Central District of California

LOS ANGELES – A stock analyst and frequent guest on business television news channels was found guilty by a jury today for using his public platform to illicitly profit by manipulating stock market activity and trading opposite to the position he presented to the public.

Andrew Left, 55, formerly of Beverly Hills but who now resides in Boca Raton, Florida, was found guilty of one count of securities fraud scheme and 12 counts of securities fraud.

“Left used his TV appearances to disguise his intentions, manipulate the stock market, and pad his pockets,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “A fair and transparent securities market is a foundation of our nation’s financial system. We will continue to bring to justice individuals who abuse the public trust placed in financial advisors.”

“Frauds such as the one perpetrated by Left can erode investor confidence which impacts our capital markets” said Patrick Grandy, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office. “While this conviction cannot make up for the significant and emotional harm he inflicted upon his unwitting investors, it does send a message to those who may be looking to profit from similar schemes – think twice because the FBI has a proven track record of rooting out fraudsters who illegally tilt the playing field against honest investors and undermine confidence in our markets.” 

According to evidence presented at a 15-day trial, Left was a securities analyst, trader, and frequent guest commentator on business cable news channels such as CNBC, Fox Business, and Bloomberg Television. He also published under the name “Citron Research,” an online moniker he created as for his platform to publish investment recommendations. Citron’s online presence included a website and a social media account on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Using Citron’s online platform, Left commented on publicly traded companies and asserted that the market incorrectly valued the companies’ stock, advocating that the current price was too high or too low. 

Left’s recommendations often included an explicit or implicit representation about Citron’s trading position and a “target price,” which he represented as his own view of the security’s true future value. 

Left used his social media following and public platform to earn at least $21 million in quick profits by fraudulently manipulating the stock market from at least March 2018 to October 2023.

Knowing that Citron’s reputation with investors had the power to move markets, Left selected a publicly traded company about which he intended to publish commentary with the intention of manipulating its share price. Left prepared commentary about the company for dissemination through Citron. 

Sometimes, the commentary represented Left’s own work. Other times, Left disseminated as his own the commentary of third parties. The commentary routinely included sensationalized headlines and inflammatory language to maximize the immediate impact their publication would have on the stock market.

In the lead up to publication of Citron’s commentary, Left established long or short positions in a company in his trading accounts, so he profited by taking advantage of the intended short-term movement in the company’s share price caused by his commentary. To exploit his advanced knowledge of the timing and subject of the forthcoming commentary on the company, Left often built his positions using inexpensive, short-dated options contracts that expired the same day that he published his commentary.

Left also submitted limit orders to close his positions as soon as the company’s shares reached a certain price – often at prices vastly different from the target prices Citron’s commentary touted. Though Left represented to the public that his recommendations were to be trusted, behind the scenes, Left took opposite trading positions to reap quick profits off the stocks he either promoted or pilloried through Citron.

To maintain the illusion of Citron’s independence and the credibility of its commentary, Left concealed Citron’s financial relationships with hedge funds. According to the indictment, for example, Left lied to law enforcement that Citron “never” exchanged compensation with a hedge fund or coordinated trading with a hedge fund in advance of the issuance of its commentary.

For example, in November 2018, Left wrote a portfolio manager about Nvidia Corp., a publicly traded technology company based in Santa Clara, California. In the message, Left wrote, “Do you want to make some fast money[.] Put together a thesis why nvda is oversold . . . We can destroy it . . . Just read the analyst notes from this past quarter and assemble the best of the ideas.”

Later that morning, Left took financial positions in Nvidia, including short-dated call options that expired three days later. Short-dated options can offer quick profits if a stock suddenly moves in the narrow timeframe before expiration.

Left then promoted Nvidia as a favorable investment on Citron’s Twitter account, stating, “Citron buys $NVDA. This is the first time in 2 years stock offers an appealing risk-reward to investors . . . We see $165 before we see $120.” At the time, Nvidia’s stock was trading at approximately $143.64. The tweet was reported on by major media outlets.

Despite his representation that he expected Nvidia’s share price to rise to $165, less than two hours after announcing “Citron buys $NVDA,” Left sold all his pre-tweet positions Nvidia was trading within a range of approximately $150 – $151, for a profit of at least than $960,000. Nvidia closed at a high of $154 on the day of Left’s tweet and fell to $144 the next day.

Left also furthered his scheme by misrepresenting his trading positions during public appearances on news programs. After denouncing one company as a “fraud” on CNBC’s “Fast Money,” for example, Left falsely claimed to have covered only a “small size” of his position in the company’s stock when, earlier that same day, he had already closed out most of his position following the publication of commentary through Citron.

The jury acquitted Left of four counts of securities fraud for trades for four specific companies.

United States District Judge Virginia A. Phillips scheduled an August 31 sentencing hearing, at which time Left would face a statutory maximum sentence of 25 years in federal prison for the securities fraud scheme count, up to 20 years in federal prison for each count of securities fraud.

The FBI and the United States Postal Inspection Service investigated this matter, with substantial assistance from FINRA’s Criminal Prosecution Assistance Group.

Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew M. Roach of the Major Frauds Section and Benedetto L. Balding of the Transnational Organized Crime Section and Acting Assistant Chief Matthew Reilly of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting this case. 

The Justice Department's Criminal Division's Fraud Section uses the Victim Notification System (VNS) to provide victims with case information and updates related to this case. Victims with questions may contact the Fraud Section’s Victim Assistance Unit by calling the Victim Assistance phone line at (888) 549-3945 or by emailing victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov. To learn more about victims’ rights, please visit www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/victim-rights-derechos-de-las-v-ctimas. 

LOS ANGELES – A South Los Angeles man was sentenced today to 308 months in federal prison for committing the armed robbery of an armored truck in Hawthorne on St. Valentine’s Day in 2022, a heist in which more than $166,000 in cash and customer checks were stolen and a firearm was discharged after the truck’s driver was held on the ground at gunpoint.

Deneyvous Jayan Hobson, 39, of West Adams, was sentenced by United States District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha, who also ordered him to pay $166,640 in restitution.

At the conclusion of a six-day trial in November 2024, a jury found Hobson guilty of one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act), one count of Hobbs Act robbery, one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

On February 14, 2022, Hobson and co-defendant James Russell Davis, 37, also of West Adams, robbed a Sectran Security Services armored truck by ambushing the truck’s driver after the driver had finished servicing an ATM.

Three weeks prior to the robbery, Hobson and Davis cased the Wescom Credit Union in Hawthorne and observed a Sectran driver serving an ATM. During and before the robbery, Davis acted as a lookout and performed countersurveillance nearby.

On St. Valentine’s Day, at approximately the same time in the morning as their casing three weeks earlier, Hobson, traveling in a separate car from Davis, arrived at the credit union while the victim – identified in court documents as “J.G.” – was servicing the credit union’s ATMs.

Hobson and two other co-conspirators got out of their white Honda Accord, approached the victim, ordered him to the ground at gunpoint, and took J.G.’s service weapon, a .40-caliber handgun. Hobson and two co-conspirators stole approximately $166,640 in cash and checks from the Wescom Credit Union’s ATM. As Hobson and two accomplices returned to their car, one of the co-conspirators fired the 9mm semi-automatic handgun he was carrying. They then fled the scene.

The next day, Hobson attempted to sell for $800 via text the 9mm semi-automatic handgun he carried at the robbery, stating that the weapon was “not all the way bad it was just shot doing a get down,” according to court documents.

In October 2022, Hobson illegally possessed a 9mm pistol and 12 rounds of 9mm ammunition. Hobson was not permitted to possess the firearm or ammunition because his criminal history includes felony convictions in 2003 in Los Angeles Superior Court for robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.

Davis pleaded guilty in February 2024 to one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. In June 2024, Judge Aenlle-Rocha sentenced Davis to 166 months in federal prison and ordered him to pay $166,640 in restitution to Sectran Security Services. 

“The nature, circumstances, and seriousness of the offenses cannot be understated as [Hobson] violently robbed an innocent worker, forever changing that man’s life, and nearly killing him, all for money,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. 

The FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Inglewood Police Department, and the Hawthorne Police Department investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin J. Butler and Jena A. MacCabe of the Major Crimes Section, and Jason C. Pang of the Transnational and Organized Crime Section prosecuted this case.

A California man was sentenced yesterday to 65 months in prison for smuggling at least 1,700 reptiles into the United States from Mexico, Hong Kong, and elsewhere over a six-year period. 

Jose Manuel Perez, of Oxnard, pleaded guilty in August 2022 to one count of smuggling goods into the United States and one count of wildlife trafficking. From January 2016 to February 2022, Perez and other co-conspirators smuggled wildlife into the United States without obtaining the permits required by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and without declaring any wildlife imported into the United States.

Perez and his co-conspirators used social media to buy and to negotiate the terms of the sale and delivery of wildlife in the United States. The defendants advertised for sale on social media the animals smuggled from Mexico into the United States, posting photos and video that depicted the animals being collected from the wild.

For the animals smuggled from Mexico, Perez’s co-conspirators retrieved the wildlife — which included Yucatán box turtles, Mexican box turtles, baby crocodiles, and Mexican beaded lizards — from Cuidad Juárez International Airport in Mexico and eventually shipped the animals by car to El Paso, Texas. Perez paid his co-conspirators a “crossing fee” for each border crossing, the amount of which depended on the number of animals transported, the size of the package, and the risk of being detected by the authorities.

On other occasions, Perez and a co-conspirator traveled to Mexico to purchase live animals that had been taken from the wild so that the animals could be smuggled into the United States. Once the animals had been shipped to the United States, they were transported to Perez’s residence (which was originally in Missouri and then in California after he moved).

In total, Perez caused the illegal smuggling and importation of at least 1,700 animals with a fair market value of more than $739,000.

Prior to today’s sentencing, Jose Perez had been serving a nine-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in May 2023 to three counts of being a felon in possession of firearms. He is not legally permitted to possess firearms because his criminal record includes felony convictions in Ventura County Superior Court for street terrorism and assault with a deadly weapon.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli for the Central District of California, and Assistant Director Doug Ault of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Office of Law Enforcement made the announcement.

USFWS investigated the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, the ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Homeland Security Investigations provided substantial assistance.

Senior Trial Attorney Gary Donner of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew W. O’Brien and Juan M. Rodriguez for the Central District of California prosecuted the case.

LOS ANGELES – A convicted murderer, whom law enforcement believes is an active member of the 18th Street gang while being paid with City of Los Angeles funds to work as a “Peace Ambassador,” was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint charging him with illegally possessing two body armor plates near the city’s drug-and-crime-infested MacArthur Park.

Michael Angel Alvarez, 41, a.k.a. “Diablo,” of Westlake, is charged with possession of body armor by a violent felon.

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, Alvarez is a convicted gang murderer who represents himself as working for Healing Urban Barrios, a Lincoln Heights-based organization that contracted with the city for its Peace Ambassador program that is run in the city’s Council District 1, which includes MacArthur Park. He has represented himself as a member of that organization through clothing he wears. 

The Peace Ambassador program is described on a city website as “a new initiative to prevent violence before it starts and to support Angelenos in moments of crisis.”

Each Peace Ambassador team “consists of two unarmed workers who have lived experience in the justice or gang systems and are trained in violence prevention and trauma-informed care,” according to a city website. 

The city has agreed to appropriate $450,000 from its general fund between June 2024 and May 2027 “[t]o defray operation costs of expenditures incurred with the unique services provided by Healing Urban Barrios for their services provided as Peace Ambassadors,” court documents state.

Also, according to the agreement, the city may immediately terminate the contract if a Peace Ambassador is convicted of an “Act of Moral Turpitude,” including “crimes involving weapons.”

Healing Urban Barrios paid Alvarez a total of $58,156 in 2025.

Alvarez’s criminal history includes a 2002 conviction for first-degree murder for which he was sentenced to 50 years to life in state prison, but was released after serving 24 years’ imprisonment, and an April 2025 felony conviction for being a prisoner in possession of a weapon.

Law enforcement believes Alvarez is still involved in gang activity because of jailhouse telephone calls in which he discussed assaulting individuals for breaking gang rules. 

On May 18, two uniformed police officers responded to a call for backup related to a stolen vehicle investigation near MacArthur Park. As the officers were leaving, they noticed Alvarez standing on a corner looking at them and they believed he might be a wanted person.

Officers detained Alvarez, who later told them he was a “CRT,” which the officers believed was a reference to the Los Angeles Mayor’s Crisis Response Team. A search of Alvarez’s car resulted in the seizure of two body armor plates in the trunk. The plates are from Las Vegas and are marketed as “the highest protection level available on the civilian market,” the affidavit states.

A complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, Alvarez would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

The FBI is investigating this matter with the Los Angeles Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations providing assistance.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. The HSTF utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

Assistant United States Attorney Jena A. MacCabe of the Major Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – A Ventura County man who smuggled at least 1,700 reptiles from Mexico to the United States over a six-year period was sentenced today to 65 months in federal prison.

Jose Manuel Perez, 34, of Oxnard, was sentenced by United States District Judge Fernando M. Olguin.

Perez pleaded guilty in August 2022 to two counts of smuggling goods into the United States and one count of wildlife trafficking. 

From January 2016 and to February 2022, Perez and other co-conspirators smuggled wildlife into the United States from Mexico and elsewhere, including Hong Kong, without obtaining the permits required by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and without declaring any wildlife imported into the United States.

Perez and his co-conspirators used social media to buy and to negotiate the terms of the sale and delivery of wildlife in the United States. Perez advertised for sale on social media the animals smuggled from Mexico into the United States, posting photos and videos that depicted the animals being collected from the wild.

The animals – which included Yucatán box turtles, Mexican box turtles, baby crocodiles and Mexican beaded lizards – were imported into the United States from Mexico and Hong Kong without the permits required by CITES.

For the animals smuggled from Mexico, co-conspirators retrieved the wildlife from Cuidad Juárez International Airport in Mexico and eventually shipped the animals by car to El Paso, Texas. Perez paid his co-conspirators a “crossing fee” for each border crossing – the amount of which depended on the number of animals transported, the size of the package, and the risk of being detected by the authorities.

On other occasions, Perez and a co-conspirator traveled to Mexico to purchase additional live animals that had been taken from the wild so that the animals could be smuggled into the United States. Once the animals had been smuggled into the United States, they were transported to Perez’s then-residence in Missouri. But after he moved to California, the wildlife was transported to his residence in Ventura County.

In total, Perez caused the illegal smuggling and importation of at least 1,700 animals with a fair market value of more than $739,000.

Perez is serving a nine-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in May 2023 to three counts of being a felon in possession of firearms. He is not legally permitted to possess firearms because his criminal record includes felony convictions in Ventura County Superior Court for street terrorism and assault with a deadly weapon.

United States Fish and Wildlife Service investigated this matter. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Homeland Security Investigations provided substantial assistance.

Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew W. O’Brien of the Environmental Crimes and Consumer Protection Section and Juan M. Rodriguez of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, and Senior Trial Attorney Gary Donner of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section, prosecuted this case.

SANTA ANA, California – A Culver City restauranteur who owns a hospitality company that has developed restaurants and hotels in California, Tennessee, and Kentucky was sentenced today to 41 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining more than $4 million COVID-19 economic-relief loans.

Philip Frederick Camino, 46, was sentenced by United States District Judge Fred W. Slaughter, who also ordered him to pay $4,365,667 in restitution. At the conclusion of today’s hearing, Camino was remanded into federal custody.

Camino pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

During the spring of 2020, Congress created two federal programs to provide financial assistance to Americans and businesses suffering economic harm because of the COVID-19 pandemic: Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).

From April 2020 to April 2021, Camino, who owned several companies based in Hollywood, Westwood, Studio City, and Beverly Hills as well as in Arizona, submitted and caused to be submitted false and fraudulent applications to the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) and banks for PPP and EIDL loans.

In these applications, Camino made false statements, including inflating the number of employees, providing fictitious federal tax forms that were never filed with the IRS, and falsely certifying that the loan proceeds would be used for permissible business purposes.  In total, Camino submitted more than 20 fraudulent loan applications from which he obtained more than $4 million.

Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

Chief Assistant United States Attorney and Chief of the Criminal Division Jennifer L. Waier prosecuted this case.

LOS ANGELES – A Burbank man was sentenced today to 51 months in federal prison for evading the payment of more than $11.2 million in federal taxes by using a shill to illegally collect Medicare reimbursement payments made to his blood-testing company, and to fraudulently obtaining nearly $100,000 in taxpayer-funded COVID-19 business relief.

Armen Muradyan, 60, was sentenced by United States District Judge John A. Kronstadt, who also ordered him to pay $15,158,033 in restitution.

Muradyan pleaded guilty in August 2025 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of wire fraud, and one count of tax evasion.

Muradyan owned and operated a Burbank-based blood testing laboratory called Genex Laboratories Inc. Medicare and bank records showed that Medicare paid millions of dollars in reimbursements to Genex for blood testing. The reimbursements were wired to bank accounts in the name of an individual identified in court documents as “L.S.” – Muradyan’s long-time friend to whom Muradyan had offered to pay $2,000 per month to pretend to be Genex’s owner.

Muradyan told L.S. that he needed him to submit Medicare enrollment papers to Medicare on Genex’s behalf because Medicare had banned Muradyan from submitting claims.

