Central District of California
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Orange County Businessman Sentenced to More Than 5 Years in Federal Prison for Scamming Investors Out of Nearly $6.2 MillionRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – The owner of an Orange County real estate finance business was sentenced today to 63 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining nearly $6.2 million, most of which he took by making false promises to an investor that shares of his private company were about to be publicly traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Jacques Poujade, 63, of Irvine, was sentenced by United States District Judge Mark C. Scarsi, who also ordered him to pay $6,170,600 in restitution.
Poujade pleaded guilty on July 24 to one count of securities fraud.
Poujade is the owner and chief financial officer of Tri-Emerald Financial Group, a Lake Forest-based realty services company that operated as a residential mortgage lender. Tri-Emerald funded loans as a mortgage banker, with the intent to hold the funded loans for immediate resale to financial institutions that purchased the loans for investments. Neither Tri-Emerald nor its securities were ever registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
From February 2015 to May 2020, Poujade sold unregistered securities to a victim investor by telling the victim a series of lies, including about the timing and likelihood of Tri-Emerald’s initial public offering (IPO) and the resulting share price. The victim purchased shares in Tri-Emerald at $10 per share, after Poujade represented they were “securities” under federal law and would exceed the price of $100 per share once the company went public.
Poujade falsely promised the victim that Tri-Emerald was a pre-IPO opportunity that would provide high returns when the company soon went public on Nasdaq. In fact, Tri-Emerald had not completed the necessary steps to undertake an IPO, including filling out the required SEC paperwork or formally engaging the investment banks Poujade falsely told the victim he had engaged as underwriters.
He further lied to the victim by saying one investment bank “was super excited about moving forward” and estimated that Tri-Emerald would “be a billion dollar company in under 16 months,” according to his plea agreement.
He also said Tri-Emerald was using the victim’s investment to cover IPO costs when, in fact, Poujade used a substantial portion of the funds for general Tri-Emerald operating expenses and to make lulling payments and litigation settlement payments to previous Tri-Emerald investors. Poujade also used a portion of the funds for personal expenditures in lieu of taking a salary.
“Particularly troubling is that in executing his scheme to defraud, [Poujade] ruthlessly preyed upon [the victim] to drain her of her entire life savings,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “[Poujade] not only conned [the victim] out of her money but he did so by betraying her trust after forging an intimate and faith-based relationship with her.”
In total, Poujade fraudulently obtained approximately $5,255,600 from the victim.
Poujade also defrauded another victim and that victim’s investment group in July 2016 by convincing them to purchase 30-day promissory notes issued by LendPlus Holdings, another one of Poujade’s companies. These notes purportedly were to be used to increase Tri-Emerald’s warehouse line of credit, which would allow Tri-Emerald to fund a larger volume of mortgages.
At the end of the term of the 30-day promissory notes, instead of repaying victim investors, Poujade continuously rolled victim investors’ funds over into the next month. On numerous occasions, Poujade lulled the victims by falsely claiming their money was safe in a reserve account and LendPlus was using their funds to improve Tri-Emerald’s loan production and line of credit.
In fact, Poujade used a substantial portion of these funds to make lulling payments to previous Tri-Emerald investors, to pay Tri-Emerald’s operating expenses, and for his own personal use, including paying rent on his residence.
Poujade defrauded these investors out of approximately $915,000.
The FBI and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General investigated this matter.
Special Assistant United States Attorney Ryan G. Adams of the Corporate and Securities Fraud Strike Force prosecuted this case.
Glendale Man Sentenced to 6½ Years in Prison for Laundering at Least $3 Million in Fraudulently Obtained Jobless BenefitsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Glendale man was sentenced today to 78 months in federal prison for laundering at least $3 million in fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance (UI) benefits that his accomplices fraudulently obtained during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Arman Nikogosyan, 45, was sentenced by United States District Judge John F. Walter, who also ordered him to pay $3 million in restitution.
Nikogosyan pleaded guilty on March 27 to one count of conspiracy to launder money.
Starting in 2020 and continuing until December of that year, Nikogosyan became a member of a conspiracy to launder fraudulently obtained jobless benefits. In furtherance of the conspiracy, Nikogosyan arranged to receive the cash proceeds of the unemployment fraud scheme in which his co-conspirators applied for UI benefits in the names of other people and then used debit cards issued by a major bank to withdraw the fraudulently obtained funds.
In 2020, Congress expanded UI benefit amounts and duration and expanded UI eligibility to more workers in response to the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Employment Development Department (EDD) is the agency that administers UI benefits in California.
Nikogosyan knew the cash was proceeds from the jobless benefits fraud and had some of it deposited under assumed names, including those of shell companies. Nikogosyan then had the illicitly obtained funds sent abroad and used to purchase gold in order to conceal their source, ownership and location.
During this conspiracy, Nikogosyan laundered at least $3 million in fraudulently obtained proceeds that his co-conspirators brought to him in cash.
In December 2020, law enforcement seized $194,497 in cash from Nikogosyan’s residence that was proceeds of the fraudulent scheme.
“When confronted with the COVID pandemic that has claimed the lives of almost seven million persons worldwide to date, [Nikogosyan] instead saw an opportunity to bilk taxpayers out of the emergency funds their government generously made available to protect those who lost their jobs,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “Such criminal opportunism during a global health and economic emergency is egregious.”
In separate cases, some of Nikogosyan’s co-conspirators received prison sentences for their crimes:
- Arman Aghasinyan, 23, of Glendale, is serving a 46-month federal prison sentence for withdrawing for accomplices $2.9 million in bogus unemployment insurance benefits from ATMs; and
- Arayik Avetisyan, 23, of Glendale, is serving a federal prison sentence of 36 months for withdrawing from ATMs $1.4 million in fraudulent EDD benefits and delivering the cash to his co-conspirators.
The FBI and the Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Brown of the Major Frauds Section prosecuted this case.
Anyone with information about allegations of fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Reseda Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison for Selling Dozens of ‘Ghost Guns’ and Pound Quantities of MethRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A San Fernando Valley man was sentenced today to 144 months in federal prison for illegally selling firearms – including dozens of so-called “ghost guns” – and also selling pound quantities of methamphetamine.
Julio Ernesto Lopez-Menendez, 27, of Reseda, was sentenced by United States District Judge André Birotte Jr.
Lopez-Menendez pleaded guilty on February 3 to one count of distribution of methamphetamine and one count of engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license. He has been in federal custody since April 2022.
From January 2022 to April 2022, Lopez-Menendez sold at least 89 firearms and 20 rounds of ammunition over nine transactions to a buyer. The firearms sold included at least 62 firearms that lacked serial numbers and are commonly referred to as “ghost guns.” Of those ghost guns, four were short-barreled rifles whose barrel lengths Lopez-Menendez knew were each substantially less than the legally required 16 inches.
During a February 2022 telephone call with a buyer, Lopez-Menendez said the possession of shotguns or rifles with short barrels was “super illegal.” None of these short-barreled rifles were federally registered by Lopez-Menendez. He does not have a federal firearms license and does not have any firearms registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, the central registry for all items regulated under the National Firearms Act, according to court documents.
Lopez-Menendez also sold to a buyer a total of 17 pounds of methamphetamine on four occasions, including one sale in which he sold 4.2 kilograms (9.2 pounds) of the drug to the buyer.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Southern California Drug Task Force; the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; and the Los Angeles Police Department investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chou of the Violent and Organized Crimes Section prosecuted this case.
Diamond Bar Man Pleads Guilty to a Civil Rights Charge for Driving His Car into a Crowd of Demonstrators at a ‘Stop Asian Hate’ RallyRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Diamond Bar man pled guilty today to a federal criminal civil rights charge for disrupting a “Stop Asian Hate” rally in March 2021 by running a red light and driving through a crowded crosswalk of peaceful demonstrators while shouting racial slurs and epithets.
On the third day of trial, Steve Lee Dominguez, 57, pleaded guilty to one felony count of bias-motivated interference with federally protected activities.
“The right to political expression is a bedrock principle of this nation,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Mr. Dominguez’s decision to attack a peaceful rally meant to raise awareness of anti-Asian hate was both unlawful and un-American. My Office will remain steadfast in our commitment to safeguard civil rights against those who would seek to undermine our constitutional rights.”
“The FBI safeguards the civil rights of all Americans, including the constitutionally protected right of free speech, but that right ends where violence begins,” said Donald Alway, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “We will continue to work with our partners to address these types of violations, where individuals who were simply calling for an end to violence were senselessly attacked.”
“Hate has no place within Los Angeles County, and those that commit acts of hate and interfere with the civil rights of others will be held accountable,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna. “The Sheriff’s Department is focused on combatting hate crimes and hate incidents in our diverse communities and increasing our outreach efforts to better understand the needs of the victims and educate the public on how to report such crimes.”
According to a plea agreement filed in federal court, a “Stop Asian Hate” rally occurred on March 21, 2021 in Diamond Bar. The rally was to raise awareness about the increase in hate crimes and hate incidents against members of the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community both locally and nationally – including the murders of six Asian American women five days earlier in Atlanta.
A group of rally participants assembled at the intersection of Diamond Bar Boulevard and Grand Avenue, carrying American flags and large signs in support of their cause. The demonstrators peacefully gathered and lawfully crossed the streets using the marked pedestrian crosswalk when they had the right of way.
During the rally, Dominguez was driving a black Honda Civic sedan and was stopped at a red light at the intersection. Dominguez yelled, “Go back to China!” and other racial slurs and profanities at the demonstrators. He then deliberately drove his car through the intersection’s crosswalk at the red light, made an illegal U-turn into oncoming traffic, and cut off the route of several rally participants lawfully crossing the street, primarily women and a young child.
One of the victims was an Asian woman carrying a sign that read, “Stop Asian Hate.” Another victim was a minor Black female rally participant who carried a sign that read, “End the Violence Against Asians.” Another person who was cut off in the crosswalk was a 9-year-old child, and Dominguez’s car narrowly missed her and other victims. No injuries were reported.
Dominguez then pulled his car over, got out of the car and continued to yell racial epithets – including the n-word – and threats at the demonstrators. He then called the police, identified himself as “John Doe” and falsely reported to police that the rally participants were blocking the street and he had to run a red light “because they were about to trample my car,” according to evidence presented at trial. He also requested that police “get some control out” at the intersection.
United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II scheduled a May 6, 2024 sentencing hearing, at which time Dominguez will face up to one year in prison pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement. Dominguez has remained free on a $30,000 bond since his initial arrest in May 2022 and will remain on bond until sentencing.
The FBI investigated this matter. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department initially responded to the scene and assisted in this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Frances S. Lewis of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section and Suria M. Bahadue of the Criminal Appeals Section are prosecuting this case.
Any member of the public who has information related to this incident or other hate crimes is encouraged to call the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office at (310) 477-6565 or report tips online at https://tips.fbi.gov.
Leader of La Luz del Mundo Megachurch Charged by Federal Grand Jury with Producing and Possessing Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
INDICTMENTLOS ANGELES – A federal grand jury today charged the leader of the Mexico-based La Luz del Mundo megachurch with two felony counts alleging he produced and possessed child sexual abuse material (CSAM) depicting a 16-year-old victim.
Naasón Joaquín García, 54, previously served as a minister for the church in Santa Ana and, from December 2014, led the church in Mexico. He was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in June 2019 on state child sexual exploitation charges.
In today’s two-count federal indictment, García is charged with one count of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
García is expected to make his initial court appearance and be arraigned in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles in the coming weeks.
According to the indictment, on May 6, 2019, García knowingly employed, used, persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced a minor – identified in the indictment as “Minor Victim 1,” who was 16 years old at the time – to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct.
On June 3, 2019, García allegedly possessed an iPad that contained five videos depicting Minor Victim 1 engaging in sexual activity. Law enforcement seized the iPad when García was arrested at LAX.
García has been in state custody since then and in June 2022 he pleaded guilty to two counts of forcible oral copulation on a minor and one count of committing a lewd act on a child. He is serving a 17-year prison sentence for those crimes and is incarcerated at the California Institution for Men in Chino.
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.
If convicted of both federal charges, García would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for the child pornography production count and a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for the child pornography possession count.
The FBI and the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Investigation are investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Catharine A. Richmond of the Violent and Organized Crime Section is prosecuting this case.
North Hills Man Charged in Indictment Alleging He Fraudulently Obtained Millions of Dollars by Identity Theft via Mail TheftRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A San Fernando Valley man was charged today in a federal grand jury indictment alleging he fraudulently obtained approximately $2.6 million by stealing Beverly Hills residents’ identities – often by stealing mail and packages from their homes – then using that information to open fraudulent bank accounts to which he unlawfully transferred money from the victims’ bank accounts.
Oren David Sela, 35, of North Hills, was charged in an eight-count indictment that a federal grand jury returned today. The grand jury charged Sela with three counts of bank fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, one count of possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices, one count of unlawful possession of at least five identity documents, and two counts of possession of stolen mail.
Sela’s arraignment is scheduled for October 30. He has been in federal custody since his arrest on October 10. A federal magistrate judge has ordered him jailed without bond.
According to the indictment returned today and other court documents, from November 2021 to October 2023, Sela stole the mail of Beverly Hills residents to obtain debit cards, bank account numbers, credit cards, telephone numbers, and other personal identifying information (PII). Sela allegedly used the PII he obtained to gain unauthorized access to the victims’ bank accounts. Sometimes, to defeat two-factor authentication on a victim’s account, Sela would engage in “SIM swapping” of the victim’s telephone number to a SIM card that he would control.
“SIM swapping” is the process of fraudulently inducing a carrier to reassign a cell phone number from the legitimate subscriber’s SIM card to a SIM card controlled by another without the legitimate subscriber’s authorization. This allows the fraudster to take control of the victim’s various accounts through two-step authentication text messages sent to a victim’s cell phone.
After gaining access to a victim’s bank account, Sela allegedly would open additional fraudulent accounts in the victim’s name and transfer funds from the victim’s bank account into those accounts. Sela allegedly would then withdraw funds from the fraudulent accounts or use the fraudulent accounts to make unauthorized purchases or transfers.
Sometimes, Sela caused debit cards and credit cards linked to a victim’s account to be sent directly to him, and he then allegedly used those cards to make fraudulent unauthorized purchases.
In December 2022, Sela was arrested for allegedly driving a car reported as stolen, according to an affidavit filed with a criminal complaint in this case. On Sela’s person at the time of his arrest, law enforcement found six debit and credit cards in the names of four different victims.
Subsequent to this arrest, during a search of Sela’s then-residence in West Hollywood, law enforcement uncovered extensive stolen mail containing victims’ PII; bank statements and account information relating to at least 18 different victim accounts; five California driver’s licenses belonging to five confirmed victims of identity theft; seven debit and credit cards belonging to confirmed fraud victims; and checks and receipts for expensive retail items, including a watch worth nearly $17,000, that had been fraudulently obtained using victims’ money, the affidavit alleges.
Sela was found with approximately 33 pieces of stolen mail in December 2022 and at least 118 pieces of stolen mail on October 10, the indictment alleges.
The losses incurred by four victims are approximately $2,590,836, according to court documents, and at least 20 additional victims have been identified.
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.
If convicted of all charges, Sela would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each bank fraud count, up to 10 years in federal prison for the possession of unauthorized access devices count and for the unlawful possession of identity documents count, a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each possession of stolen mail count, and for the aggravated identity theft count, a mandatory two-year prison sentence consecutive to the rest of his sentence.
The Secret Service and the Beverly Hills Police Department are investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Aaron B. Frumkin of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section and Jena A. MacCabe of the Violent and Organized Crime Section are prosecuting this case.
Los Angeles County Trio Arrested on Complaint Alleging They Committed 10 Armed Robberies of Pharmacies in Six-Week SpreeRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – Two South Bay men and one Harbor-area woman are expected to appear today in federal court after being charged in a complaint with allegedly committing 10 armed robberies of chain pharmacy stores over a six-week span, sometimes assaulting and injuring their victims.
The following defendants have been charged via a criminal complaint filed on October 6 with Hobbs Act robbery, and using and carrying a firearm during an in relation to a crime of violence:
- Makai Yusef Sanders, 22, of Hawthorne;
- Kenyatta Kamar Jones, 22, of Hawthorne; and
- Diavion Deshawna Mouton, 22, of Carson.
The defendants are expected to make their initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, the defendants committed 10 armed robberies from August 9 to September 19 of Rite Aid and Walgreens stores in Long Beach, Bellflower, South Los Angeles, Pasadena, Whittier, Lakewood, Monterey Park, Burbank, and Glendale. Mouton allegedly served as the driver while Sanders and Jones allegedly robbed the stores, typically one hour before closing, used handguns, stole victims’ cellphones, then went to the stores’ staffing offices and took money from their safes.
Specifically, on September 19, two armed men believed to be Sanders and Jones – one wearing a black balaclava mask and the other wearing a black mask with a red logo – robbed a Walgreens store in Glendale. The suspects robbed a store customer who was at a register attempting to purchase some items, held the victim at gunpoint, and stole the victim’s iPhone.
One of the defendants allegedly then robbed a store employee, pointing a handgun at her back, telling her to take him to the store’s safe and using the barrel of the gun 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 total, the robbers stole approximately $776 from the Walgreens cash registers, along with four iPhones belonging to the victims. 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 allegedly was driven by Mouton.
Using phone records and GPS data, law enforcement tracked the defendants down and arrested them on September 26. At the time of their arrests, Jones and Sanders allegedly 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.
The defendants were in state custody until being transferred to federal custody today.
A criminal complaint contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted of both charges, each defendant would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for the Hobbs Act robbery count and up to life in federal prison for the firearm count.
