody since September 2019.

According to court documents, from April 2015 to March 2018, Rosa directed a conspirator to rent and maintain an apartment in San Pedro for the purpose of storing and distributing narcotics and firearms. Other conspirators, including the victim, provided illegal drugs such as cocaine, Ecstasy, and fentanyl to Rosa for further distribution.

Rosa then directed a co-conspirator to pick up narcotics from other members of the conspiracy, transport the drugs to the San Pedro apartment and later distribute the drugs to other conspirators and to pick up money from these conspirators as payment for the drugs.

Rosa admitted in his plea agreement that, in June 2017 in Long Beach, he knowingly gave pills containing fentanyl to a co-conspirator, identified in court documents at “M.E.” The victim later ingested the pills, which led to his fatal overdose.

“Despite knowing about the tragic death of M.E. from a fentanyl overdose, defendant continued to distribute controlled substances, including the exceedingly dangerous drug of fentanyl,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

In March 2018, at the San Pedro apartment, Rosa possessed approximately 233.4 grams (0.5 pounds) of fentanyl, 3.97 kilograms (8.76 pounds) of Ecstasy, two firearms, 49 rounds of ammunition, and drug paraphernalia, including digital scales and a pill press.

The FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department investigated this matter. The Long Beach Police Department provided assistance.

Assistant United States Attorneys Jenna W. Long of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section and Jena A. MacCabe of the General Crimes Section prosecuted this case.

          LOS ANGELES – A Long Beach woman has pleaded guilty to federal offenses for illegally shipping tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition to the Philippines.

          Marlou Mendoz, 61, pleaded guilty on Monday in United States District Court to three counts of failing to provide the required written notice to freight forwarders that she was shipping ammunition to a foreign country.

          Marlou Medoza admitted that she sent .22-caliber ammunition and bullets to the Philippines in three shipments in June 2011. The shipments contained 131,300 rounds, the defendant admitted in court.

          Marlou Mendoza, who remains free on bond, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 20 by United States District Judge George H. Wu. As a result of the three guilty pleas, she faces a statutory maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison.

          In a related case unsealed last year, Mark Louie Mendoza, the 31-year-old son of Marlou Mendoza, was charged with illegally shipping hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of firearms parts and ammunition to the Philippines – munitions that were concealed in shipments falsely claimed to be household goods.

          Mark Mendoza, who remains a fugitive, is named in an eight-count indictment that charges him with conspiracy, the unlawful export of munitions, smuggling and money laundering.

          Mark Mendoza, who was the president of a “tools and equipments” company known as Last Resort Armaments, ordered more than $100,000 worth of ammunition and firearms accessories, much of which was delivered to his parent’s Long Beach residence over a six-month period in 2011. The items that Mark Mendoza ordered included parts for M-16 and AR-15-type rifles, and these parts are listed as defense articles on the United States Munitions List. Pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act, items on the Munitions List may not be shipped to the Philippines without an export license issued by the Department of State.

          The money laundering charge against Mark Mendoza alleges that during the first six months of 2011, Mark Mendoza transferred more than $650,000 in proceeds generated by the illegal ammunition exports from an account in the Philippines to a money remitter in Los Angeles.

          “Federal export regulations and laws like the Arms Export Control Act are designed to prevent dangerous materials from reaching the hands of people who may cause harm to the United States, its interests, or its allies,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “This case involves a significant amount of ammunition destined for the Philippines, and once there the items could have been transported anywhere in the world and used for any purpose. This case exemplifies the importance of stopping the flow of illegally trafficked weapons to foreign nations, and the dedicated efforts of law enforcement to prevent such conduct.”

          The charges against the Mendozas are the product of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The probe began in 2011 after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers uncovered a cache of ammunition and firearms parts in an outbound crate being shipped by Marlou Mendoza that had falsely been declared to be household effects. In November 2012, specials agents with HSI and ATF special agents executed a search warrant at a location associated with Last Resort Armaments and seized more than 120,000 rounds of .22-caliber ammunition, along with AR-15 trigger assemblies, magazines, sights and rifle barrels.

          “The cache of ammunition seized in this case, which was destined for the Philippines, represents quite an arsenal and we don’t know who the ultimate buyers were going to be. They could very well have been individuals with sinister or violent intentions,” said Joseph Macias, special agent in charge for HSI Los Angeles. “That’s why these kinds of exports are closely regulated, to help prevent sensitive items from falling into the hands of those who might seek to harm America or our allies.”

          “Black market firearms and the illegal proceeds derived are a threat to everyone’s safety,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Eric D. Harden. “Federal law enforcement partnerships are key in discovering and dismantling large-scale, international criminal activity like the shipments orchestrated by the Mendozas.”

          Mark Mendoza is charged with conspiracy, three counts of unlawful export of munitions, three counts of export smuggling and one count of money laundering. If he were to be convicted of all counts in the indictment, Mark Mendoza would face a statutory maximum sentence of 115 years in federal prison.

          An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

          This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Annamartine Salick of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section.

          LOS ANGELES – Operation Jungle Book, a law enforcement initiative led by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service that targeted wildlife smuggling, has resulted in federal criminal charges against 16 defendants who allegedly participated in the illegal importation and/or transportation of numerous animal species – including a tiger, monitor lizards, cobras, Asian “lucky” fish, turtles, exotic songbirds and several coral species.

          “We are combatting an ever-growing black market for exotic animals. An insatiable desire to own examples – both living and dead – of these vulnerable creatures is fueling this black market,” said Acting United States Attorney Sandra R. Brown. “This is a truly international problem that threatens the survival of iconic species and vulnerable animal populations. The United States Attorney’s Office is prosecuting a wide array of cases that highlight the pervasive problem of wildlife trafficking and the associated issues of invasive species, disease transmission and the extinction of certain species.”

          In conjunction with the announcement of the criminal cases filed by federal prosecutors based in Los Angeles, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is holding a media event today to showcase the broad range of species that are being smuggled into the United States and recognize its law enforcement and community partners who provide substantial assistance in the fight against wildlife trafficking.

          “Wildlife trafficking does not stop at international borders, and it is our duty to protect imperiled species both at home and abroad,” said Ed Grace, USFWS Acting Chief of Law Enforcement. “I commend our special agents who worked collaboratively with our state and federal partners to investigate, arrest, and prosecute these criminals. I would also like to thank the zoos, sanctuaries, and educational centers that shelter, care for, and rehabilitate the live animals we seize. Together, we are saving imperiled animals while bringing to justice those who attempt to profit from the illegal wildlife trade.”

          At today’s media event, USFWS officials will be joined by representatives of the United States Attorney’s Office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW). Some of the animals that have been recovered are currently being cared for by the Los Angeles Zoo, the San Diego Zoo Global, the Turtle Conservancy, and the STAR Eco Station – organizations that will also be represented at today’s event.

          Over the past several months, prosecutors from the Environmental and Community Safety Crimes Section of the United States Attorney’s Office have filed and litigated a series of cases that demonstrate the scope of the underground market for protected wildlife. The cases further illustrate the various means used by traffickers to avoid detection in the harvesting and illegal smuggling of various species.

          The black market for protected wildlife increases the demand for wildlife and their parts, which threatens to decimate vulnerable species. The prosecution of these cases will educate the public about the laws protecting wildlife and deter future wildlife crimes.

Tiger

          A Florida man was arrested yesterday afternoon on charges of being involved in the illegal sale and transportation of a Bengal tiger that was seized from a residence in Ventura County.

          Nicholas Bishop, also known as “Nick the Wrangler,” 27 – who currently resides in Hollandale, Florida, but at the time of the offense lived in Henderson, Nevada – was named in a criminal complaint filed late last month that charges him with the federal felony offense of aiding and abetting the purchase of a prohibited wildlife species. The State of California also prohibits the possession of tigers and other large cats (certain licensed individuals and organizations have exceptions).

          According to the affidavit in support of the complaint, Bishop falsified documents used to purchase the tiger in March 2014 from an Indiana organization called Wildlife In Need, Wildlife Indeed. In a statement he later gave to investigators, Bishop said that he had purchased the tiger for Michael Ray Stevenson, a rapper who uses the stage name Tyga.

          The following month, the tiger was seen in a backyard in Ventura and reported to the DFW, which later located and seized the animal in Piru. The two individuals who possessed the tiger in Piru were convicted in state court. When it was recovered, the tiger weighed approximately 100 pounds; it now weighs well over 400 pounds.

          Bishop allegedly falsified purchase records and caused the interstate transport of the tiger without the necessary documentation and permits required by the USFWS and the United State Department of Agriculture.

          Bishop was taken into custody yesterday afternoon. He is expected to make his initial court appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. If he were to be convicted of the criminal charge, Bishop would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

King cobras

          A Monterey Park man pleaded guilty last month to smuggling king cobras – reptiles that were illegally brought into the United States after being hidden in potato chip cans shipped from Hong Kong.

          Rodrigo Franco, 34, was arrested in July and charged with smuggling the cobras that were intercepted by CBP in March, along with Chinese albino soft-shelled turtles. At the time the cobras were seized, Franco was already under investigation because of a prior shipment of three protected turtles – two big-headed turtles and a pig-nosed turtle (or “Fly River” turtle) – that USFWS had intercepted in January.

          After the cobras were seized in March, USFWS agents searched Franco’s residence, where they found, in a child’s bedroom, a Morelet’s crocodile, five diamond back terrapins and various turtles – all of which are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty among 183 nations that is designed to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

          When he pleaded guilty, Franco admitted smuggling a total of 23 cobras that had a black market value of approximately $46,000. The three cobras seized by CBP in March were sent to the San Diego Zoo, where one ultimately died.

          Franco pleaded guilty on September 7 and is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge George H. Wu on December 7, at which time he will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

Monitor lizards

          An Inglewood man pleaded guilty last month to smuggling five monitor lizards into the United States – two of which died while they were being shipped.

