Southern District of California

SAN DIEGO – Danxiu Wang, a Chinese national residing in California, pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting she participated in an international fraud and money laundering scheme that tricked more than 40 elderly victims out of more than $1.2 million.

According to court documents and statements made in court, this case arises from an investigation into a call center scam that targeted elderly individuals in California and elsewhere in the United States in May 2025. According to charging documents, Wang and others used the following methods to defraud the victims:

• Technical support scam: Scammers pose as legitimate tech support representatives, claiming a victim’s computer or account has been compromised and tricking them into paying for unnecessary or fake repairs.
• Refund scam: Fraudsters contact victims with claims they are owed a refund, then manipulate them into providing banking information or transferring money under the guise of correcting a supposed overpayment.
• Bank impersonation scam: Criminals impersonate banks or financial institutions through calls, texts, or emails, creating a false sense of urgency to pressure victims into revealing sensitive information or moving funds to fraudulent accounts.

Wang admitted in her plea agreement that she met victims in-person to collect the funds. She kept a percentage of the fraud proceeds before passing the remainder on to other members of the conspiracy.  

Wang is scheduled to be sentenced June 15, 2026, at 10 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Linda Lopez.

If you or someone you know is 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available through the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833 FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). You can also report fraud to any local law enforcement agency or on the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

The FBI requests that victims report:

• The name of the person or company that contacted you.
• Methods of communication used, including websites, emails, and telephone numbers.
• Any bank account number(s) to which you wired funds and the recipient’s name(s).

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Brooks.

DEFENDANT                                    Case Number 25cr4149-LL-1                                 

Danxiu Wang                                      Age: 30                                              San Gabriel, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Wire Fraud Conspiracy – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1349

Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison and $1 million fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCY

Federal Bureau of Investigation

SAN DIEGO – Robert Antonio Bastardo Llovera, a Venezuelan national residing illegally in the U.S., was sentenced in federal court today to eight months and two days in custody for assaulting a federal officer near Mission Bay.

Bastardo pleaded guilty March 3, 2026, admitting that on July 15, 2025, he assaulted an Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation officer by biting him on the forearm.

During his arrest for an immigration violation, Bastardo engaged in a five-minute struggle with federal officers culminating in the bite. Bastardo was living in the United States without legal immigration status and was ordered removed by an Immigration Judge on June 10, 2025, after failing to appear for court.

“Our office will continue to prioritize the protection of federal officers engaged in their lawful duties,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon.

“Assaulting a federal law enforcement officer is a serious offense and any actions that put agents and officers at risk will not be tolerated,” said Kevin Murphy, acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in San Diego. “We will continue to hold all individuals who assault law enforcement or interfere with investigations and operations fully accountable.” This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel F. Casillas and Loren G. Renner.

DEFENDANT                                   Case Number                         25-cr-3017-H                         

Robert Antonio Bastardo Llovera       Age: 32                                   San Diego, California

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Assault on a Federal Officer – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 111(a) and (b)

Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Homeland Security Investigations

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. HSTF San Diego comprises agents and officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Department of Defense, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Interpol, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.

SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 133 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America’s eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico’s second largest city).

In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.

A sample of border-related arrests this week:

• On March 9, Yu Zou, a U.S. citizen, was arrested and charged with Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain. According to a complaint, Zou applied for admission to the U.S. in the vehicle lanes of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry by presenting false immigration documents on behalf of his passenger. Zou was taken into custody after Customs and Border Protection officers determined the passenger was a citizen of China who was unauthorized to enter the U.S.
• On March 10, Carlos David Lizarraga Santos, a Mexican citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers found 41 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in the dash and gas tank of the defendant’s vehicle as he applied for admission to the United States at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
• On March 10, Johan Estuardo Garcia-Grajeda, a citizen of Guatemala, was arrested and charged with Attempted Entry after Deportation. The unauthorized immigrant was arrested by Border Patrol agents in the U.S., about five miles west of the Tecate Port of Entry. He was previously deported in October 2025.

The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.

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

SAN DIEGO – Two teenage gang members were sentenced in federal court today to 25 years in prison for attempting to murder a target of the Sinaloa Cartel, and for the collateral death of a fellow gang member who was fatally shot during one of the failed murder attempts.

“California Senate Bill 1391 made state prosecutions of 14- and 15-year-olds a practical impossibility regardless of the seriousness of the crime. Then, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Mexican Mafia-affiliated Westside Wilmas recruited accordingly,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon, “No. No to the Sinaloa Cartel recruiting juveniles. No to the Mexican Mafia directing gangland hits in San Diego. No to a lack of consequences for juveniles who would do their bidding.”

“The sentencing of these teenagers sends a clear message: individuals who commit acts of violence, regardless of age, will be held fully accountable under the law,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge TJ Holland of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “The FBI remains steadfast in our commitment to identify, dismantle, and eliminate the violent gangs, cartels, and criminal organizations responsible for this violence. FBI San Diego and our law enforcement partners will continue to investigate anyone threatening the safety of our communities, including those who mistakenly believe they can exploit juveniles to carry out violent crimes without consequence.”

In issuing the court’s sentence, U.S. District Judge Todd W. Robinson likewise warned that the Sinaloa Cartel, Mexican Mafia, Westside Wilmas, and similarly situated gangs “need to be put on notice that you don’t get a pass when you have a juvenile commit an offense like this.”

Andrew Nunez and Johncarlo Quintero – who were both 15 at the time of the crimes on March 26 and 27, 2024 – pleaded guilty in December 2025 to murder and attempted murder charges, admitting they were acting as hired hitmen for the Sinaloa Cartel when they made two attempts in five hours to kill the cartel’s target.

Nunez and Quintero were members of the Mexican Mafia-affiliated Westside Wilmas gang from the greater Los Angeles area. They drove from Wilmington, California to a Chili’s restaurant in Chula Vista, where their target was dining with his family.

The target and his family were leaving the Chili’s restaurant when Quintero and Nunez pulled up behind them in the parking lot. Quintero got out of the car and fired a single bullet that struck the victim’s legs. After that single shot, Quintero’s firearm jammed, and he was unable to unjam the weapon in time to shoot again. Quintero got back into the car Nunez was driving, and Nunez attempted unsuccessfully to hit and kill the intended victim with the vehicle. The teen gunmen then fled the scene.

Later that night, in the early hours of March 27, 2024, the teen hitmen showed up at the intended victim’s home to finish the job. They were joined this time by an older accomplice, 28-year-old Ricardo Sanchez. Nunez and Quintero each expected to be paid approximately $50,000. The trio approached the target’s home, carrying at least one firearm apiece.

Two family members and a friend of the intended victim were present in the home. Sanchez banged on the front door, and once the friend responded, Quintero and Nunez shot at the friend and fired indiscriminately at the family home. According to the plea agreements, Nunez and Quintero acted with the intent of ending the life of the friend and anyone within the kill zone they created in targeting the intended victim.

The friend was shot in the hand, arm, and face by Quintero and Nunez, but he survived. In response to Quintero and Nunez’s actions, the friend shot toward Nunez, Quintero and Sanchez to protect himself and the others within the home and, in so doing, he shot and killed Sanchez—a provocative-act murder to which Nunez and Quintero pleaded guilty. After that, the hitmen fled the scene.

The defendants admitted they were tapped to murder the cartel’s target because they were minors and, specifically, only 15 at the time. According to admissions in their plea agreements, the defendants knew—if apprehended for this conduct—that they were ineligible to be transferred to adult status under the laws of the State of California because they were under the age of 16 at the time of the offense. For example, among other discussions Nunez had with his co-defendant after being arrested, Nunez and Quintero talked about not being able to “catch a…707” because of their age at the time, which referred to not being subject to adult transfer under California Welfare & Institutions Code Section 707.

In February 2026, a federal grand jury indicted alleged Sinaloa Cartel associates Poly Antunez, Antonio Quinones, and Jovanny Enriquez for conspiring with the teens to execute the cartel target. The 15-year-olds were thought to be too young for serious legal consequences. That indictment charged the defendants with Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering, Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering, Conspiracy to Commit Murder for Hire, and Use of Interstate Facilities in Commission of Murder for Hire. That related case, Case Number 26cr402-TWR, is pending.

These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley Goff, Peter Horn and Joshua Mellor.

DEFENDANTS                                             Case Number 25cr4822-TWR

Andrew Nunez

aka “Shooter,” aka “Felon”                            Age: 16                                   Wilmington, CA

Johncarlo Quintero                                        Age: 17                                  Wilmington, CA

aka “Dumper”

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering (Title 18, U.S.C., Secs.  1959(a)(5) and 2)

Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison, $250,000 fine

Murder in Aid of Racketeering (Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 1959(a)(1) and 2).

Maximum penalty: Life in prison; $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Chula Vista Police Department

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

United States Marshals Service

California Highway Patrol

*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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. HSTF San Diego comprises agents and officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Department of Defense, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Interpol, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.

SAN DIEGO – Noly Hermoso Ilarde of San Diego pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he and a co-conspirator created a sham charity and then fraudulently pocketed millions of dollars in donations.

Ilarde and his partner in crime, Martin Jose Rebollo Jr., presented themselves as the non-profit “Chula Vista Fast Pitch,” a defunct charity that provided support for youth softball activities. They applied and were selected to provide unpaid volunteers to work concessions at Petco Park and Snapdragon Stadium in exchange for approximately 10 percent of the sales going to their charity.

However, Ilarde and Rebollo admitted they paid each supposed volunteer about $50 in cash per event and then divided the remaining money between themselves.

Ilarde pleaded guilty to Wire Fraud Conspiracy. In his plea agreement, he admitted the fake charity received approximately $3.5 million in payments from Delaware North, the hospitality management company in charge of concessions at Petco Park, and more than $250,000 in payments from Aztec Shops, the non-profit in charge of concessions at Snapdragon Stadium. Delaware North and Aztec Shops deposited money into bank accounts under the control of Rebollo, and Ilarde and Rebollo used that money to pay volunteers in cash before splitting the remaining money. Ilarde admitted that he personally gained more than $550,000 from the scheme.

Rebollo pleaded guilty in December 2025 to Wire Fraud Conspiracy, Filing a False Tax Return and 
Social Security Fraud in connection with the scheme. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 5, 2026. According to his plea agreement, Rebollo’ gain as a result of this conspiracy is greater than $1.5 million – which he failed to report on his tax return.

According to the plea agreements, the defendants did not pay any funds to the Chula Vista Fast Pitch charity, and no funds were used for any youth softball activities or other charitable or non-profit purposes.

This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey D. Hill.

DEFENDANT                                   Case Number: 26-CR-0643

Noly Hermoso Ilarde                         Age: 57                        San Diego

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Wire Fraud Conspiracy – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1349

Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater

DEFENDANT                                  Case Number: 25-CR-4668

Martin Jose Rebollo Jr                       Age: 58                       Chula Vista

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Wire Fraud Conspiracy – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1349

Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater

Filing a False Tax Return – Title 26, U.S.C., Section 7206(1)

Maximum penalty: Three years in prison and $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater

Failure to Disclose Event to the Social Security Administration – Title 42, U.S.C., Section 408(a)(4)

Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Federal Bureau of Investigation

IRS Criminal Investigation

Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General

SAN DIEGO –Wayne Fister, aka Wayne Wong, was indicted by a federal grand jury for selling millions of counterfeit U.S. postage stamps, earning more than $6 million as part of the scheme.

The indictment, unsealed yesterday, charged Fister with Mail Fraud, Selling Counterfeit Stamps, and Money Laundering.

According to court documents and statements made in court, since July 2024, Fister used his account in an online marketplace to sell the counterfeit U.S. postage stamps.

In one instance, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service intercepted five different packages intended for Fister, in total containing more than one million counterfeit stamps.  Fister is alleged to have procured the counterfeit stamps from a manufacturer in China as part of the mail fraud scheme.

Fister is also accused of using a significant portion of criminal proceeds from counterfeit stamp sales to purchase a home in San Diego.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathan Brooks and Alyssa Sanderson.

*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

DEFENDANT                                   Case Number 26cr0723                               

Wayne Fister                                       Age: 38                                              San Diego, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Mail Fraud – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1341

Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison and $1 million fine

Selling Counterfeit Stamps – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 501

Maximum Penalty: Five years in prison and $250,000 fine

Money Laundering – Title 18, U.S.C. Section 1957

Maximum Penalty: Ten years in prison and $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCY

United States Postal Inspection Service

SAN DIEGO – More than 50 defendants have been charged in a yearslong crackdown on organized theft rings – many with ties to Romania – that steal millions of dollars in public assistance benefits from low-income families who depend on those funds for food, housing, and other necessities.

The cases are part of an ongoing enforcement effort in the Southern District of California targeting crews that allegedly exploit the government’s Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) system. Investigators say members of these rings often descend on ATMs, often in the pre-dawn hours almost immediately after the funds are dispersed by the state, rapidly draining funds from compromised accounts and leaving vulnerable victims without the benefits they rely on to survive.

“These criminals target people living one paycheck away from crisis,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “Exploiting that vulnerability is as cruel as it is criminal.”

“These charges underscore the serious consequences faced by individuals who exploit federal programs for personal gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Robb R. Breeden of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “This scheme diverted valuable taxpayer funds from programs designed to support people most in need. Working closely with our law enforcement partners, HHS‑OIG will continue to pursue those who target the vulnerable and compromise public trust in government assistance programs.”

“The U.S. Secret Service and our partners on the Southern California Cyber Fraud Task Force are committed to combatting EBT fraud and credit card skimming,” said Andre Remy, the Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s San Diego Field Office. “This years-long investigation is a testament to the hard work and tireless dedication of law enforcement to actively investigate and arrest criminals that target our most vulnerable community members.”

Four of the most recent defendants appeared in federal court last week to face charges that they each stole public assistance benefits from low-income families that need the funds to pay for food, housing, and other necessities.

The four defendants are Razvan Balu, Juan Trandafir, Hassib Baraekzay, and Veronica Ochoa.  Balu and Trandafir, both Romanian, are respectively accused of stealing $160,000 and $145,250 from victims’ CalWORKS benefit accounts.  CalWORKS administers grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that are designed to help families remain housed. Baraekzay and Ochoa, who are U.S. citizens, are each charged with stealing more than $20,000 of CalWORKS benefits.

Last week’s arrests bring the total number of people charged with stealing CalWORKS benefits by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego to 52 since 2023. These federal arrests are the work of the U.S. Secret Service’s Southern California Cyber Fraud Task Force (SoCal CFTF).

The defendants sentenced so far in this crackdown are collectively responsible for stealing at least $4 million from the EBT accounts of hundreds of California victims, including scores of San Diego County residents. Please see chart below for status of all cases charged.

EBT theft has significantly impacted California, with substantial losses reported in recent years. Between June 2022 and January 2026, more than $310 million was stolen from EBT beneficiaries in California, primarily through unauthorized ATM withdrawals.

Balu was arrested March 1 in Los Angeles County for Conspiracy to Commit Access Device Fraud during a SoCal CFTF operation targeting EBT card skimming fraud at ATMs, while Baraekzay and Ochoa were arrested in San Diego County on March 2 and 3.

According to the complaint charging Balu, between January 1, 2026, and March 1, 2026, Balu used the public assistance account information of approximately 210 victims who live in San Diego, Fresno, Los Angeles, Kern, Kings, and Tulare counties. He used this account information to make unauthorized withdrawals at Los Angeles County ATMs in which he accessed, attempted to steal, and stole from the victims’ public assistance benefit accounts.

During this period, Balu attempted to withdraw $196,650 and successfully withdrew $159,990 from the victims’ accounts.

EBT is a card-based system used to distribute government assistance benefits like CalFresh (food assistance) and CalWORKs (cash aid). It works like a debit card, allowing recipients to purchase food and withdraw cash at participating retailers and ATMs.

According to charging documents, the U.S. Secret Service has gathered evidence indicating members of what appear to be one or more criminal enterprises are stealing California EBT account information by installing skimmers on point-of-sale terminals and inside ATMs, often in communities with higher concentrations of public benefit recipients. The skimmed data is then often re-encoded onto the magnetic strips of cards that members of the conspiracy use to make unauthorized withdrawals and purchases.

These re-encoded cards are sometimes referred to as “cloned” cards. Cloned cards can be a blank white plastic card, or another debit, credit, or gift card. Cloned cards may have names or numbers embossed on the physical face of the card. A common feature of cloned cards is that the account number encoded on the card’s magnetic strip will not match the number embossed on the card’s face. To facilitate the use of the stolen EBT benefits, members of the scheme will commonly put stickers bearing the account’s PIN on the physical cards, or access devices, that are swiped at a point-of-sale terminal, along with the account balance.

Once in possession of the cloned cards, account PIN, and anticipated balance, the thieves will go to ATMs, often in the pre-dawn hours, to drain those benefits before the rightful recipients can access them.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sabrina Fève.

If you or someone you know has had EBT benefits stolen, San Diego County’s Department of Health & Human Services Agency requires that the theft be reported within 10 days.  More information for San Diego County victims is available at:

https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/hhsa/programs/ssp/ebt_fraud.html.  

DEFENDANT                                  Case Number 24MJ1234                                              

Razvan Balu                                       35             Drobeta Turnu Severin City, Romania

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Conspiracy to Commit Access Device Fraud – Title 18, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1029(b)(2), 1029(a)(2), 1029(a)(4), and (c)(1)(A)

Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and $250,000 fine, or twice the pecuniary gain or loss

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

U.S. Secret Service’s Southern California Cyber Fraud Task Force

San Diego District Attorney’s Office

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

California Department of Social Services

San Diego Police Department

San Diego Sheriff’s Department

U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General

Homeland Security Investigations

Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office

United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California

*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty. 

Court Case #

Date of Arrest

Disposition

Restitution Ordered

23CR0794

3/17/2023

16 months

$305,274.52

23CR1164

6/3/2023

10 months

$25,700.00

23CR1165

6/3/2023

18 months

$95,304.06

23CR1165

6/3/2023

18 months

$21,510.00

23CR1300

6/1/2023

18 months

$139,780.00

23CR1303

6/2/2023

11 months

$17,030.00

23CR1655

7/18/2023

21 months

$186,450.00

24CR0229

7/14/2023

State Custody TX

24CR0229

1/24/2024

20 months

$446,535.87

24CR0229

1/29/2024

33 months

$446,535.87

24CR0229

1/29/2024

20 months

$446,535.87

24CR0229

Fugitive

24CR0510

2/12/2024

6 months

$13,360.00

24CR0819

4/1/2024

6 months

$5,730.00

24CR0819

4/1/2024

6 months

$5,730.00

24CR0822

4/2/2024

12 months + 1 day

$32,290.00

24CR0822

4/2/2024

6 months

$1,140.00

24CR0823

4/1/2024

30 months

$182,530.00

24CR0878

4/2/2024

10 months

$12,860.00

24CR0967

4/16/2024

30 months

$223,240.00

24CR1610

6/29/2024

14 months

$37,640.00

24CR2116

8/21/2024

8 months

$37,320.00

25CR1815

4/30/2024

18 months

$22,710.00

24MJ1736

3/3/2026

Pending removal to SDCA

24CR2103

9/5/2024

24 months

$483,650.00

25CR2872

6/23/2025

24 months

$483,650.00

24CR1877

8/13/2024

14 months

$47,060.00

24CR2047

9/9/2024

24 months

$154,260.00

24CR2009

8/28/2024

14 months

$30,060.00

24CR2194

9/23/2024

15 months

$88,040.00

24MJ3480

fugitive

24CR2485

10/8/2024

37 months

$397,265.00

25CR4656

10/29/2026

Motion Hearing/Trial Setting set for 03/20/2026

25CR4656

10/29/2026

Motion Hearing/Trial Setting set for 03/20/2026

25CR1476

3/31/2025

16 months

$152,240.00

25CR2983

7/2/2025

7 months

$199,100.00

25CR0126

12/4/2024

14 months

$41,660.00

24CR2713

9/24/2024

Sentencing set for 4/13/2026  

25CR1148

3/4/2025

13 months

$46,160.00

25CR0926

3/4/2025

14 months

$72,597.00

25CR03054

5/29/2025

Sentencing set for 3/20/2026

25MJ2246

Fugitive

25MJ2246

State Custody CA

25CR2002

5/2/2025

Sentencing set for 4/14/2026  

25CR3822

5/5/2025

10 months

$41,460.00

25CR3061

7/11/2025

24 months

$142,240.00

26MJ0156

2/10/2026

Preliminary Hearings 3/10/2026

26MJ0156

2/10/2026

Preliminary Hearings 3/10/2026

26MJ0156

2/10/2026

Preliminary Hearings 3/10/2026

26MJ1127

Pending removal to SDCA

26MJ1140

3/2/2026

Preliminary Hearing 3/17/26

26MJ1184

Preliminary Hearing 3/19/2026

SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 126 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America’s eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico’s second largest city).

In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.

A sample of border-related arrests this week:

• On February 27, Ulises Gallardo, a United States citizen, was arrested and charged with Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain. According to a complaint, when the defendant applied for entry into the U.S. in his vehicle at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, Customs and Border Protection officers inspected the vehicle and discovered a human foot sticking out of the gas tank. The officers removed the rear passenger seats and carpet and found an access panel in the metal flooring of the vehicle, secured by what appeared to be weld marks. An officer began to pry open the access panel and found a woman lying in a puddle of gasoline in a non-factory gas tank compartment. She seemed to be in distress, unable to exit the compartment. She was disoriented and had what appeared to be chemical burns on her legs and feet. The woman, a citizen of Mexico without legal documents to enter the U.S., was treated at a hospital. She later told officers she was in the gas tank for about 90 minutes, covered in sweat and soaked in gasoline and unable to breathe. She said she felt very dizzy from the gas fumes and felt like she was burning alive but couldn’t get out because she was trapped inside the gas tank.
• On February 27, Jose Angel Vidal Ayala, a Mexican citizen, was arrested and charged with Attempted Entry after Deportation. According to a complaint, Border Patrol agents intercepted Vidal north of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in a group of undocumented immigrants. He was previously deported to Mexico through Calexico.
• On March 3, Benny Jesus Niz Ledezma, a United States citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers discovered seven packages containing 19 pounds of cocaine concealed in a non-factory compartment behind the radio of the vehicle when he applied for entry into the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.