The FBI, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and the Glendale Police Department are investigating this matter. The Long Beach Police Department, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Pasadena Police Department, and the Whittier Police Department provided assistance.
Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin J. Butler and Jena A. MacCabe of the Violent and Organized Crime Section are prosecuting this case.
San Bernardino County Man Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison for Leading Drug Trafficking Efforts, Including Smuggling into JailsRead the Press Release
RIVERSIDE, California – The central figure in three conspiracies in which members and associates of a San Bernardino-based street gang deliberately got themselves arrested to smuggle narcotics and syringes hidden in their body cavities into San Bernardino County jails was sentenced today to 204 months in federal prison.
Carlos Antonio Aznaran, 29, of San Bernardino, was sentenced by United States District Judge Jesus G. Bernal.
Aznaran, the lead defendant charged in three separate indictments in April 2019, pleaded guilty in October 2022 to two counts of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, five counts of international money laundering, one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin, and one count of being a felon in possession of firearms. Aznaran has been in federal custody since his arrest in April 2019.
From at least July 2017 until April 2019, the Westside Verdugo street gang smuggled narcotics inside San Bernardino County’s jail system. Aznaran contacted drug suppliers to obtain and arrange for narcotics to be smuggled into the jails by people who were willing to be arrested and who hid the drugs inside their body cavities. The smugglers then distributed the drugs to other inmates inside the jails.
During at least four smuggling attempts, law enforcement intercepted approximately 121 grams of methamphetamine, 86 grams of heroin, and at least 10 syringes, according to court documents.
Aznaran also was the primary link between the Mexican source of supply for methamphetamine and heroin and the street level dealers in his neighborhood. He was responsible for routine multi-pound orders, paying the Mexico source of supply, and accepting the bulk shipments from Mexico. Using other co-conspirators, including his wife, Elisa Montes, 32, of Palm Desert, Aznaran the repackaged the methamphetamine into smaller quantities then distributed it to other drug dealers in the conspiracy in exchange for a portion of their profits. From October 2017 to January 2018, Aznaran obtained more than 10 kilograms of methamphetamine.
In his plea agreement, Aznaran admitted to conspiring to distribute at least one kilogram of heroin, and to possessing in January 2018 approximately 18.5 grams of heroin and nearly 111 grams of fentanyl. He further admitted to possessing three firearms in January 2018. Aznaran knew he was not permitted to possess firearms because of his 2014 felony convictions, including a conviction in Riverside County Superior Court for assault with a deadly weapon.
“For some inmates, prison is one of the few places they are separated from the destructive influences in their lives, including drugs,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “[Aznaran’s] role in procuring smugglers and introducing drugs into the prison system threatened that opportunity for these inmates, all for his own personal benefit. [His] conduct showed a willingness to prey on a vulnerable group of people, many of whom were undoubtedly taking advantage of their custody time to regain sobriety.”
Federal prosecutors have secured convictions against 35 defendants in these cases, with some defendants receiving sentences of up to 10 years in federal prison. Montes pleaded guilty in November 2019 to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Judge Bernal in March 2020 sentenced her to two years in federal prison.
The FBI, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, and the San Bernardino Police Department investigated this matter. The Fontana Police Department; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; IRS Criminal Investigation; Homeland Security Investigations; and the San Bernardino County Probation and Parole Departments provided substantial assistance.
Assistant United States Attorney Scott M. Lara of the Violent and Organized Crime Section prosecuted these cases.
Orange County Man Sentenced to 7½ Years in Prison for Firearms Crimes and Check Fraud Scheme That Illicitly Sought $1.2 MillionRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – A convicted felon from Orange County who used social media to instruct his Instagram followers on how to defraud banks was sentenced today to 90 months in federal prison for conspiring with a bank employee and others to commit a check fraud scheme in which they sought $1.2 million.
Meshach Samuels, 26, of Placentia, was sentenced by United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney, who also ordered him to pay $423,087 in restitution.
Samuels pleaded guilty on May 25 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and two counts of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.
From May 2021 to March 2022, Samuels urged his Instagram followers to join his Telegram chat groups, where – for a fee of up to thousands of dollars – he would provide instructions on how to recruit accomplices and commit check fraud to steal money from banks.
Samuels and his accomplices would create fraudulent checks drawn on victim accounts, frequently using stolen information obtained from a bank teller and other sources. Samuels’ co-conspirators, with Samuels’ help, would deposit the fraudulent checks into third-party accounts.
Once the check amounts were credited to the third-party accounts, Samuels’ co-conspirators, again with Samuels’ assistance, fraudulently withdrew money in amounts below $10,000 to avoid triggering bank scrutiny. The corrupt bank teller was paid a portion of the cash the conspirators obtained from negotiating fraudulent checks.
This check fraud scheme attempted to obtain at least approximately $1.2 million and caused actual losses of at least $423,087.
Samuels also participated in a scheme in 2021 to defraud the California Employment Development Department (EDD) through the submission of fraudulent applications for pandemic-related unemployment insurance that contained stolen identity information. Those fraudulent applications included information from individuals who resided outside California, were deceased, or who otherwise were not eligible for unemployment insurance. Members of the scheme provided EDD with a set of common mailing addresses they controlled for multiple applications.
After EDD approved the fraudulent applications and disbursed the pandemic benefits to EDD debit accounts, Samuels and his co-schemers used the debit cards to withdraw cash at ATMs.
In total, Samuels caused at least $14,250 in actual losses to EDD.
In addition, Samuels, whose criminal history includes felony convictions in Florida for aggravated battery on a law enforcement official, admitted to unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition. Specifically, during an August 2021 traffic stop in Costa Mesa, police officers found a firearm and ammunition concealed on his person. In March 2022, federal agents searched Samuels’ residence and seized five firearms and ammunition.
“As reflected by the voluminous actual and intended losses, [Samuels’] conduct was not the product of a short-term lapse in judgment but was calculated behavior that was mass-marketed on social media and engaged in for months, affecting scores of victims,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “The proceeds of the fraud were used to purchase luxury and high-end items and firearms.”
In a related case, Sasha Lizette Jimenez, 26, Samuels’ former girlfriend, pleaded guilty on May 22 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud for running the EDD fraud scheme in which Samuels participated. Jimenez, who was the conspiracy’s bookkeeper, caused the issuance of at least $2.8 million in fraudulent UI benefit debit cards – and at least $2.3 million was withdrawn from those debit cards. Judge Carney has scheduled a December 4 sentencing hearing for Jimenez.
The investigation into this scheme was conducted by the Los Angeles El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force, a multi-agency task force led by Homeland Security Investigations that includes federal and state investigators who are focused on financial crimes in Southern California. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration also participated in this investigation. The Costa Mesa Police Department, the Inglewood Police Department, the Placentia Police Department, the New York City Police Department, and the Miami Beach Police Department provided assistance.
Assistant United States Attorney Rachel N. Agress of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section prosecuted this case.
Anyone with information about allegations of fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Fresno Hairstylist Pleads Guilty to Committing Multimillion-Dollar Caregiver Fraud Against Malibu Doctor Suffering from Mental IllnessRead the Press Release
PLEA AGREEMENTLOS ANGELES – A Fresno hairstylist pleaded guilty today to nine felonies for defrauding a vulnerable physician out of more than $2.7 million before his death and then attempting to defraud his estate out of an additional amount exceeding $20 million.
Anthony David Flores, 47, a.k.a. “Anton David,” pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering, two counts of money laundering, and one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.
His co-defendant and former girlfriend, Anna Rene Moore, 40, an actress and former yoga studio owner who resided in Monterrey, Mexico at the time of her January 31 arrest at a Houston airport, pleaded guilty on August 28 to seven felonies in this case: one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, two counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering, two counts of money laundering, and one count of engaging in monetary transaction in property derived from specified unlawful activity.
Flores and Moore have been in federal custody since January of this year.
According to Flores’ plea agreement, beginning in June 2017, Flores used false promises and representations to befriend the victim — a physician and successful investor worth more than $60 million, but who suffered from a mental illness and lost the ability to care for himself after multiple hospitalizations. Within days of meeting the victim, Flores and Moore moved into the victim’s beachfront Malibu home – rent free – and slowly took control of his life by pretending to be his new “best friends” and caregivers.
In September 2017, after the victim suffered a severe mental breakdown resulting in his arrest and detention in Los Angeles County jail, Flores fraudulently induced the victim to sign powers of attorney granting Flores control over the victim’s finances.
Flores represented that he would only use these powers to access the victim’s finances to post bail for release, and that the victim could immediately rescind them once the victim was free from jail. But after the victim was released from custody, the powers of attorney were never rescinded. Within days, Flores used these powers to open bank accounts in the victim’s name with Flores listed as the power of attorney, giving himself and Moore access to the victim’s wealth.
From September 2017 to May 2018, Flores and Moore lived with the victim, diverted the victim’s funds to their own bank accounts, isolated the victim from his family and longtime friends, and provided the victim with drugs, including marijuana and LSD.
In the final days of the victim’s life in May 2018, Flores and Moore gave the victim LSD, which caused his mental state to severely deteriorate. While the victim was under the influence of LSD, Flores caused the two-step authentication feature on the victim’s $60-million online brokerage account to be changed after previously having changed the phone number listed on the account from the victim’s phone number to his own phone number.
Then, while the victim was still under the influence of LSD that Flores had provided to him and without the victim’s knowledge or consent, Flores initiated two $1-million wires from the victim’s brokerage account to the power-of-attorney accounts that Flores controlled, then to Flores’ personal bank account. Flores and Moore then left the victim, who by this time was in mental distress. From a luxury hotel paid with the victim’s funds, Flores and Moore remotely watched the victim’s deteriorating mental condition on the video cameras installed throughout the Malibu beach house and directed staff they had hired to work at the house to watch the victim.
In May 2018, the victim died in his Malibu home at the age of 57 years old. Following the victim’s death, Flores and Moore moved back into the victim’s Malibu beachfront home and withdrew large sums of money from his accounts. They also concealed information about the victim’s finances from his mother and sister, both of whom resided in Florida. This prompted the victim’s family to file a lawsuit, which resulted in the fraud being uncovered.
In the ensuing lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court, Flores and Moore violated multiple court orders ordering them to return the funds stolen from the victim. They attempted to launder the fraudulent proceeds by funneling the money through multiple different accounts to thwart the victim’s estate and court-appointed receiver from recouping the money.
Six months after the victim’s death, Flores and Moore then came forward and falsely claimed that the victim had “promised” them one-third of his estate – amounting to $20 million – and his Malibu beach house, and that the victim was on the verge of his changing his will to name both Flores and Moore in his will before the victim’s untimely death. Flores and Moore filed false creditor’s claims against the victim’s estate, fraudulently claiming they were entitled to $20 million and the beach house, and falsely listing incidents when the victim supposedly promised Flores and Moore $20 million and his beach house, despite knowing that these claims were untrue.
After extensive litigation with the victim’s estate, the lawsuit was settled with Flores and Moore withdrawing their false creditor’s claims and agreeing to repay the victim’s estate $1 million, which they have so far failed to do.
United States District Judge Percy Anderson scheduled a February 26, 2024 sentencing hearing, at which time Flores will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each fraud count, up to 20 years on the conspiracy to commit money laundering and laundering of monetary instruments counts, and up to 10 years on transactional money laundering count.
Moore’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 22, 2024.
The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Andrew M. Roach of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section is prosecuting this case. Assistant United States Attorney James E. Dochterman of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section is handling asset forfeiture matters in this case.
Former Orange County Education Official Arrested on Complaint Alleging He Embezzled More Than $14 Million from School DistrictRead the Press Release
COMPLAINT and AFFIDAVIT (redacted)SANTA ANA, California – The former senior director of fiscal services at an Orange County public school district was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint alleging he embezzled more than $14 million from the district over a seven-year period and used the illicitly obtained funds to finance a house, buy luxury items, and obtain cosmetic treatment from a dermatologist.
Jorge Armando Contreras, 52, of Yorba Linda, is charged with embezzlement concerning programs receiving federal funds, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison. He made his initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in Santa Ana and a federal magistrate judge ordered him jailed without bond. Contreras’ arraignment is scheduled for November 27.
Contreras was the senior director of fiscal services at Magnolia School District, which serves students in Anaheim and Stanton. In this role, Contreras, whom the school district hired in 2006, managed the district’s fiscal operations. The schools in this district educate children from preschool through sixth grade – 81% of whom are classified as socio-economically disadvantaged. Each year, since 2009, Magnolia School District has received millions of dollars in federal funds.
According to an affidavit filed with the complaint last week and unsealed today, from August 2016 to July 2023, Contreras embezzled more than $14 million from Magnolia School District by making unauthorized payments to himself from district funds – payments that came from more than 250 checks from the district that were deposited into Contreras’ personal bank account. The checks ranged from approximately $11,000 to approximately $95,000 and listed fictitious persons as the payee, the affidavit alleges.
From August 2022 to July 2023 alone, Contreras allegedly embezzled more than $4.1 million from Magnolia School District. During this time, Contreras used the embezzled funds to pay more than $1.9 million to American Express, withdraw $325,000 in cash from ATMs, and transfer more than $130,000 to his partner, whom he married in August 2023. Contreras allegedly also used the illicitly obtained funds to purchase his residence in Yorba Linda for approximately $1.5 million as well as a BMW SUV for approximately $127,000, which he used to deposit embezzled funds into his personal bank account via drive-thru ATMs.
Contreras purchased the Yorba Linda residence in 2020 and paid for more than $1 million of it via a wire transfer from his personal bank account. Contreras also allegedly altered bank statements submitted as part of the loan application for this property to hide funds he embezzled from the school district.
The affidavit further alleges that Contreras altered documents over the years to hide his embezzlement, and that he used some of the funds to pay $190,000 to a West Hollywood dermatologist and surgeon for cosmetic treatments. He also allegedly used the embezzled funds to purchase luxury items sold by Versace and Louis Vuitton.
Contreras allegedly also transferred some of the embezzled funds to bank accounts in Mexico.
The school district placed Contreras on administrative leave in August 2023 and has filed a lawsuit against him in Orange County Superior Court.
A criminal complaint contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the United States Department of Education – Office of Inspector General are investigating this case.
Assistant United States Attorneys Billy Joe McLain of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, Brett A. Sagel of the Corporate and Securities Fraud Strike Force, and James E. Dochterman of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section are prosecuting this case.
Former High Desert Doctor Pleads Guilty to Drug Distribution Charges for Illegally Issuing Prescriptions During Telehealth SessionsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A former Antelope Valley physician pleaded guilty today to federal narcotics charges for illegally dispensing prescriptions for often-abused controlled substances – including opioid-based medications – during telemedicine sessions with “patients” from across the United States.
Raphael Tomas Malikian, 39, who resides in Llano and Palmdale, pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting the acquisition of a controlled substance by fraud and one count of distribution of oxycodone.
The Medical Board of California suspended Malikian’s medical license in November 2021. His license expired in November 2022.
According to his plea agreement, from at least December 2019 to August 2021, Malikian was a licensed physician in California and, in this role, was authorized by the Drug Enforcement Administration to prescribe medication. Malikian also owned and operated Happy Family Medicine, a medical clinic that was advertised as being in a co-working space in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, but primarily offered telehealth services via telephone or text message communications.
Malikian issued prescriptions for controlled substances to customers without first obtaining the person’s full medical history, conducting a physical examination, requiring medical testing, or utilizing diagnostic tools. Malikian did not verify his customers’ identities before prescribing controlled substances, and he allowed customers to obtain prescriptions in the names of others.
He also worked with two co-conspirators, who provided Malikian with false names, addresses, dates of birth, and Malikian issued controlled substance prescriptions accordingly, which the co-conspirators then filled and re-sold on the black market.
Many of Malikian’s fraudulent controlled substance prescriptions contained notes on the prescriptions or accompanying documentation that falsely urged pharmacies not to verify such prescriptions because medications were emergently needed and the failure to dispense could be life threatening because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Malikian issued hundreds of false prescriptions for liquid promethazine with codeine during this period – including to people he knew were fictitious patients and which totaled more than 82 liters – and directed them to be sent to various pharmacies across the nation for co-conspirators to obtain.
From April to July of 2020, Malikian prescribed to a buyer 702 pills of 10 milligrams oxycodone and 240 milliliters of promethazine with codeine. The customer, in fact, was an undercover law enforcement officer. Malikian issued each prescription to this buyer without conducting proper medical evaluations or verifying the buyer’s identity and was performed outside the scope of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.
In addition, from May to July of 2020, Malikian prescribed to a customer – who also was an undercover law enforcement officer – 234 pills of the painkiller Norco, which contained a total of 2,340 milligrams of the opioid hydrocodone and 180 pills of alprazolam, an anxiety medication sold under the brand name Xanax. Once again, Malikian issued each prescription to this buyer without conducting proper medical evaluations or verifying the buyer’s identity and was performed outside the scope of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.
United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer scheduled a February 5, 2024 sentencing hearing, at which time Malikian will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for distribution of oxycodone and up to four years in federal prison for aiding and abetting the acquisition of a controlled substance by fraud.
The DEA investigated this matter. The California Department of Justice, Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse provided substantial assistance.
Assistant United States Attorney Brittney M. Harris of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section is prosecuting this case.
Corona Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years in Prison for Scheme that Fraudulently Obtained $2.1 Million in COVID Jobless BenefitsRead the Press Release
RIVERSIDE, California – A Riverside County man was sentenced today to 68 months in federal prison for orchestrating a scheme to obtain more than $2.1 million in pandemic-related unemployment insurance (UI) benefits by filing fraudulent applications claiming, among other things, that the claimants were salon and barbershop workers rendered jobless by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Robert Campbell Jr., 30, of Corona, was sentenced by United States District Judge Jesus G. Bernal, who also ordered him to pay $2,113,966 in restitution.
