Northern District of Texas

Thirty-nine defendants charged in Operation “Taste the Rainbow” have been sentenced to a combined 415 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

The men and women, all allegedly tied to methamphetamine trafficking in and around Lubbock, were charged in a series of three indictments with an array of federal crimes, primarily distribution of methamphetamine, unlawful possession of firearms, and conspiracy, in September 2021. The final defendant, 39-year-old Jesse Martinez Jr., aka JJ, was sentenced on Wednesday to 262 months.  In plea papers, Mr. Martinez admitted that he arranged for the sale of methamphetamine to a confidential informant and directed one of his associates to deliver it.

Over the course of the investigation – which involved more than 200 personnel from nine different law enforcement agencies – officers and agents seized more than two kilogram of methamphetamine and 25 guns.  The organization was found to have distributed dozens of kilograms of methamphetamine in the Lubbock community. 

“Thanks to the hard work of literally hundreds of officers and agents, along with a few dedicated prosecutors, we are keeping 39 of Lubbock’s most violent drug traffickers off the streets,” said U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham. “We know, based on their criminal histories, that these men and women were not only dealing large quantities of drugs, but sowing fear and agony in the community. We are proud to put them behind bars.”

“We heard the concerns of the residents of Lubbock and greater West Texas, and brought every possible resource to dismantle the criminal element in this investigation. Today’s final sentencing illustrates the commitment we have to ensure people and families can live in their neighborhoods without living in fear,” said Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners every day to target the diverse and dangerous threats that drive violence in our communities.”

Additional defendants include:
 

• Oscar Alcala, Jr., 30, plead guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison

• Teresa Delhierro, 38, plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 180 months in prison

• Stephanie Shea Ortiz, 38, plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 108 months in prison

• Isaac Levi Hernandez, aka “Pacman,” 37, plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 160 months in prison

• Robert Rangel, Jr., 47, plead guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 188 months in prison

• Sergio Lopez, 41, plead guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 175 months in prison

• Symon Anthony Maldonado, 26, plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 151 months in prison

• Samantha Denise Rodriguez, 38, plead guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 214 months in prison

• Michael Joseph Ybarra, 37, plead guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 121 months in prison

• Christopher Ray Lovington, 35, plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 324 months in prison

• Megan Francisca Gomez, 28, plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 84 months in prison 

• Gabriel Lee Mendoza, 30, plead guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 120 months in prison

• Jessie Luciano Salazar, aka “Lucky,” 45, plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 230 months in prison

• Ruby Alexis Banuelos, 23, plead guilty to felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 46 months in prison

• Adriana Pena, 26, plead guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 70 months in prison

• Alexandria Unique Conner, 24, plead guilty to possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and was sentenced to 60 months in prison

• Bobby Joe Garcia, aka “Ace,” 28, plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 108 months in prison

• Christopher Eldon Limbaugh, aka “Skittles,” 38, plead guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 120 months in prison

• Christopher Daniel Garcia, 39, plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 121 months in prison

• Bobbi Jean Hendrix, 33, plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 84 months in prison

• Alexandra Cruz, 25, plead guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 120 months in prison

• James Raul Garza, 37, plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 230 months in prison

• David Bustos, Jr., 40, plead guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 120 months in prison

• Gerald Felipe Vargas, aka “Gizmo,” 36, plead guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 160 months in prison

• Julie Ann Sifuentes, aka “Juicy,” 36, plead guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 66 months in prison

• Daniel Ramon, Jr., 41, plead guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and was sentenced to 60 months in prison

• Kelsey Marie Applegate, 28, plead guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 60 months in prison

• Toby Mack Woods, 62, plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 24 months in prison

• Katie Dshawn Montez, 28, plead guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and was sentenced to 60 months in person

• Beatrice Delgado, 37, plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 121 months in prison

• Colten Shane White, 29, plead guilty to felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 33 months in prison

• Madison Whitney Michaels, 23, plead guilty to misprision (concealment) of a felony and was sentenced to 15 months in prison

• Mark Adam Alonzo, aka “Cinco,” 31, plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 128 months in prison

• Alejandro Antonio Mendez, aka “Ace,” 27, plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 110 months in prison

• Edilberto Reyes, aka “Pajaro” (Bird), 35, plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 120 months in prison

• Reynaldo Cruz, Jr., 50, plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 240 months in prison

• Yesenia Flores, 40, plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 151 months in prison

• Christopher Joshua Ruiz, 39, plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 151 months in prison

Those put behind bars by this operation included many violent recidivists; between them, the convicted defendants have been previously charged with 31 assaults, nine burglaries, three robberies, a murder, 24 firearm crimes, 69 serious controlled substance violations, three terroristic threats, a forgery, 12 frauds, and a child sexual assault.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Division – Lubbock Resident Agency and the Texas Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation with the help of six agency partners: the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division, the Lubbock Police Department, the U.S. Marshals, the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Long is prosecuting the case.

A Dallas man who allegedly scammed Chinese investors out of more than $26 million has been federally charged, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Timothy Lynch Barton, the 59-year-old president of real estate development firm JMJ and CEO of real estate investment firm Carnegie Development, was indicted Tuesday on seven counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud. He made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge David L. Horan today.

According to the indictment, Mr. Barton allegedly traveled to Hangzhou, China to market real estate investment opportunities in Texas to Chinese investors.

During his presentations – which highlighted his supposed ties to U.S. politicians – Mr. Barton allegedly claimed that the properties in question were located in sought-after neighborhoods in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. He introduced a builder, identified in court documents as S.W., who he claimed would purchase lots to build on to sell to future home buyers.

Mr. Barton allegedly promised investors annual interest payments for two years, followed by the return of their initial investment at the end of the second year. He allegedly claimed that the investors would contribute 80 percent of the funds necessary for the project, and he and others would contribute the remaining 20 percent.  Mr. Barton also allegedly represented that no commissions would be paid out of investor funds.

In loan agreements signed by the investors, Mr. Barton allegedly inflated the cost of each property by as much as 195 percent, and in some instances, never actually purchased the property.  Mr. Barton also allegedly paid interest payments to early investors with investor funds from later projects. 

Contrary to his loan agreements, Mr. Barton allegedly paid commissions out of investors’ funds, and even funneled investors’ money into unrelated projects. Still other funds were used to pay consultants or even to pay an unrelated company’s AmEx bill.  According to the indictment, investors lost more than $26,000,000 to the scheme.

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Mr. Barton is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each count of wire fraud, up to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and up to 20 years in federal prison for securities fraud.

He is also the subject of a parallel civil action filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Renee Hunter is prosecuting the case.

A west Texas man who assaulted two Deputy U.S. Marshals immediately after being sentenced to 30 years in prison for another crime was sentenced today to an additional five years for the attack, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Damien Dre Gonzales, 28, was charged in July 2021 with assaulting a federal officer. He pleaded guilty in May 2022 and was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix to five years in federal prison, to be served consecutive to his sentence in the other case.

“This case reminds us of the challenges law enforcement agents and officers face on a daily basis. We are immensely grateful to these officers for acting swiftly to keep the courtroom safe,” said U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham.

According to court documents, on June 10, 2021 Mr. Gonzalez was sentenced to 365 months in federal prison for kidnapping a 9-year-old girl from a birthday part in Levelland, Texas.

Immediately after the sentencing hearing had concluded, Mr. Gonzales grabbed the microphone from the defendant’s podium and swung it violently at a Deputy U.S. Marshal, who grabbed him by the arm in an attempt to control his outburst.

Another Deputy Marshal rushed forward to help, but Mr. Gonzales changed toward him and rammed him into a wooden bench.

With the help of a courtroom security officer, an FBI task force officer, and three DEA agents who happened to be present, the Marshals were able to subdue the defendant. Throughout, Mr. Gonzales hurled insults, curses, and threats at the officers and agents.

In recorded jailhouse calls following the incident, Mr. Gonzales bragged about assaulting the Marshals, stating that he “threw” and “ran at” both of them.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Redd prosecuted the assault case; Assistant U.S. Attorney Callie Woolam prosecuted the kidnapping case.

Two defendants who stole guns from a man in an Arlington parking lot have been sentenced to a combined 18 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham. 

Cuedell Javon Henry, 20, and Tyrique Raashad Wesley, 25, were charged via criminal complaint in July 2021. They both subsequently pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen firearm. Mr. Wesley was sentenced in May 2022 to 105 months in federal prison; Mr. Henry was sentenced Wednesday to 120 months in federal prison, to run consecutive a 180 month sentence handed down by the state. 

“It is legal for hobbyists to sell off a few guns, but we urge them to exercise caution when doing so. Criminals – particularly those legally barred from possessing firearms – will often stop at nothing, including violence, to get their hands on guns,” said U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham.  

“Stolen firearms are generally taken by offenders for further criminal use and pose a significant threat to our communities.  ATF will continue to work with Arlington Police Department and other partners to investigate and disrupt these crimes,” said ATF Dallas Acting Special Agent in Charge James VanVliet.

According to court documents, in the summer of 2021, Mr. Henry and Mr. Wesley contacted a man who advertised two 9mm pistols for sale on texasguntrader.com, claiming they wanted to purchase the guns. The three men agreed to meet in a parking lot in Arlington. 

Once there, the defendants asked if they could examine the firearms. After emptying the chamber of ammunition, the man obliged. 

Mr. Henry loaded one of the pistols and pointed it at the victim; meanwhile Mr. Wesley – a convicted felon who was not legally allowed to possess firearms – tucked the other pistol into his waistband.  Armed with the two guns, the pair fled the scene in a 2013 Dodge Charger. The seller gave chase, and was able to take down the car’s license plate. 

Based on the victim’s descriptions of Mr. Henry’s tattoos, law enforcement identified him. A review of his Instagram account showed him posing with multiple firearms, including a pistol similar to the one that had been stolen. 

Law enforcement then located his Dodge Charger at a townhome in Arlington. There, they observed Mr. Henry and Mr. Wesley load a black bag into the vehicle and drive away. 

Officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but Mr. Wesley, who was driving the vehicle, initially managed to evade them. They found the vehicle abandoned, with the front doors open, a short while later. Eventually, officers located and arrested Mr. Wesley, who gave chase on foot, and Mr. Henry. 

Agents found on of the stolen guns inside the Dodge Charger, and another inside the townhome. 

In plea papers, both men admitted to possessing the weapons. 

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division and the Arlington Police Department’s Gun Crime Unit conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Doug Allen and Alex Lewis prosecuted the case.
 

Four defendants have been charged with systematically stealing fitness trackers from a warehouse in Corsicana, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham. The scheme, which spanned about four months, allegedly netted them more than $425,000 in value.

Antonio Marcell Lewis, 41, Samuel Earl Lewis, 36, Aaron Lincoln, 43, and Ricka Smith, 37, were indicted for conspiracy to commit theft from interstate shipment on Sept. 8. They were arrested Thursday and made their initial appearances on Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee Toliver.

According to the indictment, Antonio Lewis and Mr. Lincoln, both shipping and receiving employees for a department store distribution center in Corsicana, allegedly stole fitness trackers and accessories destined for retail stores, unloading them from freight trailers by the pallet full and placing them near the facility’s loading docks. Ms. Smith, a driver for a commercial freight carrier, allegedly parked her truck near the loading docks, so that Antonio Lewis and Mr. Lincoln could load the trackers onto her truck.  Ms. Smith would allegedly met up with Antonio Lewis and his brother, Samuel Lewis, after each of the thefts to unload the stolen fitness trackers from her truck. The brothers then sold the fitness trackers to unauthorized retailers.

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. All four defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, they face up to five years in federal prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations’ Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Briggs is prosecuting the case.

A Dallas anesthesiologist who allegedly injected nerve blocking agents and other drugs into patient IV bags at a local surgery center – resulting in at least one death and multiple cardiac emergencies – was arrested Wednesday on federal criminal charges, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, and U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham announced today. 

Raynaldo Rivera Ortiz Jr., 59, was charged via criminal complaint with tampering with a consumer product causing death and intentional drug adulteration. He was arrested in Plano on Wednesday and will make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee Toliver  in Dallas on Friday at 10 a.m.

According the criminal complaint, on June 21, a 55-year-old female coworker of Dr. Ortiz, identified in court documents as M.K., experienced a medical emergency and died immediately after treating herself for dehydration using an IV bag of saline taken from the surgical center. An autopsy report revealed that she died from a lethal dose of bupivacaine, a nerve blocking agent that is rarely abused but is often used during the administration of anesthesia.

Two months later, on Aug. 24, an 18-year-old male patient, identified in court documents as J.A., experienced a cardiac emergency during a routine sinus surgery. The teen was intubated and transferred to a local ICU. Chemical analysis of the fluid from a saline bag used during his surgery revealed the presence of bupivacaine, epinephrine (a stimulant), and lidocaine, drugs that could have caused the patient’s sudden symptoms.

According to the complaint, surgical center personnel concluded that the incidents involving M.K. and J.A. suggested a pattern of intentional adulteration of IV bags used at the surgical center. They identified 10 additional unexpected cardiac emergencies that occurred during otherwise unremarkable surgeries between May and August 2022, which the complaint alleges is an exceptionally high rate of complications over such a short period of time.

In each of those cases – which investigators believe occurred on or around May 26 and 27; June 27; July 7, 15 and 18; and Aug. 1, 4, 9 and 19 – medical personnel were able to stabilize the patient only through use of emergency measures. Most of the incidents occurred during longer surgeries that used more than one IV bag, including one or more bags retrieved mid-surgery from a stainless steel bag warmer.

The complaint alleges that none of the cardiac incidents occurred during Dr. Ortiz’s surgeries, and that they began just two days after Dr. Oritz was notified of a disciplinary inquiry stemming from an incident during which he allegedly “deviated from the standard of care” during an anesthesia procedure when a patient experienced a medical emergency. The complaint alleges that all of the incidents occurred around the time Dr. Ortiz performed services at the facility, and no incidents occurred while Dr. Ortiz was on vacation.

The complaint further alleges that Dr. Ortiz, who had a history of disciplinary actions against him, expressed concern to other physicians over the disciplinary action at the facility and complained the center was trying to “crucify” him. A nurse who worked on one of Dr. Ortiz’s surgeries allegedly told law enforcement that Dr. Ortiz refused to use an IV bag she retrieved from the warmer, physically waving the bag off.

Surveillance video from the center’s operating room hallway allegedly showed Dr. Ortiz placing IV bags into the stainless-steel bag warmer shortly before other doctors’ patients experienced cardiac emergencies. 

