District of Arizona

TUCSON, Ariz. – Guadalupe Fermin Ramirez, 37, of Tucson, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge John C. Hinderaker to 57 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Ramirez pleaded guilty to Assault on a Federal Officer on May 9, 2024.

On November 30, 2023, the Pascua Yaqui Police Department (PYPD) received a 911 call from an individual who reported that his vehicle had been stolen from his residence by Ramirez. The investigation revealed that, after stealing the vehicle, Ramirez drove it to a gas station on the Pascua Yaqui Indian Reservation and subsequently attempted to steal another vehicle, a delivery truck. Ramirez took the delivery driver’s personal belongings from inside the truck, and then fled from the area in the originally stolen vehicle.

During PYPD’s pursuit, Ramirez deliberately collided into the driver’s side of a police car while driving approximately 45 mph. The victim officer was able to disengage his seatbelt and tuck toward the center console of his vehicle before being struck to avoid injury, but the vehicle sustained substantial damage. After hitting the police vehicle, Ramirez sped away and ran several stop signs, causing two other vehicles to collide. Ramirez was apprehended shortly thereafter and arrested.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pascua Yaqui Police Department conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Carin C. Duryee and Brandon Bolling, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution, along with Special Assistant United States Attorney Russell E. Boatwright from the Pascua Yaqui Prosecutor’s Office.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-23-02362-TUC-JCH
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-108_Ramirez

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TUCSON, Ariz. – Nathan Espinoza Jr., 22, of Surprise, was arrested last week for his role in recruiting a driver and coordinating the transportation of two undocumented noncitizens in March 2024, one of whom suffered fatal injuries after jumping out of the driver’s vehicle while it was moving. Espinoza was charged by criminal complaint with one count of Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens for Profit. 

The complaint alleges that, since at least March 2024, Espinoza has conspired with others to recruit drivers to transport undocumented noncitizens, in exchange for which he received approximately $1,000 per person transported into the United States. The complaint further alleges that Espinoza has acted as a middleman for other smuggling coordinators and has helped coordinate numerous smuggling loads, including the March 2024 smuggling event that resulted in the death of one of the noncitizen passengers.

A complaint is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

This arrest is a result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). Attorney General Merrick B. Garland established JTFA in June 2021 to marshal the investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Department of Justice, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security, to combat the rise in prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. This work was recently expanded to Panama and Colombia. The Task Force focuses on disrupting and dismantling smuggling and trafficking networks that abuse, exploit, or endanger migrants, pose national security threats, and are involved in organized crime.

Homeland Security Investigations is conducting the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, is handling the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           24-MJ-03713-TUC-N/A (EJM)
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-107_Espinoza

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PHOENIX, Ariz. – Jesus Alexandro Sanchez-Armenta, 23, of Phoenix, was sentenced last month by United States District Judge Diane J. Humetewa to 72 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised released. Sanchez-Armenta pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens for Profit on February 22, 2024.

Sanchez-Armenta coordinated and/or recruited his co-conspirators, through social media sites, including Snapchat, to pick up undocumented noncitizens (UNCs) in Southern Arizona and to transport them further into the United States for profit. Sanchez-Armenta provided his co-conspirators with instructions on how and where to pick up the UNCs. Either he or another member of the conspiracy would provide the co-conspirators with GPS coordinates for where to pick up the UNCs, and then provided them with transportation routes designed to circumvent detection by law enforcement.

Homeland Security Investigations–Casa Grande and Customs and Border Protection’s United States Border Patrol–Tucson Sector conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart Zander, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-23-0259-PHX-DJH
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-106_Sanchez-Armenta

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PHOENIX, Ariz. – He Tehila Brave Heart, 41, originally of Pine Ridge, South Dakota, but living in Sacaton at the time of the offense, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Dominic W. Lanza to 10 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Brave Heart is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

On April 4, 2023, Brave Heart and his wife, Jacqulyn Brave Heart, beat and threatened to kill two victims, causing serious bodily injury. Brave Heart also stabbed one of the victims in the neck with a knife and hit her in the head with an axe. Brave Heart pleaded guilty on April 22, 2024, to Assault with a Dangerous Weapon and Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury. Jacqulyn Brave Heart was sentenced to six years in prison on April 10, 2024, after pleading guilty to the same two charges on January 22, 2024.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Gila River Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Raynette Logan, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-23-01247-PHX-DWL
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-105_Brave Heart

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TUCSON, Ariz. –Ronald Diaz, 40, of Tucson, pleaded guilty on July 18, 2024, to Wire Fraud. Sentencing is scheduled for September 27, 2024, before United States District Judge Scott H. Rash.

While working as a financial advisor, Diaz engaged in a scheme to defraud an elderly client. To induce the victim into the scheme, Diaz falsely represented an investment opportunity in an “annuity” that “guaranteed” a 10% return. Between November 2020 and July 2022, to disguise his scheme, Diaz directed the victim to transfer $970,000 to Diaz’s family members. Diaz thereafter instructed his family members to distribute most of the victim’s funds back to Diaz. Once he received the funds, Diaz used large portions of the victim’s money for his own personal benefit including gambling at casinos, making a down payment on a 2021 Range Rover, paying credit card debt, remodeling his family pool, paying his mortgage, and paying other personal expenses. Diaz made some “interest” payments to entice the victim into providing additional money throughout the scheme. None of the victim’s money was used towards any legitimate investment. As a result of the scheme, the victim lost over $867,000. As part of his plea agreement, Diaz will be required to pay restitution to the victim’s estate.

A conviction for Wire Fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or both. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, is handling the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-24-04092-TUC-SHR  
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-104_Diaz

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TUCSON, Ariz. – Amanda Rachelle Miller, 33, of Tucson, was apprehended in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico and deported to the United States on May 30, 2024, to face three felony indictments in the District of Arizona. Miller is a U.S. citizen and had been a fugitive for approximately three-and-a-half years at the time of her arrest in Mexico. Miller made her initial court appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Rateau on July 3, 2024, and was ordered detained in custody.

Federal agents first encountered Miller in late 2020, at the culmination of an investigation into narcotics distribution occurring out of various Tucson-area motels. As alleged in court filings, on November 12, 2020, agents conducted a final enforcement operation at a downtown Tucson motel and apprehended Miller as she ran from the scene. In one of the rooms, agents discovered evidence of Miller’s involvement in drug trafficking, including quantities of suspected methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl; a vacuum-sealing device; a digital scale; over $25,000 in cash; and two suspected drug distribution ledgers, one of which had Miller’s first name written on the back cover. Miller was charged in federal court by complaint on November 13, 2020, and later indicted on December 1, 2021. She absconded after being placed on pre-trial release and fled to Mexico.

In late September 2021, an undercover officer, posing as a bulk purchaser of narcotics, established contact with Miller over social media. Miller was using the alias, “Reina Sur,” or “Queen of the South.” As alleged in court documents, Miller represented to the undercover officer that she was “direct from [the] [S]inaloa [C]artel.” Over the ensuing months, while in communication with the undercover officer, she is alleged to have orchestrated multiple narcotics sales, which revealed the network of criminal associates conducting business on her behalf in southern Arizona. During their investigation, agents also were able to link Miller, through recorded communications, to two historical drug seizures, in April and August 2021.

Miller has been indicted in three federal criminal cases in the District of Arizona on the following charges:

In case number 21-CR-03072-TUC-SHR, Miller was charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin and Methamphetamine, and Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin and Methamphetamine. This indictment relates to the incident that allegedly occurred on November 12, 2020.

In case number 21-CR-02360-TUC-JGZ, Miller was charged with Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Methamphetamine, and Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl and Methamphetamine. This indictment relates to drug transactions that allegedly occurred in April and August 2021, while Miller was a fugitive.

In case number 22-CR-02454-TUC-RCC, Miller was charged with Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl, Methamphetamine, Cocaine, Heroin, and Marijuana, Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl and Methamphetamine, Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments, and Money Laundering. This indictment relates to drug transactions and money laundering activity that allegedly occurred from September 2021 through the end of 2022, again while Miller was a fugitive from justice.

The maximum penalties for the numerous charges range from 20 years in prison to life in prison and fines ranging from $500,000 to $10,000,000.

An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. 

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.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and the Arizona Department of Public Safety are conducting the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael R. Lizano, Ashley Culver, and David Petermann, District of Arizona, Tucson, are handling the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBERS:         CR-21-03072-TUC-SHR
                                       CR-21-02360-TUC-JGZ
                                       CR-22-02454-TUC-RCC

RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-103_Miller

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Today, the United States Attorney’s Office announced its immigration enforcement statistics for April 1, 2024, to June 30, 2024. These cases are prosecuted in partnership with the Tucson and Yuma Sectors of the Customs and Border Protection’s U.S. Border Patrol, along with Homeland Security Investigations, and assistance from other federal, state, and county agencies. In the three-month period ending June 30, 2024, the United States brought criminal charges in Arizona against 2,641 individuals who illegally entered or re-entered the United States. In its ongoing effort to deter unlawful immigration, the United States also filed 319 cases against individuals responsible for smuggling undocumented noncitizens to and within the District of Arizona. In this time period, the United States also prosecuted 53 reactive drug cases arising out of immigration ports of entry and checkpoints.

Reducing migrant smuggling and mitigating the risk to communities impacted by these offenses continue to be priorities for the Office and its law enforcement partners. Some of these prosecutions are directed against leaders and coordinators of alien smuggling organizations. Other prosecutions are aimed at deterring young adult drivers, often recruited over social media platforms, from engaging in this dangerous activity. Prosecutions against young drivers include cases brought against four juvenile smugglers during this time period.

Protecting law enforcement officers is a key part of border vigilance. During this time period, federal prosecutors brought charges against one defendant accused of assaulting federal officers.

These statistics represent United States Attorney’s Office prosecutions only. The numbers do not include individuals apprehended by immigration enforcement officials and subjected solely to administrative process.
 

RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-101_2024 Second Quarter Immigration Enforcement Statistics
 

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TUCSON, Ariz. – Enrique Adrian Yanez, 36, of Tucson, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge John C. Hinderaker to 42 months in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release. When Yanez is released from prison, he will be required to register as a sex offender. Yanez pleaded guilty on February 29, 2024, to one count of Knowing Access of Child Pornography.

During the summer of 2022, special agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) learned that Yanez was distributing child pornography files through a peer-to-peer file-sharing network. After HSI executed a search warrant on Yanez’s residence, agents located additional child pornography files on a computer belonging to Yanez.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Homeland Security Investigations, Nogales, conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant United States Attorney Nathaniel J. Walters, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-23-00247-TUC-JCH
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-102_Yanez

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An Alabama man pleaded guilty today to sending threatening messages to election workers with Maricopa County Elections in Phoenix.

“The functioning of our democracy requires that our country’s public servants be able to do their jobs without fearing for their lives,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “We have no tolerance for this kind of heinous criminal conduct and the danger it poses to people’s safety and to our democratic process. Threats and acts of violence targeting those who serve the public will be met with the full force of the United States Justice Department.”

“Violent threats to election workers are threats to our democracy and democratic process. We cannot allow threats of violence against public servants to become normalized,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The FBI takes seriously all threats of violence against public officials and will continue to pursue threats and acts of violence aimed at election workers.

“Brian Ogstad repeatedly threatened to kill Maricopa County election workers and officials,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “As today’s guilty plea demonstrates, the Department is committed to holding accountable those who target election workers and officials with threats of violence. I am especially grateful to the Election Threats Task Force, which continues to spearhead the Department’s efforts to ensure that public servants who administer our elections can do their jobs free from threats and intimidation.”

“This guilty plea should send a message to anyone who tries to take the rule of law into their own hands through vigilante justice,” said U.S. Attorney Gary M. Restaino for the District of Arizona. “But it also showcases the resilience of public servants. Thanks to the election professionals in Maricopa County who have worked courageously to maintain free and fair elections in spite of the threats received.”

According to court documents, on Aug. 2, 2022, Arizona held primary elections for federal and state officeholders, including a gubernatorial primary election that received nationwide media coverage. From the day of the election through Aug. 4, 2022, Brian Jerry Ogstad, 60, of Cullman, sent multiple threatening direct messages to an Instagram social media account maintained by Maricopa County Elections. For instance, on or about Aug. 3, 2022, Ogstad stated, (1) “You did it! Now you are [expletive]. Dead. You will all be executed for your crimes”; (2) “[expletive] you! You are caught!  They have it all. You [expletive] are dead”; (3) “You are lying, cheating [expletive] . . . you better not come in my church, my business or send your kids to my school. You are [expletive] stupid if you think your lives are safe”; and (4) “You [expletive] are so dead.” On or about Aug. 4, 2022, Ogstad also stated, “[Y]ou people are so ducking [sic] stupid. Everyone knows you are lots [sic], cheats, frauds and in doing so in relation to elections have committed treason. You will all be executed. Bang [expletive]!”

