Category: MIL-OSI

Source: US FBI

FRESNO, Calif. — The United States has entered a consent decree with Dale Lake of Hanford to resolve a lawsuit brought by the United States pursuant to the Anti-Fraud Injunction Statute, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced today.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, alleged that Lake was a “money mule” who was facilitating a mail and wire fraud scheme that primarily victimized senior citizens. According to the complaint, Lake received funds or gift cards obtained via fraud, then transmitted those funds to accomplices in Jamaica. Other participants in the fraud scheme contacted potential victims; falsely claimed that those victims had won a lottery, sweepstakes, or prize; and induced victims to transmit money to Lake, supposedly in order to receive the falsely promised winnings.

The consent decree announced today, approved by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston, permanently prohibits Lake from assisting, facilitating, or participating in any prize promotion fraud or any money transmitting business. The decree also authorizes the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) to monitor Lake’s incoming mail for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the decree.

“Money mules facilitate fraud against vulnerable populations,” said U.S. Attorney Talbert. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will hold accountable anyone who engages in schemes to defraud the public. Our office is committed to educating the public about how fraudsters use money mules to receive and transfer money to third parties.”

“Postal Inspectors will continue to use all the tools of law enforcement, including civil remedies, to protect the public from fraud schemes employing money mules,” said Inspector in Charge Stephen M. Sherwood of the USPIS San Francisco Division.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the USPIS. It is part of a larger effort by the Justice Department, USPIS, FBI, and other federal law enforcement agencies to identify, disrupt, and prosecute networks of individuals who transmit funds from fraud victims to international fraudsters. Such fraudsters rely on money mules to facilitate a range of fraud schemes, including those that predominantly impact older Americans, such as lottery fraud, romance scams, and grandparent scams, as well as those that target businesses or government pandemic funds. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Fuentes handled this case for the United States.

Source: US FBI

          WASHINGTON – A California man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting law enforcement and other charges related to his alleged conduct during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. His alleged actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

          Dane Christoffer Thompson, 45, of Granite Bay, California, is charged with felony offenses of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and civil disorder.

          In addition to the felonies, Thompson is charged with five misdemeanor offenses, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.

          The FBI arrested Thompson on Nov. 22, 2024, in California, and he will make his initial appearance today in the Eastern District of California.

          According to court documents, on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, Thompson attended the “Stop the Steal Rally” in Washington, D.C., near the National Mall. After the rally, Thompson walked with a large crowd along Pennsylvania Avenue toward the U.S. Capitol building. Thompson initially arrived on the Capitol’s West Front and moved through the crowd to the front of the mob, where police officers had arranged bicycle rack barricades near the Inaugural Stage.

          Open-source images and videos captured Thompson directly in front of these barricades, adjacent to a media tower that had been erected for the upcoming presidential inauguration. Here, Thompson allegedly joined with other rioters as they attempted to bypass police, the barricades, and physically interfere with police. Open-source video footage captured Thompson as he grabbed a bike rack at the front of the police line and wrestled it away from an officer.

          At approximately 2:28 p.m., the police line on the West Plaza collapsed after rioters overcame officers, forcing officers to fall back toward the Capitol building. It is alleged that Thompson then surged forward with other rioters, moved past a police barricade, and grabbed the right arm of a police officer. As Thompson moved past police, he tripped and fell over a step. Another rioter shoved a police officer backward, who then fell over Thompson’s body on the ground. Moments later, it is alleged that Thompson stood up and lunged at police, forcing officers to use their batons to repel the attack.

          These actions did not repel Thompson, who then proceeded to turn around and, with another rioter’s assistance, drove his back into a police officer, pushing the officer toward the Capitol and against the side of an elevated platform on the West Plaza. Body-worn camera footage then captured Thompson reaching toward a police officer before being grabbed by a Capitol Police officer.

          Police eventually retreated from this area and gathered in a passageway that led from the Lower West Terrace – where the inaugural stage was being built – to the interior of the Capitol building known as the Tunnel. The Tunnel was the site of some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement on January 6th.  At approximately 2:56 p.m., video footage captured Thompson entering the Tunnel as other rioters hurled objects at officers, including a large construction marker. It is alleged that Thompson then immediately joined rioters in a coordinated effort to break through the police line by rocking their bodies and using their collective force to push against the officers in the Tunnel.

