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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

LOS ANGELES – Five members and associates of the San Fernando Valley-based Vanowen Street Locos and Elmwood Rifa 13 gangs were arrested today on a federal criminal complaint – four of them charged with taking part in a murder-for-hire plot targeting an Armenian Organized Crime boss but which instead resulted in his significant other getting shot and wounded in front of their two young children earlier this year.

The defendants arrested today are:

• Carlos Armando Ochoa Grimaldi, 47, a.k.a. “Spanky,” of Sylmar;
• Christopher Ayala, 29, a.k.a. “Hits,” of Sylmar;
• Edir De La Cruz, 34, a.k.a. “Temper,” of Van Nuys; and
• Maria de Jesus Mares, 39, a.k.a. “Mary Oceans,” of Van Nuys.

Also arrested on a complaint today was Vanowen Street Locos gang member Jose de Jesus Gonzalez, Jr., 49, a.k.a. “Listo,” of Llano, who is separately charged in connection with the August 2023 shooting of Vahan Harutyunyan, 49, of Hollywood, Florida, who is now in federal custody on kidnapping charges. Approximately five firearms, a silencer, firearm parts, and over 1,000 rounds of ammunition were seized during the search warrant services.

Grimaldi, Ayala, De La Cruz, and Mares are charged with use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire. Gonzalez is charged with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

The defendants are expected to make their initial appearances this afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles.

According to affidavits filed with the complaints, Armenian Organized Crime, a Russian Mafia and Mexican Mafia-affiliated transnational criminal organization, has made Los Angeles County a center of its U.S. operations. Since 2022, two local leaders within the organization, also known as avtoritet, which in Russian means “authority,” allegedly have engaged in a power struggle for control in their territory, resulting in multiple assaults, murder attempts, and a kidnapping.

Robert Amiryan, 47, of Hollywood, an avtoritet, has been the target of an assault and attempted murders ordered by a rival avtoritet, Ara Artuni, 41, of Porter Ranch. Amiryan and Artuni are in federal custody after being charged earlier this year with a series of crimes and are scheduled to go on trial in December 2025 and August 2026, respectively.

Artuni is principally charged with ordering the murder of Amiryan on multiple occasions in 2023. In retaliation, Amiryan conspired with members of his own criminal organization to kidnap and torture one of Artuni’s associates in June 2023.

In early 2025, Grimaldi, Ayala, De La Cruz, and others began stalking Amiryan and renewed efforts to kill him. For example, in February 2025, Ayala informed De La Cruz that he and others were still working “on th[e] job” to kill Amiryan.

On March 14, 2025, Grimaldi and Vahagn Stepanyan, 40, of Burbank, shot and wounded Amiryan’s significant other as she arrived home in her car with their two children. Stepanyan is currently in federal custody and is charged with racketeering, fraud, and firearms offenses.

After the shooting, Mares called De La Cruz and reported that the “job [was] done,” and Stepanyan would pay her $50,000 for her role as the getaway driver, according to court documents. In the days afterward, Mares told De La Cruz, that she believed she would not be getting paid because “it was the wife not him.” Stepanyan ultimately paid Mares a reduced rate because Amiryan was not killed.

A complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

If convicted, the defendants would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

The Los Angeles Police Department Major Crimes Division – Transnational Organized Crime Section; the Burbank Police Department; Homeland Security Investigation’s (HSI) Northridge and Ventura offices; the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); IRS Criminal Investigation; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Lyndsi Allsop and Kenneth R. Carbajal of the Major Crimes Section and Tara B. Vavere of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section are prosecuting this case. The Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section provided substantial assistance.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – After five days of trial, a federal jury convicted Tiwan Robert Bailey, also known as “Quick,” 49, and Carrie Roy, also known as “Carrie Ash,” 52, both of Charleston, on Monday, September 29, 2025, for their roles in a sex trafficking conspiracy that operated in the Charleston and Rand areas of Kanawha County.

