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June 5, 2019
|Document and Benefit Fraud

U.S. District Court Judge Laurie Smith Camp sentenced Sebastian Velasquez-Ramos, 47, to 28 months in federal prison following his criminal convictions for fraudulently using a Social Security card, falsely claiming U.S. citizenship, and aggravated identity theft. Velasquez-Ramos previously pleaded guilty to the charges.

June 5, 2019
|Child Exploitation

Leonard Bernard Lewis, 33, of Seattle, pleaded guilty in February 2019, admitting that he transported images of child rape and abuse on his personal electronic devices when he traveled from Seattle to London on March 1, 2018.

June 4, 2019
|Child Exploitation

According to court documents, Eric Hartley, 37, of Fort Hill, used various internet applications, including Kik and Dropbox, to send and receive child pornography. One of the individuals with whom Hartley traded child pornography was Jeramy Routh, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute child pornography in May.

June 4, 2019
|Narcotics

Eddy Steven Sandoval Lopez, 23, a Nicaraguan national residing in Sacramento, pleaded guilty, Monday, June 3, to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

June 4, 2019
|Transnational Gangs

Three of the MS-13 gang members, all Salvadoran nationals, were arrested on murder charges: Francisco Flores-Salazar, 19, Mario Guevara-Flores, 26, and Francisco Alberto Ancheta-Aquino, 21.

June 4, 2019
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking, Child Exploitation

Naasón Joaquín García (Joaquín García) and his co-defendants allegedly committed these crimes between 2015 and 2018 while leading La Luz Del Mundo, an international religious organization headquartered in Mexico with reportedly more than one million followers worldwide.

June 4, 2019
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking

Jorge Gonzalez-Ramirez, 27, Guatemala, and Joel Sanchez-Guzman, 25, Mexico, both pleaded guilty to their criminal charges June 4.

June 3, 2019
|Enforcement and Removal

On Jan. 2, the Attorney General’s Office in Sonora, Mexico, issued a warrant against Rodrigo Castillo Alvarez (a.k.a. Oscar Castillo or Alfonso Castillo Delgado) for the offenses of sexual abuse or rape of a child and child molestation. According to Mexican police records, Alvarez was alleged to be one of two predators who violated a female under the age of 12.

May 31, 2019
|Child Exploitation

Jerry Zweitzig, 71, the former pastor of Horsham Bible Church on Upland Avenue in Horsham, faces a maximum possible sentence of 170 years imprisonment, a minimum mandatory term of 15 years, 5 years of supervised release, and a $1,500,000 fine.

May 31, 2019
|Document and Benefit Fraud

Cleotilde Puac-Gomez, 46, a citizen of Guatemala who is illegally residing in the U.S. in Clarion, Iowa, was sentenced to two months in federal prison after pleading guilty Feb. 6, 2019, to one count of theft of U.S. government funds.

May 31, 2019
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

Fake jerseys, ball caps, t-shirts, jackets and other souvenirs are among the counterfeit merchandise and clothing typically sold during these events. Additionally, authorities have seen an increase in the sale of counterfeit tickets being sold to these events.

May 31, 2019
|Child Exploitation

Peter James Hufferd, 47, was on federal supervision living in sex offender housing in Seattle when law enforcement discovered he was secretly using a cell phone to communicate with minor females via social media. 

May 30, 2019
|Financial Crimes

The 36-count indictment unsealed today alleges that the defendants used the bank accounts, which were opened in the names that appeared on the altered passports, to write bad checks to other fraudulently obtained bank accounts. The defendants allegedly exploited bank rules that allowed them to transfer money from one account to another, and then to immediately withdraw funds at ATMs in Las Vegas casinos and other locations before the checks bounced.

May 30, 2019
|National Security
Rogelio Vasquez, 44, a.k.a. “James Harrison,” of Orange, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton, who said, “Simply put, the scheme was endangering lives for the sake of illicit profit.” Judge Staton also ordered Vasquez to pay $144,000 in restitution.
May 30, 2019
|Human Rights Violators
Francisco Cuxum Alvarado, a/k/a Francisco Cuxun-Alvarado, 64, was indicted on one count of illegal reentry into the United States and detained following arraignment on that charge.
May 29, 2019
|Professional Responsibility
The five-count indictment was returned under seal May 28. Federal law enforcement took into custody Benito Barrientez, 42, from Lyford; Damian Ortiz, 30, from Weslaco; and Exy Adelaida Gomez, 42, from Los Fresnos, Texas.
May 29, 2019
|Financial Crimes

Jose Manuel Gonzalez Testino, 49, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty May 29 to one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), one count of violating FCPA, and one count of failing to report foreign bank accounts.  His sentencing is set for Aug. 28.

May 28, 2019
|Narcotics
Scott Edward Cavell, 36, of Sacramento, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez to three years in prison for causing misbranded drugs to be introduced into interstate commerce.
May 28, 2019
|National Security

Murder suspects 44 year-old Douglas Lomas and 35 year-old Stephanie Ching, both of San Francisco, attempted to evade law enforcement last week by traveling to Beijing, China.

May 28, 2019
|Narcotics

On May 28, 2019, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Jason Randazzo,46, of Mountaintop, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on May 23, 2019, before Senior U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley, to conspiracy to import into the United States from China alpha-pvp, commonly known as “bath salts.” 

May 28, 2019
|Child Exploitation

Richard Blong, 28, was charged after an investigation into his online solicitation of three minor victims (all between the ages of 14 and 16 years old) to produce and send him sexually explicit photos of themselves, and his in-person meeting with one of the minor victims, during which he engaged in sexual contact with her and produced sexually explicit photos of her.  These offenses occurred throughout 2018.

May 28, 2019
|Document and Benefit Fraud

The indictment alleges that Andres Santos, 37, in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, in Luzerne County, Santos used the social security account number and other identification information of another person and misrepresented his citizenship status in order to obtain Medicaid Medical Assistance benefits and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in an amount over $1000.00 each, to which he was not entitled

May 28, 2019
|Child Exploitation

Special Agent in Charge Brad Bench of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle Field Office and U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced today that a federal jury sitting in Pocatello returned guilty verdicts against Lex Bennett Goodwin, 34, on five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, transportation of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.

May 28, 2019
|Narcotics

A federal grand jury charged Sean Shaughnessy, 51, with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, distribution of a controlled substance, distribution of a controlled substance analogue, and eight counts of money laundering.

May 24, 2019
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking

As part of the operation, law enforcement teams engaged with more than 15 potential human trafficking victims and gathered intelligence on potential traffickers. Eleven victims agreed to provide details on their situations to law enforcement, and several victims were paired with victim service representatives who can help the victims rebuild their lives through access to housing, medical care, legal assistance, transportation and more.

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