One-time Seattle resident sentenced to 30 years in prison for scheme to kidnap children in Vietnam and sexually abuse them

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Conspired with Vietnamese woman to kidnap and record sexual assault of child; planned to travel to Vietnam for sexual abuse

Seattle – A 38-year-old former Seattle resident was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for producing child sexual abuse imagery in his scheme to get images of sexually abused children from a coconspirator in Vietnam, announced U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Richard Stanley Maness Jr. was convicted in August 2025 of two federal felonies following a three-day jury trial. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones focused on the 4 and 7-year-old children sexually abused at Maness’ direction saying, “These victims were not candy in a dish for you to take out the one you liked…. In the mind of that 7-year-old you were a monster directing the pain she suffered.”

“In recommending this 30-year-prison sentence, our office is doing everything it can to protect innocent children here and overseas. Mr. Maness remains a danger, unable to accept the harm he has done,” said U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. “Instead, he insists he is the victim, but the jury and the judge saw through Maness’s fabricated claims of innocence.”

According to records filed in the case, law enforcement in Vietnam rescued two young children who had been kidnapped off the street in April 2024. The mother of the two sisters was distraught when she could not find them. The young girls were taken to an Airbnb by Maness’ female coconspirator. Records showed Maness rented the apartment. Messages between Manness and the coconspirator documented him directing sexual abuse of a child as young as 6-years-old.  The coconspirator sent the images of the child sexual abuse to Maness over the internet. Maness had plans to travel to Vietnam for further child sexual abuse. Maness was arrested in a Seattle apartment after detectives in Vietnam contacted Homeland Security Investigations with information about the child kidnapping and abuse. Maness has remained in federal custody since his arrest on August 28, 2024.

Maness was convicted of conspiracy to produce child sexual abuse material and production of child sexual abuse material.

In asking for the 30-year sentence prosecutors wrote to the court, “What Maness did was monstrous. And that he refuses to accept responsibility and clings to a preposterous and wholly incredible story to justify his claims of innocence is beyond the pale. The threat he poses to children is thus grave, particularly given his unwillingness to admit that his sexual interest in children led him to perpetrate unspeakable harm. Lengthy incapacitation through imprisonment and close supervision for the remainder of his life once released must be the order of the day.” Judge Jones sentenced Maness to 20 years of supervised release following the prison term.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations in cooperation with the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Hampton and Cecelia Gregson.

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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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 www.justice.gov/psc.

Anchorage Doctor and Husband Plead Guilty to Multi-Million Dollar Health Care, Tax Fraud Schemes

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – An Anchorage doctor and her husband pleaded guilty today to executing a $12.5 million health care fraud scheme and evading over $4 million in taxes on the profits of their decades-long scheme.

According to court documents, Dr. Claribel Tan, 61, and her husband, Daniel Tan, 70, operated a rheumatology medical clinic in Anchorage. Dr. Tan specialized in the treatment of autoimmune and musculoskeletal diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and psoriatic arthritis, and prescribed injectable medications to treat those conditions. Mr. Tan performed office and management work for the clinic. As part of their scheme, the Tans deceived their patients about the medications Dr. Tan administered by injection in the office, and fraudulently billed health insurance plans for reimbursement of medications that the Tans did not purchase.

Beginning in 2009, Dr. Tan routinely and surreptitiously underdosed patients, injected them with free samples or a different medication than prescribed, injected them with expired medication, and/or injected them with medications purchased by other patients. The Tans then knowingly billed insurance plans as if Dr. Tan had provided each patient a full and proper injection. Specifically, the Tans claimed to have administered 4,829 units of the medications to patients, and billed the insurance plans for that amount, despite only purchasing 369 units of medication.

Mr. Tan helped execute the scheme in part by creating and submitting fraudulent insurance claims and ordering insufficient medication for the clinic. The Tans also made false statements about the length of Dr. Tan’s office visits with her patients and submitted fraudulent claims to insurance plans for services that Dr. Tan never provided. The Tans’ fraud scheme created significant health risks to the patients and caused a loss of approximately $12,522,446 to more than 10 insurance plans.

