Western District of Texas

SAN ANTONIO – Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 281 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from May 8 to May 14, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons. Charges were brought against human smugglers, alleged visa fraudsters, and illegal aliens with past convictions for numerous DWIs, violent crimes, drug trafficking, and multiple prior removals.

Among the new cases, an illegal alien from Mexico residing in Crane, south of Odessa, is charged with fraud and misuse of visas, permits and other documents. Encarnacion Lopez-Sanchez aka Ignacio Hernandez-Gomez has been wanted in Mexico for sexual assault of a minor. Lopez-Sanchez allegedly was admitted into the United States through Del Rio using a border crossing card that limits his entry to within 25 miles of the border. Furthermore, he allegedly obtained an I-94 immigration form with an expiration date of July 9, 2025. An investigation led to the determination that Lopez-Sanchez has been working at an energy company in Crane despite being prohibited from employment. He allegedly submitted to the company a fraudulent Employment Eligibility Verification form and a fraudulent Employee Withholding Certificate. A criminal complaint also alleges Lopez-Sanchez has sent money to sources in Mexico on several occurrences.

In El Paso, a U.S. citizen who was previously convicted at the state level and sentenced to five years in prison for smuggling of persons in 2024, is now federally charged with alien smuggling. Yovani Garcia-Cruz allegedly served as a pick-up driver in a smuggling operation that resulted in the discovery of 14 illegal aliens in a stash house earlier this year. A criminal complaint alleges that Garcia-Cruz sent proof of life videos of illegal aliens to another individual and has smuggled aliens into the United States on at least three occasions.

Erik Rangel-Martinez, an illegal alien from Mexico, was charged with alien smuggling after allegedly attempting to escape back into Mexico with 11 other illegal aliens approximately a mile and a half east of the Bridge of the Americas Port of Entry in El Paso. A criminal complaint alleges that Rangel-Martinez was expecting to be paid $100 to help smuggle illegal aliens into the United States using a ladder at the international border fence.

A criminal complaint alleges that, on Monday, Jaime Rodriguez-Corral presented himself to be a United States citizen to Customs and Border Protection in the pedestrian lane at the Bridge of the Americas POE. Rodriguez-Corral allegedly stated he was on his way home to Nebraska and presented a Mexican driver’s license and U.S. Consulate request sheet. The CBP officer, noticing that the documents lacked a proof of citizenship, processed system queries and received an alert. Further investigation revealed Rodriguez-Corral to be a Mexican citizen previously removed from the United States in May 2020. A felon, his criminal record includes convictions for possession of a fraudulent identification card and multiple assaults.

In Guadalupe County, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper conducted a traffic stop on Santiago Florencio Velazquez-Tobon, who was allegedly driving without a license. According to a criminal complaint affidavit, the trooper requested assistance from San Antonio ICE Enforcement Removal Operations to positively identify a suspected foreign national. The immigration record check showed that Velazquez was an illegal alien from Mexico who had been previously removed in November 2014. A review of Velazquez’s criminal history revealed prior convictions for inflicting corporal injury on a spouse/cohabitant, willful child cruelty with possible injury or death, threatening a witness, assault with a deadly weapon, and unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon. He now faces an illegal re-entry charge in San Antonio.

Erlin Omar Martinez-Carcamo was found in the Hays County Jail on March 23 and identified as an illegal alien from Honduras. ICE lodged a detainer on Martinez-Carcamo, who is now federally charged with illegal re-entry. The Honduran national has been convicted of three DWIs since 2022, along with reckless driving, bail jumping, and failure to identify.

Isaias Garcia-Reynoso, an illegal alien from Mexico who was previously deported in 2023, was found in Williamson County on May 8. In 2017, Garcia-Reynoso was convicted and sentenced to probation for deadly conduct. He was convicted of a DWI in 2022 and now faces an illegal re-entry charge in Austin.

U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Christopher Jesus Carbajal-Lopez, an illegal alien from Honduras and convicted felon, near Maverick. In January 2024, Carbajal-Lopez was convicted in North Carolina for assault with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to 60 days of confinement before being removed to Honduras on Feb. 14, 2024. He now faces an illegal re-entry charge in Del Rio.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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

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SAN ANTONIO – A Baytown man was sentenced in a federal court in San Antonio to 108 months in prison for trafficking methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Terry Lynn Clay, 57, conspired in June 2021 to traffic 992.4 grams of 100% methamphetamine and 526 grams of cocaine. An investigation revealed that Clay purchased the methamphetamine from Timothy Bland in Houston on June 9, 2021. Later that day, Clay gave the narcotics to his associate Tonya Vonci Middleton-Harris for further trafficking. Texas Department of Public Safety arrested Clay and Middleton-Harris shortly after the exchange.

Clay was taken into state custody upon arrest and transferred into federal custody on Feb. 8, 2022. On Oct. 29, 2024, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.

Clay is the last of 10 defendants to be sentenced in this case, presided over by U.S. District Judge Jason K. Pulliam. Middleton-Harris was sentenced to 24 months in prison on March 4. Bland is now serving a 235-month sentence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Spears prosecuted the case.

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

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SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio woman was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas.

According to court documents, Daniella Vasquez, 48, worked as a comptroller for two separate companies between May 2021 and September 2022, where her responsibilities included issuing payments. During her tenure with both employers, Vasquez embezzled $759,235.74, issuing unauthorized payments to herself and her husband, Thomas Vasquez, as well as to companies for personal expenses. She spent much of the embezzled funds on luxury goods, vehicles, concerts, and sporting events, which she flaunted on social media.

Vasquez was arrested on Oct. 25, 2022, by the Shavano Park Police Department on state charges related to her embezzlement from one company. On July 20, 2023, she was interviewed by the FBI at a new place of employment regarding her embezzlement from the other company.

Vazquez was federally indicted on four counts of wire fraud on May 15, 2024. She pleaded guilty to one count on Aug. 5, 2025. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery presided over the case.

“Vasquez abused her employers' trust to live the high life, spending thousands of dollars to attend pop concerts and NFL games while wearing expensive luxury items and even rewarding herself with a $1,500 upscale spa experience,” said U.S. Attorney Simmons. “These greedy criminal schemes are tremendously harmful to the small businesses that are the lifeblood of our community. This sentence demonstrates our office’s commitment to holding fraudsters accountable and sends a message about the consequences they will face when we catch them.”

“The FBI worked closely with the Shavano Park Police Department to hold Vasquez accountable as she abused a position of trust by misusing corporate funds for self-enrichment and greed,” said Alex Doran, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Antonio Field Office. “She used stolen funds to support a lavish lifestyle while flaunting the proceeds of her fraud on social media. The FBI has zero tolerance for fraud and the abuse of trust for personal gain. These crimes cause significant financial harm to businesses and erode public trust.”

The FBI and Shavano Park Police Department investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Yuen prosecuted the case.

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EL PASO, Texas – As a result of diligent work done by members of the Homeland Security Task Force, a Mexican national with Legal Permanent Resident status was sentenced in a federal court in El Paso to 42 months in prison for facilitating alien smuggling operations using cross-border tunnels and storm drains, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Ricardo Guadalupe Dominguez, 54, of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, along with other members of an alien smuggling organization, used a subterranean passage and the connecting storm drain tunnels to bring aliens into the U.S. from Mexico. Dominguez facilitated the human smuggling events by providing vehicles and tools used to tamper and cause damage to the existing storm drains. Dominguez was also identified as being involved with the construction of a man-made cross-border tunnel that was discovered on Jan. 10, 2025.

Dominguez was arrested while attempting to cross into the U.S. from Mexico via the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry. He pleaded guilty on Dec. 17, 2025, to one count of conspiracy to bring in aliens.

Co-defendant Oscar Ivan Carrillo was sentenced in January to 33 months in federal prison for conspiracy to use a border tunnel. Carrillo and others would guide aliens through the tunnels and into the U.S. At the tunnel exit, a box truck modified with a trap door was driven over a manhole cover; the trap door was then opened, allowing the aliens to climb up out of the tunnel and into the box truck without being detected.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Border Patrol investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mathew Engelbaum prosecuted the case.

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

This case is the result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). JTFA, a partnership with DHS, has been elevated and expanded with a mandate to target cartels and transnational criminal organizations to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Colombia. JTFA currently comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border, including the Southern District of California, District of Arizona, District of New Mexico, and Western and Southern Districts of Texas. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section; Office of Enforcement Operations; and the Office of International Affairs, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, DEA, and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 355 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 300 U.S. convictions; more than 250 significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets.

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WACO, Texas – A Puerto Rican man was sentenced in a federal court in Waco today to 188 months in prison for his role in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy to possess that resulted in the death of a U.S. Army spouse, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Gilberto Joel Hernandez-Marin, 31, of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, led a Puerto Rico-based drug trafficking organization with co-conspirator Adxel Romero-Flores, 34, of Bayamon, Puerto Rico. The DTO was found to be directly responsible for the distribution of fentanyl that resulted in the death of a dependent spouse of an active-duty U.S. Army soldier along with the distribution of thousands of fentanyl pills throughout the Western District of Texas.

During the investigation, the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division intercepted approximately 8,100 deadly fentanyl pills from the DTO that were destined for central Texas.

“Hernandez-Marin and his co-conspirators in this Puerto Rican DTO knowingly and recklessly trafficked thousands upon thousands of deadly fentanyl pills into our communities, ultimately killing a U.S. military spouse,” said U.S. Attorney Simmons. “Thanks to the investigative actions of our partners at Army CID, we were able to put a stop to this group’s deadly fentanyl trafficking and hold them accountable.”

Hernandez-Marin, Romero-Flores, and codefendants Julio Samuel Bonilla-Tirado, 44, of Copperas Cove, Juan Carlos Cabral, 34, of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, each pleaded guilty and were sentenced at various stages throughout the case. U.S. District Judge Alan Albright sentenced Bonilla-Tirado to 14 years in prison on July 9, 2025. Romero-Flores was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in prison on Dec. 2, 2025; and Cabral was sentenced to 20 years in prison on March 31.

“These sentencings are the result of outstanding teamwork and dedication from our Special Agents and our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners,” said Special Agent in Charge Lane Allen, Army CID Central Texas Field Office. “This case underscores our commitment to combatting threats of illegal drugs affecting the Army community, regardless of their origins.”

Army CID investigated the case with valuable assistance provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration; ICE Homeland Security Investigations; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigation; the Killeen Police Department; the Copperas Cove Police Department; and the Puerto Rico Police Department. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Blanton prosecuted the cases.

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A Mexican national was sentenced yesterday to 41 months in prison for her involvement in a massive international alien smuggling organization.

“We take seriously organized human smugglers who seek to undermine the integrity and security of our borders and our immigration laws for their ill-gotten gains,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Even criminal smugglers who live outside of our nation’s borders will face the justice of our courts when they violate our laws designed to keep our borders safe and secure.”

“Alien Smuggling Organizations do not care about your hopes and dreams; they care only about your money,” said U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas. “This sentencing represents a major blow to a complex criminal organization that has been successfully dismantled thanks to the work of our AUSAs and law enforcement partners. My office is incredibly proud to work alongside Homeland Security Investigations and other Department of Homeland Security components to continue picking apart these alien smuggling organizations and hitting them where it hurts: in the pocketbook.”

According to court documents, from on or about Nov. 13, 2020, and continuing to March 7, 2023, Monica Hernandez-Palma, 34, and others, were part of an international alien smuggling organization (ASO) that illegally brought thousands of aliens from Afghanistan, Yemen, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Columbia, Guatemala, Honduras, and Ecuador into the United States from Mexico. The ASO operated stash houses in Monterrey, Mexico, and Piedras Negras, Mexico. Hernandez-Palma operated the stash house in Piedras Negras and coordinated with other members of the ASO to transport aliens to the stash house and then into the U.S. illegally. Hernandez-Palma worked with others to house aliens, after which the aliens would meet foot guides who led them across the U.S.-Mexico border by crossing the Rio Grande River.

Hernandez-Palma worked with co-conspirator and San Antonio, Texas-based smuggler, Enil Edil Mejia-Zuniga, who facilitated travel of the aliens from South America to the United States. Mejia-Zuniga directed operations, as well as paid armed “coyotes,” load drivers, and stash house operators. To facilitate their operation, the ASO operated stash houses in Monterrey, Mexico, and Piedras Negras, Mexico. According to court documents, Mejia-Zuniga admitted that the ASO smuggled between 2,500 to 3,000 aliens into the United States in just two years. Mejia-Zuniga stated that the organization charged between $6,500 to $12,000 per alien, totaling approximately $16 to $30 million in financial gain for the ASO.

Enil Edil Mejia-Zuniga was sentenced to ten years in prison on July 9, 2025.

Hernandez-Palma pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bring an alien to the United States and aiding and abetting bringing an alien to the United States for financial gain.

HSI Del Rio led U.S. investigative efforts, working in concert with the HSI Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force, and U.S. Border Patrol. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and extradition of Hernandez-Palma.

Trial Attorney Bethany Allen of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions section, on detail from the Office of International Affairs, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Duarte II, for the Western District of Texas are prosecuting the case.