L.S. and Muradyan opened bank accounts for Genex in L.S.’s name, but which Muradyan controlled. L.S. neither owned nor operated Genex and visited the company’s Burbank office to collect his $2,000 monthly payment and to sometimes sign documents at Muradyan’s direction. Muradyan used the proceeds from the health care fraud conspiracy to pay the mortgage on a property he owned as well as to support his gambling habit and to pay personal expenses.

For the tax years of 2015 through 2023, Muradyan instructed L.S. to report Genex’s financial activity on L.S.’s personal income tax returns using documents that L.S. provided to his own tax preparer. The documents purportedly showed that Genex had minimal net profit or was operating at a loss, meaning the company had little or no income tax liability.

For the same period, Muradyan submitted income tax returns that reported none of Genex’s financial activity as his own and that he averaged an income of $40,000 per year. In fact, Muradyan personally received and used millions of dollars in Medicare reimbursements to support his own expensive lifestyle.

Muradyan also did not file tax returns for the years 2021 through 2023.

In total, Muradyan’s unreported federal taxable income was approximately $23,915,762, resulting in a total federal income tax due and owing by him of approximately $11,236,356 plus prejudgment interest of $3,921,677.

In July 2020, Muradyan wired a false and fraudulent application for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) that was funded by federal taxpayers. On the application, Muradyan falsely stated that an entity, GenMed, employed multiple people and generated $800,000 in income for the year 2019. In fact, Muradyan knew GenMed employed no one and generated zero income for that year. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) wired $99,900 to a bank account Muradyan controlled. He then used the money for personal expenses not permitted under the terms of the EIDL. Muradyan admitted he acted with the intent to deceive and cheat the SBA.

IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Mark Aveis of the Major Frauds Section and Trial Attorney Mahana K. Weidler of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division prosecuted this case.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

LOS ANGELES – A San Fernando Valley man who was actor and author Matthew Perry’s live-in personal assistant was sentenced today to 41 months in federal prison for obtaining and repeatedly injecting Perry with ketamine, including the fatal dose that ended Perry’s life in October 2023.

Kenneth Iwamasa, 61, of Toluca Lake, was sentenced by United States District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett, who also fined him $10,000.

Iwamasa pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death and serious bodily injury. He is the fifth and final defendant to be sentenced in connection with Perry’s death.

According to court documents, Iwamasa knew Perry since 1992 and became his live-in personal assistant in 2022. In this role, he was paid $150,000 per year and had various responsibilities, including coordinating Perry’s medical care and ensuring that Perry took the medication that he was lawfully prescribed by treating physicians. 

Iwamasa is not a medical professional and has no expertise or training in that field. He also was aware of Perry’s long history of drug addiction. Prosecutors wrote in their sentencing position that “rather than help Mr. Perry maintain sobriety, [Iwamasa] became his enabler and drug supplier,” ultimately causing Mr. Perry’s death.

In September 2023 and continuing until Perry’s death on October 28, 2023, Iwamasa conspired with multiple people, including a physician, Salvador Plasencia, 44, a.k.a. “Dr. P,” of Santa Monica, and a drug counselor, Erik Fleming, 56, of Hawthorne, to knowingly and intentionally distribute ketamine to Perry.

Plasencia distributed 20 vials and multiple tablets of ketamine and syringes to Iwamasa and Perry and taught Iwamasa how to inject the ketamine into Perry, knowing that his conduct fell below the proper standard of medical care and that the ketamine transfers were not for a legitimate medical purpose. Plasencia charged a total of $57,000 for these efforts, even though the going price of ketamine was only approximately $15 per vial. Plasencia did not provide the ketamine that caused Perry’s death.

Iwamasa witnessed Plasencia inject Perry with a large dose of ketamine that caused the actor to “freeze up” and be unable to move or speak. Despite Plasencia stating, “Let’s not do that again,” Iwamasa already had begun arranging for a steady – and cheaper – supply of ketamine from Fleming, court documents state.

In October 2023, Iwamasa purchased 51 vials of ketamine from Fleming over the course of 11 days. Fleming obtained the ketamine from his drug source, Jasveen Sangha, 42, a.k.a. “Ketamine Queen,” of North Hollywood. 

Leading up to Perry’s death, Iwamasa repeatedly injected Perry with the ketamine that Sangha supplied to Fleming. During this period, Iwamasa witnessed Perry’s increasing addiction to ketamine. He found Perry unconscious at his residence on at least two occasions and witnessed an immediate adverse reaction following a ketamine injection where Perry froze up and was unable to talk or move. On October 28, 2023, Iwamasa injected Perry with at least three shots of Sangha’s ketamine, which caused Perry’s death.

On the day of Perry’s death, after Iwamasa called 911 to Perry’s residence, Los Angeles Police officers questioned him. When asked about what medications Perry was currently taking, Iwamasa provided a robust list of treating doctors and medications

Perry had been prescribed. Iwamasa, however, intentionally omitted ketamine from the list. When Iwamasa recounted the events leading up to Perry’s death, he provided a chronology that concealed the ketamine injections he had administered to Perry, including the third shot that Iwamasa administered just hours earlier, prior to Perry’s death.

Iwamasa also took steps to remove and destroy evidence related to Perry’s use of ketamine in the days leading up to the actor’s death. After doing so, Iwamasa contacted Fleming on the phone and told him that he had cleaned up the scene, including the ketamine bottles and syringes, and that he had “deleted everything,” according to court documents.

Sangha, Plasencia, and Fleming are serving federal prison sentences, respectively, of 15 years, 2½ years, and two years, after pleading guilty to federal narcotics charges. 

Mark Chavez, 55, a former San Diego physician, was ordered to serve a sentence of eight months of home detention, 300 hours of community service, and three years of probation. He pleaded guilty in October 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. Chavez operated a ketamine clinic and sold the drug to Plasencia, who then distributed it to Perry. 

Chavez surrendered his medical license in November 2024. Plasencia surrendered his medical license in September 2025.

The Los Angeles Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the United States Postal Inspection Service investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Ian V. Yanniello of the National Security Division and Haoxiaohan H. Cai of the Major Frauds Section prosecuted this case.

The Justice Department announced today that it has obtained an order forfeiting a luxury New York apartment purchased with funds misappropriated from 1MDB, a Malaysian Sovereign Wealth Fund, along with certain rental income. This action resolves a civil forfeiture case filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California seeking the recovery of over $6 million in assets associated with an international conspiracy to launder funds misappropriated from 1MDB. 

As alleged in civil forfeiture complaints filed in this case, billions of dollars in funds belonging to 1MDB were misappropriated from 2009 through 2015 by high-level officials of 1MDB and their associates, and Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, through a criminal scheme involving international money laundering and embezzlement. Millions of dollars in such misappropriated funds were then used to purchase a luxury condominium unit in New York City for the benefit of May Ling Catherine Tan (Tan), a personal assistant for Low, who also profited from this asset by retaining rental proceeds. Under the forfeiture order entered in this case, the condominium and rental proceeds held by Tan will be forfeited to the U.S. government.    

1MDB was created by the government of Malaysia to promote economic development in Malaysia through global partnerships and foreign direct investment. Its funds were intended to be used for improving the well-being of the Malaysian people. Instead, funds held by 1MDB and proceeds of bonds issued for and on behalf of 1MDB were misappropriated and spent by Low and his co-conspirators on a wide variety of extravagant items, including luxury homes and properties in Beverly Hills, California, New York, and London; a 300-foot superyacht; and fine art by Monet and Van Gogh. The funds also were sent into numerous business investments, including a boutique hotel in Beverly Hills, the movie production company that made “The Wolf of Wall Street,” the redevelopment of the Park Lane Hotel in Manhattan, and shares in EMI, the largest private music-rights holder. As alleged, other funds were provided to various public officials and co-conspirators.

Trial Attorney Barbara Levy of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section (MNF) is prosecuting the civil forfeiture case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, and the US Marshals. The FBI’s International Corruption Squad in New York is leading the investigation. 

MNF’s International Unit investigates and prosecutes cross-border money laundering schemes involving transnational criminal organizations, cartels, foreign official corruption and related money laundering affecting the U.S. financial system, and prosecutes criminal cases and civil forfeiture matters to recover the proceeds of those crimes.

Significant assistance has also been provided to the Justice Department over the course of its work in the investigations and civil and criminal litigation by the Attorney General’s Chambers of Malaysia, Royal Malaysian Police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority, U.K. National Crime Agency, Attorney General’s Chambers of the Territory of the British Virgin Islands, Attorney General’s Office of the Bailiwick of Guernsey and Guernsey Economic Crime Division, International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre, Attorney General’s Chambers of Singapore, Singapore Police Force — Commercial Affairs Division, Office of the Attorney General and Federal Office of Justice of Switzerland, judicial investigating authority of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Criminal Investigation Department of the Grand-Ducal Police of Luxembourg, Republic of Indonesia, Latvian authorities, and French authorities, including the Parquet National Financier and Agency for Management and Recovery of Seized and Confiscated Assets (AGRASC).

Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through the United States should contact federal law enforcement or send an email to tips.fbi.gov/.

LOS ANGELES – Today, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division filed a lawsuit against the University of California for its deliberate indifference to race and national origin discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students at its University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“Earlier this year, we sued UCLA for subjecting its Jewish and Israeli employees to an antisemitic hostile work environment,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Now, the Department of Justice calls UCLA to account for its toleration of the equally appalling hostile educational environment against its Jewish and Israeli students.”

“Universities have an obligation to maintain safe and inclusive campuses for all students,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. “Universities that violate our nation’s civil rights laws by repeatedly failing to shield Jewish students from antisemitism will be held accountable.”

After the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, antisemitic hatred against UCLA’s Jewish and Israeli students reached a point where students were physically assaulted, injured, excluded from campus, and deprived of educational opportunities because of their perceived Jewish or Israeli heritage. As alleged in the United States’ complaint, UCLA violated Title VI through its deliberate indifference to this pervasive on-campus antisemitism. 

UCLA also breached its funding contracts and grants with the United States by certifying the school’s compliance with its Title VI duties to protect all students from unlawful discrimination while allowing discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students to infect its campus.

UCLA’s tolerance of antisemitism reached a flash point in April 2024 when masked demonstrators erected an encampment outside of Royce Hall and slapped, kicked, beat with sticks, doused with pepper spray, and knocked unconscious Jewish and Israeli students. During this time, occupiers formed “human phalanxes” to block Jewish and Israeli students from entering academic buildings.

This lawsuit — filed in the Central District of California — stems from the Department’s investigation into reports of antisemitic incidents against students on UCLA’s campus and written findings concluding, in part, that UCLA failed to fulfill its legal obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in responding to those incidents.

Today, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division filed a lawsuit against the University of California for its deliberate indifference to race and national origin discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students at its University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“Earlier this year, we sued UCLA for subjecting its Jewish and Israeli employees to an antisemitic hostile work environment,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Now, the Department of Justice calls UCLA to account for its toleration of the equally appalling hostile educational environment against its Jewish and Israeli students.”

“Universities have an obligation to maintain safe and inclusive campuses for all students,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “Universities that violate our nation’s civil rights laws by repeatedly failing to shield Jewish students from antisemitism will be held accountable.”

After the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, antisemitic hatred against UCLA’s Jewish and Israeli students reached a point where students were physically assaulted, injured, excluded from campus, and deprived of educational opportunities because of their perceived Jewish or Israeli heritage. As alleged in the United States’ complaint, UCLA violated Title VI through its deliberate indifference to this pervasive on-campus antisemitism. UCLA also breached its funding contracts and grants with the United States by certifying the school’s compliance with its Title VI duties to protect all students from unlawful discrimination while allowing discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students to infect its campus.

UCLA’s tolerance of antisemitism reached a flash point in April 2024 when masked demonstrators erected an encampment outside of Royce Hall and slapped, kicked, beat with sticks, doused with pepper spray, and knocked unconscious Jewish and Israeli students. During this time, occupiers formed “human phalanxes” to block Jewish and Israeli students from entering academic buildings.

This lawsuit — filed in the Central District of California — stems from the Department’s investigation into reports of antisemitic incidents against students on UCLA’s campus and written findings concluding, in part, that UCLA failed to fulfill its legal obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in responding to those incidents.

LOS ANGELES – A Philippines man has been arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with smuggling 227 kilograms (500 pounds) of cocaine on an oil tanker inbound from Ecuador to El Segundo, narcotics that were intended to be delivered to a Mexican drug cartel, the Justice Department announced today.

Ceasar Tubay Gelacio, Jr., 43, of The Philippines, is charged with importation of a controlled substance. 

He was arrested Thursday, and he is scheduled to make his initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, earlier this month, law enforcement was notified that the Greek-owned and Liberian-flagged oil tanker Aquatravesia, whose last port of call was Ecuador, was inbound to the United States carrying kilogram quantities of drugs intended to be delivered to a Mexican cartel.

Crew members discovered numerous packages hidden inside the ship’s garbage room that contained suspected narcotics. The ship’s captain interviewed the crew and discovered that Gelacio possessed the drugs. The captain then secured the narcotics in a different room inside the ship.

The captain was informed that while the Aquatravesia was in Mexican waters, small naval crafts with armed Mexican cartel members would be waiting 80 nautical miles from the shore on the evening of May 14 and the early morning of May 15. If the drugs were not delivered at this time, additional crafts would be waiting in Mexican waters to board the oil tanker and recover the contraband. 

The captain also reported receiving what he believed were radio calls from the cartel attempting to hail the Aquatravesia prior to a boarding or takeover.

U.S. law enforcement directed the Aquatravesia to navigate the ship to the combined port of Los Angeles and Long Beach, where it would board the oil tanker. The ship anchored in the directed area on Thursday.

Once on board, law enforcement recovered approximately 227 kilograms of cocaine. Law enforcement learned that Gelacio possessed the cocaine inside the ship, had received the drugs in Ecuador, and intended to distribute them to another party while the boat was traveling past Mexico. 

A complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, Gelacio would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Coast Guard are investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Monika L. Hara of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – A Culver City man who worked for a nonprofit organization that distributes syringes to homeless drug users in Los Angeles and elsewhere was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint charging him with possessing fentanyl when police pulled him over while he drove a BMW near MacArthur Park earlier this month.

Christopher Barret Johnson, 42, is charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. 

Johnson once worked for People Assisting the Homeless (PATH), a nonprofit that offers services to homeless people including street outreach, interim and permanent housing. PATH also serves as a vendor distributing syringes, including in MacArthur Park, a sector of the city characterized by high rates of poverty with many of its residents and visitors being drug users.

Johnson is expected to make his initial appearance tomorrow afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, during the late evening of May 5, 2026, Los Angeles Police officers patrolled the MacArthur Park area, which is notorious for the use and sale illegal drugs, including methamphetamine and fentanyl, in open-air markets.

At approximately 10:20 p.m., the officers observed a white BMW lacking a front license plate abruptly conduct a U-turn in front of them. The officers then conducted a traffic stop on the BMW.

The vehicle’s sole occupant was Johnson, who “appeared very nervous,” the affidavit states. While speaking with Johnson, one of the officers observed in plain view on the BMW’s center console a plastic baggie containing methamphetamine. The officer also saw Johnson carrying two knives in his waistband. The officer then ordered Johnson out of the car. Johnson complied.

The officers conducted a pat-down search of Johnson and found a plastic baggie containing methamphetamine in Johnson’s left front trouser pocket. Officers also searched the BMW and located a partially opened backpack that contained more plastic baggies containing methamphetamine and fentanyl, a digital scale that had fentanyl residue on it, empty plastic baggies, and cash.

Also found inside the BMW was a dish soap container that contained additional plastic baggies containing fentanyl. The BMW’s center console also contained cash and a large amount of plastic baggies.

Subsequent laboratory analysis confirmed that the drugs seized from Johnson’s BMW and person included at least 142 grams of a substance that contained fentanyl and nearly 46 grams of methamphetamine.

A complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, Johnson would face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison.

This matter is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration Los Angeles Field Division’s Southern California Drug Task Force (SCDTF), a DEA-led multi-agency task force within the Los Angeles High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program, and the Los Angeles Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Jones of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.

A jury in the Central District of California convicted a California doctor yesterday in a $45 million scheme to defraud Medicare by submitting claims for Botox injections that were never provided and medically unnecessary, and for obstructing the investigation by manipulating and altering medical records in an attempt to mislead criminal investigators. The investigation was initiated as a result of a referral from the Health Care Fraud Section’s Data Analytics Team, after its analysis showed that the defendant was paid more by Medicare for Botox injections than any other doctor in the United States.

“Violetta Mailyan falsely diagnosed patients, fraudulently billed for Botox injections while she was actually on lavish vacations, and tried to trick federal agents with fake records,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “The Fraud Division’s data-driven approach will shine a light on fraud schemes across the country, ensuring that no doctor can engage in these types of brazen schemes to rob Medicare.”

“Let this conviction serve as a warning: anyone who leverages their medical authority to defraud Medicare will be caught and held accountable,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Scott J. Lampert of the Health and Human Servics Office of Inspector General (HHS‑OIG). “This defendant’s actions were a blatant betrayal of patients and the public trust. HHS‑OIG will stay relentless in protecting federal health care programs from those who seek to exploit them.”