The Tans also created false tax records to conceal the health care fraud scheme. The Tans knew that the clinic had not purchased the quantity of medications that they billed insurance plans for, and they fraudulently overstated the clinic’s expenses on the clinic’s tax returns for 2014, 2015, and 2017, allowing them to falsely underreport the clinic’s income. From 2018 to 2021, the Tans willfully failed to file tax returns for the clinic. The Tans’ tax fraud scheme caused a loss of approximately $4,249,509 to the IRS.

In 2024 and 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office seized approximately $10,471,106 in health care fraud proceeds from the Tans. As part of their plea agreements, the Tans agreed to forfeit those funds to the U.S. and agreed to pay an additional $6,300,849 towards their expected restitution judgment. The Tans further agreed to pay the U.S. an additional $1,855,144 to settle civil claims under the False Claims Act arising from the health care fraud scheme. Dr. Tan has also surrendered her medical license.

Dr. Tan and Mr. Tan will be sentenced on a later date.  They each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for health care fraud and five years in prison for tax fraud. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

More information about the case is available at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ak/united-states-v-tan-et-al. Victims may provide the court with a written Victim Impact Statement or may also provide a statement in person at sentencing. For more information, please contact usaak.victimwitness@usdoj.gov at least one week prior to sentencing.

U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman of the District of Alaska, Special Agent in Charge John Helsing, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Western Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Carrie Nordyke of the IRS Criminal Investigation Seattle Field Office made the announcement.

DCIS Western Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation Seattle Division, FBI Anchorage Field Office, Defense Contract Audit Agency, Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General Criminal Investigations Division, Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration, Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations and State of Alaska Division of Insurance Investigation Unit investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Dominick Giovanniello of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth Beausang and William Reed of the District of Alaska are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jackie Traini of the District of Alaska led the civil fraud investigation.

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San Diego Woman Pleads Guilty to Embezzling $8.5 Million from Employer

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

SAN DIEGO – Ping “Jenny” Gao, a resident of Point Loma, has pleaded guilty in federal court, admitting that she embezzled more than $8.5 million from her employer by draining four bank accounts belonging to his U.S. companies.

According to her plea agreement, Gao funneled company funds into accounts she fraudulently created and then went on a spending spree, buying a $160,000 Porsche and a $2.9 million home with views overlooking San Diego Bay and the downtown skyline.

When her employer discovered the theft and sued in San Diego Superior Court, Gao falsely claimed her actions were authorized by the real owner of the companies in China and the person who sued her was an “imposter.” To support this false defense, Gao paid more than $100,000 of embezzled funds to people in China to fabricate evidence, which she then knowingly filed with the Superior Court to oppose a motion for a preliminary injunction. Gao also committed perjury at her deposition in the civil matter by claiming the funds in the companies’ bank accounts belonged to her.

Though the Superior Court issued multiple orders barring Gao from further spending, transferring, or dissipating the proceeds during the pendency of the civil case, Gao disregarded the orders and continued to make transactions with the embezzled proceeds. Those transactions included wiring $1.6 million overseas to a bank account in Hong Kong, China.

In September 2023, the civil case went to trial and Gao testified in her defense. Gao committed perjury again by claiming the funds were from her investments in China. She also falsely claimed that one of the managers of the companies was helping to move her funds into the United States using “underground banks” to avoid Chinese laws limiting overseas transfers.

The Superior Court ultimately ruled against Gao and converted the preliminary injunction into a permanent injunction. Despite the permanent injunction, Gao continued to dissipate proceeds in violation of court order. This included selling the $160,000 Porsche to CarMax for $75,000 and exchanging a $70,000 cashier’s check from proceeds of that transaction with another individual for cash.

According to her plea agreement, Gao admitted that she transferred more than $1 million of the embezzled funds to her personal bank accounts and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on luxuries and at high-end fashion stores. There is also more than $3.29 million of embezzled funds that were squandered or remain unaccounted for to date.

This plea hearing took place on November 13, 2025. This press release was slightly delayed due to the lapse in appropriations.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick C. Swan.