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

SAN DIEGO – Former Securities lawyer Robert Blair Krueger, Jr., was sentenced in federal court today to 12 months and one day in prison for evading his personal taxes. U.S. District Judge James Simmons Jr. also ordered Krueger to pay $357,666.41 in restitution to the IRS.

According to court filings and statements made in court, from 2017 to 2019, Krueger, Jr., 63, was the sole owner of The Krueger Group LLP, a firm that specialized in providing legal services to companies seeking to become publicly traded.

During that time, Krueger regularly received payments for legal services he provided to clients. In 2017, Krueger received more than $167,000 for payment of legal services. After providing his return preparer with false information about his law firm’s profits, however, he reported only $10,000 in receipts on his 2017 tax return. In 2018 and 2019, Krueger willfully failed to file a tax return with the IRS, even though he earned income during those years and was required to do so. In total, Krueger caused a tax loss to the United States of more than $130,000.

Krueger pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion on October 23, 2025.

Trial Attorneys Megan E. Wessel and Robert A. Kemins of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section prosecuted the case.

DEFENDANT                                               Case Number  24-cr-02141               

Robert Blair Krueger, Jr                                 Age: 63                       Las Vegas, NV

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Attempt to Evade or Defeat Tax – Title 26, U.S.C., Section §7201

Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCY

IRS Criminal Investigation

LAS VEGAS – Latonia Smith of Las Vegas was sentenced in federal court today to 10 years in prison for threatening two federal judges and a probation officer, all of whom were involved in her previous federal conviction for death threats she made against lawyers in yet another case.

The sentencing hearing took place in Dallas, Texas, where Smith is being detained.

“Threatening the judiciary strikes at the heart of our justice system,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon for the Southern District of California. “These were not impulsive words typed in anger — they were calculated, researched, and designed to terrorize. Today’s sentence makes clear that targeting judges and their families will be met with serious consequences.”

“Today’s sentencing sends a powerful message: the FBI stands firm against threats of violence and is unwavering in our commitment to protect every member of our community,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher S. Delzotto of the Las Vegas field office. “Acts that endanger others — especially those safeguarding our democratic process — will not be tolerated. We are dedicated to working with our law enforcement partners to disrupt and investigate violent rhetoric, holding accountable anyone who seeks to harass, intimidate, or harm others.”

Smith was originally convicted in 2021 of mailing threats to, among others, certain lawyers involved in a civil case.

In the current case, after a six-day trial in June 2025, a jury found that Smith threatened U.S. District Judge Richard Franklin Boulware, who presided over Smith’s 2021 trial and sentenced her to 36 months in prison for that offense. The jury also found that Smith targeted U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey, who presided over the defendant’s supervised release, and Shawn Mummey, her probation officer.

The trial took place in the federal courthouse in Las Vegas. The presiding judge was Senior District Court Judge Michael W. Mosman, from the District of Oregon, who was appointed to preside over the case by special designation of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

According to court documents, in the weeks and months leading up to today’s sentencing hearing, Smith demonstrated no remorse for her crimes. In June 2025, Smith told Deputy U.S. Marshals “I won’t be locked up forever; I will get out. When I get out, people are going to die.” In February 2026, Smith sent a letter to U.S. Probation to indicate that she “will not be censored” and that she “will continue to wage war” against government officials and that the “road to systemic change has always been paved with blood.”

In pronouncing the sentence, Judge Mosman explained that “community safety” was a significant factor because Smith had “proven to be smart, strong, but dangerous.”

When Smith was released from federal prison in the first case against her, she was sent to Washoe County jail to face allegations related to an October 31, 2019, armed home-invasion in Reno she allegedly committed against another lawyer involved in a prior case..

Smith was granted bail in early June 2022. Upon her return to Las Vegas, Smith immediately began searching Google for information about Judge Boulware along with his wife, Las Vegas City Councilwoman Nancy Brune, and their family. At the same time, she googled “judges should die.”

Over the next several weeks, the defendant became increasingly frustrated with judges and anyone involved with her prior federal case. On June 23, 2022, the defendant emailed her probation officer and explained, “Some good advice: Life is short, society should be careful who they piss off.” Below the warning, the defendant sent a link to a YouTube video showing a six-minute compilation of cell phone videos from the October 1 mass shooting at the Mandalay Bay Hotel.

Over the next few days, Smith sent a series of emails. Some threatened a mass casualty event: “LET THE SHOW BEGIN. NEVADA IS GOING TO LOVE THIS!!!!”  Some were designed to let victims know their loved ones were in jeopardy: “LETS KEEP [YOUR KIDS] IN FOCUS”.

Throughout many of the emails, the defendant made it clear that she had deeply researched the recipients of her threats, accurately identifying where they could be found, either during hobby activities, or in their actual homes. For example, to Judge Jennifer Dorsey the defendant wrote: “Tell Jennifer, Henderson is nice I see why she chose that area. Lots of shops nearby. Smart.” At trial, Judge Dorsey testified that the defendant’s identification of her personal residence was a significant factor in the decision to sell her home and move.

The victims of Smith’s threats testified at trial they were frightened and believed Smith was capable of violently acting on her threats as she had allegedly done in the pending case regarding the armed home invasion targeting the lawyer in Reno.

The investigation, which was led by the FBI, found that Smith, who has a biochemistry degree from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Googled phrases like “judges die,” “how to become a bomb maker,” “how to be a mass shooter,” “buying a gun,” and “ar 15 for sale.” She also watched the compilation of videos from the October 1 mass shooting 13 times over a three-week period. At the same time, the defendant repeatedly searched the names of her targets, some of their children, and some of their home addresses. The jury deliberated for less than a day before returning a guilty verdict on three counts of cyberstalking for the emails sent to Judges Dorsey and Boulware, along with her probation officer. The jury acquitted the defendant on the other two counts of cyberstalking.

Smith’s prosecution was initiated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada, out of their office in Reno.  In March 2024, the Department of Justice recused the entire U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada and had the prosecution reassigned.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Haden and Francisco Nagel for the Southern District of California, both of whom were named Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys in Las Vegas after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada was recused.

DEFENDANT                                               Case Number 22CR051-MWM                              

Latonia Dyshawna Smith                               Age: 32                       Las Vegas, NV

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Three Counts of Cyberstalking – Title 18, U.S.C., Sections 2261A

Maximum penalty: Five years in prison, as to each count of conviction

INVESTIGATING AGENCY

Federal Bureau of Investigation

SAN DIEGO – Customs and Border Protection officers discovered 944 pounds of liquid methamphetamine concealed inside the fuel tank of a 2019 Kenworth T680 commercial tractor-trailer at the Otay Mesa Import Cargo Facility yesterday.

The driver, Oscar Alonzo Cesena Camacho, a Mexican citizen traveling on a business visa, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, on March 2 at approximately 11:20 a.m., a Customs and Border Protection officer observed a white, crystalline substance atop the passenger-side fuel tank.

Further inspection of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of 29 buckets-worth of liquid concealed in the passenger-side fuel tank of the vehicle, with a total approximate weight of 428.60 kilograms (944.90 lbs.). A sample of the substance contained within the fuel tank field tested positive for the characteristics of methamphetamine.

DEFENDANT                                               Case Number 26mj1162                                          

Oscar Alonzo Cesena Camacho                     Age: 26           City of Residence: Tijuana, BC        

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Importation of a Controlled Substance – Title 21, U.S.C., Section 952 and 960

Maximum penalty: Life in prison with mandatory minimum 10 years, $10 million fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCY

Homeland Security Investigations

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Further inspection of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of 29 buckets-worth of liquid concealed in the passenger-side fuel tank of the vehicle

SAN DIEGO – A federal jury today convicted former San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputy Aaron Richard Russell in the fatal shooting of a 36-year-old unarmed man who was shot four times from behind while running away from authorities.

Following a two-week trial and less than seven hours of deliberation, the jury found that Russell violated the civil rights of the victim in taking his life by shooting him in the back as he ran away. He was convicted on both counts filed against him - Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law and Use and Discharge of a Firearm During and In Relation to a Crime of Violence.

Russell is scheduled to be sentenced on May 29, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Todd W. Robinson. He was allowed to remain free on bond. Russell faces a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence and up to life in prison.

“This is an important verdict because it demonstrates our commitment to impartially and unceasingly seeking justice,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon.

“Civil rights have long been a priority for the FBI,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge TJ Holland of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “In conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI will vigorously investigate any potential violations.”

According to evidence presented at trial, on May 1, 2020, Russell – who at the time was a deputy with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department – fired five shots at the victim, N.B. – who was unarmed – as he attempted to flee from custody while California State Parks Police officers were transporting him to the San Diego Central Jail in downtown San Diego. The victim was struck multiple times, including once squarely in the back.  That shot punctured his lung and struck his heart, and N.B. died as a result of the multiple gunshots.

The initial encounter with the victim began on the afternoon of May 1, 2020, when a California State Parks officer approached N.B. in the Old Town State Historic Park because she saw him hitting golf balls to his dog while the park was closed by COVID-19 regulations. N.B. ran from the officer, who chased him on foot.

A short time later, N.B. was taken into custody. He was searched and handcuffed before being placed into the back of a law enforcement vehicle for transport to the San Diego Central Jail, located at Front and B Streets in downtown San Diego. Due to COVID-19 protocols in place at the time, the officers traveled in separate vehicles.

The transport was uneventful until they arrived at the intersection in front of the jail. As they pulled through the intersection and up to the jail’s sallyport, N.B. slipped one hand free from his handcuffs, managed to get his arm through the partially lowered rear passenger window – which had been lowered pursuant to a COVID-19 protocol to allow for ventilation – and was able to open the rear passenger door from the outside.

N.B. opened the rear door, exited the sedan, and briefly attempted to prevent the California State Parks officer in the other vehicle from exiting his truck before turning and running northbound on Front Street. That officer was only momentarily delayed and chased N.B., only a few feet behind.

At the same time, the defendant and another deputy were standing at the intersection of Front and B Streets. The defendant immediately stepped into the street, drew his firearm, and fired five shots in rapid succession at close range.  No other officer even pulled their firearm, and at trial, multiple officers testified that it was apparent that N.B. was not a threat to anyone, that they never for a moment considered shooting N.B., and that it “wasn’t even a close call.”  Other eyewitnesses, including a nurse and a firefighter, testified that they were “shocked” that the defendant shot N.B. in the back.

Four of the rounds fired by the defendant struck N.B., including one that entered his back and fatally pierced his heart and lung. N.B. staggered to the northwest corner of Front and B Streets, where he collapsed, his body falling half on the sidewalk and half in a planter next to a tree. Other officers and paramedics tried to save his life, but he was pronounced dead shortly after being transported to the hospital.

The shooting was captured on multiple surveillance cameras along Front Street, as well as on body-worn camera footage from officers who responded to the scene shortly afterward.  The fifth round fired by the defendant struck the driver’s side fog lamp of a civilian’s vehicle that was traveling southbound on Front Street.

The defendant was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 16, 2024.  Russell’s first trial on the charged offenses in May 2025 ended when the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth Askins and Michael Songer and Department of Justice Civil Rights Trial Attorney Lia Wright Tesconi.

DEFENDANT                                               Case Number 24-cr-1015-TWR                              

Aaron Richard Russell                                    Age: 29                                  

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law Using a Dangerous Weapon and Resulting in Death – 18 U.S.C. § 242

Maximum penalty: Life in prison and $500,000 fine

Use and Discharge of a Firearm During and In Relation to a Crime of Violence – 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)

Maximum penalty: Mandatory Minimum 10 years in prison and $500,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCY

Federal Bureau of Investigation

CHICAGO — A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted an alleged boss of the violent Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico on drug, firearm, and material support of terrorism charges.

JESUS OMAR IBARRA FELIX led an armed security group known as the Las Fuerzas Especiales de Chuta (FECH), which engaged in armed conflict on behalf of the Guzman faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, a U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization previously headed by Joaquin Guzman Loera, also known as “El Chapo,” according to an indictment returned Thursday in the Northern District of Illinois.  Ibarra Felix’s group allegedly provided armed security in support of Guzman Loera’s four sons, collectively known as “the Chapitos,” who took over leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel after Guzman Loera’s arrest in 2016.  Guzman Loera was later convicted by a federal jury in Brooklyn, N.Y., and sentenced to life in prison.

The indictment alleges that from 2016 to 2026, Ibarra Felix supplied machineguns to the Chapitos and conspired with them and others to import methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States from Mexico.  One of the alleged co-conspirators—Fausto Isidro Meza Flores—worked with Ibarra Flores to deploy the armed guards, the indictment states. Meza Flores was indicted in 2019 in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and is currently on the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

In addition to leading the FECH, the indictment accuses Ibarra Felix of serving as a “plaza boss,” overseeing drug trafficking operations in his assigned region near Ahome, Mexico, from 2016 to 2025.

The indictment charges Ibarra Felix, also known as “El Chuta,” 49, of Los Mochis, Mexico, with terrorism, drug, and firearm charges.  The charges are punishable by a maximum sentence of life in federal prison. Ibarra Felix is not in custody, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

The indictment is the result of a collaboration between prosecutors in the Northern District of Illinois and Southern District of California, as well as law enforcement partners from the FBI’s Washington, D.C. and San Diego Field Offices, and Homeland Security Investigations’ San Diego and Arizona offices.

The indictment was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Adam Gordon, United States Attorney for the Southern District of California, Darren Cox, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington, D.C. Field Office, TJ Holland, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office, Kevin Murphy, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of HSI San Diego, and Matthew Murphy, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of HSI Arizona.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Maione, Michelle Parthum, and Hanna Helwig of the Northern District of Illinois and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Mellor and Matthew Sutton of the Southern District of California.

The indictment was announced as part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve various law enforcement goals, including the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect American communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

“The indictment of El Chuta should leave no doubt that this Administration is going to aggressively pursue transnational criminal organizations and hold their highest-ranking members accountable for poisoning the American public with illegal and harmful drugs and for the violence they perpetrate in the process,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros.  “The Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to prioritize the investigation and prosecution of violent drug cartels, several of which, including the Sinaloa Cartel, have very deservedly been designated as foreign terrorist organizations.  Working closely with other prosecutors and law enforcement partners across the United States, our goal is crystal clear: to disrupt and dismantle the cartels’ drug empire and bring its leaders to justice.”

“The indictment of El Chuta reinforces a simple message to him and other Sinaloa Cartel leaders: Foreign terrorist organizations may operate across borders–but justice doesn’t stop at them,” said U.S. Attorney Gordon.

“Ibarra Felix allegedly led an armed security group that committed heinous acts of violence in defense of the Sinaloa Cartel and its illicit drug trafficking monopoly,” said FBI Washington Assistant Director in Charge Cox.  “His indictment is the first step toward bringing him to justice for facilitating the distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine in the U.S. and the terrorization of communities in Ahome.”

“This indictment makes clear that Jesus Omar Ibarra Felix would do whatever it took to reap the spoils of his alleged illicit cartel activities,” said FBI San Diego Acting SAC Holland.  “It is the FBI’s priority to dismantle and eliminate these designated foreign terrorist organizations, so they can no longer threaten our communities with guns and drugs and violence.  The FBI will remain relentless until we achieve this mission.”

“The indictment of Ibarra Felix underscores HSI’s dedication to disrupting transnational criminal organizations operating in the United States and abroad,” said HSI San Diego Acting SAC Murphy.  “This major impact to Sinaloa cartel leadership is the result of persistent investigative efforts by HSI and our partner agencies to bring criminals to justice, protect our communities, and safeguard our nation.”

“This indictment underscores the unwavering commitment of Homeland Security Investigations to disrupt and dismantle violent transnational criminal organizations that threaten the safety of our communities,” said HSI Arizona Acting SAC Murphy.  “HSI will continue to work alongside our law enforcement partners to ensure those responsible for trafficking dangerous drugs and perpetrating violence are brought to justice.”

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

SAN DIEGO – A superseding indictment unsealed today charges René Arzate-García, aka “La Rana,” alleged Tijuana plaza boss for the Sinaloa Cartel, with Narcoterrorism and Material Support of Terrorism in connection with trafficking massive amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana into the United States.

Also today, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs announced that it is offering up to $5 million each for information leading to the arrests and/or convictions of La Rana and his brother, Alfonso Arzate-García, a/k/a “Aquiles.”  These rewards are offered in coordination with the DEA San Diego Field Division and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California in a unified effort to bring the brothers to justice.

“Foreign terrorist organizations like the Sinaloa Cartel have spent decades poisoning our children and committing acts of unimaginable violence against innocent civilians -- no longer under President Trump,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This latest indictment, which follows the landmark conviction of Sinaloa Cartel co-founder “El Mayo” on American soil, is a key development in this Department of Justice's ongoing campaign to permanently dismantle these cartels and deliver American justice to their cowardly leaders.”

“The FBI and its partners commitment to thwarting the Sinaloa Cartel is unwavering,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “We will continue to use everything at our disposal to disrupt their operations and prevent further drugs and violence from coming into our communities. The Sinaloa Cartel, including its leaders, will be forced to face the consequences of their actions.”

“Rene Arzate-García is a ruthless Sinaloa Cartel plaza boss who is accused of exploiting U.S. ports of entry to flood our nation with fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine,” said DEA Administrator Terrance Cole. “He and his brother, Alfonso, are among DEA’s wanted fugitives for these alleged crimes against the United States. This superseding indictment underscores Arzate-García’s role, not only as a cartel operative but as a narco-terrorist who preys on vulnerabilities to flood communities with poison, violence, and fear.  I want to recognize U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon for his leadership and his aggressive pursuit of those who traffic deadly drugs into our country. His partnership and resolve have been instrumental in advancing this case and ensuring that cartel leaders are held accountable. DEA remains relentless in its mission to dismantle the Sinaloa Cartel, a foreign terrorist organization, and bring its members to justice.”

“To the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel who remain at large: Hide. Run. Fight. Flee. The illusion is that you have a choice. The reality is that you can either surrender to justice or you’ll be brought to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon of the Southern District of California.

“President Donald Trump has made clear that narcoterrorists sending deadly drugs to the United States will be tracked down and prosecuted,” said Senior Bureau Official Chris Landberg of the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. “Under the Narcotics Rewards Program, we are offering rewards of up to $5 million each for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of René and Alfonso Arzate-García, key figures sustaining the Sinaloa Cartel’s operations at the U.S. border with Mexico in Tijuana.”

“René Arzate-García has progressed up the ranks of the Sinaloa Cartel to become one of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers in the region,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge TJ Holland of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “Designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, the Sinaloa Cartel threatens our national security and the safety of our citizens. FBI San Diego, in coordination with our local, state, federal, and international law enforcement partners, will continue to aggressively investigate these transnational criminal organizations and their leaders targeting our neighborhoods with narcoterrorism and other criminal activity until they are eliminated from our communities.”

“Those who traffic in violence, corruption, fear, and addiction destroy lives and destabilize our communities,” said James Nunnallee of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) San Diego. “The DEA remains unwavering in our mission to dismantle Foreign Terrorist Organizations and drug trafficking networks that threaten public safety and national security.”

“This indictment demonstrates the power of financial investigations in dismantling criminal enterprises that fuel violence and terror. René Arzate-García and his co-conspirators allegedly laundered millions in drug proceeds through complex international transactions designed to hide the source and ownership of illicit funds,” said Tyler Hatcher, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Los Angeles Field Office. “IRS-CI followed the money, exposing the financial lifelines that sustain narcoterrorism and global drug trafficking. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure these organizations are stripped of their resources and held accountable for their crimes.”

According to court documents, René Arzate-García is a Baja California, Mexico-based “plaza boss” for the Sinaloa Cartel, along with his brother Alfonso Arzate-García, aka “Aquiles” (previously charged in case number 14-cr-00722-DMS). René Arzate-García manages the cartel’s drug trafficking operations in Tijuana and the surrounding municipalities and is involved in importing large quantities of illicit drugs, including fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana, into the United States. Known to be extremely violent, Arzate-García is also involved in carrying out enforcement operations, such as kidnappings and executions, for the Sinaloa Cartel.

This indictment supersedes a 2014 indictment for conspiracy to import marijuana and demonstrates that René Arzate-García is a key member of the Sinaloa Cartel and controls the Tijuana plaza that includes the entire state of Baja California. He has imported thousands of kilograms of drugs including methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, and marijuana into the Southern District of California and laundered millions of dollars of drug proceeds. In addition to his drug trafficking, the indictment shows his history of corrupting Mexican law enforcement and public officials, extortion of businesses in the Tijuana Plaza, and his reputation for extreme violence, including numerous kidnappings and murders in Tijuana, Mexico on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel.  René Arzate-García was designated by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, as a Drug Kingpin in 2023. These indictments follow a storied tradition in the Southern District of California for dismantling leadership and operations of powerful Mexican cartels – from the dismantling of the Arellano Felix Cartel to major strikes against today’s most dangerous, powerful and violent cartels, including the Sinaloa Cartel, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) and the Beltran Leyva Organization.

If you have any information about René Arzate-García or Alfonso Arzate-García, please contact either

• FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or your nearest local FBI office; If you are outside the United States, you may contact the nearest American Embassy or Consulate. You can also submit a tip online, anonymously, at https://tips.fbi.gov/home; or
• DEA by phone (WhatsApp and Signal) at +1-858-298-5670, at Threema ID: PTJ4HS3J, or by email at MFSinaloaTipLine@dea.gov. If you are located outside of the United States, you may also contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If you are located in the United States, you may also contact the local DEA field office.

The superseding indictment is a direct result of President Trump’s Executive Order 14157 which designated the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and the Secretary of State’s subsequent designation of the same on February 20, 2025.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Mellor and Matthew Sutton.