Campbell, this case’s lead defendant, pleaded guilty on March 6 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud in connection with a presidentially declared emergency and one count of mail fraud in connection with benefits connected to a presidentially declared emergency. He has been free on $100,000 bond since his July 2022 arrest in this case.
From March 2020 to July 2021, Campbell and other co-conspirators used the personally identifiable information (PII) of others – including names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers – to file fraudulent UI applications with the California Employment Development Department (EDD), which administers the state’s unemployment insurance program.
The fraudulent UI claims were federally funded through programs authorized by Congress in response to the pandemic, including the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Lost Wage Assistance programs.
Many of the fraudulent claims were made on behalf of ineligible out-of-state claimants and on behalf of people ineligible for benefits because they were imprisoned, including one claimant in Texas.
The fraudulent applications falsely stated the claimants had prior annual incomes of $42,000 and they were self-employed individuals whose jobs were adversely impacted when salons and barbershop closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The fraudulent applications listed mailing addresses with locations chosen and controlled by Campbell and his accomplices. Once the fraudulent applications were approved, debit cards were mailed to those addresses.
In total, Campbell and others caused 174 fraudulent applications to be filed with EDD, resulting in 125 fraudulent claims to be paid and resulting in total losses of approximately $2,113,966.
Campbell is the eighth and final defendant to be sentenced in this case. The other seven defendants pleaded guilty and Judge Bernal imposed previous sentences ranging from probation and home confinement to 18 months in federal prison.
“While the nation struggled with unprecedented loss of life and social and economic disruption, [Campbell] seized upon the dislocation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic to defraud the public of more than $2.1 million,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “[Campbell] organized, led, and encouraged his coconspirators throughout, and mocked considerations of decency and honesty at every turn in his communications with them.”
The United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and the California Employment Development Department Investigation Division are investigating this matter. Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Special Services Unit, and the United States Secret Service provided substantial assistance.
Assistant United States Attorney Adam P. Schleifer of the Major Frauds Section prosecuted this case.
Anyone with information about allegations of fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Three Orange County Gang Members Found Guilty of Murdering Gangster at Behest of Imprisoned Mexican Mafia MemberRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – Three Orange County street gang members were found guilty by a federal jury today of the August 2017 murder in Orange of a gangster who had fallen afoul of a member of the Mexican Mafia prison gang.
Mike Escobar, a.k.a. “Risky,” 40, a member of the Little Hood gang in Anaheim; James Mendez, a.k.a. “Buck,” 44, a Sureño gang member from Garden Grove; and Kevin Trejo, a.k.a. “Minor,” 36, a member of the Jeffrey Street gang in Anaheim, each were found guilty of one count of violent crime in aid of racketeering.
According to evidence presented at the eight-day trial, on August 21, 2017, the defendants murdered the victim, a member of a Costa Mesa street gang. At the time of his murder, the victim trafficked drugs and collected “taxes” from gangs in Orange County for imprisoned Mexican Mafia member Johnny Martinez, a.k.a. “Crow,” 47, a co-defendant in this case who has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and who is scheduled to go to trial on June 25, 2024.
The defendants tricked the victim into driving with them just before midnight from his home in Anaheim to a residential neighborhood in Orange, where they shot him seven times in the back and once in the head. Escobar, Mendez, and Trejo were acting on orders from Martinez, who issued the order to kill the victim because the victim on two occasions stole drugs and money controlled by Martinez, the jury found.
United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney scheduled March 25, 2024 sentencing hearings for the defendants, each of whom faces a mandatory sentence of life 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.
The FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office; the Orange Police Department; the Santa Ana Police Department; the Anaheim Police Department; the Fullerton Police Department; the Placentia Police Department; the Orange County Sheriff’s Department; the Orange County Probation Department; the Orange County District Attorney’s Office; and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Greg Staples and Gregory Scally of the Santa Ana Branch Office and Trial Attorneys Grace Bowen and Christopher Matthews of the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section are prosecuting this case.
Three Gang Members Convicted of Racketeering MurderRead the Press Release
A federal jury in Santa Ana, California, convicted three Orange County men today of murder in aid of racketeering as part of their association with the Mexican Mafia, a prison gang.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on Aug. 21, 2017, Mike Escobar, aka Risky, 40, a member of the Little Hood gang in Anaheim; James Mendez, aka Buck, 44, a Sureño gang member from Garden Grove; and Kevin Trejo, aka Minor, 36, a member of the Jeffrey Street gang in Anaheim, murdered their victim in Orange, California. Escobar, Mendez, and Trejo tricked the victim into driving with them from the victim’s home in Anaheim to a residential neighborhood near Orange, where they shot him seven times in the back and once in the head. Escobar, Mendez, and Trejo were acting on orders from co-defendant Johnny Martinez, aka Crow, 47, a member of the Mexican Mafia. Martinez issued the order to kill the victim because he stole drugs and money controlled by Martinez on two occasions.
The jury convicted Escobar, Mendez, and Trejo of murder in aid of racketeering. They are scheduled to be sentenced on March 25, 2024, and each face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney E. Martin Estrada for the Central District of California, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, and Assistant Director in Charge Donald Alway of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Los Angeles Field Office, Orange County Resident Agency; Orange Police Department; Santa Ana Police Department; Anaheim Police Department; Fullerton Police Department; Placentia Police Department; Orange County Sheriff’s Department; Orange County Probation Department; Orange County District Attorney’s Office; and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Grace Bowen and Christopher Matthews of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Greg Staples and Gregory Scally for the Central District of California are prosecuting the case.
Former Murrieta Police Detective Pleads Guilty to Accepting Illicit Benefits from Foreign Businessperson in Exchange for Immigration HelpRead the Press Release
RIVERSIDE, California – A former detective with the Murrieta Police Department pleaded guilty today to a federal criminal charge for soliciting bribes from a foreign businessperson who was seeking immigration benefits in the United States.
Paul John Gollogly, 74, of Temecula, pleaded guilty to one count of bribery.
According to his plea agreement, Gollogly began working for the Murrieta Police Department (MPD) in March 2013 to lead its purported anti-money laundering program. In this role, he handled and directed confidential informants (CI) registered with the department, including non-U.S. citizens who needed authorization from the U.S. government to enter and work in the United States.
In April 2013, Gollogly registered an individual – identified in court documents as “Person A” – as a CI with MPD. Person A was a foreign national and a wealthy business person had significant business interests in multiple countries including the United States. Person A owned businesses in the United States, and in other countries as well.
While previously employed at a police department in Florida, Gollogly had registered Person A as a CI with that police department. Person A was neither a U.S. citizen nor had legal permanent resident status, commonly known as holding a “green card.”
From April 2013 to February 2020, Gollogly helped Person A obtain various immigration benefits, including authorization from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to allow Person A to enter and work in the United States for one year at a time and facilitation of Person A’s physical entry into the United States. Gollogly also attempted to assist with Person A’s permanent residency application.
Gollogly wrote letters of support to DHS for Person A’s approvals to enter the United States, falsely stating that Person A’s work as a CI resulted in arrests, seizures of large amounts of money and drugs, and additional investigations. In fact, the information Person A provided MPD resulted in none of these things.
Also, on at least 25 occasions, Person A texted Gollogly to inform him of Person A’s arrival in the United States, including Person A’s arrival date and location, and flight information in case Person A got held up at a port of entry by immigration authorities. On at least five occasions, after receiving notice of Person A’s arrival at the San Ysidro Port of Entry at the U.S.-Mexico border, Gollogly personally drove to San Ysidro to meet Person A and facilitate Person A’s incident-free reentry into the United States.
In exchange for this help with immigration authorities, Gollogly solicited and received benefits from Person A, including:
- receiving tickets to shows in New York and Miami;
- the hiring of a Gollogly family friend to work at one of Person A’s businesses and making efforts to help a Gollogly relative secure a job;
- arranging for hotel stays for two close Gollogly relatives and another Gollogly friend, including one July 2014 stay in which – at Gollogly’s request – Person A had wine and flowers inside the hotel room of one of the close relatives;
- paying four months’ rent in 2018 and 2019 for a Gollogly relative; and
- paying for dinner at an upscale restaurant for Gollogly and four of his relatives in December 2019.
United States District Judge Sunshine S. Sykes scheduled a January 19, 2024 sentencing hearing, at which time Gollogly will face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. Prosecutors have agreed to seek no more than 18 months’ imprisonment for Gollogly.
The FBI investigated this matter, with assistance from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of Professional Responsibility.
Assistant United States Attorneys Julius J. Nam of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section and Courtney N. Williams of the Riverside Branch Office are prosecuting this case.
Former Inglewood Police Officer Agrees to Plead Guilty to Federal Drug Charge for Selling Kilogram of CocaineRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A former Inglewood Police Department (IPD) officer has agreed to plead guilty to a federal narcotics offense of distributing cocaine, the Justice Department announced today.
In a plea agreement filed today in federal court, John Abel Baca, 47, of Whittier, who served as an IPD officer for 21 years, admitted that he distributed cocaine on two occasions, the first occurring on April 29, 2021, when he delivered cocaine to a witness cooperating with law enforcement. Baca then delivered approximately one kilogram of cocaine to the same cooperating witness (CW) during another meeting on May 4, 2021, in exchange for $22,000 in cash.
According to the plea agreement, in February 2021, the CW informed the FBI that Baca, then an active-duty IPD officer, previously had offered to sell the CW one kilogram of cocaine, two kilograms of “White China” heroin, and an unlimited supply of black tar heroin. The CW reported that Baca claimed to have stolen drugs and cash during routine traffic stops that Baca made as a drug task force officer with IPD.
During a covertly recorded meeting in late April 2021, Baca provided a sample of the cocaine to the CW to provide to purported buyers. Several days later, Baca negotiated the price for one kilogram of cocaine – $22,000 in cash – and then delivered a brick of cocaine to the CW’s workplace on May 4, 2021. Later the same day, Baca collected $22,000 in cash from the CW’s residence.
In the plea agreement, Baca admitted that he abused his position of trust as a police officer, including by stealing drugs from IPD’s lock-up and reselling them.
Baca agreed to plead guilty to one count of distribution of cocaine, a crime that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Baca, who currently free on a $1.1 million bond, is expected to formally plead guilty to the charge on October 17.
The FBI is conducting the investigation into this matter. The Inglewood Police Department provided its full cooperation during the investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney Cassie D. Palmer of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section is prosecuting this case.
U.S. Navy Service Member Pleads Guilty to Transmitting Sensitive U.S. Military Information to Chinese Intelligence OfficerRead the Press Release
A U.S. Navy service member pleaded guilty today to federal felony offenses and admitted he transmitted sensitive U.S. military information to an intelligence officer from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in exchange for bribery payments.
Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, 26, aka Thomas Zhao, of Monterey Park, California, pleaded guilty to conspiring with the intelligence officer and receiving a bribe.
Zhao, who worked at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme and held a U.S. security clearance, admitted he engaged in a corrupt scheme to collect and transmit sensitive U.S. military information to the intelligence officer in violation of his official duties.
“The intelligence services of the People’s Republic of China actively target clearance holders across the military, seeking to entice them with money to provide sensitive government information,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen. “When contacted by his co-conspirator, rather than reporting it to the Navy, the defendant chose greed over protecting the national security of the United States. He is now being held accountable for his crimes. To others tempted to put personal profit ahead of patriotic duty, know that we are committed to identifying you and bringing you to justice.”
“Protecting our country’s national security is of the utmost importance,” said Executive Assistant Director Larissa L. Knapp of the FBI’s National Security Branch. “Zhao’s guilty plea is an acknowledgement of the betrayal in selling sensitive military information to the Government of China. The FBI reminds all government officials to remain vigilant in reporting potential recruitment efforts by foreign actors, and we remain committed to standing with our partners to protect the U.S. from threats to our national security.”
Between August 2021 and at least May 2023, Zhao admitted receiving at least $14,866 in at least 14 separate bribes from the intelligence officer. In exchange for the illicit payments, Zhao surreptitiously collected and transmitted to the intelligence officer sensitive, non-public information regarding U.S. Navy operational security, military trainings and exercises and critical infrastructure. Zhao admitted he entered restricted military and naval installations to collect and record this information.
Zhao specifically admitted to transmitting plans for a large-scale maritime training exercise in the Pacific theatre, operational orders, and electrical diagrams and blueprints for a Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar system located in Okinawa, Japan.
Zhao further admitted to using sophisticated encrypted communication methods to transmit the information, destroying evidence and concealing his relationship with the intelligence officer. Zhao’s conduct violated his official duties to protect such information and the oath he swore to protect the United States.
“Officer Zhao betrayed his country and the men and women of the U.S. Navy by accepting bribes from a foreign adversary,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “While he and the PRC officer he served took great pains to conceal their corrupt scheme, investigators were vigilant in uncovering this shameful plot. Today’s resolution, requiring Zhao to plead guilty to all charges against him, shows that we will act swiftly and decisively to protect our nation from those who seek to undermine our security.”
“The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) would like to once again thank our partners at the FBI and Department of Justice for their continued assistance in bringing this case to a quick resolution,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Angel Cruz of the NCIS Office of Special Projects. “The swift action by the Department of Justice in prosecuting this case should serve as a warning to anyone who attempt to compromise the Department of the Navy’s sensitive information or the security of our warfighters. If you or someone you know has knowledge of a potential compromise of sensitive military information, please contact your nearest NCIS or FBI office.”
Zhao pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 8, 2024. As a result of today’s guilty plea, Zhao faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison – five years for the conspiracy count and 15 years for the bribery charge. Zhao has been in custody since his arrest on Aug. 3.
The FBI Los Angeles Field Office’s Counterintelligence and Cyber Division and NCIS conducted the investigation. IRS-Criminal Investigation provided substantial assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Annamartine Salick, Sarah Gerdes, Christine Ro and Kathrynne Seiden for the Central District of California and Trial Attorney Adam Barry of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Ryan Waters of the Asset Forfeiture Section.
U.S. Navy Sailor Pleads Guilty to Transmitting Sensitive U.S. Military Information to Chinese Intelligence OfficerRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A United States Navy service member pleaded guilty today to federal felony offenses and admitted he transmitted sensitive U.S. military information to an intelligence officer from the People’s Republic of China in exchange for bribery payments.
Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, 26, also known as Thomas Zhao, of Monterey Park, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring with the intelligence officer and one count of receiving a bribe.
Zhao, who worked at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme and held a U.S. security clearance, admitted he engaged in a corrupt scheme to collect and transmit sensitive U.S. military information to the intelligence officer in violation of his official duties.
Between August 2021 and at least May 2023, Zhao admitted receiving at least $14,866 in at least 14 separate bribe payments from the intelligence officer. In exchange for the illicit payments, Zhao surreptitiously collected and transmitted to the intelligence officer sensitive, non-public information regarding U.S. Navy operational security, military trainings and exercises, and critical infrastructure. Zhao admitted he entered restricted military and naval installations to collect and record this information.
Zhao specifically admitted to transmitting plans for a large-scale maritime training exercise in the Pacific theatre, operational orders, and electrical diagrams and blueprints for a Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar system located in Okinawa, Japan.
Zhao further admitted to using sophisticated encrypted communication methods to transmit the information, destroying evidence, and concealing his relationship with the intelligence officer. Zhao’s conduct violated his official duties to protect such information and the oath he swore to protect the United States.
“Officer Zhao betrayed his country and the men and women of the U.S. Navy by accepting bribes from a foreign adversary,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “While he and the PRC officer he served took great pains to conceal their corrupt scheme, investigators were vigilant in uncovering this shameful plot. Today’s resolution, requiring Zhao to plead guilty to all charges against him, shows that we will act swiftly and decisively to protect our nation from those who seek to undermine our security.”
“The intelligence services of the People’s Republic of China actively target clearance holders across the military, seeking to entice them with money to provide sensitive government information,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen. “When contacted by his coconspirator, rather than reporting it to the Navy, the Defendant chose greed over protecting the national security of the United States. He is now being held accountable for his crimes. To others tempted to put personal profit ahead of patriotic duty, know that we are committed to identifying you and bringing you to justice.”
“Mr. Zhao’s admission makes it clear that he abandoned the oath he swore to uphold by providing sensitive information to a U.S. adversary in exchange for cash,” said Donald Alway, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. "Zhao put his fellow servicemen at risk when he yielded to overtures from the Chinese government, a nation actively targeting Americans who have access to state secrets. I’m proud of the strong partnerships and hard work that resulted in today’s successful outcome.”
“NCIS would like to once again thank our partners at the FBI and Department of Justice for their continued assistance in bringing this case to a quick resolution,” said A.D. Cruz Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Office of Special Projects. The swift action by the Department of Justice in prosecuting this case should serve as a warning to anyone who willingly or through willful negligence attempt to compromise the Department of the Navy’s sensitive information or the security of our warfighters. No matter how long it takes, we will find you and hold you to account. To those still working to assist our adversaries, find your nearest NCIS or FBI office and cooperate before we come for you.”
Zhao pleaded guilty before United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner, who scheduled a January 8, 2024, sentencing hearing. As a result of today’s guilty pleas, Zhao faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison – five years for the conspiracy count and 15 years for the bribery charge. Zhao has been in custody since his arrest on August 3.
The FBI’s Counterintelligence and Cyber Division of the Los Angeles Field Office and NCIS conducted the investigation. IRS Criminal Investigation provided substantial assistance.
Assistant United States Attorneys Annamartine Salick, Sarah Gerdes, Christine Ro and Kathrynne Seiden of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section are prosecuting this case, with assistance from Ryan Waters of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section. The Counterintelligence and Export Control Section at the Department of Justice is providing substantial assistance.
