Central District of California

          LOS ANGELES – As part of an investigation stemming from a multi-kilogram narcotics seizure at Los Angeles International Airport last month, two men have been named in a federal criminal complaint that alleges they were key operatives in a drug trafficking organization that shipped cocaine and heroin from Los Angeles to Detroit.

          A Pasadena resident – Kevin Blair, also known as “Wood,” 45 – was taken into federal custody yesterday morning and was ordered held without bond at a court hearing late yesterday afternoon.

          The second man charged in the complaint filed yesterday morning in United States District Court – Delano Leflore, also known as “Bop Bop,” 37, of Detroit – is a fugitive who is being sought by federal authorities.

          The criminal complaint charges Blair and Leflore with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute heroin and cocaine, a charge which carries a potential penalty of life in federal prison.

          The case against Blair and Leflore follows the seizure of approximately two kilograms of heroin and approximately one kilogram of cocaine at LAX on March 7. After the narcotics were discovered in checked luggage, federal prosecutors charged a 28-year-old Detroit woman with being a drug courier. Last Friday, a federal grand jury indicted the woman, Kennsha Mason, on three counts: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute heroin and cocaine, possession with intent to distribute heroin, and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Mason, who remains in federal custody in Los Angeles, is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment this afternoon.

          During the investigation of Mason, investigators with the DEA Los Angeles International Airport Narcotics Task Force developed evidence that Blair and Leflore coordinated the shipment of narcotics that Mason was allegedly ferrying to Detroit.

          According to the criminal complaint filed yesterday, Leflore hired Mason to transport narcotics and made arrangements for her to travel from Detroit to Los Angeles. Once in Los Angeles in early March, Mason travelled to a townhouse on South Oakland Avenue in Pasadena, where Blair allegedly supplied the narcotics that were discovered by law enforcement in her suitcase.

          Blair was taken into custody on Friday by the Pasadena Police Department pursuant to an outstanding felony warrant for assault with intent to murder that was issued by a court in Wayne County, Michigan. After he was arrested, authorities found a receipt for a UPS shipment sent from Los Angeles to Detroit.

          Yesterday morning, law enforcement authorities in Michigan intercepted the package Blair sent by UPS, and they recovered one kilogram of suspected heroin and one ounce of suspected fentanyl, according to the criminal complaint.

          Blair was transferred to federal custody after the criminal complaint was filed yesterday.

          At yesterday afternoon’s court hearing, Blair was ordered to appear in United States District Court for a preliminary hearing on April 17 and an arraignment on April 21.

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

          The DEA Los Angeles International Airport Narcotics Task Force, an inter-agency task force based at LAX, is conducting this investigation. The Pasadena Police Department provided assistance.

          In addition to the DEA, the Task Force is made up of representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Los Angeles Airport Police, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The Task Force also works closely with the United States Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration.

          The case against Mason is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Reema M. El-Amamy of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.

          RIVERSIDE, California – A dentist who formerly lived and worked in Temecula pleaded guilty this afternoon to possession of child pornography, including videos of children under the age of 10 engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

          Milan Irvin, 34, who currently resides in Rancho Cucamonga, pleaded guilty this afternoon to one count of possession of child pornography and admitted in a plea agreement that he “downloaded, received, possessed and distributed images and videos of child pornography using the internet.”

          Irvin specifically admitted possessing a sexual explicit video depicting a girl under 10 and distributing another video involving a girl between 10 and 12. Irvin possessed approximately 200 images and 50 videos of child pornography on a computer.

          Irvin pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Jesus G. Bernal, who scheduled a sentencing hearing for July 10.

          The charge of possession of child pornography carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. The plea agreement calls for a prison sentence of three years to five years, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. The actual sentence will be determined by Judge Bernal, but if the court decides to deviate from the agreed-upon sentence, both parties have the option to withdraw from the plea agreement and proceed to trial.

          Once he completes his prison sentence in this case, Irvin will be required to register as a sex offender and will be prohibited from associating with people under the age of 18.

          This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which received substantial assistance from the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Team. Irvin came to the attention of investigators during an undercover investigation involving the Ares peer-to-peer network.

          This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Teresa K.B. Beecham.

          LOS ANGELES – Federal and local authorities have arrested 10 members and associates of the 18th Street gang, primarily on federal narcotics charges.

          In a sweep that began Tuesday evening and continued into Wednesday, special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), as well as deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and officers with the Los Angeles Police Department, took the eight defendants into custody. One defendant was arrested in Honolulu, and another in Indianapolis.

          Three other people who face federal charges were already in local custody, and law enforcement continues to search for five more defendants.

          The arrests are the culmination of an HSI-led investigation that began in December 2014. The investigation focused on the distribution and sale of methamphetamine and unlicensed sales of firearms.

          During the course of the investigation, authorities seized approximately four kilograms of methamphetamine and 14 firearms, including five assault rifles. The investigation led to six indictments that charge a total of 18 defendants.

          Among those arrested yesterday are Giovanny Ochoa, also known as “Sporty” and “Speedy,” 26, of Hawthorne, and Aveline Villalba, also known as “Gordo” and “Fatboy,” 36, of South Los Angeles, who are charged in an indictment with selling approximately one-quarter pound of methamphetamine in the fall of 2016 to an undercover operative. Ochoa is additionally charged in relation to another quarter-pound sale, as well as transactions involving one-ounce quantities of meth. If they are convicted of conspiracy and narcotics-distribution charges, Ochoa and Villalba each would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and could be sentenced to as much as life.

          Ochoa, Villalba and the other six defendants arrested in the Los Angeles area have been arraigned in United States District Court. All eight pleaded not guilty and were ordered held without bond pending trial.

          The two defendants arrested in other districts have also been ordered held without bond and are expected to be transported to Los Angeles in the coming weeks.

          The six cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joshua Mausner, Jennifer Weinhold and Damaris M. Diaz, and Special Assistant United States Attorney Stacey Fernandez, all of the General Crimes Section.

          LOS ANGELES – A medical doctor who fled the United States nearly 15 years ago and faked his own death to avoid prosecution in a healthcare fraud case was sentenced late this afternoon to 29 months in federal prison for fleeing justice.

          Tigran Svadjian, 58, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Armenia who was residing in Newport Beach prior to fleeing the country in September 2002, was sentenced late this afternoon by United States District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald.

          Svadjian pleaded guilty in November to one count of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

          In a case filed in 2002 in United States District Court in Sacramento, Svadjian, who operated medical clinics in Los Angeles and Fresno, had agreed to plead guilty in a $2.4 million scheme to defraud Medi-Cal by submitting bills for tests that had not been performed, in many cases because the “patients” were dead. After being ordered to appear in federal court in the Eastern District of California for an arraignment in that case, he fled to Russia, leaving behind his wife and son.

          On October 24, 2002, the United States Embassy in Moscow received notification that Svadjian had died of pneumonia and that his body had been cremated. Relying on this false information, the Embassy then issued a report documenting the death, and Svadjian’s defense counsel submitted that report to federal prosecutors.

          When he pleaded guilty, Svadjian admitted that he paid a Russian police officer in 2002 to submit an official report about his death to the United States Embassy. Soon after, Svadjian obtained a fraudulent Russian passport in a different name and relocated to Hurghada, Egypt, where he occasionally worked as a scuba instructor.

          In January 2013, after lengthy and unsuccessful attempts to locate Svadjian or to obtain further confirmation of his death, prosecutors in the Eastern District of California dismissed the healthcare fraud case.

          Svadjian was taken into custody by Egyptian authorities on August 1 – nearly 14 years after he fled the United States. Svadjian had been deported to Egypt by Ukrainian authorities after they determined he was travelling on a fraudulent Lithuanian passport. Egyptian authorities discovered in his residence an old United States passport with his true name.

          Svadjian “did not simply flee from prosecution,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum filed with the court. “Instead, defendant planned and implemented a sophisticated, fraudulent scheme that involved bribing foreign officials, using false statements to mislead U.S. State Department officials into creating a false death certificate, and submitting that false certificate to federal prosecutors. Defendant then hid from U.S. authorities through the use of false identities for approximately 15 years. He abandoned his wife, son, and parents, and started a whole new life without them because he did not want to spend time in prison.”

          This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

         This case was being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bryant Y. Yang of the General Crimes Section.

          SANTA ANA, California – A former clerk of the Orange County Superior Court pleaded guilty this afternoon to federal racketeering charges stemming from a scheme in which he accepted more than a quarter-million dollars in bribes to illegally resolve criminal cases and traffic offenses on terms favorable to hundreds of defendants without the knowledge of prosecutors or judges.

          Jose Lopez Jr., 36, of Anaheim, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiring to violate the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

          In a plea agreement filed last week, Lopez admitted that he was at the center of a scheme in which co-conspirators paid him as much as $8,000 in bribes to “fix” cases. The co-conspirators were middlemen who recruited individuals with pending cases to pay money that was given to Lopez to resolve their cases without the authorization of the court.

          “In total, defendant [Lopez] improperly resolved approximately 1,034 cases, including 69 misdemeanor driving under the influence cases, 160 other misdemeanor cases and 805 traffic-related infraction cases,” Lopez admitted in the plea agreement.

          Over the course of more than five years, Lopez “resolved” cases by entering information into the court’s computers to make it appear that a defendant had pleaded guilty, paid required fees or had performed community service. In some cases, Lopez fraudulently created records that made it appear drunk driving charges had been dismissed or defendants had served mandatory jail time.

          In addition to taking bribes and falsifying court records, Lopez also forged the signature of a prosecutor with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

          The conspiracy ended in the spring of 2015 when the court learned about the misconduct and took steps to reopen the cases that Lopez tampered with.

          “This defendant compromised the justice system in Orange County to line his pocket with money he used to travel abroad, take trips to Las Vegas and open a Mexican restaurant,” said Acting United States Attorney Sandra R. Brown. “This scheme affected hundreds of cases and caused havoc in the Orange County Superior Court – problems that were further complicated when the former clerk encouraged others to lie about the scheme.”

          Lopez pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton, who is scheduled to sentence the defendant on September 22. As a result of today’s guilty plea, Lopez faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

          “The defendant ignored the rule of law and potentially undermined public safety by essentially serving as judge and jury in scores of cases to enrich himself,” said Deirdre Fike, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI and our partners will continue to investigate complaints of corruption by public officials and those with access to sensitive information.”

          “IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to use our financial investigative skills to combat corruption and hold public officials accountable for their actions,” stated IRS Criminal Investigation’s Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Orlando. “Today’s guilty plea should serve as a reminder of what can happen when officers of the court try to profit from their position.”

          With Lopez’s guilty plea late this afternoon, and the guilty plea of a co-defendant earlier today, 10 people charged last fall with participating in the racketeering scheme by acting as recruiters have pleaded guilty. One more defendant is scheduled to plead guilty next month, and the twelfth defendant in the case is pending trial.

          The other 10 defendants who have pleaded guilty or have agreed to plead guilty are:

• Ricardo Quinones, 33, of Santa Ana;
• Juan C. Rosas Santillana, 33, of Chino Hills, who is scheduled to plead guilty on April 21;
• Ramon Salvador Vasquez, 28, of Santa Ana;
• Manuel Galindo Jr., 27, of Santa Ana;
• Gibram Rene Lopez, also known as “Ivan,” 27, of Anaheim;
• Agustin Sanchez Jr., 32, of Santa Ana;
• Luis Alberto Flores Guillen, also known as “Bills,” 26, of Santa Ana, who pleaded guilty earlier today;
• Oscar Centeno, also known as “Mosquito,” 27, of Santa Ana;
• Jeff Reynes Fernandez, also known as “Lean,” 25, of Fullerton; and
• Jesus Saldana, 28, of Garden Grove.

          The final defendant in the case – Javed Asefi, also known as “Joey,” 44, of Ladera Ranch, who in addition to the RICO count is charged with making false statements to the FBI during its investigation into the bribery scheme – is scheduled to go on trial before Judge Staton on May 2.

          Prior to the 12-defendant indictment being returned by a federal grand jury last fall, three other recruiters pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges, including Rebeca Sarai Rosell, who worked at a Santa Ana bail bonds company and funneled a bribe to Lopez from a drunk driving defendant.

          This case is being investigated by special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS Criminal Investigation.

          LOS ANGELES – The former deputy city treasurer for the City of Compton was arrested today on federal charges related to the theft of more than $3.7 million of city funds.

          Salvador Galvan, 47, of La Mirada, was arrested this morning by special agents with the FBI pursuant to a criminal complaint that charges him with theft concerning programs receiving federal funds.

          Galvan faces federal charges stemming from allegations that he stole $3,721,924 from May 2010 through December 2016

          Galvan, who worked in the Compton Treasurer’s Office for more than 20 years, was responsible for tallying the cash received by the city as payment for parking tickets, business licenses and other fees. After the cash was counted, Galvan prepared the money for deposit into a city bank account.

          According to the criminal complaint filed late yesterday in United States District Court, Galvan skimmed cash from the daily receipts on numerous occasions. An audit of the city’s cash deposits “identified discrepancies which vary from approximately $200 to $8,000 per day,” according to the affidavit in support of the complaint.

          The FBI interviewed Galvan’s supervisor, who “reflected about Galvan’s time in the office, his unexplained affluence, and his generosity,” according to the affidavit. The supervisor told investigators that Galvan went from driving an “old Toyota” to increasingly luxurious vehicles, including a black Audi sedan. That affidavit states that Galvan told his supervisor that he purchased a residence in La Mirada and demolished the house so he could rebuild it – all on an annual salary of approximately $60,000.

          “The people of Compton deserved better,” said Acting United States Attorney Sandra R. Brown. “This defendant stole millions of dollars intended to help residents, placing his own greed over their interests.”

          Galvan was arrested late last year by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in relation to the theft of city funds. The federal case that led to Galvan’s arrest this morning resulted from further investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

          “Defendant Galvan violated the trust of the public he served by stealing money designated for the betterment of the Compton community,” said Deirdre Fike, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “By operating a scheme whereby he skimmed Compton city coffers to live beyond his means, Mr. Galvan faces significant federal charges and time behind bars.”

          Galvan is scheduled to make his initial court appearance this afternoon in United States District Court.

          If he is convicted of the embezzlement charge, Galvan would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

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

          The case against Galvan is being investigated by the FBI, which is receiving assistance from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

          This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel O’Brien of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section

          LOS ANGELES – A Banning man who led a group of burglars that conducted a 10-year-long series of heists targeting Southland banks by cutting through rooftops has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for participating in two burglaries.

          Alceu Johnny Andreis, 48, of Banning, received the 240-month sentence yesterday afternoon from United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer.

          In addition to the prison term, Judge Fischer ordered Andreis to pay $12,082,403 in restitution to two financial institutions, their insurance carriers and numerous safe deposit box customers.

          Following a jury trial in December, Andreis was convicted of two counts of bank burglary in relation to thefts from an East West Bank branch in Rowland Heights in 2011 and a BBCN Bank branch in Diamond Bar in 2012. Andreis was sentenced to the statutory maximum sentence of 10 years for each of the burglaries.

          The evidence presented at trial showed that Andreis led a crew of rooftop bank burglars for at least a decade. Andreis and his crew burglarized the victim banks after detailed and thorough planning, which included “casing” the banks, learning about the bank’s security systems, and conducting numerous “dry runs” of the heists. Prior to the actual burglaries, they cut holes in the roofs of the banks and resealed them so as not to arouse suspicion.

          During the burglaries, members of the team wiped down their equipment to ensure no DNA or fingerprints were left behind, communicated via walkie-talkies, disabled the banks’ security systems, re-opened the pre-cut rooftop holes, jackhammered holes into the banks’ thick concrete vaults and rappelled down into the vaults.

          Once they had access to the vaults, the burglars opened dozens of safe deposit boxes to steal cash, jewelry, coins and other valuables inside, and they took the cash inside the vaults.