“Physicians who defraud and manipulate federally funded health care programs to line their own pockets do so at the expense of American taxpayers and those who are in legitimate need of medical procedures,” said Assistant Director in Charge Patrick Grandy of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI is gratified that the jury convicted Dr. Mailyan based on the evidence, which uncovered the largest Botox fraud scheme in the United States, to include brazenly billing for someone who was incarcerated. Furthermore, the FBI is committed to pursuing physicians and others in the healthcare system who fleece Medicare and, in doing so, drive up premiums and co-payments for law-abiding citizens.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Violetta Mailyan, 45, of Glendale, owned and operated Healthy Way Medical Center, a clinic that purported to provide beauty and cosmetic services. Although Medicare reimburses medical providers for Botox injections when necessary to treat documented cases of chronic migraines, Mailyan billed and received payments for thousands of injections that were never provided or were provided only for cosmetic purposes or for patients whose primary care physicians had not referred them for treatment of chronic migraines. For example, the evidence at trial showed that Mailyan billed for providing Botox injections when she was actually on vacation in Cabo, Mexico; Maui, Hawaii; Las Vegas; Pennsylvania; and New York; billed for purportedly injecting a Medicare beneficiary who was actually incarcerated in federal prison at the time; and billed for thousands of injections, representing over $19 million, purportedly provided on days when her clinic was closed. The evidence also showed that Mailyan backdated some claims to bill for injections purportedly provided before the patients even contacted Mailyan’s clinic to request an appointment, and fabricated patient medical records, including patient consent forms, to make it appear as if patients suffered from chronic migraines and had received treatment for those migraines in her office.

In addition to the fraudulent billing, the evidence at trial showed that Mailyan actively sought to cover up her crimes when investigators were closing in. After receiving a grand jury subpoena seeking medical records, Mailyan altered patient records to make it appear as if she had provided Botox injections for chronic migraines when in fact those services had not been provided, and provided the altered documents to federal agents.

The evidence at trial showed that Mailyan used Medicare funds she obtained through the scheme to pay for her lavish vacations in Mexico, Hawaii, and elsewhere, and to purchase luxury collectible goods such as a $12,000 17th century crossbow and a $3,000 painting, depicted below:

This prosecution illustrates the success of the Department’s efforts to use advanced data analytics to detect health care fraud schemes and bring the perpetrators to justice. The Health Care Fraud Section’s Data Analytics Team identified Mailyan as an extreme outlier among doctors receiving Medicare payments for Botox, having at the time been paid more than $24 million over the previous four years — six times the next highest group of providers, all of whom were neurologists. As the investigation and evidence presented at trial showed, Mailyan’s outlier status owed entirely to her pervasive and long-running fraud scheme. 

Following the conviction, the jury also found that a Tesla Model X, a Tesla Cybertruck, $251,124  in funds contained in multiple bank accounts, brokerage accounts valued at $7,312,037 at the time of seizure, and four properties in Surfside and Glendale, California with combined estimated equity of $7,343,636, were proceeds of the fraud subject to forfeiture. The Cybertruck seized from Mailyan is shown below:

Mailyan was convicted of nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of obstruction of a criminal investigation of a health care offense. She is scheduled to be sentenced on September 10, 2026. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and 5 years in prison for each count of obstruction. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Trial Attorneys Sandor Callahan and Jeffrey A. Crapko of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case. FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Vavere of the Central District of California’s Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section is handling asset forfeiture matters.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the Fraud Division. The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

The Department of Justice’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in federal districts across the country, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion since 2007. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

LOS ANGELES – A Marina del Rey woman who worked as a longtime signature collector for ballot initiatives has been charged with paying individuals – including homeless people living in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles – to register to vote, the Justice Department announced today.

Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong, 64, a.k.a. “Anika,” is charged with one felony count of paying another person to register to vote, a federal charge that carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

Armstrong has agreed to plead guilty to the charge and is scheduled to make her initial appearance this morning in United States District Court in Santa Ana. She is expected to plead guilty in the coming weeks.

“False registrations undermine Americans’ faith in elections – even more so when payoffs are involved,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division. “This Justice Department is committed to ensuring that all U.S. elections are fair and free from illegal meddling – so that all Americans can accept the results with confidence.”

According to her plea agreement, for approximately 20 years, Armstrong periodically worked as a “petition circulator.” In that role, she was paid by individuals and entities – known as “coordinators” – to collect voter signatures on official petitions that qualify initiatives, referendums, and recalls for California state ballots. Armstrong drove around the Los Angeles area to find registered voters to sign the petitions.

After gathering enough signatures, Armstrong returned the petitions to her coordinators, who then paid her a set amount for each registered voter’s signature. The amount she was paid varied depending on the specific ballot initiative. Because her coordinators only paid for signatures attributable to registered voters, Armstrong endeavored to ensure the people who signed her petitions were registered voters.

Armstrong occasionally solicited petitioned signatures in Skid Row, an area of downtown Los Angeles notorious for its homelessness problem. Skid Row was a convenient place for Armstrong to collect signatures because of its high concentration of people in a relatively small area who were willing to sign petitions in exchange for payment. Armstrong regularly paid and offered to pay individuals cash, usually in amounts between $2 and $3, to induce them to sign her petitions. 

Many of Skid Row’s homeless population were not registered to vote. To ensure she maximized her pay from her coordinators, starting no later than 2025, Armstrong began offering payment to individuals not only to sign her petitions, but also to complete a voter registration form. Before going to Skid Row, Armstrong gathered a stack of voter registration forms from the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters.

Some homeless people did not have an address to put on the forms. On several occasions, Armstrong provided a homeless individual with her own former address in Los Angeles so they had something to write on the registration form. These registration forms simultaneously registered an individual to vote in California elections and in federal elections.

Because California automatically sends a vote-by-mail ballot to every registered voter, this also meant ballots in some homeless individuals’ names could have the potential to be sent to Armstrong’s former residence where the homeless individual did not live or collect mail.

On January 30, 2026, as part of her ongoing scheme, Armstrong knowingly and willfully paid another person to register to vote. She paid the person for the purpose of causing that person to register to vote in federal elections.

The FBI and investigators with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Wheat and Nandor Kiss of the Orange County Office are prosecuting this case. 

LOS ANGELES – A San Diego County man was arrested today on a federal grand jury indictment charging him with assaulting a Jewish man near a synagogue in the Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles, which was hosting an event to promote the purchase of real estate in Israel – an event protested by several pro-Palestinian groups.

Zaid Gitesatani, 28, of Carlsbad, is charged with one count of hate crime. He is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

“The defendant’s conduct, if proven, is a serious violation of the law – every American deserves to live without fear of violence based on who he is or how he worships,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to vigorously prosecuting such crimes of hate and violence.”

According to the indictment that a federal grand jury returned on May 5, a real estate agency known as “My Home in Israel” advertised an event scheduled for June 23, 2024, at the Adas Torah Synagogue in L.A.’s Pico-Robertson neighborhood. The event was to promote land for sale in Israel.

Several pro-Palestinian groups then planned for and advertised a protest to take place at this event. One of those groups advertised a protest to “stand against settler expansion.” Gitesatani traveled to Los Angeles to attend this protest. 

On the afternoon of the real estate event and protest, a Jewish man identified in the indictment as “Victim A” was walking his dog near the Adas Torah Synagogue when Gitesatani approached him from behind and punched him in the jaw, resulting in pain, redness, and swelling. After assaulting the victim, Gitesatani walked away and retreated into the crowd.

On the same day he assaulted Victim A, Gitesatani posted to his personal Instagram account a screenshot of his assault, a message that read, “Whooped the Zios today and we took their flag,” and two images of himself displaying his bruised knuckles following the assault.

In the two days following his assault on Victim A, Gitesatani had an exchange via Instagram with another user regarding the June 23, 2024, assault. Gitesatani wrote, “I whopped 2 zios,” “whooped,” “I swung good on them,” “It was satisfying,” and “I [sic] hand it [sic] numb from punching him so hard.”

Gitesatani also posted on Instagram a still image of his assault on Victim A with the caption, “The Chosen People sometimes need a good smack to wake up.

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

If convicted, Gitesatani would face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

The FBI is investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Laura A. Alexander of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section and Trial Attorney Erica O’Connell with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting this case.

A California woman who worked as a longtime signature collector for ballot initiatives has been charged with paying individuals – including homeless people living in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles – to register to vote.

“False registrations undermine Americans’ faith in elections – even more so when payoffs are involved,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This Justice Department is committed to ensuring that all U.S. elections are fair and free from illegal meddling – so that all Americans can accept the results with confidence.”

Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong, of Marina del Rey, California, 64, also known as “Anika,” is charged with one felony count of paying another person to register to vote, a federal charge that carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.

Armstrong has agreed to plead guilty to the charge and is scheduled to make her initial appearance this morning in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana. She is expected to plead guilty in the coming weeks.

According to her plea agreement, for approximately 20 years, Armstrong periodically worked as a “petition circulator.” In that role, she was paid by individuals and entities – known as “coordinators” – to collect voter signatures on official petitions that qualify initiatives, referendums, and recalls for California state ballots. Armstrong drove around the Los Angeles area to find registered voters to sign the petitions.

After gathering enough signatures, Armstrong returned the petitions to her coordinators, who then paid her a set amount for each registered voter’s signature. The amount she was paid varied depending on the specific ballot initiative. Because her coordinators only paid for signatures attributable to registered voters, Armstrong endeavored to ensure the people who signed her petitions were registered voters.

Armstrong occasionally solicited petitioned signatures in Skid Row, an area of downtown Los Angeles notorious for its homelessness problem. Skid Row was a convenient place for Armstrong to collect signatures because of its high concentration of people in a relatively small area who were willing to sign petitions in exchange for payment. Armstrong regularly paid and offered to pay individuals cash, usually in amounts between $2 and $3, to induce them to sign her petitions.

Many of Skid Row’s homeless population were not registered to vote. To ensure she maximized her pay from her coordinators, starting no later than 2025, Armstrong began offering payment to individuals not only to sign her petitions, but also to complete a voter registration form. Before going to Skid Row, Armstrong gathered a stack of voter registration forms from the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters.

Some homeless people did not have an address to put on the forms. On several occasions, Armstrong provided a homeless individual with her own former address in Los Angeles so they had something to write on the registration form. These registration forms simultaneously registered an individual to vote in California elections and in federal elections.

Because California automatically sends a vote-by-mail ballot to every registered voter, this also meant ballots in some homeless individuals’ names could have the potential to be sent to Armstrong’s former residence where the homeless individual did not live or collect mail.

On Jan. 30, as part of her ongoing scheme, Armstrong knowingly and willfully paid another person to register to vote. She paid the person for the purpose of causing that person to register to vote in federal elections.

The FBI and investigators with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California investigated this matter.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Wheat and Nandor Kiss for the Central District of California are prosecuting this case.

A San Diego County man was arrested today on a federal grand jury indictment charging him with assaulting a Jewish man near a synagogue in the Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles, which was hosting an event to promote the purchase of real estate in Israel – an event protested by several pro-Palestinian groups.

“The defendant’s conduct, if proven, is a serious violation of the law – every American deserves to live without fear of violence based on who he is or how he worships,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to vigorously prosecuting such crimes of hate and violence.”

Zaid Gitesatani, 28, of Carlsbad, California, is charged with one count of hate crime. He is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

According to the indictment that a federal grand jury returned on May 5, a real estate agency known as “My Home in Israel” advertised an event scheduled for June 23, 2024, at the Adas Torah Synagogue in Los Angeles’ Pico-Robertson neighborhood. The event was to promote land for sale in Israel.

Several pro-Palestinian groups then planned for and advertised a protest to take place at this event. One of those groups advertised a protest to “stand against settler expansion.” Gitesatani traveled to Los Angeles to attend this protest.

On the afternoon of the real estate event and protest, a Jewish man identified in the indictment as “Victim A” was walking his dog near the Adas Torah Synagogue when Gitesatani approached him from behind and punched him in the jaw, resulting in pain, redness, and swelling. After assaulting the victim, Gitesatani walked away and retreated into the crowd.

On the same day he assaulted Victim A, Gitesatani posted to his personal Instagram account a screenshot of his assault, a message that read, “Whooped the Zios today and we took their flag,” and two images of himself displaying his bruised knuckles following the assault.

In the two days following his assault on Victim A, Gitesatani had an exchange via Instagram with another user regarding the June 23, 2024, assault. Gitesatani wrote, “I whopped 2 zios,” “whooped,” “I swung good on them,” “It was satisfying,” and “I [sic] hand it [sic] numb from punching him so hard.”

Gitesatani also posted on Instagram a still image of his assault on Victim A with the caption, “The Chosen People sometimes need a good smack to wake up.”

If convicted, Gitesatani faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A U.S. District Court Judge would determine any sentence after considering the Sentencing Guidelines and other information.

The FBI is investigating this matter.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura A. Alexander for the Central District of California and Trial Attorney Erica O’Connell of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting this case.

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

LOS ANGELES – A Ventura County man pleaded guilty today to sex trafficking two minors two months after his release from California state prison, where he served time after being convicted of child sex crimes.

Kai Whitney Sommers, 38, of Ventura, and registered sex offender, pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking of minors. He has been in federal custody since June 2024.

According to his plea agreement and other court documents, Sommers was convicted and sentenced in September 2021 in Los Angeles Superior Court for statutory rape and lewd or lascivious acts with a child 14/15 years and offender 10+ years older. In that case, Sommers enticed a minor on an online chat room to make money as an escort. He then lured the victim to meet with him, took her to his house, and sexually assaulted the victim.

In June 2023, Sommers was released on post-release community supervision in Los Angeles County and later accepted for supervision in Ventura County. The supervision terms for Sommers include no access or possession of any digital devices that access the internet.

In August 2023, approximately two and half months after his release, Ventura County Probation conducted a search at Sommers’ residence and determined that he was in possession of digital devices that contained child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and during this same month had been in communication with a minor on a messaging platform geared toward teens.

During the review of Sommers devices, law enforcement identified a 16-year-old girl and a 14-year-old girl who met Sommers on the online platform. Sommers had requested he and the victims move the conversation to a secure application where he could entice and coerce the minors how to make extra money as escorts.

Sommers enticed one victim to produce CSAM and enticed the other victim to provide fully clothed images for him that, unknown to both victims, he then posted multiple commercial sex advertisements of each victim. The ads on an adult website depicted the victims as “18-year-old” escorts. Sommers also pretended to be the victims while he communicated with the potential adult clients. Sommers told the minors that if the clients asked how old they were, they had to say, “18.”

Sommers ultimately coerced one of the victims to meet with two adult men he found on the adult website and on both occasions a commercial sex act occurred in exchanged for money.

Sommers further admitted in his plea agreement to possessing in August 2023 a phone that contained nearly 150 visual depictions of CSAM. He also admitted to distributing CSAM.

United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton scheduled a September 24 sentencing hearing, at which time Sommers will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The FBI and the Ventura Police Department are investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Chelsea Norell of the Major Crimes Section is prosecuting this case. 

LOS ANGELES – A San Bernardino County man was sentenced today to 540 months in federal prison for sexually exploiting two teenage girls he met on Instagram, including by posing as a teenage boy to entice them into having a sexual relationship, and for bringing one victim from San Luis Obispo County to Mexico to engage in illicit sexual activity.

Daniel Navarro, 42, of Victorville, was sentenced by United States District Judge André Birotte, Jr., who also ordered him to pay $15,000 in restitution. Navarro has been in federal custody since July 2022.

At the conclusion of a four-day trial in July 2025, a jury found Navarro guilty of six felonies: two counts of sexual exploitation of a child to produce a sexually explicit visual depiction, one count of attempted enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, one count of transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, one count of distribution of child pornography, and one count of transportation of child pornography.

According to evidence presented at trial, from at least August 2021 until July 2022, Navarro used Instagram to entice two 14-year-old girls into believing he was “Danny,” a 15-year-old football player from California, using the handles “dn.2021.01” and “dn84831.” Navarro later groomed and enticed the victims into producing sexually explicit images of themselves.

From June 30, 2022, to July 1, 2022, Navarro traveled with one of the victims, an Arizona girl who was spending the summer in the San Luis Obispo County town of Nipomo, to Tijuana, Mexico, with the purpose of engaging in criminal sexual activity. 

According to court documents, Navarro had an online relationship with this victim for approximately five months. A review of one of Navarro’s Instagram accounts revealed conversations between Navarro and the victim on the victim’s Instagram account in which Navarro professed his love for the victim and discussed getting her pregnant.

Mexican law enforcement rescued this victim at a Tijuana residence in mid-July 2022.

“[Navarro] was a nearly-40-year-old man making empty promises to dozens of girls in pursuit of his own sexual gratification,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “[Navarro] lied to, groomed, and manipulated children to get what he wanted most from them: sexually explicit images and sex acts with these children.”

The FBI and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office investigated this matter. The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office provided substantial assistance. The FBI’s Legal Attaché in Mexico City and Mexican law enforcement authorities provided assistance during this investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kathy Yu, Chief of Ethics, Trials, and Compliance, and Kevin B. Reidy of the Major Frauds Section prosecuted this case.

LOS ANGELES – California-based companies Perfectus Aluminum Inc., Perfectus Aluminum Acquisitions LLC and four affiliated warehousing companies have agreed to pay a total of $549.5 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly and improperly evading, or conspiring to evade, antidumping and countervailing duties owed to the United States on aluminum extrusions imported from the People’s Republic of China (China).

“The President’s America First Trade Policy defends this country’s national and economic security and ensures compliance with trade laws, including the payment of tariffs intended to level the playing field for U.S. manufacturers,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Those who try to game the system harm American businesses and workers and will be brought to justice.”