The complaint alleges that in one instance captured in the surveillance video, agents observed Dr. Ortiz walk quickly from an operating room to the bag warmer, place a single IV bag inside, visually scan the empty hallway, and quickly walk away. Just over an hour later, according to the complaint, a 56-year-old woman suffered a cardiac emergency during a scheduled cosmetic surgery after a bag from the warmer was used during her procedure.

The complaint alleges that in another instance, agents observed Dr. Ortiz exit his operating room carrying an IV bag concealed in what appeared to be a paper folder, swap the bag with another bag from the warmer, and walk away. Roughly half an hour later, a 54-year-old woman suffered a cardiac emergency during a scheduled cosmetic surgery after a bag from the warmer was used during her procedure. 

“The safety of the nation’s pharmaceutical supply is critically important,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton. “The Department will vigorously prosecute this case consistent with the evidence gathered by our law enforcement partners.”

“Our complaint alleges this defendant surreptitiously injected heart-stopping drugs into patient IV bags, decimating the Hippocratic oath,” said U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham. “A single incident of seemingly intentional patient harm would be disconcerting; multiple incidents are truly disturbing. At this point, however, we believe that the problem is limited to one individual, who is currently behind bars. The Department of Justice and our indefatigable partners at the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations and the Dallas Police Department will work tirelessly to hold him accountable. In the meantime, it is safe to undergo anesthesia in Dallas.”

“Patients expect that their doctors will use only safe and effective medical products during their surgeries. When illicit tampering occurs, serious harm and even death can result,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles L. Grinstead, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations. “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to monitor, investigate and bring to justice those who would risk patients’ health and safety.”

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Dr. Ortiz is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations and the Dallas Police Department conducted the investigation with the assistance of scientists from the University of North Texas. Senior Litigation Counsel Patrick Runkle and Senior Trial Counsel Yolanda McCray Jones of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorneys John de la Garza and Errin Martin of the Northern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.

An Amarillo man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to threatening to execute three prominent Jewish rabbis, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Christopher Stephen Brown was charged via criminal complaint on Dec. 6, 2021 and indicted later that month. He plead guilty yesterday to making interstate threatening communications before U.S. Magistrate District Judge Lee Ann Reno in Amarillo.

“In addition to expressing disgusting anti-Semitic views, Mr. Brown made specific threats of violence against multiple individuals, which is prohibited under federal law,” said U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham. “We will not allow our citizens to be subjected to this sort of menacing conduct.”

“Mr. Brown’s statements indicated he wanted to potentially commit violent acts against members of the Jewish community; this type of behavior is not tolerated by law enforcement. This action is a criminal violation and also instills fear in a community that has long been a target of hateful rhetoric and violence,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno. “The FBI’s mission is to uphold the U.S. Constitution and to protect the American people. We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to pursue individuals who pose a threat to public safety.”

According to plea papers, Mr. Brown admitted to placing threatening calls to Chabad Lubavitch, a Jewish organization that has provided spiritual guidance and assistance to Jewish people since before the Holocaust.  Chabad is headquartered in New York City and maintains more than 3,500 institutions worldwide. 

In those calls, the defendant sated his name was “Madrikh Obadiah” and threatened to “execute” several rabbinical leaders, identified in court documents as L.S., Y.K., and M.K.  Over the course of multiple calls, he vowed he would tear their eyes and tongues out, blow their heads of, and kill every rabbi he could find.

According to court documents, he also sent messages to the organization via their website, calling for death to all Jews and linking to his YouTube channel, which also contained threatening content.

Mr. Brown now faces up to five years in federal prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, Amarillo Resident Agency and the Randall County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation in partnership with the FBI’s New York Field Office and the New York Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Frausto is prosecuting the case.

Twenty-five alleged drug traffickers have been charged in “Operation Papercheck Fresh,” announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

During a large-scale operation last Thursday – which involved eight law enforcement agencies targeting nine locations, including a recording studio in Dallas’ Bryan Place neighborhood – officers and agents also seized cocaine, methamphetamine, THC, and fake pharmaceutical pills; eight vehicles; 37 firearms; and more than $300,000 in U.S. currency.

Those charged in a 34- count indictment unsealed Friday include:

• Durrell Kevon Haynes, aka “Duggie,” charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine,
• Morris Burrell Haynes, aka “Bull,” charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm (Century Arms 9mm) in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, felon in possession of a firearm
• Camira Lashe Anderson, charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
• Baron Wayne Bennett, charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
• Brandon Earl Boyd Jr., aka “Shook,” charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana,
• Gilbert Garza, aka “Chicko,” charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine
• Quinton Dwayne Vine, charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
• Devonshire Labrandiff Hudson, charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
• Anthony Dewayne Leffall, charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm (Glock 9mm) in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
• Desmond Jamal Quinones, charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, felon in possession of a firearm
• Jasmine Shanice Reagor, charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine
• Chadrick Demar Sullivan, charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
• Carlos Ronsha Thomas Jr., aka “Uno Loso,” charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine
• Darrick D. Williams, charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine

Those charged via criminal complaint include:
 

• Chadrick Alex, charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance
• Deontate  Alex, charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance
• Darian Prunty, charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance
• Corry Richardson, charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance
   

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, the defendants face life in federal prison.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Dallas County Police Department, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, the DeSoto Police Department, and the Ellis County Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Kull and Joe Magliolo are prosecuting the case.

The Texoma High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), through its Executive Board comprised of Federal, state, and local agency heads in North Texas and Oklahoma, administers approximately $4,000,000.00 in grant funding provided by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to establish and support drug task forces in North Texas and Oklahoma.  Drug task force operations which combine Federal, state, and local resources, such as the one conducted in this critical investigation, make our communities safer and represent the strength of the HIDTA program by delivering an outstanding return on the investment of ONDCP and Texoma HIDTA grant funding.

A Rowlett man was sentenced Thursday to 60 years in federal prison for filming himself molesting a 7-year-old child, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Mark Alan Miller, 35, was indicted in June 2020 and pleaded guilty in March 2022 to two counts of production of child pornography. He was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle, who handed down the statutory maximum sentence.

According to court documents, police were dispatched to the victim’s home on Jan. 12, 2020, after the victim’s father walked in on the defendant on the floor raping his then-9-year-old daughter.

The father told law enforcement that he and Mr. Miller had been friends for over a decade, and that Mr. Miller was staying overnight at their home. The father heard a noise and went to check on it. When he saw Mr. Miller was not in the living room where he’d been sleeping, the father rushed to the daughter’s room, where he found the defendant anally raping the child. The father held a gun on the defendant until the police arrived.

Mr. Miller immediately confessed to police that he had been sexually touching the child for years, describing their relationship as “a little too close.”

The child was immediately transported to the hospital and on to the Rockwall Children’s Advocacy Center, where she confirmed that Mr. Miller had raped her on multiple occasions and had photographed her genitals and showed her the photos.

When officers confronted Mr. Miller about the photos, he admitted to producing child pornography.  A forensic analysis of his electronic devices revealed that he had produced at least five videos and 132 images of child pornography involving the victim dating back two years, to when the child was just seven years old.

At Thursday’s sentencing hearing, a Rockwall Police Department forensic analyst testified that Mr. Miller’s electronic devices contained more than 8,000 sexually explicit images of other children. Further testimony revealed that the defendant even used a revealing image of the victim in this case as his screen saver.  

The Rockwall Police Department, the Rockwall County Sheriff’s Office, and the FBI’s Dallas Field Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks prosecuted the case.

An Illinois man was sentenced today to 15 years in federal prison for running a multi-million dollar retail crime scheme, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

A federal jury found Artur Gilowski, 48, of Barrington, IL, guilty of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property and conspiracy to commit mail fraud at a trial in March. He was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn, who ordered him to forfeit several pieces of real property in Illinois and hundreds of dollars seized from various bank accounts.

According to evidence presented at trial, Mr. Gilowski’s coconspirators stole tens of thousands of products – valued at over $20 million – from brick-and-mortar retail stores across the United States, then shipped them to Mr. Gilowski, who sold the stolen goods on various e-commerce websites, generating more than $11 million in profits.

The thieves traveled across the country in vehicles registered under false names and used “booster skirts” (garments with concealment pouches for stolen goods) and electronic transmitters designed to disrupt retailers’ anti-theft and loss-prevention measures. Using aliases, they rented storage lockers where they kept the stolen items until they could be shipped to interstate and foreign customers via the U.S. Postal Service, UPS, and FedEx.

Mr. Gilowski created a network of numerous online seller profiles, multiple bank accounts, and various companies registered in other people’s names to conduct the unlawful online sale scheme and funnel the proceeds of his illicit operation to himself.

The evidence also showed that Mr. Gilowski received over a million dollars in cash from his crime ring – including $97,000 that was found in the center console of Mr. Gilowski’s truck – which led one of Mr. Gilowski’s coconspirators to testify at trial that Mr. Gilowski “treated money like trash.”

“Mr. Gilowski and his coconspirators swiped thousands of products from retail shelves, then resold stolen goods online,” U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham said after the verdict. “We are proud to hold these defendants accountable for their crimes, and are grateful to the jury for their careful consideration of our case.”

“Organized retail crime leads to consumers having to pay higher prices for goods, fewer job openings, and a decrease in consumer spending on legitimate goods that small-business owners and other retailers depend on for survival,” said Deputy Special Agent in Charge Christopher Miller, HSI Dallas. “Working alongside the U. S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Arlington Heights (Illinois) Police Department, we were able to secure today’s conviction, and take another step in our ongoing fight against organized retail crime so consumers and retailers don’t have to bear the brunt of those impacts.”

Five of Mr. Gilowski’s coconspirators pleaded guilty prior to trial.

At this week’s sentencing hearing, the judge ruled that a sentencing enhancement was warranted because Mr. Gilowski lied on the stand. At trial, the defendant falsely told the jury that the phone found in his own vehicle –which contained highly inculpatory text messages– didn’t belong to him, but to a coconspirator, who Mr. Gilowski said left the phone in his car to register GPS coordinates to conceal a purported extramarital affair.

The Arlington Heights Police Department in Illinois conducted the investigation with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Office and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Fabio Leonardi and Camille Sparks prosecuted the case.

A Plano man was convicted at trial of concealing over $1 million in income from the IRS, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

After three days of trial, on Thursday, a federal jury found Raymond Griggs, 51, guilty of making a false statement on his income tax return.

According to evidence presented at trial, between 2011 and 2013, Mr. Griggs ran a tax preparation business, Griggs Financial, LLC, located in the Dallas, Texas area.

While Griggs Financial, LLC generated over $1.3 million in gross receipts in 2013, Mr. Griggs reported to the IRS that his business had brought in just about $340,000.

That year alone, however, Mr. Griggs spent in excess of $1.4 million, including over $114,000 for entertainment, and tens of thousands of dollars for jewelry, travel, and flight lessons.

Additionally, the evidence presented at trial showed that Mr. Griggs consistently underreported his business’s gross receipts to the IRS by about $1 million for both 2012 and 2011.

Mr. Griggs now faces up to three years in federal prison.

IRS Criminal Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Donna Strittmatter Max, Fabio Leonardi, and Russell Fusco (fmr.) prosecuted the case. U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey presided over the trial.

An MS-13 gang member was sentenced today to more than five years in federal prison for a drug crime, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Angie Marlyn Valencia, 28, was indicted in November 2021 and pleaded guilty in April 2022 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin. She was sentenced Wednesday to 65 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr, who also ordered her to forfeit two firearms.

At her sentencing hearing, Judge Starr ruled that the defendant belonged to MS-13,  a notoriously violent transnational street gang with the creed, “kill, rob, rape, control.”

In plea papers, Ms. Valencia admitted that she and a co-conspirator, boyfriend Williams Jose Fuentes-Argueta, dealt heroin out of an apartment on Royal Lane in Dallas. On Sept. 16, 2021, while Ms. Valenca acted as lookout, Mr. Fuentes-Argueta sold more than 70 grams of heroin to an undercover Texas DPS officer for $2,700 cash. About two weeks later, the pair teamed up again to sell another 76 grams of heroin to two undercover officers.

Mr. Fuentes-Argueta pleaded guilty in June 2022 to the same charge as Ms. Valencia; he is slated to be sentenced on Oct. 26.  

The Texas Department of Public Safety, the Carrolton Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Leal is prosecuting the case.

A federal jury convicted an Amarillo man of drug crimes after just seven minutes of deliberation on Wednesday, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Gilbert Joseph Carrasco, 44, was indicted in June 2021. After two days of trial, on Aug. 31, 2022, a jury convicted him of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

According to evidence presented in court, undercover agents arranged to purchase methamphetamine from 25-year-old Catrina Palmer on April 28, 2020. Mr. Carasco drove Ms. Palmer to the undercover buy. Agents located a trap in the dashboard of his truck that contained methamphetamine. Investigation later revealed that Mr. Carrasco was Ms. Palmer’s methamphetamine supplier.

In an interview, Mr. Carrasco admitted to receiving and distributing methamphetamine. He also admitted to being a convicted felon and knowingly possession a .22 bolt action rifle he said he obtained on the “streets.”

Ms. Palmer pled guilty in April 2021 to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to five years in federal prison.

Mr. Carrasco now faces up to 50 years in federal prison – 20 years per count on counts one and two and 10 years on count three. His sentencing has been set for Dec. 20, 2022 in Amarillo.

The Amarillo Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Tusing and Joshua Frausto prosecuted the case with the help of Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Marie Bell. U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk presided over the trial.

A Dallas man who filmed himself sexually abusing a five-year-old girl was sentenced today to 30 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Michael Angelo Vasquez, 27, was charged via criminal complaint in July 2020 and indicted the following month. He pleaded guilty in May 2021 to production of child pornography and was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle, who ruled he should receive the statutory maximum penalty.

According to court documents, the investigation began after Mr. Vasquez’s then-girlfriend suspected he was involved in an affair and searched his iPhone for evidence of communication with other women. Instead, she discovered images of Mr. Vasquez sexually assaulting a five-year-old child.

She reported the images to law enforcement, who obtained a search warrant for Mr. Vasquez’s phone. In the phone’s Google Photos app, agents located the video Mr. Vasquez’s girlfriend described, along with thumbnails from other videos depicting child sexual abuse.

In plea papers, Mr. Vasquez admitted that he filmed at least four videos of himself sexually abusing the child and later shared the video online via an instant messaging platform.

Authorities connected the child with the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, which provides resources for abused children.

“While the lengthy sentence this defendant received is clearly justified, the emotional and physical abuse of the innocent child he victimized is likely to linger indefinitely, “ said Jesse Woods, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Dallas. ”Proud of the work of our criminal analysts, special agents and law enforcement partners who helped end the deviant behavior of this defendant before he could harm another child. Even more important is the courage displayed by Mr. Vasquez’s then girlfriend to report him to law enforcement when she discovered the child sexual abuse materials on his electronic devices.“

Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Office and the Dallas Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks prosecuted the case.