          Gayle Simpson, 33, pleaded guilty on September 27 to one count of smuggling monitor lizards that were shipped from the Philippines.

          The case against Simpson stems from a package intercepted by CBP in April. The package, which was labeled as “speakers” and was addressed to Simpson’s son, contained five monitor lizards: three spiny-necked water monitor lizards, one Samar water monitor lizard, and one Palawan water monitor lizard. Two of the monitor lizards arrived dead, and a third had suffered a crushed foot. All five monitor lizards are protected under CITES. A subsequent search warrant executed by USFWS at Simpson’s residence resulted in the seizure of four yellow-headed water monitor lizards and two spiny-necked water monitor lizards.

          Simpson is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Manuel L. Real on November 20, at which time he will face a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

          In another case involving monitor lizards, a Long Beach man is scheduled to be arraigned on November 7 after being charged earlier this month with smuggling two species that had been shipped from the Philippines.

          Bryan Cho, 41, allegedly was set to receive five monitor lizards in a package that was intercepted by USFWS October 2016. After a shipping company delivered the package, USFWS agents went to Cho’s business, where agents saw the same species of lizards in the store.

          In May, USFWS learned about another package from the Philippines that was sent to Cho’s business address in Long Beach. While the package was described as containing “Toy Cars,” Cho admitted to ordering two or three monitor lizards from the Philippines.

          If he convicted of the smuggling offense, Cho would face a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

Arowana fish (“lucky” fish)

          A Westminster man who sold arowana fish – said to be the world’s most expensive aquarium fish – pleaded guilty yesterday to smuggling the protected fish thought to be symbols of luck and prosperity in parts of Asia, as well as various turtle species.

          Kevin Duc Vu, 45, pleaded guilty to a felony charge that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

          In September 2016, CBP intercepted a package addressed to Vu’s wife that contained six arowanas and seven big-headed turtles. The intercepted package also contained seven four-eyed turtles, six Asian box turtles and one black-breasted turtle. Six of the turtles ultimately died as a result of the smuggling efforts.

          On October 5, 2016, USFWS agents searched Vu’s residence and recovered two black-breasted turtles and four dead arowanas that were concealed in a freezer.

          Evidence uncovered during the USFWS investigation revealed that Vu had previously ordered wildlife, including arowanas, from an overseas supplier. According to court documents, Vu sold arowanas for $1,900, big-headed turtles for $850, and a pair of black-breasted turtles for $2,000.

          Vu is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Christina A. Snyder on February 5.

          Arowanas are also at issue in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury last month, which charges an Orange County man and a foreign national with conspiring to smuggle the protected fish into the United States.

          The indictment charges Shawn Naolu Lee, 29, of Garden Grove, and Mickey Tanadi, 21, of Jakarta, Indonesia, with conspiracy, smuggling protected fish into the United States and submitting a false record for wildlife intended for importation.

          According to court documents, Lee ordered eight arowanas from Tanadi, agreeing in January to pay $2,000 for the fish plus shipping costs. Tanadi put the fish into bags of water that were concealed in porcelain pots to evade detection, which he then allegedly shipped in February.

          A CBP officer noticed that a package labeled as “Porcelain Herbal Pots” was leaking water, and CBP intercepted the shipment. Following a controlled delivery of the shipment to Lee’s residence, USFWS agents recovered the arowanas. However, all eight fish ultimately died as a result of the smuggling scheme.

          Lee has pleaded not guilty to the charges in the indictment, and is scheduled to go on trial before United States District Judge Otis Wright II on November 14. Tanadi remains at large. If they are convicted of the three charges in the indictment, Lee and Tanadi would each face a statutory maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison.

          A Florida man was charged earlier this month with a misdemeanor offense of engaging in the unlawful trade of arowana fish. Cory Pham, 43, of Sunrise, Florida, was named in a criminal complaint that alleges he brought five arowanas on a flight from Vietnam to Los Angeles International Airport on October 5.

          Pham allegedly concealed the fish in black bags that were hidden in a plastic container placed in his luggage. Pham did not declare the arowanas to customs officials, nor did he have any permits that would allow him to legally bring the fish into the United States.

          Pham is scheduled to be arraigned in this case on November 14. If he was convicted, Pham would face a maximum sentence of one year in federal prison.

Asian songbirds

          An Orange County man was ordered this week to serve one year in federal prison, and another six months in home detention, after pleading guilty to smuggling protected Asian songbirds into the United States.

          Kurtis Law, 50, of Fountain Valley, was sentenced by United States District Judge Manuel L. Real after pleading guilty last summer to smuggling and attempted entry of goods by means of false statements.

          Law was arrested in May after bringing 93 Asian songbirds, worth nearly $100,000, on a flight from Vietnam. All but eight of the birds died in transit or soon after arriving at Los Angeles International Airport.

          Earlier this week, a Westminster man pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle Asian songbirds – specifically, Chinese Hwamei – into the United States.

          Sonny Dong, 55, admitted hiring another man to illegally import the birds from Vietnam. The birds were smuggled by hiding them under clothes or in baggage on airline flights.

          Dong pleaded guilty before United States District Judge S. James Otero, who scheduled a sentencing hearing for May 14, 2018. Dong faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

Feathers from protected birds

          A Santa Ana man is scheduled to go on trial December 12 on misdemeanor charges of illegally selling feathers on Facebook from protected migratory birds and bald eagles.

          Tyler Rene Vela, 27, could be sentenced to up to one year in prison if he is convicted of selling feathers from a bald eagle and up to six months in prison if convicted of selling feathers from a red-tailed hawk and a turkey vulture.

Corals

          Late last month, prosecutors obtained three indictments charging a total of three individuals and two companies with engaging in the unlawful trading of protected live corals. Arraignments for all of the defendants are scheduled for early November.

          Indictments and criminal complaints contain allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

          The cases brought as part of Operation Jungle Book are being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Erik M. Silber, Amanda Bettinelli, Dennis Mitchell and Heather Gorman of the Environmental and Community Safety Crimes Section.

LOS ANGELES – Federal criminal charges were filed today against an analyst for a newsletter promoting unregistered securities and over-the-counter stocks, his money-laundering associate, and the CEO of a Beverly Hills company, all of whom participated in a bribery scheme in which leaders of various companies paid more than $4.2 million in undisclosed compensation to have their stocks touted by the newsletter.

The following defendants have been charged:



Jonathan William Mikula, 38, of Woodstock, Georgia; who worked as a stock analyst and writer for an investment newsletter;

Christian Fernandez, 33, a.k.a. “Christian Crockwell,” of Smyrna, Georgia, who was a business associate and friend of Mikula’s; and

Amit Raj Beri, 47, of Hobe Sound, Florida, who was the CEO of a Beverly Hills-based business.



All three defendants have been charged via information with one count of conspiracy to tout securities for undisclosed compensation. Mikula also has been charged with one count of touting securities for undisclosed compensation.

According to an information filed January 30 in United States District Court, Mikula worked as an analyst for “Palm Beach Venture,” an investment newsletter with subscribers nationwide. This newsletter published promotional pieces for offerings of securities, including unregistered securities marketed pursuant to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation A, as well as microcap stocks traded “over the counter.” There, securities are lower-priced, illiquid securities traded not on liquid public exchanges but instead through securities dealers known as “market makers.”

Federal law requires full and public disclosure from anyone who has received payment – directly or indirectly – from an issuer for publishing, publicizing, or circulating any advertisement or communication that describes the issuer’s security offered for sale.

From December 2019 to August 2022, in exchange for Mikula touting certain securities issuances through “Palm Beach Venture,” Beri and others provided Mikula and Fernandez with both cash payments as well as undisclosed, indirect compensation, including lavish meals, beverages, and other illicit entertainment.

Fernandez opened and operated foreign and shell companies and bank accounts – some based in Mexico – whose purpose was to conceal the nature of the bribes and kickbacks. In exchange, Fernandez took a hefty cut – sometimes half – of the funds.

The conspiracy allowed some of its participants to raise tens of millions of dollars in investor funds through securities offerings described and promoted by “Palm Beach Venture” without required disclosures that such promotions had been obtained via direct and indirect payments to Mikula.

For example, in March 2020, Mikula caused to be published an article in “Palm Beach Venture” entitled, “Curing Incurable Diseases and Giving Us Over 4,900% Potential Gains.” The article touted Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals (EHP), a San Diego-based life sciences company and falsely stated that neither the newsletter nor its affiliates had received compensation and that “as publishers of financial information, we make general recommendations based on our own analysis.” In fact, negotiations were underway between EHP, Beri, Mikula, and Fernandez toward concealed payments in exchange for the article.

In total, Mikula, Fernandez, Beri and others received more than $4.2 million in undisclosed and misrepresented payments as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars of compensation in the form of undisclosed entertainment and illicit services.

Another co-conspirator, Avtar Singh Dhillon, 62, of Long Beach, a one-time board member of and an indirect shareholder in EHP, pleaded guilty in December 2022 in United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts and admitted his role in the conspiracy. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 23 in Boston.

The conspiracy charge carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. The securities touting charge also carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

The FBI is investigating this matter.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has also charged the defendants in a separate civil enforcement action.

Any investors who believe they are a victim of the crimes alleged in this Information are encouraged to go to https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/united-states-v-jonathan-william-mikula-christian-fernandez-and-amit-raj-beri for further information and updates regarding this matter.

An information contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court. 

Assistant United States Attorney Adam P. Schleifer of the Corporate and Securities Fraud Strike Force is prosecuting this case.

          SANTA ANA, California – Twin brothers – both former Orange County sheriff’s deputies – pleaded guilty today to federal charges and admitted that they defrauded Orange County taxpayers by submitting approximately two dozen fraudulent military orders to obtain military leave from the Sheriff’s Department so they would not be docked vacation days.