          At approximately 3:00 p.m., Thompson helped pass a police riot shield from the entrance of the Tunnel to other rioters. He then moved to the front of the crowd in the Tunnel and participated in another concerted “heave-ho” push by the mob against the police. Court documents say that Thompson participated in this coordinated push for several minutes and, at approximately 3:05 p.m., stopped shoving, turned around, and exited the Tunnel.

          This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

          This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Sacramento and Washington Field Offices. Thompson was identified as AFO (Assault on Federal Officer) #292 on the FBI’s seeking information images. Valuable assistance was provided by the United States Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.

          In the 46 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,561 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 590 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.

          Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

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

Source: US FBI

Aaron Iribe, 35, of Tulare, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Daniel J. Calabretta to five years and 10 months in prison and for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, on July 27, 2020, Iribe coordinated the delivery of 16 pounds of methamphetamine to an undercover officer. The methamphetamine was seized from a vehicle driven by Iribe’s co-defendant, Daniel Lopez. The undercover officer arranged to purchase 20 pounds of methamphetamine for $80,000 from Iribe’s Mexico-based co-conspirator.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Team (TRIDENT). Assistant U.S. Attorney David W. Spencer is prosecuting the case.

Co-defendant Daniel Lopez pleaded guilty on Aug. 8, 2024, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 19, 2024.

This prosecution is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. The Sacramento Strike Force is a co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. The specific mission of the Sacramento Strike Force is to identify, investigate, disrupt, and dismantle the most significant drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) shipping narcotics, firearms, and money through the Eastern District of California, thereby reducing the flow of these criminal resources in California and the rest of the United States. The Sacramento Strike Force leads intelligence-driven investigations targeting the leadership and support elements of these DTOs and TCOs operating within the Eastern District of California, regardless of their geographic base of operations.

Source: US FBI

FRESNO, Calif. — Benjamin Martin, 46, of Madera, was sentenced today to three years and two months in prison today for illegally possessing several firearms and ammunition, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced today.

Martin was convicted of the firearms charges following a one-day trial in Fresno. According to evidence presented at the trial and other court records, in September 2021, the FBI executed a search warrant at Martin’s residence in Madera and arrested him on charges filed by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia for the breach of the United States Capitol that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021. During the search, the FBI found eight firearms, including an AR‑15‑style rifle, multiple high-capacity magazines for the AR-15, and more than 500 rounds of ammunition. Martin was prohibited from possessing these items because of his prior domestic violence conviction, and resulting restraining order, for choking his then girlfriend and dragging her back into the house after she tried to flee.

Shortly after his arrest, Martin was caught on a recorded jail call where he instructed his current fiancée to lie to authorities and tell them that the firearms seized from his residence belonged to her and her father and that he did not know about them. She agreed to do so. Martin received an enhancement to his sentence for this witness tampering.

Martin also recently went to trial in the Capitol breach case in Washington, D.C., where the evidence showed that he held a door to the Capitol open while officers tried to close it. He kept the door open so that other rioters could spray chemical irritants and throw objects at the officers. Martin was convicted on five counts.

This case was the product of an investigation by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Barton, Robert Veneman-Hughes, and Michael Tierney prosecuted the case.

Martin is scheduled to be sentenced in the Capitol breach case in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 20, 2024, by U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras. Martin faces additional imprisonment and fines in that case. The actual sentence will 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 press release for Martin’s conviction in the Capitol breach case can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/california-man-convicted-felony-and-misdemeanor-charges-actions-during-jan-6-capitol. 

Source: US FBI

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —Jose Guadalupe Lopez-Zamora, 30; Joaquin Alberto Sotelo Valdez, 27; and Jose Luis Aguilar Saucedo, 28, all of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to fentanyl trafficking and related crimes, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Lopez-Zamora was the leader of a Sacramento-based drug trafficking organization. From at least May 2019 until January 2021, the organization was responsible for importing tens of thousands of fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone “M-30” pills from Mexico and distributing them in northern California and elsewhere. The group also distributed cocaine and methamphetamine. Sotelo Valdez was fentanyl pill distributor for the organization. Aguilar Saucedo sold hundreds of fentanyl pills on each of three separate occasions in March, April, and July 2020.