“Unscrupulous, corrupt, and anti-competitive practices against American manufacturers will not be tolerated,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “Law enforcement will use all legal means to protect American taxpayers, workers, and businesses.”

“Consistent with the goals of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, this settlement reflects our commitment to hold accountable those who commit fraud on the government by withholding duties that are owed on imported goods,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “The Civil Division will continue to zealously pursue those who attempt to evade such duties and harm U.S. manufacturing jobs.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) played a pivotal role in this action, providing critical support through the Office of Trade, Office of Field Operations, Office of Finance, and Office of Chief Counsel. “Duty evasion is not a victimless crime; it hurts businesses that play by the rules and undermines U.S. economic security,” said CBP Office of Trade Executive Assistant Commissioner Susan S. Thomas.  “I am proud of CBP’s close collaboration with the Justice Department and Homeland Security Investigations, as we work together to protect the American economy.”

To enter goods into the United States, an importer must declare, among other things, the country of origin of the goods, the value of the goods, whether the goods are subject to duties, and the amount of duties owed. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) collects applicable duties, including antidumping and countervailing duties assessed by the Department of Commerce. Antidumping duties protect against foreign companies “dumping” products on U.S. markets at prices below cost, while countervailing duties offset foreign government subsidies. During the relevant time period, aluminum extrusions from China were subject to both antidumping and countervailing duties.

The settlement resolves civil allegations that, from July 2011 through June 2014, Defendants Perfectus, Perfectus Aluminum Acquisitions, and its affiliated warehousing companies 1001 Doubleday, LLC; Von-Karman Main Street, LLC; 10681 Production Avenue, LLC; and Scuderia Development, LLC (together, “Perfectus Defendants”) knowingly made, and caused others to make, false statements on Customs Form 7501 Entry Summaries that were material to obligations to pay duties owed to CBP on extruded aluminum.

The Perfectus Defendants knowingly and improperly avoided antidumping and countervailing duties owed on more than 2.2 million aluminum extrusions in the form of “pallets,” which they misrepresented to CBP as finished merchandise not subject to antidumping and countervailing duties.  The pallets were simply aluminum extrusions that were spot-welded together to make them appear to be functional pallets.  In fact, there were no customers for these pallets imported by the Defendants between 2011 and 2014, and no pallets were ever sold. On August 23, 2021, a jury in the Central District of California convicted the Perfectus Defendants of Conspiracy to Commit an Offense Against the United States or Defraud the United States, among other things. United States v. Perfectus Aluminum Inc., et al., No. 2:19-cr-00282-GK (C.D. Cal.).

The settlement with the Perfectus Defendants resolves civil lawsuits filed by relators Mike Rapport, Eric Shen, and the Aluminum Extruders Council under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and to share in a portion of the government’s recovery. The lawsuits were separately filed in the Central District of California and later consolidated under the caption United States ex rel. Rapport v. PengCheng Aluminum Enterprise Inc., et al., No. 5:15-cv-00712 (C.D. Cal.). As part of today’s resolution, the relator share will be 17.5 percent of the settlement proceeds that are returned to CBP.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, with assistance from CBP’s Office of Associate Chief Counsel, Los Angeles West Region.

This year the Administration launched the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division to enhance the Administration’s war on fraud, waste, and abuse in federal programs. When unscrupulous actors exploit these programs for their own financial gain, they defraud the government, harm the people these programs are designed to aid and protect, and undermine American businesses that play by the rules.  The Civil Division’s FCA enforcement plays a critical role in combatting such fraudulent schemes, recovering billions of dollars for the American taxpayers, and holding wrongdoers accountable. FCA matters will continue to be on the forefront of the battle against fraud, and the Civil Division’s FCA work will support and advance the mission of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division.

The Civil Division coordinated this action through the Department of Justice’s Trade Fraud Task Force, a cross-agency law enforcement effort. The Task Force was created to leverage all of the Department’s tools and authorities to prevent trade fraud that deprives the government of vital revenue, threatens critical domestic industries, undermines consumer confidence, and weakens national security.  The Task Force is designed to pursue enforcement actions against parties who seek to evade tariffs and other duties, as well as smugglers who seek to import prohibited goods into the American economy. The Justice Department encourages whistleblowers to alert the government to credible allegations of fraud, including utilizing the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act or through the Department’s Corporate Whistleblower Program at CorporateWhistleblower@usdoj.gov using the form available here.

Assistant United States Attorney Hunter B. Thomson for the Central District of California and Attorneys Jennifer Chorpening and Martha Glover of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Fraud Section, handled the case. 

California-based companies Perfectus Aluminum Inc., Perfectus Aluminum Acquisitions LLC and four affiliated warehousing companies have agreed to pay a total of $549.5 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly and improperly evading, or conspiring to evade, antidumping and countervailing duties owed to the United States on aluminum extrusions imported from the People’s Republic of China (China).

“The President’s America First Trade Policy defends this country’s national and economic security and ensures compliance with trade laws, including the payment of tariffs intended to level the playing field for U.S. manufacturers,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Those who try to game the system harm American businesses and workers and will be brought to justice.”

“Consistent with the goals of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, this settlement reflects our commitment to hold accountable those who commit fraud on the government by withholding duties that are owed on imported goods,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Civil Division will continue to zealously pursue those who attempt to evade such duties and harm U.S. manufacturing jobs.”

“Unscrupulous, corrupt, and anti-competitive practices against American manufacturers will not be tolerated,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “Law enforcement will use all legal means to protect American taxpayers, workers, and businesses.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) played a pivotal role in this action, providing critical support through the Office of Trade, Office of Field Operations, Office of Finance, and Office of Chief Counsel. “Duty evasion is not a victimless crime; it hurts businesses that play by the rules and undermines U.S. economic security,” said CBP Office of Trade Executive Assistant Commissioner Susan S. Thomas. “I am proud of CBP’s close collaboration with the Justice Department and Homeland Security Investigations, as we work together to protect the American economy.”

To enter goods into the United States, an importer must declare, among other things, the country of origin of the goods, the value of the goods, whether the goods are subject to duties, and the amount of duties owed. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) collects applicable duties, including antidumping and countervailing duties assessed by the Department of Commerce. Antidumping duties protect against foreign companies “dumping” products on U.S. markets at prices below cost, while countervailing duties offset foreign government subsidies. During the relevant time period, aluminum extrusions from China were subject to both antidumping and countervailing duties.

The settlement resolves civil allegations that, from July 2011 through June 2014, Defendants Perfectus, Perfectus Aluminum Acquisitions, and its affiliated warehousing companies 1001 Doubleday LLC, Von-Karman Main Street LLC, 10681 Production Avenue LLC, and Scuderia Development LLC (together, “Perfectus Defendants”) knowingly made, and caused others to make, false statements on Customs Form 7501 Entry Summaries that were material to obligations to pay duties owed to CBP on extruded aluminum.

The Perfectus Defendants knowingly and improperly avoided antidumping and countervailing duties owed on more than 2.2 million aluminum extrusions in the form of “pallets,” which they misrepresented to CBP as finished merchandise not subject to antidumping and countervailing duties. The pallets were simply aluminum extrusions that were spot-welded together to make them appear to be functional pallets. In fact, there were no customers for these pallets imported by the Defendants between 2011 and 2014, and no pallets were ever sold. On Aug. 23, 2021, a jury in the Central District of California convicted the Perfectus Defendants of Conspiracy to Commit an Offense Against the United States or Defraud the United States, among other things. United States v. Perfectus Aluminum Inc., et al., No. 2:19-cr-00282-GK (C.D. Cal.).

The settlement with the Perfectus Defendants resolves civil lawsuits filed by relators Mike Rapport, Eric Shen, and the Aluminum Extruders Council under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and to share in a portion of the government’s recovery. The lawsuits were separately filed in the Central District of California and later consolidated under the caption United States ex rel. Rapport v. PengCheng Aluminum Enterprise Inc., et al., No. 5:15-cv-00712 (C.D. Cal.). As part of today’s resolution, the relator share will be 17.5 percent of the settlement proceeds that are returned to CBP.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, with assistance from CBP’s Office of Associate Chief Counsel, Los Angeles West Region.

This year the Administration launched the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division to enhance the Administration’s war on fraud, waste, and abuse in federal programs. When unscrupulous actors exploit these programs for their own financial gain, they defraud the government, harm the people these programs are designed to aid and protect, and undermine American businesses that play by the rules. The Civil Division’s FCA enforcement plays a critical role in combatting such fraudulent schemes, recovering billions of dollars for the American taxpayers, and holding wrongdoers accountable. FCA matters will continue to be on the forefront of the battle against fraud, and the Civil Division’s FCA work will support and advance the mission of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division.

The Civil Division coordinated this action through the Department of Justice’s Trade Fraud Task Force, a cross-agency law enforcement effort. The Task Force was created to leverage all of the Department’s tools and authorities to prevent trade fraud that deprives the government of vital revenue, threatens critical domestic industries, undermines consumer confidence, and weakens national security. The Task Force is designed to pursue enforcement actions against parties who seek to evade tariffs and other duties, as well as smugglers who seek to import prohibited goods into the American economy. The Justice Department encourages whistleblowers to alert the government to credible allegations of fraud, including utilizing the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act or through the Department’s Corporate Whistleblower Program at CorporateWhistleblower@usdoj.gov using the form available here.

Attorneys Jennifer Chorpening and Martha Glover of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Hunter B. Thomson for the Central District of California handled the case.

The mayor of Arcadia, California, has been charged in federal court with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Justice Department announced today.

Eileen Wang, 58, of Arcadia, is charged via information with one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government.

In a related filing, Wang has agreed to plead guilty to the felony count, which comes with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

She is expected to make her initial appearance this afternoon in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Wang is expected to plead guilty in the coming weeks.

Wang was elected in November 2022 to the Arcadia City Council, a five-person governing body from which the mayor is selected on a rotating basis.

“Individuals elected to public office in the United States should act only for the people of the United States that they represent,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “It is deeply concerning that someone who previously received and executed directives from PRC government officials is now in a position of public trust at all, but particularly so because that relationship with that foreign government had never been disclosed.”

“Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “This plea agreement is the latest success in our determination to defend the homeland against China’s efforts to corrupt our institutions.”

“By her own admission, Eileen Wang secretly served the interests of the Chinese government,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “Let this serve as a clear warning: individuals who act on behalf of foreign governments to influence our democracy will be identified, investigated, and brought to justice. Protecting the rule of law and the transparency of our democratic process remains at the core of the FBI’s mission, and we will continue working alongside our partners to safeguard the integrity of our elections and keep hostile actors from undermining the voices of the American people.”

According to her plea agreement, from late 2020 through 2022, Wang and Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, California, worked at the direction and control of PRC government officials and coordinated with U.S.-based individuals to promote the PRC’s interests by, among other things, promoting pro-PRC propaganda in the United States. Sun is serving a four-year federal prison sentence after he pleaded guilty in October 2025 to acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.

Wang and Sun worked together to operate U.S. News Center, a website that purported to be a news source for the local Chinese American community. Wang and Sun received and executed directives from PRC government officials to post pro-PRC content on the website.

For example, in June 2021, a PRC official contacted Wang and other individuals via the WeChat encrypted messaging application with pre-written news articles, including a PRC official-written essay in the Los Angeles Times that stated: “China’s Stance on the Xinjiang Issue – There is no genocide in Xinjiang; there is no such thing as ‘forced labor’ in any production activity, including cotton production. Spreading such rumor to do defame China, destroy Xinjiang’s safety and stability, weaken local economy, suppress China’s development[.]”

Minutes later, Wang posted the article on her own website and responded to the PRC official with a link to the article on her website. The others in the group chat did the same. The PRC official responded: “So fast, thank you everyone.”

In August 2021, Wang and three other members of the same group chat shared links to the same article on their respective “news” websites, after which the PRC official thanked them for their “reporting.” At the PRC official’s request, Wang made edits to the article, sent the official a link to the article reflecting the requested change, then sent the official a screenshot showing the article had been viewed 15,128 times. In response, the official messaged, “Great!,” Wang replied, “Thank you leader.”

In November 2021, Wang communicated with John Chen, a high-level member of the PRC intelligence apparatus, who regularly attended elite Chinese Communist Party functions, including military parades, and met personally with PRC President Xi Jinping, according to court documents. Wang asked Chen to post a “news” article from her website, and wrote, “This is what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to send.”

Chen was sentenced in November 2024 to 20 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in the Southern District of New York to acting as an illegal agent of the PRC and conspiracy to bribe a public official.   

Wang admitted in her plea agreement that she did not notify the Attorney General that she was acting in the United States as an agent of the PRC, that she was located in the United States when she engaged in these acts, and that did she not disclose on her website that some of its content had been posted at the direction of members of the PRC government.

The FBI is investigating this matter.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda B. Elbogen for the Central District of California is prosecuting this case, with assistance from Trial Attorney Garrett Coyle of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section in the Department of Justice’s National Security Division. 

LOS ANGELES – The mayor of Arcadia has been charged in federal court with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Justice Department announced today.

Eileen Wang, 56, of Arcadia, is charged via information with one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government.

In a related filing, Wang has agreed to plead guilty to the felony count, which comes with a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

She is expected to make her initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Wang is expected to plead guilty in the coming weeks.

Wang was elected in November 2022 to the Arcadia City Council, a five-person governing body from which the mayor is selected on a rotating basis. 

“Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “This plea agreement is the latest success in our determination to defend the homeland against China’s efforts to corrupt our institutions.”

“Individuals elected to public office in the United States should act only for the people of the United States that they represent,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg.  “It is deeply concerning that someone who previously received and executed directives from PRC government officials is now in a position of public trust at all, but particularly so because that relationship with that foreign government had never been disclosed.”

“By her own admission, Eileen Wang secretly served the interests of the Chinese government,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “Let this serve as a clear warning: Individuals who act on behalf of foreign governments to influence our democracy will be identified, investigated, and brought to justice. Protecting the rule of law and the transparency of our democratic process remains at the core of the FBI’s mission, and we will continue working alongside our partners to safeguard the integrity of our elections and keep hostile actors from undermining the voices of the American people.”

"All Americans should be alarmed to learn an elected official was brazenly spreading propaganda on behalf of the Chinese government," said Patrick Grandy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. "The FBI is dedicated to rooting out those illegally acting as agents of a foreign government as they do the bidding of America’s adversaries." 

According to her plea agreement, from late 2020 through 2022, Wang and Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, worked at the direction and control of PRC government officials and coordinated with U.S.-based individuals to promote the PRC’s interests by, among other things, promoting pro-PRC propaganda in the United States.  Sun is serving a four-year federal prison sentence after he pleaded guilty in October 2025 to acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.

Wang and Sun worked together to operate U.S. News Center, a website that purported to be a news source for the local Chinese American community. Wang and Sun received and executed directives from PRC government officials to post pro-PRC content on the website.

For example, in June 2021, a PRC official contacted Wang and other individuals via the WeChat encrypted messaging application with pre-written news articles, including a PRC official-written essay in the Los Angeles Times that stated: “China’s Stance on the Xinjiang Issue – There is no genocide in Xinjiang; there is no such thing as ‘forced labor’ in any production activity, including cotton production. Spreading such rumor to do defame China, destroy Xinjiang’s safety and stability, weaken local economy, suppress China’s development[.]”

Minutes later, Wang posted the article on her own website and responded to the PRC official with a link to the article on her website. The others in the group chat did the same. The PRC official responded: “So fast, thank you everyone.”

In August 2021, Wang and three other members of the same group chat shared links to the same article on their respective “news” websites, after which the PRC official thanked them for their “reporting.” At the PRC official’s request, Wang made edits to the article, sent the official a link to the article reflecting the requested change, then sent the official a screenshot showing the article had been viewed 15,128 times. In response, the official messaged, “Great!,” Wang replied, “Thank you leader.”

In November 2021, Wang communicated with John Chen, a high-level member of the PRC intelligence apparatus, who regularly attended elite Chinese Communist Party functions, including military parades, and met personally with PRC President Xi Jinping, according to court documents. Wang asked Chen to post a “news” article from her website, and wrote, “This is what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to send.”

Chen was sentenced in November 2024 to 20 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in the Southern District of New York to acting as an illegal agent of the PRC and conspiracy to bribe a public official.  

Wang admitted in her plea agreement that she did not notify the Attorney General that she was acting in the United States as an agent of the PRC, that she was located in the United States when she engaged in these acts, and that did she not disclose on her website that some of its content had been posted at the direction of members of the PRC government.

The FBI is investigating this matter. 

Assistant United States Attorney Amanda B. Elbogen of the National Security Division is prosecuting this case, with assistance from Trial Attorney Garrett Coyle of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section in the Department of Justice’s National Security Division.

Serrano Kidney & Vascular Access Center, a physician practice based in Huntington Park, California, and physician Dr. Feliciano Serrano have agreed to pay more than $6.73 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims for medically unnecessary vascular interventional procedures on 20 Medicare beneficiaries.

“Physicians should not be performing and billing for unnecessary and excessive medical interventions. False documentation of symptoms compromises the integrity of our federal health care programs and the well-being of beneficiaries,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Physicians who place their own profit over patient needs will be held accountable.”

“False claims to Medicare and Medicaid cause millions of dollars in losses to the government,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill A. Essayli for the Central District of California. “This settlement sends a clear message to physicians that the United States will zealously pursue appropriate action against those who submit false claims for taxpayer funds.”

