Central District of California

LOS ANGELES – Two Indian nationals were found guilty by a jury today of conspiring to steal cargo from warehouses across Southern California by buying or fraudulently using legitimate trucking companies to bid on authentic shipping contracts, picking up the cargo loads, and never delivering the loads to the agreed upon destinations.   

Arshpreet Singh, 28, of Sacramento, and Vikramjeet Singh, 31, of Fontana, were found guilty of one count conspiracy to commit theft from interstate or foreign shipments. Arshpreet Singh also was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to evidence presented at a seven-day trial, from March 2024 to June 2025, Arshpreet Singh and his co-conspirators purchased or fraudulently used real trucking companies to bid on authentic shipping contracts. After winning the bids, the defendants and others took possession of the cargo but stole it rather than deliver it to the correct destination. 

The stolen cargo was often high value electronics such as televisions and laptops, appliances and other high-value consumer goods. Other items stolen during the conspiracy included vacuums, LED lights, shoes and tires, with an estimated loss of at least $2 million.

The thefts occurred across Southern California, including in Fontana, Vernon, Santa Fe Springs, Perris, City of Industry, Long Beach, Compton, Commerce, Pico Rivera, Chino, and Moreno Valley, as well as in Grand Prairie, Texas. 

The defendants purchased established trucking companies to further their scheme. For example, in March 2024, Arshpreet Singh met with the owner of a Texas-based carrier company named Z&F Transportation LLC to purchase the company for approximately $22,000. Later that month, a co-conspirator, on behalf of Z&F Transportation LLC, picked up a load of televisions in Fontana and never delivered it to its intended destination in Florida.

In May 2024, co-conspirators purchased a carrier company named Skyways Trucking LLC and then used it to steal laptops, televisions, solar panels and other items. Co-conspirators booked loads through brokers such as Uber Freight, picked up loads, then did not deliver the loads to their intended destinations. 

Vikramjeet Singh was acquitted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

United States District Judge Anne Hwang scheduled sentencings hearings for January 20, 2027, at which time Arshpreet Singh will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, and Vikramjeet Singh will face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

The FBI’s Inland Violent Crime Suppression Task Force, IRS Criminal Investigation, the Fontana Police Department, the San Bernardino County Sheriff Department, the Riverside County Sheriff Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department, and the Fort Worth (Texas) Police Department investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Stephen Chang of the Transnational Organized Crime Section and Lloyd Masson of the General Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.

SANTA ANA, California – Two Chinese nationals have been charged in a federal criminal complaint alleging they presented United States passports belonging to other people when they tried to enter the U.S. from Mexico last month at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport, the Justice Department announced today.

Jin Fu Wei, 44 of Guangxi Province, China, and Xiaodan Lei, 47, of Henan Province, China, are charged with misuse of passport.

They have been in federal custody since their arrest last month and are expected to make their initial appearances today in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

“Thanks to the diligent work of customs officers, two Chinese nationals attempting to use U.S. passports belonging to real American citizens were detained and now face federal felony charges,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “This case is not only a criminal matter. It also raises serious national security concerns when foreign citizens are able to enter the United States under false identities. We have a right to know exactly who is crossing our borders and what their intentions are.” 

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, on August 26, Wei and Lei – both citizens of China – traveled by commercial airliner from Los Cabos International Airport in Mexico to the U.S. port of entry at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana. Upon arrival, the defendants presented to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers U.S. passports of actual U.S. citizens for inspection and admission into the United States.

CBP officers determined that the biometric identifiers associated with the U.S. passports did not match those of Wei and Lei, namely that there was a mismatch between the facial recognition scans of the defendants and the scanned U.S. passports they presented. Neither of the defendants’ names appeared on the flight manifest, an official document that lists all the passengers and crew on board an aircraft.

Law enforcement detained the defendants for further review of their admissibility into the U.S. 

On his person, Wei had one Chinese credit card and one Chinese bank card, both of which were in his name – not the name of the individual whose U.S. passport he used. Wei also had in his possession an expired Texas driver’s license for the rightful passport holder.

A criminal complaint merely contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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

The FBI is investigating this matter with assistance from CBP. 

Assistant United States Attorney Kent M. Walters of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – Two twin brothers and MRI technicians pleaded guilty today to deliberately failing to report to the IRS more than $1.3 million in income, including money they made from running a golf tee-time brokering business as a side hustle.

 Se Youn “Steve” Kim, 42, of Buena Park, pleaded guilty to one count of subscribing to a false tax return.

Hee Youn “Ted” Kim, 42, of Pomona, pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion.

According to their plea agreements, beginning in 2021, the Kim brothers operated a golf tee-time brokering business in which they reserved thousands of golf tee times at numerous golf courses in Los Angeles and Orange counties and resold them for a fee to members of the public.

Kim brothers directed reservation fees from their tee time business to be deposited into their personal financial accounts even after they formed a corporate entity for the venture, assigned an Employer Identification Number, and opened a business account. 

Neither brother ever reported to the IRS any income from their tee time business, and both admitted to using some of the funds in this corporate account to pay for personal expenses and make cash withdrawals.

For the tax years 2021 through 2023, Steve Kim received approximately $810,919 in income. For the tax years 2022 and 2023 Ted Kim received in income approximately $496,998.

Steve Kim admitted that his 2021 federal income tax return omitted approximately $27,510 in income he earned from the tee-time brokering business he ran with his brother. His tax return that year further omitted income from capital gains, unemployment compensation, and early retirement distribution in the amounts of approximately $4,747; $8,723; and $8,635, respectively.

Both Steve and Ted Kim falsely claimed to their employers, who hired them as MRI technicians, that they were exempt from federal income tax withholdings, resulting in their employers ceasing any federal tax withholding for them. 

For the tax years 2022 and 2023, Steve Kim willfully evaded the assessment of income tax in the amount of $155,021 while Ted Kim willfully evaded the assessment of income tax in the amount of $97,354.

Steve Kim further admitted to willfully failing to pay income tax due for the tax years 2012 through 2021, resulting in at least $221,004 in payments, interest, and penalties owed to the IRS. Rather than using available funds to pay his outstanding tax balance, Steve Kim spent his money on various other purchases and services. He caused a tax loss in the amount of at least $387,221 for tax years 2012 through 2023.

Ted Kim admitted to willfully failing to pay approximately $97,041 owed in payments, interest, and penalties for the tax years 2016 through 2021, and instead spent that money on other purchases and services. He caused a tax loss in the amount of $194,395 for tax years 2016 through 2023.

United States District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld, Jr., scheduled January 12, 2027, sentencing hearings, at which time Steve Kim will face a statutory maximum sentence of three years in federal prison and Ted Kim will face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter.

Special Assistant United States Attorney Yervant P. Hagopian of the Major Frauds Section and Assistant United States Attorney Sebastian Bellm of the General Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – A South Bay family therapist was sentenced today to 200 months in federal prison for installing a hidden camera in the stall of a women’s bathroom located at his place of work where he provided therapy services to, among others, young girls.

Joseph Toews, 31, of Manhattan Beach, was sentenced by United States District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld, Jr., who also fined him $50,000, ordered him to pay a special assessment of $55,000, and ordered him placed on supervised release for a term of 25 years once Toews eventually is released from prison.

Toews pleaded guilty on June 23 to one count of production of child pornography. He has been in federal custody since April 14.

According to court documents, in January 2023, Toews installed a video-recording device in the bathroom stall of a women’s bathroom, located at his place of work. Toews, while providing therapy services, affixed a video recording device in the publicly available women’s bathroom in the same building as his office. His video recording included the minor victims, some of whom received therapy services from him, including, among other methods, play therapy.

While the recording device was active, Toews captured at least 11 separate videos of the minor victims. 

Toews further admitted in his plea agreement that, from January 2023 to December 2025, he knowingly received child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including purchasing sexually explicit videos of children via darknet online video stores. 

“His conduct was not a spur of the moment happening,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “[Toews] had been stockpiling CSAM prior to his decision to create CSAM of his own.”

The FBI investigated this matter. 

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

LOS ANGELES – An illegal alien from El Salvador was sentenced today to 63 months in federal prison for committing seven armed robberies of convenience stores in Southern California in 2024 – a crime spree interrupted by his deportation to El Salvador but which he resumed when he illegally reentered the United States.

Jesus Soto-Parada, 28, of South Los Angeles, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dolly M. Gee, who also ordered him to pay $17,815 in restitution.

Soto-Parada pleaded guilty in December 2025 to one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act) and seven counts of Hobbs Act robbery. He has been in federal custody since July 2024.

“After committing a string of armed robberies and being deported, this defendant illegally returned to our country and went right back to terrorizing our community,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “No one should have to fear for their life while earning a living. Today’s sentence holds this criminal illegal alien accountable with several years behind bars in federal prison.” 

From January 2024 until his deportation in April 2024, Soto-Parada committed at least six robberies in Buena Park, Cypress, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Newport Beach, and Agoura Hills. During two separate robberies on January 11, 2024, Soto-Parada’s co-conspirators pointed what appeared to be a handgun at the store clerk and asked, “Where’s the money?” 

On January 18, 2024, during an armed robbery in Fullerton, one of Soto-Parada’s co-conspirators brandished what appeared to be a handgun, racked the slide, pointed the handgun at the store clerk, and demanded money.

In a robbery that occurred on February 13, 2024, in Newport Beach, one of Soto-Parada’s co-conspirators brandished what appeared to be a black pistol, racked the slide of the pistol while pointing it at the store clerk, and demanded money. 

Soto-Parada returned illegally to the United States in 2024 and then robbed a 7-Eleven in Gardena with co-defendant, Daniel Pavon, 22, of Gardena, on June 13, 2024. During that robbery, Pavon pointed a replica firearm at an employee while Soto-Parada stole cash from a register. Soto-Parada and Pavon then fled with approximately $250 from the 7-Eleven. Law enforcement soon afterward arrested them.

In each of the seven robberies that Soto-Parada committed, a co-conspirator had a firearm or replica firearm that was used to threaten the employee’s life, typically by pointing the firearm at the employee while demanding money. 

 “[Soto-Parada] and his co-conspirators committed these robberies by threatening the lives of the various victim-employees, causing those employees to think they would be killed and their children without their parent if they did not comply with [Soto-Parada’s] and his co-conspirators’ demands for money,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum.

Pavon is serving a four-year federal prison sentence after pleading guilty on March 11 to four counts of misprision of a felony. Judge Gee ordered him to pay $250 in restitution.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Orange County Violent Crime Task Force (OCVCTF), which is comprised of federal and local law enforcement agencies, including the ATF, the Brea Police Department, the Santa Ana Police Department, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, the Newport Beach Police Department, and the Fullerton Police Department, is investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Jena MacCabe of the Major Crimes Section and Caitlin Campbell of the Orange County Office prosecuted this matter.

LOS ANGELES – A former deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) was sentenced today to 21 months in federal prison for abusing his law enforcement powers to threaten and intimidate a now-imprisoned, self-styled cryptocurrency businessman’s perceived adversaries, to advance that criminal’s interests, and for concealing from the IRS more than $373,000 in income he obtained from that criminal.

Eric Chase Saavedra, 42, of Chino, who once served as an LASD detective and federal task-force officer, was sentenced by United States District Judge Percy Anderson, who also ordered him to pay $90,984 in restitution.

Saavedra pleaded guilty in February 2025 to one count of conspiracy against rights and one count of false subscription to a tax return. 

As part of his plea agreement, Saavedra agreed to forfeit several items he purchased as part of the conspiracy, including 32 Louis Vuitton bags, 27 pairs of Gucci shoes, five Louis Vuitton wallets, and a money-counting machine.

According to court documents, Adam Iza, 26, who resided in Beverly Hills and Newport Beach, was a self-styled cryptocurrency businessman who hired off-duty LASD deputies to act as his personal enforcers against his enemies. As part of the conspiracy to violate civil rights, Iza had the deputies assist him in carrying out extortion, intimidation, setting people up for arrest, and abuse of legal process. 

One of the deputies Iza employed was Saavedra, who was assigned to LASD’s Operation Safe Streets Bureau and served as a federal task force officer assigned to the United States Marshals Service’s Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force.

Saavedra founded a private security company, Saavedra & Associates LLC, which provided private security for its clients and often employed active LASD deputies and other law enforcement officers. 

From August 2021 to March 2022, Iza – who then lived in a Bel Air mansion – hired Saavedra & Associates to provide him round-the-clock private security at a typical cost of $100,000 per month. Iza hired the company again from July 2024 until Iza’s arrest in September 2024.

Starting in the fall of 2021, Saavedra illegally and regularly used his LASD credentials to access sensitive law enforcement databases to obtain personal identifiable information (PII) for Iza, including PII for people with whom Iza had personal or business disputes, their associates, and their family members. 

Saavedra knew he was not authorized under LASD rules to access this information for non-law enforcement matters or to share it with private clients. He did so because he wanted to impress Iza with his access to law enforcement information and to continue to receive lucrative business from Iza, according to court documents.

Saavedra used his powers as a sworn law enforcement officer to improperly obtain court-authorized search warrants related to individuals with whom Iza had disputes, including a warrant to search an individual’s residence that Saavedra helped facilitate and a warrant to obtain location information associated with another individual that Saavedra directly obtained.

Iza, Saavedra and others used confidential information that the LASD deputies obtained in their official capacities to locate, intimidate, harass, threaten and extort individuals with whom Iza had disputes and their associates, according to court documents. They also used Telegram and other encrypted communications apps to avoid law enforcement detection.

For example, in late 2021 or early 2022, Iza – believing a victim possessed a laptop computer containing more than $100 million in cryptocurrency – discussed and agreed that Saavedra would obtain a search warrant for GPS location associated with that victim’s telephone number. In January 2022, Saavedra applied for and obtained a search warrant under false pretenses from a Los Angeles Superior Court judge. In an affidavit supporting the search warrant application, Saavedra falsely stated that the victim’s telephone number was associated with a suspect in a firearms investigation.

After securing the illegal warrant, Saavedra tracked down the victim and provided the victim’s address to Iza. In March 2022, Iza caused three armed individuals to try to force entry into the victim’s home to steal the laptop. The individuals fled after the victim fired a gunshot in their direction. Afterward, Iza sent the victim a video of the attempted home invasion robbery.

Saavedra further admitted to receiving approximately $373,146 in unreported income and subscribed to a false tax return for 2021.

Iza, who has been in federal custody since September 2024, pleaded guilty in January 2025 to one count of conspiracy against rights, one count of wire fraud, and one count of tax evasion. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 5 before Judge Anderson.

Iza is serving a 15-year federal prison sentence for his involvement in an attempted robbery of Bitcoin and a kidnapping in Connecticut in August 2024.

Saavedra is the fifth former LASD deputy to be sentenced in this matter. The other four former LASD deputies are:

• Michael David Coberg, 45, of Eastvale, is serving a 63-month federal prison sentence for helping Iza extort a rival and arranging the sham illegal drug possession arrest of another adversary in Paramount in 2021. Judge Anderson sentenced Coberg on March 16.
• Scott Allen Simpkins, 34, of Brea, was sentenced on July 13 to 18 months in federal prison for obstructing a federal investigation into Iza’s extortion of $25,000 from a party planner at Iza’s Bel Air mansion.
• David Anthony Rodriguez, 45, of La Verne, was sentenced on July 20 to one year in federal prison and who had worked for Iza as a private security guard, pleaded guilty to submitting a false search warrant application to a state court judge on behalf of a different client.
• Christopher Michael Cadman, 34, of Fullerton, was sentenced on September 14 to 21 months in federal prison and was ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution for abusing his status as a law enforcement officer to threaten and intimidate adversaries of a now-imprisoned, self-proclaimed cryptocurrency businessman, and for cheating on his taxes.

Relatedly, Judge Anderson on September 21 sentenced Iris Rabaya Au, 37, of Irvine, to 18 months in federal prison and ordered her to pay $1,484,343 in restitution for failing to report more than $2.6 million in ill-gotten gains she obtained via the criminal activities of Iza, her former boyfriend.

The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department provided assistance.

Assistant United States Attorney Maxwell K. Coll of the National Security Division prosecuted this case.

SANTA ANA, California – The CEO of a wearable technology company has been found guilty by a jury of running a near-$2 million Ponzi scheme by duping investors through lies that she owned “smart rings” patents that rightfully belonged to her former employer, and of fraudulently obtaining $150,000 in COVID-19 pandemic business-relief loans, the Justice Department announced today.

Michelle Bisnoff, 59, a.k.a. “Michelle Angeline Silverstein” and “Shelly Silverstein,” of Boca Raton, Florida, and who formerly resided in Pacific Palisades and Santa Barbara, was found guilty late Thursday of six counts of securities fraud, six counts of wire fraud, two counts of money laundering, one count of wire fraud in connection with a COVID-relief loan, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

According to evidence presented at a seven-day trial, Bisnoff had been hired by McLear Ltd., a United Kingdom-based company, to develop a United States market for McLear’s patented near-field communication (NFC) payment rings. These products were designed to embed credit card information inside a wearable ring. 

By no later than early 2017, Bisnoff falsely claimed she owned the key patent, including by using a falsified patent assignment, and formed Esos Rings Inc. to market “smart rings” based on that patent.

Among Bisnoff’s lies to investors was that Esos was profitable, used investors’ money to increase its manufacturing capabilities and inventory to meet demands from retailers such as Target and Walmart, and was receiving large infusions of capital from companies such as Apple Inc. and Roc Nation. She also falsely claimed to be on the cusp of a licensing arrangement with Middle Earth Enterprises (MEE), which controls The Lord of the Rings brand.

She further lied that Esos would fund buybacks of the investors’ shares at prices above what they paid for those shares, resulting in substantial profits. 

In fact, Esos had little business revenue, no agreements with Target, had sold just six rings on Walmart.com, three of which were returned, never received any investment from Apple or Roc Nation, and never finalized any licensing agreement with MEE.

Bisnoff also knew the financial statements, a corporate tax return purportedly filed by Esos, and a patent valuation she provided to investors were neither prepared nor signed by the professionals who supposedly prepared the documents. 

She used most of the victims’ investments to pay her personal expenses, including rent for her personal residence, and to make Ponzi-type payments to further her scheme. 

When Bisnoff failed to provide the promised investment returns, she offered a series of bogus explanations described by one victim who testified at trial as “dog-ate-my-homework” excuses, attempted to embezzle approximately $550,000 from an employer to send to investors, and then sent checks that bounced.

In total, Bisnoff fraudulently obtained nearly $2 million from investors and caused her victims to lose approximately $1.4 million.

In addition, in March 2020, Bisnoff fraudulently applied for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) through a federal program designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering economic harm from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Using the name “Michelle Silverstein” and identifying herself as the chief operating officer of Esos, Bisnoff lied about the company’s gross revenue and the cost of goods it purportedly sold during the 12-month period preceding the pandemic. 

She also certified that she would only use the EIDL loan proceeds for business expenses, but instead she used some of the $150,000 she received for personal expenses, including monthly rent of approximately $15,600 on a large house she leased in Pacific Palisades.

United States District Judge Mónica Ramírez Almadani scheduled a January 21, 2027, sentencing hearing, at which time Bisnoff will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each count of securities fraud and wire fraud, a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for each money laundering count, and a mandatory two-year consecutive federal prison sentence for the aggravated identity theft counts.

Relatedly, in 2023, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Bisnoff and Esos for fraudulently raising $1.95 million from Esos investors. A September 2023 judgment held Bisnoff and Esos jointly and severally liable for disgorgement of $566,483, representing net profits from the fraud, as well as $46,836 in pre-judgment interest and a civil penalty of $223,229, with the total amount due – $836,548 – to be paid to the SEC within 30 days. According to court documents, Bisnoff’s criminal case, to date neither Bisnoff nor Esos has paid any of the amounts due.

The FBI and the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG) investigated this matter. Substantial assistance was provided by the SEC and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

Assistant United States Attorneys Ranee A. Katzenstein, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, Alexandra Sloan Kelly of the Environmental Crimes and Consumer Protection Section, and Diane Roldán of the Major Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.