Thirteen defendants involved in the $27 million Novus healthcare fraud have been sentenced to a combined 84 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

According to plea papers and evidence presented to a jury, Novus Health Services, a Dallas-based hospice agency, defrauded Medicare by submitting materially false claims for hospice services, providing kickbacks for referrals, and violating HIPAA to recruit beneficiaries.  Novus employees also dispensed Schedule II controlled substances to patients without the guidance of medical professionals and moved patients to a new hospice company in order to avoid a Medicare suspension.

CEO Bradley J. Harris eventually admitted to the fraud and testified against two physicians who elected to proceed to trial.

He told the jury that instead of relying on the expertise of licensed medical professionals, he and Novus’ nurses determined which medications and dosages patients would receive, dispensing drugs like morphine and hydrocodone using pre-signed prescription pads. Novus medical directors, including Dr. Mark Gibbs and Dr. Laila Hirjee, were supposed to oversee the care of these patients and examine patients face-to-face to certify that they were terminally ill.  Often, however, the medical directors signed off on patient care plans without properly reviewing patients files and falsely certified they had completed in-person examinations when they had not. 

As Director of Operations Melanie Murphey testified at trial, “I was the doctor.”

Mr. Harris and the nurses also determined which patients would be admitted to or discharged from hospice care without any physician involvement.  Mr. Harris also admitted to paying Novus physicians kickbacks – disguised as medical director salaries – to induce them to refer patients to Novus facilities.

When Mr. Harris realized he could avoid exceeding Medicare’s aggregate hospice cap by enrolling an influx of first-time hospice patients, he negotiated an agreement with a company called Express Medical that allowed him to access potential patients confidential medical information in return for using Express Medical for laboratory tests and home health visits. Novus staff attempted to recruit Express Medical patients for Novus services, regardless of their eligibility.

Those convicted in the scheme include:

• Sam Anderson, Novus VP of Marketing, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison
• Patricia Armstrong, Novus triage nurse, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison
• Slade Brown, Novus Director of Marketing, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison
• Dr. Mark Gibbs, Novus Medical Director, was convicted at trial of one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, two counts of healthcare fraud, and one count conspiracy to obstruct justice and was sentenced to 156 months in federal prison
• Amy Harris, Novus VP of Patient Services and wife of Bradley Harris, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and was sentenced to 38 months in federal prison
• Bradley Harris, Novus CEO, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and one count of healthcare fraud and aiding and abetting and was sentenced to 159 months in federal prison
• Dr. Laila Hirjee, Novus Medical Director, was convicted at trial of one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, three counts of healthcare fraud and one count of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison
• Dr. Charles Leach, Novus Medical Director, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison
• Tammie Little, Novus Registered Nurse, was convicted at trial of one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and three counts of healthcare fraud and aiding and abetting and was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison
• Jessica Love, Novus Registered Nurse, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and was sentenced to 102 months in federal prison
• Melanie Murphey, Novus Director of Operations, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and was sentenced to 66 months in federal prison
• Ali Rizvi, Express Medical owner, pleaded guilty to one count of wrongful use of individually identifiable heath information and was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison
• Taryn Stuart, Novus Licensed Vocational Nurse, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison
   

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marty Basu and Donna Strittmatter Max prosecuted the case along with U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham.

A 36-year-old man who trafficked a 13-year-old girl out of a hotel room in Irving was sentenced Wednesday to more than 11 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Curtis Vance Mathis was indicted in December 2019 and pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of children in June 2021. He was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to 135 months in prison.

“Those who exploit minors for the commercial sex industry have no regard for human decency. These predators are responsible for initiating a pattern of mental and physical abuse that is often hard for their victims to overcome ,” said Jesse Woods, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Homeland Security Investigations Dallas. “Anyone who engages in this type of criminal behavior should know that  HSI and its law enforcement partners of the North Texas Trafficking Task Force will work endlessly to remove these predators from our communities.”

According to plea papers, Mr. Mathis admitted that he advertised a 13-year-old girl’s sexual services on numerous commercial sex websites, including CityXGuide, a site the feds seized in summer 2020. (CityXGuide’s owner, Wilhan Martono, subsequently pleaded guilty to reckless disregard of sex trafficking and conspiracy to engage in interstate transportation in aid of racketeering and is awaiting sentencing. The site remains out of commission.)

In Oct. 2019, Mr. Mathis met the child and began posting her for commercial sex on websites and thereafter took those proceeds. After a disagreement, the child left, but returned to him only a few weeks later.

On Nov. 4, 2019, Mr. Mathis brought the child to a hotel room in Irving, where she met with multiple customers, including, allegedly, Kention Johnson and Sergio Carvajal. (Mr. Johnson and Mr. Carvajal have both been charged with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and sex trafficking of children; their cases are pending and they remain innocent until proven guilty in court.)

Meanwhile, law enforcement agents working the missing child case noticed her photograph on a CityXGuide advertisement. An undercover agent texted the associated phone number to arrange a meeting at the hotel. Posing as a commercial sex customer, he identified the room she used to meet customers and immediately recovered the child from the room. 

Agents later reviewed surveillance video from the hotel and observed Mr. Mathis rent a room, escort the child upstairs, leave her there, and then return after her customers departed to retrieve cash.

Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation with assistance from the Fort Worth Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Myria Boehm prosecuted the case with help from Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rebekah Ricketts (fmr.) and Cara Foos Pierce (fmr.).

A 24-year-old man who sexually assaulted a child while on a mission trip in El Salvador was sentenced today to more than 20 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Bryce Rawson, of Liberty, South Carolina, pleaded guilty in April to engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place, that is, sex acts with a minor. He was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman to 250 months in prison.

According to court documents, Mr. Rawson applied and was accepted to participate in a mission trip to El Salvador.

On July 5, 2018, he flew from DFW to El Salvador, where he stayed at the “Hope Center,” a property maintained by the religious organization sponsoring the mission trip. There, he met a 13-year-old girl who was also participating in the mission.

On July 22, he sexually assaulted the child on a balcony at the center.

Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas and Tampa Field Offices conducted the investigation with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aisha Saleem, CEOS trial attorney Charles Schmitz, and Alex Lewis are prosecuting the case.

Dallas-based optical company Essilor has agreed to pay $16.4 million to resolve allegations that the company violated the False Claims Act by causing claims to be submitted to Medicare and Medicaid that resulted from violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Essilor (including Essilor International, Essilor of America Inc., Essilor Laboratories of America Inc. and Essilor Instruments USA,) manufactures, markets, and distributes optical lenses and equipment used to produce optical lenses.

The United States alleged that between Jan. 1, 2011, and Dec. 31, 2016, Essilor knowingly and willfully offered or paid remuneration to optometrists and ophthalmologists to induce those providers to purchase Essilor products for their patients, including Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute. (The Anti Kickback Statute – which is intended to ensure that medical providers’ judgments are not compromised by improper financial incentives – prohibits offering or paying anything of value to induce the referral of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid and other federally-funded programs.)

“When medical equipment manufacturers provide kickbacks to referring providers, it can compromise the integrity of medical decision-making,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will continue to pursue violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute to ensure that patient care is not influenced by improper financial incentives.”

“The Anti-Kickback Statute was designed to ensure doctors make medical decisions with only their patients’ best interests in mind,” said U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham of the Northern District of Texas. “We are pleased to see Essilor taking financial responsibility for their conduct.”

“Kickback schemes can impact medical judgment, eroding the trust of both patients and taxpayers,” said Lisa M. Re, Acting Chief Counsel at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Essilor’s Corporate Integrity Agreement is intended to establish policies and practices so it complies with the Anti-Kickback Statute moving forward.”

In connection with the settlement, Essilor entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with HHS-OIG. The CIA requires, among other things, that Essilor hire an independent review organization to review its systems, policies, processes and procedures for ensuring that any discounts, rebates, or other reductions in price offered to providers comply with the Anti-Kickback Statute. The CIA also requires Essilor to implement a new written review and approval process to ensure all existing and new discount arrangements comply with the Anti-Kickback Statute.

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by relators Laura Thompson, Lisa Brez, and Christie Rudolph, former Essilor district sales managers. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery.  The qui tam cases are captioned United States ex rel. Laura Thompson & Lisa Brez v. Essilor Int’l, No. 3:15-CV-2853-C (N.D. Tex.) and United States ex rel. Christie Rudolph v. Essilor Labs. of Am., Inc., No. 16-CV-0537 (WB) (E.D. Pa.).

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Northern District of Texas and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

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

The matter was handled by Senior Trial Counsel Diana Cieslak and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Braden Civins of the Northern District of Texas and Paul Kaufman of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

A Texas dermatopathology clinic has agreed to pay the United States more than $3.7 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting fraudulent lab claims to TRICARE and by knowingly concealing an obligation to repay the United States, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Per the terms of a civil settlement executed on Friday, Dallas-based Cockerell Dermatopathology will pay $3,750,000 – including $1,875,000 in restitution – over the next 3 ½ years.  Its owner and principal physician, Dr. Clay Cockerell, will be liable if the clinic fails to make any of its payments.

“This settlement resolves allegations concerning the defendant's claims to TRICARE, a health insurance program for service members, veterans, and their families,” said U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham. “The Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners will not stand by as medical providers bill medically irrelevant tests to federal health insurance programs.”

“The Department of Defense (DoD), Office of Inspector General,  Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) is committed to identifying and neutralizing fraud schemes that not only waste valuable tax payer resources, but impact military readiness,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael Mentavlos of the DCIS Southwest Field Office.  "DCIS and our law enforcement partners will aggressively pursue those individuals who defraud the DoD healthcare program known as TRICARE, intended to care for our warfighters, their family members, and military retirees.”

In March 2021, the government filed a civil suit alleging that Dr. Cockerell knowingly permitted the laboratory management company Progen to use CDP’s lab license to submit false claims to federal health insurance programs, including TRICARE, for medically unnecessary tests in return for receiving twenty percent of the net revenue from those tests.  The government also alleged that Dr. Cockerell and CDP knowingly avoided and concealed their obligation to repay the United States for the millions of dollars in false TRICARE claims.

In May 2021, Dr. Cockerell and CDP filed a motion to dismiss the Government’s claim that they had knowingly avoided and concealed an obligation to repay the United States.  But in an order denying the motion, U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle noted that “[Cockerell Dermatopathology]’s actions — as alleged by the Government — plausibly demonstrate an attempt to conceal or avoid the obligation to the Government.”

The Defense Criminal Investigative Service conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Guiltinan and Dawn Theiss handled the civil case.

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

A Dallas lawyer has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for conspiring to launder money he believed was linked to narcotics trafficking, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas announced today.

Rayshun Jackson, the 52-year-old former defense attorney who ran The Jackson Law Firm, was arrested in April 2021. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money in September 2021 and was sentenced Tuesday by Chief U.S. District Barbara M.G. Lynn. At the sentencing hearing, the prosecutor told the court that a five year sentence would reflect the seriousness of the offense, promote respect for the law, and provide just punishment.

According to plea papers, Mr. Jackson admitted to laundering $380,000 for an individual he believed was a drug trafficker, but was actually an undercover DEA agent.

He was introduced to the agent on Sept. 3, 2020 by “Person A,” the leader of a large-scale opioid distribution ring known to deal in illegally diverted narcotics.  After Person A vouched for undercover agent’s credibility, Mr. Jackson and the undercover agent discussed how the attorney could “clean” the agent’s “dope money.”

Mr. Jackson advised the agent that he could launder around $500,000 a month by funneling it through non-traceable cash businesses (i.e., coin laundries, car washes) and shell corporations.

“Ray is the bomb... He’s a thug, he’s just got a law degree,” Person A told the undercover agent after the meeting, according to court documents.

Three weeks later, the undercover agent delivered a black backpack stuffed with $100,000 cash to Mr. Jackson at his office. Jackson agreed to launder the money for a 4% fee and a 1% bonus in cash up front. After depositing the remaining $95,000 into his various firm bank accounts in various amounts on various days, he eventually transferred the entire sum into the DEA’s undercover bank account.

The next month, the undercover agent delivered an additional $300,000 cash to Mr. Jackson at his office. Again, Jackson agreed to a 4% fee and a 1% bonus in cash in return for laundering the money. After depositing the remaining $285,000 into his various firm bank accounts in various amounts on various days, he eventually transferred the same amount into the DEA’s undercover bank account.

In plea papers, Mr. Jackson admitted he knew of the unlawful purpose of the agreement and joined in it willingly.

“The sentencing of Rayshun Jackson marks the end of a successful investigation by DEA Dallas.  Criminal drug organizations need a combination of individuals who are willing to distribute drugs as well as those who hide and attempt to legitimize profits,” said DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge, Eduardo A. Chávez.  “Mr. Jackson agreed to launder what he believed to be drug proceeds with DEA undercover.  The sentencing of Mr. Jackson is just.  With overdose deaths and poisonings reaching record highs, everyone will be held accountable for their criminal actions.”

“Individuals such as Mr. Jackson, who use money laundering methods to conceal the true source of illegal drug profits, run the risk of serving jail time,” said Christopher J. Altemus, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation Dallas Field Office.  “The sentence imposed by the court is a reminder to criminals that money laundering schemes will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted. IRS-CI special agents are proud to work hand-in-hand with our law enforcement partners to bring criminals like Mr. Jackson to justice.”

As a result of his federal conviction, the Supreme Court of Texas canceled Jackson’s law license and ordered that he be prohibited from practicing law in the State of Texas on Nov. 9, 2021.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Office and IRS – Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of  the Dallas Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney Coker is prosecuting the case along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Juanita Fielden.

A Smithville man who allegedly flew a drone loaded with drugs and other contraband into prison has been federally charged, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Bryant LeRay Henderson, 42, was arrested at his residence on Thursday, charged via criminal complaint with one count of attempting to provide contraband in prison, one count of serving as an airman without an airman’s certificate, and one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. He will make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton at 11 a.m. today.  

“Contraband drone deliveries are quickly becoming the bane of prison officials’ existence. Illicit goods pose a threat to guards and inmates alike – and when it comes to cell phones, the threat often extends outside prison walls. We are determined to stop this trend in its tracks,” said U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham.

“The criminal element will always take advantage of new opportunities for illegal activity as technology progresses,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno. “In this instance, excellent collaborative investigation among federal and local agencies led to multiple federal charges and prevented contraband from entering the federal prison system.”

According to court documents, Mr. Henderson allegedly flew a DJI Inspire drone into the airspace over FMC Fort Worth, a federal correctional in the south part of the city, just before midnight on Wednesday, May 4. The drone crashed inside a secure, fenced-in yard near the prison’s HVAC shop, where staff recovered it. Affixed to the drone was a package containing 46 grams of crystal methamphetamine, 87 grams of pressed THC, two prepaid smartphones, and nine mp3 players.