The United States alleged that from 2016 to 2024, Dr. Serrano performed medically unnecessary dialysis access interventions, including angioplasty and stent procedures, on 18 patients, purportedly to treat stenosis in patients’ dialysis segments. Dr. Serrano scheduled interventions on a routine basis, without waiting for complications to present, and he frequently repeated procedures on patients every few days or weeks despite that the procedures were not effective and did not result in any clinical benefit.  One Medicare patient received approximately 42 stents in the dialysis segment between 2016 and 2023, including during a period when Dr. Serrano informed the patient he did not need dialysis.

The United States also alleged that from 2019 to 2024, Dr. Serrano performed medically unnecessary peripheral artery disease interventions, including stent and atherectomy procedures, on 17 patients, purportedly to treat stenosis in patients’ legs. Dr. Serrano performed interventions on patients who had only mild or no stenosis and who had only minor symptoms. Although patients complained of pain only in one leg, he performed procedures on both legs and then repeated procedures on both legs every few months. Dr. Serrano told patients that if they did not receive the procedure, their legs would need to be amputated, when, in fact, there was little risk of amputation for mildly symptomatic peripheral artery disease. One Medicare patient received approximately 16 atherectomies in his legs between 2019 and 2023.

The United States alleged that across both categories of procedures, Dr. Serrano performed interventional procedures on vessels that did not qualify for treatment under accepted standards of medical practice; overstated the degree of stenosis to make the procedures appear to meet generally recognized medical standards when, in fact, they did not; falsely documented patient symptoms and conservative therapy measures in medical records to justify the procedures; and performed procedures in excess of accepted standards of medical practice.

As a result of the settlements, Dr. Serrano will pay nearly $6.51 million to the United States and nearly $229,000 to the State of California.

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought by Lincoln Analytics Inc. under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Under the act, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States and State of California ex rel. Lincoln Analytics Inc. v. Dr. Feliciano Serrano, et al., Civil Action No. 23-cv-04178 (C.D. Cal.). Lincoln Analytics Inc. will receive approximately $976,000 as its share of the federal recovery.

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

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

This year the Administration launched the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division to enhance the Administration’s war on fraud, waste, and abuse in federal programs. When unscrupulous actors exploit these programs for their own financial gain, they defraud the government, harm the people these programs are designed to aid and protect, and undermine American businesses that play by the rules. The Civil Division’s FCA enforcement plays a critical role in combatting such fraudulent schemes, recovering billions of dollars for the American taxpayers, and holding wrongdoers accountable. FCA matters will continue to be on the forefront of the battle against fraud, and the Civil Division’s FCA work will support and advance the mission of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division.

Trial Attorney Tiffany L. Ho of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Paik for the Central District of California handled this case.

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

LOS ANGELES – Eighteen defendants, including two people law enforcement believes are the main sources of fentanyl and methamphetamine in Los Angeles’s gang- and drug-infested MacArthur Park, have been arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging them with a federal drug trafficking offense, the Justice Department announced today.

The complaint charges 25 defendants with possession with the intent to distribute, and distribution of, a controlled substance. 

At one defendant’s Calabasas residence, law enforcement seized approximately 18 kilograms (40 pounds) of fentanyl.

The defendants arrested today are expected to make their initial appearances tomorrow afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Seven defendants are considered fugitives.

“Today, we begin reclaiming MacArthur Park from criminals and drug addicts to return this public space to the citizens of Los Angeles,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “Together with our federal and local law enforcement partners, we are executing multiple arrest and search warrants targeting those who are distributing drugs in and around the park.”

“For far too long, MacArthur Park has been plagued by drug addiction, crime, and despair,” said Anthony Chrysanthis, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Los Angeles Field Division. “Today’s operation is only one step, taken by a handful of agencies working hard to alleviate the anguish and sense of hopelessness burdening MacArthur Park, local businesses, and the surrounding neighborhood. While this is a drug enforcement operation, it is also an effort to restore safety and wellness, and to return MacArthur Park back to the community.”

“Today’s operation shows the strength of our partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration,” said Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell. “We witnessed drug activity return to MacArthur Park, and our teams acted quickly to disrupt both the dealers and the suppliers behind them. Fentanyl remains one of the most dangerous threats to our community, and we are committed to keeping it off our streets. We will remain relentless, alongside our federal partners, in protecting the people of Los Angeles from dangerous drug activity.”     

MacArthur Park, located west of downtown Los Angeles, is an area of the city characterized by high rates of poverty and homelessness. Many of the homeless in that area are drug users, and the park itself is a known location for drug users to purchase narcotics, including fentanyl and methamphetamine. It is surrounded by a densely populated, tightly packed area of apartments, offices, shops and other businesses.

The park and the immediate surrounding area are part of heavily contested gang territory. MacArthur Park’s northern area is considered territory of the 18th Street Gang, while the area of the park south of Wilshire Boulevard is considered territory of the Crazy Riders Gang, and territory considered belonging to Mara Salvatrucha, a.k.a. “MS-13,” is immediately west of the park.

The complaint’s affidavit alleges that Mallaly Moreno-Lopez, 31, and her boyfriend, Jackson Tarfur, 28, both of the Westmont area of South Los Angeles, “serve as the, if not one of the main sources of supply of fentanyl powder and methamphetamine distributed in the Alvarado Corridor and MacArthur Park, generally on behalf of the 18th Street Gang.”

Moreno-Lopez and Tarfur hand-delivered narcotics to the Alvarado Corridor near MacArthur Park for stashing in storefronts and subsequent distribution to street-level drug dealers. Moreno-Lopez and Tarfur use their Westmont residence as a stash location for illegal drugs prior to delivering them to MacArthur Park. 

Law enforcement also identified Yolanda Iriarte-Avila, 40, of Calabasas, as a source of supply of methamphetamine for Moreno-Lopez, via Iriarte-Avila’s boyfriend, Jesus Morales-Landel, 33, of the Exposition Park area of South Los Angeles, who is a street-level drug dealer in the MacArthur Park area. Iriarte-Avila uses her residence as a stash location for subsequent drug distribution.

The complaint affidavit further alleges 27 separate drug deals of fentanyl and methamphetamine from March 9 to April 15 in and around the MacArthur Park area.

A complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, Moreno-Lopez, Tarfur, Iriarte-Avila, and Morales-Landel would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The remaining defendants each would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

This matter is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration Los Angeles Field Division’s Southern California Drug Task Force (SCDTF), a DEA-led multi-agency task force within the Los Angeles High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program, and the Los Angeles Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorneys Lauren E. Border and Joshua J. Lee of the Transnational Organized Crime Section are prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – A Long Beach man who possessed a Molotov cocktail during an anti-immigration enforcement protest in downtown Los Angeles last year was sentenced today to 30 months in federal prison.

Wrackkie Quiogue, 28, was sentenced by United States District Judge Anne Hwang. 

Quiogue pleaded guilty in November 2025 to one count of possession of an unregistered destructive device. He has been in federal custody since June 2025.

In June 2025, federal law enforcement officials began conducting immigration enforcement operations throughout the greater Los Angeles area. During and following those operations, protests occurred in and around Los Angeles County. While many of the protestors peacefully exercised their First Amendment rights, some individuals directly engaged in violent actions to obstruct, impede, or injure law enforcement officers.

One such protest that turned violent occurred on June 8, 2025, in the Civic Center area of downtown Los Angeles. Members of the crowd threw rocks and bottles at law enforcement officials. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) declared an unlawful assembly. 

One police officer witnessed Quiogue possessing a Molotov cocktail. The glass bottle he held contained a flammable liquid (ethanol) and a source of ignition, namely a yellow piece of cloth soaked in ethanol, which acted as a wick. 

Fearing that Quiogue would light the Molotov cocktail and throw it at the officers, police approached Quiogue, causing him to attempt to flee. As the LAPD officers pursued him, Quiogue threw the unlit Molotov cocktail into the air. LAPD officers subdued and arrested Quiogue, who was holding a lighter in his right hand.

Quiogue admitted to knowingly possessing the destructive device and that he had not registered it with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record as required by federal law.

“Unlike many of the individuals in the crowd, who were gathered to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights and protest immigration enforcement operations, [Quiogue] came prepared to instigate violence and inflict harm on the law enforcement officers assigned to protect the Roybal Federal Building,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “[Quiogue]’s premeditated actions endangered the law enforcement officers protecting Roybal Federal Building and the civilians who gathered to peacefully protest.”

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

Assistant United States Attorney David C. Lachman of the Major Frauds Section prosecuted this case.

LOS ANGELES – The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has completed a year-long investigation into the admissions policies and practices at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

The Department uncovered evidence that UCLA’s leadership intentionally selected applicants based on their race. Documents reviewed by the Division reveal that UCLA adheres to the dubious contention that patients receive the best care when treated by a doctor of the same race, rather than by the most qualified.

“UCLA’s admissions process has been focused on racial demographics at the expense of merit and excellence — allowing racial politics to distract the school from the vital work of training great doctors.” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Racism in admissions is both illegal and anti-American, and this Department will not allow it to continue.”

“Federal law and the Supreme Court precedent are clear: Race discrimination has no place in our nation’s institutions of higher learning,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “The pattern of illegal and odious conduct by UCLA’s medical school is abhorrent to our Constitution and our nation’s founding principles.”

The investigation showed that, on average, admitted black and Hispanic applicants had consistently lower academic qualifications than their white and Asian counterparts. These facts support the Department’s finding that UCLA violated the law by intentionally discriminating based on race in its admissions selections.

Medical schools use substantial federal financial assistance to train the next generation of doctors. The Department is continuing its focus on eradicating illegal race politics from admissions at medical schools, where quality and excellence are vitally important.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has completed a year-long investigation into the admissions policies and practices at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

The Department uncovered evidence that UCLA’s leadership intentionally selected applicants based on their race. Documents reviewed by the Division reveal that UCLA adheres to the dubious contention that patients receive the best care when treated by a doctor of the same race, rather than by the most qualified.

“UCLA’s admissions process has been focused on racial demographics at the expense of merit and excellence — allowing racial politics to distract the school from the vital work of training great doctors.” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Racism in admissions is both illegal and anti-American, and this Department will not allow it to continue.”

“Federal law and the Supreme Court precedent are clear: Race discrimination has no place in our nation’s institutions of higher learning,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “The pattern of illegal and odious conduct by UCLA’s medical school is abhorrent to our Constitution and our nation’s founding principles.”

The investigation showed that, on average, admitted black and Hispanic applicants had consistently lower academic qualifications than their white and Asian counterparts. These facts support the Department’s finding that UCLA violated the law by intentionally discriminating based on race in its admissions selections.

Medical schools use substantial federal financial assistance to train the next generation of doctors. The Department is continuing its focus on eradicating illegal race politics from admissions at medical schools, where quality and excellence are vitally important.

LOS ANGELES – A Huntington Park-based medical practice and its physician have agreed to pay more than $6.73 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims for medically unnecessary vascular interventional procedures on 20 Medicare beneficiaries.

The United States alleged that, from 2016 to 2024, Dr. Feliciano Serrano of Serrano Kidney & Vascular Access Center performed medically unnecessary dialysis access interventions, including angioplasty and stent procedures, on 18 patients, purportedly to treat stenosis in patients’ dialysis segments.

Dr. Serrano scheduled interventions on a routine basis, without waiting for complications to present, and he frequently repeated procedures on patients every few days or weeks despite that the procedures were not effective and did not result in any clinical benefit.  One Medicare patient received approximately 42 stents in the dialysis segment between 2016 and 2023, including during a period when Dr. Serrano informed the patient he did not need dialysis.

The United States also alleged that from 2019 to 2024, Dr. Serrano performed medically unnecessary peripheral artery disease interventions, including stent and atherectomy procedures, on 17 patients, purportedly to treat stenosis in patients’ legs.  Dr. Serrano performed interventions on patients who had only mild or no stenosis and who had only minor symptoms.

Although patients complained of pain only in one leg, he performed procedures on both legs and then repeated procedures on both legs every few months. Dr. Serrano told patients that if they did not receive the procedure, their legs would need to be amputated, when, in fact, there was little risk of amputation for mildly symptomatic peripheral artery disease. One Medicare patient received approximately 16 atherectomies in his legs between 2019 and 2023.

The United States alleged that across both categories of procedures, Dr. Serrano performed interventional procedures on vessels that did not qualify for treatment under accepted standards of medical practice; overstated the degree of stenosis to make the procedures appear to meet generally recognized medical standards when, in fact, they did not; falsely documented patient symptoms and conservative therapy measures in medical records to justify the procedures; and performed procedures in excess of accepted standards of medical practice.

As a result of the settlements, Dr. Serrano will pay nearly $6.51 million to the United States and nearly $229,000 to the State of California.

“False claims to Medicare and Medicaid cause millions of dollars in losses to the government,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bilal A. Essayli of the Central District of California. “This settlement sends a clear message to physicians that the United States will zealously pursue appropriate action against those who submit false claims for taxpayer funds.”

“Physicians should not be performing and billing for unnecessary and excessive medical interventions.  False documentation of symptoms compromises the integrity of our federal health care programs and the well-being of beneficiaries,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “Physicians who place their own profit over patient needs will be held accountable.”

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought by Lincoln Analytics, Inc. under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Under the act, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States and State of California ex rel. Lincoln Analytics, Inc. v. Dr. Feliciano Serrano, et al., Civil Action No. 23-cv-04178 (C.D. Cal.).  Lincoln Analytics, Inc. will receive approximately $976,000 as its share of the federal recovery.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, and the California Department of Justice, with assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud.  One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

This year the Administration launched the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division to enhance the Administration’s war on fraud, waste, and abuse in federal programs. When unscrupulous actors exploit these programs for their own financial gain, they defraud the government, harm the people these programs are designed to aid and protect, and undermine American businesses that play by the rules.

The Civil Division’s FCA enforcement plays a critical role in combatting such fraudulent schemes, recovering billions of dollars for the American taxpayers, and holding wrongdoers accountable. FCA matters will continue to be on the forefront of the battle against fraud, and the Civil Division’s FCA work will support and advance the mission of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division.

Assistant United States Attorney Karen Y. Paik of the Civil Frauds Section and Justice Department Trial Attorney Tiffany L. Ho of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section handled this case.

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

LOS ANGELES – A former account manager at a high-end Beverly Hills business management and tax firm was charged today in an eight-count federal indictment with embezzling more than $2 million from one of the firm’s celebrity clients.

Frank Musoke, 38, formerly of Woodland Hills, is charged with five counts of wire fraud and three counts of tax evasion. 

He is believed to have fled to Uganda, where he has dual citizenship with the United States.   

According to the indictment, Musoke was employed as an account manager at a full-service business management and tax firm identified in court documents as “Company A.” This Beverly Hills-based firm primarily served high-net-worth celebrities in the entertainment industry.

In this role, Musoke was entrusted with managing the complete financial and business affairs of Company A’s elite clientele. His job was to help clients with asset protection, investment strategies, and financial planning to help them preserve and grow their wealth.

The victim, identified in the indictment as “Individual A,” is a well-known television host and producer and had been a Company A client for nearly 20 years. Musoke was Individual A’s account manager and had full access to Individual A’s financial accounts, including control of his debit cards.

From December 2019 to June 2023, Musoke gained unauthorized access to debit cards and the associated personal identification numbers (PINs) connected to Individual A’s business bank account. Without Individual A’s knowledge or consent, Musoke – in breach of his fiduciary duty – fraudulently used Individual A’s debit cards to withdraw approximately $1,733,688 at a bank’s ATMs, spend $165,270 on Amazon purchases, incur $191,543 in personal travel expenses, and spend more than $160,000 on other personal expenses.

In total, Musoke embezzled more than $2 million from Individual A. 

Company A terminated Musoke in July 2023, after the fraud was discovered.

From May 2021 to May 2023, Musoke filed false federal income tax returns in which he failed to report a total of approximately $1,766,367 in income he embezzled through the unauthorized use of debit cards. 

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

If convicted, Musoke would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count and a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each tax evasion count.

The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation are investigating this matter.

Chief Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Waier is prosecuting this case.

A California tax preparer pleaded guilty yesterday to fraudulently including false information on federal income tax returns to get substantial refunds for his clients – and cause large tax losses to the U.S. Treasury – and COVID-19 business-relief loan applications to obtain money he used for unauthorized purposes.

Kerwin Aldric Jordan, 71, of Castaic, California and formerly of Pebble Beach, California, pleaded guilty to four counts of aiding in the preparation of false federal income tax returns and one count of wire fraud.

According to his plea agreement, Jordan was the president of The Jordan Corporation, a tax preparation business, and also owned and operated a business called Jordan and Jordan A Financial Conquest. Jordan held himself out as a tax attorney and certified public accountant, neither of which he was. Jordan prepared federal tax returns for his clients which fraudulently reduced his taxpayer-clients’ taxable income.

Jordan falsely reported that the taxpayer-clients had one or more businesses, even though he knew the businesses did not exist. He also reported losses for these non-existent businesses and used those losses to reduce the taxpayer-clients’ taxable income.

For example, Jordan reduced a married couple’s $2 million income with fraudulent expenses of more than $1 million for non-existent businesses, eliminating additional taxes the couple would have owed and generating a tax refund of almost $25,000. The couple paid Jordan nearly $28,000 for the preparation of their return.

From 2018 to 2023, Jordan filed more than 1,370 federal tax returns for clients, which reported total business losses over $73 million. Prosecutors contend that the tax returns Jordan prepared resulted in more than $25 million in losses to the United States Treasury.

