Southern District of Texas

HOUSTON - The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Southern District of Texas and the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division hosted a roundtable today for community organizations to discuss the problem of sexual harassment in housing, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

The event included personnel from legal aid offices, fair housing organizations, shelters and transitional housing providers, who often work with vulnerable populations and are most likely to become victims of such harassment.

The DOJ, through USAOs and the Civil Rights Division, enforces the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability. Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination the law prohibits.

“Sexual harassment in housing - which typically involves a landlord extorting sexual favors from vulnerable tenants - is an egregious violation of the Fair Housing Act,” said Patrick. “My office is dedicated to uncovering such violations where they exist and using every available tool to stop this unlawful and despicable behavior.”

The roundtable is part of DOJ’s Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative. It seeks to identify barriers to reporting sexual harassment in housing, increase awareness of enforcement efforts - both among survivors and those to whom they report - and collaborate with federal, state and local partners to increase reporting and help survivors quickly and easily connect with federal resources.

The USAO is working closely with the Civil Rights Division to ensure people are aware of options to help victims experiencing sexual harassment or who experienced sexual harassment in housing in the past. Today’s roundtable was just such an example designed to increase awareness and build strong partnerships in the community and combat this problem together.

While most people are familiar with the problem of sexual harassment in the workplace, harassment also occurs in housing which the Fair Housing Act prohibits. DOJ brings cases each year involving egregious conduct, including allegations that defendants have exposed themselves sexually to current or prospective tenants, requested sexual favors in exchange for reduced rents or making necessary repairs, made unrelenting and unwanted sexual advances to tenants and evicted tenants who resisted their sexual overtures.

Unfortunately, many instances of sexual harassment in housing continue to go unreported. The investigations frequently uncover sexual harassment that has been ongoing for years or decades and identify numerous victims who never reported the conduct to federal authorities.

In October 2017, the Justice Department launched the initiative to combat sexual harassment in housing.  In April 2018, the Department announced the nationwide rollout of the initiative, including three major components: a new joint Task Force with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to combat sexual harassment in housing, an outreach toolkit to leverage the Department’s nationwide network of U.S. Attorney’s Offices, and a public awareness campaign, including the launch of a national Public Service Announcement.

Since launching the initiative, the Justice Department has filed nine lawsuits alleging a pattern or practice of sexual harassment in housing.  The Justice Department has filed or settled 14 sexual harassment cases since January 2017, and has recovered over $2.2 million for victims of sexual harassment in housing.

DOJ encourages anyone who has experienced sexual harassment in housing, or knows someone who has, to contact the Civil Rights Division by calling 844-380-6178 or emailing them.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A total of six men are now in custody following the return of a 41-count indictment alleging a cocaine and marijuana trafficking conspiracy, conspiracy to commit money laundering and 39 substantive drug and money laundering violations, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

During an enforcement operation today, federal agents and local officers arrested Rodolfo Hernandez Ramos, 40, Luis Ortiz III, 39, Florentino Galvan, 77, Antonio Saenz, 52, Guadalupe Gonzalez, 39, and Ulises Francisco Cortinas, 44, all of the Brownsville and McAllen areas. Also charged is Emilio Garcia Uribe, 61.

Cortinas and Gonzalez made their initial appearances today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Morgan in Brownsville and Scott Hacker in McAllen, respectively. With the exception of Uribe, all are expected to make their appearances in Brownsville and McAllen, respectively, tomorrow. Uribe is considered a fugitive and a warrant remains outstanding for his arrest.

The indictment, returned March 13, 2019, and unsealed today, charges all seven with the  drug trafficking conspiracy involving  more than five kilograms of cocaine and more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana between July 1, 2014, and March 13, 2019.

All are also charged with conspiring to conduct financial transactions with drug proceeds. They allegedly transported, transmitted and transferred U.S. currency which they knew represented the proceeds from drug trafficking from the United States to Mexico. The transactions and transportation were designed to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership and control of the drug proceeds, according to the charges.

If convicted of the drug conspiracy offense, they all face a minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison as well as a possible $10 million maximum fine. The money laundering conspiracy carries a potential 20 years and a fine of not more than $500,000, or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction or both.

Ramos also faces 28 additional substantive money laundering counts which carry the same 20-year-sentence. Also charged in some of these substantive money laundering counts along with Ramos are Ortiz, Cortinas and Saenz.

The indictment also includes 11 additional substantive possession with intent to distribute cocaine and/or marijuana counts against Ramos, Ortiz, Galvan and Uribe. If convicted on those charges, Ramos and Galvan face up to life imprisonment, while Ortiz and Uribe face up to 40 years in prison.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and IRS – Criminal Investigation conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation dubbed “Broken Blue Line.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Cusick is prosecuting the case.

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

CORPUS CHRISTI - A 65-year-old Corpus Christi sex offender has received a lengthy federal prison sentence following his conviction for distribution of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Manuel Diaz pleaded guilty Jan. 31, 2019.

Today, U.S. District Judge Neva Gonzales Ramos sentenced Diaz to 180 months in federal prison. The sentence will be immediately followed by 1o years of supervised release during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Diaz will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

Following the imposition of the lengthy term, the defense called it “essentially a death sentence.”

Diaz has been a sex offender since 1984, when he was convicted for sexually assaulting a child out of Harris County.

On July 3, 2017, several employees at a local drug store noticed Diaz as he scrolled through photos on a kiosk in the photo lab area - in plain view of employees and customers. People noticed what they believed to be images of child pornography among what they described as “a lot” which were stored on Diaz’ phone and hooked into the kiosk by a data cable. Employees contacted local law enforcement who placed Diaz under arrest. Diaz subsequently confessed to possessing the images.

In total, Diaz was in possession of more than 100 images of child pornography and 65 videos containing child pornography. A forensic evaluation of his phone led investigators to several messages on a popular social media app in which Diaz had sent the images to other users, including people Diaz believed were underage females. 

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

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and Corpus Christi Police Department’s – Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittany L. Jensen and Hugo R. Martinez prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

McALLEN, Texas ‐ The owner of a durable medical equipment (DME) company has been ordered to federal prison for defrauding Medicaid of more than $3 million, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Anna Ramirez-Ambriz, 57, of McAllen, pleaded guilty March 31, 2017.

Today, U.S. District Judge Randy Crane handed Ramirez-Ambriz a 78-month sentence to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. She was further ordered to pay more than $3 million in restitution to the Texas Medicaid Program.

Ramirez-Ambriz owned Compassionate Medical Supply located in Edinburg.  From 2007 through 2013, Ramirez-Ambriz billed Texas Medicaid for higher quantities and more costly incontinence supplies than were actually delivered to more than 100 Texas Medicaid recipients. Compassionate employees were instructed to provide recipients with fewer and less expensive incontinence supplies than Ramirez-Ambriz billed to Texas Medicaid. As part of her plea, Ramirez-Ambriz admitted she submitted false and fraudulent claims to Texas Medicaid. 

As a result of her scheme, Ramirz-Ambriz further admitted that Texas Medicaid suffered a loss of $3,143,149.41.

Ramirez-Ambriz 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 Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services‐Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Swartz and Michael Day are prosecuting the case.

HOUSTON – A 58-year-old man is set to appear in Houston federal court on allegations contained in a 10-count indictment to include conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, wire fraud and violations of a federal money laundering statute, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

Clarence C. Roland III, of Tacoma, Washington, is accused of fraudulent acquisition of real property through the manipulation and filing of fraudulent deed documents in county records across the country.

He is set to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina Bryan at 10:00 a.m. today.

The indictment, returned in December 2018, alleges Roland fabricated fraudulent documents to defraud mortgage holders by causing the property records to reflect their interests in the real property had been eliminated.

Roland and others fraudulently transferred the ownership of the real property in which the mortgage holder had an interest to shell companies Roland controlled, according to the charges. The fraudulent documents allegedly further materially misrepresented the shell companies he controlled had outstanding mortgage loans on the real properties allegedly held by another company Roland controlled. Upon the sale of the real property, Roland allegedly caused that fake loan to be paid off using seller’s proceeds.

The indictment further alleges the conspirators created and used various entities names in executing their scheme to defraud.

If convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, Roland faces up to 30 years in federal prison and a possible $1 million maximum fine. A conviction for wire fraud carries a potential 20-year-maximum sentence and a $250,000 possible fine. He is also charged with six counts of money laundering, each carrying a maximum 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines, upon conviction.  

The Federal Housing Finance Agency - Office of Inspector General and the FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Annis 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.

HOUSTON – A 31-year-old resident of Houston has pleaded guilty to kidnapping in connection with the death of a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Employee, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick. 

Don Gaines entered a plea of guilty today to kidnapping and killing the 28-year-old woman.

“Protecting the employees of the USPS is a top priority for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service,” said Inspector in Charge Adrian Gonzalez. “When someone takes the life of one of our employees, we will stop at nothing to identify those responsible and bring them to justice. We extend our appreciation to all our local, state and federal partners that assisted in this investigation.”

That investigation identified Gaines, also a postal employee, as the person who abducted the victim as she left from the U.S. Postal Station - Houston distribution Center on Aline Bender Road, Sept. 11, 2017. The victim’s family reported her missing shortly thereafter. Gaines and the victim had previously been in a relationship and had two children together. 

Gaines admitted he choked the victim in her car near his residence in Houston. After he strangled her, Gaines believed the she was dead and transported her to Louisiana. However, during the trip, the victim regained consciousness, after which Gaines drove her to a secluded area off the highway. At that time, he parked the car and walked the victim into the woods where he shot her in the head with a firearm. He abandoned her body and drove back to Houston in her car the same day. 

Investigators identified location data on the victim’s car through a GPS device.

Evidence mirrored Gaines’ statements in that the victim’s car was located at his residence the same date he claimed to have choked her. It was also shown that the victim’s car traveled along Interstate 10 through Louisiana, then returned to Houston. A video further showed that Gaines purchased gas on the return drive to Houston after he disposed of the victim’s body.

Ultimately, the investigation led to the remote location in Louisiana where skeletal remains were discovered Oct. 12, 2017. Subsequent DNA analysis confirmed those remains were of the victim.

U.S. District Judge accepted the plea today and has set sentencing for Aug. 22, 2019. At that time, Gaines faces up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine. 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.

USPIS conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Houston Police Department, Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson Davis Parish (Louisiana) Sheriff’s Office, Louisiana State Police, Calcasieu Parish (Louisiana) Coroner’s Office, Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services Laboratory at Louisiana State University and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Jocher and James McAlister are prosecuting the case.

McALLEN, Texas – A 38-year-old resident of Omaha, Nebraska, man has been ordered to federal prison for more than 18 years for his conviction of bank robbery, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Kenneth S. Jones pleaded guilty Feb. 4, 2019, admitting he entered the Greater State Bank in McAllen and announced “This is a robbery!”

Today, U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez found Jones to be a career offender based on this and his other two federal drug trafficking convictions. He received a sentence of 220 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.

“This is not a joke,” Jones said as he entered the bank. “Put the money on the counter. If you don’t do it, I’m going to shoot you!” Fearful for their lives, employees handed over approximately $10,000 in U.S. currency and several marked bills. Jones then fled the scene.

Authorities were able to track Jones back to his hotel and arrested him the same day.  A subsequent search of the hotel recovered the money stolen from the bank.