The investigation and indictment were supported and prosecuted by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), the Department’s lead effort in combating high-impact human smuggling and trafficking committed by cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs). A highly successful partnership between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), JTFA investigates and prosecutes human smuggling and trafficking and related immigration crimes that impact public safety and border security. JTFA’s mission is to target the leaders and organizers of Cartels and TCOs involved in human smuggling and trafficking throughout the Americas. The Attorney General has elevated and expanded JTFA to target the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating not only in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, but also in Canada, the Caribbean and the maritime border, and elsewhere. Led by the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, the Office of International Affairs, and the Office of Enforcement Operations, among others, JTFA has dedicated Assistant United States Attorney-detailees from the Southern District of California; District of Arizona; District of New Mexico; Western and Southern Districts of Texas; Southern District of Florida; Northern District of New York; and District of Vermont. JTFA also partners with other USAOs throughout the country and supports high-priority cases in any district. All JTFA cases rely on substantial law enforcement resources from DHS, including ICE/HSI and CBP/BP and OFO, as well as FBI and other law enforcement agencies. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 455 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling and/or trafficking; more than 400 U.S. convictions; and more than 350 significant jail sentences imposed, and forfeitures of substantial assets.

SAN ANTONIO – A federal grand jury in San Antonio returned an indictment this week charging a New Braunfels woman with actual and attempted malicious damage by fire to property involved in interstate or foreign commerce, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, on Jan. 14, Grace Carol Brown, 22, attempted to set fire to a New Braunfels building that houses the Comal County Republican Party Headquarters and two other commercial businesses. An indictment alleges Brown broke a window of the building and threw a backpack inside. She was then allegedly unsuccessful in her attempt to climb into the building through the broken window and decided to light a rolled magazine on fire and through it inside the building.

Brown allegedly left a note at the scene. The backpack found inside the building allegedly contained, among other items, one container of ethanol, two containers of gasoline, a lighter and matches. An investigation determined that Brown displayed antipathy through writings and actions, toward the goals and activities of the Comal County Republican Party Headquarters, law enforcement elements of the United States government to include ICE, and certain Executive Branch officials whom she allegedly referred to as “Enemies of the U.S. Constitution.” 

Brown was arrested on Jan. 22 and charged in Comal County with burglary of a building and arson. She now faces federal charges as well and, if convicted, faces five to 20 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI is investigating the case with assistance from the New Braunfels Police Department and New Braunfels Fire Marshal’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Mangels is prosecuting the case.

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

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SAN ANTONIO – Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 215 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from May 1 to May 7, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons. Charges were brought against human smugglers and illegal aliens with past convictions for numerous DWIs, violent crime, drug trafficking, theft, and multiple prior removals.

Among the new cases, U.S. citizen Bryan Fernando Guillen was charged with alien smuggling after U.S. Border Patrol agents allegedly observed him dropping off an illegal alien at a stash house in El Paso. A criminal complaint alleges that, on May 4, Guillen was the driver of a Mercedez-Benz that had been under investigation and seen in a TikTok video that was also under investigation for posting content associated with alien smuggling. USBP agents pursued the Mercedes, which allegedly failed to yield to their emergency lights, and continued driving recklessly at a high rate of speed. The complaint alleges that the vehicle was found abandoned at the Ysleta Port of Entry, and that Guillen and a passenger were ultimately arrested as they attempted to run into Mexico through the POE’s southbound vehicle lanes. Agents determined the passenger was not involved in alien smuggling and was released from custody. Guillen, however, allegedly was aware of 12 illegal aliens located at the stash house and had been working with co-conspirators for approximately seven months in several capacities related to human smuggling and harboring illegal aliens.

The May 4 stash house operation in El Paso also resulted in the arrests of Bryan Adrian Flores-Martinez and Hector Emigdio Navarro-Olivas. A criminal complaint alleges that USBP agents observed a red pickup truck traveling from the residence on West Paisano drive to an area near Asarco, where fresh, wet, muddy footprints from six individuals were also found. The complaint alleges that the truck returned to the residence and dropped off six illegal aliens before departing again. Shortly after, Flores-Martinez and Navarro-Olivas allegedly arrived back at the stash house and were seen carrying grocery bags into the residence before departing again. The following day, according to the complaint, Flores-Martinez and Navarro-Olivas were arrested when they sought admission into the U.S. at the Paso Del Norte POE.

On May 2, Salvadoran national David Antonio Lazo-Alvarenga was allegedly found in a field approximately six miles east of the Tornillo POE. A felon, Lazo-Alvarenga has been convicted of three DWIs and was deported for the fourth time on June 23, 2025. 

Alexi Evaristo Turcios-Nunez, an illegal alien from Honduras, faces an illegal re-entry charge in Del Rio. Turcios-Nunez was convicted of aggravated sexual assault in June 2019. He’s been previously removed from the U.S. twice, the last being May 21, 2025.

Mexican national Jose Alexis Alarcon-De La O was arrested by USBP agents on May 3 near Maverick, having been removed from the U.S. in March for the second time. In 2017, he was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Prior to that felony conviction, he was twice convicted for theft of property and once for sale of stolen property.

Hugo Gonzalez-Santa Cruz, also an illegal alien from Mexico, was charged with illegal re-entry after being found in the Travis County Jail following an arrest for assault causing bodily injury. He’s been removed from the U.S. twice, the last being in 2017, and has two DWI convictions.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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

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SAN ANTONIO – A federal jury convicted a Cuban national today on two counts of destruction of government property, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on Jan. 13, Robyn Argote-Brooks, 25, of Havana, Cuba, used his vehicle to damage an SUV and a sedan, both of which were property of the United States and maintained by ICE. The amount of damage to each vehicle exceeded $1,000.

Argote-Brooks was arrested and charged via complaint with one count of destruction of government property. An indictment filed Feb. 4 added a second destruction of government property count as well as a charge of forcibly assaulting a federal officer. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery presided over the three-day jury trial.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case with assistance from ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Walker and Todd Keagle are prosecuting the case. Megan Ramirez, with the office’s Advanced Litigation Support unit, provided technical assistance to the trial team leading up to and during the trial.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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WACO, Texas – Multiple individuals were arrested this week in the Waco area as the result of an investigation into an alleged drug trafficking conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Broughm Cheyenne Pate, Matthew Devin Badger, and Christopher Monroe Sanders were arrested and federally charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. An additional subject was arrested in the operation for unrelated outstanding state warrants.

The operation, led jointly by the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office Organized Crime Unit and Waco Police Department Drug Enforcement Unit, spanned across McLennan, Limestone, and Freestone counties and involved the execution of search warrants in the Waco area, the Mexia area, and Teague. In total, six search warrants were executed in the course of the operation.

The operation also resulted in the seizure of numerous items of evidence, including more than 826 grams of methamphetamine, approximately seven grams of cocaine, and 47.25 grams of marijuana. Three firearms were also seized, along with $4,384 in suspected drug proceeds and one vehicle.

If convicted, Pate, Badger and Sanders each face 10 years to life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, McLennan County Sheriff's Office, Waco Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service, Teague Police Department, and Limestone County Sheriff's Office are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Smith-Burris is prosecuting the case.

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

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DEL RIO, Texas – A federal jury in Del Rio convicted a Dale man on two counts of firearms trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Bobby Brandon Galvan aka “Puravidarecia,” 30, was affiliated with the La Nueva Familia Michoacana (LNFM) cartel and straw purchased numerous weapons, to include an AK-47 rifle that was recovered after it was used in a shootout between cartel members and Mexican law enforcement. On Feb. 20, 2025, LNFM was officially designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity by the U.S. Department of State.

An investigation led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found that, between Sept. 16, 2023, and April 14, 2024, Galvan had purchased 24 AK-47 styled firearms, all of which ended up in Toluca, Mexico for use by Mexican cartels. At trial, the leaders of criminal conspiracy were identified as Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga aka “El Pez,” and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga aka “El Fresa.” 

Galvan’s straw purchasing activity was part of a larger criminal operation carried out by LNFM, a transnational criminal organization. In his role, Galvan would purchase the firearms, attempt to obliterate their serial numbers, and transfer the firearms to co-conspirators who would then traffic them to Mexico.

Galvan was arrested July 29, 2025, and indicted on Aug. 20 for one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms and one count of straw purchase of firearms. Galvan is one of 26 defendants indicted for charges ranging from firearms trafficking to illegal alien smuggling to money laundering.

Galvan faces up to 40 years in federal prison for each of the two counts. 18 of the indicted co-conspirators have pleaded guilty and await their sentencing hearings.  Chief U.S. District Judge Alia Moses presides over the case.

“This trial is significant in that, not only did it trace two dozen rifles from a Texas town to a Mexican cartel, but it is one of the first trials in the nation to involve a conspiracy to traffic firearms under the relatively new firearms trafficking statute,” said U.S. Attorney Simmons. “I want to extend my congratulations and gratitude to our federal prosecutors and all of our law enforcement partners who contributed to this well-deserved result. I also want to thank the members of the jury for fulfilling their honorable duty as Americans. Let this verdict show that the Western District of Texas and the American People will not stand idly by and allow anyone to arm our adversaries in violation of federal law."

“This conviction underscores ATF and our law enforcement partners’ unwavering commitment to stopping the flow of illegal firearms from our communities into the hands of violent cartel organizations” said ATF Houston Special Agent in Charge Michael Weddel. “The defendant’s actions directly fueled armed violence in Mexico, and we will not allow our communities to be exploited as a source of weapons for transnational criminal groups. ATF and our partners will continue to identify, investigate, and dismantle these trafficking networks at every level.”

“Homeland Security Investigations is committed to dismantling the networks that supply weapons to violent transnational criminal organizations,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge John A Pasciucco, HSI San Antonio. “This conviction demonstrates the impact of coordinated federal law enforcement efforts to disrupt the flow of firearms fueling cartel violence in Mexico. HSI will continue to aggressively pursue those who threaten the safety of our communities and our national security by trafficking firearms across our borders.”

“I would like to highlight the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ critical role in our Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) efforts, bringing specialized expertise to the firearms trafficking component of this case,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Alex Doran of the FBI San Antonio Field Office. “Through the HSTF framework, and working alongside FBI Kansas City, FBI’s Law Enforcement Attache Office in Mexico City, and Homeland Security Investigations, we leveraged actionable intelligence and combined our respective expertise to disrupt weapons trafficking networks tied to La Nueva Familia Michoacana. HSTF collaboration remains central to our mission as we work to identify and dismantle transnational criminal organizations—wherever they operate—and hold them accountable.”

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Warsame Galaydh and Brett Miner are prosecuting the case.

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

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SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio felon pleaded guilty Thursday to two federal charges related to ATM explosions in September 2025 and his possession of multiple firearms, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Dustin Jay Ammons, 44, attempted to destroy ATMs at two San Antonio banks on Sept. 12 and Sept. 26, 2025. Surveillance video showed Ammons arriving at the banks in a black Ram 3500 pickup truck, wearing black gloves with a skeleton hand design, a black hooded jacket or sweatshirt, dark blue pants, and black and white training shoes, and placing pipe bombs at the ATMs. The footage from both videos also showed explosions that resulted in unsuccessful breaches of the machines.

On Dec. 12, 2025, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives executed a federal search warrant at Ammons’s residence. Inside the garage, agents discovered a homemade explosives lab containing Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN). Agents also located firearms (including a 9mm short-barreled rifle), magazines, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition throughout the house, as well as a pipe bomb in Ammons’s vehicle.

ATF queried the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) for Ammons and his address, and found no firearms, short-barreled rifles or destructive devices registered to him. Additionally, Ammons does not possess a license or permit allowing him to possess, manufacture, transfer, or ship explosive materials such as PETN.

Ammons has been previously convicted of multiple felonies, including possession of a stolen firearm, possession of burglary tools, and multiple counts of theft and burglary of a building.

Ammons pleaded guilty to one count of felon in possession of a firearm and one count of explosive materials, transport by non-licensee. He faces up to 15 years in prison for the possession charge and a maximum of 10 years in prison for the transport charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The ATF, FBI, and San Antonio Police Department are investigating the case with assistance from the San Antonio Arson and Bomb Squad and Bexar County Fire Marshal.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Wannarka is prosecuting the case.

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SAN ANTONIO – Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 253 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from April 24 to April 30, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons. Charges were brought against human smugglers and illegal aliens with past convictions for numerous DWIs, violent crime, sex crime, drug trafficking, and multiple prior removals.

Among the new cases, Julian Hernandez, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in El Paso and charged with alien smuggling. A criminal complaint alleges U.S. Border Patrol agents observed four individuals run toward a vehicle parked in a parking lot, lay down in an effort to conceal themselves and, after the vehicle drove toward them, entered the vehicle. Agents responded and followed the vehicle to a residential area, where they allegedly observed the driver running away from the vehicle. The driver, allegedly determined to be Hernandez, was caught and the four illegal aliens were placed under arrest. The complaint alleges Hernandez attempted to transport four illegal aliens to a stash house and had been offered $200 for each individual he successfully transported.

Guillermo Gonzalo Taperia-Ruiz, an illegal alien from Guatemala, was found approximately six miles east of the Fort Hancock Port of Entry. He had previously been removed from the U.S. for the fourth time on Oct. 31, 2025, and has been convicted multiple times for charges including statutory rape, assault causing bodily injury, domestic assault, and a DUI.

Geronimo Reyes-Delgadillo, an illegal alien from Mexico, was found approximately 25 miles east of the Fort Hancock POE. He was last removed in 2015. In 2010, Reyes-Delgadillo was convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to 18 months of probation.

