Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

19 individuals were arrested today in the United States, Colombia, Ecuador, and El Salvador in connection with racketeering, money laundering and visa fraud charges. Five of the arrestees are charged in a U.S. indictment for participation in a four-year transnational visa fraud, racketeering, and money-laundering scheme that defrauded thousands of Central and South American nationals seeking to work lawfully in the United States. Victims were defrauded of over $2.5M dollars.

The U.S. defendants face charges of racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and conspiracy to defraud the United States by impersonating U.S. officials and misusing and counterfeiting the seals and insignia of U.S. departments and agencies. One of the U.S. charged defendants was arrested in Sacramento, California, and one was arrested in the Dallas area. The remaining three U.S. defendants were arrested in Medellin, Colombia. The defendant arrested in Sacramento, California, made his initial appearance in court today; the other will see a judge tomorrow. The three defendants arrested in Colombia will be the subject of extradition proceedings. One indicted defendant in Colombia remains at large.

Other individuals arrested in this international law enforcement operation were arrested in Ecuador and El Salvador and will likely face separate charges in those countries.

“These defendants are charged with masquerading as United States officials in order to fraudulently enrich themselves at the expense of victims seeking to lawfully travel to the United States,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The defendants are alleged to have deployed their scheme to steal tens of thousands of dollars from hundreds of victims. The Criminal Division will aggressively pursue schemes that undermine immigration laws and erode confidence in government processes.”

“The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) is committed to protecting the integrity of U.S. travel documents and investigating those who seek to exploit the visa and passport process,” said Chief Joseph Jung of the DSS Overseas Criminal Investigations Division. “This operation demonstrates the strength of our international law enforcement partnerships and our resolve to hold fraudsters accountable. DSS is proud to have supported this coordinated effort, which has resulted in arrests across four countries and the disruption of a transnational visa and financial fraud scheme affecting victims throughout Latin and South America.”

“HSI and our federal partners have successfully dismantled a sophisticated international multi-million-dollar immigration fraud scheme that not only spanned multiple countries, but also preyed on thousands of migrants seeking to enter the United States the right way,” said Assistant Director for International Operations Ricardo Mayoral of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “Our mission is to restore integrity to our nation’s immigration system after years of abuse and neglect. HSI and our federal partners will not rest until this scourge is finally put to rest.”

“U.S. Agency for International Development Office of Investigations Office of Inspector General (USAID/OIG) works in close coordination with our law enforcement counterparts to aggressively disrupt criminal activity across the globe to ensure significant consequences for defrauding the United States.” said Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Zachary Baumgart for the USAID/OIG.

Victims were deceived into believing that they were participating in a legitimate visa-application process though Facebook pages and other websites fraudulently advertising assistance in obtaining supposedly legal work-visas for the United States. Instead, victims were guided through an elaborate, fake process during which co-conspirators called “asesores” (consultants) pretended to help with the application process and made false representations during calls and electronic communications about jobs that were available or offered. These aseores worked out of illegal call centers in Colombia.

As part of the fraud, defendants and other co-conspirators impersonated U.S. government officials in video calls and induced victims to make international wire transfers supposedly to pay required U.S. fees to intermediaries in at least 16 states. Victims were shown counterfeit documents, such as fake visa approvals and employment authorizations that included counterfeit replicas of U.S. department and agency seals. The money bilked from victims was laundered as money made its way from the intermediaries in the U.S. to enterprise leaders, it typically changed hands at least twice; often more frequently.

Believing that they had actual appointments at U.S. Embassies in their home countries to obtain a valid U.S. visa, unwittingly victims would report to U.S. embassies in those countries for appointments that did not exist. In fact, no legitimate visas or services of any kind were rendered to victims. Some victims traveled long distances to non-existent appointments at U.S. Embassies.

Law enforcement has interviewed approximately 700 victims to date and there is evidence that over 7000 additional victims were drawn into the fraud scheme. Reported victim losses range from approximately $50 to $90,000 per person. Between approximately 2021 and the present, enterprise members have been responsible for approximately $2.5 million sent from victims in up to 15 countries to the United States in relation to this scheme.

U.S. Defendants

The six defendants indicted on Oct. 1, 2025, in the Southern District of Florida are as follows:

Edwin Alberto Correa-David supervised approximately eight call center offices in Medellin, including deciding which fraudulent websites to use, how much to charge victims, and which U.S. fund-recipients to use as intermediaries.