Evidence at trial showed that between November 2023 and July 2024, Bailey trafficked four different female victims, including a 17-year-old girl, requiring each to engage in commercial sex acts and provide all they money they received to him. Bailey also obstructed the federal investigation of the sex trafficking conspiracy by seeking to interfere with any potential cooperation and testimony by the minor female victim. Bailey coerced his adult victims through threats and violence, including by sending them threatening voice messages through Facebook Messenger and physically beating and sexual assaulting them. Bailey supplied drugs to the victims who suffered from substance use disorders and withheld drugs from them as punishment.

Roy aided and abetted Bailey and conspired with him and others in the trafficking of the minor female. Roy also transported the three adult victims to and from meetings for commercial sex acts and collected money from these acts for Bailey.

Bailey became a fugitive after a warrant for his arrest was issued in the case on July 23, 2024. The United States Marshals Service (USMS) captured Bailey on January 17, 2025, in Lexington, Kentucky.

The jury found Bailey and Roy guilty of one count each of sex trafficking of a minor and conspiring to commit sex trafficking of a minor. The jury also found Bailey guilty of three counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and one count of obstruction of justice.

Bailey and Roy are scheduled to be sentenced on February 9, 2025. Bailey faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to life in prison. Roy faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison.

“Bailey was particularly brutal in his mistreatment of the victims of this case, subjecting them to violent threats and assaults. Sex trafficking is a depraved crime of exploitation, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia is committed to delivering justice for the victims of sex trafficking,” said Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston. “I commend the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Charleston Police Department, the United States Marshals Service, and the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office for their investigative work in this case, and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT) and the West Virginia Fusion Center for the assistance they provided. I also commend Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Rada Herrald and Jennifer D. Gordon and our trial team for securing guilty verdicts on all counts against Bailey and Roy.”

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the jury trial.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:24-cr-118.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

SIOUX FALLS – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a woman from Prairie Village, Kansas, convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The sentencing took place on September 29, 2025.

Amanda Acosta, 43, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.

Acosta was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury in February 2025. She pleaded guilty on July 17, 2025.

Acosta became involved with a California-based drug trafficking organization, operating out of Sioux Falls, in July 2024. She acted as a sub-distributor for the organization, purchasing significant quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl and then selling the drugs for a profit to individuals in Sioux Falls and other areas throughout South Dakota. She also allowed the organization to ship packages of fentanyl pills directly to her residence through the mail. Acosta’s involvement with the organization ended with her arrest in September 2024.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). Through PSN, the District of South Dakota seeks to bring together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Joyce prosecuted the case.

Acosta was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Christian Mur-Santana, age 39, a Cuban national residing in Las Vegas, Nevada, pled guilty on Friday to conspiracy and methamphetamine distribution charges in connection with his distribution and possession with intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of pure methamphetamine and fentanyl.

Acting United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III; Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Division; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the Boston Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), made the announcement.

Mur-Santana admitted that between April and July 2023, he mailed several packages containing pure methamphetamine and fentanyl from Las Vegas to co-conspirator drug distributors in the Capital Region. During the conspiracy, Mur-Santana used the U.S. Mail to distribute more than five kilograms of methamphetamine and 10 grams of pressed pills containing fentanyl. In September 2023, law enforcement searched Mur-Santana’s Las Vegas residence and recovered approximately 391 grams of methamphetamine and a loaded 9mm pistol.  

Acting U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III stated: “Christian Mur-Santana, while a guest in this country, repeatedly shipped deadly and addictive drugs, several thousand miles, to the Capital Region. He will now be serving at least 10 years in prison. Mailing highly toxic and lethal substances through the U.S. Mail places our Postal workers in danger. We will aggressively pursue abuse of our U.S. Mail system by dangerous criminals like Mur-Santana. I am grateful for and commend the outstanding investigative work of our federal law enforcement partners who worked this important case.”

DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank A. Tarentino III stated: “The DEA remains committed to stopping the flow of dangerous substances, like methamphetamine and counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, from reaching our towns and communities. Today’s plea is the result of the tireless work the DEA and our law enforcement partners do when targeting those who weaponize our mail system to traffic illicit narcotics and ensuring justice is delivered. We remain committed to targeting those responsible for fueling addiction and causing needless deaths from the poison they push.”

USPIS Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward stated: “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service takes very seriously any abuse of our nation’s mail system for criminal purposes. Today’s plea is the result of rigorous investigative work and demonstrates that the U.S. Mail is not a safe harbor for drug traffickers. We will continue to safeguard the integrity of the mail and support efforts to protect public health and safety.”

Mur-Santana was one of nine defendants to be charged in this investigation. The following defendants have pled guilty and have been sentenced or are pending sentencing:

• Todd Austin was sentenced to 78 months in prison, to be followed by a 3-year term of supervised release;
• Andrew Deleon was sentenced to 72 months imprisonment, to be followed by a 3-year term of supervised release;
• Stefanie Plass was sentenced to 24 months in prison, to be followed by a 3-year term of supervised release;
• Ahmad Burke was sentenced to 14 months in prison, to be followed by a 3-year term of supervised release;
• Flor Arencibia is scheduled to be sentenced on December 9, 2025;
• Melissa Karwan is scheduled to be sentenced on December 9, 2025; and
• Keisha Duboise is scheduled to be sentenced on January 7, 2026.

Charges against the remaining defendant, Felix Arencibia, are pending. The charges in the indictment against Felix Arencibia are merely accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  

At sentencing, Mur-Santana faces at least 10 years and up to life in prison and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life. He will be sentenced on January 23, 2026, before United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statutes the defendant is convicted of violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

These cases are being investigated by the DEA and USPIS. Assistant United States Attorneys Ashlyn Miranda and Joshua R. Rosenthal are prosecuting the cases.

These cases are part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Defendant live-streamed sexual abuse of toddler for male sex offender who was posing online as a woman

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

RAPID CITY – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a man from Rapid City, South Dakota, convicted of Possession of Ammunition by a Prohibited Person. The sentencing took place on September 29, 2025.

Dylan Sanchez, 33, was sentenced to three years and six months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Sanchez was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2024. He pleaded guilty on July 21, 2025.

On April 10, 2024, in Rapid City, SD, Sanchez was stopped by law enforcement for traveling above the posted speed limit. After failing a field sobriety test, Sanchez was arrested and his vehicle inventoried. In his vehicle, law enforcement located over 200 rounds of ammunition, pistol magazines, including an extended magazine, cocaine, and distributable amounts of marijuana. Sanchez is prohibited from possessing ammunition because of a previous felony conviction.

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.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Rapid City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Schroeder prosecuted the case.

Sanchez was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

RAPID CITY – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a man from Rapid City, South Dakota, convicted of Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet. The sentencing took place on September 29, 2025.

Matthew Zook, 46, was sentenced to ten years and one month in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $95 in restitution and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Forfeiture was also ordered.

A federal grand jury indicted Zook for the charge in June 2024. He pleaded guilty on July 15, 2025.

In April 2024, Zook used Snapchat to communicate with a 14-year-old minor female. Zook described how he would use condoms for birth control and discussed his desire to try different sex positions with the young girl. Zook told the girl the reason he wanted to have sex with her was because his mother was sick and his girlfriend was mad at him. On April 20, 2024, just after midnight, Zook drove to the minor’s house and parked in her driveway. Unbeknownst to Zook, the minor had informed one of her parents, who alerted law enforcement. Zook was arrested while parked in the driveway. Zook was previously convicted in 2012 for Fourth Degree Rape of a minor when he was 33 years old, for which he received a suspended prison sentence.

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 the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

This case was investigated by the Rapid City Police Department, Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, and the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox prosecuted the case.