Ogstad pleaded guilty to one count of making a threatening interstate communication. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 21 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI Phoenix Field Office is investigating the case, with substantial assistance from the FBI Birmingham Field Office.

Trial Attorney Tanya Senanayake of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Sue Feldmeier for the District of Arizona are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force. Announced by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and launched by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco in June 2021, the task force has led the Department’s efforts to address threats of violence against election workers, and to ensure that all election workers—whether elected, appointed, or volunteer—are able to do their jobs free from threats and intimidation. The task force engages with the election community and state and local law enforcement to assess allegations and reports of threats against election workers, and has investigated and prosecuted these matters where appropriate, in partnership with FBI Field Offices and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country. The task force is continuing this work and supporting the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and FBI Field Offices nationwide as they carry on the critical work that the task force has begun.

The task force is led by the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and includes several other entities within the Justice Department, including the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Civil Rights Division, National Security Division, and FBI, as well as key interagency partners, such as the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. For more information regarding the Justice Department’s efforts to combat threats against election workers, read the Deputy Attorney General’s memo.

To report suspected threats or violent acts, contact your local FBI office and request to speak with the Election Crimes Coordinator. Contact information for every FBI field office may be found at www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/. You may also contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324) or file an online complaint at www.tips.fbi.gov. Complaints submitted will be reviewed by the task force and referred for investigation or response accordingly. If someone is in imminent danger or risk of harm, contact 911 or your local police immediately.

PHOENIX, Ariz. –Last week, a federal grand jury in Phoenix returned an eight-count indictment against Matthew Edward Dach, 46, of Kingman, for Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Felon, Distribution of Explosive Materials by a Non-Licensee, Distribution of Methamphetamine, Using and Carrying a Firearm (Destructive Device) During a Drug Trafficking Crime, Possession of an Unregistered Firearm, and Transfer of a Firearm for Use in a Crime of Violence.

The indictment alleges that, in May and June 2024, Dach sold a rifle, ammunition, homemade explosives, and methamphetamine to an undercover agent working for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Dach also sold two homemade destructive devices, which he made in his home in Kingman, to the undercover agent. The undercover agent told Dach that he needed a device to physically harm a witness who was testifying in a federal trial. Dach made and sold one of the destructive devices for that alleged purpose and then sold the other destructive device to the undercover agent during a sale of methamphetamine and explosives. Dach has previous felony convictions for drug offenses, burglary, vehicle theft, and weapons offenses.

A conviction for Distribution of Explosive Materials by a Non-Licensee and Possession of an Unregistered Firearm carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, $250,000 fine, or both. A conviction for Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Felon and Transfer of a Firearm for Use in a Crime of Violence carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, $250,000 fine, or both. A conviction for Distribution of Methamphetamine carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $1,000,000 fine, or both. A conviction for Using and Carrying a Firearm (Destructive Device) During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime carries a maximum penalty of 30 years to life in prison, $250,000 fine, or both.

An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation in this case, with assistance from the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office and the Arizona High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area’s (HIDTA) Mohave Area General Narcotics Enforcement Team (MAGNET). HIDTA is a grant-funded initiative of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) that provides assistance to Federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug trafficking regions of the United States. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, is handling the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-24-08073-PHX-MTL
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-100_Dach

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TUCSON, Ariz. – Roy Samuel Paredes, 64, of Tucson, was sentenced by United States District Judge James A. Soto on June 24, 2024, to 235 months in prison, followed by a lifetime term of supervised release. Paredes pleaded guilty to Sexual Abuse of a Minor on November 8, 2023.

In the summer of 2021, Paredes, an enrolled member of the Tohono O’odham Nation, molested a young girl on the Tohono O’odham Nation in Sells, Arizona.

The Tohono O’odham Nation Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew C. Cassell, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:            CR-22-1914-TUC-JAS
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-098_Paredes

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TUCSON, Ariz. – Reynaldo Parra-Villagrana, 27, of Tucson, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez to 33 months in federal prison, followed by 60 months of supervised release, for his role in a cross-border narcotics distribution conspiracy. Parra-Villagrana pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on December 18, 2023.

In May 2019, during a multi-year investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), Parra-Villagrana delivered 878.8 grams of pure methamphetamine to an undercover officer in the parking lot of a sporting goods store in Tucson. Parra-Villagrana was acting on behalf of a Mexico-based drug supplier when he delivered the methamphetamine to the undercover officer. 

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.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force Tucson, conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant United States Attorney Michael R. Lizano, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:            CR-22-02352-TUC-RM
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-097_Parra-Villagrana

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TUCSON, Ariz. – Michael Leroy Witt, 55, of Phoenix, was convicted by a federal jury last week of Assault on a Federal Officer Causing Bodily Injury, Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens for Profit, and Transportation of Illegal Aliens for Profit. The jury also found that Witt placed human life in jeopardy during and in relation to his alien smuggling offenses.

The guilty verdicts came after a three-day trial before United States District Judge John C. Hinderaker. Witt’s sentencing is set for October 8, 2024.

On February 20, 2023, a U.S. Border Patrol agent stopped Witt near Sonoita, on suspicion that Witt was transporting undocumented noncitizens. After Witt stopped and tried to wave the agent past him, the agent approached the driver’s side window and told Witt to turn off the vehicle. Witt did not comply with the agent’s instruction so the agent attempted to turn off the engine by reaching through the window. Witt then hit the gas pedal, leaving the agent hanging from the car window. The acceleration caused the agent to be dragged alongside the vehicle as it veered into the oncoming lane of traffic. The agent was able to turn the vehicle off and bring it to a stop on the opposite side of the road. In the backseat of the vehicle, Witt had concealed two undocumented noncitizens who were being illegally transported further into the United States.  

Customs and Border Protection’s United States Border Patrol conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer H. Berman and Ryan P. DeJoe, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:            CR-23-00389-TUC-JCH
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-099_Witt

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TUCSON, Ariz. – Last week, a federal grand jury indicted Santiago Luis Valencia, Jr., 34, of Tucson, on one count of Second Degree Murder. Valencia is an enrolled member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.

It is alleged that on June 15, 2024, the victim and Valencia engaged in a verbal altercation that later turned physical. According to witnesses, Valencia was the initial aggressor and assaulted the victim by striking the back of the victim’s head against a windowsill on the exterior of the residence where the incident occurred. The victim died the following day as a result of the injuries sustained during the fight.

Second Degree Murder carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and five years of supervised release.

An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Nathaniel J. Walters and Caroline Allen, District of Arizona, Tucson, are handling the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-24-04265-TUC-JGZ
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-096_Valencia

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PHOENIX, Ariz. – Andrew Lee Butler, 49, of Arkansas, was sentenced last week to 14 years in prison after a jury found him guilty on March 15, 2024, on two charges: Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor and Interstate Travel to Meet a Minor for Sex.

Butler was arrested on December 8, 2022, at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport after he communicated with an undercover FBI special agent’s account on a social media platform that he believed belonged to a 13-year-old girl. During the 38 days of daily chats between Butler and the FBI special agent who posed as the girl, Butler quickly raised the idea of having sex with the girl and planned travel to Phoenix to be with her for a weekend in December 2022. Butler believed the girl’s grandmother would be her caretaker for the weekend and that her mother was out of town. He encouraged the girl to talk with a friend of his who he claimed had been sexually active with older men and who had avoided detection. Butler reserved a hotel room, a car, and planned to pick the girl up after school. Butler encouraged her to talk to her mother about getting the HPV vaccination prior to his arrival as she needed parental approval to get it since she was under age 16.

Butler’s phone revealed that he had done an internet search for statutory rape laws in Arizona. When Butler was arrested at the airport, he was found in possession of eight sex devices, an emergency contraceptive pill, condoms, and shower gel and a sponge in the girl’s favorite color.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gayle Helart and Jennifer Corbet, District of Arizona, Phoenix, AZ, handled the prosecution. 
 

CASE NUMBER:            CR-22-01695-PHX-SPL
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-095_Butler

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Hemisphere GNSS (USA) Inc., a satellite global positioning system manufacturer in Arizona that was purchased by CNH Industrial in 2023, has agreed to pay $2.6 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly providing false information to apply for and receive forgiveness of a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan to which the company was not entitled.

Congress created the PPP in March 2020, as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, to provide emergency financial support to millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the pandemic. The CARES Act authorized billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses struggling to pay employees and other expenses. In 2021, Congress offered a second round of forgivable PPP loans through the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act. When applying for PPP loans, borrowers were required to certify the truthfulness and accuracy of all information provided in their loan applications.

In February 2021, Hemisphere applied for a second round PPP loan and certified that it was eligible to receive the loan. Among other certifications, Hemisphere represented that no “entity created in or organized under the laws of the People’s Republic of China” owned or held 20% or more of an economic interest in Hemisphere. The company also certified that it did not retain as a board member a person who is a resident of the People’s Republic of China. At the time of its application, however, both of these certifications were allegedly false. For this reason, Hemisphere was not eligible for the second round PPP loan it received. After receiving this PPP loan, Hemisphere sought and received forgiveness of the total loan amount.

“PPP loans were an important but finite resource available to help eligible small businesses retain employees and keep their doors open,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “When ineligible entities improperly sought PPP loans or forgiveness of those loans, they reduced the availability of this critical support for eligible businesses.”

“Legitimate PPP loans saved small businesses across America,” said U.S. Attorney Gary M. Restaino for the District of Arizona. “But not everyone used the program as intended. Our office will continue to hold accountable those business and individuals who misused the PPP program, as the settlement announced today reflects.”

“The settlement in this matter demonstrates the excellent results achieved through the combined efforts of SBA and the Department of Justice to uncover and forcefully respond to PPP misconduct,” said General Counsel Therese Meers of the Small Business Administration (SBA). “The federal government is strongly committed to identifying and aggressively pursuing any instances of fraud or misconduct within the Paycheck Protection Program.”

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by GNGH2 Inc. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. GNGH2, Inc. v. Hemisphere GNSS (USA) Incorporated, 2:22-cv-00224 (D. Arizona). GNGH2 will receive $260,000 as its share of the settlement.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, with assistance from SBA’s Office of General Counsel and Office of the Inspector General.

Trial Attorney John F. Schifalacqua of the Justice Department’s Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne E. Nelson for the District of Arizona handled the matter.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Justice Department 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 actors committing civil and criminal fraud 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 www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud affecting COVID-19 government relief programs can be reported by visiting the webpage of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section, which can be found here. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can also report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.

Rodrigo Paez-Quintero, a Mexican national, has been extradited from Mexico to the United States to face charges related to drug trafficking. Paez-Quintero’s surrender to U.S authorities after an extradition proceeding in Mexico demonstrates the ongoing cooperation between the United States and Mexico to combat the influx of dangerous drugs, including fentanyl, into the United States.

Paez-Quintero made his initial court appearance today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in Tucson.

“Our fight against international drug traffickers who spread poison into our communities requires all hands on deck,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “This extradition is yet another example of our partnership with Mexican law enforcement to dismantle deadly cartels and bring drug kingpins to justice.”

“This indictment alleges coordinated conduct to traffic fentanyl and other illicit drugs into Phoenix,” said U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino for District of Arizona. “Many thanks to our federal, foreign and sovereign tribal partners for their teamwork and dedication.”

Paez-Quintero is charged in an indictment unsealed today with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl and multiple counts of possession with intent to distribute heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl. Each count carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a maximum fine of $10 million. In the year prior to March 2019, the indictment alleges Paez-Quintero’s involvement in at least nine drug trafficking events from the Lukeville Port of Entry, through Ajo and up to Phoenix. According to numerous open sources, Paez-Quintero is the nephew of jailed Mexican drug kingpin Rafael Caro-Quintero.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Tucson, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Sells, and the FBI Phoenix Field Office investigated this case, with substantial assistance from the Tohono O’odham Nation Police Department. The U.S. Marshals Service assisted with the extradition efforts. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and extradition of Paez-Quintero.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona is prosecuting the case.

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

Justice Department Recognizes Mexican Government for Significant Assistance
 

TUCSON, Ariz. – Rodrigo Paez-Quintero, a Mexican national, has been extradited from Mexico to the United States to face charges related to drug trafficking. Paez-Quintero’s surrender to U.S authorities after an extradition proceeding in Mexico demonstrates the ongoing cooperation between the United States and Mexico to combat the influx of dangerous drugs, including fentanyl, into the United States.

Paez-Quintero made his initial court appearance today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in Tucson.

“Our fight against international drug traffickers who spread poison into our communities requires all hands on deck,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “This extradition is yet another example of our partnership with Mexican law enforcement to dismantle deadly cartels and bring drug kingpins to justice.”

