District of New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – A federal grand jury sitting in Albuquerque, N.M., filed a superseding indictment on Dec. 5, 2017, in the criminal case against Susan Harris, 71, and Sharon Moore, 62, the co-founders of Ayudando Alpha, Inc., d/b/a “Ayudando Guardians, Inc.” (Ayudando Guardians or Ayudando), a now defunct non-profit Albuquerque-based corporation that provided guardianship, conservatorship and financial management services to hundreds of individuals with special needs.  The superseding indictment amends the original indictment by adding two new defendants, William S. Harris, 56, and Craig M. Young, 52, the husband and son, respectively, of defendant Susan Harris, and five new counts of money laundering.

 

The superseding indictment, which was filed under seal, was unsealed earlier today after the Special Agents of the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation arrested William Harris and Young, both of whom made their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven C. Yarbrough in federal court in Albuquerque this morning.  William Harris and Curtis are scheduled to return to court tomorrow morning for detention hearings, when they also will be arraigned on the superseding indictment.  Moore is scheduled to be arraigned on the superseding indictment on Dec. 11, 2017, and Susan Harris is scheduled for arraignment on Dec. 12, 2017.

 

The Original Indictment

 

The original indictment, which was filed on July 11, 2017, generally alleged that Susan Harris and Moore perpetuated a decade-long sophisticated scheme to embezzle funds from client trust accounts managed by Ayudando Guardians.  According to the indictment, Ayudando Guardians received government benefit payments from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) on behalf of many of its clients, and acted as a fiduciary or representative payee for these clients by paying their expenses and maintaining the balances for the benefit of the clients.  The indictment alleged that Harris and Moore, the primary owners and operators of Ayudando, embezzled millions of dollars from their special needs clients to support lavish lifestyles for themselves and their families. 

 

The original indictment was comprised of 28-counts, including two conspiracy counts, ten counts of mail fraud, ten counts of aggravated identify theft and six counts of money laundering.  It alleged that from Nov. 2006, when Harris and Moore founded Ayudando, and continuing until July 2017, Ayudando, Harris and Moore embezzled millions of dollars from Ayudando client accounts to cover their personal expenses and support lavish lifestyles for themselves and their families.  According to the indictment, Harris and Moore perpetuated the embezzlement scheme by:

• Establishing Ayudando as a non-profit corporation in Nov. 2006, to position it as a guardian, conservator, fiduciary and representative payee for individuals needing assistance with their financial affairs;
• Setting up client trust and company bank accounts which only they controlled;
• Transferring funds from client accounts to Ayudando company accounts;
• Using client funds to pay off more than $4 million in charges on a company credit card account used by Harris, Moore and their families for personal purposes;
• Writing checks from Ayudando company accounts to themselves, cash and to cover personal expenses; replenishing depleted client accounts with funds taken from other clients; mailing fraudulent statements and certifications to the VA; and
• Forging and submitting forged bank statements to the VA.
   

The mail fraud charges in the original indictment described some of the fraudulent documents allegedly mailed by Ayudando, Harris and Moore to the VA to perpetuate and conceal their embezzlement scheme.  For example, between Jan. 2016 and Nov. 2016, Moore allegedly mailed fraudulent documents to the VA that falsely represented the balances in ten client accounts.  The documents falsely claimed that the ten client accounts had an aggregate balance of $1,906,908, when the actual value of the ten accounts was only $72,281.  The original indictment identified the ten client accounts as examples of the fraud allegedly perpetrated by the defendants as part of their embezzlement scheme.

 

According to the original indictment, Ayudando, Harris and Moore also engaged in aggravated identify theft by using their clients’ names, dates of birth, Social Security Numbers and VA file numbers to commit mail fraud offenses.  Harris and Moore also allegedly committed money-laundering offenses by using $392,623 from the Ayudando client reimbursement account to pay off balances on a company credit card used by the defendants and their families for personal purposes. 

 

The original indictment included forfeiture provisions seeking forfeiture to the United States of any proceeds and property involved in, or derived from, the defendants’ unlawful conduct. 

 

The Superseding Indictment

 

The superseding indictment is the result of an ongoing multi-agency investigation by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), VA Office of Inspector General and SSA Office of Inspector General.  It amends the original indictment by adding William Harris and Young as defendants to the two conspiracy counts, ten mail fraud counts, and eight of the ten substantive money laundering counts.  The superseding indictment also adds several new overt acts to Count 1, the conspiracy charge, including the following:

• From Oct. 2010 through July 2017, Susan Harris, Moore and Young allegedly paid Young’s personal mortgage through a series of 83 checks totaling $206,970 from Ayudando bank accounts.
• From March 2013 through July 2017, Susan Harris, William Harris, Moore and Young maintained a private box at the University of New Mexico basketball arena, also known as the “Pit,” and allegedly provided $304,863 in Ayudando client funds to the UNM Lobo Club, UNM Athletic Department, UNM Catering and UNM Ticketing Services. 
• In March 2014, Susan Harris and Moore allegedly invested $100,000 in Ayudando client funds to a fantasy football software company.
• Between July 2014 and July 2017, Susan Harris, William Harris, Moore and Young, allegedly paid $20,900 in Ayudando client funds to William Harris’s mother in exchange for a recreational vehicle.
• Between Nov. 2014 and Oct. 2015, Susan Harris, William Harris and Moore allegedly used $15,700 of Ayudando client funds to pay a New Mexico state tax liability incurred by William Harris while operating an unrelated business.
• In March 2017, Susan Harris, William Harris and Moore allegedly applied for a $250,000 business loan supposedly to expand Ayudando’s business but actually to “pay back” clients from whom they had taken money without authorization. 

 

The superseding indictment also includes the following two new counts of money laundering against Susan Harris and Moore.  Counts 22 and 23 allege that on Feb. 28 and 29, 2016, Susan Harris and Moore engaged in financial transactions intended to conceal that they involved the proceeds of mail fraud when they made payments to the UNM Lobo Club.  It also includes three new counts of money laundering against all four defendants.  Counts 26 and 27 charge the four defendants with engaging in financial transactions involving the alleged $100,000 investment in the fantasy football software company, and Count 30 charges the four defendants with a money laundering charge relating to the use of Ayudando client funds for “Pit” related expenses.

 

The forfeiture provisions in the superseding indictment are amended to seek forfeiture of the following parcels of real estate and the following vehicles: 

• The Albuquerque residence of Susan Harris and William Harris;
• The Albuquerque residence of Moore;
• The Albuquerque residence of Young;
• Two Albuquerque residences owned by Moore;
• A 2018 5th Wheel Vehicle owned by Susan Harris and William Harris; and
• A 2014 Jeep Wrangler.

 

Ayudando Guardian, as a corporate entity, was charged as a defendant in the original indictment but to date has not had an attorney enter an appearance on its behalf.  On July 19, 2017, the USMS took over Ayudando’s business operations under a federal court order authorizing it to operate the business so that its assets were not improperly spent or removed, and so that the interests of Ayudando clients were protected as the prosecution of the criminal case moved forward.  On Aug. 31, 2017, the USMS announced that it was closing the offices of Ayudando Guardians while continuing to be responsible for managing Ayudando’s business affairs under a protective restraining order issued by the federal court.  Ayudando Guardians is not named as a defendant in the superseding indictment.

 

Statutory Penalties for Charges in Superseding Indictment

 

If the defendants are convicted on the crimes charged in the superseding indictment, they face the following maximum statutory penalties:

• Count 1, conspiracy – 30 years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine;
• Counts 2-11, mail fraud – 30 years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine;
• Counts 12-21, aggravated identity theft – a mandatory two-years of imprisonment that must be served consecutive to any other sentence imposed on other counts and a $250,000 fine;
• Counts 22-23, money laundering – 20 years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine  or twice the amount of the property involved in the crime;
• Counts 23-32, money laundering – ten years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine  or twice the amount of the property involved in the crime; and
• Count 33, conspiracy to commit money laundering – ten years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine or twice the amount of the property involved in the crime.

 

Susan Harris and Moore have entered not guilty pleas to the original indictment.  Arraignment hearings on the superseding indictment for the four defendants have not yet been scheduled.

 

The Albuquerque offices of the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation, which resulted in the charges in the superseding indictment, and are leading the continuing investigation.  The Complex Assets Unit and the Albuquerque office of the USMS, the Criminal Investigations Division of the VA Office of Inspector General, and the Dallas Field Division of the SSA Office of Inspector General are assisting in the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeremy Peña and Brandon L. Fyffe are prosecuting the case.

 

Information about the federal investigation into Ayudando Guardians is available at www.justice.gov/usao-nm/ayudando-guardians.

 

Charges in indictments are merely allegations and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

 

Ayudando Superseding Indictment

ALBUQUERQUE – Saul Cerros, 36, of Northglenn, Colo., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 121 months in prison for his conviction on methamphetamine trafficking charges.  Cerros will be on supervised release for five years after completing his prison sentence.

 

Cerros was arrested on Sept. 28, 2016, on a four-count indictment charging him with methamphetamine trafficking offenses.  Cerros was charged with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine from March 27, 2015 through March 31, 2015, and with distributing methamphetamine twice on March 27, 2015, and again on March 31, 2015.  According to the indictment, Cerros committed the offenses in Dona Ana County, N.M.

 

On April 10, 2017, Cerros pled guilty to the indictment.  In entering the guilty plea, Cerros admitted selling an aggregate of 891.56 grams of pure methamphetamine to undercover law enforcement agents on three separate occasions; twice on March 27, 2015, and a third time on March 31, 2015.  Cerros further admitted that he personally smuggled the methamphetamine involved in one of the drug deals into the United States from Mexico.  

 

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Segovia of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

 

The HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of officers from the Las Cruces Police Department, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, HSI and the New Mexico State Police.  The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.  HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which 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 and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.

ALBUQUERQUE – Roland Skeets, 27, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Smith Lake, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to child abuse charges.  Skeets’ plea agreement recommends that he be sentenced to a prison term within the range of 15 to 21 months.

 

Skeets was arrested in Aug. 2017, on an indictment charging him with child abuse resulting in great bodily injury to a male victim and child abuse endangering a female victim.  According to the indictment, the crimes took place on March 25, 2016, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M. 

 

During today’s proceedings, Skeets pled guilty to an information charging him with assault resulting in substantial bodily injury.  In entering the guilty plea, Skeets admitted that on March 25, 2016, he assaulted a four-year-old child by pushing the child to the ground and yanking him back up by the arm, which fractured the child’s clavicle.  Skeets acknowledged that at the time he assaulted the child, he was intoxicated.  Skeets further admitted that, after assaulting the child, he continued yelling, causing his girlfriend to flee with the injured child and other children to a neighbor’s house in order to call police.  

 

Skeets remains in custody pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI and the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Gary Begay, 24, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Hogback, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 108 months in prison for his conviction on an assault charge.  Begay will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

 

Begay was arrested in June 2016, on an indictment charging him with sexual assault and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  According to the indictment, Begay committed the crimes on March 14, 2015, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M.

 

On Feb. 16, 2017, Begay pled guilty to Count 2 of the indictment charging him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  In entering the guilty plea, Begay admitted assaulting the victim by striking the victim with his fists and a bottle, breaking the victim’s teeth and causing serious bodily injury to the victim. 

