Southern District of California
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Ex-Labor Leader Charged with Embezzling Tens of Thousands of Dollars from Local UnionRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Rebecca S. Kanter (619) 546-7304
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – September 23, 2022
SAN DIEGO – A former Department of Homeland Security officer and President of American Federation of Government Employees Local 2805 has been indicted by a federal grand jury for wire fraud and making false statements stemming from his alleged embezzlement of tens of thousands of dollars of union funds from Local 2805.
Felix Luciano was an Enforcement Removal Officer for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. From approximately 2011 through December 2018, Luciano served as the President of Local 2805, a labor union which represents DHS-ICE employees in San Diego and Imperial Counties. Among his legal duties were maintaining the fiscal integrity of the organization, which prohibited him from engaging in business or financial interest that conflicted with his duty to Local 2805 and its members.
The indictment alleges that Luciano embezzled union funds for his own benefit between December 2013 and continuing into January 7, 2019. Luciano retired in December 2018 in the course of an audit of Local 2805 by the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS). Luciano is alleged to have used Local 2805’s union dues to enrich himself and pay for personal expenses for himself and his spouse. Some of those expenses included luxury travel, payments to his personal credit card, payments to support his wife’s business (such as paying for the business’ website design), purchase of a custom gun safe storage, retail purchases, dining, and groceries.
The indictment alleges that Luciano carried out this scheme to defraud Local 2805 by using its debit and credit card to pay his personal expenses and by writing checks to himself from the Local’s checking account with false descriptions such as “per diem” in the memo line.
In order to conceal and obscure his embezzlement, Luciano fraudulently reported false information on Local 2805’s annual financial reports. Labor organizations are required to file financial reports with the OLMS annually. On behalf of Local 2805, Luciano prepared, signed - under penalty of perjury - and filed the financial reports (known as Form LM-3s) with false information that disguised the nature, volume, frequency and purpose of the unauthorized checks and other personal transactions. For example, on the 2017 financial report, he falsely reported that Local 2805 only disbursed $3,068 to him (directly or indirectly), when in fact the correct figure was over $20,000.
In doing so, Luciano hid the embezzlement from the Department of Labor, his fellow union officers, as well as the union membership whose dues were the source of the embezzled funds.
“When employees pay their hard-earned money into labor unions, they reasonably expect the officers of those organizations to be honest stewards of their dues,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman “Our office will work diligently to pursue justice against offenders who have allegedly stolen from their own unions at the expense of members.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and investigating agencies for their excellent work.
“The Office of Labor-Management Standards will always work hard to expose and bring to justice any official who chooses to break the law and the faith of their union members by stealing,” said Ed Oquendo, District Director, Los Angeles District Office, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards.
Postal Inspector in Charge of the Los Angeles Division Carroll N. Harris said, “When a public official misuses the U.S. Mail for personal gain, Postal Inspectors will aggressively pursue that official to restore the public’s confidence in the mail.”
An important mission of the Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations of fraud related to union corruption. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate these types of allegations,” said Quentin Heiden, Special Agent-in-Charge, Los Angeles Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.
Luciano was arraigned on the indictment by U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Berg and entered a plea of not guilty. Judge Berg set Luciano’s bond at $30,000 and ordered him to appear before U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Whelan on October 3, 2022, at 9 a.m. for a motion hearing.
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 22CR2201-W
Felix Luciano Age: 60 San Diego, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
False Statements – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1001
Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and $250,000 fine
Wire Fraud – Title 18, U.S.C. Section 1343
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $500,000 fine
AGENCY
Department of Labor – Office of Labor-Management Standards
Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General
Homeland Security Investigations – Office of Inspector General
United States Postal Inspector
Ocean Beach Drug Dealer Sentenced to 12.5 Years for His Role in Fatal OverdoseRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Adam Gordon (619) 546-6720
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY—September 23, 2022
SAN DIEGO - Anthony Souza of Ocean Beach was sentenced in federal court today to 150 months for conspiracy to distribute 400 grams and more of fentanyl. Souza’s distribution of fentanyl resulted in the fatal overdose of 28-year-old Chad Stevens, also of Ocean Beach.
According to his plea agreement, Souza admitted that he provided four counterfeit M-30 pills laced with fentanyl, commonly referred to as “blues,” to Stevens, on November 21, 2019. These pills caused Stevens to have a near-fatal overdose. Then approximately six months later, Souza again sold counterfeit “blues” to Stevens – this time with fatal results.
According to admissions in his plea agreement, Souza continued to sell “blues” despite the Stevens’ death, and on June 24, 2020, law enforcement conducted a search warrant of Souza’s residence. During the search, law enforcement seized $2,460 in U.S. currency, 115 grams of cocaine, and 183 counterfeit “blues,” and arrested Souza’s co-defendant, Alyson Marie Vaccacio. Vaccacio pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 40 grams and more of fentanyl and 500 grams and more of cocaine, and her sentencing date is December 5, 2022.
Before pronouncing the sentence, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel said: “Drugs are often described as a poison, and, as we all know, poison kills, and that's what drugs do. They kill dreams, aspirations, goals, humanity, empathy. Drugs kill the ability to experience true joy, to make sound decisions. Drugs break up marriages. They break up families. And in this case, you have what can only be described as heartbreaking circumstances, that parents have had to bury not just one but two children as a result of fentanyl. And sometimes drugs kill people instantly. Most of the time, we have seen cases where drugs kill you a little bit at a time, where they destroy everything good about your life, eventually shorten your life, either by way of your health or resulting in violence. But in this instance, we have the death of Chad Stevens that occurred, essentially, in an instant. And so, ultimately, every drug dealer is responsible for death, either a slow-motion death, over the course of time, or the instant death of Chad Stevens.”
He later added: “The word needs to get out. The message needs to be clear that individuals who partake in the distribution of drugs -- and, particularly, this deadly drug, fentanyl … will receive a sentence in excess of 10 years. There has to be that message that is delivered loud and clear.”
“The days of recreational drug use need to be over,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “We know from the DEA’s analysis of seized pills that more than 40 percent of counterfeit pills contain a deadly amount of fentanyl. We can’t say it enough. With fentanyl there is no such thing as a ‘safe’ recreational drug.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and investigating agencies for their excellent work on this case.
“Removing fake pills from our communities and those who distribute them are our top priorities,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Shelly S. Howe. “San Diego is a safer place with Mr. Souza behind bars. We will continue to pursue those who are selling fake pills and contributing to the unprecedented number of overdoses and poisonings.”
“As law enforcement officers, there is nothing more painful than investigating a death that could have been prevented. While we all can do our part in removing these illegal and lethal drugs from the streets, the public can only benefit if we also do our part in educating to prevent additional overdose deaths,” said Chad Plantz, special agent in charge for HSI San Diego. “I am extremely proud of our HSI agents, working with our law enforcement partners, for the results of this investigation that will undoubtably make our neighborhoods safer.”
Special Agents and Task Force Officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Overdose Response Team (formerly known as Team 10) led the investigation into Steven’s death. This case is the result of ongoing efforts by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the San Diego Police Department, and the California Department of Health Care Services to investigate and prosecute the distribution of dangerous illegal drugs—fentanyl in particular—that result in overdose deaths. The Drug Enforcement Administration created the Overdose Response Team as a response to the increase in overdose deaths in San Diego County.
DEFENDANT Case Number 21-CR-1537 GPC
Anthony Souza Age: 46 San Diego, CA
Alyson Marie Vaccacio Age: 32 San Diego, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute 400 Grams and More of Fentanyl – Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a) and (b)(1)(C)
Maximum Penalty: Life in prison, with mandatory minimum of 10 years
Conspiracy to Distribute 40 Grams and More of Fentanyl – Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a) and (b)(1)(C)
Maximum Penalty: Forty years in prison, with five-year mandatory minimum.
AGENCY
Drug Enforcement Administration
Homeland Security Investigations
Federal Bureau of Investigation
San Diego Police Department
California Department of Health Care Services
Seventh Defendant Sentenced in Murder of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian TerryRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Arizona – Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga was sentenced in federal court today to 50 years in prison for the murder of United States Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry on December 14, 2010. Favela-Astorga pleaded guilty to Agent Terry’s murder in April 2022. He is the seventh and final defendant to be convicted and sentenced in this case.
“Today is for Brian Terry, and his loved ones and colleagues who waited eleven years to see justice come to all who were involved in his tragic murder,” said U.S. Attorney Randy S. Grossman of the Southern District of California. “We hope it fulfills the promise to everyone who protects us. We’ll relentlessly pursue justice against those who do them harm for as long as it takes.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team, the FBI and the U.S. Border Patrol for their relentless quest for justice in this matter.
Favela-Astorga admitted as part of his guilty plea, and evidence presented at two trials in this case in 2015 and 2019 established, that he was one of several armed bandits who had traveled from Mexico to the U.S. to hunt for marijuana smugglers to rob. At the time, Agent Terry and other members of the Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) were on extended deployment in the desert to apprehend such robbery crews.
On December 14, near midnight, Agent Terry’s team attempted to arrest Favela-Astorga’s crew in a rural area north of Nogales, Arizona. A member of the robbery crew fired at the agents, hitting Agent Terry in the back and severing his spinal cord and aorta. According to evidence presented at the prior trials, Agent Terry called to a fellow agent, “Willie, I’m hit! I can’t feel my legs.” BORTAC agents, still under fire, tried to save Agent Terry but were unsuccessful.
Evidence from the trials established the five bandits at the scene were armed with four AK-47-style assault rifles and an AR-15 assault rifle and had food to last for days.
Favela-Astorga and others fled back to Mexico, leaving behind Manuel Osorio-Arellanes who had been shot in the stomach by agents. Manuel Osorio-Arellanes was convicted and sentenced in 2014 to 30 years in prison after cooperating in identifying other members of the robbery crew who were fugitives.
Mexican authorities arrested Favela-Astorga in October 2017 based on a provisional arrest warrant issued at the request of the United States. He was extradited to the United States in January 2020.
The other members of the robbery crew at the scene were Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes, Ivan Soto-Barraza, and Jesus Lionel Sanchez-Meza. All three were arrested in Mexico years after the shooting. Soto-Barraza and Sanchez-Meza were extradited to the United States in 2014, convicted at trial in December 2015, and sentenced to life in prison. Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes was extradited to the United States in 2018, convicted at trial in February 2019, and sentenced to life in prison.
In addition, Rosario Rafael Burboa-Alvarez pleaded guilty to murder and, while not at the firefight, admitted he recruited the crew members in Mexico. Burboa-Alvarez was sentenced to 324 months in prison. Border Patrol agents also had arrested Rito Osorio-Arellanes on immigration charges two days before the shootout, unaware he was part of the robbery crew. Osorio later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and was sentenced to 96 months in prison.
Agent Terry’s murder was principally investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Border Patrol. The U.S. Marshals Service, the Mexican Navy (SEMAR), Mexico’s Office of the Attorney General (PGR), and the Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs, helped with Favela-Astorga’s apprehension and extradition.
“For over the last decade, the FBI and our partners have worked to bring justice to all involved in the killing of agent Brian Terry. We will not and did not waver in our commitment to ensure that those who commit acts of violence against law enforcement officials will be held accountable and punished to the fullest extent of the law,” said Chris Ormerod, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Phoenix Field Office. “We hope today’s final sentence will help bring a degree of comfort to Agent Terry’s family in knowing that all the individuals responsible for his murder have been brought to justice.”
“Today’s sentencing brings justice to the last of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry’s murderers,” said Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent John Modlin.
“I thank the many law enforcement professionals who have worked on this case for over a decade and, in particular, acknowledge the dedication and efforts of FBI Special Agent Michelle Terwilliger who has led the investigation since the night of the shooting,” said Grossman.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona was recused.
SUMMARY OF CHARGES Case No. 11-cr-0150-TUC-DCB-BGM
Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga Age: 41 El Fuerte, Sinaloa, Mexico
Murder, Second Degree, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1111, 1114
Maximum Penalty: Life in prison
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
United States Border Patrol
Vista Man Sentenced to Almost Five Years in Prison for Fraudulently Obtaining More than $300,000 in Benefits Related to Coronavirus PandemicRead the Press Release
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY—September 19, 2022SAN DIEGO—Darris Cotton of Vista was sentenced in federal court today to 57 months in custody for submitting false applications for unemployment benefits to California’s Employment Development Department (EDD).
As early as July and August of 2020, Cotton submitted at least sixteen fraudulent applications for unemployment using other people’s names, dates of birth, and social security numbers.
The United States Department of Labor funds unemployment benefits, but the administration of the benefits is overseen by EDD. To qualify for benefits, an individual must submit an application with his or her name, date of birth, social security number, and other personal information. If the information is approved, EDD sends a debit card to the address provided in the application via U.S. Mail. In March 2020, the United States Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which included an economic relief package of more than $2 trillion designed to help the American people during the public health and economic crises that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act expanded the population of persons eligible for benefits, the time period during which persons are eligible for benefits, and/or the amount of benefits.
In this case, Cotton used a relative’s address to submit the fraudulent applications. Once Cotton received the debit cards in the mail from EDD, he used the debit cards to purchase postal money orders and to purchase luxury items such as Gucci backpacks. Cotton admitted that his criminal conduct caused a loss of $312,640 and that he submitted additional fraudulent applications for benefits in other states such as Arizona, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Law enforcement seized $112,539 in currency and money orders from Cotton during the investigation and he agreed to forfeit that money as proceeds of his fraud.
“This defendant exploited an unemployment insurance program that was intended to be a safety net for workers who suffered financial hardship during a global pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “Crimes like this took money away from those who truly needed it.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and the investigating agencies for their excellent work on this case.
“This sentencing sends a strong message that CARES Act fraud will be punished to the fullest extent by federal law enforcement,” said Special Agent in Charge Jason Reynolds, San Diego Field Office, U.S. Secret Service. “This has been the culmination of hard work by numerous law enforcement agencies in the San Diego area working together, and we are committed to continuing our efforts and pursuing justice, putting an end to more fraudsters and criminal networks.”
“Homeland Security Investigations is committed to investigating all criminal organizations and individuals who commit financial fraud, and seek to exploit and profit from government programs that were created to benefit the American people,” said HSI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz. “This sentencing affirms HSI’s, and the government’s commitment to bringing these individuals to justice.”
DEFENDANT Case Number 21cr1108-TWRDarris Cotton
SUMMARY OF CHARGESConspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud—Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1349 Criminal Forfeiture—Title 18, U.S.C., Section 981
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison; $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater; criminal forfeiture of all proceeds derived from the offense.
AGENCYUnited States Secret Service Homeland Security Investigations
Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (OIG) San Diego Police Department
Carlsbad Police Department
U.S. Promoter of Foreign Cryptocurrency Company Sentenced to Prison for Role in Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorneys Carl Brooker, Lisa Sanniti, and Mark Pletcher
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY—September 16, 2022
SAN DIEGO— A Los Angeles man was sentenced in federal court today to 38 months in prison for his participation in BitConnect, a massive fraudulent cryptocurrency investment scheme, which defrauded thousands of investors from the United States and abroad.
According to court documents, Glenn Arcaro, 44, conspired with others to exploit investor interest in cryptocurrency by fraudulently marketing BitConnect’s proprietary coin offering and digital currency exchange as a lucrative investment. Arcaro and others misled investors about BitConnect’s “Lending Program.” Under this program, Arcaro touted BitConnect’s purported proprietary technology, known as the “BitConnect Trading Bot” and “Volatility Software,” as being able to generate substantial profits and guaranteed returns by using investors’ money to trade on the volatility of cryptocurrency exchange markets.
In truth, however, BitConnect operated a textbook Ponzi scheme by paying earlier BitConnect investors with money from later investors. Furthermore, Arcaro and others ensured up to 15 percent of the money invested into BitConnect went directly into a slush fund to be used for the benefit of the owner and promoters of BitConnect. The BitConnect Ponzi scheme ensnared 4,154 victims from 95 countries making it a true worldwide Ponzi scheme.
U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said, “The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is committed to ensuring justice for victims of this Ponzi scheme. Putting a technical sheen on a vintage scheme will not stop this office’s pursuit of a just outcome.” Grossman praised the work of FBI’s Cleveland Field Office, as well as IRS-CI, the Financial Investigations and Border Crimes Task Force - a multiagency task force based in San Diego and Imperial counties that is funded by the Treasury Executive Office of Asset Forfeiture.
“Identifying and investigating criminals who commit complex financial crimes under the guise of a sound investment strategy are a priority of the FBI,” said Cleveland FBI Special Agent in Charge Gregory Nelsen.
“The global reach and thousands of victims Mr. Arcaro impacted underscores the fact that fiscal crimes that combine the allure of cryptocurrency with new technology and a savvy marketing strategy are borderless and often begin through a relationship built on trust, hope, and promise. The FBI, together with our federal, state, and local partners, will continue to work tirelessly to ensure conniving criminals are no longer a threat to any individual or business in our society.”
“Glenn Arcaro and his co-conspirators created a global web of deception and fraud,” said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher. “IRS-CI and our law enforcement partners diligently unraveled this web of lies, and today’s sentencing is a reminder that fraud does not pay. You will be caught, and you will go to prison.”
Arcaro admitted that he earned no less than $24 million from the BitConnect scheme, all of which, according to court documents, will now be repaid to investors in restitution or forfeited to the government. Arcaro took steps to transmit the BitConnect proceeds that he earned to offshore accounts, transform some of the proceeds into precious metals storage, and obtain foreign passports. Arcaro’s goal was to avoid paying federal and state income taxes on his income earned from the scheme and to shield his assets from collection by the Internal Revenue Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carl Brooker, Lisa Sanniti, and Mark W. Pletcher of the Southern District of California and Trial Attorney Kevin Lowell of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case. The Department of Justice Office of International Affairs and United States Postal Inspection Service provided indispensable assistance to the investigation.
DEFENDANT Case Number 21CR2542-TWR
Glenn Arcaro Los Angeles, CA Age: 45
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud—Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1349
Criminal Forfeiture—Title 18, U.S.C., Section 982
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison, $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater; forfeiture and restitution
AGENCIES
FBI
IRS Criminal Investigation—Financial Investigations and Border Crimes Task Force
United States Postal Inspection Service
New York Man Pleads Guilty to Laundering Proceeds from Government Impostor Robocall ScamRead the Press Release
For Further Information, Contact:
Special Assistant U. S. Attorneys Jeffrey Hill and Lisa Sanniti (619) 546-7924/8811SAN DIEGO – Jon J. Kahen of Great Neck, New York, pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to four counts of money laundering in his role as a telecommunications company owner who facilitated and profited from the introduction of fraudulent robocall traffic into the United States.
Until 2020, Kahen was the owner and chief executive officer of Global Voicecom, Inc. (“GVI”), a voice over internet protocol (VoIP) provider based in Great Neck, New York. GVI provided telecommunications services that introduced foreign phone traffic into the U.S. telephone system, making GVI a “gateway carrier.” From approximately 2016 until a search warrant was executed at his home in January 2020, GVI was a gateway carrier for an India-based VoIP company that used GVI to route millions of fraudulent robocalls to American consumers. Many of these robocalls involved individuals based in India fraudulently impersonating agents of the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General (SSA/OIG), and the Internal Revenue Service. In addition to connecting these foreign callers to American consumers, GVI resold and leased to the Indian VoIP company with Direct Inward Dial and toll-free telephone numbers that made them appear to be based in the United States. As a result of GVI’s actions, thousands of Americans were defrauded.
In his plea agreement, Kahen admitted that by 2018 he had become aware that his Indian client was using GVI’s services to commit fraud, and that by May 2019, Kahen was aware that the funds paid to GVI by this client for continued gateway carrier services were the proceeds of this fraud. Despite this knowledge, Kahen and GVI continued to provide telecommunications services to the Indian client and conducted monetary transactions on the client’s behalf. This criminal conduct ended only with the filing of a civil injunction in January 2020, when Kahen and GVI were enjoined from operating as intermediate VoIP carriers conveying any telephone calls into the U.S. telephone system.
Under the terms of his plea agreement, Kahen has agreed to pay almost $400,000 in criminal forfeiture and restitution to victims of fraudulent robocalls connected by GVI.
"This defendant opened the door to foreign fraudsters who exploited the good name of our government agencies to target Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “Let this case be a message to players in the United States who have been facilitating foreign actors and profiting from the fraud that they will be held accountable." Grossman thanked the prosecution team, the Department of Justice Consumer Protection Branch and investigating agencies for their excellent work on this case.
“U.S. consumers, many of whom are elderly or are otherwise vulnerable, are inundated with millions of illegal robocalls every day,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Anyone with a telephone is a potential target. The Department is committed to stopping fraudulent robocalls and pursuing those who knowingly facilitate robocall fraud schemes for financial gain.”
“Mr. Kahen knowingly facilitated the robocalls of government imposters that not only defrauded U.S. consumers, but preyed on their trust in the government,” said Gail S. Ennis, Inspector General for the Social Security Administration. “We will continue to pursue those who perpetuate these robocall fraud schemes, and I appreciate the trial attorneys, Yolanda McCray Jones and Wei Xiang, of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Jeffrey Hill and Lisa Sanniti, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, for prosecuting this case. I also want to thank all our law enforcement partners for their contributions to the success of this investigation.”
“When consumers – especially our vulnerable older Americans – are exploited by fraudsters who are impersonating a government agency or official, the impact is detrimental and the repercussions are long-lasting,” said Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigations Group. “Anyone who engages in or facilitates deceptive practices like this should know they will not go undetected. Postal Inspectors will continue to work tirelessly to hold those criminals accountable and bring justice to the American public.”
Criminal charges against Kahen were filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California on June 30, 2022, and transferred to the Eastern District of New York. Kahen is scheduled to be sentenced on January 20, 2023, at 3:00 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert in the Islip, New York federal courthouse.
This case was prosecuted for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California by Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Hill and Lisa Sanniti, and for the United States Department of Justice Consumer Protection Branch by Trial Attorneys Yolanda McCray Jones and Wei Xiang.
The matter was investigated by agents from SSA-OIG, the U.S. Postal Investigation Service, the U.S. Secret Service, and by Homeland Security Investigations-New York. Resources from the Department’s Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force aided in the matter’s investigation and prosecution.
DEFENDANT Case Number 22-CR-1474-LL (SDCA) / 22-CR-309 (EDNY)
Jon J. Kahen Age: 48 Great Neck, NY
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Money Laundering – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1957
Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison and $250,000 fine
AGENCIES
Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General
United States Postal Inspection Service
United States Secret Service
United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations – New York
Two Charged in Human Smuggling Event that Ended with High-Speed ChaseRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorneys Daniel D. Shin (619) 546-7609
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY—September 15, 2022
SAN DIEGO—Sergio Cervantes-Lopez of San Diego and Remigio Sosa-Laez, a Mexican national, were charged yesterday in connection with a human smuggling event that ended with a high-speed chase.
According to documents filed in U.S. District Court, U.S. Border Patrol Agents observed Cervantes-Lopez as he drove a large sport utility vehicle to an area near Donovan State Prison and the George Bailey Detention Center shortly after 4:00 p.m. on September 13, 2022. The agents conducting surveillance on Cerventes-Lopez’s vehicle reported that a large group of eight to ten individuals entered his car before he drove away. When other agents responded to the area and attempted to conduct a traffic stop, Cervantes-Lopez fled at speeds as high as ninety miles per hour.
According to the complaint, during the ensuing chase, Cervantes-Lopez rammed a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle and backed into a civilian’s pick-up truck before running through a red light and colliding with another civilian’s sport utility vehicle. Cervantes-Lopez’s vehicle tipped over in the collision. After the collision, Cervantes-Lopez attempted to flee the area on foot but was quickly apprehended.