          During the planning and actual burglaries, Andreis and his crew had a lookout person to warn of potential witnesses or law enforcement.

          Andreis “ensured that his burglary crew worked out together, drug-tested, wore identical clothing and shoes, cleaned the tools, planned the burglaries together, and evenly split the burglary proceeds,” prosecutors noted in a sentencing memorandum filed with the court.

          Andreis was one of four defendants convicted in relation to the bank burglaries. The other three defendants pleaded guilty, and two have been sentenced, receiving prison terms of up to 10 years. One more defendant is pending sentencing before Judge Fischer.

          In 2014, in another case involving the attempted burglary of a Citibank branch in Diamond Bar, Judge Fischer sentenced Andreis to 51 months in prison for conspiracy and attempted burglary. The 20-year sentence issued yesterday will run consecutive to the 51-month sentence.

          Andreis and his co-defendants were arrested while attempting to burglarize the Citibank branch.

          Judge Fischer yesterday issued an order that forfeited from Andreis two Mercedes-Benz automobiles and four Ducati motorcycles that he had purchased with cash obtained during the two burglaries.

          The case against Andreis and his crew was investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which received substantial assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

          This matter was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joanna M. Curtis of the Violent and Organized Crime Section and Assistant United States Attorney Christen A. Sproule of the Asset Forfeiture Section.

          LOS ANGELES – The office manager and part-owner of a Reseda medical clinic has been sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for his role in a healthcare fraud scheme that generated millions of dollars – money that was not reported on his federal income tax returns.

          Michael Huynh, 67, of Northridge, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II. In addition to the prison term, Judge Wright ordered Huynh to pay just over $1.9 million in restitution to the victim insurance companies and back taxes – estimated to be nearly $950,000 – to the Internal Revenue Service.

          Following a seven-day trial in September 2016, Huynh was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and 11 counts of filing false tax returns.

          The evidence introduced at trial showed that between January 2004 and November 2009 Huynh and a pharmacist participated in a healthcare fraud scheme that billed private insurance plans for prescription medication that was never dispensed to insured patients.

          Huyhn provided co-conspirator Farhad N. Dany Sharim with bogus prescriptions purportedly for patients of the medial clinic who were insured by healthcare benefit programs. Sharim, a co-owner of Century Discount Pharmacy in Reseda, then submitted false and fraudulent bills for prescription drugs that had not been dispensed to the patients. As a result, Sharim’s pharmacy received substantial payments from various health care benefit programs to which it was not entitled, and Sharim paid Huyhn more than $1.1 million.

          In addition to the healthcare fraud scheme, Huynh filed false federal tax returns for tax years 2007 through 2011 that underreported the medical clinic’s gross receipts and sales by more than $1.6 million.

          Sharim, 57, of Sherman Oaks, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and will be sentenced by Judge Wright on May 1.

          The Federal Bureau of Investigation, IRS Criminal Investigation and the Office of Personnel Management’s Office of Inspector General investigated the case.

          The case was brought by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which is supervised by the United States Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorney Steven Arkow of the Major Frauds Section and Trial Attorney Alexis Gregorian of the Fraud Section prosecuted the case.

         RIVERSIDE, California – A Redlands man has been arrested after being charged in federal court with selling AR-style rifles without a license.

         Scott Everett Coyl, 28, of Redlands, was arrested without incident at his residence yesterday morning. Coyl was arrested pursuant to a criminal complaint filed on Wednesday that charges him with dealing firearms without a license.

         Following his initial appearance yesterday afternoon in United States District Court, Coyl was freed on a $20,000 bond.

         In conjunction with Coyl’s arrest, special agents from the Los Angeles Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), along with officers from the Redlands Police Department, seized from Coyl’s residence approximately 40 firearms, including three machine guns and eight silencers. They also seized more than 100 high-capacity magazines and ammunition.

         According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, over the past three weeks, Coyl unlawfully sold five .223-caliber AR-type rifles – with no make or model markings, and no visible serial number – to a person he believed was a convicted felon. The purchaser of the rifles told Coyl he had a criminal record and he was buying rifles in order to send them to Mexico to be used in shootings. Despite learning this information, Coyl continued selling firearms to the individual.

         The affidavit alleges Coyl built AR-type rifles from unfinished lower receivers, machining out the lower receiver, then adding parts to make a complete firearm. Coyl sold firearms out of the garage in his residence. Coyl told the person he thought was a convicted felon that he could manufacture and sell fully automatic rifles, according to the complaint.

         At the court hearing yesterday, a United States Magistrate Judge scheduled a preliminary hearing for April 13 and an arraignment on April 19.

         If convicted of the charge of dealing firearms without a license, Coyl would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

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

         This matter is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with the assistance of the Redlands Police Department.

         The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bilal A. Essayli of the Riverside Branch Office.

          LOS ANGELES – A special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has been arrested on federal charges of helping a foreign national enter the United States without proper authorization.

          Felix Cisneros, 42, of Murrieta, a 10-year veteran of ICE who most recently was assigned to the HSI Inland Empire office, was arrested yesterday afternoon pursuant to a criminal complaint filed by federal prosecutors. The complaint was unsealed this morning, and Cisneros is scheduled to make his initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court.

          The complaint charges Cisneros with aiding and assisting an inadmissible alien to enter the United States, a felony offense that carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.

          The case against Cisneros is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General; and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility.

          According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Cisneros took steps that allowed an inadmissible Mexican national to enter the United States. Cisneros allegedly acted at the behest of a local organized crime figure with business interests in Mexico.

          The alien – a legal permanent resident, who, as a result of felony convictions, would have been barred from re-entering the United States – was employed by the organized crime figure to negotiate with a Mexican company. The complaint alleges that the organized crime figure asked Cisneros in 2013 to help the alien return to the United States after a trip to Mexico.

          Cisneros allegedly helped the alien regain a passport that had been seized several months earlier when the alien had attempted to enter and had been paroled into the United States. The complaint further alleges that Cisneros facilitated the alien’s re-entry into the United States at Los Angeles International Airport.

          Cisneros convinced officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to return the alien’s passport and re-admit him to the United States “likely through deception,” according to the affidavit.

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

Update:

          LOS ANGELES – A father and son from Adelanto are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon on federal charges related to a string of thefts from moving mail trucks and the robbery of a United States Postal Service facility in Victorville. Kory Kreshon Parker Sr., 46, and Kory Kreshon Parker Jr., 23, are expected to enter pleas to a two-count indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury on March 15. Both Parkers are charged with conspiracy and robbery of United States property. Each of the two counts carries a five-year statutory maximum sentence.

Original Release (March 6):

Federal Case Charges San Bernardino County Father and Son in Conspiracy to Steal Cash from the U.S. Postal Service

          RIVERSIDE, California – A father and son have been arrested and charged in federal court in connection with a robbery late last week at a United States Postal Service facility in Victorville.

          According to court documents filed on Friday, the father and son – Kory Kreshon Parker Sr., 46, and Kory Kreshon Parker Jr., 23, both of Adelanto – also are suspects in a series of Postal truck robberies across Southern California that has caused more than $400,000 in losses.

          The Parkers were charged Friday in a criminal complaint filed in United States District Court. The complaint charges both men with conspiracy to rob the Victorville Post Office on Thursday night.

          According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaints, the pair also are believed to have committed a string of postal truck robberies over the last 18 months – thefts that occurred while the trucks were moving or otherwise in transit. During those robberies, the thieves jumped on the back of a postal truck and opened the rear door to steal the truck’s contents, specifically registered mail that included cash, checks and money orders.

          The Parkers made their initial court appearances on Friday afternoon, and United States Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym ordered them detained – held without bond – pending trial. A preliminary hearing in this case was scheduled for March 17, and the two men are scheduled to be arraigned on March 22.

          If convicted of the conspiracy charge in the criminal complaint, the defendants each would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

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

          This matter is being investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, with the assistance of the Rialto Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bilal Essayli of the Riverside Branch Office.

          The Parkers are the latest defendants to be charged in relation to crimes affecting the mails and the United States Postal Service.

          Other cases prosecuted recently by the United States Attorney’s Office include:

• 33 defendants charged across 28 cases;
• 11 defendants charged across seven cases in the Inland Empire;
• Carlos Canjura, 54 of Van Nuys;
• Chinh Vuong, 48, of Garden Grove;
• Bernie Martinez, 23, and Kammi Leigh Vestesen, 24, both of Corona; and
• Paul Wagner, 28, of Corona.

          This representative sample of cases is only a portion of the cases charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in which the mail service was victimized. To address the rising problem of mail theft and crimes such as identity theft that flow from mail theft, the Los Angeles-based U.S. Attorney’s Office more than doubled the number of cases charged which were investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service from 2015 to 2016.

          LOS ANGELES – A Diamond Bar man who illegally imported the active ingredients used in erectile dysfunction drugs such as Viagra and Cialis and repackaged the drugs for sale as herbal sexual enhancement products pleaded guilty today to federal charges.

          Joseph Jinn, also known as Tzong Hwan Jinn, 60, pleaded guilty this afternoon to one count of conspiring to bring the drugs into the United States by means of false statements.

          In a plea agreement filed in United States District Court, Jinn admitted being part of a scheme that imported Tadalafil, Sildenafil and Dapoxetine – the active ingredients in pharmaceutical medications such as Viagra and Cialis – with false claims to customs officials that the multi-kilogram shipments were “cooked powder and tools,” “Chinese bread baking mixture,” and other innocuous materials. U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted some of the shipments, which had a cumulative value of nearly $550,000.

          But some of the illegally imported drugs entered the United States. Jinn admitted in court that he and his co-conspirators repackaged and sold the drugs as an “herbal supplement sexual enhancer.” The products were sold without the necessary prescriptions required by regulations enforced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which had previously warned Jinn’s company that it was engaged in illegal sales.

          According to the plea agreement, the FDA “issued public warnings regarding these sexual supplements because they contain ingredients that can interact with other drugs in dangerous ways and may lower blood pressure to unsafe levels.”

          “These products were falsely and dangerously marketed as herbal supplements, when in truth they were unregulated prescription medications that are harmful to some people,” said Acting United States Attorney Sandra R. Brown. “The scheme began with a smuggling operation, and the conduct continued with the distribution of supplements falsely labeled as natural and safe.”

          The products marketed by Jinn and his co-conspirators were sold in storefronts and over the internet.

          As part of his plea agreement, Jinn agreed to forfeit to the United States approximately $105,000 that was seized from three bank accounts during the investigation.

          “When it comes to purchasing medications online or in storefronts, never has the expression ‘buyer beware’ had a greater ring of truth,” said Joseph Macias, special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles. “Imposter drugs pose a serious threat to consumers who mistakenly assume these substances are safe. The reality is that unscrupulous providers who introduce untested products into the marketplace purely to turn a profit are putting their unwitting clients in harm’s way.”

          “The FDA oversees the production and sale of prescription drugs to ensure that they are safe and effective,” said Lisa L. Malinowski, Special Agent in Charge, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Los Angeles Field Office. “Criminals who attempt to sell medicines outside of FDA’s oversight put the health of U.S consumers at risk. Our office will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who endanger the public’s health.”

          The FDA has warned consumers about numerous over-the-counter products that claim to be “herbal,” but in fact contain hidden active ingredients.

          Jinn pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Christina A. Snyder, who scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 19. When he is sentenced, Jinn will face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

          The investigation in this case was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations; the Los Angeles Police Department; and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

          The case against Jinn is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Vicki Chou and Jennie L. Wang of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section.

          SANTA ANA, California – A Los Angeles man who participated in a scheme that filed fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service seeking more than $800,000 in refunds was found guilty today of federal charges.

          Julien Jitt Noel, 36, who lived in Placentia while he participated in the scheme, was convicted this morning of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and five counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent tax returns. After a five-day trial, a jury in United States District Court deliberated for approximately one hour before finding Noel guilty.

          The evidence presented at trial showed that, starting in late 2008 or early 2009, Noel and two co-conspirators prepared and filed fraudulent tax returns, most of which were filed in the names of individuals whose identities had been stolen.

          The fraudulent tax returns indicated that the taxpayers were employed by a shell company called Picaso Fashions, a business that did not employ the taxpayers and never had any employees. The tax returns indicated that Picaso Fashions had excessively withheld income tax for each taxpayer, and each fraudulently filed tax return sought a tax refund the taxpayer was not entitled to receive.

          Members of the conspiracy filed 69 false individual federal tax returns during 2009 that claimed tax refunds totaling $621,589.

          Noel and one of his co-conspirators established other fake companies to serve as fraudulent employers. In relation to these other bogus companies, Noel filed 45 fraudulent tax returns in 2009 and 2010 that sought $195,344 in refunds.

          In total, Noel conspired to file a total of 114 fraudulent returns between 2009 and 2010 seeking tax refunds totaling $816,933. The IRS paid full or partial tax refunds on 98 of these returns and suffered actual losses of $520,426.

          Noel, who has been in federal custody since this case was indicted two years ago, is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton on June 14. As a result of today’s six guilty verdicts, Noel faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

          Co-conspirator Antonio Jerome Cook, 38, of Long Beach, was sentenced in March 2016 to four years in federal in prison and was ordered to pay restitution of $537,309 for his role in the scheme.

          The third conspirator – Rebecca Magruder, 38, of Dallas, Texas – was sentenced in January of 2016 to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $119,671 in restitution.

          The investigation into Noel, Cook and Magruder was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Aron Ketchel and Jamie A. Lang.

          LOS ANGELES – A West Covina man has been charged in federal court with possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine after authorities found over one-half kilogram of methamphetamine in his residence.

          Edwin Francisco Reyes, 44, was charged with the drug trafficking offense in a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in United States District Court.

          According to the affidavit in support of the complaint, Reyes was arrested by the Chino Police Department on March 2 after they executed a search warrant at the home he shared with his wife and four children. During the search, officers with the Chino Police Department seized 532 grams – or nearly 19 ounces – of methamphetamine.

          Reyes, who admitted being a convicted felon, also was in possession of 28 firearms, including six handguns, two bolt-action rifles and two AR-style rifles, according to the affidavit.

          The affidavit alleges that Reyes admitted being involved in a drug trafficking ring as a runner who delivered drugs to buyers in exchange for cash. On the day the search warrant was executed, according to the affidavit, Reyes admitted picking up five pounds of methamphetamine to deliver to Ontario.

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

          Reyes, who is currently in state custody, is expected to be handed over to federal authorities next week.

          If he is convicted of the charge of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, Reyes would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

          The ongoing federal investigation is being led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Special Assistant United States Attorney Peter Hardin of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting the case.

          LOS ANGELES – A former Coachella Valley resident has been sentenced to 60 months in federal prison for soliciting investments in his money-losing day-trading operation that cost victims millions of dollars in losses.

          Robert Charles Butler, 50, was sentenced on Monday by United States District Judge Virginia A. Phillips. Butler currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, but was residing in La Quinta when he ran the investment scam.

          Butler solicited victims by falsely claiming to be a successful day trader with a proprietary trading program who had created private investment funds. Even though he had actually lost millions of dollars trading stocks, Butler told victims to expect up to a 10 percent return on their investments. After taking at least $7 million from victims and continuing to suffer substantial losses as a result of his trading, Butler produced fake account statements claiming substantial profits and sent them to victims. In addition to the trading losses, Butler used some of the victims’ money to pay personal expenses, including gambling losses.

          When he pleaded guilty, Butler specifically admitted that he caused more than $2.5 million in losses. The exact loss figure will be determined by Judge Phillips during a restitution hearing scheduled for March 27.

          Butler defrauded at least one family member and friends of the relative who lived in Indio. Many of the investors withdrew funds from their retirement accounts after meetings at Butler’s lavish home office containing seven to eight computer screens showing stock activity.

          The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

          The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sean D. Peterson of the Riverside Branch Office.

