Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Jorge Torres-Perez, 29, of Venezuela, is facing one count of assault on a federal officer, one count of threatening to assault or kill a federal officer, and one count of destruction of government property.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Matthew Henry Jacober, 44, of Bakersfield, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston to 5 years in prison for being a felon in possession of explosives and manufacturing crystal methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A Woodbridge man was sentenced today to three years in prison for violating criminal tax laws.
In November 2025, a federal jury convicted Omini Tete Riman of obstructing the IRS and willfully failing to file tax returns. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Riman was an information technology specialist and landlord, who filed false tax returns with the IRS for 2013 and 2014 and received refunds for both years that he was not entitled to receive. When the IRS attempted to recoup the refunds, Riman obstructed that effort – he transferred his property to a trust, opened a bank account in the name of the trust and directed his income to be deposited into the trust account to hide it from the IRS. Riman also submitted false documents claiming that the IRS collections officer handling his case had personally received over $600,000 from Riman, which, if accepted by the IRS, would have increased the officer’s own tax liability. In addition, Riman stopped filing tax returns for the years 2018 through 2023, even though he received a total of more than $854,000 during that period and was required to file each year. In total, Riman caused a tax loss to the IRS exceeding $500,000.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Daniel Lipkowitz of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Harvey for the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A Mexican national was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to import approximately 1,900 kilograms of cocaine into the United States.
According to court documents, the defendant, Jose Francisco Mendoza-Gomez, was a member of a Mexico-based drug trafficking organization (DTO) led by Marisela Flores-Torruco that was responsible for importing multi-hundred-kilogram quantities of cocaine into the United States for years. The DTO also engaged in bulk cash smuggling, bribery of Mexican officials and attempted kidnappings related to rival traffickers.
The DTO, which had operations in New York, Texas, and elsewhere in the United States, sourced its cocaine from Colombia and provided logistical and financial support to coordinate the narcotics’ passage through Central America and Mexico and into the United States. During the investigation, law enforcement made several cocaine seizures, including approximately 971 kilograms of cocaine on April 21, 2017, and 500 kilograms of cocaine on May 10, 2017, nearly all of which was attributable to the DTO.
In addition to cocaine trafficking, the DTO transported substantial illicit proceeds earned from its operations back to Mexico and elsewhere. DTO members engaged in bulk money transfers with cocaine suppliers and utilized a Chinese money laundering network to repatriate bulk narcotics proceeds out of the United States. The DTO also engaged in bribery of Mexican officials, including to gain access to information useful to its cocaine trafficking operations, and planned and attempted to execute multiple kidnappings related to rival drug traffickers and in efforts to secure outstanding debts.
Mendoza-Gomez assisted in coordinating and transporting cocaine for distribution in the United States, handled hundreds of thousands worth of narcotics proceeds, provided advice to the DTO’s leader and participated in the DTO’s efforts to plan kidnappings and obtain information from corrupt Mexican officials.
On Aug. 12, 2025, Mendoza-Gomez, along with 25 other fugitives, were transferred from Mexico to the United States.
Two of the defendant’s co-conspirators, Marisela Flores-Torruco and Qiyun Chen, have been convicted in the Eastern District of Virginia for their roles within the DTO, as have several individuals involved in the related Chinese money laundering network. Flores-Torruco pleaded guilty to possession, manufacture, or distribution of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 16 years and 8 months in prison. Chen pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)’s Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit, with assistance from DEA’s offices in Cartagena (Colombia), Bogota (Colombia), Panama City, Mexico City, and Guatemala City. U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service provided substantial assistance in the investigation.
Trial Attorney Caylee E. Campbell of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher M. Carter and Edgardo J. Rodriguez for the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A Mexican national was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to import approximately 1,900 kilograms of cocaine into the United States.
According to court documents, the defendant, Jose Francisco Mendoza-Gomez, was a member of a Mexico-based drug trafficking organization (DTO) led by Marisela Flores-Torruco that was responsible for importing multi-hundred-kilogram quantities of cocaine into the United States for years. The DTO also engaged in bulk cash smuggling, bribery of Mexican officials and attempted kidnappings related to rival traffickers.
The DTO, which had operations in New York, Texas, and elsewhere in the United States, sourced its cocaine from Colombia and provided logistical and financial support to coordinate the narcotics’ passage through Central America and Mexico and into the United States. During the investigation, law enforcement made several cocaine seizures, including approximately 971 kilograms of cocaine on April 21, 2017, and 500 kilograms of cocaine on May 10, 2017, nearly all of which was attributable to the DTO.
In addition to cocaine trafficking, the DTO transported substantial illicit proceeds earned from its operations back to Mexico and elsewhere. DTO members engaged in bulk money transfers with cocaine suppliers and utilized a Chinese money laundering network to repatriate bulk narcotics proceeds out of the United States. The DTO also engaged in bribery of Mexican officials, including to gain access to information useful to its cocaine trafficking operations, and planned and attempted to execute multiple kidnappings related to rival drug traffickers and in efforts to secure outstanding debts.
Mendoza-Gomez assisted in coordinating and transporting cocaine for distribution in the United States, handled hundreds of thousands worth of narcotics proceeds, provided advice to the DTO’s leader and participated in the DTO’s efforts to plan kidnappings and obtain information from corrupt Mexican officials.