DEFENDANT                       Case Number 14cr2122-DMS                                 

René Arzate-García                Age: 42             City of Residence: Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico

aka “La Rana,”

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 960a and 841 – Narcoterrorism

Maximum penalty: Life in prison, mandatory minimum 20 years in prison; $20 million fine

Title 18, U.S.C. Sec. 2339B – Providing Material Support to Terrorism

Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine

Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 848(a) -Continuing Criminal Enterprise

Maximum penalty: Life in prison, mandatory minimum 20 years; $10 million fine

Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 952, 959, 960, and 963 - International Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances

Maximum penalty: Life in prison, mandatory minimum 10 years; $10 million fine

Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(1) and 846 - Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances

Maximum penalty: Life in prison, mandatory minimum 10 years in prison; $10 million fine

Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 952, 960 and 963 – Conspiracy to Import Controlled Substances

Maximum penalty: Life in prison, mandatory minimum 10 years; $10 million fine

Money Laundering Conspiracy – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1956(h)

Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $500,000 fine or twice the value of the monetary instrument or funds involved, whichever is greater

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Drug Enforcement Administration

Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation

Homeland Security Investigations

High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas

*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case was investigated and prosecuted by the California Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of Operation Take Back America. HSTFs were established by President Trump in 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. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program, created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, provides assistance to Federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States. This grant program is administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). There are currently 33 HIDTAs, and HIDTA-designated counties are located in 50 states, as well as in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia.

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

United States Attorney Adam Gordon

La Rana Press Conference

February 26, 2026 

My name is Adam Gordon, and I’m the United States Attorney for the Southern District of California. Joining me are:

• The lead prosecutors on this case, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Mellor and Matthew Sutton;
• James M. Nunnallee, Special Agent in Charge, DEA San Diego;
• TJ Holland, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office;
• Executive Assistant United States Attorney Victor White
• Jason Powell, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and
• Homeland Security Investigations SAC Kevin Murphy, together representing the Homeland Security Task Force

At the end of the statements, we will provide an opportunity for questions related to this case and have Spanish language media availability.

Sagitario. Chavo Felix. Flaquito. Payo. Valdez-Ruiz.

They’re here. They’re charged. They’re only the beginning.

Less than 300 days ago, these cartel kingpins were free and unafraid. Now they sit in federal custody in the Southern District of California.

When I told them that they were no longer the hunters, they were the hunted, that wasn’t a threat, it was a certainty. Foreign terrorist organizations may operate across borders – but justice doesn’t stop at them. Recent reports regarding cartel leadership in Mexico underscore a simple truth: criminal organizations built on fear and violence are inherently unstable. Individuals may rise and fall, but the rule of law endures.

Building on these unprecedented successes, today we are announcing a superseding indictment against Rene Arzate Garcia, infamously known as “La Rana,” a high-ranking, ultra-violent Sinaloa Cartel lieutenant who has controlled the Tijuana drug corridor for 15 years through fear and force.

We are also announcing that the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs is offering up to $5 million each for information leading to the arrests and/or convictions of La Rana and his brother, Alfonso Arzate-Garcia, a/k/a “Aquiles.”  This partnership is a credit to President Trump’s and Attorney General Bondi’s vision of the complete eradication of foreign terrorist organizations.

In 2014, the Arzate-Garcia brothers were charged in the Southern District of California with drug trafficking offenses in separate indictments and have been fugitives since that time.

After that, La Rana has taken a greater role in the Sinaloa Cartel and is one of the cartel’s most prolific drug traffickers and enforcers.

The new indictment unsealed this morning adds far more serious allegations. La Rana is charged with narco-terrorism, material support of terrorism, conducting a continuing criminal enterprise, international conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, marijuana, and money laundering.  

You’ll hear shortly about the specific ways that La Rana has brutally controlled the Tijuana Plazas for the Sinaloa Cartel through intimidation and bloodshed. These charges reflect the devastating harm inflicted on communities on both sides of the border — through violence, addiction, and intimidation.

As we can all see, the remaining free members of the Sinaloa cartel have become liabilities to one another. Each knows too much about the other. In that world, betrayal is not a question of if – but when.

To those cartel leaders that remain at large, here’s the question: Who can you trust when you can’t trust anyone? When the fear you once used to control others now controls you.

Because for those who remain at large:

Hide. Run. Fight. Flee.

The illusion is that you have a choice. The reality is simple: surrender to justice or you’ll be brought to justice.

What unites us in law enforcement is a belief in the rule of law – and in the inevitability of justice. Today, we reaffirm that commitment. The rule of law does not blink. It does not back down.

To describe the indictment in detail, I’d ask Assistant United States Attorney Josh Mellor to come up.

END

SAN DIEGO - Una imputación de cargos federales sustitutiva hecha pública hoy le imputa a René Arzate-García, alias “La Rana”, presunto jefe de plaza en Tijuana del Cártel de Sinaloa, los delitos de narcoterrorismo y de proporcionar apoyo material al terrorismo, en relación con el tráfico de cantidades masivas de fentanilo, cocaína, metanfetamina y marihuana a Estados Unidos.

También hoy, la Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales de Narcóticos y Aplicación de la Ley del Departamento de Estado de EE. UU. anunció que ofrece hasta 5 millones de dólares por información que conduzca al arresto y/o condena de cada uno de los hermanos Arzate-García: René Arzate-García, alias “La Rana”, y Alfonso Arzate-García, alias “Aquiles”. Estas recompensas se ofrecen en coordinación con la División de San Diego de la DEA y la Fiscalía Federal del Distrito Sur de California en un esfuerzo unificado para poner a los hermanos a disposición de la justicia.

“Durante décadas, organizaciones terroristas extranjeras como el Cártel de Sinaloa han envenenado a nuestros niños y cometido actos de violencia inimaginables contra personas inocentes. Bajo el mandato del presidente Trump, esto se termina”, afirmó la fiscal general Pamela Bondi. “Esta reciente imputación federal, que se suma a la histórica condena en territorio estadounidense del cofundador del Cártel de Sinaloa, “El Mayo”, es un paso decisivo en la campaña permanente de este Departamento de Justicia para desmantelar de manera definitiva a estos cárteles y hacer que sus líderes cobardes rindan cuentas ante la justicia estadounidense.”

“El compromiso del FBI y sus aliados para frustrar los planes del Cártel de Sinaloa es inquebrantable,” afirmó el director del FBI, Kash Patel. “Seguiremos utilizando todo lo que esté a nuestro alcance para desarticular sus operaciones e impedir que continúe la infiltración de drogas y violencia a nuestras comunidades. El Cártel de Sinaloa, incluidos sus líderes, se verá obligado a afrontar las consecuencias de sus actos.”

“René Arzate-García es un despiadado jefe de plaza del Cártel de Sinaloa, acusado de explotar los puertos de entrada de Estados Unidos para inundar nuestro país con fentanilo, cocaína y metanfetamina,” dijo el administrador de la DEA, Terrance Cole. “Él y su hermano, Alfonso, figuran entre los fugitivos más buscados por la DEA por estos presuntos delitos contra Estados Unidos. Esta imputación sustitutiva subraya el papel de Arzate-García no solo como operador del cártel, sino también como narcoterrorista que se aprovecha de vulnerabilidades para inundar a las comunidades con veneno, violencia y miedo. Deseo reconocer al fiscal federal Adam Gordon por su liderazgo y su lucha implacable contra quienes trafican drogas mortales hacia nuestro país. Su colaboración y determinación han sido fundamentales para impulsar este caso y garantizar que los líderes del cártel rindan cuentas. La DEA se mantiene implacable en su misión de desmantelar al Cártel de Sinaloa, una organización terrorista extranjera, y llevar a sus integrantes ante la justicia.”

“A los líderes del cártel de Sinaloa que siguen en libertad: Escóndanse. Corran. Peleen. Huyan. La ilusión es que tienen una opción. La realidad es que o bien se rinden a la justicia o serán traídos a la justicia”, dijo el fiscal federal Adam Gordon.

“El presidente Donald Trump ha dejado claro que los narcoterroristas que envían drogas mortales a Estados Unidos serán perseguidos y enjuiciados,” afirmó Chris Landberg, alto funcionario de la Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales de Narcóticos y Aplicación de la Ley del Departamento de Estado. “Como parte del Programa de Recompensas contra el Narcotráfico, ofrecemos recompensas de hasta 5 millones de dólares por información que conduzca al arresto y/o condena de cada uno de los hermanos Arzate-García: René y Alfonso, figuras clave que dirigen y mantienen las operaciones del Cártel de Sinaloa en Tijuana, en la frontera de Estados Unidos con México.”

“René Arzate-García ha ido ascendiendo en las filas del Cártel de Sinaloa hasta convertirse en uno de los narcotraficantes más violentos y prolíficos de la región”, declaró el agente especial a cargo Mark Dargis, de la Oficina Local del FBI de San Diego. “El Cártel de Sinaloa, designado como Organización Terrorista Extranjera, amenaza nuestra seguridad nacional y la de nuestros ciudadanos. El FBI de San Diego, en coordinación con nuestros colaboradores locales, estatales, federales e internacionales encargados del cumplimiento de la ley, continuará investigando agresivamente a estas organizaciones criminales transnacionales y a sus líderes que atacan nuestros vecindarios con narcoterrorismo y otras actividades delictivas hasta que sean eliminados de nuestras comunidades”.

“Quienes trafican con la violencia, la corrupción, el miedo y la adicción destruyen vidas y desestabilizan nuestras comunidades”, afirmó James Nunnallee, de la Administración para el Control de Drogas (DEA) de San Diego. “La DEA se mantiene férrea en nuestra misión de desmantelar las Organizaciones Terroristas Extranjeras y las redes de narcotráfico que amenazan la seguridad pública y la seguridad nacional”.

“Esta imputación de cargos demuestra el poder de las investigaciones financieras para desmantelar empresas delictivas que fomentan la violencia y el terror. René Arzate-García y sus coconspiradores presuntamente lavaron millones en ganancias provenientes de la droga a través de complejas transacciones internacionales diseñadas para ocultar el origen y la propiedad de los fondos ilícitos,” dijo Tyler Hatcher, agente especial a cargo de la División de Investigación Criminal (CI) de la Oficina Local del IRS en Los Ángeles. “IRS-CI siguió el dinero, desenmascarando las redes financieras que sostienen el narcoterrorismo y el narcotráfico mundial. Seguiremos trabajando con las fuerzas del orden que colaboran con nosotros para asegurarnos de que estas organizaciones sean despojadas de sus recursos y respondan ante la justicia por sus delitos.”

Según documentos judiciales, René Arzate-García es un “jefe de plaza” del Cártel de Sinaloa con base en Baja California, México, junto con su hermano Alfonso Arzate-García, alias “Aquiles” (previamente imputado en el caso número 14-cr-00722-DMS). René Arzate-García dirige las operaciones de narcotráfico del cártel en Tijuana y los municipios circundantes y está implicado en la importación a Estados Unidos de grandes cantidades de drogas ilícitas, como fentanilo, cocaína, metanfetamina y marihuana. Conocido por ser extremadamente violento, Arzate-García también está implicado en la realización de operaciones represivas para el Cártel de Sinaloa, como secuestros y ejecuciones.

La presente imputación de cargos sustituye otra de 2014 por conspiración para importar marihuana y demuestra que René Arzate-García es un miembro clave del Cártel de Sinaloa y controla la plaza de Tijuana, que incluye todo el estado de Baja California. Ha importado miles de kilos de drogas, incluyendo metanfetamina, cocaína, fentanilo y marihuana al Distrito Sur de California y ha lavado millones de dólares de las ganancias de las drogas. Además de sus actividades de narcotráfico, la imputación muestra su historial de corrupción de las fuerzas del orden y funcionarios públicos mexicanos, su extorsión a empresas de la plaza de Tijuana y su reputación de violencia extrema, incluidos numerosos secuestros y asesinatos en Tijuana, México, en nombre del Cártel de Sinaloa. En 2023, René Arzate-García fue designado por la Oficina de Control de Activos Extranjeros del Departamento del Tesoro de EE. UU. (OFAC), como un cabecilla del narcotráfico. Estas imputaciones siguen una tradición legendaria en el Distrito Sur de California de desmantelamiento de cúpulas y operaciones de poderosos cárteles mexicanos -desde el desmantelamiento del Cártel de los Arellano Félix hasta importantes golpes contra los cárteles más peligrosos, poderosos y violentos de la actualidad, incluidos el Cártel de Sinaloa, el Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) y la Organización Beltrán Leyva.

Si usted tiene información sobre René Arzate-García o Alfonso Arzate-García, por favor comuníquese con:

• El FBI al 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) o con la oficina local del FBI más cercana. Si se encuentra fuera de Estados Unidos, puede comunicarse con la embajada o el consulado de Estados Unidos más cercano. También puede enviar información en línea, de manera anónima, en https://tips.fbi.gov/home; o

• La DEA por teléfono (WhatsApp y Signal) al +1-858-298-5670, a través de Threema ID: PTJ4HS3J, o por correo electrónico en MFSinaloaTipLine@dea.gov. Si se encuentra fuera de Estados Unidos, también puede comunicarse con la embajada o el consulado de Estados Unidos más cercano. Si se encuentra en Estados Unidos, también puede comunicarse con la oficina local de la DEA más cercana.

La imputación de cargos federales sustitutiva es un resultado directo de la Orden Ejecutiva 14157 del presidente Trump que designó al Cártel de Sinaloa como Organización Terrorista Extranjera y la posterior designación de lo mismo por parte del secretario de Estado el 20 de febrero de 2025.

Este caso está siendo procesado por los fiscales federales adjuntos Joshua Mellor y Matthew Sutton.

IMPUTADO              Caso Número 14cr2122-DMS                                 

Rene Arzate-García                 Edad: 42          Ciudad de Residencia: Culiacán, Sinaloa, México

alias “La Rana”.

RESUMEN DE CARGOS

Título 21, U.S.C., secciones 960a y 841 - Narcoterrorismo

Pena máxima: Cadena perpetua, mínimo obligatorio de 20 años de prisión; multa de 20 millones de dólares

Título 18, U.S.C., sección 2339B - Proporcionar apoyo material al terrorismo

Pena máxima: Veinte años de prisión y multa de $250,000

Título 21, U.S.C., sección 848(a) - Empresa Criminal Continuada

Pena máxima: Cadena perpetua, mínimo obligatorio de 20 años; multa de 10 millones de dólares

Título 21, U.S.C., secciones 952, 959, 960 y 963 - Conspiración internacional para distribuir sustancias reguladas

Pena máxima: Cadena perpetua, mínimo obligatorio de 10 años; multa de 10 millones de dólares

Título 21, U.S.C., secciones 841(a)(1) y 846 - Conspiración para distribuir sustancias reguladas

Pena máxima: Cadena perpetua, mínimo obligatorio de 10 años de prisión; multa de 10 millones de dólares

Título 21, U.S.C., secciones 952, 960 y 963 - Conspiración para importar sustancias reguladas

Pena máxima: Cadena perpetua, mínimo obligatorio de 10 años; multa de 10 millones de dólares

Conspiración para el lavado de dinero - Título 18, U.S.C., sección 1956(h)

Pena máxima: Veinte años de prisión y multa de $500,000 o el doble del valor del instrumento monetario o de los fondos implicados, lo que sea mayor

AGENCIAS INVESTIGADORAS

Buró Federal de Investigaciones (FBI)

Administración para el Control de Drogas (DEA)

División de Investigación Criminal (CI) del IRS

Oficina de Investigaciones de Seguridad Nacional (HSI)

Programa de Áreas de Tráfico de Drogas de Alta Intensidad (HIDTA)

*Los cargos y alegatos contenidos en una imputación o denuncia son solo acusaciones, y a los imputados se les considera inocentes a menos y hasta que se pruebe su culpabilidad.

Este caso fue investigado y procesado por el Grupo Operativo de Seguridad Nacional de California (HSTF) como parte de la Operación “Take Back America” (“Recuperemos América”). Los HSTF fueron establecidos por el presidente Trump en la Orden Ejecutiva 14159, Protegiendo al Pueblo Estadounidense Contra una Invasión. El HSTF es una colaboración de todo el gobierno dedicada a eliminar los cárteles delictivos, las pandillas extranjeras, las organizaciones delictivas transnacionales y las redes de tráfico y trata de personas que operan en Estados Unidos y en el extranjero. A través de una histórica colaboración interinstitucional, el HSTF dirige todo el poder de las fuerzas del orden de Estados Unidos para la identificación, investigación y persecución penal de todo el espectro de delitos cometidos por estas organizaciones, que desde hace tiempo fomentan la violencia y la inestabilidad dentro de nuestras fronteras. En el desempeño de esta labor, el HSTF se centra especialmente en la investigación y persecución penal de quienes se dedican al tráfico de niños o a otros delitos que implican a niños. El HSTF utiliza además todas las herramientas disponibles para procesar y expulsar de Estados Unidos a los extranjeros con antecedentes penales más violentos. La Operación “Recuperemos América” es una iniciativa de ámbito nacional que moviliza todos los recursos del Departamento de Justicia para repeler la invasión de la inmigración ilegal, lograr la eliminación total de los cárteles y las organizaciones criminales transnacionales (OCT) y proteger a nuestras comunidades de los autores de delitos violentos.

El programa de Áreas de Tráfico de Drogas de Alta Intensidad (HIDTA), creado por el Congreso con la Ley Contra el Abuso de las Drogas de 1988, proporciona asistencia a las fuerzas del orden federales, estatales, locales y tribales que operan en zonas determinadas como regiones críticas para el tráfico de drogas en Estados Unidos. Este programa de subvenciones está administrado por la Oficina de la Política Nacional de Control de Drogas (ONDCP). En la actualidad existen 33 HIDTA, y hay condados designados como HIDTA en 50 estados, así como en Puerto Rico, las Islas Vírgenes de EE. UU. y el Distrito de Columbia.

SAN DIEGO - Una imputación de cargos federales sustitutiva hecha pública hoy le imputa a René Arzate-García, alias “La Rana”, presunto jefe de plaza en Tijuana del Cártel de Sinaloa, los delitos de narcoterrorismo y de proporcionar apoyo material al terrorismo, en relación con el tráfico de cantidades masivas de fentanilo, cocaína, metanfetamina y marihuana a Estados Unidos.

También hoy, la Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales de Narcóticos y Aplicación de la Ley del Departamento de Estado de EE. UU. anunció que ofrece hasta 5 millones de dólares por información que conduzca al arresto y/o condena de cada uno de los hermanos Arzate-García: René Arzate-García, alias “La Rana”, y Alfonso Arzate-García, alias “Aquiles”. Estas recompensas se ofrecen en coordinación con la División de San Diego de la DEA y la Fiscalía Federal del Distrito Sur de California en un esfuerzo unificado para poner a los hermanos a disposición de la justicia.

“Durante décadas, organizaciones terroristas extranjeras como el Cártel de Sinaloa han envenenado a nuestros niños y cometido actos de violencia inimaginables contra personas inocentes. Bajo el mandato del presidente Trump, esto se termina”, afirmó la fiscal general Pamela Bondi. “Esta reciente imputación federal, que se suma a la histórica condena en territorio estadounidense del cofundador del Cártel de Sinaloa, “El Mayo”, es un paso decisivo en la campaña permanente de este Departamento de Justicia para desmantelar de manera definitiva a estos cárteles y hacer que sus líderes cobardes rindan cuentas ante la justicia estadounidense.”

“El compromiso del FBI y sus aliados para frustrar los planes del Cártel de Sinaloa es inquebrantable,” afirmó el director del FBI, Kash Patel. “Seguiremos utilizando todo lo que esté a nuestro alcance para desarticular sus operaciones e impedir que continúe la infiltración de drogas y violencia a nuestras comunidades. El Cártel de Sinaloa, incluidos sus líderes, se verá obligado a afrontar las consecuencias de sus actos.”

“René Arzate-García es un despiadado jefe de plaza del Cártel de Sinaloa, acusado de explotar los puertos de entrada de Estados Unidos para inundar nuestro país con fentanilo, cocaína y metanfetamina,” dijo el administrador de la DEA, Terrance Cole. “Él y su hermano, Alfonso, figuran entre los fugitivos más buscados por la DEA por estos presuntos delitos contra Estados Unidos. Esta imputación sustitutiva subraya el papel de Arzate-García no solo como operador del cártel, sino también como narcoterrorista que se aprovecha de vulnerabilidades para inundar a las comunidades con veneno, violencia y miedo. Deseo reconocer al fiscal federal Adam Gordon por su liderazgo y su lucha implacable contra quienes trafican drogas mortales hacia nuestro país. Su colaboración y determinación han sido fundamentales para impulsar este caso y garantizar que los líderes del cártel rindan cuentas. La DEA se mantiene implacable en su misión de desmantelar al Cártel de Sinaloa, una organización terrorista extranjera, y llevar a sus integrantes ante la justicia.”

“A los líderes del cártel de Sinaloa que siguen en libertad: Escóndanse. Corran. Peleen. Huyan. La ilusión es que tienen una opción. La realidad es que o bien se rinden a la justicia o serán traídos a la justicia”, dijo el fiscal federal Adam Gordon.

“El presidente Donald Trump ha dejado claro que los narcoterroristas que envían drogas mortales a Estados Unidos serán perseguidos y enjuiciados,” afirmó Chris Landberg, alto funcionario de la Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales de Narcóticos y Aplicación de la Ley del Departamento de Estado. “Como parte del Programa de Recompensas contra el Narcotráfico, ofrecemos recompensas de hasta 5 millones de dólares por información que conduzca al arresto y/o condena de cada uno de los hermanos Arzate-García: René y Alfonso, figuras clave que dirigen y mantienen las operaciones del Cártel de Sinaloa en Tijuana, en la frontera de Estados Unidos con México.”

