Southern District of Texas

HOUSTON – A 55-year-old Houston resident has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of conspiracy to transport undocumented aliens, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. 

Charles Lee Smith pleaded guilty Dec. 1, 2021.

Today, U.S. District Judge Gray Miller ordered Smith to serve 120 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.

From Feb. 26, 2021, through Sept. 14, 2021, Smith recruited others to transport undocumented aliens from Laredo to San Antonio, Houston and other destinations. Smith acquired and paid for the load vehicles as well as drivers’ travel expenses and lodging. He also recruited drivers, oversaw the events and supervised the transport of 182 undocumented aliens, including six unaccompanied minors. On Dec. 8, 2020, Smith personally transported three non-U.S. citizens, but law enforcement caught him. It was after this that he began recruiting others to drive.   

On Sept. 9, 2021, Brandon Joseph Bartholomew and Smith met in the Houston area. Smith hired and contracted Bartholomew for $10,000 per load to transport a tractor trailer pre-loaded with non-U.S. citizens from Laredo to Houston. Smith told Bartholomew he would be able to take multiple loads that week.  

On Sep. 14, 2021, Bartholomew drove a tractor-trailer to the Border Patrol (BP) checkpoint near Freer. He told authorities he was hauling rice and beans and presented a fraudulent bill of lading. Upon inspection, law enforcement discovered the logos and Department of Transportation number printed on the tractor and trailer were fraudulent. Authorities cut the trailer door seal and discovered 49 undocumented aliens from Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala. The temperature inside the enclosed trailer was 91 degrees.

On April 19, 2022, U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña imposed a 33-month sentence for Bartholomew, 40, Magnolia.

Smith will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Border Patrol. Homeland Security Investigations and BP conducted the investigations on the other transporters with the assistance of Texas Department of Public Safety. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Matthew Isaac prosecuted this case. AUSA Colton Turner handled the sentencing.

LAREDO, Texas – A 40-year-old Texan has been sentenced for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute approximately 19 kilograms of meth, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Ernesto Diaz-Velazquez pleaded guilty Dec. 6, 2022.

U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo has now ordered Diaz-Velazquez to serve 84 months in federal prison. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence that he trafficked meth “ice” in the city of Laredo. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the high-purity of meth and that it belonged to Michoacan Cartel. Judge Marmolejo admonished the defendant for seeking to distribute such a dangerous and disfiguring drug. 

On Sept. 5, 2017, authorities launched an investigation into suspected drug trafficking across the local port of entry. It led to Diaz-Velazquez as the individual who took possession of approximately 18.58 kilograms of pure meth at a local store parking lot. He received the high-purity meth in liquid form. 

The investigation revealed the Michoacan Cartel was the ultimate source of the drug supply. 

Diaz-Velazquez was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with assistance from the Laredo Police Department as part of an OCDETF operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, mutlti-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Francisco J. Rodriguez is prosecuting the case.

HOUSTON – BestCare Laboratory Services LLC, a now defunct Texas-based company that operated as a clinical laboratory, and its owner and founder, Karim A. Maghareh, have agreed to pay an additional $5.7 million to settle an outstanding False Claims Act judgment against them.

The judgment was entered in 2018 after a court found BestCare knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare, as Maghareh directed, by billing for travel allowance reimbursements that did not reflect the mileage lab technicians had actually traveled when they collected specimens from nursing home residents in Texas. 

The settlement announced today is designed to resolve BestCare and Maghareh’s outstanding obligation under the 2018 judgment. The settlement provides for payments totaling $5.7 million and the possibility of additional annual payments for five years based on Maghareh’s future income. These payments are in addition to $789,652 that the United States has already collected since 2018. The settlement amount is based on the Department of Justice’s ability-to-pay policy.

Richard Drummond originally filed the lawsuit in 2008 under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act. The qui tam provisions allow private parties, called relators, to sue on behalf of the United States individuals or companies they believe have knowingly submitted false claims for government funds. Relators are entitled to receive 15 to 25 percent of any recovery if the United States intervenes in the suit, as it did here in 2011. As part of this settlement, the relator will receive $1,311,000.

“Health care providers that submit inflated reimbursement claims to Medicare waste funds intended to ensure access to vital medical services,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s settlement demonstrates the Department’s resolve to ensure that those who defraud the taxpayers are held accountable.”

“When the greedy manipulate the Medicare system, it affects us all, especially the elderly,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas (SDTX). “It’s a waste of resources meant to help those in need. This fraudulent scheme adversely impacted our healthcare system because of the inflated costs associated with transporting lab samples. This settlement brings to bear some economic justice, by requiring those that orchestrated the fraudulent scheme to pay for their actions.”

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

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort among the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section; SDTX - Affirmative Civil Enforcement Section; and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. SDTX Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Karpati and Fraud Section Senior Trial Counsel Andrew A. Steinberg handled the matter.

BestCare Laboratory Services LLC (BestCare), a now defunct Texas-based company that operated as a clinical laboratory, and its owner and founder, Karim A. Maghareh, have agreed to pay an additional $5.7 million to settle an outstanding False Claims Act judgment against them. The judgment was entered in 2018 after a court found that BestCare knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare, as directed by Maghareh, by billing for travel allowance reimbursements that did not reflect the mileage that lab technicians had actually traveled when they collected specimens from nursing home residents in Texas. 

The settlement announced today is designed to resolve BestCare and Maghareh’s outstanding obligation under the 2018 judgment. The settlement provides for payments totaling $5.7 million and the possibility of additional annual payments for five years based on Maghareh’s future income. These payments are in addition to $789,652 that the United States has already collected since 2018. The settlement amount is based on the Justice Department's ability-to-pay policy.

The original lawsuit was filed in 2008 by Richard Drummond under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act. The qui tam provisions allow private parties, called “relators,” to sue on behalf of the United States individuals or companies they believe have knowingly submitted false claims for government funds. Relators are entitled to receive 15 to 25 percent of any recovery if the United States intervenes in the suit, as it did here in 2011. As part of this settlement, the relator will receive $1,311,000.

“Health care providers that submit inflated reimbursement claims to Medicare waste funds intended to ensure access to vital medical services,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s settlement demonstrates the department’s resolve to ensure that those who defraud the taxpayers are held accountable.”

“When the greedy manipulate the Medicare system, it affects us all, especially the elderly,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas. “It’s a waste of resources meant to help those in need. This fraudulent scheme adversely impacted our healthcare system because of the inflated costs associated with transporting lab samples. This settlement brings to bear some economic justice, by requiring those that orchestrated the fraudulent scheme to pay for their actions.”

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

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort among the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, Affirmative Civil Enforcement Section; and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. The settlement was handled by Fraud Section Senior Trial Counsel Andrew A. Steinberg and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Karpati for the Southern District of Texas.

This case is captioned United States ex rel. Drummond v. BestCare Laboratory Services LLC and Karim A. Maghareh, Case No. 4:08cv2441 (S.D. Tex.).

Settlement

HOUSTON – Three more people have been federally charged in relation to a smuggling event that turned fatal in March.

Authorities took Brian Martinez, 24, East Bernard, and Miguel Gonzalez, 33, Richmond, into custody July 25 and 26, respectively, on human smuggling charges. Christian Hernandez, 25, East Bernard, is in custody and expected to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sam S. Sheldon at 2 p.m. today. Gonzalez is on home confinement with restrictions, while Martinez is in custody pending a detention hearing set for Aug. 3.

Zachary Austin Palomo, 28, Alex Anthony Fisher, 26, and Brenda Roxana Serrano Figueroa, 25, all of Houston, have been and will remain in custody on kidnapping charges returned in May.

Two others - Santiago Hernandez Jr., 26, and Lorie Lin Flowers, 25, both also of Houston - remain at large.

The charges allege that on March 17 and 18, a migrant smuggling operation resulted in the armed kidnapping of three migrants along I-10 East in Waller County. Three other victims were shot and left at the scene, according to the allegations. The alleged perpetrators held the victims hostage at two Houston area hotels and began requesting ransom money from their families. The charges allege the victims were beaten and threatened while held for ransom.

According to testimony presented in court, the kidnappers released two of hostages after their families paid the ransom, and law enforcement conducted an operation to rescue the remaining victim. 

The operation led to the death of one of the alleged perpetrators.

Warrants remain outstanding for the arrest of Hernandez and Flowers who are considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information about their whereabouts is asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324).  

Santiago Hernandez, Flowers, Palomo, Figueroa and Fisher are charged with aiding and abetting kidnapping. If convicted, they face up to life in prison. For bringing in and harboring certain aliens, Gonzalez, Cristian Hernandez and Martinez could receive up to 10 years in federal prison, upon conviction. All charged also carry a potential fine of $250,000. 

The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the sheriff’s offices in Harris and Waller Counties and the Houston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney John M. Lewis is prosecuting the case.

 

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

McALLEN, Texas – Three local residents have been charged in a 27-count indictment alleging losses of more than $300,000 to the IRS, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Elizabeth Romo turned herself in today and is expected to make her initial appearance this morning in McAllen. Authorities took Maria Lourdes Campos and Gloria Romo into custody last week.

The indictment, returned July 11 and unsealed in its entirety today, alleges Campos, Elizabeth Romo and Gloria Romo knowingly submitted dozens of fraudulent tax returns to the IRS in  order to garner larger tax breaks for her clients.

The three women allegedly prepared Forms 1040 containing fraudulent Schedules A and C with false residential energy, child and dependent care expense credits. The charges allege the false and or inflated deductions occurred on client tax returns for tax years 2017 through 2020. Campos Tax Services’ clients received a larger refund than they were entitled to receive or paid a lesser amount of taxes owed to the IRS, according to the indictment.  

As a result of the scheme, all three allegedly caused a total loss to the IRS of over $300,000 over the course of four years.

If convicted, they each face up to five years in prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.  

IRS - Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric D. Flores and Cahal McColgan are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

McALLEN, Texas – A 21-year-old Mexican citizen has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of being in possession of a firearm while in the United States illegally, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Alberto Karr-Magana pleaded guilty May 22.

Today, Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane ordered Karr-Magana to serve 30 months in federal prison. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence that law enforcement found not only a loaded firearm but drug paraphernalia as well. This included a scale with cocaine residue, marijuana and over $4,000 in cash. In handing down the sentence, the court noted Karr-Magana’s lengthy criminal history which included prior drug and firearm convictions. Not a U.S. citizen he is expected to face removal proceedings following his release from prison.

On March 29, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of a 2016 Dodge Challenger. Karr-Magana was the sole occupant and driver. Authorities approached and detected a strong smell of marijuana emitting from the vehicle.

During a subsequent search of the vehicle, authorities found a loaded Glock, Model 43, 9mm caliber pistol on the driver side between the center console and carpet insulation. Authorities also located marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the vehicle. Karr-Magana admitted he did not have legal status to be in the United States and illegally entered the United States after being removed in 2020. Karr-Magana further claimed ownership of the firearm.

Karr-Magana has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation with the assistance of Alamo Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexa D. Parcell is prosecuting the case.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program. In May 2021, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced a new effort to reduce violent crime, including the gun violence that is often at its core. Integral to that effort was the reinvigoration of PSN, a two-decade old, evidence-based and community-oriented program focused on reducing violent crime. The updated PSN approach, outlined in the department’s Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime is guided by four key principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities and measuring the results of our efforts. The fundamental goal is to reduce violent crime, not simply to increase the number of arrests or prosecutions.

HOUSTON – A 31-year-old man who resided in Houston has been found guilty for trafficking a minor female for commercial sex using force, fraud or coercion, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Jury deliberated for approximately five hours before returning a guilty verdict against Giovanny Xavier Limon aka Ace or Ace One following a three-day trial.

Limon trafficked a 15-year-old minor female for commercial sex during May and June 2022. The girl was forced to engage in commercial sex with strangers on numerous occasions and had to turn over all proceeds to Limon and his associates. 