“This indictment alleges coordinated conduct to traffic fentanyl and other illicit drugs into Phoenix,” said United States Attorney Gary Restaino. “Many thanks to our federal, foreign and sovereign tribal partners for their teamwork and dedication.”

Paez-Quintero is charged in an indictment with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin, Methamphetamine, and Fentanyl and multiple counts of Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin, Methamphetamine, and Fentanyl. Each count carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000,000. In the year prior to March 2019, the indictment alleges defendant’s involvement in at least nine drug trafficking events from the Lukeville Port of Entry, through Ajo and up to Phoenix. According to numerous open sources, Paez-Quintero is the nephew of jailed Mexican drug kingpin Rafael Caro-Quintero.

An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The Drug Enforcement Administration – Tucson, Homeland Security Investigations – Sells, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Tucson conducted the investigation in this case, with substantial assistance from the Tohono O’odham Nation Police Department. The United States Marshals Service assisted with the extradition efforts. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and extradition of Paez-Quintero. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, is handling the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:            CR-19-2042-TUC-JAS
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-094_Paez-Quintero

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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TUCSON, Ariz. – Yesterday, a federal jury in Tucson found Eric Ridenour, 58, of Douglas, guilty of all six arson and hate crimes counts, for the burning of two churches on May 22, 2023.

Ridenour burned down two churches in Douglas, Arizona: Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church and First Presbyterian Church. The churches were located on Church Square, a historic district in the border town of Douglas, approximately two hours southeast of Tucson. It is believed to have been the only intersection in the nation containing churches from four different denominations: Southern Baptist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, and Methodist. Trial testimony established that Ridenour intentionally started the fires in both churches because of his hostility towards their practice of having women and members of the LGBTQ community serve in church leadership roles. Ridenour was arrested on May 23, 2023.

“Religious freedom is sacrosanct in America,” said United States Attorney Gary Restaino. “Arson of a church is deplorable. Arson motivated by objections to the religious principles of a church’s congregation is worse. Many thanks to Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church and First Presbyterian Church, and their parishioners, for their collective courage in responding to this hate crime.”

A conviction for Arson of Property Used in Interstate Commerce carries a minimum penalty of five years in prison and maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A conviction for Obstruction of Free Exercise of Religious Beliefs by Fire carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A conviction for Using Fire to Commit Federal Felony carries a penalty of 10 years in prison. A second conviction for Using Fire to Commit Federal Felony carries a penalty of 20 years in prison.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 22, 2024, before United States District Court Judge Scott H. Rash.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Douglas Police Department conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Austin Fenwick, Ben Goldberg, and Adam Rossi, District of Arizona, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:            CR 23-00908-TUC-SHR
RELEASE NUMBER:    2023-093_Ridenour

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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TUCSON, Ariz. – Fiona Lorraine Walters, 50, of Newburgh, NY, pleaded guilty today to Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering. Sentencing is scheduled for September 23, 2024, before United States District Judge Scott M. Rash.

Walters admitted that, between July 5, 2016, and August 15, 2020, she laundered over $300,000 in fraud proceeds, through her and family members’ bank accounts. The funds were fraudulently obtained from victims, many of them elderly, who sent the money under the belief they were paying fees associated with winning a lottery or sweepstakes, but which were scams. Walters and her co-conspirators fraudulently transferred or kept the victims’ money and no “winnings” were ever paid. 

A conviction for Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the funds involved in the offense, whichever is greater, or both, and a term of three years supervised release.

This case was prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Initiative. If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This U.S. 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 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday-Friday. English, Spanish, and other languages are available.

The United States Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Sue Feldmeier, District of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, is handling the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:            CR-23-01158-TUC-SHR
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-092_Walters

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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PHOENIX, Ariz. – Leonard Thomas Stewart, III, 24, of Fort Defiance, was sentenced on June 17, 2024, by United States District Judge Michael T. Liburdi to 188 months in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release. Stewart pleaded guilty to Abusive Sexual Contact of a Child on October 31, 2023. 

Between October 3, 2017, and July 11, 2019, Stewart engaged in abusive sexual contact with the minor victim on numerous occasions. One instance of sexual contact occurred in Fort Defiance while Stewart and the minor victim were riding horses together. Both the victim and Stewart are members of the Navajo Nation Indian Tribe and the abusive sexual contact occurred on the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Navajo Nation Police Department conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina J. Reid-Moore, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:            CR-21-08029-PCT-MTL
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-091_Stewart

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TUCSON, Ariz. – Shatasia Emoney Sanders Taylor, 25, of Phoenix, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez to 27 months in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release. Taylor pleaded guilty to Alien Smuggling and Assault of a Federal Officer on September 6, 2023.

On February 7, 2023, U.S. Border Patrol agents observed Taylor picking up suspected undocumented noncitizens in a desert area near Bisbee. An agent approached the vehicle while it was stationary. As he reached his arm through the passenger door window, Taylor hit the gas pedal. Taylor dragged the agent alongside the vehicle, finally coming to a stop after traveling several hundred feet. In the backseat of the vehicle, agents discovered three undocumented noncitizens whom Taylor was illegally transporting further into the United States.

Customs and Border Protection’s United States Border Patrol conducted the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-23-1295-TUC-RM
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-090_Taylor

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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Note: View the affidavit for search of 968 X accounts here and affidavit for domains seizure here.

The Justice Department today announced the seizure of two domain names and the search of 968 social media accounts used by Russian actors to create an AI-enhanced social media bot farm that spread disinformation in the United States and abroad. The social media bot farm used elements of AI to create fictitious social media profiles — often purporting to belong to individuals in the United States — which the operators then used to promote messages in support of Russian government objectives, according to affidavits unsealed today.

In conjunction with the domain seizures and search warrant announced today, the FBI and the Cyber National Mission Force (CNMF), in partnership with Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS), the Netherlands General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD), Netherlands Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD), and Netherlands Police released a joint cybersecurity advisory detailing the technology behind the social media bot farm, including details regarding how the bot farm’s creators leveraged their bespoke AI system in furtherance of the scheme. The advisory will allow social media platforms and researchers to identify and prevent the Russian government’s further use of the technology. In addition, X Corp. (formerly, Twitter) voluntarily suspended the remaining bot accounts identified in the court documents for terms of service violations.

“With these actions, the Justice Department has disrupted a Russian-government backed, AI-enabled propaganda campaign to use a bot farm to spread disinformation in the United States and abroad,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “As the Russian government continues to wage its brutal war in Ukraine and threatens democracies around the world, the Justice Department will continue to deploy all of our legal authorities to counter Russian aggression and protect the American people.”

“Today’s action demonstrates that the Justice Department and our partners will not tolerate Russian government actors and their agents deploying AI to sow disinformation and fuel division among Americans,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “As malign actors accelerate their criminal misuse of AI, the Justice Department will respond and we will prioritize disruptive actions with our international partners and the private sector. We will not hesitate to shut down bot farms, seize illegally obtained internet domains, and take the fight to our adversaries.”

“Today’s actions represent a first in disrupting a Russian-sponsored Generative AI-enhanced social media bot farm,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Russia intended to use this bot farm to disseminate AI-generated foreign disinformation, scaling their work with the assistance of AI to undermine our partners in Ukraine and influence geopolitical narratives favorable to the Russian government. The FBI is committed to working with our partners and deploying joint, sequenced operations to strategically disrupt our most dangerous adversaries and their use of cutting-edge technology for nefarious purposes.”

“We support all civic engagement, civil dialogue, and a robust exchange of ideas,” said U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino for the District of Arizona. “But those ideas should be generated by Americans, for Americans. The disruption announced today protects us from those who use unlawful means to seek to mislead our citizens and our communities.”

“The disruption announced today is the result of a combined response with our international partners to a serious and unique threat,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Morris Pasqual for the Northern District of Illinois. “Multiple U.S. and foreign governmental components worked closely and efficiently to address the threat and develop and execute a mitigation strategy. Through vigorous enforcement efforts and collaborative international partnerships, the Justice Department works tirelessly to disrupt criminal cyber activity.”

Overview

According to court documents, a bot farm is an enhanced software package which allows for the creation of false personas on social media platforms. Bot farms are enhanced by integrating components which contain artificial intelligence, such as image production or text generation.

As described in the affidavits filed in support of the warrants, development of the social media bot farm was organized by an individual identified in Russia (Individual A). In early 2022, Individual A worked as the deputy editor-in-chief at RT, a state-run Russian news organization based in Moscow. Since at least 2022, RT leadership sought the development of alternative means for distributing information beyond RT’s standard television news broadcasts. In response, Individual A led the development of software that was able to create and to operate a social media bot farm. As planned, the social media bot farm would create fictitious online personas for social media accounts, through which RT, or any operator of the bot farm, could distribute information on a wide-scale basis. The development was executed by Individual B and others, who hid their identities and location (Russia) while beginning to purchase infrastructure for the social media bot farm in April 2022.

In early 2023, with the approval and financial support of the Presidential Administration of Russia (aka the Kremlin), a Russian FSB officer (FSB Officer 1) created and led a private intelligence organization (P.I.O.), as explained in the affidavits. The P.I.O.’s membership was comprised of, among others, employees at RT, including Individual A. The true purpose of the P.I.O. was to advance the mission of the FSB and the Russian government, including by spreading disinformation through the social media accounts created by the bot farm.

According to the affidavits, FSB Officer 1, Individual A, and other members of the PIO had access to the social media bot farm. The following are examples of Russian-government narratives that the bot farm posted on X in October and November 2023:

• A purported U.S. constituent replied to a candidate for federal office’s social media posts regarding the conflict in Ukraine with a video of President Putin justifying Russia’s actions in Ukraine;

• A purported resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota, posted a video of President Putin discussing his belief that certain geographic areas of Poland, Ukraine, and Lithuania were “gifts” to those countries from the Russian forces that liberated them from Nazi control during World War II;

• A purported U.S. resident of a city identified only as “Gresham,” posted a video claiming that the number of foreign fighters embedded with Ukrainian forces was significantly lower than public estimates;

• The same purported individual posted a video of President Putin claiming that the war in Ukraine is not a territorial conflict or a matter of geopolitical balance, but rather the “principles on which the New World Order will be based.”

To register the fictitious social media accounts, the social media bot farm relied on private email servers, which in turn relied on the two domain names seized by the FBI. An individual who controls an internet domain can create email accounts using the domain. For example, an individual controlling the domain name www.example.com can create email accounts using @example.com (e.g., EmailAddress@example.com). Here, the actors obtained and controlled the domain names “mlrtr.com” and “otanmail.com” from a U.S.-based provider. They then used those domains to create the email servers that ultimately allowed them to create fictitious social media accounts using the bot farm software.

The FSB’s use of U.S.-based domain names, which the software used to register the bots, violates the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. In addition, the accompanying payments for that infrastructure violate federal money laundering laws.

The Justice Department commends members of the private sector who coordinated with law enforcement efforts on this disruption, including X for its voluntary efforts to suspend the identified bot accounts from its platform. Prior to the government’s action, X identified and suspended a significant number of the bot accounts.

The Justice Department’s investigation is ongoing.

The National Security Division’s National Security Cyber Section, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois are prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

TUCSON, Ariz. – David Quintero-Mascareno, 20, of Glendale, was arrested on Monday, and charged by complaint with Knowingly and Intentionally Possessing with Intent to Distribute 400 Grams or More of a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance. 

The complaint alleges that, on July 1, 2024, Quintero-Mascareno presented himself for inspection at the Port of Entry in Lukeville, driving a gray Dodge Ram towing a trailer loaded with a utility terrain vehicle. Quintero-Mascareno claimed he was returning to the United States from Puerto Penasco, Sonora, Mexico, and gave a negative customs declaration for contraband. A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) canine, trained to detect narcotics, alerted to the utility trailer.

CBP officers found approximately 234 packages, containing blue pills imprinted with “M30,” concealed in the trailer’s floorboards and rails. A representative sample of the pills field-tested positive for the properties of fentanyl. The packages weighed a total of almost 460 kilograms.

A conviction for Possession with Intent to Distribute 400 Grams or More of Fentanyl carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, a fine of $10,000,000, or both, and a maximum term of five years supervised release.

A complaint is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations are conducting the investigation. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, is handling the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           24-07915MJ
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-089_Quintero-Mascareno

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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TUCSON, Ariz. – Manuel Victor Gastelum, 27, of Douglas, was sentenced last week by United States District Court Judge Rosemary Márquez to 130 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Gastelum pleaded guilty to Transportation of Illegal Aliens for Profit Resulting in Death on January 31, 2024. Gastelum also was sentenced to 12 months in prison for violating conditions of his federal probation from a prior alien smuggling conviction.