 

This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI, the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety and the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Spindle prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Waylon D. Victorino, 25, an enrolled member and resident of Laguna Pueblo, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 15 months in prison for his assault conviction.  Victorino will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

 

Victorino was arrested in Dec. 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with assaulting a man and woman from Laguna Pueblo resulting in serious bodily injury.  According to the complaint, Victorino first assaulted the female victim causing swelling and bruising on her right eye, bruising on her arms and a visible bite mark on the victim’s right wrist.  The complaint further alleges that the male victim attempted to intervene between the Victorino and the female victim, at which point, Victorino began hitting the male victim in the face resulting in the male victim losing consciousness. 

 

Victorino subsequently was indicted on Jan. 24, 2017, and was charged with assaulting a man and woman resulting in serious bodily injury on Dec. 11, 2016, on the Laguna Pueblo in Cibola County, N.M. 

 

On March 16, 2017, Victorino pled guilty to one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury and admitted that on Dec. 11, 2016, he assaulted a male victim resulting in serious bodily injury.  In his plea agreement, Victorino admitted that he was assaulting a female victim when a male victim attempted to help her.  Victorino admitted that he responded by hitting, punching and kicking the male victim.  Victorino further admitted that as the result of the assault, the male victim required medical attention, suffered bruising, and one of his eyes was blind and swollen shut for a week.

 

This case was investigated by the Laguna/Acoma Agency of the BIA Office of Justice Services and the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Police Department.  Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucy Solimon prosecuted the case pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico, which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.

ALBUQUERQUE – JoAnn Bell, 37, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to drug trafficking and theft of mail charges under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office that recommends a five year term of imprisonment.

 

Bell and co-defendant Nathan Berke, 37, also of Albuquerque, were indicted on May 24, 2017.  The 14-count indictment charges Bell and Berke with conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and possession of stolen mail on July 28, 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M.  Bell was charged individually with being a felon in possession of a firearm on July 28, 2016, in Bernalillo County.  Berke was charged individually with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Aug. 9, 2016, in San Juan County, N.M.; being a felon in possession of a firearm on July 28, 2016, in Bernalillo County; possession of stolen mail on Aug. 9, 2016, in San Juan County; and three counts of bank fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft from July 23, 2016 through July 25, 2016, in New Mexico and Colorado.

 

During today’s proceedings, Bell pled guilty to conspiracy, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of stolen mail.  In entering the guilty plea, Bell admitted that on July 28, 2016, she and another individual were in possession of approximately 100 grams of methamphetamine which they intended to distribute to others.  Bell further admitted that on that same day, she was in possession of mail belonging to others that had been stolen from an authorized depository for United States mail.

 

Berke has entered a plea of not guilty to the charges against him and is pending trial.  Charges in criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law. 

           

Bell was previously arrested in Sept. 2016, on a criminal complaint charging her with repeatedly stealing mail from U.S. Postal Service mail collection boxes located outside of U.S. Post Offices in Albuquerque by using a “fishing” device she fed into the mailbox to “fish” mail out.   Bell was indicted in this case on Oct. 12, 2016, and was charged with stealing and receiving stolen mail on Sept. 18, 2016 in Bernalillo County.  On March 30, 2017, Bell pled guilty to the indictment and admitted using a “fishing” device to pull mail out of USPS collection boxes on Sept. 17 and 18, 2016.  The sentence imposed in this case will run concurrent to the five-year term of imprisonment Bell has agreed to in her guilty plea entered today. 

 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas Jon Ganjei and Sean J. Sullivan.

ALBUQUERQUE – Fernando Cairo-Rosell, 29, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to conspiracy and bank fraud charges arising out of a scheme to steal mail from USPS collection boxes at U.S. Post Offices in the Albuquerque area in July and Aug. 2017.

 

U.S. Postal Inspectors arrested Cairo-Rosell and co-defendants Jorge R. Cabrera, 20, Hector Lau, 21, and Yarelys Marquez, 19, all of Albuquerque, on Aug. 30, 2017, based on criminal complaints charging them with theft of mail and bank fraud charges.  The criminal complaint alleged that in July and Aug. 2017, mail collection boxes at USPS stations in Albuquerque repeatedly were broken into and mail was stolen.  The U.S. Postal Inspection Service initiated an investigation into the scheme after receiving complaints that checks deposited in the mail collection boxes had been stolen, altered and deposited into accounts allegedly held by the defendants.            

 

The four defendants were subsequently charged with conspiracy and nine counts of bank fraud in a ten-count indictment, which was filed on Sept. 21, 2017.  According to the indictment, the four defendants participated in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud that began in July 2017 and continued until Aug. 2017, and operated in Bernalillo County, N.M.  The indictment also charges the four defendants with committing bank fraud against four credit unions that maintain branches in Albuquerque.  The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to commit bank fraud by stealing checks that had been deposited in U.S. mail depositories, altering the checks, and attempting to pass the checks off as legitimate to banking institutions.  The indictment alleges that as part of their bank fraud scheme, the defendants deposited checks, which had been altered to make them payable to members of their conspiracy and in amounts ranging from $500 to $4,754, into bank accounts held by members of the conspiracy. 

 

During today’s proceedings, Cairo-Rosell pled guilty to conspiracy and five counts of bank fraud under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  In entering the guilty plea, Cairo-Rosell admitted that from July 10, 2017 through Aug. 9, 2017, he conspired with others to deposit altered checks which Cairo-Rosell knew had been stolen from mailboxes throughout Albuquerque.  Cairo-Rosell further admitted that on at least four occasions, he allowed his bank account at an Albuquerque-area credit union to be used to deposit checks in exchange for a portion of the check-cashing proceeds.

 

At sentencing, Cairo-Rosell faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison.  A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

Cabrera, Lau and Marquez have entered pleas of not guilty to the charges against them and are pending trial.  Charges in criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law. 

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shaheen P. Torgoley.

ALBUQUERQUE – Alrenzon Yazzie, 20, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Sanostee, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to an involuntary manslaughter charge.

 

Yazzie was arrested in Sept. 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with killing a Navajo woman on Sept. 3, 2017, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M.  According to the complaint, Yazzie killed the victim by running her over with a vehicle.  At the time Yazzie ran over the victim, Yazzie was driving under the influence of alcohol. 

 

During today’s proceedings, Yazzie pled guilty to a felony information charging him with involuntary manslaughter and admitted killing the victim by striking her with his vehicle while driving recklessly while under the influence of alcohol.  Yazzie acknowledged that the alcohol rendered him incapable of exercising clear judgment and a steady hand in operating the vehicle.

 

At sentencing, Yazzie faces a maximum statutory penalty of eight years in federal prison.  A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Novaline D. Wilson is prosecuting the case. 

ALBUQUERQUE – Toniette Rochelle Doty, 47, of San Bernardino, Calif., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a methamphetamine trafficking charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

 

The DEA arrested Doty in March 2017, after seizing approximately 1.10 kilograms (2.42 pounds) of marijuana and 0.9 kilograms (1.98 pounds) of methamphetamine from her during an interdiction investigation at the Greyhound Bus Station in Albuquerque.  The marijuana and methamphetamine were contained in eight bundles inside of Doty’s luggage.

 

Doty subsequently was indicted on March 14, 2017, and was charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on March 1, 2017, in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

During today’s change of plea hearing, Doty pled guilty to a felony information charging her with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  In entering the guilty plea, Doty admitted that on March 1, 2017, she transported approximately 0.9 kilograms of methamphetamine from Los Angeles, Calif., to Albuquerque on the Greyhound Bus.  Doty further admitted that she intended to give the methamphetamine to another individual when she reached her destination of Little Rock, Arkansas, for further distribution.   

 

At sentencing, Doty faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.  A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rumaldo R. Armijo.

ALBUQUERQUE – Eric Matthew Reddick, 22, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to a two-count indictment charging him with violating the Hobbs Act and federal firearms laws.  The charges against Reddick arise out of the armed robbery of a convenience store on Oct. 6, 2017, during which Reddick shot and injured two individuals.  Reddick entered the guilty plea without the benefit of a plea agreement. 

 

Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney said that Reddick is being prosecuted under a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders primarily based on their prior criminal convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

 

The FBI arrested Reddick on Oct. 12, 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with violating the Hobbs Act by robbing a business engaged in interstate commerce and with discharging a firearm during a crime of violence on Oct. 6, 2017, in Bernalillo County, N.M.  According to the criminal complaint, on Oct. 6, 2017, Reddick entered an Albuquerque-area convenience store and placed a pack of gum and a dollar bill on the counter.  When the store clerk opened the cash drawer, Reddick pointed a firearm at the store clerk, and demanded and obtained cash from the store clerk.  As he left the convenience store, Reddick fired several rounds of ammunition at the store clerk and a witness who was taking photographs of him with a cellular telephone, hitting and injuring both of them.

 

Later that day, officers of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) arrested Reddick, who was in the vehicle in which he used to flee from the convenience store, on related state charges, which have been dismissed in favor of federal prosecution.  In the vehicle, the officers observed a firearm during an inventory search. 

 

Reddick was subsequently indicted on Oct. 24, 2017, and charged with violating the Hobbs Act by robbing a business engaged in interstate commerce and brandishing and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence on Oct. 6, 2017, in Bernalillo County. 

 

At sentencing, Reddick faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the Hobbs Act charge.  Reddick also faces a statutory mandatory minimum of ten years of imprisonment for discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, which must be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on the other charge. 

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and APD.  Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Trembley is prosecuting the case. 

ALBUQUERQUE – Jonathan James, 44, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). 

 

SORNA, also known as the Adam Walsh Protection and Safety Act, requires that a convicted sex offender register in each jurisdiction where the offender resides, where the offender is employed, or where the offender is a student, and that the sex offender maintain current registrations.

 

James was arrested on Aug. 25, 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with violating SORNA by failing to update his sex offender registration.  According to the complaint, James was convicted in Nov. 2005, of sexual abuse of a minor in Indian Country, and was sentenced to 121 months in prison.  According to court documents, James violated the conditions of his supervised release after completing his prison sentence when he repeatedly failed to notify his probation officer to any change in residence or employment.  

 

James subsequently was charged by indictment on Sept. 21, 2017, with violating SORNA by failing to update his sex offender registration in Bernalillo County, N.M., between June 2017 and Aug. 2017. 

 

During today’s proceedings, James pled guilty to a felony information charging him with failing to update his sex offender registration between June 2017 and Aug. 2017, in Bernalillo County.  James entered the guilty plea without the benefit of a plea agreement.  At sentencing, James faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison followed by a minimum of five years to a lifetime of supervised release.  James will also be required to register as a sex offender when he completes his prison sentence pursuant to his previous sexual abuse conviction.  James remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. 

 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucy Solimon.

ALBUQUERQUE – A federal grand jury sitting in Albuquerque, N.M., returned an indictment yesterday charging four men with exploiting the now defunct Big Crow Program Office at Kirtland Air Force Base to perpetuate a multi-million dollar scheme to defraud the United States.  The 46-count indictment charges Milton Boutte, 72, of Moriarty, N.M., George Lowe, 55, of Fort Washington, Md., and Jose Diaz, 58, and Arturo Vargas, 54, both of El Paso, Texas, with perpetuating the fraudulent scheme from Oct. 2004 through Feb. 2009, in Bernalillo County, N.M., and elsewhere.

 

Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney announced the filing of the indictment after it was posted on the court’s website this morning.  The four defendants will be summoned into federal court in Albuquerque for arraignment hearings on dates that have yet to be scheduled.