Law enforcement pulled surveillance video from a nearby high school and observed a young male drive up in a red Chevy Tahoe with a Transformers decal on the rear window, remove a drone and a package from the vehicle, launch the drone towards the prison, and then drive off:

In a review of other surveillance footage, law enforcement identified a red Tahoe with an identical Transformers decal. From that footage, they were able to pull a license plate number.  Two and a half weeks later, officers found the Tahoe abandoned in a travel lane, flashers on and hood up. It was impounded and later searched.

Inside the vehicle, law enforcement found Mr. Henderson’s debit card, a DJI drone controller, various drone accessories (rechargeable batteries, a propeller box, and dropping mechanisms), 18 smartphones, tobacco products, and vacuum-packed containers with steroid labels connected to a fishing line and a key ring.

They later powered on the controller recovered from the car next to the drone recovered from the prison yard. The devices immediately paired.  From the drone, investigators recovered 70 usable flight logs, which included date/time stamps as well as speed, height, and location data. They identified four flights that intruded into FMC Fort Worth’s airspace, and another two that intruded into airspace over FCI Seagoville, another federal correctional center southeast of Dallas.

Law enforcement then queried Mr. Henderson’s records and found that the phone was near FMC Fort Worth around the time of the drone cash, and near FCI Seagoville near the time of the drone’s flight into the prison’s airspace.  

The Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General queried the FAA’s database and reported that Mr. Henderson did not possess an airman’s certification, and that the drone in question was registered to another owner who cancelled his registration in August 2018. FAA records confirmed that the federal correctional institutions were restricted flight areas.

Drone delivery of contraband is an increasingly vexing problem for the Federal Bureau of Prisons and state corrections officials. Just last month, a 44-year-old Houston man was charged in the Eastern District of Texas for allegedly operating a drone over FCI Beaumont in east Texas. In April, a 30-year-old former inmate pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle phones and tobacco into FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey. And last fall, three Atlanta men were sentenced to a year each in federal prison for using drones to smuggle contraband into Telfair State Prison in Georgia.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of wrongdoing, not evidence. Like all defendants, Mr. Henderson is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted he faces up to 45 years total in prison: 20 years for attempting to provide contraband in prison, 5 years for serving as an airman without an airman’s certificate, and 20 years for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office – Fort Worth Resident Agency, the Bureau of Prisons Special Investigative Staff, and the Fort Worth Police Department conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Dallas Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Levi Thomas is prosecuting the case.

An Irving woman who sold date-rape drugs over the internet was sentenced Thursday to more than 12 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Hyun Ji Martin, 40, was first charged in June 2021. She pleaded guilty in August 2021 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and was sentenced Thursday by Senior U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means to 151 months in federal prison.  

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service will not stop in pursuing those who wish to flood our streets with dangerous drugs,” said Thomas Noyes, Inspector in Charge of the Postal Inspection Service’s Fort Worth Division.  “This sentencing represents our commitment to safeguarding the mail from illicit drug trafficking and bringing those responsible to justice.  We thank all those who helped in achieving this outcome, including North Texas Parcel Task Force members, the USPS-OIG, DEA, HSI, CBP and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Texas.“

According to court documents, Ms. Martin sold gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), commonly known as “the date rape drug,” over the dark web.

On Nov. 6, 2020, U.S. Postal Inspection Service Parcel Task Force officers observed Ms. Martin deliver 15 parcels to a post office in Irving, Texas. They retained two parcels for investigation. Inside, they found approximately 208 ml of a clear liquid, which they suspected was GHB or an analogue known as gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), concealed in contact lens solution bottles.

On June 3, 2021, officers executed a search warrant at Ms. Martin’s apartment, where they discovered large quantities of GHB, GBL, methamphetamine, USPS shipping supplies, contact lens solution bottles, and a lab used to convert GBL to GHB. In a subsequent interview with law enforcement, Ms. Martin said she routinely ordered GBL from China, converted some of it to GHB, and sold both GHB and GBL on the dark web.

Agents eventually identified more than 1,600 outgoing parcels associated with Ms. Martin, mostly mailed using fictitious shipper names and addresses.

Shortly after her guilty plea, Ms. Martin absconded. She was re-arrested in June 2022 and transported back to North Texas for sentencing.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s North Texas Parcel Task Force and Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s South Central Lab and U.S. Customs & Border Patrol.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Rob Boudreau prosecuted the case with the help of Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Lo Galbo.

Two human traffickers have been sentenced to a combined 25 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Alfonso Orozco Juarez, 37, and Robert Hubert, 68, were first charged in October 2020. Mr. Hubert pleaded guilty in February 2022 to kidnapping and was sentenced in May 2022 to 121 months in federal prison; Mr. Juarez pleaded guilty in March 2022 to sex trafficking and was sentenced last week to 180 months in federal prison.

“Treated like chattel, the victim in this case endured horrors beyond imagining,” said U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham. “The North Texas Trafficking Task Force was launched to investigate and prosecute cases just like this one. We hope the sentences announced today will bring some peace to the victim as she recovers from her ordeal.”

“The physical and mental abuse suffered by the victim in this devasting sex-trafficking crime is heart-breaking. These perpetrators treated their victim as if she were personal property and not human,” said Special Agent in Charge Lester Hayes Jr., Homeland Investigations Dallas. “The HSI Dallas-led North Texas Trafficking Task Force will work relentlessly to eliminate these commercial sex-trafficking schemes. Fortunately, the defendants’ 25-year combined prison sentences will not allow them to target anyone else.”

According to plea papers, Mr. Juarez admitted that on Sept. 11, 2019, he authored a social media post advertising a sex “slave” who he claimed he had won in a card game. Mr. Hubert admitted that he responded to the post, offering to buy the “slave” for $5,000. In messages, Mr. Juarez referred to the victim as “property” and bragged that he “pistol whip[ped] her.”

On Sept. 18, 2019, the pair met at a gas station in Dallas, where Mr. Juarez handed over the victim in exchange for $5,000. On the drive back to his home, Mr. Hubert admitted, he clamped a metal collar around her neck.

Terrified, the victim texted Mr. Juarez, pleading for help: 

“I’m afraid if I don’t do something, he’s going to hurt me,” she said.

“Endure what you have to,” he responded. “He’ll punish you whip you . . . but not kill you.”

Once they reached his home, Mr. Hubert admitted, he handcuffed her and forced her to sleep naked at the foot of his bed. The victim eventually persuaded him to allow her to call her parents, who agreed to his demand of $5,000 for safe return. Eventually, the victim was able to escape the home.

Homeland Security Investigations and the North Texas Trafficking Task Force conducted the investigation with substantial support from the Crime Strategies Unit with the 2nd Judicial District Attorney's Office in Albuquerque, NM. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Briggs and Rebekah Ricketts (fmr.) of the Northern District of Texas are prosecuting the case, with significant assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Letitia Simms of the District of New Mexico.

A 34-year-old man who posed as a teenage boy in order to solicit sexually explicit images from underage girls has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Matthew Ray Flores, of Fort Worth, was charged in January 2022. He pleaded guilty in February to sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography and was sentenced Thursday to 360 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor.

According to court documents, Mr Flores concocted an alias, 15-year-old “Ben Garcia,” which he used on various social media platforms to target 12 to 17 year old girls.

In November 2019, Mr. Flores reached out to a 14-year-old girl online and arranged a visit to her home. Because her family was inside the house at the time, he climbed into her bedroom through a window. Shaken by his apparent age, the child asked him to leave.  

In the days that followed, Mr. Flores demanded she send him sexually explicit images of herself. She initially sent him partially-clothed photos, but eventually complied and sent nude photos. He then informed her that because he had “something to use against her,” she better let him back into her home.

Over the course of the next three months, Mr. Flores threatened to send the nude photos to friends and neighbors and sell them online to “rapists” if she did not send him additional photos. He eventually showed up at her bedroom armed with a condom, but she told him “we aren’t having sex,” and pushed him back out the window.  

“I went through something no little girl my age should have gone through. I was vulnerable and lonely, which made me an easy target,” the victim testified at Thursday’s sentencing hearing. “I’ll never be the same as I was before. I hated myself for so long, feeling so confused and alone because of him… I can finally say this with the strength I have now: He has no power over me. I will not allow him to hold me back anymore.”

At the sentencing, prosecutors revealed that this was a pattern Mr. Flores exhibited the same pattern with at least seven victims over the course of two years.

The Fort Worth Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit (ICAC) and the United States Secret Service’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Fort Worth Police Department’s Digital Forensics Lab, the McKinney Police Department, the United States Secret Service’s Los Angeles Field Office, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. U.S. Attorney Brandie Wade prosecuted the case.

Former San Angelo Chief of Police Tim Vasquez was sentenced today to 15 ½ years in federal prison for accepting bribes, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

A federal jury found Timothy Ray Vasquez, 52, guilty of one count of receipt of a bribe by an agent of an organization receiving federal funds and three counts of honest services mail fraud in March after three days of trial.  Mr. Vasquez – who was elected Chief of Police in 2004, then reelected in 2008 and 2012 – was first indicted in January 2020. He was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix, who also ordered him to pay a $35,000 fine.  

“Law enforcement officers, particularly those in leadership positions, should be bastions of integrity. By accepting bribes, Mr. Vasquez defiled his badge,” said U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham following the verdict. “The Justice Department is determined to root out public corruption wherever we find it. Our citizens deserve honest public servants.”

“Mr. Vasquez will now be held accountable for using his official position for financial gain at the expense of the residents of San Angelo. Each act of greed and dishonor affected fundamental aspects of the government processes and procedures that were designed to benefit the people they serve,” said Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno. “Our communities should not have to question the integrity and trust of public officials, and today’s verdict is a step in restoring that confidence.”

According to evidence presented at trial, Mr. Vasquez used his official position to help Dailey & Wells Communications, Inc., a radio system vendor, land a $5.7-million-dollar contract with the City of San Angelo, Texas. In return, Dailey & Wells and its affiliates funneled Mr. Vasquez and his band, “Funky Munky,” more than $175,000. Dailey & Wells and its affiliates also provided him tickets for luxury suites at Dallas Cowboys and San Antonio Spurs games, tickets for a luxury suite at Journey concert, and free use of a luxury condominium at Alteza Condos in San Antonio.

Mr. Vasquez never disclosed to the City of San Angelo or the City Council that he had a business relationship with Dailey & Wells. The Texas Local Government Code, the City of San Angelo Employee Manual, and the San Angelo Purchasing Policy Manual all required Mr. Vasquez to disclose this relationship.

In February 2007, the City of San Angelo solicited bids for a new radio system for first responders, including the police department. In April, a committee recommended the city award the $5.6 million contract to Dailey & Wells, which was eventually selected for the contract.

Three months later, in July, Juniper Valley, L.P., an affiliate of Dailey & Wells, cut a $10,000 check to “Funky Munky Band.” Mr. Vasquez deposited the funds into his personal checking account.  For the next eight years, Mr. Vasquez received yearly payments of approximately $8,000 from Dailey & Wells or its affiliates, Buster & Buddy and Trixie & Fini, either made out to Mr. Vasquez or his band. Testimony at trial revealed that Funky Munky’s average fee to play at an event was about $2,000. By June 2, 2015, Mr. Vasquez and Funky Munky had collected more than $84,000.

In 2014 and 2015, Dailey & Wells contacted the City of San Angelo about updating its radio system from a proprietary EDACS system, which was in the process of being phased out, to a P25 Phase II system.  When the City’s IT Manager told Mr. Vasquez of the estimated cost of $6 million dollars and that it would have to go through the bidding process, Mr. Vasquez told the IT Manager they were not going through the bidding process and were going to continue to use Dailey & Wells. Mr. Vasquez suggested that the IT Manager use a public safety exception to avoid the bidding process and the IT Manager agreed. Ultimately, a purchasing cooperative was used to purchase the Dailey & Wells system.

Mr. Vasquez contacted a San Angelo City Councilmember and lobbied her to place the Dailey & Wells contract on the City Council’s agenda.  Mr. Vasquez advocated for the Dailey & Wells contract before the City Council on December 16, 2014, and June 2, 2015.

Six people who were city council members at the time testified that Mr. Vasquez had significant influence with the City Council and it relied upon his advice in public safety matters. All six stated that they did not know Mr. Vasquez had a business relationship with Dailey & Wells before the vote on June 2, 2015. Five of those former city council members testified that if they had known that fact they would have voted against awarding the contract to Dailey & Wells. Two of the former city council members stated that if they had known of the payments then they would have disqualified Dailey & Wells from being a radio vendor to the city.

Following a presentation made by then-Chief Vasquez and another employee, San Angelo awarded a new $5.7 million contract to Dailey & Wells in late 2015. 

In November 2016, Mr. Vasquez became aware that he was under investigation for the radio contract with Dailey & Wells. About one month later, Dailey & Wells wrote a $50,000 retainer check to “Funky Munky,” noting “Timothy R. Vasquez” in the check’s memo section. A few days later, Mr. Vasquez endorsed the $50,000 check and deposited the entire amount into his personal bank account.

In total, Mr. Vasquez, through Funky Munky, received at least $175,000 from Dailey & Wells and its affiliates. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office, and the Texas Rangers conducted the investigation with the full cooperation of the San Angelo Police Department and the City of San Angelo.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeff Haag, Sean Long, and Juanita Fielden are prosecuting the case.
 

A Friona woman allegedly who held 17 undocumented immigrants hostage in her home has been charged with a federal crime, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Manuela Magdalena Jimon Castro, 30, was charged via criminal complaint with alien harboring. She made her initial appearance Thursday before Magistrate Judge Lee Ann Reno.

According to the complaint, Ms. Castro and a family member partnered with an illegal immigrant smuggling operation to hold undocumented individuals hostage at their home, threatening to deprive them of food and water and refusing to allow them to leave until they paid $11,000 to $12,000 or “worked off” the debt.

The investigation began when law enforcement in California received a tip from a woman who claimed her sister was being held for ransom in Texas. The woman reported that her sister had traveled from Guatemala to Mexico with the intention of seeking asylum in the United States, then crossed the border at the behest of a Mexican cartel who held her captive. She said her sister sent her a pin of a location in Friona before she escaped.

In a subsequent interview with law enforcement, the woman said that while in Mexico, she was forced into a car at gunpoint by individuals she believed to be members of a smuggling cartel. After several months, they walked her across the southern border, then shuttled her from house to house in Texas and New Mexico, refusing to let her go until she paid off her debt. Eventually, she ended up at the Castro residence, where she was told she would be detained until she paid $12,000.