“René Arzate-García ha ido ascendiendo en las filas del Cártel de Sinaloa hasta convertirse en uno de los narcotraficantes más violentos y prolíficos de la región”, declaró el agente especial a cargo Mark Dargis, de la Oficina Local del FBI de San Diego. “El Cártel de Sinaloa, designado como Organización Terrorista Extranjera, amenaza nuestra seguridad nacional y la de nuestros ciudadanos. El FBI de San Diego, en coordinación con nuestros colaboradores locales, estatales, federales e internacionales encargados del cumplimiento de la ley, continuará investigando agresivamente a estas organizaciones criminales transnacionales y a sus líderes que atacan nuestros vecindarios con narcoterrorismo y otras actividades delictivas hasta que sean eliminados de nuestras comunidades”.

“Quienes trafican con la violencia, la corrupción, el miedo y la adicción destruyen vidas y desestabilizan nuestras comunidades”, afirmó James Nunnallee, de la Administración para el Control de Drogas (DEA) de San Diego. “La DEA se mantiene férrea en nuestra misión de desmantelar las Organizaciones Terroristas Extranjeras y las redes de narcotráfico que amenazan la seguridad pública y la seguridad nacional”.

“Esta imputación de cargos demuestra el poder de las investigaciones financieras para desmantelar empresas delictivas que fomentan la violencia y el terror. René Arzate-García y sus coconspiradores presuntamente lavaron millones en ganancias provenientes de la droga a través de complejas transacciones internacionales diseñadas para ocultar el origen y la propiedad de los fondos ilícitos,” dijo Tyler Hatcher, agente especial a cargo de la División de Investigación Criminal (CI) de la Oficina Local del IRS en Los Ángeles. “IRS-CI siguió el dinero, desenmascarando las redes financieras que sostienen el narcoterrorismo y el narcotráfico mundial. Seguiremos trabajando con las fuerzas del orden que colaboran con nosotros para asegurarnos de que estas organizaciones sean despojadas de sus recursos y respondan ante la justicia por sus delitos.”

Según documentos judiciales, René Arzate-García es un “jefe de plaza” del Cártel de Sinaloa con base en Baja California, México, junto con su hermano Alfonso Arzate-García, alias “Aquiles” (previamente imputado en el caso número 14-cr-00722-DMS). René Arzate-García dirige las operaciones de narcotráfico del cártel en Tijuana y los municipios circundantes y está implicado en la importación a Estados Unidos de grandes cantidades de drogas ilícitas, como fentanilo, cocaína, metanfetamina y marihuana. Conocido por ser extremadamente violento, Arzate-García también está implicado en la realización de operaciones represivas para el Cártel de Sinaloa, como secuestros y ejecuciones.

La presente imputación de cargos sustituye otra de 2014 por conspiración para importar marihuana y demuestra que René Arzate-García es un miembro clave del Cártel de Sinaloa y controla la plaza de Tijuana, que incluye todo el estado de Baja California. Ha importado miles de kilos de drogas, incluyendo metanfetamina, cocaína, fentanilo y marihuana al Distrito Sur de California y ha lavado millones de dólares de las ganancias de las drogas. Además de sus actividades de narcotráfico, la imputación muestra su historial de corrupción de las fuerzas del orden y funcionarios públicos mexicanos, su extorsión a empresas de la plaza de Tijuana y su reputación de violencia extrema, incluidos numerosos secuestros y asesinatos en Tijuana, México, en nombre del Cártel de Sinaloa. En 2023, René Arzate-García fue designado por la Oficina de Control de Activos Extranjeros del Departamento del Tesoro de EE. UU. (OFAC), como un cabecilla del narcotráfico. Estas imputaciones siguen una tradición legendaria en el Distrito Sur de California de desmantelamiento de cúpulas y operaciones de poderosos cárteles mexicanos -desde el desmantelamiento del Cártel de los Arellano Félix hasta importantes golpes contra los cárteles más peligrosos, poderosos y violentos de la actualidad, incluidos el Cártel de Sinaloa, el Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) y la Organización Beltrán Leyva.

Si usted tiene información sobre René Arzate-García o Alfonso Arzate-García, por favor comuníquese con:

• El FBI al 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) o con la oficina local del FBI más cercana. Si se encuentra fuera de Estados Unidos, puede comunicarse con la embajada o el consulado de Estados Unidos más cercano. También puede enviar información en línea, de manera anónima, en https://tips.fbi.gov/home; o

• La DEA por teléfono (WhatsApp y Signal) al +1-858-298-5670, a través de Threema ID: PTJ4HS3J, o por correo electrónico en MFSinaloaTipLine@dea.gov. Si se encuentra fuera de Estados Unidos, también puede comunicarse con la embajada o el consulado de Estados Unidos más cercano. Si se encuentra en Estados Unidos, también puede comunicarse con la oficina local de la DEA más cercana.

La imputación de cargos federales sustitutiva es un resultado directo de la Orden Ejecutiva 14157 del presidente Trump que designó al Cártel de Sinaloa como Organización Terrorista Extranjera y la posterior designación de lo mismo por parte del secretario de Estado el 20 de febrero de 2025.

Este caso está siendo procesado por los fiscales federales adjuntos Joshua Mellor y Matthew Sutton.

IMPUTADO              Caso Número 14cr2122-DMS                                 

Rene Arzate-García                 Edad: 42          Ciudad de Residencia: Culiacán, Sinaloa, México

alias “La Rana”.

RESUMEN DE CARGOS

Título 21, U.S.C., secciones 960a y 841 - Narcoterrorismo

Pena máxima: Cadena perpetua, mínimo obligatorio de 20 años de prisión; multa de 20 millones de dólares

Título 18, U.S.C., sección 2339B - Proporcionar apoyo material al terrorismo

Pena máxima: Veinte años de prisión y multa de $250,000

Título 21, U.S.C., sección 848(a) - Empresa Criminal Continuada

Pena máxima: Cadena perpetua, mínimo obligatorio de 20 años; multa de 10 millones de dólares

Título 21, U.S.C., secciones 952, 959, 960 y 963 - Conspiración internacional para distribuir sustancias reguladas

Pena máxima: Cadena perpetua, mínimo obligatorio de 10 años; multa de 10 millones de dólares

Título 21, U.S.C., secciones 841(a)(1) y 846 - Conspiración para distribuir sustancias reguladas

Pena máxima: Cadena perpetua, mínimo obligatorio de 10 años de prisión; multa de 10 millones de dólares

Título 21, U.S.C., secciones 952, 960 y 963 - Conspiración para importar sustancias reguladas

Pena máxima: Cadena perpetua, mínimo obligatorio de 10 años; multa de 10 millones de dólares

Conspiración para el lavado de dinero - Título 18, U.S.C., sección 1956(h)

Pena máxima: Veinte años de prisión y multa de $500,000 o el doble del valor del instrumento monetario o de los fondos implicados, lo que sea mayor

AGENCIAS INVESTIGADORAS

Buró Federal de Investigaciones (FBI)

Administración para el Control de Drogas (DEA)

División de Investigación Criminal (CI) del IRS

Oficina de Investigaciones de Seguridad Nacional (HSI)

Programa de Áreas de Tráfico de Drogas de Alta Intensidad (HIDTA)

*Los cargos y alegatos contenidos en una imputación o denuncia son solo acusaciones, y a los imputados se les considera inocentes a menos y hasta que se pruebe su culpabilidad.

Este caso fue investigado y procesado por el Grupo Operativo de Seguridad Nacional de California (HSTF) como parte de la Operación “Take Back America” (“Recuperemos América”). Los HSTF fueron establecidos por el presidente Trump en la Orden Ejecutiva 14159, Protegiendo al Pueblo Estadounidense Contra una Invasión. El HSTF es una colaboración de todo el gobierno dedicada a eliminar los cárteles delictivos, las pandillas extranjeras, las organizaciones delictivas transnacionales y las redes de tráfico y trata de personas que operan en Estados Unidos y en el extranjero. A través de una histórica colaboración interinstitucional, el HSTF dirige todo el poder de las fuerzas del orden de Estados Unidos para la identificación, investigación y persecución penal de todo el espectro de delitos cometidos por estas organizaciones, que desde hace tiempo fomentan la violencia y la inestabilidad dentro de nuestras fronteras. En el desempeño de esta labor, el HSTF se centra especialmente en la investigación y persecución penal de quienes se dedican al tráfico de niños o a otros delitos que implican a niños. El HSTF utiliza además todas las herramientas disponibles para procesar y expulsar de Estados Unidos a los extranjeros con antecedentes penales más violentos. La Operación “Recuperemos América” es una iniciativa de ámbito nacional que moviliza todos los recursos del Departamento de Justicia para repeler la invasión de la inmigración ilegal, lograr la eliminación total de los cárteles y las organizaciones criminales transnacionales (OCT) y proteger a nuestras comunidades de los autores de delitos violentos.

El programa de Áreas de Tráfico de Drogas de Alta Intensidad (HIDTA), creado por el Congreso con la Ley Contra el Abuso de las Drogas de 1988, proporciona asistencia a las fuerzas del orden federales, estatales, locales y tribales que operan en zonas determinadas como regiones críticas para el tráfico de drogas en Estados Unidos. Este programa de subvenciones está administrado por la Oficina de la Política Nacional de Control de Drogas (ONDCP). En la actualidad existen 33 HIDTA, y hay condados designados como HIDTA en 50 estados, así como en Puerto Rico, las Islas Vírgenes de EE. UU. y el Distrito de Columbia.

Buenos días. Mi nombre es Adam Gordon, y soy el Fiscal Federal del Distrito Sur de California. Hoy me acompañan:

• Los principales fiscales de este caso, los fiscales federales adjuntos Joshua Mellor y Matthew Sutton;
• James M. Nunnallee, agente especial interino a cargo de la DEA en San Diego;
• TJ Holland, agente especial interino a cargo de la oficina local del FBI en San Diego;
• Victor White, fiscal federal ejecutivo adjunto;
• Jason Powell, agente especial adjunto a cargo de la División de Investigación Criminal del IRS; y
• Kevin Murphy, agente especial a cargo de la Oficina de Investigaciones de Seguridad Nacional, en representación del Grupo Operativo de Seguridad Nacional.

Al final de las declaraciones, ofreceremos la oportunidad de hacer preguntas relacionadas con este caso y estaremos a disposición de los medios en español.

Sagitario. Chavo Félix. Flaquito. Payo. Valdez-Ruiz.

Todos ellos se encuentran aquí. Están acusados de delitos federales. Y ellos son solo el principio.

Hace menos de 300 días, estos cabecillas del cártel andaban libres y sin temor. Hoy están detenidos y en custodia federal en el Distrito Sur de California.

No era una amenaza cuando les dije que ya no eran los cazadores, sino los cazados. Era una certeza. Las organizaciones terroristas extranjeras pueden operar a través de fronteras. Pero la justicia no se detiene allí. Los recientes informes sobre el liderazgo de los cárteles en México subrayan una sencilla verdad: las organizaciones criminales construidas sobre el miedo y la violencia son inherentemente inestables. Los individuos pueden ascender y caer, pero el estado de derecho perdura.

Sobre la base de estos éxitos sin precedentes, hoy anunciamos una imputación de cargos federales sustitutiva contra René Arzate García, infamemente conocido como “La Rana,” un lugarteniente de alto rango y ultraviolento del Cártel de Sinaloa que ha controlado el corredor de drogas de Tijuana por 15 años mediante el terror y la violencia.

También anunciamos que la Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales de Narcóticos y Aplicación de la Ley del Departamento de Estado está ofreciendo hasta 5 millones de dólares por información que conduzca al arresto y/o condena de “La Rana” o de su hermano, Alfonso Arzate-García, alias “Aquiles”. Esta colaboración es un logro de la visión del presidente Trump y de la fiscal general Bondi de erradicar por completo a las organizaciones terroristas extranjeras.

Desde 2014, los hermanos Arzate-García se encuentran prófugos tras ser acusados por separado por delitos de narcotráfico en el Distrito Sur de California.

A partir de entonces, “La Rana” asumió un papel aún mayor dentro del Cártel de Sinaloa y se ha convertido en uno de sus más activos narcotraficantes y operadores del brazo armado.

La nueva imputación federal hecha pública esta mañana incorpora cargos mucho más graves. “La Rana” está imputado por narcoterrorismo, por proporcionar apoyo material al terrorismo, por dirigir una empresa criminal continuada, por conspiración internacional para distribuir metanfetamina, cocaína, fentanilo y marihuana, y por lavado de dinero.  

En unos momentos escucharán detalles específicos sobre cómo “La Rana” ha ejercido un control brutal sobre la plaza de Tijuana para el Cártel de Sinaloa mediante la intimidación y el derrame de sangre. Estos cargos reflejan el daño devastador causado a comunidades a ambos lados de la frontera, mediante la violencia, la adicción y la intimidación.

Como todos podemos ver, los restantes miembros libres del Cártel de Sinaloa se han convertido en un riesgo mutuo. Cada uno sabe demasiado sobre los demás. En ese mundo, la traición no es una cuestión de si ocurrirá, sino de cuándo.

A los líderes del cártel que aún siguen prófugos, les planteo esta pregunta: ¿En quién pueden confiar cuando no pueden confiar en nadie? Cuando el miedo que antes usaban para controlar a otros ahora los controla a ustedes.

Y para los que siguen libres:

Escóndanse. Corran. Peleen. Huyan.

La ilusión es que tienen una opción. La realidad es simple: entréguense a la justicia o serán traídos ante la justicia.

Lo que nos une en las fuerzas del orden público es la convicción de que impera el estado de derecho y de que la justicia es inescapable. Hoy reafirmamos ese compromiso. El estado de derecho no vacila. No claudica.

Para describir la imputación en detalle, invito al fiscal federal adjunto Josh Mellor que pase al frente.

Gracias.

END

SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 84 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America’s eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico’s second largest city).

In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.

A sample of border-related arrests this week:

• On February 13, Mexican nationals Carlos Cortes De La Cruz and Carlos Cortes Garcia – a father and son who were the alleged captains of a smuggling vessel carrying a dozen undocumented passengers - were arrested and charged with Attempted Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain. According to a complaint, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted the vessel which was dead in the water and riding low under the weight of the passengers, off the coast of Point Loma. Officials deemed the vessel unsafe and transported the passengers to Ballast Point, where the defendants were arrested by Border Patrol. Also arrested were Mexican nationals Jorge Andrade-Guzman, Aristeo Cortez-Abarca, Jose Antonio Lorenzo De La Cruz, Allan Alfonso Mancilla Garcia, Lorenzo Meza Hernandez, Sergio Luis Rico-Ornelas, Ciriaco Rojas-Duarte, Luis Vargas-Vill and Javier Zavala-Paredes. They were passengers charged with Attempted Entry After Deportation.
• On February 15, Aracely Guadalupe Herrera Gutierrez, a Mexican citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers discovered 153 packages containing 154 pounds of methamphetamine and seven pounds of fentanyl concealed in the rear bumper of the defendant’s vehicle as she tried to cross into the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
• On February 18, John Nixon, a U.S. citizen, was arrested and charged with Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain. According to a complaint, Nixon and a passenger applied for admission to the U.S. in the vehicle lanes of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. Customs and Border Protection officers found the passenger’s identification to be fraudulent. The passenger, Mexican citizen Jose Rosales-Murillo, was arrested for Attempted Entry After Deportation. Rosales-Murillo had been previously removed from the U.S. in 2008. According to the complaint, Nixon claimed he accepted the smuggling job in order to pay off his girlfriend’s $5,000 drug debt.

The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.

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

WASHINGTON – Oleksandr Didenko, 29, of Kyiv, Ukraine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 60 months in prison in connection with a years-long scheme that stole the identities of U.S. citizens and sold them to North Korean workers so they could fraudulently gain employment at 40 U.S. companies, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. 

            Didenko, aka “Alexander Didenko,” pleaded guilty Nov. 10, 2025, before Judge Randolph D. Moss to wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. Didenko agreed to forfeit more than $1.4 million, which includes approximately $181,438 in USD and cryptocurrency seized from Didenko and his co-conspirators. Judge Moss also ordered Didenko to serve 12 months of supervised release and to pay $46,547.28 in restitution.   

            “Defendant Didenko’s scheme funneled money from Americans and U.S. businesses, into the coffers of North Korea, a hostile regime. Today, North Korea is not only a threat to the homeland from afar, it is an enemy within. By using stolen and fraudulent identities, North Korean actors are infiltrating American companies, stealing information, licensing, and data that is harmful to any business. But more than that, money paid to these so-called employees goes directly to munitions programs in North Korea,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “We should be holding accountable to the fullest extent of the law the individuals, like Didenko, who are knowingly assisting North Koreans so that they can amass more weapons to harm the United States and peace in our world. This is not just a financial crime; it is a crime against national security.” 

            “Oleksandr Didenko’s fraudulent activity inflicted systemic and deliberate financial harm on U.S. companies and American citizens to benefit not only himself, but a hostile nation state,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “The FBI will not tolerate North Korea’s sustained campaign to victimize American citizens, businesses, and financial institutions to fund its authoritarian regime. Today’s sentencing demonstrates that the FBI will pursue full accountability for anyone found complicit in our adversary’s efforts to defraud and undermine American economic security, and we ask all U.S. companies that employ remote workers to remain vigilant to this new and sophisticated threat.” 

            According to court documents, Didenko ran a website using a U.S.-based domain, "Upworksell.com," designed to help overseas IT workers buy or rent stolen identities. Beginning in 2021, the IT workers used the identities to get hired on online freelance work platforms based in California and Pennsylvania. The work platforms allowed users to advertise themselves as contract gig workers, create free accounts, advertise their skills and bid on IT work contracts. 

            Didenko paid individuals in the United States to receive and host computers at residences in Virginia, Tennessee and California. 

            Through his company, Didenko managed as many as 871 proxy identities and facilitated the operation of at least three U.S.-based “laptop farms.” He enabled his overseas clients to access the U.S. financial system through Money Service Transmitters rather than having to physically open an account at a bank within the United States, which was then used to facilitate the transfer of employment income to foreign bank accounts.  

            The IT worker clients were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for their work, much of which was falsely reported to the Department of Homeland Security, the IRS and Social Security Administration in the names of actual U.S. persons whose identities had been stolen.  

            On May 16, 2024, the Justice Department seized the online domain, Upworksell.com, and diverted all traffic to the FBI. Polish authorities arrested Didenko and on Dec. 31, 2024, extradited him to the United States. 

            “Oleksandr Didenko participated in a scheme that stole the identities of hundreds of people, to include United States citizens, which were used by North Korea to fraudulently secure lucrative IT jobs,” said Assistant Director in Charges James Barnacle of the FBI’s New York Field Office. “This massive operation not only created an unauthorized backdoor into our country’s job market, but helped fund the regime of an adversary. This case is an example of how the FBI continues to safeguard our critical infrastructure from foreign threat actors seeking to exploit our nation’s sensitive information.”

            This case was investigated by the FBI New York Field Office, with assistance from the FBI Norfolk, San Diego and Knoxville Field Offices. 

            The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen P. Seifert and Steven Wasserman for the District of Columbia. The U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Southern District of California, Eastern District of Tennessee, and Eastern District of Virginia, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, and Trial Attorney Jacques-Singer Emory of the National Security Division’s National Security Cyber Section provided valuable assistance. 

24cr261 

SAN DIEGO – Alleged Sinaloa Cartel member Miguel Angel Valdez Ruiz, aka Flaco, made his initial appearance in federal court today following his arrest on charges that he participated in an international conspiracy to traffic cocaine from Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, and Mexico into the United States.

Valdez was a fugitive following his 2019 indictment in the Southern District of California charging him with International Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances.

Prior to his arrest, on February 10, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Valdez pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14059 for materially contributing to the illicit activities of major Mexican cartels to traffic cocaine into the United States.

According to the OFAC designation, Valdez worked as an intermediary between major Ecuadorian drug trafficker Wilder Emilio Sanchez Farfan and Ismael Zambada Garcia, aka El Mayo, who at the time was a major leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. OFAC alleges that Valdez used a fleet of private aircraft to transport cocaine from Ecuador to Mexico and coordinated with associates to import the cocaine into the United States.

At today’s hearing, Valdez entered a not guilty plea. A detention hearing is scheduled for February 20, 2026, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Berg.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kyle Martin, Jordan Arakawa, Ashley Goff and Mary Walters.

DEFENDANT                                               Case Number 19CR1610-GPC                               

Miguel Angel Valdez Ruiz                             Age: 36                                   Sinaloa, Mexico

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

International Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances – Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 959, 960, 963

Maximum penalty: Life in prison and $10 million fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Drug Enforcement Administration

Federal Bureau of Investigation

U.S. Department of the Treasury

United States Coast Guard

*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

This case was investigated and prosecuted by the California Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of Operation Take Back America. HSTFs, which were established by President Trump in Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, are joint operations led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide federal initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 114 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America’s eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico’s second largest city).

In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.

A sample of border-related arrests this week:

• On February 8, Raul Rodriguez, a U.S. citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers discovered 55 packages containing 137 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in the front and rear bumpers of the defendant’s vehicle’s  as he tried to cross the border at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
• On February 11, Gelacio Ortiz-Dominguez, a citizen of Mexico, was arrested and charged with Attempted Entry after Deportation. According to a complaint, Ortiz was intercepted by Customs and Border Protection officers as he ran northbound in the primary vehicle lanes at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. The defendant was previously removed from the U.S. in 2022, and at least twice before that.
• On February 9, Juan Manuel Estrada Cortez and Manuel Monterrosa Mendoza, citizens of Mexico, were arrested and charged with Transportation of Illegal Aliens. According to a complaint, the defendants were arrested by Border Patrol agents north of the border, about eight miles east of Tecate, after a brief chase. The defendants and three others fled their disabled vehicle after its tires were deflated by the Border Patrol’s Vehicle Immobilization Device was deployed.

The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.

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

SAN DIEGO – Ping “Jenny” Gao of Point Loma was sentenced in federal court today to 63 months’ custody after admitting that she embezzled and laundered more than $8.5 million from her employer’s bank accounts.

U.S. District Judge James E. Simmons, Jr. also ordered Gao to pay $3,295,000 in restitution to victims of the offense – Nautical Hero Group, LLC and Vitality International Management, LLC.