          LOS ANGELES – A Florida man who filed fraudulent tax returns that sought approximately $470,000 with the Internal Revenue Service – and then filed bogus false liens to retaliate against IRS employees who refused to pay his frivolous claims – has been sentenced to 77 months in federal prison.

          Taquan Gullett, who also used the name “Maalik Rashe El,” 38, of Jacksonville, Florida, was sentenced yesterday afternoon by United States District Judge Christina Snyder.

          Gullett was convicted in August of two counts of making false claims against the United States and two counts of retaliating against a federal employee by attempting to file a false lien or encumbrance.

          The evidence presented at trial showed that Gullett filed a 2009 income tax return, in which he claimed that he earned $52,591 in wages as an exercise physiologist and falsely stated that he generated $221,306 in interest income, all of which had been withheld as federal income tax payments. Gullett therefore claimed that he was due a tax refund of $149,296, and requested that the refund be paid to his account at a Los Angeles-based credit union. Gullett also submitted to the IRS several fake Forms 1099, many of which were handwritten by Gullett, to support his fraudulent tax refund claim.

          Once the IRS determined that Gullet’s 2009 tax return was frivolous and denied his claim for refund, Gullett retaliated by filing a “commercial lien” with the California Secretary of State. In the purported lien, Gullett falsely asserted that the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the then-IRS Commissioner and other IRS employees owed him over $20 million for his “lawful 2009 claim refund.”

          After the IRS denied the 2009 refund claim because his tax return was frivolous, Gullett attempted the same scheme again by filing a fraudulent 2010 tax return that sought a refund of $320,336. Ultimately, Gullett’s 2010 tax return was also deemed frivolous by the IRS, and a frivolous return penalty was assessed.

          Gullett “has a long history of attempting to retaliate against or harass other government employees, law enforcement, and court personnel by filing false liens and frivolous lawsuits,” prosecutors wrote in sentencing papers filed with the court. Prosecutors noted that Gullett filed other liens with the California Secretary of State and the Recorder of Deeds in Washington D.C. that claimed the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the then-IRS Commissioner and other IRS employees owed him more than $20 million. He also filed a $37 million lien against Los Angeles Police officers and the clerk of the Los Angeles Superior Court after he was arrested several years ago.

          “Finally, on July 20, 2016, just a few days before trial in this case was scheduled to begin, defendant filed a civil action in this district in which he named the Court, government counsel, and 25 others as defendants,” according to the government sentencing memo. “Defendant’s frivolous and incomprehensible complaint appeared to seek between 550 million and 600 billion dollars in damages and alleged, among other things, that the Court, government counsel, and others engaged in genocide, slavery, and treason.”

          The case against Gullett was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

          This matter was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Julian L. André.

          LOS ANGELES – Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca was found guilty today of leading a conspiracy to obstruct justice by overseeing a scheme designed to impede a federal investigation into corruption and civil rights abuses at county jail facilities. Baca was also convicted of lying to federal investigators when he denied knowledge of key aspects of the obstruction plot.

          After about two days of deliberations, a federal jury found that Baca authorized and condoned a scheme that now has resulted in the conviction of 10 former members of the Sheriff’s Department. During the trial, prosecutors described Baca as being the top figure in the conspiracy, which also involved his right-hand man and deputies who implemented orders from the Sheriff.

          The jury convicted Baca on three felony counts: conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice and making false statement to federal investigators. As a result of today’s guilty verdicts, Baca, 74, faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

          United States District Judge Percy Anderson, who has presided over several trials involving members of the conspiracy, is expected to schedule a sentencing hearing during a status conference on Monday.

          The obstruction plot began in August 2011 after LASD officials discovered a cell phone in an inmate’s cell at the Men’s Central Jail, linked the phone to the FBI’s Civil Rights Squad and learned that the inmate was an FBI informant. The cell phone had been smuggled into the jail by a corrupt deputy who took bribes. The FBI developed the informant as part of an investigation into the county jail system, which for years had been the subject of allegations of inmate abuse and subsequent cover-ups. The evidence presented at trial showed that the Sheriff wanted to avoid federal scrutiny of his troubled jails.

          As part of the obstruction scheme, Baca ordered a criminal investigation of the FBI agents conducting an undercover investigation, and he directed that the informant be concealed from federal investigators. Members of the conspiracy then hid the informant from federal authorities, engaged in witness tampering in an effort to prevent information from being shared with federal authorities, and threatened to arrest the lead FBI agent on the case.

          While Baca put his right-hand man, then-Undersheriff Paul Tanaka, in charge of the scheme, Baca participated in dozens of meetings and phone calls with members of the conspiracy and admitted directing his deputies to approach the FBI agent. Baca participated in the scheme after being warned by a top deputy that the actions would amount to obstruction of justice.

          “The former sheriff has now been held accountable for overseeing a widespread scheme to obstruct justice by issuing orders designed to protect a corrupt culture,” said Acting United States Attorney Sandra R. Brown. “As the Sheriff for Los Angeles County, Mr. Baca had a duty to uphold the law, a duty he utterly failed when he played an active role in undermining a federal investigation into illegal conduct at the jails. Today’s verdict shows that no one is above the law.”

          “By obstructing the rule of law, Mr. Baca failed both the dedicated men and women of the largest sheriff’s department in the country, as well as the community he swore to serve,” said Deirdre Fike, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “As this dark chapter for the LASD nears to a close and the department embarks upon reform under new leadership, we owe a debt of gratitude to the agents and prosecutors who worked on this case over several years and, at times, under very difficult circumstances. Their unfailing commitment to this case and to rooting out corrupt officials can only restore faith in law enforcement going forward.”

          The case against Baca is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is one in a series of cases resulting from the investigation into county jail facilities in downtown Los Angeles that has resulted in 21 convictions.

          As a result of today’s verdicts, Baca becomes the tenth member of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department to be convicted in the obstruction scheme, including former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka, who was sentenced to five years in federal prison.

          Eleven other former deputies have been convicted of federal charges, mostly related to unprovoked beatings of inmates and subsequent cover-ups.

          The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brandon Fox, Chief of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section; Assistant United States Attorney Lizabeth A. Rhodes, Chief of the General Crimes Section; and Assistant United States Attorney Eddie A. Jauregui of the Major Frauds Section.

          LOS ANGELES – Sandra R. Brown has been named the Acting United States Attorney for the Central District of California, becoming the top federal law enforcement official in the most populous federal district in the nation.

          Ms. Brown took charge of the office on Saturday after former United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker resigned her position.

          With approximately 270 attorneys, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District is the largest Justice Department office outside of Washington D.C. The Central District of California is made up of seven counties – Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo – and is home to approximately 20 million residents.

          For the past year, Ms. Brown was the First Assistant United States Attorney – the number two position in the office. She has been with the United States Attorney’s Office since 1991, and she was Chief of the Tax Division from 2004 through 2016.

          “It is a true honor and privilege to lead the United States Attorney’s Office, home to the nation’s finest prosecutors and staff,” Ms. Brown said. “Over the past 25 years, I have seen firsthand the dedication, outstanding abilities and contributions of the men and women who represent the United States. We will continue our important work, which includes civil and tax litigation; defending the rights of both the government and its agents; and fighting national security threats, violent and organized crime, drug trafficking, hate crimes, financial fraud, public corruption, crimes against children, and the myriad of other threats to our public safety. I look forward to leading the office as we prosecute and defend some of the most important cases in the country.”

          As an Assistant United States Attorney, Ms. Brown represented the government in a wide range of matters in federal and state courts, including criminal, civil, appellate and bankruptcy matters.

          WASHINGTON – A Los Angeles businessman was sentenced to 24 months in prison today for hiding more than $23.5 million in offshore bank accounts, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

          According to court documents, Masud Sarshar, a U.S. citizen, maintained several undeclared bank accounts at Bank Leumi and two other Israeli banks, both in his name and in the names of entities that he created. Sarshar owned and operated Apparel Limited Inc., a business that designed, manufactured and sold clothing and other apparel. For decades, with the assistance of at least two relationship managers from Bank Leumi and a second Israeli bank (Israeli Bank A), Sarshar hid tens of millions of dollars in assets in these accounts in an effort to conceal income and obstruct the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Between 2006 and 2009, Sarshar diverted more than $21 million in untaxed gross business income to those undeclared accounts and earned more than $2.5 million in interest income from the funds. Sarshar reported none of this income on his 2006 through 2012 individual and corporate tax returns. He also filed false Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, commonly known as FBARs, with the U.S. Department of Treasury on which he omitted his ownership and control of these offshore accounts.

          “Masud Sarshar used every trick to avoid paying his taxes: he moved his money from foreign bank to foreign bank; switched passports and had his statements smuggled to the United States on a thumb drive secreted in the necklace of a bank manager,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg. “He even tapped the funds in his offshore accounts through financial maneuvers that he thought would not leave a paper trail. However, Sarshar found out today -- with the imposition of a two-year prison sentence -- that secret foreign bank accounts can no longer be safely hidden from the Department of Justice and the IRS.”

          “Mr. Sarshar’s conduct was both egregious and staggering,” said Chief Richard Weber of IRS Criminal Investigation. “He knew the laws and purposefully hid his income to avoid paying taxes, cheating not only the U.S. government, but other law abiding tax payers who uphold their tax obligations. Hiding income in offshore banks is not tax planning, it’s fraud.”

          Sarshar’s relationship managers at Israeli Bank A (RM1) and Bank Leumi (RM2) visited him frequently in Los Angeles. At Sarshar’s request, neither bank sent him his account statements by mail. Instead, RM1 and RM2 provided Sarshar with his account information in person. RM2 concealed Sarshar’s account statements on a USB drive hidden in a necklace that she wore when she visited Sarshar in the United States. Sarshar’s meetings with RM1 sometimes occurred in Sarshar’s car. RM1 and RM2 used their visits to offer Sarshar other bank products, including “back-to-back” loans. Through back-to-back loans, which Bank Leumi made to Sarshar through its branch in the United States and which Sarshar collateralized with funds from his account at Israeli Bank A, Sarshar was able to bring back to the United States approximately $19 million of his assets without creating a paper trail or otherwise disclosing the existence of the offshore accounts to U.S. authorities. At the direction of RM1 and RM2, Sarshar also obtained Israeli and Iranian passports in an effort to avoid being flagged as a U.S. citizen by the banks’ compliance departments. The banks still flagged Sarshar as a U.S. citizen after Sarshar received these two passports, so RM1 and RM2 advised him to transfer his remaining funds from Israeli Bank A to Israeli Bank B, which Sarshar did in late 2011. In addition, with the help of someone identified as Individual 1, Sarshar transferred approximately $5.8 million from his Bank Leumi accounts to an account at Hong Kong Bank A, which Individual 1 then helped transfer to Sarshar in the United States, disguising it as a loan to Apparel Limited.

          In addition to the term of prison imposed, Sarshar was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay more than $8.3 million in restitution to the IRS, plus interest and penalties. Sarshar also agreed to pay an FBAR penalty of more than $18.2 million for failing to report his Israeli bank accounts.

          Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant Chief Tino M. Lisella and Trial Attorney Timothy M. Russo of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California for their substantial assistance in the case.

          Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.

          WASHINGTON – A former manager of a Wells Fargo branch in Glendale, California, was convicted on Friday of money laundering and false bank entry charges in connection with laundering the proceeds of a trademark scam.

          Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Sandra R. Brown of the Central District of California, Acting Inspector in Charge William H. Hedrick from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS) Los Angeles Division, Inspector in Charge Regina L. Faulkerson of USPIS Criminal Investigation and Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Orlando of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Los Angeles Field Office made the announcement.

          After a four-day jury trial, Albert Yagubyan, 37, of Burbank, California, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, four counts of concealment money laundering and one count of false bank entries. Sentencing has been scheduled for May 22, 2017, before U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson of the Central District of California, who presided over the trial.

          According to the evidence presented at trial, from June 27, 2014 to Sept. 18, 2015, Yagubyan laundered over $1 million of proceeds from a mass-mailing scam run by co-conspirator Artashes Darbinyan, 37, of Glendale, California, who used companies that they called “Trademark Compliance Center” (TCC) and “Trademark Compliance Office” (TCO) in order to make fraudulent offers to trademark applicants for registration and monitoring services.

          Yagubyan laundered the funds by instructing subordinates at the bank to open bogus bank accounts, into which proceeds of the TCC and TCO scam were deposited, and process fraudulent withdrawals, wire transfers and cashier’s checks for co-conspirators Darbinyan and Orbel Hakobyan, 42, also of Glendale, the evidence showed. The cashier’s checks and wire transfers were made out to gold dealers. The bank accounts were opened using the identities of individuals from Eastern Europe who were not in the United States at the time the accounts were opened. The evidence at trial further showed that Darbinyan paid Yagubyan a percentage of the laundered proceeds. Yagubyan, in turn, made payments and promises of promotion to subordinates to induce them to conduct the fraudulent transactions. When Wells Fargo’s loss prevention office flagged the bogus accounts for closure, Yagubyan intervened to try and keep them open, the evidence showed.

          Darbinyan and Hakobyan pleaded guilty in December 2016 to mail fraud and money laundering charges and are scheduled for sentencing on June 19, 2017, before Judge Wilson. The investigation has resulted in a total of five convictions.

          USPIS and IRS-CI investigated the case. Trial Attorneys William E. Johnston and Alison L. Anderson and Assistant Chief Brian K. Kidd of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

A former manager of a Wells Fargo branch in Glendale, California, was convicted on Friday of money laundering and false bank entry charges in connection with laundering the proceeds of a trademark scam.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Sandra R. Brown of the Central District of California, Acting Inspector in Charge William H. Hedrick from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's (USPIS) Los Angeles Division, Inspector in Charge Regina L. Faulkerson of USPIS Criminal Investigation and Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Orlando of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Los Angeles Field Office made the announcement.

After a four-day jury trial, Albert Yagubyan, 37, of Burbank, California, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, four counts of concealment money laundering and one count of false bank entries.  Sentencing has been scheduled for May 22, 2017, before U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson of the Central District of California, who presided over the trial.  

According to the evidence presented at trial, from June 27, 2014 to Sept. 18, 2015, Yagubyan laundered over $1 million of proceeds from a mass-mailing scam run by co-conspirator Artashes Darbinyan, 37, of Glendale, California, who used companies that they called “Trademark Compliance Center” (TCC) and “Trademark Compliance Office” (TCO) in order to make fraudulent offers to trademark applicants for registration and monitoring services.  

Yagubyan laundered the funds by instructing subordinates at the bank to open bogus bank accounts, into which proceeds of the TCC and TCO scam were deposited, and process fraudulent withdrawals, wire transfers and cashier’s checks for co-conspirators Darbinyan and Orbel Hakobyan, 42, also of Glendale, the evidence showed.  The cashier’s checks and wire transfers were made out to gold dealers.  The bank accounts were opened using the identities of individuals from Eastern Europe who were not in the United States at the time the accounts were opened.  The evidence at trial further showed that Darbinyan paid Yagubyan a percentage of the laundered proceeds. Yagubyan, in turn, made payments and promises of promotion to subordinates to induce them to conduct the fraudulent transactions.  When Wells Fargo’s loss prevention office flagged the bogus accounts for closure, Yagubyan intervened to try and keep them open, the evidence showed.

Darbinyan and Hakobyan pleaded guilty in December 2016 to mail fraud and money laundering charges and are scheduled for sentencing on June 19, 2017, before Judge Wilson.  The investigation has resulted in a total of five convictions. 