 

The indictment generally alleges that the defendants perpetuated their scheme to defraud the United States by submitting fraudulent invoices to federal agencies and fraudulently participating in a government program intended to promote minority-owned small businesses.  According to the indictment, beginning in fall 2004, Boutte, who was then the Director of the Big Crow Program Office, and Lowe, a lobbyist, conspired and schemed with Diaz and Vargas, owners of minority-owned small businesses who had contracts with the Big Crow Program Office, to pay lobbyists, consultants and contractors with funds fraudulently obtained from the United States.  The defendants allegedly did so even though the Big Crow Program Office was not authorized to lobby or to expend appropriated funds for lobbying activities under the contracts they were operating under.

 

The indictment alleges that the defendants facilitated their fraudulent scheme by exploiting a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) program intended to promote the development of small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals by making them eligible to obtain sole-source contracts from government agencies without competitive bidding.  In April 1995, Diaz enrolled his company, Miratek, in the SBA program and received a sole-source contract valued at $1,332,109 to provide technical and managerial support for the Big Crow Program Office.  After the sole-source contract was awarded to Miratek, the defendants allegedly conspired fraudulently to misapply funds to pay Lowe and other lobbyists for lobbying on Big Crow’s behalf, allegedly diverting at least $529,000 of the contract funds to pay Lowe and his firm, Broadcreek Associates.  This allegedly violated the conditions of the SBA program and of Miratek’s contract because lobbying services were not within the authorized scope of work and because Lowe was not an employee of Miratek.  In furtherance of their alleged frauds, the defendants allegedly disguised the nature of the claims for services purportedly provided by Lowe and other lobbyists.

 

The indictment alleges that, in April 2004, after Miratek’s eligibility for the SBA program expired, the defendants created a joint venture to take its place in the fraudulent scheme.  According to the indictment, Diaz and Vargas created a joint venture known as Vartek, LLC, to afford Diaz the ability to continue to have access to sole-source contracts under the SBA program and to enable the defendants to continue to perpetuate their scheme to defraud the United States.  The indictment alleges the SBA relied on the promises and representations of Diaz and Vargas and approved the Vartek joint venture on Dec. 20, 2005.  Vartek was awarded two sole-source contracts, valued at approximately $3,209,116 and $3,847,939, respectively, to provide technical and analytical support for the Big Crow Program Office similar to the contracts previously awarded to Miratek.

 

The indictment alleges that Diaz and Vargas misappropriated funds authorized under the Vartek contracts to pay Lowe and other unauthorized lobbyists, consultants and contractors.  Diaz and Vargas allegedly submitted fraudulent invoices to the U.S. Army Contracting Agency containing claims for payment for services purportedly provided by Lowe and other lobbyists, consultants and contractors.  To conceal and disguise the nature of those payments, the defendants allegedly misrepresented in those invoices that Lowe and other lobbyists, consultants and contractors were Vartek employees.  To further disguise the diversion of large sums, the defendants made fictional claims for work purportedly performed under the contracts by other persons.  The defendants allegedly fabricated the hours that those purported employees worked on the contracts.  Diaz and Vargas allegedly falsely represented that the lobbyists and consultants were “project managers” and billed the government at or near the highest rate allowed under the contracts.  In aggregate, the defendants fraudulently claimed and obtained payments under the Vartek contracts totaling more than $5,800,000 for lobbyists, consultants and unauthorized contractors, of which at least $506,000 was diverted and paid to Lowe and his firm, Broadcreek Associates.  Diaz also allegedly falsified and fabricated the hours that he himself worked under those contracts.

 

The indictment includes forfeiture provisions requiring that the defendants forfeit to the United States any property, real or personal, which constitutes or is derived from proceeds of their crime if the defendants are convicted of the offense of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Indictment 17-CR-3338-JB

Charges and Statutory Penalties

 

Count 1 charges Boutte, Diaz, Vargas and Lowe with conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to claims, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 286, and carries a maximum penalty of ten years of imprisonment and a fine of not more than $250,000 or twice the pecuniary loss or gain.

 

Count 2 charges Boutte, Diaz, Vargas and Lowe, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349, and carries a maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment and a fine of not more than $250,000 or twice the pecuniary loss or gain.

 

Counts 3 and 4 charge Boutte, Diaz and Vargas with fraud against the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1031, and aiding and abetting such fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2.  Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment and a fine not more than $5,000,000 if the loss is less than $500,000, but not to exceed $10,000,000 in the aggregate.

 

Counts 5 through 46 charge certain of the defendants with making false, fictitious and fraudulent claims, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 287, and aiding and abetting the making of such claims, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2.  Each charge carries a maximum penalty of five years of imprisonment and a fine of not more than $250,000.  Counts 5 through 9 charge Boutte, Diaz and Lowe; Counts 10 through 22 charge Boutte, Diaz, Vargas and Lowe; Counts 23 through 24 charge Boutte, Diaz and Vargas; and Counts 25 through 46 charge Boutte, Diaz and Vargas.

 

Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

The case was investigated by the Major Procurement Fraud Unit of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Command, Defense Criminal Investigations Services, Defense Contract Audit Agency – Investigative Support, and U.S. Small Business Administration Office – Office of Inspector General, and General Services Administration – Office of Inspector General.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy S. Vasquez and Jeremy Peña are prosecuting the case.

 

Boutte Indictment

ALBUQUERQUE – Colby Edward Steele, 32, of Alamogordo, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., for violating the federal firearms laws by unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition. Steele will serve 41 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

 

Steele was arrested on Feb. 3, 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on Feb. 2, 2017.  According to the complaint, Steele was arrested in the desert near Alamogordo while attempting to flee from law enforcement officers who were executing a warrant for Steele’s arrest on a parole violation out of Arizona.  Officers located a firearm with a chambered round in Steele’s pants pocket and multiple rounds of ammunition in the sand near Steele incident to Steele’s arrest.  Steele was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted in 2003 of possession of a controlled substance in Otero County, N.M., and in 2008 for being a felon in possession of a firearm in Dona Ana County, N.M.

 

On May 2, 2017, Steele pled guilty to a felony information charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm.  In entering the guilty plea, Steele admitted that on Feb. 2, 2017, he possessed a handgun and ammunition when he was arrested by law enforcement.  Steele acknowledged that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his status as a convicted felon.

 

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Border Patrol.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy M. Castellano of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Paul Donisthorpe, 62, pleaded guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to wire fraud and money laundering charges arising out of a fraudulent scheme to embezzle more than $4.8 million from client trust accounts managed by Desert State Life Management (DSLM), a trust company he operated and controlled.  Donisthorpe entered the guilty plea under a plea agreement that recommends that he be sentenced to eight-to-twelve years of imprisonment followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.  The plea agreement also requires that Donisthorpe pay $4,812,857 in restitution to the victims of his crimes and that he forfeit the proceeds of his criminal activities.   

 

In announcing the guilty plea, Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney said, “This case is about the victims.  Victims who were clients of Paul Donisthorpe and his trust company and who relied on Donisthorpe to manage their finances.  This morning, Paul Donisthorpe stood up in federal court and admitted violating his clients’ trust and looting their benefits for his personal benefit.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office and its partners can now focus their efforts on ensuring that the victims receive the restitution to which they are entitled, and that Donisthorpe spends sufficient time behind bars to consider the impact of his criminal conduct on his clients.”

 

“This was a heartbreaking case of an individual stealing millions of dollars from elderly, disabled and other New Mexicans with special needs who depended on him to make sure their rent, medical bills and living expenses were paid,” said Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI.  “The FBI worked with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our federal and state partners to obtain justice for these victims, and we hope today’s guilty plea sends a message that these types of crimes will not go unpunished.”

 

“This investigation revealed that Paul Donisthorpe, the CEO of a non-profit trust agency, was motivated by greed and abused the trust he owed to his clients by stealing $4.8 million of their money.  The investigative work of IRS Criminal Investigation revealed that Donisthorpe misused his clients’ money to support a lavish lifestyle and that he concealed his theft by having his employees report incorrect balances in client accounts,” said Special Agent in Charge Ismael Nevarez, Jr., of the Phoenix Field Office of IRS Criminal Investigation.  “IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to have partnered with the Department of Justice to investigate this case, and is committed to protecting New Mexicans from financial harm.”

 

“At the Financial Institutions Division of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, we are committed to doing everything in our power to assist the victims who were so cruelly taken advantage of by Paul Donisthorpe, in obtaining restitution.  We are also committed to working to strengthen our laws and regulations concerning New Mexico trust companies in order to prevent this type of tragedy from happening to anyone else,” said Christopher Moya, Acting Director of the Financial Institutions Division of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department.

 

Donisthorpe, a former resident of Albuquerque who currently resides in Bloomfield, N.M., pled guilty this morning to a two-count felony information charging him with wire fraud and money laundering before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura Fashing.  According to the felony information, Donisthorpe was the sole owner and operator of DSLM, a trust company that provided trustee and representative payee services for individuals requiring assistance with their financial affairs.  As detailed in the felony information, Donisthorpe perpetuated a decade-long fraudulent scheme pursuant to which he transferred more than $4.8 million from client trust accounts managed by DSLM into accounts he controlled and then used the money for his own personal purposes. 

 

In his plea agreement, Donisthorpe acknowledged that as the chief executive officer, sole owner and operator of DSLM, he was entrusted to provide trustee services and representative payee services to more than 75 clients.  Donisthorpe admitted that from at least 2009 through 2016, he violated his duty of trust to his clients by fraudulently transferring client funds from individual client investment accounts to accounts he controlled, converting those client funds to his own use.  Donisthorpe made these fraudulent transfers knowing that he was not entitled to the funds; knowing that the clients were not informed of the transfers; and knowing that the clients would not have approved of the transfers if they had been informed.  Donisthorpe also admitted concealing his fraudulent scheme by causing his accounting staff to falsely record clients’ balances in DSLM records, and by presenting false and fraudulent documents to the Financial Institutions Division of the New Mexico Regulations and Licensing Department.

 

The plea agreement includes Donisthorpe’s admission that he regularly used wire communications to facilitate his fraudulent scheme, and includes as an example a reference to a May 10, 2016 email pursuant to which Donisthorpe directed an asset manager to liquidate $95,000 of client investments.  Donisthorpe later transferred $50,000 of those funds into an account he controlled.  The plea agreement also includes Donisthorpe’s admission that he conducted numerous monetary transactions using the proceeds of his embezzlement scheme and includes as an example his use of a $100,000 check to pay the mortgage for property related to his cattle business knowing that he had stolen the funds from DSLM client accounts.

 

In his plea agreement, Donisthorpe admitted spending the illegally obtained funds on personal items including business ventures, his home mortgage, the mortgage for a vacation home in Angel Fire, N.M., vehicles, credit card expenditures, and paying off IRS debts. 

 

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Donisthorpe is required to pay restitution in the amount of $4,812,857.  Donisthorpe also must forfeit any interest he has in assets derived from or used in the commission of the offenses to which he pleaded guilty.  Donisthorpe also agreed to the imposition of a money judgment against him in the amount of $4,812,857, and to the immediate forfeiture of the real properties that are the subject of the pending civil forfeiture action in the case United States v. 130 Hidden Lake Cir., Angel Fire, NM 87710, et al., 17-cv-00644 LF-JHR, including a luxury lodge in Angel Fire, N.M., DSLM’s office building in Albuquerque, a residence in Albuquerque, and a 120-acre cattle ranch in Henderson County, Texas.  