Jones has been in custody since his arrest in where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.  

The McAllen Police Department and FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert L. Guerra Jr. is prosecuting the case.

LAREDO, Texas – A federal grand jury has returned a three-indictment against a 23-year-old Mexican citizen for assault on three Border Patrol (BP) agents, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

Luis Gustavo Ramirez-Saucedo was originally charged by criminal complaint and ordered into custody pending further criminal proceedings. Today, a grand jury sitting in Laredo returned the indictment. He is expected to make an appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sam Sheldon in the near future.

The facts in the complaint allege that on March 29, 2019. BP agents were working their assigned duties in Laredo. At approximately 9:30 p.m., they were alerted to a group of approximately 20 subjects entering the United States from Mexico by illegally crossing the Rio Grande River and activating electronic sensors, according to the charges.

According to the complaint, agents responded immediately and made contact with Ramirez-Saucedo within minutes. At that time, he allegedly violently resisted three BP agents’ efforts to apprehend him, allegedly striking them and ignoring multiple commands to halt before finally being detained.

The BP agents were treated for injuries at a medical facility.

Ramirez-Saucedo is charged with knowingly and unlawfully assaulting and resisting federal officers in their official duties. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

BP and the FBI are conducting the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francisco J. Rodriguez 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 – A 45-year-old illegal alien from Mexico has been indicted on charges he illegally possessed firearms, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

Luis Vasquez-Garcia, illegally residing in Alamo, was originally charged by criminal complaint March 29, 2019, and was later remanded to custody pending further criminal proceedings. Today, a federal grand jury returned the one-count indictment. He is expected to make an appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter E. Ormsby in the near future. 

The indictment alleges Vasquez-Garcia shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce or possessed in affecting commerce one Smith and Wesson MOD-66-2 .357 caliber pistol and 69 rounds of ammunition.

According to the complaint, Vasquez-Garcia had an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Alamo for a violent crime. He was located in his vehicle outside a residence in Alamo, at which time officers observed Vasquez-Garcia with the firearm and ammunition with him. The firearm was loaded.

If convicted, Vasquez-Garcia faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Alamo Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Belt and Andrew Henning 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.

HOUSTON – A 31-year-old citizen of Pakistan now residing in Houston has been ordered into custody for stalking, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

A federal grand jury indicted Afzal Arsalan Rehman April 10, 2019, and was taken into custody April 15. Today, U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray found that no condition or combination of conditions would reasonably assure Rehman’s appearance in court and ordered him into custody pending further criminal proceedings.   

At the hearing that began last Thursday and concluded today, the court heard evidence about Rehman’s alleged systematic torture of a victim between October 2015 and June 2018. Rehman allegedly created a Facebook account on multiple occasions which he used to send images and messages to the victim’s family, friends and colleagues. During the online harassment of the victim, Rehman used images he had created via screen capture of Skype sessions between himself and the victim during their intimate romantic relationship, according to the allegations.

He also discovered where the victim worked and allegedly called her place of business numerous times in an attempt to get someone to transfer his calls. While mostly unsuccessful, on one occasion, Rehman told someone he was outside the business and “something bad” was going to happen, according to the allegations heard at the hearing.

The court also heard that Rehman had originally entered the United States on a student visa which was revoked in August 2017. He had been enrolled in college locally and allegedly used the wifi on campus occasionally to create the Facebook accounts. According to the information presented in court, these accounts were in the victim’s name and, at first, appeared to be very normal. However, they allegedly portrayed pictures of the victim at her wedding, then later devolved into the embarrassing and harassing images Rehman captured.

If convicted, Rehman faces up to five years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri Zack 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.

HOUSTON – A 20-year-old Houston man has entered a guilty plea to  aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

Bryan Aldana, 20, admitted that on June 23, 2018, he pointed a green laser light at an Airbus AS350 B2 helicopter while it was in the air.

On June 23, 2018, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) agents were flying a the helicopter on routine law enforcement patrol. At approximately 9:00 p.m., they were headed in the northwest direction along highway US-290 when agents observed a flash of green light coming from the left side of the aircraft. At the time, they were at approximately 1000 feet elevation and traveling at a speed of 70-80 knots.

The pilot reversed the aircraft back to the southeast direction and was illuminated again by the green laser, which was powerful enough to light up the entire cockpit. The light caused a glare in the pilot’s eyes and obstructed his vision, forcing him to turn his head and maneuver the Airbus away from it. The pilot also had to close and shield his eyes from the flashing green laser inside the cockpit.

The investigation led to the source of the light at a business near the intersection of Hollister and Pitner Roads in Houston. With the help of the Houston Police Department (HPD) and the store’s security cameras, Aldana was soon identified.

Video recordings show Aldana aiming a green laser up in the sky several times and a green laser pointer at the helicopter while sitting in a chair next to a silver sedan. He was also seen placing the green laser device through the opening of the silver sedan window on to the backseat.

Officers seized the laser and submitted it to a National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientist to be examined. The scientist concluded the laser pointer is a Class IIIB laser system and produced a “laser beam” which could result in serious and possibly permanent retinal damage.

U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes accepted the plea and set sentencing for July 22, 2019. At that time, Aldana faces up to five years in prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. He was permitted to remain on bond pending that hearing.

The FBI, HPD and DPS conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Porto is prosecuting the case.

An Indian national has been extradited to the United States from Singapore to face charges related to his role as an operator of a call center network that targeted U.S victims.  The massive India-based telephone impersonation fraud and money laundering conspiracy defrauded thousands of U.S. residents out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick of the Southern District of Texas, Executive Associate Director Derek N. Benner of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Inspector General J. Russell George of the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) and Acting Inspector General John Kelly of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) made the announcement today.

Hitesh Madhubhai Patel, 42, of Ahmedabad, India, arrived in the United States and is scheduled to be arraigned today before a U.S. magistrate judge in federal court in Houston, Texas.  The indictment, which was unsealed in October 2016, charged Patel and 60 other individuals and entities with general conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.  The case is assigned to the Honorable David Hittner of the Southern District of Texas.

“Hitesh Patel operated a call center that allegedly preyed upon vulnerable U.S. citizens as part of a massive fraud scheme,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.  “This extradition once again demonstrates the Department’s unwavering commitment to disrupt and dismantle the India-based call center scam industry and to work with our foreign partners to hold accountable those who perpetrate schemes that defraud our citizens.  I especially would like to thank our Singaporean colleagues for their excellent cooperation with this extradition and their commitment to combatting transnational organized crime.”

“I cannot compliment enough the hard work and effort put into this case by the agents, analysts and attorneys of the many agencies involved,” said U.S. Attorney Patrick.  “Large complex international cases like these often take years to bring in foreign-based defendants.  I applaud our global partners in helping bring this case closer to a conclusion.”

“Today’s extradition should serve as a strong deterrent to anyone considering taking part in similar scams, and I hope it provides a sense of justice for the victims as well,” said HSI Executive Associate Director Benner.  “HSI will continue to utilize its unique investigative mandate, in conjunction with our local, state and federal partners, to attack and dismantle the criminal enterprises who would seek to manipulate U.S. institutions and taxpayers.”

“Since 2013, the IRS impersonation scam has been on a relentless path, claiming more than 15,000 victims who have collectively suffered over $75 million in losses,” said Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George.  “TIGTA’s investigations, often conducted with other Federal agencies, have identified 140 scammers, including Patel, who have preyed upon taxpayers.  Today’s extradition and arraignment are proof that TIGTA and its law enforcement partners will be equally relentless in rooting out individuals who fraudulently identify themselves as IRS employees in order to extort money from taxpayers.  We especially appreciate the cooperation of the Government of Singapore for its role in the extradition.”

“This historic extradition should serve as notice to transnational criminal organizations of the lengths DHS is willing to go to arrest those who would enrich themselves by extorting the most vulnerable in our society,” said Special Agent in Charge David Green of DHS-OIG Houston, Texas Field Office.  “The owners, managers and employees of overseas call centers who target U.S. residents should know that our pursuit of justice for victims of their scams does not stop at the water’s edge.  We will continue to work with our international partners to identify these fraudsters, track them down and hold them accountable for their crimes.”

Singapore authorities apprehended Patel at the request of the United States pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant on Sept. 21, 2018, after flying from India to Singapore.  The Singaporean Minister for Law issued a warrant on March 25, 2019 for Patel to be delivered into custody of the United States.

The indictment alleges that Patel operated the HGlobal call center conglomerate and participated in a complex fraudulent scheme involving a network of call centers based in Ahmedabad, India.  Using information obtained from data brokers and other sources, India-based conspirators allegedly called potential victims while impersonating officials from the IRS or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.  According to the indictment, the call center conspirators then threatened victims with arrest, imprisonment, fines or deportation if they did not pay taxes or penalties to the government.  When victims agreed to pay, the call centers used a network of U.S.-based conspirators to quickly liquidate and launder the extorted funds through the use of stored value cards or via wire transfers.  As alleged in the indictment, the stored value cards were often registered by the scammers using misappropriated personal identifying information of thousands of identity theft victims, and conspirators collected the wire transfers by using fake names and fraudulent identifications.

According to the indictment, the call center conspirators also defrauded victims through other schemes, including via offering fake short-term loans or grants.  The indictment alleges that the conspirators would then request a good-faith deposit to show the victims’ ability to pay back the loan or a fee to process the grant.  The victims of the alleged scam never received any money after making the requested payment.

An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. 

A total of 24 domestic defendants associated with this transnational criminal scheme have previously been convicted and sentenced to terms of imprisonment of up to 20 years in the Southern District of Texas, District of Arizona and Northern District of Georgia.  The defendants were also ordered to pay millions of dollars in victim restitution and money judgments and to forfeit seized assets.  Some defendants were ordered to be deported based on their illegal immigration status, with another defendant having his U.S. citizenship revoked due to a separate conviction for immigration fraud.  The remaining India-based defendants have yet to be arraigned in this case.

HSI, DHS-OIG and TIGTA conducted the investigation.  The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and HSI Singapore provided significant support in securing and coordinating Patel’s arrest and extradition, working in concert with their counterparts at the Singapore Attorney General’s-Chambers and the Singapore Police Force. 

Trial Attorneys Michael Sheckels and Mona Sahaf of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section, Amanda Wick of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark McIntyre and Craig Feazel of the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.

A Department of Justice website has been established to provide information about the case to victims and the public.  Anyone who believes they may be a victim of fraud or identity theft in relation to this investigation or other telefraud scam phone calls may contact the FTC via this website.

Anyone seeking additional information about telefraud scams generally, or preventing identity theft or fraudulent use of their identity information, may find helpful information on the IRS tax scams website, the FTC phone scam website, and the FTC identity theft website.

HOUSTON – An Indian national has been extradited to the United States from Singapore to face charges related to his role as an operator of a call center network that targeted U.S victims. The massive India-based telephone impersonation fraud and money laundering conspiracy defrauded thousands of U.S. residents out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick made the announcement along with Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Executive Associate Director Derek N. Benner of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Inspector General J. Russell George of the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) and Acting Inspector General John Kelly of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG).

Hitesh Madhubhai Patel, 42, of Ahmedabad, India, arrived in the United States and is scheduled to be arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray at 1:30 p.m. in Houston. The indictment, which was unsealed in October 2016, charged Patel and 60 other individuals and entities with general conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. The case is assigned to the Honorable David Hittner of the Southern District of Texas.

