MIL Security Engine-1

Source: US FBI

FRESNO, Calif. — Dario Mata-Manzo, 32, of Fresno, pleaded guilty today to distribution of methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, in June 2022, Mata-Manzo negotiated for the sale of crystal methamphetamine for $1,200 per pound and subsequently delivered 8 pounds of the drug to undercover officers in Fresno.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office and High Impact Investigation Team (HIIT), a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Initiative (HIDTA), which consists of personnel from the California Department of Justice, the Fresno Police Department, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, the California Highway Patrol, the Madera County Sheriff’s Office, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, the Kings County Sheriff’s Office, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar is prosecuting the case.

Mata-Manzo is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on Nov. 20, 2024. Mata-Manzo faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison, a mandatory minimum prison term of 10 years, and a $10 million fine. The actual sentence, 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

FRESNO, Calif. — Karina Arceo, 34, of Wasco, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft charges for her role in a long-running credit card fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court records, from February 2016 through August 2022, Arceo and her partner and co-defendant, Miguel Leyva, stole the personally identifiable information (PII) for over 125 victims. They stole much of the PII from patient files at health care providers in Kern County where Arceo worked. Leyva previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years and five months in prison.

Arceo and Leyva used the stolen PII to open thousands of fraudulent credit cards in the victims’ identities. They used false identification documents to open the credit cards and provided billing addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses over which they had control so that any communications related to the credit cards would go to them instead of the victims. They then made hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent purchases on the credit cards in Kern County and elsewhere. The fraudulent purchases included home appliances, automobile accessories, designer clothing, tickets to concerts and sporting events, and travel, among other items.

Arceo and Leyva often resold the items that they fraudulently purchased for cash and reaped a windfall because they did not actually pay for the items. They also used checks that had been stolen from companies in Kern County to access the companies’ bank accounts and make fraudulent payments towards the credit cards so as to keep their scheme going. Altogether, their scheme caused a total actual loss of more than $825,000.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Barton and Arelis Clemente are prosecuting the case.

Arceo is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 6, 2024. She faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and $250,000 fine for the conspiracy charge, and a mandatory two years in prison, consecutive to other counts, for the identity theft charge. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of the applicable statutory factors and Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

Source: US FBI

FRESNO, Calif. — Joseph Roy Vigneault, 21, of Lake Isabella, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for distributing explosives to a non‑licensed person, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, in May 2023, Vigneault and his co-defendant, Michael Roy Anglin, 22, of Wofford Heights, sold and delivered six full boxes and one partial box of Hydromite 880 weighing approximately 350 pounds to a non-licensed person. Vigneault knew or had reason to believe that the Hydromite 880 had been stolen. The boxes containing the explosives were labeled “Explosive, Blasting, Type E” and “Blasting Agent.” The sticks of Hydromite 880 were also individually labeled “Danger” and “Explosive.” Hydromite 880 is one and a half times more powerful than dynamite. Austin Powder West LLC, a licensed explosive distributor, confirmed that 295 sticks of Hydromite 880 went missing from its Lake Isabella storage facility sometime between May 6 and May 11, 2023. The missing explosives included the boxes that Vigneault sold. The value of the unrecovered explosives is $7,603. Vigneault agreed to make restitution to Austin Powder in that amount.

Anglin has pleaded guilty and is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 21, 2024. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, 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.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar is prosecuting the case.

Source: US FBI

FRESNO, Calif. — Christos Mavrokelos, 37, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $75,000 in restitution for illegally using counterfeit debit cards and skimming devices, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court records, from July 2021 through November 2023, in Fresno and Madera Counties and elsewhere, Mavrokelos knowingly and with intent to defraud, used counterfeit debit cards that contained victims’ stolen account information to make unauthorized cash withdrawals from the victims’ accounts. The victims’ account information was stolen through the use of skimming devices, which are devices that can be surreptitiously installed on bank ATMs and card readers that are used to record victims’ information.