Limon, twice her age, forced her to use meth and photographed her in lingerie he and others had provided. Those photographs, among others, were used to advertise the minor on the internet. The jury saw evidence of how Limon displayed his moniker in the photos used in the commercial sex ads leaving little doubt who was controlling the minor’s actions. 

The jury also heard how Limon harbored the minor in several hotels as well as residences his family members controlled.

She testified at trial and described how Limon often carried a knife, supplied her with drugs, tattooed her arm, intimidated her and destroyed her will to live. 

“Meth, a gun, and intimidation. Those were the tools Limon used to exploit and traffic a young girl for his own financial benefit– a child who then lost her will for life itself,” said Hamdani. “This conviction ensures he can never do this to another child and sends a message to anyone who wants to use our children for commercial sex – we will find you and bring you to justice.”

The defense attempted to convince the jury that the girl was acting alone and Limon was just a scapegoat so she would not get in trouble at home when she returned. They did not believe those claims and found Limon guilty.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner presided over trial and set sentencing for Oct. 26. At that time, Limon faces up to life in federal prison.

He has been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.

The Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA) conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sherri L. Zack and Kimberly Ann Leo prosecuted the case.

HTRA law enforcement includes members of the Houston Police Department, FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Texas Attorney General’s Office, IRS Criminal Investigation, Department of Labor (DOL), DOL – Wage and Hour Division, Department of State, Texas Alcoholic and Beverage Commission, Texas Department of Public Safety,  Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General (OIG), Social Security Administration – OIG and Sheriff’s Offices in Harris and Montgomery counties in coordination with District Attorney’s offices in Harris, Montgomery and Fort Bend Counties.

Established in 2004, the United States Attorney’s office in Houston formed HTRA to combine resources with federal, state and local enforcement agencies and prosecutors, as well as non-governmental service organizations to target human traffickers while providing necessary services to those that the traffickers victimized. Since its inception, HTRA has been recognized as both a national and international model in identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking and prosecuting those engaged in trafficking offenses.

LAREDO, Texas - A federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment charging four defendants with conspiracy to launder money.

The new charges were filed against Erminia Serrano Piedra aka Irma or Boss Lady, 32, Elgin and Oscar Angel Monroy Alcibar aka Pelon, 40, both of Elgin; Pedro Hairo Abrigo, 34, Killeen; and Juan Diego Martinez-Rodriguez aka Gavilan, 38, Dale.

As alleged in the superseding indictment, the defendants conspired to engage in financial transactions designed to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership and control of ill-gotten proceeds of illicit human smuggling and the unlawful harboring and transportation of undocumented aliens. The leaders of the organization allegedly recruited and used straw persons to accept human smuggling proceeds in their bank accounts and then transferred these proceeds to the leaders under the pretense of “work” payments for construction. The defendants also allegedly used  businesses and  business accounts to transfer the human smuggling proceeds. In addition, the defendants recruited individuals to accept human smuggling proceeds in the form of cash in exchange for checks from the recruited individuals’ business bank accounts, according to the charges.  

The superseding indictment also notices the criminal forfeiture of three properties with values currently estimated at approximately $2.275 million, $515,000 and $344,000 as well as money judgments amounting to at least $2,945,027.

Three of the four defendants were previously charged with human smuggling in an indictment filed in the Southern District of Texas (SDTX) and unsealed on or about Sept. 13, 2022. That indictment was the culmination of a significant enforcement operation to disrupt and dismantle an alleged prolific human smuggling organization operating in Texas and elsewhere. That operation resulted in the arrests of 14 alleged members of a human smuggling organization Piedra led that facilitated the unlawful transportation and movement of hundreds of migrants within the United States and harbored and concealed those migrants from law enforcement detection. The migrants were citizens of Mexico, Guatemala and Colombia, and they or their families allegedly paid members of the human smuggling organization to help them travel unlawfully to and within the United States. According to the indictment, the human smuggling organization used drivers to pick up migrants near the U.S.-Mexico border and transport them into the interior of the United States, often harboring them at “stash houses” along the way in locations such as Laredo and Austin. Drivers for the human smuggling organization allegedly hid migrants in suitcases placed in pickup trucks and crammed migrants in the back of tractor-trailers, covered beds of pickup trucks, repurposed water tankers and wooden crates strapped to flatbed trailers. These methods allegedly placed the migrants’ lives in danger, because they were frequently held in contained spaces with little ventilation, which became overheated, and they were driven at high speeds with no vehicle safety devices. 

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the SDTX and Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made the announcement.

HSI Laredo, along with Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Border Patrol Laredo Sector and Department of Homeland Security - Office of Inspector General (DHS-OIG), led the investigation and received substantial assistance from HSI offices in Austin, San Antonio, Waco and Corpus Christi; New Orleans, Louisiana; Gulfport, Mississippi; Mobile, Alabama; West Palm Beach, Florida; Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C.; as well as CBP’s National Targeting Center; U.S. Marshals Service; Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations – Austin; and the Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture. Police departments in Laredo, Killeen, Elgin and Round Rock as well as Wiggins, Mississippi and Bogalusa, Louisiana; Webb County Constable’s Office; Webb County District Attorney’s Office; sheriffs’ offices in Webb, Bastrop and Caldwell Counties in Texas,  Harrison, George and Stone Counties in Mississippi, Mobile County, Alabama, and Jefferson and Washington Parishes in Louisiana; Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics; and the Louisiana State Police also provided substantial assistance. 

Trial Attorneys Christian Levesque and Angela Buckner of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP), Trial Attorney Daria Andryushchenko of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) and SDTX Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Day are prosecuting the case with substantial assistance from MLARS Financial Investigator Kelly O’Mara, Criminal Division’s Office of Enforcement Operations’ (OEO) Electronic Surveillance Unit (ESU) and ESU Acting Deputy Chief Jessica Reid.

The indictments against these defendants were brought under Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). Attorney General Merrick B. Garland created JFTA in June 2021 in partnership with DHS to strengthen the department’s overall efforts to combat these crimes based on the rise in prolific and dangerous smuggling emanating from Central America and impacting our border communities. JTFA’s goal is to disrupt and dismantle those human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, with a focus on networks that endanger, abuse or exploit migrants, present national security risks or engage in other types of transnational organized crime.

Since its creation, JTFA has successfully increased coordination and collaboration between the Justice Department, DHS, and other interagency law enforcement participants, and with foreign law enforcement partners, including in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico; targeted those organizations who most significantly impact the United States; and coordinated significant smuggling indictments and extradition efforts in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in over 100 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of human smuggling; several dozen convictions; significant jail sentences imposed; and substantial asset forfeiture. JTFA is comprised of detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border, including SDTX, Western District of Texas, Districts of New Mexico, Arizona and Southern California. Numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division are part of JTFA, led by HRSP, and including the Office of Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training, Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, MLARS, OEO, the Office of International Affairs and the Organized Crime and Gang Section. JTFA is made possible by substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and other partners.

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

Note: This release has been updated to reflect the latest arrest statistics for Joint Task Force Alpha.

A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas has returned a superseding indictment charging four defendants with conspiracy to launder money.

The new charges were filed against Erminia Serrano Piedra, aka Irma, aka Boss Lady, 32, of Elgin, Texas; Oscar Angel Monroy Alcibar, aka Pelon, 40, also of Elgin; Pedro Hairo Abrigo, 34, of Killeen, Texas; and Juan Diego Martinez-Rodriguez, aka Gavilan, 38, of Dale, Texas.

As alleged in the superseding indictment, the defendants conspired to engage in financial transactions designed to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of ill-gotten proceeds of illicit human smuggling and the unlawful harboring and transportation of undocumented aliens. The leaders of the organization allegedly recruited and used straw persons to accept human smuggling proceeds in their bank accounts and then transferred these proceeds to the leaders under the pretense of “work” payments for construction. The defendants also allegedly used businesses and business accounts to transfer the human smuggling proceeds. In addition, the defendants allegedly recruited individuals to accept human smuggling proceeds in the form of cash in exchange for checks from the recruited individuals’ business bank accounts.

The superseding indictment also notices the criminal forfeiture of three properties with values currently estimated at approximately $2.275 million, $515,000, and $344,000, as well as money judgments amounting to at least $2,945,027.

Three of the four defendants previously were charged with human smuggling in an indictment filed in the Southern District of Texas and unsealed on Sept. 13, 2022. That indictment was the culmination of a significant enforcement operation to disrupt and dismantle an alleged prolific human smuggling organization operating in Texas and elsewhere. That operation resulted in the arrests of 14 alleged human smugglers alleged to be members of a human smuggling organization led by Piedra that facilitated the unlawful transportation and movement of hundreds of migrants within the United States and harbored and concealed those migrants from law enforcement detection. The migrants were citizens of Mexico, Guatemala, and Colombia, and they or their families allegedly paid members of the human smuggling organization to help them travel unlawfully to and within the United States. According to the indictment, the human smuggling organization used drivers to pick up migrants near the U.S.-Mexico border and transport them into the interior of the United States, often harboring them at “stash houses” along the way in locations such as Laredo and Austin, Texas. Drivers for the human smuggling organization allegedly hid migrants in suitcases placed in pickup trucks and crammed migrants in the back of tractor-trailers, covered beds of pickup trucks, repurposed water tankers, and wooden crates strapped to flatbed trailers. These methods allegedly placed the migrants’ lives in danger, because they were frequently held in confined spaces with little ventilation, which became overheated, and they were driven at high speeds with no vehicle safety devices. 

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas, and Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made the announcement.

HSI Laredo, along with Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) U.S. Border Patrol Laredo Sector and Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS-OIG), led the investigation and received substantial assistance from HSI offices in Austin, San Antonio, Waco, and Corpus Christi, Texas; HSI New Orleans; HSI Gulfport, Mississippi; HSI Mobile, Alabama; HSI West Palm Beach, Florida; HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C.; CBP’s National Targeting Center; the U.S. Marshals Service; Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations – Austin; and the Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture. Police departments in Laredo, Killeen, Elgin, and Round Rock, Texas; the Wiggins, Mississippi Police Department; the Bogalusa, Louisiana Police Department; the Webb County Constable’s Office; the Webb County District Attorney’s Office; sheriffs’ offices in Webb, Bastrop, and Caldwell Counties in Texas; sheriffs’ offices in Harrison, George, and Stone Counties in Mississippi; the Mobile County, Alabama Sheriff’s Office; sheriffs’ offices in Jefferson and Washington Parishes in Louisiana; the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics; and the Louisiana State Police also provided substantial assistance. 

Trial Attorneys Christian Levesque and Angela Buckner of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP), Trial Attorney Daria Andryushchenko of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Day for the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case, with substantial assistance from MLARS Financial Investigator Kelly O’Mara, the Criminal Division’s Office of Enforcement Operations’ (OEO) Electronic Surveillance Unit (ESU), and ESU Acting Deputy Chief Jessica Reid.

The indictments against these defendants were brought under Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). Attorney General Merrick B. Garland created JFTA in June 2021 in partnership with DHS to strengthen the department’s overall efforts to combat these crimes based on the rise in prolific and dangerous smuggling emanating from Central America and impacting our border communities. JTFA’s goal is to disrupt and dismantle those human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, with a focus on networks that endanger, abuse or exploit migrants, present national security risks, or engage in other types of transnational organized crime.

Since its creation, JTFA has successfully increased coordination and collaboration between the Justice Department, DHS, and other interagency law enforcement participants, and with foreign law enforcement partners, including in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico; targeted those organizations who most significantly impact the United States; and coordinated significant smuggling indictments and extradition efforts in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in over 200 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of human smuggling; several dozen convictions; significant jail sentences imposed; and substantial asset forfeiture. JTFA is comprised of detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border, including the Southern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, District of New Mexico, District of Arizona, and Southern District of California. Numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division are part of JTFA, led by HRSP, and including the Office of Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training, the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, MLARS, OEO, the Office of International Affairs, and the Organized Crime and Gang Section. JTFA is made possible by substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other partners.