“I cannot compliment enough the hard work and effort put into this case by the agents, analysts and attorneys of the many agencies involved,” said Patrick.  “Large complex international cases like these often take years to bring in foreign-based defendants. I applaud our global partners in helping bring this case closer to a conclusion.”

“Hitesh Patel operated a call center that allegedly preyed upon vulnerable U.S. citizens as part of a massive fraud scheme,” said Benczkowski. “This extradition once again demonstrates the Department’s unwavering commitment to disrupt and dismantle the India-based call center scam industry and to work with our foreign partners to hold accountable those who perpetrate schemes that defraud our citizens.”

“Today’s extradition should serve as a strong deterrent to anyone considering taking part in similar scams, and I hope it provides a sense of justice for the victims as well,” said Benner. “HSI will continue to utilize its unique investigative mandate, in conjunction with our local, state and federal partners, to attack and dismantle the criminal enterprises who would seek to manipulate U.S. institutions and taxpayers.”

“Since 2013, the IRS impersonation scam has been on a relentless path, claiming more than 15,000 victims who have collectively suffered over $75 million in losses,” said George. “TIGTA’s investigations, often conducted with other federal agencies, have identified 140 scammers, including Patel, who have preyed upon taxpayers. Today’s extradition and arraignment are proof that TIGTA and its law enforcement partners will be equally relentless in rooting out individuals who fraudulently identify themselves as IRS employees in order to extort money from taxpayers. We especially appreciate the cooperation of the Government of Singapore for its role in the extradition.”

“This historic extradition should serve as notice to transnational criminal organizations of the lengths DHS is willing to go to arrest those who would enrich themselves by extorting the most vulnerable in our society,” said Special Agent in Charge David Green of DHS-OIG, Houston Field Office. “The owners, managers and employees of overseas call centers who target U.S. residents should know that our pursuit of justice for victims of their scams does not stop at the water’s edge. We will continue to work with our international partners to identify these fraudsters, track them down and hold them accountable for their crimes.”

Singapore authorities apprehended Patel at the request of the United States pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant on Sept. 21, 2018, after flying from India to Singapore. The Singaporean Minister for Law issued a warrant on March 25, 2019, for Patel to be delivered into custody of the United States.

The indictment alleges Patel operated the HGlobal call center conglomerate and participated in a complex fraudulent scheme involving a network of call centers based in Ahmedabad, India. Using information obtained from data brokers and other sources, India-based conspirators allegedly called potential victims while impersonating officials from the IRS or Citizenship and Immigration Services.  According to the indictment, the call center conspirators then threatened victims with arrest, imprisonment, fines or deportation if they did not pay taxes or penalties to the government. When victims agreed to pay, the call centers used a network of U.S.-based conspirators to quickly liquidate and launder the extorted funds through the use of stored value cards or via wire transfers.  As alleged in the indictment, the stored value cards were often registered by the scammers using misappropriated personal identifying information of thousands of identity theft victims, and conspirators collected the wire transfers by using fake names and fraudulent identifications.

According to the indictment, the call center conspirators also defrauded victims through other schemes, including via offering fake short-term loans or grants.  The indictment alleges onspirators would then request a good-faith deposit to show the victims’ ability to pay back the loan or a fee to process the grant. The victims of the alleged scam never received any money after making the requested payment.

A total of 24 domestic defendants associated with this transnational criminal scheme have previously been convicted and sentenced to terms of imprisonment of up to 20 years in the Southern District of Texas, District of Arizona and Northern District of Georgia. The defendants were also ordered to pay millions of dollars in victim restitution and money judgments and to forfeit seized assets.  Some defendants were ordered to be deported based on their illegal immigration status, with another defendant having his U.S. citizenship revoked due to a separate conviction for immigration fraud. The remaining India-based defendants have yet to be arraigned in this case.

HSI, DHS-OIG and TIGTA conducted the investigation. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and HSI Singapore provided significant support in securing and coordinating Patel’s arrest and extradition, working in concert with their counterparts at the Singapore Attorney General’s-Chambers and the Singapore Police Force. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark McIntyre and Craig Feazel are prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorneys Michael Sheckels and Mona Sahaf of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section, Amanda Wick of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section.

A Department of Justice website has been established to provide information about the case to victims and the public. Anyone who believes they may be a victim of fraud or identity theft in relation to this investigation or other telefraud scam phone calls may contact the FTC via this website.

Anyone seeking additional information about telefraud scams generally, or preventing identity theft or fraudulent use of their identity information, may find helpful information on the IRS tax scams website, the FTC phone scam website, and the FTC identity theft website.

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

HOUSTON – A 23-year-old El Salvadorian citizen has pleaded guilty for his role in a horrific gang slaying, admitting he and two others murdered a teenager in the Sam Houston National Forest, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

Jose Leonel Bonilla Romero aka Jose Tupapa, who resided in Houston, entered a plea of guilty to aiding and abetting others with the murder of a 16-year-old male victim on Sept. 22, 2013. The others - Cristian Alexander Zamora aka Christian Zamora, Alex or Pollo, 28, and Ricardo Leonel Campos Lara aka La Muerte, 23, both also of El Salvador, who resided in Huntsville and Houston, respectively -  previously pleaded guilty and are currently serving their federal prison sentences.

Romero, Zamora and Lara lured the juvenile victim to Sam Houston National Forest where the three of them attacked him with bats and machetes. 

At the hearing today, the court heard that when officers found the mutilated body of the juvenile victim, they observed gaping wounds on his knees and ankles with his head nearly severed from his body. The victim’s family was in court today and wept as they heard the details of the killing. U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein asked Romero “you’re intent at the time was to kill him?” to which Romer0 replied “yes.”

The investigation led police to Zamora who ultimately confessed his role in the crime, implicating Romero and Lara. All three defendants admitted to being members of the transnational MS-13 gang. They explained that a gang leader had ordered them to kill the victim, because he had supposedly cooperated with police in El Salvador, leading to the arrests of several MS-13 gang members. 

The juvenile victim was intoxicated when they took him to the federal land in Huntsville. Romero admitted that once there, he struck the victim first with a baseball bat in the back of the head before the others butchered the victim’s body with machetes. 

The medical examiner noted that the victim suffered deep cutting and chopping wounds, some all the way to the spinal cord with others causing partial decapitation.

Judge Werlein accepted the plea today and has set sentencing for June 21, 2019. At that time, Romero faces up to life in prison. Romero has been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.

Judge Werlein sentenced Zamora and Lara in 2016, both of whom received 420-month prison terms. They were further ordered to pay $13,092.42 in restitution. In handing down those sentences, the court noted the “willful and deliberate crime,” commenting that the murder was particularly brutal and its heinous, gruesome and savage nature.

The FBI, Houston Police Department, Texas Rangers, Walker County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Forest Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark E. Donnelly and Casey MacDonald are prosecuting the case.

LAREDO, Texas – A 46-year-old Laredoan has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of conspiring to transport 78 aliens, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Jesus Alberto De La Cruz pleaded guilty Oct. 4, 2018.  

Today, visiting U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison ordered De La Cruz to serve 46 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by a year of supervised release.  

On Aug. 10, 2018, De La Cruz approached the primary Border Patrol (BP) checkpoint on IH-35, just north of Laredo. A canine alerted to the semi-tractor and trailer he was driving and he was referred for secondary inspection.

Authorities became alarmed when he continued to drive the semi-tractor and trailer towards IH-35 instead of towards the secondary inspection area. Agents stopped him and ordered him and a passenger out of the vehicle.

Authorities soon observed people hidden inside the maintenance hatch in the rear of the trailer. The trailer doors were closed with a bolt seal preventing anyone inside from being able to exit.

They eventually found 78 undocumented aliens hidden inside, all of whom were questioned regarding their citizenship. They were all determined to be citizens of Mexico, Honduras, Ecuador, Brazil, El Salvador and Guatemala without proper legal documentation allowing them to enter or remain in the United States.

President Trump personally congratulated the BP agent canine enforcement officer for his work on the case.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and BP conducted the investigation. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Francisco J. Rodriguez prosecuted the case.

LAREDO, Texas – Two Guatemalan men have been ordered to federal prison after their involvement in an alien-smuggling event which resulted in the deaths of two Ecuadoran men, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick. Melvin L. Barahona-Godoy, 23, and Yoryi Alexis Perez, 29, both of Guatemala, pleaded guilty April 30, 2018. 

Today, U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison sentenced Barahona-Godoy to 57 months of imprisonment, while Perez was ordered to serve a 78-month-term. Not U.S. citizens, they are expected to face deportation proceedings following completion of their sentences.

On Oct. 21, 2017, federal authorities encountered nine undocumented aliens at a residence in Laredo, one of whom was Barahona-Godoy. After conducting multiple interviews, law enforcement determined Barahona-Godoy and Perez guided the group of aliens across the Rio Grande river from Mexico into the United States the month prior. Perez was subsequently apprehended in 2018.

During that smuggling event, two persons drowned while attempting to cross the river. Both men were from Ecuador.

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

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher dos Santos prosecuted the case.

HOUSTON – A 39-year-old Houston resident has been ordered to federal prison for nearly 30 years for sexual exploitation of a child, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. John Ferguson was found guilty following a bench trial May 30, 2018.  

Today, U.S. District Judge Gray Miller, who presided over that trial, ordered Ferguson to serve a total of 324 months in federal prison to be followed by a life term of supervised release. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Additional information was also presented today, including a letter presented to the court from the mother of the victim detailing the torment Ferguson inflicted on her and her family. “He used that trust to assault my daughter while she was too young to communicate,” she said.

“I am still having trouble finding the words to say, but I can say that this severe emotional pain that I carry and try to push pack is heavy, it never gets any less severe, and is something that won’t go away,” she added.

Ferguson will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

Authorities executed a search warrant at Ferguson’s residence in July 2015. The warrant was obtained based on information that led investigators to believe that Ferguson was accessing files from a website known to contain child pornography. The search resulted in the seizure of computers which yielded numerous photos and videos of child pornography.

In some of the videos, an underage girl is seen being sexually assaulted and in lewd and lascivious poses that show her genitalia. The minor female is seen on heavily stained carpet and on a bathroom counter during these acts. These items were later proven to match those seen in Ferguson’s residence. He is also seen in the videos. 

As part of the investigation, authorities sent the images/videos to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), who identified several videos that Ferguson appeared to have produced. NCMEC contacted the FBI which resulted in the victim’s identification.

Ferguson was originally charged by criminal complaint, but fled before apprehension. Ultimately, he was captured.  

This case was initiated pursuant to a nationwide investigation known as Operation Pacifier which targeted users of a TOR network child pornography website whose primary purpose was to advertise and distribute child pornography. Following the February 2015 arrest of the primary site administrator, law enforcement was able to identify more than 1,000 U.S.-based user IP addresses. One of those addresses resolved back to Ferguson's residence.

Ferguson has been in custody since his arrest where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The FBI conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri Zack prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

LAREDO, Texas – Four men have been sentenced after their involvement in illegal sport hunting from a helicopter in violation of the federal Airborne Hunting Act, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick. In September and October of 2018, Cody Morganthaler, 36, of Oklahoma, pleaded guilty along with Edelmiro Martinez, 33, Eduardo Lopez, 39, and Inocente Sanchez, 56, all of Laredo.