Customs Broker Arrested on Superseding Indictment Alleging New $2 Million Fraud Committed after His Release on Bond in Original Fraud CaseRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – A customs broker has been arrested on a superseding grand jury indictment that alleges he defrauded clients out of $2 million while he was free on bond after being charged with bilking another client out of $3.4 million, the Justice Department announced today.
Frank Seung Noah, 62, of Corona, was arrested Thursday on an eight-count superseding indictment returned on October 4. He entered not guilty pleas during an arraignment Thursday afternoon.
According to court documents, Noah owned and operated Comis International Inc., a logistics and supply-chain company based in Cerritos, which offered customs import brokerage services on behalf of businesses. From 2007 to 2019, Comis was a customs import broker for Daiso, a Japan-based variety and value store with stores in the United States, including Southern California.
Noah was initially charged in February 2022 with engaging in a $3.4 million wire fraud scheme that overcharged Daiso on customs duties. From March 2016 until February 2019, Noah – acting through Comis – paid customs import duty fees to U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Daiso’s behalf. Noah then allegedly submitted invoices to Daiso that fraudulently inflated the customs import duty fees that Noah had paid. As a result of Noah’s scheme, the indictment alleges, Daiso paid the inflated invoices, and Noah fraudulently obtained approximately $3,379,774.
Noah was also charged in the 2022 indictment with evading the payment of $1.5 million in personal income taxes. The original indictment charged Noah with one count of tax evasion and three counts of wire fraud. Noah was released on bond pending trial in February 2022. A trial was scheduled for February 20, 2024.
The superseding indictment adds four wire fraud counts for allegedly defrauding two other victim clients, an online crafts store and a wholesale apparel distributor.
Beginning in late 2021 and continuing through June 2023 – with much of this period following the original indictment and while he was free on bond – Noah defrauded two other client companies by invoicing and receiving funds from the two victim companies, and then simply pocketing the funds instead of paying the customs duties to CBP, according to the superseding indictment. After CBP notified the victim clients of their unpaid customs duties, they asked Noah about the unpaid fees, and he allegedly sent the victim clients altered bank statements falsely reflecting that he had paid the customs duties. The two victims in this new part of the case allegedly suffered losses of approximately $2 million.
In relation to the tax evasion charge, Noah allegedly willfully attempted to evade the payment of approximately $1,562,684 in federal taxes which the IRS assessed against him for the calendar years 2008, 2009 and 2010. He allegedly did so by making small payments to the IRS, all while making much larger payments on mortgages for properties he controlled – even though they were bought in his girlfriend’s name – including his Corona residence purchased in 2016 and a vacation property in Rancho Mirage that was purchased the following year.
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.
Noah appeared this afternoon in United States District Court, where he was released on a $205,000 bond with strict pretrial supervision conditions, including home detention with location monitoring, an agreement that he would no longer directly or indirectly engage in customs brokering services, and a near prohibition on using email or accessing the internet.
If convicted of all charges, Noah would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for the tax evasion count and 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count.
IRS Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Faraz Mohammadi of the Santa Ana Branch Office is prosecuting this case.
Woman Pleads Guilty to $359M Fraud Involving Claims for Unnecessary Respiratory Tests Submitted with COVID-19 TestsRead the Press Release
A California woman pleaded guilty today to fraudulently submitting claims to governmental and private insurance programs during the COVID-19 pandemic for expensive and medically unnecessary respiratory pathogen panel (RPP) tests.
“Those who stole from government health programs during the COVID-19 pandemic not only violated federal law, they betrayed the public trust,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “As this action to disrupt a $359 million scheme, and the Department’s recent announcement involving over 300 defendants and over $830 million in alleged COVID-19 fraud make clear, the Justice Department will continue to find and hold accountable those who defrauded American taxpayers during the pandemic.”
“Today’s plea marks an end to this costly health care fraud scheme in which bad actors fraudulently ordered medically unnecessary tests to reap ill-gotten gains,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Through coordination and close collaboration with our partners, the public can rest assured that the FBI will work relentlessly to protect our healthcare system and hold those accountable who attempt to illegally exploit it.”
According to court documents, from June 2020 to April 2022, Lourdes Navarro, 64, of Glendale, conspired with Imran Shams to obtain nasal swab specimens from residents and staff at nursing homes, assisted living facilities, rehabilitation facilities, and students and staff at primary and secondary schools, for the purported purpose of conducting screening tests to identify and isolate individuals infected with COVID-19. Obtaining those samples enabled Matias Clinical Laboratory, dba Health Care Providers Laboratory (HCPL), to perform RPP tests on some of the specimens, even though only COVID-19 testing had been ordered and even though there was no medical justification for conducting RPP tests. Navarro and Shams submitted, through HCPL, approximately $359 million in claims for the unnecessary RPP tests to Medicare, the Health Resources and Services Administration COVID-19 Uninsured Program, and a private health insurance company, and were reimbursed approximately $54 million.
“The defendant used her management position at a clinical testing laboratory to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic for personal gain,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This case demonstrates the Criminal Division’s continued resolve in working with our partners to root out bad actors who steal from government health programs.”
“I would like to thank our law enforcement partners, as well as my dedicated team of investigators, analysts, and attorneys, for bringing this fraud scheme to light and shutting it down,” said Inspector General Christi A. Grimm of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). “Stealing public money is unacceptable in any circumstance, but particularly egregious when taking advantage of a public health emergency.”
Navarro pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 23, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Shams previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 9, 2024.
The FBI and HHS-OIG are investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Gary A. Winters and Raymond E. Beckering III of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maxwell Coll for the Central District of California obtained seizure warrants and is handling forfeiture.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, comprised of 15 strike forces operating in 25 federal districts, has charged more than 5,000 defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for more than $24 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
High Desert Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Fentanyl Pills to Victim Who Died Hours Later After Ingesting One of the PillsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A San Bernardino County man pleaded guilty today to knowingly selling two fentanyl pills to a 28-year-old man who – hours later – ingested one of the pills and suffered a fatal overdose.
Luis Enrique Diaz, 23, of Victorville, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death.
United States District Judge Fernando M. Olguin scheduled a March 7, 2024 sentencing hearing, at which time Diaz will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Diaz has been in federal custody since April.
According to his plea agreement, late in the evening on April 9, 2021, Diaz met with the victim – identified in court papers as “R.L.” – in a supermarket parking lot in Victorville. Diaz knowingly sold the victim two blue fentanyl pills.
The victim later ingested one of the pills and died on April 10, 2021.
That same day, law enforcement arrested Diaz and, in his pocket, found a pill bottle that contained approximately 50 blue pills that contained fentanyl. Diaz admitted in his plea agreement to intending to distribute some of those pills.
On April 21, 2021, law enforcement arrested Diaz and searched him. In a bag he possessed, investigators found 454 blue pills that contained fentanyl.
In a related case, Christopher Martin Sanchez, 25, a.k.a. “Chi Chi,” of Hesperia, who allegedly provided Diaz the fentanyl pill that led to R.L.’s death, is charged along with Stephanie Michelle Cruz, 24, of Hesperia, in a six-count indictment alleging, in part, that they distributed the fentanyl that resulted in R.L.’s death.
Sanchez and Cruz are charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death, one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin, and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Sanchez faces additional charges of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Sanchez pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and a November 7, 2023 trial date is scheduled in his criminal case. Cruz is in state custody on unrelated charges and has not yet appeared in the federal case.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Operation OD Justice Task Force and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Overdose Response Team investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Peter H. Dahlquist of the Riverside Branch Office is prosecuting this case.
Diamond Bar Man Sentenced to Nearly 2 Years in Federal Prison for Groping a Sleeping Passenger on a Cleveland-to-Los Angeles FlightRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Diamond Bar man was sentenced today to 21 months in federal prison for intentionally touching the inner thigh of a sleeping woman seated next to him on a flight from Cleveland to Los Angeles in February 2020.
Mohammad Jawad Ansari, 50, was sentenced by United States District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha, who also ordered the defendant to pay a $33,750 fine, $1,600 in restitution, a $100 special assessment, and an additional $5,000 special assessment. Furthermore, Ansari was ordered to register as a sex offender.
At the conclusion of a four-day trial, a jury on May 9 found Ansari guilty of one count of abusive sexual contact.
On February 17, 2020, Ansari boarded a flight from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport. Ansari occupied a window seat in the 10th row, while the victim occupied the middle seat next to him. The victim, who was wearing a dress, fell asleep shortly after takeoff and the armrest separating Ansari from the victim was down.
At some point during the flight to Los Angeles, Ansari placed his left hand on the victim’s right knee and, without the victim’s consent, moved his hand to her inner thigh. The person sitting in the aisle seat next to the victim witnessed Ansari’s hand touching the victim’s inner thigh.
The victim woke up, pushed Ansari’s hand away, left her seat, and informed a flight attendant about what had happened. The flight attendants observed Ansari during the remainder of the flight and believed he was pretending to sleep.
“[Ansari] committed a serious offense that caused immediate and long-lasting harm to [the victim],” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “In the immediate aftermath, [Ansari’s] groping left [the victim] shocked and afraid and witnesses testified that she sobbed for the remainder of the flight…. [On flights, the victim] now struggles to fall asleep because she is constantly concerned about ‘what if someone touches me.’”
The FBI and the Los Angeles Airport Police investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Samuel J. Diaz and James A. Santiago of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section prosecuted this case.
The FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office has issued a public service announcement to bring awareness to the problem of sexual assault on airplanes. Victims of in-flight sexual misconduct – either verbal or physical – or their loved ones are encouraged to report the incident to a flight attendant and to your nearest FBI field office or to submit a tip online to the FBI at https://tips.fbi.gov/.
United States Attorney Martin Estrada Launches Corporate and Securities Fraud Strike ForceRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – United States Attorney Martin Estrada today announced the formation of the Corporate and Securities Fraud Strike Force, a new section that will focus on complex corporate crimes, abuses by company insiders and offenses that impact the nation’s financial system.
Working with authorities at federal law enforcement agencies, the Corporate and Securities Fraud Strike Force is designed to expand and prioritize complex corporate and securities fraud investigations, some of which will involve corporate executives and other individuals involved in criminal conduct. Members of the Strike Force will examine accounting fraud, insider trading, and other matters that can directly impact the financial system and trading markets. The Strike Force will also examine criminal violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, which is designed to combat money laundering and tax evasion.
“Fraud by corporate executives, traders, and other insiders corrodes public trust in our nation’s business institutions and financial system,” said United States Attorney Estrada. “This Strike Force will help focus our efforts on uncovering and punishing corporate malfeasance. Corporate criminals are on notice that my office will not tolerate efforts to deceive and cheat others.”
The Strike Force will be led by Assistant United States Attorney Brett Sagel, a veteran prosecutor with a long track record of successfully handling complex white-collar matters. AUSA Sagel will lead a new section of experienced federal prosecutors.
“Greed in the corporate environment can lead to insider trading, self-dealing and other fraudulent offenses,” said Donald Alway, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI is proud to launch this effort with our federal partners to weed out criminal behavior and protect the investing public by leveling the playing field from Wall Street to Main Street.”
“IRS Criminal Investigation is uniquely suited to be part of the Corporate and Securities Fraud Strike Force,” said Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher, IRS Criminal Investigation, Los Angeles field office. “We have a proven track record of investigating the most complex financial crimes in the world and look forward to continuing our work through our participation in the new Corporate and Securities Fraud Strike Force.”
United States Attorney Estrada today also announced the formation of the Vulnerable Communities Task Force. This Task Force will focus on prioritizing the investigation and prosecution of individuals and entities that prey on communities that typically are less likely to report crimes to law enforcement and historically have had less legal recourse to address the offenders targeting them. These groups may include immigrants and migrant workers defrauded in immigration schemes, indigent individuals reliant on public benefits, the elderly, and those who have been reluctant to seek assistance from government authorities.
“We must be mindful of the greater damage scams and con schemes can have on the most vulnerable in our community,” said United States Attorney Estrada. “Our office must be at the forefront of redressing this harm. Those who prey on the most vulnerable in our communities will be held accountable.”
“HSI is committed to working with our partners to investigate and hold anyone who preys on innocent victims accountable,” said HSI Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang. “This task force is yet another example of how Los Angeles law enforcement joins together to protect our vulnerable population.”
The Vulnerable Communities Task Force will be comprised of federal prosecutors who will come from sections across the office. The Task Force will be led by Assistant United States Attorney Monica Tait, a veteran prosecutor who recently has been the office’s Elder Justice Program Coordinator.
Los Angeles Man Sentenced to over 8 Years in Prison for Scheme to Fraudulently Obtain over $800,000 in COVID Relief FundsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A San Fernando Valley man who was the leader of a conspiracy that stole more than $800,000 in COVID-19 jobless benefits has been sentenced to 97 months in federal prison, the Justice Department announced today.
Robert Mirumyan, 31, of Porter Ranch, was sentenced by United States District Judge Percy Anderson, who also ordered him to pay $804,579 in restitution.
Mirumyan pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, admitting that he oversaw a scheme that used stolen identities to apply for COVID-era unemployment insurance (UI) benefits from the California Employment Development Department (EDD).
Mirumyan came to the attention of law enforcement when the FBI executed search and seizure warrants in March 2021 against the Beverly Hills-based U.S. Private Vaults, where investigators discovered a safety deposit box held in the name of Mirumyan’s wife that contained $400,000 in cash. U.S. Private Vaults, a private safety deposit box company that advertised it was not subject to bank “know your customer” rules, pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiring to launder money with its customers.
During 2020 and continuing through August of 2021, Mirumyan and others used other people’s identities to apply for UI benefits through the EDD, according to court documents. Once EDD approved the false and fraudulent UI applications, banks issued debit cards containing the funds intended for the false identities, Mirumyan and others used the fraudulently obtained debit cards to withdraw cash.
“When confronted with the COVID pandemic that has claimed the lives of almost 7 million persons worldwide to date, [Mirumyan] instead saw an opportunity to bilk taxpayers out of the emergency funds their government generously made available to ameliorate job losses,” according to a sentencing memorandum filed in this case. “Such criminal opportunism during a global health and economic emergency is egregious.”
Judge Anderson described Mirumyan’s offense as “galling” and “callous,” noting that the defendant took advantage of benefits meant to help the unemployed even while he had the talent and opportunities to earn money legitimately.
“[I]t appears that [Mirumyan] made a decision to pursue riches through fraud rather than to participate in the legitimate economy,” prosecutors wrote in the sentencing memo. “Worse, his choice paid off, at least until his stash of $400,000 in cash was accidentally discovered at U.S. Private Vaults based on an unrelated investigation of that business. [Mirumyan] was able to support himself and his family, purchasing a million-dollar home with a swimming pool with his criminal income.”
This matter was investigated by the Postal Inspection Service and the California Employment Development Department.
Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Brown of the Major Frauds Section prosecuted this case.
Anyone with general information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
미 법무부, 코리아타운 부동산 관리인 및 아파트 소유주를 상대로 한 성희롱 소송에서 합의 확보Read the Press Release
로스앤젤레스 – 미 법무부는 오늘 코리아타운의 한 아파트 건물에서 성희롱 혐의가 제기된 연방 소송을 해결하기 위한 합의문을 발표했습니다. 그 아파트 부동산 관리인은 수년에 걸쳐 여러 여성 주민을 성희롱하여 공정 주택법을 위반한 혐의로 기소되었습니다.
오늘 미국 지방 법원에 제출된 합의 명령에 따라, South Western Avenue의 아파트 건물 소유주인 M&F Development, LLC는 부동산 관리인 Abraham Kesary의 괴롭힘으로 피해를 입은 개인에게 보상금으로 미화 12만 달러를 지급하기로 합의했습니다. 보상금 지급 외에도 M&F Development는 미국에 미화 1만 달러의 민사 벌금을 납부하기로 합의했습니다. 합의 명령은 Kesary의 부동산 관리를 영구적으로 금지하며, 코리아타운 임대 부동산에 대해 법무부가 승인한 독립적인 부동산 관리자를 고용하도록 요구합니다. 또한 합의 명령은 향후 차별 및 보복을 금지하고, 공정 주택법 교육을 의무화하며, 부동산 관리 활동 및 합의 명령 조건 준수에 관한 광범위한 모니터링 및 보고를 요구합니다.
법무부의 전국적인 주택 내 성희롱 이니셔티브의 일환인 본 소송은 최소 2012년부터 2020년까지 Kesary가 아파트 단지의 여성 주민들에게 원치 않는 괴롭힘을 가했다고 주장했습니다. 고소장에 따르면 Kesary는 성행위를 대가로 주거 관련 혜택을 제안했고, 원치 않는 성적 발언과 접근을 했으며, 여성 주민들의 가정에 허락 없이 들어갔고, 해당 주민들에게 원치 않는 성적 행위를 가했다는 혐의가 제기되었습니다.
미국 변호사인 Martin Estrada는 "저희 사무실은 어떤 유형의 불법적인 차별도 용납하지 않을 것입니다. 이 사건에서 제기된 여성 주민들을 상대로 한 장기간의 성희롱은 충격적이고 용납할 수 없는 일입니다. 저희는 임대인과 부동산 관리자가 차별과 괴롭힘에 대해 책임을 지도록 계속 주의를 기울일 것이며, 공정 주택법은 저희가 피해자를 위한 정의를 추구할 수 있도록 강력한 도구를 제공합니다."라고 말했습니다.
법무부 민권국의 Kristen Clarke 법무부 차관보는 “임차인은 임대인의 성희롱으로부터 자유로운 자기 집에서 살 권리가 있으며, 법무부는 취약한 거주자를 괴롭히는 임대인을 상대로 공정 주택법을 계속 강력하게 집행할 것입니다.”라고 말했습니다.