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

HOUSTON – A 39-year-old man who holds citizenship in the United States and Ghana has been sent to prison for operating an illegal money transmitting business, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Kenneth Anim, who had resided in the Houston and Richmond areas, pleaded guilty April 27.

U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein has now ordered Anim to serve 60 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $2.2 million in restitution. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the length of the scheme and that while Anim may not have known who the victims were specifically, they were in fact vulnerable members of society.

“Anim profited off the elderly and vulnerable. He knew victims were being defrauded but helped launder the money anyway by operating as an illegal money transmitter,” said Hamdani. “The sentence shows that we will not let money launderers for romance scammers try to hide behind the excuse that they didn’t know details about where the money was coming from.”

“Kenneth Anim was a mule who, for years, knew that the millions of dollars he was depositing in numerous banks were stolen from victims through false promises,” said Special Agent in Charge James Smith of the FBI Houston field office. “Yet his greed was stronger than his principles, and he chose to continue to receive money from romance scam victims, most of them senior citizens. As long as con artists like Anim exist and victims continue to fall for their lies, the FBI will continue to call attention to these scams and go after the people behind them.”

Anim admitted that from 2014 to 2019, he operated an unlicensed money transmitting business to launder funds from wire fraud schemes including internet fraud and romance scams. Anim ran the unlicensed money transmitting business by using shell companies that existed only on paper.

As part of the plea, he acknowledged opening and maintaining bank accounts to collect proceeds from internet and romance fraud schemes to send the money to himself, co-conspirators and overseas.

A romance scam occurs when criminals adopt fake online identities to gain a victim’s affection and trust. The scammer then uses the illusion of a close relationship to induce the victim, under false pretenses, to send money to the scammer.

Amin has been and will remain in custody pending U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.  

FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Belinda Beek and Grace Murphy are prosecuting the case. 

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 21-year-old Corpus Christi man has entered a guilty plea to delivery of Fentanyl resulting in death, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Ricardo Julyan Kross Rios aka Kross acknowledged he possessed and delivered a substance containing a detectable amount of Fentanyl (a schedule II controlled substance), the use of which resulted in the death of a person.

On Dec. 10, 2022, authorities responded to a reported drug overdose and discovered a non-responsive individual pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy later determined the cause of death was acute Fentanyl toxicity. 

The investigation led to the discovery that the victim had purchased pills from Rios who then delivered them Dec. 9, 2022, to a parking lot where a party was occurring. The victim consumed them during that event. 

Witnesses described the pills as “press made” hydrocodone pills which may have contained Fentanyl. 

On Jan. 17, law enforcement encountered Rios at a residence in Corpus Christi in possession of a plastic bag containing “pressed” pills as well as some additional loose powder and partial pills. Laboratory analysis later confirmed the pills and powder in the plastic bag did contain Fentanyl. 

As part of his plea, Rios admitted to selling counterfeit “pressed” hydrocodone pills similar those found in his possession on Jan. 17 to the victim on the evening of Dec. 9, 2022.

U.S. District Judge David S. Morales will impose sentencing Oct. 17. At that time, Rios faces a minimum of 20 years and up to life in prison as well as a possible $1 million fine.

 

The Drug Enforcement Administration led the cooperative law enforcement effort targeting Fentanyl with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations, Jim Wells County Sheriff’s Office and police departments in Corpus Christi, Aransas Pass and Mathis. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert D. Thorpe Jr. is prosecuting this case. 

LAREDO, Texas – A total of 22 people in South Texas and Mexico have pleaded guilty for their roles in a conspiracy to transport large quantities of marijuana for Cartel del Noreste (CDN), announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Laredoan Joe David aka JD Moreno, 34, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana.

Throughout the course of the investigation, authorities seized over 35,000 pounds (approximately 17.5 tons) of marijuana valued at approximately $16.4 million.

Moreno admitted to purchasing a utility truck used to transport numerous loads of marijuana throughout Laredo. He coordinated several narcotic smuggling transactions, paid co-conspirators for their involvement and reported directly to cartel leaders in Mexico.

This investigation revealed a complex conspiracy which began in February 2019 and continued through April 2020. Authorities ultimately apprehended Moreno on March 25, 2022, in Monterrey, Mexico.

U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana will impose sentencing at a later date. At that time, Moreno faces up to life in federal prison and possible $10 million maximum fine.

A total of 21 other conspirators previously pleaded guilty for their respective roles in transporting narcotics on behalf of CDN.

Moreno has been and will remain in custody pending sentencing. 

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Laredo Police Department conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Marshals Service; Border Patrol; Customs and Border Protection; FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; U.S. National Guard; Webb County District Attorney’s Office, Sheriff’s Office and Constable’s Office Precincts 1 and 4; Texas Department of Public Safety; and the Blue Indigo Task Force. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Day and Francisco Rodriguez are prosecuting this case.

HOUSTON – The final member of a 12-person robbery crew has been ordered to prison for his role in a string of armed jewelry store robberies, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Kenneth Dewayne Cooper, 34, Houston, pleaded guilty Oct. 27, 2017.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen has now imposed a total of 194 months in federal prison – 110 months for the robberies and a consecutive 84 months for aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during a crime of violence. The sentence will be to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.

Others previously convicted and sentenced include Lontay Lavelle Young, 39, Deshaun Devon Waldrup, 27, Edward Ray Lavergne Jr., 39, Jesse Markise McQueen, 32, Kevin Craig Gray, 38, Louis Jerome Hines, 44, Terry Dwight Washington, 37, Tony Dontrel Young, 32, Barry Lloyd Jones, 30, Ross White-Leonard, 33, and Denzell Devoe Lucious, 31. All are from Houston.

Lontay Young, Tony Young, Waldrup, Lavergne, McQueen, White-Leonard and Jones received respective sentences of 209, 132, 125, 114, 180, 102 and 156 months, respectively. Gray and Washington both received 147-month-terms of imprisonment, while Hines was ordered to serve 171 months. Lucious was sentenced to 168 months.

“Trafficking in violence and fear, this armed robbery crew targeted a dollar store, a jewelry store in a mall, a furniture store and other similar places where regular families shop every day,” said Hamdani. “This U.S. Attorney’s Office will crack down on this type of violence and will continue to ensure the public safety by doing what we can by fighting for appropriate sentences in federal court to get violent actors off the streets.”

This group conducted at least six robberies over the course of six months at various commercial establishments.

On Oct. 22, 2015, Lontay Young and Hines robbed the Family Dollar store on Wayside in Houston while wearing masks and carrying handguns.

Then, on Jan. 11, 2016, Jones, Cooper, Lucious and McQueen traveled outside of Houston to rob the Ben Bridge Jewelers at Barton Springs Mall in Austin. There, they stole a significant amount of Rolex watches and jewelry.

Less than two weeks later, this group, along with Tony Young, also robbed the Kay Jewelers located at the Houston Premium Outlet Mall. While Jones, Cooper and Young accosted the employees at gunpoint, Lucious sat outside acting as a lookout. McQueen distracted the security guard while the robbery occurred. They again stole numerous watches and jewelry.  

On March 3, 2016, Lontay Young, Washington, Gray and Lavergne also held up the ANF Auto Finance on North Shepherd Drive. They entered the business acting as customers until Gray pulled out a gun. They then stole cash and property of the business, employees and customers.

Lontay Young later proceeded to commit two more robberies. Those included the March 9, 2016, robbery of Cash America Pawn on Jensen Drive with Waldrup and the Affordable Furniture store on the North Freeway on March 17, 2016, along with Jones and White-Leonard.

At the time of the furniture store robbery, authorities arrived on scene and shots were fired.

All have been and will remain in custody.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms conducted the investigation in conjunction with police departments in Houston and Austin and Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Hanes and Heather Winter are prosecuting the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of the Houston Law Enforcement Violent Crime Initiative, which combines personnel and resources from numerous federal, state and local agencies. The goal is to reduce violent crime across the Greater Houston area by targeting the region’s most violent offenders, augmenting investigative and prosecutorial efforts and enhancing training, public awareness and education. It stems from the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Under the PSN umbrella, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN partners focus enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and work with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 36-year-old Brownsville resident has pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 1,741 grams of fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani.

Heriverto Ramirez packaged 494 grams of fentanyl for distribution to a trailer park in Houston using the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), concealing the dangerous narcotic in the shell of a tankless hot water heater.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant at the residence of Ramirez and discovered an additional 1,247 grams of fentanyl and 8.48 kilograms of cocaine. During the year-long investigation, authorities learned Ramirez coordinated cocaine distribution from his home while also distributing cocaine and fentanyl through USPS.

“This case is a perfect example of how Fentanyl, a potent and deadly opioid, is overtaking every aspect of the illicit drug trade,” said Hamdani. “Experts consider a lethal dose of fentanyl to be 2 milligrams. Ramirez was caught mailing half a kilogram of fentanyl through the USPS, creating a potentially deadly hazard for anyone handling the package. Now he faces his own consequences.”

Sentencing has been set for Oct. 11. At that time, Ramirez faces up to life in federal prison. 

He has been and will remain in custody pending sentencing.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of  Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Eyes is prosecuting the case.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 30-year-old Mexican citizen has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of attempted alien smuggling resulting in death, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Miguel Angel Ceballos-Acuna pleaded guilty March 7.

Today, U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera ordered him to serve 57 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, Ceballos-Acuna is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the seriousness of Ceballos-Acuna’s crime and the need to deter him and others from engaging in similar conduct.

“Take note - human smugglers do not care about your child’s safety,” said Hamdani. “All they care about is money. In this case, a young boy tragically lost his life due to the reckless actions of this criminal. The Southern District of Texas is committed to the vigorous prosecution of those who traffic in human lives and the pursuit of justice for all victims, many of them young children.”

On March 22, 2022, law enforcement responded to reports of suspecting alien smuggling near the border fence on the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) campus. Two individuals had crossed the border fence and got into a white SUV. Authorities then engaged in a high speed pursuit of the vehicle, which ran multiple red lights, but eventually disengaged pursuit due to safety concerns.

However, the vehicle continued traveling at a high rate of speed and crashed into a utility pole in a residential neighborhood. When law enforcement arrived on scene, they discovered the body of a 14-year-old Mexican citizen.

As part of his plea, Ceballos-Acuna admitted he and another individual had driven the white SUV that day to pick up an alien who had illegally entered the United States. When they arrived at the UTRGV campus, two aliens entered the vehicle, including the minor victim. Ceballos-Acuna admitted he knew the minor victim was unlawfully present in the United States. Nevertheless, he attempted to transport the victim which resulted in his death.

Ceballos-Acuna has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Border Patrol, Brownsville Police Department and Cameron County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edgardo J. Rodriguez and Megan Eyes prosecuted the case.

Three Cuban nationals were sentenced for sex trafficking and related crimes in strip clubs in the Houston area.   

Rasiel Gutierrez Moreno, 38, Hendry Jimenez Milanes, 39, and Rafael Mendoza Labrada, 29, were each sentenced to 210 months in prison and to pay $451,298 in restitution, 120 months and $359,108 in restitution, and time served of 34 months, respectively.

Gutierrez Moreno pleaded guilty to sex trafficking and interstate travel in aid of racketeering Oct. 28, 2021. As part of his plea agreement, Gutierrez Moreno admitted to bringing women from Cuba to the United States and imposing on them inflated smuggling debts as high as $30,000. Gutierrez Moreno forced the women to work in Houston-area strip clubs, such as Michaels’ International, where they danced and engaged in commercial sex acts with club patrons, providing all the proceeds to Gutierrez Moreno to pay down their debt. The defendant further acknowledged smuggling and imposing debts to coerce approximately 20 other women in this manner. 