USPIS and IRS-CI investigated the case.  Trial Attorneys William E. Johnston and Alison L. Anderson and Assistant Chief Brian K. Kidd of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

Evaded More than $8.3 Million in Federal Taxes Over Seven Years

 

A Los Angeles, California businessman was sentenced to 24 months in prison today for hiding more than $23.5 million in offshore bank accounts, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

 

According to court documents, Masud Sarshar, a U.S. citizen, maintained several undeclared bank accounts at Bank Leumi and two other Israeli banks, both in his name and in the names of entities that he created. Sarshar owned and operated Apparel Limited Inc., a business that designed, manufactured and sold clothing and other apparel. For decades, with the assistance of at least two relationship managers from Bank Leumi and a second Israeli bank (Israeli Bank A), Sarshar hid tens of millions of dollars in assets in these accounts in an effort to conceal income and obstruct the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Between 2006 and 2009, Sarshar diverted more than $21 million in untaxed gross business income to those undeclared accounts and earned more than $2.5 million in interest income from the funds. Sarshar reported none of this income on his 2006 through 2012 individual and corporate tax returns. He also filed false Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, commonly known as FBARs, with the U.S. Department of Treasury on which he omitted his ownership and control of these offshore accounts.

 

“Masud Sarshar used every trick to avoid paying his taxes: he moved his money from foreign bank to foreign bank; switched passports and had his statements smuggled to the United States on a thumb drive secreted in the necklace of a bank manager,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg. “He even tapped the funds in his offshore accounts through financial maneuvers that he thought would not leave a paper trail. However, Sarshar found out today -- with the imposition of a two-year prison sentence -- that secret foreign bank accounts can no longer be safely hidden from the Department of Justice and the IRS.”

 

“Mr. Sarshar’s conduct was both egregious and staggering,” said Chief Richard Weber of IRS Criminal Investigation. “He knew the laws and purposefully hid his income to avoid paying taxes, cheating not only the U.S. government, but other law abiding tax payers who uphold their tax obligations. Hiding income in offshore banks is not tax planning, it’s fraud.”

 

Sarshar’s relationship managers at Israeli Bank A (RM1) and Bank Leumi (RM2) visited him frequently in Los Angeles. At Sarshar’s request, neither bank sent him his account statements by mail. Instead, RM1 and RM2 provided Sarshar with his account information in person. RM2 concealed Sarshar’s account statements on a USB drive hidden in a necklace that she wore when she visited Sarshar in the United States. Sarshar’s meetings with RM1 sometimes occurred in Sarshar’s car. RM1 and RM2 used their visits to offer Sarshar other bank products, including “back-to-back” loans. Through back-to-back loans, which Bank Leumi made to Sarshar through its branch in the United States and which Sarshar collateralized with funds from his account at Israeli Bank A, Sarshar was able to bring back to the United States approximately $19 million of his assets without creating a paper trail or otherwise disclosing the existence of the offshore accounts to U.S. authorities. At the direction of RM1 and RM2, Sarshar also obtained Israeli and Iranian passports in an effort to avoid being flagged as a U.S. citizen by the banks’ compliance departments. The banks still flagged Sarshar as a U.S. citizen after Sarshar received these two passports, so RM1 and RM2 advised him to transfer his remaining funds from Israeli Bank A to Israeli Bank B, which Sarshar did in late 2011. In addition, with the help of someone identified as Individual 1, Sarshar transferred approximately $5.8 million from his Bank Leumi accounts to an account at Hong Kong Bank A, which Individual 1 then helped transfer to Sarshar in the United States, disguising it as a loan to Apparel Limited.

 

In addition to the term of prison imposed, Sarshar was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay more than $8.3 million in restitution to the IRS, plus interest and penalties. Sarshar also agreed to pay an FBAR penalty of more than $18.2 million for failing to report his Israeli bank accounts.

 

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant Chief Tino M. Lisella and Trial Attorney Timothy M. Russo of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California for their substantial assistance in the case.

 

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.

          LOS ANGELES – Eileen M. Decker today resigned from the position of United States Attorney for the Central District of California at the request of the President.

          “It has been an honor to serve the people of the Central District of California as the United States Attorney,” Ms. Decker said. “I am awed by the dedication of the Assistant United States Attorneys, support staff, and law enforcement officers who are committed to our public safety and national security. I thank all of them for their continued service.”

          Ms. Decker became the United States Attorney in June 2015. During her 20 months in the position, she restructured the Office in an effort to confront modern challenges.

          Approximately one month after taking office, Ms. Decker created the National Security Division (NSD), which joined Criminal, Civil and Tax as the units of the office that litigate cases on behalf of the United States. NSD combined two sections formerly in the Criminal Division – the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section and the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Sections. NSD combined these two units so they could work cooperatively to gather intelligence and disrupt national security threats more effectively.

          Within hours of the December 2, 2015 San Bernardino terrorist attack, prosecutors in the NSD were embedded with law enforcement, assisting in the response to the attacks and the investigation in the aftermath. Although the shooters were killed by law enforcement, the investigation resulted in the indictment and convictions of three of the shooters’ family members, as well as Enrique Marquez Jr., who purchased the assault weapons used in the attack. Prosecutors are also seeking to forfeit the male shooter’s life insurance proceeds.

          The San Bernardino investigation highlighted the challenge to law enforcement posed by encryption technology. The office litigated the high-profile case against Apple over the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone. Although that case was withdrawn when the Federal Bureau of Investigation was able to unlock the phone without Apple’s assistance, the issue brought national attention to the problem of “going dark.”

          Ms. Decker’s tenure also saw the convictions of two Anaheim men who received 30-year sentences for attempting to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Another Orange County man was also convicted and received a 15-year sentence for his support of ISIL.

          While United States Attorney, Ms. Decker also oversaw the conviction and sentencing of Paul Ciancia, who murdered Transportation Safety Administration Transportation Security Administration officer Gerardo Hernandez and was sentenced to life plus 60 years in federal prison.

          As United States Attorney, Ms. Decker placed particular emphasis on the prosecution of violent crime and human trafficking cases.

          The office tripled the number of illegal weapons prosecutions between 2014 and 2016, including four convictions in two days recently. Ms. Decker also oversaw convictions and significant sentences for a wide variety of offenders who contribute to violent crime, including Mexican Mafia members, Florencia 13 gang members, robbers who brandished firearms, and criminals who illegally sold firearms.

          Prosecutors obtained a 40-year sentence against Gardena gang member and long-time pimp Laron Darrell Carter for the sex trafficking of children. Carter’s conduct spanned a decade as he prostituted girls as young as 13 and subjected some of them to beatings.

          In a groundbreaking case, the office obtained a 57-month sentence against Charles Goswitz of Torrance who sought to hire a 16-year-old girl for sex. This was the first federal conviction in Los Angeles of a “John,” or customer, in a teen sex-trafficking prosecution.

          While the United States Attorney, Ms. Decker supervised a number of high-profile cases in the area of Public Corruption and Civil Rights.

          Last summer, the United States Attorney’s Office brought civil rights charges against seven members and affiliates of the “Big Hazard” street gang in relation to their firebombing of African American families in Boyle Heights. The case remains pending trial.

          The United States Attorney’s Office has successfully resolved criminal and civil investigations into the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s treatment of inmates in its jails. These investigations resulted in the successful prosecutions of 20 former members of the Sheriff’s Department and a settlement agreement permitting federal monitoring of the jails.

          Last year, former California State Senator Ron Calderon was convicted of receiving bribes, and his brother, Thomas Calderon, was convicted of laundering bribe money. The former state lawmaker received a 42-month sentence, and his brother received a sentence of one year and one day of incarceration.

          Ms. Decker has hired approximately one-quarter of the 270 Assistant United States Attorneys in the office. These new AUSAs are a diverse group of women and men from a broad spectrum of experiences.

          LOS ANGELES – Two former executives of iPayment, Inc., a payment processor based in Westlake Village, have agreed to plead guilty to participating in a scheme that stole more than $5 million from the company.

          Robert Torino, 63, of Norwell, Massachusetts, who was the chief operating officer of iPayment, and Nasir Shakouri, 40, of Westlake Village, who was the company’s senior vice president of sales and marketing, each agreed to plead guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

          Torino and Shakouri agreed to plead guilty in plea agreements that were filed this morning in United States District Court. Both defendants have agreed to appear in court and be arraigned on April 14.

          Today’s filing of the plea agreements, and the filing of the related charging document known as an information, come at the same time as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil action against Torino, Shakouri and others.

          iPayment primarily processes credit and debit transactions for small merchants, many of whom are recruited to use iPayment’s services by agents or independent sales offices. Pursuant to contractual obligations, iPayment sometimes paid sales offices a portion of the fees it collected from the merchants recruited by the sales offices, as well as bonuses and referral fees collectively known as residuals.

          As part of the criminal conspiracy, Torino, Shakouri and others created fictitious sales offices to unlawfully divert to themselves and others residuals which had been purchased by iPayment as part of a residual buy out.

          A second part of the conspiracy involved theft from iPayment through a kickback scheme involving two vendors that provided information technology services to iPayment. As part of an agreement between Torino, Shakouri and another iPayment employee, the outside vendors inflated invoices to iPayment and paid the excess money to a company owned by Torino and Shakouri.

          “These defendants used their considerable inside knowledge of their employer’s business practices to skim over $5 million from iPayment’s bottom line,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “The stolen money should have gone to the company and its owner.”

          “The defendants put greed before their company’s best interest by exploiting iPayment to enrich themselves,” said Deirdre Fike, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI will continue to work with our partners at the SEC and the IRS to root out such illegal practices and maintain a fair business environment.”

          “Over a four-year period, Torino and Shakouri used multiple schemes to receive stolen funds from iPayment,” stated IRS Criminal Investigation’s Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Orlando. “People who create elaborate schemes that have no purpose other than to mislead others and defraud legitimate businesses run the very high risk of prosecution.”

          Once they plead guilty, Torino and Shakouri will each face a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.

          The investigation into Torino and Shakouri was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS Criminal Investigation.

          The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Monica Tait and Jill Feeney of the Major Frauds Section.

          RIVERSIDE, California – Two men who were allegedly operating a “honey oil” lab in Cherry Valley when it exploded and severely burned one of them now face federal charges of operating an illegal drug manufacturing facility.

          Hector Gallegos, 34, of San Jacinto, surrendered to authorities yesterday and made his initial court appearance.

          The second defendant in the case – James Ray Wallis III, 34, of Cherry Valley – is currently a fugitive who is being sought by authorities.

          The two defendants were named in a criminal complaint filed last Friday that charges both men with endangering human life while illegally manufacturing a controlled substance, a federal felony offense that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

          Wallis and Gallegos allegedly operated a clandestine laboratory where they used butane to extract tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from marijuana. The resulting product is commonly called honey oil or hash oil, and it contains a much higher percentage of THC than found in traditional marijuana products.

          During the early morning hours of February 16, Riverside County fire authorities were summoned to a house fire on Dutton Street in Cherry Valley, just north of Beaumont. CAL FIRE personnel were unable to combat the fire immediately because several 20-ounce butane canisters – which are commonly used in THC extraction labs – were exploding inside the residence, according to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint.

          After the fire was extinguished, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department personnel searched the property and “discovered several black plastic bins containing marijuana, over 1,000 20-ounce butane canisters, extracted THC spread out on wax paper sheets and contained within six small glass jars, a small indoor marijuana grow located in the basement of the residence, a partially burned PVC extraction tube loaded with marijuana, two handguns and three rifles,” according to the complaint.

          Authorities soon learned that Wallis lived at the residence and was seen by neighbors soon after the fire erupted. Wallis’ 10-year-old child was inside the house when the explosion occurred, but the child was not harmed by the explosion or subsequent fire.

          “Using butane to extract the psychoactive agent in marijuana is not only illegal – it is an extremely dangerous process,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “One of the defendants in this case was seriously injured and a small child barely escaped injury. Unfortunately, we are seeing an increase in the number of explosions at household laboratories, which endangers neighborhoods, as well as first responders.”

Wallis fled the scene after the fire, and he remains a fugitive. Gallegos, who also fled the scene after the explosion, was discovered later in the day at Loma Linda Hospital. Gallegos had suffered third-degree burns over 50 percent of his body. Gallegos recently was released from the hospital, and he surrendered himself yesterday.

          “As evidenced in this case, clandestine drug manufacturing labs are extremely hazardous and pose a serious threat of bodily injury – or even death – to would-be operators, as well as innocent bystanders,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Steve Comer. “Fortunately, the child was unharmed and the individuals who put themselves and the entire neighborhood at risk have been removed from the community.”

          At his initial appearance yesterday afternoon in United States District Court, Gallegos was freed on a $50,000 bond and was ordered to return to court for a preliminary hearing on March 29 and an arraignment on April 5.

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

          The investigation into the clandestine lab was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Special Investigation Bureau, Marijuana Enforcement Team.

          This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tritia L. Yuen of the Riverside Branch Office.

          LOS ANGELES – Rite Aid Corporation has paid $834,200 in civil penalties to the United States to settle claims stemming from alleged violations of the Controlled Substances Act.

          Rite Aid paid the civil settlement yesterday as part of an agreement reached last week to resolve allegations that certain Rite Aid pharmacies in Los Angeles dispensed and/or recorded controlled substances using a medical practitioner’s incorrect or invalid DEA registration number. The government alleged that the incorrect or invalid registration numbers were used at least 1,298 times as a result of Rite Aid’s failure to adequately maintain its internal database.

          The settlement also resolves allegations that Rite Aid pharmacies dispensed, on at least 63 occasions, prescriptions for controlled substances written by a practitioner whose DEA registration number had been revoked by the DEA for cause.

          In 1970, the United States Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which created “a closed system” of distribution for controlled substances. The CSA established a regulatory framework to control every facet of the handling of the substances, from their manufacture to their consumption.

          The CSA became law against the backdrop of increasing diversion and abuse of legitimate controlled substances, but the law was also designed to ensure an adequate supply of those substances needed to meet the medical and scientific needs of the United States.

          “Accurate record keeping at retail pharmacies helps ensure that authorities can keep track of how many controlled substances a pharmacy should have and does have on hand,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “These federal regulations were put into place to prevent the abuse of powerful drugs that are dispensed by pharmacies and should only be used under the careful watch of a medical professional.”

          In entering into and paying the settlement, Rite Aid did not admit liability. Prior to entering into the agreement, Rite Aid implemented a DEA registration validation program designed to verify DEA registration numbers for medical professionals who prescribe controlled substances.

          “This settlement demonstrates DEA’s commitment to monitoring and holding accountable all potential sources of diversion for controlled substances and maintaining the safety of our communities,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Steve Comer

          This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Office of Diversion Control, Los Angeles Field Division.

          The settlement was negotiated by Assistant United States Attorney Donald W. Yoo of the Civil Fraud Section.

         RIVERSIDE, California – A resident of the Inland Empire city of Eastvale was arrested this morning by federal authorities on charges of producing child pornography after allegedly using Snapchat to contact a 13-year-old boy in Illinois and enticing him to send a sexually explicit video.

         Francisco Javier Soledad, 24, was arrested by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Soledad is expected to make his initial appearance later this afternoon in United States District Court.

         According to a criminal complaint filed yesterday in United States District Court, Soledad assumed the persona of a young person – first a 13-year-old boy, and then an adult woman – to convince the victim to send an explicit video. When the victim then blocked Soledad on Snapchat, Soledad allegedly threatened to publish the video on a social media platform unless the victim sent additional videos.

         After the victims’ parents contacted law enforcement, HSI special agents conducted a search of Soledad’s residence. During an interview with authorities, Soledad admitted sending threatening communications to the victim, and he admitted victimizing other children in a similar fashion, according to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint. After a review of Soledad’s digital devices, HSI agents uncovered evidence of five additional victims between the ages of 12 and 15 living in Illinois, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee and California. In each instance, Soledad had coerced the children to produce sexually explicit images and videos.

         “As this case dramatically demonstrates, child pornography is not a victimless crime,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “This crime has unimaginable and devastating impacts on young victims, and the market for these images only encourages additional exploitation.”

         A search of Soledad’s digital devices revealed more than 5,000 images and videos of suspected child pornography. The majority of the child pornography images appear to have been self-produced by the depicted victims. Law enforcement has not yet identified all of the victimized children.