Today, U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison sentenced Morganthaler, Martinez, and Lopez to the maximum allowed fine of $5,000, all of whom must also serve one year of probation. Sanchez was ordered to pay a $2,500 fine and must also serve the year of probation. While on probation, all of the men will not be allowed to possess firearms for personal sporting purposes.

“This case is an excellent example of the cooperative investigative efforts between the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Game Wardens of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD),” said Phillip Land, Special Agent in Charge of FWS-Office of Law Enforcement - Southwest Region. “We take very seriously our mission and will continue to concentrate on and aggressively pursue individuals who are involved in the illegally taking of wildlife in Texas. We would like to thank the U.S. Attorney's Office for prosecuting this case and holding these individuals accountable."  

At the hearing today, all four defendants claimed that while they knowingly engaged in the hunt, they did not know it was a crime to hunt animals from the air for sporting purposes. Judge Ellison noted he did not believe those claims.

Prior to the weekend of Oct. 14, 2017, Morganthaler booked a hunt at the Laredo Hunting Resort in Laredo, which Martinez owned. Lopez organized the hunt. A total of $12,000 was paid on Morganthaler’s behalf to hunt four exotic animals - an addax, a mouflon, an aoudad and a blackbuck antelope.

On Oct. 14, Morganthaler was able to locate, shoot and kill the addax and mouflon from the ground. Due to a time shortage, Lopez suggested Morganthaler shoot the remaining two animals from a helicopter. Morganthaler and Martinez agreed.

The following day, Sanchez piloted his helicopter with Morganthaler and Lopez as passengers. Morganthaler then used a rifle to locate, shoot and kill the aoudad and blackbuck antelope from within the helicopter for the purpose of trophy-hunting.

“The circumstances in this particular case would make any sportsmen and outdoor enthusiasts furious,” said Kevin Winters, Texas Game Warden. “The fact that these individuals organized a trophy hunt from a helicopter, which resulted in the harvesting of a trophy Aoudad (Barbary Sheep) and Blackbuck (Antelope), is unethical and is a violation of both state and federal laws. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Game Wardens strive to protect our states natural resources.”

It is a violation of the federal Airborne Hunting Act to use an aircraft to shoot for the purpose of capturing or killing an animal for sport or trophy-hunting. Under federal law, any animals, weapons or aircraft which are involved or used to commit the violation are subject to forfeiture to the United States.

The FWS conducted the investigation with the assistance of the TPWD. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher dos Santos prosecuted the case.

HOUSTON – A 53-year-old Houston man has just been ordered to prison following his conviction of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. James Campbell and co-defendant Hammed Akinola, a Nigerian citizen, entered guilty pleas Oct. 9, 2019.  

Today, U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced, Campbell, 53, to 90 months in prison. At a hearing April 12, 2019, Judge Hittner upwardly departed from the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and ordered Akinola to serve 180 months in federal prison.

In handing down the sentences, Judge Hittner noted the defendants ruined the lives of many across the nation in taking or attempting to take large sums of money from approximately 45 victims. Several of such victims included individuals sending money to their title company to close on a home in which, unbeknownst to them, money was fraudulently being transferred to a bank in Houston the defendants controlled. Not only did the victims lose their money, the banks took a large hit as well. 

From on or about January 2016 through November 2017, Campbell and Akinola were involved in an international wire fraud conspiracy that consisted primarily of Business Email Compromise (BEC) fraud which targeted businesses and individuals that regularly perform wire transfer payments. They compromised legitimate business e-mail accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion techniques to conduct unauthorized transfers of funds by international co-conspirators. 

The international co-conspirators hacked into the victims accounts and sent what appeared to the victims to be legitimate emails from banks or title companies. The victims, tricked into thinking such emails were from the bank or title companies, would then transfer the money to the accounts the defendants controlled, not knowing they were fraudulent emails.  

Akinola was working with overseas conspirators who were orchestrating the BEC victimization. Those conspirators needed domestic bank accounts where they could send the funds stolen from the BEC fraud. Akinola and Campbell agreed to work together to open bank accounts and to recruit individuals in and around the Houston area to open bank accounts in order to receive the BEC wires. 

Campbell and Akinola then recruited 20 other individuals who did open bank accounts to receive fraudulent funds. The proceeds of the fraud scheme were disbursed between the account holders, Campbell, Akinola and international accomplices.

In total, the Campbell and Akinola’s activity participating in the scheme and laundering its proceeds resulted in victims’ of BEC fraud transferring or attempting to transfer $10.3 million into to accounts they controlled.

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

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the FBI conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Suzanne Elmilady and Melissa Annis are prosecuting the case.

LAREDO, Texas – A 60-year-old resident of Laredo has been ordered to federal prison for his involvement in a multi-year conspiracy involving numerous types of narcotics, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick. Daniel Martin Huerta pleaded guilty Aug. 22, 2018.  

Today, U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison sentenced Huerta to 120 months of imprisonment to be immediately followed by a five-year-term of supervised release. At the hearing, he was held accountable for being the leader and organizer of five or more persons during the course of the drug trafficking conspiracy.

Between May 1, 2012, and April 24, 2018, Huerta conspired with persons in his drug trafficking organization to possess with the intent to distribute large amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana. Huerta and his co-conspirators were responsible for importing the controlled substances from Mexico and sending them to Dallas and other cities throughout the United States.

Huerta also laundered money in U.S. bank accounts and smuggled U.S. currency derived from drug proceeds into Mexico. Notably, on April 27, 2013, Huerta directed co-conspirators to smuggle $238,335 in bulk cash into Mexico. Law enforcement seized this load prior to the money exiting the U.S.

On Nov. 24, 2014, local authorities seized 24 kilograms of cocaine in four car batteries after a traffic stop of a flatbed trailer which belonged to Huerta.

Huerta has been in custody since his arrest on May 4, 2018. He 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 Force investigation with the assistance of Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher dos Santos prosecuted the case.

HOUSTON – A 35-year-old Houston man has been ordered to federal prison for carjacking and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. A federal jury sitting in Houston convicted Sean Rodriguez Sept. 26, 2018, after approximately three hours of deliberation following a three-day trial.

Today, Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal handed Rodriguez a 80-month sentence for the carjacking. He also received an additional 10 years for the firearms charge which must be served consecutively to the other sentence imposed. The sentences will be immediately followed by two years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, the court noted that this was a serious and dangerous crime and that the defendant was lucky that no one was injured or killed during the crime or his flight. 

During the trial, the jury heard from victims who were carjacked at gunpoint. Both described how Rodriguez brandished a silver revolver and pointed it at them. Rodriguez had pistol-whipped the male victim, at which time the gun discharged above the man’s head.

A neighbor also provided testimony who explained how she helped the female victim after she ran to her house to call 911. The jury also heard that call.

The jury also heard from four police officers were involved in a high-speed chase after Rodriguez refused to pull over in the stolen vehicle three days later. The jury saw a helicopter video of the chase and the dash cam of one of the officers. During the chase, Rodriguez went the wrong way down streets at high rates of speed, nearly hit pedestrians and other vehicles before crashing into a family of six.

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, Texas Department of Public Safety, Houston Police Department, Harris County Institute of Forensic Science and Harris County Sherriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennie Basile and Britni Cooper are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN is 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. Through PSN, 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 focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

HOUSTON – More than 4,000 parents who had entrusted their children to administrators at the Varnett Charter School are set to receive payments totaling more than $600,000, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick along with Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI, Special Agent in Charge Neil Sanchez from the Department of Education – Office of Inspector General (ED-OIG) and Acting Special Agent in Charge Sarah Kull of IRS – Criminal Investigation (CI).

Marian Annette Cluff, 70, was the founding superintendent of The Varnett Public School, a charter school with three locations in Houston, while her husband - Alsie Cluff Jr., 69, was the facilities and operations manager. They pleaded guilty  Aug. 25, 2017, to mail fraud and conspiracy to commit tax evasion charges for embezzling millions of dollars from the school.

In June 2018, U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon sentenced Marian Cluff to 120 months imprisonment and to pay a $295,596 fine, while her husband was ordered to serve a 36-month term of imprisonment and pay a $88,678 fine. More importantly, however, was that both were also ordered to pay a total of $4,443,755.69 in restitution.

In less than a year following the sentencing hearing, the Financial Litigation Unit (FLU) of the U.S. Attorney’s Office – with the substantial assistance of the U.S. Marshal Service (USMS) – collected the total restitution ordered in the case.

In an amended order issued in March 2019, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen ordered that $604,889.76 of that amount be distributed to the identified victim parents of the school. The U.S. District Clerk’s Office has indicated that restitution payments to the parents will be handled on an expedited basis.

At the time of the sentencing, the court heard that the couple embezzled millions of dollars in funds that were intended for the operation and function of the charter school and its programs. These included “money orders” parents had submitted to pay for school field trips and student fundraisers, such as chocolate sales, book fairs, school carnivals and other school-related activities.

The Cluffs used their positions of trust and authority and diverted and concealed money received from vendors of the school, insurance companies and federal agencies into the off-book accounts for the purpose of diverting money intended for the charter school for their own personal use and benefit. The Cluffs concealed the accounts from the charter school office manager, the school’s external accountant and their income tax preparer.

Testimony at sentencing also revealed the Cluffs conspired to commit tax evasion of approximately $1,827,477.55 in tax, interest and penalties owed to the IRS. The Cluffs did not pay income taxes on the money they received as a result of the scheme.

The Cluffs were ordered to surrender to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons in August 2018 and are currently serving their sentences.

Today’s announcement comes as National Crime Victim Rights Week (NCVRW) draws to a close. Every April, the Office for Victims of Crime leads communities throughout the country in their annual observances of NCVRW. This year’s theme - Honoring Our Past. Creating Hope for the Future - celebrated the progress made by those before us as we look to a future of crime victim services that is even more inclusive, accessible and trauma-informed.

The Department of Justice’s Mega Victim Case Assistance Program (MCAP) has also conducted research in this case to identify the current addresses for parents of former students. If your child attended the Varnett Public School between 2007–2014 and you have not received any correspondence from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, please contact the Victim Witness Unit at 713-567-9445.

The FBI, IRS-CI and Ed-OIG conducted the investigation. ED-OIG, USMS, FLU, U.S. District Clerk’s Office and MCAP worked collectively to assist in the restitution matter.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Quincy L. Ollison prosecuted the criminal case.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Two Corpus Christi men have received significant sentences for sexual exploitation crimes that involved the use of social media, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Jesus Ramirez Jr., 27, and Julio Cesar Diaz, 31, pleaded guilty in September and January 2018, respectively, to production of child pornography in separate, but similar cases. Diaz also admitted to online solicitation of a minor.

Today, Senior U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack sentenced Ramirez to 280 months in federal prison. Additional information was also presented today demonstrating how Ramirez had been involved in soliciting at least five minor females online, posing as a much younger male named “Justin.” In handing down the sentence, the court noted need to protect the public and the unlikelihood that a pedophile such as he would ever stop being a danger. Ramirez will serve the rest of his life on supervised release following completion of his prison term, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet.

At a hearing yesterday, Judge Jack ordered Diaz to serve a total of 276 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by a life term of supervised release. At his hearing, additional information was presented detailing the number of victims and acts against them. The court also heard that Diaz was arrested after arriving at a predetermined location to have sex with a minor victim. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the need to protect the public.  