Cervantes-Lopez had eight other people in his sport utility vehicle at the time of the crash. A follow up investigation revealed that one of the individuals in the vehicle, Remigio Sosa-Laez, had allegedly guided the group across the border on foot. Two of the passengers stated that they feared for their lives during the chase.
Cervantes-Lopez and Sosa-Laez were both arrested shortly after the collision and are awaiting their initial appearance before a United States Magistrate Judge.
“You gamble with your life when you trust a smuggler,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “Smugglers don’t care about the health and safety of their cargo.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and the U.S. Border Patrol for their excellent work on this case.
“Smugglers threaten the health and safety of our citizens and those migrants in their care, when they engage in these dangerous-senseless tactics,” said U.S. Border Patrol San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Aaron M. Heitke.
DEFENDANT Case Number 22mj3368-AHG
Sergio Cervantes-Lopez, 30 years old
Remigio Sosa-Laez, 19 years old
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Transportation of Illegal Aliens—Title 8, U.S.C., Section 1324
Maximum penalty: Five years in prison
Bringing in Aliens Without Presentation— Title 8, U.S.C., Section 1324
Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison
AGENCY
United States Border Patrol
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Vessel Operator and Chief Engineer Sentenced for Oily Bilge Water Discharge OffenseRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Melanie Pierson (619) 546-7976
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – September 9, 2022
SAN DIEGO – New Trade Ship Management S.A., a vessel operating company, and vessel Chief Engineer Dennis Plasabas were sentenced in federal court today for environmental crimes.
The company and its engineer pleaded guilty August 9, 2022, to maintaining false and incomplete records relating to the discharge of oily bilge water from the bulk carrier vessel Longshore. New Trade was sentenced to pay a fine of $1.1 million, a term of four years of probation, and ordered to hire an independent monitor to audit environmental compliance during the period of probation; Plasabas was sentenced to a term of 12 months in custody.
In pleading guilty, New Trade and Plasabas admitted that oily bilge water was illegally dumped from the Longshore directly into the ocean without being properly processed through required pollution prevention equipment. Oily bilge water typically contains oil contamination from the operation and cleaning of machinery on the vessel. The defendants also admitted that these illegal discharges were not recorded in the vessel’s Oil Record Book as required by law.
Specifically, on two separate occasions between October and December 2021, Chief Engineer Plasabas, who was employed by New Trade, ordered lower-ranking crew members to use a portable pneumatic pump and hose to bypass pollution prevention equipment by transferring oily bilge water from the vessel’s Bilge Holding Tank to the vessel’s Sewage Tank, from where it was discharged directly into the ocean.
Plasabas then caused the ship’s Master to fail to record these improper transfers and overboard discharges in the vessel’s Oil Record Book. Additionally, to create a false and misleading electronic record as if the pollution prevention equipment had been properly used, Plasabas directed lower-ranking crew members to pump clean sea water into the vessel’s Bilge Holding Tank in the same quantity as the amount of oily bilge water that he had ordered transferred to the Sewage Tank. Plasabas then processed the clean sea water through the vessel’s pollution prevention equipment as if it was oily bilge water to make it appear that the pollution prevention equipment was being properly used when in fact it was not. The electronic records indicate that approximately 9,600 gallons of clean sea water were run through the pollution prevention equipment.
“Today’s sentence sends a strong message that environmental crimes will have serious consequences,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “Unlawful oil discharges have a serious negative impact on the marine environment. We must safeguard our oceans by vigorous enforcement of environmental laws.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and the U.S. Coast Guard for their excellent work on this case.
According to sentencing documents, the use or consumption of oil, including the intentional discharge of unfiltered oily bilge water, accounts for around 37 percent of worldwide ocean oil pollution. By contrast, accidental spills from ships account for 12 percent of oil pollution. As the National Academy of Sciences identified, the upshot of these statistics is that more than 99 percent of the estimated volume of operational discharge is related to noncompliance, because existing regulations restrict operational discharges of oil or limit them to not more than 15 ppm.
Marine mammal and bird species, which must regularly pass through the air-water interface to breathe, are particularly vulnerable to oil exposure. Effects of oil on ocean life may include ingestion of oil, accumulation of contaminants in tissues, DNA damage, impacts to immune functioning, cardiac dysfunction, mass mortality of eggs and larvae, e.g., in fish, loss of buoyancy and insulation for birds, and inhalation of vapors. A 2002 study undertaken in Canada estimated that the intentional discharge of oil from ships kills approximately 300,000 seabirds per year in Atlantic Canada – a yearly seabird mortality equal to that caused by the Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska in 1989.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Diego and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanie K. Pierson for the Southern District of California and Senior Trial Attorney Stephen Da Ponte of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 22cr1802-JO
New Trade Ship Management S.A.
Chief Engineer Dennis Plasabas Age: 48 Philippines
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships – Title 33, U.S.C., Section 1908(a)
Maximum penalty: Six years in prison and $250,000 fine (individual); Five years of probation and a fine which is the greater of $500,000 or twice the amount of gross gain or loss (organization).
AGENCY
U.S. Coast Guard
Local Gun Dealer Convicted of Illegally Trafficking Firearms and Conducting Straw PurchasesRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorneys Nicholas Pilchak (619) 546-9709 or Andrew Haden (619) 546-6961
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – September 9, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Giovanni “Gio” Tilotta, the proprietor of local firearms dealer Honey Badger Firearms, was convicted yesterday of assisting with unlicensed firearms dealing and conducting straw purchases with former San Diego County Sheriff’s Captain Marco Garmo and others. A federal jury found Tilotta guilty of three felony counts following a six-day trial.
This conviction is believed to be the first federal criminal conviction of a civilian retail gun store owner in the Southern District of California in at least 15 years.
Tilotta was convicted of conspiring with Garmo, San Diego jeweler Leo Hamel, and others to make false statements in the acquisition of firearms. According to evidence presented at trial, Garmo and another Sheriff’s deputy falsely claimed to be the actual purchasers of new handguns, while really intending to transfer the weapons to other individuals who were the true buyers—notably including Hamel. Tilotta was also found guilty of aiding and abetting Garmo’s unlicensed firearms trafficking enterprise, in which Garmo bought and resold dozens of firearms both for profit and to bank favors for Garmo’s anticipated campaign for Sheriff of San Diego County.
Garmo pleaded guilty to engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license on September 15, 2020, and is currently serving a prison sentence. Hamel pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting Garmo’s unlicensed dealing on November 22, 2019, and is presently awaiting sentencing.
Tilotta committed these crimes through his licensed firearms dealer, Honey Badger Firearms in Kearney Mesa, despite an explicit warning he received from the California Department of Justice in December 2015 advising him to avoid allowing straw purchases at his business. Emails admitted at trial indicated that, instead, Tilotta directed Hamel and Garmo to create sham emails to cover up the straw purchases they conducted at Honey Badger.
The jury deadlocked on a fourth felony count, which alleged that Tilotta conducted a firearms transfer in violation of California law, and U.S. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel declared a mistrial on that count.
According to evidence presented at trial, Tilotta’s specific conduct went beyond knowingly accepting false records for straw purchases. He also backdated firearms transfer records for certain customers without requiring them to present themselves at his business to begin a firearms transfer. As part of this process, Tilotta would himself answer questions designed to determine if a firearms recipient was prohibited from receiving a gun—such as whether they were the subject of a restraining order. Records introduced at trial showed that, rather than requiring certain customers to answer these questions, Tilotta answered them himself, including on behalf of local criminal defense attorney Vikas Bajaj, whom he had never met.
As part of the same transaction, Tilotta sold Bajaj a handgun and an AR-15 style rifle inside Garmo’s Sheriff’s Department office using backdated paperwork. Bajaj pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for his role in that transfer on December 9, 2020. At Tilotta’s trial, the parties stipulated that two San Diego Sheriff’s deputies also received AK-47 style rifles from Tilotta the same day. Tilotta acknowledged delivering those rifles to the deputies inside Garmo’s Captain’s office, in a transfer using backdated paperwork.
“Our firearms laws depend on dealers to act as trusted gatekeepers,” said Attorney for the United States Rebecca G. Church. “Instead, this defendant violated the laws and falsified transfer records. This office will not hesitate to enforce the firearms laws against anyone who seeks to subvert them, including licensed dealers who intentionally break the law.”
Tilotta is set to be sentenced by Judge Curiel on December 5, 2022. Sentencings for the remaining defendants are set on October 3, 2022, for former Sheriff’s Lieutenant Fred Magana; October 24, 2022, for Leo Hamel; and November 7, 2022 for Waiel “Will” Anton.
Church thanked prosecution team as well as the dedicated investigators from the ATF and FBI, for their excellent work on this case. Church added that the U.S. Attorney’s Office wishes to extend its sincerest gratitude to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department for initiating this investigation, and for their assistance and support throughout its course.
“A vast majority of federal firearm licensees (FFL) operate their businesses in compliance with federal laws,” said ATF Los Angeles Field Division Special Agent in Charge Monique Villegas. “However, when an FFL intentionally chooses to violate those laws, ATF will investigate, as was the case with Giovanni Tilotta and Honey Badger Firearms. This conviction should serve as a deterrent to any other licensee choosing not to follow federal firearm laws.”
“For over three years, Tilotta misused his privilege as a federally licensed firearms dealer to subvert the system and obtain dozens of firearms for individuals who were unable to buy them legally,” said Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “Today's guilty verdict stops many more illegally purchased guns from getting into the wrong hands. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to aggressively investigate any corrupt individual who ignores the law for their personal profit to ensure justice is served and our communities are safe.”
U.S. v. Tilotta, et. al, 19-CR-4768-GPC
Defendants
Morad Marco Garmo, 54 years old
Leo Joseph Hamel, 65 years old
Giovanni Vincenzo Tilotta, 41 years old
Fred Magana, 45 years old
Waiel Yousif Anton, 38 years old
Summary of Charges
Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 371, 924(a)(1)(A) – Conspiracy to Make False Statements in the Acquisition of a Firearm
Maximum Penalty: Five years in prison, $250,000 fine
Title 18, U.S.C., Sec. 922(a)(1)(A) – Engaging in the Business of Dealing in Firearms Without a License
Maximum Penalty: Five years in prison, $250,000 fine
Title 18, U.S.C., Sec. 924(a)(1)(A) – Making a False Statement in the Acquisition of a Firearm
Maximum Penalty: Five years in prison, $250,000 fine
Investigating Agencies
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Thirteen Defendants Charged in Imperial Valley Takedown of Drug Trafficking NetworkRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Matthew J. Sutton (619) 546-8941 and Assistant U. S. Attorney J’me Forrest (619) 546-6741
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – September 8, 2022
SAN DIEGO – An indictment was unsealed in federal court today charging 10 alleged members of an Imperial Valley-based methamphetamine distribution network with drug trafficking and money laundering offenses. In addition, three more related defendants were charged today via complaint with drug trafficking offenses.
In a coordinated multi-state takedown that took place yesterday, federal, state, and local law enforcement agents and officers arrested multiple defendants and executed six search warrants in Imperial County. During the searches agents seized additional narcotics and two firearms. As of today, nine of the thirteen defendants are either in federal or state custody, and the search continues for four defendants. In addition to these seizures and arrests yesterday, during this long-term investigation, law enforcement has seized more than 119 pounds of methamphetamine and other illegal drugs and more than $80,000 in cash.
According to the indictment and other publicly-filed documents, this Imperial Valley-based network allegedly smuggled multi-kilogram quantities of methamphetamine across the international border. The defendants then used cars, the U.S. Mail, and commercial delivery services like FedEx to distribute that methamphetamine to sub-distributors located throughout Imperial County as well as in the state of Minnesota. In addition, the network used a corrections officer to smuggle fentanyl and contraband cellular telephones into Centinela State Prison.
“This case is the culmination of years of work by our agents and prosecutors, alongside our local law enforcement partners, to target a prolific Imperial Valley-based drug trafficking network,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to use every tool we have to stop these drug traffickers and bring them to justice.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team for their excellent work on this case.
“These arrests are the result of a multi-year collaborative effort between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies,” said HSI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz. “Disrupting these illegal drug distribution networks is a vital step in preventing dangerous drugs from entering our communities, and HSI will continue to use its broad investigative authorities to aggressively investigate and bring to justice anyone who attempts to smuggle drugs across our borders.”
“The results of this long-term investigation reflect the commitment of the DEA and our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to stop methamphetamine trafficking networks,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Shelly S. Howe. “Together, we will continue the fight against the distributors that are driving addiction in the United States.”
Postal Inspector in Charge of the Los Angeles Division Carroll N. Harris stated, “Operation Gotham City showed when the night is darkest, Postal Inspectors will endure to bring justice to those who criminally misuse the US Mail. I fully commend the hard work and countless hours put forth by all the law enforcement agencies involved, which resulted in the success achieved today.”
U.S. Attorney Grossman also thanked federal, state, and local law enforcement for the coordinated team effort in the culmination of this investigation. This case was led by Homeland Security Investigation - Imperial Valley Border Enforcement Security Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Deputies, agents, and officers from the United States Marshals Service, Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol, California Highway Patrol, El Centro Police Department, Calexico Police Department, Brawley Police Department, the Imperial County District Attorney’s Office and the Imperial County Sheriff's Office also provided vital assistance for the investigation.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
*An indictment and or complaint is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 22-cr-1553-BAS
(D1) Omar Castro Age: 30 Calexico, CA
(D2) Brianna Nunez Age: 31 Imperial, CA
(D3) Ramon Luna Age: 40 Calexico, CA
*(D4) Vanessa Vega Age: 37 Calexico, CA
*(D5) Sasha Brown Age: 34 Calexico, CA
*(D6) Michelle Figueroa Age: 22 Calexico, CA
(D7) Violette Espinoza Age: 38 Hillside, IL
(D8) Hector Perez Age: 28 Colton, CA
*(D9) Brent Boggess Age: 32 Calexico, CA
(D10) Guillermo Hernandez Age: 30 Calexico, CA
DEFENDANTS Case Number 22-mj-8640-JLB
(D1) Mario Gallegos Age: 37 Calexico, CA
DEFENDANTS Case Number 22-mj-8641-JLB
(D1) Ray Munoz Age: 41 Calexico, CA
DEFENDANTS Case Number 22-mj-8642-JLB
(D1) Ricardo Velarde Age: 41 Calexico, CA
*Fugitives
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine (21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846)
Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments (18 U.S.C. §§ 1956(a)(2) and (h))
Possession with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances (21 U.S.C., § 841(a)(1))
Distribution of Methamphetamine (21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1))
Importation of Methamphetamine (21 U.S.C. § 952 and 960).
Maximum Penalties: For the drug charges, term of custody including a mandatory minimum 10 years and up to life imprisonment, $10 million fine and a lifetime of supervised release. For money laundering charges, term of custody up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the monetary instrument or funds involved, and three years of supervised release.
AGENCIES
Homeland Security Investigations
Drug Enforcement Administration
United States Postal Inspection Service
United States Marshals Service
United States Border Patrol
Customs and Border Protection, Office of Air and Marine
California Highway Patrol
El Centro Police Department
Calexico Police Department
Brawley Police Department
Imperial County Sheriff's Office
Imperial County District Attorney's Office
Imperial Valley - Law Enforcement Coordination Center
Department of Justice, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona
Pesticide Smuggler Sentenced to Three Months in CustodyRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Melanie K. Pierson (619) 546-7976
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – September 8, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Felipa Oliveros was sentenced in federal court today to three months in custody for smuggling pesticides into the United States from Mexico.
Oliveros pleaded guilty in April 2022 to smuggling bottles of Bovitraz or Taktic into the United States. Oliveros had been charged as part of a larger organized pesticide smuggling ring, which also included her daughter, Laura Orellana, who was sentenced to 92 days in custody for her role in the conspiracy.
On June 7, 2022, Sofia Mancera Morales, the ringleader of this pesticide smuggling organization, was sentenced to eight months in custody and ordered to pay $7,497 in restitution for the cost of disposal of the illegal pesticides. In pleading guilty, Mancera had acknowledged she obtained the illegal pesticides in Mexico and delivered them to others to smuggle into the United States.
According to sentencing documents, Mancera recruited individuals via Facebook, offering to pay $40-$150/box of six 1-liter bottles delivered to the United States. Morales directed her recruits to deliver the pesticides to a self-storage facility near the border in Calexico and required them to send her photographs of the pesticides in the storage unit as proof of delivery prior to payment. Mancera paid the recruits to lease self-storage units in their own names, and provide her with the keys. Recruits caught at the border with pesticides reported that they had seen items delivered by others in their self-storage units, including pesticides, veterinary medications and alcohol. One recruit delivered almost 1,000 bottles of pesticides in a one-month period, while others advised that they had delivered pesticides two to five times per week.
The pesticides involved were primarily Bovitraz and Taktic, which contain the active ingredient amitraz at an emulsifiable concentration of 12.5 percent. In the United States, amitraz in this form is a cancelled and unregistered pesticide. Amitraz is an acaricide that, in the United States, is registered to control varroa mites in honeybee colonies at a concentration of 3.33 percent and is also registered for use in dog flea collars. Additionally, amitraz is classified as a Group C possible human carcinogen based upon rodent studies, and, therefore, long-term exposure could result in cancer.
Federal law prohibits the distribution and sale of cancelled or unregistered pesticides. Only pesticides registered with the EPA may be imported or sold in the United States. All pesticides intended for use in the United States must bear their EPA registration number on their labels, preceded by the phrase “EPA Registration No.” or “EPA Reg. No.” In addition, all required information on a label must appear in the English language. All of the containers smuggled by this group were labeled only in Spanish and bore no EPA registration numbers. The lawful importation of pesticides into the United States requires a Notice of Arrival to be provided to U.S. Customs or U.S. EPA, pursuant to 19 CFR 12.112. None of the co-conspirators provided a Notice of Arrival for the pesticides in this case.
This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California and the U.S. Department of Justice, Environmental Crimes Section.
DEFENDANT Case Number 20cr3054-JAH__
Felipa Oliveros Age: 52 El Centro, California
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Smuggling – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 545
Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and $250,000 fine
AGENCY
Homeland Security Investigations; Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division; California Environmental Protection Agency
Two Men Sentenced to Prison for Participating in Nationwide Grandparent ScamRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Oleksandra “Sasha” Johnson (619) 546-9769
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 31, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Timothy Ingram of North Hollywood, California, and Joaquin Lopez of Hollywood, Florida, were sentenced in federal court today to significant prison terms - nine years and two years in prison, respectively - for their roles in a large-scale criminal enterprise that engaged in extortion and fraud to swindle about $2 million from more than 70 elderly victims across the nation. Ten elderly victims who resided in San Diego County lost over $300,000 to the fraud.
From November 1, 2019, until October 14, 2020, the members of the criminal enterprise targeted elderly Americans, contacting them by phone and feeding them phony stories that their grandchildren were in legal trouble and needed money to cover bail, pay medical expenses for car accident victims, or prevent additional charges from being filed. Members of the conspiracy and their associates obtained money from victims through in-person cash pick-ups, mail or commercial carriers, or wire transfers. Conspirators laundered the proceeds by transferring the funds or converting from fiat currency to cryptocurrency.
According to court documents, Timothy Ingram’s participation in the conspiracy was lengthy and substantial. For nearly a year, he ran a network of money mules who conducted cash pick-ups and received wire transfers from victims who believed they were sending money to help a grandchild or other close relative or friend. Ingram provided the mules with details about the victims, including addresses and names. He coordinated cash pick-ups by his mule network through encrypted messages, instructing the mules on when to approach the victims’ doors, what fake name and occupation to tell the victims, and where to deliver the cash proceeds.
Ingram organized the criminal activity of at least five other participants in California, including co-defendants Anajah Gifford and Jack Owuor. Although most of Ingram’s activity occurred in California, at times, he directed mules to travel out of state to execute the same scheme elsewhere. He also recruited mules to receive wire transfers of victim funds into their bank accounts and provided extensive instruction and supervision over how to withdraw the funds to avoid getting caught. On at least one occasion, Ingram conducted a cash pick-up himself, collecting $42,000 in person from a 76-year-old victim in Burbank, California. In addition to being sentenced to serve 108 months in custody, Ingram was ordered to forfeit $124,700 in proceeds that he personally received from the offense, and to pay $1,932,507.93 to the victims in restitution. Three California victims spoke at the sentencing hearing.
U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo described the scheme as long term, sophisticated, and one of the most evil manipulations she has ever encountered in her 17 years on the bench. The judge commented that the defendant stole not only the financial security of the victims but exploited their fear and trust.
As part of his plea agreement, defendant Joaquin Lopez admitted that he used bank accounts under his control to funnel victim proceeds for co-defendant Tracy Knowles. Lopez, a resident of Florida, was involved in the scheme from February 2020 until October 2020. His participation in the conspiracy was crucial: In exchange for a 20 percent cut, Lopez made bank accounts available to other scheme participants to receive wire transfers from victims and to disperse those proceeds. As part of his sentence, Lopez was ordered to forfeit $62,700 in proceeds he personally received from the offense. In sentencing Lopez, the judge said that one cannot go through life blindly laundering money for criminals without having consequences.
This case was investigated by the San Diego Elder Justice Task Force, which is a collaboration between the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the District Attorney’s Office and all San Diego County law enforcement agencies. The Elder Justice Task Force was established in February 2021 and is believed to be the first comprehensive law enforcement effort for this purpose anywhere in the country. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch.
“These defendants were crucial members of a sophisticated criminal organization that shamelessly exploited the grandparents’ love for their grandchildren,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “The long-lasting effects of this crime on our seniors and the community cannot be overstated. The victims were financially and emotionally devastated by callous people who thought only of enriching themselves. With the convictions and sentences imposed today, the government is securing justice for the victims who fell prey to this heartless crime.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and investigators for their excellent work on this case.
“Today's sentencing of two key members of the criminal enterprise targeting our elderly population is a testament to the San Diego Elder Justice Task Force's continued commitment to bringing fraudsters to justice,” said Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office. “It is the FBI's mission to protect the American people and protecting our seniors from financial crimes is imperative to the well-being and safeguarding of our communities. The FBI, along with our law enforcement partners, will not stop until all the defendants are held accountable for their involvement in this complex organized crime.”
As of today, six of the eight defendants charged in the case have pleaded guilty. Two defendants are fugitives and remain at large.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 22cr2216-CAB
Tracy Adrine Knowles 30 Orlando, Florida
Fugitive
Adonis Alexis Butler Wong 30 Northbay Village, Florida
Fugitive
Timothy Ingram, aka Bleezy 30 North Hollywood, California
Sentenced today to 108 months in prison
Anajah Gifford 24 North Hollywood, California
In custody. Sentencing set for November 17, 2022
Lyda Harris 74 Laveen, Arizona
Released on bond. Sentencing set for November 17, 2022
Joaquin Lopez 46 Hollywood, Florida
Sentenced today to 24 months in prison
Jack Owuor 25 Paramount, California
Sentenced on August 17, 2022 to 46 months in prison
Tracy Glinton 35 Orlando, Florida
Released on bond. Sentencing set for November 17, 2022
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Title 18, U.S.C., Sec. 1962(d) – Conspiracy to Conduct or Participate in an Enterprise
Through a Pattern of Racketeering Activity
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and a fine of not more than the greater of twice the amount of gain or loss associated with the offense or $250,000
AGENCY
Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch
San Diego Elder Justice Task Force, which includes:
San Diego FBI
San Diego County District Attorney’s Office
San Diego Police Department
San Diego Sheriff’s Department
Carlsbad Police Department
Oceanside Police Department
Escondido Police Department
Chula Vista Police Department
El Cajon Police Department
La Mesa Police Department
National City Police Department
Coronado Police Department
San Diego Corporate and Securities Attorney Indicted for Securities Fraud, Assisting Planned Pump-and-Dump SchemeRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Aaron P. Arnzen (619) 546-8384
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 31, 2022
SAN DIEGO – San Diego-based corporate and securities attorney Andrew Coldicutt is charged in a federal grand jury indictment with securities fraud in connection with a pump-and-dump scheme.