         Anyone with information about Soledad – or his Snapchat handle, “linkinparkrocks” – is encouraged to call HSI’s toll-free tip line 1-866-2DHS-ICE or 1-866-234-7423

         “Tragically, cases like this are part of a growing trend where children are being enticed, tricked, and coerced online by adults to produce sexually explicit material of themselves,” said Edward Owens, deputy special agent in charge for HSI Los Angeles. “The decision by the victim’s parents to quickly alert law enforcement may have saved an untold number of other children from falling prey, but the key to combatting online sexual predation is for children and adults alike to learn how to stay safe in cyberspace. As we tell participants in HSI’s Project iGuardian internet safety training, ‘we all need to think before we click.’”

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

         If he is convicted of the charge of producing child pornography, Soledad would face a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in federal prison and he could be sentenced to as much as 30 years.

         This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Teresa K.B. Beecham.

          RIVERSIDE, California – The former CEO of Axium International, Inc., a leading Hollywood payroll services company until it collapsed in 2008, has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for defrauding the Internal Revenue Service by failing to report as income millions of dollars he skimmed from company coffers.

          John Visconti, 74, of Beverly Hills, was sentenced on Monday by United States District Judge Jesus G. Bernal, who also ordered the defendant to pay $1.75 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

          Visconti was convicted by a federal jury in October of tax evasion, conspiracy to defraud the IRS, and filing a false tax return.

          Axium was one of the largest payroll services companies serving the entertainment industry, and its client list included studios, Fortune 500 companies and broadcasters. At its height, Axium’s gross revenues were well over $1 billion per year. As the payroll services provider and employer of record for its client entities, Axium regularly submitted payroll tax returns to the IRS and to the taxing authorities of several states. In some cases, those tax returns generated substantial refunds, which were supposed to be held in trust by Axium.

          As the result of gross mismanagement, Axium collapsed in 2008 after revelations that its tax delinquencies exceeded $100 million. These tax delinquencies resulted in the IRS assessing a $15 million recovery penalty against Visconti.

          According to the evidence presented at trial last fall, Visconti and Axium’s former chief operating officer – Ronald Garber, 62, of Santa Monica – used a variety of elaborate mechanisms to divert approximately $5.1 million from Axium. Additionally, Visconti took $1.9 million in corporate loans that he did not repay.

          As part of the scheme, Visconti diverted tax refund checks payable to Axium and its subsidiaries into secret bank accounts the he and Garber controlled. These diverted funds were not shown on corporate books and records, and they were not disclosed to the Axium accounting department. Garber and Visconti also diverted approximately $570,000 from Axium by paying invoices submitted by a sham construction company that they controlled. The two men also conspired to have thousands of dollars in cash from Axium delivered to them on a weekly basis.

          “While they were entrusted with overseeing the business activities of a company that was taking in hundreds of millions of dollars every year, these defendants were stealing millions from Axium,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “In addition to harming their employer and its clients, the defendants defrauded the government by failing to pay taxes on their ill-gotten gains.”

          Visconti and Garber caused millions of dollars to be diverted from Axium, and Visconti reported none of the funds pocketed by him on his federal income tax returns.

          “Using sham entities and secret bank accounts, Mr. Visconti drained Axium of millions of dollars in cash and assets to finance his lavish lifestyle,” stated Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Orlando of IRS Criminal Investigation. “Taxpayers and businesses can be assured that IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to vigorously pursue any payroll business that collects taxes and fails to pay them over to the IRS.”

          When he imposed the two-year sentence on Monday, Judge Bernal said he was balancing the seriousness of the crimes against Visconti’s recent diagnosis with a serious medical condition.

          Ronald Garber previously pleaded guilty to two counts of subscribing to a false tax return and is scheduled to be sentenced later this year. Another former Axium associate – Christina Futak, 60, of Orange – pleaded guilty to tax evasion and was sentenced to three years of probation. Futak, a former tax professional, also stipulated to the entry of a civil order enjoining her from engaging in the business of tax preparation.

          The Chapter 11 bankruptcy case for Axium, initially filed in January 2008, remains an active case proceeding in which thousands of documents have been filed.

          The investigation into Axium was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Angela J. Davis of the Major Frauds Section.

          LOS ANGELES – A longtime U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer was sentenced on Monday to over three years in federal prison for stealing checks and money orders from international mail and depositing those items into bank accounts.

          Carlos Canjura, 54, of Van Nuys, was sentenced on Monday to 37 months in prison by United States District Judge Beverly Reid O'Connell. In addition to the prison term, Judge O’Connell ordered Canjura to pay $20,145 in restitution.

          A federal jury in November found Canjura guilty of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, four counts of bank fraud and four counts of possession of stolen mail.

          Canjura was a CBP Officer assigned to the International Mail Facility in Torrance, where his duties included inspecting mail and parcels arriving from other countries for narcotics, counterfeit goods, and possible fraudulent checks and negotiable instruments. The evidence presented during the three-day trial showed that Canjura used his position to steal personal checks, traveler's checks and money orders from international mail.

          Over the course of a year, Canjura stole more than 108 checks and money orders with a cumulative value of $249,212. He worked with co-conspirators to deposit those stolen checks and money orders, often fraudulently altering the checks before depositing them through ATMs or mobile phone applications.

          “This sentence sends a strong message to those in positions of public trust that corruption will not be tolerated,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “This defendant abused his position as a federal officer to personally enrich himself and undermined the public’s confidence in government services, including the United States Postal Service.”

          “Mr. Canjura’s actions earned him a significant jail sentence for using his position to steal from Postal Service customers,” said Deirdre Fike, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI and our partners will continue to pursue evidence of corruption and hold public officials accountable for their crimes.”

          Mr. Canjura has been indefinitely suspended without pay from CBP.

          The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which received assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Professional Responsibility, CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility, and the United States Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General.

          The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bryant Yang of the General Crimes Section and Assistant United States Attorney Ashwin Janakiram of the Major Frauds Section.

          LOS ANGELES – A Murietta man has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography, an offense he committed while on probation after being convicted of similar conduct in a state case.

          Anthony Michael Scotti, 21, of Murrieta, yesterday received the 168-month sentence from United States District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez.

          Scotti pleaded guilty in the federal case last April, admitting he had more than 1,000 images and videos of child pornography on an iPod and that he used the KIK messaging app to distribute images of children engaged in sex acts with adults.

          In the plea agreement filed in this case, Scotti also admitted that he used text messages to convince a 15-year-old girl in another state to take sexually explicit pictures and send them to him.

          Scotti committed the federal offense while on probation after being convicted in Riverside Superior Court about six months earlier of distribution/exhibition of lewd material to a minor.

          “In addition to his repeated criminal conduct and the online solicitation of a victim in another state, which is the offense charged in this case, this defendant admitted to engaging in other conduct involving the exploitation of children,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “We recommended this lengthy prison sentence after concluding that this defendant poses a serious danger to the safety and well-being of children.”

          This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which received substantial assistance from the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Team.

          “This lengthy sentence assures the defendant won’t pose a threat to other youths for years to come, but the case serves as a sobering reminder to parents about the importance of monitoring their children's online activity,” said Edward Owens, deputy special agent in charge for HSI Los Angeles. “The internet has become the preferred hunting ground for child sex predators seeking innocent young victims. For parents, keeping their children safe means keeping a close eye on their interactions online and on social media. You’d never allow your child to walk down a dark alley alone at night. Well, figuratively speaking, the internet is today’s dark alley.”

          This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Teresa K.B. Beecham.

          LOS ANGELES – A 28-year-old woman arrested early this morning at Los Angeles International Airport has been charged with trying to smuggle at least a kilogram of cocaine to her hometown of Detroit.

          Kennsha Mason, 28, was arrested by special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration after boarding a Spirit Airlines flight. Mason is scheduled to make her first court appearance this afternoon United States District Court.

          A criminal complaint filed this morning alleges the narcotics were discovered in Mason’s luggage after she checked in for a flight bound for Baltimore, which was a layover on a trip to Detroit. After seeing something suspicious in one of the bags during an image scan, the Transportation Security Administration inspected the bag, and discovered three individually wrapped items that were vacuum sealed and wrapped with a layer of carbon paper.

          Los Angeles Airport Police responded to the scene, located Mason on her Spirit Airlines flight, and escorted her off the airplane. During a subsequent interview, Mason admitted to DEA special agents that she had previously transported drugs from Los Angeles to Detroit on four or five occasions, and that she was paid $3,500 each time she transported narcotics to Detroit. During the interview recounted in the affidavit, Mason stated that she was working for an individual in Detroit who purchased Mason’s airline tickets and directed Mason to a residence in Pasadena, where she obtained the drugs to be delivered to Detroit.

          “Our nation’s air travel system is designed to carry people to see loved ones and conduct business – not as a means to smuggle narcotics or other contraband,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “We actively work to interdict drug shipments as part of our mission to protect our critical infrastructure. Those who threaten that infrastructure will be subject to vigorous prosecution.”

          The complaint charges Mason with possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance. If convicted, she faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

          “The trend of criminal organizations utilizing the Los Angeles International Airport to distribute narcotics nationwide is on the rise,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Steve Comer. “Every time an illegal substance is smuggled onto a commercial airliner, it presents an unacceptable compromise to passenger safety. We’ll continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to mitigate these threats and bring the violators to justice.”

          Mason is charged in relation to only one of the three packages recovered from her luggage. Authorities are in the process of testing the other two packages to confirm the presence of cocaine. The total gross weight of all three packages was approximately four kilograms, which is more than eight pounds.

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

          The DEA Los Angeles International Airport Narcotics Task Force, an inter-agency task force based at LAX, is conducting this investigation. The Task Force is charged with providing a coordinated law enforcement effort to target airport/airline internal criminal enterprises that use the aviation system to transport large amounts of illicit drugs throughout the United States, and throughout the world.

          In addition to the DEA, the Task Force is made up of representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Los Angeles Airport Police, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The Task Force also works closely with the United States Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration.

          The case against Mason is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Reema M. El-Amamy of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.

          LOS ANGELES – The operator of rehabilitation clinic in Walnut was sentenced today to 63 months in prison for his role in a $3.4 million Medicare fraud scheme that involved billing for occupational therapy services that were not medically necessary and not provided.

          Simon Hong, 55, of Brea, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge George H. Wu, who also ordered the defendant to pay $2,407,857 in restitution. Hong pleaded guilty on December 15 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

          Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker and Special Agent in Charge Christian J. Schrank of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Los Angeles Regional Office made the announcement.

          “This defendant has now been convicted and sentenced to federal prison in two separate schemes that cost taxpayers millions of dollars,” said United States Attorney Decker. “This type of fraudulent conduct is a burden on the entire health care system, drives up costs for patients and compromises the delivery of services to people who legitimately need care.”

          In addition to today’s sentence, Hong was sentenced in January to over 10 years in prison in a separate case. The 63-month sentence imposed today by Judge Wu will run concurrently to the sentence imposed by Judge Carter.

          As part of the guilty plea that led to today’s sentencing, Hong admitted that he owned JH Physical Therapy Inc., an occupational therapy clinic in Walnut, but hid his ownership in the name of a “straw”or nominee owner in an effort to execute and conceal the fraudulent scheme. Hong admitted that as part of the scheme, he billed Medicare for occupational therapy services when no such services were provided to the Medicare beneficiaries. Instead, the Medicare beneficiaries received acupuncture and massage services, which were not reimbursable by Medicare. Hong further admitted that he directed co-conspirator therapists to falsify medical records to make it appear as if the services billed had been actually provided and funneled 87 percent of the proceeds from Medicare to himself.

          Through this scheme, Hong admitted that he and his co-conspirators billed Medicare approximately $3,454,485 from October 2009 until December 2012 in false claims and received approximately $2,407,857.

          Hong was charged by indictment on June 16, 2016, along with Grace Hong, 51, of Brea, and Keith Canlapan, 38, of West Covina. Canlapan pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit health care fraud, and Grace Hong is scheduled for trial March 21. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

          HHS-OIG investigated the case. The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section Trial Attorney Niall M. O’Donnell and Former Fraud Section Trial Attorney Blanca Quintero prosecuted the case.

          LOS ANGELES – In three trials last week, federal juries convicted four Southern California men on charges of illegal weapons possession and gun trafficking.

          After deliberating for only an hour on Friday, a jury in Los Angeles found two men guilty of illegally selling firearms. Francisco Juantonio Hilt, 39, of Compton, and Sean Ronaldo Alexander, 37, of South Los Angeles, each were convicted of multiple counts of gun trafficking.

          Hilt and Alexander were found guilty in relation to seven illegal gun transactions involving a total of 30 guns, including military-style weapons and stolen firearms. The evidence at trial showed that the men believed they were supplying guns to the Armenian Mafia and the “Mexican Cartel,” and the firearms were sold to an individual that Hilt believed was a convicted felon. Both defendants were found guilty of conspiracy and engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license. Hilt was also convicted of several counts of being a felon in possession of firearms and sale of a firearm to a prohibited person.

          Hilt and Alexander were charged as the result of an operation last year by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that targeted the sale of guns in and around Compton and Mona Park in Willowbrook. During the course of the year-long investigation, authorities took more than 100 illegally trafficked firearms off the streets, and 14 defendants were charged in federal and state court.

          As a result of Friday’s guilty verdicts, Hilt, who has a previous drug conviction, faces a statutory maximum sentence of 90 years in federal prison, and Alexander faces a maximum sentence of 10 years, when they are sentenced on June 5 by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner.

          A third defendant charged in this case – Jamie Maurice Thomas, 38, of South Los Angeles – pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy and selling a firearm to a prohibited person. Thomas faces up to 15 years in federal prison when he is sentenced by Judge Klausner on March 27.

          “The availability of illegal firearms dramatically increases the incidence of violent crime,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “In each of the cases announced today, convicted felons possessed firearms, and, in two of the cases, the defendants either sold or claimed to want to sell guns. My office is focused on removing felons who would sell or possess firearms from our streets, and our community is safer today with these four defendants facing significant prison time.”

          Eric Harden, the Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Los Angeles Field Division, stated: “ATF reduces violent crime by partnering with the local law enforcement to identify, investigate, and arrest those who illegally supply firearms to prohibited individuals, and by targeting previously convicted felons who possess firearms. The dedicated personnel of ATF work tirelessly to rid our communities of criminals who have multiple violent convictions and upon release go right back to the streets to commit firearms violence. These solid investigations will result in significant prison time for these individuals, making for safer neighborhoods.”

          In a second weapons case that went to trial last week in Los Angeles, a federal jury on Thursday convicted Samir Fouad Benamor, 48, of Torrance, of being a convicted felon who unlawfully possessed a shotgun in violation of federal law. He was convicted after a three-day trial and will be sentenced on June 5 by United States District Judge S. James Otero. At sentencing, Benamor – who has been previously convicted of six different felonies, including domestic violence, drug trafficking and illegal firearms possessiom – will face a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.

          The evidence at Benamor’s trial showed that on June 2, 2016, law enforcement officers with the Torrance Police Department conducted a post-release community supervision search of Benamor’s residence and vehicle in Torrance. During the search of Benamor’s vehicle, a Torrance Police Department Detective located a shotgun under the seat of the vehicle. As Benamor had previously sustained a felony conviction, he was prohibited under federal law from possessing the shotgun in his vehicle. Benamor admitted to another Detective that he unlawfully possessed the shotgun, but claimed that he intended to sell it.

          “On behalf of the Torrance Police Department, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, as well as the United States Attorney’s Office, for their professionalism and dedication in this matter,” said Torrance Chief of Police Mark Matsuda. “Their partnership with us in this case contributed towards our goal of providing a safe and secure community for our residents.”