On December 4, 2020, Gastelum picked up eight undocumented noncitizens near the border to transport them further into the United States. While driving westbound on Interstate 10 near Vail, Gastelum began driving recklessly and lost control of the vehicle, rolling it multiple times. A 42-year-old male passenger was ejected from the vehicle and subsequently pronounced dead at the scene. Several other passengers were transported to the hospital with serious injuries. Gastelum fled from the crash on foot but was apprehended later that morning several miles away.

Gastelum had previously been convicted of Transportation of Aliens for Profit Placing Life in Jeopardy in 2019 after he fled from law enforcement and crashed at a gas station while transporting undocumented noncitizens. For that conviction, Gastelum was sentenced to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release. He violated his conditions of supervised release by committing this new offense three months after his release from federal prison.

When imposing the 130-month sentence, Judge Márquez emphasized that a long sentence was necessary to protect the public.

Homeland Security Investigations, Tucson, conducted the investigation in this case, with the assistance of the Arizona Department of Public Safety. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:            CR-21-00516-TUC-RM-MAA
                                         CR-19-01602-TUC-RM-MAA
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-088_Gastelum

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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TUCSON, Ariz. – Michael Pengchung Lee, 27, of Tucson, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez to 16 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. The conditions of supervised release include substance abuse testing, a mental health assessment, location monitoring, and a no-contact provision that precludes defendant from being on the University of Arizona campus. Lee pleaded guilty on April 10, 2024, to Interstate Threats for transmitting threats through interstate communications to commit a mass shooting at the University of Arizona.

The complaint previously filed in this case alleged that on October 22, 2023, Lee transmitted threats to commit a mass shooting at the university in a group chat on Snapchat. Lee is not a student at the university but expressed a desire to get revenge on “all the chads and stacies!!” “Chads” and “stacies” are commonly used terms by self-described involuntary celibates (incels). Lee made further reference to incel ideology and finished the conversation by stating “im gonna do it guys, my mind is made up and there’s nothing u can do or say to stop me.”

On April 10, 2024, Lee admitted to sending multiple Snapchat messages on October 22, 2023, to a group chat threatening to commit a mass shooting at the University of Arizona. Lee further admitted that those messages referenced incel ideology, language, and motivations, including referring to a well-known, self-identified incel and mass shooter. Lee also admitted to threatening to commit a mass shooting at the university in at least two other Snapchat conversations, citing the same incel ideology and motivations.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the University of Arizona Police Department, as part of the FBI’s Southern Arizona Violent Crime and Gang Task Force, conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Rossi, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-23-01694-TUC-RM
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-086_Lee

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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TUCSON, Ariz. – Jesus Ernesto Dessens-Romero, 28, of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced today by United States District Judge John Hinderaker to 10 years in prison. Dessens-Romero was found guilty by a jury of multiple alien smuggling offenses, including Conspiracy to Transport and Transportation of Illegal Aliens for Profit and Bringing in Illegal Aliens to the United States for Profit. The jury also found that Dessens-Romero placed human life in jeopardy during and in relation to his alien smuggling offenses.

Dessens-Romero was the human smuggling foot guide for five Mexican nationals who illegally crossed into the United States on or about February 13, 2021. The group included three sisters – ages 23, 20, and 17 – and their family friend, age 16. Dessens-Romero led the individuals on a perilous route into the rugged and remote Huachuca Mountains near Fort Huachuca in Southern Arizona where there was less law enforcement presence. The group had limited food and water, and at night, suffered through serious weather conditions including cold and snow.

By February 15, 2021, the 23-year-old sister was in significant physical distress. She was unable to eat or walk or follow simple commands. Dessens-Romero told the group that they were close enough to a well-traveled roadway where the sick woman could be found if the group left her. Dessens-Romero did not call emergency services. Instead, he located cell phone reception at higher ground in order to call a transnational criminal smuggling organization. Dessens-Romero then led the rest of the group to Sierra Vista, Arizona, where they were picked up by unidentified co-conspirators and transported further into the United States.

The family of the woman left behind contacted authorities on February 16, 2021, to report a missing person. Despite extensive search efforts by United States Border Patrol, military officials from Fort Huachuca, Cochise County Sheriff’s Department, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), she was not located. During this time, Dessens-Romero contacted the surviving sisters on behalf of the smuggling organization to try to convince them to remove a “missing person” social media post. In the months following, HSI worked collaboratively with SOS Búsqueda y Rescate, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding missing migrants, to continue searching for the missing woman. On November 20, 2021, members of SOS Búsqueda y Rescate located skeletal remains in an isolated area of the Huachuca Mountains, on the Fort Huachuca Army installation.  Dental records confirmed that the remains belonged to the missing 23-year-old sister. The deceased is survived by her husband and daughter.

Dessens-Romero continued to smuggle undocumented non-citizens within the United States until June of 2021. He used WhatsApp to set up the transportation of undocumented non-citizens to various locations within the United States, including the transportation of two persons through Tennessee. Dessens-Romero was arrested on June 30, 2021, by Tennessee Highway Patrol while transporting these two individuals.

“Human smugglers profit from the exploitation of migrants and routinely expose them to violence, injury, and death,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Today’s sentence shows the Justice Department will continue to hold accountable these smugglers and the criminal networks that abuse, exploit, or endanger migrants.”

“Alien smugglers care only about the money to be made and not about the human beings whose lives they endanger,” said U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino. “Unfortunately, one young woman’s desire for a better life in the United States cost her her life due to the greed and recklessness of Dessens-Romero. This case should serve as a warning to other smugglers and the transnational smuggling organizations they work for: my office and our law enforcement partners will be undaunted in our efforts to bring you to justice.”

This prosecution resulted from the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona is part of JTFA, which was established by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in June 2021 to marshal the investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Department of Justice, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security, to enhance U.S. enforcement efforts against the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. The Task Force focuses on disrupting and dismantling smuggling and trafficking networks that abuse, exploit, or endanger migrants, pose national security threats, and are involved in organized crime.

Homeland Security Investigations-Douglas conducted the investigation in this case, in coordination with the Fort Huachuca Army Criminal Investigation Division, the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, HSI-Nashville office, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:            CR-22-00376-TUC-JCH-JR
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-087_Dessens-Romero

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PHOENIX, Ariz. – Morris Gary Hibbitt, 51, of Avondale, pleaded guilty on June 17, 2024, before United States Magistrate Judge John Z. Boyle to the felony charge of sexual abuse of an inmate.

On September 9, 2024, Chief United States District Judge G. Murray Snow will sentence Hibbitt.

At the time of the offense, Hibbitt worked as a Security Supervisor for Behavioral Systems Southwest (BSS), a residential reentry center in Phoenix. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) contracts with BSS to help inmates reenter the community when they complete their prison terms. Inmate wards at BSS remain in official detention and under the custodial authority of the BOP.

On May 21, 2023, while on duty as the Security Supervisor at BSS, Hibbitt sexually abused a female inmate under his supervision.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Kristen Brook, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-24-00993-PHX-GMS
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-085_Hibbitt

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PHOENIX, Ariz. – Today, United States Attorney Gary M. Restaino announced criminal charges against seven defendants in connection with alleged schemes to defraud Medicare and Medicaid (specifically AHCCCS, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System). The charges filed in federal court are part of the Department of Justice’s 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action.

The charges in these cases stem from schemes to obtain, in the aggregate, hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent billings.  For example, Rita Anagho, acting primarily though her company, Tusa Integrated Clinic LLC (“TUSA”), was charged for fraudulently billing AHCCCS approximately $69.7 million for behavioral healthcare services.  ANAGHO primarily targeted AHCCCS’s American Indian Health Program (“AIHP”) and billed for services that were never provided or not provided as represented.  AHCCCS provides health care services to Native Americans through AIHP, and there has been widespread fraud reported in which residential and outpatient treatment centers recruited Native Americans and other individuals to exploit the AIHP under AHCCCS.  Many of the patients recruited for TUSA were Native Americans or other individuals who were enrolled in AIHP, and in some cases, patients were switched from their existing AHCCCS insurance plan to AIHP, regardless of whether the patient was Native American.

In another matter, Daud Koleosho and Adam Mutwol, acting primarily though their company, Community Hope Wellness Center LLC (“CHWC”), fraudulently billed AHCCCS approximately $57.7 million for behavioral health care services.  They too primarily targeted the AIHP, billed AHCCCS for services that were never provided, and overbilled for services that were provided, all to the detriment of the AIHP.

In another case, Alexandra Gehrke and Jeffrey King were charged for targeting elderly Medicare patients, many of whom were terminally ill in hospice care, for medically unnecessary wound grafts.  Medicare and other health care benefit programs paid over $600 million based on the false and fraudulent claims they submitted for these vulnerable beneficiaries.  Gehrke and King were arrested on June 17, 2024, at Sky Harbor International Airport as they were attempting to board a flight out of the country.

“It does not matter if you are a trafficker in a drug cartel or a corporate executive or medical professional employed by a health care company, if you profit from the unlawful distribution of controlled substances, you will be held accountable,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will bring to justice criminals who defraud Americans, steal from taxpayer-funded programs, and put people in danger for the sake of profits.”

“These cases involve not just massive fraud to steal public funds, but also exploitation of vulnerable victims and the misappropriation of resources earmarked for Native American communities,” said U.S. Attorney Restaino.  “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our investigative partners will pursue justice against those who perpetrate these sorts of schemes with the utmost vigor.”

The charges announced today by U.S. Attorney Restaino are part of a strategically coordinated, two-week nationwide law enforcement action that resulted in criminal charges against 193 defendants for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes that resulted in the submission of over $2.75 billion in alleged false billings. The defendants allegedly defrauded programs entrusted for the care of the elderly and disabled to line their own pockets, and the Government, in connection with the enforcement action, seized over $231 million in cash, luxury vehicles, gold, and other assets.

The Health Care Fraud Unit’s National Rapid Response, Florida, Gulf Coast, Los Angeles, Midwest, Northeast, and Texas Strike Forces; U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Southern District of Alabama, District of Arizona, Central District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California, District of Connecticut, Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Florida, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District to Kentucky, Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana, Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan, Southern District of Mississippi, District of Montana, District of New Jersey, Eastern District of New York, Eastern District of North Carolina, Western District of Oklahoma, District of Rhode Island, Eastern District of Tennessee, Middle District of Tennessee, Eastern District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas, Eastern District of Virginia, Western District of Virginia, Southern District of West Virginia, and Eastern District of Wisconsin; and State Attorney Generals’ Offices for Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, and South Dakota are prosecuting the cases in the National Enforcement Action, with assistance from the Health Care Fraud Unit’s Data Analytics Team. Descriptions of each case involved in today’s enforcement action are available on the Department’s website here.

“We will not tolerate fraud that preys on patients who need and deserve high quality health care,” said the Honorable Christi A. Grimm, the Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “The hard work of the HHS-OIG team and our outstanding law enforcement partners makes today’s action possible. We must protect taxpayer dollars and keep Americans safe from harms to their health, privacy, and financial well-being.”

“Fraud against government funded health care systems not only costs taxpayers billions each year, but as we’ve seen in Arizona, deprives critical care and benefits for our most vulnerable populations,” said Brian Driscoll, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Phoenix Field Office.  “People who participate in this type of fraud will continue to catch the eye of the FBI.”