 

After entering the guilty plea, Donisthorpe was released under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Services and other conditions of release pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

The Albuquerque offices of the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation, which resulted in the charges in the felony information and the filing of the civil forfeiture case, with assistance from the New Mexico Regulations and Licensing Department’s Financial Institutions Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeremy Peña and Brandon L. Fyffe are prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Shayliss Ellsworth, 24, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Crownpoint, N.M., pled guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to assault charges.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Ellsworth faces a prison sentence within the range of 70 to 87 months followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

Ellsworth was arrested on June 21, 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with stabbing two Navajo women with a knife on June 17, 2017, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M.  As the result of the assault, the first victim suffered a cut across her face through her mouth, stab wounds on her left side and right breast, and a cut and stab wound to her left arm which cut her artery causing profuse bleeding.  The second victim suffered cuts on her neck and finger and a stab wound on her right arm.  According to the complaint, the first victim underwent multiple surgeries including a surgery to amputate her left arm as the result of the assault.   

 

Ellsworth was subsequently charged in a four-count indictment on July 11, 2017, with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, a knife, and two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  According to the indictment, the crimes took place on June 17, 2017, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M.

 

During today’s proceedings, Ellsworth pled guilty to two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  In the plea agreement, Ellsworth admitted that on June 17, 2017, he assaulted two women with a knife causing serious bodily injury to both.  Ellsworth further admitted that the first victim suffered stab wounds to her right chest, cuts to her left arm, a deep puncture wound that cut an artery and disfiguring cuts to her face.  The first victim underwent multiple surgeries and eventually had her left arm amputated as the result of the injuries caused by Ellsworth.  Ellsworth also admitted that the second victim suffered stab wounds to her right shoulder and neck, which required surgery to close. 

 

Ellsworth remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer M. Rozzoni and Niki Tapia-Brito are prosecuting the case as part of the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.

ALBUQUERQUE – Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney will make a significant law enforcement announcement at 2:00 P.M., TODAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2017, at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque, N.M.  Acting U.S. Attorney Tierney will be joined by Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, Special Agent Clement Rogers of IRS Criminal Investigation in Albuquerque, and Christopher Moya, Acting Director of the New Mexico Regulations and Licensing Department’s Financial Institutions Division.  

  

WHO:            

Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney

Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade, Albuquerque Division of the FBI

Special Agent Clement Rogers of IRS Criminal Investigation in Albuquerque

Christopher Moya, Acting Director of the New Mexico Regulations and Licensing Department’s Financial Institutions Division

 

WHAT:         

Significant law enforcement announcement

 

WHEN:         

TODAY (MONDAY), NOVEMBER 27, 2017

2:00 P.M.

 

WHERE:      

U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Mexico

201 Third Street NW

10th Floor Multi-Media Room (Reception on Ninth Floor)

Albuquerque, NM 87102

OPEN PRESS

 

NOTE:  All media representatives must present government-issued photo I.D. (i.e., driver’s license) as well as valid media credentials.  Media representatives may begin to arrive at 1:45 p.m.  Inquiries regarding logistics should be directed to USAO Media Coordinator Alyssa Ferda, contractor, at 505-224-1480 or alyssa.ferda@usdoj.gov.

ALBUQUERQUE – Eric Anthony Lopez, 32, of Carlsbad, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 84 months in prison for his conviction on methamphetamine and heroin trafficking charges.  Lopez will be on supervised release for four years after completing his prison sentence. 

 

Lopez was arrested on March 31, 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with drug trafficking offenses on Oct. 28, 2015, in Eddy County, N.M.  According to the complaint, Lopez was arrested after law enforcement agents located approximately 461 grams of methamphetamine, 39 grams of heroin and $5,620 in cash in Lopez’s vehicle during the execution of a search warrant.

 

On June 5, 2017, Lopez pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine and heroin with intent to distribute.  In entering his guilty plea, Lopez admitted that on Oct. 28, 2015, law enforcement found approximately 461 grams of methamphetamine and 39 grams of heroin during a search of his vehicle.  Lopez further admitted that he possessed the methamphetamine and heroin with the intent to distribute the substances to other individuals. 

 

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force.  The Pecos Valley Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, Carlsbad Police Department and Artesia Police Department and is part of the HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force.  The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.  HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which 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 and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark A. Saltman of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. 

 

The HOPE Initiative was launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the national opioid epidemic, which has had a disproportionately devastating impact on New Mexico.  Opioid addiction has taken a toll on public safety, public health and the economic viability of our communities.  Working in partnership with the DEA, the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative, Healing Addiction in our Community (HAC), the Albuquerque Public Schools and other community stakeholders, HOPE’s principal goals are to protect our communities from the dangers associated with heroin and opioid painkillers and reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in New Mexico. 

 

The HOPE Initiative is comprised of five components:  (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning.  HOPE’s law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners.  Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.  Learn more about the New Mexico HOPE Initiative at http://www.HopeInitiativeNM.org

ALBUQUERQUE – Larry June, 58, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., was sentenced yesterday afternoon in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 97 months in prison for his conviction on a voluntary manslaughter charge.  June will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

 

The FBI and Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety arrested June in Nov. 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with killing a Navajo woman by stabbing her with a knife on Nov. 25, 2016, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M.  June was subsequently indicted on Dec. 20, 2016, and was charged with second-degree murder.

 

On Aug. 21, 2017, June pled guilty to a felony information charging him with voluntary manslaughter.  In entering the guilty plea, June admitted that on Nov. 25, 2016, he stabbed the victim multiple times with a knife during a heated argument, and that the victim died as the result of the injuries she sustained. 

 

This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Niki Tapia-Brito and Michael D. Murphy prosecuted the case as part of the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.

ALBUQUERQUE – Manuel A. Caudillo, 29, a non-Indian man from Alcalde, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to nine months in prison followed by one year of supervised release for his conviction on a battery on a household member charge.

 

Caudillo was charged in a criminal complaint filed on Feb. 4, 2016, with assault of an intimate partner by strangulation.  According to the complaint, Caudillo assaulted the victim, a Pojoaque Pueblo woman, on Jan. 24, 2016, in the Pojoaque Pueblo within Santa Fe County, N.M., by strangling the victim with his hands to the point the victim lost consciousness, and by attempting to wrap a cord around the victim’s neck.  The victim suffered bruising to her forehead, redness to her neck consistent with being strangled and bruising to her arms and knees.

 

Caudillo was subsequently charged in a four-count indictment on March 8, 2016, with three counts of assault of an intimate partner by strangulation or suffocating, and assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm.  According to the indictment, Caudillo committed the crimes on Jan. 24, 2016, on the Pojoaque Pueblo in Santa Fe County.

 

On Aug. 18, 2017, Caudillo pled guilty to an information charging him with three counts of battery against a household member.  In entering the guilty plea, Caudillo admitted that on Jan. 24, 2016, he got into a verbal and physical fight with the victim.  During the fight, Caudillo grabbed the victim and pushed her onto a couch, and angrily grabbed and shoved her in a hallway.   Police noticed injuries that Caudillo inflicted on the victim. 

 

This case was investigated by the Northern Pueblos Agency of the BIA, Office of Justice Services.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucy B. Solimon pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico, which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.

ALBUQUERQUE – Jesus Fabian Jimenez, 41, of Hobbs, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 60 months in prison for violating the federal firearms laws by unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition.  Jimenez will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

 

Jimenez was arrested on Nov. 10, 2016, on an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on Jan. 9, 2014, in Lea County, N.M.  According to the indictment, Jimenez was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted on battery on a peace officer, larceny and trafficking a controlled substance. 

 

On March 3, 2017, Jimenez pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.

 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Lea County Drug Task Force and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Ong of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

 

The Lea County Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Lea County Sheriff’s Office, Hobbs Police Department, Lovington Police Department, Eunice Police Department the Tatum Police Department and the Jal Police Department, and is part of the NM HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force.  The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.  HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which 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 and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.

ALBUQUERQUE – Michael Vallejos, 42, of Belen, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 72 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on conspiracy, fraud, identify theft and theft of mail charges.  During the sentencing hearing, the Court found that Vallejos was a leader and organizer of the conspiracy and that his criminal conduct resulted in a loss of $95,000 to $150,000. 

 

Vallejos and co-defendants Brandon Sanchez, 24, also of Belen, and Manuel Chavez, 36, Marissa Rios, 27, and Elisha Muller, 32, all of Albuquerque, were charged in a 16-count indictment filed on Dec. 7, 2016,  with conspiracy and eight counts of bank fraud.  The indictment also charged Vallejos with theft of mail, aggravated identity theft, and tendering of a stolen and altered postal money order, and Sanchez with theft of mail.  According to the indictment, the defendants committed the crimes from Nov. 2014 through March 2016, in Bernalillo and Valencia Counties, N.M., by stealing mail from authorized U.S. Mail depositories and from other individuals who had stolen mail.  The mail stolen included checks and personal identifiers of victims, which the defendants used to commit further crimes. 

 

On July 25, 2017, Vallejos pled guilty to conspiracy, three counts of theft or receipt of stolen mail, two counts of bank fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of tendering of an altered postal money order.  In entering the guilty plea, Vallejos admitted the following:

• Between Nov. 12, 2014 and March 26, 2015, Vallejos conspired with others to cash stolen checks that he fraudulently endorsed by forging the legitimate account holder’s name and then split the proceeds from the cashed checks;
• On Nov. 11, 2014, Vallejos stole letters and mail from a U.S. Post Office in Jarales, N.M.;
• On Jan. 2, 2015, and Jan. 14, 2015, Vallejos possessed mail he knew had been stolen;
• On March 20, 2015, Vallejos personally cashed a stolen check that he had previously endorsed to himself;
• On March 26, 2015, Vallejos attempted to cash a stolen check, but the check was rejected;
• On April 6, 2016, Vallejos attempted to pass a stolen and altered postal money order at a U.S. Post Office; and
• On March 20 and 26, 2015, Vallejos used the identity of another person to carry out fraudulent check transactions.

 

Three of Vallejos’ four co-defendants have entered guilty pleas and have been sentenced.  Sanchez pled guilty on April 18, 2017, and was sentenced on July 11, 2017.  Chavez pled guilty on March 22, 2017, and was sentenced on June 29, 2017.  Muller pled guilty on June 1, 2017, and was sentenced on Sept. 21, 2017. 

 

Rios has yet to be arrested and is considered a fugitive.  Charges in criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated this case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

ALBUQUERQUE – Daniel K. Gonzalez, 35, of Gallina, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a misdemeanor offense of interfering with a U.S. Forest Service Officer under a plea agreement that recommends a sentence of 68 days of incarceration or time served.

 

Gonzalez was charged in a criminal complaint with resisting a U.S. Forest Service officer and recklessly operating a vehicle on July 24, 2017, in Rio Arriba County, N.M.  According to the complaint, Gonzalez disregarded commands from the officer to stop his vehicle by fleeing from the officer and driving recklessly through the Santa Fe National Forest.

 

Gonzalez subsequently was charged in a misdemeanor information filed on Sept. 15, 2017, with resisting and interfering with a U.S. Forest Service Officer, and recklessly operating a vehicle on a National Forest Service System road on July 24, 2017, in Rio Arriba County. 