          Taylor Morgan, 26, and Tyler Morgan, 26, both of Long Beach, each pleaded guilty in separate hearings to a single-count information charging them with unlawful possession of an authentication feature of the United States, a misdemeanor offense.

          United States Magistrate Judge Autumn D. Spaeth sentenced each defendant to one year of probation. Taylor Morgan further was sentenced to six months of home detention and ordered to pay $14,000 in restitution while Tyler Morgan was sentenced to eight months of home detention and was ordered to pay $32,400 in restitution.

          According to their plea agreements, Tyler Morgan was employed as a correctional service assistant and deputy with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) from August 2015 to January 2021. Taylor Morgan had the same job titles with OCSD from January 2017 to January 2020. Both men also were in reserve units for the United States Marine Corps in Camp Pendleton.

          As part of their employment with OCSD, the defendants received 30 days of leave per year that could be used for vacations, military leave and other personal reasons. In addition to such leave, the defendants received an additional 30 days of leave per year when they had to fulfill their active duty obligations with their reserve units with the Marine Corps, including annual training.

          From June 2017 to November 2019, Tyler Morgan submitted 24 fraudulent military orders to OCSD to obtain military leave from the department. From May 2017 to January 2020, Taylor Morgan submitted 25 fraudulent military orders to OCSD to obtain military leave from the department. In fact, neither had been ordered by the Marine Corps to fulfill active duty obligations with their reserve units.

          Both defendants admitted that they defrauded the County of Orange to obtain wages paid for military leave by committing wire fraud using the fraudulent military orders. The defendants altered orders that appeared to be official notices requiring them to serve active duty at Camp Pendleton. The fraudulent orders appeared to have been authorized by a Marine Corps official and had the Department of Defense’s seal on them.

          The defendants submitted the fraudulent orders to OCSD’s Professional Standard Division so they would receive military leave from the county on the dates listed on the orders and their vacation days would not be used. In most instances, the defendants were at inactive duty training (also known as drill), which OCSD did not compensate for military leave.

          In at least one instance, Tyler Morgan did not inform OCSD that he was at drill or that the dates of his drill duties had changed, causing the County of Orange to incorrectly compensate him as if he had been on active duty. Tyler Morgan admitted to submitting a fraudulent military order that appeared to be from the Marine Corps requiring him to be on active duty for one week in late July 2019. In fact, he was on active duty for only part of that time period. Tyler Morgan did not inform OCSD that, during that week, he was also on drill, took a trip to Las Vegas, and spent one day at home playing the “Call of Duty” video game.

          In total, Taylor Morgan received 48 days of military leave to which he was not entitled, resulting in a loss of $14,000 to the County of Orange. Tyler Morgan received 64 days of fraudulently obtained military leave, resulting in a loss of $32,400 to the County.

          The FBI and the United States Department of Defense – Office of Inspector General investigated this matter. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department provided substantial assistance.

          Assistant United States Attorney Vibhav Mittal of the Santa Ana Branch Office prosecuted these cases.

LOS ANGELES – A Long Beach man pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges for his role in the March 2021 murder of a victim in Inglewood during a marijuana deal.   Mateo Paul, 22, pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act) and one count of brandishing and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Paul has been in custody since November 2023.“This defendant’s recklessness led to a victim’s violent death and the prospect of a life sentence in federal prison,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally. “When local and federal law enforcement work together – as we did in this case – we can bring severe punishment for perpetrators of violent gun crime.”According to his plea agreement, in March 2021, Paul and co-defendants Leandrew Raglin, 22, of Lancaster, and Iysis Elanore Smith, 22, of Inglewood, agreed to rob a marijuana dealer at gunpoint. They devised a plan to lure the dealer via a social media application to a meeting location, where they would ambush him at gunpoint and steal his marijuana.On March 15, 2021, Smith approached the vehicle occupied by the victim. While Smith distracted the victim, Paul and Raglin parked behind the victim’s vehicle. Raglin then exited the vehicle Paul was driving, approached the passenger side of the victim’s car and opened fire, repeatedly wounding the victim in the passenger seat. Raglin then walked around to the driver’s side of the vehicle and opened fire, fatally wounding the victim in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, according to court documents.Raglin’s brandishing and discharge of the firearm fell within the scope of Paul’s criminal agreement and could reasonably have been foreseen to be a necessary or natural consequence of the unlawful agreement, the plea agreement states.United States District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha scheduled a June 27 sentencing hearing, at which time Paul will face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.Raglin has pleaded not guilty to the charges in the indictment against him in this case and is scheduled to go to trial on May 19. The criminal charges against Smith are still pending. Both defendants face potential life sentences.An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.The FBI and the Inglewood Police Department investigated this matter.Assistant United States Attorneys Chelsea Norell of the Violent and Organized Crimes Section and Gregg E. Marmaro of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section are prosecuting this case.

            LOS ANGELES – Members of the Los Angeles Strike Force this morning arrested eight defendants named in a federal grand jury indictment that alleges a drug trafficking organization operating in Los Angeles and Riverside counties distributed large quantities of methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and other narcotics across the United States.

            The defendants arrested today – and nine others who are still being sought by authorities – are charged in a 20-count indictment that outlines an 18-month investigation that led to multiple seizures of narcotics, firearms and approximately $1.5 million in drug proceeds.

            The indictment alleges that the drug ring was headed by Rigoberto Sanchez Martinez, 36, of Perris, who obtained wholesale quantities of narcotics, oversaw their storage, and coordinated distribution of the drugs to locations that included the states of Washington and New York. Martinez was one of the eight defendants arrested this morning.

            The first major seizure in the investigation, according to the indictment, was on May 25, 2018, when authorities recovered approximately 54 kilograms of methamphetamine, nearly a kilogram of cocaine, and more than 25 kilograms of marijuana from a “stash house” near Whittier High School that was maintained by defendants Rogelio Barajas, 39, who is a fugitive, and Irene Equigua, 40, who was arrested this morning. Some of the narcotics seized by investigators were stored in coolers that had been buried in the backyard of the residence.

            On the same day law enforcement seized the narcotics in Whittier, Martinez called the operator of another stash house and instructed him to take narcotics and drug proceeds and “wrap them and cover them with items such as Vicks VapoRub, coffee, pepper, and powdered soap, dig a deep hole, and bury the drugs in the ground,” the indictment alleges.

            During the following year, investigators made several other seizures, including just over $240,000 in cash and numerous firearms seized from a drug courier returning from a trip to Washington; $1,041,970 in cash recovered from a residence in Long Beach; and $118,800 in cash seized from a drug courier who had travelled from New York with the intent to purchase five kilograms of cocaine from Martinez, the indictment states.

            Authorities made additional seizures of narcotics that the indictment directly links to Martinez. On May 28, 2019, authorities seized 3.1 kilograms of methamphetamine, nearly 21 kilograms of cocaine, nearly 10 kilograms of fentanyl, and nearly 9 kilograms of heroin from a storage facility in Fontana, the indictment states. And, on September 13, 2019, at another stash house that Martinez had rented in Whitter, law enforcement seized more than 13 kilograms of methamphetamine and approximately $31,000 in cash.

            The eight defendants arrested today are expected to be arraigned on the indictment this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

            An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

            The 17 defendants named in the indictment are charged in various counts in the indictment. Each defendant is charged in court one, which alleges a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. That narcotics conspiracy charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and potential sentence of life without parole.

            This case is being investigated by the Los Angeles Strike Force, which was formed in 2014 to target Mexican drug cartels that use the Los Angeles metropolitan region as a primary hub for the distribution of narcotics across the United States. The goals of the Strike Force are to target high-level narcotics traffickers, disrupt and dismantle the cartels’ narcotics trafficking and related money laundering activities, and arrest and prosecute major drug traffickers.

            A number of agencies provided substantial assistance to the Strike Force, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service, and IRS Criminal Investigation. Local law enforcement agencies participating in the investigation included the Pasadena Police Department, the Whittier Police Department, the Torrance Police Department, the Fontana Police Department, the South Gate Police Department, the San Bernardino Police Department, the Downey Police Department, the Ontario Police Department, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Seal Beach Police Department, the Irvine Police Department, the Bakersfield Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the California Highway Patrol, the New York Police Department, the Spokane (Washington) Police Department, and the Oregon State Police.

            This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lindsay M. Bailey and Shawn Nelson of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section, which is headed by AUSA Nelson.

SANTA ANA, California – The former executive director of the Democratic Party of Orange County has agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge for attempting to defraud one of her political consultancy firm’s clients. She further admitted in court documents that she agreed to bribe two members of the Irvine City Council – both on cannabis-related matters.

Melahat Rafiei, 45, of Anaheim, agreed to plead guilty to one count of attempted wire fraud. She is expected to make her initial appearance in United States District Court in Santa Ana on February 6.

Rafiei is the principal and founder of Progressive Solutions Consulting, a Long Beach-based political consulting firm. Rafiei was a longtime leader in Orange County’s Democratic Party and formerly served as secretary of the California Democratic Party and state representative to the Democratic National Committee.

          Bribery

According to her plea agreement, from April to June 2018, Rafiei agreed to give at least $225,000 in bribes to Irvine City Councilmembers in exchange for their introducing and passing a city ordinance that would allow Rafiei’s clients to open a retail cannabis store in Irvine.

In April 2018, Rafiei presented a business opportunity to an individual who was then employed in the medical cannabis industry and offered to introduce the individual to an Irvine politician, identified in court documents as “Elected Official 1.”

The next month, Rafiei met with Elected Official 1 to discuss introducing an ordinance in Irvine that would legalize retail medical cannabis and ultimately benefit the individual’s business. At this meeting, Rafiei and Elected Official 1 told the individual and his business partner that they planned to use a separate member of the Irvine City Council – identified in court documents as “Elected Official 2” – to introduce the ordinance.