Both men will also be ordered to register as sex offenders.

Ramirez admitted he had been using a false identity online to persuade and ultimately coerce minors to create and send nude and sexually graphic photos and videos of themselves to him. Each of the minors reported receiving disturbing messages from Ramirez. In them, Ramirez claimed to have created images that appeared to be naked pictures of them using photos found on their various social media accounts combined with pornographic photos. He threatened to send the created photos  to the their friends and classmates.

While there was no evidence he had met any of the victims in person, law enforcement did recover evidence that he intended to do so using false and misleading information and messages.

Diaz admitted he had been using social media and a false name to meet minor females in and around Corpus Christi, grooming them via phone calls and chats. After a brief time, Diaz would request nude and sexually explicit images of the children and ultimately met some of the minors to engage in sexual activity.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and Corpus Christi Police Department’s – Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force conducted both investigations with the assistance of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany L. Jensen is prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

HOUSTON - An e-commerce company president entered a guilty plea today for conspiring to fix prices for customized promotional products sold online to customers in the United States.

U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick made the announcement along with Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI’s Houston Field Office.

According to the felony charges filed Nov. 1, 2018, and the plea agreement today, Akil Kurji, owner and president of Gennex Media, and his co-conspirators agreed to fix the prices of customized promotional products sold online from as early as May 2014 until at least June 2016. These products included wristbands, lanyards, temporary tattoos and buttons. Kurji and his co-conspirators used social media platforms and encrypted messaging applications, such as Facebook, Skype and Whatsapp, to reach and implement their illegal agreement. Kurji is the fifth individual to enter a guilty plea in the Department of Justice’s ongoing promotional products investigation. To date, 11 defendants have been charged in the investigation into the online customized promotional products industry. 

“Price fixing for small, logo branded items is illegal, just like it would be for a pair of Fortune 500 companies,” said U.S. Attorney Patrick. “In the end, consumers are harmed by paying inflated prices for items.”

“Today’s guilty plea demonstrates the Antitrust Division’s commitment to prosecuting executives who conspire to fix prices of products sold online,” said Delrahim. “The Department and its law enforcement partners are committed to detecting and preventing collusion carried out using encrypted messaging applications and social media platforms.” 

“The FBI investigates unlawful business practices including those that seek to corrupt business markets,”said Turner. “We work hard to safeguard American consumers so that they can buy goods and services with confidence they are paying a competitive price.”

Kurji is charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals. The maximum fine for an individual may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine. 

This prosecution arose from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing in the online promotional products industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal I Section with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Texas and the FBI’s Houston Field Office. Anyone with information on price fixing or other anticompetitive conduct related to other products in the customized promotional products industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 888-647-3258 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.

An e-commerce company president entered a guilty plea today for conspiring to fix prices for customized promotional products sold online to customers in the United States, the Department of Justice announced. 

Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick for the Southern District of Texas, and Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI’s Houston Field Office made the announcement. 

According to the felony charges filed on Nov. 1, 2018, and the plea agreement filed today in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Texas in Houston, Akil Kurji, owner and president of Gennex Media, and his co-conspirators agreed to fix the prices of customized promotional products sold online from as early as May 2014 until at least June 2016.  These products included wristbands, lanyards, temporary tattoos, and buttons.  Kurji and his co-conspirators used social media platforms and encrypted messaging applications, such as Facebook, Skype, and Whatsapp, to reach and implement their illegal agreement.  Kurji is the fifth individual to enter a guilty plea in the Department of Justice’s ongoing promotional products investigation.  To date, 11 defendants have been charged in the investigation into the online customized promotional products industry. 

“Today’s guilty plea demonstrates the Antitrust Division’s commitment to prosecuting executives who conspire to fix prices of products sold online,” said Assistant Attorney General Delrahim.  “The Department and its law enforcement partners are committed to detecting and preventing collusion carried out using encrypted messaging applications and social media platforms.” 

“Price fixing for small, logo branded items is illegal, just like it would be for a pair of Fortune 500 companies,” said U.S. Attorney Patrick.  “In the end, consumers are harmed by paying inflated prices for items.”

“The FBI investigates unlawful business practices including those that seek to corrupt business markets,” said Perrye K. Turner, Special Agent in Charge of FBI’s Houston Field Office.  “We work hard to safeguard American consumers so that they can buy goods and services with confidence they are paying a competitive price.”

Kurji is charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals.  The maximum fine for an individual may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine. 

This prosecution arose from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing in the online promotional products industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal I Section, with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Texas and the FBI’s Houston Field Office.  Anyone with information on price fixing or other anticompetitive conduct related to other products in the customized promotional products industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 888-647-3258 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 42-year-old Houston woman has been sentenced in Corpus Christi federal court following her conviction of possessing with the intent to distribute approximately 10 pounds of heroin, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. A federal jury convicted Marlo Denise Young Feb. 6, 2019, following two days of trial and approximately 20  minutes of deliberations.

Today, Senior U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack handed Young a 168-month sentence to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. At the hearing, additional evidence was offered that demonstrated Young lied under oath and detailed how she attempted to obstruct justice by having a family member remotely delete text messages and map data from her cell phone.

On Oct. 30, 2018, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on Young near Kingsville. At that time, officers found more than $4,800 in cash, hydroponic marijuana and approximately 4.7 kilograms of heroin. The heroin was concealed inside Young’s car battery and valued at approximately $188,000.

Young claimed she was a licensed physical therapist in the Houston area. However, the evidence showed she was actually an unlicensed masseuse who provided massages to people in their hotels and homes.

At trial, Young denied knowingly transporting the narcotics, claiming instead that she was taking a trip to the valley with a friend who was moving.

However, federal agents testified about their investigation which revealed the Young was traveling alone, had made another trip to the valley the previous day and that she had fabricated the story she told law enforcement officers.

Young also attempted to obstruct justice and impede the investigation after her arrest. While in custody, she instructed an individual to remotely log into her phone account and delete specific text messages from her phone, which was in law enforcement’s possession. Young also directed this individual to delete travel information from the navigation application on her phone, which might have allowed authorities to retrace her route. 

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

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the South Texas Specialized Crimes and Narcotics Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeremy C. Fugate and Robert D. Thorpe are prosecuting the case.   

HOUSTON - A 44-year-old man from Humble has received a massive federal prison sentence following his convictions for sexual exploitation of a child as well as receipt and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Moises Valdez pleaded guilty April 4, 2018. 

Today, U.S. District Judge Gray Miller handed Valdez a sentence of 360 months for the sexual exploitation of a child, otherwise known as production of child pornography. He also received 240 months for the receipt of child pornography and another 120 months for the possession of child pornography. The sentences will all run consecutively for a total of 720 months in federal prison. There is no parole in the federal system. Valdez also received a lifetime of supervised release.

Valdez came to the attention of law enforcement following an investigation which began May 22, 2015, into persons using the internet to traffic in child pornography. An FBI special agent was able to locate and identify Valdez as the owner of a computer offering to participate in the distribution and receipt of child pornography movies through a peer-to-peer network.

On Jan. 29, 2016, authorities executed a search warrant at Valdez’ residence, at which time, they seized a laptop and a desktop computer located within a bedroom belonging to Valdez. A forensic review resulted in the discovery of approximately 75 images and more than 180 videos of child pornography.

Additionally, agents also found one particular video that appeared to be taken from a cellular phone which agents believed Valdez had produced. This video was of an underage female being vaginally penetrated by an adult male penis. Also depicted in the video was an adult male’s fingers that can be seen spreading open the vagina of the child who appears to be sleeping throughout the sexual assault.

Agents were able to identify the bedroom as that of belonging to Valdez.

On March 8, 2016, agents contacted and interviewed Valdez’ wife who identified the child depicted in the video as a minor relative who would have been four –years-old at the time of the assault. She further able identified body parts of Valdez that were seen in the video.   

A warrant for his arrested was issued that day, but he had absconded. Authorities ultimately apprehended him April 18, 2016, upon his entry into the United States from Mexico. The investigation revealed he had fled to Mexico after he learned agents had identified him as the male in the video. 

At the sentencing hearing today, the court heard evidence regarding a pattern of abuse which rendered Valdez a repeat and dangerous sex offender. The court heard that Valdez had sexually abused three other minor females in addition to the four-year-old victim from the video. These victims were either family members or were children whom Valdez acted as a father figure. One victim was as young as three-years-old when the abuse began. The total amount of abuse on these victims spanned several years. Further, one of the victims told the court that what Valdez did destroyed her family.  

The FBI conducted the investigation.

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

This case, being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Ann Leo, was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

LAREDO, Texas – Two brothers have been ordered to federal prison following their convictions of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to smuggle bulk cash from Mexico, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Mario Luis Quiroga Trevino, 43, a Mexican national who was illegally residing in Laredo, his brother Javier Quiroga, 48, of Laredo, pleaded guilty Nov.  6, 2018.

Today, Visiting U.S. District Judge Hilda Tagle sentenced Quiroga to a total of 70 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court noted that although not as highly-involved in the conspiracy as was his brother, Quiroga could not justify being a minor player. He engaged in continuing criminal activity over several months and played a role in storing, transporting and delivering cocaine as well as recruiting a driver to transport a load of cocaine to the Houston area.

The court sentenced Trevino April 9, 2019, to 120 months on the drug conspiracy and 60 months for the other charge to run concurrently. In imposing the sentence, the court found him to be an organizer, leader and manager. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face deportation proceedings following his term of imprisonment.

The two brothers were involved in the conspiracy which spanned from April 1, 2015, to on or about Oct. 16, 2015.

The investigation identified the brothers’ involvement in three seizures related to the overall conspiracy. The first occurred April 1, 2015, when Quiroga, at the direction of his brother, delivered more than two kilograms of cocaine at a gas station on Mines Road in Laredo.

Then, on Oct. 21, 2015, Trevino coordinated with his brother to transport more than 20 kilograms of cocaine from Laredo to the Houston area. Authorities observed Trevino delivering the cocaine to Quiroga’s residence in Laredo. Quiroga then delivered the narcotics to another individual who arranged to have the cocaine transported to Houston for delivery. Law enforcement seized the 20 brick of cocaine which had an estimated value of approximately $500,000.

The third incident involved the seizure of $12,000. According to their admissions at the time of their pleas, Quiroga traveled to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, to pick up $12,000 at his brother’s direction. Quiroga then smuggled it into the United States through the port of entry at Laredo. Quiroga then transferred that money to someone who had secured a truck driver to transport a load of cocaine from Laredo to the Houston area.

Trevino has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. Quiroga was allowed to remain on bond pending surrender at a later date.  

The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Lou Castillo is prosecuting the case.

Four Texas men, including a former Weslaco City Commissioner and a former Hidalgo County Commissioner, were charged today in a 74-count superseding indictment that alleges the four men conspired with others to pay bribes to two Weslaco City Commissioners.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick for the Southern District of Texas, Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs of the FBI San Antonio Office and Acting Special Agent in Charge Sarah Kull of the IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Houston Field office, made the announcement.

