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Source: US FBI

FRESNO, Calif. — Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives Terrance John “TJ” Cox, 61, of Fresno, pleaded guilty today to one count of wire fraud and one count of wire fraud affecting a financial institution, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

According to court documents, Cox perpetrated fraud schemes targeting companies he was affiliated with. Cox created unauthorized off-the-books bank accounts and diverted client and company money into those accounts through false representations, pretenses and promises. From 2013 to 2018, across two different fraud schemes, Cox illicitly obtained client payments and company loans and investments that he solicited and then stole.

In addition, Cox fraudulently obtained a $1.5 million construction loan to develop the recreation area in Fresno known as Granite Park. Cox and his business partner’s nonprofit could not qualify for the construction loan without a financially viable party guaranteeing the loan. Cox falsely represented that one of his affiliated companies would guarantee the loan and submitted a fabricated board resolution that falsely stated that at a meeting on a given date, all company owners agreed to guarantee the Granite Park loan. No meeting took place, and the other owners did not agree to back the loan. The loan later went into default.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Henry Z. Carbajal III and Jeffrey A. Spivak are prosecuting the case.

Cox is scheduled to be sentenced on June 2, 2025. Cox faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 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.

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES—The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is working to raise awareness about online romance scams, also called confidence fraud. In this type of fraud, scammers take advantage of people looking for romantic partners on dating websites, apps, or social media by obtaining access to their financial or personal identifying information. Romance scams are prevalent, especially during this time of year.

Romance scams occur when a criminal uses a fake online identity to gain a victim’s affection and trust. These scammers are present on most dating and social media sites. They look to establish a relationship as quickly as possible and endear themselves to the victim. Many may propose marriage and make plans to meet in person. Eventually, they will ask for money.

“Confidence fraud, or romance scams, can happen to anyone at any time. The criminals who carry out romance scams are experts at what they do” said Akil Davis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office. “Individuals who are looking for love and companionship are the target victims of this online fraud. The FBI cautions everyone who may be romantically involved with a person online to proceed carefully and stay alert to warning signs. If you suspect an online relationship is a scam, stop all contact immediately.”

To avoid meeting in person, romance scammers often claim to live or work in other parts of the country or world. Eventually, when they feel they have gained the trust of their victims, these criminals will request money from them, oftentimes for a medical emergency, an unexpected legal fee, or some other false purpose.

Romance scams/confidence schemes have resulted in one of the highest amounts of financial losses when compared to other Internet-facilitated crimes. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, roughly 18,000 victims reported nearly $700,000,000 in losses in 2023, the most recent statistical year available.

That same year, over 2000 victims in California reported more than $100,000,000 in losses.

While anyone can fall victim to these schemes, bad actors are known to target women over age 40 who are widowed, divorced, elderly, or disabled.

If you develop a relationship with someone you meet online, please consider the following tips and beware of the red flags:

• Research the person’s photo and profile using online searches to see if the image, name, or details have been used elsewhere.
• Beware if the individual seems too perfect or quickly asks you to leave a dating service or social media site to go “offline.”
• The individual professes love quickly.
• The individual tries to isolate you from friends and family.
• The individual makes plans to visit you, but always cancels because of some emergency. If you haven’t met the person after a few months, for whatever reason, you have good reason to be suspicious.
• Go slowly and ask lots of questions.
• Be careful what you post and make public online. Scammers can use details shared on social media and dating sites to better understand and target you.
• Never send money to anyone you have only communicated with online or by phone.

If you suspect an online relationship is a scam, stop all contact immediately. If you are the victim of a romance scam, file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov).

Resources:

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES – A former counselor at a private school in Riverside County was sentenced today to 360 months in federal prison for possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and placing a hidden camera inside bathrooms to film boys using the toilet and showers.

Matthew Daniel Johnson, 34, of Bryan, Texas, was sentenced by United States District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett, who scheduled a restitution hearing for May 28. Upon his eventual release from prison, Johnson will be placed on lifetime supervised release. Johnson has been in federal custody since October 2024.

Law enforcement searched Johnson’s home in March 2020 and seized several videos featuring minor boys engaged in sexual activity. The videos depicted victims under the age of 12 and some as young as 3 to 5 years old.