After speaking with the woman and another individual previously detained at the home, law enforcement searched the Castro home. Inside, they recovered 17 undocumented immigrants, including two minor children. Most of the individuals attempted to hide, concealing themselves in the attic, in cupboards, or inside totes covered in blankets. Agents noted that the home contained very little furniture, save mattresses and blankets for a large number of individuals spread across the floor.

In interviews with law enforcement, the recovered immigrants admitted that they had entered the country illegally with smugglers. They indicated that the smugglers had confiscated their cell phones, and only allowed intermittent contact with family members in order to obtain money to pay their “entrance fees.” Several stated that they believed they had to stay at the residence in Friona until their entrance fee had been paid in full.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, she faces up to five years in federal prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas and Los Angeles Field Office conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Fiona Police Department, and the Thousand Oaks Police Department in California. Assistant U.S. Attorney Callie Woolam is prosecuting the case.

A Carrollton man who stole five guns from a storage unit was sentenced Tuesday to more than two years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Eden Navarrete-Ochoa, 22, was indicted along with coconspirator Daniel Tavira-Alocer, 23, in August 2021. Mr. Navarete-Ochoa pleaded guilty in March 2022 to possession of a stolen firearm and was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison. (His coconspirator’s case is still pending; he is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.)

On Oct. 10, 2020, Mr. Navarete-Ochoa burglarized a storage building in Coppell, Texas, and stole five firearms: a Maadi AK-47 style rifle, a Colt .45-caliber pistol, a NA Arms .22 magnum revolver, a Winchester shotgun, and a Norinco sporting rifle. 

He was arrested shortly after the burglary. At his sentencing hearing, prosecutors introduced into evidence photographs of some the firearms, which law enforcement recovered from the vehicle that he and Tavira-Alcocer had been occupying:   

In plea papers, Mr. Navarete-Ochoa admitted to possession of the stolen guns.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Coppell and Carrolton Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Leal is prosecuting the case.

A federal jury returned a guilty verdict against three San Angelo tax preparers whose fraudulent tax returns cost the IRS roughly $18 million, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Hugo Cesar Granados, the 60-year-old manager of Columbia Tax Service, his adult daughter, Blanca L. Granados, his adult son, Hugo Alberto Granados, and his employee, Saul Garcia-Soto, were indicted in May 2021. Mr. Garcia-Soto pleaded guilty to assisting in the preparation and presentation of false documents on July 12, 2022. The remaining defendants elected to proceed to trial and were convicted Friday evening of conspiracy to defraud the United States and multiple counts of aiding in the preparation and presentation of false documents.

Following the reading of the verdict, all three were immediately remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

“Columbia Tax Service doctored clients’ tax returns to inflate clients’ refunds and line the Granados’s pockets. Such blatant fraud is an affront to all conscientious taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham.  “As is their right, the Granadoses opted for a trial by jury. We are proud to have obtained a guilty verdict. I’m thankful to the IRS Criminal Investigation agents who ran this case to ground and to the members of the jury, who gave three days of their lives to bring these defendants to justice.”  

“When Hugo Cesar Granados, along with his daughter and son, used their family tax return preparation business, Columbia Tax Service, to file false tax returns and make a fast buck, they underestimated the special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation,” said IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Christopher J. Altemus, Jr., Dallas Field Office. “Let these guilty verdicts be a reminder to others seeking to enrich themselves illegally – IRS CI special agents will find you; they will uncover your fraudulent schemes and hold you accountable.”

At trial, prosecutors introduced evidence that the elder Mr. Granados and his co-conspirators falsified their clients’ individual income tax returns (Forms 1040) in order to inflate the clients’ tax refunds.

They routinely fabricated clients’ Schedule A, itemized deductions, and Schedule C, sole proprietorship profit and loss statements, claiming the taxpayer owned a business when no such business existed, claiming unreimbursed employee expenses such as travel and per diem, and claiming business expenses related to maintenance, utilities, supplies, insurance, and professional services that were never incurred or grossly inflated. 

Testimony adduced at trial showed that Columbia Tax Service claimed more than $900,000 in income in 2015 and more than $1.3 million in income in 2016.

Mr. Garcia-Soto testified, saying that in 2016, Columbia Tax employees met with Hugo C. Granados because taxpayers were not receiving their refunds from the IRS. When questioned, the elder Mr. Granados asked the employees if they thought the company was doing something illegal. Mr. Garcia-Soto said that he, Blanca Granados, and Hugo A. Granados all replied that they thought Columbia Tax was doing something illegal. In response, Hugo C. Granados just smiled and turned back to his computer.

In a Skype chat introduced at trial, Blanca Granados wrote to a co-worker: “Fraud is ridiculous here yo . . . I swear.”

Ten taxpayer clients also testified. Two women admitted that they did not operate daycare centers as stated in their returns, but rather cared for family members for free, while a man admitted that his wife did not operate a retail business that generated $19,00 in expenses as stated on the couple’s return.

Prosecutors also introduced into evidence the company’s “tax preparation manual,” a handbook that outlined exactly how to commit fraud.

In discussing preparation of Schedule C of the tax return, the manual stated: “This is where your training and knowledge of income and deductions will make a big difference in the amount of refund the taxpayer will be obtaining. A determination has to be made if the return needs additional income to generate the maximum earned income and other credits or if the return has a substantial amount of income (Adjusted Gross Income) and needs to come down to maximize the earned income and other credits.” In other words, the manual advised tax preparers to manipulate income to maximize refunds rather than referring to the law to determine whether an activity was a business for income tax purposes and whether expenses properly qualified as a business deduction.

Jurors ultimately concluded that the conspirators submitted numerous fraudulent tax returns. Analysts put the estimated tax loss at roughly $18 million for tax years 2013-2017.

Hugo Cesar Granados now faces up to 14 years in federal prison; Blanca Granados faces up to 14 years; Hugo Alberto Granados faces up to 17 years. Their sentencing date has not yet been set.

Saul Garcia-Soto faces up to three years and is slated to be sentenced in October.

The Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation. The San Angelo Division of the Northern District of Texas, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Haag, Ann Haag, Amy Burch, and Paulina Jacobo, prosecuted the case.

A Mesquite methamphetamine trafficker was sentenced Tuesday to more than 11 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

John Alex Vigil was indicted in February 2021. He pleaded guilty in January 2022 to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn to 140 months in federal prison.

According to court documents, Mr. Vigil met with an undercover agent in a gas station parking lot in Mesquite on three occasions, selling him more than 100 grams of methamphetamine each time.

During a search of his residence, agents recovered more than 1 ½ pounds of methamphetamine and more than 50 rounds of ammunition.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Phelesa Guy prosecuted the case.

A would-be child sex trafficker was sentenced today to more than 10 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Gary Jordan, 23, pleaded guilty in March to one count of attempted child sex trafficking. He was sentenced Wednesday to 121 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr.

“This defendant trawled social media, prepared to use a combination of flattery and threats to lure teenage girls into commercial sex. Fortunately, the “child” on whom he chose to prey was an undercover agent – but it could have been an actual teen,” said U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham. “Unfortunately, evil lurks on the internet. Parents and guardians, please keep an eye on your children’s social media activity and report any concerns to law enforcement immediately. Child sex trafficking is all too real. We can only prevent it by working together.”

“Child sex trafficking is a despicable crime that has no place in our communities,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jesse Woods, HSI Dallas. “This defendant’s sentence for his criminal intent should serve as reminder that the North Texas Trafficking Task Force will work endlessly to prosecute those seeking to exploit minors for roles in the commercial sex industry.”

According to court documents, on Aug. 3, 2020, Mr. Jordan initiated a social media conversation with an account he believed belonged to a 16-year-old girl. In actuality, the account was run by an undercover Homeland Security Investigations agent.

During their conversations, Mr. Jordan offered to teach the child the commercial sex “game” and claimed she could earn “50k in a week.” He told her he had been involved in the commercial sex business for five years, adding that he charged a $10,000 upfront fee but would waive it for her because “I see yo worth.”

When he learned she was only 16, he offered to help her obtain a fake ID and fly her out to Fort Lauderdale. (He later changed his mind and decided to pick her up in Dallas.)

He instructed the child to send him a sexually explicit photo. When she hesitated, saying she was afraid her guardian would find out, he told her she was “not going back home.” 

“Don’t think u going anywhere cause ur not,” he wrote, later stating, “I’m looking for a trap rn [right now].”

He also asked her to send a photo to prove she was not a law enforcement officer.

The child confided in him that intercourse had been painful for her in the past, and he said he would have sex with her himself before selling her body to other men. He promised to take her shopping, saying she would look “sexy” in the clothing he planned to buy her.

Eventually, he sent an uber to an address she provided to transport her to his hotel room in Dallas.  

Agents arrested him inside the hotel room around 2 p.m. on Aug. 4, 2020. They forced their way into the room after hearing him attempt to open the window. He was at the foot of the bed, clad only in underpants.  

In plea papers, Mr. Jordan admitted that he was aware of the purported child’s status as a juvenile and that he attempted to entice her.

Homeland Security Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Renee Hunter, Rebekah Ricketts (fmr.) and Melanie Smith (fmr.) prosecuted the case.

Thirty-four members of a methamphetamine ring that operated in the Dimmitt, Texas area have been sentenced to a combined 364 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

The majority were charged in a 38-count federal indictment filed in February 2020, then arrested during a large-scale takedown in March 2020. The FBI’s Dallas Field Office, which led the bust, dubbed it Operation Tierra de Hielo, or “Operation Land of Ice.”  

The first defendant to plead guilty, Denita Mirelez, 48, entered her plea on August 19, 2020, admitting that she and a co-conspirator sold several ounces of meth to an FBI informant.  She was later sentenced to 97 months in federal prison. The final defendant to plead guilty, Johnny Gilbert Lopez, aka “Cannon,” 55, entered his plea 19 months later, on March 21, 2022. He also admitted that he sold meth to an informant and was sentenced yesterday to 100 months in federal prison.

The remaining defendants pleaded guilty and were sentenced as follows:

• Jesus Garcia, aka “Don Chuy,” 60
  Pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; sentenced on May 18, 2021 to 300 months in federal prison
   
• Noel Mandujano, 50
  Pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on July 20, 2021 to 360 months in federal prison
   
• Robert Vera, 51
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Jan. 20, 2021 to 188 months in federal prison
   
• Osvaldo Cortez, aka “Lito,” 41
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on April 8, 2021 to 135 months in federal prison
   
• Gustavo Rincon, aka “Tavo,” 45
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Feb. 17, 2021 to 210 months in federal prison
   
• Ricky Dale Leavitt, aka “Big Rick,” 48
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on July 13, 2021 to 97 months in federal prison
   
• Tyler Martin Miller, 32
  Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on July 7, 2021 to 120 months in federal prison
   
• Robert “Roberto” Flores, 46
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on May 25, 2021 to 235 months in federal prison
   
• Tiffany Darlene Haner, 38
  Pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm; sentenced on Jan. 20, 2021 to 120 months in federal prison
   
• Michael “Mike” Diaz, 48
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on June 2, 2021 to 120 months in federal prison
   
• Rigoberto Cuevas, aka “Rigo,” 43
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Jan. 26, 2021 to 188 months in federal prison
   
• Johnny Ortiz, aka “Johnny O,” 44
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Feb. 4, 2021 to 240 months in federal prison
   
• Kristina Renee Chaparro, aka “Yebra,” 36
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Jan. 28, 2021 to 132 months in federal prison
   
• Michael Reyes, aka “Rat,” 44
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on May 11, 2021 to 120 months in federal prison
   
• Juan Arturo Martinez, 44
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Feb. 4, 2021 to 52 months in federal prison
   
• Steven Mendez, 39
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Jan. 28, 2021 to 210 months in federal prison
   
• Frank “Frankie” Martinez, 39
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Nov. 19, 2021 to 139 months in federal prison
   
• Katrina Casas, 37,
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Jan. 28. 2021 to 40 months in federal prison
   
• Ricardo Reyes, Jr., aka “Little Ricky,” 35
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Jan. 14, 2021 to 124 months in federal prison
   
• Roxanne Casas, 39
  Pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Feb. 4, 2021 to 51 months in federal prison
   
• Cruz Mendez Nunez, 58
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on June 2, 2021 to 92 months in federal prison
   
• Christopher Allen Smith, aka “Smitty,” 35
  Pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm; sentenced on Jan. 26, 2021 to 55 months in federal prison
   
• Juan Manuel Martinez, aka “Mitos,” 45
  Pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Feb. 25, 2021 to 115 months in federal prison
   
• Melenie Arceo, 24,
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Jan. 26, 2021 to 108 months in federal prison
   
• Luis Alberto “Tito” Gonzalez, 40
  Pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm; sentenced on Feb. 17, 2021 to 77 months in federal prison
   
• Priscilla Kay Caballero, 37
  Pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a communications facility; sentenced on May 25, 2021 to 48 months in federal prison 
   
• Susan Odette Stinnett, 34
  Pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a communications facility; sentenced on Feb. 4, 2021 to 48 months in federal prison
   
• John David Ramirez, 43
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Jan. 12, 2021 to 33 months in federal prison
   
• Christian Daniel Cordova, 30
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced to on Jan. 28, 2021 to 84 months in federal prison
   
• Ricardo Chavez, aka “KK,” 42
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Jan. 12, 2021 to 188 months in federal prison
   
• Servian Riojas, aka “Smokey,” 41
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Jan. 20, 2021 to 151 months in federal prison
   
• Leonardo “Leo” Ortuno-Palacios, 53
  Pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on September 30, 2021 to 240 months in federal prison
   

"This investigation was a massive undertaking and a true partnership between local, state and federal agencies.  We dismantled the entire organization, from out-of-state leadership, to West Texas leaders, suppliers and distributors," said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno. “The collective sentences imposed on the dozens of defendants will have a lasting impact on the community as we continue to work to keep our communities free from the social, criminal and community health damages caused by methamphetamine.”

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office; the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division; the U.S. Marshals Service; Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division; ICE – Enforcement & Removal Operations; the Castro County Sheriff's Office; the Hereford Police Department; Texas Department of Safety; the Amarillo Police Department; the Dimmitt Police Department; the Randall County Sheriff's Office; the Lubbock Police Department; the Potter County Sheriff's Office; the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office; and the Plainview Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Long is prosecuting the case.

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

A San Diego man who stabbed his boyfriend 93 times pleaded guilty today to a federal crime, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Alexander Yoichi Duberek, 25, was indicted in September 2021. He pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of interstate domestic violence resulting in death.

“This defendant plotted the murder of an innocent young man, methodically purchasing equipment, locating a stretch of desolate road, and stabbing the victim nearly eight dozen times,” said U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham. “Not every brutal domestic homicide falls within federal jurisdiction, but when it does, we are determined to use whatever tools we have to bring the perpetrator to justice. Mr. Duberek now faces the possibility of a life behind bars pondering his evil act.”