Coldicutt made his first appearance in federal court on Friday, August 26, 2022.
According to the allegations in the indictment, Coldicutt worked with other individuals from 2017 through 2019 to prepare and execute a pump-and-dump stock fraud scheme. Coldicutt thought the individuals with whom he was working were associated with a shady hedge fund. In reality, he was working with undercover FBI agents and sources gathering evidence against Coldicutt, the indictment said.
To carry out his role in the scheme, Coldicutt created a sham company and a business model – which supposedly focused on backyard fruit harvesting - and prepared and filed registration statements with the SEC for an initial public offering of the company’s stock. According to the indictment, the registration statements contained false and misleading information about the company, its business plans, and the people who owned and controlled the company.
“Corporate lawyers and other gatekeepers in the securities industry occupy a position of trust and confidence,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “This investigation and indictment signal the United States’ commitment to protecting the integrity of the stock market, and the innocent investors who are victimized by penny stock fraud schemes.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team for their excellent work on this case.
“Attorney Coldicutt occupied a position of trust. He allegedly betrayed that trust when he chose to ignore the laws and ethical rules of conduct he swore to uphold by attempting to commit stock fraud,” said Stacey Moy, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's San Diego Division. “These types of pump-and-dump schemes hurt not only local investors, but investors across the United States. The FBI will continue to protect the integrity of the stock market and investors impacted by fraud schemes such as this.”
The United States acknowledges the assistance and cooperation of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
DEFENDANT Case Number 22cr1881-JO
Andrew Coldicutt (42 years old) San Diego, California
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Title 15, U.S.C., Sec. 77q, 77x – Securities Fraud; Title 15, U.S.C., Sec. 77g, 77x – False Securities Registration Statements; Title 18, U.S.C., Sec. 1343 – Wire Fraud; Title 18, U.S.C., Sec. 981(a)(1)(C) and Title 28, U.S.C., Sec. 2461(c) – Criminal Forfeiture
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and a fine of not more than the greater of twice the amount of gain or loss associated with the offense or $250,000
AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Leader of Nationwide Wire Fraud Scheme that Exploited App-Based Rideshare and Food Delivery Companies Sentenced to Almost Three Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mokhtari (619) 546-8402
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 29, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Gustavo De Avila Moreira Farinha, the lead defendant in a nationwide wire fraud and identity theft scheme, was sentenced in federal court today to 34 months in prison.
De Avila is the last of five defendants to be sentenced in connection with the scheme, which targeted app-based rideshare and food delivery companies and their customers.
In May 2021, five Brazilian nationals, including De Avila, were charged by criminal complaint and later by indictment with engaging in a nationwide conspiracy to establish fraudulent driver accounts with multiple internet and app-based rideshare and food delivery companies, including by using identities stolen from the very customers of those companies. De Avila’s co-defendant and long-term girlfriend, Tatiane Pereira Arantes, was sentenced earlier this month to more than 2½ years in prison, while De Avila’s other co-defendants—Natalia Magalhaes Rocha, Leonardo Trulsen De Oliveira, and Thassya Rebeca Da Silva Alves—were previously sentenced to 2 years and 4½ months, 2 years and 3 months, and 2 years, respectively.
As set forth in his plea agreement and publicly filed sentencing documents, De Avila admitted that between 2018 and May 2021, he and his co-conspirators, all of whom were Brazilian nationals living in the United States illegally, operated a scheme to defraud major app-based rideshare and food delivery companies. In Spring 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing, the conspirators shifted away from the rideshare companies, which saw a dramatic decrease in traffic, to food, grocery and other delivery companies, which saw a corresponding and precipitous increase in demand. De Avila and his co-conspirators exploited the surge in demand by creating driver accounts with stolen identities, collecting referral bonuses from the fraudulent accounts, and by using, renting, and selling the accounts to others on these platforms, including people who were not otherwise qualified to drive for the platforms.
De Avila and his co-conspirators also admitted that once they received payment from the rideshare and delivery companies, they laundered the money both to promote the conspiracy and to conceal the fact that the source of the funds was an elaborate fraudulent scheme. While the fraudulent scheme targeted popular app-based rideshare and food delivery services, De Avila and his co-conspirators also stole and used the identities of close to 100 victims to create fraudulent driver accounts on the various platforms over the three-year conspiracy.
Before imposing a 34-month sentence, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel stated that De Avila and his co-conspirators “harvested identities,” which left victims with a “lingering unknown” as to whether their identities were “in the ether” or in the hands of other criminals.
“Today’s sentencing is the final step to achieving justice on behalf of dozens of victims whose identities were stolen,” said U.S. Attorney Randy S. Grossman. “All five defendants will spend at least two years in prison for sending their victims on a miserable journey to reclaim their good names. We are determined to pursue cases against identity thieves because these crimes have such a devastating impact on the everyday lives of victims.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and agents from Homeland Security Investigations for their excellent work on this case.
“It’s great to see justice brought in this case” said Chad A. Plantz, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations, San Diego. “Technology-enabled crimes and identity theft cost U.S. consumers billions of dollars every year. HSI will continue to pursue financial fraud and identity theft investigations to hold criminals accountable.”
DEFENDANTS Case Number 21CR1538-GPC
Gustavo De Avila Moreira Farinha Age: 30 Brazil
Tatiane Pereira Arantes Age: 38 Brazil
Natalia Magalhaes Rocha Age: 30 Brazil
Leonardo Trulsen De Oliveira Age: 30 Brazil
Thassya Da Silva Alves Age: 30 Brazil
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Count 1 - Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud – Title 18, U.S.C., 1349
Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison, $250,000 fineCount 2 – Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments – Title 18, U.S.C., 1956(a)(1)(A)(i), (b)(i), and 1956(h)Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison, $500,000 fine or twice the value of the monetary instruments
Counts 3-17- Aggravated Identity Theft – Title 18, U.S.C., 1028AMaximum Penalty: Mandatory minimum of two years in prison, to run consecutively to the specified felony.
INVESTIGATING AGENCY
Homeland Security Investigations
Carlsbad Man Convicted of Multiple Armed RobberiesRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – Benjamin Robert Laubbacher of Carlsbad pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he committed six robberies of grocery stores and other businesses during a 15-day period in 2021, including several heists where he displayed a handgun.
In his plea agreement, Laubbacher admitted to robbing a CVS pharmacy, a Bath & Body Works and numerous grocery stores between January 22, 2021, and February 5, 2021. All the robberies were committed in a similar manner: He entered the store, selected items for purchase, approached the register and demanded money from the cashier. In certain robberies, Laubbacher displayed a black handgun in his waistband. Over the course of his six successful and one attempted robberies, Laubbacher obtained approximately $2,327.32.
“This defendant inflicted maximum terror on cashiers, who will suffer a lifetime of anguish over the memory of this experience,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “Now he will be held accountable.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and the investigating agencies for their excellent work on this case.
“This defendant had little qualms of brandishing a gun to intimidate and cause fear in his victims during six different robberies to get what he wanted,” said Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office. “With today’s guilty plea, Laubbacher will no longer be a threat to anyone else in our community. The FBI is proud to have coordinated this investigation with our law enforcement partners, including the San Diego, Carlsbad and Irvine Police Departments and the San Diego Sheriff's Department, as well as FBI Los Angeles Orange County Resident Agency, to stop this defendant from committing any more violent crimes and hold him accountable for his actions.”
This case is the result of the ongoing efforts of the Violent Crime and Human Trafficking (VCHT) Section. Formed in 2019, the VCHT is tasked with leading collaborations between federal and local law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of cases involving violent crimes, firearms and gang cases; sex trafficking and child exploitation; civil rights, and labor trafficking. The VCHT Section oversees the Southern District of California Coordinators for Project Safe Neighborhoods, Human Trafficking, and Project Safe Childhood. The VCHT Section also provides federal prosecutors to the downtown San Diego Violent Crimes Task Force-Gang Group, the North County Gang Task Force, and the East County Gang Task Force.
Laubbacher is scheduled to be sentenced on November 14, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant.
DEFENDANT Case Number 21-cr-2010-BAS
Benjamin Robert Laubbacher Age: 50
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Hobbs Act Robbery and Attempted Hobbs Act Robbery – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1951
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine
Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence (2 counts) – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 924(c)
Maximum Penalty: Life in prison and $250,000 fine
Minimum Penalty: Five years in prison per count, consecutive to all other sentences
AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
San Diego Police Department
San Diego Sheriff’s Department
Carlsbad Police Department
Irvine Police Department
Defendant sentenced to 130 months in prison for providing deadly dose of fentanyl to Imperial County High School StudentRead the Press Release
For Further Information, Contact:
Assistant U. S. Attorney Larry Casper (619) 546-6734
SAN DIEGO – Lorenzo Anthony Garcia of Brawley, 23, was sentenced in federal court today to 130 months in prison and three years of supervised release for providing the fentanyl that caused the overdose death of Josue M. Garcia Moreno, a young football player from Central Union High School in Imperial County. When issuing the sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel noted the importance of ensuring a significant consequence to deter future similar acts, stating that “fentanyl is a drug so powerful that it takes a life in the blink of an eye. There is no recovery, no redress, no rehabilitation. Just misery.”
On October 8, 2021, Garcia pleaded guilty to knowingly selling Josue, a 15-year old high school student, a substance containing fentanyl on October 6, 2019. The plea agreement reflects that two days later, Josue’s great-grandfather, with whom he lived, discovered him lifeless. Garcia admitted that Josue used the fentanyl Garcia sold him at his grandfather’s home late in the evening or October 7, 2019 or early the following morning; he further stipulated that the fentanyl he provided caused Josue’s death. At the hearing, the prosecutor noted that even though Garcia was aware Josue had died, he thereafter arranged to sell fentanyl to another individual, a circumstance that Judge Curiel found “most troubling.”
“This case is a tragic reminder that a promising young life can vanish in an instant due to a single mistake
with fentanyl,” said U.S. Randy Grossman. “It is vitally important to hold purveyors of this poison
accountable, obtaining justice and closure for family members who face such a loss.” Grossman thanked
the prosecution team and investigating agencies for their excellent work on this case.The Southern District of California is an epicenter for the trafficking of synthetic fentanyl, a drug that is
30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin, rendering even a tiny amount potentially deadly. Recently
released statistics reflect that more than 60% of the nation’s fentanyl border seizures by U.S. Customs and
Border Protection occur in San Diego and Imperial Counties.“The U.S. Attorney’s office is working with multiple law enforcement and community partners to
vigorously attack the fentanyl problem on all fronts, including interdiction, prosecution of cartel targets
and local dealers, and prevention through harm reduction and education,” Grossman said. “We are using
every available tool to combat this deadly epidemic and stop these tragic losses.” Grossman encouraged
parents to learn about fentanyl and talk with their children about the deadly consequences of taking pills
not prescribed to them. Those interested in learning more can consult an online Fentanyl Tool Kit the U.S.
Attorney’s Office helped to create to provide vital information to the community regarding fentanyl:
https://www.sdpdatf.org/community-parent-fentanyl-toolkit“In the age of fentanyl, it’s critical that we all work together to educate teenagers about the dangers of
drugs. Sadly, fentanyl cost Josue Garcia Moreno his life and the potential for a bright future,” said DEA
Special Agent in Charge Shelly S. Howe. “The DEA has resources available for parents, grandparents,
and educators at www.getsmartaboutdrugs.gov to assist in talking to teenagers about drugs. We urge
families to use DEA’s resources and to advocate for drug education classes in your schools.”Under federal law, sellers and suppliers of drugs that cause death or serious bodily injury may face a 20-
year mandatory minimum sentence. In recent years, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged dozens of
alleged dealers with that 20-year mandatory minimum offense – including today’s case.Grossman urged users who experiment with fentanyl and those who have a loved one with Substance Use
Disorder to obtain Naloxone, which can reverse the effects of opioid overdose and save lives.DEFENDANT Case Number 20cr1222 GPC
Lorenzo Anthony Garcia Age: 23 Brawley, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGE
Distribution of Fentanyl – Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 841(a)(1)
Maximum penalty: 20 years in prison and $1,000,000 fine
AGENCIES
Drug Enforcement Administration
El Centro Police DepartmentSan Diego Attorney Sentenced for $500,000 Tax Fraud with Former Chabad of Poway Rabbi GoldsteinRead the Press Release
Valerie Chu (619) 546-6750 and Michelle L. Wasserman (619) 546-8431
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 19, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Elliot Adler, an attorney and founding partner of a boutique San Diego law firm, was sentenced in federal court today to one year and one day in custody for conspiring with former Chabad of Poway Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein to commit tax fraud. He was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.
Beginning at least as early as 2010 and continuing through October 2018, Adler participated in a so-called “90/10” tax scheme with Rabbi Goldstein. Specifically, Adler gave money to Rabbi Goldstein that purported to be a donation to Chabad of Poway. Goldstein then secretly funneled ninety percent of the funds back to Adler, keeping ten percent of the funds as his fee. None of the donated funds was actually given to the Chabad as a charitable donation. Adler then falsely claimed that the fraudulent donations were tax-deductible on his tax returns, allowing him to reduce his personal income tax liability by approximately $500,000 (cumulatively) for tax years 2011 through 2017.
To accomplish the scheme, Adler and Goldstein communicated using coded language. Goldstein would refer to cash as “challah,” the source of the cash as “the baker,” and would invite co-conspirators to “wrap tefillin” when he proposed meeting to receive checks or deliver cash. For example, on Thursday, January 7, 2016, Goldstein texted Adler, “Good morning I got the challah[.] What time?” That same day, Adler replied via text message, “Monday morning 8am at shul or today before 12pm if you can come to my office.” Goldstein then replied, “Monday @8 is fine.” On Monday, January 11, 2016, Goldstein deposited a check from Adler for $30,000 payable to Chabad of Poway.
On or about December 29, 2017, Goldstein deposited two sequentially-numbered checks from Adler, one for $180,000 and the other for $980,000. On Friday, January 5, 2018, Goldstein sent Adler a coded text message proposing that they “get together and wrap teffilin.” A few days later, on January 10, 2018, Goldstein wired approximately $1 million to a wholesale and retail jeweler to purchase 246 Suisse Fortuna 1 oz. rectangular gold ingots, 246 Canadian Maple Leaf 1 oz. gold coins, and 246 American Eagle 1 oz. gold coins. On January 17, 2018, Goldstein sent another coded message to Adler asking him, “[w]hen can you come [i]n for a teffilin wrap? I’m ready for you.” Goldstein delivered the gold to Adler the next day. Adler nonetheless claimed on his 2017 tax returns that he had donated over $1 million to charity, fraudulently reducing his 2017 tax liability by approximately $447,000. Adler was ordered to forfeit the gold coins as part of his sentence.
At today’s hearing, U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant also ordered Adler to forfeit the gold. A restitution hearing is set for October 24, 2022, at 10:30 a.m.
Adler and Goldstein took additional steps to conceal their scheme from authorities. On or about October 18, 2018, Goldstein told Adler that he was under investigation by the IRS and that he had been the subject of an undercover operation relating to tax evasion. Goldstein asked for Adler’s help to prove, falsely, that Goldstein, and not Adler, was in possession of the gold coins purchased with Adler’s purported donation. In the early hours of October 19, 2018, Adler arrived at Goldstein’s residence and returned the gold coins.
In July 2020, Rabbi Goldstein pleaded guilty to fraud charges, admitting that he participated in a complex, years-long, multi-million-dollar tax-evasion scheme and other financial deceptions involving theft of public money. Rabbi Goldstein’s plea agreement outlined the fraud scheme with Adler.
Adler is the eleventh and final individual to be sentenced for crimes discovered in this investigation. Two additional individuals agreed to deferred prosecution agreements as a result of the investigation.
“For several years, Elliot Adler defrauded the United States while giving the false appearance of making charitable donations,” said U.S. Attorney Randy S. Grossman. “This investigation and the resulting prosecutions should leave no doubt that the United States takes tax fraud seriously and those who perpetrate these schemes will be brought to justice.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and the FBI and IRS for their excellent work on this case.
“For years, attorney Adler chose to ignore the laws and ethical rules of conduct he swore to uphold and conspired with others using sophisticated schemes to commit tax fraud,” said Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “Such schemes erode the public's trust in the legal and charitable institutions within our community, but today's sentencing ends his criminal career. Financial crimes have long been a top FBI investigative focus and we remain steadfast in our efforts, in coordination with our partners, to bringing such fraudsters to justice.”
“Mr. Adler, who is an educated and successful attorney, knowingly broke the law by repeatedly committing tax fraud for over seven years,” said Special Agent in Charge Tyler R. Hatcher of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Adler stole over half-a-million dollars from the United States, and our special agents are committed to bringing thieves like him to justice. Our tax and financial systems rely on Americans to pay their fair share in order to ensure that our infrastructure, our national security, and our education and benefits programs are funded. IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to work alongside the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office on this incredibly impactful investigation.”
SUMMARY OF CHARGES Case Number 22-CR-821-BAS
Elliott Adler Age:45 San Diego, CA
Conspiracy to Commit Tax Fraud, in violation of Title 18, USC 371
Maximum Penalty: Five years in prison
PREVIOUSLY CHARGED DEFENDANTS AND SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Yisroel Goldstein, Case Number 20CR1916-BAS Age: 58 Poway
Conspiracy to Defraud the United States and Commit Wire Fraud, in violation of Title 18, USC 371
Sentenced to 14 months in custody
Alexander Avergoon, Case Number 19CR2955-BAS Age: 44 San Diego
Wire Fraud, in violation of Title 18, USC 1343
Aggravated Identity Theft, in violation of Title 18, USC 1028A
Money Laundering, in violation of Title 18, USC 1956(a)(1)(B)(i)
Sentenced to 64 months in custody
Bruce Baker, Case Number 20CR1912-BAS Age: 74 La Jolla
Conspiracy to Defraud the United States and file false tax returns, in violation of Title 18, USC 371
Sentenced to 15 months in custody
Bijan Moossazadeh, Case Number 20CR1893-BAS Age: 63 San Diego
Filing a False Tax Return, in violation of Title 26, USC 7206(1)
Sentenced to three months in custody
Yousef Shemirani, Case Number 20CR1895-BAS Age: 74 Poway
Filing a False Tax Return, in violation of Title 26, USC 7206(1)
Sentenced to two years’ Probation
Boris Shkoller, Case Number 20CR1913-BAS Age: 83 Del Mar
Filing a False Tax Return, in violation of Title 26, USC 7206(1)
Sentenced to one year Probation
Mendel Goldstein, Case Number 20CR2772-BAS Age: 63 Brooklyn, NY
Conspiracy to Defraud the United States and Commit Wire Fraud, in violation of Title 18, USC 371
Sentenced to eight months in custody
Stuart Weinstock, Case Number 21CR0042-BAS Age: 64 Escondido, CA
Filing False Tax Return, in violation of Title 26, U.S.C. §7206(1)
Sentenced to eight months in custody
Jason Ellis, Case Number 21CR2200-BAS Age: 42 Poway, CA
Filing False Tax Return, in violation of Title 26, U.S.C. §7206(1)
Sentenced to six months of home confinement
Yehuda Hadjadj, Case Number 22CR148-BAS Age: 47 La Jolla, CA
Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, in violation of Title 18, USC 371
Sentenced to three years’ Probation
Rotem Cooper, Case Number 20CR3968-BAS Age: 54 San Diego
Deferred Prosecution Agreement
Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, in violation of Title 18, USC 371
Igor Shtilkind, Case Number 20CR3955-BAS Age: 55 San Diego
Deferred Prosecution Agreement
Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, in violation of Title 18, USC 371
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations
Paramount Man Sentenced to 46 Months for Participation in “Heartbreakingly Evil” Grandparent Scam RICO ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Oleksandra “Sasha” Johnson (619) 546-9769
SAN DIEGO – Jack Owuor, a resident of Paramount, California, was sentenced in federal court to 46 months in prison for participating in a large-scale “grandparent scam” racketeering conspiracy. As part of his guilty plea, Owuor admitted that he, along with seven others, participated in a criminal enterprise that engaged in extortion and fraud to swindle more than $2 million from 70-plus elderly victims across the nation. At least 10 elderly victims who resided in San Diego County lost over $300,000 to the fraud.
From approximately November 1, 2019, until October 14, 2020, the members of the criminal enterprise targeted elderly Americans, contacting them by phone and feeding them phony stories that their grandchildren were in legal trouble and needed money to pay for bail, pay medical expenses for car accident victims, or prevent additional charges from being filed. Members of the conspiracy and their associates obtained money from victims through in-person cash pick-ups, by mail or commercial carriers, or via wire transfers. Conspirators laundered the proceeds by transferring the funds or converting from fiat currency to cryptocurrency.
According to court documents, Jack Owuor personally conducted cash pick-ups from victims under the direction of co-defendant Timothy Ingram. In their phone messages, Ingram and Owuor exchanged information about the scheme, including victim names, addresses, relatives’ names, and false names and occupations for Owuor to provide to the victims. They also discussed using female mules for cash pick ups to make “it more smooth.” On one occasion, Owuor picked up $33,000 in cash from three different victims in a single day. In addition, Owuor recruited, supervised, and directed other mules to conduct pick-ups and to provide bank accounts to receive and launder the victim proceeds. Owuor was ordered to forfeit $4,300 in proceeds he personally received from the offense, and to pay $434,600 to the victims in restitution. During the hearing, U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo indicated that this custodial sentence will send a strong message to anyone who conspires to participate in such a “heartbreakingly evil” scheme.
This case was investigated by the San Diego Elder Justice Task Force, which is a collaboration between the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the District Attorney’s Office and all San Diego County law enforcement agencies. The Elder Justice Task Force was established in February 2021 and is believed to be the first comprehensive law enforcement effort for this purpose anywhere in the country. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch.
“Today’s sentence, including prison time, demonstrates the gravity of the defendant’s egregious behavior to steal from the elders of our community,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “It is despicable that these fraudsters preyed on a grandparents’ care and concern for their loved ones to line their own pockets. This important effort to bring these unscrupulous wrongdoers to justice helps protect victims and send the message that crime doesn’t pay.” Grossman commended the prosecution and law enforcement agencies who diligently pursued this case.
“Owuor and the criminal enterprise he was a part of preyed upon our elderly population, defrauding some of our most vulnerable and often most trusting citizens,” said Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office. “Today’s sentencing demonstrates the effectiveness of San Diego’s Elder Justice Task Force and the criminals we can stop when working in tandem with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners who make up this collaborative team. This coordinated response is paramount to addressing elder fraud and the task force will continue to aggressively investigate those who operate these criminal enterprises and seek justice for the elderly victims they intend to exploit.”
As of today, five of the eight defendants charged in the case have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Two defendants are fugitives and remain at large.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 22cr2216-CAB
Tracy Adrine Knowles 30 Orlando, Florida
Fugitive
Adonis Alexis Butler Wong 30 North Bay Village, Florida
Fugitive
Timothy Ingram, aka Bleezy 29 North Hollywood, California
In custody. Sentencing set for August 31, 2022.
Anajah Gifford 23 North Hollywood, California
In custody. Sentencing set for August 26, 2022.
Lyda Harris 74 Laveen, Arizona
Released on bond. Sentencing set for September 30, 2022.
Joaquin Lopez 46 Hollywood, Florida
Released on bond. Sentencing set for August 31, 2022
Jack Owuor 25 Paramount, California
Sentenced today to 46 months in prison.