          In the third firearms-related trial last week, a federal jury in Santa Ana on Thursday convicted Tony Eugene Craig, 45, of North Hollywood, of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

          On January 8, 2016, members of the United States Marshals Service’s Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force located Craig in North Hollywood. Craig. who had absconded from his federal supervised release, was found hiding in a back bedroom after his girlfriend told Task Force members that he was not home. During a protective sweep of the room where Craig was located, law enforcement agents found a loaded .357 Magnum revolver on the floor next to the bed.

          Craig had been previously convicted of six different felonies, including domestic violence, drug trafficking and illegal firearms possession. Craig was on supervised release after serving a prison term in relation to a 2003 conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine when he was found in possession of the firearm and ammunition.

          Craig faces a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on June 12 by United States District Andrew J. Guilford.

          These three cases are representative of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s focus on working with both federal and local law enforcement partners to address violent crime and to remove criminals possessing illegal firearms from the street. That focus resulted in a more than three-fold increase in prosecutions of those who illegally possessed weapons between 2014 and 2016, and prosecutors expect the number of those cases to continue to rise.

          The case against Hilt and Alexander was investigated by ATF and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Veronica Dragalin and Bryant Yang of the General Crimes Section.

          The case against Benamor was investigated by ATF and the Torrance Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew W. O’Brien of the General Crimes Section.

          The case against Craig was investigated by ATF and the USMS Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Khaldoun Shobaki of the General Crimes Section.

          RIVERSIDE, California – A father and son have been arrested and charged in federal court in connection with a robbery late last week at a United States Postal Service facility in Victorville.

          According to court documents filed on Friday, the father and son – Corey Parker Sr., 46, and Corey Parker Jr., 23, both of Adelanto – also are suspects in a series of Postal truck robberies across Southern California that has caused more than $400,000 in losses.

          The Parkers were charged Friday in a criminal complaint filed in United States District Court. The complaint charges both men with conspiracy to rob the Victorville Post Office on Thursday night.

          According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaints, the pair also are believed to have committed a string of postal truck robberies over the last 18 months – thefts that occurred while the trucks were moving or otherwise in transit. During those robberies, the thieves jumped on the back of a postal truck and opened the rear door to steal the truck’s contents, specifically registered mail that included cash, checks and money orders.

          The Parkers made their initial court appearances on Friday afternoon, and United States Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym ordered them detained – held without bond – pending trial. A preliminary hearing in this case was scheduled for March 17, and the two men are scheduled to be arraigned on March 22.

          “The brazen acts of these defendants demonstrate the lengths to which mail thieves will go, including jumping onto moving vehicles and attempting to rob secure post offices,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “This case is the latest of several cases highlighting my office’s focus on criminals victimizing the Postal Service and its customers.”

          “This arrest is a result of determination and good old-fashioned police work exhibited by the Postal Inspectors assigned to the case,” said William Hedrick, Postal Inspector in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Office. He added, “A large part of the Postal Inspection Service mission is assuring the safety of postal employees and we want them to have confidence that they can focus on their duties. These types of crimes against postal employees are rare, but when they do occur, they become top priority for us.”

          If convicted of the conspiracy charge in the criminal complaint, the defendants each would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

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

          This matter is being investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, with the assistance of the Rialto Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bilal Essayli of the Riverside Branch Office.

          The Parkers are the latest defendants to be charged in relation to crimes affecting the mails and the United States Postal Service.

          Other cases prosecuted recently by the United States Attorney’s Office include:

• 33 defendants charged across 28 cases;
• 11 defendants charged across seven cases in the Inland Empire;
• Carlos Canjura, 54 of Van Nuys;
• Chinh Vuong, 48, of Garden Grove;
• Bernie Martinez, 23, and Kammi Leigh Vestesen, 24, both of Corona; and
• Paul Wagner, 28, of Corona.

          This representative sample of cases is only a portion of the cases charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in which the mail service was victimized. To address the rising problem of mail theft and crimes such as identity theft that flow from mail theft, the Los Angeles-based U.S. Attorney’s Office more than doubled the number of cases charged which were investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service from 2015 to 2016.

A rehabilitation clinic operator in Los Angeles County was sentenced to 63 months in prison today for his role in a $3.4 million Medicare fraud scheme that involved billing for occupational therapy services that were not medically necessary and not provided. 

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Eillen M. Decker of the Central District of California and Special Agent in Charge Christian J. Schrank of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Los Angeles Regional Office made the announcement.

Simon Hong, 55, of Brea, California, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge George H. Wu of the Central District of California.  Judge Wu also ordered Hong to pay $2,407,857 in restitution.  Hong pleaded guilty on Dec. 15, 2016, to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. 

As part of that guilty plea, Hong admitted that he owned JH Physical Therapy Inc., an occupational therapy clinic in Walnut, California, but hid his ownership in the name of a “straw”or nominee owner in an effort to execute and conceal the fraudulent scheme.  Hong admitted that as part of the scheme, he billed Medicare for occupational therapy services when no such services were provided to the Medicare beneficiaries.  Instead, the Medicare beneficiaries received acupuncture and massage services, which were not reimbursable by Medicare.  Hong further admitted that he directed co-conspirator therapists to falsify medical records to make it appear as if the services billed had been actually provided and funneled 87 percent of the proceeds from Medicare to himself.  

Through this scheme, Hong admitted that he and his co-conspirators billed Medicare approximately $3,454,485 from October 2009 until December 2012 in false claims and received approximately $2,407,857. 

Hong was charged by indictment on June 16, 2016, along with Grace Hong, 51, of Brea, and Keith Canlapan, 38, of West Covina, California.  Canlapan pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit health care fraud, and Grace Hong is scheduled for trial March 21, 2017.  An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.  

In a separate case, Hong was convicted by a jury in October 2016 of eight counts of health care fraud, nine counts of illegal health care kickbacks and two counts of aggravated identity theft, involving a scheme to bill Medicare for physical therapy services that were never provided to beneficiaries.  On Jan. 10, 2017, Hong was sentenced in that case by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter of the Central District of California to 121 months in federal prison and remanded into custody.  The 63-month sentence imposed by Judge Wu will run concurrently to the sentence imposed by Judge Carter.

HHS-OIG investigated the case.  The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section Trial Attorney Niall M. O’Donnell and Former Fraud Section Trial Attorney Blanca Quintero  prosecuted the case.  

          LOS ANGELES – Two defendants linked to a mortgage fraud scheme that cost at least $2.4 million when fraudulently purchased homes went into foreclosure have been sentenced to federal prison.

          The case involves a scheme to fraudulently obtain mortgages for residential properties through the use of “straw buyers” – individuals who pretend to purchase the properties and have no intention of living in the homes. In this case, the straw buyers’ personal information was used to obtain mortgages without their knowledge. The scheme was run out of JTR Real Estate, Inc., a Norwalk-based real estate brokerage company which bought, renovated and sold residential properties.

          The two defendants sentenced on Monday by United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer were:

• John Martynec, 41, of Long Beach, a licensed real estate broker and co-owner of JTR, who previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and was sentenced to two years in prison; and
• Elek Andrade 32, of Downey, who also previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison.

          In addition to the prison terms, Judge Fisher ordered both men to pay $2,573,092 in restitution.

          Martynec was responsible at JTR for identifying distressed residential properties which could be purchased, renovated, and then sold for a profit. Andrade worked for Martynec as a real estate agent and assisted in selling the properties. When the market for renovated properties slowed in 2007, Martynec and Andrade engaged in a scheme to use straw buyers to purchase the renovated homes.

          The loan applications were submitted without the knowledge of the straw buyers and included fraudulent supporting documents, such as verifications of employment.

          As a result of the scheme, lending institutions approved and funded more than $5.2 million in loans for at least 11 properties.

          A third defendant who fabricated documents that were submitted with the fraudulent loan applications – Mireya Espinoza, 36, of Carson – was sentenced on February 6 to one year and one day in prison and was ordered to pay $1,476,966 in restitution.

          “Schemes like this can destabilize the financial industry and the real estate market,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “The last economic crisis demonstrates the dangers of such destabilization and the importance of prosecuting crimes like those committed by these defendants.”

          Leslie DeMarco, the Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General (FHFA OIG), Western Region, stated: “The housing crisis severely impacted many individuals throughout the country. Instead of working through the challenges the crisis presented, the defendants, Martynec and Andrade, engaged in a fraudulent scheme that caused additional harm to many individuals. As a result of our work, they are now being held accountable for their actions. The FHFA OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that these types of frauds are investigated and exposed to ensure the American Taxpayer is protected.”

          James Todak, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of the Inspector General, said: “HUD-OIG continues to vigilantly protect FHA-insured borrowers from those who conduct mortgage fraud schemes. These prosecutions demonstrate our commitment to protecting HUD’s important work in providing affordable home ownership.”

          This matter was investigated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of the Inspector General Office of Inspector General; and IRS Criminal Investigation.

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

          LOS ANGELES – A gang member with ties to the Mexican Mafia prison gang has been sentenced to more than 13 years in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine to street gangs in Bell Gardens.

          Guillermo Ruiz, known on the street as “Weasel,” 42, of Bell Gardens, was sentenced Monday to 160 months in prison by United States District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald.

          In October, Ruiz pleaded guilty to all six criminal charges contained in two indictments, each of which alleged narcotics distribution. Ruiz was charged pursuant to a large-scale investigation into Bell Gardens street gangs by special agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The investigation led to a total of 15 defendants being federally prosecuted narcotics and/or firearms offenses.

          Ruiz “participated in the total distribution of nearly 550 grams of methamphetamine that was seized by the government, and he is suspected of distributing even more methamphetamine based on defendant’s intercepted calls and recorded statements,” according to a sentencing memorandum filed by prosecutors. “However, defendant’s criminal activities extend beyond the drug trafficking conduct that gives rise to the underlying charges and instant convictions.”

          According to the sentencing memorandum, Ruiz was affiliated with a Mexican Mafia member who was trying to exert control over a Bell Gardens street gang. The Mexican Mafia member and Ruiz made threats of assault and murder to members of that street gang in an attempt to collect money and extend influence, according to prosecutors.

          “Illegal narcotics sales are a scourge that damage neighborhoods with addiction and violence, as this defendant’s history of drug trafficking and violent crimes illustrates,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “Criminal gangs like the Mexican Mafia and the Bell Gardens street gang involved in this case rely on drug sales to function, so my office will continue to attack their ability to make such sales.”

          Ruiz has a 25-year criminal history, including a 1997 manslaughter conviction, according to court documents. Federal grand juries returned indictments against Ruiz in 2013 and 2014 while he was a fugitive after fleeing while on trial in state court in 2011. Ruiz was taken into custody in 2015.

          “This case should leave no doubt about our resolve to attack and dismantle the criminals and street gangs that are terrorizing our neighborhoods,” said Joseph Macias, special agent in charge for HSI Los Angeles. “HSI is committed to using every tool at its disposal to combat gang-related crime and violence here and in communities across the country.”

          Ruiz had three codefendants in the 2013 case – Willie Lopez, also known as “Wino;” Miguel Angel Calderon, also known as “Speedy;” and Juan Carlos Rodriguez, also known as “Shorty” – each of whom pleaded guilty to narcotics offenses and received sentences ranging from 10 to 20 years in prison.

          In the 2014 case, Ruiz had one co-defendant – Mario Arciniega Jr., also known as “Osito” – who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

          Once he is released from prison, Ruiz will be on supervised release for five years, during which he will be subject to suspicionless searches at any time by authorities.

          This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chou of the Violent and Organized Crime Section.

          SANTA ANA, California – A onetime school teacher who traveled to the Philippines to engage in sex with two girls and produced videos of the abuse was ordered today to serve 190 years in federal prison.

          Robert Ruben Ornelas, 66, of Santa Ana, who has a long history of abusing children, received the 2,280-month sentence from United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney.

          During today’s hearing, Judge Carney said Ornelas molested children in a “cruel manner” and the defendant demonstrated a complete disregard for his victims’ humanity.

          Ornelas was found guilty in November by a federal jury of seven counts – two counts of engaging in sexual conduct in a foreign place, three counts of producing child pornography, and two counts of possessing child pornography.

          The evidence presented during a six-day trial showed that Ornelas traveled to the Philippines on multiple occasions. He was convicted in relation to three specific trips – in 2006, 2008 and 2012 – where he sexually assaulted two girls who were as young as approximately eight. During all three trips, Ornelas took videos of the molestation and brought the images with him when he returned the U.S.

          The two victims travelled to the United States to testify during the trial about the sexual assaults, and made statements at today’s hearing. One of the victims said: “Why did I meet this person? He destroyed my dreams.”

          “Today’s sentence ensures life imprisonment for this predator whose history of abusing minors began a half-century ago,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “For seven years, this defendant repeatedly travelled to the Philippines, where he paid family members for sexual access to little girls who were living in poverty. The defendant claimed to be an attorney and promised to help the victims by funding their educations, but he brought trauma and anguish to their lives for which no amount of money could compensate.”

          The investigation into Ornelas began in 2013 when federal authorities received a tip that he possessed a large quantity of child pornography. During the execution of a search warrant, investigators found images, videos and information on Ornelas’ computer and digital media.

          In sentencing papers filed with the court, prosecutors pointed out that Ornelas’ history of sexually abusing minors extended back to the 1960s.

          The federal charges are the product of an investigation by the Orange County Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Newport Beach Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

          “This sentence should serve as a powerful deterrent to child predators who mistakenly believe the internet and a plane ticket will enable them to indulge their perverse desires with impunity,” said Joseph Macias, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Los Angeles. “HSI will continue to work closely with its law enforcement partners here in the U.S. and around the world to hold these dangerous sexual predators accountable for their actions. There can be no place for the abuse of foreign children by our citizens.”

          “Defendant Ornelas took advantage of impoverished children in a foreign country, away from the scrutiny of the United States, where his past involved abusing children,” said Deirdre Fike, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. “His young victims demonstrated tremendous bravery by traveling to a foreign country to testify about the crimes perpetrated against them, and we owe them a debt of gratitude for assisting the government in putting Ornelas away for the rest of his life.”

          This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sandy N. Leal and Anne C. Gannon of the Santa Ana Branch Office.

          LOS ANGELES – A former baggage handler employed at Los Angeles International Airport was arrested Tuesday for smuggling cocaine by authorities investigating the use of employee credentials to breach airport security.

          Alberto H. Botello, 23, of South Gate, was arrested Tuesday evening without incident by law enforcement officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Los Angeles World Airports Police Department.

          Botello is charged in a federal indictment with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and to distribute cocaine. His co-defendants, Adrian Ponce, 28, and Alberto Preciado Gutierrez, 27, both of South Gate, were also former baggage handlers and were arrested by law enforcement in the Spring of 2016. Botello made his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles.

          According to court documents, Ponce, Preciado Gutierrez, and Botello facilitated the ability of third-party couriers to use commercial airlines to smuggle kilogram “samples” of cocaine from Los Angeles to drug customers on the East Coast. At the time of the conspiracy, Preciado Gutierrez was a supervisory baggage handler employed by Swissport International at LAX.

          During the investigation, law enforcement seized a kilogram of cocaine in Preciado Gutierrez’s possession on December 16, 2015. According to court documents, the seizure was made in a restroom in Terminal 3 at LAX, where Preciado Gutierrez was delivering the cocaine to a courier who was holding a boarding pass to travel on a JetBlue flight to New York only an hour later. After this incident Preciado Gutierrez was terminated by Swissport.

          The following day law enforcement interviewed Ponce, who had been taken into custody while waiting for Preciado Gutierrez outside Terminal 3. According to court documents, Ponce gave a written statement in which he admitted that, “on multiple occasions,” he and Preciado Gutierrez had used Preciado Gutierrez ’s supervisory status as an LAX employee to smuggle drugs to out-of-state drug customers by using third-party couriers who had booked flights from LAX to the East Coast and who were willing to take the drugs on a commercial flight in exchange for payment.