Following this meeting, still in May 2018, Rafiei asked the individual’s business partner to pay her between $350,000 and $400,000 in exchange for getting the cannabis ordinance introduced.

To avoid detection and mask the bribe payments to the Irvine elected officials, Rafiei planned to enter into legal retainer agreements with them. In June 2018, Rafiei caused a contract to be drafted between herself and Elected Official 2, the terms of which included a $25,000 retainer for “legal services.” Later, Rafiei explained to the individual’s business partner that Elected Official 2 had asked for approximately $25,000 and that Elected Official 1 had asked for $200,000.

Rafiei then instructed the business partner that the bribe payments would be disguised as attorney fees for legal services rendered to her various public affairs and campaign management companies. The payments had to be “maneuvered” in this way, she said, to circumvent the elected officials’ disclosure requirements. 

          Attempted Wire Fraud

In September and October of 2019, Rafiei falsely represented to a commercial cannabis company owner that, in exchange for a payment of at least $300,000, she would work to pass a cannabis-related ordinance in Anaheim that would benefit and be specifically tailored for the victim’s business. However, Rafiei already had been working on such an ordinance for other paying clients.

Rafiei then falsely represented to the victim that she would keep only $10,000 of the payment in exchange for her purported work. In fact, Rafiei intended to keep $100,000 of the payment.

Rafiei also falsely represented to the victim that $200,000 of the $300,000 would go to the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, when in fact, she intended to split the $200,000 equally between herself and an associate of hers who was not affiliated with the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce. She instructed the victim to pay the $300,000 to various entities whose accounts she controlled. 

Once Rafiei enters her guilty plea, she will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

The FBI investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel S. Lim and Melissa S. Rabbani of the Santa Ana Branch Office are prosecuting this case.

          LOS ANGELES – A former Long Beach Police officer pleaded guilty today to a federal criminal charge for distributing child pornography, including when he was on duty as a law enforcement officer.

          Anthony Brown, 57, of Lakewood, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography.

          According to his plea agreement, Brown used his smart phone to log into MeWe, an internet-based messaging application, including when he was on duty as a Long Beach Police officer. While logged in, Brown knowingly distributed and possessed child pornography.

          Brown admitted in his plea agreement to distributing sexually explicit images of girls in November 2019, March 2020 and April 2020.

          From October 2019 through May 2020, Brown also knowingly possessed a sexually explicit image of a girl who appeared to be 11 or 12 years old.

          Brown was a Long Beach Police officer for 27 years. He left the force last year after his arrest on state charges of possession and distribution of child pornography. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office dismissed those charges in light of the federal case.

          United States District Judge André Birotte Jr. has scheduled a July 25 sentencing hearing, at which time Brown will face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

          Homeland Security Investigations and the Long Beach Police Department investigated this matter.

          Assistant United States Attorney Kathrynne N. Seiden of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – A former first responder who worked at a Long Beach hospital was sentenced today to 352 months in federal prison for selling fentanyl to two of his co-workers who thought they were buying cocaine, one of whom later died of an overdose after ingesting the powerful opioid. 

Cruz Noel Quintero, 43, of Long Beach, was sentenced by United States District Judge Christina A. Snyder, who scheduled a September 6 restitution hearing in this case.

At the conclusion of a six-day trial in September 2022, a jury found Quintero guilty of one count of distributing fentanyl resulting in death, one count of possessing machine guns, two counts of possessing unregistered firearms, one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, and one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

According to evidence presented at trial, beginning no later than February 2018, Quintero – who was employed as an emergency medical technician at a Long Beach hospital – shipped cocaine, methamphetamine, and other drugs across the country, and he distributed them locally out of a Long Beach residence.

In May 2019, in the parking lot outside the hospital’s emergency room, Quintero sold a white powder he claimed was cocaine for $100 to a hospital coworker who was planning to go on a weekend trip to Las Vegas with her partner, a former nurse at the Long Beach hospital and volunteer firefighter. The following morning, the couple sampled the white powder – not knowing that it in fact was fentanyl – and both of them passed out. One of the victims – identified in court documents as “S.F.” – later was pronounced dead.

Two toxicologists testified that the only drug they found in S.F.’s blood was fentanyl, and two doctors – a medical examiner and a medical toxicologist – testified that the victim died because of fentanyl toxicity.

After learning that Quintero sold the fatal dose, law enforcement searched two residences in Long Beach and discovered Quintero’s illicit drug-trafficking operation. Across both residences, they found 13 firearms that included two machine guns, two short-barreled assault rifles, and nine other guns, some of which were loaded. One of the residences, which Quintero used as his base of operations, was littered with drug-trafficking paraphernalia, including over ten pounds of cutting agents used to dilute the quality of the drugs he sold and a hydraulic press used to manufacture kilogram bricks of cocaine.

According to trial testimony, Quintero also shipped kilogram-quantities of cocaine and pound-quantities of methamphetamine to drug traffickers in Minnesota, which prompted frequent complaints about the poor quality of his product.

Quintero has been in custody since his arrest shortly after the fatal overdose in May 2019.            

“Quintero operated a reckless and callous drug trafficking business that repeatedly endangered people’s lives and ultimately killed [the victim],” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “For at least a year, [Quintero] shipped kilos of cocaine and pounds of methamphetamine out of state, and sold poor-quality, adulterated drugs to unsuspecting buyers, all while guarding his drug-distribution outpost in Long Beach with machine guns and short-barreled rifles.”

Judge Snyder sentenced Quintero to 292 months in prison for the fentanyl death count, 120 months in prison for the firearms counts, 240 months in federal prison for the maintaining a drug premises count – all of which are to run concurrent to each other. Finally, she sentenced Quintero to 60 months in prison for possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, a term which will run consecutive to the other counts.

Homeland Security Investigations; the Drug Enforcement Administration in Los Angeles and Minneapolis; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Long Beach Police Department investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Suria M. Bahadue of the Criminal Appeals Section and David C. Lachman of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section prosecuted this case.

LOS ANGELES – A South Los Angeles man was sentenced today to 110 months in federal prison for committing a string of robberies of businesses throughout Los Angeles County – a series of crimes that ended with a high-speed chase that resulted in him and other defendant crashing their getaway car before running across a freeway last year.Anthony Flores, 28, a.k.a. “BabyGfar,” was sentenced by United States District Judge Hernán D. Vera, who also ordered him to pay $10,439 in restitution. Flores has been in federal custody since September 2023.At the conclusion of a three-day trial, a jury on July 18 found Flores guilty of one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act) and two counts of Hobbs Act robbery.“This defendant’s careless disregard for the law put lives at risk,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Today’s sentence highlights that my office – through the Operation Safe Cities initiative – will make sure that violent criminals face real consequences. The public deserves no less.” From May 27, 2023, to May 31, 2023, Flores and other co-conspirators robbed BevMo! liquor stores in Long Beach and Lakewood and conspired to rob other stores in West Covina and Pasadena, and on June 5, 2023, attempted to rob a BevMo! store in Canyon Country. During the robberies, Flores and others stole high-end liquor stored behind security glass and, in some instances, threatened employees with violence.In total, Flores and his co-conspirators stole approximately $14,143 in merchandise during this spree.On June 5, 2023, Flores and co-defendant Ivin Kitu Sanford, 32, formerly of South Los Angeles but now a resident of Las Vegas, attempted to rob the Canyon Country BevMo! store. Flores and a co-conspirator subdued a store employee and attempted to steal high-end bottles of liquor. They fled in a stolen gray Dodge Charger with a stolen license plate and attempted to evade officers during a traffic stop. Flores and Sanford led law enforcement on a chase before crashing into a tree. After the crash, they ran on foot across the 14 Freeway during rush hour traffic. Flores and Sanford were later found in bushes in a desolate area and arrested.At the same July trial, Sanford was found guilty of one count of Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 30, 2025, at which time he will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.Operation Safe Cities establishes strategic enforcement priorities with an emphasis on prosecuting the most significant drivers of violent crime. Across this region, the most damaging and horrific crimes are committed by a relatively small number of particularly violent individuals. This strategic enforcement approach is expected to increase the number of arrests, prosecutions and convictions of recidivists engaged in the most dangerous conduct. It is designed to improve public safety across the region by targeting crimes involving illicit guns, prohibited persons possessing firearms, or robbery crews that cause havoc and extensive losses to retail establishments.The FBI, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the West Covina Police Department, and the Long Beach Police Department investigated this matter.Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin J. Butler and Jena A. MacCabe prosecuted this case.

          LOS ANGELES – A former tax and estate-planning lawyer who set up shell companies to evade the payment of more than $1.4 million he owed to the IRS was sentenced today to 60 months in federal prison.

          James Roy McDaniel, 66, of Long Beach, was sentenced by United States District Judge S. James Otero, who also ordered McDaniel to pay $1.54 million in restitution.

          In October 2019, McDaniel pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion.

          McDaniel was a licensed California lawyer from 1981 until he surrendered his law license in 2004, shortly before he pleaded guilty to one felony count of subscribing to a false income tax return. In 2005, McDaniel was sentenced to three years in federal prison for that crime. In that case, McDaniel’s failure to report income – $1.6 million embezzled from his law firm clients – resulted in a tax loss of $677,368 to the federal government. The IRS subsequently assessed McDaniel more than $1.4 million in taxes, interest and penalties for the tax years 1997 through 2001. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office prosecuted McDaniel for grand theft in that matter and he was sentenced to two years in state prison.

          Following his convictions in the previous cases, McDaniel willfully attempted to evade paying his debt to the IRS by creating two shell companies – Davis Bell Consulting LLC and James Roy Consulting LLC – where he directed payments for tax and estate planning consulting work he performed after he was released from prison. Between May 2008 and late 2018, McDaniel attempted to mislead federal tax authorities and conceal his income by directing other people to sign documents identifying themselves as the sole managing members of the shell companies. McDaniel directed them to open bank accounts where he deposited checks for his tax and estate planning work.