The indictment filed in the Southern District of Texas yesterday charges former Weslaco City Commissioner John F. Cuellar, 56, and Richard Quintanilla, 51, both of  Weslaco, Texas; former Hidalgo County Commissioner Arturo C. Cuellar Jr., 65, of Hidalgo County, Texas;  and Daniel J. Garcia, 40, of Rio Grande City, Texas. They allegedly conspired to bribe and bribed John Cuellar, 56, of Weslaco, Texas and another Weslaco City Commissioner – Gerardo Tafolla, 52, of Weslaco, Texas, in exchange for official actions favorable to three engineering companies.  Tafolla pleaded guilty to one count of federal program bribery on April 8, 2019, before the Honorable Micaela Alvarez of the Southern District of Texas.

According to the superseding indictment, from approximately March 2008 through December 2015, Leonel J. Lopez, 52, of Starr County, Texas, received approximately $4.1 million from two engineering companies and shared approximately $1.398 million with Cuellar Jr.  Lopez pleaded guilty to one count of federal program bribery on March 22, 2019, before the Honorable Ricardo H. Hinojosa of the Southern District of Texas.  The superseding indictment further alleges that Cuellar Jr. used a company he controlled to pay Cuellar approximately $405,000, disguised as legitimate legal expenses.  In exchange for these payments, Cuellar allegedly took several official actions to benefit the three construction companies, including the award of a $38.5 million contract to rehabilitate Weslaco’s water treatment plant.  The superseding indictment also alleges that Lopez paid additional bribes through Quintanilla to Tafolla, according to the allegations.

The superseding indictment further alleges that Lopez and Cuellar Jr. enlisted Garcia, an attorney, to launder approximately $90,000 in bribe payments to Cuellar through Garcia’s interest on lawyers trust account.

An indictment contains only allegations.  A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

FBI and IRS-CI conducted the investigation. Trial Attorneys Peter M. Nothstein and Jessica C. Harvey of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Roberto Lopez Jr. of the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.  

McALLEN, Texas – A McAllen grand jury has returned a 74-count superseding indictment against four local men alleging they conspired with others to pay bribes to two Weslaco City Commissioners.

U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick made the announcement along with Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs of the FBI San Antonio Office and Acting Special Agent in Charge Sarah Kull of IRS-Criminal Investigation (CI) Houston Field office.

The indictment filed in the Southern District of Texas yestrday charges former Weslaco City Commissioner John F. Cuellar, 56, and Richard Quintanilla, 51, both of  Weslaco; former Hidalgo County Commissioner Arturo C. Cuellar Jr., 65, of Hidalgo County; and Daniel J. Garcia, 40, of Rio Grande City. They allegedly conspired to bribe and bribed John Cuellar, 56, of Weslaco, and another Weslaco City Commissioner – Gerardo Tafolla, 52 of Weslaco - in exchange for official actions favorable to three engineering companies. Tafolla pleaded guilty to one count of federal program bribery on April 8, 2019, before the Honorable Micaela Alvarez of the Southern District of Texas.

According to the superseding indictment, from approximately March 2008 through December 2015, Leonel J. Lopez, 52, of Starr County, received approximately $4.1 million from two engineering companies and shared approximately $1.398 million with Cuellar Jr. Lopez pleaded guilty to one count of federal program bribery on March 22, 2019, before the Honorable Ricardo H. Hinojosa of the Southern District of Texas. 

The superseding indictment further alleges that Cuellar Jr. used a company he controlled to pay Cuellar approximately $405,000, disguised as legitimate legal expenses. In exchange for these payments, Cuellar allegedly took several official actions to benefit the three construction companies, including the award of a $38.5 million contract to rehabilitate Weslaco’s water treatment plant. The superseding indictment also alleges Lopez paid additional bribes through Quintanilla to Tafolla, according to the allegations.

The superseding indictment further alleges that Lopez and Cuellar Jr. enlisted Garcia, an attorney, to launder approximately $90,000 in bribe payments to Cuellar through Garcia’s interest on lawyers trust account.

If convicted, they face up to 20 years in federal prison on each of the wire fraud and money laundering charges, 10 years for a conviction of federal programs bribery and another five years upon conviction of violations of interstate and foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises.

FBI and IRS-CI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Roberto Lopez Jr. is prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorneys Peter M. Nothstein and Jessica C. Harvey of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.

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

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Two Corpus Christi residents have been ordered to federal prison following their conviction for conspiracy to sell crystal methamphetamine and using firearms to facilitate that crime, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Ray Green, 30, and his girlfriend at the time Julie De Los Rios, 28, pleaded guilty Jan. 31, 2019.

Today, Senior U.S. District Court Judge Janis Graham Jack sentenced Green to 210 months, while De Los Rios received a 35-month-term of imprisonment. At the hearing, it was noted that the two had been found to be distributing methamphetamine on at least two occasions while they were in possession of firearms. Both were further ordered to serve respective terms of five years of supervised release.

Law enforcement began investigating Green and De Los Rios in August 2018. At that time, local authorities reported the two had been arrested during a traffic stop and were in possession of a sizable amount of crystal methamphetamine, firearms and other evidence indicating they were selling narcotics. 

On Nov. 20, 2018, Green and De Los Rios were in a vehicle distributing narcotics when authorities arrested them. A search of their vehicle revealed Green and De Los Rios were in possession of approximately 275 grams of crystal methamphetamine and a stolen handgun which they carried in order to protect themselves while they were trafficking narcotics. 

Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, Live Oak County Sherriff’s Office and Jim Wells County Constable’s Office conducted the joint investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Paxton prosecuted the case.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Two Galveston women have been sentenced to prison in Corpus Christi federal court for their convictions of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute more than six kilograms of methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Beatrice Adriana Ortega, 28, pleaded guilty Nov, 2, 2017, while co-defendant Esmeralda Guadalupe Ramos, 27, pleaded guilty the following month.

Today, U.S. District Judge Janis Jack handed Ramos a 35-month sentence. On Monday, April 8, Judge Jack ordered Ortega to serve a 42-month term of imprisonment. Both were further ordered to serve five years of supervised release following their sentences. In imposing the terms of incarceration, the court noted that even though neither defendant had prior criminal history, a term of imprisonment was appropriate given the amount of methamphetamine they were transporting.

On Aug. 6, 2017, Ortega and Ramos arrived at the Sarita Border Patrol checkpoint in a 2012 blue Chrysler 200. During primary inspection, a canine alerted to the vehicle. Upon further inspection, authorities discovered six bundles wrapped in black electrical tape and clear cellophane hidden within the dashboard of the vehicle. In those packages was a total of 6.28 kilograms of methamphetamine.

Both women were 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 the assistance of Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert D. Thorpe Jr. is prosecuting the case.    

LAREDO, Texas – A federal grand jury has just returned an indictment charging a 41-year-old Mexican citizen with conspiracy to import methamphetamine and importation of methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. 

Gabriel Garrido Isaias was originally charged by criminal complaint March 15, 2019, and was later remanded to custody. Today, a Laredo grand jury returned the two-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to import and importing methamphetamine into the United States. He is set for his arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sam Sheldon on April 18, 2019. 

According to court documents, Isaias approached the Lincoln-Juarez Bridge #2 on March 14, 2019, driving a Ford F-150. He was sent to secondary examination after which an x-ray examination allegedly revealed anomalies in all four tires. A search of the tires resulted in the discovery of 38.36 kilograms of methamphetamine, according to the allegations.

Further investigation revealed the defendant to be a resident of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and is currently a Mexican police officer.  

If convicted, he faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison and a possible $10 million maximum fine.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Customs and Border Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorney April Ayers-Perez 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 – A 40-year-old Donna man has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Juan Fernando Mata pleaded guilty Jan. 9, 2019.

Today, U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez ordered Mata to serve 130 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by four years of supervised release.

At the hearing, Judge Alvarez considered Mata’s role in assisting members of a “rip crew” by conducting fraudulent traffic stops on drug load vehicles so that members of that crew could steal the controlled substances.

Specifically, the court considered Mata’s role in conducting traffic stops in January 2016 and another in May 2017, to assist members in stealing approximately nine kilograms of cocaine and approximately 400 pounds of marijuana, respectfully,

The court also heard allegations were made about Mata assisting members of a second “rip crew” by conducting similar activity.

In pronouncing the sentence today, Judge Alvarez noted that while the rip crew members’ conduct in conducting home invasions and carjackings was reprehensible, Mata’s conduct could also be described as such. The court stated how Mata’s actions eroded the public trust and the sense of security in knowing that law enforcement officers are individuals that can be turned to in the event of a home invasion or other criminal conduct. Judge Alvarez noted that when any law enforcement officer commits criminal conduct, it effects law enforcement as a whole and gives the area a bad name. 

In considering the many letters of support for Mata, including the City of Donna Mayor and employees of Donna Independent School District, the court noted its concern with individuals viewing him as a role model. She stated that it speaks to poor principles when someone sworn to uphold and enforce the law completely disregards it.

Mata 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 FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with the assistance of Border Patrol and Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Roberto Lopez Jr. and K. Alejandra Andrade prosecuted the case.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 46-year-old man has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Martin Arambula pleaded guilty Dec. 27, 2017.

Today, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. sentenced Arambula t0 120 months to be immediately followed by four years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court noted Arambula’s extensive criminal history, which included two robbery convictions. 

During the summer of 2016, law enforcement initiated an investigation into the smuggling and distribution of multi-kilogram shipments of illicit narcotics within the United States by members of a drug trafficking organization operating within Cameron County.

Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) who were investigating the drug trafficking organization witnessed Arambula order crack cocaine from his supplier. Law Enforcement seized the drugs as they were being delivered to Arambula. The crack was intended to be sold in local street level sales in Cameron County.

Through the course of the investigation, agents were able to determine Arambula regularly bought crack cocaine from Jesus Hector Garza Jr. 

Garza, 31, of Brownsville, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of “Ice” methamphetamine and is awaiting sentencing.

Arambula 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 DEA and FBI conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation known as Operation Fatstacks. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Betancourt is prosecuting the case.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Two local men have been ordered to federal prison following their convictions of robbery and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

Matthew Joseph Bryant, 24, and Nathealle Avori Tyrell Jones, 21, each pleaded guilty Jan. 31, 2019, as did and Corey Alexander Newman, 25.  

Today, Senior U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack handed Bryant and Jones each a 33-month sentence for the robbery to be followed by an additional 84 months for the firearms charge which must be served consecutively to the other sentence imposed. Both must also serve five years of supervised release following completion of their sentences.   

Newman is pending his sentencing hearing.

On Aug. 5, 2018, local law enforcement responded to an aggravated robbery at the Texas Food Mart located in the 6100 block of Williams. As officers arrived in the area, they observed a suspect vehicle and attempted to conduct a traffic stop. The vehicle then fled from the officers until crashing into a utility pole.

At that time, Bryant, Jones and Newman fled from the vehicle, but were soon arrested and taken into custody.

Officers searched the vehicle and surrounding area and discovered U.S. currency, convenience store items, cigarettes, disposable gloves and a loaded handgun with an extended magazine.

Surveillance footage at the location showed that two males wearing dark clothing and bandanas covering their faces entered the store. As one male stayed by the front door and pointed a handgun at the clerk, the other male went behind the counter and emptied the cash register into a bag along with cigarettes and flavored cigars. The male then took the clerk’s cellular phone and wallet before leaving the store and driving off in a dark colored sedan.