Jordan also lied on loan applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), two programs Congress created in March 2020 to help businesses weather the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jordan applied for PPP loans for his companies and received a total of $188,667. He also applied for EIDL loans for Jordan and Jordan; Euphrates Wealth Asset Management, of which he was the owner; and Lifestyles of the Rich in Faith Church, a non-profit organization of which he was the principal, receiving a total of $276,600. To obtain these loans, Jordan falsely reported that the companies had employees when, in fact, they had none.

U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson for the Central District of California scheduled an Oct. 5 sentencing hearing, at which time Jordan will face a maximum sentence of 32 years in prison.

IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ranee A. Katzenstein for the Central District of California and Matthew R. Hoffman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Tax Section, are prosecuting this case.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

LOS ANGELES – A Santa Clarita Valley tax preparer pleaded guilty today to fraudulently including false information on federal income tax returns to get substantial refunds for his clients – and cause large tax losses to the U.S. Treasury – and COVID-19 business-relief loan applications to obtain money he used for unauthorized purposes. 

Kerwin Aldric Jordan, 71, of Castaic and formerly of Pebble Beach, pleaded guilty to four counts of aiding in the preparation of false federal income tax returns and one count of wire fraud.

According to his plea agreement, Jordan was the president of The Jordan Corporation, a tax preparation business, and also owned and operated a business called Jordan and Jordan A Financial Conquest. Jordan held himself out as a tax attorney and certified public accountant, neither of which he was. Jordan prepared federal tax returns for his clients which fraudulently reduced his taxpayer-clients’ taxable income. 

Jordan falsely reported that the taxpayer-clients had one or more businesses, even though he knew the businesses did not exist. He also reported losses for these non-existent businesses and used those losses to reduce the taxpayer-clients’ taxable income.

For example, Jordan reduced a married couple’s $2 million income with fraudulent expenses of more than $1 million for non-existent businesses, eliminating additional taxes the couple would have owed and generating a tax refund of almost $25,000. The couple paid Jordan nearly $28,000 for the preparation of their return.

From 2018 to 2023, Jordan filed more than 1,370 federal tax returns for clients, which reported total business losses over $73 million. Prosecutors contend that the tax returns Jordan prepared resulted in more than $25 million in losses to the United States Treasury.

Jordan also lied on loan applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), two programs Congress created in March 2020 to help businesses weather the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jordan applied for PPP loans for his companies and received a total of $188,667. He also applied for EIDL loans for Jordan and Jordan; Euphrates Wealth Asset Management, of which he was the owner; and Lifestyles of the Rich in Faith Church, a non-profit organization of which he was the principal, receiving a total of $276,600. To obtain these loans, Jordan falsely reported that the companies had employees when, in fact, they had none.

United States District Judge Stephen V. Wilson scheduled an October 5 sentencing hearing, at which time Jordan will face a statutory maximum sentence of 32 years in federal prison.

The IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this case. 

Assistant United States Attorney Ranee A. Katzenstein, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, and Matthew R. Hoffman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Tax Section, are prosecuting this case. 

SANTA ANA, California – A San Fernando Valley man was sentenced today to 120 months in federal prison for embezzling approximately $1.8 million from an estate left to an elderly victim by the victim’s late brother.

Jamal Nathan Dawood, 55, a.k.a. “Jimmy Dawood,” of Burbank, was sentenced by United States District Judge James V. Selna, who also ordered him to pay $1,862,352 in restitution and fined him $30,000.

At the conclusion of a seven-day trial in July 2025, a jury found Dawood guilty of six counts of wire fraud and nine counts of money laundering.

During the second half of 2019, Dawood offered to assist the victim with the management of real estate properties and retirement savings that the victim had inherited from the victim’s deceased brother. Specifically, Dawood helped the victim open a trust account at a bank for the purpose of managing the retirement savings.

Without the victim’s knowledge or authorization, Dawood then initiated wire and online banking transfers from the victim’s trust account to Dawood-controlled accounts. Without the victim’s knowledge or permission, Dawood also wired money from the victim’s trust account to people with whom Dawood had personal and business relationships.

Dawood convinced the victim to transfer ownership of his home and his late brother’s real estate holdings to various companies. Dawood falsely represented that the victim would retain an ownership interest in his residence and the inherited real estate through these companies. In fact, Dawood and other individuals close to him controlled these companies.

In total, Dawood fraudulently obtained at least $1,862,352 in the victim’s money and property. The illicitly obtained funds were used to purchase real estate in La Crescenta and Fontana.

The FBI investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kristin N. Spencer and Melissa S. Rabbani of the Orange County Office prosecuted this case.

If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Department of Justice hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies, and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis.

Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is staffed seven days a week from 3 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific Time. English, Spanish, and other languages are available.

Information about the Department of Justice’s Elder Fraud Initiative is available at www.justice.gov/elderjustice.

SANTA ANA, California – An Orange County-based provider of medical scans has agreed to pay $8.3 million plus additional money based on future revenue to resolve False Claims Act allegations that it violated federal law by paying referring cardiologists excessive fees to supervise positron emission tomography (PET) scans.

Modern Nuclear Inc. (MNI), a La Habra-based mobile PET scan company, agreed to pay a total of $8,334,350. 

“Paying illegal kickbacks to doctors so they refer patients undermines the integrity of federal health care programs and needlessly increases costs,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “Patients deserve care based on their medical need and not on a doctor or company’s financial interest. Our office will continue to bring such cases to hold wrongdoers accountable.”

“We will diligently pursue and hold accountable healthcare providers that seek patient referrals through illegal kickbacks and other unlawful financial inducements,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “By rooting out financial relationships between healthcare providers and referring physicians that corrupt the medical decision-making process, we will continue to protect and safeguard taxpayer dollars.”   

According to the Justice Department, from September 2016 to January 2025, MNI knowingly submitted false or fraudulent claims to federal health care programs arising from violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute. Specifically, MNI allegedly paid kickbacks to referring cardiologists in the form of above-fair market value fees, ostensibly for cardiologists to supervise PET scans for the patients they referred to MNI.

These fees substantially exceeded fair market value for the cardiologists’ services because MNI paid the referring cardiologists for time they spent in their offices caring for other patients or while they were not on site at all, or for additional services beyond supervision that were never or rarely actually provided.

MNI purported to rely on an attorney-opinion letter regarding fair market value that the United States alleged was premised on fundamental inaccuracies and that the consultant ultimately withdrew.

In connection with the settlement, MNI entered into a five-year corporate integrity agreement (CIA) with the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). This agreement requires, among other compliance provisions, that MNI implement measures designed to ensure that arrangements with referring physicians are compliant with the Anti-Kickback Statute.

The agreement also requires that MNI implement a compliance program to identify and address the Anti-Kickback Statute risks associated with other financial arrangements and retain an Independent Compliance Expert to perform a review of the effectiveness of the compliance program.

“Paying kickbacks to physicians — as alleged in this case — can undermine the integrity of the Medicare program by interfering with impartial medical decision-making,” said Special Agent in Charge Robb R. Breeden of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS‑OIG). “This resolution demonstrates our agency’s continued commitment to holding Medicare providers accountable and ensuring that medical decisions are driven by patient needs, not illegal incentives.”

“As alleged in this civil settlement, Modern Nuclear compromised the Federal health care system,” said Special Agent in Charge John Helsing of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Western Field Office. “DCIS remains committed to combating health care fraud by holding providers accountable and protecting TRICARE, the Department’s primary health care program, from abuse. The work done by DCIS, our investigative partners, and the Department of Justice ensures that resources are preserved for the legitimate care of our service members, their families, and retirees.”

The civil settlement resolves claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by relators Matt Lieberman and James Whitney. Under those provisions, a private party or relator 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. Lieberman v. Modern Nuclear, Inc., et al. (No. 8:23-cv-01646-DOC-KES) (C.D. Cal.). The relators will receive 16% of the total recovery in this matter.

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 Central District of California, with assistance from the HHS-OIG and the Defense Health Agency Office of Inspector General. 

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrate the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the HHS at (800) HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

Assistant United States Attorney Paul B. La Scala of the Civil Division’s Civil Fraud Section and Senior Trial Counsel Sanjay M. Bhambhani of the Justice Department’s Civil Division handled this matter.

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

Modern Nuclear Inc. (MNI), a provider of mobile positron emission tomography (PET) scans headquartered in La Habra, California, has agreed to pay a total of $8,334,350.71, plus additional amounts based on future revenues, to resolve False Claims Act allegations that it paid referring cardiologists excessive fees to supervise PET scans in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS). This settlement is based on MNI’s ability to pay.

The United States alleged that between Sept. 1, 2016, and Jan. 14, 2025, MNI knowingly submitted false or fraudulent claims to federal health care programs arising from violations of the AKS. Specifically, MNI allegedly paid kickbacks to referring cardiologists in the form of above-fair market value fees, ostensibly for cardiologists to supervise PET scans for the patients they referred to MNI. The United States alleged these fees substantially exceeded fair market value for the cardiologists’ services because MNI paid the referring cardiologists for time they spent in their offices caring for other patients or while they were not on site at all, or for additional services beyond supervision that were never or rarely actually provided. MNI purported to rely on an attorney-opinion letter regarding fair market value that the United States alleged was premised on fundamental inaccuracies and that the consultant ultimately withdrew.

“We will diligently pursue and hold accountable healthcare providers that seek patient referrals through illegal kickbacks and other unlawful financial inducements,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “By rooting out financial relationships between healthcare providers and referring physicians that corrupt the medical decision-making process, we will continue to protect and safeguard taxpayer dollars.” 

“Paying illegal kickbacks to cardiologists so they refer patients undermines the integrity of federal healthcare programs and needlessly increases costs,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “Patients deserve care based on their medical need and not on a doctor or company’s financial interest. Our office will continue to bring such cases to hold wrongdoers accountable.”

“Paying kickbacks to physicians — as alleged in this case — can undermine the integrity of the Medicare program by interfering with impartial medical decision-making,” said Special Agent in Charge Robb R. Breeden of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS‑OIG). “This resolution demonstrates our agency’s continued commitment to holding Medicare providers accountable and ensuring that medical decisions are driven by patient needs, not illegal incentives.”

“As alleged in this civil settlement, Modern Nuclear compromised the Federal health care system,” said Special Agent in Charge John Helsing of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Western Field Office. “DCIS remains committed to combating health care fraud by holding providers accountable and protecting TRICARE, the Department’s primary health care program, from abuse. The work done by DCIS, our investigative partners, and the Department of Justice ensures that resources are preserved for the legitimate care of our service members, their families, and retirees.”

In connection with the settlement, MNI entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the HHS-OIG. The CIA requires, among other compliance provisions, that MNI implement measures designed to ensure that arrangements with referring physicians are compliant with the AKS. The CIA also requires that MNI implement a compliance program to identify and address the AKS risks associated with other financial arrangements and retain an Independent Compliance Expert to perform a review of the effectiveness of the compliance program.

The civil settlement resolves claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by relators Matt Lieberman and James Whitney. Under those provisions, a private party or relator 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. Lieberman v. Modern Nuclear, Inc., et al.,case number 8:23-cv-01646-DOC-KES in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The relators will receive 16% of the total recovery in this matter.

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 Central District of California, with assistance from the HHS-OIG and the Defense Health Agency Office of Inspector General.

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrate the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the HHS at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

The matter was handled by Senior Trial Counsel Sanjay M. Bhambhani of the Justice Department's Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul B. La Scala for the Central District of California.

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

Note: Language from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service quotation has been updated from a previous version

LOS ANGELES – Three California men pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges for throwing rocks, fireworks, and ignited debris at California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers trapped underneath a downtown Los Angeles freeway overpass – with a CHP vehicle set ablaze – during anti-immigration law enforcement rioting last year. 

Federal prosecutors have secured a total of six guilty pleas stemming from violence that occurred at the Main Street overpass on the 101 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles during the evening of June 8, 2025, when rioters targeted law enforcement officers during a protest against enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.

Guilty pleas were taken today from the following defendants:

• Ismael Vega, 41, of Westlake, who pleaded guilty to one felony count of obstructing, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder;
• Balton Montion, 25, of Watsonville but who was a Los Angeles County resident during last year’s attack, who also pleaded guilty to one felony count of obstructing, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder; and
• Junior Roldan, 27, of Hollywood, who pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of simple assault on a person assisting a federal officer,

On Monday, the following three defendants pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges stemming from the same incident:

• Adam Charles Palermo, 40, of Rampart Village, who pleaded guilty to one felony count of assaulting, resisting, and impeding persons assisting federal officers and employees with a deadly or dangerous weapon;
• Yachua Mauricio Flores, 23, of Lincoln Heights, who pleaded guilty to one felony count of obstructing, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder; and
• Ronald Alexis Coreas, 23, of Westlake, who pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of simple assault on a person assisting a federal officer.

According to court documents, the defendants were present at a civil disorder, a public disturbance involving acts of violence by an assemblage of more than three individuals that caused immediate danger and resulted in damage to property or person of another individual.

Palermo, Vega, and Flores were part of a group of protestors who knowingly picked up debris – including cardboard and vegetation – and fireworks, lighting them on fire and dropping them over the railing of the freeway overpass aiming for a nearby CHP vehicle – which was within feet of CHP officers trapped under the overpass – and later caught fire. Flores poured a liquid increasing the size of the flames. Montion, Coreas, and Roldan threw rocks at law enforcement officers who attempted to clear the freeway overpass. 

United States District Judge John F. Walter scheduled sentencing hearings in the coming months for these defendants. Palermo faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Vega, Montion, and Flores will each face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. Roldan and Coreas will face a statutory maximum sentence of one year in federal prison.

Palermo has been in federal custody since August 2025. The other defendants remain free on bond.

Another defendant, Jesus Gonzalez Hernandez, Jr., 22, of Las Vegas, is scheduled to plead guilty on May 4 to one misdemeanor count of simple assault on a person assisting a federal officer.

The FBI, with assistance from the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles Police Department, investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Jenna W. Long of the National Security Division and Sebastian Bellm of the General Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – A federal court has granted a request from the United States to seize more than $2 million from a Pasadena-based advanced wound care clinic accused of defrauding Medicare for reimbursements for skin graft substitutes and skin grafts that never were performed on patients, the Justice Department announced today.

United States Magistrate Judge Alicia G. Rosenberg late Monday authorized the government’s request to seize up to approximately $2,039,792 from a bank account linked to Expert Wound Care PC.

According to an affidavit filed with a federal seizure warrant, from September 2025 to April 2026, Expert Wound Care submitted more than $46.6 million in claims to Medicare for skin substitute products and wound care services purportedly provided to 78 beneficiaries. 

Medicare approved payments of approximately $34,031,382 on these claims, which included skin substitutes and skin grafts as well as skin application procedures.

From January 2025 to June 2025, the national average for a billing provider’s allowed amount per claim for skin substitute grafts was $16,837. From July 2025 to March 2026, Expert Wound Care averaged approximately $37,449 in allowed amount per claim for substitute skin grafts, more than double the national average.

The clinic increased its Medicare billing from $4,975 in July 2025 to approximately $33 million in December 2025, according to the affidavit. One beneficiary had a total payment amount to Medicare of approximately $6,232,645, and the average paid amount per beneficiary was approximately $299,639.

From October 2025 to February 2026, Expert Wound Care billed Medicare for approximately $2,611,105 and was paid approximately $2,039,792 for skin substitute grafts and 52 skin graft application services purportedly provided to one beneficiary. Law enforcement determined that the beneficiary did not receive any skin grafts as part of his treatment and did not receive any type of home service in December 2025 despite the fact Expert Wound Care filed 27 claims for services on this beneficiary’s behalf for that month.

Expert Wound Care’s percentage of total beneficiaries receiving substitute skin grafts of 38.5%, more than six times the national average of 6%. Its percentage of total claims for substitute skin grafts was 63%, approximately nine times the national average. Finally, Expert Wound Care’s percentage of total allowed amount for substitute skin grafts was 99.9%, more than double the national average.

Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General are investigating this matter. 

Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan S. Galatzan of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section is handling this case. 

The Department of Justice has created the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chair by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within federal benefit programs. 

SANTA ANA, California – Twenty-five members and associates of the Mexican Mafia prison gang were arrested today on three federal indictments charging them with committing scores of crimes in Orange County, including kidnapping, extortion, trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine, running illegal gambling businesses, and murdering a victim last year at a gang-controlled Anaheim motel.

The defendants arrested this morning include:

• Jaime Alvarado, 42, a.k.a. “Junior” and “Brian Barbas,” of Lake Elsinore;
• Karina Cesena, 32, also of Lake Elsinore; and
• Mario Flores, 40, a.k.a. “Happy,” of Anaheim.

Senior gang members already in state custody who are expected to make their initial appearances and be arraigned in the coming weeks include:

• Luis Cardenas, 48, a.k.a. “Gangster,” “Pops” and “Tio,” an inmate at Ironwood State Prison;
• Jose Antonio Ochoa Madrigal, 41, a.k.a. “Sparky,” of Santa Ana, who incarcerated in an Orange County jail.

“Gang members who murder, extort, kidnap, and traffic drugs and firearms are a menace to our communities and our way of life,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “Today’s arrests highlight the continuing cooperation between federal and local law enforcement against violent felons and our unyielding determination to crack down on organized crime in our prisons and our streets.”

“The defendants accused of operating their own ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ in Orange County by peddling illicit drugs and carrying out assault and murders, among other crimes, are being held accountable today,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. “Orange County communities should be proud of their law enforcement professionals whose hard work and devotion to this case made the streets of Orange County safer today.”