According to plea papers, Mr. Duberek admitted that on Oct. 31, 2020, he traveled from his home in San Diego to his boyfriend’s home in Plainview, Texas, where he committed the fatal stabbing on the side of a rural farm road.

Mr. Duberek admitted that after arriving at the Lubbock airport that evening, he took a cab to a Sam’s Club parking lot where he purchased a Toyota Camry for $3,000 cash. He then drove to a Walmart, where he purchased a knife, a hatchet, a gas can, a collapsible shovel, a head lamp, a change of clothing, boots, personal hygiene items, and a first aid kit.

He then murdered his 30-year-old boyfriend and dumped his body.

Following the murder, Mr. Duberek fled to Houston, where he sold the vehicle used in the murder to an individual outside an auto auction. Investigators later searched the vehicle and found blood in the back seat that matched the victim.

The defendant remained at large for roughly five months before turning himself in to San Diego law enforcement on March 18, 2021. While being booked into jail, he was asked about a tattoo of his boyfriend’s first name on his ring finger; he answered that it was the name of the person he had killed.

Mr. Duberek now faces up to life in federal prison.

The Hale County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Rangers, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas and San Diego Field Offices conducted the investigation with the assistance of the U.S. Secret Service’s Dallas Field Office and the Texas Highway Patrol’s Houston Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Callie Woolam and Sean Long are prosecuting the case.

A man who discussed child sex abuse online was sentenced today to 20 years in federal prison for distributing sexually explicit images of minors, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Jacob Corey Penton, 30, was indicted in January. He pleaded guilty in March to receipt and distribution of child pornography and was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix.

“Through this sentencing, we have removed another threat from our community, sharing a message with our law enforcement partners that we are committed to aggressively pursuing anyone who seeks to exploit the innocence of our children," said Christopher Miller, acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Office. "We will continue to devote our law enforcement resources to investigate and bring to justice those who victimize children through the heinous crimes and trauma associated with the production and distribution of child sexual abuse materials.”

According to plea papers, the investigation began when law enforcement received a tip stating that Mr. Penton had discussed his sexual attraction to children on an encrypted chat app. In messages, he stated that he had sexually assaulted a minor.

Agents analyzed Mr. Penton’s Kik account and found 15 pornographic images of children as young as four being sexually abused. In plea papers, he admitted he shared some of the videos with other Kik users shortly after he received them.

Homeland Security Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Callie Woolam and Stephen Rancourt prosecuted the case.

A 72-year-old El Paso man was sentenced today to 15 years in federal prison for attempted bank robbery, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

James Earl Green, Jr. was first charged in August 2020. He was convicted at trial in April and sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix.

According to evidence presented at trial, at approximately 7:40 a.m. on Sept. 24, 2019, Mr. Green accosted a First State Bank employee as she was attempting to enter the bank for opening.

Mr. Green held a handgun to the employee’s head and pushed her inside the bank, where he held her for approximately 20 minutes. During that time, surveillance video caught the defendant on camera pacing back and forth with an identifiable limp.

A second bank employee arrived at 7:57 a.m., and a struggle ensued. During the melee, Mr. Green struck the first employee on the head with his handgun. He then fled on foot without obtaining any money, leaving his two duffel bags behind.

At today’s sentencing hearing, one of the employees recounted that she still suffered anxiety stemming from the attack.

“Every single time I walk through the back door or my workplace, I clearly see the robber coming out of the bushes and holding his gun on me.  I can still hear his voice telling me that he was going to kill me if I tried anything.  I can clearly hear him say that if I tried to warn my co-worker, he would kill her and that it would be my fault,” she said in a statement to the court. “Even as time has passed, this crime is still so fresh on my mind, like it happened only yesterday.”

Following the incident, an anonymous tipster notified the Abilene Police Department that a gold Cadillac had been parked across the street from the bank the morning before the robbery. Law enforcement then identified the Cadillac – a four door sedan with its front right hub cap cover missing – in surveillance video pulled from the bank’s vicinity. An employee of the City of Abilene narrowed down gold Cadillacs from a list of more than 11,000 to locate a matching gold Cadillac belonging to Mr. Green. 

After learning that Mr. Green lived in El Paso, officers reached out to an individual there that knew him, who reviewed the bank surveillance video and noted that the robber in the video walked in a similar manner to Mr. Green, who wore a prosthetic leg. She also shared a photo of Mr. Green’s Cadillac, which was gold and missing its front right hub cap cover.

Meanwhile, the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Crime Lab extracted a DNA profile from the duffel bag, ran it through the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), and found a match to a sample from Mr. Green.  Additionally, a member of the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team obtained historical cell phone data from Mr. Green’s cell phone provider and placed Mr. Green’s cell phone traveling to Abilene from El Paso days before the attempted bank robbery and returning from Abilene to El Paso immediately following the attempted robbery.

The Abilene Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas and El Paso Field Offices, and the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Crime Laboratory conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Callie Woolam and Ryan Redd tried the case.

A man who apparently posed as a college soccer recruiter pleaded guilty this week to receiving child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham.

Michael Ansley Twing, 43, was charged via criminal complaint on May 18. He pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging receipt of child pornography before Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cureton on Wednesday.  

According to court documents, Mr. Twing – already a registered sex offender – acquired sexually explicit images of minor girls on his laptop. The files were downloaded via eMule, a file-sharing program similar to BitTorrent.

At a detention hearing, prosecutors introduced evidence showing that Mr. Twing had been posing as a recruiter for a local university under the name “Michael Krogen.” (There is no evidence of wrongdoing by the university, which is cooperating fully with the investigation.)

In his bedroom, agents recovered a note on university letterhead  in which Mr. Twing, writing under his alias, claimed to be a recruiter. They also found a roster of high school soccer players and identified at least one text in which Mr. Twing asked a coach for contact info for a student.

Twing now faces up to 40 years in federal prison. His sentencing has been set for Oct. 21 before U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor in Fort Worth.

Mr. Twing is a 6’2” white male, approximately 195 pounds, with dark blonde hair, blue eyes, and glasses.

If you are aware of a minor who may have had inappropriate contact with Mr. Twing, also known as “Michael Krogen” and “Christopher Michael Crogen,” at a soccer tournament or elsewhere, please contact Crimestoppers at 817-469-TIPS (8477) or www.469TIPS.com.

The U.S. Secret Service’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Hurst Special Investigations Unit, the Fort Worth Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) and Sex Offender Investigations Units, the Grand Prairie Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem is prosecuting the case.

Two Ukrainian nationals who provided cash-out and money laundering services to cyber actors pleaded guilty to federal crimes, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham and Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Viktor Vorontsov, 40, and Zlata Hanska Muzhuk, 41, were indicted February 2020 and extradited from the Czech Republic to Dallas in March 2021. They pleaded guilty today to three counts each: conspiracy to commit money laundering, wire fraud, and bank fraud.

“These defendants enabled cyber criminals by recruiting and directing a cadre of money mules to transfer proceeds of illicit online activity out of the country – then pocketed a cut of that money for themselves,” said U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham. “The Justice Department will strive to combat money laundering and fraud wherever we find it.” 

“The defendants established a sophisticated money laundering network for the purpose of fraudulently obtaining funds for profit and other illicit activities,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno. “Cyber criminals are not constrained by geographic borders and the FBI will use the strength of our international operations and global partnerships to protect American interests.”

According to plea papers, the pair admitted they recruited money mules to create sham companies, open drop bank accounts, and receive and transfer stolen funds.

They advertised their cash-out services to cyber actors in online forums and communicated with these actors on various messaging applications.

After negotiating a portion of the cyber actors’ stolen funds as fee for their services, Mr. Vorontsov and Ms. Muzhuk directed their money mules to transfer funds from victim accounts in the U.S. to drop accounts domestically and abroad.  

The defendants now face up to 37 months each in federal prison. Sentencing has been set for Nov. 15.

The FBI’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation with substantial assistance from the Government of the Czech Republic, including the Czech National Organized Crime Agency (NCOZ), as well as the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Czech Ministry of Justice provided substantial assistance in securing the defendants’ extradition from the Czech Republic. Trial Attorney C.S. Heath of the Justice Department's Criminal Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Dana of the Northern District of Texas prosecuted the case.

A DeSoto Independent School District employee pleaded guilty today to embezzling more than $250,000 from the district, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Terry Lynn Sanders, the 57-year-old former DeSoto ISD Director of Energy Management, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

In plea papers, Mr. Sanders admitted he used a school district credit card to make 30 payments worth $255,100 to an outside company. The owner of the company, identified in court documents as “individual A,” then kicked back a portion of each payment, totaling approximately $100,000, to Mr. Sanders.

Mr. Sanders admitted that neither individual A nor his company performed any work for the school district, nor was the company an approved vendor with a contract with the district.

He also admitted that in order to test oversight of the card, he used the card to make seven payments worth $17,466 to pay a fictitious vendor tied to his own bank account.

Mr. Sanders now faces up to five years in federal prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcus Busch is prosecuting the case.

A Texas company that transferred millions of dollars from the U.S. to Africa has admitted that it failed to adequately guard against money laundering, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham announced today.

Ping Express U.S. LLC pleaded guilty Wednesday to failure to maintain an effective anti- money laundering program.

“Through our special agents and forensic accountants, we work endlessly to eradicate crimes involving money laundering and bulk cash smuggling,” said Christopher Miller, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Dallas. “Our investigative reach provides access to a wide range of financial networks allowing HSI to disrupt any criminal organization attempting to exploit global trade.” 

According to court documents, the company – which was licensed to transmit money but was not licensed to conduct currency exchange – charged U.S. customers a fee to remit money to beneficiaries in Nigeria and other African nations.

By law, Ping was required to report any suspicious transactions to regulators. In plea papers, it admitted that it failed to file a single report over a three-year period, despite a significant amount of suspicious customer activity.

The company outlined its anti-money laundering policy in a memo to state regulators, claiming it would cap first-time customer transactions at $499, cap daily transactions at $3,000, and cap monthly transactions at $4,500. However, in plea papers, the company admitted it allowed more than 1,500 customers to violate these rules. In one instance, Ping allowed a customer to remit more than $80,000 in a single month – more than 17 times the purported limit.

Ping also admitted that it conducted money transmission business in states in which it was not licensed to do so, including Nevada, New Jersey, Utah, West Virginia, and Connecticut. The company claimed to have software that could detect and deter transmissions initiated in “unlicensed” states, but in reality, it admitted, the program didn’t function. In its summaries to state regulators, Ping chose to include a column labeled “IP Location,” but only recorded states in which Ping was properly licensed: Texas, Maryland, Georgia, Washington, and Washington, DC.

In less than three years, the company transmitted more than $167 million overseas, including $160 million transmitted to Nigeria. The company admitted it failed to seek sufficient details about the sources or purposes of the funds involved in the transactions, or the customers initiating the transmissions.

Three individuals – including two of Ping’s top customers – previously pleaded guilty to transmitting illegally-derived funds through Ping. 

One, Collins Orogun, admitted last week that he accepted a fee in exchange for transferring money for “romance scam” fraudsters and other criminals. In one instance, an Indiana woman sent $15,00 to “Carson Jacks,” a purported oil roughneck in the Gulf of Mexico she fell in love with online, after he told her he’d contracted malaria.  In another, a second Indiana woman sent $6,300 to “Thomas Ken,” a purported Irish ship captain she fell in love with online, to fix his ship. 

In two years, Mr. Orogun received more than $1.3 million in cash, cashier’s checks, and wires into several U.S. bank accounts he controlled, and then quickly moved more than $1 million of the funds to Africa through Ping.  He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and is set to be sentenced on Jan. 23, 2023.

Ping CEO Anslem Oshionebo and Ping COO Opeyemi Odeyale also pleaded guilty to failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program.  Ping’s IT/ Business Development Manager, Aleoghena Okhumale, pleaded guilty to knowingly transmitting illegally-derived funds.  The CEO and COO were recently each sentenced to 27 months in federal prison, while the IT/Business Development Manager received a prison sentence of 42 months.

The company itself now faces five years of probation and a fine of up to $500,000.  Sentencing has been set for Dec. 19, 2022.

Homeland Security Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation, assisted by the Texas Department of Banking.  Assistant U.S. Attorney John de la Garza is prosecuting the case.

The man who sold Malik Faisal Akram the gun he used to kidnap hostages in a Texas synagogue pleaded guilty today to a federal firearm crime, announced United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Henry “Michael” Dwight Williams, 32, was charged via criminal complaint in January 2022. He pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez on Thursday.   

“This defendant, a convicted felon, had no business carrying – much less buying and selling – firearms. Whether he suspected his buyer would use the gun to menace a community of faith is legally irrelevant: In the U.S., convicted felons cannot possess firearms,” said U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham. “The Justice Department is committed to prosecuting those who violate our nation’s federal firearm laws, which are designed to keep guns from falling into the hands of dangerous offenders. We are grateful to the FBI, which sprang into action as soon as the synagogue hostage crisis began, and to the agents who worked tirelessly to track the weapon from Mr. Akram to the defendant.”

“Tireless days of nonstop investigation revealed the connection of Mr. Akram to Mr. Williams, we are grateful to the many law enforcement agencies and personnel that traced the weapon’s nefarious source,” said Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno. “We are fortunate to be able to celebrate the brave actions of the hostages and will continue to support Congregation Beth Israel and the Jewish community in their process of healing.”

According to the complaint, Mr. Williams – a felon previously convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and attempted possession of a controlled substance – sold Mr. Akram a semiautomatic Taurus G2C pistol on Jan. 13. In plea papers, Mr. Williams admitted to possession of that firearm despite his prior conviction.

According to the complaint, on Jan. 15, agents recovered the pistol from Colleyville’s Congregation Beth Israel synagogue, where Mr. Akram had held four individuals hostage for several hours before he was fatally shot by federal law enforcement.

As part of its intensive investigation into the hostage taking, the FBI tied Mr. Williams to Mr. Akram through an analysis of Mr. Akram’s cellphone records, which showed the pair exchanged a series of calls from Jan. 11 through Jan. 13.

When agents first interviewed Mr. Williams on Jan. 16, Mr. Williams stated that he recalled meeting a man with a British accent, but that he could not recall the man’s name. (Mr. Akram was a British citizen.) Agents interviewed the defendant again on Jan. 24, after he was arrested on an outstanding state warrant. After viewing a photo of Mr. Akram, Mr. Williams confirmed he sold Mr. Akram the handgun at an intersection in South Dallas. Analysis of both men’s cellphone records showed that the two phones were in close proximity on Jan. 13. Mr. Williams now faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Dallas Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division, Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Division, and the Colleyville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Magliolo is prosecuting the case with the support of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Errin Martin, Jay Weimer, Alex Lewis, Nicole Dana, P.J. Meitl, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Beran (fmr), along with Trial Attorneys David Smith and Michael Dittoe of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

FORT WORTH, TX – Angel Aguilar Montalvo was sentenced June 28, 2022, by U.S. District Judge Means to the statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison following his guilty plea to an indictment charging one count of receipt of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham of the Northern District of Texas.