성희롱 또는 기타 유형의 주거 차별을 당했다고 생각하는 개인은 주거 차별 팁 라인(1-833-591-0291)으로 문의하실 수 있습니다. 개인은 법무부에 이메일([email protected])을 보내거나 온라인으로 보고서를 제출할 수도 있습니다. 또한 1-800-669-9777번으로 미국 주택도시개발부에 연락하거나 온라인으로 불만 사항을 제기하여 신고할 수 있습니다.
캘리포니아 중부 지구의 7개 카운티에 거주하는 개인은 본 양식(영어)(스페인어)을 작성하여 [email protected]로 이메일을 보내 미국 연방 검찰청 민사부 민권국에 주거 차별 또는 기타 민권 침해에 대한 불만 사항을 제기할 수 있습니다.
미국 법무부 민권국 민권과 Margaret Chen 연방검사와 미국 법무부 민권국의 주택 및 민법 시행과 변호사들이 이 사안을 소송했습니다.
Veterans Affairs Police Officer Indicted on Federal Civil Rights and Assault Charges for Beating Man Approximately 45 Times with BatonRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – An officer with the Veterans Affairs Police Department (VAPD) has been indicted on civil rights and assault charges that allege he used a department-issued baton to illegally strike a man approximately 45 times in 41 seconds at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, the Justice Department announced today.
Juan Anthony Carrillo, 45, was named in a two-count indictment returned Thursday by a federal grand jury. Carrillo will receive a summons directing him to appear in the coming weeks for an arraignment in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
At approximately 4:00 a.m. on January 16, 2022, the 34-year-old victim identified in the indictment as “R.V.” was detained by another VAPD officer on the grounds of the Medical Center. Carrillo arrived to assist the other officer and proceeded to strike R.V. with a VAPD-issued baton up to 45 times in approximately 41 seconds, according to the indictment that notes most, if not all, of the baton strikes were delivered while the other officer was on top of the victim.
The indictment notes that Carrillo was about 60 pounds heavier than R.V and the second officer was about 8 inches taller and about 85 pounds heavier than the victim.
As a result of the alleged beating, the victim sustained injuries that included bleeding and lacerations on both legs.
“Our Constitution protects all of us from excessive force inflicted by law enforcement officers, and when that standard is violated the Justice Department will take action to vindicate the rights enjoyed by all Americans,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “We deeply appreciate the difficult jobs faced every day by law enforcement officers, the vast majority of whom act with professionalism and integrity. But when an officer acts in a manner that violates the civil rights of another person, we will respond to uphold the rule of law and maintain public trust in our system of justice.”
“The excessive use of force alleged in the indictment is disturbing and not representative of the high standards and restraint practiced by the overwhelming majority of police officers,” said Donald Alway, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI is committed to protecting individual civil rights in the United States and will continue to work with our law enforcement partners, including the Veterans Affairs Police Department, to identify and investigate alleged civil rights abuses.”
“The VA Office of Inspector General is committed to ensuring that all VA law enforcement officials discharge their police powers appropriately,” said Special Agent in Charge Rebeccalynn Staples of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Western Field Office. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable any VA police officers who violate the constitutional rights of another through excessive force.”
In addition to the use of excessive force, the indictment alleges that Carrillo, on the day after the incident, prepared a misleading VAPD incident report to justify his use of force. “Carrillo’s report misleadingly and falsely claimed that victim R.V. was violently kicking his legs and refusing to show his hands, while also omitting the number of strikes defendant Carrillo used,” according to the indictment.
Carrillo is charged with deprivation of rights under color of law resulting in bodily injury and assault with a dangerous weapon with the intent to do bodily harm. Both offenses as alleged carry statutory maximum penalties of 10 years in federal prison.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The FBI, the VA’s Office of Inspector General, and the VA’s Office of Security and Law Enforcement are conducting the investigation in this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Susan Har of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section is prosecuting this case.
Justice Department Secures Settlement in Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Koreatown Property Manager and Apartment OwnerRead the Press Release
Settlement agreement can be viewed HERE.
LOS ANGELES – The Justice Department announced today an agreement to resolve a federal lawsuit alleging sexual harassment at an apartment building in Koreatown, where a property manager was accused of violating the Fair Housing Act by sexually harassed multiple female residents over a period of years.
Under the consent order filed today in United States District Court, M&F Development, LLC, the owner of the apartment building on South Western Avenue, has agreed to pay $120,000 to compensate individuals harmed by the harassment by property manager Abraham Kesary. In addition to the compensation payment, M&F Development agreed to pay a $10,000 civil penalty to the United States. The consent order permanently bars Kesary from property management and requires the retention of an independent property manager approved by the Department of Justice for the Koreatown rental property. The consent order also bars future discrimination and retaliation, mandates Fair Housing Act training, and requires extensive monitoring and reporting regarding property management activities and compliance with the terms of the consent order.
The lawsuit, which is part of the Justice Department’s nationwide Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative, alleged that from at least 2012 until at least 2020, Kesary subjected female residents at the apartment complex to unwanted harassment. The complaint alleged Kesary offered housing-related benefits in exchange for sexual acts, made unwelcome sexual comments and advances, entered female residents’ homes without their permission, and subjected these tenants to unwelcome sexual acts.
“Our office will not stand for unlawful discrimination of any type,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “The lengthy course of sexual harassment against female residents alleged in this case is disturbing and unacceptable. We will continue to be vigilant in holding landlords and property managers accountable for discrimination and harassment, and the Fair Housing Act gives us a powerful tool to seek justice for victims.”
“Tenants have the right to live in their homes free from sexual harassment by their landlords,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce fair housing laws against landlords who prey on vulnerable residents.”
Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of sexual harassment or other types of housing discrimination may contact the Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-833-591-0291. Individuals may also email the Justice Department at [email protected] or submit a report online. Reports also may be made by contacting the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development at 1-800-669-9777 or by filing a complaint online.
Individuals in the seven counties of the Central District of California may file a complaint about housing discrimination or other civil rights violations with the Civil Rights Section, Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office by completing and submitting this form (English) (Spanish) by email to [email protected].
Assistant United States Attorney Margaret Chen of the Civil Division’s Civil Rights Section and attorneys from the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section of the United States Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division litigated this matter.
El Departamento de Justicia llega a un acuerdo en una denuncia por acoso sexual contra un administrador de fincas y un propietario de apartamentos de KoreatownRead the Press Release
LOS ÁNGELES – El Departamento de Justicia ha anunciado hoy un acuerdo para resolver una denuncia federal por acoso sexual en un edificio de apartamentos de Koreatown, donde un administrador de la propiedad fue acusado de violar la Ley de Vivienda Justa por acosar sexualmente a múltiples residentes femeninas durante varios años.
En virtud de la orden de consentimiento presentada hoy ante el Tribunal de Distrito de los Estados Unidos, M&F Development, LLC, propietaria del edificio de apartamentos de South Western Avenue, ha acordado pagar 120.000 dólares para indemnizar a las personas perjudicadas por el acoso del administrador de la propiedad, Abraham Kesary. Además del pago de la indemnización, M&F Development acordó pagar una multa civil de 10.000 dólares a Estados Unidos. La orden de consentimiento inhabilita permanentemente a Kesary para la gestión de propiedades y exige la contratación de un gestor de propiedades independiente aprobado por el Departamento de Justicia para la propiedad de alquiler de Koreatown. La orden de consentimiento también prohíbe la discriminación y las represalias en el futuro, impone la formación sobre la Ley de Vivienda Justa y exige una amplia supervisión y presentación de informes sobre las actividades de gestión de la propiedad y el cumplimiento de los términos de la orden de consentimiento.
La denuncia, que forma parte de la Iniciativa sobre Acoso Sexual en la Vivienda del Departamento de Justicia a nivel nacional, alegaba que desde al menos 2012 hasta al menos 2020, Kesary sometió a las residentes femeninas del complejo de apartamentos a acoso no deseado. En la denuncia se alegaba que Kesary ofrecía prestaciones relacionadas con la vivienda a cambio de actos sexuales, hacía comentarios e insinuaciones sexuales no deseados, entraba en los domicilios de las residentes sin su permiso y sometía a estas inquilinas a actos sexuales no deseados.
“Nuestra oficina no tolerará ningún tipo de discriminación ilegal”, declaró el Fiscal General Martin Estrada. “El prolongado acoso sexual contra las mujeres residentes que se denuncia en este caso es inquietante e inaceptable. Seguiremos vigilando para que los propietarios y los administradores de propiedades rindan cuentas por la discriminación y el acoso, y la Ley de Vivienda Justa nos da una poderosa herramienta para buscar justicia para las víctimas”.
“Los inquilinos tienen derecho a vivir en sus casas libres de acoso sexual por parte de sus caseros”, declaró la Fiscal General Adjunta Kristen Clarke, de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. “El Departamento de Justicia seguirá aplicando enérgicamente las leyes de vivienda justa contra los propietarios que se aprovechan de los residentes vulnerables”.
Las personas que crean que pueden haber sido víctimas de acoso sexual u otros tipos de discriminación en materia de vivienda pueden ponerse en contacto con la Línea de información sobre discriminación en materia de vivienda llamando al 1-833-591-0291. Los particulares también pueden enviar un correo electrónico al Departamento de Justicia a [email protected] o presentar una denuncia en línea. También se pueden presentar denuncias llamando al Departamento de Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano de los EE. UU., al 1-800-669-9777, o presentando una denuncia en línea.
Los residentes en los siete condados del Distrito Central de California pueden presentar una denuncia por discriminación en materia de vivienda u otras violaciones de los derechos civiles ante la Sección de Derechos Civiles de la División Civil de la Fiscalía General de los Estados Unidos rellenando y enviando este formulario (Inglés) (Español) por correo electrónico a [email protected].
La fiscal adjunta Margaret Chen, de la Sección de Derechos Civiles de la División Civil, y los abogados de la Sección de Vivienda y Ejecución Civil de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia de los Estados Unidos litigaron este asunto.
South L.A. Man Guilty of Illegal Gun Sales, Including ‘Ghost Guns’Read the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A federal judge today convicted a South Los Angeles man of participating in a scheme in which he and others illegally sold 22 guns and three silencers.
Jonathan Perez, 34, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing in firearms without a license, one count of engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license, and one count of possessing an unregistered firearm silencer.
The evidence at trial showed that Perez and his co-conspirators sold 22 guns and three firearm silencers over the course of seven transactions to a confidential informant. In a text to an associate that was introduced as evidence in the trial, Perez said he was “selling straps to the cartel.” Perez personally manufactured many of the 18 “ghost guns” that were sold to the informant during the transactions in 2017.
Today’s conviction follows a three-day bench trial in August before United States District John A. Kronstadt, who scheduled a sentencing hearing for January 25. When he is sentenced, Perez will face a statutory maximum sentence of 25 years in federal prison as a result of his conviction on the three counts.
Two other defendants in this case pleaded guilty in 2018 and 2021 to separate charges stemming from a related narcotics conspiracy.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Declan T. Conroy of the General Crimes Section and Assistant United States Attorney Maria Jhai of the Violent and Organized Crime Section are prosecuting this case.
Orange County Doctor of Osteopathy Indicted in Quarter Billion Dollar Fraud Targeting Pandemic Program for Uninsured PatientsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A federal grand jury has charged a doctor who operated clinics in Westminster and Garden Grove with defrauding a COVID-19 program for uninsured patients by submitting more than a quarter billion dollars in claims – ultimately receiving about $150 million in payments – for services not covered under the program or simply not provided, the Justice Department announced today.
Anthony Hao Dinh, 64, of Newport Coast – a licensed doctor of osteopathy who was an ear, nose and throat specialist, as well as a facial plastic surgeon – was charged Wednesday in an 18-count indictment with defrauding the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) COVID-19 Uninsured Program.
Dinh was initially charged in this case in a criminal complaint filed April 10. Today’s indictment significantly expands the case by increasing the total amount of fraudulent claims allegedly submitted to HRSA, adding money laundering charges and further allegations about other schemes to defraud pandemic relief programs, and charging Dinh with obstructing the government’s investigation into improper health care billing.
The indictment charges Dinh with 12 counts of wire fraud, five counts of money laundering (with two of those charges alleging the transfer of more than $11 million to personal stock trading accounts) and one count of obstructing justice. Dinh, who is free on a $7 million bond, is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment on October 30 in United States District Court in Santa Ana.
This is the largest fraud scheme in the nation targeting the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program uncovered at this time.
Two other defendants charged with Dinh in April also face new charges:
- Hanna (“Hang”) Trinh Dinh, 65, of Lake Forest, who is Dinh’s sister, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and admitted helping submit fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications that sought more than $260,000 in COVID relief funds; and
- Matthew Hoang Ho, 66, of Melbourne, Florida, was charged on May 2 in a grand jury indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and money laundering in relation to the PPP and EIDL applications, and he is scheduled to go on trial on February 6, 2024.
In relation to the fraud against HRSA, over the course of about nine months – from July 2020 to March 2021 – Dinh allegedly submitted fraudulent claims for the treatment of patients who were insured, services that were not rendered, and services that were not medically necessary. “As a result of these false and fraudulent claims, HRSA made payments to defendant Dinh, through [his medical] practices, in the approximate amount of $150 million.”
The Uninsured Program was designed to prevent the further spread of the pandemic by providing access to uninsured patients for testing and treatment. The Uninsured Program was also designed to provide financial support to health care providers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic by reimbursing them for services provided to uninsured individuals.
In relation to the PPP and EIDL program, the indictment alleges that Dinh submitted, or caused to be submitted, approximately 65 fraudulent loan applications that sought nearly $8 million and caused the programs to disburse approximately $2.8 million in funds.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If he were to be convicted in this case, Dinh would face up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud and three of the money laundering charges, up to 10 years for two of the money laundering charges, and up to 20 years for the obstruction of justice charge that alleges he submitted false patient records in response to a grand jury subpoena.
The case against Dinh, his sister and Ho is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General; the FBI; IRS Criminal Investigation; the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the AMTRAK Office of Inspector General; and the California Department of Health Care Services.
Assistant United States Attorney Roger A. Hsieh of the Major Frauds Section, and Justice Department Assistant Chief Justin M. Woodard and Trial Attorney Helen H. Lee of the Fraud Section are prosecuting this case.
Four-Time Congressional Candidate Charged in Long-Running Misuse of Campaign FundsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – Federal prosecutors today unsealed a grand jury indictment that accuses a Torrance man who was a candidate for a Los Angeles County congressional seat in four federal elections with misusing campaign funds, including funneling tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations back to himself through his friends and family.
Omar Navarro, 34, is charged in a 43-count grand jury indictment. He is currently in state custody on unrelated charges, but he is expected to be turned over soon to federal authorities.
As part of the case against Navarro, FBI agents today arrested Dora Asghari, 59, of Torrance, who is Navarro’s mother, and Zacharias Diamantides-Abel, 34, of Long Beach, who is a friend of Navarro, both of whom are accused of conspiring with Navarro to convert campaign donations to personal use.
Navarro unsuccessfully campaigned in the four most recent election cycles to represent south Los Angeles County residents in California’s 43rd Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives.
The indictment returned on September 14 and unsealed today alleges that Navarro, from September 2017 through July 2020, illegally funneled campaign cash to himself. The indictment outlines a scheme in which Navarro allegedly made payments from his campaign to various individuals – including Asghari and Abel – and then directed the transfer of cash back to himself for personal use.
Navarro also allegedly used campaign funds to pay for personal expenses, including trips to Las Vegas and wine country, as well as two criminal defense attorneys. According to the indictment, Navarro later falsely reported these expenditures as campaign expenses to the Federal Election Commission.
Asghari and Abel concealed Navarro’s misdirection of campaign funds by frequently cashing the checks rather than depositing them into their personal bank accounts. If they deposited the check, they often withdrew the funds shortly thereafter to share with Navarro.
In total, from December 2017 to June 2020, Abel and Asghari allegedly received $49,260 and $58,625, respectively, from Navarro’s campaign, according to checks he wrote or caused to be written to them. According to the indictment, Asghari also created a shell company to facilitate her receipt of these campaign payments and transfers back to Navarro and his own shell company.
According to the indictment, from January 2018 through July 1, 2020, Navarro deposited over $100,000 in cash into his personal accounts, even though he had no other source of income aside from the campaign funds, and he frequently made deposits after Abel or Asghari cashed campaign checks. Navarro also formed a sham charity called the United Latino Foundation as another way to embezzle funds from his campaign for his personal use.
All three defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy. Navarro is charged with 13 counts of wire fraud, 26 counts of falsification of records, and three counts of prohibited use of campaign funds. Asghari is charged with six counts of wire fraud. Abel is charged with two counts of wire fraud.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted in this case, Navarro, Asghari and Abel would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for the conspiracy count and up to 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count in which they were charged. Navarro also would face up to 20 years in federal prison for each falsification of records count and up to five years in prison for each count of prohibited use of campaign contributions.
The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation are investigating this matter. The California Fair Political Practices Commission provided assistance.
Assistant United States Attorneys Frances S. Lewis and Thomas F. Rybarczyk of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section are prosecuting this case.
Former Accounting Manager of Pasadena Storage Business Agrees to Plead Guilty to Insider Trading that Led to Nearly $500,000 in ProfitsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A former employee at a publicly traded Pasadena-based company has agreed to plead guilty to buying more than 66,000 company shares based on non-public information that the company was about to be acquired at a higher per-share price, and then selling the shares after news of the acquisition became public, resulting in nearly $500,000 in ill-gotten gains, the Justice Department announced today.
Marco Antonio Perez, 59, a.k.a. “Marc Perez,” of Glendora, is charged with one count of insider trading, a felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Both the information charging Perez and his plea agreement were filed this morning in United States District Court. Perez has been ordered to make his initial appearance in this case on October 5.