Gutierrez Moreno admitted that, to keep Victim 1 under his control while she worked for him, he bragged about his acts of violence against other women and their families. On one occasion, Gutierrez Moreno beat another woman shortly before Victim 1 arrived at his home and ensured that Victim 1 observed that woman’s injuries. When Victim 1 escaped Gutierrez Moreno, the defendant contacted her family in both Miami and Cuba to demand that she return to work and finish paying her debt to him. 

Jimenez Milanes pleaded guilty on Jan. 10, 2022, to coercion and enticement, and Mendoza Labrada pleaded guilty on April 30, 2021, to interstate travel in aid of racketeering.

“These defendants cruelly used violence, threats of violence, and false debts to force vulnerable victims to engage in commercial sex,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This kind of sex trafficking scheme is unlawful, dehumanizing and terrorizing to the women unable to break free. The Justice Department is committed to the vigorous prosecution of those who prey upon, abuse and exploit others for their own financial benefit.”

“These human smugglers terrorized female migrants, using Houston’s strip clubs combined with psychological threats and sexual violence for their personal financial gain,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas. “The victims came to the United States in search of a new life, were especially vulnerable, and the defendants took advantage of that. The sentences imposed today send a strong message that the Southern District of Texas will not tolerate those who smuggle, threaten and abuse the vulnerable.”

“The court’s sentence today sends a strong message: The Diplomatic Security Service is committed to making sure that those who commit sex trafficking face consequences for their criminal actions,” said Special Agent in Charge John Keith of the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Houston Field Office. “DSS’ strong relationship with the Department of Justice and other law enforcement agencies around the world continues to be essential in the pursuit of justice.”

“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) will always remain dedicated and focused on the identification and recovery of the victims of human trafficking. We prioritize not only the safe rescue of these victims, but work with our partners to provide them with resources necessary to help them deal and cope with their experience,” said Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of HSI Miami. “We are committed to working with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to put any human trafficker who soullessly preys on victims of this crime to put them behind bars.”

The DSS investigated the case as part of the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA), with the assistance of HSI Miami and the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division.

Established in 2004, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Houston formed HTRA to combine resources with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, as well as non-governmental service organizations to target human traffickers while providing necessary services to those survivors who the traffickers victimized. Since its inception, HTRA has been recognized as both a national and international model in identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking and prosecuting those engaged in trafficking offenses.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri Zack for the Southern District of Texas and Trial Attorney Kate Hill of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit prosecuted the case.

If you believe you or someone you know may be a victim of human trafficking, call local law enforcement or the 24/7 confidential National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A federal jury in Corpus Christi has convicted a 42-year-old Mission resident for possession with the intent to distribute 500 grams of cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani today.

The jury deliberated for less than 30 minutes hours before convicting Juan Pablo Ramirez following a one-day trial.

At trial, the jury heard that on Jan. 19, Ramirez drove his pickup truck to the Falfurrias Border Patrol (BP) checkpoint. At initial inspection, Ramirez consent to a z-portal examination of his truck. The z-portal x-ray scan revealed anomalies in his truck which turned out to be packages of cocaine.

Testimony at trial revealed the total amount of cocaine was five kilograms with a street value of approximately $100,000.

Ramirez attempted to convince the jury he did not know the drugs were in his vehicle. However, the jury saw evidence from Ramirez’s cellphone which included pictures of cocaine, scales and cash.

The jury ultimately did not believe Ramirez’s claims and found him guilty as charged.

U.S. District Judge Nelva Ramos presided over trial and set sentencing for Oct. 11. At that time, Ramirez faces up to 40 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration, Jim Wells Police Department and Corpus Christi Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley Martin, John Lamont and John Marck are prosecuting the case.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 24-year-old man from Port Isabel has been sentenced for producing child pornography found on his cell phone, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Javier Garza Jr. pleaded guilty July 20, 2022.

U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera has now ordered him to serve 325 months in federal prison. Garza was further ordered serve 30 years on supervised release following completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

“Garza is the definition of a monster,” said Hamdani. “He sexually abused a three-year old little girl—his girlfriend’s daughter--causing severe harm to the most vulnerable amongst us. Thankfully, this deviant is now behind bars. This sentence ensures that Javier Garza will never again exploit a little child.”

The investigation began after Garza’s girlfriend discovered child pornography videos on Garza’s cell phone. She quickly recognized the child in the videos as her own three-year-old daughter and contacted authorities.”

Authorities ultimately found videos of child pornography on Garza’s cell phone. The investigation revealed he had recorded himself sexually abusing the minor child.

Garza has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ana C. Cano is prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources link on that page.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - A 42-year-old Brownsville resident has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute liquid meth, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Ernesto Vargas pleaded guilty March 7 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute approximately 253.2 kilograms of liquid meth.

U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera has now ordered Vargas to serve 240 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, the court noted his extensive criminal history and the seriousness of his conduct.

Vargas was responsible for helping Pedro Rodriguez III, 45, San Benito, transport the narcotics.

On Jan. 11, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle Rodriguez was driving after he switched lanes without signaling. They soon discovered Rodriguez had several pending state arrest warrants and took him into custody.

As they conducted a search of his vehicle, they found approximately 253.2 kilograms of liquid meth hidden inside an auxiliary gas tank. Rodriguez admitted he knew the meth was inside the gas tank and had agreed to transport the narcotics from South Texas to Dallas.

The meth had an estimated street value of over $650,000.

The investigation revealed Vargas and Rodriguez received the liquid meth from co-conspirators in Mexico and planned to transport the meth northwards so it could be divided for distribution. Law enforcement took Vargas into custody June 12, 2022.

Rodriguez was previously ordered to serve 120 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.

Vargas will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation with the assistance of the San Benito Police Department. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.

HOUSTON – Three Cuban nationals have been ordered to prison for sex trafficking and related crimes. 

Rasiel Gutierrez Moreno, 38, Hendry Jimenez Milanes, 39, and Rafael Mendoza Labrada, 29, were sentenced to 210, 120 and 34 months in federal prison, respectively. Moreno was ordered to pay $451,298 in restitution, while Milanes was ordered to pay $359,108.  

Gutierrez Moreno pleaded guilty to sex trafficking and interstate travel in aid of racketeering Oct. 28, 2021. As part of his plea agreement, he admitted to bringing women from Cuba to the United States and charging them inflated smuggling debts as high as $30,000. Gutierrez Moreno forced the women to work in Houston-area strip clubs, such as Michaels’ International, where they danced and engaged in commercial sex acts with club patrons. They then had to provide all the proceeds to Gutierrez Moreno to pay down their debt.

Gutierrez Moreno  further acknowledged smuggling and extracting a debt from approximately 20 other women in this manner. 

Gutierrez Moreno admitted that to keep a specific victim  under his control while she worked for him, he bragged about his acts of violence against other women and their families. On one occasion, Gutierrez Moreno beat another woman shortly before the other victim arrived at his home and ensured she observed that woman’s injuries. When the first victim escaped Gutierrez Moreno, he contacted her family in both Miami and Cuba to demand she return to work and finish paying her debt to him. 

Jimenez Milanes pleaded guilty Jan. 10, 2022, to coercion and enticement, while Mendoza Labrada pleaded guilty April 30, 2021, to interstate travel in aid of racketeering.

“These defendants cruelly used violence, threats of violence, and false debts to force vulnerable victims to engage in commercial sex,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This kind of sex trafficking scheme is unlawful, dehumanizing and terrorizing to the women unable to break free.  The Justice Department is committed to the vigorous prosecution of those who prey upon, abuse, and exploit others for their own financial benefit.”

“These human smugglers terrorized female migrants, using Houston’s strip clubs combined with psychological threats and sexual violence for their personal financial gain,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. “The victims came to the United States in search of a new life, were especially vulnerable, and the defendants took advantage of that. The sentences imposed today send a strong message that the Southern District of Texas will not tolerate those who smuggle, threaten and abuse the vulnerable.”

“The court’s sentence today sends a strong message: The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) is committed to making sure that those who commit sex trafficking face consequences for their criminal actions,” said Special Agent in Charge John Keith of the Department of State's DSS - Houston Field Office. “DSS’ strong relationship with the Department of Justice and other law enforcement agencies around the world continues to be essential in the pursuit of justice.”

DSS conducted the investigation as part of the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA), with the assistance of the Homeland Security Investigations of Miami, Florida, and the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division.

Established in 2004, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Houston formed HTRA to combine resources with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, as well as non-governmental service organizations to target human traffickers while providing necessary services to those survivors who the traffickers victimized. Since its inception, HTRA has been recognized as both a national and international model in identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking and prosecuting those engaged in trafficking offenses.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri Zack for the Southern District of Texas and Trial Attorney Kate Hill of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit prosecuted the case.

GALVESTON, Texas - A 56-year-old legal permanent resident from Mexico has been sentenced in a cocaine and heroin conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

A federal jury convicted Juan Gonzalez-Cardebas following an 11-day trial in August 2022. He was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine and one or more kilograms of heroin as well as possession with intent to distribute 18 kilograms of cocaine.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown has now ordered him to serve a total of 120 months in federal prison. He could also lose his status to reside in the United States.

The investigation focused upon a group of distributors and their associates, primarily citizens of the Dominican Republic, who used common sources of drugs in Mexico to supply their customers in numerous states other than Texas. This group of distributors sold cocaine and heroin throughout the United States but operated out of the Houston area.

Gonzalez worked within the drug trafficking organization by transporting cocaine from the Dallas and Houston areas to other states such as Virginia. He received shipments of cocaine and used his son-in-law’s moving company to deliver the cocaine to drug customers.

The defense attempted to convince the jury that he was an honest hard-working man trying to provide for his family and that his son-in-law set him up. They did not believe those claims and found Gonzalez guilty as charged.  

Gonzalez will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation dubbed “Wrecking Ball” with the assistance of the Houston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Cusick is prosecuting the case.

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 on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.

HOUSTON – A local woman has been ordered to federal prison following her convictions on seven counts of aiding and assisting in preparing false tax returns, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

A federal jury sitting in Houston returned a guilty verdict April 3 against Cheryl Christin Kissentaner following a four-day trial.

Today, U.S. District Judge David Hittner ordered her to serve 144 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by one year of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay restitution of $71,180. 

At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence describing her history of failing to pay her own personal taxes, civil fraud penalties associated with them and penalties for failing to use due diligence in preparing tax returns.

The total amount Kissentaner owes to the United States from her criminal and civil cases is in excess of $1.9 million. She used some of the monies accrued from the scheme to purchase a Bentley and Maserati as well as for cosmetic surgery. In addition, the court also heard about Kissentaner’s violation of her conditions of release and her failure to cooperate with pre-trial services.  

“Kissentaner was convicted by a jury for preparing fraudulent tax returns on behalf of her clients and will now spend significant time behind bars,” said Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Lucy Tan, of IRS Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Houston Field Office. “She criminally abused her role as a tax return preparer and violated the trust that the American taxpayers have bestowed upon her. We all pay our taxes, but when you decide to cheat, remember, we have a 100-percent conviction rate in our office for criminal tax cases over the past 20 years.”

At trial, the jury heard from federal agents as well as five of Kissentaner’s clients.

Testimony and evidence revealed individuals paid Kissentaner to prepare tax returns from 2016 through 2019 through her company First Financial Tax Services. However, she was not legally allowed to do so. The jury heard that a paid tax preparer is required to have paid all of his or her own tax returns, but  Kissentaner had failed to pay her 2012-2017 tax returns until late 2019. This was after the tax returns she prepared and filed for a fee.

From 2016 through 2019, Kissentaner prepared at least nine tax returns in which she created fake businesses that allegedly operated at losses. They also claimed false fuel tax credits, state income tax deductions for Texas residents (who did not pay a state income tax), false medical expenses, unemployed reimbursement expenses, false contributions to charity, other false expenses for businesses and failed to report IRA distributions.