Mexican national Francisco Antonio Marquez Sanprano was taken into ICE custody from the Bastrop County Jail, where he had been arrested for an alleged DWI. Marquez Sanprano has been convicted for DWI twice before and was also previously convicted for one count of failing to stop and give information and one count of giving false information. He’s been removed from the U.S. three times.

Jose Alberto Castro-Gatica, also an illegal alien from Mexico, was taken into ICE custody from the Travis County Jail following his second DWI conviction. Castro-Garcia has also been removed from the U.S. three times and, in January 2020, was twice convicted for improper entry by an alien.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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

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EL PASO – A U.S. citizen and an illegal alien from Venezuela were charged in a federal court in El Paso this week for their alleged involvement in a human smuggling operation, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, U.S. Border Patrol agents served a federal search warrant at an El Paso residence on April 20. Prior to serving the warrant, agents conducting surveillance followed two individuals who left the residence and detained them for additional investigation. One of the individuals, Edith Marie Dominguez, was found to be a U.S. citizen, while the other, Gregory Jose Daniel Martinez-Tovar, was an illegal alien from Venezuela. USBP agents, along with partner agencies, then returned to the residence on Bon Aire Drive to serve the warrant.

During the search of the residence, agents allegedly encountered deplorable living conditions, including scattered trash and covered windows, consistent with operations of a stash house. 10 adults and three juveniles were allegedly found in various rooms of the residence. All of the adults and one of the unaccompanied juveniles were confirmed to be illegally present.

Additionally, according to court documents and testimony during Monday’s detention hearing, agents located other evidence of smuggling during the search, including ledgers, cell phones, U.S. currency, and multiple firearms.

Dominguez and Martinez-Tovar, who had only been detained before the search, were then arrested and charged with one count of alien smuggling. A criminal complaint alleges that Dominguez had been involved in the smuggling operation for approximately one year. She also allegedly admitted to working with a smuggler to transport aliens within the El Paso area and to Albuquerque, New Mexico, assisting others to avoid detection while smuggling aliens through USBP checkpoints in New Mexico. Both Dominguez and Martinez-Tovar allegedly admitted to acting as caretakers of the stash house.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Van Pelt is prosecuting the case.

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

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SAN ANTONIO – Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 245 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from April 17 to April 23, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons. Charges were brought against human smugglers and illegal aliens with past convictions for numerous DWIs, violent crime, including crimes against children, drug trafficking, and multiple prior removals.

Among the new cases, Daniel Calderon-Ortiz, a convicted felon and illegal alien from Mexico, was arrested after U.S. Border Patrol agents found that he had allegedly transported an illegal alien to an apartment in El Paso. A criminal complaint alleges that Calderon-Ortiz had picked up the illegal alien off of I-10 and had previously picked up other aliens and housed them in the apartment. Calderon-Ortiz was last deported in September 2014 following a conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon the month prior.

In Alpine, USBP agents arrested U.S. citizen Peyton Russell Ortiz on April 19 near Big Bend National Park. The vehicle allegedly driven by Ortiz was linked to a failed smuggling attempt that occurred in February. As described in a criminal complaint, agents observed the vehicle slow down and stop on the side of the road upon seeing a marked USBP patrol unit. Without activating their emergency equipment, agents decided to conduct a welfare check. The complaint notes  Ortiz’s unkempt appearance and alleges that he exhibited signs of nervousness, erratic behavior, and movement while agents questioned him. Ortiz allegedly stated that he and a female front passenger were the only two occupants in the vehicle, though upon further investigation, USBP agents detained five individuals attempting to hide in the rear passenger seat and six additional concealed individuals in the truck bed—all 11 of whom were confirmed to be illegal aliens. The complaint further alleges that a search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of a loaded firearm in the front seat center console. Ortiz is charged with one count of human smuggling.

Ricardo Marquina Castillo, an illegal alien from Mexico, was arrested on April 16 and charged with illegal re-entry in Del Rio after just being deported the week before. Marquina Castillo’s criminal record contains five DWIs out of Minnesota. His removal through El Paso on April 7 was his 11th.

Mexican national Martin Macedo-Aroyo was arrested on April 18 near Maverick and charged with illegal re-entry. His criminal record consists of five convictions, including a felony third DWI and two convictions for contempt of court. He was deported for the second time on Sept. 29, 2025.

Alexis Santos Alvarado, an illegal alien from Honduras, was charged with illegal re-entry in Del Rio. Santos Alvarado was convicted in July 2025 for unlawful restraint of a minor and sentenced to one year in jail. He was deported the following month through Harlingen.

Yimy Jose Lopez-Mejia aka Jimmy Lopez-Mejia, also an illegal alien from Honduras, was charged with illegal re-entry in Del Rio, having been previously removed from the U.S. four times, the last being in December through Miami, Florida. Lopez-Mejia is a convicted felon with a confirmed record of aggravated assault and robbery.

On April 20, Mexican national Joel Gomez-Cruz was transferred to ICE custody in San Antonio from the Bexar County Adult Detention Center after he was sentenced to 209 days confinement for assault causing bodily injury. Gomez-Cruz was arrested on Sept. 22, 2025, for assault on a peace officer/judge. Through immigration records, he was determined to be an illegal alien previously removed from the United States in 2013. His past convictions include aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute marijuana in 2006, which resulted in 24 months imprisonment, and illegal re-entry in 2010, resulting in 46 months imprisonment.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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

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An indictment was unsealed today in the Western District of Texas charging Jafar Tafakori, 57, an Iranian national, for his role in coordinating the smuggling of illegal aliens into the United States. Tafakori was arrested in Colombia at the request of the United States.

According to the indictment, from at least Dec. 1, 2022, through on or about May 15, 2024, Tafakori illegally brought large numbers of aliens, primarily Iranian nationals, into the United States. In exchange for payment, Tafakori coordinated with others to provide shelter, transportation, and occasionally airline tickets for the aliens to travel through South and Central America and Mexico. Tafakori charged some aliens as much as $30,000 for his services. Once at the U.S./Mexico border, the aliens were directed to illegally enter the United States.

“Securing our borders and stopping alien smuggling is a top priority for the Department of Justice,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This defendant allegedly transported many illegal aliens into the United States, exploiting our nation’s immigration laws and depriving our immigration officials the ability to vet and review the individuals entering our communities. Thanks to the hard work of our prosecutors and investigative partners, this individual was arrested in Colombia and will be brought to justice in the United States for his crimes.”

“Jafar Tafakori allegedly smuggled Iranian nationals illegally into the United States for 18 months,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Based on this indictment, Colombian authorities acted fast and arrested Tafakori, and when he is extradited, he will face justice in the United States. Those who endanger our communities by participating in human smuggling across our borders will be apprehended regardless of if they live in the United States or abroad.”

“Tafakori’s actions demonstrate the inherent dangers of an open-border policy,” said U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas. “The enemy was at the gate, and the gate was left wide open. Tafakori’s indictment and arrest, which was facilitated by members of the Homeland Security Task Force, reinforce this administration’s commitment to securing our borders, protecting Americans, and diligently prosecuting those who took advantage of derelict open-border policies.”

“Homeland Security Investigations remains steadfast in its pursuit of transnational criminal organizations that endanger national security by smuggling illegal aliens from regions associated with criminal activity,” said acting Special Agent in Charge John A. Pasciucco, HSI San Antonio. “HSI’s ongoing investigations focus on identifying, disrupting, and dismantling these networks to ensure those who threaten the safety of our communities are brought to justice. Our commitment to protecting the homeland is unwavering, and we will continue to use all available resources to prevent individuals with dangerous intentions from exploiting our borders.”

“The arrest of this Iranian national involved in smuggling large numbers of individuals — primarily fellow Iranian citizens — into the United States underscores the global reach and threat of human smuggling networks,” said Assistant Director Ricardo Mayoral of HSI International Operations. “This outcome, made possible through close coordination between HSI San Antonio, HSI Bogotá, and our Colombian partners, reflects HSI’s unwavering commitment to protecting our borders and disrupting transnational criminal activity.”

Tafakori is charged with one count of conspiracy to bring an alien to the United States and five counts of bringing an alien to the United States for financial gain. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each count. If convicted of three or more counts of illegally bringing an alien to the United States for financial gain, Tafakori faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum penalty of fifteen years.

Colombian authorities issued a warrant and arrested Takafori on April 23 in Pereira, Colombia, pursuant to a request from the United States.  

HSI San Antonio conducted the investigation along with assistance from the HSI Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center, HSI Bogotá, and United States Border Patrol’s Del Rio Sector Intelligence Unit. Significant assistance was provided by HSI Bogota’s Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit from the Colombian National Police’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (TCIU-DIJIN) and the Colombian Attorney General’s Office.  

Trial Attorney Bethany Allen of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions section, on detail from the Office of International Affairs, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian Rosales for the Western District of Texas are prosecuting the case.

The Justice Department’s Office of the Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Office of International Affairs, and Interpol Washington provided significant assistance in this matter. The Justice Department thanks its Colombian law enforcement partners for their expeditious enforcement operation.

The investigation and indictment were supported and prosecuted by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), the Department’s lead effort in combating high-impact human smuggling and trafficking committed by cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs). A highly successful partnership between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), JTFA investigates and prosecutes human smuggling and trafficking and related immigration crimes that impact public safety and border security. JTFA’s mission is to target the leaders and organizers of Cartels and TCOs involved in human smuggling and trafficking throughout the Americas. The Attorney General has elevated and expanded JTFA to target the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating not only in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, but also in Canada, the Caribbean and the maritime border, and elsewhere. Led by the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, the Office of International Affairs, and the Office of Enforcement Operations, among others, JTFA has dedicated Assistant United States Attorney-detailees from the Southern District of California; District of Arizona; District of New Mexico; Western and Southern Districts of Texas; Southern District of Florida; Northern District of New York; and District of Vermont. JTFA also partners with other USAOs throughout the country and supports high-priority cases in any district. All JTFA cases rely on substantial law enforcement resources from DHS, including ICE/HSI and CBP/BP and OFO, as well as FBI and other law enforcement agencies. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 455 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling and/or trafficking; more than 400 U.S. convictions; and more than 350 significant jail sentences imposed, and forfeitures of substantial assets.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes these organizations commit, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

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

SAN ANTONIO – A federal jury in San Antonio convicted an Ecuadorian national for threatening to murder a federal official, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on or about July 24, 2023, Sergio Renato Tapia, 31, called the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park and left a voicemail that included a violent threat to murder a National Park Service ranger. NPS rangers immediately recognized Tapia's voice and worked quickly with the U.S. Marshals Service to apprehend him on July 26.

NPS rangers had previously encountered Tapia on numerous occasions at Mission Concepcion, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to an active Catholic church, citing him several times for unlawful possession of a controlled substance. This week, in front of U.S. District Judge Jason Pulliam, the jury unanimously found Tapia had intentionally communicated a threat to murder a federal official, rejecting Tapia's insanity defense after deliberating for one hour.

The NPS and USMS investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Mangels is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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DEL RIO, Texas – A Mexican national was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio to 210 months in prison for importing 163 kgs of liquid methamphetamine from Mexico into the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas.

According to court documents, on June 5, 2022, Paul Ivan Palmero-Martinez, 51, pulled up to the Eagle Pass Port of Entry driving a Ford F350 tow truck. He stated that he was traveling from Piedras Negras to San Antonio to purchase motor bikes for his business in Mexico, and that he had nothing to declare.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers (CBPO) directed Palmero-Martinez to secondary inspection, where he stated he was traveling to San Antonio to purchase an engine. A CBPO opened the back compartment of Palmero-Martinez’s vehicle and located two large propane tanks that looked and smelled as if they were recently painted. A K9 alerted to the smell of narcotics. Further inspection revealed anomalies in the propane tanks, which were then cut open to reveal six large packages of methamphetamine with a total weight of 168.2 kgs.

Palmero-Martinez told ICE Homeland Security Investigations agents that a co-conspirator was supposed to pay him for transporting the methamphetamine to San Antonio. He further admitted that he had previously transported the F350 from Mexico to San Antonio through the Del Rio Port of Entry to establish a crossing history and that he received $800 from the co-conspirator for doing so.

Following his arrest, Palmero-Martinez was charged in a four-count indictment. He pleaded guilty to one count on Sept. 19, 2022. Chief U.S. District Judge Alia Moses presided over the case.

ICE HSI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Miner prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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SAN ANTONIO – Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 221 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from April 10 to April 16, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons. Charges were brought against human smugglers and illegal aliens with past convictions for kidnapping, numerous DWIs, theft, violent crime, and multiple prior removals.

Among the new cases, U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended an illegal alien whom they had observed running north from the U.S.-Mexico border in the El Paso area. A criminal complaint alleges that one of the agents observed that the alien’s cell phone rang repeatedly and that, using the alien’s cell phone, the agents were led to a location on East Paisano Drive. According to the complaint, they encountered Mexican national Carlos Alberto Cardona at the location, where he had arranged to pick up the alien to assist with smuggling. Cardona stated he himself had entered the U.S. illegally on March 25 and agreed to work for a smuggling organization to avoid paying his own smuggling fee. Additionally, the complaint alleges Cardona would be paid $500 per week for taking care of illegal aliens and would transport them to a stash house. Further investigation led the USBP agents to the stash house where they allegedly located 14 illegal aliens and arrested Pedro Anaya-Anaya, an alleged caretaker who had also illegally crossed into the U.S. on March 25 and agreed to work for the smugglers in lieu of paying a smuggling fee balance of $3,500. Both Cardona and Anaya-Anaya now face human smuggling charges.