 

During today’s proceedings, Gonzalez pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of interfering with a U.S. Forest Service officer.  In entering the guilty plea, Gonzalez admitted that on July 24, 2017, he was approached by a U.S. Forest Service officer who was engaged in the performance of his official duties in the protection of the National Forest System.  After giving the officer his identifying information, the officer informed Gonzalez that there was an active arrest warrant for Gonzalez out of Bernalillo County, N.M., and that Gonzalez could not leave.  Gonzalez admitted driving away and ignoring the officer’s commands to stop.  After fleeing from the officer, Gonzales drove his vehicle onto Forest Road 103, turned into and drove through the forest and a barbed wire fence before getting back onto the State Highway. 

 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Forest Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Letitia C. Simms.

ALBUQUERQUE – Bryana Agnes Henio, 30, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Little Water, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to an involuntary manslaughter charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office 

 

Henio was arrested in Oct. 2017, on a criminal complaint charging her with involuntary manslaughter.  According to the complaint, Henio killed a man by hitting him with a vehicle on Sept. 8, 2017, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M.  At the time Henio ran over the victim, Henio was driving under the influence of alcohol. 

 

During today’s proceedings, Henio pled guilty to a felony information charging her with involuntary manslaughter and admitted killing the victim by driving recklessly while under the influence of alcohol.  Henio acknowledged that the alcohol rendered her incapable of exercising clear judgment and a steady hand in operating the vehicle.

 

At sentencing, Henio faces a maximum statutory penalty of eight years in federal prison.  She remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Spindle is prosecuting the case. 

ALBUQUERQUE – Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney and Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division announced today that Larry Mendoza, a former Revenue Agent of the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, has pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act extortion charges in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M.

 

Mendoza, 44, of Santa Fe, N.M., pled guilty today to a three-count felony information charging him with Hobbs Act extortion under color of official right.  The felony information alleges that, between Feb. 2017 and May 2017, Mendoza abused his position as a state Revenue Agent to extort an aggregate of $2,500 from a business owner in return for reducing the business owner’s tax liability.  Mendoza entered the guilty plea under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

 

According to the plea agreement, Mendoza was employed by the New Mexico State Taxation and Revenue Department from 2007 through 2017.  Beginning in Oct. 2013, Mendoza began working as a Revenue Agent with responsibilities that included collecting outstanding taxes owed by New Mexico business owners.  In Feb. 2017, Mendoza approached a business owner with a proposal that the business owner pay him $500 a month in exchange for Mendoza lowering the business owner’s tax obligation to the State of New Mexico. 

 

After the business owner gave Mendoza $500 in Feb. 2017 and another additional $500 in March 2017, Mendoza logged onto his work computer on May 11, 2017 and reduced the business owner’s tax liability to the State of New Mexico by $8,000.  On that same day (May 11, 2017), Mendoza solicited another $1,500 from the business owner in exchange for reducing his tax obligation.  On May 24, 2017, the business owner gave $1,500 to Mendoza in exchange for Mendoza’s reduction of the business owner’s tax obligation to the State of New Mexico.

 

In entering his guilty plea, Mendoza admitted that the money he solicited and received from the business owner was for his personal use and benefit, and that he was not entitled to that money.  Mendoza also admitted that he engaged in a similar pattern of criminal conduct with other business owners and that his criminal conduct was responsible for losses in excess of $40,000.

 

The New Mexico State Taxation and Revenue Department placed Mendoza on administrative leave on May 24, 2017, and his employment was terminated shortly thereafter.

 

At sentencing, Mendoza faces a statutory penalty of imprisonment for not more than 20 years and a fine not to exceed $250,000.  Mendoza was released under pretrial supervision and other conditions of release pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

The FBI offices in Albuquerque and Santa Fe investigated the case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin.

 

Mendoza Information    Mendoza Plea Agreement

ALBUQUERQUE – Alan William Weber, 37, of Clovis, N.M., entered a guilty plea today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to violating the federal firearms laws by possessing an unregistered sawed-off shotgun.

 

Weber was arrested on Feb. 23, 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with firearms offenses.  According to the complaint, Weber pointed a firearm at an EMS crewmember following a call for service at Weber’s residence.  Law enforcement agents subsequently located a large gun safe in Weber’s residence that contained multiple firearms and ammunition during the execution of a search warrant incident to Weber’s arrest.  Further inquiry revealed that on Feb. 23, 2017, Weber did not have any firearms registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR).

 

Weber was charged in a two-count indictment on July 27, 2017, with being a person previously convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense in possession of a firearm and possession of an unregistered firearm on Jan. 30, 2017, in Curry County, N.M. 

 

During this morning’s change of plea hearing, Weber pled guilty to Count 2 of the indictment charging him with possession of an unregistered firearm.  In entering the guilty plea, Weber admitted that on Jan. 30, 2017, he was in possession of a sawed-off shotgun that was not registered to him in the NFRTR.

 

At sentencing, Weber faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison.  A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Clovis Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Brawley.

ALBUQUERQUE – Anthony P. Castillo, 49, an enrolled member of the Acoma Pueblo who resides in San Fidel, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to abusive sexual contact charges.  Castillo’s plea agreement recommends a prison sentence within the range of 12 to 18 years followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.  Castillo will also be required to register as a sex offender.

 

Castillo was arrested in April 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with sexually abusing a Navajo child under the age of 12 years between Jan. 1, 2017 and Feb. 28, 2017, on the Acoma Pueblo in Cibola County, N.M. 

 

During today’s proceedings, Castillo pled guilty to a two-count felony information charging him with abusive sexual contact.  In entering the guilty plea, Castillo admitted that between Jan. 1, 2017 and Feb. 27, 2017, he engaged in sexual contact with two child victims under the age of 12 years at a residence on the Acoma Pueblo.  Castillo remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Laguna/Acoma Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Acoma Pueblo Tribal Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Raquel Ruiz-Velez is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.

ALBUQUERQUE – In Aug. 2016, a multi-agency investigation led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) concluded with the filing of 59 federal indictments and a federal criminal complaint charging 103 Bernalillo County residents with federal firearms and narcotics trafficking offenses.  To date, 80 of the 103 defendants charged as the result of this investigation have entered guilty pleas and 50 of them have been sentenced.

 

The investigation was undertaken in support of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies collaborate with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution primarily based on their prior criminal convictions with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

 

Today, Simon Shields, 37, of Bernalillo, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 63 months in prison followed four years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction

 

Shields and his co-defendant Ray Martinez, 46, were charged in an indictment with conspiracy and methamphetamine trafficking offenses.  The indictment was subsequently superseded on July 28, 2016, to include David Corral-Valenzuela, 45.  The superseding indictment charged Martinez and Shields with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine on June 13, 2016, Shields and Corral-Valenzuela with conspiracy and distribution of methamphetamine on June 21, 2016, and Corral-Valenzuela with being an alien in possession of a firearm and illegal reentry into the United States on July 6, 2016.  The superseding indictment included forfeiture provisions requiring the co-defendants to forfeit $6,550 to the United States.  On April 12, 2017, Shields pled guilty to Count 2 of the superseding indictment charging him with distribution of methamphetamine and admitted that on June 13, 2016, he aided and abetted his co-defendant by transporting approximately 56.8 grams of methamphetamine, which was later sold to an undercover law enforcement agent.  Shields further admitted that he assisted another co-defendant in selling methamphetamine on June 21, 2016.  Martinez entered a guilty plea on Sept. 2, 2016, and was sentenced on Dec. 15, 2016, to 77 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release.  Corral-Valenzuela is currently scheduled for trial in Feb. 2018.

 

Twenty of the defendants charged as the result of the ATF investigation have entered not guilty pleas to the charges against them.  Charges in indictments are merely accusations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.   Two defendants are fugitives and the charges against two defendants have been dismissed.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of ATF is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly A. Brawley and Paul Mysliwiec

ALBUQUERQUE – Eleodoro Sanchez, 62, of Canutillo, Texas, was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 36 months in prison for his conviction on heroin trafficking charges resulting from a DEA-led investigation targeting a heroin trafficking ring operating out of Sunland Park, N.M.  Sanchez will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence. 

           

Sanchez was a member of a heroin trafficking organization operating out of Sunland Park, N.M., that was targeted by a DEA-led investigation, which was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program.  The OCDETF program is a nationwide Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations.

 

Ten members of the heroin trafficking ring were charged in July 2016, in a 30-count indictment with participation in a heroin trafficking conspiracy and a series of substantive heroin trafficking offenses.  The indictment charged all ten defendants with conspiring to distribute heroin in Doña Ana County and elsewhere between May 8, 2016 and July 12, 2016.  It also included 23 counts charging certain defendants with distributing heroin or possessing heroin with intent to distribute and six counts charging certain defendants with using communications devices (telephones) to facilitate heroin trafficking crimes.

 

According to the indictment, Sanchez routinely distributed heroin for Raymundo Muñoz, 69, of Sunland Park, the leader of the drug trafficking organization, which was smuggled by couriers into the United States across the international border in El Paso.  Muñoz took the heroin to his Sunland Park residence where he distributed the drugs to Sanchez and others.  Members of the conspiracy used telephones to negotiate their heroin deals, arrange for heroin deliveries, and pay for the heroin.

 

On March 7, 2017, Sanchez entered a guilty plea to the conspiracy charge and to three counts of possession of heroin with intent to distribute.  In entering the guilty plea, Sanchez admitted that from April 2016 through July 2016, he participated in a heroin trafficking conspiracy by obtaining heroin from Munoz and reselling the heroin to others.  Specifically, Sanchez admitted that on at least six dates in April and May 2016, he purchased and distributed more than 57 grams of heroin to other individuals on behalf of Munoz. 

 

The following defendants previously entered guilty pleas in the case:

• Raymundo Munoz pled guilty on March 1, 2017, and was sentenced on Aug. 15, 2017, to 72 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release;
• Juan Francisco Rivera, 61, of El Paso, Texas, pled guilty on Feb. 7, 2017, and was sentenced on Oct. 18, 2017, to 108 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release;
• Salvador Delgadillo, 39, of La Mesa, N.M., pled guilty on Aug. 31, 2017, and is pending sentencing;
• Carlos Diaz, 37, of El Paso, Texas, pled guilty on Jan. 24, 2017, and was sentenced on June 29, 2017, to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release;
• Sandra Francis Guzman, 53, of El Paso, Texas, pled guilty on March 21, 2017, and was sentenced on July 25, 2017, to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release;
• Blanca Elisa Tovar, 43, of Phoenix, Ariz., pled guilty on Dec. 13, 2016, and was sentenced on Aug. 23, 2017, to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release;
• Alberto Lozano-Morales, 43, of Sunland Park, pled guilty on Dec. 6, 2016, and was sentenced on May 24, 2017 to time served followed by one year of supervised release; and
• Armando Daniel Marquez, 54 of Sunland Park, N.M., pled guilty on Feb. 23, 2017, and was sentenced on Sept. 19, 2017, to time served followed by three years of supervised release.

 

The remaining codefendant has yet to be arrested and is considered a fugitive.  Charges in indictments and criminal complaints are only accusations.  All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

The Las Cruces office of the DEA and Sunland Police Department investigated these cases with assistance from the El Paso office of the FBI, the U.S. Border Patrol, and the Gang Unit of the El Paso Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dustin C. Segovia and Renee L. Camacho of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are prosecuting these cases as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. 

 

The HOPE Initiative was launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the national opioid epidemic, which has had a disproportionately devastating impact on New Mexico.  Opioid addiction has taken a toll on public safety, public health and the economic viability of our communities.  Working in partnership with the DEA, the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative, Healing Addiction in our Community (HAC), the Albuquerque Public Schools and other community stakeholders, HOPE’s principal goals are to protect our communities from the dangers associated with heroin and opioid painkillers and reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in New Mexico. 