During the search of his residence, Johnson admitted to law enforcement that he had hidden a pen-shaped recording device in a toilet paper holder inside of a school bathroom, across the hall from his office as a school counselor at La Sierra Academy in Riverside.

Another video file depicted Johnson adjusting a recording device inside a different bathroom at a Junior High School Bible Camp where he was working as a chaperone of children attending the camp. The video file subsequently captured minor boys using the toilet and the shower.

Johnson further admitted to using and employing a minor victim in January 2020 for the purpose of creating a visual depiction of the victim engaging in sexual conduct.

The Fontana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Riverside Police Department, and the FBI investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Sonah Lee of the Riverside Branch Office prosecuted this case.

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES – A Texas man was sentenced today to 420 months in federal prison for kidnapping a 13-year-old girl at gunpoint last year in San Antonio, admitting that he drove her to California, threatened her with a firearm, and sexually assaulted her multiple times before his arrest in Long Beach.         

Steven Robert Sablan, 63, of Cleburne, Texas, was sentenced by United States District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha, who also ordered him to pay $1,158 in restitution.

Sablan pleaded guilty in January 2024 to one count of kidnapping. He has been in federal custody since July 2023.

“The 35-year sentence imposed ensures this defendant will not have the opportunity to victimize children,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally. “There is nothing as important as protecting our young people. I commend our federal and local law enforcement partners for their efforts to secure justice here.”

“Mr. Sablan took this young girl from the safety of her Texas home and repeatedly sexually assaulted her at gunpoint throughout a lengthy drive of terror to California,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI will not tolerate sexual deviants who exploit our children at will and – as in this case – will hold these violent offenders accountable.”

“This sentencing announcement represents a collaborative commitment to holding individuals accountable for victimizing and inflicting trauma upon our children,” said Long Beach Police Chief Wally Hebeish. “I am deeply grateful to our officers and federal law enforcement partners from the FBI and DOJ for their tireless efforts on this case.”

On July 6, 2023, in San Antonio, Sablan abducted the victim, held her, and transported her in his gray Nissan Sentra to Long Beach, California. The victim told Sablan she was 13 years old. During this ordeal, Sablan used a firearm to threaten and control the victim.

Sablan confined the victim until she was rescued on July 9, 2023, in Long Beach after a Good Samaritan called 911 after seeing her holding a “Help Me” sign in the window of Sablan’s car.

During the Texas-to-California journey, he sexually assaulted the victim. At the time of the crime, Sablan had no legal custody or familial relationship to the victim.

“[Sablan] violently abducted a child and repeatedly sexually assaulted her while driving her thousands of miles from her home,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “And while [Sablan] spent days abusing her for his own pleasure, her parents agonized over their missing child, fearing the worst. The worst was not far from reality.”

The FBI and the Long Beach Police Department investigated this matter. The Cleburne (Texas) Police Department and the Fort Worth (Texas) Police Department provided assistance. 

Assistant United States Attorney Chelsea Norell of the Violent and Organized Crime Section prosecuted this case.

Source: US FBI

A California man pleaded guilty today to health care fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering in connection with a years-long scheme to defraud Medicare of more than $17 million through sham hospice companies and his home health care company.

According to court documents, Petros Fichidzhyan, 43, of Granada Hills, engaged in a scheme with others to operate a series of sham hospice companies. Fichidzhyan, along with co-schemers, impersonated the identities of foreign nationals to use as the purported owners of the hospices — including using the identities to open bank accounts and sign property leases — and submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for hospice services that were not medically necessary and not provided. In submitting the false claims, Fichidzhyan and his co-schemers also misappropriated the identifying information of doctors, claiming to Medicare that the doctors had determined hospice services were necessary, when in fact the purported recipients of these hospice services were not terminally ill and had never requested nor received care from the sham hospices. As a result of the scheme, Medicare paid the sham hospices nearly $16 million. Fichidzhyan personally received nearly $7 million of the proceeds from the fraud scheme, including more than $5.3 million in transfers to his personal and business bank accounts, which were laundered through a dozen shell and third-party bank accounts. Fichidzhyan additionally admitted to wrongfully obtaining more than $1 million for his home health care agency through the fraudulent use of a doctor’s name and identifying information in certifying Medicare beneficiaries for home health care, which he attempted to cover up by paying the doctor $11,000.