Andres Giraldo-Ospina, another leader in Medellin, was responsible for the creation of  multiple fraudulent websites and provided technical assistance to call centers when websites did not work properly. Over time, he also took charge of an additional group of call centers beyond those overseen by Correa.

Danna Pamela Porras-Marin managed one Medellin call center and provided broad-ranging administrative support for other call centers. She also obtained and designed websites used in the fraud.

Esteban Robledo-Correa started as a U.S. intermediary and recruited and managed other intermediaries to receive funds from victims and then moved the funds onward. After returning to Colombia, he helped manage call centers in Medellin. Robledo-Correa remains a fugitive.

Julian Giraldo-Ospina, who was arrested in Sacramento, California, oversaw a group of intermediaries laundering money in the Sacramento, California area and partnered with his brother, Andres Giraldo-Ospina, in leading a Medellin-based center.

Viviana Urrego-Rojas, who was arrested in Denton, Texas, coordinated intermediaries to receive money from victims and then relayed the funds back to Colombia.

Additional Arrests in Colombia, El Salvador and Ecuador

The U.S. and Colombian arrests were part of a coordinated law enforcement campaign in four countries. In Colombia, the Colombian National Police’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations–Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit and the Colombian Attorney General’s Office conducted the arrests as well as searches of three call centers.

In El Salvador, an investigation by the National Police and Office of the Attorney General, resulted in the arrest of six people in this and other visa-fraud schemes.

The Ecuadorian National Police’s Anti-Human Trafficking and Smuggling Unit (UNAT), in coordination with the Ecuadorian Prosecutor General’s Office for Guayas Province conducted coordinated operations in five cities throughout the country, resulting in the arrest of eight people and raids of two locations. These individuals were responsible for the Ecuador-based operations of the racketeering and money-laundering scheme.

* * *

The indictment is the result of a law enforcement investigation conducted with multiple agencies, including USAID/OIG; DSS, United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including HSI, Citizenship and Immigration Service, Enforcement and Removal Operations, and Customs and Border Protection.

Significant assistance was provided by the Colombian National Police’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations – Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit, the Colombian Attorney General’s Office, the Salvadoran National Police, the Salvadoran Attorney’s General Office, the Ecuadorian National Police, and the Ecuadorian Prosecutor General’s Office for Guayas Province.

Trial Attorneys Amy L. Schwartz, Grace Bowen, and Kelly Pearson, of the Justice Department’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section, are prosecuting the case. Substantial assistance was provided by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Colombia and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Southern District of Florida, the Eastern District of California, and the Eastern District of Texas. 

Anyone who believes he or she has been a victim of this fraud and has not already been in contact with law enforcement, can email FakeVisaVictim@state.gov to submit a report.

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

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

MISSOULA – A Texas man accused of trafficking eagles admitted to charges today, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

The defendant, John Patrick Butler, 71, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, two counts of unlawful trafficking of bald and golden eagles, and one count of purchasing eagles and eagle parts that had been killed illegally, in violation of the Lacey Act. Butler faces up to 5 years of imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided. U.S. District Court Judge Dana L. Christensen will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is set for April 7, 2026. Butler was released with conditions pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents that law enforcement uncovered messages from co-defendant Travis John Branson and others describing the illegal taking of eagles by stating, “[O]ut [here] committing felonies,” and telling buyers he was “on a killing spree” to obtain eagle tail feathers for future sales.

Co-defendant Simon Paul, Branson, and others, hunted and killed eagles on the Flathead Indian Reservation and elsewhere. In total, approximately 3,600 birds were killed, including eagles. They then illegally sold the eagles on the black market for significant sums of cash across the United States and elsewhere.

The killing of eagles is fueled by individuals willing to purchase the eagles on the black market. Butler was one of those purchasers and he requested the killing of specific types of eagles. For example, Butler inquired of Branson, “Did u ever see any crispy ones yet?” Butler would then purchase eagles from co-defendants by transferring money to through PayPal and other forms of online payment. In return, the co-defendants sent the eagles, including their parts, through the mail from Montana to Humble, Texas, where Butler resides. Postal records and text messages confirm Butler received the eagles, hawks, and their parts.