“This type of criminal activity has a direct impact on our neighborhoods and our residents,” said Anaheim Police Chief Manny Cid. “Through strong partnerships, we will continue to identify, disrupt, and hold those responsible accountable.” 

“These arrests send a clear message: Organized crime and violence will not be tolerated in Santa Ana,” said Santa Ana Police Chief Robert Rodriguez. “Through strong partnerships with local and federal counterparts, we will continue to target those who threaten the safety and well-being of our communities.”

Fifteen defendants arrested today are expected to make their initial appearances and be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in Santa Ana. Ten defendants arrested today are expected to make their initial appearances and be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles. Twelve additional defendants are in state custody and are expected to make their initial appearances in United States District Court in Santa Ana in the coming weeks.

In connection with this investigation, law enforcement has seized four kilograms (8.8 pounds) of fentanyl, 54.4 kilograms (120 pounds) of methamphetamine, 0.9 kilogram (two pounds) of heroin, three kilograms (6.6 pounds) of cocaine, 25 firearms, and more than $30,000 in cash.

The Mexican Mafia, a.k.a. “La Eme,” is a U.S.-based prison gang that has immense control over Hispanic street gangs in Southern California, directing illegal activities from prisons and collecting a portion of the proceeds from drug trafficking, illegal gambling, and other crimes committed on the streets.

The case’s main indictment charges 40 defendants with a series of felonies, including racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, violent crimes in aid of racketeering, trafficking narcotics such as fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine, and using firearms during a crime of violence.

According to this 66-count indictment, from June 2024 to April 2026, Cardenas oversaw the Mexican Mafia’s criminal activities in Orange County and within Orange County jail and prison facilities. Alvarado, Cesena, Madrigal, and Flores held the position of high-ranking associates for Cardenas.

From his prison cell, Cardenas used an encrypted messaging application on contraband cell phones to direct Alvarado in the operation of the Mexican Mafia’s activities in Orange County.

Cardenas directed others to kidnap and assault people in bad standing with him, and Alvarado, Cesena, and others carried out his directions. Defendants operating for the Mexican Mafia shot at and assaulted victims.

The gang also sold narcotics – including fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine – via slap houses (illegal gambling houses), gangs, and drug dealers in Orange County.

It ran illegal gambling businesses within commercial strip malls and private residences. The gang collected extortionate taxes and provided security, including the use of violence, to protect the illegal gambling businesses.

Alvarado oversaw gang-controlled motels and, along with Cesena, directed violent retaliation against slap houses that did not pay the gang’s extortionate “taxes.”

On February 3, 2025, Matthew Kundrat, 29, a.k.a. “Bubba,” of Anaheim, and Manuel Ramos, 45, a.k.a. “Rhino,” of Santa Ana, murdered a victim at the Akua Inn, a gang-controlled motel in Anaheim. Kundrat and Ramos committed the murder for the purpose of gaining entrance to the Mexican Mafia and increasing their standing in the criminal enterprise.

Both Kundrat and Ramos are charged with committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering activity and, if convicted, would face a mandatory sentence of life in federal prison and would be eligible for the death penalty.

On March 14, 2025, Cardenas, Alvarado, Flores, and Cesena directed the kidnapping and assault of a victim who was an employee at a Cardenas-controlled slap house in Stanton. The penalty for kidnapping is life in federal prison.

Alvarado and Cesena stored methamphetamine and firearms at a storage unit in Orange County as well as at local private residences.

“When criminal organizations attempt to hide their profits behind violence, intimidation, and complex cash-based networks, IRS Criminal Investigation will uncover the truth,” said Darren Lian, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Our agents followed the money through drug trafficking revenues, extortion schemes, and illegal gambling operations that fueled this enterprise’s power. By tracing and dismantling these financial pipelines, we cut directly into the organization’s ability to operate. IRS CI remains committed to protecting our communities by attacking the financial infrastructure that supports organized crime, no matter how deeply it is embedded.”

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

If convicted, the defendants would face decades in federal prison.

The FBI; the Anaheim Police Department; the Santa Ana Police Department; the Fullerton Police Department; IRS Criminal Investigation; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; and United States Postal Inspection Service are investigating this matter. 

Assistant United States Attorneys Greg Scally, Caitlin Campbell, and Erin Kiss of the Orange County Office are prosecuting this case.

The Justice Department filed a civil forfeiture complaint today in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California seeking the forfeiture of a mansion located in Beverly Hills, California, alleged to have been purchased and renovated with approximately $30 million in proceeds of a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), pay bribes to an official of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and violate U.S. money laundering laws.

As alleged in the complaint, from 2016 through 2020, a Virginia-based defense contractor and others engaged in a corrupt scheme to obtain more than $700 million from DLA for fuel deliveries to the U.S. military during Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S. campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The Erbil International Airport (EIA) located in Kurdistan, where Kurdish Peshmerga forces provided internal security and controlled entry to the facility, served as a critical delivery point for fuel used by the U.S. military in Iraq and Syria during the campaign.

The complaint alleges that officers of the contractor agreed to pay General Mansour Barzani, a senior Peshmerga official, a bribe of $0.25 per liter for exclusive access to deliver jet fuel in Kurdistan for the U.S. military and coalition forces and received hundreds of millions of dollars under DLA contracts. During the same period, the contractor’s competitors were blocked from accessing EIA for jet fuel deliveries on behalf of DLA, and DLA issued one-time-buy contracts to the contractor often at noncompetitive and greatly inflated prices.

According to the civil forfeiture complaint, funds that the contractor received from DLA as a result of the scheme were transferred to NYJD Trust No.1, a trust established in Virginia for the private benefit of Barzani. In 2018, approximately $30 million of those funds were transferred from Barzani’s trust to purchase the Beverly Hills mansion as well as the renovation and improvement of the property from 2019 to 2022.

This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and IRS Criminal Investigation.  

Deputy Chief Michael B. Redmann and Senior Trial Attorney Steven Parker of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section (MNF) are handling the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided significant support.

The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section’s mission is to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels, and protect the U.S. financial system. MNF pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving: financial facilitators who launder profits for criminals; financial institutions and their officers and employees whose actions threaten the U.S. financial system and financial institutions; international money launderers who support transnational organized crime; and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations.

MNF’s International Unit investigates and prosecutes cross-border money laundering schemes involving transnational criminal organizations, cartels, foreign official corruption and related money laundering affecting the U.S. financial system and prosecutes criminal cases and civil forfeiture matters to recover the proceeds of those crimes.

A civil complaint is merely an allegation. The government has the burden of establishing the assets are subject to forfeiture by a preponderance of the evidence.

LOS ANGELES – An Iranian national residing in the San Fernando Valley has been arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging her with selling Iranian-made weapons – drones, bombs, and millions of rounds of ammunition – to Sudan, the Justice Department announced today.

Shamim Mafi, 44, of Woodland Hills, is charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

She was arrested on Saturday night at Los Angeles International Airport before she could board a flight departing the United States.

Mafi is expected to make her initial appearance this afternoon in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles. No plea will be taken today.

“This individual came from Iran and gained legal status under the Obama administration,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “While enjoying a life in the United States, this woman was allegedly breaking the law by brokering lethal weapons deals with Iranian adversaries. This will not stand, and anyone who breaks our laws and threatens national security will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.”

“As Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche made clear, the Department of Justice will aggressively prosecute violations of U.S. sanctions that target foreign adversaries such as the government of Iran,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “This defendant took advantage of our open immigration system to live freely in Los Angeles while simultaneously working to traffic arms on behalf of a country that seeks to destroy us. Not on our watch. We look forward to securing long prison sentence for her blatant criminal conduct.”

“The FBI will not tolerate weapon sales to American adversaries by lawful permanent residents of the United States,” said Akil Davis, The Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. “The defendant allegedly abused the privilege of living in the United States by delivering weapons on behalf of a regime that sponsors terrorism.”

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, Mafi schemed to broker the sale of weapons, weapons components, and ammunition on behalf of the Government of Iran in violation of U.S. law.

Mafi is an Iranian national who in October 2016 became a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. She owns and operates an Oman-based company, Atlas International Business LLC, which also is known as “Atlas Global Holding” and “Atlas Tech LLC.” In early 2025, Mafi brokered weapons deals on Iran’s behalf through her company.

For example, she facilitated a contract worth more than $70 million for the sale of the Iranian-made Mohajer-6 drone from Iran’s defense ministry to Sudan’s military. She coordinated the Sudanese delegation’s travel to Iran and was paid more than $7 million.

She also brokered the sale of 55,000 bomb fuses to Sudan and submitted a letter of intent to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to purchase the bomb fuses for Sudan. Mafi also brokered the sale of millions of rounds of ammunition from Iran to Sudan.

The IEEPA imposes controls and restrictions on transactions involving Iran based on the threats posed by Iran to the national security of the United States including, among others, its pursuit of nuclear weapons and sponsorship of terrorism.

The IEEPA prohibits a U.S. person from transacting or dealing in goods or services owned by the Government of Iran without first obtaining authorization from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). This law also bars U.S. persons from transacting with specially designated nationals and blocked persons such as the IRGC and Iran’s defense ministry.

At no time did Mafi apply for or obtain the required licenses from the U.S. Treasury Department to engage in any transactions alleged in the complaint’s affidavit. She also never registered with or applied for approval from the U.S. Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls to engage in brokering activities with respect to U.S. or foreign defense articles.

Records obtained pursuant to a search warrant show approximately 62 bidirectional contacts between Mafi and an Iranian intelligence officer’s phone numbers between December 2022 and June 2025.

A complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, Mafi would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

The FBI is investigating this matter. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security provided substantial assistance.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kedar S. Bhatia of the Public Corruption & Civil Rights Section and David C. Lachman of the National Security Division are prosecuting this case, with valuable assistance from Department of Justice Trial Attorney Brendan Geary of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

LOS ANGELES – A Santa Clarita Valley man pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges, including facilitating a crime tourism group of South Americans and other individuals who committed burglaries and other crimes throughout the United States, causing at least $23.9 million in losses.

Juan Carlos Thola-Duran, 59, a.k.a. “Parcero,” of Canyon Country, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, to receive and transport stolen property interstate, and to commit money laundering, and one count of structuring transactions to avoid federal financial reporting requirements.

Thola-Duran, the lead defendant in this case, has been in federal custody since August 2024.

He has agreed to forfeit to the U.S. government any assets he derived from the scheme, including dozens of cars, jewelry, and luxury items such as designer handbags and clothing. 

According to his plea agreement, Thola-Duran and his then-live-in girlfriend, Ana María Arriagada, 43, a.k.a. “Parcera,” controlled and operated co-defendant Driver Power Rentals (DPR), a Van Nuys-based car rental or dealership business. Arriagada was DPR’s registered owner.

He directed associates, often members of crime tourism theft groups traveling from South America, to travel to various parts of the United States to commit thefts, including shoplifting goods from stores, burglarizing residences and commercial businesses, and stealing victims’ credit cards and debit cards.

Thola-Duran, Arriagada, and DPR provided DPR vehicles for the thief co-conspirators to drive throughout the United States to commit thefts and burglaries and – to make the car rentals appear legitimate and maintain anonymity – required their co-conspirators to provide false identification when renting a vehicle for DPR’s records.

Thola-Duran and Arriagada directed the thief co-conspirators who stole credit or debit cards to immediately go to stores such as Target, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others to max out the stolen cards by purchasing electronics, gift cards, designer purses and other high-end luxury goods before the stolen cards could be frozen or cancelled.

Thola-Duran arranged for the thieves to deliver stolen or fraudulently obtained goods to associates at DPR or to mail them to other co-conspirators. At Thola-Duran’s direction, co-conspirators picked up the parcels then delivered them to Thola-Duran and others. Thola-Duran then acted as a “fence” to buy the goods – at a fraction of their retail value – and pay the thieves a percentage of the items’ value. He then sold the stolen goods to other buyers, receiving at least $5,758,655 from various fences, including approximately $5.2 million from bank accounts of an electronics exporter in Van Nuys during the conspiracy.

The criminal conspiracy to commit wire fraud, to receive and transport stolen property interstate, and to commit money laundering harmed at least 37 victims and resulted in losses of at least $23.9 million. 

Furthermore, Thola-Duran, Arriagada, and others from May 2020 to June 2021 conspired to fraudulently obtain $274,998 in COVID-19 business relief loans.

Finally, Thola-Duran and his co-conspirators used their ill-gotten gains to purchase and maintain assets, including real estate and horses, and structured cash withdrawals to avoid triggering the requirement that banks report transactions exceeding $10,000 to the United States Treasury Department.

From March 2022 to October 2022, Thola-Duran repeatedly withdrew money in amounts less than $10,000 from his bank account, totaling approximately $412,292 in withdrawals during that seven-month period. He did so to prevent financial institutions from reporting his withdrawals as required by federal law, and he did so while engaged in his criminal conspiracy.

United States District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald scheduled a November 18 sentencing hearing, at which time Thola-Duran will face a statutory maximum sentence of 55 years in federal prison.

Arriagada pleaded guilty last year to four felonies in connection with this case and is expected to be sentenced in the coming months.

An August 18 trial date is scheduled for defendants Patricia Enderton, 45, of Northridge, and Federico Jorge Triebel IV, 79, of Woodland Hills, who have pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges against them.

Federal prosecutors have secured a total of four guilty pleas so far in this case.

The FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office investigated these matters. The United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Marshals Service, the Meriwether County (Georgia) Sheriff’s Office, the Cobb County (Georgia) Police Department, and the Scottsdale (Arizona) Police Department provided assistance.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kellye Ng of the Major Crimes Section and Jonathan S. Galatzan of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section are prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – Twenty-nine illegal aliens from Mexico arrested over the weekend on a panga boat approximately 10 miles south of the Channel Islands archipelago have been charged in two federal criminal complaints with immigration crimes, the Justice Department announced today.

Five of the defendants are charged with being an illegal alien entering the United States following deportation or removal, which carries a possible sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison. The remaining 24 defendants are charged with improper entry by an alien, which carries a possible sentence of up to two years in federal prison.

The defendants are expected to make their initial appearances Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles.

According to an affidavit filed with the complaints, on April 18, federal law enforcement stopped a panga boat approximately 10 miles south of San Nicolas Island, which is controlled by the Navy. The boat contained 29 people, all of whom are Mexican nationals and none had proper documentation to be in the United States legally. 

Law enforcement towed the boat to Newport Beach and the defendants were processed at the San Clemente Border Patrol Station.

Ismael Angeles-Guerrero, 21, is one of the five defendants charged with being an illegal alien entering the United States following deportation or removal. His criminal history includes a prior arrest in Marion County, Indiana, in December 2025 for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, resisting law enforcement, operating a motor vehicle without ever receiving a license, and possession of marijuana. He was removed to Mexico on February 20, 2026.

Faustino Arguello, 38, is one of the 24 defendants charged with improper entry by an alien. In September 2016, Arguello was encountered by Border Patrol twice near the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona and once near the international border in Texas. Each time he was processed for removal to Mexico. In March 2026, federal law enforcement arrested Arguello at San Ysidro Port of Entry for presenting an entry document that did not belong to him. He was not convicted and subsequently was removed from the United States.

A complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection are investigating this matter with assistance from the United States Coast Guard. 

Assistant United States Attorney Monika L. Hara of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.

SANTA ANA, California – A United Kingdom man pleaded guilty today to conspiring with others to hack into the computer systems of at least a dozen companies via text message phishing attacks and to steal at least $8 million in virtual currency from individual victims throughout the United States.

Tyler Robert Buchanan, 24, of Dundee, Scotland, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. 

Buchanan has been in federal custody since April 2025. 

According to his plea agreement, from September 2021 to April 2023, Buchanan and other individuals conspired to conduct cyber intrusions and virtual currency thefts. The victims and intended victims included interactive entertainment companies, telecommunications companies, technology companies, business process outsourcing (BPO) and information technology (IT) suppliers, cloud communications providers, virtual currency companies, and individuals.

Buchanan and his co-conspirators defrauded at least a dozen companies and their employees as well as individual victims throughout the U.S.

As part of the scheme, Buchanan and his co-conspirators conducted Short Message Service (SMS) phishing attacks by sending hundreds of SMS phishing messages to the mobile telephones of a victim company’s employees. The messages purported to be from the victim company or a contracted IT or BPO supplier for the victim company.

The SMS phishing messages contained links to phishing websites designed to look like legitimate websites of a victim company or a contracted IT or BPO supplier. The websites then lured the recipient into providing confidential information, including personal identifying information (PII), and account usernames and passwords.

Buchanan and his co-conspirators then used the stolen credentials to access the accounts of a victim company’s employees and the victim company’s computer systems to steal confidential company information. For some victim companies, this stolen information included confidential work product, intellectual property, and PII such as account access credentials, names, email addresses, and telephone numbers.

The conspirators created a phishing kit that captured login credentials entered into the fraudulent phishing websites by a victim company’s employees. The stolen credentials were then transmitted to an online Telegram channel administered by Buchanan and another co-conspirator.

Buchanan admitted in his plea agreement that in April 2023 at his residence in Scotland, he possessed files related to numerous victim companies. 

Buchanan further admitted that he and several co-conspirators used the information stolen from company intrusions to identify and gain access to virtual currency accounts and wallets belonging to individual victims to steal millions of dollars’ worth of virtual currency.