Lopez-Zamora and Sotelo Valdez each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Lopez-Zamora also pleaded guilty to three counts of distribution of fentanyl, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, two counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and one count of conspiracy to launder money. Sotelo Valdez also pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Aguilar Saucedo pleaded guilty to three counts of distribution of fentanyl.

Eight other co-defendants have pleaded guilty, and seven have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from 27 months to over 10 years. Co-defendant Alejandro Tello is scheduled to be sentenced on April 22, 2025.

Charges are pending against the following defendants: Rosario Zamora Rojo, Luis Lopez Zamora, Leonardo Flores Beltran, Erika Gabriela Zamora Rojo, and Sandro Escobedo. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Yuba-Sutter Narcotic and Gang Enforcement Task Force (NET 5), the California Highway Patrol, the Butte Interagency Narcotics Task Force (BINTF), the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Team (TRIDENT), the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, the Sacramento Police Department, the Roseville Police Department, the Manteca Police Department, the Yuba City Police Department, and the West Sacramento Police Department. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Mexican authorities to secure the arrest and extradition of Luis Lopez Zamora to the United States from Mexico. Assistant U.S. Attorney David W. Spencer is prosecuting the case.

Lopez-Zamora, Sotelo Valdez, and Aguilar Saucedo are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on March 10, 2025. Lopez-Zamora and Sotelo Valdez face a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison. Aguilar Saucedo faces a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum statutory penalty of 40 years in prison. The actual sentences, however, will 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 case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about OCDETF, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF. 

Source: US FBI

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Jason Toland, 44, of Wheatland, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd to two years and 11 months in prison for submitting false claims against the United States related to COVID-19 pandemic tax credits, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. Toland was also ordered to pay $2,078,462 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Small Business Administration (SBA).

According to court documents, Toland attempted to obtain more than $13.4 million in COVID‑19 pandemic relief funds by filing multiple false tax returns with the IRS seeking refunds for the Employee Retention Credit and the COVID Sick and Family Leave Credit. Toland used shell companies that had no real employees and no actual business activity to seek more than $11 million in such tax refunds to which he was not entitled. In addition, between 2020 and 2023, Toland used the shell companies to fraudulently obtain a total of more than $1.7 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds. All these tax credits and programs were intended to alleviate the economic harm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on real businesses with real employees and operating expenses.

Of the more than $13.4 million that he sought through false tax returns and fraudulent loan applications, Toland successfully obtained more than $1.95 million. All the funds Toland received went to his own personal enrichment.

“The COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force continues to pursue pandemic fraud, including the abuse of tax credits for personal gain,” said U.S. Attorney Talbert. “Today’s sentence demonstrates that false claims targeting credits meant for real businesses suffering real consequences of the pandemic will be identified and prosecuted.”

“Mr. Toland’s fraudulent and nefarious scheming took aim at funds designated to help both small businesses and American citizens in the midst of a global pandemic,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Oakland Field Office Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Mosley. “IRS-CI does not and will not sit idly by while financial criminals seek to exploit the American tax system. We are the experts in financial investigations, and we build cases that result in justice.”

This case was the product of an investigation by IRS-Criminal Investigation in collaboration with the IRS’s Nationally Coordinated Investigation Unit with assistance from the SBA Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise N. Yasinow prosecuted the case.

This effort is part of a California COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force operation, one of five interagency COVID-19 fraud strike force teams established by the U.S. Department of Justice. The California Strike Force combines law enforcement and prosecutorial resources in the Eastern and Central Districts of California and focuses on large-scale, multistate pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces use prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds. 

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES – A former resident of Huntington Beach who has been linked to a white supremacy extremist group was sentenced today to 24 months in federal prison for planning and engaging in riots at political rallies across California.

Robert Paul Rundo, 34, was sentenced by United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton. 

Rundo pleaded guilty on September 13 to one count of conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Riot Act.