 

The HOPE Initiative is comprised of five components:  (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning.  HOPE’s law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners.  Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.  Learn more about the New Mexico HOPE Initiative at http://www.HopeInitiativeNM.org.

ALBUQUERQUE – Randy K. Lovett, 34, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to a 77-month term of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on a bank robbery charge.

 

Lovett was arrested in April 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with robbing the Bank of America located at 7644 Jefferson St. NE, in Albuquerque, on April 19, 2017.  According to the complaint, Lovett robbed the Bank of America by handing a bank teller a note in which he claimed to have a gun, demanded money, and informed the teller she had 30 seconds to comply.  Lovett subsequently was indicted on May 9, 2017, on a bank robbery charge.

 

On June 28, 2017, Lovett pled guilty to the indictment.  In his plea agreement, Lovett admitted presenting a demand note to a bank teller with a message that was intended to intimidate and threaten the teller into complying with his demand.  The note stated that Lovett was armed and demanded cash in denominations of $50 and $100 bills.  

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard Thomas prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Cruz Jose Martinez, 32, of Silver City, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 60 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.

 

Martinez was arrested in June 2016, and was charged by criminal complaint with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute on June 8, 2016, in Dona Ana County, N.M.  According to the complaint, law enforcement officers found approximately 338.6 grams of methamphetamine in the backseat of a vehicle in which Martinez was a passenger during a traffic stop. 

 

Martinez subsequently was indicted on Sept. 21, 2016, and was charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  On Nov. 16, 2016, Martinez pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement. 

 

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI, the New Mexico State Police and the Las Cruces Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah M. Davenport of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Gilbert Dutchover, 58, of Roswell, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to an 18-month term of imprisonment for violating the federal firearms laws.  Dutchover will be on supervised release for two years after completing his prison sentence.

 

Dutchover was arrested on May 5, 2017, on an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on Aug. 18, 2014, in Chaves County, N.M.  According to the indictment, Dutchover previously was convicted of unlawful carrying of a firearm into a licensed liquor establishment, being a felon in possession of a firearm or destructive device, receiving stolen property, and cocaine trafficking. 

 

On July 10, 2017, Dutchover pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on Aug. 18, 2014, law enforcement officers found a pistol and ammunition in his garage while executing a search warrant at his residence.  Dutchover further admitted that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his status as a convicted felon. 

 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office and the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Luis A. Martinez and Selesia L. Winston of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case.

 

The Pecos Valley Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, Carlsbad Police Department and Artesia Police Department and is part of the HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force.  The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.  HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which 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 and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.

ALBUQUERQUE – William Douglas Warwick, 53, of San Clemente, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to violating federal drug trafficking and firearms laws.  Warwick entered the guilty plea under a conditional plea agreement under which he reserved the right to appeal from the court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence, and with the understanding that if he prevails on his appeal, he will be permitted to withdraw his guilty plea.

 

Warwick was arrested on Nov. 7, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm on Aug. 3, 2016, in Valencia County, N.M.  According to the complaint, FBI agents located two rifles, multiple rounds of ammunition and methamphetamine in Warwick’s residence during the execution of a search warrant.

 

Warwick was charged in a two-count indictment filed on Dec. 7, 2016, with being an addict and a convicted felon in possession of firearms.  The indictment was superseded on March 28, 2017, and charged Warwick with being an addict and convicted felon in possession of firearms on Aug. 3, 2016 and Nov. 7, 2016, and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Nov. 7, 2016.  According to the superseding indictment, Warwick committed the crimes in Valencia County.  Warwick was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine and tampering with evidence. 

 

During today’s proceedings, Warwick entered a guilty plea under a conditional plea agreement to Counts 1 and 3 of the superseding indictment charging him with being an addict and felon in possession of a firearm and possession of methamphetamine.  In entering the guilty plea, Warwick admitted that on Aug. 3, 2016, he was an unlawful user of controlled substances and a convicted felon while in possession of a rifle.  Warwick further admitted that on Nov. 7, 2016, law enforcement agents located approximately 45.7 grams of pure methamphetamine on his person during the execution of a search warrant.

 

At sentencing, Warwick faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison.  A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Matthew Beck and Randy M. Castellano of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

ALBUQUERQUE – Vincent P. Luciani, 26, a non-Indian man from Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to assaulting a federal officer.  Luciani’s plea agreement recommends a six-month term of imprisonment followed by a period of supervised release to be determined by the court. 

 

Luciani was arrested on July 3, 2017, and was charged by criminal complaint with assaulting an officer of the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Police Department, who is commissioned as a Special Law Enforcement Officer by the BIA’s Office of Justice Services.  According to the complaint, Luciani assaulted the officer by threatening the officer following a routine traffic stop.  Luciani committed the offense on June 30, 2017, on Laguna Pueblo in Cibola County, N.M.

 

Luciani was subsequently indicted on July 27, 2017, and charged with assault on a federal officer with a deadly and dangerous weapon on June 30, 2017, in Cibola County.

 

During today’s proceedings, Luciani pled guilty to a misdemeanor information charging him with assault on a federal officer.  In entering the guilty plea, Luciani admitted that on June 30, 2017, he was stopped by a Laguna Police officer who was commissioned as a Special Law Enforcement Officer by the BIA because he was driving his vehicle recklessly and at a high rate of speed.  Luciani further admitted that when the officer pulled him to the side of the road, Luciani exited his vehicle with a black object in his hand, threatened to injure the officer if the officer approached him and continued to threaten and yell at the officer until his arrest.  Luciani acknowledged that officers located a firearm in plain view in his vehicle during a search incident to Luciani’s arrest.  A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled. 

 

This case was investigated by the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Raquel Ruiz-Velez.

ALBUQUERQUE – Anthony Lee Gambino, 45, of Farmington, N.M., was sentenced on Nov. 9, 2017, in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to six months in prison for violating the federal firearms laws and making false representations about having received military medals and decorations.  Gambino will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

 

According to court filings, Gambino was the owner and operator of Gambino Security Safety Corp., a security company based in Aztec, N.M.  An investigation revealed that Gambino was producing commercial videos and photos for his company advertising different types of tactical and firearms training which depicted Gambino armed with a rifle, holstered side arms and hand guns.  Gambino also represented to a prospective vendor of his commercial tactical services that he was a combat veteran who had earned medals and ribbons including the Purple Heart.  Court filings indicate that Gambino fraudulently enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps which resulted in an other than honorable discharge.  Gambino was never in combat and was not awarded the Purple Heart or the Marine Corps Combat Action Ribbon. 

 

Gambino was arrested in May 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of firearms and making false representations about receiving military medals and decorations.  Gambino was subsequently indicted on the same charges on May 25, 2016.  According to the indictment, Gambino was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted on charges of commercial burglary, failure to appear, and menacing involving a deadly weapon.  According to the indictment, Gambino committed the crimes on May 12, 2016, in San Juan County, N.M.

 

On Feb. 7, 2017, Gambino pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on May 12, 2016, he was in possession of six firearms and multiple rounds of ammunition despite his status as a convicted felon prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.  Gambino further admitted that he fraudulently held himself out to be a recipient of a Purple Heart and a Combat Action Ribbon with intent to obtain money, property or other tangible benefit. 

 

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney George C. Kraehe prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE –David Abrisz, 56, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced this afternoon in federal court to 25 years in federal prison followed by ten years of supervised release for his conviction on child pornography charges.  Abrisz will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.  Abrisz also was ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution to the victims of his crimes.

 

Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney and Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales, III, said that Abrisz, a previously convicted child sex offender, was prosecuted under a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders primarily based on their prior criminal convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

 

“The exploitation of children on the Internet has no geographical or jurisdictional boundaries and requires that we share information and work as a team to protect our children,” said Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney. “This case is an example of the law enforcement community’s commitment to identifying, locating and prosecuting predators who exploit children and undermine the normalization of child sexual abuse.”

 

“The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office is committed to collaborating with federal agencies to proactively investigate crimes against children,” said Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales, III.  “As recent high profile events have shown us, adults who fantasize about sexual relations with kids can turn deadly.  Let this serve as a warning to all those who seek out children as victims, we are dedicated to identifying anyone who preys on children and we will hold those who commit these repulsive crimes accountable.”

 

The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office arrested Abrisz in Aug. 2016, on an indictment charging him with one count of distributing child pornography and three counts of possessing child pornography.  The indictment charged Abrisz with distributing child pornography from July 2013 through Dec. 2015, and possessing child pornography on two computers and a thumb drive from Aug. 2014 through Feb. 2016.  Abrisz committed the crimes in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

Abrisz pled guilty to the indictment on June 28, 2017.  In entering the guilty plea, Abrisz admitted committing the following criminal acts:  (i) distributing approximately 80 child pornography files between July 2013 and Dec. 2015; (ii) possessing a computer that contained approximately two video files and 880 image files of child pornography from Dec. 2014 through Feb. 2015; (iii) possessing a second computer that contained approximately 145 image files of child pornography from Dec. 2014 through Feb. 2015; and (iii) possessing a thumb drive that contained approximately 147 video files and one image file of child pornography from Aug. 2014 through Feb. 2015.

 

This case was investigated by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Mease prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Child  hood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.

ALBUQUERQUE – Rosita Toledo, 48, of Kirtland, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., for her healthcare fraud conviction.  Toledo was sentenced to a 25-month term of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release, during which she will be required to perform 40 hours of community service each year.  Toledo also was ordered to pay, jointly with her co-defendant, $1,218,165.00 in restitution to the victim of their criminal conduct.

 

Toledo and co-defendant Cory Werito, 33, of Farmington, N.M., were charged in a ten-count indictment that was filed on June 15, 2016.  The indictment included nine health care fraud charges against Toledo and Werito, and an aggravated currency structuring charge against Werito.  The health care fraud charges arose out of the defendants’ roles in creating and operating a medical transportation company, CW Transport, a New Mexico company located in Farmington that provided non-emergency medical transportation to Arizona Medicaid recipients, funded by reimbursement payments from the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), a healthcare benefit program.  Over the course of two years between 2011 and 2013, CW Transport collected more than $1.9 million in Medicaid reimbursements from AHCCCS by submitting more than 18,000 claims for reimbursement, the vast majority of which were wholly or substantially false and fraudulent. 

 

According to Count 10 of the indictment, the aggravated currency structuring charge, Werito conducted financial transactions involving the proceeds of the health care fraud in a manner that avoided the filing of Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs).  CTRs are reports which must be filed by financial institutions on transactions involving more than $10,000 during any business day and are used by law enforcement authorities to uncover a broad range of illegal activities including money laundering.  From Aug. 2011 to July 2013, Werito conducted at least 200 cash withdrawals, each for several thousands of dollars but less than $10,000 and totaling at least $800,000, to avoid the filing of CTRs.

 

The indictment included forfeiture provisions seeking an order requiring Toledo and Werito to forfeit to the United States at least $1,959,405, the proceeds allegedly derived from the health care fraud alleged in Counts 1 through 9 of the indictment.

 

On March 30, 2017, Toledo entered a guilty plea to Count 1 of the indictment, and admitted her role in the health care fraud scheme.  In entering her guilty plea, Toledo admitted that between July 2011 and July 2013 and in her capacity as the primary claims processor for CW Transport, she submitted 18,765 fraudulent claims for reimbursement, which caused AHCCCS to pay CW Transport a total of $1,959,405. 