According to admissions in her plea agreement, Gao worked for three aviation investment firms – Nautical Hero Group, LLC, Axiom United Holdings, LLC, and Vitality International Management, LLC – based at Montgomery Field airport and owned by the same employer. She funneled company funds into accounts she fraudulently created and then went on a spending spree, buying a $160,000 Porsche and a $2.9 million home with views overlooking San Diego Bay and the downtown skyline.

When her employer discovered the theft and sued in San Diego Superior Court, Gao falsely claimed her actions were authorized by the real owner of the companies in China and the person who sued her was an “imposter.” To support this false defense, Gao paid more than $100,000 of embezzled funds to people in China to fabricate evidence, which she then knowingly filed with the Superior Court to oppose a motion for a preliminary injunction. Gao also committed perjury at her deposition in the civil matter by claiming the funds in the companies’ bank accounts belonged to her.

Though the Superior Court issued multiple orders barring Gao from further spending, transferring, or dissipating the proceeds during the pendency of the civil case, Gao disregarded the orders and continued to make transactions with the embezzled proceeds. Those transactions included wiring $1.6 million overseas to a bank account in Hong Kong, China.

According to the United States’ Sentencing Memorandum, Gao knowingly completed more than 300 financial transactions in violation of court orders and purposefully deceived her own lawyers into unwittingly filing fabricated evidence to the Superior Court to support her false defense.

In September 2023, the civil case went to trial and Gao testified in her defense. Gao committed perjury again by claiming the funds were from her investments in China. She also falsely claimed that one of the managers of the companies was helping to move her funds into the United States using “underground banks” to avoid Chinese laws limiting overseas transfers.

The Superior Court ultimately ruled against Gao and converted the preliminary injunction into a permanent injunction. Despite the permanent injunction, Gao continued to dissipate proceeds in violation of the court order. This included selling the $160,000 Porsche to CarMax for $75,000 and exchanging a $70,000 cashier’s check from proceeds of that transaction with another individual for cash.

According to her plea agreement, Gao admitted that she transferred more than $1 million of the embezzled funds to her personal bank accounts and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on luxuries and at high-end fashion stores. There is also more than $3.29 million of embezzled funds that were squandered or remain unaccounted for to date.

“The cover-up is often worse than the crime,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “Those who fabricate evidence and lie under oath to conceal their crimes undermine our judicial system – and they will be held accountable.”

“The lengths that Gao took to hide her criminal activity are appalling in and of themselves, showing a complete disregard for our justice system,” said TJ Holland, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “Today’s sentence reflects the magnitude of these types of financial crimes. FBI San Diego is dedicated to using all of its resources to investigate any criminal activity impacting our local industries and ensure a fair and just outcome for the victims.”

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick C. Swan.

DEFENDANTS                                            Case Number 23-CR-2380-JES                  

Ping Gao, aka Jenny Gao, Gao Ping               Age: 55                                   San Diego, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Wire Fraud – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1343

Maximum penalty: Thirty years in prison and fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater

Concealment Money Laundering – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1956(a)(1)(B)(i)

Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater

INVESTIGATING AGENCY

Federal Bureau of Investigation 

SAN DIEGO – Alejandro Salinas of Tijuana, Mexico, was sentenced in federal court today to 240 months in prison for leading an organization that trafficked large amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine into the United States from Mexico.

Salinas previously pleaded guilty to participating in an international conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine.

The case is part of an investigation of a drug trafficking organization referred to as “The Office,” which operated a convenience store for illegal drugs in Tijuana, open 24 hours a day and seven days a week, for mostly American buyers. The Office sold a variety of narcotics at its Tijuana store, including fentanyl and methamphetamine. At the same time, The Office sent drugs into the United States, acting as a drug wholesale and delivery service for users and distributors in San Diego County and elsewhere. The organization employed “runners,” typically U.S. citizens, who smuggled drugs across the international border to fill orders.

Investigators estimate The Office operated for at least five years and made several million dollars during that time, moving hundreds of kilograms of fentanyl and other controlled substances into the United States. Salinas held a leadership role in the organization from approximately 2020 to 2022, a time period during which he and his co-conspirators took advantage of the rise in demand for fentanyl during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following the indictment of Salinas and his co-conspirators in April 2023 and coordination with Mexican authorities, the Attorney General of Mexico seized and closed The Office’s Tijuana storefront in January 2024.

“The Office operated as a 24-hour storefront for spreading addiction and death,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “We showed them it was closing time.”

“The leader of this organization was responsible for the smuggling of deadly narcotics, including fentanyl into our community and throughout the United States for years,” said Kevin a Murphy, HSI San Diego Acting Special Agent in Charge. “HSI San Diego remains steadfast in our commitment to protecting our community and our nation by identifying, disrupting, and dismantling these criminal organizations.”

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and extradition of Salinas.

DEFENDANTS                                            Case Number 23cr618                                             

Alejandro Salinas                                            Age: 48                                   Tijuana, MX

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

International Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Methamphetamine – Title 21, U.S.C., Section 959, 960, 963

Maximum penalty: Life in prison

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Homeland Security Investigations

Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation

Drug Enforcement Administration

San Diego Sheriff’s Department

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. HSTF San Diego comprises agents and officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Department of Defense, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Interpol, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.

SAN DIEGO – A federal grand jury has indicted alleged Sinaloa Cartel associates Poly Antunez, Antonio Quinones and Jovanny Enriquez for directing a plot to execute a cartel target in Chula Vista in March 2024 using two teen gang members as hitmen because the 15-year-olds were thought to be too young for serious legal consequences.

The indictment, unsealed today, charges the defendants with Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering; Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering; Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering; Conspiracy to Commit Murder for Hire; and Use of Interstate Facilities in Commission of Murder for Hire. Antunez was already in custody on another federal case in San Diego. Quinones and Enriquez were arrested by FBI agents yesterday and today, and they made their first appearances in San Diego federal court this afternoon.

“You want cowardice. I give you the Sinaloa Cartel hiring teenagers to do their dirty work,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon.

"Today’s indictment against violent Sinaloa Cartel associates for directing teenagers to be their personal hitmen is one step closer to obtaining the final justice in this case,” said TJ Holland, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain committed to investigating, dismantling and eliminating these violent groups threatening our neighborhoods and holding them accountable for their roles in these cowardly criminal acts.”

According to the government’s detention memorandum, the adult defendants participated in the murder scheme and directed the actions of the teen hitmen, Andrew Nunez and Johncarlo Quintero, unleashing violence in a suburban strip mall and complex of family homes in Chula Vista. The adult defendants arranged for overnight lodging for the Los Angeles-based teen hitmen at an Airbnb in La Mesa; along with Nunez and Quintero, they stalked the target and his family throughout San Ysidro and Chula Vista; they were the critical points of contact between the hitmen, the Cartel, and Mexican Mafia; they coordinated with the hitmen as they attempted to kill the victim during the evening of March 26, 2024, but failed; and they regrouped with Nunez and Quintero before sending them on the second attempt in the early hours of March 27, 2024.

The detention memo notes that the violence was sparked by a cartel war in Tijuana. It was widely reported that in November 2023, the Cartel Arellano Felix (“CAF”) stole a massive load of methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl from the Sinaloa Cartel in Tijuana, Mexico. The fallout in Tijuana was immediate. There were rampant retaliatory murders on CAF members and Tijuana law enforcement. Seeking retribution for the stolen drug load, the Cartel placed a hit on individuals the Cartel viewed as responsible, including the targeted victim in this case.

The Sinaloa Cartel first attempted to kill the victim at his home in Tijuana. The victim fled to the United States. Undeterred, the Cartel began using its contacts in San Diego to stalk the victim within the Southern District of California and attempt to kill him in March 2024.

The Cartel simultaneously used associates in the Mexican Mafia and Westside Wilmas, a sureños gang, to hire the teen hitmen to complete the job. Enriquez had just turned 18 years old, ran the Wilmas juvenile members, and coordinated with a high-ranking Mexican Mafia associate and Wilmas member Ricardo Sanchez to have Nunez and Quintero hired to commit the job. The benefit to Enriquez was clear in messages—he would be paid part of the money the teen assassins would receive and it would elevate his position.

According to the government’s detention memo, in a group chat between Enriquez, Nunez, Quintero, and fellow Wilmas gang members, the other members warn them: “Bru u guys are gonna do some stupid shit.” Enriquez answers: “We all getting new cars new chains new toys.” A gang member responds: “Be safe guys. I don’t wanna lose my friends. I need u guys.” Another unnamed gang member asks: “U guys hitmans now or what” and Quintero answers: “Basically.” And a gang member responds: “Anw Don’t Die Come back in one piece.”

The reason Enriquez and others chose Nunez and Quintero was clear in messages—Nunez and Quintero were only 15 years old at the time of the offenses, meaning under California law there was no possibility of them being treated as adults in California state court. The teen hitmen—, members of the Mexican Mafia-affiliated Westside Wilmas gang from the greater Los Angeles area—were not immune to prosecution under federal law. They were charged federally as adults and pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder charges, admitting they were acting as hired hitmen for the Sinaloa Cartel when they made two attempts in five hours to kill the cartel’s target. Please see press release here.

The first murder attempt occurred on March 26, 2024, in the parking lot of a Chili’s restaurant in Chula Vista, where the target was dining with his family. Nunez and Quintero pulled up behind the victim and his family. Quintero got out of the car and fired a single bullet that struck the target’s legs. After that single shot, Quintero’s firearm jammed, and he was unable to unjam the weapon in time to shoot again. Quintero got back into the car Nunez was driving, and Nunez attempted unsuccessfully to hit and kill the target with the vehicle. Quintero and Nunez then fled the scene.

Later that night, in the early hours of March 27, 2024, allegedly guided by the adult defendants, the teen hitmen showed up at the intended victim’s home to finish the job. They were joined this time by an older accomplice, 28-year-old Ricardo Sanchez. Each gang member expected to be paid approximately $50,000. The trio approached the target’s home, carrying at least one firearm apiece.

The intended target was at a hospital seeking medical treatment, but the victim’s family – including a child – and a friend were present in the home. Sanchez banged on the front door, and once the friend responded, Quintero and Nunez shot the friend and fired indiscriminately at the family home.  The friend was hit in the hand, arm, and face by Quintero and Nunez, but he survived. In response to the gunfire, the friend shot toward Nunez, Quintero and Sanchez to protect himself and the others within the home and, in so doing, shot and killed Sanchez—a provocative-act murder to which Nunez and Quintero pleaded guilty. After that, the hitmen fled the scene.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Goff, Joshua Mellor, and Peter Horn.

DEFENDANTS                                            Case Number 26cr0402-TWR                                

Poly Antunez                                                 Age: 30                                     Chula Vista, CA

Antonio Quinones                                          Age: 27                                      Oceanside, CA

Jovanny Enriquez                                            Age: 20                                      Long Beach, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1959(a)(5)

Maximum penalty: Ten years imprisonment

Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1959(a)(5), 2

Maximum penalty: Ten years imprisonment y

Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1959(a)(3), 2

Maximum penalty: Twenty years imprisonment

Conspiracy to Commit Murder for Hire – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1958(a)

Maximum penalty: Twenty years imprisonment

Use of Interstate Facilities in Commission of Murder for Hire – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1958(a)

Maximum penalty: Twenty years imprisonment

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Chula Vista Police Department

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

United States Marshals Service

California Highway Patrol

*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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. HSTF San Diego comprises agents and officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Department of Defense, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Interpol, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.

SAN DIEGO – A federal jury today convicted Ricardo Orizaba-Zendejas, a Mexican national in the country illegally, of drug and firearms crimes.

Orizaba was working for the drug trafficking organization implicated in the fatal shootings of a husband and his pregnant wife, who were also members of the same drug trafficking organization but wanted out and had spoken to federal agents.

After six hours of deliberation, the jury found Orizaba guilty of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, Fentanyl and Cocaine, and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.

According to evidence presented at trial, Orizaba was working as a drug dealer and enforcer for a drug-trafficking organization based in Yakima, Washington, which sourced its drugs from Mexico and moved them through ports-of-entry in the Southern District of California.

The cell’s activities were centered at a remote desert ranch outside of Yakima, where they stored drugs, firearms, and stolen vehicles. Orizaba worked for cell leader Benjamin (“Tony”) Madrigal-Birrueta, selling drugs sourced by Madrigal, collecting debts owed to the organization, protecting the organization’s property, and protecting Madrigal’s leadership of the organization.

On February 8, 2023, agents arrested Orizaba and executed a search warrant at his home. They seized 11 bags of fentanyl pills and three bags of heroin, along with an AR-15 rifle with a scope, large amounts of cash, a drum magazine with ammunition, other magazines for rifles and handguns, various caliber ammunition, body armor, a scale, and an electronic money counter – all from Orizaba’s bedroom.

The evidence showed that the case began with a traffic stop of Orizaba’s brother and Madrigal’s brother, which led to the discovery of 150,000 fentanyl pills in the car registered to one of the eventual murder victims, Maira Hernandez. The subsequent investigation led authorities to Hernandez and her husband, Cesar Murillo, both of whom had been involved in the drug trafficking cell with Madrigal and Orizaba.

On August 23, 2022, agents approached Hernandez --by this time visibly pregnant-- at her home, questioning her about load vehicles registered to her and money transfers she sent to load drivers. Hernandez admitted to sending the money, consented to an inspection of her phone, and agreed to ask her husband to speak to the agents. The next day, Murillo voluntarily met with agents and surrendered a stolen vehicle connected to the conspiracy.

At the trial, a witness testified that Madrigal was at the couple’s home when federal agents arrived and was aware that the agents later spoke with Hernandez and Murillo. The trial witness said this visit led to an argument, during which Hernandez and Murillo told Madrigal they wanted to quit the drug business and cooperate with the investigation. Madrigal grew angry, saying something to the effect of, “You are not leaving me alone with this.”

The following weekend, Madrigal asked Murillo to accompany him to the Yakima Ranch; it was the last time Murillo was seen alive. After Murillo failed to return home or contact her, Hernandez grew anxious. A few days later, Madrigal contacted Hernandez and told her to come to the Yakima Ranch to reunite with her husband.

On September 2, 2022, Hernandez was dropped off at a parking lot near Yakima. She left in a car with Madrigal, never to be seen again.

Six days later, agents in Yakima executed search warrants at the couple’s residence and the Yakima Ranch. While they found evidence of drug distribution in both locations, and seized approximately 37 firearms from the Yakima Ranch, they did not find Hernandez or Murillo.

What followed was an exhaustive, years’ long investigation that employed geophysicists, ground penetrating radar, aircraft, laser imaging, chemical testing of the soil, numerous cadaver dogs, and other law enforcement techniques to search for the victims’ remains. More than a year after their deaths, HSI Special Agents successfully recovered the remains on September 13, 2023, aided by a Washington State Police Crime Scene Investigations team.

Madrigal pleaded guilty in September 2025, admitting that he and coconspirators fatally shot 44-year-old Murillo multiple times in the back of the head and the torso on August 28, 2022, during an argument at the remote Yakima ranch. He also admitted that on September 2, 2022, Madrigal persuaded Hernandez, 33, who was unaware of her husband’s death, to come to the ranch by claiming her husband was waiting for her there. Madrigal admitted that when Hernandez arrived at the ranch, his co-conspirators shot her multiple times in the head. The child died in utero when Hernandez was shot, killed and buried.

Orizaba is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw on May 29, 2026, at 9 a.m.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Wong and Alexandra Foster.

DEFENDANT                                                Case Number 23cr1684-DMS                                     

Ricardo Orizaba-Zendejas                  Age: 23                        Yakima, WA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances – 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 846

Maximum penalty: Mandatory minimum sentence of twenty years and up to life, or death

Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime – 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)

Maximum penalty: Mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to life

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Homeland Security Investigations

Drug Enforcement Administration

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Washington State Police

California Highway Patrol

Yakima Police Department

Tulare County Sheriff’s Office

Visalia Police Department

Fresno Sheriff’s Office

Fresno Police Department

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. HSTF San Diego comprises agents and officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Department of Defense, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Interpol, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.

SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 111 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America’s eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico’s second largest city).

In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.

A sample of border-related arrests this week:

• On February 3, Bulmaro Santiago-Perez, a citizen of Mexico, was arrested and charged with Deported Alien Found in the United States. According to a complaint, Border Patrol agents found the undocumented defendant hiding in brush about half mile north of the border near the Tecate Port of Entry. He was previously deported in April 2013 through Nogales, Arizona.
• On February 4, Carlos Jhovanny Estrada Perez and Jose Eduardo Corrado-Romo, citizens of Mexico, were arrested and charged with Attempted Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain. According to a complaint, they are the alleged captain and co-captain, respectively, of a vessel intercepted by Marine Interdiction Agents from Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations transporting unauthorized immigrants. Also arrested and charged were Mexican nationals Josefina Mariano Nava, Ramon Rodriguez-Cuevas and Arturo Sesma Rodriguez, for Attempted Entry After Deportation.
• On February 4, Elvin Maravillas, a United States citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers found almost 20 pounds of fentanyl hidden in a non-factory compartment in the floor of the defendant’s vehicle as he tried to cross the border at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.

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

SAN DIEGO –David Gilbert Gomez, a documented San Diego gang member also known as “Choker,” was sentenced in federal court today to 87 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm on March 12, 2024. Gomez previously pleaded guilty in federal court to that charge.

According to court records, officers with the City of Imperial Police Department were conducting a routine traffic stop when they observed two men standing near an unoccupied vehicle. Upon seeing police presence, both men ran into a nearby residence. Inside the unoccupied vehicle, police observed a semiautomatic firearm with an extended magazine located on the front passenger’s seat. Police recovered the firearm, which was determined to be a 9mm Glock loaded with approximately 17 rounds of ammunition. A records search of the firearm’s serial number revealed it to be reported stolen out of Maricopa County, Arizona.

A further search of the unoccupied vehicle revealed a black bag with a lighter bearing the words “Choker” and “Shelltown.” At the time of the firearm seizure, there was an active “Be on the Lookout” (BOLO) for an individual named David Gomez a/k/a “Choker” with a documented affiliation to the San Diego-based “Shelltown” gang. Police positively identified Gomez from the BOLO as one of the individuals who fled into the residence.

The investigation was then taken over by federal investigators, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). A federal search warrant for Gomez’s DNA was obtained and while executing the warrant, Gomez admitted to stealing the firearm from another person. 

Twelve prior felony convictions prohibit Gomez from possessing a firearm. He was therefore charged with unlawful firearm possession, following investigation by ATF. In fact, Gomez had previously been federally convicted for unlawful firearm possession, among other crimes such as escape and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

While discussing Gomez’s criminal history at sentencing, Chief U.S. District Judge Cynthia Ann Bashant noted her sentence reflected a “worry about protection of the public” given Gomez’s continued criminal conduct.

DEFENDANT                                   Case Number 24CR1962

David Gilbert Gomez                         Age: 43                                    Imperial, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Felon in Possession of a Firearm — 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(1)

Maximum Penalty: Fifteen years in prison and $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Federal Bureau of Investigation

City of Imperial Police Department

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.  For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

SAN DIEGO – Cameron William Fulston of Carlsbad was sentenced in federal court today to 144 months in prison for coordinating the sale of the fentanyl that resulted in the fatal overdose of 25-year-old Carlsbad resident Danielle Good in 2023.

“Danielle’s life was much more than her final moments,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon, “Danielle was a beloved daughter and sister. Our office prosecutes these fatal drug distribution cases in part because we value the humanity of those victims of the fentanyl epidemic.”

“Fentanyl continues to steal lives,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge James Nunnallee. “The defendant in this case didn’t just arrange a deadly sale, he abandoned a young woman in her final moments and then chose deception over accountability. His selfish actions denied the victim and her family the future they deserved.”

According to court documents, on September 9, 2023, Fulston contacted the victim on social media and arranged for her to come meet him and his co-defendant and source of supply, prolific drug dealer Bryan Kim Bullard. Fulston coordinated with Bullard to supply Good with fentanyl at a Mission Valley apartment. As Bullard supplied the fatal fentanyl to the victim, he sent Fulston to a nearby restaurant to pick up food, then messaged him quickly thereafter to ask for Narcan at 11:17 p.m.

Despite early signs of a medical emergency, the defendants both failed to seek help for over an hour while Good lay dying of an overdose in a bathtub.  It was not until more than an hour later, at 12:22 a.m., that Bullard called 911 from Good’s phone, then fled the scene before help arrived. During the critical delay, Fulston and Bullard had two Facebook video conversations during which, despite Good’s rapidly deteriorating condition, no one sought help for her. Instead, Bullard engaged in multiple Facebook video chats and sent disturbing messages, including a video showing the unconscious and unclothed victim in the bathtub.

During Bullard’s 9-1-1 call, he stated, “overdose, overdose,” and that he was calling from “…her phone…” While the dispatcher was trying to explain life saving measures, Bullard stopped talking, and the call ended.

San Diego Police officers were dispatched immediately, at approximately 12:23 a.m., to the Mission Valley apartment complex. Bullard fled the scene before police arrived.  While law enforcement was on scene, Fulston arrived back at the apartment. Fulston told police a series of lies in an effort to distance himself from the overdose but eventually admitted that Good originally came to the apartment with him, as seen on video surveillance. The evidence in the case reflected that Fulston let Bullard know when police and paramedics had left so that it was safe to return.  Afterwards, the defendants immediately resumed distributing drugs, with Fulston offering to provide drugs to at least three different users on Facebook in the span of just a few hours that same morning.

Prosecutors argued for a significant sentence, arguing that the defendant’s egregious conduct in this case resulted in the loss of life and his indifference towards continued drug distribution put the public at continuous risk and demanded a significant custodial sanction.

Fulston pleaded guilty to Distribution of a Controlled Substance in September 2025. Bullard, who pleaded guilty to the same charge in December 2024, was sentenced in July 2025 to 20 years in prison, the statutory maximum sentence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Streja.