          In his plea agreement, McDaniel admitted to owing a total of $1,584,126 in unpaid taxes for the years 2008 to 2017. He has been in federal custody since his arrest in December 2018.

          “Despite his fortuitous second chance for a lucrative career, rather than properly report his income and pay taxes, defendant set up a complex web of limited liability corporations and straw bank accounts to conceal his connection to the tax consulting income,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum. “As if defendant’s conduct was not bad enough, for years he used his unwitting girlfriend and young adult children as nominees.”

          This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation.

          This matter was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ruth C. Pinkel of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section.

LOS ANGELES – A South Bay man who provided lifestyle and personal development coaching to students in public schools through a non-profit he founded pleaded guilty today to fraudulently applying for millions of dollars in COVID-19 jobless benefits, including by using stolen identities.Reginald Foster Jr., 38, of the Westchester neighborhood of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and bank fraud, and one count of use of unauthorized access devices.Foster admitted in court today that, from June 2020 to October 2020, he conspired with others to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), a law Congress passed in March 2020 to help individuals and businesses deal with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.Foster exploited the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) provision of the CARES Act, which is designed to expand access to unemployment benefits to self-employed workers, independent contractors, and others who would not otherwise have been eligible because of the pandemic. The California Employment Development Department (EDD) administers the state’s unemployment insurance program, which included the PUA provision.Foster admitted that he and his co-conspirators filed fraudulent applications for benefits in the names of people who had not authorized him to do so, using the identity-theft victims’ personal identifying information without their permission. Foster included false information on the applications to ensure that EDD would approve the applications and send the debit cards through which the benefits were dispersed to a mailing address he used. In total, Foster and his co-conspirators submitted 118 fraudulent applications as part of the scheme.Foster used the debit cards to make transfers to his non-profit, Champs Up! LLC, which Foster has said provides guidance programs to middle school students in Los Angeles and Long Beach. Foster also used the cards to make multiple $1,000 withdrawals at ATMs. He then transferred the cards to co-conspirators, who used them to make further ATM withdrawals. Foster and his co-conspirators were able to withdraw almost $1.5 million of the benefits. EDD and Bank of America froze the remaining benefits as soon as the scheme was uncovered, preventing further losses of more than $4 million.United States District Judge Mark C. Scarsi scheduled a March 24, 2025, sentencing hearing, at which time Foster will face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for the conspiracy count and up to 10 years in federal prison for the unauthorized access devices count.Foster remains free on $50,000 bond.Co-defendants Shelece Counts, 31, of the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles; and Isaiah Herbert Lawrence, 31, of Houston, Texas, have pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in this case and are scheduled to go to trial on January 21, 2025.An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.       The United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, the California Employment Development Department, and Homeland Security Investigations investigated this matter. Substantial assistance was provided by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General; the United States Secret Service; the FBI; U.S. Customs and Border Protection Special Response Team; and the Los Angeles Unified School District Office of Inspector General.Assistant United States Attorney Ranee A. Katzenstein of the Criminal Appeals Section is prosecuting this case.On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. More information on the Justice Department’s response to the pandemic may be found here.Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it to the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or via the NCDF online complaint form.

         LOS ANGELES – A Southern California brother-and-sister team were arrested today on federal charges alleging they orchestrated a $6 million real estate fraud scam in which they listed homes without the owners’ consent and collected money from multiple would-be buyers for each of the not-for-sale homes.

         Adolfo Schoneke, 43, of Torrance, and his sister, Bianca Gonzalez, a.k.a. Blanca Schoneke, 38, of Walnut, each pleaded not guilty this afternoon to nine charges contained in an indictment unsealed after their arrests. The indictment charges Schoneke and Gonzalez with one count of conspiracy, seven counts of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

         According to the indictment, Schoneke and Gonzalez, with the help of co-conspirators, operated real estate and escrow companies based in Cerritos, La Palma and Long Beach under a variety of names, including MCR and West Coast. The indictment alleges Schoneke and Gonzalez found properties that they would list for sale – even though many, in fact, were not for sale, and they did not have authority to list them for sale – and they then marketed the properties as short sales providing opportunities for purchases at below-market prices.

         Using other people’s broker’s licenses, Schoneke and Gonzalez allegedly listed the properties on real estate websites such as the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). In some cases, the indictment alleges, the homes were marketed through open houses that co-conspirators were able to host after tricking homeowners into allowing their homes to be used.

         As part of the alleged scheme, the co-conspirators accepted multiple offers for each of the not-for-sale properties, hiding this fact from the victims and instead leading each of the victims to believe that his or her offer was the only one accepted. The co-conspirators allegedly were able to string along the victims – sometimes for years – by telling them closings were being delayed because lenders needed to approve the purported short sales.

         The indictment also alleges that Schoneke and Gonzalez directed office workers to open bank accounts in the office workers’ names. Those accounts were used to receive down payments on the homes and other payments from victims who were convinced to transfer the full “purchase price” to these bank accounts after receiving forged short sale approval letters. Schoneke and Gonzalez also allegedly directed the office workers to withdraw large amounts of cash from these accounts and give it to them – a procedure that allowed Schoneke and Gonzalez to take possession of the fraud proceeds while hiding their involvement in the scheme.

         Investigators estimate that several hundred victims collectively lost more than $6 million during the scheme.

         During the arraignments this afternoon, a trial was scheduled for June 1. Both defendants will remain in custody at least until detention hearings scheduled for Friday for Schoneke and April 13 for Gonzalez.

         An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

         If convicted of all charges, Schoneke and Gonzalez each would face a statutory maximum sentence of 162 years in federal prison.

         This matter was investigated by the FBI and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General. The investigation was initiated by numerous complaints to the Long Beach Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, both of which provided substantial assistance during the federal investigation.

         This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kerry L. Quinn of the Major Frauds Section.

          SANTA ANA, California – Federal authorities today arrested four defendants charged in a 29-count grand jury indictment alleging they scammed dozens of timeshare owners out of more than $5 million by using boiler room tactics and lying that they could provide them financial relief.

          The following defendants were arrested today and are expected to be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in Santa Ana:

Michael McDonagh, 41, of Long Beach, the lead defendant and alleged ringleader of the scheme;

Antonio Duarte, 42, of Corona;

Christopher James Vannoy, 32, of Norwalk; and

Ruben Ortiz, 40, of Long Beach.

          Authorities are continuing to search for a fifth defendant named in the indictment, Frank Anthony Molina, 43, of San Pedro.

          The indictment charges the defendants with one count of conspiracy. McDonagh, Duarte, Vannoy and Molina are charged with 28 counts of wire fraud and telemarketing fraud against the elderly. Ortiz, who allegedly joined the conspiracy in 2018, is charged with 12 counts of wire fraud and telemarketing fraud against the elderly.

          According to the indictment returned on April 28 and unsealed today, from 2015 to May 2019, “openers” who worked for McDonagh-controlled telemarketing companies contacted timeshare owners and offered to help them terminate their timeshare interest for a fixed fee. If the timeshare owner expressed interest in the telemarketing companies’ services, the call was transferred to a “closer” – usually Duarte, Vannoy, Molina or another co-conspirator – who convinced victims to sign contracts with the telemarketing companies to get them out of their timeshare for a “one-time fee.”

          Within weeks of the victim paying the fee, Duarte, Vannoy and Molina again contacted victims and told a series of lies to induce the victims to pay more money. For example, according to the indictment, some victims were falsely told that they would obtain – for an additional fee – a large settlement payment based on purported litigation against the victim’s timeshare company, including a class-action lawsuit.

          The defendants allegedly also made false promises of securing – for an additional fee – a large “restitution” payment from the victim’s timeshare company because the timeshare company had purportedly rented out the victim’s timeshare property without the victim’s permission.

          The victims were falsely told their additional fees would be refunded once the “restitution” and “settlement” had been paid, the indictment alleges. To conceal the scheme, the defendants frequently convinced victims to sign fraudulent non-disclosure agreements to prevent the victims from contacting the timeshare companies to inquire about the purported settlement or restitution payments by claiming that the timeshare companies required the agreements to release the promised funds. In fact, no litigation was pending, and no restitution payments were made.

          McDonagh founded and or controlled several companies – Irvine-based Global Transfer Inc., Costa Mesa-based Global Transfer SoCal Inc., Santa Ana-based Nationwide Transfer Inc., and Signal Hill-based Nationwide Exit Specialist Inc. – that purported to offer timeshare relief. Once one telemarketing company became inundated with consumer complaints, McDonagh allegedly would form a new telemarketing company to perpetuate the fraud.

          According to the indictment, McDonagh instructed employees of the telemarketing companies to “take no prisoners,” have “no remorse” when interacting with victims, and to “take every penny you can from” the victims “so they cannot sue” the telemarketing companies. The indictment further alleges that in response to complaints from Ortiz about the risks he was taking in participating in the conspiracy, McDonagh told him that “it’s def a risk but I mean I shut down global over a year ago and nothing! ‘Knock on wood’ but I mean it’s a decision you personally have to make ive made piece [sic] with it ive been a criminal my whole life and now it’s actually benefiting me[.]”

          Through this conspiracy, the defendants fraudulently obtained more than $5 million from the victims. The indictment alleges that the scheme targeted dozens of victims, including many victims who were 55 years of age or older.

          If convicted of all charges, each defendant would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison on the conspiracy count and a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for each fraud count.

          An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

          The United States Secret Service and the Huntington Beach Police Department investigated this matter.

          Any member of the public who has information related to this case or similar fraud schemes is encouraged to contact the Secret Service’s Santa Ana Resident Office at (714) 246-8257.

          Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas F. Rybarczyk of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section and Ian V. Yanniello of the General Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.

          LOS ANGELES – A downtown Los Angeles resident was sentenced today to 320 months in federal prison for participating in a federal drug trafficking conspiracy that imported acetylfentanyl, a drug very similar to the powerful and highly addictive opioid fentanyl. Acetylfentanyl, which is five times more potent that heroin, is not approved for any use in the United States.

          Christopher Bowen, 32, was sentenced for his role in a conspiracy to manufacture, possess and distribute four narcotics, specifically: acetylfentanyl; a-pyrrolidinovalerophenone, a so-called designer drug also known as “PVP” that is sometimes used in “bath salts”; ecstasy; and alprazolam, which is commonly sold under the brand name Xanax.

          United States District Judge S. James Otero imposed the prison sentence, remarking that the sentence of 26⅔ years reflected the quantities of drugs seized by investigators. During the investigation, DEA agents seized more than 11 kilograms of acetylfentanyl from the organization. The drug organization obtained pill presses from China that were used illegally to make tablets in labs in a storage unit in Long Beach and a house in Baldwin Park.

          “The opioid crisis in our country has risen to epidemic proportions in large part due to drug trafficking conspiracies such as this one,” said United States Attorney Nicola T. Hanna. “These dangerous drugs end up in our neighborhoods and pose a significant public health emergency.”

          Bowen was sentenced after being convicted on two counts following a jury trial in October 2017. The evidence presented during a trial in United States District Court showed that Bowen and other members of the drug organization imported acetylfentanyl from China, which they then used to produce homemade pills designed to look like legitimate pharmaceuticals. Bowen and his co-conspirators then distributed the pills in bulk across the nation.

          The leader of the organization – Gary Resnik, 33, of Long Beach – pleaded guilty in August 2017 and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Otero on July 9.

          This case was investigated by the special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration.

          This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael G. Freedman of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Section and David Ryan of the General Crimes Section.

          LOS ANGELES – A South Bay man, who along with his sister and other co-conspirators participated in a $6 million real estate scam that listed homes for sale without owners’ consent and collected money from multiple would-be buyers, was sentenced today to 108 months in federal prison.

          Adolfo Schoneke, 45, of Torrance, who pleaded guilty in May to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, was sentenced by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner. A restitution hearing was scheduled for December 12.

          Schoneke’s sister, Bianca Gonzalez, 39, pleaded guilty in April, admitting her role in the wire fraud scheme, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 22, 2023.

          Schoneke and his sister, along with co-conspirators, operated real estate and escrow companies based in Cerritos, La Palma and Long Beach under a variety of names, including MCR and West Coast Realty Services. Schoneke and the other members of the conspiracy located properties to list for sale – even though they did not intend to sell the properties to anyone, and in many instances the properties were not for sale at all.

          The properties were listed on real estate websites such as the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and were marketed as short sale opportunities. In some cases, the homes were marketed through open houses arranged by tricking homeowners or occupants into allowing their homes to be used.

          “The fraud scheme [Schoneke] invented, proposed to his co-conspirators, and carried out involved uniquely devious means designed to steal money from as many victims as possible,” according to a sentencing memorandum filed by prosecutors. “Playing on the dream of home ownership and seemingly out of reach home prices, [Schoneke] figured out a way to ‘sell’ homes that he did not own and had no business in listing for sale.”

          Multiple offers were accepted for each of the not-for-sale properties, but the co-conspirators hid this fact from the victims and instead led victims to believe their offer was the only one accepted. The co-conspirators strung victims along – sometimes for years – by telling them closings were being delayed because lenders needed to approve the purported short sales.

          Office workers opened bank accounts to hide the co-conspirators’ involvement in the fraud. Those accounts were used to receive down payments on the homes and other payments from victims who were convinced to transfer the full “purchase price” after receiving forged short sale approval letters. The co-conspirators directed the office workers to withdraw large amounts of cash from these accounts, which made the proceeds harder to trace.

          Schoneke “and his co-conspirators used numerous properties to further the fraudulent scheme, and collected more than $11.7 million from victims as part of the scheme (involving more than 860 transfers from approximately 750 or more victims),” according to the sentencing memo. “Although some of the victims were paid back, the scheme caused more than $6 million in losses to nearly 400 victims.”

          In a related case, Mario Gonzalez (no relation to Bianca Gonzalez), 51, of Garden Grove, pleaded guilty in 2019 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 3, 2023.

          The FBI and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General investigated this matter. The investigation was initiated by numerous complaints to the Long Beach Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, both of which provided substantial assistance during the federal investigation.

          Assistant United States Attorney Kerry L. Quinn of the Major Frauds Section is prosecuting this case.

          LOS ANGELES – A San Bernardino County man was sentenced today to 60 months in federal prison for committing 52 smash-and-grab robberies of T-Mobile and AT&T cellphone stores throughout Southern California during a two-month crime spree, using hammers to smash display cases to steal iPhones and other merchandise.

          Tony Tyron Lee Stewart, 22, of Highland, was sentenced by United States District Judge John A. Kronstadt, who also ordered him to pay $333,122 in restitution.

          Stewart, the lead defendant in this case, pleaded guilty on June 9 to one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery.

          On January 15, 2022, Stewart and two co-conspirators – Rayford Newsome, 21, of Compton; and Jerome Gregory Belser, 21, of San Bernardino – robbed T-Mobile stores in Long Beach, Carson, Inglewood, Encino, and Camarillo.

          Stewart and his co-conspirators entered the stores during store hours, carrying hammers with employees and customers present. Once inside the stores, the defendants, wearing ski masks, used the hammers to smash security display cases, threaten employees and customers, and then stole cellphones, watches, and other electronic devices. They then fled the store and made their escape in a car.

          After the Camarillo robbery on January 15, the trio – with Newsome driving – fled from police officers when law enforcement attempted a lawful traffic stop. Stewart and his co-conspirators led police on a vehicle pursuit through a residential neighborhood in North Hollywood before Newsome stopped the car.

          In addition to these robberies, from November 11, 2021 to January 13, 2022, Stewart and other members of the conspiracy committed smash-and-grab robberies at cellphone stores in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino, and Kern counties.

          Specifically, the stores robbed were located in South Los Angeles, West Los Angeles, Marina del Rey, Hermosa Beach, East Los Angeles, Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights, Pico-Union, Hollywood, Koreatown, Silver Lake, Valley Village, Reseda, Sherman Oaks, Canoga Park, Woodland Hills, Agoura Hills, Mission Hills, San Fernando, Burbank, Pasadena, Alhambra, Monterey Park, Azusa, La Crescenta, South El Monte, Duarte, Monrovia, La Cañada Flintridge, Covina, Hacienda Heights, Lancaster, Norwalk, Downey, Bell Gardens, Cerritos, Bellflower, Rowland Heights, La Habra, Simi Valley, Camarillo, and Tehachapi.

          The robberies – several of which occurred on the same date – resulted in a loss of approximately $293,444. In addition, the robberies caused approximately $46,376 in damage to the stores.

          Both Newsome and Belser have pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery in this case. On September 9, Judge Kronstadt sentenced Belser to 70 months in federal prison. Newsome’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 5, 2023, at which time he will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

          “Stewart and his co-defendants terrorized cell phone stores throughout Southern California, traumatizing employees and customers in over 50 different stores in just over two months – all for [Stewart’s] own personal gain,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “In almost each of these…robberies, there were between two and four employees present along with multiple customers. Each employee is forced to return to these work locations, provide customer service, and attempt to earn a living a while dealing with the fear and anxiety that they may again be robbed or threatened with a dangerous weapon while at work.”

          The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Los Angeles Police Department investigated this matter.

          Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin B. Reidy and Kevin J. Butler of the Violent and Organized Crime Section prosecuted this case.