Juan Carlos Andrade-Martinez, an illegal alien from Mexico, was encountered on July 4, 2023, at the El Paso County Detention Facility, where he faced state charges for kidnapping. Last month, on March 17, he was convicted and sentenced to 32 months imprisonment. Andrade-Martinez was transferred to ICE custody on April 9 and is now charged with illegal re-entry. He was previously convicted for improper entry by an alien in 2010 and was last removed from the U.S. in November 2019.

A criminal complaint alleges that Mexican national Moises Velazquez-Perez was found near the Burlington North Santa Fe Railyard in El Paso after being previously deported twice, the last being on Dec. 19, 2025. In June 2023, Velazquez-Perez was convicted of resisting an officer with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer. Prior to that, he was arrested for assault and convicted of resisting an officer in 2008.

Ecuadorian national Bosco Joel Idrovo-Soto was arrested in El Paso after being identified as an illegal alien. In 2004, Idrovo-Soto was convicted of aggravated assault in New Jersey and sentenced to 364 days in jail. He was removed from the U.S. in September 2009 following an arrest for shoplifting.

U.S. citizen Frank Camacho was charged with transportation of illegal aliens in San Antonio. According to a criminal complaint, a USBP agent conducted a traffic stop on a pickup truck driven by Camacho on Texas State Highway 85 near Dilley. The complaint alleges that, while approaching the vehicle, the agent observed a single male in camouflage clothing lying flat on the floorboard. The individual was determined to be an illegal alien. Additionally, the complaint alleges that Camacho possessed a fully loaded 9mm handgun in in the center console of the vehicle.

Cesar Reyna-Ramirez, an illegal alien from Mexico, was arrested in San Antonio and charged with illegally re-entering the United States. Reyna-Ramirez was previously encountered at the Kendall County Jail in 2024 following an arrest for an obscured license plate. Despite an immigration detainer, he was not released to ICE custody. On Wednesday, ICE Enforcement Removal Operations and USBP agents conducted a traffic stop on Reyna-Ramirez near Loop 410 North and U.S. Highway 87. A review of his criminal history revealed Reyna-Ramirez was previously convicted of transportation of an unlawful alien within the U.S. and sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.

Honduran national Roger Andino Gomez-Dominguez aka Jose Jeremias Dominguez was arrested by USBP agents near Maverick and charged with illegal re-entry. Gomez-Dominguez has been deported thrice before, the last being in March 2024, following a conviction for stalking. In 2023, he was convicted of a DUI and threatening crime with intent to terrorize.

ICE arrested Mexican national Felipe Marquez-Rangel in Travis County on Wednesday, charging him with illegal re-entry. Marquez-Rangel has been removed from the U.S. three times, the last being in August 2018, following his second DWI.

Rodolfo Renteria-Mendez, also an illegal alien from Mexico, was found in Caldwell County on April 13. Immigration records indicated that Renteria-Mendez was previously removed for the second time in July 2017, after being convicted of his second DWI. He is now charged with illegal re-entry.

Hector Perez-Sales aka Marvin Perez-Sales, an illegal alien from Guatemala was found in Williamson County on April 13. Perez-Sales has been previously removed from the U.S. seven times, the last being in September 2017.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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

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AUSTIN, Texas – A Cayman national who renounced his U.S. citizenship pleaded guilty today to evading payment of more than $1.5 million of federal income tax liabilities.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Justin Ryan Schmidt, formerly of Austin, managed a hedge fund focusing on cryptocurrency investments. Between 2020 and March 2022, Schmidt earned a total of more than $6 million from his hedge fund but did not report any of this income on his 2020, 2021 or 2022 tax returns. Instead, Schmidt falsely reported earning income of $5,000 or less during each of those years. At the same time, he held millions of dollars in foreign bank accounts that he failed to disclose to the IRS.

In November 2021, Schmidt became a British citizen. He renounced his U.S. citizenship in March 2022. Individuals who expatriate from the United States are required to report certain information to the IRS about their net worth, income, assets, and liabilities as of the date of their expatriation. Schmidt willfully filed a false expatriation statement reporting that his net worth was $25,000 at the time of expatriation, when in fact it exceeded $2 million, and stating that he had complied with his tax obligations for the preceding five years when he knew that he had not.

In 2023, Schmidt paid approximately $5.8 million to purchase real property in Snowmass Village, Colorado, and sold the property a few months later for approximately $9 million. Schmidt had a duty to report his U.S. sourced income, but did not report the gains from this sale and evaded payment of taxes by submitting false documents to prevent taxes from being withheld on the sale.

Schmidt pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion. His sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.  He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, as well as restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Senior Litigation Counsel Michael C. Boteler and Trial Attorney Michael Jones of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Gardner assisted at the hearing.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announce the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars.  Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

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WACO, Texas – A Santa Rosa man who previously resided on Fort Hood was sentenced in a federal court in Waco today to 240 months in prison for distributing child sexual abuse material to minors, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Gilbert Andrew Longoria, 23, possessed and operated accounts on Instagram and Snapchat where he pretended to be a 15-year-old male seeking nude photos of minor females. Longoria admitted to having approximately 70 images of child pornography from minor females and that he maintained an online relationship with a 14-year-old female for several months, throughout which they exchanged nude photos of each other.

Longoria was arrested on June 5, 2025, and pleaded guilty to the indicted charge on Dec. 16, 2025. U.S. District Judge Alan Albright presided over the case.

The FBI and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Gloff prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

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SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man was sentenced today to 37 months in federal prison for tax evasion, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Juan R. Gonzalez, 52, owned and operated a residential construction business in San Antonio, under the name Gonzalez Construction, working as a subcontractor for other entities. During tax years 2020 and 2021, Gonzalez organized his personal and business financial activities so as to evade the assessment of his federal income taxes. He did this by commingling funds, dealing extensively in cash, using a nominee name, handling his affairs to avoid making the records usual in transactions of the kind, and other conduct intended to mislead or conceal. Gonzalez did not file tax returns for tax years 2020 and 2021, during which he earned approximately $1,030,079.45 of taxable income, resulting in a tax due and owing of approximately $370,752.64.

Gonzalez, who was previously convicted of tax evasion in 2011, was indicted in May 2025 on 22 counts, including two tax evasion counts, 18 counts of structuring currency transactions, and two counts of identity theft. He pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion on Jan. 7. In addition to imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez ordered Gonzalez pay $370,752.64 in restitution to the IRS.

“Gonzalez is returning to federal prison having not learned after his first conviction 15 years ago, that the U.S. government does not tolerate those who try to undermine our tax laws,” said U.S. Attorney Simmons. “Every American has a legal duty to pay their taxes, and today's sentencing—on Tax Day of all days—is a good reminder of the consequences awaiting those who refuse to do so.”

"Gonzalez didn't learn to respect the law and society after his first 30 months in prison, so maybe losing his freedom for 37 more months will deter him from deceiving his employers, financial institutions and our nation," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Rodrick Benton of IRS Criminal Investigation's Houston Field Office. "Tax evasion is willfully deciding to avoid paying taxes. Today is Tax Day. Make the right decision."

IRS-CI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Harris prosecuted the case.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars.  Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

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DEL RIO, Texas – An illegal alien from Mexico was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio today to 330 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Jose Antonio Gabaldon-Salas, 30, of Nuevo Leon, was pulled over by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper on July 16, 2023, driving south on Interstate Highway 35 near Abbott. A K-9 conducted a free-air sniff of Gabaldon-Salas’s vehicle, alerting to the odor of narcotics near the seam of the rear door on the driver’s side. The trooper removed the door panel to discover three colored plastic bags containing eight bundles of rubber-banded U.S. currency along with a half brick of a white powdery substance. Further investigation revealed two more bundles of rubber-banded U.S. currency inside a black backpack on the passenger seat.

A chemical analysis determined that the substance found in Gabaldon-Salas’s vehicle was 520.24 grams of cocaine. The bundled cash totaled $38,685. Gabaldon-Salas stated that he worked for a drug trafficking organization (DTO) since October 2022, operating as a money counter before being promoted to driver. As a driver, he trafficked cocaine to Dallas and returned bulk cash to the border area to be smuggled into Mexico.

Gabaldon-Salas admitted to transporting between six and 12 kilograms of cocaine per month from December 2022 up until his July 2023 arrest. He also stated that he worked for the DTO both for money and out of fear, saying that he had been threatened on numerous occasions and that he witnessed another member of the organization hire a hitman to shoot a cocaine dealer/business partner in Mexico.

Gabaldon-Salas revealed that he resided at an Austin apartment with a co-conspirator and the co-conspirator’s girlfriend. A search of the apartment resulted in the discovery of $58,695, believed to be proceeds from narcotics trafficking.

Gabaldon-Salas was arrested on July 16, 2023, and indicted on Oct. 18, 2023. He pleaded guilty on April 29, 2024. Chief U.S. District Judge Alia Moses presided over the case.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Miner prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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AUSTIN, Texas – An Armenian national pleaded guilty in a federal court in Austin today to participating in a criminal conspiracy to export goods from the United States to the Russian Federation through the Republic of Armenia without the requisite license or authorization from the U.S. government.

According to court documents, from February 2022 until at least August 2024, Kamo Kirakosyan knowingly and willfully combined, conspired, and agreed with others to export and reexport goods subject to the Export Administration Regulations without having first obtained the required licenses from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry & Security. The exported goods included items that could be used for semiconductor manufacturing.

Kirakosyan became the straw or substitute purchaser of the U.S.-origin goods for his co-conspirators shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, and the imposition of additional sanctions and export restrictions on Russia. As part of the scheme, Kirakosyan sent a co-conspirator instructions on opening a bank account in Armenia for the purpose of evading sanctions. While arranging the transshipment of goods to Russia, Kirakosyan represented himself to U.S. companies as the Armenian buyer of goods and did not provide truthful information about the end users, despite the U.S. companies’ requests for end user statements, and despite Kirakosyan’s knowledge that the unauthorized export or reexport to Russia of certain shipments was prohibited without a license. On Feb. 23, 2023, the company Kirakosyan conspired with was designated by Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control on the Specially Designated Nationals List, subjecting the Russian company to U.S. blocking sanctions and a general prohibition on transacting with U.S. persons or entities.

Kirakosyan was initially charged in a criminal complaint on or about July 31, 2024. He was extradited from Germany to the U.S. on Aug. 29, 2025, and pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to violate federal law. He faces up to five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons, made the announcement.

The FBI San Antonio Counterintelligence Task Force, comprised of the Bureau of Industry and Security of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and other partners, is leading the investigation. The FBI’s Legal Attaché office in Berlin provided significant assistance. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also played a key role in securing Kirakosyan’s extradition to the United States.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Roomberg and Keith Henneke are prosecuting the case with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

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SAN ANTONIO – Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 261 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from April 3 to April 9, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons.

Charges were brought against human smugglers and illegal aliens who, as a group, had the following prior convictions: DWI (19), aggravated assault (1), evading arrest/detention (5),  assault family violence (1), theft (1), possession with intent to distribute (2), burglary of a habitation (2), possession of a controlled substance (6), rape (1), failure to register as a sex offender (1), voter retaliation (1), reckless driving (1), resisting arrest (1), assault family violence-impeding breath (1), failure to ID (3), assault bodily injury (1), fictitious license plate (1), failure to appear (1), and aggravated robbery (1). The vast majority of these crimes were committed by illegal aliens found in and around Austin.

Among the new cases, convicted sex offender Jorge Guerrero-Martinez, an illegal alien from Mexico, was arrested near Val Verde. Guerrero-Martinez was recently deported for the third time on March 13, after being charged in Missouri for failing to register as a sex offender. In 2010, he was convicted of second-degree statutory rape and sentenced to five years in prison. He was then convicted in 2017 of illegal re-entry and sentenced to 57 months confinement.

U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Mexican national Enrique Eleuterio Lopez-Rocha for illegal re-entry near Maverick. Lopez-Rocha was deported for the second time in May 2025 following a six-month prison sentence for probation violation. His criminal record includes cocaine trafficking in 2020, along with three DWIs.

Samuel Castro, a U.S. citizen, was arrested and charged with alien smuggling in El Paso on April 6. USBP agents apprehended an illegal alien approximately half a mile east of the Bridge of the Americas Port of Entry. A criminal complaint alleges that during the apprehension, the agents observed a vehicle parked nearby and questioned its two occupants. Castro was the driver of the vehicle, who allegedly told agents that he intended to pick up and transport two illegal aliens and expected to be paid $500 for each. Castro allegedly claimed to be involved in alien smuggling since 2023, operating as a coordinator and a driver. In October 2024, he was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and evading arrest with a vehicle.

In San Antonio, Miguel Manzano-Ramirez was encountered after he was arrested by Hollywood Park Police on a public intoxication charge on April 5. He was determined to be an illegal alien from Mexico and later transferred to ICE custody. A review of his criminal history revealed that Manzano-Ramirez has been convicted of three DWIs.