“This defendant sought to further his white-supremacist ideology by plotting riots and engaging in violence at political rallies,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Hate and violence are antithetical to American values and tear at our community. It is therefore critical that we protect the civil and constitutional rights of our community against those who promote divisiveness.”

“After a lengthy investigation, during which the defendant became an international fugitive, Mr. Rundo has now been held accountable for his criminal activity which was motivated by his extremist dogma,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Mr. Rundo’s movement did not ‘rise above’ whatever differences Americans may have, but was divisive, harmful to others and ultimately led him to prison. The FBI will continue to pursue those whose ideology leads to violence and lawlessness.”

From March 2017 to May 2018, Rundo and others participated in an organization that ultimately was rebranded as the “Rise Above Movement” (RAM). RAM representing itself as a fighting group of a new nationalist and white supremacy identity movement. As part of their membership in RAM, Rundo and others attended rallies with the intent to provoke and engage in violence.

To prepare for violent physical conflicts, Rundo and others held hand-to-hand and other fighting training sessions, which they organized through telephone calls, social media, and text messages. Rundo organized and attended several such training sessions in 2017. On various social media platforms, Rundo and others posted messages and photographs of themselves preparing for or engaging in violence, accompanied by statements such as “#rightwingdeathsquad.”

In March 2017, Rundo and other RAM members held a training in San Clemente to prepare to engage in violence at political events, including a rally on March 25, 2017, in Huntington Beach. At the Huntington Beach rally, Rundo and other RAM members pursued and assaulted other persons, including one protestor whom Rundo tackled and punched multiple times. Following the event, Rundo and his co-conspirators posted online photographs and videos celebrating the assaults they had committed.

Rundo also helped organize training for RAM members in anticipation of a rally scheduled to occur on April 15, 2017, in Berkeley. At the Berkeley rally, there were several violent clashes throughout the day. In one such instance, Rundo and several of his co-conspirators crossed a police barrier erected to separate opposing groups. They then punched and kicked several people. Following the event, Rundo and his co-conspirators again posted online photographs and videos celebrating the assaults they had committed.

On June 10, 2017, Rundo and others attended a rally in San Bernardino, at which they confronted and pursued protesters.

In the months following these events, Rundo and his co-conspirators continued to publicly celebrate their assaults, including through online posts with photos and videos of RAM members assaulting people.

Two other defendants have been charged in this case:

• Robert Boman, 31, of Torrance, who has pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Riot Act and one count of rioting, and has a trial date of February 18, 2025, scheduled; and
• Tyler Laube, 28, of Redondo Beach, who pleaded guilty in October 2023 to one count of interfering with a federally protected right and later was fined $2,000 and sentenced to time already served in custody.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated this case.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kathrynne N. Seiden and Anna P. Boylan of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES – An Inglewood man, who in 2022 was granted compassionate release after serving 26 years in federal prison for armed robberies of armed couriers, has been found guilty by a jury of robbing a Brinks courier at gunpoint in a bank parking lot near LAX in August 2023, the Justice Department announced today.

Markham David Bond, 61, was found guilty late Thursday of one count of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act), one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Bond has been in federal custody since November 2023.

“After being given a second chance in life, this defendant sadly chose a path of violent crime,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Through our strong partnerships with federal and local law enforcement, we will continue to use our resources to protect our community by holding accountable violent offenders who use guns.”

According to evidence presented at a five-day trial, on the morning of August 18, 2023, Bond stole approximately $145,000 in cash from a Brinks armored carrier outside a Chase bank near LAX. The armored vehicle was parked in the bank parking lot as one of its employees got out of the vehicle with a blue duffle bag on a rolling cart and which contained the cash. Bond approached the driver, pointed a handgun at him, and demanded the money.

Fearing for his life, the Brinks employee dropped the duffle bag. Bond then ordered the victim to get down on the ground. After the victim complied with this order, Bond grabbed the blue Brinks duffle bag then fled the area.

Bond was arrested on November 22, 2023, and police seized at his residence a .40-caliber pistol containing 10 rounds of ammunition, the shirt he used during the robbery, and cash hidden inside of a mini-refrigerator. Police also found the robbery getaway car parked around the block from Bond’s residence. Inside the car, police found the empty Brinks bag and the hat Bond used during the robbery, among other evidence linking Bond to the robbery.