RIVERSIDE, California – A Riverside County man pleaded guilty today – making him the third defendant in his case to plead guilty this week – to fraudulently obtaining from COVID-19 business-relief loans then helping others fraudulently obtain COVID business loans in exchange for a cut of the illicit proceeds, causing a total loss to taxpayers of approximately $3.5 million.

Daryl D. Knighten, Jr., 34, of Perris, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. 

Two co-defendants pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of wire fraud for their roles in the scheme: Vanessa M. Williams, 37, of Corona, and Denise Mata, 36, of Moreno Valley. Their sentencing hearings are scheduled for January 14, 2027.

According to the defendants’ plea agreements, from March 2021 to August 2021, Knighten, Williams, and Mata submitted fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for themselves, family members, close associates, and individuals they recruited. Congress created the program in 2020 to assist businesses dealing with COVID-19’s severe economic impact.

The defendants lied to the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) and banks in connection with the fraudulent PPP loan applications. Each application falsely stated that the PPP loan applicant was self-employed and falsely certified that each loan would be used for permissible business purposes. Each loan application also contained fraudulent tax forms to deceive the SBA and PPP participating lenders into disbursing loan funds.

Lenders approved PPP loans for the defendants and more than 100 co-schemers. The lenders then disbursed the PPP loan funds into bank accounts belonging to the defendants and their co-schemers. Co-schemers paid kickbacks to the defendants within days of receiving the fraudulently obtained PPP loan funds.

Knighten, Williams, Mata, and their co-schemers used the illicitly obtained money for their own personal benefit and not for expenses allowable under the PPP. The defendants also submitted fraudulent documents to the SBA and lenders to obtain loan forgiveness for the illegally obtained PPP loans.

Knighten admitted to causing at least $145,550 in losses to the PPP loan program. Williams and Mata admitted to causing losses of at least $187,497 and $201,642, respectively. 

Federal prosecutors believe the total loss resulting from this scheme is approximately $3.5 million.

United States District Judge Kenly Kiya Kato scheduled a January 14, 2027, sentencing hearing for Knighten, who like Williams and Mata, at that time will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

Co-defendant Mikhail G. Hoalim, 35, of Moreno Valley, has pleaded not guilty to nine counts of wire fraud and is scheduled to go to trial on November 9 for his alleged role in this scheme.

As part of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Task Force, this investigation was conducted by Amtrak Office of Inspector General with support from Homeland Security Investigations. The PRAC was established to promote transparency and facilitate coordinated oversight of the federal government’s COVID-19 pandemic response. This case was also supported by the PRAC’s Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence, which applies the latest advances in analytic and forensic technologies to help offices of inspectors general and law enforcement pursue data-driven pandemic relief fraud investigations.

Assistant United States Attorney Eric L. Mackie of the Major Crimes Section and Senior Litigation Counsel Gary Bell and Trial Attorneys Andrew Schupanitz and Phil Huynh from the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division are prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – The CEO of a Virginia-based software company and a Russian national have been arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging them with concealing from U.S. government agencies that their company was owned and controlled by Russian nationals and that its software was developed in Russia, the Justice Department announced today. 

Lee Reiber, 55, of Boise, Idaho, was arrested in Idaho on Sunday, made his initial appearance on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Idaho, and was ordered released on bond. He is expected to be arraigned in Los Angeles federal court in the coming weeks.

Oleg Sergeyevich Davydov, 52, of Moscow, Russia, was arrested on Sunday at London Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom prior to boarding a flight to Istanbul. The United States expects to seek Davydov’s extradition.

The defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. 

Reiber allegedly represented to the government that the company had no foreign ownership or control and that its software was developed in the United States, when in fact five Russian nationals, including Davydov, owned and controlled the company and its software was developed in Russia.

The complaint does not allege that the software contained malicious code or that it was used to gain unauthorized access to any customer’s computer systems or data. 

In a separate proceeding, a federal magistrate judge in the Central District of California on September 19 issued a warrant authorizing the seizure of corporate bank accounts, approximately 57 domains, and other cyberinfrastructure used in furtherance of the alleged acts. The domains and related infrastructure were seized on September 20.   

According to an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, from March 2022 to the present, Reiber, Davydov, and others conspired to obtain contracts from federal agencies through Oxygen Forensics Inc., a digital forensics company based in Alexandria, Virginia. 

Digital forensic software is used to recover, preserve, and analyze electronic data from digital devices while keeping the original files unchanged.

The affidavit identifies the affected agencies as the U.S. Department of War and three components of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). These components include the U.S. Secret Service and its National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI); Homeland Security Investigations; and the DHS Office of Inspector General. 

According to the affidavit, Oxygen Forensics held itself out to the U.S. government as being an independent, U.S.-based company. In fact, Davydov and four other Russian nationals owned and controlled the company through a holding company based in Cyprus. 

The same five individuals also owned a Russian company, known until September 2022 as Oxygen Software LLC and now as MKO Systems LLC, which Davydov co-founded in 2000. The developers who wrote the software worked in Russia, and MKO sold the software in Russia under different product names to customers that reportedly included the Russian Federal Security Service (known as the FSB), the Russian Investigative Committee, and the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. 

Davydov was the Russian company’s chief technology officer and was responsible for the development of its software. He helped establish Oxygen Forensics in Virginia in 2013. Reiber joined the company in August 2015.

After the United States imposed expanded sanctions on Russia in early 2022 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Davydov, Reiber, and the Russian co-conspirators agreed to conceal Oxygen Forensics’ true ownership and the development of its software in Russia. Reiber was installed as the company’s CEO, president, and chairman of the board in March 2022. The Russian owners were then removed from the company’s public corporate filings. 

The company’s Russian owners continued to make significant decisions and set Reiber’s compensation, overruled him on payments, and held signatory authority over the company’s bank accounts.  

In December 2022 and October 2023, Reiber falsely certified to the U.S. government that Oxygen Forensics had no immediate or highest-level owner. According to the affidavit, in November 2023, a reporter asked Reiber about Oxygen Forensics’ ownership and its connection to the Russian company. Reiber then wrote to Davydov and two other Russian owners that public reporting on the connection “could destroy this entire opportunity,” referring to a pending contract with the National Computer Forensics Institute, and that the “current existence of this company hangs in the balance.”

In September 2024, the NCFI awarded a five-year contract for the software. The award file included Reiber’s October 2023 certification that the company had no immediate or highest-level owner.

In July 2024, at Reiber’s direction, Oxygen Forensics certified to the Department of War that no foreign person had the power to control the appointment of the company's directors or managers or to direct its other decisions or activities. As Reiber then knew, the company’s Russian owners were foreign persons who controlled its decisions and one of them had recently been appointed to its board under a Turkish identity.

Reiber and the Russian owners also concealed that the software was developed in Russia. In March 2026, Reiber told DHS personnel that no Russian was involved in developing the software and that no one in Russia had access to the environment in which it was built. Days later, Reiber authored a statement, published on the company's website, declaring that the company had no development presence in any restricted jurisdiction. According to the complaint, the software was written and managed by a team in Russia under Davydov’s direction, in a cloud environment administered by one of the Russian owners.          

A criminal complaint merely contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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

The United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security is investigating this matter with assistance from the Department of War Office of Inspector General Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Cyber Field Office. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs is assisting in the provisional arrest and anticipated extradition of Davydov.

Assistant United States Attorneys David C. Lachman of the Major Frauds Section and Joshua O. Mausner of the National Security Division are prosecuting this case. Assistant United States Attorney James E. Dochterman of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section is handling the civil and criminal forfeitures of the seized property. 

LOS ANGELES – An Orange County woman who is the former girlfriend of a cryptocurrency fraudster who called himself “The Godfather” was sentenced today to 18 months in federal prison for failing to report more than $2.6 million in ill-gotten gains she obtained via her then-boyfriend’s criminal activities.

Iris Rabaya Au, 37, of Irvine, was sentenced by United States District Judge Percy Anderson, who also ordered her to pay $1,484,343 in restitution and to forfeit a fleet of luxury and high-performance cars, designer handbags, and three “Godfather” sculptures, among other assets. 

Au pleaded guilty in March 2025 to one count of subscribing to a false tax return.

According to Au’s plea agreement, from 2020 to 2024, once dated Adam Iza, 26, who resided in Beverly Hills and Newport Beach, and was a self-styled cryptocurrency businessman who has been in federal custody since September 2024. 

Iza committed a series of crimes, including fraudulently obtaining access to advertising accounts and lines of credit provided by Facebook Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. and selling access to those accounts. Iza obtained millions of dollars of unreported income because of these schemes. 

Separately, Iza engaged active Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) deputies to provide private security for him and caused the deputies, among other things, to obtain court-authorized search warrants and confidential law enforcement information targeting people with whom Iza had financial and personal disputes.

At Iza’s direction, Au created shell corporations and opened bank accounts in the names of those entities. She then used the illicit funds placed into those accounts to pay approximately $1 million to the deputies, mostly in cash, purchase or lease luxury real estate, cars, jewelry, and clothing, pay for recreational activity for Iza and herself valued at nearly $10 million, and acquire approximately $16 million in cryptocurrency for Iza.

Au transferred more than $2.6 million from these various accounts to her personal bank accounts during the period 2020 through 2023, income that she willfully failed to report to the IRS on her federal tax returns.

“[Au] set up the financial infrastructure that enabled Adam Iza to move, spend, and conceal millions of dollars in fraud proceeds while she personally benefited from the wealth,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “Au concealed entities and income from her tax preparer and filed returns reporting only a small fraction of what she had actually received. Those were affirmative acts designed to prevent the IRS from learning the true extent of her income.”

Iza pleaded guilty in January 2025 in Los Angeles federal court to one count of conspiracy against rights, one count of wire fraud, and one count of tax evasion. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 5 before Judge Anderson.

Iza is serving a 15-year federal prison sentence for his involvement in an attempted robbery of Bitcoin and a kidnapping in Connecticut in August 2024. 

IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Maxwell K. Coll of the National Security Division prosecuted this case.

LOS ANGELES – A Long Beach man was sentenced today to 30 years in federal prison for his primary role in the March 2021 murder of a victim who was shot to death in Inglewood during a marijuana deal.

Mateo Paul, 24, a.k.a. “Infant Bix,” was sentenced by United States District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha, who also ordered him to pay $1,842,927 in restitution.

Paul pleaded guilty in February 2025 to one count of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act) and one count of brandishing and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He has been in custody since November 2023.

According to court documents, in March 2021, Paul and co-defendants Leandrew Raglin, 24, of Lancaster, and Iysis Elanore Smith, 24, of Inglewood, agreed to rob a marijuana dealer at gunpoint. They devised a plan to lure the dealer via a social media application to a meeting location, where they would ambush him at gunpoint and steal his marijuana.

On March 15, 2021, Smith approached the vehicle occupied by the victim. While Smith distracted the victim, Paul and Raglin parked behind the victim’s vehicle. Raglin then exited the vehicle Paul was driving, approached the passenger side of the victim’s car and opened fire, repeatedly wounding the victim in the passenger seat. Raglin then walked around to the driver’s side of the vehicle and opened fire, fatally wounding the victim in the driver’s seat of the vehicle.

Paul admitted in his plea agreement that Raglin’s brandishing and discharge of the firearm fell within the scope of Paul’s criminal agreement and could reasonably have been foreseen to be a necessary or natural consequence of the unlawful agreement.

“[Paul] played a vital role in this senseless and selfish crime,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “He proposed the robbery to his co-conspirators, chose the target, asked his co-conspirator to set up the ruse luring the victims to the scene, told his other co-conspirator they would use a gun if necessary to complete the robbery, and drove the getaway car. Simply put, [the victim] would be alive today, if not for…Paul.”

Relatedly, at the conclusion of an eight-day trial, a jury in September 2025 found Raglin guilty of one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act), one count of Hobbs Act robbery, and one count of possessing, using, carrying, brandishing, and discharging a firearm in furtherance of, and one count of use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, resulting in death constituting murder. 

Raglin’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 8, 2027, at which time he will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

Smith has pleaded guilty to felony robbery charges in this case and awaits sentencing.

The FBI and the Inglewood Police Department investigated this matter.

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

LOS ANGELES – A Riverside County man was sentenced today to 262 months in federal prison for sex trafficking two minors throughout Los Angeles County, including on the Figueroa Corridor in South Los Angeles, an area of the city notorious for sex trafficking, including of minors.

Christian Brandon O’Neal Scurlock, 23, of Moreno Valley, was sentenced by United States District Judge Wesley L. Hsu, who also ordered him to pay $159,246 in restitution and placed him on lifetime supervised release.

Scurlock has been in federal custody since August 2024. He pleaded guilty in July 2025 to one count of sex trafficking of a minor. 

According to his plea agreement, Scurlock recruited two minor victims (ages 13 and 16) to engage in commercial sex work, including on the Figueroa Corridor in South Los Angeles – a 3.5-mile stretch of Figueroa Street spanning from Gage Avenue down to Imperial Highway, which Scurlock knew was patronized by commercial sex workers and customers.

Among other steps taken to maintain the victims in commercial sex work, Scurlock told them how much to charge for commercial sex acts, bought them clothes to wear when soliciting customers, brought the minor victims to popular areas for soliciting customers, collected and controlled the victims’ money, and provided the victims with smartphones to communicate with him. Scurlock exerted undue influence over his victims by controlling their finances, housing, transportation, and food and by supplying them with marijuana and alcohol. 

Scurlock recruited one of the minor victims when she was 13 years old after she ran away from a group home. In addition to maintaining her for commercial sex work, Scurlock also admitted to having illicit sexual intercourse with her. 

In April 2024, Scurlock transported the minor victims from Los Angeles County to a motel in Las Vegas so that they could engage in commercial sex work. He was found and arrested by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department with the two minor victims in his car, as well as $985 in cash and condoms.

The FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department, and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kelsey A. Stimson of the General Crimes Section and Danbee C. Kim of the Environmental Crimes and Consumer Protection Section prosecuted this case.

RIVERSIDE, California – An illegal immigrant from Mexico and his girlfriend whose four children were seized by Riverside County officials with judicial approval due to allegations of parental neglect, drug use, and failure to address mental health issues have been arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging them with forging a judge’s signature on a court document related to their federal lawsuit over the seizure, the Justice Department announced today.

Alan David Cadena, 43, and LayCee Shyann Sprouse, 34, both of Riverside, are charged with misuse of federal judicial signatures.

Both defendants, who were arrested late Thursday, are expected to make their initial appearances this afternoon in United States District Court in Riverside. No pleas will be taken today.

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, in August 2025, the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) received a referral regarding allegations of child neglect by Cadena and Sprouse. DPSS agents investigated and eventually filed warrants requesting the removal of all four children from the defendants’ custody due to unsanitary living conditions, recent drug use by the defendants, general neglect, and Sprouse’s failure to address mental health issues. DPSS took the four children into custody.

Cadena and Sprouse challenged DPSS’s actions in Riverside County Superior Court, seeking the return of their children, but that court ruled in DPSS’s favor. 

In February 2026, Cadena and Sprouse – representing themselves – filed a civil rights lawsuit in United States District Court challenging the child custody proceedings in state court and requested injunctive relief in the form of an order requiring the immediate return of their children.

On April 21, 2026, Cadena and Sprouse filed an order containing a federal judge’s forged signature ordering the return of their children from DPSS. On April 23, 2026, the victim judge confirmed she had not issued the order and the signature found on the document was a forgery.

A criminal complaint merely contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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

Special Agents of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Criminal Investigative Division are investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kyle W. Kahan and Kent M. Walters of the General Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – A Mexican national who decades ago was ordered removed from the United States was arrested today on an eight-count federal grand jury indictment charging her with securing her employment at a South Bay aerospace manufacturer and U.S. military contractor by lying on an employment authorization form that she was a U.S. citizen and by submitting someone else’s legitimate certificate of naturalization number.

Alma Patricia Contreras Villafana, 54, of South Los Angeles, is expected to make her initial appearance and be arraigned on Monday in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

Villafana is charged with five counts of wire fraud, one count of use of a false and forged certificate of naturalization, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of false claim to United States citizenship.

According to an indictment that a federal grand jury returned on Wednesday, in December 1996, Villafana secured employment at a Torrance-based business identified in court documents as “Company-2,” in part, by attesting on her Form I-9 that she was a U.S. citizen. A Form I-9 is used by U.S. employers to verify the identity and employment authorization of new employees. 

In fact, Villafana is an illegal alien from Mexico who in 2003 was ordered by an immigration judge to be removed from the United States. 

In January 2026, Villafana again knowingly submitted a Form I-9 falsely attesting under penalty of perjury that she was a U.S. citizen to maintain her employment at a business identified in court documents as “Company-1.”. As part of the Form I-9, she also knowingly provided a certificate of naturalization number that belonged to another person. 

From December 1996 to September 2026, Villafana obtained at least $1,402,459 in payment for her employment at Company-2 and Company-1, included by direct deposit wired to her bank account.

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

If convicted, Villafana would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count, a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for the use of a false and forged certificate of naturalization count, up to three years in federal prison for falsely claiming to have U.S. citizenship, and a mandatory two-year consecutive prison sentence for aggravated identity theft.

Homeland Security Investigations is investigating this matter. 

Assistant United States Attorney Kyle W. Kahan of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.

Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 74, a former Syrian prison warden and provincial governor, was sentenced today to 60 years in prison for torturing prisoners and lying to U.S. immigration officials to gain entry to the United States.

A jury found Alsheikh guilty in March 2026 of one count of conspiracy to commit torture, three counts of torture, one count of visa fraud, and one count of attempted naturalization fraud. Evidence presented during the trial showed that Alsheikh ordered and participated in the torture of prisoners while he was the head of Adra Prison, also known as Damascus Central Prison, outside of Damascus, Syria, from approximately 2005 to 2008. He committed human rights atrocities in Syria, including to silence political dissent, and he lied about his past to gain entry to the United States in 2020. 

“Samir Alsheikh is the highest-ranking former member of the Assad regime to be tried and convicted in person outside of Syria,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “He now answers to the United States justice system. The message is clear: human rights violators who come to the United States will receive no safe harbor here. We will find them, and they will be prosecuted and punished for their heinous crimes. The conviction in this case is a testament to the courage of his victims; the tenacity of our prosecutors, agents, and historians; and to the extraordinary cooperation and professionalism of Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office in arranging for us to meet with many witnesses in Germany.” 

“Criminals who inflict the type of savage brutality that this defendant did on his victims must never be granted refuge in our country,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “We hope today’s sentence gives some semblance of healing and closure to this defendant’s victims.” 

“This conviction stands as a powerful reminder that Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) will relentlessly pursue those who believe they can escape the consequences of their atrocities by hiding within our borders,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Erin Burke of the HSI Los Angeles Field Office. “While the defendant may have thought his actions in Syria’s Adra Prison were forgotten by time, our agents and partners ensured they were not. Through the tireless work of HSI’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center and our collaborative efforts with the FBI and international partners, we have ensured that justice was served. The United States will never be a safe haven for human rights abusers, and we will continue to hold them accountable, no matter how much time has passed.”

“If you engage in torture and come to the United States, the FBI and its partners are going to ensure that you face the consequences for your illegal disregard for human rights,” said Assistant Director Heith Janke of the FBI Criminal Division. “The acts Alsheikh ordered and directly participated in are gruesome and disturbing. We would like to offer our gratitude to the brave victims who testified leading to today’s sentencing. We hope that they are able to find some solace in the fact that it will now be their former prison warden who is incarcerated.”

Three of Alsheikh’s victims testified at trial about being tortured themselves and seeing and hearing the torture of other prisoners. The victims were fastened to a device, known as the “Flying Carpet,” that forcibly folded their bodies in half at the waist, manacled to the ceiling and suspended for days or hours, savagely beaten while immobilized inside tires, and packed into tiny, filthy, cold, wet cells that were infested with insects and other vermin.