Tracy Glinton 35 Orlando, Florida
Released on bond. Sentencing set for November 4, 2022.
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Title 18, U.S.C., Sec. 1962(d) – Conspiracy to Conduct or Participate in an Enterprise
Through a Pattern of Racketeering Activity
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and a fine of not more than the greater of twice the amount of gain or loss associated with the offense or $250,000
AGENCY
Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch
San Diego Elder Justice Task Force, which includes:
San Diego FBI
San Diego County District Attorney’s Office
San Diego Police Department
San Diego Sheriff’s Department
Carlsbad Police Department
Oceanside Police Department
Escondido Police Department
Chula Vista Police Department
El Cajon Police Department
La Mesa Police Department
National City Police Department
Coronado Police Department
Defendant in ‘Grandparent Scam’ Network Sentenced for RICO Conspiracy Targeting Elderly AmericansRead the Press Release
A California man was sentenced today to 46 months in prison for his participation in a large-scale “grandparent scam.”
According to court documents, Jack Owuor, 25, of Paramount, California, was part of a network of individuals who, through extortion and fraud, induced elderly Americans across the United States to pay up to tens of thousands of dollars each to purportedly help their grandchild or other loved one. On March 9, 2022, Owuor pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
Members of the network contacted elderly Americans by telephone and impersonated a grandchild, other close relative, or friend of the victim. They falsely convinced the victims that their relatives or friends were in legal trouble and needed money to pay for bail, for medical expenses for car accident victims, or to prevent additional charges from being filed. The defendants and their co-conspirators then received money from victims via various means, including in-person pickup, the mail, and wire transfer, and then laundered the proceeds, including through the use of cryptocurrency. Owuor personally made cash pickups from numerous victims. Owuor also recruited and directed other members of the conspiracy.
“The Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch will continue to pursue and prosecute groups that target elderly and vulnerable Americans through extortion, fraud, and impersonating their loved ones,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We are grateful to our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California and the FBI for their work to advance the department’s efforts against organized elder fraud, and to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.”
“Today’s sentence, including prison time, demonstrates the gravity of the defendant’s egregious behavior to steal from the elders of our community,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California. “It is despicable that these fraudsters preyed on a grandparent’s care and concern for their loved ones to line their own pockets. This important effort to bring these unscrupulous wrongdoers to justice helps protect victims and send the message that crime doesn’t pay.”
“Owuor and the criminal enterprise he was a part of preyed upon our elderly population, defrauding some of our most vulnerable and often most trusting citizens,” said Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office. “Today’s sentencing demonstrates the effectiveness of San Diego’s Elder Justice Task Force and the criminals we can stop when working in tandem with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners who make up this collaborative team. This coordinated response is paramount to addressing elder fraud and the task force will continue to aggressively investigate those who operate these criminal enterprises and seek justice for the elderly victims they intend to exploit.”
The FBI’s San Diego Field Office, North County Resident Agency investigated the case with critical assistance from investigators of the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.
Trial Attorneys Lauren M. Elfner and Wei Xiang of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Oleksandra Johnson for the Southern District of California prosecuted the case.
The department’s extensive and broad-based efforts to combat elder fraud seek to halt the widespread losses seniors suffer from fraud schemes. The best method for prevention, however, is by sharing information about the various types of elder fraud schemes with relatives, friends, neighbors and other seniors who can use that information to protect themselves.
If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Department of Justice hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies, and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud, and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is staffed seven days a week from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish and other languages are available.
Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Information about the Department of Justice’s Elder Fraud Initiative is available at www.justice.gov/elderjustice.
California Firm and Owner Sentenced for COVID-19 Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A California man was sentenced Friday to eight months in custody for the importation, shipping and sale of illegally imported pesticides that were falsely advertised as products that could protect the user “from airborne infectious diseases.”
Samir Haj, 47, of San Diego, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of California on May 25, 2021, to charges relating to the unlawful importation, sale and mailing of an unregistered pesticide product from Japan marketed as a killer of airborne viruses such as COVID-19. Both he and his firm, Eco Shield LLC, were ordered to forfeit $427,689 in proceeds and pay restitution of $86,754. Eco Shield was ordered to pay an additional fine of $42,000.
According to court documents, the defendants sold the product EcoAirDoctor, a small gas-emitting badge that defendants claimed would kill viruses within a certain distance. Products making these types of public health claims are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which requires extensive testing to substantiate the claims of efficacy and safety prior to approving them for registration and sale in the United States. EcoAirDoctor was not registered with the EPA, and testing performed on behalf of the defendants revealed that the badge was not measurably effective “at killing off a useful number of microbes within the air.”
“This prosecution sends a strong message that circumventing federal environmental and public safety laws in order to profit from the public’s fears during a pandemic will not be tolerated,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “I thank our partners at the Environmental Protection Agency, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Postal Service for the investigation that led to the convictions and sentencings in this case.”
“This product not only didn’t work, but it was even potentially harmful,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California. “The defendant and his company will be held to account for cashing in on Covid-19 fears during a global pandemic.”
“The defendants knowingly persisted in their false assertions that their product provided protection against COVID-19,” said Special Agent in Charge Scot Adair of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Program in California. “EPA and its law enforcement partners are committed to holding responsible parties accountable for putting people’s health at risk.”
“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), along with our government partners, are committed to protecting the American public against criminal networks attempting to illegally import and sell products that could endanger lives of U.S. consumers for financial gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz of HSI San Diego. “We remain vigilant and will use our broad legal authorities to disrupt and dismantle criminal networks seeking to exploit and benefit from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Postal Inspectors remain vigilant in protecting the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and the communities we serve," said Inspector in Charge Carroll N. Harris of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). "Preventing the dangerous misuse of the nation’s mail system remains one of our top priorities.”
The EcoAirDoctor badge consisted of sodium chlorite and natural zeolite. When the product is opened, the zeolite contacts the sodium chlorite, releasing chlorine dioxide gas. The EPA has established a reference concentration for long-term continuous exposure to chlorine dioxide of 0.00007 parts per million (ppm). Risks from the inhalation of chlorine dioxide are a concern if the air concentrations exceed the reference concentration. The documentation provided by Eco Shield LLC states that chlorine dioxide levels below 0.0001 do not kill viruses and claims that the concentration for viral inactivation should be between 0.0001 and 0.1 ppm, in excess of the levels deemed safe by the EPA.
Moreover, both sodium chlorite and chlorine dioxide (nonhydrate) fall into Hazard Class 5.1 under the USPS rules and regulations, for which mailing is prohibited. Transportation of these materials via USPS is strictly prohibited, due to the danger of fire and explosion. Chlorine dioxide does not require air to combust and can cause coughing, wheezing, and respiratory distress. At very high exposure levels, it can be fatal. Records from Eco Shield LLC indicate that 1,744 Air Doctor Portables were shipped via the USPS to purchasers across the United States between March 1, 2020 and April 18, 2020. At least 300 of those shipments occurred after the defendants received notice that shipping by mail was unlawful.
The defendants imported the EcoAirDoctor badge from Japan, falsely describing it as air purifiers rather than pesticides, which would have subjected the entry to inspection by the EPA. In addition to falsely describing the nature of the goods, the entry documents undervalued the shipment by over $500,000, allowing the defendants to evade $33,919 in Customs duties. The sentence imposed required the defendants to pay restitution of $86,754 to U.S. Customs to cover the loss of duty and the cost of disposing of seized EcoAirDoctor badges.
The defendants profited handsomely from the sale of the illegally-imported pesticides. At the outset of the pandemic, the badges, purchased for $6.25 each, were then sold to the public in the United States for $20.95 each, plus shipping. During the first six months of 2020, the defendants pocketed $1,132,950 from the sale of the badges, including sales occurring outside the United States. The Federal Trade Commission issued a warning letter on April 27, 2020, advising the company not to make unsubstantiated claims for Coronavirus protection, and on July 24, 2020, the EPA issued a Stop, Sale, Use or Removal Order. The sentence requires the defendants to forfeit $427,689 in proceeds from the sale of the badges within the United States.
The EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, HSI, and the USPS investigated the case.
Senior Trial Attorney Stephen Da Ponte of the Environment and Natural Resources Division's Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanie K. Pierson for the Southern District of California prosecuted the case.
Local Firm and Owner Sentenced in COVID-19 Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Melanie K. Pierson (619) 546-7976
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 12, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Eco Shield, LLC and its owner, Samir Haj, were sentenced in federal court today in connection with the importation, shipping and sale of “EcoAirDoctor” during the pandemic.
Haj was sentenced to eight months in custody, and both defendants (Eco Shield and Haj) were ordered to forfeit $427,689 in proceeds and pay restitution of $86,754, while the company was ordered to pay a fine of $42,000. EcoAirDoctor consisted of a small badge clipped to clothing that released chlorine dioxide into the air and was represented by the defendants to protect the user “from airborne infectious diseases” including COVID-19.
Products making these types of public health claims are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which requires extensive testing to substantiate the claims of efficacy and safety prior to approving them for registration and sale in the United States. EcoAirDoctor was not registered with the EPA, and testing performed on behalf of the defendants revealed that the badge was not measurably effective “at killing off a useful number of microbes within the air.”
The EcoAirDoctor badge consisted of sodium chlorite and natural zeolite. When the product was opened, the zeolite contacted the sodium chlorite, releasing chlorine dioxide gas. The EPA has established a reference concentration for long-term continuous exposure to chlorine dioxide of 0.00007 parts per million (ppm). Risks from the inhalation of chlorine dioxide are a concern if the air concentrations people are exposed to exceed the reference concentration. The documentation provided by Eco Shield, LLC states that levels below 0.0001 do not kill viruses and claims that the concentration for viral inactivation should be between 0.0001 and 0.1 ppm. Based on these figures, if the defendants’ product emitted chlorine dioxide gas at levels deemed safe by the EPA, it would not be at levels sufficient to kill viruses.
Both sodium chlorite and chlorine dioxide (nonhydrate) fall into Hazard Class 5.1 under the U.S. Postal Service ("USPS") rules and regulations, for which mailing is prohibited. Transportation of these materials via USPS is strictly prohibited, due to the danger of fire and explosion. Chlorine dioxide does not require air for it to burn and can cause coughing, wheezing, and respiratory distress. At very high exposure levels, it can be fatal. Records from Eco Shield, LLC indicated that 1,744 Air Doctor Portables were shipped via the USPS to purchasers across the United States between March 1, 2020, and April 18, 2020. At least 300 of those shipments occurred after the defendants received notice that shipping by mail was unlawful.
The defendants imported the EcoAirDoctor badge from Japan, falsely describing it as air purifiers rather than pesticides, which would have subjected the entry to inspection by the EPA. In addition to falsely describing the nature of the goods, the entry documents undervalued the shipment by over $500,000, allowing the defendants to evade $33,919 in Customs duties. The sentence imposed required the defendants to pay restitution of $86,754 to U.S. Customs to cover the loss of duty and the cost of disposing of seized EcoAirDoctor badges.
The defendants profited handsomely from the sale of the illegally-imported pesticides. At the outset of the pandemic, the badges, purchased for $6.25 each, were then sold to the public in the United States for $20.95 each, plus shipping. During the first six months of 2020, the defendants pocketed $1,132,950 from the sale of the badges, including sales occurring outside the United States. The Federal Trade Commission issued a warning letter, on April 27, 2020, advising the company not to make unsubstantiated claims for Coronavirus protection, and on July 24, 2020, the EPA issued a Stop, Sale, Use or Removal Order. The sentence requires the defendants to forfeit $427,689 in proceeds from the sale of the badges within the United States.
“This product not only didn’t work, but it was even potentially harmful,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “The defendant and his company will be held to account for cashing in on Covid fears during a global pandemic.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and investigating agencies for their excellent work on this case.
“The defendants knowingly persisted in their false assertions that their product provided protection against COVID-19,” said Special Agent in Charge Scot Adair of EPA’s Criminal Investigation program in California. “EPA and its law enforcement partners are committed to holding responsible parties accountable for putting people’s health at risk.”
“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) along with our government partners are committed to protecting the American public against criminal networks attempting to illegally import and sell products that could endanger lives of U.S. consumers for financial gain,” said HSI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz. “We remain vigilant and will use our broad legal authorities to disrupt and dismantle criminal networks seeking to exploit and benefit from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Postal Inspectors remain vigilant in protecting the US Postal Service and the communities we serve. Preventing the dangerous misuse of the nation’s mail system remains one of our top priorities,” stated Inspector in Charge Carroll N Harris.
This case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Postal Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanie K. Pierson of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California and Senior Trial Attorney Stephen Da Ponte of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 21cr1463-JLS
EcoShield, LLC
Samir Haj Age: 47 San Diego, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Entry of Goods Falsely Classified – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 541
Maximum penalty: Two years in custody, $250,000 fine, restitution and forfeiture
Mailing of Injurious Substances – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1716(j)(1)
Maximum penalty: One year in custody, $100,000 fine
Sale/Distribution of Unregistered Pesticide – Title 7, U.S.C., Section 136j(a)(1)(A) and 136l(b)(1)(B)
Maximum penalty: One year in custody, $100,000 fine
AGENCIES
Homeland Security Investigations; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division; U.S. Postal Inspection Service
California Department of Toxic Substances Control, Office of Criminal Investigations
*On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Former San Diego Vice Detective, Three Others Indicted for Owning and Operating Illicit Massage BusinessesRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Jill Streja (619) 546-8401
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 12, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Former San Diego Police Officer Peter Griffin and three others are charged in an indictment partially unsealed today with crimes related to owning and operating five illicit massage businesses in California and Arizona that sold commercial sex under the guise of offering therapeutic massage services.
Griffin was arrested as he left his San Diego home early yesterday morning and made his first appearance in federal court today. Likewise, defendants Kyung Sook Hernandez and Yu Hong Tan were also taken into custody Thursday and appeared in federal court today. A fourth defendant remains at large.
According to the indictment, Griffin owned and operated the businesses with Kyung Sook Hernandez, Yu Hong Tan, and the fourth defendant at various times between 2013 and August 2022. Their alleged criminal scheme included using cell phones, the internet, and banking channels to register their businesses; advertise commercial sexual services online; employ multiple women to perform commercial sexual services in the businesses; manage the illicit businesses’ finances; and benefit financially from their illegal enterprise.
Griffin, who is also a former attorney, previously worked as a detective with the Vice Operations Unit of the San Diego Police Department, a unit tasked with dismantling the businesses he now stands charged with operating and promoting.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Streja of the Southern District of California, Trial Attorney Caylee Campbell of the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, and Trial Attorney Leah Branch of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit are prosecuting the case.
The investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, a regional, multi-agency effort led by the California Department of Justice dedicated to supporting survivors and holding traffickers accountable. The task force is comprised of numerous federal, state, and local agencies as well as the Southwest Border High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 22-CR-1824-JO
Peter Griffin 78
Kyung Sook Hernandez 58
Yu Hong Tan 56
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy, Interstate and Foreign Travel or Transportation in Aid of Racketeering (ITAR)
18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1952
Maximum Penalty: Five years in prison, $250,000 fine
Money Laundering
Maximum Penalty: Ten years in prison, $250,000 fine or twice amount of criminally derived property
18 U.S.C. § 1957
Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Wire Fraud
Maximum Penalty: Thirty years in prison, $1 million fine
18 U.S.C. §§ 1349, 1343
False Statement to a Mortgage Lender
Maximum Penalty: Thirty years in prison, $1 million fine
18 U.S.C. § 1014
AGENCIES
Homeland Security Investigations
Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation
San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force
Escondido Police Department
Tempe, Arizona Police Department
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former San Diego Police Officer and Three Co-Defendants Indicted for Owning and Operating Illicit Massage Businesses in California and ArizonaRead the Press Release
A federal judge in the Southern District of California partially unsealed an indictment today in which four individuals are charged with conspiracy, interstate and foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering (ITAR), money laundering, making a false statement to a mortgage lender, and wire fraud for conduct associated with owning and operating five illicit massage businesses that sell commercial sex under the guise of offering therapeutic massage services in California and Arizona.
According to the indictment, Peter Griffin, 78, Kyung Sook Hernandez, 58, Yu Hong Tan, 56, and a fourth defendant indicted under seal, owned and operated the illicit massage businesses at various times between 2013 and August 2022. Their criminal scheme allegedly included using cell phones, the internet, and banking channels to register their businesses, advertise commercial sexual services online, employ multiple women to perform commercial sexual services in the businesses, manage the illicit businesses’ finances, and profit from the illegal enterprises.
Griffin, who is a retired police officer and former attorney, previously worked as a detective with the Vice Operations Unit of the San Diego Police Department, a unit tasked with dismantling the very businesses he now stands charged with operating and promoting.
Griffin was arrested near his San Diego residence early yesterday morning and made his initial appearance in federal court today. Hernandez and Tan were also taken into custody Thursday and appeared in federal court today. A fourth defendant remains at large.
If convicted, the defendants face up to five years in prison for conspiracy to commit ITAR and committing ITAR; up to 30 years in prison for wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and for making a false statement to a mortgage lender; and up to 10 years in prison for money laundering, as well as monetary penalties, and a period of supervised release and restitution.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Randy S. Grossman for the Southern District of California, and Special Agent in Charge Chad A. Plantz of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Diego Field Office made the announcement.
HSI conducted the investigation with the assistance of IRS – Criminal Investigation, the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, the Escondido Police Department, the San Diego Police Department, the San Diego District Attorney’s Office, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, and the Tempe (Ariz.) Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Streja of the Southern District of California, Trial Attorney Caylee Campbell of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, and Trial Attorney Leah Branch of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit are prosecuting the case.
Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Boat Captain in Fatal Maritime Alien Smuggling Incident Near Point Loma Sentenced to 18 YearsRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorneys C. Seth Askins (619) 546-6692 and Lyndzie M. Carter (619) 546-8780
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 12, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Antonio Hurtado, the boat captain of the doomed vessel smuggling 32 migrants in May 2021 wherein three people died, was sentenced today in federal court to 18 years in prison. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino stated this “is the most egregious case I’ve ever had in my courtroom in over 15 years in the Southern District of California.”
As detailed in pleadings filed prior to the hearing, during the afternoon and evening of May 1, 2021, smugglers in Puerto Neuvo, Baja California, Mexico, shuttled undocumented migrants from the beach to a location approximately two hours offshore near the Coronado Islands where Hurtado and his 40-foot boat – named the “Salty Lady” – were waiting. Those individuals – including three unaccompanied minors – had agreed to pay between $15,000 and $18,000 to be smuggled into the United States illegally.
Throughout that night and into the early morning hours, Hurtado piloted his boat and its occupants through rainy conditions and rough seas from Mexico into United States territorial waters. Along the way, according to many of the smuggled migrants, Hurtado repeatedly used controlled substances and even lost consciousness for over an hour before passengers were finally able to wake him. Shortly thereafter, the vessel suffered engine failure. Hurtado ignored his passengers’ pleas to call the U.S. Coast Guard for help, and the vessel drifted closer and closer to land, inevitably running aground approximately 50 yards from shore near Point Loma. Knowing his boat was doomed as waves battered it and it began to list on its side, Hurtado jumped into the water and made his way to shore, abandoning his passengers – who had concealed themselves in the cabin and below deck at his direction – and leaving them to fend for themselves. When the vessel broke apart from the pounding of the surf, they were thrown into the water.
Park Rangers stationed at nearby Cabrillo National Park saw this event unfolding and immediately called the Coast Guard. Multiple agencies – including but not limited to the Coast Guard, the Harbor Police Department, the National Park Service, San Diego Lifeguard Services, San Diego Air and Marine Branch, Homeland Security Investigations, and United States Border Patrol – responded to the scene and began a massive rescue and recovery effort. Thanks to their swift response, they were able to rescue 29 undocumented migrants from the water. Tragically, they recovered three individuals who had been aboard the boat and did not survive – Maricela Hernandez-Sanchez, Victor Perez-Degollado, and Maria Eugenia Chavez-Segovia. Subsequently, the Medical Examiner determined that these three individuals had sustained blunt force trauma and drowned.
Based on statements from the surviving undocumented migrants, Hurtado was identified as the pilot of the boat, taken into custody, and transported to a Border Patrol station for processing. However, while there, he advised that he was “coming down” from his prior use of a controlled substance, so agents brought him to a hospital to detox. In the Border Patrol station, Border Patrol Agent Xalick Castorena knelt beside Defendant and attempted to apply an ankle restraint for security during transportation. When he did so, Hurtado looked around the room as if to assess the situation, turned to the left, and slammed his right knee into the side of Agent Castorena’s face, committing an assault on a federal officer that Judge Sammartino referred to as “violent” and “awful.”
“Thirty-two passengers put their savings and their lives in this defendant’s hands. His reckless behavior and egregious failure to seek assistance put every one of them at serious risk and caused the tragic loss of three lives,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “This sentence recognizes the serious nature of these crimes and stands as a stern warning to smugglers: your profit-driven schemes will fail; we will prosecute you for your crimes; and we will obtain justice for your victims.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and numerous federal agents and officers who pursued this case.
“Human smugglers have no respect for human life, as is demonstrated by this defendant,” said Chad Plantz, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations San Diego. “The deaths in this investigation could have been prevented had the defendant not treated these victims like dispensable cargo; HSI will not tolerate transnational criminal organizations attempting to further their multi-billion dollar enterprise in San Diego. HSI is committed to investigating smugglers and holding them accountable for their actions.”
“This prosecution highlights the U.S. Attorney’s Office and U.S. Coast Guard’s commitment to safeguarding our nation against illicit smuggling and protecting all individuals operating on our waters,” said Commander Ray A. Slapkunas, Deputy Sector Commander, Coast Guard Sector San Diego. “This extremely unfortunate case highlights that smuggling operations are inherently dangerous and sometimes deadly when people put their safety in the hands of those that do not have their best interest in mind. While nothing can bring back those individuals lost, today’s sentence serves as a reminder that the Coast Guard and our partners at the Department of Justice will work tirelessly to hold accountable those who seek to deliberately engage in the illegal and dangerous practice of human smuggling.”
“Collaboratively, the efforts of many law enforcement agencies, including that of the United States Attorney’s office resulted in Antonio Hurtado’s arrest, conviction, and just sentencing,” said Chief Patrol Agent Aaron M. Heitke. “This incredibly dangerous and unpredictable tactic has already claimed lives, yet smuggling organizations continue to enrich themselves by using it.”
“This event is a clear indication of the lack of concern smugglers have for vulnerable populations,” said San Diego Air and Marine Director Brandon Tucker. “Individuals put their lives in the hands of criminal organizations to enter the United States illegally through the unforgiving Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, three lives were lost that day, but I am thankful for the efforts by Air and Marine Operations agents and our partner agencies to rescue and ensure the safety of the 29 individuals that were stranded at sea.”
After serving his custodial sentence, Hurtado will be on supervised release for a period of 3 years.
DEFENDANT Case Number 21-cr-1615-JLS
Antonio Hurtado Age: 40 San Diego, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Attempted Bringing In Illegal Aliens Resulting in Death and Aiding and Abetting
Title 8, U.S.C., Section 1324(a)(1)(A)(i), (v)(II), and (a)(1)(B)(iv)
Maximum penalty: Life in prison and $250,000 fine
Attempted Bringing In Illegal Aliens for Financial Gain and Aiding and Abetting
Title 8, U.S.C., Section 1324(a)(2)(B)(ii) and Title 18, U.S.C., Section 2
Maximum penalty: 15 years in prison and $250,000 fine
Assault on a Federal Officer
Title 8, U.S.C., Section 111(a)(1) and (b)
Maximum penalty: 20 years in prison and $250,000 fine
AGENCY
Homeland Security Investigations
United States Border Patrol
Air and Marine Operations (CBP)
National Park Service
United States Coast Guard
San Diego Harbor Police Department
San Diego Fire-Rescue Department
San Diego Lifeguard Services
Fentanyl Seizures at Border Continue to Spike, Making San Diego a National Epicenter for Fentanyl Trafficking; U.S. Attorney’s Office Prioritizes Prosecutions and Prevention ProgramsRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Adam Gordon (619) 546-6720
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 12, 2022
SAN DIEGO – More deadly fentanyl is being seized by border officials in San Diego and Imperial counties than at any of the nation’s 300-plus ports of entry, making this federal district an epicenter for fentanyl trafficking into the United States.
