News Releases and Statements

Hamza Abbas, 31; Ammas Uddin, 31; and Arham Uddin, 27; all residents of Richmond, were sentenced to 44, 18 and 18 months, respectively, while Syed Ali, 55, a resident of Sugar Land, was sentenced to 24 months in prison. Two others — Muhammad Anis, 55, and Jesus Acosta Perez, 33, both residents of Houston, were sentenced to respective terms of 21 months and 12 months and one day. All six had previously pleaded guilty to the charges and will be required to pay varying amounts in restitution.

Dementrous Von Smith, 36, of Waldorf, Maryland, received a sentence of 53 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, Dec. 15, for a wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, in relation to the submission of fraudulent CARES Act unemployment insurance claims in Maryland, California, and Arizona totaling at least $1.5 million.

William Dexter Lucas, 61, was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to 97 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.

Sammy Adam Joseph, 47, was charged in an eight-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday, Nov. 8. That indictment was unsealed and made public Nov. 14 upon his arrest and initial court appearance.

Amir Aqeel, a 54-year-old resident of Houston, was sentenced Oct. 2 to 15 years in prison for leading the conspiracy and helping at least 14 other individuals submit more than 75 fraudulent PPP loan applications in 2020. Five others previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced Oct. 3 for their roles in the scheme. Khalid Abbas, 57, of Richmond, and Richard Reuth, 60, of Spring, both received 2 ½ years in prison. Rifat Bajwa, 54, of Richmond Siddiq Azeemuddin, 44, of Naperville, Illinois; and Pardeep Basra, 54, of Houston, were sentenced to three years, two years, and three years and five months in prison, respectively. A sixth conspirator, Abdul Fatani, a 57-year-old resident of Richmond who was convicted on Feb. 8 of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, was sentenced to three years in prison.

Muhammad Anis, 55, Nishant Patel, 41, and Harjeet Singh, 49, all of Houston; and Arham Uddin, 27, and Ammas Uddin, 30, both of Richmond, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Jacqueline Rascon-Chacon, Bryan Gardea and Ricardo Landeros face charges of bank fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity. All three defendants appeared in federal court and will remain on conditions of release pending trial, which has not been scheduled.

Natalie Le Demola, 38, currently incarcerated at the California Institution for Women in Corona, was sentenced by United States District Judge John F. Walter, who also ordered her to pay $933,181 in restitution.

Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Kansas City Taekuk Cho and U.S. Attorney Steven Russell announced that Jason C. Olderbak, 35, of Grand Island, was sentenced June 21 for unlawful possession of official U.S. insignia following an HSI investigation.

All four defendants — Willie Mitchell, Sean Swaringer, Kimberly Coleman and Jason Coleman — pleaded guilty to bank fraud.

Arman Grigoryan, 42, was sentenced late in the afternoon June 6 by U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee, who also ordered him to pay $2,880,259 in restitution.

ICE's ERO today issued Post Pandemic Emergency Guidelines and Protocols that will increase the number of accessible beds by several thousand. These guidelines reflect the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency and latest guidance from the CDC.

Nasser Salman, 60, was arraigned in federal court May 4, on charges that he fraudulently obtained more than $400,000 in COVID-relief loan funds on behalf of three companies.

DHS and ICE announced today that employers will have 30 days to reach compliance with Form I-9 requirements after the COVID-19 flexibilities sunset on July 31, 2023.

On Jan. 30, the grand jury indicted Randy Steven Kaas on 14 counts, including fraudulent schemes and artifices, forgery and theft in Maricopa County Superior Court. The charges are related to $3,715,276.50 in federal Paycheck Protection Program loans.

Gladstone Njokem, 36, pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft on Feb. 3, in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $1.3 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act unemployment insurance benefits.  

A federal jury convicted Abdul Fatani, 57, of Richmond, Texas, of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of unlawful monetary transactions (money laundering).

Mark Forrest Cohn, 68, of Chandler, Arizona, was sentenced on Dec. 21, 2022, by United States District Judge David G. Campbell; Cohn pleaded guilty to one felony count of Entry of Goods by Means of False Statements.

William “Bill” Dexter Lucas, 60, and Deborah Jean Lucas, 64, both of Bryan, Texas, pleaded guilty Dec. 8. Brian Corpian, 45, of Houston, entered his plea Dec. 2.

On Dec. 1, Integral Hygienic Solutions, Inc., a La Mesa-based sanitation company doing business as TruClean, pleaded guilty in federal court to defrauding customers by falsely claiming that its antimicrobial cleaning product was tested and approved by the EPA.

As early as July and August 2020, Darris Cotton submitted at least 16 fraudulent applications for unemployment using other people’s names, dates of birth, and social security numbers.

Facility status and interventions for COVID-19 management are based on determinations by, and in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidance on Prevention and Management of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Correctional and Detention Facilities.

ICE is proposing creating a framework under which the Secretary of Homeland Security could authorize alternative options for document examination procedures associated with the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. The notice of proposed rulemaking is seeking input from the public regarding making permanent some of the current COVID-19 pandemic-related flexibilities to examine employees’ identity and employment authorization documents for the Form I-9.

The lead defendant is 37-year-old Natalie Le Demola. She is currently serving a life prison sentence after she was convicted in 2005 of first-degree murder. 32-year-old Carleisha Neosha Plummer of Los Angeles is also charged. She was a close associate of Demola in prison until she was paroled in July 2020.

James Theodore Polzin, 48, of Gilbert, Arizona, pleaded guilty in October 2021.