Mexican national Arturo Castro Hernandez was transferred to federal custody on April 6 after being found in Bastrop County. He has been removed from the U.S. twice, and previously convicted of three DWIs, evading arrest, reckless driving, and failure to identify. He now faces an illegal re-entry charge in Austin.

Also found in Bastrop, Adan Tolentino Guerrero is an illegal alien from Mexico with two prior removals. He was arrested and convicted in 2025 for fleeing from a police officer and his third DWI. He was also convicted of possession of a controlled substance in 2018 and illegal re-entry in 2020.

Honorio Victorino-Rebollar, another illegal alien from Mexico with three prior DWI convictions, was charged with illegal re-entry for the third time after he was found in Travis County on April 5. His last removal was Sept. 5, 2018.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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

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SAN ANTONIO – A federal jury convicted a San Antonio woman today on 11 counts of aiding or assisting in the filing of a false tax return, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Natasha Sheree Banks-Brown, 45, owned and operated a tax preparation business named “Tasha’s Total Tax Service,” beginning in 2016. In December 2020, IRS Criminal Investigations began investigating an increasing number of questionable tax returns prepared by Banks-Brown.

The investigation revealed that Banks-Brown filed individual tax returns on behalf of her clients which included false and fraudulent deductions and credits which significantly increased their tax refunds.   Banks-Brown never quoted a specific price for her services and said that she would take her fee out of the return.  As part of her fraudulent scheme, she used tax preparation software that allowed her to designate returns to be deposited into a bank account she controlled. The client would then receive a portion of the return via a transfer from Banks-Brown’s bank account to the client’s account. Multiple clients testified that they never received a copy of the tax return themselves or reviewed the returns with Banks-Brown, and that they were unaware of her actions. Evidence introduced at trial indicated that Banks-Brown filed close to 1,200 tax returns between 2017 and 2021 that resulted in over $8 million dollars of refunds.  

Banks-Brown was indicted on April 3, 2024, and arrested April 16, 2024. A jury was selected on April 6, 2026, and a four-day trial, presided over by U.S. District Judge David Ezra, began on April 7. A sentencing hearing is currently scheduled for July 13.

“Everyone rightly wants to get the best deal on their tax preparation and the largest refund possible, but some things are just too good to be true,” said U.S. Attorney Simmons. “The public should be aware that tax preparers may have the incentive to defraud the IRS for their own personal benefit and to the detriment of their clients.  This defendant abused the trust of her clients to make more than a million dollars for herself and cost the government several times that amount. This tax season, and every tax season, taxpayers should make sure to properly vet their tax preparers and keep an eye out for any suspicious behavior both to protect themselves and the country as a whole from these types of fraudsters.”

“We use tried and true investigative techniques, including undercover special agents, to document what a return preparer does when they think the government isn’t looking,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Rodrick Benton of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Houston Field Office. “In this case, the evidence was very clear that the tax fraud was committed. As tax season comes to a close, be careful who you let file your tax returns.”

IRS-CI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Chung and Ryan Groomer are prosecuting the case.

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DEL RIO, Texas – An Alabama man was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio to 96 months in prison for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens placing lives in jeopardy, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Joel Contreras Jr., 33, of Albertville, Alabama, was a member of the Guzman Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO), an international criminal enterprise operating in Oklahoma, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana and Mexico. Directly connected to the Cartel De Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), the organization traffics guns and drugs and smuggles illegal aliens into the United States.

From May 2021 through June 1, 2022, Contreras communicated with other members of the criminal conspiracy, including the head of the Guzman TCO. Texas Department of Public Safety Troopers conducted a traffic stop on Contreras on May 9, 2022, after noticing that the rear quarter panel of his vehicle was sitting low and showing little to no room between the tire and the wheel well of the vehicle. During the traffic stop, the troopers noticed human bodies concealed by a blanket in the second row of the vehicle as well as within the rear hatch area of the vehicle. The concealed individuals were identified as illegal aliens whom Contreras had picked up at an Eagle Pass gas station and was transporting to either Houston or San Antonio. Upon delivery of the aliens, Contreras was to be paid $500 per alien. He was charged by the state for smuggling of persons with a likelihood of serious bodily injury or death—charges which were ultimately dismissed.

Contreras was again arrested in September 2024 for alleged forgery and obstruction of justice in Marshall County, Alabama. While in custody, Conteras admitted to his role in the Guzman TCO and his participation in alien smuggling events. A search of his phone revealed various photos, phone numbers, and pin drop locations related to the TCO’s smuggling ventures.

Contreras was transferred to ICE custody on Nov. 22, 2024, and pleaded guilty on Feb. 18, 2025. He is one of 14 defendants charged, and the first to be sentenced, in the large-scale TCO. It is estimated that the TCO moves 50-100 illegal aliens per month through the Western District of Texas. To date, law enforcement has been able to attribute more than 1,000 illegal aliens and 400 failed smuggling events to the Guzman TCO. Contreras was held accountable for smuggling 655 illegal aliens.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case with assistance from the FBI.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Miner prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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AUSTIN, Texas – A Leander woman was sentenced in a federal court in Austin to 33 months in prison for wire fraud and tax evasion, said U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Alysa Dietz Gisser, 56, was employed as a bookkeeper and accountant for a non-profit private school in Austin for children with special needs and learning disabilities. Beginning in or around 2018, she began embezzling money from the school, directing parents to make tuition and other payments to a PayPal account connected to her consulting business. Gisser had renamed her business PayPal account to reflect the name of the school to misdirect the school’s funds. Additionally, she modified the school’s accounting files to reflect that funds had been paid to the school, when in reality the funds had been transferred to her personal bank account to make credit card and mortgage payments, and install an in-ground swimming pool at her residence.

In total, between the PayPal payments and the checks deposited into her personal bank account, Gisser embezzled more than $1 million from the school. She also underreported her income by $863,963.32 between 2018 and 2021.

Gisser was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion on Dec. 15, 2025. She pleaded guilty to both counts on Jan. 13. In addition to the prison sentence, Gisser was ordered to pay $1,318,684.34 in restitution and had a money judgment imposed against her for $1,049,012.34.

IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Henneke prosecuted the case.

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SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio man who prompted a military response by firing a weapon outside Lackland Air Force Base in 2024 was sentenced today to 40 months in federal prison for possession of a machine gun and unregistered firearm, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Joseph Anthony Jimenez, 20, fired a stolen 9mm pistol equipped with a machinegun conversion device (MCD) into a field near Lackland Air Force Base on two separate occasions on Aug. 17, 2024. Also known as a “Glock switch,” an MCD allows a firearm to fire as a fully automatic weapon. An MCD is defined as a machinegun under the National Firearms Act, even when not installed. Jimenez admitted to accidently shooting his friend later that same day, then throwing the MCD-equipped handgun over the perimeter fence of an apartment complex.

Jimenez was arrested on a state warrant on Aug. 29, 2024. He was federally indicted with possession of a machine gun and possession of an unregistered firearm on Nov. 6, 2024, and transferred to federal custody on Nov. 21, 2024. On Dec. 3, 2025, Jimenez pleaded guilty to both charges.

“Beyond the basics of responsible gun ownership, everyone must understand the dangers of machinegun conversion devices,” said U.S. Attorney Simmons. “This individual set an example of what not to do, and he should feel fortunate that the consequences of his actions were not far worse, even deadly. Thanks to the response from the JBSA Defenders, along with the subsequent investigation by local and federal authorities, Jimenez is being held accountable for his poor decisions and violations of federal law.”

“The illegal possession and use of a machinegun conversion device represents a serious threat to public safety,” said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Michael Weddel. “These devices turn otherwise lawful firearms into fully automatic weapons, dramatically increasing the potential for mass harm. ATF remains committed to working alongside our federal, state, and local partners to identify, investigate, and hold accountable those who endanger our communities through the use of illegal firearms and conversion devices.”

The ATF, FBI, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, U.S. Air Force 502nd Security Forces Group, San Antonio Police Department, Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, and Texas Department of Public Safety investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Wannarka prosecuted the case.

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DEL RIO, Texas – An Eagle Pass man was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio to 360 months in prison for trafficking methamphetamine, heroin, and marijuana on Kickapoo Tribal Land while possessing two firearms, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, in 2019, Drug Enforcement Administration and ICE Homeland Security Investigations agents began investigating Rolando Oyervides Jr. aka “Roly,” 40, for distribution of methamphetamine. A search warrant for a social media account belonging to Oyervides Jr. led to the discovery of photos depicting cocaine, heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine, Farmapram, small plastic bags and scales. The search also revealed that Oyervides Jr., as a fugitive, was illegally in possession of multiple firearms. Messages pertaining to the distribution of controlled substances were also found.

Further investigation revealed Oyervides Jr. was selling narcotics out of various residences with children present and used females as drug mules to traffic three to four ounces of narcotics per person, three to four times per week.

On Jan. 29, 2020, DEA and HSI agents executed a search warrant at an Eagle Pass residence, where they encountered Oyervides Jr. and two other individuals, one being a juvenile. Oyervides Jr. was arrested and agents seized marijuana, methamphetamine, scales, and a drug ledger, as well as two .380 caliber semi-automatic pistols, nearly 200 rounds of .380 ammunition, and three 12-gauge shotgun shells.

Oyervides Jr. was indicted on charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm during and in relation to and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. On June 24, 2021, he pleaded guilty to counts one and two in the indictment. He was additionally found guilty of the third count in a bench trial on Oct. 29, 2021.

In 2004, Oyervides Jr. was convicted of possession with intent of distributing cocaine and sentenced to 40 months in prison. His supervised release was revoked in 2009, resulting in an additional 11-month imprisonment.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nallely Duarte and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Rivera prosecuted the case.

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

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SAN ANTONIO – For the second consecutive week, federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 231 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons. From March 27 to April 2, charges were brought against human smugglers and illegal aliens with past convictions for violent crimes, burglaries, numerous DWIs, and multiple prior removals.

Among the new cases, Devin Michael Brady, a U.S. citizen, was arrested and charged with human smuggling on March 27. A U.S. Border Patrol camera operator observed four individuals running north from the U.S-Mexico border before boarding a silver pickup truck north of Texas Highway 20. Agents conducted a traffic stop on the pickup and, while they did not find any passengers with Brady, they noticed several cell phones inside the truck. A criminal complaint affidavit alleges that a cell phone located on the driver’s seat belonging to Brady, was unlocked and displayed a WhatsApp conversation with a Mexican phone number. The messages were allegedly indicative of a possible smuggling scheme and included a proof-of-life video. The affidavit further alleges that Brady was to be paid $750 for each of the five illegal aliens he picked up and had just dropped the aliens off near his residence. Brady’s lengthy criminal record dates to January 2003 and includes possession of prohibited weapons, evading arrest, and three separate felonies for failure to comply and register as a sex offender following a conviction for aggravated sexual assault as a juvenile.

Ervin Lopez-Marroquin, an illegal alien from Guatemala, was charged with illegal re-entry after being found north of the Rio Grande River, south of the train tracks, and west of the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry. Lopez-Marroquin was previously deported in June 2025 following a conviction for assault, cruelty toward a child, and driving under suspension. In 2024, he was convicted of resisting an officer and a DUI.

Michel Romero Martinez-Jimenez, an illegal alien from Mexico, was found in El Paso after having been previously removed for the second time in April 2016. Martinez-Jimenez has been previously convicted for multiple assaults and a DUI.

Juan Carlos Ruiz-Morales, an illegal alien from Mexico, was found in San Marcos after being arrested for his fourth DWI. Ruiz-Morales was last removed from the U.S. in September 2025. He’s now charged with illegal re-entry in Austin.

Also facing an illegal re-entry charge in Austin, Mexican national Jose Israel Silva Ibarra was transferred to ICE custody following his arrest for possession of a controlled substance. Silva Ibarra’s criminal history includes three separate convictions for burglary of a vehicle and a conviction for burglary of a habitation.

In San Antonio, Crispin Juan Carlos Luna-Gutierrez, an illegal alien from Mexico, was transferred to ICE custody from the Atascosa County Jail on March 28. Luna-Gutierrez had been jailed in Jourdanton following a March 8 arrest for a DWI. A review of his criminal record indicated four prior convictions for illegal re-entry.

Jose Antonio Hernandez-Gomez, also an illegal alien from Mexico, was encountered during a traffic stop by the La Vernia Police Department on March 31. He was transported for ICE processing, and a review of his criminal record revealed two prior illegal re-entry convictions, as well as two assault causing bodily injury convictions and a DWI felony. Hernandez-Gomez now faces his third illegal re-entry charge.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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

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DEL RIO, Texas – Jerry Lee Anderson, 29, of Spring, and Orlin Wilfredo Padilla-Murillo, 25, an illegal alien from Honduras, were sentenced to a total of over 29 years in federal prison this week for their roles in a smuggling operation that resulted in the deaths of two illegal aliens, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, in October 2022, a multi-agency law enforcement investigation began following a failed smuggling event that resulted in a single vehicle crash and the deaths of a load driver and two illegal aliens, along with the serious injury of two additional illegal aliens. The four illegal aliens were confirmed to be from Mexico. Alien smuggling organization (ASO) member Michael Demond Kennedy was the front-seat passenger in the vehicle during the crash.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations agents out of Del Rio led the investigation and identified Padilla-Murillo and Anderson as co-conspirators. Phone numbers belonging to Padilla-Murillo and Anderson were found on the phones of several co-conspirators who participated in failed smuggling events. In one event, the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Border Patrol stopped a pickup truck pulling a trailer that concealed 11 illegal aliens on Aug. 20, 2022. On Aug. 25, 2022, USBP stopped and conducted an immigration inspection on a vehicle driven by Dewayne Ellis and Keandrea Dontazia Richards, discovering 10 illegal aliens inside a recreational vehicle near Brackettville. On Nov. 10, 2022, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper attempted to perform a traffic stop on a pickup truck pulling a horse trailer. The pickup nearly drove head-on into an 18-wheeler and led the DPS trooper on a two-minute pursuit on Texas Highway 277. Troopers observed eight illegal aliens in the horse trailer and identified the driver as Kenisha Keshell Washington.