According to evidence presented at trial, when two prisoners refused Alsheikh’s orders to harm political prisoners who were also housed at Adra Prison, and after a third prisoner’s letter of support to a political prisoner was intercepted by prison guards, Alsheikh ordered the prisoners to be sent to an underground section of the prison known as Wing 13, where they were held in tiny cells and tortured.

Evidence presented during the trial also established that Alsheikh lied to U.S. immigration authorities about his background to obtain a green card and on an application to naturalize as a U.S. citizen. Alsheikh entered the United States in 2020 and has been in custody since his arrest in July 2024.

Trial Attorney Patrick Jasperse of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua O. Mausner for the Central District of California prosecuted the case, with assistance from HRSP Historian/Analyst Philip Hoffman and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

In addition to HSI Los Angeles and FBI Chicago, HSI’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC) also significantly supported the case, along with the FBI’s International Human Rights Unit (IHRU). Established in 2009, the HRVWCC furthers the government’s efforts to identify, locate, and prosecute human rights abusers in the United States, including those who are known or suspected to have participated in persecution, war crimes, genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, female genital mutilation, and the use or recruitment of child soldiers. 

Members of the public who have information about former human rights violators in the United States are urged to contact U.S. law enforcement through the HSI tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE (1-866-347-2423) or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. They can also email HRV.ICE@ice.dhs.gov or complete its online tip form at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp.

LOS ANGELES – A former Syrian government official who was the head of one of that nation’s major prisons was sentenced today to 60 years in federal prison for torturing inmates, then later lying about it to United States immigration officials to fraudulently obtain a green card and attempt to naturalize as a U.S. citizen.

Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 74, formerly of Lexington, South Carolina, was sentenced by United States District Judge Hernán D. Vera, who will schedule a victim restitution hearing at a later date.

A federal jury convicted Alsheikh on March 16 of one count of conspiracy to commit torture, three counts of torture, one count of fraud in possession and use of an immigration document, and one count of attempted naturalization fraud. Alsheikh has been in federal custody since July 2024.

“Criminals who inflict the type of savage brutality that this defendant did on his victims must never be granted refuge in our country,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “We hope today’s sentence gives some semblance of healing and closure to this defendant’s victims.” 

“Samir Alsheikh is the highest-ranking former member of the Assad regime to be tried and convicted in person outside of Syria,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “He now answers to the United States justice system. The message is clear: human rights violators who come to the United States will receive no safe harbor here. We will find them, and they will be prosecuted and punished for their heinous crimes. The conviction in this case is a testament to the courage of his victims; the tenacity of our prosecutors, agents, and historians; and to the extraordinary cooperation and professionalism of Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office in arranging for us to meet with many witnesses in Germany.” 

“This conviction stands as a powerful reminder that Homeland Security Investigations will relentlessly pursue those who believe they can escape the consequences of their atrocities by hiding within our borders,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Erin Burke of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles Field Office. “While the defendant may have thought his actions in Syria’s Adra Prison were forgotten by time, our agents and partners ensured they were not. Through the tireless work of HSI’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center and our collaborative efforts with the FBI and international partners, we have ensured that justice was served. The United States will never be a safe haven for human rights abusers, and we will continue to hold them accountable, no matter how much time has passed.” 

“If you engage in torture and come to the United States, the FBI and its partners are going to ensure that you face the consequences for your illegal disregard for human rights,” said Assistant Director Heith Janke of the FBI Criminal Division. “The acts Alsheikh ordered and directly participated in are gruesome and disturbing. We would like to offer our gratitude to the brave victims who testified leading to today’s sentencing. We hope that they are able to find some solace in the fact that it will now be their former prison warden who is incarcerated.”

According to evidence presented at a two‑week trial, Alsheikh was a brigadier general in charge of Damascus Central Prison, commonly known as Adra Prison, from approximately 2005 through 2008, under the regime of then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Alsheikh inflicted and ordered subordinates to inflict severe physical and mental pain and suffering on prisoners.

Alsheikh ordered certain prisoners to be sent to a section of the prison known as Wing 13, where they were held in tiny isolation cells and tortured. Victims who refused to harm or kill political dissidents imprisoned with them or who otherwise showed support for those dissidents testified at trial that they witnessed and suffered various forms of torture. 

For example, guards used manacles to suspend prisoners by their wrists from pipes on the ceiling for extended periods of time and beat them with fists or cables. One victim testified that he felt like his limbs would be torn from his body when they suspended him for days.

Witnesses also testified that they were placed on a torture device known as the “Flying Carpet” or “Magic Carpet,” which consisted of two large wooden panels with hinges in the middle. Guards strapped the victims to the device on their backs, positioning their waists at the hinges, and then forcing the lower panel together with the upper, folding the upper and lower halves of the victims’ bodies together and causing excruciating pain and serious injury.

One victim recalled that Alsheikh himself stomped on the Flying Carpet with his foot while the victim was restrained in the device. One victim testified that as part of his punishment for writing a letter of support to a political prisoner, he was subjected to the Flying Carpet and then forced to wear a red jumpsuit solely assigned to those designated for execution. He testified that he thought he was going to die. Witnesses also testified to being folded into a car tire, restrained, and beaten by guards.

Alsheikh personally ordered these and other horrific acts of torture and brutality against the three named victims in the indictment. Following his time at Adra Prison, Alsheikh was appointed governor of the Syrian province of Deir Ez-Zour in 2011. In 2018, he applied for a visa to enter the U.S. and became a Lawful Permanent Resident. While completing his visa application, he concealed the acts of torture and violence he committed at Adra prison. Alsheikh entered the United States in 2020 and continued to lie about and conceal his past conduct in his 2023 application to become a United States citizen.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles and FBI Chicago investigated this matter with assistance from HSI and FBI legal attachés in Germany, the HSI-led Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, and the FBI’s International Human Rights Unit. The Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany also provided substantial support.

Assistant United States Attorney Joshua O. Mausner of the National Security Division and Department of Justice Trial Attorney Patrick Jasperse of the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions (HRSP) Section prosecuted the case, with significant assistance from HRSP Historian/Analyst Philip Hoffman and HRSP Trial Attorney Alexandra Skinnion. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided critical support.

Members of the public who have information about former human rights violators in the United States are urged to contact U.S. law enforcement through the HSI tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE (1-866-347-2423) or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. They can also email HRV.ICE@ice.dhs.gov or complete its online tip form at https://www.ice.gov/webform/ice-tip-form.  

Law enforcement today arrested two defendants, out of three total, who have been charged in separate federal homelessness corruption and fraud cases, including a founder of a Culver City, California,-based nonprofit who allegedly misappropriated more than $7.5 million in taxpayer funds, and used this money for commercial real estate and to finance the construction of a nightclub and adjacent bingo hall.

Today’s enforcement action is the latest effort by the Homelessness Fraud and Corruption Task Force to investigate, combat, and prosecute fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption involving funds allocated toward the eradication of homelessness within the seven-county jurisdiction of the Central District of California: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura.

“Today the Department of Justice, with the full force of the federal government, is announcing charges in a major fraud takedown targeting schemes that stole millions from programs meant to house California’s homeless,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. “As alleged, Michael Young, through Home at Last, received more than $100 million in taxpayer funds and misappropriated more than $12 million, diverting that money into shell companies, real estate, and even a nightclub and bingo hall. That scheme is now halted in its tracks. My message to every fraudster who steals from the vulnerable is clear: We will track you down, bring charges where the evidence leads, and work relentlessly to reclaim every taxpayer dollar you stole.”

“These defendants are accused of systematically diverting over $12 million in taxpayer funds for personal gain – robbing hardworking American citizens and directly hurting the people those funds are intended to support,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and our interagency partners, fraud no longer has a safe haven in America. This FBI will act to hold those responsible accountable for their fraud – and today’s arrests demonstrate our continued commitment to protecting every dollar of taxpayer resources and ensuring that public funds are used exactly as intended.”

“Today’s arrests mark a major success for our Homelessness Fraud and Corruption Task Force and this Administration’s commitment to protecting taxpayers,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “The scale and brazenness of these fraudsters expose a profound failure by the State of California and Los Angeles County to safeguard public funds. Millions intended to house the homeless allegedly financed private real estate, a nightclub, a bingo hall, and personal expenses. Taxpayers deserve accountability. We will follow the money, expose the corruption, and prosecute those who exploit the American people for personal gain.”    

“Today’s actions reflect our commitment to protecting taxpayer dollars and ensuring accountability of public funds,” said Special Agent in Charge Darren Lian of the IRS Criminal Investigation’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The evidence uncovered by IRS Criminal Investigation and our law enforcement partners reveals a deliberate scheme to defraud government programs designed to support vulnerable community members who are experiencing homelessness. We will continue to pursue those who steal from the public and hold them accountable.”  

“Stealing from programs meant to feed, shelter, and support people experiencing homelessness isn’t just a financial crime – it’s an attack on the most vulnerable communities provided for by HUD programs,” said Acting Inspector General Brian D. Harrison of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG). “HUD-OIG is steadfast in pursuing those who exploit federal housing programs, and this case underscores the strength of our partnerships with law enforcement and prosecutors. Together, we protect taxpayer dollars and deliver justice for victims.”

The two defendants arrested today are expected to make their initial appearances this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

The three new criminal cases being announced today are described below, as well as a guilty plea in a previously charged case:

United States v. Young

Michael Young, 46, of Baldwin Hills, a founder of the Culver City-based nonprofit Home At Last (HAL), was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint alleging he engaged in a years-long, complex scheme to defraud taxpayers and public entities providing funding for homeless housing. Some of the affected programs were administered by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), the lead agency that coordinates housing and social services for the homeless in Los Angeles County.

Young is charged with wire fraud, a felony that carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

According to the complaint, Young used a web of shell corporations and fraudulent billing practices to misappropriate millions of dollars in taxpayer funds earmarked for homeless housing, including through programs administered by LAHSA.

Among other gross misuses of taxpayer money, Young spent more than $1 million to open and operate a high-end restaurant and nightclub in Inglewood called Six Seven Five Lounge. 

Through numerous contracts with LAHSA and other public entities, Young received more than $118 million in public funds from LAHSA, the City of Los Angeles, the County of Los Angeles, and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. LAHSA alone paid HAL over $75 million for homeless housing services. Young allegedly used a sham vendor fraud to misappropriate more than $7.5 million of these funds.

Young lied repeatedly during the fraud, according to allegations in the complaint, claiming funds would be used for homeless housing or for vendors providing services for homeless housing, when he diverted large amounts of taxpayer money for personal use and unrelated businesses. He created sham vendors to hide self-dealing transactions, submitting fake bids, forged signatures, and fraudulent invoices to make it appear the sham vendors were legitimate, third-party companies, offering fair market services, when in reality, the vendors had no employees, no locations, no legitimate operations, and existed only to funnel public money back to Young.

Young allegedly controlled the sham vendors’ bank accounts and used millions in taxpayer funds for his personal enrichment, including spending millions for his lounge, luxury vacations, vintage car restorations, and commercial properties unrelated to homeless housing.      

In June 2026, LAHSA cancelled its contracts with HAL.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kerry L. Quinn, Sarah E. Spielberger, and James C. Hughes (Major Frauds Section), and Tara Vavere (Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section) for the Central District of California are prosecuting this case.

United States v. Mitchell

Donye Mitchell, 55, also known as “Danya Mitchell,” of Orange, the CEO of a Los Angeles-based homelessness nonprofit, is charged in a federal criminal complaint alleging he was fraudulently awarded more than $1.2 million in grant money from a Los Angeles County-funded nonprofit.

Mitchell is charged with wire fraud, which carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. He is considered a fugitive.

According to the complaint, Mitchell is the CEO and executive director of The Big Blue Umbrella (BBU), a Los Angeles-based nonprofit. In January 2024, Mitchell allegedly applied for over $9 million in grant money – and several months later was awarded over $1.2 million – from a separate nonprofit funded by the County of Los Angeles called Epidaurus, which does business as Amity Foundation, to provide housing and mental health services to vulnerable people.

The complaint alleges that Mitchell falsely claimed to Amity that BBU was a major homeless housing provider and misrepresented its work with Special Service for Groups (SSG), through its HOPICS division, a nonprofit administering large amounts of LAHSA funds, despite having no contract and previously displacing SSG clients by failing to pay rent.

After receiving grant funds from Amity Foundation, Mitchell allegedly lied about staffing and spending, instead using the money for personal expenses including inflated salary payments, paying his own bail bond costs, credit card debt, family transfers, rent, and PlayStation charges.

In May 2025, after Amity had disbursed approximately $315,000, it terminated BBU’s contract over concerns that Mitchell was misrepresenting his spending and failing to meet agreed-upon milestones.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah E. Spielberger and Kerry L. Quinn (Major Frauds Section) and Juan M. Rodriguez (Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section) for the Central District of California are prosecuting this case.

United States v. Malone

Lakiya Malone, 48, of South Los Angeles and an employee of SSG, was arrested on a 21-count federal indictment accusing her of taking more than $180,000 in bribes and kickbacks from Alexander Soofer, the executive director of the nonprofit Abundant Blessings, who is separately charged and has agreed to plead guilty.

In exchange for the bribes and kickbacks, Malone allegedly provided priority referrals of homeless housing participants, including “ghost” participants who never lived at the sites.

Malone’s role at SSG involved referring homeless individuals to housing sites funded by HUD, LAHSA, and the City and County of Los Angeles. According to the indictment, Soofer paid her through checks made out to her and an entity she controlled, Grateful Hearts Realty & Consulting, disguising the payments as consulting fees. In reality, the payments were tied to the number of referrals Malone sent and to “ghost clients” whose files she helped fabricate with fake welcome letters, forged sign in sheets, and falsified eligibility forms.

Soofer allegedly received more than $17 million from SSG during the scheme, inflated substantially by these fraudulent referrals. Malone faces up to 20 years in prison per wire fraud count, 10 years per bribery count, and five years on the conspiracy charge.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kerry L. Quinn (Major Frauds Section) and Juan M. Rodriguez (Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section) for the Central District of California are prosecuting this case.

United States v. Soofer – Guilty Plea

Relatedly, Soofer has agreed to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Soofer admitted in a plea agreement filed today to his role in the bribery scheme with Malone.

He further admitted that he obtained $23 million in public money intended to combat homelessness, at least some of which he admits he obtained through fraud, pocketing at least $2 million in taxpayer money for his own personal enrichment and for businesses unrelated to homeless housing.

Soofer has agreed to forfeit his ill-gotten gains to the U.S. government and is expected to plead guilty to the felony charges in the coming weeks.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kerry L. Quinn (Major Frauds Section), Juan M. Rodriguez (Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section), and Mariam Kaloustian and Thi Ho (Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section) for the Central District of California are prosecuting this case.

The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and HUD-OIG are investigating these cases.

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

LOS ANGELES – A San Gabriel Valley man pleaded guilty today to robbing two United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carriers, later using stolen keys to enter apartment complexes and steal mail in Baldwin Park, and assaulting federal officers who arrested him, injuring one of them.

Ruben Baca Lopez, 34, a.k.a. “Monster” and “Loony,” of Baldwin Park, pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery of mail, money, or other property of the United States by use of a dangerous weapon, and one count of being a felon and prohibited person in possession of ammunition. 

Baca Lopez has been in federal custody since April 22. 

According to his plea agreement, in April 2024, Baca Lopez approached a victim, who was sitting in the driver’s seat of his USPS mail delivery truck in front of a residence in Baldwin Park while carrying out his duties delivering mail on USPS’s behalf. Baca Lopez instructed the victim to “give him everything,” and lifted his shirt to reveal a gun in his right waistband. 

Baca Lopez demanded and took from the victim a smartphone, the keys to the USPS vehicle, a USPS-issued key, and keys to access apartment complexes in the area. In the following weeks, Baca Lopez used the keys he stole from this victim to access mailboxes and steal mail in the Baldwin Park area.

In May 2024, Baca Lopez robbed a second USPS letter carrier as the victim was placing mail inside a mailbox at an apartment complex. Baca Lopez accessed the area where this victim was standing by using an apartment key he stole from the previous month’s victim during that earlier robbery. Baca Lopez forcibly took from this victim his cellphone, wallet, smartwatch, a USPS-issued badge and two USPS-issued keys.

Two weeks after the second robbery, Baca Lopez forcibly assaulted two U.S. Postal Inspection Service inspectors who were arresting him. He refused to comply with their verbal commands, assaulted both inspectors and injured one of them.

On the day of his arrest, Baca Lopez knowingly possessed ammunition that was loaded inside of the chamber and magazine of a ghost gun – a privately manufactured firearm lacking a serial number – that he carried on his person. 

Baca Lopez is legally barred from possessing ammunition because his criminal history includes felony convictions, including in April 2020 in Los Angeles Superior Court for domestic violence and false imprisonment, and another assault-related conviction in Los Angeles Superior Court in November 2021. Baca Lopez also was convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence charge in Los Angeles Superior Court in February 2016.

United States District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett scheduled a December 16 sentencing hearing, at which time Baca Lopez will face a statutory maximum sentence of 25 years in federal prison on each robbery count and a statutory maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison on the ammunition possession count.

United States Postal Inspection Service investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Sebastian Bellm of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – Law enforcement today arrested two defendants out of three total charged in separate federal homelessness corruption and fraud cases, including a founder of a Culver City-based nonprofit who allegedly misappropriated more than $7.5 million in taxpayer funds, and used this money for commercial real estate and to finance the construction of a nightclub and adjacent bingo hall.

Today’s enforcement action is the latest effort by the Homelessness Fraud and Corruption Task Force to investigate, combat, and prosecute fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption involving funds allocated toward the eradication of homelessness within the seven-county jurisdiction of the Central District of California: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura.

“Today the Department of Justice, with the full force of the federal government, is announcing charges in a major fraud takedown targeting schemes that stole millions from programs meant to house California’s homeless,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. “As alleged, Michael Young, through Home at Last, received more than $100 million in taxpayer funds and misappropriated more than $12 million, diverting that money into shell companies, real estate, and even a nightclub and bingo hall. That scheme is now halted in its tracks. My message to every fraudster who steals from the vulnerable is clear: We will track you down, bring charges where the evidence leads, and work relentlessly to reclaim every taxpayer dollar you stole.”

“Today’s arrests mark a major success for our Homelessness Fraud and Corruption Task Force and this Administration’s commitment to protecting taxpayers,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “The scale and brazenness of these fraudsters expose a profound failure by the State of California and Los Angeles County to safeguard public funds. Millions intended to house the homeless allegedly financed private real estate, a nightclub, a bingo hall, and personal expenses. Taxpayers deserve accountability. We will follow the money, expose the corruption, and prosecute those who exploit the American people for personal gain.”

“When taxpayer-funded programs are exploited for personal gain, it undermines public trust and diverts critical resources away from the people who need them most,” said Robert Molvar, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Our work does not stop with these arrests. We remain committed to identifying fraud, protecting taxpayer dollars and safeguarding programs designed to help those experiencing homelessness.”       

“Today’s actions reflect our commitment to protecting taxpayer dollars and ensuring accountability of public funds,” said Darren Lian, Special Agent in Charge with IRS Criminal Investigation’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The evidence uncovered by IRS Criminal Investigation and our law enforcement partners reveals a deliberate scheme to defraud government programs designed to support vulnerable community members who are experiencing homelessness. We will continue to pursue those who steal from the public and hold them accountable.”        

“Stealing from programs meant to feed, shelter, and support people experiencing homelessness isn’t just a financial crime – it’s an attack on the most vulnerable communities provided for by HUD programs,” said Brian D. Harrison, Acting Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG). “HUD-OIG is steadfast in pursuing those who exploit federal housing programs, and this case underscores the strength of our partnerships with law enforcement and prosecutors. Together, we protect taxpayer dollars and deliver justice for victims.”