From November 2020 until March 2021, Butler purchased eagles shot in Montana and elsewhere, including:

• On December 14, 2020, Butler paid Branson $450 through PayPal for two tail feather sets—a golden eagle tail set and a bald eagle tail set.
• On December 17, 2020, Branson sent a text message to Butler with a photo of a golden eagle tail set. On the same date, Butler paid Branson $300 through a PayPal purchase for the golden eagle tail set.
• On December 28, 2020, Butler sent Branson $750 for the purchase of two golden eagle tails. Branson mailed the package filled with the two golden eagle tails through the United States Postal Service and Butler confirmed he received the package on January 4, 2021.
• On January 7, 2021, Butler purchased two golden eagle tail sets from Branson. On the same date, Butler sent Branson $900.
• On March 1, 2021, Butler purchased two golden eagle sets from Branson after Branson sent pictures of the tail sets to Butler.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randy Tanner and Ryan Weldon prosecuted the case. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted the investigation.

The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act was enacted in 1940 to protect the bald eagle, recognizing that the bald eagle is not merely a bird of biological interest, but this country’s national symbol, which reflects America’s ideals of freedom. In 1962, Congress extended the Act to also protect golden eagles.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

MADISON, WIS. – Chadwick M. Elgersma, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Christopher Harter, 49, Wausau, Wisconsin, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge William M. Comley to 7 years in federal prison for possessing 40 grams or more of fentanyl with intent to distribute. This prison term will be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Harter also pleaded guilty to this charge yesterday.

In February 2025, investigators with the Central Wisconsin Narcotics Task Force identified Harter as a heroin dealer in the Wausau, Wisconsin, area. Investigators also determined that Harter frequently traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to purchase heroin that he would then sell in the Wausau area.

On March 7, 2025, investigators stopped a car in which Harter was a passenger as it returned to Wausau from Milwaukee. Investigators located 80.3 grams of a fentanyl and heroin mixture in Harter’s pocket. Investigators executed a search of Harter’s apartment on the same day. There, investigators located more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, a drug ledger, a digital scale, and drug paraphernalia.

At sentencing, Judge Conley noted Harter’s long-standing history of selling drugs and prior convictions for drug related conduct. Judge Conley also noted that Harter continued to degrade his community by selling drugs.

The charges against Harter were the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI’s Central Wisconsin Narcotics Task Force with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor L. Kraus prosecuted this case.

Federal criminal cases involving narcotics 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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

LAREDO, Texas – A 32-year-old Mexican national who unlawfully resided in Laredo has been convicted of unlawful possession of a machine gun and drug trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

The jury deliberated for approximately two hours and 30 minutes before returning the guilty verdicts on all 12 counts as charged against Carlos Alberto Garcia-Guajardo following a less than three-day trial. 

The jury heard that Garcia-Guajardo and Fernando Patino Jr., also an illegal alien, sold firearms and cocaine out of a residential home in Laredo. The firearms included several machine guns.

Testimony revealed details of the undercover operation which began with the sale of a pistol. At that time, Garcia-Guajardo had indicated he and Patino could also offer drugs for sale.

On Jan. 2, Patino and Garcia-Guajardo sold the first of two machine guns – a model 22 Glock equipped with a conversion device. In the following weeks, they arranged additional sales involving cocaine and other firearms. In total, Patino and Garcia-Guajardo sold 10 firearms.

The jury heard the pair used the sale of cocaine and firearms to negotiate future deals. Testimony revealed that during one transaction, they told a buyer that “because you are paying full price on the snow, we will cut you a deal on the Glock.” 

Evidence also showed Garcia-Guajardo and Patino not only sold firearms but fired them indiscriminately in their neighborhood and conducted extensive drug trafficking.

On Jan. 31, law enforcement executed a search warrant on the 3000 block of Monterrey Street in Laredo. At that time, they found Garcia-Guajardo along with Jose Guadalupe Hernandez-Garza, a 26-year-old illegal alien from Mexico, as well as scales, cash in various denominations, multiple firearms and crack cocaine stored near items belonging to young children. 

Garcia-Guajardo had been ordered removed from the United States on two occasions, most recently in July 2024. As an illegal alien, he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition per federal law. 

Visting U.S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle presided over trial and has set sentencing for March 5. 

Garcia-Guajardo faces a mandatory minimum of 30 years and up to life in federal prison. He could also be ordered to pay a $250,000 maximum fine. 

Patino, 33, pleaded guilty prior to trial and is pending sentencing. 