In the first nine months of FY 2022 (October through June), U.S. Customs and Border Protection law enforcement agencies in San Diego and Imperial counties (CBP Field Operations and Border Patrol) seized 5,091 pounds of fentanyl – which amounts to about 60 percent of the 8,425 pounds of fentanyl seized around the entire country. Click here for CBP and Border Patrol statistics.
These fentanyl seizures in San Diego by CBP include land ports of entry at San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Tecate, Andrade and Calexico. Seizures by Border Patrol stations within the San Diego Sector include Imperial Beach, Chula Vista, Brown Field, El Cajon, Campo, Boulevard, San Clemente and Murietta. In addition, seizures by the Border Patrol in the Imperial Valley include El Centro and Calexico.
Mexican cartels are increasingly manufacturing fentanyl for distribution and sale in the United States Precursors are imported from China and other countries and then pressed into pills, powder or mixed into other drugs at massive, industrial-scale labs.
Initially, drug trafficking organizations were adding small amounts of fentanyl to large loads of other drugs like methamphetamine. But more recently, these criminal organizations are moving significantly larger quantities of fentanyl pills and powder across the border. In a recent six-day period, CBP and Border Patrol intercepted four separate vehicle loads of fentanyl weighing between 100 and 250 pounds from July 13 to 18 in Campo and Calexico. Please see https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/five-days-six-busts-have-calexico-cbp-officers-seizing-494-packages and https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/border-patrol-agents-seize-over-200-pounds-fentanyl.
“A decade ago, we didn’t even know about fentanyl, and now it’s a national crisis,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “The amount of fentanyl we are seizing at the border is staggering. The number of fentanyl seizures and fentanyl-related deaths in our district are unprecedented.”
- According to statistics released by the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office, fentanylrelated overdose deaths have increased 2,375 percent in San Diego County, from 33 in 2016 to at least 817 in 2021. The total may increase as the Medical Examiner’s Office makes final determinations in causes of death.
- According to CBP, seizures of fentanyl in San Diego are up by approximately 323 percent in the last three years, from just 1,599 pounds in FY 2019 to 6,767 in FY 2021. With three months to go in FY 2022, seizures in San Diego in FY 2022 are on pace to meet or exceed 2021 levels.
- In Imperial County, seizures of fentanyl increased 272 percent from FY 2019 to FY 2022, from 40 pounds to 149 pounds – with three months still to count in FY 2022.
Please see the following video messages by U.S. Attorney Grossman; Anne Maricich, acting Director of Field Operations for the San Diego Field Office; San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Aaron M. Heitke; El Centro Chief Patrol Agent Greg Bovino; HSI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz; and Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGvHJHdPh24UtqMDDnr080IE66OTl8Nxg
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in the San Diego Field Office have the arduous task of sifting through 150,000 northbound travelers every day to find those conducting illegal activity, including narcotics smuggling,” said Anne Maricich, acting Director of Field Operations for the San Diego Field Office. “Drug trafficking organizations will use anyone they can to help them with their dangerous and illegal activities, including regular border crossers as well as teens in the hopes that they won’t arouse suspicion. CBP is committed to keeping this dangerous drug from reaching our communities.”
“2016 was the first year San Diego Sector Border Patrol tracked fentanyl seizures,” said San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Aaron M. Heitke. “In that year, our sector seized a total of 71 pounds. This fiscal year to date, San Diego Sector has already seized over 600 pounds, an increase of 745 percent, with two months remaining in the fiscal year. We will continue to work with our National and International partners to dismantle these criminal organizations and keep our borders free of these nefarious actors.”
“Fentanyl is dangerous on all levels: To our Border Patrol Agents and CBP Officers working hard to interdict this dangerous toxin, as well as to the general public who too often meet a tragic end,” said El Centro Chief Patrol Agent Greg Bovino. “With a concerted effort between law enforcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the public, we can stop fentanyl smuggling and protect our communities.”
“Fentanyl is an extremely dangerous narcotic that kills indiscriminately,” said HSI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz. “Fentanyl is not the type of drug you experiment with, and it is only a matter of time before drug users consume a fatal dose. This deadly drug does not discriminate nor do the transnational criminal organizations (TCO) who smuggle this dangerous drug. These TCOs have no regard for the lives taken and the violence created by this illegal enterprise. HSI is committed to preventing this drug from entering our communities and destroying lives and devastating families. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and prioritize investigations targeting the drug cartels who are smuggling fentanyl into the United States and bring to justice any organization or individuals who seek to profit off the sale of this dangerous narcotic.”
“There is no doubt we are in the middle of a fentanyl crisis at the hands of criminal enterprises, transcending our borders into the communities where we live, where we work, where we go to school,” said Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office. “The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people and we will apply the full force of the FBI behind investigating those criminal enterprises to stop the influx of illicit fentanyl into San Diego. We are dedicated to eliminating this threat where it begins, and will devote all necessary resources and personnel, while working alongside our law enforcement partners, to ensure justice is served and our communities are safe.”
“Air and Marine Operations will continue to work with our federal, local, state and international partners to provide air and marine capabilities along our borders to interdict fentanyl loads that are being brought into the United States by criminal organizations who have no regard for the implications of such a lethal drug,” said Brandon Tucker, director of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection San Diego Air and Marine Branch.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, which is responsible for enforcing federal criminal laws in San Diego and Imperial counties, is employing a dual strategy of prosecution and prevention. Regarding the former, the office has prioritized and significantly increased the number of fentanyl-related prosecutions. There has been an approximately 1,600 percent increase in the number of people charged with fentanyl-related crimes over the last five years. These include numerous successful prosecutions of dealers who distribute fentanyl resulting in someone’s death. Those charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
“We continue to work with our law enforcement partners to pursue justice for the victims who die as a result of fentanyl trafficking and to prosecute the people responsible for this crisis - from the Mexican drug cartel leadership, to the couriers, to the street dealers who distribute the fatal doses,” Grossman said.
The strategy for combatting the crisis cannot be limited to prosecutions. Law enforcement agencies, including federal, state and local partners, must continue to lead on education and other prevention efforts. For example, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which holds a leadership role in the county’s opioid coalition, has been a driving force behind the creation of a fentanyl tool kit that provides critical information to the public on fentanyl dangers. Please see the Prescription Drug Abuse Task Force website: https://www.sdpdatf.org/community-parent-fentanyl-toolkit. In addition, the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Outreach Team is available to provide presentations to any audience. Interested groups can arrange a fentanyl presentation by contacting [email protected] or [email protected].
Grossman also noted that the Administration’s National Drug Control Strategy focuses on two critical drivers of the epidemic: untreated addiction and drug trafficking. “Our office is taking a 360-degree approach to the fentanyl crisis. We are prioritizing actions that will save lives, promoting grant opportunities, working with partners to get people the care they need, going after drug traffickers’ profits, and making better use of data to guide all these efforts.” See National Drug Control Strategy, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/National-Drug-Control-2022Strategy.pdf.
We need help from everyone in the community to be educated on the dangers of fentanyl. “Prevention is key to stopping the death toll,” Grossman said. “Parents need to talk with their kids about fentanyl.
A tiny amount will kill, and people are overdosing by accident, with many unaware that they are even taking fentanyl. No drug is safe in this era. Do not experiment with any illicit drug, because it might contain fentanyl. And it just might be the last thing you do.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, together with several federal law enforcement partners, has created a poster that will be hung at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry, warning would-be smugglers and distributors of fentanyl of stiff consequences if their actions lead to deadly overdose. “YOUR FENTANYL KILLS,” the poster says in both English and Spanish. “Distribution of Fentanyl (pills or powder) resulting in death or serious bodily injury carries a mandatory sentence of 20 years in federal prison. YOU PAY THE PRICE!”
On August 31, the U.S. Attorney and other law enforcement officials will observe International Overdose Awareness Day, the world’s largest annual campaign to end overdose and remember those who have died and acknowledge the grief of the family and friends left behind. The campaign raises awareness of overdose - one of the world’s worst public health crises - and stimulates action and discussion about evidence-based overdose prevention and drug policy.
Vessel Operator and Chief Engineer Convicted for Oily Bilge Water Discharge OffenseRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Melanie Pierson (619) 546-7976
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 9, 2022
SAN DIEGO – New Trade Ship Management S.A. (New Trade), a vessel operating company, and vessel Chief Engineer Dennis Plasabas, pleaded guilty in federal court today to maintaining false and incomplete records relating to the discharge of oily bilge water from the bulk carrier vessel Longshore.
New Trade and Plasabas admitted that oily bilge water was illegally dumped from the Longshore directly into the ocean without being properly processed through required pollution prevention equipment. Oily bilge water typically contains oil contamination from the operation and cleaning of machinery on the vessel. The defendants also admitted that these illegal discharges were not recorded in the vessel’s Oil Record Book as required by law.
Specifically, on two separate occasions between October and December 2021, Chief Engineer Plasabas, who was employed by New Trade, ordered lower-ranking crew members to use a portable pneumatic pump and hose to bypass pollution prevention equipment by transferring oily bilge water from the vessel’s Bilge Holding Tank to the vessel’s Sewage Tank, from where it was discharged directly into the ocean.
Plasabas then caused the ship’s Master to fail to record these improper transfers and overboard discharges in the vessel’s Oil Record Book. Additionally, to create a false and misleading electronic record as if the pollution prevention equipment had been properly used, Plasabas directed lower-ranking crew members to pump clean sea water into the vessel’s Bilge Holding Tank in the same quantity as the amount of oily bilge water that he had ordered transferred to the Sewage Tank. Plasabas then processed the clean sea water through the vessel’s pollution prevention equipment as if it was oily bilge water to make it appear that the pollution prevention equipment was being properly used when in fact it was not. The electronic records indicate that approximately 9,600 gallons of clean sea water were run through the pollution prevention equipment.
“We are committed to protecting our environment from people who cause immeasurable harm with short cuts,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “This was a very calculated plan to violate the rules, and today the offenders are being held to account.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and the U.S. Coast Guard for their excellent work on this case.
“This case demonstrates our commitment to investigating and prosecuting environmental crimes occurring at sea, no matter how wrongdoers may try to cover them up,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work with our partner agencies to ensure polluters are held fully accountable.”
“This prosecution highlights the U.S Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Coast Guard’s dedication in safeguarding our oceans against those that seek to deliberately harm our natural resources. Illegal dumping of oil and falsification of oil record books are egregious violations,” said Captain James W. Spitler, Sector Commander, Coast Guard Sector San Diego. “Today’s guilty plea should serve as a reminder that the Coast Guard and our partners at the Department of Justice will work tirelessly to hold accountable those that seek to deliberately discharge oil and falsify ship records.”
New Trade and Plasabas each pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, for failing to accurately maintain the Longshore’s Oil Record Book. Under the terms of the plea agreement and subject to court approval, New Trade will pay a total fine of $1,100,000 and serve a four-year term of probation, during which any vessels operated by the company and calling on United States’ ports will be required to implement a robust Environmental Compliance Plan. Sentencing for the defendants is currently set for November 18, 2022, at 9:00 am.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Diego and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanie K. Pierson for the Southern District of California and Senior Trial Attorney Stephen Da Ponte of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 22cr1802-JO
New Trade Ship Management S.A.
Chief Engineer Dennis Plasabas Age: 48 Philippines
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships – Title 33, U.S.C., Section 1908(a)
Maximum penalty: not more than Six years in prison and $250,000 fine (individual); not more than Five years of probation and a fine which is the greater of $500,000 or twice the amount of gross gain or loss (organization).
AGENCY
U.S. Coast Guard
Prolific Drug Dealer Sentenced to 10 years for Distributing Fentanyl and MethRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Lyndzie M. Carter (619) 546-8780
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 9, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Christopher Craig Jones, a prolific drug dealer in San Diego County, was sentenced in federal court to 120 months in prison.
“This is a just sentence for the defendant and reflects the need to protect our community from fentanyl and methamphetamine dealers,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “We will continue to work closely with our federal and local law enforcement partners to ensure that prosecutions involving these deadly drugs remains a top enforcement priority.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and law enforcement agencies for their hard work on this case.
On December 16, 2020, San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies conducted a traffic stop and arrested Jones for possession of methamphetamine and fentanyl with intent to distribute. Then again, on September 8, 2021, Carlsbad Police Department (CAPD) arrested Jones during a traffic stop with possession of fentanyl and heroin with intent to distribute.
Subsequently, Jones was booked into county jail and immediately posted bail. However, less than 24 hours later and wasting no time in returning to criminal drug activity, on September 9, 2021, CAPD conducted a third traffic enforcement stop on Jones, which resulted in the seizure of additional methamphetamine. The follow up investigation, pursuant to a search warrant at the Best Western Hotel in Carlsbad, where Jones had been staying, resulted in the seizure of additional quantities of heroin, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
Jones, a career offender, with arrests and multiple convictions for drug dealing, entered a guilty plea on May 16, 2022.
“Because of the great police work of our local counterparts, the immeasurable harms that would have been caused by the distribution of drugs in our community were prevented by the arrest and prosecution of Christopher Jones,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Shelly S. Howe. “The DEA ensures our local counterparts receive support on investigations that merit federal prosecution. This case is a prime example of the great working relationship between local and federal agencies in San Diego.”
“At the Carlsbad Police Department, we methodically investigate illegal narcotic possession and illegal narcotic sales with the mission of protecting the community we serve. We take pride in collaborating with our local partners at the DEA, the San Diego Sheriff's Dept and the U.S Attorney’s Office with the common goal of reducing the negative impact brought on by these offenders,” said Assistant Chief Christie Calderwood. “This case is a great success for the agencies involved and the community," she concluded.
“Keeping our communities safe from illegal narcotics and their associated crimes is a continuous mission for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department,” said Anthony C. Ray, Sheriff. “I am grateful to our deputies and detectives who assisted on this case, as well as our robust collaboration with our local, state, and federal partners. This allows us to share critical information that is necessary to hold drug traffickers accountable, as was exemplified in this case.”
DEFENDANT Case Number 22cr00682-BAS
Christopher Craig Jones Age: 48 Oceanside, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute – 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C)
Possession of Fentanyl with Intent to Distribute – 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C)
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $1 million fine
AGENCY
San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, Major Narcotics, North County
Drug Enforcement Administration, San Diego Field Division
Carlsbad Police Department, Special Investigations Division
San Diego Sheriff’s Department
Four Charged with $150 Million Fraud on San Diego Technology CompanyRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorneys Meghan E. Heesch, Nicholas W. Pilchak, and Eric R. Olah
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 9, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Charges unsealed today against four individuals, including two San Diego residents, allege that they defrauded a multinational San Diego technology company in its $150 million purchase of a tech start-up controlled by the defendants.
Karim Arabi (“Karim”) and Ali Akbar Shokouhi were arrested today in San Diego, while Sanjiv Taneja was arrested in the Northern District of California. A fourth defendant was arrested in Canada, where she faces proceedings to extradite her to the United States.
All four defendants are named in a superseding indictment, which charges them with fraud and money laundering offenses based on the quartet’s alleged scheme to dupe a San Diego technology company (the “victim company”) into paying $150 million for technology that Karim secretly created and provisionally patented while serving as a vice president of research and development at the victim company. The charges subject the defendants to possible maximum statutory penalties of 20 years in prison; fines of $250,000 or twice the pecuniary gain/loss for the fraud charges or $500,000 for the money laundering charges; and the forfeiture of property which constitutes or is derived from proceeds of the fraud offenses and all property traceable to such property, as well as forfeiture of all property involved in the money laundering offenses.
Per the superseding indictment, as Abreezio LLC’s CEO, Taneja marketed Abreezio LLC’s valuable new microchip technology to the victim company in 2015. Taneja and his associates claimed throughout the marketing process that Abreezio’s valuable new technology was invented by a Canadian graduate student working in an unrelated field. But no one disclosed that Karim—the graduate student’s family member, and a specialist in the same field as Abreezio’s technology, then working at the victim company—was intimately involved in Abreezio’s formation, development and marketing. In truth, per court documents, Karim filed the provisional patents upon which Abreezio’s core technology was based; called and attended key operations meetings among the defendants and other Abreezio principals (but not the purported inventor); and choreographed key steps in the new company’s development—including the selection of Taneja as CEO and picking the name “Abreezio.”
The defendants concealed Karim’s key role in Abreezio from the victim company because, as detailed in the superseding indictment, Karim’s employment agreements provided that his inventions during his employment would belong to his employer, the victim company. By hiding Karim’s participation in Abreezio, the defendants were able to pitch the new company as “an angel-funded Silicon Valley based design IP start-up” entitled to a hefty fee for its valuable technology, while disguising the victim company’s own legal rights to the very same technology.
The indictment alleges that Karim hid his hand in Abreezio, in part, by creating sham email accounts to impersonate the purported inventor. Karim, Taneja and Shokouhi even called Karim by the purported inventor’s name in some of their communications to mask Karim’s role.
Abreezio also relied on Karim to provide important inside information about the victim company’s existing technology, to be used in honing Abreezio’s marketing pitch. In February 2015, per court documents, Taneja emailed Karim asking for insight on the victim company’s “numbers” for comparable technology then in place to identify “the ‘threshold’ we need to cross at [the victim company]” and “help us calibrate our positioning going in[.]”
The defendants also worked to hide Shokouhi’s involvement in Abreezio, per charging documents. Shokouhi had been a vice president at the victim company as recently as 2014, and funded and supported Abreezio’s development via three different entities that he controlled. One of Shokouhi’s companies was never disclosed to the victim company during due diligence, however—an attempt to avoid scrutiny, in part because the victim company had flagged conflict of interest issues with Shokouhi and the undisclosed company the year before the Abreezio sale.
In October 2015, the victim company purchased Abreezio for $150 million. As part of the transaction, the victim company was told that Abreezio was the sole and exclusive owner of its technology, and that everyone involved in the conception and development of Abreezio’s intellectual property had been disclosed. In reality, the defendants had carefully concealed Karim’s role from the victim company. As a result, the victim company paid nearly $92 million to Karim’s family member (the purported inventor), over $10 million to Taneja, and more than $24 million to two entities controlled by Shokouhi.
The indictment also alleges how the defendants laundered the funds they received from the Abreezio purchase, including via foreign real estate purchases and interest-free loans.
“Fraudsters cannot hide behind sophisticated technology or complex schemes,” said U.S. Attorney Randy S. Grossman. “This office will pursue criminals and their laundered, ill-gotten gains whether they are hidden in a mattress or scattered throughout the international financial system. Those who steal from our community will face justice.”
“Corporate fraud is a serious crime with serious consequences, not only hurting the individual organization, but also impacting shareholders, as well as entire communities,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ryan of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office. “Today's arrests confirm that no matter how criminals try to hide, the FBI will work with our law enforcement partners to fully investigate these crimes – we will uncover the truth; we will find the perpetrators; we will pursue justice for the victims.”
“Intellectual property crime threatens our economic wellbeing, and this indictment demonstrates that we will pursue those who attempt to steal and profit from our nation’s innovations,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Darren Lian of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Schemes like this not only victimize companies, but also impact our U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and our Civil Courts. IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to work with our law enforcement partners to bring these defendants to justice.”
DEFENDANTS Case Number 22-CR-1152-BAS
Karim Arabi Age: 56 San Diego, CA
Sanjiv Taneja Age: 59 Cupertino, CA
Ali Akbar Shokouhi Age: 63 San Diego, CA
AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Internal Revenue Services, Criminal Investigation
United States Marshals Service
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defendant Who Assaulted Officer at San Ysidro Port of Entry Sentenced to 68 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorneys Paul E. Benjamin (619) 546-7579 and Colin M. McDonald (619) 546-9144
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 9, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Rene Robert Ruiz was sentenced in federal court to 68 months in prison for assaulting a Customs and Border Protection Officer at the San Ysidro Port of Entry when attempting to enter the United States from Mexico.
According to court records and trial testimony, on May 17, 2021, Ruiz walked towards the limit line separating the United States and Mexico at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. He was irate, yelling “f*** you!” at an officer near the line. As he reached the front of the line, Ruiz continued to yell at officers and made no effort to show documents permitting him to enter the United States. An officer told Ruiz he could not enter until he calmed down.
Ruiz responded, “F*** you, I’m a U.S. citizen, I’m coming in,” and attempted to push past the officer into the United States. Concerned for his safety, the officer pushed Ruiz back beyond the limit line. Immediately, Ruiz came back at the officer and punched him in the head with a closed fist. Ruiz then repeatedly struck the officer in the head as the officer attempted to restrain him. The officer suffered a concussion and other injuries because of Ruiz’s assaultive conduct. On October 13, 2021, following a two-day trial, a jury convicted Ruiz of two counts of assault on a federal officer.
At the sentencing hearing yesterday, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel observed that Ruiz attacked an officer who was simply doing his job. Judge Curiel further remarked that Ruiz’s assaultive conduct was the culmination of a thirty-year history of violence and disregard for law enforcement, including his self-admitted leadership role in a violent motorcycle gang. A restitution hearing to determine the financial penalty Ruiz owes to the officer is scheduled for August 29, 2022.
“This defendant viciously attacked a customs officer completing routine duties at the port of entry,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “Law enforcement officers—such as the victim here—perform vital services for us all and must be allowed to do their jobs without the risk of harm. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to vigorously prosecute those who place their safety and security at risk.” Grossman commended the excellent work of the prosecution team as well as officers and agents from Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations.
“Violent acts like these against our officers will not be tolerated and we are thankful to the San Diego USAO for ensuring justice was served,” said Anne Maricich, acting Director of Field Operations for the San Diego Field Office.
“This case unfortunately serves as yet another example of the dangers encountered by agents and officers along the border,” said HSI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz. “This sentence should serve as a reminder that assaults on the officers who protect our borders will not be tolerated.”
DEFENDANT Case Number 21-cr-02911-GPC
Rene Robert Ruiz Age: 55 Residence: San Diego, California
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
8 U.S.C. § 111(a)(1) – Assault on a Federal Officer
Maximum penalty: Five years in prison; $250,000 fine.
8 U.S.C. § 111(a)(1) and (b) – Assault on a Federal Officer Inflicting Bodily Injury
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison; $250,000 fine.
AGENCIES
Homeland Security Investigations
Customs and Border Protection
Captain of Methamphetamine-Filled Boat that Rammed Coast Guard Vessel, Injuring Officers, Sentenced to 16 YearsRead the Press Release
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Bredariol (619) 546-8419 and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mokhtari (619) 546-8402
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 5, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Miguel Ojeda Agundez, captain of a drug-smuggling boat that rammed a Coast Guard vessel during a dangerous high-speed chase off the shores of San Diego, was sentenced in federal court today to 194 months in prison.
Ojeda Agundez is the last of four defendants to be sentenced in connection with the event, which occurred in August 2020 off the shores of San Diego. All four defendants were charged in a 15-count federal indictment with trafficking close to 500 pounds of methamphetamine; failure to stop for the Coast Guard; and assault on five Coast Guard officers who were injured as a result of the ramming. Ojeda Agundez ultimately pleaded guilty to all 15 counts.