On Aug. 12, 2025, Mendoza-Gomez, along with 25 other fugitives, were transferred from Mexico to the United States.
Two of the defendant’s co-conspirators, Marisela Flores-Torruco and Qiyun Chen, have been convicted in the Eastern District of Virginia for their roles within the DTO, as have several individuals involved in the related Chinese money laundering network. Flores-Torruco pleaded guilty to possession, manufacture, or distribution of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 16 years and 8 months in prison. Chen pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)’s Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit, with assistance from DEA’s offices in Cartagena (Colombia), Bogota (Colombia), Panama City, Mexico City, and Guatemala City. U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service provided substantial assistance in the investigation.
Trial Attorney Caylee E. Campbell of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher M. Carter and Edgardo J. Rodriguez for the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Tampa, FL – Jermaine Dawes (33, Tampa) has pleaded guilty to two robberies, conspiracy to commit those robberies, and brandishing a firearm during both robberies. He faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the robbery offenses and a minimum sentence of 7 years, up to life imprisonment, consecutive to any other sentence imposed for the firearm offenses. His sentencing date has not yet been set. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
PHOENIX, Ariz. – A man convicted of killing his significant other with his vehicle near McNary, Arizona, was sentenced on Feb. 5, 2026, in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine. Termane Billy Celaya, 20, of McNary, Arizona, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sharad H. Desai to 97 months in the Bureau of Prisons. Celaya previously pleaded guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
An indictment was unsealed today in the Northern District of Georgia charging two Honduran nationals with alien smuggling and fraud charges related to the smuggling of an unaccompanied alien child (UAC) and submission of an application to sponsor a UAC. The defendants were residing illegally in the United States at the time the alleged crimes were committed.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Defendants Allegedly Targeted Child Online, Lured Her to United States and Filed Fraudulent Sponsorship Application to Gain Custody
An indictment was unsealed today in the Northern District of Georgia charging two Honduran nationals with smuggling an unaccompanied alien child (UAC) into the United States using a stolen identity and then submitting a fraudulent sponsorship application to gain custody of the child. The defendants were residing illegally in the United States at the time the alleged crimes were committed.
“This indictment alleges a disturbing scheme where two individuals who were in this country illegally lured a young girl to the United States, gave her a false identity and tried to fraudulently gain custody of her through the Office of Refugee Resettlement,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Government programs designed to afford protection cannot become tools for exploitation – especially of children. The Criminal Division and Joint Task Force Alpha will find those who deceive the government to gain access to vulnerable children and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Through coordinated lies and deception, two illegal aliens smuggled a child into our country to facilitate the exploitation of a 15-year-old child by a 30-year-old man,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg for the Northern District of Georgia. “As a result of unwavering law enforcement dedication, the child has been removed from a predatory situation, and the deceitful duo who trafficked her will be held accountable for their crimes.”
“Defrauding a program designed to protect vulnerable children and attempting to manipulate the sponsorship process is a serious crime that will not be tolerated,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Scott J. Lampert of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “These programs are intended to ensure the safety and well-being of children in need and must never be misused for personal gain. Working with our law enforcement partners, HHS-OIG will aggressively pursue those who undermine these protections and bring them to justice.”
According to court documents, Luis Adolfo Mendoza Fonseca, 30, of Raleigh, North Carolina, allegedly met the UAC – a then-15-year-old Nicaraguan girl – online in the spring of 2024 and began a romantic relationship with her. Mendoza Fonseca then encouraged and paid for the child to leave her home in Nicaragua and travel to the United States using the identity of another minor, a purported Honduran national. Rosmery Yamibel Castillo Fonseca, 25, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, coached the child to tell immigration authorities that Castillo Fonseca was her cousin. After the UAC crossed into the United States at the Texas border, Castillo Fonseca submitted a sponsorship application to the Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), falsely claiming the child was her Honduran cousin. Both Mendoza Fonseca and Castillo Fonseca ultimately admitted to staff of an HHS-funded care provider that the UAC was not the person identified in the sponsorship application, and that Mendoza Fonseca had a romantic online relationship with the UAC.
Mendoza Fonseca and Castillo Fonseca are charged with one count of conspiracy to encourage and induce an alien to come to, enter, and reside in the United States, one count of aiding and abetting the encouragement and inducement of an alien to come to, enter, and reside in the United States for the purpose of commercial advantage and private financial gain, and one count of aiding and abetting making a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for conspiracy to encourage and induce an alien to come to, enter, and reside in the United States, a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for aiding and abetting the encouragement and inducement of an alien to come to, enter, and reside in the United States for the purpose of commercial advantage and private financial gain, and a maximum penalty of five years in prison for making a false statement.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and HHS-OIG are investigating the case. HSI’s Center for Countering Human Trafficking in Washington, D.C., and ORR provided valuable assistance.
Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) Trial Attorney Aaron Jennen and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leanne Marek for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.
The investigation and charges are supported and prosecuted by 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 440 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling and/or trafficking; more than 390 U.S. convictions; more than 330 significant jail sentences imposed, and forfeitures of substantial assets.
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 other transnational criminal organizations, 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 and Project Safe Neighborhoods.
An indictment is merely an allegation. 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
Baltimore, Maryland – A Silver Spring, Maryland, woman entered a guilty plea in federal court today, in connection with an unemployment insurance (UI) fraud scheme. Elizabeth Maria Ceballos, 49, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.