Padilla-Murillo’s and Anderson’s phone numbers were used in numerous WhatsApp messages and CashApp transactions relating to these and other illegal alien smuggling events that occurred between April 1, 2022, and Jan. 30, 2023.

Padilla-Murillo and Anderson were arrested on Nov. 1, 2023. Padilla-Murrillo stated his sole job was to recruit load drivers to pick up illegal aliens at the border and that he was paid $3,500 per illegal alien transported from Eagle Pass to Houston, splitting the money with Anderson and the load driver. Over the course of the conspiracy, the ASO transported at least 100 illegal aliens, collected an average of $10,000 from each illegal alien to be smuggled, and realized a total net income of more than $1 million.

On Wednesday, Chief U.S. District Judge Alia Moses sentenced Anderson to 168 months in federal prison. Judge Moses sentenced Padilla-Murillo to 188 months in federal prison on Thursday. On Feb. 13, she sentenced Kennedy to 87 months in federal prison with credit for time served since March 28, 2023. Another co-defendant, Rashad Jermaine Joshua, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 7.

ICE HSI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Miner prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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DEL RIO, Texas – A Mexican national was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio to 262 months in prison for conspiracy to import methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Pedro Alvarado-Montiel aka “Pelon,” 42, was investigated after he was identified as being a drug trafficking facilitator. Alvarado-Montiel, a confirmed member of the Mexican Mafia-affiliated Sureños gang, was stopped for a traffic violation by a Bastrop County Sheriff’s deputy on Sept. 20, 2023. Following a series of questions, the deputy searched the vehicle and discovered two clear, gallon-sized bags and one sandwich bag containing a black, sticky, tar-like substance. The substance was sent to a Drug Enforcement Administration lab, where it was determined to be approximately two kilograms of heroin.

Later that day, DEA agents executed a search warrant on Alvarado-Montiel’s residence in Dale, where they discovered a large amount of black tar-like substance spread out across the center island in the kitchen and stuck to the countertop along with plastic wrappings. Agents also found two 9mm handguns, multiple magazines, ammunition and wire transfer receipts. In another DEA lab test, the substance found in the home was determined to be approximately 2.1 kgs of heroin.

Alvarado-Montiel was charged in a five-count indictment on Dec. 6, 2023. He was charged with conspiracy to import methamphetamine, importation of methamphetamine, conspiracy to import heroin, importation of heroin and possession of heroin with intent to distribute. On May 20, 2024, Alvarado-Montiel pleaded to one count of conspiracy to import methamphetamine.

Co-defendant Horlando Depaz-Cruz, Jr. who was arrested on May 16, 2021, after being caught driving through the Del Rio Port of Entry with packages of methamphetamine and heroin inside a car battery, pleaded guilty to the same charge on July 31, 2023. He was sentenced on Feb. 5, 2025, to 120 months in federal prison and a $2,000 fine.

The DEA and ICE Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Miner prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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DEL RIO, Texas – Kenneth Wayne Mulkey, a former high school teacher and coach in Sabinal, was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio to 30 years in prison for attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, on Oct. 11, 2024, Mulkey, 44, used the social media application Snapchat to ask another user for their age, sex and location. After the user identified themselves as a 14-year-old boy living in Orlando, Florida, Mulkey stated that he was a 40-year-old football and track coach. Mulkey then requested a sexually explicit photo of the minor. According to the geolocation information contained within Mulkey’s cell phone, Mulkey was within 40 meters of Sabinal High School at the time he sent these initial messages. The following day, Mulkey sent a sexually graphic photo of himself to the user. Mulkey asked questions and volunteered information to the minor that was sexually explicit in nature.

Mulkey was arrested Jan. 31, 2025, and indicted Feb. 19, 2025. He pleaded guilty on Aug. 11, 2025, to one of the two counts.

“As parents and community members, we place an incredible amount of trust in the educators, administrators and coaches that our children interact with on a regular, sometimes daily, basis,” said U.S. Attorney Simmons. “I applaud our law enforcement partners who investigated this matter and ensured a child predator who had infiltrated our education system remains in federal prison for the next three decades.”

ICE Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case with assistance from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Orlando and the Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nallely Duarte prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

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WACO, Texas – A Killeen man was sentenced in a federal court in Waco to 18 months in prison for abusive sexual contact, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Taurean Clarence Coppage, 40, sexually assaulted a woman in her residence while he was a contractor with the U.S. Department of State in Baghdad, Iraq. Coppage was to leave Iraq on Feb. 19 and attended a going-away party at the bar on the U.S. Embassy compound the night prior, on Feb. 18. After the party, Coppage walked the female to her residence on the embassy grounds. The two agreed that, given the time of day, Coppage would sleep at the woman’s residence to avoid being out past curfew.

A factual basis filed in the court documents states that, at one point in the night, the woman woke up to Coppage attempting to engage in sexual activities with her, which she rejected and pushed him away before losing consciousness. She reported the events to the authorities, launching an investigation by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), and Coppage admitting he sexually assaulted the victim.

Coppage was summoned to appear in federal court on March 24, 2025. A superseding information was filed on July 31, and he pleaded guilty on Aug. 5. On March 31, 2026, U.S. District Judge David Counts sentenced Coppage to 18 months in federal prison and ordered him to pay $4,949.98 in restitution to the victim.

DSS investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Kucera and Department of Justice Criminal Division Trial Attorney Daria Andryushchenko prosecuted the case.

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DEL RIO, Texas – A Del Rio man was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio to 105 months in prison for conspiracy to traffic firearms, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Mark Anthony Jimenez aka “M-Thang,” 24, obtained a pistol equipped with a machine gun conversion device, also known as a switch, and purchased two boxes of 9mm ammunition in Del Rio.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives discovered videos Jimenez shared on Facebook depicting himself, a juvenile, and codefendant Alleena Nikole Soto, firing rounds from the pistol with the switch attached, in fully automatic mode. ATF canvassed the property where Jimenez was seen firing the automatic pistol and recovered multiple 9mm shell casings consistent with the ammunition that he purchased.

Jimenez and Soto were arrested on Feb. 8, 2024. Both defendants pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms. Soto was sentenced to 44 months in prison with credit for time served on Nov. 18, 2025.

The ATF investigated the case with support from the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection, the Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office, the Del Rio Police Department, and Val Verde County Adult Probation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Ellis-Dotson and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Allyson Breach prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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WACO, Texas – A Clifton man was sentenced in a federal court in Waco to 480 months in federal prison for possessing and distributing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, on Feb. 24, 2025, Redus Duncan Smith, 28, sent another individual a private KIK message containing a 15-second video file that depicted child sexual abuse of a prepubescent girl. That same day, he sent an additional five video files of toddlers and prepubescent children being sexually assaulted. Using the username “big_john7895,” he stated in the chat that his name was Reed, he was 27 years old, lived in Texas, and worked in fast food. He also sent two “selfie” styled photos of himself. An investigation determined that through his chats with other KIK users, Smith was intent on teaching others how to groom children in order to sexually abuse them.

FBI agents executed a search warrant at Smith’s home on Aug. 26, 2025, seizing digital devices that contained approximately 858 images and 704 videos of child sexual abuse material, including sexually explicit depictions of prepubescent minors, infants and toddlers. Smith was arrested during the search. He pleaded guilty on Dec. 17, 2025, to one count of distribution of visual depictions of sexual activities by minors and one count of possession of visual depictions of sexual activities by minors. U.S. District Judge Alan D. Albright sentenced Smith to two consecutive 240-month terms of imprisonment followed by 20 years of supervised release. Smith was also ordered to pay $33,000 in restitution.

The FBI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Gloff prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

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Update: If you believe you might be a victim of the crimes Johnson committed, and/or have information relevant to this investigation, please visit https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/victim-services/seeking-victim-information/johnson-investment-investigation-questionnaire

EL PASO, Texas – An El Paso man pleaded guilty in federal court to seven counts of wire fraud as part of a Ponzi scheme in which he represented to investors that he would use their funds to promote NBA preseason games, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, beginning around Feb. 9, 2009, and continuing through about May 14, 2020, Timothy France Johnson, 63, solicited investments from individuals and claimed to invest their money into NBA preseason games and game promotion. Johnson falsely represented that, as a third-party promoter, he would use the investment funds to obtain the venues and fund the marketing and promotion of the games. He provided investors with investment agreements that promised a guaranteed return on their investment, essentially representing that the investments had zero risk. Additionally, Johnson provided his victims with fraudulent investment statements and other fraudulent contracts and letters to substantiate his claimed connection to the NBA.

An FBI investigation revealed that investments were not used to pay for preseason NBA games or game promotion but were instead used to make payments to earlier stage investors, were withdrawn as cash, or were spent on other non-business-related expenses.

One victim of Johnson’s scheme invested for approximately five years, wiring $15,000 to Johnson on April 24, 2014. Johnson told the victim an investment between a minimum $12,500 and maximum $25,000 was required. At the end of the preseason, Johnson contacted the investor to tell them how much money they made on the games and to convince the investor to “roll the money over” into the next season’s games. Records show the investor made an additional $20,000 investment on June 28, 2018.

On April 8, 2019, the victim signed an investment agreement with Johnson’s company, BOLO Sports & Entertainment LLC. The terms of the agreement stated the victim would invest $50,000 in an NBA preseason game played by a specific NBA team. The contract guaranteed the return of the initial $50,000 investment plus a percentage of the net revenue from the game.

Records indicate the victim wired $50,000 on April 9, 2019, and further sought to invest an additional $50,000 in the preseason game just over a week later. Johnson and the investor-victim signed another investment agreement, and the funds were wired on April 17, 2019.

Johnson told another victim that there would be a 33% return on investment and that there would be “zero risk” because the games were insured in case something went wrong or if the ticket sales did reach the breakeven point. He also claimed that he had been organizing the NBA games since the late 1980s to early 1990s. That victim invested $100,000 with Johnson in 2019 and signed an investment agreement guaranteeing 100% return on his investment plus any additional profit. Shortly after the first investment, Johnson offered an opportunity for the victim to invest in a second preseason game for $60,000. The victim agreed and wired the money.

Following their investments, Johnson discussed with the victims the potential for them to acquire his business. Johnson provided the two victims with tickets to the NBA preseason game in which they had allegedly invested, and they were told that they would meet with NBA and team executives to discuss Johnson’s business and learn more about the sports and entertainment industry. Though they did attend the game with Johnson, the two investors did not meet with any executives.

A third victim invested $75,000 with Johnson over the 2019 and 2020 NBA preseasons. A financial analysis of Johnson’s accounts showed that none of the invested funds used to pay the NBA, NBA teams, venues, or any other apparent promotion-related expenses.

Johnson was charged in April 2024 with seven counts of wire fraud and three counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity. He pleaded guilty on Friday to the seven wire fraud charges and faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shane Romero, Chris Skillern and James Watson are prosecuting the case.

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SAN ANTONIO – Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 231 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from March 20 to March 26, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons. Charges were brought against human smugglers and illegal aliens with past convictions for violent crimes, drug trafficking, numerous DWIs, and multiple prior removals.

Among the new cases, Miguel Angel Castro, of Fabens, was arrested on human smuggling charges Tuesday. U.S. Border Patrol agents responded to a sensor activation near San Elizario and allegedly encountered three illegal aliens. A criminal complaint alleges that, during processing, one of the illegal aliens identified two phone numbers in his phone that were used to coordinate with the intended smugglers. Further investigation led the agents to an arranged pickup. The complaint alleges that when the smuggler, Castro, arrived at the agreed upon location and the agents identified themselves, he attempted to flee at a high rate of speed. U.S. Border Patrol agents located Castro at his residence, where he was arrested. The complaint alleges Castro worked with a known smuggler and intended to pick up the illegal aliens for $1,000 and transport them to a stash house in Horizon City. Castro was previously convicted of human smuggling in 2020 and again in 2024. He was sentenced to five months and 21 months in prison, respectively, in those cases.

Francisco Irineo Rodriguez-Cordero, an illegal alien from Mexico, was arrested and charged with illegal entry after allegedly being found approximately 10 miles east of the Fort Hancock Port of Entry near Sierra Blanca. Rodriguez-Cordero has been previously deported four times, the last being on Nov. 24, 2025, through Nogales, Arizona. He also has three prior convictions for DUI, assault, and dangerous drugs.