In total, Mavrokelos made unauthorized cash withdrawals on at least 40 victims’ accounts. The withdrawals were made from banks whose deposits were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Mavrokelos’s misconduct resulted in a total loss of approximately $149,000.

This case is the product of an investigation by the FBI and the Clovis Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph D. Barton and Cody C. Chapple prosecuted the case.

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES – Two Los Angeles men have been found guilty today for committing a string of robberies in a 10-day span that ended in the duo leading law enforcement in a chase in Los Angeles County before crashing a stolen car into a tree then running across six lanes of highway traffic during rush hour.

At the conclusion of a three-day trial, a jury convicted the two defendants with Hobbs Act robbery. They will be sentenced by United States District Judge Hernán D. Vera on October 24:

Anthony Flores, a.k.a. “BabyGfar”, 28, of Los Angeles; and

Ivin Kitu Sanford, 32, of Los Angeles.

According to court documents, beginning in May 2023, the defendants conspired to rob and robbed two BevMo stores, stealing high-end liquor stored behind security glass and, in some instances, threatened employees with violence. Flores and Sanford would then sell the liquor to individuals on Instagram. The incidents involved the following locations:

• Long Beach: Flores stole approximately $2,604 worth of liquor.
• Lakewood: Flores stole approximately $800 worth of liquor. Additionally, Hardgraves allegedly threatened to shoot a store employee if he attempted to interfere with the robbery.

Furthermore, Flores and Sanford conspired to rob two additional BevMo stores located in Pasadena and West Covina.

After the robberies, Flores was surveilled and seen selling the bottles. Flores was arrested and released. On June 5, 2023, the two defendants again attempted to rob the Canyon Country BevMo store. Flores and Sanford physically subdued a store victim-employee and attempted to steal high-end bottles of liquor. The defendants fled in a stolen silver Dodge Charger with a stolen license plate and attempted to evade officers during a traffic stop. Flores and Sanford led law enforcement on a chase through Los Angeles County before crashing into a tree. After the crash, defendants ran on foot across the California State Route 14, a 65-mile-per-hour highway, during rush hour traffic. Flores and Sanford were later found in bushes in a desolate area.

“Callous disregard for the law undermines our community’s sense of safety,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “These defendants’ violent robberies and attempts to evade officers put lives at risk.  Our Operation Safe Cities initiative aims to ensure that violent crimes are met with serious consequences, and today’s convictions demonstrate our steadfast commitment to that goal.”

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 case against the third defendant, Jabco Hardgraves, a.k.a. “Jacob Hardgraves,” Baby Monster,” “Lil Turtle”, 27, of Los Angeles is still pending and is not currently set for trial.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, West Covina Police Department, and Long Beach Police Department investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin J. Butler and Jena A. MacCabe of the Violent and Organized Crime Section prosecuted this case.

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES – A Boca Raton woman was arrested today on charges alleging she lied to investors to obtain over $2 million for her company ESOS Rings, Inc., which she then used for personal expenses and Ponzi payments to keep the scheme going. 

Michelle Bisnoff, also known as “Michelle Angeline Silverstein” and “Shelly Silverstein,” 57, previously of Pacific Palisades and Santa Barbara and currently living in Boca Raton, Florida, is charged in a criminal complaint with one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud.  Bisnoff was released on bond and ordered to appear for further proceedings in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles on August 7.

According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Bisnoff is the founder and CEO of ESOS.  Allegedly, from 2017 through the end of 2023, Bisnoff fraudulently solicited investments in ESOS by falsely representing ESOS’s business activities and profitability, and the returns that the investors would receive on their investments. Bisnoff allegedly told prospective investors that ESOS owned patents for “smart rings,” a wearable device encoded with financial information, which could be used to make contactless payments. Bisnoff allegedly said ESOS earned transaction fees each time a ring was used, generating profits for ESOS.  Bisnoff also allegedly told prospective investors that ESOS was already manufacturing and selling these smart rings, and that ESOS would soon be bought by Apple or another suitor, resulting in a buy back of the investors’ shares at prices significantly above the share price she was offering to the investors. 