The following individuals have been charged in the District of Arizona as part of this National Enforcement Action:  •           Alexandra Gehrke, charged by indictment on June 18, 2024; CR-24-01040-PHX-ROS
•           Jeffery King, charged by indictment on June 18, 2024; CR-24-01040-PHX-ROS
•           Bethany Jameson, charged by information June 24, 2024; CR-24-01068-PHX-DWL
•           Carlos Ching, charged by information June 24, 2024; CR-24-01075-PHX-MTL
•           Rita Anagho, charged by indictment on June 18, 2024; CR-24-01044-PHX-MTL
•           Adam Mutwol, charged by information June 25, 2024; CR-24-01097-PHX-SPL
•           Daud Koleosho, charged by information June 25, 2024; CR-24-01098-PHX-MTL

Alexandra Gehrke, 38, and Jeffrey King, 49, of Scottsdale, were charged by indictment with conspiracy, health care fraud, receiving kickbacks, and money laundering in connection with an alleged scheme to fraudulently bill Medicare $900 million for highly expensive amniotic allografts. The defendants targeted elderly Medicare patients, many of whom were terminally ill in hospice care, through their companies—Apex Mobile Medical LLC, Apex Medical LLC, Viking Medical Consultants LLC, and APX Mobile Medical LLC. The defendants caused unnecessary and extremely expensive amniotic grafts to be applied to these vulnerable patients’ wounds indiscriminately, without coordination with the patients’ treating physicians, without proper treatment for infection, to superficial wounds that did not need this treatment, and in sizes excessively larger than the wound. In just sixteen months, Medicare paid the defendants more than $600 million as a result of their fraud scheme, paying on average more than a million dollars per patient for these unnecessary grafts. The defendants received more than $330 million in illegal kickbacks from the graft distributor in exchange for purchasing and ordering the grafts billed to Medicare. Significant assets were seized upon the defendants’ arrests, including luxury vehicles, gold, and bank accounts totaling more than $70 million. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Shane Butland of the National Rapid Response Strike Force and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

Bethany Jameson, 53, of Gilbert, is charged by information with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the APX scheme. As alleged in the information, Jameson was paid by Apex Mobile Medical and APX to apply medically unnecessary allografts to Medicare beneficiaries that were procured through kickbacks and bribes. Between November 2022 and August 2023, Apex Mobile Medical and APX billed Medicare over $71 million for allografts applied by Jameson. Medicare paid over $49 million based on those false and fraudulent claims. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Shane Butland of the National Rapid Response Strike Force and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

Carlos Ching, 55, of Phoenix, is charged by information with conspiracy to commit health care fraud in connection with the APX scheme. As alleged in the information, Ching was paid by APX to apply medically unnecessary allografts to Medicare patients that were procured through kickbacks and bribes. Between June 2023 and January 2024, APX fraudulently billed Medicare over $87 million for allografts applied by Ching. Medicare paid APX over $65 million based on those false and fraudulent claims. And from January 2024 through March 2024, Ching, through his company H3 Medical Clinic LLC, billed Medicare over $5 million for allografts that he procured through kickbacks and bribes and applied to Medicare beneficiaries without medical necessity. Medicare paid over $4 million based on those false and fraudulent claims. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Shane Butland of the National Rapid Response Strike Force and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

Rita Anagho, 52, of San Tan Valley, was charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice in connection with an alleged $69 million scheme involving a substance abuse treatment clinic in Arizona. As alleged in the indictment, Anagho owned Tusa Integrated Clinic LLC (“Tusa”), an outpatient treatment center, which was purportedly in the business of providing addiction treatment services for persons suffering from alcohol and drug addiction. Tusa enrolled as a provider with Arizona’s Medicaid agency, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, and submitted false and fraudulent claims for services that were not provided, were not provided as billed, were so substandard that they failed to serve a treatment purpose, were not used as part of any treatment plan, and were medically unnecessary. Anagho also instructed former Tusa employees to create false therapy notes for sessions they did not conduct in 2023 after she was served with a subpoena for Tusa’s records as part of the government’s investigation of this fraud. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief James Hayes and Trial Attorney Sarah Edwards of the National Rapid Response Strike Force and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

Adam Mutwol, 45, of Tempe, and Daud Koleosho, 44, of Gilbert, were charged by separate informations with conspiracy to commit health care fraud in connection with an alleged $57 million substance abuse treatment fraud scheme. As alleged in the informations, Mutwol and Koleosho owned Community Hope Wellness Center LLC (“CHWC”), an outpatient treatment center, which was purportedly in the business of providing addiction treatment services for persons suffering from alcohol and drug addiction. CHWC enrolled as a provider with Arizona Medicaid. To obtain and retain patients for CHWC whose insurance could be billed for substance abuse treatment services, Mutwol and Koleosho offered and paid kickbacks and bribes to owners of residences that housed substance abuse treatment patients, in exchange for these residence owners referring patients for treatment to CHWC. Mutwol and Koleosho submitted $57 million of false and fraudulent claims to Arizona Medicaid for treatment services that were not provided, were not provided as billed, were not provided by qualified personnel, were so substandard that they failed to serve a treatment purpose, were not part of any treatment plan, and were medically unnecessary. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney S. Babu Kaza of the Midwest Strike Force, Assistant Chief James Hayes of the National Rapid Response Strike Force, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

A complaint, information, or indictment is merely an allegation.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The investigations in Arizona were conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG); and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS).  The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, and the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Fraud Section, are handling these prosecutions.
 

CASE NUMBERS:                 CR-24-01040-PHX-ROS
                                               CR-24-01068-PHX-DWL
                                               CR-24-01075-PHX-MTL
                                               CR-24-01044-PHX-MTL
                                               CR-24-01097-PHX-SPL
                                               CR-24-01098-PHX-MTL
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-085_ National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action
 

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TUCSON, Ariz. – Jose Castillo Hernandez, 40, of Richmond Hill, Georgia, was sentenced on Tuesday by United States District Judge Raner C. Collins to 27 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. On March 6, 2024, Castillo pleaded guilty to Cyberstalking.

Beginning in late 2017 through 2021, Castillo began to harass the victim - a co-worker - and the victim’s family by sending anonymous hateful messages and threats. His campaign of harassment included sending threats along with pictures of the victim to businesses patronized by the victim in multiple states. Castillo also placed a tracker on the victim’s car, and the messages escalated to detailed death threats.

The investigation was conducted by Fort Huachuca’s Criminal Investigations Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Carin C. Duryee, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:            CR 23-CR-01636-RCC
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-084_Castillo

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TUCSON, Ariz. – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona held its fifth United Against Hate event last week at the Jewish Community Center in Tucson. The event provided an opportunity for an informative and robust discussion with leaders from Southern Arizona’s Jewish community, local and federal law enforcement and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“Preventing hate crimes starts with education, understanding, and reporting hate-motivated incidents to law enforcement,” said United States Attorney Gary Restaino. “We are dedicated to the investigation and prosecution of those who commit hate crimes against our fellow community members due to their religious beliefs, and we are appreciative of the Southern Arizona Jewish community and its leaders for joining us in a meaningful, collaborative discussion.”

The event featured a panel discussion among community leaders, local law enforcement, and the U.S. Attorney. Over 150 invited guests, including community members, local leaders, and law enforcement, were in attendance. The event focused on establishing a dialogue between the community and law enforcement and on increasing community understanding and reporting of hate crimes and hate incidents. The discussion allowed attendees to hear directly from members of the local Jewish community, who shared their thoughts, concerns, and experiences with hate crimes and hate incidents.

This fifth United Against Hate event follows a previous meeting with the Jewish community in Scottsdale, and similar meetings between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and leaders of Arizona’s African American, LGBTQ+, and Hispanic communities. The District of Arizona will hold additional United Against Hate events in the coming months to engage with communities across the state. These events will further encourage collaboration, support hate crimes prevention efforts, and encourage more Arizonans to report hate crimes and hate incidents.
 

RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-083_United Against Hate Event

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PHOENIX, Ariz. – James Thomas Andrew McCarty, 21, of New Mexico, was sentenced last week to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to charges in two separate indictments relating to hoax calls that elicited police SWAT responses. 

With respect to the indictment originating from the District of Arizona, McCarty pleaded guilty on February 1, 2024, to making two hoax calls to high schools in Indiana and Oklahoma using the names of real students at the high schools he called. McCarty also pleaded guilty to two separate crimes of aggravated identity theft since he used the identity of an actual individual during these calls. On January 25, 2021, McCarty made repetitive hoax calls to two different high schools. In the first series of hoax calls to a high school in Indiana, McCarty called school officials representing that he was a student at the school, while using the real name of a student there, and that he was outside the school with an AR-15 rifle, a Glock handgun, and propane bottles ready to shoot at the school. In the second series of hoax calls about 20 minutes later to a high school in Oklahoma, McCarty called school officials representing that he was a student at the school, while using the real name of a student there, and that he was outside of the school with an AR-15 rifle, a Glock handgun, and propane tanks ready to shoot the propane tanks before coming into the school. McCarty also pleaded guilty to two hoax calls he made on April 16, 2021, and May 20, 2021. He used the name of the same homeowner in both calls, stating to police that he had killed his wife, would kill everyone, blow up the residence, and had four bombs planted outside of a retail location. McCarty was a resident of Kayenta and made all his calls while residing there.

With respect to the indictment originating from the Central District of California, McCarty pleaded guilty on February 1, 2024, to conspiracy by working with others to access Ring doorbell accounts. On November 13, 2020, McCarty made an unauthorized intrusion into a victim’s Ring doorbell account in Florida, called the police in that Florida community where the victim lived, and represented himself to be the victim’s husband who had just killed her, was holding a hostage, and had rigged explosives at the residence. McCarty then livestreamed the law enforcement response and posted a message that he thought it was funny. McCarty also made multiple calls to victims in California.

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Arizona and Los Angeles, California offices. Valuable assistance was provided by South Plainfield (New Jersey) Police Department, Snellville (Georgia) Police Department, Forsyth County (Georgia) Sheriff’s Office, Westfield (Indiana) Police Department, Vinita (Oklahoma) Police Department, and Parma (Ohio) Police Department. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, and the United States Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR 22-08133-PHX-SPL (Original District of Arizona Indictment)
                                      CR 24-00122-PHX-SPL (Originally Central District of CA—Rule 20)
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-082_McCarty

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TUCSON, Ariz. – Dennis Francis Kaleohano Kelly, 45, of Tucson, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps to 14 years in prison. Kelly pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Methamphetamine, Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, and International Money Laundering on November 17, 2023.

Between November 2020 and August 2021, Kelly supervised and directed several co-conspirators to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl on his behalf. Kelly personally mailed multiple packages of methamphetamine to Hawaii and New Mexico for further distribution, and wired thousands of dollars of drug proceeds to the source of supply in Mexico. Kelly was arrested in August 2021 after receiving approximately 10,000 fentanyl pills from a drug courier.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force operation. The OCDETF Strike Force Initiative identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorneys Ashley Culver and David Petermann, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR 21-02360-TUC-JGZ
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-081_Kelly

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TUCSON, Ariz. – Peter Vega, 38, of Rio Rico, was sentenced on June 11, 2024, by United States District Judge Raner C. Collins to 180 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Vega pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, and Conspiracy to Launder a Monetary Instrument on March 19, 2024.

Vega was the leader of a drug trafficking organization that distributed methamphetamine and fentanyl throughout the United States. Vega coordinated the shipment of methamphetamine on at least six occasions from Arizona to the eastern United States using the United States mail. He also coordinated the transportation of approximately 14 kilograms of fentanyl. In addition to shipping and transporting drugs, Vega coordinated the laundering of drug proceeds returning to Arizona by funneling money through multiple bank accounts held by third parties.

Search warrants served on Vega's house and cell phone revealed evidence of the crimes including drug packaging materials, photos, videos and chats. After being indicted, Vega fled to Mexico. U.S. and Mexican law enforcement located and apprehended Vega in Mexico in January 2023. The Government of Mexico then deported him back to the United States to face charges.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. This case also involves the OCDETF Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The Drug Enforcement Administration-Tucson Office OCDETF Strikeforce, including agents from United States Border Patrol, the United States Marshals Service and the Marana Police Department led the investigation. The IRS Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Postal Inspection Service also assisted as partner agencies on the investigation. The Government of Mexico assisted with locating and deporting the defendant. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR 18-00107-RCC
                                       CR 18-02467-RCC
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-080_Vega

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PHOENIX, Ariz. –Two defendants were sentenced by Senior United States District Judge David G. Campbell last week for their role in shooting at Hopi police officers while fleeing from tribal law enforcement. Ryan Adelbert Johnson, 39, of Dilkon, was sentenced to 209 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Mike Duffy, III, 41, of Ganado, was sentenced to 161 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

After a five-day jury trial in September 2023, Johnson and Duffy were each convicted of two counts of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon; Johnson also was convicted of Discharging a Firearm During a Crime of Violence; and Duffy also was convicted of Possession of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence.

In addition to the convictions at trial, Johnson and Duffy, who are convicted felons, both pleaded guilty to one count each of Felon in Possession of a Firearm.

On February 3, 2021, Johnson and Duffy were driving through the Hopi Indian Reservation when they ran a stop sign and nearly collided with a Hopi Law Enforcement Services (HLES) police vehicle. Johnson and Duffy then fled and refused repeated commands by law enforcement to pull over. While Duffy drove, Johnson used an AM-15 rifle to fire multiple shots at the pursuing officers, who narrowly avoided being hit. Johnson and Duffy are enrolled members of the Navajo Nation.

“Too often law enforcement is confronted with gun violence as a part of their duties,” said United States Attorney Gary Restaino. “This sentence sends a message that when the violence is directed at them, it will not be tolerated.”

“This shooting was without justification and threatened the lives of police officers who work every day to keep their community safe,” said Daniel Mayo, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Phoenix Field Office. “An attack like this has serious consequences as proven by the sentences handed down to the defendants.”