Special Agents and Task Force Officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Overdose Response Team (formerly known as Team 10) led the investigation. This case is the result of ongoing efforts by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the San Diego Police Department, the La Mesa Police Department, National Guard Counterdrug Task Force and the California Department of Health Care Services to investigate and prosecute the distribution of dangerous illegal drugs—fentanyl in particular—that result in overdose deaths. The Drug Enforcement Administration created the Overdose Response Team as a response to the increase in overdose deaths in San Diego County.

The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program, created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States. This grant program is administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). There are currently 33 HIDTAs, and HIDTA-designated counties are located in 50 states, as well as in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia.

DEFENDANTS                                              Case Number 24cr1063                               

Cameron William Fulston                              Age: 31                                   Carlsbad

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Distribution of Controlled Substance (fentanyl), in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1)

Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Drug Enforcement Administration

San Diego County District Attorney’s Office

Homeland Security Investigations

San Diego Police Department

La Mesa Police Department

California Department of Health Care Services 

SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 86 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America’s eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico’s second largest city).

In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.

A sample of border-related arrests this week:

• On January 23, Maria Luisa Luna-Garduno, a Mexican citizen, was arrested and charged with Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers found a minor undocumented female hiding under a blanket in the trunk of the defendant’s vehicle as she tried to cross the border at the Tecate Port of Entry.
• On January 27, Fernando Martin Cota Sordia, a citizen of Mexico, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers found 994 pounds of liquid methamphetamine in the fuel tank of the defendant’s Kenworth Tractor when he attempted to cross the border at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry Commercial Facility.
• On January 28, Adolfo Garcia-Vega, a Mexican citizen, was arrested and charged with Attempted Entry after Deportation. According to a complaint, Border Patrol agents intercepted the defendant about 200 yards north of the border. Garcia-Vega was previously deported to Mexico on January 22, 2026, through Texas.

The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.

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

SAN DIEGO –Douglas Wiederhold, a male performer in the massive GirlsDoPorn sex-trafficking conspiracy led by Michael Pratt, was sentenced in federal court today to four years in prison. Wiederhold was paid to perform in 71 adult sex videos that exploited victims.

Wiederhold is the last of seven charged defendants to be sentenced for their roles in the multimillion-dollar criminal empire that lured young women into making sex videos through lies, coercion, and manipulation, and then broadcasting their abuse to millions online.

“Each defendant’s actions unleashed profound harm on hundreds of victims, and today the final conspirator was held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “These strong sentences reflect the bravery of the victims in coming forward and speaking of their abuse. Without them, justice would have been impossible. The Department of Justice thanks these remarkable women.”

“Wiederhold’s sentencing today is another victory for the hundreds of victims subjected by force, fraud, or coercion to engage in commercial sex acts so Michael Pratt and his co-conspirators could make millions off their pain,” said TJ Holland, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “FBI San Diego and our law enforcement partners relentlessly investigated this case and everyone who played a part in the conspiracy to ensure justice was appropriately served. Each sentence handed down in the GirlsDoPorn case is a direct result of victim cooperation and investigative persistence.”

Pratt was the owner and operator of the pornography website girlsdoporn.com. Girlsdoporn.com featured sex videos of young adult women appearing in their first pornographic video. Girlsdoporn.com charged visitors a subscription fee to access the website’s content. Wiederhold was part of the conspiracy from the start, starting in at least January 2011 through at least March 2012. The young adult women were paid by Pratt to perform sex acts with Wiederhold. Pratt was the camera operator; Pratt also directed the video shoots. Wiederhold was a salaried employee who sometimes traveled with Pratt to pick the young women up at the airport and drive them to the location of the video shoots.

Wiederhold knew Pratt recruited women from all over the United States to appear in these videos. If the women lived far from San Diego, Pratt would book travel and pay for these women to fly to San Diego for their video shoot. Pratt would also pay for the hotels or short-term rentals in San Diego where the video shoots would occur.

At Pratt’s direction, Wiederhold lied to the women, assuring them that the videos would not be posted on the internet. Pratt instructed Wiederhold to tell the women that the videos were only going onto a DVD to a collector in a foreign country or posted to VHS for a small number of viewers in Australia. Wiederhold knew that Pratt made his money by posting the videos onto girlsdoporn.com, where the videos were publicly available on the internet to anyone willing to pay a fee. Wiederhold also knew that Pratt was posting snippets of the videos to Pornhub and other porn websites to drive traffic to girlsdoporn.com.

Even after learning that the sex videos were being posted on the internet, Wiederhold falsely assured at least two women that the videos would not be posted publicly. Further, Wiederhold stood by while Pratt provided false assurances to the women that their videos would not be posted on the internet. Wiederhold would act in the pornographic videos with the women, after the false assurances were made. Women told the agents that they trusted Wiederhold, because he treated them as a friend and helped them feel comfortable.

At today’s hearing, six of the defendant’s victims urged the court to hand down the maximum sentence. One woman explained that “by putting me online and exposing me to the world without my consent, [Wiederhold] didn’t just humiliate me, he branded me …. I spent years unable to look my own family in the eyes.”

Another woman told the court, “The person I was before this happened no longer exists. I am a shell of who I used to be.”

A third addressed the defendant directly, “throughout my experience with you, deception was constant. You lied about who you were, even using a false name to conceal your identity. You misrepresented your intentions and the reality of what I was being drawn into.  Nothing about my interactions with you was honest. Every part of it was built on deception … After you got what you wanted from me, you left me alone, scared, humiliated, and overwhelmed by what had just happened.”

U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino told the defendant that even though he left the conspiracy over 10 years ago, “what happened in this case had long lasting harm. Some of the damage [to the women] will be lifelong.”

The defendant was ordered to self-surrender on March 27, 2026, at noon. Judge Sammartino set a restitution hearing for March 6, 2026, at 2 p.m.

The GirlsDoPorn investigation and prosecution spanned years, involving FBI agents, FBI analysts, the U.S. Marshal Service, victim advocates, and prosecutors who worked tirelessly to secure justice for the victims. Multiple co-conspirators have been convicted in connection with the scheme.

DEFENDANT                                              Case Number 23cr1202-JLS

Douglas Wiederhold               Age: 42          Sentenced to four years on January 30, 2026

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Conspiracy (Sex Trafficking)– Title 18, U.S.C., Section 371

Maximum penalty: Five years and $250,000 fine

DEFENDANTS                                              Case Number 19cr4488-JLS

Michael Pratt                           Age: 42           Sentenced to 27 years on September 8, 2025

Matthew Wolfe                       Age: 43           Sentenced to 14 years on March 20, 2024

Ruben Andre Garcia               Age: 36           Sentenced to 20 years on June 4, 2021

Theodore Gyi                          Age: 47           Sentenced to four years on November 9, 2022

Valorie Moser                         Age: 43           Sentenced to two years on December 12, 2025

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Sex Trafficking Conspiracy – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1594

Maximum penalty: Life in prison and $250,000 fine

Sex Trafficking – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1591

Mandatory Minimum: Fifteen years in prison

Maximum penalty: Life in prison and $250,000 fine

Conspiracy (Sex Trafficking) – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 371

Maximum penalty: Five years and $250,000 fine

DEFENDANT                                                Case Number 23cr0111-JLS

Alexander Foster                                            Sentenced to one year on April 28, 2023

SUMMARY OF CHARGE

Conspiracy (Stalking) – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 371

Maximum penalty: Five years and $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

FBI – Southern District of California

San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force

U.S. Marshals Service

SAN DIEGO – Jing Guo, a Chinese national residing in California, pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting she participated in an international fraud and money laundering scheme that tricked more than 40 elderly victims out of more than $1.2 million.

According to court documents and statements made in court, this case arises from an investigation into a call center scam that targeted elderly individuals in California and elsewhere in the United States in May 2025. According to charging documents, Guo and others used the following methods to defraud the victims:

• Technical support scam: Scammers pose as legitimate tech support representatives, claiming a victim’s computer or account has been compromised and tricking them into paying for unnecessary or fake repairs.
• Refund scam: Fraudsters contact victims with claims they are owed a refund, then manipulate them into providing banking information or transferring money under the guise of correcting a supposed overpayment.
• Bank impersonation scam: Criminals impersonate banks or financial institutions through calls, texts, or emails, creating a false sense of urgency to pressure victims into revealing sensitive information or moving funds to fraudulent accounts.

Guo admitted in her plea agreement that she met victims in-person to collect the funds.  She kept a percentage of the fraud proceeds before passing the remainder on to other members of the conspiracy.  

Guo is scheduled to be sentenced April 27 at 10 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Linda Lopez.

If you or someone you know is 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available through the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833 FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). You can also report fraud to any local law enforcement agency or on the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

The FBI requests that victims report:

• The name of the person or company that contacted you.
• Methods of communication used, including websites, emails, and telephone numbers.
• Any bank account number(s) to which you wired funds and the recipient name(s).

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Brooks.

DEFENDANT                                   Case Number 25cr4149-LL-2                                 

Jing Guo                                             Age: 36                                              San Gabriel, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Wire Fraud Conspiracy – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1349

Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison and $1 million fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCY

Federal Bureau of Investigation

SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 91 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America’s eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico’s second largest city).

In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.

A sample of border-related arrests this week:

• On January 17, Eduardo Luis Aguilar Atilano, a Mexican citizen, was arrested and charged with Attempted Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain. According to a complaint, the defendant was captain of a vessel intercepted by U.S. Coast Guard off the coast of San Diego that was transporting nine undocumented immigrants. Also arrested were Mexican citizens Rocio Chavez Granados, Arnulfo Contreras Hernandez, Ruben Esquivel Nunez, Jacinto Torres-Cantu and Briner Yulipsi Vela Diaz, who were charged with Attempted Entry after Deportation.
• On January 20, Genaro Cortez-Beltran, a Mexican citizen, was arrested and charged with Deported Alien Found in the United States. According to a complaint, Border Patrol agents encountered the defendant about two miles north of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. He had been previously deported September 2025 from the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
• On January 21, Marco Antonio Murillo-Najera, a Mexican citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers found two packages containing 232 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in the cab of the Peterbilt tractor driven by the defendant as he attempted to cross the border at the Otay Mesa Cargo Facility.

The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.

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

SAN DIEGO – Brett Rosen and Deborah Rosen of La Jolla were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that they, through their joint investment business, RB Capital Partners, Inc., engaged in a years-long securities fraud and money laundering scheme.

According to the 24-count indictment, since 2020, the Rosens engaged in a market manipulation scheme through financing, promoting, and selling the stock of six publicly traded companies – Optec International, Inc., Sunshine Biopharma, Inc., BlockQuarry Corp., Solar Integrated Roofing Corp., Cyberlux Corp., and Ilustrato Pictures International, Inc.

The indictment alleges that the Rosens’ promotions of these companies provided false and misleading information to investors, potential investors, and the market about their financing of and stock positions in these companies. The false and misleading information was designed to encourage the public to invest in these companies while the Rosens secretly dumped their own stock in these companies to make millions of dollars.

According to the indictment and court documents, the Rosens used the profits of their massive securities fraud scheme to fund their lofty lifestyle, including to purchase a multi-million dollar home in La Jolla Shores.

The United States acknowledges the assistance and cooperation of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Criminal Prosecution Assistance Group of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Janaki G. Chopra and Joseph S. Smith.

DEFENDANTS                                 Case Number 26-CR-0192-DMS                                    

Brett David Rosen                                       Age: 45                                   La Jolla, CA

Deborah Rachel Rosen                                Age: 44                                   La Jolla, CA

RB Capital Partners, Inc.                                                                             La Jolla, CA

CHARGES

Conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371

Maximum Penalties: Five years in prison; $250,000 fine

Securities Fraud, in violation of 15 U.S.C. §§ 78(b), 78ff & 17 C.F.R. §. 240.10b-5

Maximum Penalties: Twenty years in prison; $5 million fine

Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h)

Maximum Penalties: Twenty years in prison; $500,000 fine or twice the amount of the criminally derived property involved in the transaction

Money Laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957

Maximum Penalties: Ten years in prison; $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Federal Bureau of Investigation

*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 88 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America’s eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico’s second largest city).

In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.

A sample of border-related arrests this week:

• On January 9, Alonso Marquez-Arreola, a citizen of Mexico, was arrested and charged with Attempted Entry after Deportation. According to a complaint, the defendant presented false documents to officers at the San Ysidro Port of Entry pedestrian lanes. He was most recently removed from the United States on November 11, 2025 through Atlanta, Georgia.
• On January 11, Juan Vizcarra, a United States citizen, was arrested and charged with Felon in Possession of a Firearm. According to a complaint, when Vizcarra applied for entry to the United States at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, Customs and Border Protection officers observed that he exhibited slurred speech and droopy eyes with an open beer bottle and a bottle of Fireball inside the vehicle. He was referred to secondary inspection. Officers then found a 9mm Beretta semi-automatic firearm with a Beretta magazine and three 9mm rounds in the center console of his vehicle. Vizcarra has several felony convictions, including burglary, vehicle theft and first-degree robbery.
• On January 11, Erick Alexander Becerra-Rocha, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., was arrested and charged with Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers found two undocumented Mexican immigrants in the trunk of the defendant’s car as he attempted to enter the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
• On January 12, Ernesto Carrillo Jr., a United States citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers found 60 packages containing 61 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in the gas tank of the defendant’s vehicle.

The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.

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

SAN DIEGO – Philip Flores, the owner, president, and chief executive of Intellipeak Solutions, Inc., a former defense contractor based out of Fredericksburg, Virginia, was sentenced in federal court today to 48 months’ custody, after admitting that he participated in a bribery scheme with former Naval Information Warfare Center employee James Soriano.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. District Judge Todd W. Robinson explained that the “fraud was pervasive” and “it is hard to understate in terms of this area of business practice any offense conduct which would be of a more serious nature – it goes to heart of the fairness of the contracting system.”

U.S. District Judge Todd W. Robinson also ordered Flores to pay $80,500 in restitution to three victims of the offense.

According to his plea agreement, Flores gave various things of value to Soriano, including expensive meals at restaurants in San Diego and Washington, D.C., field level tickets and parking passes to Game 5 of the 2018 World Series in Los Angeles, and tickets to the 2019 Super Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia. The cost of tickets to these premier sporting events totaled over $18,000.

In return, Soriano used his position as a contracting officer’s representative at the Naval Information Warfare Center to ensure that Intellipeak was awarded numerous no-bid contracts through the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program. Soriano secured the contracts by falsifying technical evaluations, providing high ratings to Intellipeak to do the contracted work, and approving Intellipeak’s invoices on the awarded contracts, despite knowing that Intellipeak was not doing the work but instead subcontracting out all or most of the work to non-8(a) companies in violation of the SBA 8(a) rules.

Soriano also exploited competitive contracting through the SBA 8(a) program to benefit Intellipeak over other contractors. For example, Soriano secretly allowed Flores to draft contract discriminators to ensure that Intellipeak was selected as a winning bidder on a competitive contract. Soriano also allowed Flores to secretly draft procurement documents for an $87 million competitive contract and then performed multiple steps to attempt to award the contract to Intellipeak even though its bid was $7 million higher than another contractor.

According to his plea agreement, Flores also exploited Intellipeak’s 8(a) small business status by marketing Intellipeak to other defense contractors, who were not part of the 8(a) program, as a way for those companies to get access to 8(a) sole source contracts, generally in exchange for “pass through” fee that was equal to 6 to 8 percent of the contract value. Flores charged his 6 to 8 percent fee to the government, which Soriano approved, even though both knew that Intellipeak was not doing the work on the contracts and the fee did not reflect performed work.

According to his plea agreement, as a result of the conspiracy, the government paid Intellipeak more than $16 million to perform work on approximately 26 government contracts and task orders. The profit Intellipeak made from these contracts and task orders was conservatively estimated to be between $550,000 and $1.5 million despite performing little to no work on them.

According to the United States’ sentencing memorandum, this was not the first time that Flores and Intellipeak defrauded the government. Years before the bribery conspiracy, Flores engaged in a separate scheme to draft procurement documents and use sham quotes to ensure Intellipeak would be awarded millions of dollars of contracts through the SBA 8(a) program. Once obtained, Flores subcontracted the work to other companies in exchange for a fee. In 2022, Flores was indicted in the Northern District of Georgia with one count of conspiracy and two counts of major fraud against the United States. Flores went to trial and was found guilty of all charges. Flores was sentenced to four months in custody and allowed to remain on bond pending the resolution of his appeal.

“The integrity of the procurement process is not for sale,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “Those who trade bribes for government contracts undermine our warfighters and betray the American taxpayer—and they will be held accountable.”

"The successful prosecution of Mr. Flores underscores the serious consequences for undermining the integrity of the Department of Defense’s procurement process. This outcome serves as a significant deterrent to any individual who would exploit their position for personal financial gain at the expense of U.S. taxpayers," said John E. Helsing, Special Agent in Charge for the DoD Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Western Field Office. “DCIS remains committed to working with the United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners to root out public corruption within the DoD.”

"The integrity of our defense acquisitions is built on fairness and transparency, but Mr. Flores’ illicit bribery scheme eroded that foundation and betrayed the public's trust,” said Special Agent in Charge Greg Gross of the NCIS Economic Crimes Field Office. “NCIS remains steadfast in protecting the Department of the Navy procurement process by holding wrongdoers accountable and ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent in accordance with the law.”

“Today’s sentence sends a clear message: Anyone who exploits a position of trust to fuel personal greed will be found and held accountable,” said Marcus Sykes, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,  Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Funneling money into bribery schemes instead of delivering promised services undermines the integrity of federal programs. HHS-OIG will continue collaborating with our law enforcement partners to pursue justice against those who defraud the American people.”

"This sentencing shows what happens when someone abuses the system for personal gain. Philip Flores cheated taxpayers and hurt fair competition for government contracts,” said Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Los Angeles Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation remains steadfast in working with our law enforcement partners to follow the money, expose corruption, and ensure that those who exploit positions of trust are held fully accountable."

“Fraud and bribery have no place in SBA programs. SBA-OIG is committed to protecting the integrity of the 8(a) program and ensuring these opportunities benefit eligible small businesses,” said SBA Inspector General William Kirk. “We will continue partnering with DOJ and law enforcement to pursue accountability and safeguard taxpayer funds.”

“The 8(a) Program is designed for legitimate small businesses in federal contracting – not as a vehicle for DEI, bribery, or political agendas,” said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. “SBA is grateful to our law enforcement partners for their work to stop fraud and put criminals behind bars. We will continue to audit participants and investigate the 8(a) Program, while implementing oversight and accountability on behalf of America’s taxpayers and job creators.”

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick C. Swan and Carling E. Donovan.

DEFENDANT                                    Case Number 23-cr-2282-TWR-2                          

Philip Flores                                       Age: 53                                   Nashville, TN

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Conspiracy to Commit Bribery - Title 18, U.S.C., Section 371

Maximum penalty: Five years in prison; a maximum $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the offense, whichever is greatest.

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Defense Criminal Investigative Service

Naval Criminal Investigative Service

Small Business Administration – Office of Inspector General

Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation

Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General

If you have information regarding fraud, waste, or abuse relating to Department of Defense personnel or operations, please contact the DoD Hotline at 800-424-9098

SAN DIEGO – Leslie Kay Peterson, a U.S. citizen who was living in La Paz, Mexico, pleaded guilty in federal court today to fraud charges, admitting that he created a false identity in the 1970s to evade a warrant for his arrest and illegally collect social security.

In his plea agreement, Peterson, 72, admitted that he used a forged birth certificate to apply for a new social security number under the name “Ronald Allen Steele” to avoid arrest after he violated terms of his probation for robbery in 1978.

The Social Security Administration assigned “Steele” a social security number in 1978, and after fleeing the country, Peterson used his new false identity to apply for a United States passport in Honduras. In 2018, Peterson applied for Retirement Insurance Benefits from the Social Security Administration as “Steele” and collected his benefits while living as a permanent resident in Mexico.

Once officials discovered his deception, Peterson was arrested while crossing the border on November 23, 2025, using the fraudulently issued passport in the “Steele” identity. He has remained in custody since his arrest.

As a part of his plea agreement, Peterson has agreed to pay restitution to the Social Security Administration in the amount of $130,632.80, representing all money fraudulently paid to him as “Ronald Allen Steele” since 2018.  Sentencing is scheduled for April 3, 2026, at 9:00 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Robert S. Huie.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kete and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey D. Hill.

DEFENDANT                                                            Case Number 25-CR-4751-RSH

Leslie Kay Peterson (aka Ronald Allen Steele)         Age: 72                       La Paz, Mexico

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Social Security Fraud – Title 42, United States Code, Section 408(a)(4)

Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and a $262,265 fine

Passport Fraud – Title 18, United States Code, Section 1542

Maximum Penalty: Ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Department of State – State Diplomatic Security Service

Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General

SAN DIEGO – Victor Marion, aka “Vic,” pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting he participated in an international fraud and money laundering scheme that tricked elderly victims in the U.S. out of more than $42 million.

In November 2025, Marion was charged alongside 21 other alleged coconspirators. Marion, the lead defendant, pleaded guilty to both a mail and wire fraud conspiracy and a money laundering conspiracy.

According to public documents, this case arises from a San Diego Elder Justice Task Force investigation into a long-running Indian call center scam operated from Dubai and India that targeted elderly individuals in the United States. The fraud scheme is alleged to have generated pop-up advertisements on individuals’ computers that directed them to call for technical support where scammers posed as technical support representatives (e.g., Microsoft, McAfee, etc.).

After scamming victims out of several hundred dollars in technical support payments, the scammers conducted yet another scam by claiming the victims were owed a refund. Rather than issuing refunds, scammers used remote desktop software to make it appear as if victims received tens of thousands of dollars more than they were entitled. Using a variety of techniques, scammers then baited victims into mailing and wiring those fake refund overages to money transmitters in the United States, including the large cell led by Marion in San Diego.  While the full scope of the scam is still being uncovered, the FBI has identified over 500 victims and obtained approximately 100,000 recorded calls between the scammers and potential victims.