According to the affidavit, neither Bisnoff nor ESOS owned the patents at issue; the majority of investor funds raised were used to allegedly make Ponzi payments to earlier investors and to benefit Bisnoff personally; the prospective acquirors of ESOS had no knowledge of ESOS and/or no plan to provide capital for it; and ESOS had virtually no business operations, let alone profits.

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

If convicted of both charges, Bisnoff faces a statutory maximum sentence of 40 years. 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Bisnoff and ESOS for allegedly fraudulently raising $1.95 million from ESOS investors.  On September 19, 2023, United States District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall imposed a judgment finding Bisnoff and ESOS jointly and severally liable for disgorgement of $566,483, representing net profits from the fraud, as well as $46,836 in pre-judgment interest and a civil penalty of $223,229, with the total amount due—$836,548—to be paid to the SEC within 30 days.  According to the affidavit, to date neither Bisnoff nor ESOS has paid any of the amounts due.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating this matter.  Substantial assistance was provided by the SEC and the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida

Assistant United States Attorney Ranee A. Katzenstein of the Criminal Appeals Section is prosecuting this case.

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES – A Texas man was sentenced today to 9 months in federal prison for running a website that allowed paying users to launch powerful distributed denial of service – or DDoS – attacks that flooded tens of thousands of targeted computers with information and prevented them from being able to access the internet.

Scott Raul Esparza, 24, of Katy, Texas, was sentenced by United States District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald who also ordered two years of supervised release with conditions including a full computer monitoring program after serving his prison sentence.

Esparza pleaded guilty on March 6 to one count of conspiracy to commit unauthorized impairment of a protected computer and one count of unauthorized impairment of a protected computer.

From 2019 to September 2022, Esparza operated and co-administrated with Shamar Shattock, 21, of Margate, Florida, a DDoS-for-hire service called “Astrostress.com.” The term “DDoS” refers to a type of computer attack in which multiple computers attempt to make connections through the Internet to a targeted computer at the same time. The amount of internet traffic generated by such an attack quickly overwhelms the capacity of the victim computer, resulting in the victim computer being unable to send, receive or respond to commands.

Astrostress.com was a type of DDoS-for-hire service known as a “booter” service, referring to its ability to “boot” victims off the internet. Customers of Astrostress.com were offered various levels of subscriptions – depending on how many attacks they wanted to conduct and with what power – and were charged accordingly. This site thus enabled co-conspirators worldwide to set up accounts on Astrostress.com and then use the Astrostress.com resources to direct attacks at internet-connected computers around the globe.

Esparza was responsible for procuring the attack servers and maintaining the attack functionality of Astrostress.com. Esparza also helped Shattock market the service, and he hired a co-conspirator to assist with responding to support requests from customers of the service.

Esparza neither owned nor had the rights to use the third-party computers he exploited to generate the amplified attack power made available via the Astrostress.com website. He was aware that his customers were using the site to attack computers that did not belong to the customers, and which the customers had no authorization to impair. Esparza personally conducted thousands of attacks using his own service.

From September 2021 to September 2022, while Esparza administered the website, customers used Astrostress.com to attack tens of thousands of protected computers. As a result, they impaired or attempted to impair the availability of the victim computers by knocking them offline.

In or around September 2022, shortly after the FBI caused Astrostress.com to shut down, Esparza called Shattock and left him a voicemail message in which he instructed Shattock to “clear” all his social media accounts “so nothing gets linked back to us.”

Shattock pleaded guilty in March 2023 to one felony conspiracy count and faces up to five years in federal prison at his sentencing hearing, which is expected to occur in the coming months.