Both Patino and Garcia-Guajardo have been and will remain in custody pending sentencing. 

Hernandez-Garza admitted to being an alien illegally in possession of a firearm and ammunition and has been ordered to prison. 

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; Laredo Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of ICE – Enforcement and Removal Operations, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Anti-Gang Unit – Laredo Center and Border Patrol.

Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Tory R. Sailer and Brandon Scott Bowling 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 and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

MIAMI – A Georgia businessman was sentenced yesterday to eight years in prison for his role in a nearly five-year long scheme to bribe Honduran government officials and to launder money to secure business for a Georgia-based manufacturer of law enforcement uniforms and accessories. He was also ordered to forfeit over $2 million.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Carl Alan Zaglin, 70, of Marietta, Georgia, agreed to pay bribes to Honduran officials in order to obtain and retain business with Comité Técnico del Fideicomiso para la Administración del Fondo de Protección y Seguridad Poblacional (TASA), a Honduran governmental entity that procured goods for the Honduran National Police.

“Bribery is theft from the public,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “This defendant tried to buy influence, rig contracts, and corrupt a foreign government for his own gain. Today’s sentence makes clear that when you bribe public officials, anywhere in the world, you answer for it in an American courtroom.”

The trial evidence showed that, between March 2015 and November 2019, Zaglin, the owner and CEO of Atlanco LLC (Atlanco), orchestrated the payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to Honduran officials — including former TASA Executive Director Francisco Roberto Cosenza Centeno and former TASA Titular Director Juan Ramon Molina — in order to secure contracts with TASA worth more than $10 million. The bribes were paid through Aldo Nestor Marchena, a third-party intermediary then residing in Boca Raton, Florida, who received $2.5 million in payments of sham invoices authorized by Zaglin. In exchange for the bribes, Cosenza and other Honduran government officials assisted Zaglin, Marchena, and others in obtaining contracts for the sale of uniforms and other goods for the Honduran National Police and securing payment on the contracts.

Zaglin was convicted after trial in September 2025. Marchena, Cosenza, and Molina all previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Marchena was sentenced to 84 months in prison for his role in the scheme in November 2025. Cosenza and Molina are awaiting sentencing.

The Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami Field Office investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and authorities in Belize, Colombia, and Spain provided assistance with the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli S. Rubin for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Peter L. Cooch and Clayton P. Solomon of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA and Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA and FEPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah –A Salt Lake County man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for drug and firearm crimes after he allegedly attempted to sell fentanyl pills during a controlled buy in Murray, Utah.

Richard Daniel Garcia, 36, of, Murray, Utah, was charged by complaint on November 19, 2025.

According to court documents, on November 17, 2025, agents assigned to the DEA Metro Narcotics Task Force (MNTF) and Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) conducted an operation involving the controlled purchase of fentanyl pills. During the controlled purchase, after confirming the sale of fentanyl, agents arrested Garcia. Agents seized a Springfield Hellcast 9mm handgun and 1,032 grams of fentanyl. The weight of the fentanyl pills possessed by Garcia was approximately 10,000 individual pills.

Garcia is charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. His initial appearance on the indictment is December 4, 2025, at 1:15 p.m. in courtroom 8.4 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.

United States Attorney Melissa Holyoak for the District of Utah made the announcement.

The case is being investigated jointly by the DEA Metro Narcotics Task Force (MNTF) and Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF).

Special Assistant United States Attorney Alex Westenskow of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah 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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) 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 United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, 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. The case was investigated by agents and officers of the HSTF Salt Lake and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.

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

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 38-year-old Mexican national has been sentenced for his part in a human smuggling event that occurred earlier this year, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Alejandro Ramirez-Carranza, Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, pleaded guilty May 8, to transporting and bringing an alien into the United States as well as illegal reentry and being an alien in possession of a firearm.

U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera has now imposed a 60-month term of imprisonment. Not a U.S. citizen, Ramirez-Carranza is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment. At the hearing, the court enhanced his sentence for organizing the smuggling event, brandishing a firearm and creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.

Mexican citizen Issac Azuara-Vasquez, 40, entered a plea April 10 to the same smuggling-related charges and to selling a firearm to Ramirez-Carranza. He was previously sentenced to 54 months. He could also lose his status as a lawful permanent resident and face removal proceedings. He also received sentencing enhancements for brandishing a firearm and for recklessly creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another person.