Bond has multiple felony convictions dating from the 1980s and 1990s, including for Hobbs Act robbery, armed bank robbery, use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin. As a convicted felon, Bond is not permitted to possess firearms or ammunition.

In January 1995, Bond was sentenced to 562 months (46 years and 10 months) in prison after being convicted of bank robbery and firearms offenses by a federal jury in Los Angeles. But in January 2022, Bond was granted compassionate release and was released early from prison. He was on supervised release when he robbed the Brinks employee at gunpoint on August 18, 2023.

United States District Judge Wesley L. Hsu scheduled a July 11, 2025, sentencing hearing, at which point Bond will face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

Operation Safe Cities establishes strategic enforcement priorities with an emphasis on prosecuting the most significant drivers of violent crime. Across this region, the most damaging and horrific crimes are committed by a relatively small number of particularly violent individuals. This strategic enforcement approach is expected to increase the number of arrests, prosecutions and convictions of recidivists engaged in the most dangerous conduct. It is designed to improve public safety across the region by targeting crimes involving illicit guns, prohibited persons possessing firearms, or robbery crews that cause havoc and extensive losses to retail establishments.

The FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery Homicide Division investigated this case.

Assistant United States Attorneys Haoxiaohan H. Cai of the Corporate and Securities Fraud Strike Force and Daniel H. Weiner of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section are prosecuting this case.

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES – Two former top city officials in Commerce and Baldwin Park have pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme involving bribes in exchange for a corrupt Baldwin Park politician’s votes and influence over his city’s cannabis permitting process, the Justice Department announced today. 

Edgar Pascual Cisneros, 42, of Montebello, who served as Commerce’s city manager from November 2017 to December 2023, pleaded guilty on November 6, 2023, to federal bribery. Robert Manuel Nacionales Tafoya, 62, of Redondo Beach, who served as Baldwin Park’s city attorney from December 2013 to October 2022, pleaded guilty on December 5, 2023, to federal bribery and tax evasion charges.

Federal prosecutors today unsealed the criminal charges and plea agreements, in which both Cisneros and Tafoya agreed to cooperate in ongoing public corruption investigations. 

According to the plea agreements, shortly after Baldwin Park began issuing marijuana permits in June 2017, then-Baldwin Park City Councilmember Ricardo Pacheco solicited bribes from companies seeking those permits. Cisneros helped a company obtain a marijuana permit and related approvals through approximately $45,000 in bribes and that the company promised to pay Cisneros at least $235,000 to help secure the permit. Tafoya facilitated a bribery scheme involving former Compton City Councilmember Isaac Galvan, in which Galvan sought to obtain a marijuana permit for his consulting client also through bribes to Pacheco. Tafoya further admitted to evading payment of approximately $650,000 in federal tax liability.

Pacheco pleaded guilty in June 2020 to a federal bribery charge unrelated to the marijuana-permit scheme. Pacheco further admitted to orchestrating bribery schemes involving Tafoya and Gabriel Chavez, a former San Bernardino County planning commissioner who pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge in November 2022. Pacheco’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 2025. Chavez’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 2025.

In September 2023, Galvan and his consulting client, Yichang Bai, were arrested on a federal grand jury indictment alleging they paid $70,000 in bribes to Pacheco in exchange for his vote and support for marijuana permits for Bai’s company, W&F International Corp. Both men have pleaded not guilty. Their trial is scheduled for June 10, 2025.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation are investigating these matters.     

Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas F. Rybarczyk, Michael J. Morse, and Lindsey Greer Dotson of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section are prosecuting these cases.

Any member of the public who has information related to this or any other public corruption matter is encouraged to send information to the FBI’s tip line at tips.fbi.gov or to contact the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office at (310) 477-6565.

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES – A Harbor-area woman and a South Los Angeles man were found guilty by a jury today of participating in armed robberies of businesses in which local businesses in Los Angeles County were targeted in August and September of last year.