“Fraudsters like Alexander Soofer, who steal money meant to assist the homeless, are despicable, greedy, and shameless,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman. “Their actions are nothing short of a slap in the face to taxpayers who have generously and compassionately funded efforts to help the unhoused put a meal in their stomachs and a roof over their heads. These fraudsters who have stolen millions of dollars of homeless funds should know that they will be arrested, prosecuted and punished. The only question that should be going through their minds is when. My office’s Public Integrity Division stands with our federal partners to ensure that those who steal from our most vulnerable community members face justice.”

The two defendants arrested today are expected to make their initial appearances this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. 

The three new criminal cases being announced today are described below:

United States v. Young

Michael Young, 46, of Baldwin Hills, a founder of the Culver City-based nonprofit Home At Last (HAL), was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint alleging he engaged in a years-long, complex scheme to defraud taxpayers and public entities providing funding for homeless housing. Some of the affected programs were administered by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), the lead agency that coordinates housing and social services for the homeless in Los Angeles County. 

Young is charged with wire fraud, a felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

According to the complaint, Young used a web of shell corporations and fraudulent billing practices to misappropriate millions of dollars in taxpayer funds earmarked for homeless housing, including through programs administered by LAHSA. 

Among other gross misuses of taxpayer money, Young spent more than $1 million to open and operate a high-end restaurant and nightclub in Inglewood called Six Seven Five Lounge. 

Through numerous contracts with LAHSA and other public entities, Young received more than $118 million in public funds from LAHSA, the City of Los Angeles, the County of Los Angeles, and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. LAHSA alone paid HAL over $75 million for homeless housing services. Young allegedly used a sham vendor fraud to misappropriate more than $7.5 million of these funds.

Young lied repeatedly during the fraud, according to allegations in the complaint, claiming funds would be used for homeless housing or for vendors providing services for homeless housing, when he diverted large amounts of taxpayer money for personal use and unrelated businesses. He created sham vendors to hide self-dealing transactions, submitting fake bids, forged signatures, and fraudulent invoices to make it appear the sham vendors were legitimate, third-party companies, offering fair market services, when in reality, the vendors had no employees, no locations, no legitimate operations, and existed only to funnel public money back to Young.

Young allegedly controlled the sham vendors’ bank accounts and used millions in taxpayer funds for his personal enrichment, including spending millions for his lounge, luxury vacations, vintage car restorations, and commercial properties unrelated to homeless housing.          

In June 2026, LAHSA cancelled its contracts with HAL.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kerry L. Quinn, Sarah E. Spielberger, and James C. Hughes of the Major Frauds Section, and Tara Vavere of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section are prosecuting this case.

United States v. Mitchell

Donye Mitchell, 55, a.k.a. “Danya Mitchell,” of Orange, the CEO of a Los Angeles-based homelessness nonprofit, is charged in a federal criminal complaint alleging he was fraudulently awarded more than $1.2 million in grant money from a Los Angeles County-funded nonprofit.

Mitchell is charged with wire fraud, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. He is considered a fugitive.

According to the complaint, Mitchell is the CEO and executive director of The Big Blue Umbrella (BBU), a Los Angeles-based nonprofit. In January 2024, Mitchell allegedly applied for over $9 million in grant money – and several months later was awarded over $1.2 million – from a separate nonprofit funded by the County of Los Angeles called Epidaurus, which does business as Amity Foundation, to provide housing and mental health services to vulnerable people.

The complaint alleges that Mitchell falsely claimed to Amity that BBU was a major homeless housing provider and misrepresented its work with Special Service for Groups (SSG), through its HOPICS division, a nonprofit administering large amounts of LAHSA funds, despite having no contract and previously displacing SSG clients by failing to pay rent.

After receiving grant funds from Amity Foundation, Mitchell allegedly lied about staffing and spending, instead using the money for personal expenses including inflated salary payments, paying his own bail bond costs, credit card debt, family transfers, rent, and PlayStation charges.

In May 2025, after Amity had disbursed approximately $315,000, it terminated BBU’s contract over concerns that Mitchell was misrepresenting his spending and failing to meet agreed-upon milestones. 

Assistant United States Attorneys Sarah E. Spielberger and Kerry L. Quinn of the Major Frauds Section and Juan M. Rodriguez of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section are prosecuting this case.

United States v. Malone

Lakiya Malone, 48, of South Los Angeles and an employee of SSG, was arrested on a 21-count federal indictment accusing her of taking more than $180,000 in bribes and kickbacks from Alexander Soofer, the executive director of the nonprofit Abundant Blessings, who is separately charged and has agreed to plead guilty. 

In exchange for the bribes and kickbacks, Malone allegedly provided priority referrals of homeless housing participants, including “ghost” participants who never lived at the sites.

Malone’s role at SSG involved referring homeless individuals to housing sites funded by HUD, LAHSA, and the City and County of Los Angeles. According to the indictment, Soofer paid her through checks made out to her and an entity she controlled, Grateful Hearts Realty & Consulting, disguising the payments as consulting fees. In reality, the payments were tied to the number of referrals Malone sent and to “ghost clients” whose files she helped fabricate with fake welcome letters, forged sign in sheets, and falsified eligibility forms.

Soofer allegedly received more than $17 million from SSG during the scheme, inflated substantially by these fraudulent referrals. Malone faces up to 20 years per wire fraud count, 10 years per bribery count, and five years on the conspiracy charge.      

Assistant United States Attorneys Kerry L. Quinn of the Major Frauds Section and Juan M. Rodriguez of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section are prosecuting this case.

Indictments and complaints merely contain allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

United States v. Soofer    

Relatedly, Soofer has agreed to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Soofer admitted in a plea agreement filed today to his role in the bribery scheme with Malone. 

He further admitted that he obtained $23 million in public money intended to combat homelessness, at least some of which he admits he obtained through fraud, pocketing at least $2 million in taxpayer money for his own personal enrichment and for businesses unrelated to homeless housing.

Soofer has agreed to forfeit his ill-gotten gains to the U.S. government and is expected to plead guilty to the felony charges in the coming weeks.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kerry L. Quinn of the Major Frauds Section, Juan M. Rodriguez of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, and Mariam Kaloustian and Thi Ho of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section are prosecuting this case.

The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and HUD-OIG are investigating these cases.

LOS ANGELES – A man and woman living in a luxury downtown Los Angeles apartment that law enforcement believes was a stash house have been arrested for allegedly possessing more than 42 kilograms of fentanyl, more than seven kilograms of cocaine, firearms, drug-making materials, and a small alligator, the Justice Department announced today.

Marvin Angelito, 27, and Susan Gonzalez, 26, were arrested on September 10 and are charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

Both defendants made their initial appearances on Monday in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. United States Magistrate Judge Karen L. Stevenson ordered Angelito detained and ordered Gonzalez released on $15,000 bond. Angelito’s arraignment is scheduled for October 2, and Gonzalez’s arraignment is scheduled for October 9. No pleas were taken on Monday. 

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, the apartment was a known drug trafficking location. On September 10, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Angelito and Gonzalez’s apartment. The search resulted in the seizure of approximately 42.6 kilograms (93.9 pounds) of fentanyl pills and powder, approximately one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of heroin, 7.2 kilograms (15.9 pounds) of cocaine, laboratory equipment such as beakers, mixers, stirrers, and torches, and a hydraulic press.

Law enforcement also seized an AR-15 rifle with ammunition located in a hallway closet, a gold-plated Desert Eagle .50-caliber pistol with ammunition located on the kitchen counter, a police radio, and a small alligator, which U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents seized.

A criminal complaint merely contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, the defendants would face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

FBI New Haven Homeland Security Task Force, FBI Los Angeles Regional Narcotics Suppression Program, and the Drug Enforcement Administration are investigating this matter.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The 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. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. 

Assistant United States Attorney Lloyd Masson of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.

Last week, an individual in California was arrested and two others were charged for paying people on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles to sign petitions using stolen identities of registered voters to qualify initiatives on ballots in California elections. Two aliens living in Kansas, and Louisiana were charged for illegally voting. And an individual in Louisiana was charged with fraudulently registering to vote an ineligible voter.

“If you are gaming the election system, voting illegally, or committing voter fraud, you are breaking the law, and the Department will ensure such individuals cannot corrupt future elections,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “The integrity of our elections is fundamental to our democracy, and those who seek to undermine it will be charged accordingly.”

“Protecting election integrity for the American people is one of the top priorities for this FBI,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Every American citizen has a right to free and fair elections — and we will not hesitate to use all available resources to investigate every credible allegation of election fraud and illegal voting.”

“Two aliens in Kansas and Louisiana are charged with illegally voting,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin. “Voter fraud is already a serious problem, but non-citizens voting is even worse. Every time a non-citizen casts a ballot, it steals a vote from an American citizen. Thanks to our partners at the Department of Justice, these aliens and other suspects accused of voter fraud will face justice and can no longer poison our election processes. Only Americans should be allowed to decide America’s future and elect America’s leaders.”

“These defendants are charged with using stolen identities of registered voters to manufacture signatures on ballot petitions used to shape California law,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “They allegedly used people, including members of Skid Row’s vulnerable homeless population, to try to cover up their tracks. The charged conduct undermines the confidence voters have in our election systems, and we will vigorously investigate and charge anyone involved.” 

“The Department of Justice remains committed to protecting election integrity and is actively investigating and prosecuting these cases,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser for the District of Kansas. “With another election looming, the Department’s effort serves as a stark reminder to individuals who are not legally authorized to vote not to engage in this conduct. Should individuals be determined by a court of law to have illegally claimed U.S. citizenship and voted or attempted to vote in federal elections, they will face serious criminal consequences.” 

“Protecting the integrity of Louisiana’s elections — and our national elections — is essential to protecting our constitutional republic,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller for the Western District of Louisiana. “The right to vote is sacred. When individuals undermine that process through fraud or abuse, they threaten the public’s confidence in a fair and lawful election system. Our Office will continue to safeguard the sanctity of the vote and hold accountable those who violate our laws.”

Central District of California

James Brass, 47, also known as “Lord,” of Victorville, California, was arrested last week on a federal grand jury indictment charging him and two other defendants with paying people on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles to sign petitions using stolen identities of registered voters to qualify initiatives on ballots in California elections. 

Also charged in the two-count indictment were two petition circulators who worked for Brass: Courtney Price, 49, of Jacksonville, Florida, and Jateisha Herron, 33, of Boron, California. 

All three defendants were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony. Brass and Price were charged with an additional count of identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony.

According to court documents, California’s constitution contains a process for direct democracy in which state voters can bypass the California State Legislature and enact laws or constitutional amendments directly through the ballot initiative process.

To qualify an initiative for inclusion on a ballot in 2026, an initiative’s proponent was required to submit 546,651 signatures to place a proposed statute on the ballot, and 874,641 signatures to place a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot. An initiative’s proponent had up to 180 days to gather these signatures and needed to submit them no later than 130 days before the date of an election.

Given the large number of signatures required in such a short period of time, proponents of initiatives typically hired petition management companies to gather the signatures. These companies charge significant fees and set a price for each signature gathered, contracting with outside individuals to collect signatures.

According to the indictment that a federal grand jury returned yesterday, Brass managed a team of signature collectors and collected signatures himself while Price and Herron were signature collectors who worked for Brass. From February to August, the defendants used a database to identify registered California voters.  On Skid Row, Brass and Price handed out these voters’ stolen identities and paid petition signers to copy the voters’ personal information onto ballot initiative petitions and fraudulently sign the petitions in those voters’ names.

After the petitions were signed, Brass and Herron signed declarations at the bottom of the petitions, falsely declaring under penalty of perjury that they personally witnessed the named registered voters sign the petitions and that each signature was, to the best of their knowledge, “the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be.”

Brass and Herron then turned in the bogus petitions to several petition coordinators, knowing the false representations regarding the signatures’ authenticity would result in false and fraudulent signatures being counted in connection with the effort to place the initiative at issue on the ballot.

Brass further knew the false representations about the signatures’ authenticity would result in payments to him from a petition management company. 

In total, Brass received approximately $41,600 from coordinators working with one such petition management company.

If convicted, Brass, Price, and Herron each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count.

The FBI is investigating this matter with assistance from special agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

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

District of Kansas

A federal grand jury in Wichita, Kansas, returned an indictment charging Mariana Alexandra Dewey, 24, a Peruvian national and permanent resident of the United States, with multiple criminal offenses arising from allegedly voting in a federal election despite not being a U.S. citizen.

According to court documents, Dewey was charged with one count of false claim of citizenship, one count of false claim of United States citizenship in order to vote, one count of fraudulent election conduct, and one count of voting by an alien in a federal election.

In November 2024, Dewey allegedly falsely represented herself to be a U.S. citizen to register to vote in an election that included federal, state, and local offices. She is further accused of casting a ballot that included candidates for U.S. President, Vice President, Senate, and House of Representatives after falsely certifying that she was a U.S. citizen and eligible to vote. 

Dewey’s initial court appearance is scheduled for today. 

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Fadler for the District of Kansas is prosecuting the case.

Western District of Louisiana

Last week, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Bridget Johnson, 53, of Cotton Valley, Louisiana, with Fraudulent Voter Registration and Voting by an Alien, and Michael Wedderburn, 52, of Jamaica, with Voting by an Alien. 

According to court documents, Johnson was a resident of Webster Parish and a candidate in the 2024 election for mayor of Cotton Valley. Wedderburn is a non‑citizen alien in the United States and was ineligible to vote in Louisiana elections.

On July 14, 2024, Johnson allegedly completed and electronically submitted a Louisiana voter registration application in Wedderburn’s name, falsely stating that he was a U.S. citizen. The indictment also alleges that Wedderburn subsequently voted illegally in the Nov. 5, 2024, election for a federal office, and in the Cotton Valley mayoral race.

U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller for the Western District of Louisiana made the announcement.

The FBI investigated this case with assistance from the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth D. Reeg and Alexandra Porubsky are prosecuting the case with assistance from Legal Assistant Ginger Green.

If convicted, Johnson faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and Wedderburn faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison as well as additional financial penalties.

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

RIVERSIDE, California – A Santa Barbara County man pleaded guilty today to detonating a bomb at a Santa Maria courthouse in 2024, an attack that injured three people, damaged the building, and was intended to kill law enforcement officers in retaliation for local law enforcement seizing his firearms earlier that year.

Nathaniel James McGuire, 22, of Santa Maria, pleaded guilty to one count of use of a weapon of mass destruction and one count of malicious destruction of a building using an explosive.

McGuire has been in federal custody since September 2024.

“This defendant’s brazen act of terror resulted in physical, structural, and emotional harm, and could have had tragic consequences,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “Individuals who use bombs against law enforcement officials, judges, and other government personnel must be held accountable and face severe punishment for their actions.”

“McGuire launched a vicious, terroristic assault on a court of law with the intent to kill law enforcement officers and a judge,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “His attack injured three people and, were it not for the quick action of court security and law enforcement, it could have been far worse. McGuire will now face the consequences of his actions.”

“Using violence to persuade others is never the answer,” said Patrick Grandy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Innocent lives were put at risk when this brazen act of domestic terrorism was perpetrated. I’m proud of the work of our investigators and prosecutors in this case and am confident this will serve as a deterrent to anyone contemplating similar vicious acts.” 

According to his plea agreement, on September 24, 2024, McGuire intentionally detonated a bomb in the Santa Maria courthouse, which serves the Santa Barbara County Superior Court. 

McGuire walked in the door of the courthouse and threw a backpack containing an explosive device past the courthouse’s security screening device and towards Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies. The bomb slid between a victim’s legs and detonated in the building outside a courtroom. Five people were hospitalized and released the same day. The bomb resulted in personal injuries to three victims. 

McGuire admitted in his plea agreement that he detonated the bomb with the intent to kill the sheriff’s deputies.

After the bomb exploded, McGuire left to retrieve from his vehicle two long guns and 10 Molotov cocktails and intended to re-enter the courthouse to kill sheriff’s deputies and “splatter” (kill) a judge. A courthouse security guard and several law enforcement officers stopped McGuire at his vehicle.

McGuire admitted to maliciously damaging the courthouse, which sustained approximately $35,000 in damage and had to be closed for several days. 

He also admitted to detonating the bomb at the courthouse in retaliation for various alleged government wrongs, including Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies seizing his firearms earlier that year.

A search of McGuire’s residence resulted in the seizure of other materials related to his bomb making.

United States District Judge Jesus G. Bernal scheduled a March 1, 2027, sentencing hearing, at which time McGuire will face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, and Santa Maria Police Department are investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Mark P. Takla of the Orange County Office, and Kathrynne N. Seiden of the National Security Division are prosecuting this case with substantial assistance from Assistant United States Attorney Alexander Su of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section, and Trial Attorney Patrick Cashman of the Counterterrorism Section in the Department of Justice’s National Security Division.

LOS ANGELES – A former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) deputy was sentenced today to 21 months in federal prison for abusing his status as a law enforcement officer to threaten and intimidate adversaries of a now-imprisoned, self-proclaimed cryptocurrency businessman, and for cheating on his taxes.

Christopher Michael Cadman, 34, of Fullerton, was sentenced by United States District Judge Percy Anderson, who also ordered him to pay $25,000 in restitution.

Cadman pleaded guilty in August 2025 to one count of conspiracy against rights and one count of subscribing to a false tax return.

Cadman formerly was employed by Adam Iza, 26, who resided in Beverly Hills and Newport Beach, and was a self-styled cryptocurrency businessman who has been in federal custody since September 2024. Iza pleaded guilty in January 2025 to one count of conspiracy against rights, one count of wire fraud, and one count of tax evasion. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 5 before Judge Anderson.

Iza is serving a 15-year federal prison sentence for his involvement in an attempted robbery of Bitcoin and a kidnapping in Connecticut in August 2024.

According to court documents, in August 2021, Cadman and LASD Deputy Scott Simpkins intimidated and threatened a victim who was one of Iza’s adversaries. According to Cadman’s plea, Simpkins held the victim at gunpoint during a meeting at Iza’s office inside his Bel Air mansion. Immediately afterward, the victim transferred approximately $25,000 from his bank account to Iza’s bank account in response to the threat and demand.

In September 2021, Cadman and other law enforcement officers orchestrated a traffic stop in Paramount to arrest the same victim. Cadman helped organize the traffic stop and arrest on Iza’s behalf and received cash payments while he worked for Iza.

Cadman also received income – at least $40,500 – he knowingly failed to report on his 2021 federal tax return, which he signed and filed with the IRS in February 2022. Cadman owed approximately $11,000 in federal taxes for that year.

“Our legal system entrusts law enforcement officers with extraordinary authority,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “Those powers carry a corresponding duty to uphold constitutional rights, exercise sound judgment, and serve the public with integrity. When an officer abuses that trust, the harm extends beyond the immediate victim.  It undermines confidence in the rule of law, weakens trust in government institutions, and damages the reputation of the countless officers who serve honorably.”

Cadman is one of five now-former LASD deputies convicted in connection with Iza’s criminal activities:

• Michael David Coberg, 45, of Eastvale, is serving a 63-month federal prison sentence for helping Iza extort a rival and arranging the sham illegal drug possession arrest of another adversary in Paramount in 2021. Judge Anderson sentenced Coberg on March 16.
• Scott Allen Simpkins, 34, of Brea, was sentenced on July 13 to 18 months in federal prison for obstructing a federal investigation into Iza’s extortion of $25,000 from a party planner at Iza’s Bel Air mansion.
• David Anthony Rodriguez, 45, of La Verne, was sentenced on July 20 to one year in federal prison and who had worked for Iza as a private security guard, pleaded guilty to submitting a false search warrant application to a state court judge on behalf of a different client.
• Eric Chase Saavedra, 42, of Chino, a former LASD deputy and a former federal task force officer, pleaded guilty in February 2025 to one count of conspiracy against rights and one count of making and subscribing to a false tax return. Saavedra founded a company – Saavedra & Associates LLC – that provided security to Iza and hired LASD deputies to do so. Among other crimes, Saavedra used his powers as a sworn law enforcement officer to improperly obtain court-authorized search warrants related to intimidating, threatening, and harassing Iza’s adversaries. Saavedra is expected to be sentenced in the coming weeks.