During the follow-up investigation, law enforcement was able to determine that Bryant was in possession of the firearm and entered the store with another individual while Jones, the getaway driver, and Newman waited outside.

Bryant and Jones have been and will remain in custody pending transfer to U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Corpus Christi Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Watt is prosecuting the case.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 72-year-old resident of Corpus Christi has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of possessing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Clifford Mecham Jr. was found guilty during a bench trial in in January 2019.

Today, U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack, who presided over that trial, sentenced Mecham to 97 months in prison. Additional information was also presented today, including letters from the victims detailing how the offense had impacted them and their families. In handing down the sentence, the court noted she felt the need to protect the community and was especially concerned that Mecham seemed to have no concept of why what he did was wrong. Mecham was further ordered to pay $2966.78 in restitution to the known victims and will serve the rest of his life on supervised release following completion of his prison term, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Mecham will also be ordered to register as a sex offender. 

At trial, the court heard that at the time of his arrest, Mecham was in possession of 31,562 images and 1,741 videos containing child pornography which he had created himself. He had morphed images and videos of pornographic actresses and models and replaced their faces with the faces of children. In many images, Mecham altered the images further by morphing the male actors faces with his own to make it appear as though he was engaging in various sexual acts with the children.

When authorities took Mecham into custody he explained that he created the images because he thought they were “cute.”

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.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and Corpus Christi Police Department’s – Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force conducted the investigation with the assistance of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.   

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany L. Jensen is prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 36-year-old Houston resident has sentenced in Corpus Christi federal court following his conviction for possessing with intent to distribute crystal methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Aaron Dee Summer III pleaded guilty Jan. 31, 2019, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute narcotics.

Today, Senior U.S. District Court Judge Janis Graham Jack sentenced Summer to 145 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court noted Summer did not have a minor role in the offense as he claimed. 

On Nov. 17, 2018, law enforcement conducted an inspection of a charter bus traveling north through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) immigration checkpoint near Falfurrias. During the investigation, authorities discovered luggage belonging to Summer with 28 bundles totaling approximately 13.5 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine.

Law enforcement arrested him and discovered he was hiding an additional kilogram of Fentanyl strapped to his torso underneath his clothing. Summer  admitted he had transported narcotics on the bus from Mexico and the Rio Grande Valley area of Texas on several occasions over the previous six months.

Summer 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 and CBP conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Paxton is prosecuting the case.

HOUSTON – A 44-year-old Houston resident has been ordered to federal prison following her conviction of theft of government money, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Sheiletta McGrew pleaded guilty Sept. 17, 2018.  

Today, U.S. District Judge Vanessa D. Gilmore ordered McGrew to serve a total 24-month sentence to be immediately followed by two years of supervised release. She was further ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $144,943.

McGrew owned a tax preparation business called BABY STEPS 4 ME which she operated from her Houston residence. At the time of her plea, McGrew admitted she unlawfully acquired the personal identifying information (PII) of numerous individuals to include names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and other sensitive personal information. She then used the unlawfully acquired PII to file false and fraudulent income tax returns with the IRS.

McGrew submitted the fraudulent returns without the consent of the taxpayers listed on the returns and requested the refunds be directly deposited into bank accounts she controlled.  

McGrew admitted she filed at least 82 fraudulent returns during this scheme and received fraudulent refunds in the amount of $257,765.

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

IRS-Criminal Investigation (CI) conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hileman is prosecuting the case.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 52-year-old Houston man has been sentenced in Corpus Christi federal court following his conviction for being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. A jury returned a guilty verdict against Donnell Eldridge Jan. 9, 2019.

Today, Senior U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack sentenced Eldridge to 85 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, the court commented that nothing had deterred Eldridge’s continued criminal conduct and noted the importance of protecting the community.  

On June 20, 2018, officers with the Corpus Christi Police Department (CCPD) were conducting an investigation near City Hall located in the 1200 block of Leopard Street. As they approached a group of individuals, Eldridge quickly began to walk off and failed to respond to questions.

One of the officers continued to walk behind him and observed Eldridge remove an item from his waistband and throw it on the ground. An officer soon located a loaded .22 caliber revolver in the surrounding area.

Eldridge had previously been convicted of multiple felony offenses, including aggravated robbery, and is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition per federal law.

Eldridge 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 Corpus Christi Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lance Watt and Neel Kapur are prosecuting the case.

McALLEN, Texas - Three Texas men, including a former Weslaco City Commissioner and a former Hidalgo County Commissioner, were arrested today on charges of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick made the announcement along with Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs of the FBI San Antonio Office and Acting Special Agent in Charge Sarah Kull of the IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Houston Field office.

Criminal complaints were filed today in the Southern District of Texas against former Weslaco City Commissioner John Cuellar, 56, of Weslaco, and former Hidalgo County Commissioner Arturo Cuellar Jr., 65, of Hidalgo County. They are charged with conspiring to bribe a Weslaco City Commissioner in exchange for official actions favorable to three engineering companies and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Daniel Garcia, 40, an attorney based in Rio Grande City, was also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to the complaint, starting in approximately March 2008, Cuellar agreed to accept bribes from three engineering companies that were funneled through Cuellar Jr. and others. Cuellar and another Weslaco City Commissioner would then allegedly take actions favorable to the three companies in relation to contracts to rehabilitate and rebuild Weslaco’s water treatment facilities. 

According to the complaint, from approximately April 2008 through December 2015, Lopez received approximately $3.7 million from two engineering companies and shared approximately $1,398,000 with Cuellar Jr. The complaint further alleges Cuellar Jr. used a company he controlled to pay Cuellar approximately $405,000 disguised as legitimate legal expenses. In exchange for these payments, Cuellar allegedly took several official actions to benefit the three construction companies, including the award of a $38.5 million contract to rehabilitate Weslaco’s water treatment plant.

The complaint further alleges Lopez and Cuellar Jr. enlisted Garcia, an attorney, to launder approximately $90,000 in bribe payments to Cuellar through Garcia’s interest on lawyers trust account.

FBI and IRS-CI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Roberto Lopez is prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorneys Peter M. Nothstein and Jessica C. Harvey of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. 

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

Three Texas men, including a former Weslaco City Commissioner and a former Hidalgo County Commissioner, were arrested today on charges of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick for the Southern District of Texas, Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs of the FBI San Antonio Office and Acting Special Agent in Charge Sarah Kull of the IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Houston Field office, made the announcement.

Criminal complaints were filed today in the Southern District of Texas against former Weslaco City Commissioner John Cuellar, 56, of Weslaco, Texas, and former Hidalgo County Commissioner Arturo Cuellar Jr., 65, of Hidalgo County, Texas.  They are charged with conspiring to bribe a Weslaco City Commissioner in exchange for official actions favorable to three engineering companies and conspiracy to commit money laundering.  Daniel Garcia, 40, an attorney based in Rio Grande City, Texas, was also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to the complaint, starting in approximately March 2008, Cuellar agreed to accept bribes from three engineering companies that were funneled through Cuellar Jr. and others. Cuellar and another Weslaco City Commissioner would then allegedly take actions favorable to the three companies in relation to contracts to rehabilitate and rebuild Weslaco’s water treatment facilities. 

According to the complaint, from approximately April 2008 through December 2015, Lopez received approximately $3.7 million from two engineering companies, and shared approximately $1.398 million with Cuellar Jr.  The complaint further alleges that Cuellar Jr. used a company he controlled to pay Cuellar approximately $405,000, disguised as legitimate legal expenses.  In exchange for these payments, Cuellar allegedly took several official actions to benefit the three construction companies, including the award of a $38.5 million contract to rehabilitate Weslaco’s water treatment plant.

The complaint further alleges that Lopez and Cuellar, Jr. enlisted Garcia, an attorney, to launder approximately $90,000 in bribe payments to Cuellar through Garcia’s interest on lawyers trust (IOLTA) account.

A complaint contains only allegations.  A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.                                                                                                             

FBI and IRS-CI conducted the investigation. Trial Attorneys Peter M. Nothstein and Jessica C. Harvey of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Roberto Lopez of the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.   

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 33-year old Guatemalan citizen has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction for illegally re-entering the United States after deportation, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Edward Estuardo Jacinto-Garcia pleaded guilty Nov. 27, 2018.

Today, Senior U.S. District Judge Hilda Tagle sentenced Jacinto-Garcia to 72  months in federal prison. At the hearing, the court considered that prior to Jacinto-Garcia’s first deportation from the United States, he had been convicted of sexual assault and had previously been convicted of illegally re-entering the country and failing to register as a sex offender. In handing down the sentence, Judge Tagle noted that it was appropriate given the seriousness of the offense and to protect the public. Jacinto-Garcia was on supervised release at the time of the new offense. Judge Tagle revoked that term and ordered he serve an additional two months to be served consecutively.   

On Oct. 14, 2018, Border Patrol (BP) agents encountered a group of seven undocumented aliens in the brush near U.S. Highway 281 who had  attempted to circumvent the immigration checkpoint near Falfurrias. At the time of the arrests, agents determined Jacinto-Garcia was a citizen and national of Guatemala who had previously been deported from the United States and had re-entered without permission.

In custody since his arrest, Jacinto-Garcia will remain in federal custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility

BP conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Watt is prosecuting the case.

The former Director of Nursing and Administration of two Houston, Texas-based businesses was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for her role in a $20 million Medicare fraud scheme involving false and fraudulent claims for home health services.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick of the Southern District of Texas, Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI’s Houston Field Office and Special Agent in Charge C.J. Porter of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Dallas Region made the announcement. 

Evelyn Mokwuah, 54, of Pearland, Texas, former Director of Nursing and Administration of Beechwood Home Health (Beechwood) and Criseven Health Management Corporation (Criseven), both located in Houston, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller of the Southern District of Texas.  Judge Miller also ordered Mokwuah to pay $20,462,607.21 in restitution to Medicare.  On Aug. 10, 2017, following a four-day trial, a jury found Mokwuah guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and four counts of health care fraud. 

According to evidence presented at trial, from 2008 to 2016, Mokwuah and others engaged in a scheme to defraud Medicare of approximately $20 million including the submission of  fraudulent claims for home health services at Beechwood and Criseven that were not provided, not medically necessary or both.  According to the trial evidence, Mokwuah falsely certified and billed for patients who were not homebound or did not qualify for home health services.  Along with others, Mokwuah also falsified patient records to show that patients were homebound when they were not; paid patient recruiters to recruit Medicare beneficiaries to Beechwood and Criseven; and paid doctors to certify false plans of care for Medicare beneficiaries so that Beechwood and Criseven could bill Medicare for those services.  

The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG, and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Scott Armstrong and Kevin Lowell of the Fraud Section.

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force.  Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 14 strike forces operating in 23 districts, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 38-year-old undocumented alien from Mexico is headed to federal prison following his conviction of illegal re-entry into the country after a previous deportation, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Rodolfo Casares pleaded guilty Jan. 3, 2019.

Today, U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera ordered him to serve a 60-month term of imprisonment. Not a U.S. citizen, Casares is expected to face deportation proceedings following the sentence. At the hearing, additional evidence was also provided that included Casares’ prior convictions.

On Sept. 21, 2018, Custom and Border Protection (CBP) agents encountered Casares as they were conducting Linewatch operations near Hidalgo.