Kissentaner also claimed that, pursuant to an engagement letter she prepared for her clients, she owed no duty to examine their returns for fake claims. However, Kissentaner filed numerous certificates under oath with the IRS in which she promised the government she would exercise due diligence in examining the tax returns she prepared and filed. She also charged tax preparer fees well in excess of other firms that provided the same services and asked potential clients to identify a reference and offered them a fee if they referred individuals themselves.

At trial, evidence showed that 98 percent of her clients obtained a refund even though several owed as much as $25,000 and did not pay any income taxes throughout the year. One such client had been obtaining a refund in excess of $8,000 each year. However, after Kissentaner became aware she was under investigation, that client was informed she owed over $10,000. When she inquired as to the change, Kissentaner untruthfully claimed that it was due to a change in the tax law and due to the client’s son now attending college on a full-time basis.

Further, a large percentage of Kissentaner’s clients claimed fuel tax credits despite the fact that only 0.2 percent of all tax payers would be eligible for that benefit.     

She has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

IRS-Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Laurence Goldman and Tyler White prosecuted the case.

GALVESTON, Texas – A 55-year-old Hitchcock resident has been ordered to federal prison following his convictions for sexual exploitation of child, receipt and possession of child pornography and the transfer of obscene material to a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Luke Allen Gregory pleaded guilty July 7, 2022. 

U.S. District Judge Jeffery V. Brown has now ordered him to serve 270, 120, and 120 months for the production, possession and receipt of child pornography convictions, respectively, as well as another 120 months for the transfer of obscene material. They will run concurrently for a total 270-month-term of imprisonment.

At the hearing, the court heard through how Gregory had manipulated the minor victim in this case by threatening to kill himself and his daughter when she had tried to end the relationship. He had also sent a photo with a gun to his head. 

Gregory will serve the rest of his life on supervised release following completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

“Gregory manipulated a minor for the purpose of his deviant sexual desire,” said Hamdani. “To make it even worse, that young female was a relative. If he could do that, he is capable of so much more. Thankfully, the sentence imposed today will eliminate that possibility of danger to our kids. Gregory’s actions also serve as a reminder to us as parents to be diligent in monitoring our children’s social media activity.” 

Gregory came to the attention of law enforcement in October 2019. Facebook reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that someone was utilizing their social media platform to entice a minor to produce and distribute files depicting child pornography. The investigation revealed Gregory owned that account. On Oct. 10, 2019, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at Gregory’s residence in Hitchcock. 

Law enforcement seized his electronic devices to include his cellphone. Forensic analysis resulted in the discovery of multiple images of the minor in which her genitals were displayed in a lewd and lascivious manner. 

Gregory admitted he had been texting and engaging in sexual conversations with a minor female, whom he knew had just turned 16 years of age and was a relative. Gregory stated that the two of them had exchanged nude images of each other.

The victim also told this to law enforcement. She also stated Gregory had gotten her name tattooed on his right thigh.

Gregory will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Homeland Security Investigations – Galveston, Pearland Police Department and the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children task force conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Ann Leo is prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources link on that page.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A 64-year-old man has been ordered to prison for possession with intent to distribute approximately 16 kilograms of cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Ascencion Garza Jr. pleaded guilty Jan. 10.

U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos has now ordered Garza to serve 144 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard considered additional argument and discussion regarding Garza’s multiple prior federal drug‑trafficking convictions. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the quantity of drugs involved and that Garza had not been deterred from committing the instant offense by prior sentences.

On Sept. 7, 2022, Garza drove his truck into the primary inspection lane of a Border patrol (BP) checkpoint located near Falfurrias. There, authorities searched his vehicle and discovered 15 bricks of cocaine in concealed compartments within the rear quarter-panels.

The drugs weighed approximately 16 kilograms and have an estimated street value of more than $1.1 million.

Garza will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler Foster prosecuted the case.

HOUSTON - A 30-year-old Houston resident has been sent to prison for a series of armed robberies he committed while brandishing a firearm in September 2020, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Xavier McCoy-Taylor pleaded guilty to interference with commerce by robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence Aug. 29, 2022.   

U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks has now handed McCoy-Taylor a 34-month-term of imprisonment for the robbery as well as another 84 months for each of the firearms charges which must be served consecutively to the other sentence imposed. The total 198-month sentence will be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence that described McCoy-Taylor’s criminal history as well as his former employment as a firefighter. In imposing the sentence, the court noted how McCoy-Taylor was a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” in that he had a loving family

and went to work every day at a job where he was entrusted to help the most vulnerable people in the community. Judge Hanks commented that at that same time, he held innocent victims at gunpoint for no apparent reason other than enjoying it. He added that McCoy-Taylor should not be able to walk the streets of Houston for a very long time.

"This defendant was an EMT (emergency medical technician) and had every opportunity to be a productive member of society,” said Hamdani. “Instead of serving the public, he decided to endanger it, pointing a gun at pregnant store clerk and then pointing it at a Texas State Trooper. As a result, he will spend the next years taking care of his jail cell instead of his patients.”

McCoy-Taylor had previously been employed as an EMT at the Westlake Fire Department. At the time of his arrest, he was employed as a patient care assistant at Memorial Herman Hospital. 

On Sept. 25, 2020, McCoy-Taylor robbed a CVS on Beechnut Street in Houston. During the robbery, he held the pregnant clerk at gunpoint. As McCoy-Taylor exited the building with his gun still in hand, a Texas state trooper in the parking lot approached and yelled at him to stop. McCoy-Taylor then pointed his firearm at him.  

The trooper pulled the trigger on his firearm in self-defense, but the gun malfunctioned. McCoy-Taylor then ran down the street, but fell to the ground and dropped his gun. 

McCoy-Taylor had also brandished a firearm while robbing the gas station attendant at the Murphy USA gas station in Katy earlier that month.

He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Texas Department of Public Safety; Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office and police departments in Katy and Houston conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Britni Cooper prosecuted the case.

HOUSTON – A 64-year-old Texan has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of receipt and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Scott Thomas Provost pleaded guilty Jan. 6.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner has now ordered Provost to serve 240 months for receiving child pornography and 120 months for possessing it. They will run concurrently with the exception of 22 months for a total of a 262-month-term of imprisonment. Before imposing the sentence, Judge Hittner emphasized Provost’s history of sexually deviant behavior.

Provost will be ordered to pay a restitution amount determined at a later date to identified victims and must serve 10 years on supervised release following the completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Provost will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

“Provost amassed one of the most extensive collections of child pornography videos and images we have seen in this district,” said Hamdani. “Each and every one of the files he had in his possession represents significant trauma and suffering to real children. Today’s sentence demonstrates our commitment to stop those who partake and assist others in viewing child pornography and the continued cycle of abuse these children endure.”

“This is, by far, the largest recovery of child pornographic material by investigators in our FBI Bryan office,” said Special Agent in Charge James Smith of the FBI. “This individual is one of the worst purveyors of child porn our agents have seen - it was his daily obsession. Unfortunately, with the ever-increasing number of online images depicting sexual abuse of children and an ever-increasing amount of online activity by people seeking to contact them, Provost's arrest and sentence doesn't cure the rampant epidemic that is the sexual exploitation of our children.”

Provost first came to the attention of law enforcement as an identified user of a peer-to-peer network known which uses a centralized data store to keep and deliver information without fear of censorship.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Provost’s residence in January 2022. They found approximately four terabytes of pornography consisting of many images of child pornography that Provost had downloaded and was storing on his personal hard drives.

Forensic analysis revealed 6,718 videos and 313,356 images that contained child sexual assault material. Some of the content included children who were less than 12 years old as well as infants and toddlers. Many images depicted young children in bondage and other forms of violence.

Provost has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of Bryan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen M. Lansden prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources link on that page.

HOUSTON – Clipper Shipping A.S. has been convicted of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.

Clipper admitted that oily bilge water was discharged from the Motor Tanker Clipper Saturn. As part of the plea, they acknowledged the discharges were omitted from the Oil Record Book.   

Immediately after the plea today, U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett ordered the company to pay a $1.5 million fine.

On Sept. 27 and Oct. 1, 2021, the Clipper Saturn was anchored near Lome, Togo. The chief engineer at the time directed oily bilge water to be transferred into the vessel’s gray water tank and then discharged directly overboard under the cover of darkness. In order to accomplish the discharge, a section of piping had to be removed and a hose installed onto the eductor system. This arrangement was used to discharge the gray water tank directly overboard. Personnel then re-installed and repainted the piping in the area in order to make it appear that none had been removed. Authorities learned about the discharges during an inspection of the vessel in Houston Oct. 28, 2021.

“Not only did this ship pollute the water, but they tried to cover it up,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani of the Southern District of Texas (SDTX). “To put it simply, Clipper Saturn wanted to get rid of dirty oily water from their ship.  Instead of filtering out the hazardous elements, as required, they decided to cut costs and just release the whole contaminated mess into the sea. Unfortunately for them, they got caught when they docked in Houston. The fine imposed today tells them that there is a bigger cost to endangering our citizens and the environment in which they live, and that the Southern District of Texas will seek to hold those who harm oceans and waterways accountable.”

“We take seriously the crimes of illegally discharging oily bilge water at sea and falsifying records to obstruct the United States’ ability to investigate those discharges,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The U.S. Coast Guard must be able to rely on truthful records on board ships, and the Department of Justice will continue to ensure polluters are held fully accountable.”  

“The Coast Guard is committed to protecting our oceans and waterways from those who deliberately jeopardize the well-being and safety of the environment and the public,” said Coast Guard Capt. Keith Donohue, commander, Sector Houston-Galveston. “The intentional pollution of U.S. waters is a serious violation that we simply will not tolerate. We will continue to work with the Department of Justice and our federal, state and local partners to hold accountable those who choose to endanger our natural resources.”

As part of the plea agreement, Clipper Shipping A.S. will implement an enhanced environmental compliance plan (ECP) on nine vessels. The ECP requires independent auditing and monitoring of the vessels as well as additional conditions to enhance the pollution prevention systems.

This U.S. Coast Guard – Houston Sector and U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Schammel from the SDTX and Senior Trial Attorney Kenneth E. Nelson of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice prosecuted the case.

Clipper Shipping A.S. was convicted of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and sentenced to pay a fine of $1.5 million. Clipper admitted that oily bilge water was discharged from the Motor Tanker (M/T) Clipper Saturn and the discharges were omitted from the Oil Record Book.    

On Sept. 27 and Oct. 1, 2021, while the M/T Clipper Saturn was anchored near Lome, Togo, the then-Chief Engineer directed that oily bilge water be transferred into the vessel’s gray water tank and then discharged directly overboard under the cover of darkness. In order to accomplish the discharge, the then-Chief Engineer ordered that a section of piping be removed and a hose installed onto the eductor system. This arrangement was used to discharge the gray water tank directly overboard. Personnel then re-installed and repainted the piping in the area in order to appear that none had been removed. During a Coast Guard inspection of the vessel in Houston, Texas, on Oct. 28, 2021, authorities learned about the discharges.

“We take seriously the crimes of illegally discharging oily bilge water at sea and falsifying records to obstruct the United States’ ability to investigate those discharges,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The U.S. Coast Guard must be able to rely on truthful records on board ships and the Department of Justice will continue to ensure polluters are held fully accountable.”   

“Not only did this ship pollute waterways, but they tried to cover it up,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani of the Southern District of Texas (SDTX). “To put it simply, Clipper Saturn wanted to get rid of dirty oily water from their ship. Instead of filtering out the hazardous elements, as required, they decided to cut costs and just release the whole contaminated mess into the sea. Unfortunately for them, they got caught when they docked in Houston. The fine imposed today tells them that there is a bigger cost to endangering our citizens and the environment in which they live, and that the SDTX will seek to hold those who harm oceans and waterways accountable.”