In his plea agreement, Marion admitted to participating knowingly in the mail and wire fraud as well as the money laundering portion of the scam for an organization that targeted elderly individuals. As set forth in his plea agreement, Marion assisted coconspirators in registering shell companies and opening bank accounts aimed at receiving fraud funds. In exchange, Marion retained a percentage of the fraud funds flowing through those San Diego-based shell companies’ accounts.

In addition to operating a money laundering cell, public documents alleged that Marion travelled to Thailand with others where he met the foreign organizers of the scheme. On that trip, the foreign organizers treated Marion and his group to high-end tourist activities, including petting Tigers and throwing stacks of money into the air on the stage at Thai clubs (below left – Marion depicted in a Thai club; below right – Marion depicted petting a tiger):

In his plea agreement, Marion admitted that he travelled to Asia with others to meet the foreign organizers of the scheme and learn how to conduct the fraud itself. And, while there, he learned how to conduct the refund portion of the fraud.

This case was investigated by the San Diego Elder Justice Task Force and its member agencies, including the U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI, San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, and San Diego Police Department.

A sentencing hearing for Marion is scheduled for April 10, 2026, at 9:30 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Todd W. Robinson.

If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available through the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833 FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). You can also report fraud to any local law enforcement agency or on the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

The FBI requests that victims report:

• The name of the person or company that contacted you.
• Methods of communication used, including websites, emails, and telephone numbers.
• Any bank account number(s) to which you wired funds and the recipient name(s).

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley E. Goff and Shivanjali A. Sewak.

DEFENDANT                                    Case Number 25cr4061-TWR-1                             

Victor Marion                                     Age: 43                                              San Diego, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Mail and Wire Fraud Conspiracy – Title 18, U.S.C., Sections 1349 and 2326

Maximum Penalty: Forty years in prison and $1 million fine

Money Laundering Conspiracy – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1956(h)

Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $500,000 fine or twice the amount of monetary instruments involved in the offense, whichever is greatest

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Federal Bureau of Investigation

San Diego Elder Justice Task Force

San Diego County District Attorney’s Office
San Diego Police Department

SAN DIEGO – Zhao Wang, aka “Oscar,” pleaded guilty in federal court today and admitted he participated in a $27 million fraud and money laundering scheme targeting approximately 2,000 elderly victims across the United States.  Wang, a Chinese national, is the lead defendant charged in a five-defendant indictment unsealed in 2024.

According to public documents, members of the conspiracy operated a series of technical support, bank impersonation and government impersonation, and refund scams targeting elderly victims.  Victims received unsolicited phone calls, emails, and pop-up ads directing victims to call a phone number.  Unbeknownst to the victims, those phone numbers belonged to India-based scam call centers. Once a victim called the call center, members of the conspiracy used social engineering techniques to build trust with victims.  In many instances, the conspirators had victims download commercially available remote desktop software, which the conspirators used to access victims’ computers and to carry on the scams.

One of the most frequent scams was a refund scam.  In the refund scams, victims were told they were entitled to a small refund, for example, from a retailer for an alleged unauthorized charge. While pretending to process the refund, the victim would be accidentally “over-refunded” money.  The conspirators would then instruct the victim to send the alleged over-refunded money through wire transfers or in cash via express mail to members of the conspiracy.  In reality, the victims had been refunded any money and victims were scammed into sending their own money.

Victims were instructed to send the alleged over-refunded money via wire transfers and in bulk cash via express mail packages to members of the conspiracy, including defendant Zhao Wang, in the United States.  When a victim was duped into sending bulk cash in the mail, Wang would provide his India-based co-conspirators a fictitious name plus an address of a retail location that could accept express mail packages.  Those names and addresses would then be relayed to the victims, who were instructed to express mail the bulk cash.  Then, once a victim had sent the cash in the mail, Wang and his co-conspirators would use fake IDs to get the packages of cash sent by the elderly victims.

In his plea agreement, Wang admitted that he obtained the fake IDs personally and provided them to his co-conspirators.  Wang also admitted that he coordinated and oversaw the activities and recruited others, including his co-defendants, to work on his behalf in furtherance of the fraud scheme.

Investigators identified over 2,000 elderly victims from throughout the country, including victims in San Diego, who were defrauded and suffered over $27 million in losses over an approximately two-year period between 2021-2023.

In publicly filed documents, Wang also admitted that after receiving the fraud proceeds, he and his co-conspirators laundered the money using cryptocurrency back to their foreign-based counterparts.

Wang admitted that typically each day after collecting victim packages, Wang’s co-conspirators would deliver the money from the packages to him.  Wang would then coordinate with his foreign-based co-conspirators, who would provide a cryptocurrency wallet that Wang would use to transfer cryptocurrency.  Wang took upwards of 18% of the fraud proceeds and transferred the rest via cryptocurrency to his co-conspirators.  Wang also admitted that he laundered the proceeds to promote the fraud scheme by using fraud proceeds to pay co-conspirators and to purchase the fake IDs used in the scheme.

Wang and his four co-defendants were charged by indictment in June 2024.  In August 2024, federal agents conducted a nationwide takedown of this investigation, which led to Wang’s arrest in Las Vegas, Nevada.

A sentencing hearing for Zhao Wang is scheduled for April 3, 2026, at 9:00 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Robert S. Huie.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mokhtari.

DEFENDANTS                                             

Case Number 24-cr-1317-RSH-01

Zhao Wang, aka “Oscar”                                Age: 41                                   Las Vegas, NV

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Conspiracy to Commit Mail and Wire Fraud – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1349, 2326

Maximum Penalties: Forty years in prison; $1 million fine

Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1956(a)(1)(A)(i), 1956(a)(1)(B)(i) and 1956(h)

Maximum Penalties: Twenty years in prison; maximum fine of $500,000 or twice the amount laundered

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of Inspector General

Homeland Security Investigations

San Diego County District Attorney’s Office
San Diego County Sheriff’s Department

San Diego Police Department

San Diego Elder Justice Task Force

Chino Police Department

Coronado Police Department

Escondido Police Department

Glendora Police Department

Long Beach Police Department

Orange County Sheriff’s Department

SAN DIEGO – Jinchao Wei, a former U.S. Navy sailor who was convicted of espionage by a federal jury in August 2025, was sentenced in federal court today to 200 months in prison.

Wei, 25, also known as Patrick Wei, was arrested in August 2023 on espionage charges as he arrived for work on the amphibious assault ship U.S.S. Essex at Naval Base San Diego, the homeport of the Pacific Fleet. He was indicted by a federal grand jury, accused of selling national defense information to an intelligence officer working for the People’s Republic of China for $12,000.

Following a five-day trial and one day of deliberation, the jury convicted Wei of six crimes, including conspiracy to commit espionage, espionage, and unlawful export of, and conspiracy to export, technical data related to defense articles in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. He was found not guilty of one count of naturalization fraud.

“Members of the United States military swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This active-duty U.S. Navy sailor betrayed his country and compromised the national security of the United States. The Justice Department will not tolerate this behavior. We stand ready to investigate, defend, and protect the interests of the American people.”

“Wei swore loyalty to the United States when he joined the Navy and reaffirmed that oath when he became a citizen,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “He then accepted the solemn responsibility of protecting this Nation’s secrets when the United States entrusted him with sensitive Navy information.  He made a mockery of these commitments when he chose to endanger our Nation and our servicemembers by selling U.S. military secrets to a Chinese intelligence officer for personal profit. Today’s sentence reflects our commitment to ensuring those who sell our Nation’s secrets pay a very high price for their betrayal.”

“He betrayed his oath, his shipmates, the United States Navy, and the American people — a level of disloyalty that strikes at the heart of our national security and demanded this powerful sentence,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon.

“By sharing thousands of documents, operating manuals, and export-controlled and sensitive information with a Chinese intelligence officer, Petty Officer Wei knowingly betrayed his fellow service members and the American people,” said NCIS Director Omar Lopez. “Today’s outcome demonstrates the shared commitment of NCIS, FBI, the Department of Justice and our Intelligence partners to aggressively pursue and hold accountable those who would put the lethality and readiness of our Naval fleet, as well as our national security, at risk. NCIS remains steadfast in its mission to protect U.S. Navy and Marine Corps forces and warfighting capabilities by neutralizing counterintelligence threats ashore, afloat and in cyberspace.”

“Today’s sentence marks the conclusion of a first-of-its-kind espionage investigation in the district and reflects the seriousness of Wei’s egregious actions against his own country,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark Dargis, of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “The FBI will aggressively defend our homeland from anyone threatening our national security, including those on the inside betraying their sworn duty to the United States. We remain steadfast in protecting the American people and will continue to work with all our law enforcement partners to successfully carry out this mission.”

According to evidence presented at trial, Wei, in his role as a machinist’s mate, held a U.S. security clearance and had access to sensitive national defense information about the ship’s weapons, propulsion and desalination systems. Amphibious assault ships like the Essex resemble small aircraft carriers and allow the U.S. military to project power and maintain presence by serving as the cornerstone of the U.S. Navy’s amphibious readiness and expeditionary strike capabilities.

On February 14, 2022, Wei was recruited by a Chinese intelligence officer via social media who at first portrayed himself as a naval enthusiast who worked for the state-owned China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation. The evidence showed that even during the early days of his espionage career, Wei strongly suspected the intelligence officer’s true identity and motive.

On February 22, 2022, Wei told a friend who was also in the U.S. Navy that he thought he was “on the radar of a China intelligence organization,” as he was in contact with an individual who was “extremely suspicious,” “interested in the maintenance cycle of naval ships,” and wanted him to “walk the pier” to “see which ships are docked” on a “daily basis.” Wei said that this person would pay him $500. Wei told his friend that he is “no idiot” and that “this is quite obviously fucking espionage.”

Wei’s friend suggested that Wei delete the contact. Instead of heeding his friend’s advice, the next day Wei transitioned his communications with the intelligence officer to a different encrypted messaging application that he believed was more secure and began spying for the intelligence officer.

The evidence showed that between March 2022 and when he was arrested in August 2023, Wei, at the request of the intelligence officer, sent photographs and videos of the Essex, advised the officer of the location of various Navy ships, and described the defensive weapons of the Essex. He also described problems with his ship and other ships based at Naval Base San Diego and elsewhere. And, he sent the intelligence officer thousands of pages of technical and operational information about U.S. Navy surface warfare ships like the Essex that he took from restricted U.S. Navy computer systems.

In exchange for this information, the officer paid Wei more than $12,000 over 18 months. In one of his larger thefts of U.S. Navy data, Wei sold the intelligence officer at least 30 technical and operating manuals about U.S. Navy systems. These manuals contained export control warnings and detailed the operations of multiple systems aboard the Essex and similar ships, including power, steering, weapons control, aircraft and deck elevators, as well as damage and casualty controls. In total, Wei sold the intelligence officer approximately 60 technical and operating manuals about U.S. Navy ships, as well as dozens of photographs and papers about the U.S. Navy and Wei’s assignments on the Essex. Many of the manuals contained conspicuous export-control warnings on their cover pages.

During the trial, the government presented evidence including phone conversations, electronic messages, and audio messages that Wei exchanged with his Chinese handler. These messages showed how they communicated, what they spoke about, the need for secrecy, the efforts they made to cover their tracks, the tasks issued by his case handler, and how Wei was paid for his work via an online payment method.

As their relationship developed, Wei called his handler “Big Brother Andy” and obliged requests to keep their relationship secret by using multiple encrypted apps; deleting messages and accounts; using digital “dead drops” that disappear in 72 hours; and using a new computer and phone provided by his handler.

The government told the jury that the evidence showed Wei was aware that what he was doing was wrong. He had received recent training from the Navy regarding how to detect recruitment efforts from foreign governments; he attempted to conceal his activity; and he searched the internet about another case in which a U.S. Navy sailor was convicted of espionage, even reading a Department of Justice press release about that case.

Much of the evidence showed the evolution of Wei’s relationship with his handler - Wei’s increasing willingness to collect more and more sensitive information, and the intelligence officer’s employment of intelligence tradecraft to keep developing Wei as a spy and to conceal their relationship and activities from U.S. authorities. For example, the jury saw photographs of the hand-written receipts that Wei created and sent to his handler to be paid and conversations that Wei and his handler had regarding the handler’s increasingly generous offers to Wei, such as a trip for Wei and his mother to travel to China. Moreover, the jury was presented with documents and records obtained from electronic accounts demonstrating the intelligence officer’s identity as a PRC intelligence officer, including photographs and identification documents.

During his post-arrest interview Wei admitted that he gave the intelligence officer thousands of pages of technical and operating manuals and export-controlled data about U.S. Navy surface warfare ships, and that the intelligence officer paid him thousands of dollars for these materials. He also admitted that he knew that his actions were wrong and that he had tried to hide his activities. When the interviewing agents asked Wei how he would describe what he had been doing with the intelligence officer, Wei responded, “espionage.”

Wei, during his post-arrest interview with FBI and NCIS: “I’m screwed.”

FBI: “What makes you say that?”

Wei: “That I’m sharing the unclassified document to—I mean document with, uhm, him . . . I’m not supposed to do that.”

The crime of espionage under U.S. Code Section 794 has never been charged in this district. The statute is reserved for the most serious circumstances involving the passage of national defense information intended to harm the United States or for the benefit of a foreign power.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parmley from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California and Adam Barry, former Trial Attorney from the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section who is currently Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Columbia.

The U.S. Department of State, the Transportation Security Administration and Homeland Security Investigations provided valuable assistance.

DEFENDANT                                       Case Number             23CR01471-H

Jinchao Wei                                            Age: 25                        San Diego

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Conspiracy to Commit Espionage – Title 18, United States Code, Section 794(c)

Maximum Penalty: Life in prison, $250,000 fine

Count 1 - GUILTY

Espionage – Title 18, U.S.C., Sec. 794(a)

Maximum Penalty: Life in prison and $250,000

Count 2 - GUILTY

Conspiracy to Export Defense Articles without a License -- Title 22, U.S.C., Sec. 2778(b)(2) and (c) and Title 22, C.F.R., Secs. 121.1, 127.1 and 127.3

Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison and $1 million fine

Count 3 - GUILTY

Exporting Defense Articles without a License -- Title 22, U.S.C., Sec. 2778(b)(2) and (c) and

Title 22, C.F.R., Secs. 121.1, 127.1 and 127.3

Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison and $1 million fine

Counts 4, 5 and 6 - GUILTY

Naturalization Fraud – Title 18, United States Code, Section 1425 (a)

Maximum Penalty: Ten years in prison, $250,000 fine, and order of denaturalization

Count 7 – NOT GUILTY

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Naval Criminal Investigative Service

SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 53 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America’s eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico’s second largest city).

In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.

A sample of border-related arrests this week:

• On January 5, Jesus Fernando Alfaro Ramirez, a Mexican citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers discovered 151 packages containing 153 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in the defendant’s vehicle as he tried to enter the U.S. through the Tecate Port of Entry.
• On January 5, Noe Gastelum-Ruelas and Noe Talamante Patron, citizens of Mexico, were arrested and charged with Attempted Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain. According to a complaint, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted a stranded panga style boat off the coast of Point Loma. The defendants are the alleged captains of the boat that was transporting seven undocumented immigrants from Mexico, Romania and China.
• On January 6, Antonio Cueto-Parra was arrested and charged with Deported Alien Found in the United States. According to a complaint, the defendant was apprehended by a U.S. Border Patrol agent near Dulzura after a brief foot chase.  He was previously deported in April 2020.

The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.

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

SAN DIEGO – Torrence Ivy HATCH (aka “Boosie”, aka “Lil Boosie”, aka “Boosie Badazz”) was sentenced in federal court today for violating Title 18, U.S.C., Section 922(g)(1), Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition. District Court Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo sentenced HATCH to 3-years’ supervised release, 300-hours of community service, and a $50,000 fine.

According to a plea agreement, on or about May 6, 2023, within the Southern District of California, HATCH, knowing his status as a convicted felon, did knowingly possess a firearm, a Glock-19 pistol, that traveled in and affected interstate commerce. The firearm was loaded with ten 9-millimeter caliber rounds of ammunition; in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1).

On or about May 6, 2023, San Diego Police identified HATCH while watching the Instagram Live of a known member of the “Neighborhood Crip” street gang. HATCH was seen in the Instagram Live with a gun tucked in his waistband as he appeared to be filming a music video.

Officers determined where the video was being recorded and conducted a traffic stop on HATCH and who he sated was his security detail. When asked by officers, HATCH denied having any weapons, but his security detail turned over a bag containing a 9-millimeter Springfield “Hellcat,” loaded with seven rounds of ammunition and not registered in California. All occupants were removed from the vehicle, and during a search of the vehicle, officers located a 9-millimeter Glock 19 pistol in the backseat of the car, where HATCH had been seated. Following the search, officers placed HATCH, whose prior criminal convictions include a 2011 felony drug trafficking conviction, under arrest for felon in possession of a firearm.

Following his arrest and while at the police station, officers observed HATCH threatening his security detail including threatening to put “10K” on their head and put them in a “body bag.” HATCH told agents all the firearms had been in the possession of his security detail the entire time.

Agents later determined that the gun found in the back seat of the vehicle was the same firearm HATCH had in his waistband during the filming of the music video, that HATCH’s DNA was found on both firearms, and that the firearms were purchased by HATCH’s girlfriend in Georgia, and not his security detail. HATCH ultimately admitted the 9-millimeter Glock 19 pistol found on the seat where he was sitting was the same firearm he possessed in the video.

“Our office remains committed to enforcing federal firearm laws to protect public safety and ensure that prohibited individuals are held accountable when they violate those laws,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon.

DEFENDANTS                                       Case Number 24CR1508-CAB                                        

Torrence Ivy Hatch                               Age: 43                                   Palmetto, GA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Felon in Possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1)

Maximum penalties: 10 years custody $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release; Mandatory Special Assessment of $100; Forfeiture

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

San Diego Police Department

SAN DIEGO – Nameer Mohammad Atta was sentenced in federal court today to 20 years in prison for distributing the fentanyl that led to the fatal overdose of a 26-year-old active-duty lance corporal in the United States Marine Corps on May 21, 2020.

When handing down the sentence, U.S. District Judge Ruth Bermudez Montenegro told the defendant he “needs to take accountability for his actions.” Judge Montenegro also highlighted the “devastation caused by the defendant’s conduct” by profiting from his prolific sales of fentanyl.

A jury convicted Atta after a two-day trial in September 2022.

According to evidence presented at trial, Atta sold counterfeit “M30” pills in April and May 2020 to the Marine, identified in court records as C.M.R., knowing that these pills were counterfeit oxycodone pills that contained illicit fentanyl. Atta used social media to market and arrange sales of these pills, referring to them as the “most trusted” in San Diego, and in text messages as the “most trusted” and “most potent” in the area. Atta referred to these pills as “M30s,” “Percs” and “Perc30s,” nicknames for fentanyl-laced pills. Atta’s final sale to C.M.R. occurred on May 20, 2020. C.M.R. died from an overdose the next day.

“The defendant’s decision to sell fentanyl resulted in the tragic loss of a young United States Marine,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “When a dealer chooses to distribute a poison they know can kill, the consequences should be measured in decades, not years. This sentence reflects the gravity of that loss and the value of the life that was taken.”

“This was a selfish, deliberate act,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge James Nunnallee. “The defendant chose to market deadly fentanyl pills on social media, fully aware of the risk, and a young Marine is dead as a result. We will continue to hold accountable those who use market this deadly poison and show complete disregard for human life.”

“Those who ruthlessly disregard others’ safety by distributing fentanyl for personal gain must be held to account,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael Payne of the NCIS Marine Corps West Field Office. “NCIS and our partners remain committed to aggressively investigating any individual or entity complicit in the illicit distribution of substances that pose significant threats to the readiness and security of Department of the Navy personnel, families, and local communities.”

“HSI remains steadfast in its collaboration with our federal, state, and local partners to ensure that individuals who distribute lethal doses of fentanyl are held fully accountable for their actions,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin Murphy. “This sentence underscores the gravity of fentanyl distribution, the impact it has in our communities, and HSI’s commitment to pursuing those responsible for distributing the deadly drug.”

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Sutton. Former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Owen Roth and J’me K. Forrest contributed significantly to the case.

DEFENDANT                                                                                 Case Number 21-cr-1289-RBM                       

Nameer Mohammad Atta             Age: 25                   San Diego, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Distribution of Fentanyl Resulting in Death – Title 21, U.S. Code, Sections 841(a)(1) & (b)(1)(C)

Maximum Penalty: Life in prison, with mandatory minimum 20 years in custody

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Naval Criminal Investigative Service

Drug Enforcement Administration

Homeland Security Investigations

SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 72 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America’s eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico’s second largest city).

In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.

A sample of border-related arrests this week:

• On December 29, Kara Elizabeth Pasco, a United States citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers found 35 packages of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl concealed in the quarter panels, floors and back driver seat of her vehicle as she tried to cross into the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
• On December 27, Carlos Mata, a Mexican citizen, was arrested and charged with Deported Alien Found in the United States. According to a complaint, Border Patrol agents found Mata hiding in the bushes in an area north of the border near Otay Mesa. The defendant was previously deported in November 2025.
• On December 28, Francisco Javier Hernandez, a Mexican citizen, was arrested and charged with Transportation of Illegal Aliens. According to a complaint, Border Patrol agents encountered Hernandez and other undocumented immigrants hiding in thick brush near the border to evade the agents. The agents determined that Hernandez was guiding the others.

The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.

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

SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 79 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America’s eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico’s second largest city).

In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.

A sample of border-related arrests this week:

• On December 12, Sujey Velazquez and Sarah Joanne Cairo, U.S.  citizens, were arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance as they tried to cross the border through the pedestrian lanes at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. According to a complaint, following an alert from a narcotics detection dog, Customs and Border Protection officers discovered the women had hidden fentanyl in body cavities.
• On December 18, Jacob Romero Ocampo, a U.S. citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers found 85 packages containing 38 pounds of methamphetamine and 22 pounds of fentanyl concealed in the firewall, doors, passenger floor, seats and rear bumper of Ocampo’s vehicle as he tried to cross into the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
• On December 18, Guadalupe Maria Ceja, a U.S. citizen, was arrested and charged with Transportation of Illegal Aliens. According to a complaint, Ceja failed to yield when Border Patrol agents activated lights and siren. Her vehicle came to a stop near the Pine Valley Bridge on Interstate 8 after agents deployed a vehicle immobilization device. There were two undocumented immigrants in her vehicle.
• On December 18, Joel Bernardo Trejo-Cazares, a Mexican citizen, was arrested and charged with Attempted Entry after Deportation. According to a complaint, Trejo-Cazares attempted to enter the U.S. illegally in the trunk of a car at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. The defendant had been removed from the United States the day before.