The Phoenix Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Hopi Law Enforcement Services conducted the investigation in this case, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Navajo Division of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alanna Kennedy and Christina Reid-Moore, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-22-08057-PCT-DGC
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-079_Duffy

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TUCSON, Ariz. – Nidal Awawdah, aka Kifah Dalia, 34, of Bakersfield, California (and formerly of Tucson), was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez to 14 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Awawdah pleaded guilty to one count of Bank Fraud on January 25, 2024.

From approximately December 2016 through August 2017, Awawdah established herself as a trusted resource to several Syrian refugees. Awawdah befriended the refugees, acted as a translator, and assisted them in establishing their new lives in the Tucson community. Awawdah then used her position of trust to defraud the victims. Awawdah gained access to the victims’ personal information and stole their identities. Awawdah opened credit card accounts in the victims’ names and made thousands of dollars in unauthorized purchases using the fraudulently obtained credit cards. Awawdah also used at least one stolen identity to unlawfully obtain student loans.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-22-01033-TUC-RM
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-077_Awawdah

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PHOENIX, Ariz. – Jonathan De La Riva-Lorenzo, 46, and Fernando Minkes-Rodriguez, 48, both undocumented noncitizens residing in Phoenix, were indicted last week by a federal grand jury in Phoenix. Each was charged with one count of Conspiracy to Commit Fraud in Connection with Production of Identification Documents and two counts of Aggravated Identity Theft, Aiding and Abetting.

The indictment alleges that De La Riva-Lorenzo and Minkes-Rodriguez conspired, produced, and possessed false identification documents that were made to appear to have been issued by the United States.

De La Riva-Lorenzo and Minkes-Rodriguez worked together to make fraudulent identity documents, including lawful permanent resident cards (“green cards”), social security cards and state identification cards for undocumented noncitizens. De La Riva-Lorenzo and Minkes-Rodriguez required their customers to provide their biographical information, along with a headshot, which was used in producing the documents.

On May 14, 2024, special agents with Homeland Security Investigations executed federal search warrants at several locations in Arizona associated with De La Riva-Lorenzo and Minkes-Rodriguez. Agents seized a multitude of fraudulently made documents, as well as supplies to make fraudulent documents, such as industrial printers, laminate, and ink cartridges. Additionally, multiple erroneous fraudulent identity documents were discovered in Minkes-Rodriguez’ garbage.

A conviction for Conspiracy to Commit Fraud in Connection with Production of Identification Documents carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release. A conviction for Aggravated Identity Theft, Aiding and Abetting carries a mandatory consecutive term of two years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release. 

An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation in this case. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sydney Yew and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Shaw, District of Arizona, Phoenix, are handling the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-24-1000-PHX-MTL
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-078_De La Riva

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PHOENIX, Ariz. – Edwin Alexey Gamboa, 20, of Phoenix, was indicted last week by a federal grand jury in Phoenix for: Illegal Receipt of a Firearm by a Person Under Indictment; Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl; and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Offense.

As alleged in the complaint and indictment, on the morning of June 2, 2024, officers from the Phoenix Police Department responded to a report of a vehicle partially blocking a city street. The officers observed a sleeping Gamboa and two firearms in the center console, and subsequently found approximately 409 counterfeit oxycodone tablets, which the Phoenix Crime Lab positively identified as fentanyl. Officers also found almost $2,000 in cash in Gamboa’s pocket. One of the firearms found in the vehicle, a Glock, 19X, 9mm pistol, had a machine gun conversion device affixed to it which, when test-fired, operated as a machinegun.

The indictment further alleges that Gamboa was on pretrial release for an earlier indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Tucson, in which Gamboa was charged with Smuggling Goods from the United States. As alleged in the complaint and indictment in that case, on February 4, 2024, Gamboa attempted to smuggle one empty Glock handgun magazine and 10 empty AK-47 style rifle magazines out of the United States and into Mexico via the Lukeville Port of Entry.

Convictions for the offenses alleged in the indictments carry the following penalties and fines:

Illegal Receipt of a Firearm by a Person Under Indictment carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.

Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl carries a punishment of between five to 40 years in prison, a fine of $5,000,000, or both.

Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Offense carries a punishment of between five years to life in prison, to be served consecutively to any other sentence, a fine of $250,000, or both.

Smuggling Goods from the United States carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.

An indictment and complaint are simply methods by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

In the Phoenix matter, the Phoenix Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Addison Owen is handling the prosecution. In the Tucson matter, Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Houston is handling the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBERS:         CR-24-0999-PHX-DWL
                                       CR-24-0922-TUC-RCC

RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-076_Gamboa

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TUCSON, Ariz. – Jesus Antonio Najar, 22, of Tucson, was indicted last week by a federal grand jury for: Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Cocaine; Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine; Use/Carrying of a Firearm During a Drug Crime; Possession of a Firearm with an Obliterated Serial Number; and Possession of an Unregistered Firearm, specifically a machinegun, a short-barreled rifle, and a silencer.

The indictment alleges that, on April 19, 2024, Tucson Police Department officers apprehended Najar after he was observed driving a stolen vehicle. During a search of the vehicle, officers found a drop in auto sear, a device exclusively used for converting a semi-automatic weapon into a fully automatic weapon. Officers also found an AR pistol with the manufacturer’s serial number obliterated, and silencers without serial numbers, none of which were registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

The indictment further alleges that, on October 12, 2023, Najar conspired to possess and did possess cocaine with the intent to distribute it, committed drug crimes while using and possessing three firearms, including a machine gun, and possessed a Glock 17 with a machinegun conversion device attached and not registered to him. In addition, Najar is alleged to have possessed an unregistered short-barrel rifle on December 11, 2023.

Convictions for the offenses alleged in the indictment carry the following penalties and fines:

            Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Cocaine and Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine each carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of        $1,000,000, or both, and a term of between three years and lifetime supervised release.

            Use/Carrying a Firearm During a Drug Crime carries a maximum penalty of life in prison a minimum of five years in prison, to be served consecutively to any other sentence, a fine of $250,000, or both, and a term of not more than five years supervised release.

            Use/Carrying a Firearm During a Drug Crime, where the firearm is a machinegun, carries the same penalties, but with a minimum penalty of no less than 30 years in prison.

            Possession of an Unregistered Firearm carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of $10,000, or both, and a maximum term of three years of supervised release.

            Possession of a Firearm with an Obliterated Serial Number carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both, and a maximum term of three years of supervised release.

An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and the Tucson Police Department conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julie Sottosanti and Adam Rossi, District of Arizona, Tucson, are handling the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-24-03292-SHR-LCK
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-075_Najar

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Today, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland marked the third anniversary of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), the highly successful national effort to investigate and prosecute human smuggling at the southern border, by convening senior leaders of the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and State to discuss their shared, ongoing work. Over the past three years, the work of JTFA has led to over 300 domestic and international arrests and over 240 convictions in the United States. Among other things, the meeting covered several new initiatives, including JTFA’s expansion to combat human smuggling in Colombia and Panama, which lie on either side of a region known as the Darién; a legislative proposal to increase penalties for the most prolific and dangerous human smugglers; and $8 million in rewards offers issued as part of the new Anti-Smuggling Rewards Initiative announced two weeks ago.

“Today, we are doubling down on our efforts to strike at the heart of where human smuggling networks operate,” said Attorney General Garland. “In the next phase of Joint Task Force Alpha’s work, we are expanding its regional focus, offering new financial rewards for information about key leaders of smuggling criminal organizations, and asking Congress to enact longer sentences for human smugglers. We will continue to work across the federal government to disrupt and dismantle the human smuggling networks that prey on vulnerable migrants and endanger our national security.”

“We are using every tool at our disposal to disrupt and dismantle the human smuggling networks that have spread misery throughout the Western Hemisphere,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “With today’s announcement, we are expanding our enforcement efforts to the Darién—among the most dangerous migrant crossings on Earth—and deploying rewards programs like the ones that have brought down drug kingpins to pursue human smugglers. To those who traffic human beings through the Darién, know this: the full force of the U.S. government is coming for you.” 

The Darién is a roadless stretch of mountainous jungle terrain connecting southern Panama with northern Colombia that forms the sole land bridge between Central America and South America. Its treacherous landscape has witnessed a surge in human smuggling as migrants cross it on foot, often exposing themselves to mortal danger at the hands of criminal smuggling organizations to do so. Organized criminals who control the route routinely target migrants—adults and children—for violent crimes, including murder, rape, and robbery, as well as extortion. Many migrants try to circumvent the land route by taking a sea voyage, which is just as dangerous. They risk death on this path, too, facing rough seas, overcrowding, rickety boats, and insufficient life vests.

“Countering human smuggling, and the ruthless criminal organizations that perpetrate it, is a law enforcement priority and critical to our homeland security,” said Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Kristie Canegallo. “The Department of Homeland Security and our partners across the Biden-Harris Administration are prioritizing combatting human smuggling with the coordinated efforts and innovation that this crime demands. The steps taken today to expand the scope of Joint Task Force Alpha will lead to more arrests, indictments, and convictions of traffickers; support our efforts to dismantle transnational criminal organizations; and help protect migrants from those looking to exploit them for financial gain.” 

The Attorney General was joined at today’s event by key partners in JTFA’s ongoing work, including Deputy Attorney General Monaco; Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Canegallo; Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Todd D. Robinson; Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Deputy Executive Associate Director Patrick McElwain of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Deputy Chief David S. BeMiller of U.S. Border Patrol; U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas; U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas; U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez for the District of New Mexico; U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino for the District of Arizona; and U.S. Attorney Tara K. McGrath for the Southern District of California.

When the Attorney General created JTFA in 2021, it focused on human smuggling organizations operating in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Since then, JTFA—led by the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecution Section, in close partnership with all five southwest border U.S. Attorneys’ Offices—has brought many major human smugglers to justice in the United States, including by obtaining years- or decades-long prison sentences. Expanding JTFA to Colombia and Panama recognizes those achievements and seeks to apply that same approach—using expert investigative, prosecutorial, and intelligence resources to target and aggressively pursue, disrupt, and dismantle human smuggling and trafficking networks—to achieve accountability and deterrence, with an unwavering focus on human safety, in Colombia and Panama.

JTFA’s expansion is another example of the Justice Department’s sustained focus on prosecuting human smuggling, following last week’s joint announcement with the Departments of Homeland Security and State regarding a new Anti-Smuggling Rewards Initiative, support for enhancements to the penalties for smuggling, and other efforts.

In addition, earlier today, the Department formally transmitted to Congress a new legislative proposal to increase penalties for the most prolific and dangerous human smugglers. The proposal, titled the “Deterring Human Smuggling and Harm to Victims Act of 2024,” would amend U.S. Sentencing Guideline 2L1.1, which governs human smuggling offenses, by creating steeper penalty tiers based on the number of people smuggled by the defendant; increasing penalties when the defendant’s conduct results in injury or death to more than one person; and ensuring defendants are subject to sentencing enhancements for sexual assault and other types of prohibited sexual conduct committed during the smuggling offense, even if that conduct occurred outside U.S. jurisdiction.

The State Department also announced today the first three awards under the Anti-Smuggling Rewards Initiative. These awards, which total up to $8 million, were discussed at today’s meeting by Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Robinson. These awards focus on human smuggling operations by the Clan del Golfo in the Darién, and offer: (1) Up to $2 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of any key leader of Clan del Golfo involved in human smuggling in the Darién; (2) Up to $1 million for information leading to the disruption of financial mechanisms of the Clan del Golfo to finance, sustain, or support human smuggling operations in the Darién; and (3) Up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of any key leader of Clan del Golfo involved in human smuggling in the Darién by encouraging and inducing aliens to enter the United States resulting in death, in violation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv) and 1324(a)(1)(B)(iv). Information in response to the reward offer can be shared with HSI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection by telephone at (866) 347-2423 (toll free) or online at www.ice.gov/tips. Individuals located outside of the United States, can contact the nearest U.S. Embassy/Consulate and all identities are kept strictly confidential.

Fact Sheet 

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) in June 2021 in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to strengthen the Justice Department’s efforts to combat prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking emanating from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico and impacting our border communities, with a particular focus on individuals and networks that abuse, exploit, or endanger those being smuggled, pose national security threats, or have links to transnational organized crime.

Since its creation in June 2021, JTFA has delivered significant results, including:

• 300+ domestic and international arrests, including against leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators;
• 240+ U.S. convictions;
• 170+ U.S. defendants sentenced, including significant jail sentences imposed;
• Substantial seizures and forfeiture of assets and contraband including hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, real property, vehicles, firearms and ammunition, and drugs; and
• Multiple indictments and precedent setting extraditions of foreign leadership targets.

Over the past three years, JTFA has successfully increased coordination and collaboration between the Justice Department, DHS, and with foreign law enforcement partners, targeted those organizations who have the most impact on the United States, and coordinated significant investigations, indictments, extraditions, and successful prosecution efforts both across the Southwest border and overseas.

Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Southern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, District of New Mexico, District of Arizona, and Southern District of California are detailed to JTFA to pursue its mission. Dedicated personnel and support is also provided by numerous components of the Justice Department that are part of JTFA, led by the Criminal Division's Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training; Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section; Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section; Office of Enforcement Operations; Office of International Affairs; and Violent Crime and Racketeering Section, along with the Executive Office for the U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA).

JTFA is made possible by substantial law enforcement investment from Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection, and Border Patrol, along with support from the FBI, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Air Marshals, and U.S. Coast Guard.

In December 2023, OCDETF announced the creation of a new strategic initiative to expand and further enhance targeting of TCOs and human smuggling and trafficking networks within its framework.

Press release announcing JTFA and readouts from national meetings

• Launch of JTFA (June 2021): Attorney General announces initiatives to combat human smuggling and trafficking and to fight corruption in Central America
• Washington, D.C. Summit (November 2021)
• San Diego Summit (June 2022)
• El Paso Summit (March 2023)
• Washington, D.C. Summit (December 2023)

Key cases

• United States v. Felipe Diego Alonzo, et al. (Western District of Texas)

  • U.S. and Guatemalan law enforcement coordination results in arrest of 19 members of human smuggling network, including four Guatemalan human smugglers wanted in the United States.

  • Justice Department announces first ever extraditions from Guatemala to the United States on human smuggling resulting in death charges.

  • Two Guatemalan defendants residing in Texas pleaded guilty to transporting and harboring illegal migrants for financial gain and resulting in death.

  • Four extradited defendants plead guilty and sentenced to nearly 70 years in prison in total.

• United States v. Ofelia Hernandez-Salas, et al. (District of Arizona)

  • Co-conspirators indicted for role in global human smuggling conspiracy.

  • Prolific Mexican smuggler arrested in Mexico and extradited pursuant to U.S. request.

• United States v. Maria Mendoza-Mendoza (District of Arizona)

  • First ever extradition from Honduras of prolific human smuggler.

• United States v. Erminia Serrano Piedra, et al. (Southern District of Texas

  • Eight indicted and arrested in a takedown of prolific human smuggling network.

  • Four indicted on charges of conspiracy to launder money.

  • Lead defendant and 10 others pleaded guilty to charges related to facilitation of illegal transportation and movement of hundreds of migrants within the United States and agree to over $2 million in forfeitures.

• United States v. Allison, et al. (Eastern District of Louisiana)

  • Eight defendants indicted for human smuggling and drug conspiracy offenses, and four convicted thus far, including lead defendant.

• United States v. Ronaldo Galindo Lopez-Escobar, et al. (District of New Mexico)

  • Ten indicted and six arrested in investigation of the Lopez Crime Family human smuggling organization operating in Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States.

• Operation Pollos Hermanos (District of Arizona)

  • Cooperation between United States and Mexico results in takedown operation to dismantle a prolific transnational human smuggling organization operating in Nogales, Sonora, along the U.S.-Mexico border.

  • Man pleaded guilty to operating Phoenix stash house and sentenced to 57 months in prison for conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal migrants for profit.

  • Woman pleaded guilty to transporting and harboring over 100 noncitizens.

  • Man pleaded guilty for role as coordinator for human smuggling organization in Nogales, Arizona.

  • Coordinator sentenced to 78 months in prison for role in conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal migrants for profit and illegal reentry.

  • Man sentenced to 46 months in prison for conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal migrants for profit.

  • Two men sentenced to 45 months in prison for roles in smuggling noncitizens to the United States.

• United States v. Victor Alfonso Soto Aguilar, et al. (Southern District of California)
  • Two defendant boat operators pleaded guilty for maritime smuggling resulting in the death of one passenger in La Jolla and sentenced to 71 and 60 months in prison.

• United States v. Gilberto Morales (Western District of Texas)

  • Jury finds defendant guilty at trial of criminal offenses, including conspiracy, transporting, and harboring noncitizens.

• United States v. Milon Miah (Southern District of Texas)

  • Defendant sentenced to 46 months in prison for role in smuggling noncitizens from Mexico to United States.

• United States v. Jose Luis Avalo, et al. (District of New Mexico)

  • Nine alleged human smugglers indicted in migrant smuggling organization.

• United States v. Jimenez-Bautista (Southern District of California)

  • Man pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a juvenile while smuggling group from Mexico to United States.

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Mark Adams Prieto, 58, of Prescott, was indicted by a federal grand jury today on Firearms Trafficking, Transfer of a Firearm for Use in a Hate Crime, and Possession of an Unregistered Firearm.

The indictment alleges that, between January 2024 and May 2024, Prieto had discussions with two individuals working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to devise a plan to commit a mass shooting of African Americans and other minorities to incite a race war prior to the 2024 United States Presidential Election. Prieto did not know the individuals were working with the government, but instead believed that they shared his racist beliefs and wanted to commit a mass shooting to incite a race war. The targeted event was a concert in Atlanta that was going to be held on May 14 and May 15, 2024.

The indictment further alleges that, having discussed specific details about the planned attack, Prieto sold two rifles to one of the individuals, an AK-style rifle on February 25, 2024, and an AR-style rifle on March 24, 2024. During the entire investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation closely monitored Prieto’s movements. On May 14, 2024, Prieto was stopped by law enforcement driving east from Arizona through New Mexico along Interstate 40. Prieto was in possession of seven firearms and was taken into federal custody. Law enforcement then executed a search warrant at his home in Prescott. Law enforcement found more firearms in his residence, including an unregistered short-barreled rifle.

Each conviction for Firearms Trafficking and Transfer of Firearm for Use in a Hate Crime carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. A conviction for Possession of an Unregistered Firearm carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.

An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Phoenix Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation in this case, with assistance from the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Albuquerque Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Office of Inspector General, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, and the Prescott Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, is handling the prosecution, along with the U.S Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, and the U.S. Department of Justice, National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-074_Prieto

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TUCSON, Ariz. – Alegria Pompeya Mendoza-Castro, 30, of Tucson, was sentenced on Tuesday by United States District Judge John C. Hinderaker to 60 months in prison. Mendoza-Castro pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl on November 16, 2023.

On April 20, 2023, Mendoza-Castro traveled from Mexico through the DeConcini Port of Entry in Nogales. During the inspection of her vehicle, approximately 453,000 fentanyl-laced pills and one kilogram of fentanyl powder were discovered in the spare tire. 

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force operation. The OCDETF Strike Force Initiative identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Assistant United States Attorney David Petermann, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR 23-00692-TUC-JCH
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-073_Mendoza-Castro

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PHOENIX, Ariz. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona has returned over $3.6 million in restitution to the victims of fraud perpetrated by Joseph Nicholas Gagliano.

Gagliano, an Arizona resident, was sentenced in October 2013 to 30 months in prison following his conviction on one count of Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud. U.S. v. Joseph Nicholas Gagliano, CR 12-00364-PHX-GMS. Gagliano obtained Small Business Administration (SBA)-backed loans and loan modifications by providing false information on the loan documents about his identity, assets, and liabilities. Gagliano defaulted on the loans, resulting in substantial losses to the lenders and the SBA. As part of his sentence, the court ordered Gagliano to pay over $3.6 million in restitution.

After identifying Gagliano’s commercial dealings and assets, the U.S. Attorney’s Office pursued enforcement using its statutory judgment collection tools. Due to those efforts, Gagliano agreed to a payment agreement and the Office collected Gagliano’s restitution obligation in full. As a result, Gagliano’s crime victims, including the taxpayer supported SBA, have received full compensation for the harm caused by Gagliano’s scheme.

This debt was collected by the U.S. Attorney’s Office Financial Litigation Program (“FLP”). The FLP is responsible for collecting criminal monetary penalties, including fines and restitution, owed to federal crime victims. The FLP works to identify debtors’ assets and income and uses both federal and state law remedies to enforce collection from debtors’ non-exempt property.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Rapp, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution and Assistant U.S. Attorney Vincent Creta, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the financial litigation.  
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR 12-00364-PHX-GMS
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-072-Gagliano

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A U.S. citizen will make his initial appearance in Fort Myers, Florida, today at 2 p.m. EDT following his extradition from Ukraine to the United States to face numerous charges in three federal districts relating to double homicide, armed robbery, false statements in a passport application, aggravated identity theft, and misuse of a passport in violation of conditions and restrictions, among other charges.

Craig Austin Lang, 34, of Surprise, Arizona, faces criminal charges in the Middle District of Florida, the Eastern District of North Carolina, and the District of Arizona.

“As alleged in the indictments, Craig Austin Lang went on an international crime spree that included a double murder in Florida, attempts to travel internationally to engage in other acts of violence outside the United States, and a plot to evade law enforcement detection by trading guns, a grenade, and cash to use another person’s identifying information to apply for a U.S. passport under an assumed name,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Lang’s alleged conduct is shocking in its scope and its callous disregard for human life. His wrongdoing, however, was no match for the efforts of dedicated law enforcement personnel and prosecutors in the United States and abroad to investigate, locate, arrest, and extradite Lang so he would face justice before courts in the United States.”

“The alleged conduct of Craig Austin Lang, which includes homicide and armed robbery, will not be tolerated by the FBI,” said Executive Assistant Director Timothy Langan of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch. “Individuals that engage in such activity must face the consequences of their actions. We would like to thank our partner law enforcement agencies for their efforts in ensuring that criminals face justice. If you cause harm to the American public, we will relentlessly pursue you even if you are located beyond our borders.”

Middle District of Florida

According to the superseding indictment returned in the Middle District of Florida in December 2019 and other court documents, Lang and a co-defendant, Alex Jared Zwiefelhofer, 27, of Bloomer, Wisconsin, allegedly murdered a couple from Brooksville, Florida, in 2018.

In 2017, Lang and Zwiefelhofer, both former soldiers in the U.S. Army, met in Ukraine, where Zwiefelhofer claimed they were both members of a volunteer battalion fighting Russian separatists. The pair allegedly also traveled to Kenya, where Zwiefelhofer claimed they intended to fight against terrorists, before attempting to enter South Sudan. They were allegedly detained by authorities in South Sudan and deported back to the United States, where they met up in Florida in April 2018.

The superseding indictment alleges that the Brooksville couple planned to purchase firearms that Lang and Zwiefelhofer had listed for sale on a website called “ARMSLIST.” Lang and Zwiefelhofer allegedly killed the couple in the course of an armed robbery to steal the $3,000 that the couple intended to use to buy the firearms. Lang and Zwiefelhofer allegedly robbed the victims to pay for travel to Venezuela, where the defendants planned to fight the Venezuelan regime. 

Lang and Zwiefelhofer are charged with violating the Neutrality Act, conspiracy to kill, kidnap, or maim persons in a foreign country, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, and conspiracy to discharge a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, as well as interference with commerce by robbery and use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence causing death. If convicted on all counts, Lang and Zwiefelhofer face a maximum penalty of life in prison. 

On March 8, a federal jury convicted Zwiefelhofer on all of the above charges. Zwiefelhofer is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 6.

The FBI and Lee County Sheriff’s Office are investigating this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jesus M. Casas and Michael V. Leeman for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting this case.

Eastern District of North Carolina

According to the indictment returned in the Eastern District of North Carolina in August 2019, Lang and his co-conspirators allegedly took various actions in September 2018 to evade law enforcement detection and minimize scrutiny when travelling internationally. They allegedly devised a plan to provide two co-conspirators’ identity documents to Lang and a fourth co-conspirator, Matthew Scott McCloud, for the purpose of applying for U.S. passports under assumed names. While in North Carolina, Lang allegedly submitted a U.S. passport application in the assumed name of one of his co-conspirators, Dameon Shae Adcock. Approximately two days later, Lang allegedly gave Adcock a suitcase containing multiple firearms, a military smoke grenade, and approximately $1,500 in cash as payment for use of Adcock’s personal information. Several days later, Lang and McCloud, who had applied for a U.S. passport using the identity of co-conspirator Jordan Dean Miller, allegedly acquired airline tickets to travel from Georgia to New York and then on to Ukraine.

“The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) is committed to working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other law enforcement agencies around the world to investigate and prosecute all allegations of criminal activity related to identity theft,” said Assistant Director Andrew Wroblewski of DSS Domestic Operations. “The strong relationship we enjoy with our domestic and overseas law enforcement partners is vital towards ensuring the integrity of U.S. travel documents and protecting greater U.S. interests.”

Lang was charged with conspiracy to commit passport fraud and aggravated identify theft, passport fraud, aggravated identity theft, fraud, and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents, and aiding and abetting these offenses, as well as false representation of a social security account number. Adcock, Miller, and McCloud were also charged in connection with the criminal scheme. If convicted, Lang faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison on the fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents charge.