The FBI investigated this matter as part of Operation PowerOFF, a multi-national effort to combat DDoS-for-hire services.

Assistant United States Attorneys Cameron L. Schroeder, Chief of the National Security Division, and Aaron B. Frumkin of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section prosecuted this case. Assistant United States Attorney James E. Dochterman of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section is handling the seizure of the Astrostress domain.

Source: US FBI

      LITTLE ROCK – A federal grand jury has indicted former Craighead County Clerk Jacob Kade Holliday for allegedly taking more than $1.4 million in county money for his personal use. Cody Hiland, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Diane Upchurch, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Little Rock Field Office, announced the indictment of Holliday, 32, of Jonesboro.

      The indictment, which was returned by the grand jury late on December 1, 2020, alleges that Holliday, as the elected County Clerk in Craighead County, served as the official bookkeeper of county government. In that capacity, Holliday was tasked with keeping an accurate account of all financial transactions within the county. The funds Holliday controlled included county payroll tax obligations as well as employment retirement contributions.

      According to the indictment, from January 29, 2020, to June 24, 2020, Holliday transferred money from the Craighead County Clerk’s banking account to his own personal and business accounts. He then allegedly obtained cashier’s checks in approximately the same amounts and further converted them to his own use.

      “We take all allegations of undermining public trust very seriously,” stated U.S. Attorney Hiland. “In this case and in all potential cases, any reports of public corruption will be thoroughly investigated by our office with the help of our law enforcement partners.”

      “Without the diligent efforts of our partners at the Arkansas State Police, Mr. Holliday’s alleged theft of over $1.4 million from the citizens of Craighead County would not have been uncovered,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Upchurch. “Every day, we work closely with our state partners to protect Arkansans from crimes like the ones alleged in this case.”

      Holliday is charged with 11 counts of wire fraud; one for each of the 11 transactions he made during the time alleged in the indictment. Holliday will appear before United States Magistrate Judge Joe J. Volpe for plea and arraignment on December 17, 2020. The maximum penalty for wire fraud is not more than 20 years’ imprisonment, a fine of not more than $250,000, and not more than three years of supervised release.

      The FBI and the Arkansas State Police conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Allison W. Bragg is prosecuting the case.

      An indictment only contains allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

# # #

This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at

https://www.justice.gov/edar

Twitter:

@EDARNEWS

Source: US FBI

Fayetteville, Arkansas – First Assistant United States Attorney David Clay Fowlkes for the Western District of Arkansas, Special Agent in Charge Diane Upchurch of the FBI Little Rock Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Peter Kapoukakis of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Miami Field Office and Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced that Paul Petersen, age 45, of Mesa, Arizona was sentenced today to 72 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a fine and court costs totaling $105,100.00 for Conspiracy to Smuggle Illegal Aliens for Commercial Advantage and Private Financial Gain. The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing in the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.

“The defendant in this case violated the laws of three states and two countries during the course of his criminal scheme,” stated First Assistant United States Attorney Fowlkes.”  He exploited a legal loophole and used it to run an International adoption business outside the necessary oversight from the United States or the Republic of the Marshall Islands.  During the scheme, the defendant lied to state court judges, falsified records, encouraged others to lie during court proceedings, and manipulated birth mothers into consenting to adoptions they did not fully understand.  This unique case merited the strong sentence ordered by the Court today.  It is our sincere hope that this sentence sends a message to those who would seek to conduct human trafficking operations in the Western District of Arkansas, and to those who would seek to manipulate and take advantage of people like the Marshallese citizens in this case.”

According to the Plea Agreement filed in this case, the FBI, the DSS and local law enforcement, have been actively investigating the criminal activities of Paul Petersen, 44, of Mesa, Arizona, for several years. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement determined that the defendant, Paul Petersen, among other things, orchestrated the travel of several pregnant women from the Republic of the Marshall Islands to the Western District of Arkansas.  The purpose of this travel was for Petersen to arrange adoption of their children by families living in the United States. 