“The Coast Guard is committed to protecting our oceans and waterways from those who deliberately jeopardize the well-being and safety of the environment and the public,” said Coast Guard Capt. Keith Donohue, Commander, Sector Houston-Galveston. “The intentional pollution of U.S. waters is a serious violation that we simply will not tolerate. We will continue to work with the Department of Justice and our federal, state, and local partners to hold accountable those who choose to endanger our natural resources.”

As part of the plea agreement, Clipper Shipping A.S. will implement an enhanced Environmental Compliance Plan (ECP) on nine vessels. The ECP requires independent auditing and monitoring of the vessels as well as imposing requirements to enhance the pollution prevention systems on the vessels.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston, and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Schammal for the Southern District of Texas and Senior Trial Attorney Kenneth E. Nelson of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section are prosecuting the case.

HOUSTON – A 28-year old Houston resident has pleaded guilty to illegally possessing two firearms while a felon and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

On Jan. 21, 2022, authorities found Sydney Rachal’s motor vehicle stopped in the middle of the road. They soon took him into custody for driving while intoxicated and for an outstanding felony warrant. 

Upon his arrest, a search of his person revealed two plastic bags weighing approximately 68 grams that contained cocaine as well as $22,905 in cash. A subsequent search of his vehicle also resulted in the discovery of magazines and two firearms, one of which - a Glock Model 26 pistol - was loaded. 

During the hearing, the court heard that Rachal also possessed several other illegal substances, such as marijuana, alprazolam and other pills along with the material to distribute them.

The investigation revealed Rachal had been previously convicted of aggravated robbery. As such, he is prohibited from possession firearms or ammunition per federal law.  

U.S. District Judge Hittner accepted the plea and set sentencing for Oct. 5. At that time, Rachal faces up to 10 years and a possible $250,000 maximum fine for the firearms charge, while the drug trafficking conviction carries a potential 20-year prison term with a potential fine of $1 million.  

He has been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rodolfo Ramirez is prosecuting the case.

LAREDO, Texas – A 32-year-old U.S. citizen has been ordered to federal prison for attempting to smuggle thousands of rounds of ammunition to Mexico, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Jesus Alberto Olivares pleaded guilty May 2 to attempting to export 5,680 rounds of pistol ammunition.

U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo has now ordered Olivares to serve 75 months in federal prison less than one year after he served a sentence for a drug distribution conspiracy. 

While imposing the sentence, Judge Garcia Marmolejo noted there was likely only one purpose for this ammunition:  to be delivered into the hands of cartel members in Mexico for their use, including killing people.

“This sentence sends a clear message: the Justice Department will be relentless in bringing to justice those responsible for smuggling illegal firearms and ammunition across our southern border,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “We will continue to take aggressive action to combat the gun violence that endangers law enforcement and devastates communities in both Mexico and the United States.”

“The Mexican drug cartels are a threat to the residents and communities of the Southern District of Texas, in part because of their access to illicit firearms and ammunition,” said Hamdani. “Olivares’ decision to hide almost 6,000 rounds of ammunition in the panels of a truck as he attempted to cross a bridge into Mexico will send him to a federal prison for over six years and is a cautionary tale for anyone else who feels compelled to follow in his footsteps.”

On Feb. 27, Olivares drove his black PT Cruiser to the Lincoln Juarez International Bridge on his way home to Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Authorities noted one of the vehicle’s doors seemed unusually heavy and rattled slightly as if something was hidden in them.

A subsequent search of all four of the Cruiser’s door panels yielded a total of 5,680 live rounds of pistol ammunition in assorted calibers - 3,600 rounds of .40 caliber S&W, 900 rounds of .380 caliber, 900 rounds of .45 caliber, 100 rounds of 9-millimeter and 180 rounds of .38 SPL +P ammunition.

Olivares admitted he had agreed to smuggle the ammunition into Mexico and had just received the ammunition a few hours prior. He personally hid the ammunition throughout the vehicle’s door and rear panels.

He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) assigned to the HSI-Laredo Border Enforcement Task Force, working in coordination with the Laredo Police Department’s Texas Anti-Gang Task Force (TAG) conducted the investigation with the assistance of  Customs and Border Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorney Homero Ramirez prosecuted this case.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program. In May 2021, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced a new effort to reduce violent crime, including the gun violence that is often at its core. Integral to that effort was the reinvigoration of PSN, a two-decade old, evidence-based and community-oriented program focused on reducing violent crime. The updated PSN approach, outlined in the department’s Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime is guided by four key principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities and measuring the results of our efforts. The fundamental goal is to reduce violent crime, not simply to increase the number of arrests or prosecutions.

HOUSTON – A 22-year-old Houston man has been ordered to federal prison for robbery and brandishing a firearm during a one-man crime spree that lasted approximately 12 hours, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. 

Jose Luis Perez Jr. pleaded guilty Jan. 19 to four counts each of interference with commerce by robbery and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

Today, Judge Alfred H. Bennett sentenced Perez to 36 months in prison for the robberies. He also received an additional 336 months for the firearms charges which must be served consecutively. The total 372-month prison term will be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard Perez is also alleged to have committed several robberies of individuals during the crime spree.

“This young man has thrown his most of his life away,” said Hamdani. “At 22 now, he will likely be an old man before his release from federal prison. Crime does not pay. Jose Luis Perez terrorized the Houston area for 12 long hours, robbing convenient stores and a gas station at gun point. Thanks to brave victims who relayed concise and expeditious information, law enforcement was able to stop his reign of terror before it became even worse.”

The charges stem from numerous commercial aggravated robberies that began on March 2, 2021, at approximately 11:15 p.m. and ended the following day before 1 p.m. During that 12-hour spree, Perez robbed at gunpoint a Circle K in Friendswood, a Cindie’s Number One in Fantasy and Fun adult novelty shop in Webster, the same Circle K in Friendswood for a second time and a Chevron gas station in Friendswood. 

During the robberies, Perez would enter the commercial businesses armed with a rifle, point it at the store clerks and demand money from the registers.  He would then leave in his vehicle which was a dark color Chevrolet. The clerks were able to give authorities a description of the vehicle along with a license plate number.

Law enforcement was on alert located him driving the described vehicle after he committed the Chevron robbery. A pursuit ensued. It eventually ended, at which time Perez exited the vehicle with the assault rifle. Authorities took him into custody without incident. 

At the time of his plea, Perez admitted he robbed the commercial businesses with the assault rifle.

Perez has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Friendswood Police Department conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Houston Police Department and Task Force officers with the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Stotts prosecuted the case.

LAREDO, Texas – A 21-year-old Laredo resident has admitted he recorded sexual material and posted it on social media, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

On June 5, 2022, Victor Antonio Puente rented a motel room in Laredo. There, he engaged in sexual activity with a 15-year-old female victim. He used his personal cell phone to record and photograph sexually explicit conduct between him and the minor and then uploaded the content via social media.

A forensic analysis of Puente’s cell phone revealed videos of him engaging in intercourse with the victim. Other videos showed him fondling her while both are naked or were of her naked body while she slept.

The minor victim’s family was able to discover Puente’s location from a third-party and contacted law enforcement.

Puente denied that the minor victim was in the room. However, they located her and took her to a local hospital for observation and treatment.

U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo will impose sentencing Sept. 28. At that time, Puente faces a minimum of 15 and up to 30 years in federal prison.

He has been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.

The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Laredo Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSAs) Homero Ramirez and Michael P. Makens and former AUSA April Ayers-Perez prosecuted the case.

It was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources link on that page.

McALLEN, Texas – A federal jury sitting in McAllen has convicted a 32-year-old man for conspiracy to commit murder for hire, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

The jury deliberated for just over an hour before convicting Christopher Andrade, Oxnard, California, following a four-day trial.

The jury heard that in 2018, Mexican Mafia gang members arranged for the murder of an individual residing in Mission.

Andrade was a Colonia Chiques gang member on parole who recruited and conspired with three additional individuals to execute the murder in exchange for $20,000. The others included his mother Viola Garcia, Noah Solis and Ronaldo Gallegos. Testimony revealed the co-conspirators agreed to travel from California to Texas to commit the murder in exchange for payment.

On Aug. 30, 2018, Garcia and co-conspirators attempted to forcibly entered the victim’s residence. The murder attempt was unsuccessful. They then tried to flee from the scene. At that time, Garcia led responding law enforcement officers on a high speed chase until she crashed the vehicle.

The jury heard testimony regarding text messages and phone calls that Andrade had made from his phone coordinating the murder attempt.

The jury also heard that in July 2018, the group had attempted to murder the same victim.

Andrade attempted to convince the jury he was not in fact the user of the phone and was unaware of any agreement or attempt to commit murder. The jury did not believe those claims and found him guilty as charged.

U.S. District Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa presided over trial and set sentencing for Sept. 7. At that time, Andrade faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

Andrade has been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.

Noah Solis, 24, and Ronaldo Gallegos, both 24 and from Oxnard, had previously pleaded guilty, while Garcia, 52, also of Oxnard, California, was convicted by a jury in November 2022. All are also pending sentencing.

The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and police departments in Mission and Oxnard, California. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cahal P. McColgan and Peter I. Brostowin are prosecuting the case.

A Mexican national, who legally resided in Mission, Texas, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Texas today to sex trafficking a minor. 

In February 2022, a federal grand jury indicted Rita Martinez, 65, for using force, fraud and coercion to compel 10 victims, both adults and minors, to engage in commercial sex work in a cantina that Martinez owned and operated in Mission, Texas, known at various times as Perez Lounge, Rita’s Lounge and Rita’s Sports Bar.

In January 2023, a co-defendant in the case, Genaro Fuentes, 40, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking a minor.

As part of her plea agreement, Martinez admitted that she operated a cantina in Mission, Texas, from 2000 to 2019 and provided housing to a minor victim whom she knew to be 16 years old in the spring or summer of 2005. Martinez had the minor victim clean her house, but eventually, sent the minor victim with men from the cantina, knowing that these men intended to engage in commercial sex with the minor victim. Martinez also admitted that she accepted money from these clients before allowing them to take the minor victim out of the cantina to engage in commercial sex. Martinez applied the money to a smuggling debt that she imposed upon the minor victim to transport her from Mexico into the United States. The minor victim left Rita’s cantina in the fall of 2006. 

“Human trafficking – particularly trafficking of children – is a reprehensible crime with far reaching consequences. Traffickers degrade human dignity and decimate individual rights while at the same time undermining public safety, border security, economic opportunity and the rule of law,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department remains committed to prosecuting human traffickers for this heartless exploitation of vulnerable young people and to obtaining restitution on behalf of victims.”

“Behind her cantina, Rita Martinez tormented and forced young migrant women and girls into sexual acts, acts with Rita’s male patrons,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas. “No one should have to endure that kind of treatment. Sometimes it takes time, but we will not give up. We will make sure people like Martinez answer for violating the laws of the United States by preying on the weak and vulnerable members of our society.”

“Human trafficking strips victims of their bodily autonomy and devastates families and communities,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Justice would not be possible without the courage of the victims to come forward and tell their story. The FBI is grateful for their bravery and devoted to bringing justice to anyone affected by human trafficking.”

Martinez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. As part of Martinez’s plea agreement, she agreed to pay over $840,000 in restitution to 14 victims. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 7.

Assistant Attorney General Clarke, U.S. Attorney Hamdani and Assistant Director Quesada made the announcement.

The FBI investigated the case, with assistance from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura Garcia and Sherri Zack for the Southern District of Texas and Trial Attorney Kate Hill of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit are prosecuting the case. 

Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

McALLEN, Texas – A 65-year-old Mexican woman who legally resided in Mission has admitted to forcing a young girl to engage in commercial sex.

Rita Martinez compelled the underage victim to engage in commercial sex work in a cantina she owned and operated in Mission known as Perez Lounge, Rita’s Lounge and Rita’s Sports Bar.