          “Airport employees, who by virtue of their jobs have special access to secured areas, play an important role in the security of air travelers and our national security,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “Instead of protecting our security, these defendants are charged with abusing their special access for personal profit and exposing unsuspecting air travelers to nationwide drug trafficking.”

          In another statement given to law enforcement officials in 2016, Ponce allegedly admitted working with a large-scale drug supplier, and he explained how couriers with travel document would pass through normal airport security and would be provided with kilogram quantities of cocaine by Preciado Gutierrez, who had used his employee credentials to bypass security screening. According to court documents, Ponce told law enforcement that if East Coast customers liked the cocaine “sample,” then large shipments – more than 100 kilograms – would be delivered by driving the narcotics across the country. Ponce allegedly admitted actually driving trucks laden with drugs, also in exchange for payment.

          “The national security threat posed by drug trafficking is multi-faceted, and we’re aggressively targeting these sorts of security breaches at our nation’s sea, land, and airports” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Steve Comer.

          Ponce previously worked at LAX for a baggage handling service that was recently acquired by Swissport.

          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 the charged offenses, Ponce, Preciado Gutierrez, and Botello would face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison, and a statutory maximum sentence of 40 years.

          This investigation was conducted by the DEA Los Angeles International Airport Narcotics Task Force, an inter-agency task force based at LAX. In addition to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Task Force is made up of representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Los Angeles World Airports Police Department, the Los Angeles Police Department, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The Task Force also works closely with the United States Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration.

          The DEA Los Angeles International Airport Narcotics Task Force is providing a coordinated law enforcement effort to target airport/airline internal criminal enterprises that use the aviation system to transport large amounts of illicit drugs throughout the United States, and throughout the world. Swissport International cooperated in the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Reema M. El-Amamy of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.

LOS ANGELES – The 12th man convicted in an ATM skimming scheme has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison.

          Oliver Raducu Marian, 37, of Romania, was sentenced yesterday to 46 months in federal prison by United States District Otis D. Wright III. In addition to the prison term, Judge Wright ordered Marian to pay restitution of $799,978.

          Marian pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. According to court documents, the conspiracy began as early as November 2012 and continued to October 2013. The conspirators, all Romanian nationals, attached skimming devices and video cameras to ATM machines and vestibules in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, the San Francisco area, and Las Vegas. The equipment was used to capture the customers’ debit card numbers and PIN numbers.

          The defendants then downloaded the stolen information to blank cards and withdrew money from the accounts. Over the course of the scheme, the conspirators stole approximately $800,000 in cash from approximately 3,468 victims. The cash was spent on apartments and storage units.

          “Although this defendant had fled the United States, U.S. law enforcement in cooperation with foreign law enforcement was able to bring him back to face judgment,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “International borders do not deter the Department of Justice from prosecuting those who commit crimes against the U.S.”

          “Cases like this remind us that we should be extra cautions when using our debit cards and cover the keypad when entering our pin numbers," said Deirdre Fike, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. "Anyone with information as to the whereabouts of fugitive, Ioan Claudiu Buculei, is urged to contact the FBI.”

          Marian, who was extradited back to the United States from the United Kingdom, was the 12th member of the conspiracy to be sentenced. The other defendants, all Romanian nationals, who have been sentenced by Judge Wright are:

• Gheorghita Vlasin, age 30, sentenced to 51 months;
• Petru Olteanu-Ursachi, age 40, sentenced to 46 months;
• Bogdan Ciuchi, age 31, sentenced to 46 months;
• Codrin Marian Lupu, age 43, sentenced to 72 months (extradited from Romania);
• Adrian Saran, age 41, sentenced to 57 months;
• Marius Robert Manciu, age 32, sentenced to 46 months;
• Roman Florin, age 35, sentenced to 46 months;
• Vasile Gabrial Branisteanu, age 35, sentenced to 46 months;
• Cotovanu Claudiu-Dumitriu, age 35, sentenced to 70 months;
• Dumitru Marios Calian, age 36, sentenced to 46 months; and
• Vasilica-Iulian Fuioaga, age 39, sentenced to 63 months.

          The 13th man charged in the investigation, Ioan Claudiu Buculei, age 39, of Romania, remains a fugitive.

          This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Los Angeles Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison, Chief of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section.

          LOS ANGELES – A Chicago woman is facing a federal drug trafficking charge for allegedly trying to smuggle at least a kilogram of heroin and four kilograms of marijuana on a plane leaving Los Angeles International Airport.

          Beige White, 34, was arrested Wednesday at LAX by special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration. White made her initial court appearance yesterday afternoon, at which time she was ordered held without bond and was directed to appear for an arraignment on March 24, 2017.

          A criminal complaint filed Wednesday in United States District Court specifically alleges that White attempted to smuggle approximately 2.28 pounds of heroin and 9 pounds of marijuana through a security checkpoint at LAX on Monday.

          The narcotics were discovered in White’s luggage after she had checked in for a Southwest Airlines flight to Chicago. After seeing something suspicious in one of the bags during an image scan, the Transportation Security Administration inspected the bag and discovered a clear plastic bag containing a substance later determined to be heroin, as well as multiple sealed plastic bags containing marijuana. Another piece of checked luggage in White’s name also allegedly contained marijuana.

          Los Angeles Airport Police responded to the scene, located White on her Southwest flight, and escorted her off the airplane. During a subsequent interview, White admitted to personnel with the Los Angeles Airport Police and the DEA that the bags containing the heroin and marijuana were hers, and that she and a friend had traveled from Chicago to attend events related to the Grammy Awards. According to White’s statement recounted in the affidavit in support of the complaint, her friend had purchased her airline ticket and offered to pay White $1,500 if she agreed to transport marijuana back to Chicago on her return flight. During the interview, White denied knowledge of the heroin that was in the same checked luggage as some of the marijuana, according to the affidavit.

          Following the interview on Monday, White was released pending further federal investigation. Federal prosecutors filed the criminal complaint on Wednesday, and White was taken into custody before she boarded another flight to return home.

          “The Department of Justice protects our nation’s critical infrastructure, of which airports and airlines are an important part,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “Air travelers should not have to worry about drug smugglers attempting to use planes as vehicles to commit crimes.”

          The complaint charges White with possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance. If she were to be convicted of that charge, she would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

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

          The DEA Los Angeles International Airport Narcotics Task Force, an inter-agency task force based at LAX, is conducting this investigation. The Task Force is charged with providing a coordinated law enforcement effort to target criminal enterprises that use the aviation system to transport large amounts of illicit drugs and drug proceeds throughout the United States.

          In addition to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Task Force is made up of representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Los Angeles Airport Police, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The Task Force also works closely with the United States Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration.

          The case against White is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Reema M. El-Amamy of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.

          RIVERSIDE, California – Federal authorities this morning arrested a Perris man who was indicted last week by a grand jury on child pornography offenses stemming from a large collection of illicit images found on his home computer and evidence that he was engaged in online trading of child pornography with others, including an undercover law enforcement officer.

          Jerry Glen Moran Jr., 63, was taken into custody without incident by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. Moran is expected to be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court.

          A federal grand jury on February 8th named Moran in a four-count indictment that charges the defendant with one count of advertising child pornography, two counts of distributing child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

          During the investigation, authorities recovered tens of thousands of images and videos on Moran’s home computer and in emails that he had sent and received. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reviewed many of the computer files and identified thousands of them as being known images and videos of child pornography.

          The investigation into Moran began after he was found to be a user of a foreign photo-sharing website identified by law enforcement as a platform used by child pornographers to meet and trade child pornography.

          “The online child pornography market presents an ongoing threat to children who are abused to produce material,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “A child is victimized every time an image is generated and every time it is distributed. This defendant’s conduct is more serious because he advertised his collection to others.”

          “Every time a sexually explicit image of a child is downloaded and viewed, that victim is violated yet again,” said Joseph Macias, special agent in charge for HSI Los Angeles. “It is our duty as law enforcement officers, to protect those who cannot protect themselves. HSI will continue to pursue child predators and make them accountable for their unconscionable actions.”

          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 charge of advertising child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum penalty of 30 years. The charge of distributing child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years. The charge of possession of child pornography carries a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison.

          This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Teresa K.B. Beecham of the Riverside Branch Office.

          LOS ANGELES – A South Los Angeles man has pleaded guilty to federal mail fraud and wire fraud charges for his role in a lottery scam that targeted elderly victims with false promises of large cash prizes and cars that would be delivered when victims paid taxes, fees or insurance.

          Carl Dean Bullock, 65, entered his guilty pleas to the two felony counts on Monday before United States District George H. Wu.

          According to a plea agreement filed in the case, the lottery scam defrauded victims who were falsely told they had won the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes or other lottery prizes, but they needed to pay some sort of fee or tax to collect the winnings.

          “This defendant’s fraud scheme targeted elderly victims with false promises of cars and cash prizes,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “All those who receive telephone calls from people promising prizes in exchange for money must be very wary and should take steps to confirm the reliability of the source of the call prior to sending anything.”

          In his plea agreement, Bullock admitted participating in a lottery scam in which he and other members of the scheme collected money via Western Union and MoneyGram wire transfers, money orders sent through the U.S. Mail and direct cash payments. Bullock personally received at least $45,000, some of which he shared with his co-schemers, most of whom were in Jamaica.

          Los Angeles Postal Inspector in Charge Robert Wemyss stated, “This investigation was an excellent example of a partnership between local and federal law enforcement agencies, working together to ensure that the nation’s mail system is not used as a tool for fraud. I fully commend the hard work and countless hours put forth by all of the law enforcement agencies involved, which resulted in bringing this individual to justice.”

          Judge Wu is scheduled to sentence Bullock on April 17. The wire fraud and mail fraud charges each carry a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

          The investigation in this case is being conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service, which received substantial assistance from the Glendale Police Department. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Michael G. Freedman of the General Crimes section.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

          LOS ANGELES – A member of the Avenues street gang who was on the run for well over a decade pleaded not guilty this morning to federal hate crimes charges stemming from the racially motivated murders of two African-American men in Highland Park.

          Merced Cambero Jr., 38, whose street name was “Shadow,” entered not guilty pleas before United States District Judge Percy Anderson, who scheduled a trial on March 28.

          Cambero was repatriated to the United States and turned over to the custody of special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department on February 3 at the San Ysidro Port of Entry after he was deported by Mexican immigration authorities. In the weeks leading up to his deportation, Cambero had been detained in Baja California by Mexican law enforcement officers on an unrelated matter and was found to be using a false identification. Further investigation by Mexican authorities and members of the San Diego Police Department verified Cambero’s true identity and the outstanding federal civil rights charges in Los Angeles. At his initial court appearance later that day in United States District Court in Los Angeles, Cambero was ordered held in custody without bond.

          Cambero faces three felony counts, including conspiring to violate the civil rights of African Americans who resided in Highland Park. Among the victims of the plot was Kenneth Kurry Wilson, a 38-year-old African-American man who was fatally shot in Highland Park on April 18, 1999. Members of the conspiracy also murdered Christopher Bowser, an African-American man who was shot while waiting at a bus stop in Highland Park on Dec. 11, 2000.

          The conspiracy charge specially alleges that Cambero:

• participated in a 1997 attack on African-American men who were playing basketball in a park;
• was among several gang members who ambushed an African-American man in 1998 and struck him in the head with a metal object;
• attacked an African-American man in a park in 1999;
• directed racial slurs at an African-American girl in a supermarket and an African-American man walking down a street in 1999; and
• was one of two triggermen in the murder of Kenneth Wilson.

          The indictment also charges Cambero with violating Wilson’s civil rights by murdering him because he was African American and because he was using the public streets of Los Angeles. The third count of the indictment charges Camero with using a firearm during the commission of the federal conspiracy and hate crime charges.

          Cambero was among five Avenues members who were indicted in 2004 in the first case in the nation to allege civil rights crimes against members of a street gang. The other four defendants were convicted at trial, and each was sentenced in 2006 and 2007 to life-without-parole in federal prison.

          “The victims in this case were targeted simply because of their skin color and because members of the gang wanted to rid their neighborhood of African Americans,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “The heinous conduct with which this defendant is charged has no place in this nation, and the Department of Justice will stand steadfastly against hate crimes like those charged. Despite this defendant’s efforts to avoid prosecution over the course of many years, his appearance in court today demonstrates that law enforcement and my office will be tenacious in pursuing justice against such criminal conduct.”

          “The apprehension of Mr. Cambero is the latest example of success among agencies cooperating internationally,” said Deirdre Fike, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “In addition, this arrest proves that leaving the country and evading capture for 15 years will not deter law enforcement in finding justice for victims of crime; in Mr. Cambero’s case, civil rights violations involving the alleged murder of an innocent man based on the color of his skin.”

          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 he is convicted of the charges in the indictment, Cambero would face a potential sentence of life without parole in federal prison.

          The arrest of Cambero is a result of a collaborative effort by Mexican law enforcement and immigration authorities; the San Diego Police Department; the FBI’s Los Angeles and San Diego Field Offices; and the FBI’s Legal Attaché in Mexico City. The investigation that led to the civil rights charges against Cambero was conducted by the FBI in Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Police Department.

          This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel J. O’Brien of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section and Jennifer Chou of the Violent and Organized Crime Section.

          RIVERSIDE, California – Enrique Marquez Jr. – a longtime friend of Syed Rizwan Farook, the male shooter in the San Bernardino terrorist attack – has agreed to plead guilty to conspiring with Farook in 2011 and 2012 to provide material support to terrorists.

          Marquez, 25, of Riverside, entered into a plea agreement that was filed today in United States District Court. The defendant is scheduled to enter his guilty pleas Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. before United States District Judge Jesus Bernal.

          In the plea agreement, Marquez agreed to plead guilty to providing material support and resources to terrorists, including weapons, explosives and personnel. Marquez admitted in the plea agreement that he conspired with Farook in 2011 and 2012 to attack Riverside City College (RCC) and commuter traffic on the 91 Freeway.

          Marquez also agreed to plead guilty to making false statements in connection with the acquisition of a firearm for being the “straw buyer” of two assault rifles that were used in the shooting rampage at the San Bernardino Inland Regional Center (IRC) on December 2, 2015.

          “This defendant collaborated with and purchased weapons for a man who carried out the devastating December 2, 2015 terrorist attack that took the lives of 14 innocent people, wounded nearly two dozen, and impacted our entire nation,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “While his earlier plans to attack a school and a freeway were not executed, the planning clearly laid the foundation for the 2015 attack on the Inland Regional Center. When this defendant pleads guilty, all four individuals charged, including three of the shooters’ family members, will be convicted. Everyone in the U.S. Attorney’s Office – and everyone across the Department of Justice and the broader law enforcement community – brought their expertise, dedication, and tireless effort to bear on this investigation. We are, and will continue to be, deeply committed to pursuing the prosecution of everyone who was even remotely related to the San Bernardino attack. As these criminal cases begin to resolve, we hope that the victims of the attack and the community of San Bernardino are comforted in some small way by the knowledge that the Department of Justice and the law enforcement community stands with them in this investigation, resolute and committed to justice.”

          “With this plea, Enrique Marquez Jr. will be held accountable for his role in plotting terrorist attacks on American soil with Sayed Rizwan Farook in 2011 and 2012, attacks which were, fortunately, not carried out,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary B. McCord. “Marquez also admitted to making a false statement as part of his straw purchases of weapons for Farook – weapons that were eventually used to carry out the deadly terrorist attack in San Bernardino. Holding those who threaten our national security and public safety accountable will always be the highest priority of the National Security Division and I want to thank all of the agents, analysts, and prosecutors who are responsible for this result.”

          Marquez was arrested about two weeks after the attack at the IRC, which was perpetrated by Farook, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, who were killed in a shootout with law enforcement hours after the attack.

          The investigation into the deadly shooting quickly uncovered evidence that, in 2011 and 2012, Marquez purchased two rifles that Farook and Malik later used in the attack that killed 14 people and wounded 22 others at the IRC. A law enforcement officer was wounded during the shootout that afternoon.