Upon investigation, law enforcement discovered he was illegally present in the United States. Casares was first deported to Mexico in October 2005 after having been convicted of possession of cocaine with intent to deliver in October 2005 and in April 2015. He also has a another conviction of illegal re-entry after having been found in the country again on May 14, 2018. Casares was last deported in August 2018. 

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.

CBP conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Coronado is prosecuting the case.

HOUSTON - A former congressional staffer was sentenced today for participating in a multi-year scheme to defraud charitable donors of hundreds of thousands of dollars. He also secretly funneled the proceeds to pay for personal expenses and illegally finance campaigns for federal office. 

U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick made the announcement along with Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of FBI’s Washington Field Office and Acting Special Agent in Charge Sarah Kull of IRS - Criminal Investigation (CI) Houston Field Office.

Jason T. Posey, 48, of Tupelo, Mississippi, pleaded guilty Oct. 11, 2017, to one count of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.  Today, Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal of the Southern District of Texas sentenced Posey to 18 months in prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. Posey was also ordered to pay $564,718.65 in restitution and $156,855.29 in forfeiture.

As part of his plea, Posey admitted he participated in a scheme that former U.S. Representative Stephen E. Stockman, 62, led. A federal jury in Houston convicted Stockman April 12, 2018, of 23 counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to make conduit contributions and false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), making false statements to the FEC, making excessive coordinated campaign contributions, money laundering and filing a false tax return. Another of Stockman’s former congressional staffers, Thomas Dodd, 40, of Houston, pleaded guilty March 20, 2017, to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to make conduit contributions and false statements. On Dec. 12, 2018, Judge Rosenthal sentenced Dodd to serve 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $800,000 in restitution,

According to Posey’s admissions in connection with his guilty plea, from January 2013 to February 2014, he assisted Stockman in fraudulently soliciting $800,571.65 in donations from charitable organizations and the individuals who ran those organizations based on false pretenses. He then used a series of sham nonprofit organizations and dozens of bank accounts to launder the money before he spent it on a variety of personal and campaign expenses.

Specifically, Posey admitted that shortly after Stockman took office as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2013, Stockman and Dodd used the name of one sham nonprofit entity, Life Without Limits, to solicit and receive a $350,000 charitable donation. The money was to be used to create an educational center called the Freedom House. Stockman, Dodd and Posey instead used this donation for a variety of personal and campaign expenses, including illegal conduit campaign contributions, and payments for hundreds of thousands of robocalls and mailings promoting Stockman’s candidacy for U.S. Senate in early 2014.

In addition, Posey admitted that, in connection with Stockman’s Senate campaign, Stockman and Posey used another sham nonprofit entity called Center for the American Future to secure a $450,571.65 donation. They used that money to fund a purportedly legitimate independent expenditure promoting Stockman’s candidacy. Posey admitted Stockman secretly controlled the purportedly independent expenditure and directed his campaign and Posey to file false affidavits with the FEC covering up Stockman’s involvement. 

In addition, Posey admitted that during the early stages of the investigation, Stockman directed Posey to flee to Cairo, Egypt, for nearly three years so law enforcement could not question him.

The FBI and IRS-CI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Annis is prosecuting the case along with Deputy Chief Robert J. Heberle and Trial Attorney Ryan J. Ellersick of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. 

A former congressional staffer was sentenced today to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $564,718.65 in restitution and $156,855.29 in forfeiture, for participating in a multi-year scheme to defraud charitable donors of hundreds of thousands of dollars and secretly funnel the proceeds to pay for personal expenses and illegally finance campaigns for federal office. 

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick of the Southern District of Texas, Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of FBI’s Washington Field Office and Acting Special Agent in Charge Sarah Kull of IRS - Criminal Investigation (CI) Houston Field Office made the announcement.

Jason T. Posey, 48, of Tupelo, Mississippi, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas by Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal.  Posey pleaded guilty on Oct. 11, 2017, to one count of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.  As part of his plea, Posey admitted that he participated in a scheme led by former U.S. Representative Stephen E. Stockman, 62, who was convicted by a federal jury in Houston on April 12, 2018, of 23 counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to make conduit contributions and false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), making false statements to the FEC, making excessive coordinated campaign contributions, money laundering and filing a false tax return.  Another of Stockman’s former congressional staffers, Thomas Dodd, 40, of Houston, Texas, pleaded guilty on March 20, 2017, to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to make conduit contributions and false statements.  On Dec. 12, 2018, Dodd was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $800,000 in restitution, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

According to the admissions made by Posey in connection with his guilty plea, from January 2013 to February 2014, Posey assisted Stockman in fraudulently soliciting $800,571.65 in donations from charitable organizations and the individuals who ran those organizations based on false pretenses, then using a series of sham nonprofit organizations and dozens of bank accounts to launder the money before it was spent on a variety of personal and campaign expenses. 

Specifically, Posey admitted that shortly after Stockman took office as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2013, Stockman and Dodd used the name of one sham nonprofit entity, Life Without Limits, to solicit and receive a $350,000 charitable donation, to be used to create an educational center called the Freedom House.  Stockman, Dodd, and Posey instead used this donation for a variety of personal and campaign expenses, including illegal conduit campaign contributions, and payments for hundreds of thousands of robocalls and mailings promoting Stockman’s candidacy for U.S. Senate in early 2014.

In addition, Posey admitted that, in connection with Stockman’s Senate campaign, Stockman and Posey used another sham nonprofit entity called Center for the American Future to secure a $450,571.65 donation in order to fund a purportedly legitimate independent expenditure promoting Stockman’s candidacy.  Posey admitted that the purportedly independent expenditure was in fact secretly controlled by Stockman, who directed his campaign and Posey to file false affidavits with the FEC covering up Stockman’s involvement. 

In addition, Posey admitted that during the early stages of the investigation, Stockman directed Posey to flee to Cairo, Egypt, for two and a half years so that Posey could not be questioned by law enforcement.

The FBI and IRS-CI investigated the case.  Deputy Chief Robert J. Heberle and Trial Attorney Ryan J. Ellersick of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Annis of the Southern District of Texas prosecuted the case. 

HOUSTON ‐A 65-year-old resident of Lake Jackson has been ordered to federal prison for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Kirk Lawrence Brannan pleaded guilty to bank fraud April 30, 2018, admitting he conspired with others from 2005 to 2009 to execute a scheme to defraud Wells Fargo Bank and other lenders.

Today, Chief U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal handed him a 36-month sentence to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court held that, in committing the crime, Brannan had used sophisticated means and had employed his special skills as an attorney and real estate agent. Judge Rosenthal noted that Brannan had created false HUD-1 settlement forms and title documents that purported to show the sale of three of his properties to his children at grossly inflated prices. These HUD-1 forms then became the three comparable sales that appraisers relied upon in over-valuing the rest of Brannan’s beach home properties which Brannan then sold through the fraud scheme at inflated prices. 

In imposing the sentence, Judge Rosenthal balanced Brannan’s honorable military service and other aspects of what, up to the time of the fraud, had been an exemplary life, with the tremendous damage mortgage fraud had done to the U.S. financial system and economy and the fact that Brannan had been a knowing and willing participant in such a scheme. She also pointed out that some individuals much less sophisticated than Brannan had suffered severe economic harm as a result of Brannan’s scheme.

He was further ordered to pay $5,317,350 in restitution. A money judgement was previously entered in the amount of $2,401,368.

Brannan sold 10 beach homes in the Freeport/Surfside area to “straw buyers” at exorbitant prices. Other co-conspirators recruited straw buyers who created loan applications with misrepresentations that lenders relied upon in deciding to make the mortgage loans. The applications contained misrepresentations of the buyer’s address, employer, income and expenses. The applications also suggested the buyers were much better credit risks than they actually were. Brannan admitted he paid kickbacks to co-conspirators each time one of the beach homes was sold to a straw buyer.

The beach properties were sold at two to three times the appraised values. The mortgage lenders, including Wells Fargo Bank, were induced to lend the inflated amounts for the purchases through flawed or fraudulent appraisals which were based on comparisons Brannan manufactured to further the scheme. 

Brannan created settlement statements that suggested he sold three of his properties to his children at exorbitant prices. Appraisers relied upon these “sales” as comparable sales in appraising Brannan’s remaining properties sold to straw buyers. As a result of the fraudulent appraisals, he and his co-conspirators were able to inflate the values for his properties and deceive the lenders into approving home loans at those exorbitant amounts. 

All of the straw buyers defaulted on the mortgages, and all 10 of the beach properties ended up in foreclosure. 

The fraudulent mortgage loan scheme resulted in a loss of $5,317,350 to Wells Fargo Bank and the other lenders. Brannan paid $2,401,368 to his co-conspirators as part of the scheme.

Previously released on bond, Brannan was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Co-conspirators Chucoboie Lanier, 42, David Lee Morris, 56, and Derwin Jerome Blackshear, 52, all of Houston, previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme. Lanier received a sentenced of 36 months while Morris was ordered to serve a 42-month prison term. Blackshear is set for sentencing April 9.  

The Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Johnson and Michael Day are prosecuting the case.

McALLEN, Texas - A Weslaco man has been arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and other offenses in connection with a scheme to bribe a city commissioner in exchange for government contracts.

U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick made the announcement along with Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs of the FBI San Antonio Field Office and Acting Special Agent in Charge Sarah Kull of the IRS-Criminal Investigation (CI) Houston Field office.

An 18-count indictment filed in the Southern District of Texas and unsealed upon his arrest yesterday charges Richard Quintanilla, 51, with conspiring to bribe and bribing a Weslaco City Commissioner in exchange for official actions favorable to three engineering companies. According to the indictment, from approximately August 2011 through December 2016, the companies supplied Quintanilla with approximately $85,950 which was funneled through a co-conspirator. Quintanilla allegedly kept a portion of these payments and paid the remainder to a city commissioner. In exchange for these bribe payments, the indictment alleges that the city commissioner used his official position to benefit the companies, including by voting to authorize multi-million dollar contracts for water treatment facilities in the City of Weslaco. Quintanilla will appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter E. Ormsby today at 11:00 a.m.

The FBI and IRS-CI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Roberto Lopez is prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorneys Peter M. Nothstein and Jessica C. Harvey of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.

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

A Weslaco, Texas man has been arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and other offenses in connection with a scheme to bribe a city commissioner in exchange for government contracts.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick for the Southern District of Texas, Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs of the FBI San Antonio Field Office and Acting Special Agent in Charge Sarah Kull of the IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Houston Field office, made the announcement.

An 18-count indictment filed in the Southern District of Texas and unsealed upon his arrest yesterday charges Richard Quintanilla, 51, with conspiring to bribe and bribing a Weslaco City Commissioner in exchange for official actions favorable to three engineering companies.  According to the indictment, from approximately August 2011 through December 2016, the companies supplied Quintanilla with approximately $85,950, which was funneled through a co-conspirator.  Quintanilla allegedly kept a portion of these payments and paid the remainder to a city commissioner.  In exchange for these bribe payments, the indictment alleges that the city commissioner used his official position to benefit the companies, including by voting to authorize multi-million dollar contracts for water treatment facilities in the City of Weslaco.  Quintanilla will appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter E. Ormsby at 11:00 a.m. CT today.

An indictment contains only allegations.  A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The FBI and IRS-CI conducted the investigation.  Trial Attorneys Peter M. Nothstein and Jessica C. Harvey of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Roberto Lopez of the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.