 

On March 9, 2017, Werito pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment, charging him with committing health care fraud.  Werito admitted, as the sole owner of CW Transport, he submitted approximately 18,765 claims for reimbursement to AHCCCS between July 2011 and July 2013.  Because the claims were grouped in 140 invoices, Werito received 140 payments from AHCCCS in an amount totaling $1,959,405.  Werito admitted submitting the claims for reimbursement as part of a scheme to defraud AHCCCS because he either never provided or provided in a substantially different manner many of the services for which he sought and received reimbursement.  On Sept. 6, 2017, Werito was sentenced to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $1,218,165 in restitution to the victim of his criminal conduct.

 

The Albuquerque office of HSI investigated the case with assistance from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System and New Mexico Office of the Attorney General.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Peña prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Abel A. Orozco, 38, an enrolled member and resident of Isleta Pueblo, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a term of time already served (approximately eight months of imprisonment) for his misdemeanor assault conviction and one year of supervised release.

 

Orozco was arrested on March 20, 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with assaulting an Isleta Pueblo man by pushing him into a wall, striking and punching him in the body, chest and head, and threatening him with a log in Oct. 2016, on the Isleta Pueblo.  According to the complaint, the victim suffered a fractured rib, pain to the right side of his head and an injured left shoulder as the result of the assault. 

 

Orozco was indicted on April 11, 2017, and was charged with assault resulting in serious bodily injury on Oct. 2, 2016, on Isleta Pueblo in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

On Aug. 4, 2017, Orozco pled guilty to a misdemeanor information charging him with assault by striking, beating or wounding.  In entering the guilty plea, Orozco admitted that on Oct. 2, 2016, he assaulted the victim by striking and hitting him with his fists and elbows. 

 

This case was investigated by the Northern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Isleta Pueblo Tribal Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Murphy.

ALBUQUERQUE – Joan D. Mobley, 55, of Socorro, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Santa Fe, N.M., to 27 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for her conviction on a false statement charge and two aggravated identity theft charges. Mobley also was ordered to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $39,738.32 and a $4,000.00 fine.  Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney and Cordale Lamb of Denver Field Division of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) announced the sentence. 

 

Mobley is a former employee of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  She began working for the IRS in 1986 and was a revenue agent at the IRS office in Albuquerque at the time she committed the crimes to which she pleaded guilty.  As a revenue agent, Mobley was responsible for performing audits of small businesses and self-employed taxpayers.

 

On Jan. 3, 2014, a federal grand jury filed a 28-count indictment charging Mobley with 14 counts of making false statements and 14 counts of aggravated identity theft.  According to the indictment, between Jan. 2011 and Dec. 2011, Mobley falsely stated and represented to the IRS that certain taxpayers either had consented to extending the time for assessing employment taxes or agreed to the collection and assessment of additional taxes.  The indictment also alleged that Mobley used the identification of those taxpayers in making those false statements without obtaining consent.

  

On March 13, 2017, Mobley pled guilty to one false statements charge and two aggravated identity theft charges.  In her plea agreement, Mobley acknowledged that while she was employed as a revenue agent for the IRS and was responsible for conducting audits of small businesses, she was assigned to audit a business located in California.  Mobley acknowledged that, instead of completing the audit as required, she falsified official records to indicate that she had completed the audit.  Mobley also acknowledged signing the name of the business’s president on the records even though she did not have permission to do so.

 

Mobley falsified these records knowing that they constituted false statements under federal laws and concerned matters that were within the jurisdiction of the IRS.  One of the records falsified by Mobley was dated Jan. 10, 2011, and stated that a representative of the aforementioned California-based business had agreed to an extension of time to assess employment taxes.  Another record, dated April 7, 2011, falsely stated that the business had agreed to the assessment and collection of additional taxes.  Mobley falsified these records knowing that no representative of the business had agreed either to the extension or to the assessment and collection of additional taxes.  She acknowledged falsifying the records while in New Mexico. 

 

This case was investigated by the Denver Field Division of TIGTA and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Sean J. Sullivan.

ALBUQUERQUE – A federal grand jury has filed an indictment charging Miranda Gilbert, 30, of Albuquerque, N.M., with violating the federal firearms laws by unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition and with assaulting a federal officer. 

 

Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney said that Gilbert, whose criminal history includes at least ten prior felony convictions, will be prosecuted under the federal “worst of the worst” anti-violence initiative.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent and repeat offenders, primarily based on their prior felony convictions, for federal prosecution with the goal of removing them from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

 

Gilbert is charged in a three-count indictment that was filed under seal on Nov. 1, 2017 and was unsealed earlier today.  The indictment charges Gilbert with unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition in Bernalillo County, N.M., on Aug. 20, 2017, and again in Guadalupe County, N.M., on Aug. 21, 2017.  According to the indictment, Gilbert was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because she has been convicted of at least ten felony offenses.  The indictment also alleges that Gilbert assaulted a federal officer in Guadalupe County on Aug. 21, 2017.

 

Gilbert faces a maximum statutory penalty of ten years of imprisonment on each of the two felon in possession of firearms charges.  However, if the court determines that Gilbert is an armed career criminal, she faces an enhanced sentence of a mandatory minimum 15 years to a maximum of life imprisonment on the firearms charges.  Gilbert also faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment on the assault on a federal officer charge.  Charges in criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

Gilbert is currently in state custody in connection with violation of probation proceedings and will be transferred to federal custody to face the charges in the indictment.

 

The Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the Albuquerque Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Niki Tapia-Brito is prosecuting the case. 

ALBUQUERQUE – Ray L. Smith, 51, a former resident of Las Vegas, N.M., who now resides in Kingman, Ariz., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to drug trafficking and money laundering charges.  Smith entered the guilty plea under a plea agreement that recommends a prison sentence within the range of 12 to 57 months followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

The DEA arrested Smith and co-defendant Tamara Phillips, 47, also of Kingman, on Feb. 19, 2016, who were charged in a four-count indictment that was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico on Feb. 9, 2016.  The indictment subsequently was superseded on May 24, 2017, to charge Smith and Phillips with conspiring to distribute synthetic cannabinoids, maintaining premises for the purpose of distributing synthetic cannabinoids, and participating in a conspiracy to launder drug proceeds.  According to the superseding indictment, between Feb. 2010 and Feb. 2016, Smith and Phillips participated in a conspiracy to distribute synthetic cannabinoids from three businesses in New Mexico and Arizona owned by Smith that were jointly managed by Smith and Phillips

 

The superseding indictment alleged that Smith and Phillips used the three businesses – “Smokin Body Jewelry” stores located in Las Vegas, Raton and Kingman – to sell synthetic cannabinoids.  Employees at the stores allegedly sold synthetic cannabinoids to customers while acting at the direction of Smith and Phillips.  The superseding indictment included information about two alleged drug transactions occurring on Sept. 29, 2015; the first involved the sale of $1,687.46 of synthetic cannabinoids by an employee at the Raton store, and the second involved the sale of $1,556.91 of synthetic cannabinoids by an employee at the Las Vegas store.  The superseding indictment included forfeiture allegations seeking forfeiture of property and other assets constituting the proceeds of the drug trafficking offenses charged in the superseding indictment or that were used to facilitate those crimes including seven parcels of real property located in New Mexico and Arizona, funds in 20 bank accounts, a safety deposit box, and four vehicles.

 

During law enforcement operations executed on Feb. 18, 2016, law enforcement agents and officers seized 18 bank accounts, a safety deposit box and the eight parcels of real property identified in the indictment.  They also executed six search warrants, including search warrants for each of the three stores, a second commercial property in Kingman, and two residences in Kingman.  The estimated aggregate value of the real property, currency and other assets seized on Feb. 18, 2016, exceeded $2.3 million, including approximately $220,000 in cash.  The agents and officers also seized approximately 11 kilograms (24.2 pounds) of precursor chemicals allegedly shipped from China in the primary residence of Smith and Phillips.  In addition, approximately 25 kilograms (55 pounds) of suspected synthetic cannabinoids with a street value of $250,000 were seized from the three stores and the residence of Smith and Phillips.

 

During today’s proceedings, Smith pled guilty to four counts of the superseding indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute synthetic cannabinoids, two counts of maintaining a drug-involved premises, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.   In entering the guilty plea, Smith acknowledged that from Feb. 2010 through Feb. 2016, he was the founder, owner and proprietor of “Smokin’ Body Jewelry,” which operated at various times from 2010 through 2016 in New Mexico and Arizona.  Smith admitted that during that timeframe, he conspired to sell large quantities of synthetic cannabinoids to the general public. 

 

Smith further admitted that synthetic cannabinoids were “Smokin Body Jewelry’s” best-selling item, and that he engaged in the routine practice of mixing, transferring and spreading deposits throughout personal and business bank accounts in order to conceal the source of his revenue as primarily derived from the unlawful sale of synthetic cannabinoids.  Smith admitted he used revenue from the sale of synthetic cannabinoids to pay for his personal salary and the salaries of store employees, and to purchase several parcels of land, property and vehicles. 

 

A sentencing hearing for Smith has yet to be scheduled.

 

Phillips has entered a plea of not guilty to the charges in the superseding indictment.  Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

This case was investigated by the DEA’s offices in Albuquerque, N.M., and Flagstaff, Lake Havasu and Yuma, Ariz., with assistance from the Raton Police Department and the Mohave Area General Narcotics Enforcement Team.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Shaheen P. Torgoley is prosecuting the case.

 

The synthetic cannabinoids charged in the indictment are commonly referred to as “spice.”  According to the DEA, over the past several years, there has been a growing use of synthetic cannabinoids.  Smoke-able herbal blends marketed as being “legal” and providing a marijuana-like high have become increasingly popular because they are easily available and, in many cases, more potent and dangerous than marijuana.  These products consist of plant material that has been coated with dangerous psychoactive compounds that mimic THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.  These substances, however, have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for human consumption, and there is no oversight of the manufacturing process.  Synthetic cannabinoids often are labeled as incense to mask their intended purpose.

ALBUQUERQUE – Jesus Manuel Aguilar Jr., 55, of Las Cruces, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 46 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition.

 

Aguilar and co-defendant Thomas Julian Aguilera, 28, also of Las Cruces, were charged in a four-count indictment filed on Nov. 12, 2014.  Aguilera was charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm on May 11, 2012, June 14, 2012, and July 11, 2012, and Aguilar was charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm on July 11, 2012.  According to the indictment, the defendants committed the crimes in Dona Ana County, N.M.  At the time, Aguilera was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and Aguilar was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of distribution and possession of a controlled substance and being a felon in possession of a firearm. 

 

On Feb. 15, 2017, Aguilar pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and admitted that on July 11, 2012, he sold a firearm to an undercover law enforcement agent.  Aguilar acknowledged that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition on July 11, 2012, because of his status as a convicted felon.

 

Aguilera pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm on April 16, 2015, and was sentenced on Sept. 24, 2015.

 

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Adrian Chavez, 24, of Greeley, Colo., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a methamphetamine trafficking charge.

 

The DEA arrested Chavez in Aug. 2016, after seizing approximately 2.80 kilograms (6.27 pounds) of crystal methamphetamine from him during an interdiction investigation at the Greyhound Bus Station in Albuquerque.  The methamphetamine was contained in five clear plastic containers inside Chavez’s backpack.