LOS ANGELES – A Harbor-area woman and a South Los Angeles man were found guilty by a jury today of participating in armed robberies of businesses in which local businesses in Los Angeles County were targeted in August and September of last year.Diavion Deshawna Mouton, 23, of Carson, and Rodney Darrin Maxwell Evans, 23, of the Vermont Square neighborhood of Los Angeles, were each found guilty of one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act), two counts of Hobbs Act robbery, and two counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.“Violent gun crime leaves emotional scars that last for years,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Through the Operation Safe Cities initiative, my office is partnering with local law enforcement to prosecute more and more cases that hold accountable those who choose to harm our communities.”According to evidence presented at a four-day trial, Evans participated in two armed robberies that occurred on August 14, 2023, respectively, at Rite Aid stores in Bellflower and in the Vermont Square neighborhood of South Los Angeles. During the robberies, multiple firearms were brandished, and store employees were forced to open the store safe. In total, Evans and his co-conspirators – ringleaders Makai Yusef Sanders, 23, and Kenyatta Kamar Jones, 23, both of Hawthorne – stole a total of $12,410 from the robberies.Mouton participated in two armed robberies on September 19, 2023, at a Walgreens store in Glendale and a Wingstop restaurant in Lynwood. She was the getaway driver for both robberies, in which Sanders and Jones brandished firearms and stole a total of $1,776 from the businesses.During the Walgreens robbery, Sanders and Jones robbed a customer who was at a register attempting to purchase some items, held the victim at gunpoint, and stole the victim’s iPhone. A store employee, a handgun pointed at her back, was ordered to the store’s safe with the barrel of the gun used to push her to get her to move faster. In fear for her life, the employee began walking to the back of the store where the safe was located. Once at the back of the store, the employee noticed the robber was distracted talking to the other robber. The employee then locked herself inside the store’s staffing office and called 911.In addition to the cash, Sanders and Jones stole four iPhones belonging to victims at the Walgreens store. The suspects then exited the store and drove away in a white Honda Civic, which law enforcement later discovered had been booked via a peer-to-peer carsharing company and was driven by Mouton.Using phone records and GPS data, law enforcement tracked the defendants down and arrested Sanders, Jones, and Mouton on September 26, 2023. At the time of their arrests, Jones and Sanders possessed handguns consistent with the firearms used in the Walgreens robbery. Law enforcement also found clothing – including the black mask with a red logo – consistent with what one of the suspects wore during that robbery.United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner scheduled a March 31, 2025, sentencing hearing, at which time Evans and Mouton will face a mandatory minimum sentence of fourteen years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.Sanders and Jones pleaded guilty on November 26 to one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, one count of Hobbs Act robbery, and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. In their plea agreements, Sanders and Jones admitted to committing 12 armed robberies of local businesses – mostly chain-store pharmacies – in August and September of 2023. Both defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment at their sentencing hearings, which are scheduled for March 17, 2025.Sanders and Jones have agreed to be sentenced to 25 years in federal prison.Co-defendant Adrian Timothy Bedran, 24, of Rosemead, pleaded guilty on September 9 to one count of Hobbs Act robbery. He is free on $50,000 bond and awaits sentencing on January 13, 2025. Co-defendants DeAngel Daryl Alvarez, 24, a.k.a. “Macc,” of the Athens area of South Los Angeles, is believed to be a fugitive, and Kevin Antwon Gadley, 20, a.k.a. “One Shot,” of San Fernando, is in state custody on unrelated charges.Operation Safe Cities establishes strategic enforcement priorities with an emphasis on prosecuting the most significant drivers of violent crime. Across this region, the most damaging and horrific crimes are committed by a relatively small number of particularly violent individuals. This strategic enforcement approach is expected to increase the number of arrests, prosecutions and convictions of recidivists engaged in the most dangerous conduct. It is designed to improve public safety across the region by targeting crimes involving illicit guns, prohibited persons possessing firearms, or robbery crews that cause havoc and extensive losses to retail establishments.The FBI; the Glendale Police Department; the Los Angeles Police Department; the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; the Inglewood Police Department; the Long Beach Police Department; the Pasadena Police Department; the Monterey Park Police Department; the Whittier Police Department; and the Burbank Police Department investigated this matter.Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin J. Butler and Jena A. MacCabe of the Violent and Organized Crime Section and Juan M. Rodriguez of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section are prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – A South Bay man and former congressional candidate was sentenced today to 48 months in federal prison for embezzling approximately $250,000 from his political campaign through a fraudulent scheme involving his mother and friend, pocketing more than $100,000 in cash and using the money on personal expenses such as Las Vegas trips and to defend himself against criminal stalking charges.Omar Navarro, 37, of Torrance, was sentenced by United States District Judge Mark C. Scarsi, who ordered Navarro immediately remanded into federal custody. A restitution hearing will be scheduled at a later date.Navarro pleaded guilty in June 2025 to one count of wire fraud.Navarro unsuccessfully campaigned in the four election cycles from 2016 to 2022 to represent south Los Angeles County residents in California’s 43rd Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. According to court documents, from July 2017 to February 2021, Navarro defrauded his campaign committee, Omar Navarro for Congress, by illicitly funneling campaign cash to himself. Navarro understood that federal law required his campaign to make regular, public disclosures about the receipt and disbursement of any funds raised or spent on its behalf.As a congressional candidate, Navarro knew and understood that campaign funds raised by him and others for his campaign were restricted to supporting his election efforts and could not be used for his own personal use or enjoyment. Nevertheless, Navarro conspired with his co-defendants – his mother, Dora Asghari, 61, of Torrance, and his friend, Zacharias Diamantides-Abel, 37, of Long Beach – to convert campaign donations to personal use.From 2018 to 2020, Navarro’s campaign received more than $1 million in contributions from donors across the United States who supported his election to Congress. To use these funds for personal use and to fund his lavish lifestyle, Navarro illegally transferred campaign checks to himself by sending payments to Asghari and Abel – purportedly for campaign work. Asghari and Abel then sent that money – minus their cut – back to Navarro.To further the scheme, Navarro represented on those checks, and later lied via disclosures to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that Abel, Asghari, and others – not Navarro – had received payment from the campaign for their services.For example, in November 2019, Navarro wrote a $2,500 campaign check to his mother for little or no work that she performed for the campaign, knowing she would funnel a substantial amount of that money back to him for his personal use. Asghari cashed the check, which caused the transmission of an interstate wire communication. She then provided most of that money back to Navarro, who took the money and made three cash deposits totaling $2,340 in his personal bank account. Navarro also wrote thousands of dollars’ worth of checks to Brava Consulting, a company that his mother owned and operated, purporting to be in payment for campaign work, but which instead the bulk of which was funneled back to him for personal expenses.These expenses included trips to Las Vegas, Nintendo Switch video games, a private investigator and personal criminal defense lawyers. Navarro admitted in his plea agreement to spending at least $12,822 in campaign money on legal fees to defend his criminal stalking case.Navarro did not report to the FEC or his campaign donors that these payments were for personal expenses. Instead, he caused other people to file on his behalf false reports with the FEC representing that the payments were for campaign expenses.In total, Navarro’s scheme deprived the campaign and its donors of approximately $268,932 in campaign funds, according to prosecutors.Asghari pleaded guilty in June 2025 to one count of making false statements for lying to the FBI in September 2020 when she said she never received any money from her son’s congressional campaign and that she never provided her son any money she from the campaign checks she accepted as the owner of Brava Consulting. She will face up to five years in federal prison at her April 13 sentencing hearing.Abel pleaded guilty in May 2025 to one count of conspiracy and awaits sentencing.The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter. The California Fair Political Practices Commission provided assistance.Assistant United States Attorneys Frances S. Lewis of the General Crimes Section, Thomas F. Rybarczyk and Juan M. Rodriguez of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section prosecuted this case.

          LOS ANGELES – A company that repaired railcars at a Terminal Island facility has pleaded guilty to a federal environmental offense of dumping parts into the ocean to conceal that it was performing unnecessary and improper repairs for several railcar operators.

          United Industries LLC – a subsidiary of Progress Rail Services, Inc., which itself is a subsidiary of Caterpillar, Inc. – appeared yesterday afternoon in United States District Court and pleaded guilty to the federal water pollution charge.

          Immediately after the guilty plea, United States District Judge Dolly M. Gee imposed a sentence that required United Industries to pay a $5 million criminal fine. Judge Gee also ordered United Industries to pay $20 million in restitution to three victim companies – TTX Company, Pacer International, and Greenbrier Company, all of whom owned and operated railcars that were improperly serviced and repaired.

          United Industries admitted in a plea agreement filed in federal court that its employees “knowingly conducted inadequate inspections” on railcars the company serviced. United Industries employees improperly replaced functioning parts that did not need to be removed in a process known as making repairs to “green parts.” Employees also made random repairs on the railcars without conducting a proper inspection. The victim companies were then charged for the unnecessary and improper repairs.

          “In order to conceal their unnecessary and improper repairs, United Industries’ employees, operating within the scope of their employment and motivated by an intent to benefit the company, concealed the replacement of ‘green’ railcar parts by throwing such parts into the Port of Long Beach (also known as Long Beach Harbor), a navigable water of the United States, from the shore alongside the Terminal Island repair facility,” according to the plea agreement.

          After receiving a tip about the improper dumping, Port authorities conducted underwater dives that led to the discovery of a “large debris field” and the recovery of railcar parts that did not show any signs of mechanical wear that would have required replacement.

          As a result of illegal conduct that spanned the years 2008 through 2014 – including the unnecessary and improper repairs on railcar adapters, brake beams, grating platforms, brake shoes, friction castings, hand brakes, roof liners and side bearings – United Industries earned at least $5 million.

          After the investigation was initiated, United Industries exited the intermodal railcar repair business and no longer operates intermodal repair facilities on Terminal Island or elsewhere.

          United Industries pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offense of depositing refuse in navigable waters, specifically the Port of Long Beach.

          The investigation into United Industries’ improper repairs did not uncover any rail accidents attributable to the company’s illegal activities.

          The investigation into United Industries was conducted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Federal Rail Administration; and the Los Angeles Port Police, Hazardous Materials Investigations Unit.

          This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mark A. Williams and Joseph O. Johns of the Environmental and Community Safety Crimes Section.

LOS ANGELES – A San Fernando Valley man was sentenced today to 199 months in federal prison for committing armed robberies of smoke shops, donut shops, and convenience stores in Los Angeles and Orange counties during a two-week crime spree in early 2024.Antonio Lamar Bland, 36, of North Hollywood, was sentenced by United States District Judge John A. Kronstadt, who also ordered him to pay $17,829 in restitution.Bland, who has been in federal custody since May 2024, pleaded guilty in November 2025 to one count of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act) and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of, and during and in relation to, a crime of violence.From January 29, 2024, to February 14, 2024, Bland and co-defendants Ronnie Tucker, 24, of Long Beach, Abigail Luckey, 50, of North Hollywood, robbed 12 businesses in Los Angeles and Orange counties. The victimized businesses were one smoke shop in Tustin, nine 7-Eleven stores in North Hollywood, Burbank, Torrance, Van Nuys, Long Beach, Glendale, and Pasadena, and two donut shops in Los Angeles and Downey.The commercial robberies typically occurred late at night and usually involved Bland and Tucker who entered each business wearing hooded sweatshirts and face masks. In several of the robberies, a getaway driver, Luckey, waited outside for Bland and Tucker to complete the robbery and fled the scene in a white four-door sedan owned by Luckey.During the armed robbery spree, on February 6, 2024, Bland and Luckey drove to Las Vegas and were legally married before returning to Southern California for their next robbery on February 8, 2024.The armed robbery spree ended after Bland, Tucker and Luckey committed an attempted robbery of a donut shop in Downey during the early morning hours of February 14, 2024, when a store employee in self-defense fired a handgun during the crime, hitting a wall of the building. After the employee fired the weapon, Bland and Tucker ran out of the store. Law enforcement witnessed the attempted armed robbery and, shortly afterward, pulled over a car containing Bland, Tucker and Luckey, and later retrieved a firearm from the vehicle.“[Bland] did it for the money; he did it for greed,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “Afterward, [Bland] bragged about his crimes, labeling a picture of himself ‘#RobberyGang.’”Tucker and Luckey have pleaded guilty to felony charges in this case and await sentencing. They remain in federal custody.The FBI and the Burbank Police Department investigated this matter with assistance from the Tustin, Torrance, Long Beach, Glendale, Pasadena, Los Angeles, and Downey police departments.Assistant United States Attorney Diane B. Roldán of the Major Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – Law enforcement this morning arrested seven members and associates of Los Angeles Harbor area street gangs – including from the two largest gangs, Westside Wilmas and Eastside Wilmas – on federal charges alleging the trafficking of firearms and pound quantities of narcotics such as fentanyl.