Diavion Deshawna Mouton, 23, of Carson, and Rodney Darrin Maxwell Evans, 23, of the Vermont Square neighborhood of Los Angeles, were each found guilty of one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act), two counts of Hobbs Act robbery, and two counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

“Violent gun crime leaves emotional scars that last for years,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Through the Operation Safe Cities initiative, my office is partnering with local law enforcement to prosecute more and more cases that hold accountable those who choose to harm our communities.”

According to evidence presented at a four-day trial, Evans participated in two armed robberies that occurred on August 14, 2023, respectively, at Rite Aid stores in Bellflower and in the Vermont Square neighborhood of South Los Angeles. During the robberies, multiple firearms were brandished, and store employees were forced to open the store safe. In total, Evans and his co-conspirators – ringleaders Makai Yusef Sanders, 23, and Kenyatta Kamar Jones, 23, both of Hawthorne – stole a total of $12,410 from the robberies.

Mouton participated in two armed robberies on September 19, 2023, at a Walgreens store in Glendale and a Wingstop restaurant in Lynwood. She was the getaway driver for both robberies, in which Sanders and Jones brandished firearms and stole a total of $1,776 from the businesses.

During the Walgreens robbery, Sanders and Jones robbed a customer who was at a register attempting to purchase some items, held the victim at gunpoint, and stole the victim’s iPhone. A store employee, a handgun pointed at her back, was ordered to the store’s safe with the barrel of the gun used to push her to get her to move faster. In fear for her life, the employee began walking to the back of the store where the safe was located. Once at the back of the store, the employee noticed the robber was distracted talking to the other robber. The employee then locked herself inside the store’s staffing office and called 911.

In addition to the cash, Sanders and Jones stole four iPhones belonging to victims at the Walgreens store. The suspects then exited the store and drove away in a white Honda Civic, which law enforcement later discovered had been booked via a peer-to-peer carsharing company and was driven by Mouton.

Using phone records and GPS data, law enforcement tracked the defendants down and arrested Sanders, Jones, and Mouton on September 26, 2023. At the time of their arrests, Jones and Sanders possessed handguns consistent with the firearms used in the Walgreens robbery. Law enforcement also found clothing – including the black mask with a red logo – consistent with what one of the suspects wore during that robbery.

United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner scheduled a March 31, 2025, sentencing hearing, at which time Evans and Mouton will face a mandatory minimum sentence of fourteen years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Sanders and Jones pleaded guilty on November 26 to one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, one count of Hobbs Act robbery, and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. In their plea agreements, Sanders and Jones admitted to committing 12 armed robberies of local businesses – mostly chain-store pharmacies – in August and September of 2023. Both defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment at their sentencing hearings, which are scheduled for March 17, 2025.

Sanders and Jones have agreed to be sentenced to 25 years in federal prison.

Co-defendant Adrian Timothy Bedran, 24, of Rosemead, pleaded guilty on September 9 to one count of Hobbs Act robbery. He is free on $50,000 bond and awaits sentencing on January 13, 2025. 

Co-defendants DeAngel Daryl Alvarez, 24, a.k.a. “Macc,” of the Athens area of South Los Angeles, is believed to be a fugitive, and Kevin Antwon Gadley, 20, a.k.a. “One Shot,” of San Fernando, is in state custody on unrelated charges.

Operation Safe Cities establishes strategic enforcement priorities with an emphasis on prosecuting the most significant drivers of violent crime. Across this region, the most damaging and horrific crimes are committed by a relatively small number of particularly violent individuals. This strategic enforcement approach is expected to increase the number of arrests, prosecutions and convictions of recidivists engaged in the most dangerous conduct. It is designed to improve public safety across the region by targeting crimes involving illicit guns, prohibited persons possessing firearms, or robbery crews that cause havoc and extensive losses to retail establishments.

The FBI; the Glendale Police Department; the Los Angeles Police Department; the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; the Inglewood Police Department; the Long Beach Police Department; the Pasadena Police Department; the Monterey Park Police Department; the Whittier Police Department; and the Burbank Police Department investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin J. Butler and Jena A. MacCabe of the Violent and Organized Crime Section and Juan M. Rodriguez of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section are prosecuting this case.