          According to the plea agreement, Farook paid Marquez for the rifles. Marquez also discussed with Farook the use of radio-controlled improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during the planned attacks on the RCC and State Route 91. Marquez purchased Christmas tree lightbulbs and a container of smokeless powder for use in manufacturing IEDs.

          “Defendant Marquez purchased two of the weapons used in the San Bernardino terror attack to murder 14 innocent people and seriously injure 22 others – a horrific act which led to great suffering and a lifetime of pain for the survivors and for the loved ones of those murdered,” said Deirdre Fike, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. “Defendant Marquez provided these weapons to his associate, Syed Rizwan Farook, with whom he conspired to plot chilling terror attacks. I’m gratified that this guilty plea will spare the victims and the San Bernardino community from having to relive the gruesome details of the attack during what would likely be a lengthy trial.”

          Once he pleads guilty, Marquez will face a statutory maximum sentence of 25 years in federal prison.

          Marquez, who did not personally participate in the attack on the IRC, has remained in custody since he was ordered detained at his initial court appearance in this case on December 17, 2015.

          The plea agreement filed today is the result of an investigation by several members of the Inland Empire Joint Terrorism Task Force, including agents and detectives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the San Bernardino Police Department; the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department; the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office; the Chino Police Department; the Redlands Police Department; the Ontario Police Department; the Corona Police Department; and the Riverside Police Department.

          “Straw purchasers are criminals who are the beginning of the chain of violence in our country,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Eric D. Harden. “It is purchases like Marquez’s that led to the terror on that tragic day in San Bernardino. The crime goes beyond making a false statement on a government form. It puts guns in the hands of criminals who will victimize the community. In this case, the straw purchase is as reprehensible as the attack.

          “This guilty plea will bring much needed closure to a case that devastated those victims and families associated with the senseless attack on December 2, 2015, an attack that also deeply impacted our community,” said San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan. “This case a perfect example of local and federal authorities working together with a common purpose for the sake of the victims.”

          San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon stated: “December 2nd will forever haunt the memories of the victims’ families and the survivors who have lived through the tragedy. I pray today's guilty plea brings all of us a bit of justice.”

          Also as a result of the investigation into the IRC attack, three people have pleaded guilty to being part of a sham marriage scheme in which a Russian woman “married” Marquez to obtain immigration benefits.

          Syed Raheel Farook, the brother of IRC attacker Syed Rizwan Farook; Tatiana Farook, who is Syed Raheel Farook’s wife; and Mariya Chernykh, who is Tatiana Farook’s sister, pleaded guilty earlier this year to immigration fraud charges and admitted being part of conspiracy in which Chernykh paid Marquez to enter into a bogus marriage.

          The case against Marquez and the immigration fraud case are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jay H. Robinson, Melanie Sartoris and Deirdre Z. Eliot of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section. Trial Attorney C. Alexandria Bogle of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section provided substantial assistance.

Enrique Marquez Jr., 25, of Riverside, California – longtime friend of Syed Rizwan Farook, the male shooter in the San Bernardino, California terrorist attack – agreed to plead guilty to conspiring with Farook in 2011 and 2012 to provide material support to terrorists.

The announcement was made by Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary B. McCord, U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker for the Central District of California and Assistant Director in Charge Deirdre Fike of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. Marquez entered into a plea agreement that was filed today in U.S. District Court. The defendant is scheduled to enter his guilty pleas this Thursday at 12:00 p.m. EST, 9:00 a.m. PST before U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal.

“With this plea, Enrique Marquez Jr. will be held accountable for his role in plotting terrorist attacks on American soil with Sayed Rizwan Farook in 2011 and 2012, attacks which were, fortunately, not carried out,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General McCord. “Marquez also admitted to making a false statement as part of his straw purchases of weapons for Farook – weapons that were eventually used to carry out the deadly terrorist attack in San Bernardino. Holding those who threaten our national security and public safety accountable will always be the highest priority of the National Security Division and I want to thank all of the agents, analysts, and prosecutors who are responsible for this result.”

“This defendant collaborated with and purchased weapons for a man who carried out the devastating December 2, 2015 terrorist attack that took the lives of 14 innocent people, wounded nearly two dozen, and impacted our entire nation,” said U.S. Attorney Decker. “While his earlier plans to attack a school and a freeway were not executed, the planning clearly laid the foundation for the 2015 attack on the Inland Regional Center. When this defendant pleads guilty, all four individuals charged, including three of the shooters’ family members, will be convicted. Everyone in the U.S. Attorney’s Office – and everyone across the Department of Justice and the broader law enforcement community – brought their expertise, dedication, and tireless effort to bear on this investigation. We are, and will continue to be, deeply committed to pursuing the prosecution of everyone who was even remotely related to the San Bernardino attack. As these criminal cases begin to resolve, we hope that the victims of the attack and the community of San Bernardino are comforted in some small way by the knowledge that the Department of Justice and the law enforcement community stands with them in this investigation, resolute and committed to justice.”

“Defendant Marquez purchased two of the weapons used in the San Bernardino terror attack to murder 14 innocent people and seriously injure 22 others – a horrific act which led to great suffering and a lifetime of pain for the survivors and for the loved ones of those murdered,” said Assistant Director in Charge Fike. “Defendant Marquez provided these weapons to his associate, Syed Rizwan Farook, with whom he conspired to plot chilling terror attacks. I’m gratified that this guilty plea will spare the victims and the San Bernardino community from having to relive the gruesome details of the attack during what would likely be a lengthy trial.”

According to the plea agreement, Marquez agreed to plead guilty to providing material support and resources to terrorists, including weapons, explosives and personnel. Marquez admitted in the plea agreement that he conspired with Farook in 2011 and 2012 to attack Riverside City College (RCC) and commuter traffic on the 91 Freeway. Marquez also agreed to plead guilty to making false statements in connection with the acquisition of a firearm for being the “straw buyer” of two assault rifles that were used in the shooting rampage at the San Bernardino Inland Regional Center (IRC) on Dec. 2, 2015.

Marquez was arrested about two weeks after the attack at the IRC, which was perpetrated by Farook, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, who were killed in a shootout with law enforcement hours after the attack. The investigation into the deadly shooting quickly uncovered evidence that, in 2011 and 2012, Marquez purchased two rifles that Farook and Malik later used in the attack that killed 14 people and wounded 22 others at the IRC. A law enforcement officer was also wounded during the shootout that afternoon.

According to the plea agreement, Farook paid Marquez for the rifles. Marquez also discussed with Farook the use of radio-controlled improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during the planned attacks on the RCC and State Route 91. Marquez purchased Christmas tree lightbulbs and a container of smokeless powder for use in manufacturing IEDs.

Once he pleads guilty, Marquez will face a statutory maximum sentence of 25 years in federal prison. Marquez, who did not personally participate in the attack on the IRC, has remained in custody since he was ordered detained at his initial court appearance in this case on Dec. 17, 2015. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. If convicted of any offense, the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Today’s plea agreement is the result of an investigation by members of the Inland Empire FBI-Joint Terrorism Task Force in California, including agents and detectives from the FBI; the San Bernardino Police Department; the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office; the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department; the Chino Police Department; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department; the Riverside Police Department; the Ontario Police Department; the Redlands Police Department; and the Corona Police Department.

Also, as a result of the investigation into the IRC attack, three people have pleaded guilty to being part of a sham marriage scheme in which a Russian woman “married” Marquez to obtain immigration benefits. Syed Raheel Farook, the brother of IRC attacker Syed Rizwan Farook; Tatiana Farook, Syed Raheel Farook’s wife; and Mariya Chernykh, Tatiana Farook’s sister, pleaded guilty earlier this year to immigration fraud charges and admitted to being part of a conspiracy in which Chernykh paid Marquez to enter into a bogus marriage.

The two criminal cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jay H. Robinson, Melanie Sartoris and Deirdre Z. Eliot of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section. Trial Attorney C. Alexandria Bogle of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section provided substantial assistance.

Marquez Plea Agreement ​​​​​​​

          LOS ANGELES – A Santa Barbara-based criminal defense attorney was sentenced today to 24 months in federal prison for willfully failing to file tax returns for several years and failing to pay a total of $679,958 in income tax to the Internal Revenue Service.

          Darryl W. Genis, 60, was sentenced this afternoon by United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer. In addition to the prison term, Judge Fischer ordered Genis to pay restitution of $679,958 to the IRS.

          Genis pleaded guilty in October to three misdemeanor counts of willfully failing to file tax returns for his law practice for the years 2009 through 2011. In the plea agreement that led to his guilty pleas, Genis admitted that he failed to pay income taxes for a total of eight years.

          According to court documents, for the tax years 2009 through 2011, Genis earned income from his law practice, he knew that his gross income for each year exceeded the threshold requiring him to file an income tax return, but he failed to file the required tax returns with the IRS.

          Over the course of eight years – 2005 through 2012 – Genis failed to report $3,590,185 of income and he failed to pay a total of $679,958 in income taxes.

          “During the years he was not paying his taxes, this defendant purchased a multimillion-dollar home in Santa Barbara for his family, which allowed him to rent a different million-dollar residence that he also owned,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “Demonstrating his total disregard for honoring his tax responsibilities, in the span of just one weekend in 2009, he gambled away tens of thousands of dollars that easily exceeded the taxes he owed that year. Attorneys are no different than any other citizen; they are expected to follow the law.”

          “Mr. Genis is a well-educated criminal defense attorney who knew of his responsibility to file his tax returns and pay the taxes owed,” stated IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Orlando. “Instead he chose to not file his tax returns or pay his taxes. He’ll now pay for his decision with the loss of his liberty and a period of incarceration.”

          In sentencing papers filed with the court, prosecutors noted that Genis was a respected member of the Santa Barbara community and he certainly knew that his conduct related to his failure to pay taxes was criminal.

          Judge Fischer ordered Genis to begin serving his sentence on or before May 15.

          The investigation into Genis was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation in Camarillo. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Valerie L. Makarewicz and Benjamin L. Tompkins of the Tax Division.

          RIVERSIDE, California – An Inland Empire man is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon on federal charges of aiming the beam of a laser at an Ontario Police Department helicopter.

          Asarel Felix Lombera, 28, who resides in Fontana, but lived in Ontario at the time of the offense, has agreed to plead guilty to the felony offense of aiming a laser at an aircraft. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles.

          When Lombera was charged in December, prosecutors also filed a plea agreement in which the defendant admitted that he pointed a laser at the Ontario Police Department helicopter on the evening of February 21, 2015.

          The incident occurred as tactical flight officers with the Ontario Police Department were conducting patrol near John Galvin Park, which is just south of Interstate 10 in Ontario. Lombera aimed his $20 green laser pointer at the OPD helicopter for approximately 15 seconds, tracking the helicopter with the laser and making circles with the beam.

          When the laser beam struck the helicopter, it created a prism effect in the cockpit of the helicopter, causing a member of the flight crew to become momentarily dazed and creating a dangerous flight situation.

          In his plea agreement, Lombera admitted that he knew that it was dangerous and distracting to shoot the laser at the helicopter.

          “As lasers and drones become more affordable and available, members of the public must be extremely conscious of the dangers these technologies pose to aircraft and law enforcement,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “In this case, the defendant targeted a helicopter in flight, endangering the flight crew and, potentially, civilians on the ground.”

          During today’s arraignment, Lombera’s case will be assigned to a United States District Judge, who will schedule a hearing for Lombera to enter his guilty plea. Once he pleads guilty, the defendant will face a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. Lombera will also be subject to potential civil penalties by the Federal Aviation Administration.

          “Laser beams are not toys and pointing one at a plane or helicopter in the air is not mischief, but a serious federal crime,” said Deirdre Fike, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The clear skies in southern California generate a significant amount of aircraft flying at any given time and, unfortunately, more illegal laser strikes. The Ontario Police Department should be commended for acting quickly after their pilot was temporarily disabled by the laser beam, and for identifying the perpetrator on the ground.”

          The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Ontario Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph B. Widman, Chief of the Riverside Branch Office.

          Reports of laser attacks have increased dramatically in recent years, with 1,238 laser strikes reported in California last year, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. In addition, technology has advanced the effectiveness of laser devices, with a resulting increase in the potential safety hazards for aircraft pilots and their passengers. Such safety hazards include temporary distraction and impaired vision, which is particularly dangerous during the critical takeoff or landing phase of flight. In addition, pilots have reported the need to abort landings or relinquish control of the aircraft to another pilot as a result of laser attacks.

          RIVERSIDE, California – Tatiana Farook, who is the sister-in-law of the male shooter in the San Bernardino attack, pleaded guilty today to federal immigration fraud charges related to a sham marriage discovered during the investigation into the December 2, 2015 shooting spree that took the lives of 14 people.

          Tatiana Farook, 32, of Corona, pleaded guilty this morning before United States District Judge Jesus Bernal to one count of conspiracy to commit immigration fraud.

          As a result of today’s guilty plea, Tatiana Farook faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Bernal on November 13.

          The bogus marriage was between Mariya Chernykh, who is Tatiana Farook’s sister, and Enrique Marquez Jr., who is facing charges of conspiring with San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook and planning other attacks in 2011 and 2012.

          Chernykh, 26, of Ontario, pleaded guilty on January 26 charges of conspiracy, perjury and making false statements.

          On January 10, Syed Raheel Farook, 31, Tatiana’s husband and the brother of deceased San Bernardino attacker Syed Rizwan Farook, pleaded guilty to being part of the conspiracy.

          According to court documents, beginning in late 2014 and continuing through February 2016, Tatiana and Raheel Farook and Chernykh conspired with Marquez to obtain immigration benefits for Chernykh by arranging and carrying out a fraudulent marriage between Chernykh, a Russian citizen, and Marquez, a United States citizen. The three defendants made false statements in immigration documents, Chernykh paid Marquez for his participation in the scheme, and Chernykh made additional material false statements during interviews with FBI special agents.

          Marquez was charged in a separate federal indictment with participating in the marriage fraud scheme, as well as plotting with San Bernardino attacker Syed Rizwan Farook in 2011 and 2012 to carry out attacks in the Inland Empire. Marquez is also charged with supplying two firearms to Syed Rizwan Farook in 2011 and 2012 that he and his wife, Tashfin Malik, later used in the San Bernardino attack and during the shootout with law enforcement that ended in the couple’s death.

          Marquez is scheduled to go on trial before Judge Bernal on September 26.

          “After today’s guilty plea, all but one of the defendants charged as a result of the December 2 San Bernardino terrorist attack have been convicted,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “Specifically, three members of the shooters’ family now face federal prison. These convictions are a testament to law enforcement’s ongoing commitment to ensure that everyone related to the terrorist attack are brought to justice.”

          “The third and final guilty plea to the charges in this indictment alleging conspiracy to violate U.S. immigration laws - crimes that came to light following the 2015 terror attack in San Bernardino - is a welcome step in this ongoing case,” said Deirdre Fike, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “As Tatiana Farook and her co-defendants await sentencing, members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force will continue their investigation of the attack which left 14 dead and several others seriously wounded.”

          “Today’s guilty verdict is gratifying, particularly for the Homeland Security Investigations special agents and other authorities who worked round-the-clock in the wake of the San Bernardino terrorist attack gathering evidence and pursuing leads,” said Joseph Macias, special agent in charge of HSI Los Angeles. “That said, while this case is drawing to a close, the risk that would-be terrorists and their associates may attempt to exploit America's legal immigration system as a means to harm Americans remains very real, and we must continue to be ever vigilant.”

          The investigation in this case was conducted by the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Riverside, which includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the San Bernardino Police Department; the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department; and the United States Attorney’s Office.

          These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jay H. Robinson, Melanie Sartoris and Deirdre Z. Eliot of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section with substantial assistance from Trial Attorney C. Alexandria Bogle of the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section.