Adcock pleaded guilty in November 2019 and was sentenced in September 2020 to two years and eight months in prison. McCloud pleaded guilty in April 2020 and was sentenced in July 2020 to time served. Miller pleaded guilty and was sentenced in May 2020 to one year of probation.

The DSS is investigating this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabe Diaz for the Eastern District of North Carolina is prosecuting this case.

District of Arizona

The indictment returned in the District of Arizona in June 2019 charges Lang with misuse of a passport for allegedly presenting a U.S. passport to Mexican authorities to obtain a Mexican visa, which was in violation of the conditions and restrictions contained on the passport. If convicted, Lang faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, or more under certain aggravating circumstances.

The FBI is investigating this case.

Trial Attorney and Co-Director of Joint Task Force Alpha James Hepburn and Trial Attorney and Director of the War Crimes Accountability Team Christian Levesque of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bridget Minder for the District of Arizona are prosecuting the case.

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Lang’s extradition from Ukraine occurred after the European Court of Human Rights recently rejected his claim challenging extradition under the European Convention on Human Rights.  

U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley for the Eastern District of North Carolina, and U.S. Attorney Gary M. Restaino for the District of Arizona joined in the announcement.

The FBI escorted Lang from Ukraine to the United States. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the FBI Tampa Field Office Fort Myers Resident Agency provided significant assistance in securing the arrest, extradition, and removal of Lang to the United States. The United States also thanks Ukrainian authorities for their valuable assistance.

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

TUCSON, Ariz. – Timothy Mikell Schultheis, 26, of Hilton Head, South Carolina, was sentenced on Tuesday by United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez to 27 years in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release. Schultheis also will have to register as a sex offender. Schultheis pleaded guilty to Transportation of a Minor with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity on January 10, 2024.

Schultheis, aka Jackson Oden, transported a 12-year-old minor, from Arizona to South Carolina, with the intent to engage in sexual activity. After using social media to meet and groom the minor, Schultheis drove from South Carolina to Safford to pick up the minor and drive her back to his South Carolina residence. The investigation revealed Facebook communications between the minor and then-24-year-old Schultheis, which included his travel plans and detailed his intention to participate in sexual conduct with her. When Schultheis was arrested at his apartment in South Carolina on March 30, 2022, the minor was found inside.

“Our efforts to protect the public start with safeguarding our youth from predators on social media” said United States Attorney Gary Restaino.  “Defendant will have a long time in custody to reflect on his crimes, and upon release decades from now, his supervised release conditions will restrict his use of smart phones and encryption technology to further protect the community.”

“This sentencing puts a stop to Timothy Schulthies and his repeated offenses. He can no longer hurt children or their families across the country,” said FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Akil Davis. “This case demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to follow the evidence wherever it leads. We will use all tools available to bring to justice those who seek to harm children. We are extremely grateful for the swift actions of our law enforcement partners who worked nonstop to locate and apprehend Schultheis.”

Schultheis had been previously arrested and released by South Carolina authorities for similar conduct involving a different 12-year-old and was wearing an ankle monitor at the time of his offense in this case. The plea agreement in this case required that Schultheis plead guilty to the South Carolina charges of Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor and Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Sierra Vista and the Graham County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carin Duryee, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-22-00973-TUC-RM
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-071_Schultheis

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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TUCSON, Ariz. – Maurice Fitzgerald Alexander, Jr., 33, of Memphis, Tennessee, was convicted last week by a federal jury of various counts involving Sex Trafficking of a Minor by Force, Fraud, or Coercion; Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking of a Minor Using Force, Fraud, or Coercion; Transportation with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity; and Production of Child Pornography. Alexander also faces an additional 10 years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other sentence of imprisonment, for committing these offenses while being required to register as a sex offender.

The guilty verdicts came after a three-day trial before United States District Judge James A. Soto. Alexander’s sentencing is set for August 14, 2024.

On October 4, 2021, officers from the Tucson Police Department responded to a 911 call from the victim and learned she had possibly been trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The investigation determined Alexander trafficked the victim, who was 14 years old at the time, through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado between August 19, 2021, and October 4, 2021. Homeland Security Investigations Special Agents and Task Force Officers later arrested Alexander in Tucson on October 21, 2021. In addition, a review of Alexander’s cellular phone showed that Alexander also forced the minor victim to create photos and videos depicting sexually explicit conduct that were later used in advertisements on social media and various other websites commonly used for prostitution.

A conviction for Sex Trafficking of a Minor by Force, Fraud, or Coercion carries a maximum penalty of up to life in prison, but no less than 15 years. A conviction for Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking of a Minor Using Force, Fraud, or Coercion carries a maximum penalty of up to life in prison. Transportation with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity carries a maximum penalty of up to life in prison, but no less than 10 years. A conviction for Production of Child Pornography carries a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison, but no less than 15 years.

This case was a joint investigation between the Tucson Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorneys Nathaniel J. Walters and Monica E. Ryan, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:           CR-21-02972-JAS-EJM
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-070_Alexander

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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The leader of a migrant smuggling organization was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for her role in smuggling over 100 migrants from Honduras to the United States for profit.

“Today’s sentencing is the latest example of the great work of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), which we launched nearly three years ago to hold accountable the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling groups, and which has obtained more than 240 convictions to date,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This defendant exploited vulnerable migrants for her own profit, risking their lives and our national security in the process. Together with our partners across the federal government, the Justice Department will continue our efforts to dismantle and disrupt human smuggling networks like those the defendant operated.”

“Today’s sentencing again highlights the extraordinary work being done by our Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel who, day in and day out, are relentless in their mission to disrupt and dismantle dangerous smuggling operations and to secure our border,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “This sentencing is a testament to the partnership and collaboration this Administration has strengthened across the federal enterprise, and with our allies in countries such as Honduras and Mexico, to crack down on criminal organizations. We will continue our work alongside our federal, state, and local partners to attack the ruthless smuggling operations that prey on the vulnerable and cause so much death and trauma.”

“Cooperation and collaboration are key tools in protecting America from the reach of international human smuggling organizations,” said U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino for the District of Arizona. “We thank Honduras for its willingness to extradite, the various local agencies who interdicted migrants and helped us make the connection to a larger organization, and all of the JTFA partners for dismantling a smuggling network.”

According to court documents, Maria Mendoza-Mendoza, also known as La Guera, 52, of Honduras, coordinated the movement of migrants from Honduras to the U.S.-Mexico border and to stash houses operated in Phoenix, Arizona, where the migrants would be detained until their smuggling fees were paid. The smuggling organization utilized funnel accounts to collect millions of dollars in smuggling fees. Mendoza-Mendoza exercised her authority within the organization to assess punitive sanctions—she threatened to “bleed out” a guide as punishment and demanded that a migrant whose family did not pay his smuggling fee be thrown “back in the desert.”

“Human smuggling is an insidious crime and one that this defendant participated in over 100 times—all for profit,” said Special Agent in Charge Fransisco B. Burrola of HSI Arizona. “Human smugglers do nothing but prey on vulnerable people who at times pay with their lives while crossing the border. Smugglers endanger and exploit people by using dangerous networks that threaten the safety of our communities and our national security; HSI is committed to combatting this type of cross border crime along with our partner law enforcement agencies. Let this sentencing serve as a warning to other smugglers contemplating their continued participation—prison awaits you.”

Mendoza-Mendoza was indicted in January 2018 and extradited from Honduras to the United States in June 2023. Mendoza-Mendoza pleaded guilty on Jan. 24 to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens for profit. 

This prosecution resulted from the coordinated efforts of JTFA, which was established by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in June 2021 to marshal the investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Justice Department, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to enhance U.S. enforcement efforts against the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. The task force focuses on disrupting and dismantling smuggling and trafficking networks that abuse, exploit, or endanger migrants, pose national security threats, and are involved in organized crime. Since its creation in June 2021, JTFA has achieved significant results, including 305 arrests, including against leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators; 242 U.S. convictions; 175 U.S. defendants sentenced, including significant jail sentences imposed; substantial seizures and forfeiture of assets and contraband, including hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, real property, vehicles, firearms and ammunition, and drugs; multiple indictments and successful extradition requests against foreign leadership targets.

HSI Sells Office investigated the case, with significant assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector and numerous state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the country. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Honduras to secure the arrest and extradition of Mendoza-Mendoza. The U.S. Marshals Service assisted with the extradition efforts.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for District of Arizona prosecuted the case.

TUCSON, Ariz. – Maria Mendoza-Mendoza aka “La Guera”, 52, of Honduras, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Raner C. Collins to 120 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Mendoza-Mendoza pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens for Profit. 

“Today’s sentencing is the latest example of the great work of Joint Task Force Alpha, which we launched nearly three years ago to hold accountable the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling groups, and which has obtained more than 240 convictions to date,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This defendant exploited vulnerable migrants for her own profit, risking their lives and our national security in the process. Together with our partners across the federal government, the Justice Department will continue our efforts to dismantle and disrupt human smuggling networks like those the defendant operated.”

“Cooperation and collaboration are key tools in protecting America from the reach of international human smuggling organizations,” said United States Attorney Gary Restaino. “We thank Honduras for its willingness to extradite, the various local agencies who interdicted migrants and helped us make the connection to a larger organization, and all of the Joint Task Force Alpha partners for dismantling a smuggling network.”

“Human smuggling is an insidious crime and one that this defendant participated in over 100 times – all for profit,” said Fransisco B. Burrola, special agent in charge for HSI Arizona. “Human smugglers do nothing but prey on vulnerable people who at times pay with their lives while crossing the border. Smugglers endanger and exploit people by using dangerous networks that threaten the safety of our communities and our national security; HSI is committed to combatting this type of cross border crime along with our partner law enforcement agencies. Let this sentencing serve as a warning to other smugglers contemplating their continued participation – prison awaits you.”

Mendoza-Mendoza was the leader of a smuggling organization that smuggled over 100 migrants from Honduras to the United States. As the leader, she coordinated the movement of migrants from Honduras to the United States/Mexico border and to stash houses operated in Phoenix, Arizona, where the migrants would be detained until their smuggling fees were paid. The organization utilized funnel accounts to collect millions of dollars in smuggling fees. Mendoza-Mendoza exercised her authority within the organization to assess punitive sanctions—she threatened to “bleed out” a guide as punishment and demanded that a migrant whose family did not pay his smuggling fee be thrown “back in the desert.”

Mendoza-Mendoza was indicted in January 2018 and extradited from Honduras to the United States in June 2023. In determining Mendoza-Mendoza’s sentence, Judge Collins found that the conspiracy involved several aggravating factors, including smuggling unaccompanied minors, possession of a firearm, intentionally or recklessly creating a substantial risk of death, and detaining migrants through coercion or threat in connection with a demand for payment.

This prosecution resulted from the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona is part of JTFA, which was established by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in June 2021 to marshal the investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Department of Justice, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to enhance U.S. enforcement efforts against the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. The Task Force focuses on disrupting and dismantling smuggling and trafficking networks that abuse, exploit, or endanger migrants, pose national security threats, and are involved in organized crime. Since its creation in June 2021, JTFA has achieved significant results, including 305 arrests, including against leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators; 242 U.S. convictions; 175 U.S. defendants sentenced, including significant jail sentences imposed; substantial seizures and forfeiture of assets and contraband, including hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, real property, vehicles, firearms and ammunition, and drugs; multiple indictments and successful extradition requests against foreign leadership targets.

Homeland Security Investigations – Sells Office conducted the investigation in this case, with significant assistance from Customs and Border Protection’s United States Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector, and numerous state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the country. The United States Marshals Service assisted with the extradition efforts. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Honduras to secure the arrest and extradition of Mendoza-Mendoza. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-18-0078-TUC-RCC
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-069_Mendoza-Mendoza

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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PHOENIX, Ariz. – Angel Valencia-Avendano, 20, of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, was sentenced last week by United States Chief District Judge G. Murray Snow to 84 months in prison. Valencia-Avendano pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl.

On March 6, 2023, Valencia-Avendano was arrested and charged with fentanyl trafficking. On that day, investigators were conducting surveillance in Phoenix near 78th Avenue and west McDowell Road. Valencia-Avendano was pulled over for a traffic violation and the vehicle was searched. In the duffle bag in the back of the car investigators found approximately 27 kilograms of pills containing fentanyl (approximately 280,000 pills). Investigators later searched Valencia-Avendano’s apartment, where they located a handgun, another 3 kilograms of fentanyl, as well as drug ledgers, and $83,500 in cash. Both the handgun and the cash were forfeited to the United States.

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan McCarthy, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:            CR-23-00397-PHX-GMS
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-068_Valencia-Avendano

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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