Mexican national Jesus Manuel Jacquez-Beltran was arrested less than a quarter mile west of the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry. He was deported for the third time on Jan. 15 through Harlingen. Jacquez-Beltran has been convicted of three prior illegal re-entry charges as well as assault of a federal officer with a deadly weapon and aiding and abetting. He now faces a fourth illegal re-entry charge.

Arturo Ortiz, an illegal alien from Mexico, was encountered at the Bandera County Jail, after he was arrested for escape while arrested/confined and possession of a controlled substance. On March 20, he was sentenced to 10 years of probation and transferred to ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations. Ortiz has been previously convicted of DWI, driving with a suspended license, public lewdness, interfering with emergency request for assistance, and assault on a family member.

In San Antonio on Thursday, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers conducted a traffic stop on a driver identified as Ruben Hernandez. A criminal complaint alleges that assisting HSI agents had information that Hernandez was an illegal alien who was deported in 2010 following an illegal re-entry conviction. The complaint further alleges that a Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force Officer questioned Hernandez, leading to a search of Hernandez’s apartment and the discovery of 11 bundles of cocaine amounting to 12.65 kgs. Agents also found an undetermined amount of U.S. currency that Hernandez allegedly claimed to be proceeds from cocaine trafficking. Hernandez is charged with possession with intent to distribute over five kgs of cocaine.

Jesus Elmer Amaya-Machado, an illegal alien from Honduras, was arrested by the ICE ERO Fugitive Operations Unit in San Antonio on Tuesday. A criminal complaint alleges that, as ICE agents approached Amaya-Machado, he attempted to flee into his residence, entering through a back door, though he eventually exited voluntarily and was taken into ICE custody without incident. Amaya-Machado was last removed from the U.S. in 2013 and has three DWI convictions.

Mexican national Norberto Vasquez-Almanza was arrested by ICE officers after he was pulled over for a traffic stop in Seguin on Tuesday. Vasquez was last removed from the U.S. in 2016, following a conviction for illegal re-entry. His criminal record also includes a conviction for unlawful carrying of a weapon, for which he was sentenced to one year of probation.

Over the weekend, Mexican national Saul Albadaba Arriaga was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents near Maverick. He was deported in December 2025 for the fourth time, following his sixth conviction for driving under the influence.

Abel Aguilar-Valdez, an illegal alien from Mexico, was arrested and charged with illegal re-entry after being deported for the sixth time on Feb. 20. Three weeks prior to his sixth removal last month, Aguilar-Valdez was convicted of this third DWI and sentenced to four years in prison.

Luis Gutierrez-Aguilar, also a Mexican national, was arrested and charged with illegal re-entry after being recently removed from the U.S. on Feb. 17 through Brownsville. Since March 26, 2024, Gutierrez-Aguilar has been convicted of multiple felonies, including illegal use of a weapon and burglary of a building.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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

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WACO, Texas – A Waco man was sentenced in a federal court in Waco to 960 months in prison for three child pornography charges, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Kevin Duane Pridemore, 41, made at least 50 posts on a child pornography website, leading law enforcement officers to execute a search warrant at his residence on March 24, 2025. An FBI agent reviewed an SD card seized during the search, which revealed a 15-minute video in which Pridemore engaged in sexual activities with a fully nude girl between the ages of five and seven years old. FBI examiners also viewed a series of videos produced in October 2024, which also showed Pridemore sexually abusing a minor female who was approximately five years old at the time.

A complete forensic examination revealed Pridemore possessed approximately 23,728 images and 155 videos of child sexual abuse material. The images included prepubescent images, including infants and toddlers. The FBI also discovered at least four known victims who were sexually abused and recorded by Pridemore at various times when he babysat the victims.

Pridemore was named in a two-count indictment on April 8, 2025. Prosecutors filed a superseding information on Nov. 24, 2025, charging Pridemore with one count of possession of visual depictions of sexual activities by minors and two counts of production of child pornography. He pleaded guilty to all three counts the following day.

U.S. District Judge Alan D. Albright sentenced Pridemore to 360 months for each production charge and 240 months for the possession count, totaling 960 consecutive months in federal prison. Judge Albright also ordered Pridemore pay $207,000 in restitution.

“While nothing makes up for the harm caused by this defendant, the 80-year sentence handed down by Judge Albright highlights the egregious nature of the abuse in this case,” said U.S. Attorney Simmons. “Thanks to the FBI for vigilantly investigating this case. While we unfortunately cannot undo the harm this vile child predator brought to his many young victims and their families, we absolutely hope they find some peace in knowing he will surely spend the rest of his life behind bars and will never again be able to treat a child like he treated the children in this case.”

“The FBI has zero tolerance for those who commit these heinous crimes against children,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Alex Doran of the FBI San Antonio Field Office. “This case is particularly egregious and represents a profound abuse of trust, as the defendant exploited hisposition as a babysitter to harm the very children he was entrusted to protect. Those who exploit children online or in our communities will be relentlessly pursued, and the FBI will use every available resource to hold child predators accountable and keep them from ever harming innocent children again.”

The FBI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Gloff prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

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DEL RIO, Texas – A federal jury in Del Rio convicted a Mexican national on four counts of trafficking cocaine into the U.S. from Mexico, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on March 16, 2025, Eli Alejandro Hernandez Ledezma, 25, of Piedras Negras, was referred to secondary inspection at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered approximately eight kgs of cocaine in an aftermarket compartment in Ledezma's vehicle. Testimony during the trial revealed Ledezma was in contact with an unindicted coconspirator who offered him “fast money” if he had a valid visa. Additionally, testimony and evidence in the trial noted Ledezma shared his GPS location with an unindicted coconspirator before he approached the Eagle Pass POE.

In a trial presided over by U.S. District Judge Ernest Gonzalez, a federal jury found Hernandez Ledezma guilty of one count of conspiracy to posses with intent to distribute cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, one count of conspiracy to import cocaine, and one count of importation of cocaine. Each count carries a penalty of 10 years to life in federal prison and up to a $10 million fine. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations and CBP investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Warsame Galaydh, Nallely Duarte and William Golden are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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AUSTIN, Texas – An Austin felon was sentenced in federal court to 235 months in prison for methamphetamine trafficking and possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Blane Spear aka Jonathan Garza, 32, was investigated in June 2024 for selling large amounts of methamphetamine in the Austin area. Austin Police executed a search warrant at Spear’s residence on Aug. 26, 2024, finding him to be in possession of two small bags containing methamphetamine. The search also resulted in the discovery of more than 1,291 grams of methamphetamine, 89 grams of fentanyl, 309 grams cocaine, 159 grams of heroin, and more than $10,000 in U.S. currency. APD also discovered Spear, who had multiple prior felony convictions, possessed 11 pistols, three of which had been reported stolen and one of which was equipped with a machine gun conversion device.

Spear was federally indicted on Oct. 15, 2024, and transferred into federal custody on Oct. 29. 2024. The two-count indictment charged Spear with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and felon in possession of a firearm. He pleaded guilty to both counts on Dec. 4, 2025. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman sentenced Spear to 235 months in federal prison on the meth trafficking count and a concurrent 180 months in prison for the firearm possession.

“This case serves as yet another great example of the cohesiveness that makes our federal and local law enforcement partnerships work as well as they do,” said U.S. Attorney Simmons. “The Austin Police Department investigated a significant tip that, while rejected by the state, resulted in a great federal case and led to a career criminal being removed from our community for two decades.”

"This sentence sends a clear message that those who traffic dangerous drugs and illegally possess firearms will be held accountable,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Alex Doran of the FBI San Antonio Field Office. “Acting on a referral from the Austin Police Department, we worked together to disrupt a major drug trafficking operation. Through the FBI Austin Safe Streets Task Force, dangerous offenders are brought to justice—helping keep our communities safe.”

The FBI and APD investigated the case with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Guess prosecuted the case.

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AUSTIN, Texas – An Armenian man made his initial appearance in an Austin federal court Tuesday after being extradited to the U.S. on criminal charges related to his alleged role in an infostealer scheme, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Hambardzum Minasyan allegedly conspired with others to enrich himself by developing and administering RedLine, one of the most prevalent infostealing malware variants in the world, which has previously been used to conduct intrusions against major corporations. When executed, RedLine would steal data, including access devices, from victims’ computers.

A three-count indictment alleges the conspirators maintained digital infrastructure, including C2 servers and administrative panels to enable the deployment of the malware by affiliates, and collected payments from RedLine affiliates, allowing the affiliates to use the infostealer against victims. Additionally, they allegedly responded to questions and requests from actual and potential RedLine affiliates, conspired with each other and affiliates to steal and possess the financial information, including access devices, of victims, and laundered the proceeds of cybercrime through cryptocurrency exchanges and other means.

The indictment alleges that Minasyan registered two virtual private servers to host portions of RedLine’s infrastructure as well as two internet domains in support of the RedLine scheme. He also allegedly created repositories on an online file sharing site that were used to distribute RedLine to affiliates. In November 2021, he allegedly registered a cryptocurrency account that was used to receive payments from RedLine affiliates.

In October 2024, the Department of Justice joined the Netherlands, Belgium, Eurojust and other partners in announcing an international disruption effort against the current version of RedLine Infostealer. International authorities have created a website at www.operation-magnus.com with additional resources for the public and potential victims. At the same time, the Justice Department unsealed charges against alleged co-conspirator Maxim Rudometov, one of the developers and administrators of RedLine Infostealer.

Minasyan is charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud, conspiracy to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison for access device fraud and up to 20 years in prison for the other two counts. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This is a joint investigation by the FBI Austin Cyber Task Force, which consists of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, the DoD Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and Army Criminal Investigation Division, among other agencies.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Mangels is prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs secured the arrest and March 23 extradition of Minasyan and provided significant assistance throughout the investigation. The Criminal Division’s International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (ICHIP) attorney advisor, who is based at Eurojust in The Hague, also provided assistance.

The Justice Department provides cybercrime technical assistance to foreign law enforcement, prosecutorial, and judicial partners in other countries through the ICHIP program. Learn more about the Criminal Division’s ICHIP Program, jointly administered by the Criminal Division’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) and the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section through a partnership between the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, here.

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

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SAN ANTONIO – A federal grand jury in San Antonio returned an indictment charging a Salvadoran national with kidnapping and harboring illegal aliens, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Franklin Ulises Rodriguez-Rivas was arrested by the San Antonio Police Department on Feb. 19. Having been previously convicted of illegal re-entry and removed from the U.S. in March 2022, Rodriguez-Rivas was again charged with illegal re-entry via criminal complaint.

A joint investigation by ICE Homeland Security Investigations and SAPD revealed that while residing illegally in the U.S., Rodriguez-Rivas allegedly harbored an illegal alien and held the alien for ransom.

Rodriguez-Rivas is now charged with one count of harboring illegal aliens, one count of kidnapping, and one count of illegal re-entry. The defendant made his initial court appearance on Feb. 20 following his arrest. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison for the harboring and re-entry charges, and up to life in prison for the kidnapping charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

ICE HSI is investigating the case with assistance from SAPD.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Karina O’Daniel is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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

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SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio woman pleaded guilty Thursday for her role in a Ponzi scheme, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Brooklynn Chandler Willy, 46, was the owner of a San Antonio based company named Queen B Advisors LLC, doing business as Texas Financial Advisory (TFA), and Chandler Capital Holdings. Among other services, TFA purported to provide asset management and financial planning services.

At Willy’s recommendation, a married couple invested money into an investment company named Ferrum Capital in March 2018. Ferrum Capital was one of four investment companies allegedly run by co-defendants Joshua Allen and Michael Cox. In May of 2021, Willy again advised the victim couple to invest $500,000 with another Ferrum entity, using Chandler Capital Holdings as the agent to execute and deliver contracts. Rather than investing the funds as intended, Willy used the $500,000 for her own purposes, including personal credit card payments, payments to other investors, and payments to another business owned and controlled by Willy.

Willy continued her scheme with additional victims. As set forth in court documents, Willy convinced a separate married couple to invest approximately $2 million dollars in an associate’s company by promising that the investment would be used for the purchase of bad debt and other legitimate investments. In truth, Willy used the money for her own benefit, such as payments to herself, payments to her associate, and payments to other investors. Willy also convinced two other investors to invest $75,000 and $600,000 respectively into what Willy claimed were legitimate business investments. In truth, Willy, again, used their investments for her own benefit.  During the course of the federal investigation, Willy forged the signatures of various victims on documents and provided those documents to federal agents for the purpose of misleading those agents.

Court documents further indicate Willy conspired with Allen and Cox by giving false information to investors concerning their investment in entities owned and controlled by Allen and Cox. Working with Cox and Allen, Willy convinced numerous investors to invest into a Cox and Allen controlled entity by falsely stating those investments were investments into legitimate business activities. In truth, much of that money went to the benefit of Cox, Allen, and Willy.

Willy pleaded guilty to 10 counts of an information filed on Feb. 25. She faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the six wire fraud charges, on the one wire fraud conspiracy charge, and on the one money laundering conspiracy charge.  She also faces up to 10 years for engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from the wire fraud scheme and a mandatory minimum of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft, which, by statute, would run consecutive to any other punishment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Allen and Cox are scheduled for a jury trial in August.

The FBI and IRS-CI are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Blackwell is prosecuting the case.

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SAN ANTONIO – Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 251 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from March 13 to March 19, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons. Charges were brought against human smugglers and illegal aliens with past convictions for violent crimes, drug trafficking, numerous DUIs, theft, and multiple prior removals.