According to the plea agreement, General Finance Corp., a Pasadena-based storage and modular space company, employed Perez as an accounting manager who reported to the company’s chief financial officer. He also performed assignments for the company’s chairman, including printing out the chairman’s emails. As a result, Perez had access to material information belonging to General Finance, including offers to buy the company, before the information was released to the investing public.
In violation of his fiduciary duties to General Finance and its shareholders, and in violation of the company’s policy against insider trading, in March and April of 2021, Perez purchased a total of 66,585 shares of General Finance stock which he was later able to sell for a total of $1,262,815. Perez purchased the General Finance stock after reading confidential emails sent to the company’s chairman in early 2021 that concerned the pending sale of General Finance for a price in the range of $19-$20 per share. Perez paid prices between $10 and $12 for the 66,585 shares he bought.
General Finance was ultimately sold to the Stamford, Connecticut-based United Rentals Inc. On April 15, 2021, United Rentals issued a press release announcing that it was acquiring General Finance for $19 per share. Prior to this announcement, General Finance’s share price closed that day at $12.17. The day after United Rentals’ announcement, the price of General Finance shares surged from $12.17 – the closing price before the announcement – to $19 per share.
Within two weeks of the announcement, Perez sold all 66,585 shares he had purchased on inside information, netting a profit of approximately $488,533.
In his plea agreement, Perez also admitted to tipping off two people about the impending sale of General Finance, which also violated General Finance’s policy against insider trading. Both individuals acted on Perez’s inside information and made profits of $127,140 and $34,867, respectively.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission today announced civil charges against Perez stemming from his illegal activity in this case.
The FBI investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Ranee A. Katzenstein and Steven M. Arkow of the Major Frauds Section are prosecuting this case.
Los Angeles County Trio Found Guilty of Laundering Target Gift Cards Purchased by Victims of Transnational Fraud RingsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – Three Los Angeles County residents were found guilty by a jury today of scheming to launder the proceeds of scams targeting older adults and other victims who were conned into buying Target gift cards, supposedly to resolve various financial problems.
At the conclusion of a 10-day trial, a jury convicted the three defendants – Blade Bai, 35, of El Monte; Bowen Hu, 28, of Hacienda Heights; and Tairan Shi, 29, of Diamond Bar – of one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The jury also found Bai guilty of an additional charge of conspiring to commit money laundering, an offense he committed after being freed on bond in the initial case.
Hu and Shi were remanded into custody immediately after today’s verdict, and Bai has been in custody since February 2022
According to evidence presented at trial, telephone scammers based overseas lied to victims to persuade them to buy one or more Target gift cards to fix nonexistent problems. Some victims received calls from fraudsters posing as law enforcement officers or government employees, who claimed the victims’ identities had been stolen or warrants had been issued for the victims’ arrest, and that money in the form of Target gift cards was necessary to remedy the problems.
Other victims were tricked into responding to tech support emails that purported to be from well-known companies and claimed there were serious problems relating to the victims’ financial accounts that could only be resolved by paying money in the form of Target gift cards.
As a result of the scammers’ lies and misrepresentations, the victims were convinced to buy Target gift cards – often more than one – typically in increments of $500 and to read the card numbers and access codes over the phone to the scam artists.
Bai, Hu and Shi obtained more than 5,000 gift cards from a group of unknown persons in China that called itself the “Magic Lamp” and sold gift card information via the online messenging application WeChat.
The defendants used WeChat to coordinate the distribution of gift cards to “runners,” who used the gift cards at Target stores primarily in Los Angeles and Orange counties to purchase consumer electronics, other gift cards and other items, according to court documents. Through the purchases and other transactions at multiple Target stores, the defendants and their co-conspirators sought to conceal the fact that the gift cards had been originally funded with fraudulent proceeds.
Prosecutors estimate that the defendants laundered more than $2.5 million in gift cards between approximately June 2019 and November 2020.
Bai was arrested on a criminal complaint in this matter in November 2020 and was released on bond. Within days of his release from federal custody, Bai engaged in another money laundering conspiracy involving Target gift cards. Bai offered to introduce an associate to someone who bought merchandise from him, and thereafter asked the associate to help him liquidate approximately $36,000 of Target gift cards. With Bai unwilling to be paid directly for the sale, two accomplices together arranged a deal in which they sold, to the customer, Bai’s gift cards for approximately 90 cents on the dollar.
Law enforcement arrested Bai again in February 2022 on a superseding indictment and he has remained in federal custody since that time.
United States District Judge André Birotte Jr. scheduled a January 26, 2024, sentencing hearing, at which time Bai, Hu and Shi will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each money laundering conspiracy count.
Yan Fu, 60, of Chino Hills, pleaded guilty in September 2022 to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Fu, who was one of the “runners” in this conspiracy, is serving a 20 month-sentence in federal prison. Judge Birotte also ordered Fu to pay $48,073 in restitution.
This case is the product of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the FBI. The investigation was conducted under the auspice of HSI Los Angeles’ El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force, a multi-agency task force comprised of federal and state investigators focused on financial crimes in Southern California.
The Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General provided substantial assistance during the investigation, as did the following law enforcement agencies: the Brea Police Department; the La Palma Police Department; the Menifee Police Department; the Glynn County (Georgia) Police Department; the Fontana Police Department; the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (North Carolina) Police Department; the Streamwood (Illinois) Police Department; the Cleveland Police Department; the Madera County Sheriff's Office; the New York Police Department; the Norwood (New Jersey) Police Department; the Loudon County (Virginia) Sheriff's Office; the Waukesha County (Wisconsin) Sheriff's Department; the Fremont Police Department; the Marin County Sheriff's Office; the County of Hawaii Police Department; the Henderson (Nevada) Police Department; the Wilmington (Massachusetts) Police Department; the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department; the Lewisville (Texas) Police Department; the Gardena Police Department; the Des Moines Police Department; the Cobb County (Georgia) Sheriff`s Department; the Millburn (New Jersey) Police; the Wauwatosa (Wisconsin) Police Department; the San Angelo (Texas) Police Department; the Fairfax City (Virginia) Police Department; and the Virginia Beach Police Department.
Assistant United States Attorney Monica E. Tait of the Major Frauds Section and Justice Department Trial Attorneys Wei Xiang and Meredith Healy of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the case.
The United States Attorney’s Office and the Consumer Protection Branch are part of the Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force, which investigates and prosecutes scams targeting older adults and are run by transnational criminal organizations. These scams include mass mailing, telemarketing, and tech support scams.
If you fall victim to a gift card scam, immediately call the gift card issuer and ask them to freeze the gift card numbers involved – and save your receipt and the gift card. Then, report the crime to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov, the Federal Trade Commission at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/ or (877) 382-4357, and your local police department.
Three Defendants Arrested on Federal Complaint Alleging They Kidnapped Inland Empire Teenager Held for Ransom in Santa MariaRead the Press Release
RIVERSIDE, California – Three men were arrested today and have been charged in a federal criminal complaint alleging they kidnapped a 17-year-old boy in San Bernardino County and held him for ransom in Santa Maria.
Fidel Jesús Patino Jaimes, 22, Jair Tomás Ramos Domínguez, 26, of Santa Maria, and Ezequiel Felix López, 27, all of whom told law enforcement they were from Santa Maria, were arrested Friday morning and were charged this evening with kidnapping, a felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The defendants are expected to make their initial appearances on Monday afternoon in United States District Court in Riverside.
“Few things can be as terrorizing to a parent as having your child kidnapped and held for ransom under threat of physical harm,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Together with the FBI and our local law enforcement partners, we have acted swiftly to rescue the victim and bring the abductors to justice. I commend the agents and officers for their heroic efforts to free the victim and prevent a devastating tragedy from occurring.”
According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, on the morning of September 18, the defendants allegedly caused a traffic accident in which the victim – a 17-year-old boy – crashed into their silver-colored Jeep Grand Cherokee. After the collision, the victim exited his vehicle. At that point, the defendants allegedly grabbed the victim and forced him into their vehicle.
On the afternoon of September 18, the victim’s mother received a telephone call from a Mexican phone number. The caller demanded the delivery of $500,000 to an unspecified location in Nogales, Mexico for the victim, and said that the abduction was the fault of the victim’s father.
Shortly thereafter, a different Mexican telephone number was used to send a WhatsApp video to the victim’s mother’s cellphone. The video showed the victim in the backseat of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and reading from a script, saying that the abduction was his father’s fault for an incident that occurred in New York, and saying you know what you stole.
For several days afterward, the victim’s mother received multiple phone calls from different Mexican telephone numbers in which the speaker demanded payment and threatened to cut off body parts of the victim if payment wasn’t made. The ransom demand, which went unpaid, was reduced to $100,000.
Law enforcement ultimately tracked the defendants down to a motel in Santa Maria, in part by identifying the vehicle used during the kidnapping in a Facebook Marketplace posting and by reviewing Ring door camera footage of the kidnapping.
During the execution of a search warrant at one of the motel’s rooms this morning, law enforcement found the three defendants – one of whom tossed a firearm onto the floor – and the victim, who was lying on the floor in a corner of the room, according to the affidavit.
A criminal complaint contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The FBI and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department are investigating this matter. The Santa Maria Police Department provided substantial assistance.
Assistant United States Attorney Sean D. Peterson of the Riverside Branch Office is prosecuting this case.
San Fernando Valley Man Sentenced to More Than 6 Years in Prison for Masterminding Check-Kiting Scheme that Defrauded Major BanksRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – The ringleader and mastermind of a check-kiting scheme who conspired with his wife and other family members to defraud major banks out of more than $1.7 million has been sentenced to 81 months in federal prison, the Justice Department announced today.
Ara Malkhasyan, 52, of Winnetka, was sentenced late Tuesday by United States District Judge Dolly M. Gee, who will schedule restitution hearing in the coming weeks.
Malkhasyan pleaded guilty in April 2021 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
From May 2015 to September 2017, Malkhasyan and his co-conspirators obtained genuine Armenian passports issued to other people, altered the passports to include the photos of themselves, and used the fraudulent documents to obtain other identity documents and to open bank accounts at the victim banks.
Malkhasyan and his accomplices used the bank accounts, which were opened in the names that appeared on the altered passports, to write bad checks to other fraudulently obtained bank accounts. They exploited bank rules that allowed them to transfer money from one account to another, and then to immediately withdraw funds at ATMs in Las Vegas casinos and other locations before the checks bounced.
In total, Malkhasyan and his co-conspirators used 331 fraudulently altered Armenian passports to unlawfully obtain $1,304,307 from Bank of America.
In a separate scheme, from April 2017 to May 2019, Malkhasyan conspired with his brother-in-law, Smbat Khechumyan, 41, of North Hollywood, to conduct similar forged and fraudulent check scheme in which one of them would open a Wells Fargo account using a stolen Armenian passport, counterfeit Ukrainian or Belarusian passport, deposit forged checks into the account, and then withdraw funds from the account through ATMs at Las Vegas casinos. Wells Fargo suffered a loss of $401,420.
Khechumyan pleaded guilty in October 2021 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. He is serving a two-year prison sentence for his crimes.
Sveta Khechumyan, 49, of Winnetka, Malkhasyan’s wife and Smbat’s sister, pleaded guilty in April 2021 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 3.
In total, prosecutors have secured nine guilty pleas in this case.
Homeland Security Investigations investigated this matter and received substantial assistance from the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and the FBI.
Assistant United States Attorney Kevin J. Butler of the Violent and Organized Crime Section prosecuted this case.
Chicago Man Sentenced to 13 Years in Federal Prison for Attempting to Smuggle Nearly 3 Kilograms of Fentanyl onto FlightRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – An Illinois man has been sentenced to 156 months in federal prison for checking a duffle bag containing nearly 3 kilograms of fentanyl at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), the Justice Department announced today.
Jermaine Eggleston, 35, of Chicago, was sentenced on Monday by United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer.
At the conclusion of a three-day trial in April 2022, a jury found Eggleston guilty of one count of distribution of fentanyl.
On September 14, 2020, an x-ray machine alerted LAX security to a checked black duffle bag as containing suspicious, potentially concealed explosives. The bag was routed to a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer for additional screening.
The officer opened the bag and found, inside a computer keyboard box, three parcels wrapped in tape, plastic wrap, and carbon paper. Eggleston checked the bag under his own name for a Los Angeles-to-New Orleans flight. Subsequent testing revealed that the parcels in total contained 2,986 grams of fentanyl.
Law enforcement estimates the fentanyl had a wholesale value of more than $250,000.
Airport police officers arrested Eggleston at his flight’s gate area. He was released from federal custody in October 2020, but in March 2021 he was arrested in Chicago while on pretrial release in this case for allegedly illegally possessing a firearm. He has remained in federal custody since that time.
“[Eggleston] sought to check luggage containing nearly three kilograms of fentanyl powder onto a plane – an act that, had [Eggleston] succeeded, would have risked the lives of not just the many eventual downstream users of the fentanyl, but also the passengers and crew of the plane,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, TSA, and the Los Angeles Airport Police investigated this case.
Assistant United States Attorney Lyndsi C. Allsop of the Violent and Organized Crime Section prosecuted this case.
Willowbrook Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Bank Robberies He Committed While on Supervised Release for Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Willowbrook man was sentenced today to 60 months in federal prison for robbing three banks during a six-day crime spree while he was on supervised release for bank robbery convictions over a decade ago.
Rickey Lewis, 54, was sentenced by United States District Judge Christina A. Snyder, who also ordered him to pay $4,035 in restitution.
Lewis pleaded guilty in September 2022 to three counts of bank robbery and one count of attempted bank robbery.
From January 22 to January 28, 2019, Lewis stole a total of $4,035 in cash by robbing two JPMorgan Chase bank branches in Gardena and an International City Bank branch in Long Beach. Lewis also attempted to rob a Bank of America branch in Downey.
During the robberies, Lewis threatened to shoot bank tellers – though it was not apparent that he was carrying a firearm – and he had clear tape on his fingers. In fear for their lives, the bank tellers handed over the cash.
According to an affidavit filed with a criminal complaint in this case, law enforcement recovered a partial palm print recovered from the Long Beach bank robbery that matched Lewis’ palm print.
While he committed the January 2019 bank robbery spree, Lewis was on supervised release for bank robbery convictions he sustained after he pleaded guilty in February 2006 to a month-long spree in which he robbed six banks in South Los Angeles and Inglewood.
The FBI investigated this matter with the assistance of the Long Beach Police Department, the Downey Police Department, the Gardena Police Department, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Assistant United States Attorneys Patrick Castañeda of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section and Kevin J. Butler of the Violent and Organized Crime Section prosecuted this case.
Former Social Worker Sentenced to Nearly 5 Years in Federal Prison for Masterminding Multiple Frauds by Using Clients’ Stolen IdentitiesRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – A former Orange County social worker was sentenced today to 57 months in federal prison for stealing the Social Security numbers and other personal identifying information (PII) from clients then using the stolen information to fraudulently obtain tax refunds, welfare benefits, and credit cards.
John Tran, who is believed to be either 57 or 61, of Fountain Valley, was sentenced by United States District Judge James V. Selna, who also ordered him to pay $1,110,288 in restitution.
Tran pleaded guilty in November 2019 to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to claims, three counts of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
From August 2010 to June 2019, Tran and his co-conspirators used the stolen information to fraudulently obtain money from the federal government, the State of California, the County of Orange and financial institutions.
The Orange County Social Services Administration employed Tran from July 1994 until October 2018. Tran abused his position of public trust to steal PII belonging to agency clients as well as other individuals, many of whom were recent immigrants to the United States.
Tran and his co-conspirators used the stolen PII to file false federal and state tax returns in the names of identity theft victims, fraudulently obtaining welfare benefits, underreporting income, and falsely claiming deductions on their personal tax returns, and opening credit cards and other lines of credit in the names of the identity theft victims. Proceeds from the schemes were laundered and structured to avoid detection by law enforcement and banks.
Tran and his accomplices filed approximately 433 tax returns using stolen PII and generated at least $973,153 in tax refund payments from the United States.
To further the scheme and avoid detection by the IRS, Tran provided the stolen PII to tax preparers in Orange County who used it to create fraudulent Forms 1099-MISC purporting to show payments made to the identity theft victims by companies, including those controlled by Tran and other co-conspirators.
False federal income tax returns were prepared using the Tran-provided stolen identities. Purported payments on the fraudulent Forms 1099 were falsely used as income to the identify theft victims, making them appear to qualify for tax credits, including the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit.
In turn, the purported payments to the identity theft victims were used by the tax preparers’ clients to offset business revenues and reduce the taxes they owed by making it appear that the identity theft victims worked for them. In exchange for the fabrication of the Forms 1099, the corrupt tax preparers’ clients paid them a fee.
Tran also used the stolen identities of two victims to open fraudulent bank accounts, open credit cards, and open social services cases. For example, in September 2014, Tran opened a credit card account in another person’s name and used that card for personal expenses, including for items such as skin care products, Costco purchases, and sports gambling.
Tran in 2007 charged approximately $14,000 to a credit card in the name of one victim after he convinced the victim to allow him to use the victim’s credit card. The victim, who was a recent immigrant to the United States and one of Tran’s SSA clients, believed that he had to let Tran use the credit card because Tran was a powerful government official who had control over the victim’s families’ SSA benefits.
In addition to opening at least 12 fraudulent bank and credit card accounts, Tran fraudulently created and managed SSA benefits cases for family, friends, and for himself, obtaining state benefits for which he and others were not entitled.
In total, along with the $973,153 in fraudulently obtained tax refunds, Tran defrauded two victims out of approximately $44,604, and defrauded the Orange County Social Services Administration out of approximately $92,531.