DEFENDANTS                                            Case Number 23-CR-2380-JES                  

Ping Gao, aka Jenny Gao, Gao Ping               Age: 55                                   San Diego, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Wire Fraud – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1343

Maximum penalty: Thirty years in prison and fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater

Concealment Money Laundering – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1956(a)(1)(B)(i)

Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater

INVESTIGATING AGENCY

Federal Bureau of Investigation 

Michigan couple arrested, facing multiple charges involving harboring unauthorized aliens, and money laundering

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ROCHESTER, N.Y.–U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Moises Orduna-Rios, 36, and Raquel Orduna-Rios, 30, of Plymouth, Michigan, were arrested and charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy, transporting and harboring unauthorized aliens for commercial advantage or private financial gain, conspiracy to bring in, harbor, and transport unauthorized aliens, employment of at least 10 unauthorized aliens within a 12-month period, engaging in a pattern or practice of employing unauthorized aliens, and money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $3,000 for each unauthorized alien employed by the defendants.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan K. McGuire, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, Orduna Plumbing Inc., is a plumbing company based in Michigan, with operations throughout the United States, including in New York, Michigan, North Carolina, and Ohio. Moises Orduna-Rios is the president of Orduna Plumbing, while Raquel Orduna-Rios is the Treasurer and Secretary.

It is believed that since January 2022, through December 2024, the defendants employed approximately 253 individuals. Out of the 253 individuals, only six were confirmed to be legally present and permitted to work in the United States. The defendants collected the passports of the unauthorized aliens and housed them in overcrowded houses and hotel rooms. It is estimated that between January 1, 2022, and August 7, 2025, Moises Orduna-Rios and Raquel Orduna-Rios generated approximately $74,000,000 in customer revenue.  During the course of the investigation, U.S. Border Patrol agents and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 23 unauthorized aliens employed by Orduna Plumbing, in Buffalo, Rochester, and Charlotte, North Carolina.

The investigation uncovered messaging communications between Moises Orduna-Rios and some of the unauthorized aliens, during which they discussed payroll, proper care of company vehicles, proper use of company credit cards, concerns about being undocumented, switching housing locations to be less visible to law enforcement, and precautions that should be taken to avoid being apprehended. For instance, on February 1, 2025, Moises Orduna-Rios sent this message by way of a group chat stating, “Gentlemen, with all the controversy that is going on, its better to get ready, drive the speed limit, limit yourselves going to the store, only do minimal running of errands, and do not have any gatherings such as barbeques…”

In the summer of 2025, Border Patrol agents executed a search warrant at a Rochester residence that housed some of the unauthorized aliens believed to be working for Orduna Plumbing. Border Patrol found nine individuals, all of whom were illegally present in the United States, living in a small sparsely furnished residence.  

A financial review of Orduna Plumbing revealed the company paid hundreds of employees known to be illegally present in the United States through multiple bank accounts used and controlled by the defendants.

Moises Orduna-Rios and Raquel Orduna-Rios made an initial appearance today in Federal Court in the Eastern District of Michigan and were released on conditions. They are scheduled to appear in the Western District of New York on December 2, 2025, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark W. Pedersen.

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.

The criminal complaint and seizures are the result of an investigation by U.S. Border Patrol, Rochester Station, under the direction of Patrol Agent-in-Charge Juan Ramirez, Jr., and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Harry Chavis. Additional assistance was provided by Customs and Border Protection, under the direction of Rose Brophy, Director of Field Operations and Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, under the direction of Joseph Saville and Mark Diss.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.  

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Final Aryan Brotherhood Gang Member Sentenced to Life in Prison for Conspiracy Convictions Including Conspiracy to Commit Murder

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Danny Troxell, 72, of Fresno, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller to life in prison for participating in a RICO conspiracy and a conspiracy to commit murder, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to evidence produced at trial, between 2011 and 2019, Aryan Brotherhood (or AB) members and associates engaged in racketeering activity, committing multiple acts involving murder, conspiracies to murder, and drug trafficking crimes. The trial evidence showed that Aryan Brotherhood members oversaw a significant heroin and methamphetamine trafficking operation from their California prison cells using smuggled cellphones to direct drug trafficking activities, order murders, and oversee other criminal activities inside and outside of the prisons.