“Using her cantina as a front, Rita Martinez forced a young migrant girl into sexual acts with Rita’s male patrons,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. “No one should have to endure that kind of treatment. Sometimes it takes time, but we will not give up. We will make sure people like Martinez answer for violating the laws of the United States by preying on the weak and vulnerable members of our society.”

“Human trafficking – particularly trafficking of children – is a reprehensible crime with far reaching consequences. Traffickers degrade human dignity and decimate individual rights while at the same time undermining public safety, border security, economic opportunity, and the rule of law,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department remains committed to prosecuting human traffickers for this heartless exploitation of vulnerable young people and to obtaining restitution on behalf of victims.”

As part of the plea, she acknowledged from the spring of 2005 to the fall of 2006, the 16-year-old Mexican minor lived in Martinez’ home and worked at her bar. Martinez arranged for male patrons of the cantina to take this minor girl from the cantina in order to engage in commercial sex. Martinez profited financially by accepting money from those male patrons. Martinez kept the money and applied it to the cost of the minor victim’s fee for the transportation from Mexico into the United States.   

“This case is a reminder of the need for aggressive pursuit of all those who would take advantage of anyone in vulnerable or desperate circumstances,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Oliver E. Rich Jr. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners are dedicated to protecting people from these horrible predators and will do everything we can to bring these perpetrators to justice. We would like to thank the Texas Alcoholic and Beverage Commission (TABC) for their outstanding assistance in this case.”

Genaro Fuentes, 41, Martinez’s son, pleaded guilty Jan. 26 and admitted his role working at the bar and helping to facilitate the commercial sex.

Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane will impose sentencing for Martinez and Fuentes Sept. 7 and July 6, respectively. Martinez faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison, while Fuentes could receive a 20-year maximum sentence. 

Martinez and Fuentes have been and will remain in custody pending sentencing.

The FBI has led the investigation with assistance from the TABC. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura Garcia and Sherri Zack are prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorney Kate Hill of the Department of Justice’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit. 

A Houston man was sentenced today to 165 months, the equivalent of 13 years and nine months, in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for attempting to provide material support to Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

According to court documents, Kaan Sercan Damlarkaya, 23, attempted to join and support ISIS from August 2017 until his arrest in December 2017. He pleaded guilty July 8, 2019. In addition to wanting to join ISIS, Damlarkaya also provided information to ISIS supporters about the use of machetes, homemade construction of an automatic weapon and how to build and use explosive materials.

As part of his plans to join ISIS overseas, starting in approximately early August 2017, Damlarkaya had numerous conversations online with many individuals he believed to be fellow ISIS supporters. During these discussions, he described his intentions to travel overseas to fight for ISIS in Syria or Afghanistan. Damlarkaya added that if he was unsuccessful in joining ISIS overseas, he would conduct an on attack on non-Muslims in the United States and that it was his “dream” to be a martyr.    

Damalarkaya also provided information to other ISIS supporters, on at least two separate occasions, about ways to manufacture a bomb. Specifically, he described how to make explosives formula using triacetone triperoxide and cautioned the others to “take safety seriously while you make this” to be “useful until you can strike.”

Damlarkaya further illustrated to ISIS supporters ways to construct an automatic weapon. He claimed he could buy a “GIANT machete for $15” and stated “a lot of us are poor… or we don't have experience. So not all of us can get a gun or make explosives, but we can afford to buy a $15 knife.” He claimed he slept with a machete under his pillow ready to use if law enforcement raided his house.

When agents arrested Damlarkaya, they executed a search warrant at his residence and found a machete by his bed.

He will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas and Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division made the announcement.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rob Jones for the Southern District of Texas is prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance provided by Trial Attorney Kevin Nunnally of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

LAREDO, Texas – A 74-year-old San Antonio man has been sent to prison following his conviction for illegal exportation of firearms and ammunition, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S Hamdani.

Atanacio Espinoza-Duarte pleaded guilty Feb. 15.

U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana ordered Espinoza-Duarte to serve 24 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard how firearms illegally exported from the United States to Mexico are used in violent crime south of the border. In handing down the sentence, the court noted that it is no excuse for delivery drivers to ignore the merchandise they are transporting.

At the time of his plea, Espinoza-Duarte admitted to attempting to illegally exporting firearms to Mexico.

On June 14, 2021, Espinoza-Duarte attempted to enter Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, through the Laredo Port of Entry in a pickup truck. Law enforcement working the outbound inspection lane observed an ice chest in the flat bed of Espinoza-Duarte’s truck. Upon further investigation, authorities discovered five AK-47 rifles and five, 30-round AK-47 magazines that were fully loaded.

Espinoza-Duarte admitted he purchased some of the seized firearms from a man in Mesquite.  

Espinoza-Duarte will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation with the assistance of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francisco J. Rodriguez prosecuted the case.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 31-year-old resident of Yukon, Oklahoma, has been found guilty of kidnapping and brandishing a firearm during the crime, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

The federal jury sitting in Corpus Christi deliberated for approximately three hours before convicting Joshua Anthony Wallin on both counts following a four-day trial.

“Joshua Wallin’s maniacal decision to kidnap and torture his estranged wife and one-year-old son and later point a gun at the baby’s head caused two days of terror from places in Oklahoma to Texas,” said Hamdani. “Thanks to the heroic efforts of first responders, the child and mother were able to survive their frightening nightmare, and now Wallin will pay the price for his actions.”

In the early morning hours of June 23, 2021, Wallin confronted his estranged wife at her home in Crescent, Oklahoma, holding her at gunpoint and subjecting her to a two-day ordeal. The jury heard how he took her and their one-year-old son on an arduous journey that culminated at a Corpus Christi restaurant.

The victim provided testimony describing her fear and how she was sexually assaulted before they left Oklahoma and again along the way. She also told the jury that at one point during the trip, Wallin said “at the end of the day someone is going to die.”  

As they traveled though Texas, Wallin was aware of law enforcement, called 911 and began a series of conversations with them. He repeatedly made threatening statements about killing his wife and child, telling authorities they should not get too close. His driving became erratic, and law enforcement was able to use a tire deflation device to flatten a rear tire. He eventually crashed into a local restaurant.

They eventually arrived in Corpus Christi, at which time Wallin grabbed his son from the mother’s arms and carried him into the restaurant while pointing a gun at his son’s head. Upon entry, Wallin fired one shot into the ceiling and ordered the occupants out of the restaurant.

A two-hour stand-off then ensued. Wallin did speak with negotiators, but became increasingly agitated. As authorities gained entry, Wallin shot himself. The child was unharmed. Wallin recovered from his self-inflicted wound.

At trial, testimony revealed Wallin had performed internet searches on his phone the day before the kidnapping in an attempt to locate his estranged wife and to learn how people react when kidnapped.

The defense attempted to convince the jury that Wallin and the victim were on a vacation when things went horribly wrong. The jury did not believe those claims and found Wallin guilty as charged.

U.S. District Judge David S. Morales presided over the trial and set sentencing for Sept. 20. At that time, Wallin faces up to life in prison for the kidnapping as well as another seven years for brandishing the firearm which must be served consecutively.

Wallin has been and will remain in federal custody pending that hearing.

The Corpus Christi Police Department and FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Hess and Ashley Martin prosecuted the case.

LAREDO, Texas – A 49-year-old Nicaraguan citizen illegally in the United States has been ordered to federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to transport undocumented aliens, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Arling Antonio Gutierrez-Garcia pleaded guilty March 10.

Today, U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña ordered him to serve 72 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, Gutierrez-Garcia is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment. At the hearing, the court considered the conditions inside the trailer, law enforcement efforts in the heat and prior statements four of the aliens had made. In handing down the sentence, the court noted Gutierrez-Garcia was lucky that more persons did not die. She also added that he could have stayed and assisted the aliens not able to exit and offered assistance to those in distress, instead of running away into the brush.

“Transporting dozens of human beings in a vinyl-covered all metal trailer in the South Texas summer heat demonstrates the callousness and indifference of smugglers to human life,” said Hamdani. “The sweltering heat that built up in this vehicle which was designed not for people, but for hauling sand, rock and other materials maximized the potential for injury and the eventual and tragic death of one of the victims. Gutierrez-Garcia will now pay the price for his inhumane crime.”

On June 6, 2022, Gutierrez-Garcia drove a semi-tractor pulling a belly-dump trailer with 63 citizens from Mexico and Guatemala. The metal trailer was covered with a vinyl tarp, thereby eliminating air circulation and increasing temperatures which led to the aliens’ distress.

Gutierrez-Garcia noticed them jumping out the trailer from a tear in the tarp they had made. He then stopped the semi-tractor in west Webb County on a private ranch road where law enforcement saw him standing by the cab.

Law enforcement and medical personnel provided assistance to the individuals located in the trailer and brush. One alien was found at the bottom of the trailer’s pit and pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities apprehended Gutierrez-Garcia in the brush, at which time he claimed he was being transported with the others. However, the investigation revealed he was the driver of the vehicle.

He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Border Patrol, Sheriff’s Offices in Webb and Dimmit Counties, Webb County District Attorney’s Office, Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Homero Ramirez prosecuted the case.

HOUSTON – A 23-year-old U.S. citizen from Houston has been ordered to federal prison for attempting to provide material support to Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani and Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen.

Kaan Sercan Damlarkaya attempted to join and support ISIS from August 2017 until his arrest in December 2017. He pleaded guilty July 8, 2019.

U.S. District Judge U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen ordered him to serve 165 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by a lifetime of supervised release.

“Damlarkaya wanted to kill in the name of ISIS,” said Hamdani. “He slept with a machete by his bed, ready to use on law enforcement, provided instructions on how to make a bomb to ISIS supporters, and prepared to travel overseas and become a martyr for our enemies. Today’s sentence insures that Damlarkaya will spend many many years away from machetes and explosives, making everyone in the Southern District of Texas a lot safer.”

In addition to wanting to join ISIS, Damlarkaya also provided information to ISIS supporters about the use of machetes, homemade construction of an automatic weapon and how to build and use explosive materials.

“Preventing a terrorist attack remains the FBI’s number one priority, but the threat of terrorism has morphed significantly from the sophisticated, externally directed plot to the individual, inspired attack,” said Special Agent in Charge James Smith of the FBI Houston Field Office. “Fortunately, for us and the public, Damlarkaya was stopped before he was able to carry out his terrorism plan. He dreamed of being a martyr. The reality is that he’s now a federal prisoner and will be one for years to come. Our Joint Terrorism Task Force will continue to gather and share information 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year to protect our communities.”

As part of his plans to join ISIS overseas, starting in approximately early August 2017, Damlarkaya had numerous conversations online with many individuals he believed to be fellow ISIS supporters. During these discussions, he described his intentions to travel overseas to fight for ISIS in Syria or Afghanistan. Damlarkaya added that if he was unsuccessful in joining ISIS overseas, he would conduct an on attack on non-Muslims in the United States and that it was his “dream” to be a martyr.    

Damalarkaya also provided information to other ISIS supporters, on at least two separate occasions, about ways to manufacture a bomb. Specifically, he described how to make explosives formula using triacetone triperoxide and cautioned  the others to “take safety seriously while you make this” to be “useful until you can strike.”

Damlarkaya further illustrated to ISIS supporters ways to construct an automatic weapon. He claimed he could buy a “GIANT machete for $15” and stated “a lot of us are poor… or we don't have experience. So not all of us can get a gun or make explosives, but we can afford to buy a $15 knife.” He claimed he slept with a machete under his pillow ready to use if law enforcement raided his house.

When agents arrested Damlarkaya, they executed a search warrant at his residence and found a machete by his bed.

He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rob Jones is prosecuting the case along with DOJ Trial Attorneys Kevin Nunnally and Gregory Gonzalez of National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

HOUSTON – A 42-year-old Mexican citizen illegally residing in Houston has been ordered to federal prison for drug trafficking on U.S. streets and unlawfully possessing a rocket launcher, rocket-propelled grenades, guns and ammunition, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Alfredo Gonzalez-Diaz pleaded guilty May 26, 2022, to conspiracy to distribute kilograms of heroin and cocaine and illegal possession of a firearm.