At today’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino described the defendant’s conduct as “egregious” and causing “immeasurable harm to the community.” She noted that members of the Coast Guard are working hard every day “to protect the community that they are sworn to serve…we have tremendous respect and admiration and gratitude to those who serve this country.”
The other defendants - Arturo Velasquez Soto, Luis Parada Reyes, and Juan Diaz Hernandez - were previously sentenced by Judge Sammartino to 14 years, 10 years, and just under nine years in prison, respectively.
On August 8, 2020, the defendants were detected by the United States Coast Guard Cutter FORREST REDNOUR traveling northbound off the shores of San Diego in the middle of the night. When five Coast Guard officers went to intercept the vessel, Ojeda Agundez, who was at the helm, aggressively turned the go-fast vessel towards the Coast Guard and rammed a Coast Guard smallboat, causing damage and injury to Coast Guard officers. The defendants then led the Coast Guard on a high-speed chase on the open water.
As the vessel continued closer to shore, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air & Marine Operations took over the pursuit. The defendants’ vessel attempted to ram the CBP vessel as well, but officers were able to bring the defendants’ vessel to a stop. When law enforcement boarded the vessel, they discovered ice chests filled with close to 500 pounds of methamphetamine. The defendants were brought to shore and arrested, where the investigation was continued by special agents with Homeland Security Investigations’ Marine Task Force.
In 2012, a similar sequence of events resulted in the death of Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III. In that case, a drug-laden panga intentionally rammed a Coast Guard smallboat off the coast of Santa Barbara, ejecting Chief Petty Officer Horne and another officer into the water. Chief Petty Officer Horne was struck by a propeller in the head and fatally injured.
“This case is a reminder of the heroism, bravery, and professionalism that Coast Guard officials employ on every mission to safeguard the United States from drug smugglers,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “Violence against the Coast Guard will not be tolerated and will be aggressively prosecuted by this office.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and investigating agencies for their excellent work on this case.
“Unfortunately, this is not the first time the lives of our Coast Guard members have been threatened by drug smugglers,” said Rear Admiral Andrew Sugimoto, commander, Coast Guard District 11. “Senior Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III was killed during a counter-smuggling operation. Those individuals responsible for taking his life and threatening the lives of other Coast Guard members were held accountable. As a service, we do not take these actions lightly and I trust the decision of the courts to continue to hold these criminals responsible for their continued disregard for life.”
“This case highlights the dangers of maritime drug smuggling,” said HSI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz. “HSI is grateful for its federal, state and local law enforcement partners and servicemembers who despite the dangers, continue to deny transnational criminal organizations the opportunity to carry out their illegal drug smuggling activities. HSI will continue to aggressively investigate criminal organizations who smuggle by sea, air or land.”
DEFENDANTS Case Number 20cr2509-JLS
Miguel Ojeda Agundez Age: 26 Mexico
Arturo Velasquez Soto Age: 44 Mexico
Jose Luis Parada Reyes Age: 53 Mexico
Juan Diaz Hernandez Age: 55 Mexico
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Counts 1-3 (All Defendants)
Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine on Board a Vessel –
Title 46, U.S.C., Section 70503, 70506(b)
Maximum Penalty: Life in prison and $10 million fine
Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine Onboard a Vessel; Aiding and Abetting –
Title 46, U.S.C., Section 70503, Title 18, U.S.C., Section 2Maximum Penalty: Life in prison and $10 million fine
Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine Intended for Unlawful Importation –
Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 959, 960, 963Maximum Penalty: Life in prison and $10 million fine
Counts 4, 6-15 (Defendant Ojeda Agundez only)
Failure To Heave To
Title 18, U.S.C., Section 2237
Maximum Penalty: Five years in prison and $250,000 fine
Assault on a Federal Officer with a Dangerous Weapon
Title 18, U.S.C., Section 111(a)(1)
Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine
Assault with Intent to Commit Any Felony
Title 18, U.S.C., Section 113(a)(2)
Maximum Penalty: Ten years in prison and $250,000 fine
Count 5 (Defendants Ojeda Agundez and Velasquez Soto only)
Failure To Heave To
Title 18, U.S.C., Section 2237, Title 18, U.S.C., Section 2
Maximum Penalty: Five years in prison and $250,000 fine
AGENCIES
United States Coast Guard
Customs and Border Protection
Homeland Security Investigations
Former Director of Finance for the La Jolla Music Society Sentenced to 30 months in PrisonRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Mark Conover (619) 546-6763
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 4, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Chris Benavides, former finance director at La Jolla Music Society, was sentenced in federal court today to 30 months in prison for embezzling more than $650,000 from the non-profit over a 10-year period. Benavides was also ordered to pay a minimum of $650,000 in restitution.
Benavides oversaw the budgeting process and human resources. Over the years he regularly claimed that many staff salary increases were not possible due to budgetary constraints. However, during that same period, Benavides was stealing for himself an average of about $65,000 per year.
Forensic review revealed that over the years Benavides’ theft became more and more sophisticated. He regularly planned his theft in advance of each fiscal year, budgeting for the amount that he would take over the next 12 months and imbedding those expenses in various budget lines. This ensured that none of the expense lines would show conspicuous variances when reviewed by other staff, board members or auditors. It was also discovered he regularly signed or forged checks for his personal benefit and made false entries in the books to hide what he was doing.
“Mr. Benavides exploited his position of trust with the La Jolla Music Society by stealing month after month for over a decade,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “His greed and deception have had a lasting impact on this non-profit. Today, he has been held to account for his crimes.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and FBI agents for their excellent work on this case.
“La Jolla Music Society trusted their Director of Finance to safeguard the non-profit’s funds, but Benavides had a different plan,” said Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office. “Instead, the defendant strategically calculated year over year to systematically steal from his employer, selfishly lining his own pockets. Today’s sentencing sends a clear message to Benavides that he will be held accountable for his crimes, but more than that, it provides justice for the victims, so they can hopefully begin to move forward into a new chapter.”
DEFENDANT Case Number 22cr3042-CAB
Chris Benavides Age: 52 San Diego
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Wire Fraud – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1343
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine, or twice the gain/loss, whichever is greater
AGENCY
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Man Sentenced to 21 Months in Prison for Stock Fraud SchemesRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Aaron P. Arnzen (619) 546-8384
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 1, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Ongkaruck Sripetch was sentenced in federal court to 21 months in prison for participating in illegal securities fraud schemes.
Sripetch, a resident of Los Angeles who used the aliases “King Richards” and “Shelby Saint-Claire,” pleaded guilty in February. He admitted that he failed to comply with securities regulations requiring that stock offerings be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He also admitted that his relevant conduct included conspiring with his co-defendants to pump-and-dump the stock of two companies: Ottawa, Canada-based VMS Rehab Systems, which claimed to sell “quality of life orthopedic seat cushions for the home healthcare sector,” and Argus Worldwide, a company headquartered in Cheyenne, Wyoming, which purportedly focused on “digital/internet products and services, smart consumer electronic products and health industries.” In reality, the companies did not live up to the defendants’ claims.
Through these pump-and-dump schemes, Sripetch and his co-conspirators artificially inflated the price of these stocks and then sold the stocks to unwitting investors through the public securities markets.
In handing down the sentence, U.S. District Judge Marilyn L. Huff noted that “real people lost real money” while the “defendant was living a lavish lifestyle” with his fraud proceeds.
“Pump-and-dump schemes victimize investors who are sold a bill of goods,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “But these schemes also erode the integrity of the United States’ securities markets. This sentence reflects the seriousness of these crimes.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and the FBI for their excellent work on this case.
“Sripetch learned the hard way that crime does not pay, and today's sentencing should send a clear message to anyone thinking they can get away with defrauding innocent investors for their personal gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office. “The defendant conspired with others to commit securities fraud schemes with total disregard for the consequences. Financial crimes have long been at the forefront of the FBI’s efforts, and we will continue to meticulously investigate any and all fraudsters in pursuit of our mission of protecting the American people.”
The United States appreciates the assistance provided on this matter by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
DEFENDANT Case Number 20cr0160-H
Ongkaruk Sripetch Age: 47 Los Angeles, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Violation of SEC Offering Registration Requirements – Title 15, U.S.C., Section 77e(a)(1)
AGENCY
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Andrew Haden Becomes Second-in-Command at U.S. Attorney’s OfficeRead the Press Release
Kelly Thornton (619) 546-9726
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 1, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Veteran federal prosecutor Andrew R. Haden today became second-in-command of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, one of the busiest federal districts in the nation.
Haden, who was selected by U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman, was promoted to fill the vacancy created by the departure of David Leshner. Leshner – a 15-year veteran of the U.S. Attorney’s Office – was recently selected to become a United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of California.
As First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Haden will oversee the day-to-day operations of the office and serve as a trusted advisor to the U.S. Attorney.
Haden is a career federal prosecutor. He joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2010, after being selected through the Attorney General’s Honors Program. During his almost-12 years in the San Diego office, Haden has worked in the General Crimes Section, as a Deputy Chief in both the Reactive and Major Crimes Sections, as the Chief of the Violent Crimes & Human Trafficking Section, and most recently as the Chief of the Criminal Division.
During those assignments, he established himself as a trial lawyer who is passionate about firearms offenses and crimes against children. In 2020, Haden received the nationwide Director’s Award for Superior Performance in a Managerial or Supervisory role from the Executive Office for United States Attorney’s for “extraordinary leadership contributions” to the Department of Justice from 2016-2019. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Haden served as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Thomas J. Whelan in the Southern District of California.
“We are thrilled that Andrew has agreed to accept this important role,” U.S. Attorney Grossman said. “Andrew’s strong leadership skills, deep and diverse experience as a prosecutor and his exceptional judgment and strength of character will serve him and our district well as First Assistant U.S. Attorney.”
A San Diego native, Haden is a graduate of University City High School. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Stanford University. After college, Haden was commissioned as an Officer in the United States Navy where he served for five years, which included two overseas deployments. For his last assignment, Haden was the Navigator on the USS MOBILE BAY (CG-53), a guided-missile cruiser homeported in San Diego. Haden received his law degree from the University of San Diego.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office enforces federal criminal laws in the Southern District of California, which includes San Diego and Imperial counties, and represents the federal government in civil litigation. The office is composed of approximately 140 Assistant U.S. Attorneys and 145 staff members.
Third Man Pleads Guilty in the Hostage Taking that Resulted in the Death of a U.S. CitizenRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorneys Mario Peia and Alexandra F. Foster (619) 546-9706/6735
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – July 28, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Luis Armando Dorantes Rivera Jr. of Tijuana pleaded guilty in federal court today for his role in the kidnapping of Miguel Anthony Rendon, a U.S. citizen, which resulted in Rendon’s death.
Dorantes pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew G. Schopler to Hostage Taking, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1203. Dorantes is the third defendant to plead guilty in connection with this crime, after Alan Lomeli-Luna and Wyatt Valencia-Pacheco.
In his plea agreement, Dorantes admitted that on May 29, 2020, at approximately 11:50 p.m., Dorantes and others forcibly removed the victim, Miguel Anthony Rendon, from his hotel room in Tijuana, Mexico. Dorantes and others punched, kicked, and pistol-whipped Rendon. Once subdued, Dorantes and others placed Rendon in a waiting car and drove away.
Dorantes’ co-conspirators then took Rendon to another hotel in Tijuana, Mexico. There, while Rendon was held and detained, Dorantes’ co-conspirators called Rendon’s family and made ransom demands for Rendon’s release. Specifically, Dorantes’ co-conspirators demanded $2,000 to $3,000 or methamphetamine in exchange for Rendon’s release.
On or about May 30, 2020, Dorantes’ co-conspirators intentionally killed Rendon.
“This is a tragic case where a young man paid the ultimate price for getting involved with the wrong people, and his family is forever devastated,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “Drug traffickers don’t hesitate to use extreme violence. We will not hesitate to seek justice for victims.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team as well as the investigating FBI agents for their excellent work on this case.
“Dorantes’ guilty plea confirms the FBI’s commitment to fully investigating violent crimes against U.S. citizens abroad and ensuring everyone involved in the senseless killing of victim Miguel Anthony Rendon is held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI's San Diego Field Office. “This case shines a light on the disregard for human life these defendants had assuming they were outside U.S. jurisdiction and U.S. law enforcement. No defendant is safe from the FBI’s reach. We will pursue any criminal around the world to ensure justice is served – today’s guilty plea is another example.”
Dorantes is scheduled to be sentenced October 31, 2022, at 9 a.m. before U.S. District Court Judge William Q. Hayes. Valencia-Pacheco is scheduled to be sentenced on October 3, 2022 at 9 a.m. and Lomeli-Luna is scheduled to be sentenced on September 12, 2022 at 9 a.m., also before Judge Hayes.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 21CR1683-WQH
Luis Armando Dorantes Rivera, Jr.,
aka “Gordo Rivera” Age: 26 Tijuana
SUMMARY OF CHARGE
18 U.S.C. Sec. 1203 - Hostage Taking
Maximum Penalty: Life in prison
INVESTIGATING AGENCY
Federal Bureau of Investigation
GirlsDoPorn Operator Pleads Guilty in Sex Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorneys Joseph Green (619) 546-6955 and Alexandra F. Foster (619) 546-6735
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – July 26, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Adult website operator Matthew Isaac Wolfe pleaded guilty in federal court today to conspiring to fraudulently coerce young women to appear in sex videos on the GirlsDoPorn and GirlsDoToys websites.
Wolfe pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara L. Major to Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud and Coercion, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1594. Wolfe, the fourth defendant to plead guilty in connection with the case, admitted that he moved to the United States in 2011 to work for his friend and co-defendant Michael Pratt, the owner of the GirlsDoPorn website. Wolfe had a wide range of responsibilities. Wolfe filmed approximately one hundred videos, he uploaded finished videos onto the internet, he oversaw the company’s financial books, and he operated various business entities that were used to promote the business. Wolfe worked at GirlsDoPorn from 2011 until his arrest in October 2019.
To persuade women to appear in the videos, Wolfe admitted to telling women that the videos would never be posted on-line, that the videos would never be released in the United States, and that no one who knew the women would ever find out about the videos, representations that he knew false, because the videos were exclusively marketed and distributed on the internet. Wolfe trained co-defendant Theodore Gyi, a cameraman, on how to run video shoots and told Gyi that, if asked, to tell the women that the videos would not be posted on the internet.
Wolfe also admitted that he was aware that personal identifying information and social media accounts for some women were being posted on pornwikileaks.com, a site controlled by Pratt and dedicated to “exposing” the true identities of individuals appearing in sex videos, causing the victims to be subjected to severe harassment. Even after Wolfe became aware of this, he and others continued to assure prospective models that no one would ever find out about their video shoot or learn their identity.
“This crime had a devastating impact on the victims,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “We will seek justice for human trafficking victims in hopes that it will help them reclaim their lives and leave the pain of this experience in the past.” Grossman commended the prosecution team as well as FBI agents and members of the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force for their continuing effort to investigate and prosecute this important case.
“Wolfe lied to and preyed on vulnerable young women, subjecting them to years of relentless harassment, fear and mental anguish,” said Stacey Moy, special agent in charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “Identifying, investigating, and apprehending sex trafficking offenders is a critical part of our mission. We will continue to work with our partners every day to hold these perpetrators accountable for their crimes.”
Wolfe is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino on October 10, 2022, at 9 a.m.
Any additional victims of the alleged crime are encouraged to call the San Diego FBI at 858-320-1800.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest of Michael James Pratt. Individuals with information about Pratt should contact their local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.
For further information, please see:
- Wanted Poster: https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/additional/michael-james-pratt
- Press Release: https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/sandiego/news/press-releases/fbi-seeks-public-assistance-in-locating-sex-trafficking-suspect
DEFENDANT Case Number 19cr4488-JLS
Matthew Isaac Wolfe Age 40 San Diego, CA*
Pleaded guilty to count 1
CO-DEFENDANTS
Michael James Pratt Age: 39 Fugitive
Ruben Andre Garcia Age: 33 San Diego, CA**
**Pleaded guilty to Counts 1 and 7
Valorie Moser Age: 39 San Diego, CA***
Theodore Wilfred Gyi Age: 44 Aliso Viejo, CA***
***Pleaded guilty to a Superseding Information charging Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud and Coercion, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Count 1 (charging all defendants)
Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud and Coercion, 18 U.S.C. § 1594(c)
Maximum Penalty: Life in prison, $250,000 fine, and a special assessment of $5,000 under 18 U.S.C. § 3014.
Count 2 (Pratt)
Production of Child Pornography, 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) and (e)
Minimum penalty: Fifteen years in prison; Maximum penalty: 30 years in custody, $250,000 fine, and a special assessment of $5,000 under 18 U.S.C. § 3014.
Count 3 (Pratt)
Sex Trafficking of a Minor by Force, Fraud and Coercion, 18 U.S.C. § 1591(a)(1) and (2)
Minimum penalty: Fifteen years in prison; Maximum penalty: life in custody, $250,000 fine, and a special assessment of $5,000 under 18 U.S.C. § 3014
Counts 4 (Pratt, Wolfe, Garcia), 5 (Pratt, Garcia), 6 (Pratt, Wolfe, Garcia), 7 (Pratt, Garcia, Gyi), 8 (Pratt, Garcia, Gyi)
Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud and Coercion, 18 U.S.C. § 1591(a) and (b)(1)
Minimum penalty: Fifteen years in prison; Maximum penalty: life in custody, $250,000 fine, and a special assessment of $5,000 under 18 U.S.C. § 3014
INVESTIGATING AGENCY
FBI
San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty
Tijuana Man Charged with Possessing 249 Pounds of FentanylRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Jessica Schulberg (619) 546-9664
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – July 19, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Alexis Benito Nuno of Tijuana was charged in federal court today in connection with the alleged smuggling of approximately 249 pounds of fentanyl into the U.S.
Nuno was driving a 2015 Black GMC Sierra truck on eastbound Interstate 8, about 300 yards east of the Crestwood on-ramp near the Golden Acorn Casino when he was stopped by U.S. Border Patrol agents around 3 a.m. During the traffic stop, a Border Patrol dog, named “Huno,” alerted to the vehicle, indicating the presence of drugs.
Agents stopped Nuno’s vehicle, in part, because he had previously been encountered at a nearby checkpoint a week earlier, on July 11, 2022, and agents noticed that he appeared nervous and his vehicle’s gas tank showed signs of tampering. According to a federal complaint, during a traffic stop on July 18, 2022, agents found 108 packages of suspected M30 Fentanyl pills hidden in the gas tank and spare tire with a total weight of 113.20 kilograms (249.04 pounds). The packages from the spare tire were wrapped in clear plastic bags with no markings or labels. The packages from the gas tank were wrapped in clear vacuum sealed bags with no markings or labels. The contents tested positive at the scene for fentanyl.
Nuno was arrested. He made his first appearance in federal court this afternoon.
“Stopping the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. is among our highest priorities,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “This deadly drug is fueling a public health crisis that is destroying families. It’s always a good result when fentanyl is intercepted, particularly this massive amount.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and vigilant Border Patrol and DEA agents for working hard to keep fentanyl off the streets.
DEFENDANT Case Number 22mj2400
Alexis Benito Nuno Age: 24 Tijuana, MX
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance – Title 21, U.S.C., Section 841(a)(l)
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison
AGENCY
United States Border Patrol
Drug Enforcement Administration
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
San Diego Teacher and Coach Charged with Child Pornography DistributionRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorneys Amanda L. Griffith (619) 546-8970 & Andrew Sherwood (619) 546-9690
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – July 18, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Daniel Dasko - a teacher’s aide, substitute teacher and youth hockey coach of elementary and middle school children in San Diego - was arrested by the FBI and charged in federal court with distribution of child pornography.
Dasko was arrested at his home on July 13. He made an initial appearance in federal court on July 14 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Butcher and was ordered detained pending trial. According to a federal complaint, Dasko is charged with Distribution of Images of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct.
Dasko’s alleged illicit activity was discovered during the course of another investigation that began in Philadelphia in July 2021, when the Philadelphia Division of the FBI received a cyber tip via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding a man who was uploading child pornography. The subject was identified as a teacher in the Philadelphia area.
FBI Philadelphia executed a search warrant on the Philadelphia subject’s residence. A review of the subject’s iPhone revealed numerous conversations regarding child pornography using a social media application, both trading and producing images by baiting minor victims to send nude photos or videos or to go live online and be screen-recorded. The Philadelphia subject and other coconspirators would pose as females on social media sites in order to chat with the victims.
The complaint said investigators continued their review of the communications on the social media application in order to identify additional targets. One of those targets, using the name “Mr. Pickles,” was communicating with the Philadelphia subject from at least October 3, 2020 to October 3, 2021, during which time they exchanged over 3,671 messages, to include numerous of image and video files.
According to the complaint, the majority of these messages were conversations about sexually exploiting children they knew or met online. The complaint contains excerpts of some of the sexually-explicit electronic communications between the Philadelphia subject and Mr. Pickles in which they discuss their attraction to young boys.
Based on the investigation, the FBI believed Dasko was Mr. Pickles and obtained federal search warrants to search Dasko’s San Diego residence and person for child exploitation crimes. On July 13, 2022, those were executed. Following the advisal and waiver of his Miranda rights, Dasko agreed to speak with agents about his online activities. He admitted he was Mr. Pickles and the user of the social media account.
Victims or anyone with information about this case is encouraged to call the FBI San Diego Field Office at 858-320-1800 or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov. Tips can be anonymous.
“There is nothing more important than keeping our children safe from sexual abuse and exploitation,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “Social media makes this a very challenging endeavor, but we will do everything in our power to protect kids from online predators who use technology to target and trick them.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and the FBI for their excellent work in this case.
“Our children should be protected, not preyed upon,” said Stacey Moy, special agent in charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “Crimes against children remain a priority for the FBI. We will continue to aggressively investigate any matter where persons prey on our children, and work with our partners to get these predators removed from our community.”
DEFENDANT Case Number 22MJ2515
Daniel Dasko Age: 30 Carlsbad, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Title 18, U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2) – Distribution of Images of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison, five-year mandatory minimum
AGENCY
FBI
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Two More Defendants in ‘Grandparent Scam’ Network Plead Guilty to RICO ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Two more members of a network that operated and facilitated a large-scale “grandparent scam” pleaded guilty today to racketeering conspiracy.
Lyda Harris, 74, of Laveen, Arizona, pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday after being extradited to the United States from Albania on Nov. 12, 2021. Tracy Glinton, 35, of Orlando, Florida, pleaded guilty on June 9. Of the eight defendants indicted in this case, six were arrested; all six have now pleaded guilty. The remaining two defendants remain at-large.
According to court documents, the defendants were members and associates of a network of individuals who, through extortion and fraud, induced elderly Americans across the United States to pay thousands to tens of thousands of dollars each to purportedly help their grandchild or other close family relative. Members of the network contacted elderly Americans by telephone and impersonated a grandchild, other close relative or friend of the victim. They falsely convinced the victims that their relatives were in legal trouble and needed money to pay for bail, for medical expenses for car accident victims or to prevent additional charges from being filed. The defendants and their co-conspirators then received money from victims via various means, including in-person pickup, mail and wire transfer, and laundered the proceeds, including through cryptocurrency.
“The Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch will continue to investigate and prosecute criminals who target elderly Americans and take advantage of their concern for loved ones,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We are grateful to our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California and the FBI in advancing the department’s efforts against organized elder fraud, and to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.”
“These defendants were part of a sophisticated criminal organization that exploited the tremendous love a grandparent has for a grandchild,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California. “The victims were financially and emotionally devastated by callous people who thought only of enriching themselves. Because of the diligence of our prosecution team and law enforcement partners, these defendants have been brought to justice.”