At trial, the jury heard evidence that the Aryan Brotherhood elevated Troxell to a position of leadership on the gang’s three-man commission in the early 2000s when nearly all of the prominent AB members were housed in Pelican Bay state prison. In 2016, wiretaps by the Drug Enforcement Administration captured Troxell discussing gang business with another member. He explained that he viewed the gang as “blood in, blood out,” meaning you had to kill to enter the gang, and you could only leave it by being killed.

The wiretaps also caught Troxell ordering the murder of another AB member housed in Calipatria state prison. Law enforcement moved quickly to stop the plot and keep the targeted inmate from being harmed. The jury found Troxell guilty of RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to commit murder based upon the intercepted calls and testimony from other gang members.

The district court previously imposed life sentences on five other Aryan Brotherhood defendants in this case: Ronald Yandell, William Sylvester, Pat Brady, Jason Corbett, and Brant Daniel.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Vallejo Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office, and the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Hitt, Ross Pearson, and David Spencer prosecuted the case.

This case 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. HSTF Sacramento comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, Northern California High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, and Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

Gang Member Sentenced for Illegal Possession of Firearm

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man with ties to a local gang was sentenced in federal court today to illegally possessing a stolen firearm that has been connected to two shootings.

Jayden Isaac Simmonds, 19, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool, to 63 months in federal prison without parole for being an unlawful user of a controlled substance while in possession of a firearm.

Simmonds, who pleaded guilty on May 19, 2025, admitted he possessed a stolen Smith and Wesson 10mm semi-automatic pistol, was a daily user of marijuana, and addicted to fentanyl. Simmonds also admitted to being a member of a local gang known as the “1500” which is closely associated to another area gang, FTO.

On Jan. 30, 2024, the Springfield Police Department responded to a car accident. One of the drivers indicated that his two passengers, which included Simmonds, had fled the scene and taken the driver’s two firearms with him. The following day, police responded to a drive-by shooting and located shell casings which were consistent with the firearm that Simmonds had taken on Jan. 30, 2024.

On Aug. 23, 2024, Simmonds’s father turned in the Smith & Wesson pistol to the Springfield Police Department. Investigators later learned that the pistol had been stolen.

Following his arrest, Simmonds told investigators he had been using marijuana daily since he was 11 or 12 years old, that he had been using opioids since he was around 15 or 16, and had been using fentanyl.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Christian County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Child Predator Sentenced To 35 Years In Prison

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard has sentenced Evin Scott Young (39, Texas) to 35 years in federal prison for production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. Young pleaded guilty on May 14, 2025.

According to court documents, Young pursued four children solely for sex. Using various social media applications, he drew each of the victims – ranging from 15 to 17 years old – out of their homes after their parents went to sleep, instructed them to meet him at the front of their neighborhoods, and brought each back to his apartment. Young recorded himself having sex with two of the victims and invited another man to have sex with one victim. Over a 10-month period, Young continued his sexual abuse of another victim, sent him CSAM he made of the victim, and told the victim never to get caught with it. Over six months, Young repeatedly groomed and courted the final victim for sex. Law enforcement caught Young after following the thread of a CyberTip identifying explicit communications between him and one of the victims. From there, further investigation revealed evidence of his crimes.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly S. Milliron.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. 

Oregon Man Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for Child Exploitation Offense Related to Illegal Sexual Activity with Connecticut Minor

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that CANYON BEASLEY, 22, of Gresham, Oregon, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sarah F. Russell in New Haven to 84 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release for a child exploitation offense involving his engaging in an online relationship and unlawful sexual activity with a minor in Connecticut.

According to court documents and statements made in court, beginning in approximately January 2023, Beasley began communicating with a minor victim in Connecticut primarily through text messaging and Snapchat.  In July 2023, he began requesting sexually explicit images and videos from the minor victim.  In August 2023, he learned that the minor victim was 13 years old.  For more than a year, Beasley and the minor victim exchanged sexually explicit images through these online platforms.  In June 2024, Beasley traveled to Connecticut to engage in sexual activity with the minor victim and recorded the sexual activity using his phone.

Beasley was arrested on September 30, 2024.  On April 25, 2025, he pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography.

Beasley, who is released on a $250,000 bond, is required to report to prison on January 28.

Beasley pleaded guilty in Connecticut state court to a related charge and is awaiting sentencing in that matter.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Cheshire Police Department and the Connecticut State Police.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Lembo.

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.