“[Tran] abused his position of trust as a social worker to steal his client’s identities and generate fraudulent tax refunds for his personal gain,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “Not satisfied with stealing from the IRS, [Tran] also fraudulently obtained social services benefits for himself and others.”
Anton Nguyen, 54, of Fountain Valley, the owner of a Westminster-based tax preparation business, was sentenced last month to 41 months in prison and was ordered to pay $3,773,282 in restitution for his role in the scheme.
Rosemary Pham, 65, of Midway City, another tax preparer, pleaded guilty on July 14 to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aiding and advising the filing of false tax returns. She faces up to eight years in federal prison at her October 30 sentencing hearing.
In total, federal prosecutors have secured eight guilty pleas in this criminal case.
IRS Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Bradley E. Marrett of the Santa Ana Branch Office prosecuted this case.
Former Local Politician Arrested on Indictment Alleging $70,000 in Bribes to Baldwin Park City Councilmember for Marijuana PermitsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A former Compton city councilman was arrested today on a federal grand jury indictment alleging he and his consulting client paid $70,000 in bribes to a member of the Baldwin Park City Council in exchange for that official’s votes and support for commercial marijuana permits.
Isaac Jacob Galvan, 36, of Compton, who served on the Compton City Council from 2013 until May 2022, was arrested at his residence this morning on a 10-count indictment filed on September 13 and unsealed today.
Special agents with the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation today also arrested Yichang Bai, 50, of Arcadia, the owner and operator of W&F International Corp., a Diamond Bar-based import-export business and a consulting client of Galvan’s who allegedly helped orchestrate the bribery scheme.
The indictment charges Galvan and Bai with one count of conspiracy, one count of bribery and eight counts of honest services wire fraud. The defendants are expected to be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
“Former Compton City Councilmember Isaac Galvan stands accused of paying tens of thousands of dollars to a corrupt member of the Baldwin Park City Council in order to enrich himself and a client with a marijuana business,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “This case is yet another example of my office’s determination to root out public corruption and backroom deals that corrode our political system. We will continue to pursue politicians who violate their sacred oaths by placing their own desires ahead of their constituents’ needs.”
“Today, the FBI arrested Isaac Galvan for allegedly using his position of power to bribe an elected city official in order to enrich himself and a client,” said Donald Alway, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “As these actions erode the public’s trust and harm the communities these officials were elected to serve, FBI Los Angeles will continue to investigate them and those individuals who enable their corrupt schemes.”
“Mr. Galvan, a former Compton City Councilman, and Mr. Bai are accused of undermining the process of fair and open competition when they by allegedly paying bribes to Baldwin Park City Councilman Ricardo Pacheco in exchange for securing marijuana permits for Mr. Bai’s corporation, W&F International,” said Tyler Hatcher, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Office. “City Councilmen, hold positions of trust. That trust is broken when these public officials commit crimes like bribery, but when they do IRS Criminal Investigation, and our law enforcement partners will be there to seek justice on behalf of the citizens.”
In June 2017, Baldwin Park began permitting the cultivation, manufacture, and distribution of marijuana within its city limits. Soon afterward, then-Baldwin Park City Councilman Ricardo Pacheco, 60, of Baldwin Park, began soliciting bribes from businesses seeking marijuana development agreements and related permits in the city, according to court documents. In exchange for the illicit payments, Pacheco agreed to use his position in city government to assist the companies with obtaining marijuana permits, including voting in their favor.
According to the indictment, Galvan first paid Pacheco a $10,000 bribe in August 2017 to secure Pacheco’s support for a future consulting client’s marijuana permit. Then, after securing W&F as a client, Galvan facilitated $70,000 in bribes from Bai to Pacheco. Pacheco served on Baldwin Park’s city council from 1997 until his resignation in June 2020, and he was the city’s mayor pro tempore in 2018. Galvan allegedly paid the bribes in exchange for Pacheco’s political support of and promise to deliver Baldwin Park’s approval of marijuana permits for W&F. Pacheco then delivered, voting in favor of W&F’s marijuana permit and later voting in favor of W&F’s bid to relocate its operations.
Throughout the scheme, Galvan and Bai allegedly took steps to cover up their illegal payments to Pacheco by concealing Bai and W&F’s connection to the payments for Pacheco. For example, Bai collected checks from third parties who owed him money and then – at Galvan’s direction – gave Galvan the checks with blank payee lines. Galvan then gave the checks to Pacheco, who then arranged for them to be cashed, either by him or third parties.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted of all charges, Galvan and Bai would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for the conspiracy count, up to 10 years in federal prison for the bribery count and up to 20 years in federal prison for each honest services wire fraud count.
Pacheco pleaded guilty in June 2020 to one count of bribery for accepting tens of thousands of dollars in bribes – including $20,000 in cash – from a Baldwin Park Police officer working at the FBI’s direction, in exchange for the councilmember’s political support of the Baldwin Park Police Association’s contract with the city. Pacheco’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 17, 2024.
In November 2022, prosecutors secured a guilty plea to a bribery charge from Gabriel Chavez, 66, of Upland, a former San Bernardino County planning commissioner who admitted to funneling bribes through his company to Pacheco in exchange for the politician’s votes and influence over the city’s cannabis permitting process. Chavez’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 11.
Both Chavez and Pacheco have signed plea agreements in which they have agreed to cooperate in the government’s ongoing investigation.
The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation are investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas F. Rybarczyk, Michael J. Morse, and Lindsey Greer Dotson of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section are prosecuting this case.
Any member of the public who has information related to this or any other public corruption matter is encouraged to send information to the FBI’s tip line at tips.fbi.gov or to contact the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office at (310) 477-6565.
Former Doctor Sentenced to 18 Months in Federal Prison for Illegally Selling Opioid Painkillers for Cash at His High Desert Medical ClinicRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A former physician was sentenced today to 18 months in federal prison for illegally prescribing and distributing the semi-synthetic opioid painkiller oxycodone to buyers who visited his Victorville medical office.
Wendell Mark Street, 71, of Las Vegas, was sentenced by United States District Judge George H. Wu.
Street pleaded guilty in August 2019 to two counts of knowingly and intentionally prescribing and distributing oxycodone to patients without a legitimate medical purpose.
While Street was a licensed anesthesiologist, on August 1, 2013, he sold two prescriptions for $300 each to a confidential informant and an undercover investigator with the California Medical Board. The pills contained the opioid oxycodone and alprazolam, which has the brand name Xanax.
He wrote the prescriptions without a legitimate medical purpose and intentionally acted outside the usual course of professional practice, including by failing to conduct a physical examination, establish diagnostic testing, provide a treatment plan, and create documentation to establish a medication indication for the prescriptions.
The investigation showed that Street prescribed 7,769 prescriptions for narcotics, including 437,000 doses of oxycodone, from November 2012 to November 2013.
In April 2016, Street surrendered his medical license.
“A doctor holds a position of trust over his patients and with the government, which grants him the authority to write prescriptions for controlled substances for the medical needs of his patients,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “[Street] violated his position of trust by selling prescription, thereby placing the lives of his patients at risk.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Jason C. Pang of the Major Frauds Section prosecuted this case.
Burbank Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Selling Firearms and Methamphetamine Out of His DTLA Hookah Lounge BusinessRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Burbank man pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges for running an illegal firearms business out of a downtown Los Angeles hookah lounge he owned – which included the sale of so-called “ghost guns” – and for possessing with intending to distribute methamphetamine.
Hovik Dagesian, 42, pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
According to his plea agreement, from October 2020 to January 2021, Dagesian illegally sold 11 firearms – including firearms not bearing serial numbers, weapons that are commonly referred to as “ghost guns.” The firearms Dagesian illegally sold included a 12-gauge shotgun, an AR-15-type rifle with no serial number, and a 9mm handgun. Dagesian also admitted to selling methamphetamine to a buyer on October 30, 2020. The illegal firearm and drug sales took place at Dagesian’s hookah business in downtown Los Angeles.
In total, Dagesian sold $34,250 worth of firearms and methamphetamine to a buyer.
In January 2021, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Dagesian’s business. During the search, law enforcement seized 163.3 grams (5.8 ounces) of methamphetamine, a digital scale, approximately 215 rounds of ammunition, and many firearms he was willing to sell, including a sawed-off shotgun.
Dagesian has never been licensed as a dealer, manufacturer or importer of firearms.
United States District Judge Mark C. Scarsi scheduled a January 8, 2024 sentencing hearing, at which time Dagesian will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment for the drug distribution count. The illegal firearms dealing count carries a penalty of up to five years in federal prison.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Los Angeles Police Department investigated this matter.
Artificial Turf Company Owner Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Tax Evasion by Failing to Report Nearly $9 Million in Business IncomeRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – The owner of a Newport Beach-based artificial turf company was sentenced today to 15 months in federal prison for failing to report nearly $9 million in income his business earned and for attempting to evade the payment of more than $946,000 in federal income taxes.
Craig Steven Voyton, 56, of San Pedro, was sentenced by United States District Judge John W. Holcomb, who also ordered him to pay a fine of $50,000.
Voyton pleaded guilty on July 7 to one count of tax evasion.
Voyton owns and operates Smart Grass LLC, which installs artificial turf for residential and commercial customers in Orange and Los Angeles counties.
From 2016 to 2020, Smart Grass generated more than $1.5 million in gross income per year from its business operations, and – not wanting to pay taxes that income – Voyton attempted to conceal that income from the IRS.
To do so, Voyton emailed customers federal tax forms listing false identification information, so, if and when the customers reported to the IRS the payments they had made to him and his company, those payments would not be linked directly to Voyton or Smart Grass for tax purposes.
On three occasions in 2020, Voyton emailed to customers in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills an IRS Form W-9 with false information and a signature in a fictitious identity. Voyton sent similar fraudulent IRS Forms W-9 during the tax years 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Voyton also provided a false IRS Form W-9 to a school in Irvine in August 2016.
While attempting to evade the payment of taxes during this time, Voyton made more than $63,000 in transfers to the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange from a Smart Grass bank account. Voyton also used more than $500,000 in company funds to make real estate purchases in Nevada and Mexico.
In total, Voyton failed to report approximately $8,926,333 in income, which prevented the IRS from assessing the total sum of approximately $946,479 in federal income taxes for the tax years 2016 through 2020.
Prior to today’s sentencing hearing, Voyton paid the IRS all the back taxes he owes, plus interest, as well as paying an additional 75% fraud penalty.
“[Voyton] was a businessowner who operated a business in Orange and Los Angeles counties,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “He generated more than a million dollars in business income each year. He reported not one dime of that to the IRS.”
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Charles E. Pell of the Santa Ana Branch Office prosecuted this case.
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Mexican National of Orchestrating Fentanyl and Meth Scheme that Sent Narcotics Across U.S.Read the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Mexican national has been indicted on federal narcotics trafficking charges that allege he oversaw a drug trafficking organization that acquired large quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine, stored the drugs at a Compton residence, and distributed the contraband locally and across the nation, sometimes using the United States Postal Service, the Justice Department announced today.
Edgar Valentin Felix Osuna, 25, of Sinaloa, Mexico, who was arrested on August 29 in Barstow while on his way to Las Vegas, was named in a three-count indictment returned Wednesday afternoon by a federal grand jury.
The indictment charges Felix with conspiring to distribute and to possess fentanyl and methamphetamine. He is also charged with substantive counts of distributing fentanyl and methamphetamine.
This case stems from an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Postal Inspection Service that culminated with a search of the Compton residence that led to the seizure of nearly 66 kilograms of fentanyl (which included nearly 27,000 counterfeit pills) and approximately 18.4 kilograms of methamphetamine.
“From at least 2019, while in Mexico and while on federal probation [in a narcotics trafficking case in the District of Utah], Felix was facilitating the distribution of large quantities of fentanyl and other drugs that were being stored at a stash house in Compton, California that Felix controlled and was operated by Juan Gonzalez,” according to a criminal complaint previously filed in this case. The indictment alleges that Felix obtained the narcotics, arranged for deliveries to be made to the stash house, and orchestrated further distribution. Gonzalez and others allegedly wired the proceeds from drug sales to Felix.
The conspiracy count in the indictment alleges a series of acts, beginning with a May 5, 2019, distribution of approximately four kilogram of narcotics that were sold on behalf of Felix. The investigation outlined in the complaint alleges that drugs from the stash house were sometimes shipped via the United States Postal Service to addresses in New York, Pennsylvania and Missouri. Those parcels were mailed by a now-deceased drug courier. After that man’s death, Gonzalez shipped at least one package to an address in Illinois, the complaint alleges.
On February 23, 2022, Felix allegedly directed the distribution of 22 kilograms of methamphetamine. The following day, law enforcement arrested Gonzalez and executed a search warrant at the stash house that resulted in the seizure of the fentanyl, fake pills and methamphetamine.
Gonzalez pleaded guilty last year to distribution of fentanyl and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. He was sentenced in January to 15 years in federal prison.
According to the complaint filed last month, Felix continued to distribute narcotics after Gonzalez was arrested, and law enforcement determined that he had returned to the United States by late 2022.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Felix, who is currently being held without bond, is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment on September 21.
Each of the three counts in the indictment carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life.
The investigation into Felix and Gonzalez was conducted by the DEA Los Angeles Field Division and the United States Postal Inspection Service. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department provided substantial assistance.
Assistant United States Attorney Brittney Harris and Jenna Williams of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section are prosecuting this case.
This investigation 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.
L.A. Man Pleads Guilty to Robbery Charge and Admits to Crime Spree in Which He Robbed 8 Businesses and Carjacked One VictimRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles man pleaded guilty today to a federal criminal charge and admitted in court to committing a carjacking and eight armed robberies of gas stations and convenience stores in Los Angeles County in April.
Namir Malik Ali Greene, 23, pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery.
According to his plea agreement, on the morning of April 4, Greene robbed a gas station in Marina del Rey. Greene made a purchase and remained inside of the store until all other customers left the business. After all the customers inside of the business left, Greene placed a brown paper bag on the counter and told the clerk, “Put everything in there.”
Greene pointed what appeared to be a black semi-automatic handgun, but what in fact was a BB gun, at the clerk while demanding the money. In fear, the clerk emptied the cash register and placed $700 into the brown paper bag. Greene then fled the store.
In his plea agreement, Greene admitted to committing seven additional armed robberies from April 4 to April 8 of gas stations and convenience stores in Long Beach, Whittier, South Los Angeles, Pomona, and Culver City.
Greene further admitted to the April 15 carjacking the owner of a 2010 Honda Accord while armed with a BB gun. He has been in federal custody since April 18.
United States District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett scheduled a November 29 sentencing hearing, at which time Greene will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Orange County Violent Crime Task Force (OCVCTF) investigated this matter, with assistance from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery Homicide Division and the Ontario Police Department. The OCVCTF is comprised of federal and local law enforcement agencies, including, but not limited to, the ATF, the Brea Police Department, the Santa Ana Police Department, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, and the Fullerton Police Department.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey M. Chemerinsky and Jena A. MacCabe of the Violent and Organized Crime Section are prosecuting this case.
Former LASD Deputy Agrees to Plead Guilty to Depriving a Falsely Imprisoned Victim of His Civil Rights Under Color of LawRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy has agreed to plead guilty to a federal felony offense for depriving a 23-year-old man of his civil rights in Compton in 2020, the Justice Department announced today.
In a plea agreement filed this morning in federal court, Miguel Angel Vega, 33, of Corona, admitted that he falsely imprisoned the victim; engaged in a vehicle pursuit with the victim still unlawfully detained in an LASD SUV, resulting in a traffic collision that injured the victim; and then filed false reports to cover up the deputy and his partner’s unlawful conduct.
Vega agreed to plead guilty to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, a crime that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. Vega is expected to formally plead guilty to the charge in the coming weeks.
According to the plea agreement, on the afternoon of April 13, 2020, Vega and his then partner, Christopher Blair Hernandez, 37, were in uniform and on patrol in an LASD vehicle near Wilson Park in Compton as part of their official duties at LASD.
Vega and Hernandez saw two young Black males, one of whom Vega believed was associated with a street gang, outside a skateboard park enclosed by a tall wrought-iron fence within Wilson Park. Vega and Hernandez got out of the SUV, approached the individuals, and ordered them to lift their shirts to search for firearms, which the individuals did not possess.
At this point, from inside the enclosed skatepark, the victim – who is identified in court documents as “J.A.” – began yelling at Vega and Hernandez to leave the Black males alone. J.A. did not threaten Vega or Hernandez or any of the other approximately 10 to 15 people inside the skatepark, who likewise did not pose any danger to Vega or Hernandez. Vega began yelling back at J.A., and while they continued exchanging words, Vega challenged J.A. to a fight, according to the plea agreement.
Shortly thereafter, Vega directed J.A. to come to an opening in the skatepark fence. Vega then grabbed J.A. and confined him in the back of the SUV as Hernandez looked on. Vega detained J.A. in the SUV because Vega was angry that J.A. had told Vega and Hernandez to leave the Black males alone and wanted to teach J.A. a lesson, according to the plea agreement. Although Vega and Hernandez had ample time to do so, J.A. was not handcuffed, his seatbelt was not secured, he never was told he was under arrest, nor was he informed of his rights at any time – all of this in violation of LASD policy. Throughout the ongoing false imprisonment, Vega knew that he and Hernandez did not have any lawful basis to detain J.A., the plea agreement states.
After leaving the park, Vega, who was still driving the SUV with Hernandez in the front passenger seat and J.A. confined in the backseat, continued to taunt and threaten J.A., including telling J.A. that the deputies were going to drop off J.A. in gang territory where J.A. would receive a beating.