Relatedly, Iris Ramaya Au, 37, of Irvine, Iza’s ex-girlfriend, pleaded guilty in March 2025 to one count of subscribing to a false tax return for failing to report more than $2.6 million in ill-gotten funds she obtained from Iza’s criminal activities. Au will face a statutory maximum sentence of three years in federal prison at her sentencing hearing, which is expected to occur in the coming weeks.

The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has assisted.

Assistant United States Attorney Maxwell K. Coll of the National Security Division prosecuted this case.

A Santa Barbara County, California, man pleaded guilty today to detonating a bomb at a Santa Maria courthouse in 2024 in an attack that injured three people, damaged the building, and was intended to kill law enforcement officers in retaliation for local law enforcement seizing his firearms earlier that year.

“McGuire launched a vicious, terroristic assault on a court of law with the intent to kill law enforcement officers and a judge,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “His attack injured three people and, were it not for the quick action of court security and law enforcement, it could have been far worse. McGuire will now face the consequences of his actions.”

“This defendant’s brazen act of terror resulted in physical, structural, and emotional harm, and could have had tragic consequences,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “Individuals who use bombs against law enforcement officials, judges, and other government personnel must be held accountable and face severe punishment for their actions.”

Nathaniel James McGuire, 22, of Santa Maria, pleaded guilty to one count of use of a weapon of mass destruction and one count of malicious destruction of a building using an explosive.

McGuire has been in federal custody since September 2024.

According to his plea agreement, on Sept. 24, 2024, McGuire knowingly detonated a bomb in the Santa Maria courthouse, which serves the Santa Barbara County Superior Court. 

McGuire walked in the door of the courthouse and threw a backpack containing an explosive device past the courthouse’s security screening device and towards Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies, The bomb slid between a victim’s legs and detonated in the building outside a courtroom. Five people were hospitalized and released the same day. The bomb resulted in personal injuries to three victims. 

McGuire admitted in his plea agreement that he detonated the bomb with the intent to kill the sheriff’s deputies.

After the bomb exploded, McGuire left to retrieve two long guns and 10 Molotov cocktails from his vehicle and intended to re-enter the courthouse to kill sheriff’s deputies and “splatter” (kill) a judge. A courthouse security guard and several law enforcement officers stopped McGuire at his vehicle.

McGuire admitted to maliciously damaging the courthouse, which sustained approximately $35,000 in damages and had to be closed for several days. 

He also admitted to detonating the bomb at the courthouse in retaliation for various alleged government wrongs, including Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies seizing his firearms earlier that year.

McGuire intended to harm the judge and the sheriff’s deputies on account of their status as government employees and officials.

A search of McGuire’s residence resulted in the seizure of other materials related to his bomb making.

McGuire is scheduled to be sentenced on March 1, 2027, and will face a maximum penalty of life in prison.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, and Santa Maria Police Department are investigating this matter.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark P. Takla and Kathrynne N. Seiden for the Central District of California are prosecuting this case with substantial assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Su for the Central District of California and Trial Attorney Patrick Cashman of the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division.

LOS ANGELES – A Glendale man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to steal approximately 30 United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier vehicles as well as the mail inside them, including 100 credit and debit cards belonging to other people, some of which he then illegally used. 

Vegen Hartoonian, 46, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft of government property and one count of aggravated identity theft. 

Hartoonian, the lead defendant in this case, has been in federal custody since October 2025.

According to his plea agreement, from September 2023 to November 2024, 

Hartoonian and his co-conspirators followed postal vehicles using rented vehicles such as a Dodge Caravan, BMW and GMC SUVs, and a Mitsubishi Outlander. The car rental used to follow a USPS vehicle during a September 2023 incident was paid for with stolen credit card information.

Once the mail carrier got out of the USPS vehicle to deliver mail, Hartoonian and his co-conspirators stole the postal vehicle, drove it to another location, and then stole the mail inside the vehicle.

In total, Hartoonian and his co-conspirators stole approximately 30 USPS postal vehicles – each vehicle valued at $11,651 – and the mail of approximately 232 victims and illegally possessed 100 credit and debit cards belonging to other people. 

Hartoonian further admitted to unlawfully possessing a victim’s credit card number in connection with a scheme to steal USPS vehicles and the mail inside them during a January 2024 incident.

United States District Judge Christina A. Snyder scheduled a December 7 sentencing hearing, at which time Hartoonian will face a statutory maximum sentence of seven years in federal prison.

Three other defendants have already pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges in this case and remain in federal custody:

• Jose Arviso, 50, of San Bernardino;
• Sanjay Varma, 44, of Pasadena; and
• Juan Nuñez, 25, of Highland Park.

One other defendant – Mark Anthony Quitugua, 43, of Lincoln Heights – has pleaded not guilty to federal criminal charges and is scheduled to go to trial in January 2027. He is free on $10,000 bond. 

The United States Postal Inspection Service is investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Neil P. Thakor of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section is prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – A four-times deported illegal alien from Mexico was sentenced today to 135 months in prison for knowingly selling more than pound quantities of fentanyl pills to a buyer to whom he also sold firearms and ammunition.

Antonio Espinoza Zarate, 56, a.k.a. “El Gato,” of the Mar Vista area of Los Angeles, was sentenced by United States District Judge Wesley L. Hsu. 

Espinoza pleaded guilty on May 7 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. He has been in federal custody since March 2025.

According to his plea agreement, from July 2023 to March 2025, Espinoza conspired with others to knowingly distribute fentanyl by obtaining distribution-level quantities of the powerful synthetic opioid to sell to potential drug customers.

Specifically, in July 2023, Espinoza obtained 4,592 pills (527 grams) of fentanyl, which he sold to a buyer in Los Angeles for $4,500. Espinoza also sold the buyer $1,700 in firearms and ammunition, including a Glock pistol and 131 rounds of ammunition.

In August 2023, Espinoza met with another buyer in Los Angeles and, for $8,000, sold the buyer 9,826 pills containing slightly more than 1 kilogram of fentanyl. Espinoza also sold the buyer a rifle for $2,000.

Espinoza, a Mexican national, was removed from the United States in 2010, 2013, 2014, and 2017, according to court documents. 

The investigation was conducted by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)-led El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force, a multi-agency task force that includes federal and state investigators who are focused on financial crimes in Southern California, with support from special agents with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California – Criminal Investigative Division; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Los Angeles Police Department regarding dangers to the community from the sales of narcotics and firearms.

Assistant United States Attorney Neil P. Thakor of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section prosecuted this case.

LOS ANGELES – A Compton man was sentenced today to 36 months in federal prison for assaulting and injuring a federal officer by throwing large rocks at passing government vehicles during an anti-immigration law enforcement riot last year in Paramount.

Elpidio Reyna, 42, was sentenced by United States District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha.

Reyna pleaded guilty on February 17 to one felony count of assault on a federal officer by deadly or dangerous weapon resulting in bodily injury. He has been in federal custody since July 2025.

“Disagreeing with laws passed by Congress does not give you a right to assault federal officers,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “This defendant thought he would go unpunished for throwing large rocks at law enforcement. Instead, he’ll be serving time in federal prison, where he can reflect on his poor decision.”

According to his plea agreement, on June 7, 2025, Reyna forcibly and intentionally assaulted with a deadly and dangerous weapon a federal law enforcement officer engaged in his official duties, resulting in the infliction of bodily injury to the officer.

On that day, federal law enforcement officers were staging a joint enforcement operation in Paramount in the vicinity of a Home Depot. Protestors, including Reyna, began to throw rocks at the officers’ official vehicles, lit objects on fire, and impeded law enforcement activity.

During this time, Reyna knowingly and intentionally lit objects on fire in the middle of the street and threw rocks at a convoy of law enforcement vehicles occupied by United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, including the victim – identified in court documents as “R.T.” – all of whom were engaged in their official duties as federal officers.

Reyna threw a rock at R.T.’s government vehicle, which caused glass to shatter and injure R.T. by cutting his forehead.

“[Reyna’s] reflection on the circumstances surrounding his conduct, that his actions were ‘sudden and emotional and fueled by alcohol,’ because of his anger regarding immigration policy in the United States, is simply not an adequate excuse for his violence,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum.

The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and United States Border Patrol investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Brenda N. Galván of the Transnational Organized Crime Section prosecuted this case.

RIVERSIDE, California – A San Bernardino County man was arrested today on a federal grand jury indictment charging him and two other defendants with paying people on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles to sign petitions using stolen identities of registered voters to qualify initiatives on ballots in California elections. 

James Brass, 47, a.k.a. “Lord,” of Victorville, was arrested this morning and is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in Riverside.

Also charged in the two-count indictment are two petition circulators who worked for Brass: Courtney Price, 49, of Jacksonville, Florida, and Jateisha Herron, 33, of Boron, California. 

All three defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony. Brass and Price are charged with an additional count of identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony.

“These defendants are charged with using stolen identities of registered voters to manufacture signatures on ballot petitions used to shape California law,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “They allegedly used people, including members of Skid Row’s vulnerable homeless population, to try to cover up their tracks. The charged conduct undermines the confidence voters have in our election systems, and we will vigorously investigate and charge anyone involved.” 

“It is imperative that Americans have confidence in our voting system and election infrastructure” said Patrick Grandy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The scheme outlined in today’s indictment sought to undermine an essential pillar of our democracy and cause an undue burden on taxpayers. We will remain vigilant in detecting those trying to weaken our political process and we will aggressively investigate any allegations of voter fraud or other election crimes.”

According to court documents, California’s constitution contains a process for direct democracy in which state voters can bypass the California State Legislature and enact laws or constitutional amendments directly through the ballot initiative process.

To qualify an initiative for inclusion on a ballot in 2026, an initiative’s proponent was required to submit 546,651 signatures to place a proposed statute on the ballot, and 874,641 signatures to place a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot. An initiative’s proponent had up to 180 days to gather these signatures and needed to submit them no later than 130 days before the date of an election.

Given the large number of signatures required in such a short period of time, proponents of initiatives typically hired petition management companies to gather the signatures. These companies charge significant fees and set a price for each signature gathered, contracting with outside individuals to collect signatures.

According to the indictment that a federal grand jury returned on Wednesday, Brass managed a team of signature collectors and collected signatures himself while Price and Herron were signature collectors who worked for Brass. From February 2026 to August 2026, the defendants used a database to identify registered California voters. On Skid Row, Brass and Price handed out these voters’ stolen identities and paid petition signers to copy the voters’ personal information onto ballot initiative petitions and fraudulently sign the petitions in those voters’ names.

After the petitions were signed, Brass and Herron signed declarations at the bottom of the petitions, falsely declaring under penalty of perjury that they personally witnessed the named registered voters sign the petitions and that each signature was, to the best of their knowledge, “the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be.”

Brass and Herron then turned in the bogus petitions to several petition coordinators, knowing the false representations regarding the signatures’ authenticity would result in false and fraudulent signatures being counted in connection with the effort to place the initiative at issue on the ballot.

Brass further knew the false representations about the signatures’ authenticity would result in payments to him from a petition management company. 

In total, Brass received approximately $41,600 from coordinators working with one such petition management company.

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

If convicted, the defendants would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each count.

The FBI is investigating this matter with assistance from special agents of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

Assistant United States Attorneys Nandor F.R. Kiss of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section and Michael G. Wheat of the Orange County Office are prosecuting this case.

SANTA ANA, California – An Orange County woman was arrested today on a federal indictment charging her with defrauding a nonprofit created to financially support a high school football team, an organization for which she served as treasurer, out of more than $400,000, in part, to pay the delinquent balance on her home’s mortgage.

Julie Hanway Molina, 56, was arrested today at her home in Aliso Viejo. She is expected to make her initial appearance and be arraigned later today in United States District Court in Santa Ana.

Molina is charged with four counts of wire fraud.

According to the indictment that a federal grand jury returned on September 2, from 2023 to November 2025, Molina executed a scheme to defraud the nonprofit organization. Without the nonprofit’s knowledge or authorization, she diverted funds from the group’s bank account for her own personal expenses, including the mortgage on her home and to pay off her credit card bills.

In June 2023, Molina wired approximately $131,523 from the nonprofit’s bank account in Laguna Hills through Federal Reserve facilities in New Jersey and Texas to an account in Santa Ana to pay the delinquent balance on the mortgage on her personal residence.

To conceal these unauthorized payments, Molina sent numerous emails to the nonprofit’s board members attaching false treasurer reports that failed to disclose her misappropriation of funds.

In total, Molina misappropriated approximately $411,761 that belonged to the nonprofit organization.

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

If convicted, Molina would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each count.

The FBI is investigating this matter. 

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

LOS ANGELES – An Orange County man was sentenced today to 360 months in federal prison for masterminding a massive health care fraud scheme in which nearly $270 million in fraudulent claims were submitted to Medi-Cal over an 11-month span for expensive prescription drugs containing generic ingredients that were not medically necessary and, many times, were not provided to the purported recipients.

Paul Richard Randall, 67, of Orange, was sentenced by United States District Judge Mark C. Scarsi, who also ordered him to pay $178,746,556 in restitution.

Randall pleaded guilty on April 7 to one count of wire fraud committed while on release. 

“This defendant took advantage of California’s weak systems allowing him to submit $270 million in fraudulent claims to Medi-Cal in less than a year,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “Today’s prison sentence underscore’s our department’s determination to aggressively punish criminals who steal from public health programs.”

“Paul Randall exploited a temporary change in Medi-Cal’s prescription drug reimbursement system to steal hundreds of millions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars meant to help California’s neediest residents,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. “Today’s sentence sends a clear message to those who would abuse our public benefit programs to line their own pockets: The Fraud Division will aggressively prosecute you and seek to hold you accountable to the fullest extent permissible under the law.”

“This case exposes unbridled greed at the expense of patients and taxpayers,” aid Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Miranda L. Bennett at the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). 
“Stealing funds meant for essential care and corrupting medical decisions through kickbacks is deeply harmful and erodes trust in our health care system. HHS-OIG, together with our law enforcement partners, will continue to pursue those who exploit federal health care programs and ensure they are held fully accountable.”

“The amount of money Paul Randall stole from California taxpayers through his fraud scheme is staggering,” said Patrick Grandy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “By exploiting a loophole in the Medi-Cal system, he was able to bill nearly $270 million dollars, then launder it to evade detection and pay kickbacks to his co-schemers. Today’s sentencing sends a strong message to anyone considering defrauding health care benefit programs that the federal government is actively seeking fraudulent claims and will pursue prosecution.”

Randall, along with Kyrollos Mekail, 38, of Moreno Valley, and Patricia Anderson, 59, of West Hills, took advantage of Medi-Cal’s suspension of its requirement that health care providers obtain prior authorization before providing certain health care services or medications as a condition of reimbursement. The suspension of the prior authorization requirements was part of an ongoing transition of Medi-Cal’s prescription drug program to a new payment system. 

Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program, a public health insurance program which provides health care services for the state’s neediest residents, including low-income individuals, persons with disabilities, and individuals in foster care.

Through a business called Monte Vista Pharmacy, Randall and his co-schemers exploited Medi-Cal’s prior authorization suspension by billing Medi-Cal tens of millions of dollars per month for dispensing high-reimbursement, non-contracted, generic drugs through Monte Vista Pharmacy. Some prescription medications purportedly were to treat pain and included Folite tablets, a vitamin available over the counter.

Normally, these high-cost reimbursement medications would have required prior authorization under Medi-Cal’s old payment system. Medication involved in this scheme was medically unnecessary, frequently was not dispensed to patients, and procured by kickbacks.

From May 2022 to April 2023, Monte Vista billed Medi-Cal more than $269 million and was paid more than $178 million for 19 expensive, non-contracted drugs containing low-cost, generic ingredients that were not medically necessary, not provided, or both.

Randall also admitted that he committed the offense while on release in another criminal tax case in the Central District of California (USA v. Paul Richard Randall, No. 20cr31).

Randall and others then laundered their illicit proceeds by transferring the proceeds of the Medi-Cal fraud scheme to a third party to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks to Anderson, to promote the fraud scheme and to conceal and disguise the transfers from detection by law enforcement.

Randall caused the wiring of at least approximately $269,120,829 in false and fraudulent claims to Medi-Cal for purportedly dispensing the fraud scheme medications that Anderson prescribed, on which Medi-Cal paid at least approximately $178,746,556.  Randall started this fraud scheme while awaiting sentencing in another federal criminal case.

In his plea agreement, Randall agreed to forfeit property obtained from the fraud, including bank account balances exceeding $17 million, three vehicles, seven properties, and sports memorabilia, such as Mickey Mantle and Jackie Robinson baseball cards worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and Kobe Bryant game worn and signed sneakers. 

Mekail pleaded guilty in August 2024 to two counts of health care fraud and awaits sentencing. Anderson is charged with two counts of health care fraud, and the criminal case against her is still pending.  A criminal complaint was filed against Christina Mareik, a.k.a. “Christina Marie Sanchez Hernandez”, charging her with health care fraud and alleging that she played a key role in the Medi-Cal fraud scheme by creating fraudulent prescriptions for Medi-Cal beneficiaries and directing Anderson to sign them. The case against Hernandez is still pending.   

The United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the FBI, and the California Department of Justice investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Roger A. Hsieh of the Major Frauds Section and Trial Attorney Siobhan M. Namazi of the U.S. Department of Justice, Fraud Enforcement Division, are prosecuting this case. Assistant United States Attorney James E. Dochterman of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section is handling asset forfeiture matters in this case.

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.

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. 

More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/fraud. 

LOS ANGELES – The United States Department of Justice today sent a letter to Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert G. Luna to notify him and the County of Los Angeles that it is beginning an investigation into whether the County has violated the Constitution and federal law by failing to provide environmentally safe, humane, and habitable conditions for prisoners incarcerated at the Men’s Central Jail (MCJ) in downtown Los Angeles.

During this investigation, which will focus on the conditions of the facility itself and not the actions of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies who staff it, the Justice Department will determine whether the County has violated the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution.

The investigation will be conducted under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Personals Act (CRIPA), a federal statute intended to protect the rights of people incarcerated in state or local correctional facilities, among other state and locally run institutions.

“Whether a person is held in a county jail, awaiting trial, or after conviction, the environmental conditions in that jail need to meet constitutional standards,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. “The Civil Rights Division is pleased to partner with the United States Attorney’s Office in its investigation of Los Angeles County’s Men’s Central Jail to determine whether the County meets those constitutional conditions.”

“Los Angeles County has a constitutional duty to provide safe, humane, and habitable conditions at Men’s Central Jail,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “We have reached no conclusions, but these concerns warrant a thorough investigation. If the evidence reveals systemic violations, we will act.”

The Justice Department has not reached any conclusion regarding allegations in this matter.

This new investigation is separate from a 2015 settlement in United States v. County of Los Angeles, (C.D. Cal., 15cv5903), which was related to mental health care provided at Los Angeles County jails.

Individuals with relevant information are encouraged to contact the Department via civilrights.justice.gov/report. 

Assistant United States Attorney Julie A. Hamill of the Civil Division’s Civil Rights Section is handling this matter.

LOS ANGELES – An Inglewood woman has been arrested on a 15-count federal grand jury indictment charging her with defrauding venture capital funds out of more than $13 million by lying about her credentials and her now-defunct tax compliance startup company’s revenue, then using investors’ money to purchase a home, a Tesla, and pay for her wedding in the Caribbean, the Justice Department announced today.

Shiloh Luckey, 42, a.k.a. “Shiloh Johnson,” was arrested on Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, before she attempted to board a cruise ship for a vacation. Luckey was released on bond in the Southern District of Florida and is expected to appear in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles in the coming weeks.

Luckey is charged with nine counts of securities fraud, three counts of wire fraud, one count of bank fraud, and two counts of money laundering.