Today, U.S. District Judge Alfred H Bennett ordered Gonzalez-Diaz to serve a total of 175 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment..

“A rocket launcher, two rocket propelled grenades, 8.5 kilos of heroin, and lots, and lots, of cash,” said Hamdani. “These are the tools of terror of the Mexican cartels. Cartels like Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) Cartel threaten our communities and our families. This U.S. Attorney’s Office will not rest until we seize the cartel’s weapons, drugs and cash, and welcome those, like Gonzalez-Diaz, to the inside of a prison cell.”

As part of the undercover investigation into individuals affiliated with the CJNG, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant and seized 8.5 kilograms of heroin and approximately two kilograms of cocaine. Authorities also seized a rocket launcher, two rocket propelled grenades and two guns inside a stereo speaker prepared for transport to Mexico.

The investigation revealed the weapons were destined for imminent distribution to the CJNG in Mexico.

Authorities also discovered additional guns, ammunition and $111,762 in drug proceeds.

Gonzalez-Diaz will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Houston Police Department; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and Homeland Security Investigations conducted this investigation as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shelley J. Sullivan and Lisa Collins prosecuted this case.

These such cooperative matters provide for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. The specific mission of the DEA Strike Force is to identify and prosecute all members of narcotics trafficking organizations. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage. 

HOUSTON – A 42-year-old Mexican citizen illegally residing in Houston has been ordered to federal prison for drug trafficking on U.S. streets and unlawfully possessing a rocket launcher, rocket-propelled grenades, guns and ammunition, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Alfredo Gonzalez-Diaz pleaded guilty May 26, 2022, to conspiracy to distribute kilograms of heroin and cocaine and illegal possession of a firearm.

U.S. District Judge Alfred H Bennett ordered Gonzalez-Diaz to serve a total of 175 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment.

“A rocket launcher, two rocket propelled grenades, 8.5 kilos of heroin, and lots, and lots, of cash,” said Hamdani. “These are the tools of terror of the Mexican cartels. Cartels like Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) Cartel threaten our communities and our families. This U.S. Attorney’s Office will not rest until we seize the cartel’s weapons, drugs and cash, and welcome those, like Gonzalez-Diaz, to the inside of a prison cell.”

As part of the undercover investigation into individuals affiliated with the CJNG, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant and seized 8.5 kilograms of heroin and approximately two kilograms of cocaine. Authorities also seized a rocket launcher, two rocket propelled grenades and two guns inside a stereo speaker prepared for transport to Mexico.

The investigation revealed the weapons were destined for imminent distribution to the CJNG in Mexico.

Authorities also discovered additional guns, ammunition and $111,762 in drug proceeds.

Gonzalez-Diaz will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Houston Police Department; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and Homeland Security Investigations conducted this investigation as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shelley J. Sullivan and Lisa Collins prosecuted this case.

These such cooperative matters provide for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. The specific mission of the DEA Strike Force is to identify and prosecute all members of narcotics trafficking organizations. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage. 

HOUSTON – A 61-year-old U.S. citizen has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction for conspiracy to distribute kilos of crystal meth, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Carlos Rodriguez-Gayton pleaded guilty Nov. 8, 2022.

Today, U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced Rodriguez-Gayton to a total of 168 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. At the hearing, the defense asked for a lower sentence based, in part, on their position he held a minor role in the conspiracy. However, the court noted that working in concert with a cartel to conduct four drug deals of a kilogram or more is not minor.

Rodriguez-Gayton’s arrest and ultimate conviction stems from an investigation into individuals affiliated with the Gulf Cartel operating in Houston.

From October 2020 through January 2021, Rodriguez-Gayton sold approximately three kilos of crystal meth over the course of multiple transactions that occurred in Houston. The investigation further revealed that on Jan. 21, 2021, another individual purchased an additional two kilos of crystal meth from Rodriguez-Gayton.

Law enforcement was able to take all drugs into their possession before they could hit the streets of Houston.

Rodriguez-Gayton has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, Houston Police Department, Harris County Precinct 5 Constable’s Office and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office conducted this investigation as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shelley J. Sullivan prosecuted the case.

These such cooperative matters provide for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. The specific mission of the DEA Strike Force is to identify and prosecute all members of narcotics trafficking organizations. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.

McALLEN, Texas – A federal jury has returned guilty verdicts against a 51-year-old Raymondville resident for trafficking drugs, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

The jury deliberated for two hours before convicting Juan Posas Jr. of trafficking cocaine and conspiracy to do so.

Posas is a former Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer. At trial, the jury heard that on June 6, 2022, Posas traveled from Raymondville to a Home Depot in Weslaco where he met with Alexis Soria-Soria, 25, a Mexican national illegally residing in the United States. Soria then transferred a box containing approximately 20 kilograms of cocaine into Posas’ truck.

At trial, the jury heard recordings of phone conversations in which Posas helped plan the drug smuggling attempt.

However, the defense attempted to convince the jury that Soria approached him in the parking lot and simply asked if he wanted free fruits, then placed a box of fruits in his car. He said he never checked the box to see what was inside. The jury did not believe his claims and found him guilty as charged.

U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez presided over the trial and set sentencing for Sept. 14. At that time, Posas faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life imprisonment and a possible $10 million maximum fine.

Previously released on bond, Posas was taken into custody following the conviction today where he will remain pending that hearing.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jongwoo Chung and Jose A. Garcia prosecuted the case.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 50-year-old Brownsville man has pleaded guilty to health care fraud in relation to his work at an area mental health clinic, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

In July 2021, the Texas Medical Board deemed Fernando Mendez a “continuing threat to public welfare” and suspended his license as a physician assistant.

However, he continued to practice medicine at CCI Therapy Counseling Centers International P.C. (CCI), which has locations in Harlingen and Brownsville, following the suspension.

Mendez further admitted he manufactured medical records to make it appear a different medical provider had seen CCI patients when he was the one who had actually done so.

U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. accepted the plea and will impose sentencing Oct. 2. At that time, Mendez faces up to 10 years in federal prison and possible $250,000 maximum fine.

Mendez was permitted to remain on bond pending that hearing.

The FBI, Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (OIG), Texas Health and Human Services, Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and Department of Homeland Security-OIG conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Swartz is prosecuting the case.

HOUSTON – Two Houston residents have pleaded guilty to carjacking with the intent to cause death or serious bodily harm, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

On Nov. 13, 2022, Frank Lewis Blanco, 28, and Destinee Guerrero, 25, hailed an Uber at approximately 8:30 a.m. However, once inside the vehicle, they repeatedly changed their destination, directing the driver around Houston for approximately half an hour.

The driver ultimately asked the couple to get out of the car, but they refused. He stopped at a gas station and asked the attendant to call the police. While awaiting the arrival of authorities, the driver again asked Blanco and Guerrero to get out of his car. The couple then began to attack him, knocked him unconscious, repeatedly stomped and kicked his body and then stole his car.

The gas station cameras captured the beating.

“This couple senselessly beat an Uber driver unconscious for doing nothing more than trying to give them a ride,” said Hamdani. “My late father was a cab driver, and I can’t imagine the horror and fear he would have felt in that same situation. I want drivers to feel safe as they go to work each and every day. Hopefully, after today, cab and rideshare drivers alike can rest a bit easier knowing these two violent passengers will be off the streets.”

“Once again, violent criminals thought they were entitled to break the law and get away with it. In this case, to savagely beat their Uber driver and steal his vehicle. And once again, the heavy arm of the federal justice system caught up with them and stopped them in their tracks,” said Special Agent in Charge James Smith of the FBI Houston Field Office. “These criminals are unrelenting, and so are we.”

U.S. District Judge David Hittner accepted the pleas and set sentencing for Sept. 21. At that time, Blanco and Guerrero face up to 15 years in prison as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

Previously released on bond, the court ordered them into custody following the plea today where they will remain pending sentencing.

The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Houston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart Tallichet is prosecuting the case.

LAREDO, Texas – A 31-year-old man has pleaded guilty to his role in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine and launder money, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Elizardo Vasquez Jr. admitted to being the courier of cocaine and drug proceeds.  

Vasquez is the fifth co-conspirator to be convicted in this trafficking ring. He joins Cesar Mendiola, 57, Jose Angel Rodriguez Jr., 60, Rafael Rodriguez, 63, and Jose Angel Rodriguez III, 34, all of Laredo, who admitted on June 7 to felony charges related to cocaine distribution and money laundering in Laredo. 

Throughout the course of this investigation, authorities seized nearly 10 kilograms of cocaine and over $147,000 in drug proceeds.

The investigation revealed brothers Rodriguez Jr. and Rodriguez would receive kilograms of cocaine from a source in Mexico through Vasquez and provide that cocaine to Mendiola for further distribution in and around Laredo. Rodriguez III kept records of transactions and drug proceeds for his father, Rodriguez Jr.

U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo will impose sentencing Sept. 25. At that time, Vasquez faces up to 20 years in federal prison. 

Vasquez will remain in custody pending that hearing.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation with the assistance of the Webb County District Attorney’s Office, the Webb County Sheriff’s Office and the United Independent School District Police Department. 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 on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony J. Evans and Brian Bajew are prosecuting the case.

HOUSTON – A 34-year-old Cheney, Washington, resident has admitted she threatened to kill a federal judge, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.  

Elena Rose Markham pleaded guilty to threatening to assault and murder a federal judge. 

Immediately thereafter, visiting U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra imposed a 19-month-term of imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence regarding Ezra’s competency restoration and current mental health treatment. In handing down the sentence, Judge Ezra noted her circumstances influenced her conduct. 

“Unlawful threats against our judiciary are an assault against our democracy,” said Hamdani. “Our system of justice relies on the ability of personnel to do their jobs without fear of retribution. We will not stand for anyone making any kind of threat – but especially when those statements use language about bullets to the head and murder.”

On Nov. 3, 2021, a woman calling herself “Elena” left two voicemail messages on the business line for a U.S. district judge. The messages were approximately three minutes, 46 seconds and four minutes, 20 seconds in length. 

As part of her plea, Markham admitted to being “Elena” and making the threats.

In the voice messages, Markham indicated she was upset her federal lawsuit was dismissed and made several, irrational claims regarding judges who were afraid to deal with certain cases.

“What about a bullet in your head, maybe that’ll work,” she said. She further indicated she was not afraid and threatened to put liens on all federal judges. Markham claimed the judge was in her “war book” and if she ever saw him in a tunnel, her “team” would shoot him.

Markham has been and will remain in custody pending further criminal proceedings.

The FBI - Corpus Christi Division conducted the investigation with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Ferko prosecuted the case.

McALLEN, Texas – A 27-year-old Alton resident has been sent to prison for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 22 kilograms of cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Jesus Roberto Reyes-Gutierrez pleaded guilty April 6.

Today, U.S. District Judge Randy Crane ordered Reyes-Gutierrez to serve 120 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised Reyes-Gutierrez’s prior criminal convictions in federal court and the amount of narcotics Reyes-Gutierrez had when apprehended.

On July 6, 2022, Reyes-Gutierrez was traveling on Highway 77 in Bishop driving a black Jeep Grand Cherokee. Authorities conducted a traffic stop after observing the vehicle commit a minor moving violation.

A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed 20 packages of cocaine weighing approximately 22 kilograms. The drugs had an approximate street value of over $500,00 at the time of arrest.

At the time of the plea, Reyes-Gutierrez admitted she drove to Mexico to pick up the narcotics. She returned to the United States through the Anzalduas Port of Entry and traveled north of the Rio Grande Valley.

Reyes-Gutierrez will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with the assistance of Nueces County Constables Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter I. Brostowin prosecuted the case.