In April 2019, Homeland Security Investigations initiated an investigation into a dark web website offering child pornography material for purchase.  During the investigation, it was discovered that Angel Aguilar Montalvo purchased child pornography from this website using crypto currency on more than one occasion.  On February 23, 2021, HSI Agents executed a search warrant on Aguilar’s residence.  Aguilar was interviewed by Agents.  Aguilar described some of the child pornography videos he had as “pretty hardcore.” He stated, “I know it’s illegal,” but he did not “see any harm done.”  He stated that we are all sexual beings. 

A forensic analysis of three electronic devices revealed thousands of images and videos of child pornography.  These images included children under five years of age.  An arrest warrant was issued for Aguilar in August 2021.  He was subsequently arrested attempting to reenter the United States from Mexico.  At that time, Aguilar possessed a new computer which contained evidence that Aguilar downloaded and deleted child pornography videos onto it as well.  Aguilar was indicted for receipt of child pornography on January 12, 2022.  He subsequently pled guilty to that charge in February 2022.

Aguilar had previously been charged at the state level with Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child in 1990, which was later dismissed.  Additionally, in 2006 he was charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child involving two children.  The trial on that case ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury and was subsequently dismissed. 

At Aguilar’s sentencing on June 28, 2022, the victim from Aguilar’s 1990 case and a victim from Aguilar’s 2006 case testified of the sexual abuse they endured at the hands of Aguilar.

HSI New York and HSI Dallas participated in the investigation of this case.

LUBBOCK, TX – Tyler Patrick Brown a 24-year-old Lubbock, native appeared in federal court yesterday, charged with possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham. 

According to the complaint, unsealed following the defendant’s arrest on Tuesday, multiple law enforcement agencies were investigating Brown after parents reported to law enforcement that Brown was having inappropriate contact and sexual relationships with high school students.  Brown was interviewed by law enforcement and admitted to engaging in fourteen sexual relationships with minor females while he was an adult.  Brown further admitted, he would typically tell the females that he was also a minor high school student to gain their confidence.  A subsequent search of Brown’s cell phone revealed he possessed a video of a 15-year-old minor engaging in sexual acts, which constitutes child pornography as defined by federal law.  Even after the interview with law enforcement, Brown was seen by a parent of one of his victims at a Lubbock area high school basketball game wearing a “Press” lanyard.  He was confronted by one of the investigators and left the game.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of wrongdoing, not evidence. Like all defendants, Mr. Brown is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

This investigation is on-going.  If you have any relevant information pertaining to this investigation, please contact the FBI – Lubbock, Texas field office at 806-765-8571.

A Fort Worth man discovered with a Glock pistol equipped with a “switch” – a device that converts ordinary semiautomatic pistols into fully automatic machine guns – has been tried and convicted of a federal firearm crime, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

After proceeding pro se in a bench trial, Judge O’Connor found Keidric Brown, 25, guilty of possessing a machinegun.

“I cannot stress enough how dangerous machine gun conversion devices are and the levels at which they are being used in our communities. Due to the diligent work of our law enforcement partners, specifically the Arlington Police Department, Mr. Brown will now have several years to think about his attempt to brazenly carry a machine gun around our streets,” stated ATF Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II.

According to evidence presented at trial, an Arlington Police Department Officer stopped Mr. Brown’s vehicle on Jan. 17 after discovering its insurance was expired.

An officer testified that she noted the smell of marijuana emanating from the vehicle and initiated a probable cause search.

Under the driver’s seat, she found a Glock 9mm pistol with a 31-round high-capacity, extended magazine and a red plastic switch attached to the rear of the firearm’s slide.  The Glock pistol with switch attached was ultimately examined and test fired by an ATF Firearms Enforcement Officer, who concluded it was a machinegun that fired in a fully-automatic fashion.

Glock Switches, also known as machinegun conversion devices, are classified as machineguns under federal law. Unlike semiautomatic firearms, machineguns – weapons that can fire more than one round, without manual reloading, by single function of the trigger – are generally unlawful for non-licensed civilians under the National Firearms Act.

A search of Mr. Brown’s phone revealed text messages and lyrics regarding the purchase and use of Glock Switches.

At trial, prosecutors introduced into evidence Mr. Brown’s rap videos, which included the lyrics, “My Glock, it came with a switch / I aim, I don’t miss” (1:01).

Mr. Brown now faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division and the Arlington Police Department’s Violent Crime Unit conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Levi Thomas and Frank Gatto prosecuted the case. U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor presided over trial.

A Rowlett man who cyberstalked his ex-girlfriend and shot and stabbed her to death in the midst of a bitter custody dispute pleaded guilty today to two violent federal crimes, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Andrew Charles Beard, 35, was charged with cyberstalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in death and with discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.  On Wednesday, he pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle.

“This was a brutal, bloody crime,” said U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham. “Ms. Burkett’s daughter is now suffering twin tragedies: Her mother is deceased, and her father is an admitted murderer. We pray for strength for this child and the rest of her family in the days, weeks, and years to come.”

“If you looked up evil in the dictionary, you would see Mr. Beard stabbing his wife in a parking lot. His crimes are gut wrenching and shock the conscience. I am very proud of the investigative effort to keep him behind bars and prevent him from perpetrating such acts in the future. ATF remains committed to the fight against domestic violence offenders in possession of firearms. If you, or someone you know, fears violence from gun wielding domestic partners, please notify law enforcement immediately,”  stated ATF Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II.

In plea papers, Mr. Beard admitted that he cyberstalked and murdered his ex-girlfriend, 24-year-old Alyssa Ann Burkett, in a parking lot in Carrollton on Oct. 2, 2020, in an attempt to gain custody of their young daughter. 

He admitted he that he placed a GPS tracking device on Ms. Burkett’s car, entered a black SUV he had purchased for the occasion, followed her to the apartment complex where she worked, and donned a disguise. He then exited his vehicle with a shotgun and shot Ms. Burkett in the head as she sat behind the wheel of her car. Believing that he had fatally shot her, Mr. Beard ran back to the SUV to drive away.

However, Ms. Burkett – severely injured and bloodied from the shotgun blast – staggered out of her car and attempted to enter a nearby building for help. Realizing that his ex-girlfriend was still alive, Mr. Beard exited the SUV, ran up to her and  grabbed her from behind, and stabbed her 13 times through the upper body with a sharp object.  She died in the parking lot as he raced away from the scene. 

Ms. Burkett’s mother and coworkers told responding officers that Ms. Burkett feared Mr. Beard,  believed he was tracking her, and worried he would kill her. Her boyfriend told police that  Mr. Beard had seemed “overly obsessed” with Ms. Burkett and their child.

Three hours later, officers stopped Mr. Beard as he drove away from his residence in a white pickup truck. They seized three phones from Mr. Beard, including a prepaid burner phone. On one phone, they found an internet search for “what is the best way to remove gunpowder residue from hands.”

Officers also searched his vehicle, where they found a pair of men’s hiking boots cut into pieces and soaking in bleach, and they searched his residence, where they found a battery that matched the GPS trackers affixed to Ms. Burkett’s vehicle. They also found a written script Mr. Beard had used to phone in a false drug tip against Ms. Burkett a month earlier.

In plea papers, Mr. Beard admitted that he called in the fake tip on September 2, 2020, after planting drugs and a gun in her car.  Identifying himself as “Frank Marrow,” he claimed Ms. Burkett was selling drugs out of the trunk of her car and advised police to check the spare tire well. Officers searched the tire well and found illegal drugs and a pistol with an obliterated serial number.  Ms. Burkett vehemently denied selling drugs and stated that she believed Mr. Beard had planted the evidence in her vehicle.

The day after the murder, officers found the black SUV Mr. Beard had driven to and from the murder scene abandoned in a residential neighborhood near Mr. Beard’s home. Dried blood recovered from the vehicle contained DNA that matched Ms. Burkett.  A fake beard recovered from the vehicle contained DNA that matched Mr. Beard. 

Mr. Beard now faces up to two life sentences in federal prison.  His sentencing has been set for October 6, 2022.

The Carrollton Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gary Tromblay, Camille Sparks, and Andrew Briggs are prosecuting the case.

The case was brought under Project Guardian, the Justice Department’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence using federal firearm laws.

Jennifer Lynne Faith, the Oak Cliff woman who convinced her boyfriend to shoot her husband to death, was sentenced today to life in federal prison for orchestrating the murder, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

In February 2021, prosecutors charged Ms. Faith, 49, with obstruction of justice. In September 2021, they added a charge of use of interstate commerce in the commission of murder-for-hire, an offense that carries a potential death sentence. In return for her plea, prosecutors agreed to drop the obstruction charge and to recommend a sentence of life imprisonment. Ms. Faith pleaded guilty in February and was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle, who also ordered her to pay $6,500 in restitution to her late husband’s family to cover funeral expenses and a $250,000 fine.

At her sentencing hearing, prosecutors introduced into evidence a video of Ms. Faith describing the killing to  Dallas Homicide Detective Chris Walton the morning of her husband’s murder.

“I turned around and I just saw this person shoot and shoot. I couldn’t believe – I didn’t know him. Like, why?” she said, sobbing. “A lot of shots, five, six, maybe, I feel like. And he just kept going, and I’m like, stop it!” 

“And then I saw the person turn and like, just, dark eyes, coming toward me. And so I started – I yelled no, and I started to run. And he tackled me to the ground,” she continued. “He was trying to attack me the whole time I was screaming.” 

Prosecutors also introduced into evidence surveillance audio of Ms. Faith screaming during the attack and video of her crying hysterically afterwards.

According to plea papers, Ms. Faith subsequently admitted that her boyfriend, Darrin Ruben Lopez, 49, gunned down her husband, American Airlines technology director Jamie Faith, on Oct. 9, 2020 in front of his home in Oak Cliff. (Mr. Lopez has been charged by the state with murder and by the feds with a gun crime. He has pleaded not guilty to both charges. Like all defendants, he is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.)

Ms. Faith admitted that she knew Mr. Lopez – whom she called her “one and only love” – had suffered a traumatic brain injury while serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq, leaving him disabled. Both before and after the murder, she sent Mr. Lopez money and gifts, and even provided him with two credit cards which she paid off using the proceeds of a “Support Jennifer Faith” GoFundMe fundraiser launched in the wake of her husband’s death.

She also admitted that before the murder, she used two phony email accounts to correspond with Mr. Lopez, assuming the identities of her own husband and one of her friends in order to falsely convince Mr. Lopez that her husband was physically and sexually abusing her. (In plea papers, Ms. Faith stipulated that no such abuse ever occurred.) Ms. Faith admitted that she downloaded stock images depicting injuries from the internet and attached them to some of the emails to convince Mr. Lopez that the abuse was actually occurring.

After her arrest, she continued to maintain the fiction. At Tuesday’s sentencing, prosecutors introduced a handwritten note she sent to Mr. Lopez dated October 19, 2021 – less than a month after court documents outlined the email scheme: 

“Just a quick note to say I never lied to you and I never sent you emails from any account but mine, as me,” she said. “There is a ton more I wish I could say, but I can’t right now.”

Seven months into her relationship with Mr. Lopez, Ms. Faith exited her home with her husband to walk their dog, she acknowledged in plea papers. One minute into their walk, Mr. Lopez – who allegedly drove from his home in Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee, to the Faiths’ home in Dallas, where he laid in wait at a neighbor’s home – allegedly shot Mr. Faith seven times before fleeing the scene in his black Nissan Titan pickup truck, which had a distinctive “T” decal on the back window.

After she learned that law enforcement was aware of the “T” decal, Ms. Faith appeared on DFW’s ABC affiliate, WFAA, and plead with the public to help investigators locate the decaled truck. Following the interview, Ms. Faith texted Mr. Lopez and encouraged him to remove the sticker from his truck, she admitted.

“I woke up in a bit of a panic… Something is eating away at me telling me you need to take the sticker out of the back window of the truck,” she texted him. “I don’t normally overreact like this… really think you need to get that sticker off ASAP, like today.” Mr. Lopez allegedly removed the sticker the following day.

Meanwhile, approximately one month after her husband’s death, Ms. Faith admitted, she initiated a claim with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company seeking approximately $629,000 in death benefits Mr. Faith had through his employer. She periodically updated Mr. Lopez on the status of the claim. In text messages, the pair discussed using the money to apply for a residence in her name in Tennessee.

In January 2021, shortly after she was asked to come in for questioning by investigators, Ms. Faith reached out to Mr. Lopez to coordinate their cover stories, she admitted in plea papers.

At her sentencing, prosecutors introduced into evidence a text message from Ms. Faith to Mr. Lopez dated January 10, 2021:

“Don’t text me Monday. I am going to factory reset my phone on Sunday night after deleting texts,” she wrote.

“Ok sounds good,” Mr. Lopez responded. “Big hug.”

ATF agents arrested Mr. Lopez on murder charges in Cumberland Furnace on Jan. 11, 2021. The firearm used to kill Mr. Faith was recovered inside Mr. Lopez’s home.

On Feb. 2, 2021, shortly before she was charged, Ms. Faith contacted a third party and asked that a message be forwarded to Mr. Lopez, who at the time was in custody in Dallas.

“I am with him, will always be with him regardless of whatever has happened. I’ve needed to be cautious because every communication is being monitored,” the message read in part. “Please tell him ASAP I will always be his.”

“Ms. Faith put on quite a performance in the wake of her husband’s murder. She poured out her sob story to reporters and law enforcement, then headed home to orchestrate her coverup,”  said U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham. “But crocodile tears didn’t stop the feds. We were committed to getting justice for Jamie, and with the Judge’s imposition of a life sentence this afternoon, we’re one step closer.”

“No amount of time in federal prison will ever be able to bring Mr. Faith back, however this sentencing shows the gravity of Ms. Faith’s criminal acts. Her spineless attempt to sway law enforcement and public opinion will forever be etched into the hearts of those affected by her monstruous crime. I would like to personally thank the Dallas Police Department Detectives, the Assistant United States Attorneys, and the ATF Special Agents that were ultimately responsible for bringing this villain to justice” stated ATF Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II.

After hearing evidence presented by the prosecutor, United States District Judge Jane J. Boyle admonished Ms. Faith calling her “pure evil”  before imposing her life sentence.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division and the Dallas Police Department’s Homicide Unit conducted the investigation with the assistance of the ATF’s Nashville Field Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, Homeland Security Investigations, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Aviation Unit, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee. NDTX Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rick Calvert and Andrew Briggs are prosecuting the case.