According to the plea agreement, while in the vehicle, Vega and Hernandez ignored J.A.’s multiple questions as to why he was being detained. Vega decided to concoct a story that he and Hernandez were arresting J.A. for being under the influence of a stimulant as a pretext to justify their false imprisonment of J.A. To that end, Vega asked J.A. if he was taking any medications to signal to Hernandez that the deputies were going to fabricate and falsely allege that J.A. exhibited symptoms of being under the influence of a stimulant. In fact, Vega did not believe that J.A. was under the influence of a stimulant, and because this purported basis for the false detention and arrest was fabricated, Vega and Hernandez never took any steps to determine whether J.A. actually exhibited any signs of being under the influence of a controlled substance.
While Vega and Hernandez continued driving with J.A. still confined in the back of the SUV, Vega saw a group of young males on bicycles, including one Vega believed had a look of surprise and fear on his face upon encountering the LASD deputies. Believing the young male may possess a firearm, Vega stopped the SUV to let Hernandez get out of the vehicle and proceed on foot, and Vega began pursuing the bicyclist down an alley. As Vega drove the SUV down the alley in pursuit, Vega crashed into a wall and another vehicle, causing J.A. to hit his head and sustain a cut above his right eye that later required stitches, the plea agreement states. Following the collision, Vega removed J.A. from the patrol vehicle and told him to leave. Hernandez responded on foot to the alley shortly thereafter, and Vega told his partner that he had released J.A. Soon after, J.A. walked out of the alley and tried to get help from strangers at a nearby house, court documents state.
After the traffic collision, Vega reported over LASD radio that a person purportedly with a gun had fled through an alley, which prompted numerous LASD personnel to respond to the scene to set up a containment zone. Even though Vega also reported the traffic collision over LASD radio, neither Vega during the radio calls, nor Vega or Hernandez during a subsequent conversation with their supervising sergeant at the scene, initially disclosed that they had detained J.A. at the skatepark or that J.A. had been in the SUV during the collision in the alley.
It was only after Vega learned that J.A. had been independently detained on a neighboring street by another LASD deputy as the purported gun suspect that Vega informed the other deputies and his supervising sergeant that J.A. had been in the SUV during the crash. When asked by the supervising sergeant why J.A. had been in the SUV at the time of the collision, Vega falsely told the sergeant that J.A. had been detained for being under the influence of a controlled substance. While J.A. was at a hospital later in the day to receive treatment for the injuries he sustained from the collision, Hernandez spoke with another deputy who had escorted J.A. to the hospital. Consistent with the plan concocted by Vega earlier in the day to fabricate a false basis for J.A.’s detention and arrest, Hernandez directed the deputy at the hospital to issue J.A. a citation for being under the influence of methamphetamine, even though Hernandez and Vega knew that this accusation was false, according to the plea agreement. The deputy followed Hernandez’s direction and issued the citation.
Vega and Hernandez later authored two incident reports regarding the day’s events. They intentionally included false, misleading, and ambiguous information in the reports to justify, legitimize, and ultimately cover up their unlawful conduct, Vega admitted in the plea agreement. The first report falsely stated that J.A. appeared to be under the influence of a stimulant; that J.A. had threatened to harm people in the skatepark, as well as Vega and Hernandez; that a crowd of people were moving toward the LASD patrol vehicle as the defendants drove away after unlawfully detaining J.A; and that, following the crash in the alley, Vega checked J.A. for injuries and J.A. was placed in another patrol vehicle of an assisting LASD unit until paramedics arrived. The second report likewise falsely stated that Vega transferred J.A. to another patrol vehicle after the collision, which both Vega and Hernandez knew to be false.
Hernandez pleaded guilty on July 24 to one count of conspiracy pursuant to a cooperation plea agreement. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 8, 2024, at which time he will face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.
The FBI is conducting the investigation into this matter. The LASD’s Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau and Internal Affairs Bureau provided substantial assistance.
Assistant United States Attorneys J. Jamari Buxton and Brian R. Faerstein of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section are prosecuting this case.
Bitcoin-for-Cash Exchange Business Owner Agrees to Plead Guilty to Failing to Maintain an Effective Anti-Money Laundering ProgramRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Santa Monica man has agreed to plead guilty to breaking federal law by allowing his cryptocurrency-cash exchange company to help scammers and drug traffickers launder millions of dollars in criminal proceeds through his business, the Justice Department announced today.
Charles James Randol, 33, agreed to plead guilty to a single-count information charging him with failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering (AML) program, a crime that carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.
Both the information and plea agreement were filed today in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Randol is expected to formally plead guilty to the charge in the coming weeks.
According to his plea agreement, from October 2017 to July 2021, Randol owned and operated a virtual-currency money services business that eventually was known as Digital Coin Strategies LLC. This company offered cryptocurrency-cash exchange services for a commission.
Randol offered his cryptocurrency exchange services in various ways, including meeting anonymous customers in-person to complete transactions, controlling and operating a network of automated kiosks in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties that converted cash to Bitcoin and vice versa, and conducting Bitcoin-for-cash transactions for unknown individuals who mailed large amounts of U.S. currency to him, including to post office boxes that he controlled.
Randol advertised his business on various websites, and he maintained a company website that falsely claimed his business was “a fully compliant…money services business” that was registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a bureau of the United States Treasury Department. In fact, as Randol admitted in his plea agreement, he repeatedly violated federal law and his company’s own AML policies by facilitating suspicious currency exchange transactions and taking steps to conceal them from law enforcement, including by failing to file required currency transaction reports and suspicious activity reports.
For example, Randol frequently conducted in-person cash transactions that exceeded $10,000 with anonymous or pseudo-anonymous individuals, including people who Randol knew only as “Puppet Shariff,” “White Jetta,” “Aaavvv,” “Aaaa,” “Yogurt Monster,” and “Hood.” In his plea agreement, Randol admitted to engaging in three specific transactions from October 2020 to January 2021 in which he exchanged a total of $273,940 in cash for Bitcoin without requesting a name, proof of identity, Social Security number, or any other information about the buyer or the source of the funds being exchanged. Such transactions violated the Bank Secrecy Act and his company’s AML policy, which required, among other things, that he verify the identity of customers engaging in transactions over $9,999 by obtaining the customer’s full name, address, Social Security number, a verified phone number, and a photocopy of the customer’s official government identification.
- Exchanging Bitcoin for cash sent in the mail from unknown persons
While operating his crypto-exchange business, Randol also conducted hundreds of Bitcoin-for-cash transactions after receiving large cash shipments in the mail from anonymous individuals. In a typical transaction, an anonymous individual would text Randol using an encrypted platform to notify him that a parcel containing cash had been sent to a location that Randol controlled in or around Los Angeles. Once Randol received the parcel, he would count the money and send an equivalent amount of Bitcoin – minus a commission – to a digital wallet controlled by his customers. As with in-person transactions, Randol did not conduct any due diligence on the people mailing him large sums of cash, the source of funds being exchanged, or the purpose of the transaction.
When Randol received the packages, the cash was often packaged in a suspicious manner, including cash hidden inside children’s books, concealed inside fake birthday or holiday presents, buried within puzzle pieces, or wrapped within multiple magazines.
On June 5, 2019, FBI agents interviewed Randol about fraud proceeds that had been mailed to post office boxes he controlled. Two days later, Randol texted a customer stating that he would be taking a “hiatus” from converting cash parcels into cryptocurrency because he “ran into an issue with [law enforcement].” But less than a week later, Randol resumed his cash parcels activity after that same anonymous customer asked Randol if he could exchange $10,000 in cash for Bitcoin.
Randol admitted that his failure to comply with Bank Secrecy Act requirements, including maintaining an effective AML program resulted in criminals using Randol’s business to launder millions of dollars of criminal proceeds. For example, between June 2018 and early 2020, Randol exchanged Bitcoin for cash that was mailed to him by a New Jersey resident who had been tricked into believing his grandson was facing criminal prosecution after purportedly killing an elderly woman in a traffic accident and that the money the victim was sending would be used to help the victim’s grandson with his legal problems. Based on these lies, the victim drained his savings and retirement accounts. While Randol did not participate in the fraud, his business converted the victim’s cash to cryptocurrency and sent it to various digital wallets without conducting any customer due diligence or investigating the source of the money he was receiving.
- Illegal Bitcoin kiosk transactions
Because to Randol’s deficient AML practices, criminals were also able to structure and launder funds through his Bitcoin kiosks. Specifically, Randol operated numerous Bitcoin kiosks, which were in malls, gas stations, and convenience stores in cities such as Los Angeles, Glendale, Santa Clarita, Huntington Beach, Santa Ana, and Riverside.
But the setting on Randol’s kiosks allowed customers to structure funds to avoid currency reporting requirements by creating numerous accounts and by engaging in successive transactions involving up to $3,000. He also set up one or more “test” accounts that contained no customer information, which he allowed customers to use to complete kiosk transactions.
In September 2020, Randol hired a compliance officer for Digital Coin Strategies. Randol ignored this individual’s advice to cease any use of “test” accounts for customer transactions on Bitcoin kiosks. Randol also continued to conduct in-person transactions, despite his compliance officer’s warning that doing so increased the risk that the cash or Bitcoin Randol was receiving was derived from an unlawful source.
The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations investigated this matter, with assistance from Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, and the United States Postal Inspection Service.
Assistant United States Attorneys Ian V. Yanniello of the General Crimes Section and James E. Dochterman of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section are prosecuting this case.
U.S. Files Lawsuit Seeking Damages from Southern California Edison and Tree Service for 2020 Bobcat Fire in Angeles National ForestRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – The United States today filed a complaint alleging that the Bobcat Fire – one of the largest wildfires ever in Los Angeles County – was caused by the failure of Southern California Edison and its tree maintenance contractor to properly maintain trees that came into contact with power lines and caused the 2020 blaze.
The lawsuit filed in United States District Court alleges that the SCE and Utility Tree Service (UTS) were negligent and therefore are liable for damages sustained by the United States during the fire that burned more than 114,000 acres, nearly 100,000 of which were in the Angeles National Forest.
The United States Forest Service sustained fire suppression costs in excess of $56 million, and it incurred property and natural resource damages of over $65 million, according to the complaint.
“Forest Service investigators determined that the Bobcat Fire ignited due to a tree in contact with power lines (conductors) owned and operated by SCE and maintained by SCE and UTS,” the lawsuit states. “The contact resulted in ignition of vegetation on a branch, which fell to the ground and spread.”
The wildfire started on September 6, 2020, and ultimately destroyed 171 structures and 178 vehicles, damaged 47 structures, and resulted in the widespread evacuation of residences. Nearly three years later, more than 100 miles of trails and numerous campgrounds remain closed to the public.
Assistant United States Attorneys Sarah Quist and Joseph W. Tursi of the Civil Division’s Complex and Defensive Litigation Section are handling this matter.
Health Care Provider Agrees to Pay $5 Million for Alleged False Claims to California’s Medicaid ProgramRead the Press Release
Lompoc Valley Medical Center (LVMC), a California Health Care District that operates multiple health care providers, including a hospital and several clinics, in Lompoc, California, has agreed to pay $5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act and the California False Claims Act by causing the submission of false claims to California’s Medicaid program (Medi-Cal) related to Medicaid Adult Expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Pursuant to the ACA, beginning in January 2014, Medi-Cal was expanded to cover the previously uninsured “Adult Expansion” population – adults between the ages of 19 and 64 without dependent children with annual incomes up to 133% of the federal poverty level. The federal government fully funded the expansion coverage for the first three years of the program. Under contracts with California’s Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), Santa Barbara San Luis Obispo Regional Health Authority, doing business as CenCal Health (CenCal), arranges for the provision of health care services as a county organized health system under Medi-Cal in Santa Barbara County and San Luis Obispo County, California, by contracting with providers such as LVMC to provide health care services to Medi-Cal patients. Under its contractual arrangement with DHCS, CenCal received funding to serve the Adult Expansion population. If CenCal did not spend at least 85% of the funds it received for the Adult Expansion population on “allowed medical expenses,” CenCal was required to pay back to the state the difference between 85% and what it actually spent. California, in turn, was required to return that amount to the federal government.
The settlement resolves allegations that LVMC knowingly caused the submission of false claims to Medi-Cal pursuant to agreements executed by LVMC with CenCal for “Enhanced Services” that LVMC purportedly provided to Adult Expansion Medi-Cal members between Jan. 1, 2014, and June 30, 2016. The United States and California alleged that LVMC claimed and received payments pursuant to those agreements that were not for “allowed medical expenses” permissible under the contract between DHCS and CenCal; were pre-determined amounts that did not reflect the fair market value of any Enhanced Services provided by LVMC; and/or the Enhanced Services were duplicative of services already required to be rendered by LVMC. The United States and California further alleged that the payments were unlawful gifts of public funds in violation of the California Constitution.
This settlement brings the United States’ total recovery in the matter to $95.5 million. CenCal, Cottage Health System, Sansum Clinic and Community Health Centers of the Central Coast previously paid $68 million, and Dignity Health and Twin Cities Community Hospital and Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, two subsidiaries of Tenet Healthcare Corporation, previously paid $22.5 million, to settle similar False Claims Act allegations.
“The Medicaid program provides critical health care services to those most in need,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will hold providers accountable when they knowingly divert Medicaid funds from their intended purpose.”
“This resolution underscores our steadfast resolve to hold accountable health care providers that seek to undermine the integrity of the Medicaid program,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “We will ensure that the nearly $100 million recovered in this case remains in government health care programs, and not in the hands of unscrupulous health care systems and providers.”
“Federal health care programs are intended to ensure that millions of Americans have access to high quality, medically necessary care,” said Special Agent in Charge Timothy B. DeFrancesca of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Protecting federal health care funds from fraud, waste, and abuse is at the center of HHS-OIG’s mission, and we are committed to ensuring that these valuable resources are available to patients as intended.”
“Medi-Cal supports millions of Californians by providing for the critical healthcare they rely on every day,” said California Attorney General Robert Bonta. “When providers misuse Medi-Cal funding, they siphon away much-needed resources from vulnerable, deserving patients. My office always stands ready to partner with the U.S. Department of Justice to hold such perpetrators accountable. The California Department of Justice is committed to protecting the integrity of the Medi-Cal program against those who may seek to abuse it.”
The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Julio Bordas, CenCal’s former medical director. Under the act, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States and State of California ex rel. Bordas v. Lompoc Valley Medical Center, et al., No. 15-cv-09834 (C.D. Cal.). Dr. Bordas will receive approximately $950,000 as his share of the federal recovery.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, and the California Department of Justice, with assistance from HHS-OIG and DHCS.
The investigation of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
Trial Attorneys Mary Beth Hickcox-Howard and Tiffany L. Ho of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack D. Ross for the Central District of California handled this case.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
SettlementFive L.A. County Residents Charged in Complaints Alleging They Arranged to Rob Online Sellers of Apple Electronic ProductsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – Four men and one woman from Los Angeles County have been charged in federal criminal complaints alleging they committed nearly 200 thefts, robberies and fraudulent transactions targeting individual sellers of Apple Inc. merchandise who used online marketplaces, the Justice Department announced today.
Law enforcement on Tuesday arrested three defendants who were charged in a criminal complaint filed last week. The three are charged with Hobbs Act robbery – which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison – and are expected to make their initial appearances this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles:
- Jamari Deon Turner, 21, of Lawndale;
- Jerome Joseph, 25, of South Los Angeles; and
- Tyler Russell, 22, of Lawndale.
Two other defendants – Kesai Doss, 23, of Palmdale, and Ellis Garrett, 22, of South Los Angeles – are in state custody. They are charged in a separate criminal complaint filed last week with wire fraud – a crime that also is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison – and are expected to appear in federal court in the coming weeks.
According to affidavits filed with the complaints, from February 2018 until at least June 2020, law enforcement identified nearly 200 incidents of theft, robbery and fraud targeting victims using online marketplaces such as Craiglist and Facebook Marketplace. Most of the incidents occurred in Inglewood, Paramount, Long Beach, and downtown Los Angeles.
Most of these crimes consisted of the defendants arranging a meeting place via an online marketplace to buy Apple products – phones, laptop computers or other electronic devices, the affidavit states. Once there, the defendants allegedly asked to inspect a device and the victims would take a photo of the defendants at that time. On other occasions, the defendants snatched the device from the victim and fled. The defendants allegedly frequently ran through apartment buildings to escape from victims, using accomplices to lock the victims out of the buildings by closing security gates.
If the victims pursued them, the defendants allegedly threatened, attacked or brandished a firearm to deter them. Many of the transactions have been linked through common phone numbers, email addresses or online accounts, according to the affidavit.
Doss and Garrett allegedly were the most prolific thieves of the individuals charged. Multiple victims allegedly identified Doss as the person who stole their electronic devices. Doss and Garrett’s phones allegedly were used to arrange fraudulent meetings, their online marketplace accounts were used to set up the frauds, and they sold the stolen goods to a buyer.
Separately, Turner, Joseph, and Russell allegedly engaged in similar behavior and also sold their victims’ stolen electronic devices to a buyer.
For example, in June 2020, a victim met Turner, Joseph and Russell at the victim’s home to sell a MacBook computer he had been offered for sale on Craiglist, according to the affidavit. At the meeting, Joseph and Russell allegedly exited their vehicle, pointed a handgun at the victim, and stole the victim’s computer and iPhone. Less than one hour later, the trio sold the victim’s MacBook and iPhone to a buyer, the affidavit states.
In total, the affidavits identify approximately 196 incidents occurring between February 2018 and June 2020.
A criminal complaint contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The FBI, the Inglewood Police Department, and the Los Angeles Police Department are investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Kevin J. Butler of the Violent and Organized Crime Section is prosecuting this case.