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) is an island country near the equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the International Date Line.  In 1983, the United States entered into a Compact of Free Association (hereinafter, the “Compact”) with the RMI government.  The United States and the RMI signed an Amended Compact in 2003, which Congress codified at Public Law 108-188.  Section 141 of the Compact grants RMI citizens the ability to freely enter and take up employment within the United States.  Section 141(b) prohibits RMI citizens from entering the United States under the Compact agreement if their travel is for the purpose of adoption.

According to the Plea Agreement, the Defendant, Paul Petersen, is a licensed attorney who practices law in Arizona, Utah, and Arkansas.  During the course of the investigation, FBI and DSS agents discovered that Petersen used credit card accounts that he controlled to purchase airline tickets for several women, all citizens of the RMI who did not have official authorization to enter or reside in the United States, to travel from the RMI to the Western District of Arkansas.  This travel arranged and funded by Petersen was in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act because the women were all citizens of the RMI and were not eligible for admission into the United States under the terms of the Compact.  According to State of Arkansas Circuit Court records, the families who adopted these children paid Petersen significant sums of money for him to act as a legal facilitator of the adoptions.  Finally, also according to the Plea Agreement, witness interviews conducted by the agents investigating Petersen revealed that it was part of the conspiracy that Petersen’s co-conspirators offered the women $10,000 to induce them to travel to the United States and consent to the adoptions.

 A federal grand jury indicted Petersen in October 2019, and he entered a guilty plea in June 2020.

The FBI and the DSS conducted the investigation. First Assistant United States Attorney David Clay Fowlkes, Deputy Criminal Chief Kim Harris, and Assistant United States Attorney Sydney Butler are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs of the Department’s Criminal Division also assisted in the investigation.

Source: US FBI

      LITTLE ROCK – A former Little Rock youth pastor pleaded guilty today to transporting minors across state lines for the purpose of unlawful sexual activity. Robert Shiflet, 50, now of Denton, Texas, entered his guilty plea earlier today before United States District Judge Lee P. Rudofsky. Cody Hiland, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Diane Upchurch, Special Agent in Charge of the Little Rock Field Office of the FBI, announced today’s guilty plea

      Shiflet pleaded guilty to two separate instances of criminal conduct. One of these accounts began in 1996, when Shiflet met a 14-year-old girl in the youth group he pastored in Denton, Texas. Shiflet frequently made inappropriate comments to the minor and often told her he loved her. In May of 1997, when the minor was 15 years old, Shiflet led an eighth grade camping trip to the Buffalo National River in Arkansas. Shiflet was able to isolate the minor away from the group and then sexually assaulted her. He told her not to tell anyone.

      Another minor reported that in 2002, when Shiflet was her youth pastor at a Little Rock church, Shiflet engaged in inappropriate sexual contact with her when she was 16 years old. Shiflet had sex with the minor multiple times during 2002-2003, when Shiflet was 32. In the summer of 2002, the youth group attended an event in Panama City, Florida. On that trip, Shiflet asked the minor to ride on the charter bus with him instead of riding on another bus with her friends. On the bus ride, he sexually assaulted the minor.

      “This defendant took advantage of his position of trust as a mentor to young people and instead used his power to isolate and sexually abuse them,” stated U.S. Attorney Hiland. “This predatory behavior is never acceptable, but it is particularly disturbing when the offender is a youth pastor. Our office will continue to aggressively pursue those who commit these deplorable crimes.”

      Shiflet was indicted in June 2020 with three counts of transportation of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity and one count of coercion of a minor to engage in sexual activity. In exchange for his guilty plea, the remaining charges were dismissed.

      Judge Rudofsky will sentence Shiflet at a later date. Transportation of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity is punishable by not more than 15 years imprisonment and not more than three years of supervised release. The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristin Bryant.

# # #

This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at

https://www.justice.gov/edar

Twitter:

@EDARNEWS