To gain access to individual victims’ virtual currency wallets and accounts, and bypass two-factor authentication security features, Buchanan and others gained unauthorized access to victims’ online accounts and conducted Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) swaps of victims’ mobile telephone numbers to devices that the conspirators controlled. 

“SIM swapping” is a technique in which a criminal fraudulently induces a mobile carrier to reassign a cell phone number from the legitimate subscriber’s SIM card to a SIM card controlled by another without the legitimate subscriber’s authorization or knowledge. This process allows a criminal to intercept two-factor authentication codes sent to the victim via phone call or SMS, and to gain access to the victim’s various accounts. 

In April 2023, on a digital device found at Buchanan’s Scotland residence, he possessed the names and addresses of numerous individual victims, including a text file that contained cryptocurrency seed phrases and login information for one victim’s account.

Buchanan admitted in his plea agreement that the scheme involved the theft of at least $8 million worth of virtual currency assets from individual victims located throughout the United States.

United States District Judge John W. Holcomb scheduled an August 21 sentencing hearing, at which time Buchanan will face a statutory maximum sentence of 22 years in federal prison.

A co-conspirator, Noah Michael Urban, 21, a.k.a. “Sosa” and “Elijah,” of Palm Coast, Florida, is serving a 10-year federal prison sentence and was ordered to pay $13 million in restitution. Urban pleaded guilty in April 2025 to three fraud-related counts. 

The other three defendants charged with Buchanan – Ahmed Hossam Eldin Elbadawy, 24, a.k.a. “AD,” of College Station, Texas; Evans Onyeaka Osiebo, 21, of Dallas, Texas; and Joel Martin Evans, 26, a.k.a. “joeleoli,” of Jacksonville, North Carolina – still face criminal charges in this case.

The FBI is investigating this matter. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina; the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs; Police Scotland; Cuerpo Nacional de Policía (Spain); and the FBI field offices in Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, and Portland provided assistance during this investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Restrepo of the National Security Division is prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – Two cousins – one from Southern California, the other from Colorado – pleaded guilty today to federal crimes related to a double-booking, bait-and-switch scam run nationwide through online short-term property rental platforms.

Shray Goel, 37, of Calabasas, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Shaunik Raheja, 36, of Denver, pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice.

According to their plea agreements, in 2013, Goel and Raheja started an online business, listing properties for short-term rental through online platforms. They operated the business under various legal entities and business names, including Abbot Pacific LLC and Jet Set Work LLC.

The defendants rented properties nationwide, including in Marina del Rey, the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles, and Malibu as well as San Diego; Chicago; Cleveland; Dallas; Denver; Milwaukee; Bloomington, Indiana; South Bend, Indiana; Savannah, Georgia; Nashville, Tennessee; and Austin, Texas.

From October 2017 to November 2019, Goel and Raheja used fake host names and, in certain instances, other people’s identities to list properties. They used these fake host accounts to conceal their own identities, to double-book properties, and to post fabricated positive reviews of their properties. They also used the fake host accounts to continue to list properties after one online platform banned them in 2015 because of repeated host cancellations and guest complaints.

In some cases, Goel and Raheja listed fake addresses, addresses that did not have any rental housing, were unaffiliated with the schemers, or did not exist at all – using these fake addresses to create duplicate listings for a single purported property. The fake addresses also allowed them to evade local rules and regulations governing short-term rentals, and to control who had access to properties.

The crux of the scheme was a double-booking-bait-and-switch practice. To carry out the scheme, Goel and Raheja posted multiple listings of the same property, listing the same property multiple times on a single platform and cross listing the property on multiple platforms. This was done, in part, to maximize the price they could charge for their rentals – by listing different daily rates for the same property and renting to the guest that booked at the highest price. The defendants also did not block calendars of competing listings after a property had been booked and continued to list the booked property as being available for rental on the booked dates. 

After a listing had been booked the defendants chose which – if any – guest to host. For an overbooked guest – or a guest they did not want to host – the defendants lied to the guest about why a booked property was unavailable. These false excuses included that the property had a plumbing problem or some other unforeseen issue. The defendants then cancelled the reservation, convinced the guest to cancel, or switched the guest to a different property.

To further their fraud, Goel and Raheja took steps to discredit negative reviews, and they otherwise tried to hide negative reviews from prospective future guests. They posted bogus negative reviews about the guests who panned their listings or called out the fraudulent and deceptive listing practices, and they removed negatively reviewed listings and then re-listed the properties using new listing identifiers, thereby removing the bad reviews.

Goel and Raheja used these and other lies and misrepresentations to trick guests into booking properties they would not have otherwise booked and to profit at the expense of guests and the rental platforms. The last-minute nature of the cancellations also caused guests and the rental platforms to suffer losses when guests were forced to find alternative lodging at the last minute.

Raheja admitted in his plea agreement to lying in April 2023 to federal law enforcement officials investigating the scheme. Raheja falsely stated that he never intentionally overbooked properties and that he was not aware of any intentional overbooking.

United States District Judge Wesley L. Hsu scheduled an August 14 sentencing hearing for Goel, who will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Judge Hsu scheduled a September 11 sentencing hearing for Raheja, who will face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

The FBI and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General investigated this matter with assistance from the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kerry L. Quinn and David Y. Pi of the Major Frauds Section are prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – Law enforcement today arrested four Sinaloa Cartel-linked defendants – all members of the same family, three of them illegal aliens from Mexico – who are charged in a 29-count federal grand jury indictment alleging they trafficked fentanyl, pound quantities of methamphetamine, and firearms, including so-called “ghost guns” lacking serial numbers.

The following defendants were arrested today and are expected to make their initial appearances and be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles:

• José Luis Salazar-Cruz, 44, a.k.a. “Oso,” of Lancaster, an illegal alien from Mexico;
• Alfonso Salazar, 46, a.k.a. “Pirate,” of Lancaster, an illegal alien from Mexico;
• José Manuel Salazar, 22, a.k.a. “Lil Oso,” of Lancaster; and
• Jorge Humberto Salazar, 43, a.k.a. “Sharky,” of Hesperia; an illegal alien from Mexico.

José Luis Salazar-Cruz, Alfonso Salazar, and Jorge Humberto Salazar are brothers. José Manuel Salazar is José Luis Salazar-Cruz’s son.

Law enforcement continues to search for co-defendant José Ángel López Paniagua, 23, of Littlerock.

All five defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, one count of conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing in firearms without a license, and one count of engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license.

Salazar-Cruz is charged with seven counts of being an alien in possession of firearms, seven counts of distribution of methamphetamine, four counts of distribution of fentanyl, one count of trafficking in firearms, one count of possession of a destructive device, and one count of possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle.

The other defendants are charged with various felonies – with Paniagua charged with two counts of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, two counts of distribution of fentanyl, two counts of distribution of methamphetamine, and one count of possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle. Among the charges Alfonso Salazar faces is distribution of methamphetamine and being an alien in possession of a firearm.

According to the indictment, from February 2024 to December 2025, Salazar-Cruz used text messaging applications, encrypted messaging applications, telephone calls, and in-person meetings to coordinate the sale of narcotics, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, as well as firearms. The other defendants charged then brokered sales of the drugs and firearms between suppliers and customers and met with customers to sell the drugs.

Multiple drug sales were made – often of approximately one pound of methamphetamine. For example, on January 21, 2025, Salazar-Cruz sold a buyer nearly one pound of methamphetamine and approximately 324 grams (11.4 ounces) of fentanyl. 

On July 30, 2025, Salazar-Cruz sold a buyer approximately 1.2 kilograms (2.5 pounds) of methamphetamine. On December 19, 2025, Salazar-Cruz sold the same buyer approximately 2.3 kilograms (5 pounds) of methamphetamine.

From December 2024 to July 2025, Salazar-Cruz and the other defendants also illegally sold buyers multiple firearms, including a Glock .45-caliber pistol, a street-sweeper destructive device, and a privately manufactured AR-style rifle with no serial number, commonly referred to as a “ghost gun.”

In May 2025, Salazar-Cruz and three other defendants told a buyer that their supply of drugs came from Tijuana and Mexicali, Mexico by traveling across the border via trailer; Paniagua obtained the drugs from members of the Sinaloa cartel; and he provided the drugs to Salazar-Cruz in exchange for money.

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

If convicted of all charges, the defendants would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the United States Postal Inspection Service; the Drug Enforcement Administration; Homeland Security Investigations; the San Bernardino Police Department; the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; the California Highway Patrol; and the Los Angeles Police Department are investigating this matter. 

Assistant United States Attorney Clifford D. Mpare of the Major Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. 

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. The HSTF utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

RIVERSIDE, California – A San Bernardino County man has been charged in a federal criminal complaint with deliberating setting fires that destroyed a 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse, causing approximately $500 million in damage, the Justice Department announced today.

Chamel Abdulkarim, 29, of Highland, is charged with arson of a building used in interstate and foreign commerce and used in activities affecting interstate and foreign commerce. The federal complaint was filed late Thursday.

Abdulkarim was arrested on Tuesday and is in local custody in San Bernardino County. He is expected to be arraigned on state criminal charges this morning in San Bernardino County Superior Court.

According to an affidavit filed with the federal criminal complaint, early in the morning on April 7, Abdulkarim filmed himself setting fire to multiple pallets of paper goods inside of a large distribution center in Ontario. As he lit the fires, he stated, “If you’re not going to pay us enough to [expletive] live or afford to live, at least pay us enough not to do this [expletive].”

The fires Abdulkarim set quickly consumed the building, resulting in its destruction and causing approximately $500 million in damage.

Abdulkarim posted videos of himself on social media setting the fires. He further made statements to others on the telephone and via text messages related to his motive for setting the building on fire, including the following: “I just cost these [expletive] billions,” “1% is a [expletive] joke,” and “All you had to do was pay us enough to live. Pay us more of the value WE bring. Not corporate. Didn’t see the shareholders picking up a shift.”

The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office is pursuing a criminal case against him in connection with Tuesday’s fire. 

A complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, Abdulkarim would face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Ontario Police Department, and the Ontario Fire Department are investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Alexander S. Gorin of the National Security Division is prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – A former member of the Minnesota National Guard was found guilty by a jury today of sexually abusing a subordinate during a training mission at Fort Irwin United States Army base in San Bernardino County.

Kelly Boylan, 56, of Minneapolis, was found guilty of one count of abusive sexual contact. He was remanded into federal custody immediately following the reading of today's verdict.

According to evidence presented at a four-day trial, in July 2020, Boylan was a member of the Minnesota National Guard and, during a training mission at Fort Irwin, sexually abused a direct subordinate, who then was a 23-year-old woman. Both Boylan and the victim had been deployed to Fort Irwin for one month of training.

Boylan was a staff sergeant, which is a non-commissioned officer, and outranked the victim, who was a specialist, which is a junior soldier. 

In the Army, non-commissioned officers are prohibited from engaging in sexual relationships with junior soldiers because of the military authority they exert over them.

The victim reported the attack to the Army’s law enforcement division, which began an investigation that led to Boylan’s arrest and prosecution.

United States District Judge Wesley L. Hsu scheduled a July 24 sentencing hearing, at which time Boylan will face a statutory maximum sentence of two years in federal prison.

The FBI investigated this matter. The United States Army Criminal Investigation Division provided assistance.

Assistant United States Attorneys Neil P. Thakor of the Major Crimes Section and Erin C. Kiss of the Riverside Branch Office are prosecuting this case.

SANTA ANA, California – A San Fernando Valley man who operated corrupt medical clinics was sentenced today to 216 months in federal prison for participating in a drug trafficking ring that sold thousands of illegal opioid prescriptions for cash.

Justin Douglas Cozart, 48, of Woodland Hills, who operated and supervised the ChiroMed medical clinics, was sentenced by United States District Judge David O. Carter. 

In February 2025, at the conclusion of a five-day trial, a federal jury found Cozart guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute oxycodone, one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, and one count of concealment money laundering.

From 2017 to January 2020, Cozart and others knowingly and intentionally participated in a conspiracy to distribute the opioid painkiller oxycodone outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.

Cozart operated several medical clinics in Southern California. Other members of the conspiracy recruited sham patients to go to Cozart’s clinics – including ones in Inglewood, Santa Ana, and Anaheim – to obtain oxycodone prescriptions. Cozart employed doctors at the clinic, including John Korzelius, 74, a.k.a. “Dr. K,” of Long Beach, who wrote oxycodone prescriptions for the fake patients. The recruiters then paid Cozart for the fraudulent oxycodone prescriptions.

Upon obtaining the prescriptions from the clinic, the recruiters took the sham patients to a pharmacy to fill the prescriptions. After collecting and consolidating the pills, co-conspirators shipped them to a drug customer in the Boston area, for distribution on the black market. On two occasions in October and December 2018, parcels containing their consolidated pills were seized by law enforcement.

In November and December of 2019, at a clinic in Inglewood, Korzelius issued prescriptions for 60 30 milligram oxycodone pills – the highest dose of short-acting oxycodone available and the dose most popular among drug abusers – to a patient who actually was an undercover law enforcement officer.

Korzelius did not conduct a physical examination of this “patient” and instructed the undercover officer to not fill the prescription at a large pharmacy such as Walmart or CVS. 

“[Cozart] was a primary, illegal source of supply of oxycodone, a dangerous and frequently abused drug, for an organization that was shipping thousands of pills across the country for sale,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “He converted otherwise lawful chiropractic clinics into drug trafficking businesses, and pulled their existing employees…into his scheme.”

In total, prosecutors in this case have secured nine convictions.

Korzelius pleaded guilty in February 2025 to one count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone. His California medical license expired in December 2020. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 8.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Torrance Police Department provided substantial assistance. 

Assistant United States Attorneys Rosalind Wang and Brian Yang of the Orange County Office are prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – A San Fernando Valley woman was sentenced today to 180 months in federal prison for her long-running drug dealing activities, including selling ketamine that contributed to at least two deaths, including the overdose death of actor Matthew Perry in October 2023.

Jasveen Sangha, 42, a.k.a. “Ketamine Queen,” of North Hollywood, was sentenced by United States District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett.

Sangha pleaded guilty in September 2025 to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury.

Sangha is a dual citizen of the United States and the United Kingdom and has been in federal custody since August 2024.

“For years…Sangha operated a high-volume drug trafficking business out of her North Hollywood residence,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “To cultivate her business, [Sangha] marketed herself as an exclusive dealer who catered to high-profile Hollywood clientele…While [Sangha] worked to expand and profit from her drug trafficking, she knew – and disregarded – the grave harm her conduct was causing.”

According to court documents, Sangha worked with Erik Fleming, 56, of Hawthorne, to knowingly distribute ketamine to Perry, a successful actor and author whose struggles with drug addiction were well documented. In October 2023, Sangha and Fleming sold Perry 51 vials of ketamine, which were provided to Kenneth Iwamasa, 61, of Toluca Lake, Perry’s live-in personal assistant.

Leading up to Perry’s death, Iwamasa repeatedly injected Perry with the ketamine that Sangha supplied to Fleming. Specifically, on October 28, 2023, Iwamasa injected Perry with at least three shots of Sangha’s ketamine, which caused Perry’s death.

After learning from news reports of Perry’s death, Sangha called Fleming on the Signal app to discuss how to distance themselves from it. That day, Sangha updated the settings on the Signal apps to automatically delete her messages with Fleming. She further instructed Fleming to “Delete all our messages.”

Two days after Perry’s death, Fleming left Sangha a voicemail on Signal and texted, “Please call . . . Got more info and want to bounce ideas off you. I’m 90% sure everyone is protected. I never dealt with [Perry]. Only his Assistant. So the Assistant was the enabler. Also they are doing a 3 month tox screening . . . Does K stay in your system or is it immediately flushed out[?].”

In August 2019, Sangha sold four vials ketamine to victim Cody McLaury, who died hours later from a drug overdose.

In March 2024, law enforcement searched the residence and found thousands of pressed methamphetamine pills, 79 vials of liquid ketamine, MDMA (Ecstasy) tablets, counterfeit Xanax pills, baggies containing powdered ketamine and cocaine, and other drug trafficking items such as a gold money counting machine, a scale, a wireless signal and hidden camera detector, drug packaging materials, and $5,723 in cash.

Sangha also used her North Hollywood residence to store, package, and distribute narcotics, including ketamine and methamphetamine, since at least June 2019.

Besides Sangha, the following defendants have been sentenced in this case:

• Salvador Plasencia, 44, a.k.a. “Dr. P,” of Santa Monica, is serving a 30-month prison sentence after pleading guilty in July 2025 to four counts of distribution of ketamine. He surrendered his California medical license in September 2025. Plasencia repeatedly sold vials of ketamine to Perry despite knowing Perry’s well-documented history of drug addiction and that Perry’s personal assistant was administering the drug without medical training or supervision.
• Mark Chavez, 55, of San Diego, was sentenced to three years of probation, eight months of home detention, and was ordered to perform 300 hours of community service after he pleaded guilty in October 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. Chavez operated a ketamine clinic and sold the drug to Plasencia, who then distributed it to Perry. Chavez surrendered his medical license in November 2024.

Iwamasa and Fleming are scheduled to be sentenced in the coming months. Each of them pleaded guilty in August 2024 to federal narcotics charges.

The Los Angeles Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the United States Postal Inspection Service investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Ian V. Yanniello of the National Security Division and Haoxiaohan H. Cai of the Major Frauds Section are prosecuting this case.