According to the indictment returned on September 1, Luckey founded the Los Angeles-based ComplYant App Inc. in 2019 and presented it as a tax compliance startup company that offered services to small businesses to help them navigate complex tax regulations in exchange for a monthly subscription fee. Luckey was ComplYant’s CEO and exerted managerial control over the company.

From September 2020 to September 2023, Luckey defrauded investors by promoting ComplYant as having existing customers and a significant recurring revenue stream. As part of the alleged scheme, Luckey persuaded victims to invest in the company by presenting them with pitch decks, investor materials, and updates that falsely inflated ComplYant’s revenue, customer base, subscriptions, and cash reserve balances. 

Luckey also induced victims to invest by lying to them and representing that she was a licensed certified public accountant (CPA) with deep expertise in tax management, accounting, and compliance, when, in fact, she has never been a licensed CPA. 

Relying on these false statements, pretenses, and misrepresentations, victims invested millions of dollars into ComplYant under the belief it was a promising start-up based on Luckey’s representations.

Luckey then used a portion of these funds to pay for personal expenses, including the purchase of her residence, the purchase of a Tesla automobile, and to pay her wedding on the Caribbean island of Anguilla.

By September 2023, ComplYant experienced severe liquidity issues and ceased operations, causing the investors to lose their investments. 

In total, Luckey fraudulently obtained at least $13.3 million from her victims, with the victims losing their entire investments.

The indictment further alleges that, in September and October of 2022, Luckey engaged in a check kiting scheme to purchase her Inglewood home by intentionally writing a bad $1.5 million check from a ComplYant account with insufficient funds, depositing it into another ComplYant account at a different bank, and wiring the money to buy her home before the first bank realized the check was worthless.

Luckey then paid off the negative balance caused by her check kiting scheme by repaying the negative bank account balance with fresh proceeds from her securities fraud.

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

If convicted of all charges, Luckey would face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison on the bank fraud count, up to 20 years in federal prison for each securities fraud and wire fraud count, and a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for each money laundering count.

The FBI is investigating this matter. 

Assistant United States Attorney Andrew M. Roach of the Major Frauds Section is prosecuting this case.

A California man was sentenced today to 30 years in federal prison for masterminding a massive health care fraud scheme in which nearly $270 million in fraudulent claims were submitted over an 11-month span to Medi-Cal, the California Medicaid program, for expensive prescription drugs containing generic ingredients that were medically unnecessary and, many times, were not provided to the purported recipients. The sentence marks one of the highest health care fraud sentences in the Central District of California’s history.

Paul Richard Randall, 67, of Orange, California, was also ordered to pay $178,746,556.22 in restitution.

“Paul Randall exploited a temporary change in Medi-Cal’s prescription drug reimbursement system to steal millions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars meant to help California’s most vulnerable residents,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. “Today’s sentence sends a clear message to those who would abuse our public benefit programs to line their own pockets: The Fraud Division will aggressively prosecute you and seek to hold you accountable to the fullest extent under the law.”

“This case exposes unbridled greed at the expense of patients and taxpayers. Stealing funds meant for essential care and corrupting medical decisions through kickbacks is deeply harmful and erodes trust in our health care system,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Miranda L. Bennett of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG, together with our law enforcement partners, will continue to pursue those who exploit federal health care programs and ensure they are held fully accountable.”

“This defendant took advantage of California’s weak systems allowing him to submit $270 million in fraudulent claims to Medi-Cal in less than a year,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California. “Today’s prison sentence underscore’s our department’s determination to aggressively punish criminals who steal from public health programs.”

According to court documents, Randall, along with pharmacist and pharmacy owner Kyrollos Mekail, 38, of Moreno Valley, California, and nurse practitioner Patricia Anderson, 59, of West Hills, California, took advantage of Medi-Cal’s suspension of its requirement that health care providers obtain prior authorization before providing certain h medications as a condition of reimbursement. The suspension of the prior authorization requirement was part of an ongoing transition of Medi-Cal’s prescription drug program to a new payment system.

Through a business called Monte Vista Pharmacy (Monte Vista), Randall and his co-conspirators exploited Medi-Cal’s prior authorization suspension by billing Medi-Cal tens of millions of dollars per month for dispensing high-reimbursing, non-contracted generic drugs through Monte Vista. The medications, which included pain creams and Folite tablets, a vitamin available over the counter, were billed for thousands of dollars each, including approximately $13,424 for one prescription of meloxicam 5 mg, a generic drug that typically costs between $5 and $25 for a 30-day supply in larger dosages. Normally, these high-cost reimbursement medications would have required prior authorization under Medi-Cal’s previous payment system. Medication involved in this scheme was medically unnecessary, frequently not dispensed to patients, and procured by illegal kickbacks.

In furtherance of the scheme, Randall paid illegal kickbacks to patient marketers in exchange for Medi-Cal beneficiary information and to Anderson to sign pre-filled prescriptions for the medications. Anderson never met the patients, reviewed their medical records, or otherwise determined that the medications were medically necessary before signing the prescriptions. 

From May 2022 to April 2023, Randall caused at least $269,120,829 in false and fraudulent claims to be submitted to Medi-Cal, of which Medi-Cal paid at approximately $178,746,556. Randall committed this offense while on release in another criminal tax case in the Central District of California (United States v. Paul Richard Randall, No. CR 20-00031-GW). 

Randall and his co-conspirators laundered their illicit proceeds by transferring them to a third party to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal kickbacks to Anderson in exchange for Anderson signing the fraudulent prescriptions. 

In April 2026, Randall pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. In his plea agreement, Randall agreed to forfeit property obtained from the fraud, including bank account balances exceeding $17 million, three vehicles, seven real properties, and sports memorabilia. To date, the government has seized approximately $126.5 million in assets that Randall and his co-conspirators accumulated from the scheme, including $111 million in bank funds and securities, nine luxury vehicles totaling approximately $1 million, nine luxury real properties totaling approximately $13.5 million, and more than $1 million worth of sports memorabilia. 

FBI, HHS-OIG, and the California Department of Justice investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Siobhan M. Namazi of the Fraud Division’s Health Care Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger A. Hsieh for the Central District of California prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Dochterman for the Central District of California’s Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section is handling asset forfeiture matters in 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.

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.

More information can be found at www.justice.gov/fraud. 

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ADAM IZA, 26, of California, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford to 180 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release for his involvement in an attempted robbery of Bitcoin and a kidnapping in Danbury in August 2024.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on August 25, 2024, Danbury Police arrested six Florida men who were involved in a violent carjacking of a Lamborghini Urus and the kidnapping of two occupants of the vehicle on that date.  The investigation revealed that the kidnapping victims are the parents of an individual who participated in the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin.  In an attempt to steal some of that Bitcoin, Iza and others planned and coordinated the attempted robbery and ultimately the kidnapping.  Iza’s alleged co-coconspirator, who had an altercation with the victims’ son in a Miami nightclub in July 2024, was in regular communication with certain of the kidnappers in the days before the crime, provided funding for it, and helped arrange the participants’ transportation and lodging.  Iza communicated via cellphone and encrypted messaging applications with certain of the kidnappers, directed them as to the logistics of the scheme, and also provided funding.

Iza has been detained since September 24, 2024, after he was charged in the Central District of California with unrelated federal offenses.  On June 1, 2026, he pleaded guilty in the District of Connecticut to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery (“Hobbs Act Robbery”).

Iza’s brother, Saif Faiq, pleaded guilty to the same offense and awaits sentencing.  Six individuals who carried out the carjacking and kidnapping have also pleaded guilty.  Other alleged co-conspirators are awaiting trial.

This matter is being investigated by the FBI New Haven Violent Crimes Task Force, FBI Los Angeles, FBI St. Louis, and the Danbury Police Department.  The FBI Task Force includes members from the Connecticut State Police and several local police departments.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen L. Peck.

U.S. Attorney Sullivan thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Central District of California, the Eastern District of Missouri, the District of Columbia, and the District of New Jersey, and the State’s Attorney’s Office for the Judicial District of Danbury, for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution of this matter.

WASHINGTON – Malone Lam, 22, a citizen of Singapore and recent resident of Miami, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. in connection with his role as ringleader of an international cybercrime conspiracy that used social engineering to steal and launder cryptocurrency valued at more than $245 million, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.  

“If you build a cybercrime empire, we will find you, dismantle your operation, and hold you accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “This defendant led an international network that preyed on victims through deception, invaded their privacy, and stole hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. Working with our partners at the FBI and IRS-CI, we will continue to hunt down the criminals who weaponize technology to steal from innocent people.” 

Lam pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to one count of participating in a RICO conspiracy. Judge Kollar-Kotelly set a status hearing December 8, 2026. 

According to court documents, the criminal enterprise began no later than October 2023 and continued through at least May 2025. The scheme developed through connections made on online gaming platforms and was comprised of individuals based in California, Connecticut, New York, Florida, and abroad. The RICO conspiracy used social engineering and occasional home break-ins to obtain information that allowed the conspirators to drain their victims’ cryptocurrency wallets. 

Lam, aka “Anne Hathaway,” “$$$,” “King Greavy,” organized the social engineering enterprise, identified target victims, and coordinated the roles of the different conspirators.  

Members and associates of the conspiracy used the stolen cryptocurrency to purchase, among other things, nightclub services ranging up to $500,000 per evening, luxury handbags valued in the tens of thousands of dollars which were given away at nightclub parties, luxury watches valued between $100,000 up to over $500,000, luxury clothing valued in the tens of thousands of dollars, rental homes in Los Angeles, the Hamptons, and Miami, private jet rentals for travel, a team of private security guards, and a fleet of exotic cars, ranging in value from $100,000 to $3,800,000. 

Law enforcement arrested Lam on Sept. 18, 2025, at his rental home in Miami. 

This case is being investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and the IRS-Criminal Investigation Washington D.C. Field Office. Significant investigative and operational support was provided by the FBI’s Los Angeles and Miami field offices, as well as the United States Attorney’s Officers in the Central District of California, Southern District of Florida, and the District of New Jersey.  

The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher R. Howland and David Liss of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.  

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of 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 chaired by Vice President JD Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs. 

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LOS ANGELES – A former Oregon-based AT&T Store employee was sentenced today to 16 months in federal prison for selling his access to his employer’s network to a hacker by “SIM swapping” customers – fraudulently reassigning customers’ cell phone numbers – so the hacker could take control of the victims’ bank accounts and steal their money, causing nearly $600,000 in intended losses.

Kenneth Carter, 44, of Portland, Oregon, was sentenced by United States District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld, Jr., who also ordered him to pay $99,528 in restitution.

Carter pleaded guilty on March 24 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.

“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 Subscriber Identity Module (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 text message, and to gain access to the victim’s various accounts.

According to Carter’s plea agreement, from May 2018 to November 2019, Carter worked at an AT&T retail store in Portland, Oregon. As part of the conspiracy, a co-conspirator identified potential victims who had bank accounts that could be accessed online and would obtain personal identifying information (PII) and cell phone numbers for those potential victims. This co-conspirator then sent to Carter victims’ PII and cell phone numbers so Carter could do the SIM swap, which he could do as an AT&T Store employee.

Carter, at the co-conspirator’s direction, then used the victim’s PII to fraudulently cause AT&T to swap the victim’s SIM card from the victim’s cell phone to a different cell phone controlled by Carter and other co-conspirators. 

A co-conspirator then caused password reset information and two-factor authentication codes for a victim’s online bank account to be sent by text message to a phone Carter and his co-conspirators controlled. He and others then forwarded the information and codes to a co-conspirator, who then accessed the victim’s online bank account and made fraudulent wire transfers from it. Carter and the other conspirators received a cut of the illicitly obtained proceeds, typically $1,000 to $2,000 per SIM swap, one of which occurred at an AT&T Store in Lancaster.

In November 2019, law enforcement searched Carter’s residence in Oregon and found that he possessed PII belonging to victims, including the cell phone number, name, and Social Security number of a victim who had $99,528 fraudulently transferred to a Portuguese bank account controlled by Carter’s co-conspirators.

In total, three victims targeted in this scheme suffered a combined intended loss of at least $593,963. Carter further admitted that in addition to these three victims, he performed SIM swaps on the accounts of other AT&T customers.

AT&T terminated Carter in 2019.

“[Carter] abused the trust of his employer and sold his access to AT&T’s network to a hacker by SIM swapping AT&T customers so the hacker could take control of victims’ accounts and deplete their funds,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “One victim lost nearly $100,000, and other victims may have lost more had it not been for fraud prevention at various banks, which stopped the transfers the funds before they were wired overseas.”

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, the FBI, and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew M. Roach and Nisha Chandran of the Major Frauds Section prosecuted this case.

RIVERSIDE, California – A San Diego County man has been federally charged with mailing to a mosque in Riverside County a letter that included threats of perpetrating a mass killing of Muslims, the Justice Department announced today.

Louis White, 60, of Warner Springs, was charged Thursday in a federal criminal complaint with mailing threatening communications. White is in state custody but is expected to be transferred to federal custody in the coming weeks.

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, on August 26, the Islamic Center of Temecula Valley, a mosque in Temecula, reported to law enforcement that it had received a threatening letter that read, in part, “I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE DAY TO KILL EVERY ONE OF YOU, IT CANNOT COME SOON ENOUGH!”

Under the text was a hand drawing of crosshairs containing a bearded face with X’s for eyes and wearing a hat stating, “[expletive] Allah.”

Law enforcement investigated and traced the letter to White. During a search of White’s residence on August 29, law enforcement seized several firearms, including one believed to be an AR15-style short-barreled rifle with no serial number – commonly referred to as a “ghost gun.”

White was arrested and is currently in state custody in a Riverside County jail.

A criminal complaint contains merely allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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

The United States Postal Inspection Service and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department are investigating this matter. The Temecula Police Department provided assistance.

Assistant United States Attorney Barr Benyamin of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – A resident of the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles and one-time podcaster was arrested today on a three-count federal grand jury indictment charging him with threatening to kill President Donald Trump and cyberstalking and harassing President Trump’s personal lawyer and that lawyer’s family.

Benjamin Azariah Southworth, 40, was arrested this morning and is expected to make his initial appearance and be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

Southworth is charged with one count of threats against the President, one count of cyberstalking, and one count of harassing telephone calls in interstate communications.

“As threats against President Trump’s life escalate, the Department of Justice will respond with the full force of the law,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “We will hold perpetrators of violent threats accountable, and anyone who makes these threats online will not be allowed to hide behind their screens.”

“There is zero tolerance for political violence, especially for threats directed at the President,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “Threatening an elected official with violence is a serious offense, and you will be arrested and charged as Mr. Southworth found out this morning.”

“The U.S. Secret Service has zero tolerance for threats against the President of the United States,” said Armando Marquez, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The safety and security of those we protect is our highest priority, and we are committed to ensuring that anyone who threatens that – whether online or otherwise – will face justice. We are grateful for the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California for their partnership and thorough work in this case.”

“Cyberstalking and threats of murder are not considered mere political rhetoric under the law, but are serious criminal offenses that lead to prosecution, as today’s arrest highlights,” said Patrick Grandy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI, working with our partners at the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, will ensure that threats and harassment against the President and others are addressed before threats turn to violence.”

According to the indictment that a federal grand jury returned on Wednesday, from January 2026 to May 2026, Southworth used social media accounts on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok as well as a website to publicly express his hatred toward President Trump and the President’s supporters. Southworth used these online platforms to publicly engage in and encourage the abuse and harassment of the President and to threaten violence against the President.

On April 7, 2026, Southworth posted a video on his Instagram account that contained a series of threats against President Trump, including, “I have been vocal in calling for the execution of Donald Trump” and “This government is illegitimate and out of control. It’s time for course correction. Kill Donald Trump.”

Three months earlier, Southworth published a post on his TikTok account listing the home address of a Victim 1 – an attorney who had been President Trump’s personal lawyer – along with a photograph of Victim 1 and another photograph of Victim 1’s residence. In the same posted, Southworth stated, “No peace for traitors.”

From January 2026 to May 2026, Southworth left a series of abusive messages online and over voicemail to Victim 2, who is Victim 1’s son, and made harassing telephone calls to Victim 3, who is Victim 1’s wife.

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

If convicted, Southworth would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for threatening the President, a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for cyberstalking, and a statutory maximum sentence of two years in federal prison for telephonic harassment.

The United States Secret Service and the FBI are investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney William Kanellis of the Domestic Security and Immigration Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.

SANTA ANA, California – A South Los Angeles man pleaded guilty today to committing an armed robbery spree in Southern California parking lots, including one incident in which he forced a firearm into a victim’s mouth, breaking the victim’s teeth, and another incident in which he shot a victim outside an Orange County shopping mall during an attempted carjacking.

Oshae Pollard, 23, of the Manchester Square neighborhood of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act) and one count of possessing, using, carrying, brandishing, and discharging a firearm in furtherance of, and during and in relation to, a crime of violence.

Pollard has been in federal custody since December 2024.

According to his plea agreement, on August 25, 2024, Pollard robbed a victim at gunpoint in the parking lot of the Hustler Casino in Gardena, stealing $1,000 in the process. Pollard pushed the victim to the ground and began pulling on the victim’s purse. He then forced his firearm into the victim’s mouth, breaking her teeth. He threatened to kill the victim if she yelled.

On August 26, 2024, Pollard robbed another victim at gunpoint, stealing the victim’s wallet and cellphone, while the victim was seated in his taxi in a Winchell’s Donut House parking lot in Carson. Pollard pointed a firearm at this victim and struck the victim in the face.

Later that same day, Pollard robbed another victim in the parking lot of Fashion Island in Newport Beach, stealing an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch, a monogrammed brown Berluti wallet, and Rolls-Royce car keys – in total, worth approximately $44,000. 

At the same time, Pollard and a co-conspirator attempted to rob another victim and fired a bullet into that victim’s car – barely missing that victim as he tried to escape.

On September 22, 2024, Pollard attempted to steal a Lamborghini Urus from a victim in the parking lot of South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. Pollard pointed a firearm at the victim, demanded the vehicle and other property, threatened to fatally shoot the victim, and then shot the victim in the hand and thigh in an attempted carjacking.

On October 16, 2024, Pollard was arrested and released after a traffic stop with the loaded pistol he used to commit the robberies and attempted carjacking, as well as a black ski mask.

United States District Judge Fred W. Slaughter scheduled a January 21, 2027, sentencing hearing, at which time Pollard will 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 (ATF) Orange County Violent Crime Task Force investigated this case. This task force is comprised of federal and local law enforcement agencies, which include ATF, the Brea Police Department, the Placentia Police Department, the Fullerton Police Department, the Santa Ana Police Department, and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office with the assistance of the Newport Beach Police Department and the Costa Mesa Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorneys Jena A. MacCabe and Kevin J. Butler of the Major Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – The Department of Justice today announced a multinational operation involving actions in the United States, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania, in collaboration with private industry partners CrowdStrike and the Shadowserver Foundation, to disrupt the botnet and malware known as Sality and take down its infrastructure.

Coordination between the private sector and government partners was central to this effort and advanced the first pillar of President Trump’s Cyber Strategy for America – “Shape Adversary Behavior.” Federal law enforcement worked with the private sector to identify and disrupt malicious networks, scale national capabilities, and shape adversary behavior by degrading their tools and infrastructure.

“Cybercriminals, botnets, and malware are a clear and present danger to our nation’s security and economy,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “This successful effort to take down the Sality botnet shows that by working together the public and private sectors can be a powerful force for good.”

“This unique collaboration among international law enforcement and private sector partners only enhances the FBI’s cyber security capabilities and our efforts to neutralize the threat posed by the Sality botnet,” said Patrick Grandy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI will continue working with our partners to prevent further cyber-enabled attacks and theft from victims in the United States.”

“Protecting the integrity of the Department of Defense Information Network from clear threats like the Sality botnet is a top priority for us,” said Special Agent in Charge Kenneth DeChellis of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Cyber Field Office. “Today’s announcement is the result of the shared commitment and long-standing partnership between international law enforcement and the private sector.”