Copies of public sentencing exhibits are available to credentialed media upon request.

A Dallas man was sentenced today to more than 30 years in federal prison for sex trafficking a 14-year-old minor and an adult victim, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

A federal jury in Dallas convicted Anthony Lennell Acy, 34, on one count of child sex trafficking and one count of sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion in August 2021. He was sentenced today to 365 months by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle.

“The North Texas Trafficking Task Force objective is quite clear:  We will never relent in our pursuit of criminals responsible for exploiting minors or forcing anyone into the commercial sex industry,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Dallas Christopher Miller. “Individuals like Anthony Acy need to understand that they will be prosecuted and held accountable for the destruction of the lives of their victims because of their personal greed and disdain for human decency.”

According to evidence presented at trial, Mr. Acy trafficked at least two victims — including the 14-year-old girl, a runaway from McKinney, Texas — out of multiple hotels in Dallas and in California.

Agents with the North Texas Trafficking Task Force testified that they recovered Jane Doe 1 and Adult Victim 1 out of a Dallas hotel room and arrested Mr. Acy as he was leaving the hotel parking lot. 

At trial, Jane Doe 1 testified that Mr. Acy approached her in a parking lot next to a hotel a couple weeks after she ran away from home.  Jane Doe 1 stated that Mr. Acy told her that she could model for his clothing line and then drove her to a hotel, where he offered her dinner and a place to stay that night.  She testified that Mr. Acy later forced her to take ecstasy pills, caused her to engage in commercial sex in Dallas and in California, and physically assaulted her multiple times.

Adult Victim 1 testified at trial that Mr. Acy first recruited her over Facebook, claiming that he wanted to be her boyfriend.  Adult Victim 1 stated that, after she traveled to Dallas to visit Mr. Acy, he took her cell phone and her car keys and forced her to engage in commercial sex in order to pay back the money he claimed to have spent on her.  Mr. Acy trafficked Adult Victim 1 first in Dallas and later in Austin and California.  Adult Victim 1 testified that Mr. Acy forced her to earn $1,000 a day, with all proceeds turned over to him.

Both victims testified that Mr. Acy repeatedly beat them, threatened them at gunpoint and knifepoint, and threatened to kill them and their families if they called the police.

In the course of the investigation, investigators reviewed Mr. Acy’s hotel records, phone records, financial records, online advertisements, and Facebook posts that corroborated the victims’ accounts of Mr. Acy’s sex trafficking activity.

The North Texas Trafficking Task Force, led by Homeland Security Investigations, conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, the Colleyville Police Department, and the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rebekah Ricketts (fmr.) and John Kull prosecuted the case.

The Michigan man who stalked and sexually assaulted a 14-year-old Lubbock girl has been tried and convicted, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

After just an hour of deliberation, a jury convicted Thomas John Boukamp, 22, on all 16 counts: one count of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual conduct, one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, one count of enticement of a minor, two counts of receipt of child pornography, ten counts of production and attempted production of child pornography, and one count of cyber stalking.

“This man stalked and sexually assaulted a 14-year-old, then had the gall to claim in federal court that their so-called ‘relationship’ was consensual. The child, who bravely faced her abuser in court, asserted in no uncertain terms that his advances were unwelcome. By law, 14-year-olds simply cannot consent to sexual contact with adults. We are immensely proud of this child and hope this verdict brings some solace to her and her family,” said U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham.

"This defendant displayed reprehensible behavior, which was countered by the bravery of the victim that so courageously testified against him," said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to do everything in our power to seek justice for victims and their families, hold perpetrators accountable and protect others from harm."

According to evidence presented at trial, Mr. Boukamp met the child, identified in court as Jane Doe, on the instant messaging platform Discord when she was just 13 years old.

The pair exchanged a series of messages, in which he threatened to hurt her family if she disclosed their budding “relationship.”

Mr. Boukamp later transported Jane Doe, then 14 years of age, to his home in Michigan, where he sexually assaulted her, forcibly removed her braces with pliers, strangled, and hit her.

The victim’s father testified at trial that when she ran away to Michigan, his terrified daughter brought her baby blanket with her.

The victim herself also testified at trial and described the abuse she suffered at Boukamp’s hands.

Mr. Boukamp now faces up to life without parole in federal prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas and Detroit Field Offices, the Lubbock Police Department, the Michigan State Police, and the Antrim County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Callie Woolam and Jeff Haag prosecuted the case. U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix presided over trial.

A Dallas County Sheriff’s Office supervisor who embezzled more than $250,000 from the jail’s inmate property fund pleaded guilty yesterday to a federal offense, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Umeka Treymane Myers, 49, was charged via criminal information on April 28. On Thursday, she pleaded guilty to theft from a program receiving federal funds.

According to plea papers, Ms. Myers worked as a supervisor at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center’s inmate property vault, which refunds inmates’ commissary account balances upon their release.

When an inmate’s account contains more than $30, property vault employees give them the balance on debit cards generated by software from the Keef Group.

If an employee makes an error processing a debit card, the software generates an error message, which only a lead clerk or supervisor (such as Myers), can clear.

After overriding a debit card error, however, Ms. Myers used released inmates’ book-in numbers to create new and duplicate debit cards, then entered the same amount from the card issued to the released inmate on to the newly created card.

Between 2018 and 2021, she fraudulently issued dozens of debit cards, which she used in Texas, Louisiana, Nevada, Maryland, and New York. (Her spending was confirmed by Winstar, Choctaw, and Margaritaville casino records, Southwest Airlines records, Bank of America ATM surveillance footage, and personal bank records.)

Ms. Myers now faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation with the full cooperation of the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcus Busch is prosecuting the case.

The Justice Department announced today that a man who allegedly purchased guns later used in multiple incidents in the United States and Canada has been charged with federal firearm crimes. According to court documents, Demontre Antwon Hackworth, 31, allegedly purchased at least 92 guns from federally licensed firearms dealers, including 75 guns in just six months from a single dealer that later relinquished its seller’s license.

“As part of the Department-wide anti-violent crime strategy we launched last year, we are marshalling the resources of every one of our U.S. Attorneys’ offices, law enforcement agencies, grant-making entities, and other components to work in partnership with state and local law enforcement to disrupt violent crime,”  Attorney General Merrick B Garland said at a press conference in Washington, DC on Monday. “We are cracking down on the criminal gun-trafficking pipelines that flood our communities with illegal guns, and we have instructed our federal prosecutors and law enforcement agents to prioritize prosecutions of those who are responsible for the greatest gun violence. The case we are announcing today is just one example of those efforts.”

“The second amendment protects the rights of law-abiding citizens – but not prohibited persons, or those who arm them,” said U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham for the Northern District of Texas. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office, ATF Dallas, and the entire Department of Justice is working our level best to keep guns away from dangerous offenders before they can put finger to trigger.”

“Illegal firearms trafficking is not a victimless crime,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeff Boshek of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Dallas Field Division. “There are real consequences when individuals illegally engage in the business of buying and selling firearms. ATF will continue to use all available resources to strategically target and identify illegal firearms sales, trafficking patterns, and sources of crime guns; and to interrupt the illegal flow of firearms to criminal gang members, felons, firearm traffickers, and all persons who are otherwise prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law.”

Despite claiming to be the actual transferee (i.e. buyer) of the firearms, Hackworth allegedly engaged in the business of reselling the guns without a federal firearm license and without conducting required background checks. Federal law prohibits individuals engaging in the business of dealing in firearms – defined as repeatedly devoting time and attention to purchasing and reselling guns for pecuniary gain – from doing so without a license.

At least 16 of the guns Hackworth purchased are alleged to have been subsequently recovered in Texas, Maryland, and Canada from incidents that include homicide, aggravated assault, and drug trafficking.

As alleged in the indictment, according to an analysis by the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), three of the recovered guns had been used in multiple crimes. One gun was used in three separate criminal incidents – two aggravated assaults and one unlawful possession; and two more were used in two incidents each. At least 14 of the 16 recovered guns were recovered in incidents within one year of purchase. One was recovered from an incident just seven days after Hackworth purchased it.

Hackworth was indicted on June 7 for dealing firearms without a license and making false statements during the purchase of a firearm. He was arrested by ATF agents in Dallas on Friday and made his initial appearance in the Northern District of Texas on Monday. If convicted, he faces up to 35 years in federal prison, with a statutory maximum penalty of five years for dealing without a license and up to 10 years for each count of false statement during purchase. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence. 

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

The ATF’s Dallas Field Division, in partnership with the agency’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC) program, conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanna Etessam is prosecuting the case with the help of Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Calvert for the Northern District of Texas.

The Justice Department announced today that a man who allegedly purchased guns later used in multiple incidents in the United States and Canada has been charged with federal firearm crimes. According to court documents, Demontre Antwon Hackworth, 31, allegedly purchased at least 92 guns from federally licensed firearms dealers, including 75 guns in just six months from a single dealer that later relinquished its seller’s license.

“As part of the Department-wide anti-violent crime strategy we launched last year, we are marshalling the resources of every one of our U.S. Attorneys’ offices, law enforcement agencies, grant-making entities, and other components to work in partnership with state and local law enforcement to disrupt violent crime,” said Attorney General Merrick B Garland. “We are cracking down on the criminal gun-trafficking pipelines that flood our communities with illegal guns, and we have instructed our federal prosecutors and law enforcement agents to prioritize prosecutions of those who are responsible for the greatest gun violence. The case we are announcing today is just one example of those efforts.”

“The second amendment protects the rights of law-abiding citizens – but not prohibited persons, or those who arm them,” said U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham for the Northern District of Texas. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office, ATF Dallas, and the entire Department of Justice is working our level best to keep guns away from dangerous offenders before they can put finger to trigger.”

“Illegal firearms trafficking is not a victimless crime,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeff Boshek of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Dallas Field Division. “There are real consequences when individuals illegally engage in the business of buying and selling firearms. ATF will continue to use all available resources to strategically target and identify illegal firearms sales, trafficking patterns, and sources of crime guns; and to interrupt the illegal flow of firearms to criminal gang members, felons, firearm traffickers, and all persons who are otherwise prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law.”

Despite claiming to be the actual transferee (i.e. buyer) of the firearms, Hackworth allegedly engaged in the business of reselling the guns without a federal firearm license and without conducting required background checks. Federal law prohibits individuals engaging in the business of dealing in firearms – defined as repeatedly devoting time and attention to purchasing and reselling guns for pecuniary gain – from doing so without a license.

At least 16 of the guns Hackworth purchased are alleged to have been subsequently recovered in Texas, Maryland, and Canada from incidents that include homicide, aggravated assault, and drug trafficking.

As alleged in the indictment, according to an analysis by the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), three of the recovered guns had been used in multiple crimes. One gun was used in three separate criminal incidents – two aggravated assaults and one unlawful possession; and two more were used in two incidents each. At least 14 of the 16 recovered guns were recovered in incidents within one year of purchase. One was recovered from an incident just seven days after Hackworth purchased it.

Hackworth was indicted on June 7 for dealing firearms without a license and making false statements during the purchase of a firearm. He was arrested by ATF agents in Dallas on Friday and made his initial appearance in the Northern District of Texas on Monday. If convicted, he faces up to 35 years in federal prison, with a statutory maximum penalty of five years for dealing without a license and up to 10 years for each count of false statement during purchase. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The ATF’s Dallas Field Division, in partnership with the agency’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC) program, conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanna Etessam is prosecuting the case with the help of Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Calvert for the Northern District of Texas.

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

Fourteen alleged methamphetamine traffickers were arrested on Wednesday in Operation Kullvid-20, to announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Led by the DEA’s North Texas Strike Force, the investigation has netted a total of 40 federal defendants plus 2,708 kilograms of methamphetamine, 29 guns, and $742,000 cash to date, including 17 kilograms of methamphetamine, 6 guns, and $12,000 cash seized just yesterday. Over the course of the investigation, agents have also seized six vehicles, 30 kilograms of heroin, and 719 grams – or roughly 539,500 lethal doses – of fentanyl.

The defendants – the majority of whom were arrested in the Dallas area – will begin making their initial appearances on Friday. Five defendants remain at large.

“The North Texas Strike Force’s goal is simple: dismantle the most dangerous and violent criminal drug networks in North Texas that are responsible for poisoning our neighborhoods with methamphetamine and other illicit drugs,” said Eduardo A. Chávez, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Dallas Field Division. “Through the combined efforts of our federal, state, and local partner agencies, we will not stop until individuals such as those arrested yesterday are held accountable to justice and to the victims and families of so many that have been destroyed because of their greed.”

According to court documents, the defendants conspired to smuggle powered methamphetamine from Mexico into the United States. Distributors then oversaw the conversion of powder to crystal before selling the drugs to local customers.  

Over the phone, defendants allegedly spoke in code to avoid detection by law enforcement, using the Spanish word “diente,” or “tooth” to refer to 10 packages of meth and the word “ventilador,” or “fan,” to refer to 20 packages. (Both terms sound similar the words, “diez” and “vente,” or “ten” and “twenty.”)

At one point, an unidentified coconspirator warned a top distributor to abandoned his residence because he believed law enforcement was monitoring the home.

“Get the [expletive] out of there, cousin! I tossed everything out. These dudes, the cops are following me, but I’m taking off, cousin,” the coconspirator said.  “All right, all right,” the distributor replied.

Those charged in a 22-count superseding indictment filed in May and unsealed this week include:

• George Anthony Cervantes: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
• Fernando Mancha, Jr.: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
• Cynthia Sanchez: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance
• Myda Marivel Garcia: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
• Luis Enrique Esquivel-Madrigal: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
• Bruno Rafael Hernandez-Rios: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
• Fnu Lun, aka “Paniquedo:” conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance
• Eric Perez: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance
• Enrique Cabrera Gomez: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance
• Porfirio Pineda: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance
• Jose Eulalio Perez: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance
• Charles McEntye Zoffuto: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
• Raquel Desara Martinez: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
   

The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces’ (OCDETF) North Texas Strike Force conducted the investigation. Agencies that participated in Wednesday’s takedown include: the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office,  the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division, IRS – Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Dallas Coppell, and Grand Prairie Police Departments. Homeland Security Investigations, the Navarro County Sheriff’s Office, and the Corsicana, Mesquite, Balch Springs, and Wills Point Police Departments assisted. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kull is prosecuting the case.

The OCDETF program was established in 1982 to attack and reduce the supply of illegal drugs entering the United States and to diminish violence and other criminal activity associated with the drug trade.  OCDETF works with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to identify, disrupt, and dismantle traffickers and trafficking networks.