“Scammers continue to target our elderly population at an ever-increasing rate across the country. These defendants intentionally preyed upon and systematically stole from their victims without a second thought,” said Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office. “These guilty pleas send a clear message that the FBI is committed to identifying, investigating, and bringing to justice those who are committing financial crimes. The FBI will continue to work with our partners on the San Diego’s Elder Justice Task Force to protect our elders.”
Harris and Glinton pleaded guilty to conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Harris is scheduled to be sentenced on September 30, 2022; Glinton is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 9. Each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Two additional defendants have been charged but have not been arrested.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s San Diego Field Office, North County Resident Agency, with critical assistance from investigators of the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.
Trial Attorneys Lauren M. Elfner and Wei Xiang with the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Oleksandra Johnson of the Southern District of California are prosecuting the case.
The department’s extensive and broad-based efforts to combat elder fraud seeks to halt the widespread losses seniors suffer from fraud schemes. The best method for prevention, however, is by sharing information about the various types of elder fraud schemes with relatives, friends, neighbors and other seniors who can use that information to protect themselves.
If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Department of Justice hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies, and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud, and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish and other languages are available.
Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Information about the Department of Justice’s Elder Fraud Initiative is available at www.justice.gov/elderjustice.
Federal Charges Filed Following Record-Breaking Methamphetamine SeizureRead the Press Release
Assistant U.S. Attorney Blanca Quintero (619) 546-7118
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – July 8, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Four men were charged today with federal drug trafficking offenses following the seizure of more than 5,000 pounds of methamphetamine discovered already inside the U.S. in two trucks in National City, California. This is believed to be one of the largest methamphetamine seizures in San Diego County.
The complaint alleges that on July 7, 2022, at approximately 4:55 p.m., a commercial 20-foot box truck crossed into the United States through the Otay Mesa Commercial Port of Entry. Law enforcement surveilled the box truck as it travelled to Hoover and 30th Street, in National City. Once there, agents observed the defendants unloading dozens of cardboard boxes from the box truck and loading them into a Dodge van. Law enforcement then apprehended the defendants, Rafael Alzua, Mario Contreras, Ethgar Velazquez, and Galdrino Contreras and discovered inside the boxes approximately 148 bundles of a substance that field tested positive for methamphetamine. The methamphetamine, in total, weighed more 5,000 pounds.
“This is a significant accomplishment by our law enforcement partners,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “Due to stellar work by law enforcement agents, the government stopped more than 5,000 pounds of methamphetamine from being distributed on our streets.”
“This monumental seizure represents another win against drug cartels that fuel addiction in the United States,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Shelly S. Howe. “Because of our great partnerships with other law enforcement agencies, we will continue to disrupt the cartels’ flow of drugs into our cities.”
“I am grateful for the hard work, vigilance, and steadfast dedication of our Sheriff's Detectives, as well as our local, state and federal partners,” said Sheriff Anthony C. Ray. “Our partnership and collaboration allow us to share information that is absolutely critical in keeping drugs from entering our streets and holding drug traffickers accountable.”
The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Defendant Information
Defendant Criminal Case No: 22-mj-02450-MDD
Defendant Number
Name
Age
Hometown
1
Rafael Alzua
37
Tijuana
2
Mario Contreras
41
Tijuana
3
Ethgar Velazquez
44
Tijuana
4
Galdrino Contreras
41
Tijuana
Summary Of Charges
Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846.
Maximum Penalty: Mandatory minimum 10 years and up to life imprisonment, $10 million fine.
AGENCIES
Drug Enforcement Administration
San Diego County Sheriff’s Department
Border Crime Suppression Team
Homeland Security Investigations
United States Border Patrol
Two Additional Defendants Plead Guilty in Nationwide Racketeering Conspiracy Targeting the ElderlyRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – Two more members of a nationwide “grandparent scam” network have pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act known as RICO.
Lyda Harris of Laveen, Arizona, pleaded guilty in federal court today; Tracy Glinton of Orlando, Florida, pleaded guilty on June 9, 2022. They are the fifth and sixth of eight defendants to plead guilty; two remain fugitives.
According to court documents, the defendants were members and associates of a criminal enterprise that engaged in extortion and fraud to swindle more than $2 million from 70-plus elderly victims across the nation. At least 10 elderly victims who resided in San Diego County lost over $300,000 to the fraud. From approximately November 1, 2019, until October 14, 2020, the members of the criminal enterprise targeted elderly Americans, contacting them by phone and feeding them phony stories that their grandchildren were in legal trouble and needed money to pay for bail, pay medical expenses for car accident victims, or prevent additional charges from being filed. Members and associates obtained money from victims through in-person cash pick-ups, by mail or commercial carriers, or via wire transfers. Conspirators laundered the proceeds by transferring the funds or converting from fiat currency to cryptocurrency.
Defendant Lyda Harris was arrested in the Republic of Albania in August 2021 and extradited to the United States. According to Harris’s plea agreement, she received and funneled victim proceeds for a coconspirator to convert from fiat currency to cryptocurrency. As part of the guilty plea, Harris agreed to forfeit $6,243 in proceeds she personally received from the offense. Harris will also be subject to an order of restitution to the victims of the offense in the amount of at least $1,208,291.93.
According to defendant Tracy Glinton’s plea agreement, Glinton’s primary role was helping codefendant Tracy Knowles receive proceeds from coconspirators who obtained victim money. Glinton knew that the money she received for Knowles constituted proceeds of grandparent scams. In their phone messages, Glinton and Knowles discussed the “grandma scam.” As part of her guilty plea, Glinton agreed to forfeit $9,950 in proceeds she personally received from the offense and pay at least $471,600 to the victims in restitution.
“The defendants participated in a sophisticated conspiracy that exploited our nation’s most vulnerable citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “The elderly victims were financially and emotionally shattered by these heartless crimes. Fortunately, the coordinated efforts of our prosecution team and law enforcement partners held the defendants accountable and obtained justice for their victims.” Grossman commended the Assistant U.S. Attorney and law enforcement agents who diligently pursued this matter.
“Scammers continue to target our elderly population at an ever-increasing rate across the country. These defendants intentionally preyed upon and systematically stole from their victims without a second thought,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy. “Today’s guilty pleas send a clear message that the FBI is committed to identifying, investigating, and bringing to justice those who are committing financial crimes. The FBI will continue to work with our partners on the San Diego’s Elder Justice Task Force to protect our elders.”
This case was investigated by the San Diego Elder Justice Task Force, which is a collaboration between the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the District Attorney’s Office and all San Diego County law enforcement agencies. The Elder Justice Task Force, established in February 2021, is believed to be the first comprehensive law enforcement effort for this purpose anywhere in the country. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 21cr2216-CAB
Tracy Adrine Knowles 30 Orlando, Florida
Fugitive
Adonis Alexis Butler Wong 30 Northbay Village, Florida
Fugitive
Timothy Ingram, AKA Bleezy 29 North Hollywood, California
In custody. Sentencing set for July 29, 2022.
Anajah Gifford 23 North Hollywood, California
In custody. Sentencing set for August 26, 2022.
Lyda Harris 74 Laveen, Arizona
Released on bond. Sentencing set for September 30, 2022.
Joaquin Lopez 46 Hollywood, Florida
Released on bond. Sentencing set for August 19, 2022
Jack Owuor 25 Paramount, California
Released on bond. Sentencing set for August 17, 2022.
Tracy Glinton 35 Orlando, Florida
Released on bond. Sentencing set for September 2, 2022.
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Title 18, U.S.C., Sec. 1962(d) – Conspiracy to Conduct or Participate in an Enterprise
Through a Pattern of Racketeering Activity
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and a fine of not more than the greater of twice the amount of gain or loss associated with the offense or $250,000
AGENCIES
Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch
San Diego Elder Justice Task Force, which includes:
San Diego FBI
San Diego County District Attorney’s Office
San Diego Police Department
San Diego Sheriff’s Department
Carlsbad Police Department
Oceanside Police Department
Escondido Police Department
Chula Vista Police Department
El Cajon Police Department
La Mesa Police Department
National City Police Department
Coronado Police Department
San Diego Resident Pleads Guilty to Distributing Fentanyl that Resulted in 15-Year-Old’s DeathRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO - Kaylar Junior Tawan Beltranlap of San Diego pleaded guilty today to distributing a counterfeit oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl that killed a 15-year-old Coronado High School sophomore, referred to in court records as C.J.S., on May 12, 2021.
During the change of plea hearing, Beltranlap admitted to utilizing his Instagram account to coordinating a drug transaction with C.J.S. Beltranlap warned C.J.S. to only take half the pill because it was “strong.” Law enforcement responded on May 13, 2021 after learning of C.J.S.’s fatal overdose. Beltranlap was arrested the next day carrying five pills, which also turned out to be counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl. In the plea agreement, Beltranlap and the Government stipulated that the Sentencing Guidelines for distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death and/or serious bodily injury will apply.
“C.J.S.’s tragic death must not be in vain. We need to continue to educate our middle and high school age children about the dangers of counterfeit fentanyl pills,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “Our office will continue to pursue these cases to ensure that those who peddle this poison to youth face the full measure of federal prosecution.”
“C.J.S. was child and a member of our community. We know this will not make the family whole but we appreciate the multi-agency collaboration that went into holding this offender accountable.” said Coronado Police Chief Chuck Kaye.
“Parents: I’m pleading with you to please talk to your child – no matter their age - about the dangers of taking a pill that didn’t come from a doctor or pharmacist. Although difficult, this conversation could save your child’s life.” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Shelly S. Howe.
Beltranlap is scheduled to be sentenced on September 30, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. before U.S. District Court Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo.
This case is the result of ongoing efforts by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the San Diego Police Department, the California Department of Health Care Services and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office to investigate and prosecute the distribution of dangerous illegal drugs—fentanyl in particular—that result in overdose deaths. The DEA created the DEA Overdose Response Team which investigates overdose deaths in San Diego County. Investigators from the Overdose Response Team, as well as the Coronado Police Department and NTF Team 3, contributed to the investigation into C.J.S.’s death.
DEFENDANT Case Number 21-CR-3442 CAB
Kaylar Junior Tawan Beltranlap Age: 21 San Diego, CASUMMARY OF CHARGES
Distribute of Fentanyl – Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)
Maximum penalty: 20 years in prisonAGENCY
Drug Enforcement Administration
Homeland Security Investigations
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Coronado Police Department
San Diego Police Department
California Department of Health Care Services
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.Brother-Sister Duo Indicted for Laundering More Than $42 Million of Drug Proceeds Through 22 Shell CorporationsRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO—Today Jesus Vazquez Padilla and his sister Monica Vazquez were indicted for laundering more than $42 million of drug trafficking proceeds through the financial system in the United States.
Special Agents from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) led the investigation into hundreds of financial transactions by the sibling duo between 2015 and 2019. Using approximately 85 United States bank accounts belonging to at least 22 California-based ‘shell’ corporations, Padilla and Vazquez deposited cash proceeds of drug sales into U.S.-based bank accounts and layered those deposits across multiple corporate accounts before finally transferring the funds to accounts in Mexican-based financial institutions.
For example, the indictment alleges that Defendants served as corporate officers for two San Diego-based corporations, OSVA Incorporated and Jeva International, Inc.. As corporate officers, they opened corporate bank accounts in U.S.-based financial institutions and, on various dates in 2017, deposited large cash amounts before finally transferring those funds to Mexico.
In total, the indictment contends that the siblings laundered $42,276,668, transferred approximately 95% of those funds to Mexico, and retained the remainder as payment for their services.
“Jesus Vazquez Padilla and his sister Monica Vazquez are charged with directing millions of dollars in drug trafficking proceeds through U.S. Banks and into the hands of drug trafficking organizations,” said U.S. Attorney Randy S. Grossman. “Today’s indictment shows that the United States will prosecute not only those who traffic in drugs but also those who enable drug traffickers through sophisticated shell corporations, false tax returns, and multiple bank accounts.” Grossman praised the prosecutors and agents from IRS Criminal Investigation, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC OIG), and the San Diego Police Department for their diligent work on this case.
“Today’s indictment of the sibling defendants demonstrates our commitment to disrupting professional enablers who corrupt the U.S. financial system to launder the proceeds of deadly and illegal drugs,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Korner of the Los Angeles Field Office. “The defendants not only created fake businesses to move drug money offshore, but also attempted to legitimize their scheme by filing false tax returns. IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to lead the Financial Investigations and Border Crimes Task Force and work with our law enforcement partners on this international money laundering investigation.”
“The allegations described in the indictment demonstrate criminal behavior designed to use our nation’s financial system against us,” said Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey D. Pittano. “FDIC OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate allegations of laundering and other significant crimes impacting our nation’s financial institutions.”
“The San Diego Police Department is proud of its contributions to this federal task force,” said Chief David Nisleit. “These types of partnerships enable law enforcement to better address organized crime.”
This case is the result of ongoing efforts by the Financial Investigations and Border Crimes Task Force, a partnership targeting unlawful transactions through the financial system. The task force brings together the combined expertise of federal, state, and local law enforcement.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 22cr1551RBM
Jesus Vazquez Padilla, Tijuana, Mexico, Age: 50
Monica Vazquez, Chula Vista, California, Age: 48
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Operate an Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business—Title 18, U.S.C., Section 371
Conspiracy to Launder Money—Title 18, U.S.C. Section 1956(h)
Criminal Forfeiture—Title 18, U.S.C., Section 982(a)
Maximum penalty: Twenty years imprisonment and $500,000 fine or twice the value of the funds involved in the transportation, transmission, or transfer, whichever is greater
AGENCY
Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC OIG)
San Diego Police Department
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Chula Vista Woman Sentenced for Attempting to Avoid Prison for Fraud Conviction by Faking CancerRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – This morning, Ashleigh Lynn Chavez was sentenced to serve 24 additional months in prison for obstruction of justice by forging doctors’ notes falsely indicating she had been diagnosed with cancer and causing these notes to be submitted to the federal judge.
U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Battaglia had previously sentenced Chavez to serve 12 months and 1 day in federal prison for her conspiracy to embezzle more than $160,000 from a former employer. From the time of her guilty plea in that case in 2019 through her sentencing hearing on March 31, 2021, Chavez was permitted to remain out of custody on bond.
On the eve of her sentencing, Chavez, 38, created a doctor’s note that falsely claimed that a biopsy had revealed “cancerous cells” in her uterus. She forged the signature of her doctor on this letter. Chavez provided the note to her attorney who, believing it to be genuine, submitted it to the court and to the assigned prosecutor in a bid for leniency. As a direct result of the forged doctor’s note she had caused her attorney to submit, Chavez was permitted to remain out of custody for an additional three months so that she could allegedly receive medical treatment.
As detailed in her plea agreement, after her sentencing hearing Chavez hired a new attorney whom she provided with additional forged letters from two different San Diego-area physicians. The new attorney, also believing the letters to be genuine, submitted them to the assigned prosecutor and to the court.
One forged letter, purporting to be from an oncologist, said: “Ashleigh has limitations due to uterine cancer and future need for radiation.” Other letters indicated that she was undergoing a surgical procedure, that she had been admitted to the hospital, and that her “condition has progressed… to Stage II; the cancer has spread to the cervix.” One letter warned that “she cannot be exposed to COVID-19” because of her fragile state. In August 2021, Chavez was purportedly scheduled to begin chemotherapy. Her attorney contacted the assigned prosecutor and indicated that she was too ill to work, and that as a result she needed to be relieved of monthly restitution obligations to the victim in her previous case.
By August 2021, the notes forged by Chavez were overtly recommending that the court reconsider her prison sentence and instead permit her to serve time on home confinement. In one forged note attributed to a San Diego-area oncologist, Chavez wrote that “(a) year in prison could be a death sentence for my patient… I highly recommend the chance to allow home confinement or anything else that you deem appropriate rather than a year in prison.” Two weeks later, she forged a note from the same oncologist stating that “Ashleigh’s cancer, it has in fact metastasized affecting the lymph nodes… I recommend a different approach to her sentencing.”
In fact, Chavez was never diagnosed with or treated for cancer by either doctor. Both doctors denied writing any of the letters attributed to them. While Chavez had been a patient of one, the second doctor had never heard of her and had no idea how or why his identity had been stolen and his signature repeatedly forged by Chavez. In total, Chavez was able to delay serving her sentence for six months prior to her fraud being exposed. During that time, Chavez paid zero restitution to the victim of her embezzlement.
“The defendant obstructed justice by committing a fraud on the federal court,” said U.S. Attorney Grossman. “The lengthy sentence in this case – double the prison term that she initially received – demonstrates just how ill-advised it was for this defendant to attempt to delay the payment of her debt to society.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and the FBI for their excellent work on this case.
“This defendant went to appalling lengths to avoid her initial prison sentence by falsifying medical documents to claim she had cancer. This offensive conduct is an affront to every person fighting that battle,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy. “This additional sentence demonstrates to criminals that the FBI takes all fraud seriously, and trying to cheat the system will only result in additional prison time.”
DEFENDANT Case No. 22-CR-0318-AJB
ASHLEIGH LYNN CHAVEZ Age 37 Chula Vista, CA
aka “Ashleigh Lynn Coulson”
aka “Ashleigh Chavez Coulson”
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Obstruction of Justice – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1503
Maximum penalty: Ten years in custody and a $250,000 fine.
AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
U.S. Attorney Convenes Multi-Agency Briefing Informing Local Community Leaders on Targeted Violence IndicatorsRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – In response to recent violent shootings, online white supremacist rhetoric, and a significant increase in hate crimes, U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman today gathered key law enforcement and community leaders for a briefing that included a threat assessment, an overview of pre-attack indicators and the best ways to report and mitigate threats.
Grossman was joined by DHS officials in Washington, D.C., Marcus Coleman, Director of the DHS Faith Based and Community Relations Program, and Dominic Cucciarre, Team Lead in the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis, Counterterrorism Mission Center, several local law enforcement leaders, including Curtis Jones, Deputy National Sector Chief, FBI - InfraGard Program, San Diego Police Department Chief Dave Nisleit, Assistant District Attorney Dwain Woodley, FBI Supervisory Special Agent Renee Green, and two Fusion Center Senior Intelligence Analysts, as well as more than a dozen stakeholders who work in Southeast San Diego, including leaders of the San Diego Organizing Project, which requested the briefing.
“While the combination of hateful online rhetoric and access to firearms presents a chilling challenge, prevention through partnerships has saved lives, both nationally and here in San Diego,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “Violent remarks by online extremists have resulted in public ‘tip’ reports to law enforcement, followed by a gun violence restraining order and successful federal prosecution. To ensure this prevention strategy is repeated, it is essential to arm our community leaders with information.”
“It’s important that the community members know they are not alone in this battle against radical extremism, hateful threats and targeted gun violence: federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are with you, ready to assist in every way possible,” Grossman added. “We want to work hand in hand with you to keep your loved ones and community safe.”
“Our faith and nonprofit leaders are often in the best position to notice and report suspicious behavior,” Marcus Coleman stated. “We need to ensure they are briefed on the latest intelligence so they can better identify pre-attack indicators and contact law enforcement.”
Multiple Individuals Convicted in Crackdown on Unlicensed Marijuana Dispensary IndustryRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – Shahram “Sean” Sheikhan and Sabriana Williams pleaded guilty in federal court today to drug distribution charges, the latest individuals convicted as part of an ongoing investigation by federal and state authorities targeting unlicensed, illegal marijuana dispensaries throughout Southern California.
From at least 2019 through 2022, Sheikhan and Williams, along with others, operated an unlicensed, illegal marijuana business known as “Cannaland,” which functioned primarily as a wholesale supplier of marijuana and marijuana products to unlicensed and illegal marijuana dispensaries in Southern California. Additionally, Cannaland operated as an unlicensed, illegal marijuana dispensary in its own right, serving individual customers.
In April 2021, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Cannaland, which at the time was located at 10630 Willie Baker Way in Spring Valley, California. During the execution of the search warrant, more than 3,000 pounds of marijuana was seized, with an estimated street value in excess of $6 million, along with five firearms. Following the search warrant, Sheikhan and Williams personally coordinated and facilitated the procurement of replacement firearms for the business’ armed security guards and continued to operate their business and distribute vast amounts of marijuana. As part of their plea agreements, Sheikhan and Williams admitted the amount of marijuana products distributed during the course of the conspiracy exceeded 3,000 kilograms.
Sheikhan and Williams join several others who have pleaded guilty to various drug, firearm, and money laundering charges in federal court as part of this investigation.
“Over the last two years, federal and state law enforcement targeted the operation of dozens of illegal, unlicensed marijuana dispensaries in San Diego County in order to enforce the law and curtail the related crime alleged in this case,” Grossman said. He thanked the prosecution team and the investigating agencies for their efforts to protect the community.
“The FBI is committed to keeping our communities safe from the vast array of violent crimes and criminal activity which accompanies these illegal establishments,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy. “I want to thank our law enforcement partners at the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, the San Diego Police Department, the Chula Vista Police Department, the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office for their commitment and collaboration on these cases. It’s these ongoing partnerships which enable law enforcement from around the county to be agile and able to handle these types of cases using a variety of investigative techniques with different prosecutive options.”
“IRS has been a part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) for over 30 years. ‘Stronger Through Partnership’ is the OCDETF motto, and the success of this highly impactful investigation truly exemplifies that motto,” noted Ryan L. Korner, Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Office of IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). “The primary motivation of drug traffickers is greed. They don’t care how their actions negatively impact innocent people, the community, or our society. The role of IRS-CI is to fully dismantle these criminal organizations by following the money that fuels the drug trade, and ultimately ensure that the peddlers of these illicit drugs do not reap the benefits of their criminal activity.”
“The Sheriff's Department has been a proud partner in the collaborative law enforcement response to organized criminal activity related to unlicensed marijuana distribution in the East County,” said Kelly A. Martinez, Undersheriff of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. “Sheriff deputies, investigators, and analysts committed countless hours of investigative support, surveillance, and analysis to this effort. Today's outcome is a culmination of the dedication of federal, state, and local law enforcement partnerships in the region which are the hallmark of public safety in San Diego. East San Diego County is safer today because of this hard work.”
“This operation demonstrates that strong partnerships, including participating on federal task forces, keeps our community safe,” said San Diego Police Department Chief David Nisleit. “The San Diego Police Department is committed to working with neighboring law enforcement agencies to combat organized crime in our region. We are proud of the work that has been done to close these illegal distribution centers and stop the violent crime associated with them.”
“Illegal marijuana dispensaries have been responsible for numerous complaints by our community members,” added Chula Vista Police Department Chief Roxana Kennedy. “We’ve seen many of them open up near our schools over time. They pose a significant health and safety hazard to the public, especially our youth, and they move around trying to avoid enforcement. Collaborating with our law enforcement partners in the region and pooling our resources to stop these criminal organizations from putting our communities at risk is absolutely critical.”
To date, law enforcement has executed dozens of search warrants and charged more than 30 individuals with violating state and federal law. As a result of this joint effort, law enforcement has seized nearly 30,000 pounds of marijuana and marijuana products; 68 firearms, including ghost guns; and millions of dollars in currency, jewelry, and other valuables. Nearly 30 unlicensed, illegal marijuana dispensaries and wholesale distributors have been shut down as a result.
Of those who have been charged, two groups of individuals recently pleaded guilty in federal court besides Sheikhan and Williams.