Those arrested today are among 10 members and associates of street gangs who are named across three criminal complaints filed in federal court. One defendant is in state custody, and law enforcement continues to search for two defendants. Authorities arrested an additional four defendants on state charges.

In relation to the charges unsealed today, law enforcement seized approximately 23 firearms, 26.2 kilograms of methamphetamine, approximately 23,000 fentanyl pills, 2.4 kilograms of powdered fentanyl, and one kilogram of cocaine.         

This morning’s arrests are the latest development in a violence reduction initiative started in late 2020 by a joint FBI and Los Angeles Police Department task force that targeted gang activity in the Harbor area. Prior to today’s arrests, 11 Harbor area gang members and associates were charged with federal drug, firearms and Hobbs Act robbery crimes. Three of those defendants already have been convicted and sentenced, receiving prison sentences of between 10 and 20 years.

The seven federal defendants arrested today are charged in complaints filed May 10 with various federal crimes, including distribution of controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to an affidavit filed with one of the complaints, the task force has investigated influential members and associates of the Eastside Wilmas, Westside Wilmas and other Harbor area gangs who were suspected of being involved in a host of illegal activities. Both Eastside and Westside Wilmas are based in Wilmington, a Los Angeles neighborhood located near the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Harbor area gangs, including the Wilmas, commit their crimes under the direction and authority of the Mexican Mafia, a California prison gang that controls many of the Latino street gangs in Southern California. Mexican Mafia leaders and associates direct the activities of the Wilmas gangs from within the California state prison system. Leaders have access to illicit cellular telephones and other digital devices that they use to communicate with gang members in the community.

Law enforcement believes the Wilmas gangs are controlled by separate Mexican Mafia members who are each serving a life sentence in a California state prison after being convicted of murder. One Mexican Mafia associate directs firearm and drug sales from prison despite being sentenced to death for murder.

The complaint affidavit alleges from October 2022 to February 2023, reputed Wilmas and Mexican Mafia associate Patricia Amelia Limon, 53, of Lomita, fulfilled seven drug and firearm deals under the direction of the Mexican Mafia associate on death row. Limon personally, and at least once through an intermediary, supplied methamphetamine, fentanyl, firearms and ammunition to a buyer and collected money on behalf of the Mexican Mafia member.

In one deal on November 2, 2022, Limon allegedly supplied 5,000 rainbow-colored fentanyl pills to a buyer for $5,300. Fifteen days later, Limon allegedly supplied 1.71 kilograms (3.8 pounds) of methamphetamine and 2,000 fentanyl pills to a buyer for $5,000. The affidavit further alleges Limon engaged in other illicit sales of fentanyl and firearms.

The affidavit further alleges that Jesus Chuy Delgado, 46, of San Pedro, who reputedly is a high-ranking Westside Wilmas member, engaged in a series of methamphetamine and firearms sales, including several in January and February 2023 that allegedly occurred across the street from a high school and a middle school in San Pedro. Delgado allegedly sold firearms – including semi-automatic weapons lacking a serial number, commonly known as “ghost guns” – and 883.9 grams (1.95 pounds) of methamphetamine while on parole.

A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, Limon and Delgado – who are charged with distribution of controlled substances – would face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

The FBI and the LAPD are investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin B. Reidy of Major Frauds Section and Suria M. Bahadue of the Criminal Appeals Section are prosecuting this case.

          LOS ANGELES – Two brothers who owned a West Los Angeles pharmacy and were convicted of illegally selling prescription opioids and other narcotics to black market customers across the United States were sentenced late Wednesday, with each man being ordered to serve 121 months in federal prison.

          Berry Kabov, 48, and his brother Dalibor “Dabo” Kabov, 35, both residents of Brentwood, were sentenced by United States District Judge Dolly M. Gee. The Kabov brothers operated Global Compounding Pharmacy, a pharmacy that was located in West Los Angeles.

          Following a three-week jury trial in early 2017, the brothers were convicted of illegally selling the opioid narcotics oxycodone, hydromorphone and hydrocodone. The wide-ranging conspiracy, which also illegally imported anabolic steroids, resulted in the Kabov brothers earning more than $3 million and cheating the Internal Revenue Service by failing to report $1.5 million on their federal tax returns.

          “It is disturbing that both defendants claim to have done nothing wrong. That is a mirage. There was overwhelming evidence of guilt,” Judge Gee said at Wednesday’s hearing, adding that the Kabov brothers showed “no remorse” for their crimes.

          The Kabov brothers were found guilty of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, distribution of oxycodone, conspiracy to import controlled drugs, importation of anabolic steroids, money laundering and subscribing to false tax returns.

          “In the midst of a national opioid epidemic, these defendants used a seemingly legitimate pharmacy as a front to flood the black market with dangerous opioids for their own personal profit,” said United States Attorney Nick Hanna. “The lengthy sentences imposed should send a resounding message that medical and pharmacy professionals who seek to profit from the spread of opiate addiction will be met with severe punishment.”

          “Our nation is facing what is arguably the worst drug crisis in American history, in large part due to the ravenous greed of illicit prescription drug traffickers like the Kabov brothers,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge David J. Downing. “Their sentences should serve as a warning to others that would defraud and exploit the public. The DEA and its law enforcement partners will not tolerate creative rackets that profit from the opioid epidemic.”

          Prosecutors argued in court documents that the Kabovs orchestrated a “years-long scheme to exploit the nation’s epidemic-level addiction to powerful prescription opioids,” and that the brothers “rose from mail-order drug dealers – sending drug parcels to Ohio for cash – to owners of a Los Angeles pharmacy that sold millions of dollars of oxycodone, hydromorphone, and hydrocodone on the black market.”

          The Kabov brothers used Global Compounding to sell bulk quantities of oxycodone to customers across the country. During the investigation, authorities seized shipments containing thousands of oxycodone pills sent by the Kabov brothers to customers in and around Columbus, Ohio. These customers in turn made cash deposits into Kabov-controlled bank accounts or simply shipped bulk cash to the brothers in Southern California.

          The evidence also included recorded calls between Berry Kabov and a cooperating informant, during which Berry Kabov described oxycodone pills as “gold” selling for as much as “50 bucks a pill” in areas like New York. Berry Kabov offered to ship as many as 4,000 oxycodone pills per week to the informant, bragging that “we have a thing that we can move easy.”

          After drug wholesalers cut off Global Compounding, the Kabovs began manufacturing their own opioid pills after obtaining a $20,000 pill press from China and acquiring enough bulk powder to make 100,000 maximum-strength pills. “In total, from the wholesale orders and on-site manufacturing, the Kabovs disseminated over 300,000 pills of opiates to the black market during the conspiracy, which accounts only for what they sold after opening Global Compounding,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing brief.

          To conceal the black market drug sales that brought them approximately $3 million, the Kabovs conspired with a doctor to create fraudulent prescriptions in the names of identity theft victims. The Kabovs also reported false information to California authorities making it appear that drugs had been dispensed to those identity theft victims. Prosecutors said in court documents that planting that fraudulent information “ma[de] the victims falsely appear to be narcotic addicts,” thus putting them at risk of being denied necessary treatment from a legitimate physician checking their prescription histories. Global Compounding also failed to report sales of 98,000 pills of opiates to California authorities who track prescription drug sales.

          As part of the scheme, the brothers also used the names of other identity theft victims – members of a longshoremen labor union’s health insurance plan – to submit fraudulent claims that generated another $2.6 million from the plan, prosecutors said in court papers. In October 2017, the owner of a Long Beach “medi-spa” involved in the fraud scheme, Erica Carey, pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge and admitted conspiring with the Kabovs in exchange for more than $300,000 in kickbacks.

          In addition to the charges related to oxycodone, the brothers were found guilty of illegally importing anabolic steroids purchased from a wholesale drug distributor located in Hubei, China. The brothers used the pharmacy to illegally order bulk quantities of testosterone, oxandrolone and nandrolone. Those drugs were shipped in parcels that were falsely labeled to make the drugs appear to be industrial powders.

          On federal tax returns, the Kabovs understated their income by approximately $1.5 million. They falsely claimed to have suffered net losses in 2011 and 2012, while they were flying in private jets, staying in penthouse suites, and purchasing new luxury cars, including a $100,000 Corvette.

          In addition to the prison sentences, Judge Gee ordered the Kabovs to pay $350,834 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, with each brother being ordered to pay just over $175,000.

          Global Compounding was found guilty of 17 counts including drug trafficking, drug importation, and tax fraud. Judge Gee sentenced the now-defunct pharmacy to a one-year term of probation.

          The investigation into the Kabov brothers and Global Compounding was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS Criminal Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Los Angeles Police Department, and the California Board of Pharmacy.

          The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin R. Barron of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, and Assistant United States Attorney Matthew O’Brien of the Environmental and Community Safety Crimes Section.