Since 2003, the Sality botnet has installed malicious software (malware) on compromised devices, enabling cryptocurrency theft and cyberattacks on victims in the United States and abroad.

The victim computers infected with Sality were part of a peer-to-peer (P2P) botnet, which is a network of computers (each a “bot”) infected with the Sality malware and controlled by the Sality operator. A P2P botnet is a decentralized network of bots that communicate directly with each other to share commands. The owners of the victim computers were typically unaware that their devices had been misappropriated as bots by Sality.

On Monday, CrowdStrike’s Counter Adversary Operations team, in collaboration with the Department of Justice, FBI, DCIS, international law enforcement, and private industry partners executed a peer-to-peer sinkhole operation and coordinated disruption of the Sality botnet.

As part of the international operation, the Department of Justice, FBI, and DCIS seized Sality-linked domains in the United States. International law enforcement partners in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania took action against additional Sality-linked domains hosted in Europe.

In conjunction with these efforts, private industry partner The Shadowserver Foundation is working with internet service providers and Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs) to identify infections and aid in victim notification and remediation.

Investigators and prosecutors from multiple jurisdictions provided crucial assistance, including Bulgaria’s General Directorate Combating Organized Crime, Hungary’s National Bureau of Investigation Cybercrime Department, Romania’s Romanian Police / Directorate for Combating Organized Crime / Central Cybercrime Unit, Eurojust, and Europol. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance.

Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Restrepo of the National Security Division, along with the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office and DCIS led the U.S. efforts.

Venezuelan national and illegal alien Rafael Enrique Gamez Salas, 40, has been extradited from the United States to Chile, at the request of the Government of Chile, so that he may be prosecuted on seven charges stemming from his alleged role as a leader of “Los Piratas,” the primary Chilean cell of the Venezuelan transnational criminal organization Tren de Aragua (TdA).

Chile accuses Gamez Salas, who was surrendered to Chilean authorities on Thursday, of directing multiple extortions and kidnappings on behalf of TdA, one of which resulted in the highly publicized murder of a former Venezuelan military officer. This extradition brings Gamez Salas, who also has criminal convictions in the United States for human smuggling and illegal reentry after deportation, one step closer to facing justice in Chile after illegally attempting to seek refuge in the United States.

“The United States is not a safe haven for dangerous criminal aliens,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Rafael Enrique Gamez Salas should never have been in our country in the first place, but under the Biden administration, open-border policies left the doors wide open, and hundreds of suspected and convicted Tren de Aragua terrorists poured into this country. Gamez Salas’s extradition is evidence of the strong cooperation with our Chilean partners to combat transnational crime, dismantle foreign terrorist organizations like Tren de Aragua, and hold members accountable for their heinous criminal acts.” 

“At the time of TdA leader Rafael Enrique Gamez Salas’s arrest on the Chilean extradition charges, he was finishing a sentence here for illegal re-entry into the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Instead of deporting him to Venezuela, which does not extradite its own nationals, he now will be sent to Chile to face charges there that include murder, kidnapping, and extortion. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs worked extensively with Chilean authorities to extradite this defendant and ensure that another violent, illegal alien who came here unlawfully will be punished for breaking our laws and then go to Chile to face the charges levied there. When governments work cross borders together, all communities benefit and become more safe.” 

“Thanks to the previous administration’s open borders, a murderous terrorist was allowed to enter our country,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “I commend our law enforcement partners in the United States and Chile for removing this criminal, who will hopefully never see the outside of a prison again.”

Gamez Salas, also known as “Adrian Rafael Gamez Finol” and “Turko,” is accused of overseeing the criminal activities of Los Piratas in Chile. According to Chilean authorities, he planned and coordinated kidnappings, homicides, extortions and other offenses on behalf of the TdA affiliate, which included instructing subordinates to obtain necessary resources to execute the offenses and ensuring that financial resources generated for Los Piratas were transferred abroad. Chile sought Gamez Salas’s extradition so that he may stand trial for one count of criminal association, two counts of extortion, two counts of unjustified firearm discharge, one count of kidnapping resulting in homicide and one count of kidnapping for extortion, arising from separate crimes against multiple victims.

Chile alleges, among other things, that Gamez Salas, acting under the supervision of senior TdA leadership, directed and planned the February 2024 kidnapping and murder in Santiago, Chile, of a former Lieutenant in the Venezuelan military.

According to Chile, members of Los Piratas arrived at the victim’s apartment building in the middle of the night armed with firearms and in a car equipped with a blue light in an apparent attempt to impersonate officers of the Chilean Investigative Police. After using a battering ram to force entry into the victim’s apartment, the perpetrators handcuffed the victim and forcibly removed him from the building and into a car.

Around one week later, in response to a tip from a witness, authorities discovered the victim’s body by drilling into the concrete floor of a makeshift dwelling in a housing development elsewhere in Santiago, Chile. The victim’s body was found covered in lime, concealed inside a suitcase, buried in concrete more than three feet deep and sealed beneath a concrete slab.

An autopsy determined that the victim’s cause of death was asphyxia due to hanging, and the victim’s body showed signs of suspension by the upper extremities, lesions consistent with torture and partial postmortem dismemberment. Testimony obtained in the Chilean investigation revealed that the victim’s kidnapping and murder was allegedly ordered by leaders of TdA and directed to be paid for from outside of Chile.

Additionally, in an intercepted conversation, Gamez Salas allegedly told other Los Piratas members that he had been assigned “from above” the task of coordinating and executing the crime.

In support of its other charges against Gamez Salas, Chile also alleges that he played a leading role in an April 2024 deadly armed confrontation that killed a Chilean police officer; February and June 2024 kidnappings for extortion; and a March 2024 attempted kidnapping, among other offenses.

In 2023, Gamez Salas was removed from the United States to Venezuela for having entered the United States illegally. He subsequently illegally reentered the United States and was prosecuted for human smuggling by the Val Verde County District Attorney’s Office in Texas. He was convicted in February 2025, after which he was indicted in the Southern District of Texas for illegally reentering the United States. He pled guilty to the illegal reentry charge in April 2025 and was serving his prison sentence in the Central District of California when he was arrested on Chile’s provisional arrest request in this matter. Gamez Salas was also subject to an order of removal to Venezuela, which does not extradite its own nationals.

On June 30, following Chile’s submission of a formal extradition request, Gamez Salas consented to extradition, and U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles F. Eick for the Central District of California certified his extradition to the Secretary of State. The U.S. Department of State subsequently issued a surrender warrant authorizing Gamez Salas’s extradition. The extradition matter for Gamez Salas was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Lulejian for the Central District of California and Trial Attorneys Reena T. Mittelman and Ruxandra Barbulescu of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs. The U.S. Marshals Service provided significant assistance in this case and ensured a smooth and safe transfer of custody to Chilean authorities so that Gamez Salas could be transported back to Chile to face trial.

Previously, in September 2025, the United States extradited to Chile another alleged TdA member, Edgar Javier Benitez Rubio, who was charged in Chile with multiple offenses arising from this same kidnapping and murder of the former Venezuelan Lieutenant. That extradition matter was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

LOS ANGELES – An illegal alien from Venezuela has been extradited at the request of the Government of Chile so that he may be prosecuted on seven charges stemming from his alleged role as a leader of “Los Piratas,” the primary Chilean cell of the Venezuelan transnational criminal organization Tren de Aragua (TdA).

Rafael Enrique Gámez Salas, 40, who was surrendered to Chilean authorities on Tuesday, is accused of directing multiple extortions and kidnappings on behalf of TdA, one of which resulted in the highly publicized murder of a former Venezuelan military officer. 

This extradition brings Gámez, who also has criminal convictions in the United States for human smuggling and illegal reentry after deportation, one step closer to facing justice in Chile after illegally attempting to seek refuge in the United States.

“The United States is not a safe haven for dangerous criminal aliens,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Rafael Enrique Gámez Salas should never have been in our country in the first place, but under the Biden administration, open-border policies left the doors wide open, and hundreds of suspected and convicted Tren de Aragua terrorists poured into this country. Gámez Salas’s extradition is evidence of the strong cooperation with our Chilean partners to combat transnational crime, dismantle foreign terrorist organizations like Tren de Aragua, and hold members accountable for their heinous criminal acts.” 

“At the time of TdA leader Rafael Enrique Gámez Salas’s arrest on the Chilean extradition charges, he was finishing a sentence here for illegal re-entry into the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Instead of deporting him to Venezuela, which does not extradite its own nationals, he now will be sent to Chile to face charges there that include murder, kidnapping, and extortion. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs worked extensively with Chilean authorities to extradite this defendant and ensure that another violent, illegal alien who came here unlawfully will be punished for breaking our laws and then go to Chile to face the charges levied there. When governments work cross borders together, all communities benefit and become more safe.” 

“Thanks to the previous administration’s open borders, a murderous terrorist was allowed to enter our country,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “I commend our law enforcement partners in the United States and Chile for removing this criminal, who will hopefully never see the outside of a prison again.”

Gámez, also known as “Adrián Rafael Gámez Finol” and “Turko,” is accused of overseeing the criminal activities of Los Piratas in Chile. According to Chilean authorities, he planned and coordinated kidnappings, homicides, extortions and other offenses on behalf of the TdA affiliate, which included instructing subordinates to obtain necessary resources to execute the offenses and ensuring that financial resources generated for Los Piratas were transferred abroad. 

Chile sought Gámez’s extradition so that he may stand trial for one count of criminal association, two counts of extortion, two counts of unjustified firearm discharge, one count of kidnapping resulting in homicide and one count of kidnapping for extortion, arising from separate crimes against multiple victims.

Chile alleges, among other things, that Gámez, acting under the supervision of senior TdA leadership, directed and planned the February 2024 kidnapping and murder in Santiago, Chile, of a former Lieutenant in the Venezuelan military.

According to Chile, members of Los Piratas arrived at the victim’s apartment building in the middle of the night armed with firearms and in a car equipped with a blue light in an apparent attempt to impersonate officers of the Chilean Investigative Police. After using a battering ram to force entry into the victim’s apartment, the perpetrators handcuffed the victim and forcibly removed him from the building and into a car.

Around one week later, in response to a tip from a witness, authorities discovered the victim’s body by drilling into the concrete floor of a makeshift dwelling in a housing development elsewhere in Santiago, Chile. The victim’s body was found covered in lime, concealed inside a suitcase, buried in concrete more than three feet deep and sealed beneath a concrete slab.

An autopsy determined that the victim’s cause of death was asphyxia due to hanging, and the victim’s body showed signs of suspension by the upper extremities, lesions consistent with torture and partial postmortem dismemberment. Testimony obtained in the Chilean investigation revealed that the victim’s kidnapping and murder was allegedly ordered by leaders of TdA and directed to be paid for from outside of Chile.

Additionally, in an intercepted conversation, Gámez allegedly told other Los Piratas members that he had been assigned “from above” the task of coordinating and executing the crime.

In support of its other charges against Gámez, Chile also alleges that he played a leading role in an April 2024 deadly armed confrontation that killed a Chilean police officer; February and June 2024 kidnappings for extortion; and a March 2024 attempted kidnapping, among other offenses.

In 2023, Gámez was removed from the United States to Venezuela for having entered the United States illegally. He subsequently illegally reentered the United States and was prosecuted for human smuggling by the Val Verde County District Attorney’s Office in Texas. He was convicted in February 2025, after which he was indicted in the Southern District of Texas for illegally reentering the United States. 

He pleaded guilty to the illegal reentry charge in April 2025 and was serving his prison sentence in the Central District of California when he was arrested on Chile’s provisional arrest request in this matter. Gámez was also subject to an order of removal to Venezuela, which does not extradite its own nationals.

On June 30, 2026, following Chile’s submission of a formal extradition request, Gámez consented to extradition, and United States Magistrate Judge Charles F. Eick for the Central District of California certified his extradition to the Secretary of State. The U.S. Department of State subsequently issued a surrender warrant authorizing Gámez’s extradition. 

Assistant United States Attorney John J. Lulejian and Trial Attorneys Reena T. Mittelman and Ruxandra Barbulescu of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs handled this extradition matter. 

The United States Marshals Service provided significant assistance in this case and ensured a smooth and safe transfer of custody to Chilean authorities so that Gámez could be transported back to Chile to face trial.

Previously, in September 2025, the United States extradited to Chile another alleged TdA member, Edgar Javier Benítez Rubio, who was charged in Chile with multiple offenses arising from this same kidnapping and murder of the former Venezuelan Lieutenant. That extradition matter was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

LOS ANGELES – Two Chinese nationals – one of them an illegal alien – living in the Inland Empire were sentenced to federal prison today for leading a large-scale, trans-Pacific scheme to defraud Apple Inc. through the fraudulent “returns” of thousands of counterfeit iPhones, iPads, and other Apple goods that caused the Cupertino-based technology company at least $16.2 million in losses.

Wenhui Huang, 41, of Chino Hills, the group’s ringleader and an illegal immigrant, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison by United States District Judge André Birotte, Jr., who also ordered him to pay $16,239,254 in restitution. 

Huang pleaded guilty in May 2025 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods, and one count of engaging in a monetary transaction in property derived from specified unlawful activity.

Judge Birotte today also sentenced Yang Song, 39, of Corona, the group’s second-in-command, to 57 months in federal prison, and ordered him to pay $16,997,415 in restitution.

Song pleaded guilty in June 2025 to 21 counts of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, and conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods, in addition to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering for a separate scheme involving the funneling of proceeds of various frauds to overseas.

Huang and Song are the final defendants to be sentenced in this case. 

According to court documents, from at least December 2015 to March 2024, Huang, Song, and others coordinated with co-conspirators in China to smuggle counterfeit Apple iPhones, iPads, and other devices to them and other U.S.-based co-conspirators. 

The counterfeit Apple devices smuggled to Huang, Song, and others in the U.S. were designed to look like genuine Apple devices and included identification numbers matching the numbers on real Apple products that had been sold in North America, were owned by real people, and were under warranty through Apple’s manufacturer warranty and AppleCare+, Apple’s extended warranty program.

The real identification numbers and serial numbers on the counterfeit devices that defendants returned were designed to essentially impersonate the real Apple devices owned by real people throughout the United States – and therefore deceived Apple into replacing the counterfeit devices with real devices under Apple’s warranty programs.

Once the counterfeit devices were smuggled into the U.S., the defendants fraudulently returned the counterfeit iPhones, iPads, and other devices to Apple as if they were genuine and had been legitimately purchased, were eligible for Apple’s warranty programs, and as if they were the lawful possessor of the Apple devices. 

The defendants knowingly and fraudulently represented that the counterfeit Apple devices they returned were genuine but were broken or non-operational and were covered by the company’s warranty programs. 

Some of the false reasons given to Apple store employees were because the devices purportedly would not power on, were physically damaged, or had other defects. But the defendants knew that the Apple devices they were returning were counterfeit and fraudulently used the identification numbers and serial numbers of real people’s Apple devices to victimize both Apple and the device owners.

As part of the scheme, the defendants visited multiple Apple stores throughout Southern California, including stores in Beverly Hills, Sherman Oaks, Pasadena, Irvine, Northridge, Manhattan Beach, Brea, Rancho Cucamonga, Cerritos and at shopping malls such as The Grove in Los Angeles, South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Fashion Island in Newport Beach, and The Americana at Brand in Glendale. In many cases, they visited as many as 10 different Apple stores where they would allegedly return counterfeit devices.

Once at the Apple stores, Apple employees either replaced or repaired the counterfeit Apple device with a genuine Apple device during the same visit or, on other occasions, took the defendants’ counterfeit devices and shipped them to a repair center. 

Apple then shipped to the defendants a genuine replacement Apple device or a repaired device to either an Apple store, where the defendants returned to pick up the new device, or at the dozens of mailboxes at UPS Stores that the defendants rented across Southern California to receive counterfeit devices from China and receive genuine replacement devices from Apple.

After successfully returning the counterfeit Apple devices for genuine ones, the defendants shipped the genuine devices to co-conspirators both in the United States and abroad, primarily in China, where the genuine Apple devices were resold at a substantial profit.

Federal prosecutors secured six convictions in this case, including for Yushan Lin, 32, and Shuyi Xing, 36, both of Corona, whom Judge Birotte on Wednesday sentenced to 18 months of home detention and 38 months in federal prison, respectively, and ordered to pay $16,239,254 and $17,343,549 in restitution, respectively. Lin and Xing fraudulently returned and attempted to return at least 1,584 counterfeit devices to Apple, causing at least $1,116,544 in actual losses to the company in their part of the overall conspiracy. 

Two other defendants, Zhengxuan Hu, 28, of Alhambra, an illegal alien, and Junwei Jiang, 39, of East Los Angeles, were previously sentenced to prison terms of 24 months and 36 months, respectively, for their role in the scheme and were ordered to pay $16,239,254 in restitution. 

Homeland Security Investigations and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter. The United States Postal Inspection Service and the Los Angeles Police Department provided substantial assistance.

Assistant United States Attorney Andrew M. Roach of the Major Frauds Section prosecuted this case.

LOS ANGELES – A Honduran national and lawful permanent resident living in the San Fernando Valley was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint charging him with fraudulently registering to vote in United States elections.

Darwin Jonathan Rivera Flores, 30, of Winnetka, is charged with two felonies: false claim to U.S. citizenship and fraudulent voter registration.

Rivera was arrested this morning and is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

“Noncitizens who commit fraud so they can vote in American elections do so in violation of federal law and should expect to be prosecuted,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Let this criminal complaint serve as a reminder that the Justice Department stands ready to enforce the laws Congress enacted to ensure only American citizens vote in federal elections.” 

“Today’s arrest is the first of many to come,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “Unfortunately, because states like California allow non-citizens to easily register to vote and receive a ballot by mail, there’s no telling how many non-citizens are currently registered to vote. We again renew our request that California immediately comply with our requests to audit their voter rolls so that all voters can have confidence in our elections.” 

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, Rivera was born in Honduras, entered the United States in 2002, and is present in the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident (commonly known as “green card” holder). He is not a U.S. citizen.

In February 2026, Rivera physically disrupted immigration law enforcement operations at the federal building in Camarillo, was issued a misdemeanor citation to which he pleaded guilty and was placed on one year of probation. 

In April 2026, Rivera sent a federal agent a series of text messages, which read in part, “Your not the good guy  I can’t wait until the mid terms you dont have qualified immunity then we can start and indict all you guys one bye one.” Rivera continued texting the federal agent until July 2026.

Law enforcement investigated and discovered an online voter registration record in the name of “Darwin Rivera” associated with Rivera’s Winnetka address. Law enforcement also obtained a certified voter registration application number, a voter registration receipt, and a signature image from the California Secretary of State, Elections Division. 

The voter registration name was listed as “Darwin J Rivera” and listed Rivera’s address in Winnetka. Under the application question of “Did someone help you fill out this form” the answer “no” was checked, and a check mark was provided next to the application wording “I am a U.S. citizen.”

Following a declaration under penalty of perjury warning, the voter registration application deadline was dated November 4, 2025.

Additional records from California Secretary of State and the County of Los Angeles, the birthplace listed under Rivera’s name was “United States of America.”

There is no record of Rivera seeking or obtaining U.S. citizenship. Rivera also has not voted in an election.

A criminal complaint contains merely allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, Rivera would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison on each charge.

Homeland Security Investigations is investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Michael G. Wheat of the Orange County Office is prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – An aspiring rapper is among two defendants arrested – and a total of three defendants charged – in a 25-count federal grand jury indictment alleging they illegally possessed more than 50 stolen United States Treasury checks and hundreds of other checks belonging to individuals and businesses, totaling more than $8.1 million, then cashed and attempted to cash stolen checks at lenders throughout Southern California, the Justice Department announced today.

Ada William Obayuwana, 31, a.k.a. “ColdheartedAC” and “AC,” of Quartz Hill, is charged alongside Albert Tai Vu, 28, of Westminster, and Cassandra Marie Murrillo, 31, of San Diego, with nine counts of bank fraud. 