The first group, headed by Lance Kachi, admitted to operating multiple unlicensed, illegal marijuana dispensaries in Spring Valley and El Cajon, including locations at 9545 Campo Road, 9600 Campo Road, 9070 Jamacha Road, 985 Greenfield Drive, and 9143 Birch Street. Since at least 2020, Kachi, Michael Yono, Avrin Yakou, Fabian Yakou, and others, oversaw multiple unlicensed dispensaries that would each generate up to $25,000 daily, and were open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Kachi and his coconspirators grossed millions of dollars in revenue from their illegal, unlicensed operation. Several times a week, Kachi and others would meet at various hotels where they would spend hours counting hundreds of thousands of dollars in dispensary proceeds using automated money counters. Before leaving the room with bags of money, the defendants would pack up their money counters as well as the various notes they took to account for their profits and expenses, such as the cost of armed security.
In July 2021, law enforcement executed multiple search warrants targeting the Kachi operation. In May 2022, Kachi, Yono, and the Yakou brothers pleaded guilty to various drug, firearms, and money laundering charges, as well as the forfeiture of millions of dollars in cash, jewelry, and other valuables.
Also in May 2022, a second group, comprised of the Shamoun brothers – Sean, Alvin, Vincent, and Andrew – pleaded guilty in federal court to charges stemming from their wholesale distribution of marijuana products to unlicensed, illegal marijuana dispensaries from Los Angeles to San Diego. Operating under the name of Babylon’s Garden, the Shamoun brothers manufactured a variety of marijuana products at a warehouse in San Diego, which they would deliver directly to dispensaries or ship in the United States mail. The Shamoun brothers admitted that their operation was responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of more than 3,000 kilograms of marijuana.
In their plea agreements, all the various defendants referenced above admitted that they had an obligation to report their income to both the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and California state tax authorities, as well as pay taxes on any income derived from these illegal businesses, which they failed to do. Additionally, all individuals agreed to forfeit seized cash, which currently exceeds $5 million.
This case is the result of ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership that brings together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, dismantle and prosecute high-level members of drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations and enterprises.
DEFENDANT Case Number 22cr1445-CAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Shahram “Sean” Sheikhan
52
Las Vegas, Nevada
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(c) and 846
Maximum Penalties: Forty years in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a $5 million fine.
DEFENDANT Case Number 22cr1444-CAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Sabriana Williams
26
San Diego, California
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(c) and 846
Maximum Penalties: Twenty years in prison and a $1 million fine.
DEFENDANT Case Number 22cr1261-CAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Travis George
44
San Diego, California
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(c) and 846
Maximum Penalties: Forty years in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years and a $5 million fine.
DEFENDANT Case Number 22cr1002-CAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Lance Kachi
33
San Diego, California
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(c) and 846
Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 1956(a)(1)(B)(i) and 1956(h)
Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Sec. 924(c)
Maximum Penalties: For the drug charges: 20 years in prison, $1 million fine. For money laundering charges, 20 years in prison, and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the monetary instrument or funds involved.
DEFENDANT Case Number 22cr1006-CAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Michael Yono
32
San Diego, California
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(c) and 846
Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 1956(a)(1)(B)(i) and 1956(h)
Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Sec. 924(c)
Maximum Penalties: For the drug charges, 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. For money laundering charges, 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the monetary instrument or funds involved. For the firearms charges, life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years, and a $250,000 fine.
DEFENDANT Case Number 22cr1000-CAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Avrin Yakou
30
San Diego, California
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(c) and 846
Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 1956(a)(1)(B)(i) and 1956(h)
Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Sec. 924(c)
Maximum Penalties: For the drug charges, 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. For money laundering charges, 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the monetary instrument or funds involved. For the firearms charges, life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years, and a $250,000 fine.
DEFENDANT Case Number 22cr1001-CAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Fabian Yakou
26
San Diego, California
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(c) and 846
Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 1956(a)(1)(B)(i) and 1956(h)
Maximum Penalties: For the drug charges, 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. For money laundering charges, 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the monetary instrument or funds involved.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 21cr2994-CAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Sean Shamoun (1)
32
San Diego, California
Alvin Shamoun (2)
41
San Diego, California
Vincent Shamoun (3)
39
San Diego, California
Andrew Shamoun (4)*
35
San Diego, California
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(c) and 846
Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 1956(a)(1)(B)(i) and 1956(h)
Maximum Penalties: For the drug charges, 40 years in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a $5 million fine (*20 years in prison and a $1 million fine). For money laundering charges, 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the monetary instrument or funds involved.
AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation
San Diego County Sheriff’s Department
San Diego Police Department
Chula Vista Police Department
Federal Jury Convicts Four Navy Officers of BriberyRead the Press Release
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark W. Pletcher (619) 546-9714, Michelle Wasserman (619) 546-8431, Valerie Chu (619) 546-6750, and David Chu (619) 546-8266
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – June 29, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Former U.S. Navy Captains David Newland, James Dolan and David Lausman and former Commander Mario Herrera – all of whom once served in the Navy’s Seventh Fleet - were convicted on all counts by a federal jury today of accepting bribes from foreign defense contractor Leonard Francis. The jury did not reach a verdict on the charges against Rear Admiral Bruce Loveless.
Nine members of the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet – including the four defendants convicted today - were indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2017. Four other defendants pleaded guilty before trial.
During the trial, three U.S. Navy officials – Commander Stephen Shedd, former Lieutenant Commander Edmond A. Aruffo, and U.S. Navy Captain Jesus Vasquez Cantu – and former Lieutenant Commander Alexander Bryan Gillett of the Royal Australian Navy, testified about the alleged bribery scheme.
This long-running fraud and bribery investigation has resulted in federal criminal charges against 34 U.S. Navy officials, defense contractors and the GDMA corporation. Twenty-nine previously pleaded guilty. With today’s four convictions, 33 defendants have now been convicted of various fraud and corruption offenses.
U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino set a status hearing for July 21, 2022, at 2 p.m. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 11, 2022, at 9 a.m.
DEFENDANTS Case Number: 17CR0623-JLS
Captain David Newland Age 60 San Antonio, Texas
Chief of Staff to the Commander of the Seventh Fleet
Captain James Dolan Age 58 Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Assistant Chief of Staff for Logistics for the Seventh Fleet
Captain David Lausman Age 62 The Villages, Florida
Commanding Officer of U.S.S. Blue Ridge; Commanding Officer of U.S.S. George Washington
Commander Mario Herrera Age 48 Helotes, Texas
Fleet Operations and Schedules Officer for the Seventh Fleet
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Commit Bribery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371
Maximum Penalty: Five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross pecuniary gain or twice the gross pecuniary loss, whichever is greater
*All defendants
Bribery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 201
Maximum Penalty: Fifteen years in prison, a $250,000 fine or twice the gross pecuniary gain or gross pecuniary loss from the offense, or three times the monetary equivalent of the thing of value, whichever is greater
*All defendants
Obstruction of Justice, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1519
Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison, a $250,000 fine
*Lausman
Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Wire Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1349, 1346, 1343
Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison, a $250,000 fine
*All defendants
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Defense Criminal Investigative Service
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Defense Contract Audit Agency
Corrections Officer and Inmate Charged in Bribery Scheme; Same Inmate Charged in Unrelated Covid-Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Orlando B. Gutierrez (619) 546-6958
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – June 27, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Benito Jamar Hugie, a corrections officer at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, was indicted by a federal grand jury for accepting thousands of dollars in cash bribes from an inmate to smuggle dental molds, jewelry and other contraband into the prison, including an expensive bejeweled “grill” for the inmate’s mouth.
The indictment said Hugie smuggled the grill into the facility in early October, 2020, and delivered it to inmate Shawn Brown, who had custom ordered it from a jeweler in Houston, Texas, using a smuggled cell phone. A grill, also known as “fronts” or “golds,” is a type of dental jewelry worn over the teeth. Grills are generally made of metal, precious gems, and are generally removable.
Others charged include Brown and his brothers - Daejohne Hatcher and Demetrius Warsinger – who are accused of facilitating more than $5,000 in bribes to Hugie.
According to a second, unrelated indictment, during the investigation of Brown’s alleged bribery scheme, agents learned that while in custody at the prison, Brown used his contraband cellular telephone to coordinate the theft of unemployment benefits intended for Californians who were unable to pay for food and housing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The indictment said Brown and his co-conspirators caused an estimated $1.4 million in fraudulent claims to be filed with the state Employment Development Department, resulting in actual cash payouts of more than $695,000 to Brown and his co-conspirators.
Also charged in that case are Devante Jefferson, Raven Solomon, Homer Pitts, Kimari Goodman, Keako Jones, and Daejohne Hatcher, who allegedly worked together to use stolen victim identities to file fraudulent EDD claims to receive cash benefits meant for those who were in need, the indictment said.
“Corrections officers are supposed to supervise inmates, not collaborate with them on crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “We will hold officers accountable when they sacrifice their own integrity and that of the prison system for a payday.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and FBI agents for their excellent work on this case.
“The defendant is accused of using his position as a corrections officer to work for the inmates inside the facility rather than the public,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy. “The FBI will not tolerate public corruption or theft of government funds on any level and we will continue to work with our state and federal partners to hold accountable those who use fraudulent schemes for personal gain. I specifically want to thank the California Department of Corrections - Office of Internal Affairs, the United States Attorney’s Office, FBI Sacramento – Fresno Resident Agency, and FBI Houston for their continued partnership in this case.”
DEFENDANTS Case Number 22CR1238
Shawn Brown Age: 26 CDCR Inmate
Daejohne Hatcher Age: 25 Fresno, CA
Benito Jamar Hugie Age: 47 San Diego, CA
Demetrius Vance Warsinger Age: 26 Fresno, CA
Case Number 22CR1239
Shawn Brown Age: 26 CDCR Inmate
Kimari Goodman Age: 33 Fresno, CA
Daejohne Hatcher Age: 25 Fresno, CA
Devante Jefferson Age: 29 CDCR Inmate
Keako Jones Age: 47 Fresno, CA
Homer Pitts Age: 48 Fresno, CA
Raven Solomon Age: 28 Fresno, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Indictment 1: Corruption Activities Stemming from the Grill
18 USC § 371 Conspiracy to Violate the Travel Act- Bribery (Count 1)
Defendants: Hugie, Brown, Warsinger, and Hatcher
18 USC § 1952(a)(3) Violation of the Travel Act- Bribery (Count 2)
Defendants: Hugie
18 USC § 1952(a)(3) Violation of the Travel Act- Bribery (Count 3-5)
Defendants: Brown, Warsinger, and Hatcher
28 USC § 2461(c) Criminal Forfeiture
Indictment 2: Fraud Activities Involving EDD
18 USC § 1349 – Conspiracy; Mail Fraud
Defendants: Brown, Jefferson, Solomon, Pitts, Goodman, Jones, and Hatcher
18 USC § 1028A – Aggravated Identity Theft
Defendants: Brown, Solomon, Pitts, and Goodman
AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
North Park Man Charged with Kidnapping 16-year-old Oklahoma GirlRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Amanda L. Griffith (619) 546-8970
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – June 24, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Ramsey Manuel Cervantes faces federal kidnapping charges in connection with the abduction and sexual assault of a 16-year-old Oklahoma girl who had been reported as a missing runaway by her father on June 15.
The victim was rescued from her alleged captor’s North Park home by San Diego police after she was able to use his cell phone to call for help. Cervantes was subsequently arrested. He made his initial appearance in federal court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Butcher. A detention hearing is set for June 30 at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bernard Skomal.
According to the complaint, the victim met 22-year-old Cervantes on a social media application several months ago. The victim believed Cervantes was 17 years old, and they eventually met when Cervantes drove from San Diego to Oklahoma to meet her in person. Cervantes visited her approximately four times over the following six months. The victim eventually broke up with Cervantes after he became abusive. They were separated for two months. About a week ago, they reconnected and started talking again, including using social media apps to exchange messages.
According to the complaint, Cervantes drove to Oklahoma on June 15 to talk to the minor victim in person to discuss their relationship. They planned for him to pick her up at her residence in Oklahoma. When the girl got in Cervantes’ vehicle, he told her she was coming with him back to San Diego. When she tried to leave the vehicle, Cervantes put a knife to her side and told her he would kill her if she tried to leave.
Cervantes used duct tape to restrain the girl and transported her from Oklahoma to California. While traveling from Oklahoma to California, Cervantes assaulted the victim many times. The victim reported that Cervantes repeatedly forced her to consume vodka while en route to San Diego, keeping her in a constant state of heavy intoxication.
When they arrived in San Diego on June 19, Cervantes locked the victim in his bedroom for four days. The victim saw her captor place the black knife with a silver blade in a desk drawer.
On June 22, Cervantes left the residence to go to the store. Cervantes accidentally left his cell phone in the residence, which the victim used to call her father and law enforcement. Officers responded to Cervantes’ residence and rescued the victim and Cervantes was arrested.
The San Diego Police Department Domestic Violence detectives responded to the scene. FBI agents were called in to assist because Cervantes traveled to Oklahoma and kidnapped the victim, transporting her in interstate commerce from Oklahoma to California. During the commission of the crime, Cervantes also used his cellular phone which is an instrumentality of interstate commerce.
“The allegations against this defendant highlight the digital and physical vulnerability of our nation’s children,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “We will do everything we can to prevent children from becoming victims, and to seek justice if they do. It is important that all of us remain vigilant regarding online activity. Not everyone is who they claim to be in cyberspace.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team, the San Diego Police Department, the FBI, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office and the Norman, Oklahoma Police Department for their efforts to save this victim and to bring her attacker to justice.
“The defendant is faced with allegations that he committed heinous crimes stemming from an online encounter,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy. “There is no higher priority than protecting children in both physical and virtual worlds. I want to thank the San Diego Police Department, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California for their commitment, partnership, and swift action in rescuing the victim, taking the defendant into custody, and filing charges.”
“We are grateful that this case had a positive ending with the young victim back with her loved ones,” said Chief of Police David Nisleit. “This is a sad reminder to all of us to be careful who you trust online.”
For more information and resources for kids, teens and parents on internet crimes against children, pleas see https://www.sandiego.gov/sdicac.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 22mj2288
Ramsey Manuel Cervantes Age: 22 San Diego, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Kidnapping – Title 18, U.S.C. § 1201(a) and (g)
Maximum penalty: Twenty years to life in prison
AGENCY
FBI
San Diego Police Department
San Diego County District Attorney’s Office
Norman, Oklahoma Police Department
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former U.S. Military Pilot Admits Acting as Paid Agent of China and Lying on National Security Background FormsRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorneys Fred Sheppard (619) 546-8237 and John Parmley (619) 546-7957
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – June 23, 2022
SAN DIEGO – A former U.S. Army helicopter pilot-turned-civilian-contractor pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he acted illegally as an agent of China and accepted thousands of dollars from representatives of the Chinese government to provide aviation-related information from his defense-contractor employers. He also pleaded guilty to making related false statements during national security background checks.
Shapour Moinian of San Diego served in the Army in the United States, Germany, and South Korea from approximately 1977 through 2000. After his service, Moinian worked for various cleared defense contractors in the United States – including in San Diego - as well as the Department of Defense. “Cleared” is a term that indicates a contractor is permitted to work on projects that involve classified information.
According to his plea agreement, while Moinian was working for a cleared defense contractor, or CDC, on various aviation projects used by the military and U.S. intelligence agencies, he was contacted by an individual in China who claimed to be working for a technical recruiting company. This person offered Moinian the opportunity to consult for the aviation industry in China.
In March of 2017, Moinian travelled to Hong Kong where he met with this purported recruiter and agreed to provide information and materials related to multiple types of aircraft designed and/or manufactured in the United States in exchange for money. Moinian accepted approximately $7,000-$10,000 in United States currency during that meeting. According to his plea agreement, at this meeting and at all subsequent meetings, Moinian knew that these individuals were employed or directed by the government of the People’s Republic of China.
Upon returning to the United States, Moinian began gathering aviation-related materials, which included transferring material from a CDC to a thumb drive. In September 2017, the defendant traveled overseas and, during a stopover at the Shanghai airport, met with Chinese government officials and provided aviation-related materials on a thumb drive, including proprietary information from a CDC. Thereafter, Moinian arranged to be paid for this information through the South Korean bank account of his stepdaughter. Moinian told his stepdaughter that these funds were payment for his consulting work overseas and instructed her to transfer the funds to him in multiple transactions.
Moinian also received a cell phone and other equipment from these individuals to communicate with them and aid in the electronic transfer of materials and information.
At the end of March 2018, Moinian traveled to Bali and met with these same individuals again. Later that year, he began working at another CDC. During this timeframe, the same individuals in China transferred thousands of dollars into the South Korean bank account of Moinian’s stepdaughter, who subsequently wired the funds to Moinian in multiple transactions.
In August 2019, Moinian traveled again to Hong Kong and met with these same individuals where he was again paid approximately $22,000 in cash for his services. Moinian and his wife smuggled this cash back into the United States.
According to his plea agreement, Moinian also admitted that he lied on his government background questionnaires in July 2017 and March 2020, when he falsely stated that did not have any close or continuing contacts with foreign nationals and that no foreign national had offered him a job.
“This defendant took the aviation materials of his American employers and sold them to China,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “This conduct was an outrageous breach of trust by a former member of the U.S. military. The United States will aggressively investigate and prosecute anyone who works at the direction of foreign governments to steal American technology and intellectual property.”
“Moinian was a paid agent of the Chinese government who sold American aviation-related technology,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Department of Justice has no tolerance for those who help foreign governments break the law to undermine American competitiveness and innovation.”
“The People’s Republic of China remains determined to acquire our information and technology. In this case, we witnessed a former U.S. Government employee acting as an agent of the Government of China and Chinese intelligence officers’ extensive use of social media to identify willing targets,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s of the Counterintelligence Division. “The FBI is committed not only to leveraging risk and consequences upon the defendant, but also to confronting the behavior and policies of the Chinese government that threaten our national security and freedom.”
“The defendant admitted to being an unregistered agent of a foreign power, lying on his background check paperwork to obtain his security clearance, knowingly providing proprietary information to people controlled by the Chinese government, and willingly receiving payments from them. This is another example of how the Chinese government enhances its defense capabilities through the illicit exploitation of U.S. technology,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy. “When someone holds a security clearance, they know what information should be reported to security officials. In this case, the defendant betrayed his sacred oath, knew his actions were wrong, and subsequently lied about it. The FBI and our partners on the Counterintelligence Task Force will pursue anyone who abuses their placement and access to obtain proprietary information on behalf of a foreign government. I specifically want to thank the Naval Criminal Investigative Service for their continued partnership on this case.”
“Mr. Moinian sold information to the Chinese government, and lied repeatedly to cover up his crimes,” said Special Agent in Charge Michelle Kramer of the NCIS Office of Special Projects. “Now he is being held to account for his actions. NCIS and our partners remain unwavering in our commitment to protecting the U.S. military and rooting out criminality that threatens the superiority of the U.S. warfighter.”
Sentencing is scheduled for August 29, 2022, at 11 a.m.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California and the Department of Justice’s National Security Division.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 21CR02927-JM
Shapour Moinian Age: 67 San Diego
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Title 18, United States Code, Section 951 (Acting as an Agent of a Foreign Government)
Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison and $250,000 per count fine
Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001 (Materially False, Fictitious, or Fraudulent Statement or Representation)
Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and $250,000 per count fine
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Former U.S. Military Pilot Admits Acting as Paid Agent of China and Lying on National Security Background FormsRead the Press Release
A former U.S. Army helicopter pilot-turned-civilian-contractor pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he acted as an unregistered agent of China and accepted thousands of dollars from representatives of the Chinese government to provide aviation-related information from his defense-contractor employers. He also pleaded guilty to making related false statements during national security background checks.
Shapour Moinian, 67, of San Diego, served in the Army in the United States, Germany, and South Korea from approximately 1977 through 2000. After his service, Moinian worked for various cleared defense contractors in the United States – including in San Diego – as well as the Department of Defense. “Cleared” is a term that indicates a contractor is permitted to work on projects that involve classified information.
According to his plea agreement, while Moinian was working for a cleared defense contractor, or CDC, on various aviation projects used by the U.S. military and U.S. intelligence agencies, he was contacted by an individual in China who claimed to be working for a technical recruiting company. This person offered Moinian the opportunity to consult for the aviation industry in China.
“Moinian was a paid agent of the Chinese government who sold American aviation-related technology,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Department of Justice has no tolerance for those who help foreign governments break the law to undermine American competitiveness and innovation.”
“This defendant took the aviation materials of his American employers and sold them to China,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California. “This conduct was an outrageous breach of trust by a former member of the U.S. military. The United States will aggressively investigate and prosecute anyone who works at the direction of foreign governments to steal American technology and intellectual property.”
“The People’s Republic of China remains determined to acquire our information and technology. In this case, we witnessed a former U.S. Government employee acting as an agent of the government of China and Chinese intelligence officers’ extensive use of social media to identify willing targets,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s of the Counterintelligence Division. “The FBI is committed not only to leveraging risk and consequences upon the defendant, but also to confronting the behavior and policies of the Chinese government that threaten our national security and freedom.”
“The defendant admitted to being an unregistered agent of a foreign power, lying on his background check paperwork to obtain his security clearance, knowingly providing proprietary information to people controlled by the Chinese government, and willingly receiving payments from them. This is another example of how the Chinese government enhances its defense capabilities through the illicit exploitation of U.S. technology,” said Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office. “When someone holds a security clearance, they know what information should be reported to security officials. In this case, the defendant betrayed his sacred oath, knew his actions were wrong, and subsequently lied about it. The FBI and our partners on the Counterintelligence Task Force will pursue anyone who abuses their placement and access to obtain proprietary information on behalf of a foreign government. I specifically want to thank the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) for their continued partnership on this case.”
“Mr. Moinian sold information to the Chinese government, and lied repeatedly to cover up his crimes,” said Special Agent in Charge Michelle Kramer of the NCIS Office of Special Projects. “Now he is being held to account for his actions. NCIS and our partners remain unwavering in our commitment to protecting the U.S. military and rooting out criminality that threatens the superiority of the U.S. warfighter.”
In March of 2017, Moinian travelled to Hong Kong where he met with this purported recruiter and agreed to provide information and materials related to multiple types of aircraft designed and/or manufactured in the United States in exchange for money. Moinian accepted approximately $7,000-$10,000 in United States currency during that meeting. According to his plea agreement, at this meeting and at all subsequent meetings, Moinian knew that these individuals were employed by or directed by the government of the People’s Republic of China.
Upon returning to the United States, Moinian began gathering aviation-related materials, which included transferring material from a CDC to a thumb drive. In September 2017, the defendant traveled overseas and, during a stopover at the Shanghai airport, met with Chinese government officials and provided aviation-related materials on a thumb drive, including proprietary information from a CDC. Thereafter, Moinian arranged for payment for this information through the South Korean bank account of his stepdaughter. Moinian told his stepdaughter that these funds were payment for his consulting work overseas and instructed her to transfer the funds to him in multiple transactions.
Moinian also received a cell phone and other equipment from these individuals to communicate with them and aid in the electronic transfer of materials and information.
At the end of March 2018, Moinian traveled to Bali and met with these same individuals again. Later that year, he began working at another CDC. During this timeframe, the same individuals in China transferred thousands of dollars into the South Korean bank account of Moinian’s stepdaughter, who subsequently wired the funds to Moinian in multiple transactions.
In August 2019, Moinian traveled again to Hong Kong and met with these same individuals where he was again paid approximately $22,000 in cash for his services. Moinian and his wife smuggled this cash back into the United States.
According to his plea agreement, Moinian also admitted that he lied on his government background questionnaires in July 2017 and March 2020, when he falsely stated that did not have any close or continuing contacts with foreign nationals and that no foreign national had offered him a job.
At sentencing, Moinian faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and fine up to $250,000 for acting as an agent of a foreign government, and up to five years and a $250,000 fine for the false statements count. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 29.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the NCIS and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California and the Department of Justice’s National Security Division.