Zook was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Today, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division launched an investigation into Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) to determine whether it engages in employment practices that discriminate based on race, color, and national origin in violation of Title VII of the Civil Right Act of 1964, as amended.

According to its website, Des Moines Public Schools requires that its teaching and learning staff match the student population in terms of “demographics and cultural responsivity.” DMPS also set specific quotas for “increas[ing] the number of teachers of color” in an affirmative action plan. Its staff retention strategy prioritizes “lift[ing] up voices of our People of Color” and “creat[ing] a safer environment for People of Color.” DMPS also operates the “3D Coalition” project, a recruitment and hiring program for “aspiring minority teachers.”

“DEI initiatives and race-based hiring preferences in our schools violate federal anti-discrimination laws and undermine educational priorities,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “School districts must cease these unlawful programs and restore merit-based employment practices for the benefit of both students and employees.”

You can read the notice letter here.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

            WASHINGTON – Bence Horvath, 47, a dual citizen of Hungary and Spain who resided in the United Arab Emirates, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 31 months in prison in connection with conspiring to illegally export U.S.-origin radio communications technology to Russian end users without a license, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

            Horvath pleaded guilty on June 17, 2025, to one count of conspiring to unlawfully export goods to Russia. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates ordered Horvath to serve three of supervised release and to pay a fine of $5,000. Horvath will be subject to deportation on completion of his sentence.

            According to court documents, beginning at least around January 2023, Horvath and others initiated discussions with a small U.S. radio distribution company about procuring and exporting to Russia U.S.-manufactured military-grade radios and related accessories. Over several months Horvath worked to secure those items, which he intended to transship to Russia via a freight forwarder in Latvia.

            As part of the conspiracy, Horvath purchased 200 of the military-grade radios and intended to export them to Russia. But Horvath was not successful. U.S. Customs and Border Protection detained the shipment and prevented the radios from falling into the hands of prohibited Russian end users.

            This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations New Orleans, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service Southeast Field Office, and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California provided valuable assistance.

            The matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Tortorice and Maeghan Mikorski for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Sean Heiden of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

24cr401

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Baltimore, Maryland – Tammy Barcus, 56, of Berlin, Maryland, pled guilty to a three-count Information, charging her with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and tax evasion.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea with Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Washington D.C. Field Office.

Barcus, a former office manager and bookkeeper for an Ocean City-based home builder, admitted to embezzling at least $1,790,000 from her former employer. She forged a business owner’s signature on business checks at least 500 times. Barcus then concealed the embezzlement from her employer and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by making false entries into the business’ books and records.

In her guilty plea, Barcus acknowledged that she worked for the home builder as a trusted employee with substantial control over business records and financial accounts.  As part of her daily job duties, Barcus had access to payment systems and accounting records that belonged to the home builder. She worked with a high degree of independence.

From 2016 through 2024, Barcus used her position of trust to embezzle money by issuing more than 500 fraudulently authorized checks from the home builder’s business bank account. Barcus forged the signature of one of the owners on the face of the business checks and then deposited the checks into bank accounts she controlled. She then used the money for her personal enrichment.

The former office manager and bookkeeper concealed the scheme by hiding the embezzled income from the IRS. She also made materially false and fraudulent edits and entries into the home builder’s internal accounting records to cover up the fraudulent payments and commingled the embezzled funds into a bank account she controlled.

Barcus is facing a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud, five years for tax evasion, and a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence for aggravated identity theft.

Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Judge Maddox set sentencing for Monday, February 9, 2026, at 10 a.m.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended IRS-CI for its work in the investigation.  Ms. Hayes also thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Murphy and Assistant U.S. Attorney Harry Gruber, who are prosecuting the federal case, and Paralegal Specialists Joanna B.N. Huber and Shelbe Mascaro, for their valuable assistance.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, visit justice.gov/usao-md  and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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