Also recently, some defendants with criminal records were convicted by a jury or sentenced for border-related crimes such as illegally re-entering the U.S. after previous deportation. Here is one:

• On December 19, Ricardo Macario Vazquez, a Mexican national with six prior DUI convictions, two domestic violence convictions, and two prior convictions for illegal reentry, was sentenced in federal court to 21 months in custody for again entering the U.S. illegally. 

The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.

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

SAN DIEGO – Two teenage gang members pleaded guilty in federal court today to murder and attempted murder charges, admitting they were acting as hired hitmen for the Sinaloa Cartel when they made two attempts in five hours to kill the cartel’s target. Two people were wounded and one was fatally shot during the incidents, first at a Chula Vista restaurant and then at the target’s nearby luxury apartment.

According to their plea agreements, on March 26, 2024, 15-year-olds Andrew Nunez and Johncarlo Quintero—members of the Mexican Mafia-affiliated Westside Wilmas gang from the greater Los Angeles area—drove from Wilmington, California to a Chili’s restaurant in Chula Vista, where their target was dining with his family.

When the target, identified in court records as Victim 1, and his family were leaving the Chili’s restaurant, Quintero and Nunez pulled up behind them in the parking lot. Quintero got out of the car and fired a single bullet that struck Victim 1’s legs. After that single shot, Quintero’s firearm jammed, and he was unable to unjam the weapon in time to shoot Victim 1 again. Quintero got back into the car Nunez was driving, and Nunez attempted unsuccessfully to hit and kill Victim 1 with the vehicle. Quintero and Nunez then fled the scene.

Later that night, in the early hours of March 27, 2024, the teen hitmen showed up at the intended victim’s home to finish the job. They were joined this time by an older accomplice, 28-year-old Ricardo Sanchez. Each gang member expected to be paid approximately $50,000. The trio approached Victim 1’s home, carrying at least one firearm apiece.

Victim 1’s family (including Victim 2 and Victim 3, a minor) and friend (Victim 4) were present in the home. Sanchez banged on the front door, and once Victim 4 responded, Quintero and Nunez shot at Victim 4 and fired indiscriminately at Victim 1’s family home. According to the plea agreements, Nunez and Quintero acted with the intent of ending the life of Victim 4 and anyone within the kill zone they created in targeting Victim 1. Victim 4 was shot in the hand, arm, and face by Quintero and Nunez, but he survived. In response to Quintero and Nunez’s actions, Victim 4 shot toward Nunez, Quintero and Sanchez to protect himself and the others within the home and, in so doing, Victim 4 shot and killed Sanchez—a provocative-act murder to which Nunez and Quintero pleaded guilty. After that, the hitmen fled the scene.

Nunez and Quintero pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Victim 1 and Victim 4, and to the murder of Sanchez, for knowingly and intentionally engaging in the provocative acts described above.

The defendants admitted their purpose in committing the attempted murder was to gain entrance to, to maintain, and to increase their positions in the Westside Wilmas gang. They also admitted they were tapped to murder Victim 1 because they were minors and, specifically, only 15 at the time. According to admissions in their plea agreements, the defendants knew—if apprehended for this conduct—that they were ineligible to be transferred to adult status under the laws of the State of California because they were under the age of 16 at the time of the offense. For example, among other discussions Nunez had with his co-defendant after being arrested, Nunez and Quintero talked about not being able to “catch a…707” because of their age at the time, which referred to not being subject to adult transfer under California Welfare & Institutions Code Section 707.

“In 2018, the California Legislature enacted Senate Bill 1391, which made state prosecutions of 14- and 15-year-olds in adult criminal court a practical impossibility regardless of the seriousness of the crime,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “SB 1391 created perverse incentives, and today’s plea agreements are proof that the Sinaloa Cartel and a hyper-violent criminal street gang controlled by the Mexican Mafia responded to these incentives. They recruited 15-year-olds to conduct a gangland assassination in San Diego for $50,000 each. The brutal realities of cartel and gang violence demand a response, not a reprieve. The Department of Justice will federally prosecute - as adults - juveniles who commit violent acts on behalf of cartels, the Mexican Mafia, or criminal street gangs.”

“Today’s guilty pleas reflect the FBI’s sustained commitment in working with our law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate, dismantle and eliminate these violent groups and keep our neighborhoods safe,” said Mark Dargis, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “The disgraceful tactic of cartels, street gangs, and the Mexican Mafia using underage children for murderous acts to evade enhanced punishments will not be tolerated. These violent crimes have no place in our communities and criminal gangs will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

“This outcome is the result of outstanding and tireless work by our investigative team and close coordination with our regional and federal partners,” said Chula Vista Police Chief Roxana Kennedy. “Together, we remain committed to holding violent criminals accountable for their actions.”

The defendants were charged with Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering and Murder in Aid of Racketeering (VICAR murder) because they conducted the hits for the purpose of promoting the Westside Wilmas Enterprise. In association with the Mexican Mafia, the Enterprise engages in drug trafficking, weapons distribution, the collection and transfer of “taxes” and narcotics proceeds, armed assaults, and murders for the Enterprise, which was the Wilmas gang. Enterprise members are also aware that juvenile gang members, particularly those under the age of 16, can be subject to significantly less custodial time than adults would in California state courts even if found guilty of the commission of violent offenses.

The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on March 20, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Todd Robinson.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley Goff, Peter Horn and Joshua Mellor.

DEFENDANTS                                             Case Number 25cr4822-TWR

Andrew Nunez

aka “Shooter,” aka “Felon,”                           Age: 16                                   Wilmington, CA

Johncarlo Quintero                                         Age: 17                                   Wilmington, CA

aka “Dumper”

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering (Title 18, U.S.C., Secs.  1959(a)(5) and 2)

Two counts

Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison, $250,000 fine

Murder in Aid of Racketeering (Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 1959(a)(1) and 2).

One count

Maximum penalty: Death or life in prison; $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Chula Vista Police Department

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

United States Marshals Service

California Highway Patrol

*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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. HSTF San Diego comprises agents and officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Department of Defense, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Interpol, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.

SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 98 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America’s eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico’s second largest city).

In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.

A sample of border-related arrests this week:

• On December 6, Rodrigo Banuelos Garrafa and Anselmo Ramirez Romero, Mexican nationals, were arrested and charged with Attempted Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain during a maritime smuggling event. In the same incident, Jose Luis Castro-Lopez, Sandra Morales Tellez, Lidia Manuela Reyes Aroche and Daniela Tocohua Perez – also Mexican nationals - were arrested and charged with Attempted Entry after Deportation. According to a complaint, 11 people aboard a 26-foot vessel were intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard about 22 miles west of San Diego. Banuelos Garrafa was identified as the boat captain; Ramirez Romero as the co-captain. The defendants plus five other passengers were transported to the Ballast Point Coast Guard station and turned over to Border Patrol.
• On December 9, Jesus Guadalupe Quintero Gastelum, a Mexican national, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry found 46 packages concealed in the wooden planks of a flatbed trailer being towed by the defendant’s truck when he attempted to cross the border. The packages contained 453 pounds of methamphetamine.
• On December 10, Gagik Verdyan, a citizen of Armenia, was arrested and charged with Deported Alien Found in the United States. Verdyan was intercepted by San Pascual Tribal Police and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Verdyan was previously removed from the U.S. in 2017 from New York City.

Also recently, some defendants with criminal records were sentenced for border-related crimes such as illegally re-entering the U.S. after previous deportation. Here’s an example:

• On December 12, Jonathan Ivan Moreno-Hernandez, who was previously convicted of assault, attempted murder, voluntary manslaughter, theft, and vandalism, was sentenced in federal court to 18 months imprisonment for again entering the United States illegally.

The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.

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

SAN DIEGO – San Diego Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremiah Manuyag Flores was convicted by a federal jury today of violating the civil rights of a man in pretrial custody at the San Diego Central Courthouse by using excessive force that caused serious injuries and then writing a false report to cover up his illegal actions.

The jury deliberated for two hours before finding Flores guilty on both counts against him, including that Flores deprived the victim – identified as 57-year-old J.P. – of his right to due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and of falsifying a record in a federal investigation.

According to evidence presented at trial, Flores was assigned to the Court Services Bureau at the San Diego Central Courthouse on August 29, 2024, and was escorting J.P. to a holding cell following a court hearing. At the time, J.P.’s legs were chained, and his hands were cross-chained to his waist.  At one point, Flores grabbed the back of J.P.’s shirt with both hands and pushed him faster down the hallway leading to the holding cell.

When Flores and J.P. arrived at the open door to the holding cell, Flores forcefully shoved J.P. into the cell from behind with both hands, causing J.P. to fly across the cell, smash headfirst into the wall on the far side, and collapse to the ground. Flores stated, “What? Nothing happened,” to another deputy as the door to the cell closed.  He then walked away, failing to provide medical aid to J.P., and then also failed to immediately report the incident to his supervisor and prepare an official report, all of which are violations of the San Diego Sheriff’s Office’s Use of Force Policy.

According to the indictment, another deputy found J.P. over two hours later lying in the same position in his holding cell with a head wound and a pool of blood on the floor.  As a result of Flores’ actions, J.P. suffered a spinal injury for which he underwent surgery and remained hospitalized for months.

More than an hour after J.P. was discovered in his holding cell, Flores falsely claimed in an incident report that “no force was used” in placing J.P. into the cell, though he knew that he had, indeed, used force against the detainee.

“Today’s verdict makes one thing unmistakably clear: the badge does not excuse brutality,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “When an officer abuses power and inflicts harm on someone in their custody, it is a crime — and this office will hold them accountable.”

“Law enforcement officers are not above the law—they uphold it, and will be held accountable for any actions they take not in line with their sworn duty to protect and serve the public,” said Mark Dargis, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “Today’s conviction confirms the FBI and our law enforcement partners will not stand for anyone who tarnishes the badge and reputations of those who lawfully protect our communities.”

Sentencing is scheduled for April 1, 2026.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth Askins and Michael Deshong.

DEFENDANTS                                             Case Number 25cr0254                                        

Jeremiah Manuyag Flores                               Age: 45                                   La Jolla, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 242

Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison and $250,000 fine

Falsification of Records in a Federal Investigation – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1519

Maximum penalty:  Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Federal Bureau of Investigation

San Diego County Sheriff’s Department (Homicide Unit)

SAN DIEGO – Brian Alexis Patron Lopez, a Mexican National, was sentenced in federal court today to life imprisonment. The sentence comes after a federal jury found Patron guilty for his role in the kidnapping, hostage taking, torture, and murder of 18-year-old M.A.R., a U.S. citizen whose death was punishment for a drug dispute.

The jury deliberated for less than a full day at the end of a seven-day trial. The jury found Patron guilty on all counts, including Intentional Killing While Engaged in Drug Trafficking, Hostage Taking Resulting in Death, and Conspiracy to Commit Hostage Taking Resulting in Death.

“Here’s a wakeup call to drug traffickers and cartel members in Tijuana: You harm an American, you will face American justice,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon, “This sentence appropriately reflects the grim reality of drug trafficking in Tijuana. But, the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to secure justice for crimes against American citizens even if they occur south of the border.”

“Patron’s callous and blatant disregard for human life is unconscionable,” said Mark Dargis, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “Today’s life sentence is the price Patron must pay for such a gruesome attack on a U.S. citizen and the pain inflicted on his family. The FBI will always work relentlessly with our law enforcement partners devoting every available resource, tool, and technique at our disposable to hold violent criminals accountable and seek justice for our citizens.”

The victim was abducted from a hotel in Tijuana, Mexico on May 29, 2020. He was then beaten, tortured, and finally shot to death, all while his attackers sought a ransom from his family. His body was recovered on a hillside in Tijuana six days later.

According to evidence presented at trial, on May 29, 2020, at approximately 11:57 p.m., Patron and others forcibly removed the victim from his hotel room. Patron and others punched, kicked, and pistol-whipped M.A.R. Once subdued, the attackers put M.A.R. in a waiting car and drove away.

Patron and his co-conspirators then drove M.A.R. to Patron’s neighborhood, where they continued to beat and torture M.A.R. At around the same time, Patron and his co-conspirators began to make ransom demands on M.A.R.’s family over texts and calls, with the demand ranging from $2,000 to $3,000 to methamphetamine in exchange for M.A.R.’s release.

In the afternoon of May 30, 2020, Patron and his co-conspirators brought M.A.R. to a different motel and then to an apartment before bringing him to a deserted hillside on the night of May 30, 2020. There, Patron fatally shot M.A.R., even as his family attempted to pay his ransom.

During the trial, the government presented evidence connecting Patron to the crimes, including Facebook messages between Patron and co-conspirators about the crimes, plus surveillance video that captured the kidnapping outside a Tijuana hotel. In that video, Patron wore a jacket that matched the one he wore earlier in the night. Patron’s bracelet was left behind at the kidnapping and was later recovered by law enforcement. Patron was wearing the same bracelet in Facebook photos posted before the murder. Jurors were also presented with the call logs and WhatsApp messages with the ransom demands and proof-of-life evidence.

At sentencing, a member of the victim’s family informed the Court that the Defendant “didn’t just take [the victim’s] life, he took a part of mine.” She continued, explaining that “every day, I wake up with pain that will never go away.” And closed by telling the Court, “I want [the Defendant] to carry the weight of what he did for the rest of his life.”

Judge Hayes addressed the Defendant and told him, “You literally walked the victim to his death.” Judge Hayes explained that the victim must have known at some point that he would be killed and, as the Defendant walked the victim down a deserted Tijuana hillside, the victim “knew that he was going to die alone, left with the trash on the hill.” But the Defendant did not care. “You executed him, turned around, walked up that hill and you left.” Judge Hayes added that the victim’s parents “will live with that until they die.”

Judge Hayes closed by sentencing the Defendant to life, as required by statute, on the hostage-taking resulting in death counts, and 420 months (35 years), followed by five years’ Supervised Release for intentional killing while engaged in drug trafficking. All counts to run concurrent.

Assistant U. S. Attorneys Mario Peia and Alexandra F. Foster prosecuted this case.

DEFENDANT                                            Case Number 21CR1683-WQH

Brian Alexis Patron Lopez                            Age: 24            Tijuana, Mexico

AKA Leobardo Garcia

SUMMARY OF CHARGE

Intentional Killing While Engaged in Drug Trafficking, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 848(e)(1)(A)

Maximum Penalty: Life in Prison

Minimum Penalty: Twenty years in Prison

Hostage Taking Resulting in Death, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1203

Maximum Penalty: Life in Prison

Minimum Penalty: Life in Prison

Conspiracy to Take Hostages Resulting in Death, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1203.

Maximum Penalty: Life in Prison

Minimum Penalty: Life in Prison

INVESTIGATING AGENCY

Federal Bureau of Investigation

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. HSTF San Diego comprises agents and officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Department of Defense, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Interpol, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.

SAN DIEGO – Claudia Patricia Alvarez Hernandez, the wife of incarcerated Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Jorge Alberto Valenzuela Valenzuela, was sentenced in federal court today to 14 years in prison for her role in a massive drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy.

U.S. District Judge Andrew G. Schopler also ordered Alvarez Hernandez to forfeit more than $5 million dollars’ worth of luxury watches, jewelry, vehicles and bulk cash seized during this case. During the hearing, Judge Schopler characterized Alvarez Hernandez’s conduct as “assisting a dangerous and violent cartel.”

This case is part of a long-running investigation targeting the Valenzuela Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO), which was a significant component of the Sinaloa Cartel. The Valenzuela TCO was one of the largest importers of cocaine into the United States. The TCO sourced cocaine and other controlled substances (including fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana) from South America and Mexico, transported the drugs to multiple locations along the U.S.-Mexico border using commercial trucking companies, smuggled the narcotics into the country, and distributed them throughout the U.S. The TCO then smuggled the bulk cash proceeds from its drug trafficking activities back to the TCO’s leadership in Mexico.

According to court records, throughout 2020, the Valenzuela TCO, including one of its leaders, Jorge Alberto Valenzuela Valenzuela (“Jorge”), was engaged in violent conflict with another component of the Sinaloa Cartel led by Ivan Archivaldo Guzman-Salazar. During this conflict, Jorge’s brother and previous TCO leader, Gabriel Valenzuela-Valenzuela, was killed. This led the Valenzuela TCO to procure large quantities of firearms, ammunition, tactical gear, armored vehicles, and ballistic vests. A considerable number of these items were sourced from within the United States and clandestinely smuggled into Mexico, using numerous arms trafficking networks.

As the investigation progressed in 2020, agents began to target private jet aircrafts operated by the TCO. In October 2020, while tracking the movement of one of the aircrafts and conducting surveillance at every stop across the county, agents learned that Jorge was onboard. Agents then coordinated with HSI Boston to arrest Jorge.

On November 5, 2020, a federal grand jury sitting in the Southern District of California returned an indictment charging Jorge with drug trafficking and money laundering offenses (in case number 20-cr-3515-AGS). Jorge subsequently pleaded guilty to all counts and is currently in custody in the Southern District of California pending sentencing.

Following Jorge’s arrest, on November 20, 2020, DEA and HSI agents initiated surveillance at a commercial truck yard being operated by the Valenzuela TCO in the Otay Mesa area of San Diego. Agents ultimately obtained a search warrant for this truck yard and during the search, seized approximately $3,078,880 in bulk U.S. currency, approximately 685 kilograms of cocaine, 24 kilograms of fentanyl, and a pickup truck with a trap gas tank the size of half the truck bed were discovered. The truck yard contained numerous tractors and trailers, along with numerous other vehicles. Inside one of the trailers, agents seized approximately 20,000 rounds of .50 caliber ammunition, along with approximately 427 ballistic plate carriers, approximately 1,000 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition, and approximately 104 magazines for .50 caliber ammunition.

During this multi-year investigation, agents identified Claudia Patricia Alvarez Hernandez as the wife of Jorge and a trusted high-ranking member of the TCO. During the last 20 years, Jorge rose from a low-level drug trafficker to a top Sinaloa Cartel drug kingpin. As part of her relationship with Jorge, Alvarez Hernandez was able to live in luxury (purchasing and enjoying luxury watches, jewelry, high-end residences, dozens of real properties, automobiles, and other items) based on the massive amount of cocaine that Jorge and his organization trafficked.

Following Jorge’s arrest in October 2020, Alvarez Hernandez and other family members became intimately involved in the operation of Jorge’s organization by exercising supervisory authorities over its remaining members and trying to locate and preserve its many illegal assets both in Mexico and the United States. And on November 3, 2020, HSI San Diego executed a search warrant at the residence of Alvarez Hernandez in San Diego County and seized approximately $5 million in the form of high-end luxury watches, jewelry, $220,000 in cash, 17 cellular phones, and an RF Detector, among other items.

To date, this investigation has resulted in the charging of 109 defendants and the seizure of approximately 2,000 kilograms of cocaine and fentanyl, over $16 million in cash, and 21,000 rounds of ammunition.

“Cartel WAGs are in for a rude awakening,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “There is a lie behind their luxury: that they didn’t know. This sentence reflects the reality.”

“Today’s sentencing marks a major step in our efforts to dismantle all factions of the Sinaloa Cartel,” said HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin Murphy. “The defendant played a key role in a violent drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy that brought dangerous narcotics into our communities and fueled cartel violence. The forfeiture of millions in luxury assets and the lengthy prison sentence send a clear message: those who assist and profit from cartel operations will be held accountable. HSI and our partners remain committed to disrupting transnational criminal organizations and protecting public safety.”

“For years Alvarez Hernandez lived in comfort while turning a blind eye to the violence, addiction, and devastation her husband’s cartel inflicted on our communities,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge James Nunnallee. “Today’s 14-year sentence makes clear that those who profit from drug trafficking will be held accountable, whether they are on the front lines or living in luxury. The DEA remains committed to pursuing every individual who enables cartel operations and fuels the suffering of innocent families.”

“Today’s sentencing confirms the extensive and damaging role the defendant played within the Sinaloa Cartel, a dangerous Transnational Criminal Organization infiltrating our communities,” said Mark Dargis, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “Alvarez Hernandez took ownership of her incarcerated husband’s illegal dealings to preserve her way of life, no matter who it hurt. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will not stop until all these dangerous cartel leaders behind the drugs and violence in our neighborhoods are held accountable.”

“Following the money is one of the most effective ways to bring down criminal organizations’” said Tyler Hatcher, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Division for Los Angeles. “Our special agents will continue to work tirelessly to trace and seize millions in illicit proceeds, ensuring that crime does not pay.”

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew J. Sutton and Mikaela Weber.

DEFENDANT                                                                                Case Number 22-cr-01504-AGS                                

Claudia Patricia Alvarez Hernandez                          Age: 38                                   Culiacan, MX

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Conspiracy to Import Cocaine, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §§ 952, 960 and 963.

Maximum Penalty: Mandatory minimum 10 years and up to life in prison, $10 million fine.

Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846.

Maximum Penalty: Mandatory minimum 10 years and up to life in prison, $10 million fine.

Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. 1956(h).

Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison, a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the monetary instrument or funds involved.

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Homeland Security Investigations

Drug Enforcement Administration

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation

United States Marshals Service

Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations

Customs and Border Protection, Office of Border Patrol

Department of Justice, Office of Enforcement Operations

Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs

San Diego County Sheriff’s Department

San Diego Police Department

Border Crime Suppression Team

San Diego County District Attorney’s Office

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. HSTF San Diego comprises agents and officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Department of Defense, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Interpol, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.