Among the new cases, two illegal aliens from Honduras, Edgar Osmery Castellanos-Sabillon and Fernando Josue Betanco-Montoya, are facing alien smuggling charges in El Paso. According to a criminal complaint, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers near Wichita Falls conducted a traffic stop on Castellanos-Sabillon, who was allegedly the driver of the vehicle. The complaint alleges Betanco-Montoya was in the front passenger seat, and seven additional individuals with foreign passports from Cuba, Guatemala, and Mexico were in the vehicle as well. An investigation allegedly revealed that one of the smuggled aliens was identified as a target in an Ysleta Border Patrol case after he made a social media post thanking two known smugglers and indicating that he had crossed into the U.S. illegally. All nine individuals were transported to El Paso for prosecution. The complaint also alleges that Castellanos-Sabillon and Betanco-Montoya were identified as the caretakers of a stash house in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they housed and fed the aliens after they were transported from El Paso and before attempting to transport them to Dallas.

Mexican national Miguel Campos-Chavelas, who was deported from the U.S. in October 2024, is charged with one count of harboring illegal aliens. A criminal complaint alleges an investigation led U.S. Border Patrol agents to an apartment complex in El Paso, where they encountered Campos-Chavelas and a female co-conspirator who is a U.S. citizen. A third individual was also discovered in the apartment and determined to be an illegal alien. According to the complaint, Campos-Chavelas claimed to be engaged to the U.S. citizen and has lived with her in the apartment since 2024. He also allegedly claimed that, working with a smuggler in Juarez, Mexico, he was supposed to be paid $500 per alien housed at the apartment and had participated in the smuggling scheme on six prior occasions.

Joel Isaias Quisque Espital, an illegal alien from Guatemala, was found approximately 45 miles east of the Fort Hancock Port of Entry, near Sierra Blanca, on March 13. He has been deported from the U.S. twice, has been twice convicted of a DUI and has one prior conviction for driving without a valid license. In 2018, Quisque Espital was convicted of aggravated assault and sentenced to two years in prison.

In Austin, Mexican national San Juanita Cavazos-Torres, who is also known to go by 12 other names including Allison Francis Barron, Melissa Morales and Janie Moralez, was charged with illegal re-entry after being found in the Travis County Jail in January. Her criminal history includes multiple thefts, as well as forgery, robbery, drug possession, and grand theft. She has been removed from the U.S. five times.

Also charged for illegal re-entry in Austin are Mexican national Francisco Rojas-Lopez and Guatemalan national Evelio Eriberto Romero-Vasquez. Rojas-Lopez was found in the Travis County Jail in November 2025 and has been twice convicted for driving while intoxicated. Romero-Vasquez was convicted of both a DWI and assault causing bodily injury earlier this year.

Mexican national Eduardo Solorio-Orozco was arrested near Maverick and charged with illegal re-entry. Solorio-Orozco has been deported twice, the last being on June 18, 2025, through San Ysidro, California. He was convicted of three DUIs between 2016 and 2018, has a felony conviction for inflicting corporal injury, and was also convicted for possession of prohibited ammunition in 2021.

Mario Gonzalez-Mosqueda, also an illegal alien from Mexico, was charged in Del Rio with illegal re-entry, having been deported for the third time in November 2005. Gonzalez-Mosqueda has four felony convictions in Los Angeles, including three for drug trafficking and one for second-degree robbery.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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

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WACO, Texas – A Roma woman made her initial appearance in a federal court in Waco today after she was arrested for alleged drug trafficking, according to U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, on March 12, Julie Juarez was pulled over for speeding on Interstate 35 in Hill County by a Texas Highway Patrol trooper. The trooper allegedly observed numerous indicators of deception as well as inconsistent travel itinerary pertaining to Juarez’s trip to Dallas. A canine conducted a free air sniff around Juarez’s minivan and alerted to the odor of narcotics. A vehicle search allegedly resulted in the discovery of approximately 480 lbs. of methamphetamine and approximately 40 lbs. of heroin located in an aftermarket compartment.

A criminal complaint alleges Juarez picked up the narcotics in Mexico, crossed into Texas via the Roma Point of Entry, and was traveling to deliver the narcotics in Dallas.

Juarez is charged with possession with intent to deliver at least 500 grams of methamphetamine. If convicted, she faces a mandatory 10 years in federal prison with a maximum sentence of up to life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Smith-Burris is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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SAN ANTONIO – Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 250 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from March 6 to March 12, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons. Charges were brought against human smugglers and illegal aliens with past convictions for violent crimes, sex crimes, numerous DWIs, theft, and multiple prior removals.

Among the new cases, Fredy Alberto Guevara-Maldonado, an illegal alien from Honduras, was arrested near Eagle Pass after allegedly resisting arrest and kicking a U.S. Border Patrol canine in the head. A criminal complaint alleges that Guevara-Maldonado subsequently reached for the USBP canine handler agent’s weapon and forcefully grabbed the agent’s genital area. The Honduran national is charged with assault on a federal officer.

Congo national Stephane Mujinga Elonga was arrested and charged with illegal re-entry in Del Rio. Court documents indicate that Elonga was deported to Canada through Champlain, New York in 2019. He was convicted in 2015 for assault while displaying a dangerous weapon, and in 2016 for both Driving Under the Influence and escape. Elonga allegedly entered the U.S. in January 2023 through Maine.

Convicted felon Rene Lima-Morales, an illegal alien from El Salvador, was arrested by USBP agents near Maverick on March 7. Lima-Morales has been previously removed from the U.S. twice. In 2013, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for aggravated sexual assault. He has also been convicted of burglary of habitation, having a fictitious license plate, burglary of a vehicle, and property theft.

Honduran national Eduardo Henrrique Castron was arrested near Maverick on March 9. He was previously deported to Honduras in June 2025, following a 2023 conviction and four-year prison sentence for second-degree criminal sexual conduct in Wyoming. Henrrique Castron has also been convicted for controlled substance use, domestic violence, and operating a vehicle with a suspended or revoked license.

In the El Paso area, Mexican national Charbel Majluf Vargas-Felix was allegedly found to be the foot guide for a group of five illegal aliens who crossed the Rio Grande River on Tuesday. Using surveillance equipment, a USBP agent observed the group running across Texas Highway 20 nearly two miles west of the Fort Hancock Port of Entry. Vargas-Felix and his group of smuggled aliens were then encountered attempting to conceal themselves inside a water drain. According to a criminal complaint, Vargas-Felix stated that he was to guide the group to a pick-up spot on Interstate Highway 10 and would be paid $200 per illegal alien. He is charged with one count of bringing in and harboring aliens.

Honduran national Santos Gabriel Bustillo-Zelaya aka Santos Gabriel Gonzalez was released from the Bexar County Adult Detention Center on Wednesday and turned over to the custody of ICE Enforcement Removal Operations. He had been jailed in Bexar County for assault causing bodily injury of a family member and possession of a controlled substance. In addition to those offenses, Bustillo-Zelaya’s criminal record includes six prior convictions for improper entry to the U.S. by an alien, one conviction for illegal re-entry, a DWI, and convictions for failure to identify, resisting arrest, and evading arrest.

On March 7, ICE ERO agents in Bexar County arrested Mexican national Sergio Lugo-Rodriguez aka Juan Lugo-Godines during a traffic stop in which he was a passenger. Lugo-Rodriguez was previously removed from the U.S. in 2014, following a 2013 conviction for failing to stop and render aid resulting in injury or death. He was also convicted in 2008 for a DWI in Bexar County.

In Austin, Mexican national Juan Jose Esparza Garcia was charged with illegal re-entry. Esparza Garcia who has three prior removals, was found in the Travis County Jail and has been previously convicted of three DWIs, along with theft and improper entry into the U.S.

Benigno Granados Manzano, also an illegal alien from Mexico, was charged with illegal re-entry in Austin and has three DWI convictions in his criminal record. He was also convicted of improper entry in 2015 and has been previously removed from the U.S. three times.

Mexican national Ivan Perez-Saldana was found in the Travis County Jail, where he was in custody after being convicted of domestic assault causing bodily injury. Perez-Saldana was last removed from the U.S. in 2011, following a conviction for improper entry.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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

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DEL RIO, Texas – A Mexican national was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio to 180 months in prison for conspiracy to traffic firearms, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Jose De La Cruz-Cardoza, 52, of Piedras Negras, provided a negative declaration for firearms, ammunition, or currency over $10,000, during an outbound inspection at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry on July 12, 2025. A Customs and Border Protection search of his vehicle revealed eight handguns and 19 magazines. 

Cruz-Cardoza stated he would be paid between $150 and $200 for each firearm he smuggled to Mexico. He further stated that he had smuggled firearms to Mexico on approximately 10-12 previous occasions. Cruz-Cardoza pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms in September.

On July 16, 2025, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, together with the San Antonio Police Department and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, executed a search warrant for the San Antonio residence of co-conspirator and illegal alien Reymundo Hernandez-Nino. A total of 24 firearms were immediately recovered, to include handguns, AR-15 style assault rifles, and a shotgun. ATF also recovered more than 4,000 rounds of ammunition from the residence and multiple sets of body armor. Based on other evidence obtained during the investigation, ATF determined that the weapon, ammunition and accessories were bound for a Mexican drug cartel.

“My office remains committed to prosecuting the most serious criminal conspiracies, particularly those benefiting Mexican drug cartels,” said U.S. Attorney Simmons. “Great things happen when aggressive prosecutors are combined with federal law enforcement agencies determined to disrupt and ultimately dismantle criminal organizations without concern for which agency ultimately gets the credit. This case is the model for how a Homeland Security Task Force should work.”

"The illegal trafficking of firearms to Mexico directly fuels cartel violence and threatens the safety and communities on both sides of the border,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Michael Weddel. “ATF remains committed to working with our federal, state, local, and international partners to identify and disrupt firearms trafficking networks and hold those responsible, accountable.”

Co-defendant Francisco Cardoza Jr. pleaded guilty in October to one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 23. Edgar Josue Montelongo-Loera pleaded guilty to the same charge on Feb. 23 and is pending a sentence hearing. Hernandez-Nino and Kenia Lizbeth Montelongo both pleaded guilty to two counts each on Feb. 26 and are awaiting sentencing.

ATF and ICE are investigating the case with assistance from state and local partners.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Miner is prosecuting the case.

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

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DEL RIO, Texas – A Mexican national was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio Monday to 365 months in prison for his leadership role in a conspiracy to transport hundreds of illegal aliens, resulting in at least one death, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas.

According to court documents, Pedro Luis Martinez-Jaquez, 36, of Piedras Negras, was a leader in an alien smuggling organization (ASO) that operated in southwest Texas from at least January 2021 through July 2022. Martinez-Jaquez and another co-conspirator supplied and organized the illegal alien loads and crossed them into the U.S. for the first leg of their journey. In one instance, Martinez-Jaquez called a co-conspirator, Miguel Angel Rivera, and said that one of the illegal aliens being transported had “passed out” and that he would “deal with it.” A search of Rivera’s phone during the investigation revealed photos of the alien, who was deceased.

Martinez-Jaquez’s phone number was found to be linked to the ASO via WhatsApp messages with Rivera, Rivera’s sister Luz Rivera, and co-conspirator Erica Aracely Carmona. A subsequent search of Martinez-Jaquez’s residence resulted in the discovery of 74 phones, 14 of which were seized. The remaining 60 phones were suspected to belong to illegal aliens who had been transported into the U.S. The majority of the 285 audio messages between Martinez-Jaquez and Luz Rivera referenced pickup coordination, as well as the storage and harboring of illegal aliens. ICE Homeland Security Investigations learned that the ASO was charging $9,500 per illegal alien to be smuggled into the U.S., with half of the proceeds going to Martinez-Jaquez.

The ASO smuggled more than 500 illegal aliens and generated over $4.7 million in proceeds between January 2021 and July 2022. Throughout their operation, the ASO used custom made “tow-behind” trailers to transport illegal aliens. The ASO began using an 18-wheeler with a false compartment inside the tractor trailer that held up to 40 aliens, but that trailer was interdicted by federal law enforcement on the first smuggling attempt.

Martinez-Jaquez was named in an initial indictment on Aug. 17, 2022, and in a superseding indictment on Feb. 28, 2024. He was arrested March 8, 2024, and on Nov. 26, 2024, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death. In addition to the 30-year imprisonment, Chief U.S. District Judge Alia Moses ordered a $500,000 money judgement.

“Martinez-Jaquez is one of the most prolific facilitators of alien smuggling in the last decade,” said U.S. Attorney Simmons. “Over the course of an 18-month operation, he made hundreds of thousands of dollars transporting illegal aliens into the United States. The work we have done to secure the border over the last year has made it very difficult for ASOs like this one to operate and enrich themselves while endangering the lives of those they smuggle. This is a fight worth having, and it is one in which we, in the Western District of Texas, will continue to engage.”

Co-conspirators Evan John Herrera and Miguel Rivera were sentenced in May 2025 to 151 months and 216 months in federal prison, each with credit for time served. In January, Carmona was sentenced to 132 months in prison. The final defendant, Jose Eduardo Rodriguez Moreno, is scheduled to be sentenced on March 25.

ICE HSI investigated the case with assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, and the Maverick County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Miner prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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