 

Chavez subsequently was indicted on Aug. 23, 2016, and was charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Aug. 12, 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

During today’s change of plea hearing, Chavez pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  In entering the guilty plea, Chavez admitted that on Aug. 12, 2016, he possessed methamphetamine that was concealed inside five plastic containers wrapped with grey duct tape inside his backpack. 

 

At sentencing, Chavez faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.  A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. Spiers.

ALBUQUERQUE – Michael Dwain Samples, 25, of Monahans, Tex., pled guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to violating federal drug trafficking and firearms laws under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

 

Samples’ co-defendant, Nicolas Robert Muniz, 26, also of Monahans, Tex., was charged by criminal complaint on June 5, 2017, after law enforcement officers seized approximately 504 grams of methamphetamine, 50 grams of marijuana, and firearms and ammunition from Muniz’s vehicle following a routine traffic stop.  During the traffic stop, Muniz allegedly acted suspicious and nervous causing the officers to deploy a drug detection canine on the vehicle, and the canine allegedly alerted the officers to the presence of controlled substances in the vehicle.

 

Samples and Muniz were subsequently charged in a six-count indictment on Sept. 13, 2017.  Samples and Muniz were charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  Muniz was charged individually with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime.  Samples was charged individually with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime.  According to the indictment, the offenses took place on May 16, 2017, in Lea County, N.M.  Samples was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he was previously convicted of possession of a controlled substance.  Muniz was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he was previously convicted of theft of property.

 

During today’s proceedings, Samples pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  In entering the guilty plea, Samples admitted that on May 16, 2017, he traveled with another individual from Monahans, Tex., to Carlsbad, N.M., to purchase approximately 469 grams of methamphetamine with the intention of distributing the methamphetamine to other people in exchange for money.  Samples further admitted that on May 16, 2017, he was in possession of a firearm and ammunition despite his status as a convicted felon. 

 

At sentencing, Samples faces a statutory minimum penalty of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison.  He remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled. 

 

Muniz has entered a plea of not guilty to the charges in the indictment, and is currently scheduled for trial in Jan. 2018.  Charges in criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the New Mexico State Police.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Brock E. Taylor of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Renee Rodriguez, 33, of Roswell, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 63 months in prison for her conviction on methamphetamine trafficking and firearms charges.  Rodriguez will be on supervised release for three years after completing her prison sentence.

 

Rodriguez and co-defendant Joseph Vallejos, 25, also of Roswell, were charged in a criminal complaint filed in Sept. 2015, with conspiracy, distribution of methamphetamine, and firearms offenses in Chaves County, N.M.  According to the criminal complaint, Rodriguez and Vallejos sold an aggregate of 157.7 grams of methamphetamine to undercover law enforcement officers during nine separate transactions between July 2015 and Sept. 2015.   The complaint further charged Rodriguez with brandishing a handgun during a methamphetamine transaction on July 8, 2015.

 

Rodriguez and Vallejos subsequently were charged in a nine-count indictment that was filed on Dec. 17, 2015.  The indictment charged Rodriguez and Vallejos with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine from July 1, 2015 through July 30, 2015.  It also charged Rodriguez with distributing methamphetamine on three occasions in July 2015, and Vallejos and Rodriguez with distributing methamphetamine on four occasions in July 2015.  Rodriguez also was charged with brandishing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime on July 8, 2015.  According to the indictment, Vallejos and Rodriguez committed the nine crimes in Chaves County.

 

On Aug. 12, 2016, Rodriguez pled guilty to two of the distribution of methamphetamine charges and to brandishing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.  In entering the guilty plea, Rodriguez admitted that on July 8, 2015, she distributed approximately 15 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement officer, and during that transaction she used and carried a firearm.  Rodriguez further admitted that she distributed approximately 11.9 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement officer on July 30, 2015. 

 

On Aug. 3, 2016, Vallejos pled guilty to a conspiracy charge and four methamphetamine distribution charges.  At sentencing, Vallejos faces a statutory minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison followed by not less than four years of supervised release.  Vallejos also will be ordered to pay $750.00 in restitution to the United States, which represents the proceeds he derived from the drug trafficking offenses to which he pleaded guilty.  Vallejos remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Roswell office of the FBI and the New Mexico State Police.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy M. Castellano of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Aaron Curley, 55, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 24 months in prison for his conviction on an assault charge.  Curley will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

 

Curley was arrested in Nov. 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with assaulting a Navajo woman by stabbing her in the leg and sternum area with a knife.  Curley was indicted on Dec. 20, 2016, and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, a knife, with intent to do bodily injury and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  According to the indictment, the offenses took place on Nov. 20, 2016, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M.

 

On July 10, 2017, Curley pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon.  In entering the guilty plea, Curley admitted that on Nov. 20, 2016, he assaulted the victim by stabbing her in the left leg and caused the victim to sustain cuts to her left arm and hand as she was defending herself. 

 

This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback prosecuted this case as part of the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico, which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native American women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.

ALBUQUERQUE – Miguel Angel Arias, 26, of Oxnard, Calif., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 120 months in prison for violating the federal firearms and drug trafficking laws.  Arias will be on supervised release for five years after completing his prison sentence.

 

Arias and co-defendant Marco Antonio Valero, 54, also of Oxnard, Calif., were arrested in Jan. 2017, and were charged by criminal complaint with methamphetamine trafficking and federal firearms offenses on Jan. 26, 2017, in Hidalgo County, N.M.  According to the criminal complaint, Special Agents of Homeland Security Investigations and officers of the Lordsburg Police Department arrested Arias and Valero after finding eight bundles of methamphetamine weighing approximately 4.2 kilograms (9.26 pounds) and a firearm and ammunition in the defendants’ vehicle during a traffic stop in Lordsburg, N.M.

 

Arias and Valero subsequently were charged on April 19, 2017, in a five-count indictment with participating in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy between Jan. 21, 2017 and Jan. 27, 2017.  The indictment also charged Arias with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and Valero with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  At the time, Arias was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted on a marijuana trafficking charge.

 

On June 30, 2017, Arias pled guilty to conspiracy, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.  In entering the guilty plea, Arias admitted that on Jan. 26, 2017, law enforcement officers found methamphetamine concealed in his vehicle when he was stopped in Lordsburg for speeding and following too closely.  Arias also admitted possessing a handgun, which was located under the driver seat of his vehicle, despite the fact that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his previous felony conviction.

 

On June 7, 2017, Valero pled guilty to possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and admitted possessing the methamphetamine, which was concealed in the vehicle in which he was a passenger on Jan. 26, 2017. Valero was sentenced on Oct. 24, 2017, to 63 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

 

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Lordsburg Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark A. Saltman of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office. 

ALBUQUERQUE – In Aug. 2016, a multi-agency investigation led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) concluded with the filing of 59 federal indictments and a federal criminal complaint charging 103 Bernalillo County residents with federal firearms and narcotics trafficking offenses.  To date, 80 of the 103 defendants charged as the result of this investigation have entered guilty pleas and 48 of them have been sentenced.

 

The investigation was undertaken in support of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies collaborate with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution primarily based on their prior criminal convictions with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

 

Today, Margarito Ruiz, 36, was sentenced in federal court to 120 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for distributing methamphetamine.

 

Ruiz was arrested in Jan. 2017, on an indictment charging him with distributing methamphetamine on May 23, 2016, and with being a felon in possession of a firearm on May 25, 2016.  In May 2016, Ruiz was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his prior felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance and shoplifting.   According to the indictment, Ruiz committed the offenses in Bernalillo County, N.M.  On July 6, 2017, Ruiz pled guilty to a methamphetamine trafficking charge, and admitted that on May 23, 2016, he distributed approximately two ounces of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent. 

 

Twenty of the defendants charged as the result of the ATF investigation have entered not guilty pleas to the charges against them.  Charges in indictments are merely accusations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.   Two defendants are fugitives and the charges against two defendants have been dismissed.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of ATF and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eva Fontanez.

ALBUQUERQUE – Edward A. Garcia, 51, a non-Indian man residing in Isleta Pueblo, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to violating the federal firearms laws by unlawfully possessing a firearm.

 

The Isleta Pueblo Tribal Police Department arrested Garcia on a criminal complaint in July 2017, for assaulting an Isleta Pueblo woman by biting her and striking her on the face and threatening her with a sledgehammer.  The complaint alleged that Garcia committed the assault in Isleta Pueblo in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

Garcia subsequently was charged in a four-count indictment that was filed on July 27, 2017.  The indictment charged Garcia with two assault offenses:  assault of an intimate partner resulting in substantial bodily injury on June 6, 2017, and assault with a dangerous weapon, a sledgehammer, on June 7, 2017.  It also charged Garcia with using a cellphone to engage in a course of conduct that caused substantial emotional distress to the victim and placing her in fear of death and serious bodily injury from June 7, 2017 through July 6, 2017, and with unlawfully possessing a firearm in July 2017.  According to the indictment, Garcia was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of possession of a controlled substance.

 

During today’s change of plea hearing, Garcia pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.  In entering the guilty plea, Garcia admitted that on July 7, 2017, when he was arrested by law enforcement authorities, he was in possession of a handgun.  Garcia admitted that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his status as a convicted felon.

           

At sentencing, Garcia faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison.  Garcia remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. 

 

This case was investigated by the Isleta Pueblo Tribal Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Novaline D. Wilson is prosecuting the case pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico, which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.

ALBUQUERQUE – John Bevel, 42, of Las Cruces, N.M., made his initial appearance today in federal court on a criminal complaint charging him with possessing child pornography.  Bevel remains in federal custody pending a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing, which are scheduled for Nov. 2, 2017.

 

The criminal complaint alleges that Bevel possessed child pornography in Oct. 2017, in Dona Ana County, N.M.  According to the complaint, Homeland Security Investigations and the Las Cruces Police Department initiated an investigation into Bevel in early Oct. 2017, when Dropbox Inc., an online storage account system, reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Bevel’s account allegedly contained approximately 15 files containing child pornography.  The complaint further alleges that Bevel’s smartphone contained hundreds of images of child pornography. 

 

If convicted of possessing child pornography, Bevel faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.  Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of Homeland Security Investigations and the Las Cruces Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander B. Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.  Individuals with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse are encouraged to contact the Children’s Advocacy Center at (575) 526-3437.

 

The case also was brought as a part of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico.  There are 86 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office.  Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.

ALBUQUERQUE – Ralonte Terrell Swain, 25, of Jasper, Ala., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a methamphetamine trafficking charge.  Swain entered the guilty plea under a plea agreement that recommends a sentence of a five-year term of imprisonment.

 

The DEA arrested Swain in June 2017, after seizing approximately 244.20 grams (.54 pounds) of crystal methamphetamine from him during an interdiction investigation at the Greyhound Bus Station in Albuquerque.  The criminal complaint setting forth the charge against Swain indicated that the crystal methamphetamine was contained in a clear plastic, oblong shaped bundle concealed inside of a travel neck-type pillow.

 

Swain subsequently was indicted on June 28, 2017, and was charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on June 5, 2017, in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

During today’s change of plea hearing, Swain pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on June 5, 2017, he possessed approximately 244.40 grams of methamphetamine that was concealed inside of a travel neck pillow while traveling through Albuquerque.  Swain further admitted that he intended to deliver the methamphetamine to another individual for further distribution when he reached his intended destination.  Swain remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. Spiers.