Obayuwana is also charged with three counts of delivering stolen Treasury checks and one count of aggravated identity theft. Vu is charged with five counts of delivering stolen Treasury checks, four counts of money laundering, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. Murillo is charged with an additional count of delivering stolen Treasury checks.

Obayuwana was arrested and made his initial appearance in Los Angeles federal court on Wednesday. His detention hearing is scheduled for today. He remains in federal custody.

Vu was arrested Thursday and is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Murrillo is expected to surrender to federal authorities on Monday in Los Angeles.

According to the indictment, from at least April 2022 to December 2023, the defendants illegally obtained and possessed stolen checks totaling more than $8.1 million, including more than 50 stolen U.S. Treasury checks. The stolen U.S. Treasury checks contained tax refunds, veterans’ benefits, and Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits. The defendants then forged endorsements on the Treasury checks or altered names and addresses on the checks for the purpose of stealing them.

The defendants opened bank accounts for the purpose of receiving the fraudulently transferred funds. Sometimes, they used business documents mimicking the names and other identifiers of the victims to cash stolen checks. The defendants then deposited stolen funds into accounts at bank and credit union branches in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties.

From April 2022 to December 2023, Obayuwana attempted to cash at least three Treasury tax refund checks with a total value of approximately $382,109. He ultimately successfully cashed one of those checks, withdrawing a total of approximately $229,109 in funds that were in the possession, control, and custody of the banks.

In December 2023, Obayuwana possessed in his car in Oceanside more than 100 stolen or fraudulent checks, cumulatively worth more than $6.1 million. Among those checks were 48 stolen U.S. Treasury checks worth approximately $2,555,417 in tax refunds, veterans’ benefits, and SSA benefits. Of the checks he illegally possessed, eight were successfully cashed for a total value of approximately $1,701,507.

From April 2022 to December 2023, Vu attempted to cash at least six Treasury checks with a total value of $2,151,391 and successfully cashed two tax refund checks worth $772,159.

During that period, Murillo attempted to cash at least two checks worth $60,193 and successfully cashed one of them worth $31,405.

In April 2023, Vu executed two cashier’s checks – each in the amount of $250,000 – at a bank in Anaheim. He used funds from a None to Lose LLC account that were derived from unlawful activity. The first check was paid out to a co-schemer’s LLC, and the funds were used to purchase a Range Rover vehicle, while the second check was paid to Murillo. 

Obayuwana and Vu also used stolen identities in furtherance of their bank fraud activities. 

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

If convicted, the defendants would face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for each bank fraud count, a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for each counterfeit Treasury check- and money laundering-related count, and a mandatory consecutive two-year federal prison sentence for each count of aggravated identity theft.

The United States Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and the United States Postal Inspection Service are investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Diane Roldán of the Major Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.

LOS ANGELES – An Orange County woman pleaded guilty today to submitting more than $2.2 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for hospice services for beneficiaries who were not terminally ill, on which Medicare paid her company more than $2.1 million.

Lynn Galbraith, 60, of Anaheim, pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud.

According to her plea agreement, Galbraith was the co-owner and operator of the Garden Grove-based Azure Hospice Care Inc. from September 2019 to July 2022, after which time she became the company’s sole owner until February 2024. During this time, she knowingly and willfully submitted and caused the submission to Medicare for reimbursement of hospice services for beneficiaries who did not have a terminal illness with a life expectancy of six months or less if the illness ran its normal course.

In submitting the false claims to Medicare, Galbraith either knew the beneficiaries did not qualify for hospice or knew that they did not have sufficient medical records supporting a diagnosis and prognosis that qualified them for hospice benefits. She did not routinely coordinate with the beneficiaries’ primary care physicians about their purported conditions or terminal prognoses.

Galbraith knew and intended that Medicare would rely on her false representations that the patients were eligible for hospice services, and that the false representation would cause Medicare to send payment to Azure Hospice Care for the claimed services.

For example, in October 2022, Galbraith submitted a claim to Medicare for $6,600 for reimbursement of hospice services provided to a beneficiary, knowing that there was insufficient medical record documentation to establish Medicare hospice eligibility for this beneficiary.

In total, Galbraith submitted a total of approximately $2,266,694 in false claims to Medicare on behalf of Azure Hospice Care. Of this total, Medicare ultimately paid approximately $2,140,606 to Azure.

United States District Judge John A. Kronstadt scheduled a December 3 sentencing hearing, at which time Galbraith will face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) is investigating 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. 

Assistant United States Attorney Rosalind Wang of the Orange County Office is prosecuting this case.

A skin cancer testing company formerly known as DermTech Inc. has agreed to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting false claims for unreliable skin cancer tests to the Medicare program. DermTech is now liquidating as DTech Liquidating Inc. after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the District of Delaware in June 2024. As part of the resolution announced today, the United States received an Allowed Class Three General Unsecured Claim of $5,038,011 in the bankruptcy proceeding.

The settlement resolves allegations that DermTech submitted claims to Medicare for skin cancer tests despite knowing the tests had quality control issues. First, from October 2022 to March 2023, DermTech billed Medicare for skin cancer tests that it conducted after switching to an unvalidated positive control range for one of the test’s two key melanoma markers. Without a validated positive control range, it is impossible to confirm that the positive control is working and thus impossible to verify whether the test results are accurate. Second, from January 2020 to February 2022, DermTech billed Medicare for skin cancer tests that did not contain enough patient RNA to be tested but still generated positive or negative test results. For both categories of tests, DermTech reported results to patients. When concerns were raised about these tests, DermTech neither retracted the test results nor adequately refunded Medicare.

“The Justice Department is committed to protecting Medicare patients, especially in an area as serious as skin cancer testing,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will hold accountable health care providers who put patients at risk by billing Medicare for grossly substandard services.”

“This company billed Medicare for unreliable tests that may have misled patients and their doctors,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon for the Southern District of California. “This settlement is a perfect example of why the Department’s focus on fraud against the taxpayer directly leads to improved health and safety for Medicare patients.”

“Patients must be able to rely on the accuracy and integrity of diagnostic testing when making critical healthcare decisions,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Miranda L. Bennett of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Submitting claims to Medicare for tests that fail to meet established clinical standards undermines patient safety and public trust. HHS-OIG remains committed to ensuring that healthcare providers deliver services that meet federal requirements and to pursuing accountability for alleged misconduct.”

“DermTech Inc. allegedly administered inadequate skin cancer tests that led to the fraudulent billing of Medicare, raising serious concerns about the company’s practices,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “FBI San Diego, along with our law enforcement partners, remains committed to investigating any company whose illicit actions may undermine the integrity of our healthcare system and ensure they are held accountable.”

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by a former DermTech employee. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned U.S. ex rel. Luong v. DermTech, Inc. et al., No. 3:23-cv-01404 (S.D. Cal.). Ms. Luong will receive 20% of the recovery received from the bankruptcy court in connection with the settlement.

The claims resolved by the settlement pertain to DermTech Inc., a company that is now bankrupt. These claims do not pertain to DermTech LLC, a company that purchased DermTech Inc.’s assets in 2024 as part of the bankruptcy proceedings.

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 Southern District of California, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General.

The 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 (FCA). 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.

This matter was handled by Trial Attorney Clare Elizondo and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen H. Wong for the Southern District of California.

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

Monogram Health Professional Services PC and Monogram Health Inc., (Monogram Health), headquartered in Tennessee, have agreed to pay $2.4 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by causing the submission of false diagnosis codes in order to increase payments that they received from the Medicare Advantage program.

“When companies submit false diagnosis codes, they unlawfully exploit a system built to support vulnerable seniors,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This settlement reinforces the Department’s commitment to protecting taxpayer money and ensuring that Medicare Advantage payments are based on accurate information.”

“When it comes to how federal money is being spent, taxpayers deserve to know that this Justice Department is looking out for them,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “My office will continue to work to ensure that money for public health programs is spent how it’s intended, as today’s settlement shows.”

“Health care companies that seek to inflate profits by inaccurately reporting the medical conditions of Medicare Advantage enrollees will be held accountable,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Miranda L. Bennett of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS‑OIG). “This settlement underscores HHS‑OIG’s commitment to protecting the integrity of taxpayer‑funded federal health care programs. Medicare Advantage exists to deliver medically necessary care to beneficiaries, not to serve as a vehicle for improper financial gain.”

Under the Medicare Advantage (MA) Program, also known as Medicare Part C, Medicare beneficiaries may opt out of traditional Medicare and enroll in private health plans offered by insurance companies known as Medicare Advantage Organizations, or MAOs. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) pays the MAOs a fixed monthly amount for each Medicare beneficiary enrolled in their plans. CMS adjusts these monthly payments to account for various “risk” factors that affect expected health expenditures for the beneficiary. In general, CMS pays MAOs more for sicker beneficiaries expected to incur higher healthcare costs and less for healthier beneficiaries expected to incur lower costs. To calculate the payment amounts, CMS uses a health-based risk adjustment model — the Hierarchical Conditions Category (HCC) model — that takes into account diagnoses reported by healthcare providers.

In general, the more severe the diagnosis or costly the associated treatment, the higher the risk score and the higher the corresponding payments to the MAO. The diagnoses must be supported by the medical record of a face-to-face visit between a patient and a provider, and for outpatient visits, must have required or affected patient care, treatment, or management at the visit.

Monogram provides in-home care and related services to Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in MA Plans pursuant to contracts with certain MAOs. Under these contracts, Monogram was eligible to be paid more by the MAOs if the beneficiaries in its care had higher risk scores because the MAO received higher payments from CMS for those beneficiaries.  These risk sharing arrangements gave Monogram a financial incentive to submit additional diagnosis codes in order to increase its patients’ risk scores and the corresponding payments made by CMS.

The settlement announced today resolves allegations that, during the period from Jan, 1, 2021 through Dec. 31, 2023, Monogram knowingly submitted diagnosis codes within the following four HCCs that were not clinically accurate, not supported by documentation in the beneficiary’s medical records, and/or did not require or affect patient care, treatment or management: HCC 21 (Protein-Calorie Malnutrition), HCC 55 (Substance Use Disorder); HCC 48 (Coagulation Defects and Other Specified Hematological Disorders), and HCC 88 (Angina Pectoris). The submission of these diagnosis codes resulted in false claims that inflated the risk scores of the Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, thereby causing CMS to make higher capitated payments to the MAOs than it would have paid without these diagnosis codes.

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Dr. Ajay Gupta, a physician formerly employed by Monogram. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. Dr. Gupta will receive approximately $380,000 as his share of the recovery in this case. The lawsuit is captioned U.S. ex rel. Dr. Ajay Gupta v. Monogram Health Professional Services, et. al., Case No. 2:22-cv-08758 MWF-JCx (C.D. Cal.).

Monogram received credit under the Department of Justice’s guidelines in Justice Manual § 4-4.112 for taking cooperation into account in cases involving False Claims Act allegations.

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 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 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.  

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrate the government’s emphasis on combating health care 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).

The matter was investigated by Fraud Section Attorney Jennifer Cook and Assistant U.S. Attorney Hunter B. Thomson for the Central District of California.

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

Note: This release has been updated from a previous version

LOS ANGELES – Monogram Health Professional Services PC and Monogram Health Inc., headquartered in Tennessee, have agreed to pay $2.4 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by causing the submission of false diagnosis codes to increase payments that they received from the Medicare Advantage program.

“When it comes to how federal money is being spent, taxpayers deserve to know that this Justice Department is looking out for them,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. “My office will continue to work to ensure that money for public health programs is spent how it’s intended, as today’s settlement shows.”

“When companies submit false diagnosis codes, they unlawfully exploit a system built to support vulnerable seniors,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This settlement reinforces the Department’s commitment to protecting taxpayer money and ensuring that Medicare Advantage payments are based on accurate information.”

“Health care companies that seek to inflate profits by inaccurately reporting the medical conditions of Medicare Advantage enrollees will be held accountable,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Miranda L. Bennett of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS‑OIG). “This settlement underscores HHS‑OIG’s commitment to protecting the integrity of taxpayer‑funded federal health care programs. Medicare Advantage exists to deliver medically necessary care to beneficiaries, not to serve as a vehicle for improper financial gain.”

Under the Medicare Advantage (MA) Program, also known as Medicare Part C, Medicare beneficiaries may opt out of traditional Medicare and enroll in private health plans offered by insurance companies known as Medicare Advantage Organizations, or MAOs. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) pays the MAOs a fixed monthly amount for each Medicare beneficiary enrolled in their plans. CMS adjusts these monthly payments to account for various “risk” factors that affect expected health expenditures for the beneficiary. 

In general, CMS pays MAOs more for sicker beneficiaries expected to incur higher healthcare costs and less for healthier beneficiaries expected to incur lower costs. To calculate the payment amounts, CMS uses a health-based risk adjustment model — the Hierarchical Conditions Category (HCC) model — that considers diagnoses reported by healthcare providers.

In general, the more severe the diagnosis or costly the associated treatment, the higher the risk score and the higher the corresponding payments to the MAO. The diagnoses must be supported by the medical record of a face-to-face visit between a patient and a provider, and for outpatient visits, must have required or affected patient care, treatment, or management at the visit.

Monogram provides in-home care and related services to Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in MA Plans pursuant to contracts with certain MAOs. Under these contracts, Monogram was eligible to be paid more by the MAOs if the beneficiaries in its care had higher risk scores because the MAO received higher payments from CMS for those beneficiaries. These risk sharing arrangements gave Monogram a financial incentive to submit additional diagnosis codes to increase its patients’ risk scores and the corresponding payments made by CMS.

The settlement announced today resolves allegations that, during the period from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2023, Monogram knowingly submitted diagnosis codes within the following four HCCs that were not clinically accurate, not supported by documentation in the beneficiary’s medical records, and/or did not require or affect patient care, treatment or management: HCC 21 (Protein-Calorie Malnutrition), HCC 55 (Substance Use Disorder); HCC 48 (Coagulation Defects and Other Specified Hematological Disorders), and HCC 88 (Angina Pectoris). 

The submission of these diagnosis codes resulted in false claims that inflated the risk scores of the Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, thereby causing CMS to make higher capitated payments to the MAOs than it would have paid without these diagnosis codes.

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Dr. Ajay Gupta, a physician formerly employed by Monogram. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. Dr. Gupta will receive approximately $380,000 as his share of the recovery in this case. The lawsuit is captioned United States of America ex rel. Dr. Ajay Gupta v. Monogram Health Professional Services, et. al., Case No. 2:22-cv-08758 MWF-JCx (C.D. Calif.).

Monogram received credit under the Department of Justice’s guidelines in Justice Manual § 4-4.112 for taking cooperation into account in cases involving False Claims Act allegations.

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 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 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. 

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrate the government’s emphasis on combating health care 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).

The matter was investigated by Assistant United States Attorney Hunter B. Thomson of the Civil Division’s Civil Fraud Section and Justice Department Fraud Section Attorney Jennifer Cook.

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

LOS ANGELES – Two former city councilmen for Baldwin Park and Compton were each sentenced to 18 months in federal prison terms today for engaging in corrupt acts while they were elected officials, including the payment and acceptance tens of thousands of dollars in bribes for a police union’s support and to obtain official city permits for marijuana cultivation.

Ricardo Pacheco, 63, of Baldwin Park, who served on the Baldwin Park City Council from 1997 until his resignation in 2020 and served as the city’s mayor pro tempore in 2018, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison by United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II, who also fined him $10,000 and ordered him to forfeit $219,755. A restitution hearing will be scheduled in the coming weeks.

Judge Wright today also sentenced Isaac Jacob Galvan, 39, of Compton, who served on the Compton City Council from 2013 to 2022, to 18 months in federal prison and ordered him to pay $323,557 in restitution.

          Ricardo Pacheco

Pacheco pleaded guilty in June 2020 to one count of federal program bribery and admitted to accepting tens of thousands of dollars in bribes – including $20,000 in cash – from a Baldwin Park Police officer working at the FBI’s direction, in exchange for the councilmember’s political support of the Baldwin Park Police Association’s contract with the city.

Pacheco, who agreed to fully cooperate with federal prosecutors, solicited and received a total of $37,900 in bribes from a Baldwin Park police officer from January through October 2018 to support and vote for the Police Association’s contract, which was worth at least $4.4 million over three years. The police officer who made the payments did so at the direction of the FBI after another officer and he approached the FBI and agreed to assist in its ongoing corruption investigation. In exchange for the payments, Pacheco voted in favor of the Police Association contract in March 2018.

The payments to Pacheco included a $20,000 cash bribe in October 2018, which the police officer provided to him in an envelope in a Baldwin Park coffee shop. Pacheco also solicited and received $17,900 in checks that he directed be made out to his church and sham political action committees he had set up using other individuals’ names but which he controlled.

In June 2020, Pacheco resigned from his Baldwin Park City Council seat as part of his plea agreement with federal prosecutors. He also forfeited $83,145 in cash proceeds seized by the FBI, which included $62,900 that Pacheco said he had buried in his backyard in two locations.

The FBI investigated this matter.

          Isaac Jacob Galvan

Galvan pleaded guilty in December 2025 to one count of federal program bribery and one count of evasion of tax assessment. He admitted to paying $70,000 in bribes to Pacheco – then serving on the Baldwin Park City Council – in exchange for Pacheco’s votes and support for commercial marijuana permits and further admitted to failing to report to the IRS more than half a million dollars in income.

In June 2017, Baldwin Park began permitting the cultivation, manufacture, and distribution of marijuana within its city limits. Soon afterward, Pacheco began soliciting bribes from businesses seeking marijuana development agreements and related permits in the city. In exchange for the illicit payments, Pacheco agreed to use his position in city government to assist the companies with obtaining marijuana permits, including voting in their favor. 

Galvan – then serving on the Compton City Council – offered his consulting services to W&F International Corp., a Diamond Bar-based import-export business, who wanted a marijuana permit in Baldwin Park. After securing W&F International Corp. as a consulting client, Galvan facilitated $70,000 in bribes to Pacheco from Yichang Bai, 52, of Arcadia, W&F’s the owner and operator.

Galvan paid the bribes in exchange for Pacheco’s political support of and promise to deliver Baldwin Park’s approval of marijuana permits for W&F. Pacheco then delivered, voting in favor of W&F’s marijuana permit in June and July of 2018 and voting later that year in favor of W&F’s bid to relocate its operations.

Throughout the scheme, Galvan and Bai took steps to cover up their illegal payments to Pacheco by concealing Bai and W&F’s connection to the payments for Pacheco. For example, Bai collected checks from third parties who owed him money and then gave Galvan the checks with blank payee lines. Galvan then gave the checks to Pacheco.

Shortly after the votes to approve W&F’s relocation, Pacheco contacted Galvan and asked him to obtain more money from W&F for his legal defense fund. Galvan told Bai that Pacheco wanted $25,000 for his fundraiser, but Bai insisted only on paying $20,000. Bai provided a total of seven checks from different bank accounts that were not Bai’s or W&F’s. Galvan arranged for the checks to be delivered to Pacheco as further payment in exchange for his votes and support of W&F’s marijuana permit.

Galvan also failed to file federal individual tax returns for the years 2017 through 2020, evading assessment of the federal taxes he owed in several ways. For example, he concealed his ownership and control of I&I LLC, a shell company Galvan used to solicit bribes for public officials and to facilitate paying those bribes. 

Galvan also directed individuals to issue checks with blank payee lines to later be cashed and converted into income for himself, and he individuals to write checks for income he earned to conduits, who would pay for Galvan’s living expenses, including his rent.

In total, Galvan failed to report approximately $560,525 in income for the tax years 2017 through 2020, causing a total loss to the United States Treasury of $115,816.

Bai pleaded guilty on February 23 to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. On July 6, Judge Wright sentenced him to 20 months in federal prison and fined him $3,000.

The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Michael J. Morse and Kedar S. Bhatia of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, and Neil P. Thakor of the Major Crimes Section prosecuted both Pacheco and Galvan.