On Feb. 12, authorities were conducting surveillance in an area of the border known for its high volume of alien, drug and weapon smuggling. There, agents heard a boat crossing Rio Grande from Mexico. After hearing an individual in Spanish telling people to run, law enforcement saw a truck Azuara-Vasquez was driving heading toward the river. The truck stopped by the river’s edge, and several individuals ran from the brush and climbed into the truck bed.  

Ramirez-Carranza, who was standing near the pickup, retrieved an AR-15-type rifle from the vehicle and began to run towards the rear of the truck bed, ignoring multiple commands to stop and drop the weapon.

The investigation ultimately revealed Ramirez-Carranza was a river guide and had conspired with Azuara-Vasquez to transport and smuggle the aliens apprehended in the truck bed. One smuggled person indicated Ramirez-Carranza brought him across the Rio Grande River by boat and that his relatives were paying for him to be brought into the United States.

Ramirez-Carranza has felony convictions for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and illegal reentry after deportation. He was last removed from the United States in September 2009.

Both have been and will remain in custody pending sentencing.

Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation with the assistance of the FBI and the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Angel Castro 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 and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The CEO of a Fresno-based home health care company was arrested at San Francisco International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Nigeria. He is charged in a criminal complaint alleging that he fraudulently obtained more than $7 million in payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs for services that were never actually rendered, including care purportedly rendered to veterans weeks after they had died, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents, between December 2019 and July 2024, Cashmir Chinedu Luke, believed to be 66, of Antioch, operated Four Corners Health LLC. That entity provided unskilled in-home nursing and day-to-day care for elderly VA beneficiaries under the Veterans Community Care Program. Four Corners provided services in Fresno, Tulare, Merced, Mariposa, Madera, San Francisco, and Contra Costa Counties. Luke engaged in a five-year scheme to bill the VA for hours of care that were not actually rendered to veterans. Luke caused Four Corners to submit approximately 10,000 individual false claims of care provided that caused the VA, through its third-party benefits administrator, to reimburse Four Corners $7 million for duplicate claims for care actually provided, claims for days caretakers were not present with veterans, claims for hours of care beyond those actually worked by caretakers, and claims of care for veterans who were actually dead.

Luke served as the sole owner and billing representative for Four Corners and actively deceived the VA’s third-party benefits administrator as it attempted to recover some of the fraudulently paid reimbursements. This allowed the Four Corners billing scheme to continue. Luke personally profited from the scheme as the sole owner of the bank account that received the reimbursement payments. Luke spent reimbursement payments immediately after being paid by the VA, either by spending lavishly on personal expenses or by promptly transferring the funds across a network of bank accounts throughout Asia and Africa.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Calvin Lee is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Luke faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Mexican national has been sentenced for illegally reentering the United States.

Andres G. Angel-Martinez, 25, pleaded guilty to illegal reentry by a previously removed alien and was sentenced to time served by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Dec. 3, 2025.  Angel-Martinez has been in custody since March 2025.   He is being held on an active immigration detainer and will soon be deported to Mexico.

According to information presented in court, on April 15, 2025, Angel-Martinez was transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody at the Cass County, Missouri Jail after being previously removed from the United States on November 11, 2019.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rudolph R. Rhodes IV. It was investigated by ICE, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Operation Take Back America

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.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and P.J. O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that RUDOLPH GIRDHARI, 36, of Norwalk, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today in Hartford federal court to possession of child pornography.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in May 2012, Girdhari was convicted in state court of possession of child pornography in the second degree, and was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment, execution suspended after two years, and 20 years of probation.  In 2022 and 2023, an FBI investigation of individuals trading child sex abuse images and videos on Wickr, an encrypted communication service, determined that an email address connected to Girdhari was being used to access two child pornography trading networks on Wickr.

On May 2, 2024, investigators conducted a court-authorized search of Girdhari’s residence and seized numerous electronic devices including phones, tablets, computers, hard drives, and thumb drives.  Analysis of the seized devices revealed more than 2,000 images and videos of child sex abuse.

Girdhari has been detained since May 16, 2024, when he was arrested for violating his state probation.

Sentencing is scheduled for February 27, 2026, at which time Girdhari faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.  The penalties in this matter are enhanced based on Girdhari’s prior conviction for possession of child pornography.

This matter is being investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Office of Adult Probation and the Norwalk Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anastasia E. King.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.