Fichidzhyan pleaded guilty to health care fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 14 and faces a mandatory penalty of two years in prison on the aggravated identity theft charge, a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the health care fraud charge, and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the money laundering charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Today’s guilty plea is the most recent conviction in the Justice Department’s ongoing effort to combat hospice fraud in the greater Los Angeles area. Last year, a doctor was convicted at trial for his role in a scheme to bill Medicare for hospice services patients did not need, and two other defendants were sentenced for their roles in a hospice fraud scheme.  

Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Diane N. Vu of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Los Angeles Regional Office made the announcement.

The FBI and HHS-OIG are investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Eric C. Schmale and Sarah E. Edwards of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles man who ran a Beverly Hills luxury watch consignment business and was known as “The Timepiece Gentleman” was sentenced today to 70 months in federal prison for swindling dozens of his customers of out a total of at least $5.6 million. 

Anthony Farrer, 36, formerly of downtown Los Angeles, was sentenced by United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton.

Farrer pleaded guilty in October 2024 to one count of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud. He has been in federal custody since November 2023.

“This defendant stole millions of dollars from customers who trusted him and then used his ill-gotten gains to fund his exorbitant lifestyle,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally. “The sentence imposed today sends a message that those who defraud the public will be held accountable.”

“The so-called ‘Timepiece Gentleman” was actually a con-man whose time living lavishly ran out when the high-end watch owners he victimized brought his crimes to the attention of law enforcement,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field. “This successful prosecution is the result of a joint collaboration among local and federal partners working together in order to bring Mr. Farrer to justice.” 

“Mr. Farrer exploited his clients’ trust for personal gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher, IRS Criminal Investigation, Los Angeles Field Office. “Instead of making good on his business promises, Mr. Farrer swindled his clients out of money and property to fund his own extravagant expenditures, and now he’ll suffer the consequences. IRS-CI is committed to protecting clients and consumers from this sort of dubious behavior, and we are proud to have been a partner in this investigation.”

From November 2022 to November 2023, Farrer used his business – also called “The Timepiece Gentlemen” – to connect purchasers and sellers of high-end watches. In a typical consignment sale, a client would ship a watch to The Timepiece Gentleman and Farrer would take possession of the watch, agreeing to display it at his Beverly Hills store and through online and social media marketing. The items involved in this case included luxury watches by Rolex, Richard Mille, and Patek Phillipe, among others.

Once the watch was sold, Farrer was supposed to remit the sales proceeds back to the client, minus a consignment fee, which typically was approximately 5% of the sales price. If the watch did not sell within a specific time or for a specified price, Farrer was to return the watch to the client.

But instead of remitting watch sales proceeds – or the unsold watches themselves – back to the clients, Farrer sold the client watches and kept the proceeds for himself. He also used client watches – without the client’s knowledge or permission – as collateral for loans that he took out from lenders.

When a client asked about the status of a watch on consignment sale, Farrer lied and said that the watch had not yet been sold. In fact, Farrer already had sold the watch or otherwise disposed of it, keeping the funds for his own personal benefit.

In addition to his consignment sale business, Farrer also purported to purchase watches on behalf of his clients. Typically, a client sent funds to Farrer, often by wire transfers to his bank accounts or through payment processors such as Zelle, for the purpose of Farrer locating and buying a specified watch on the client’s behalf.

But Farrer took the clients’ money and used it for other purposes, including to fund his lavish lifestyle such as buying or leasing luxury automobiles, apartments, and other luxury goods.

When a client who had sent him money asked Farrer about the status of a watch purchase, Farrer often sent another watch to the client to tide the client over or lull them into a false sense of security regarding the status of the purchase. Like a Ponzi scheme, the other watch Farrer sent to the client often belonged to other clients who had themselves sent him that watch for a consignment sale. These clients were unaware Farrer was using their watches for that purpose, rather than attempting to sell the watches on behalf of the clients.

In total, Farrer fraudulently obtained money and property belonging to more than 40 victims and caused total losses of at least $5,691,005. Farrer also will be subject to a restitution order for payment owed to victims in amounts to be determined later.

The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the Beverly Hills Police Department investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Joshua O. Mausner of the Violent and Organized Crime Section prosecuted this case.

Source: US FBI

FAYETTEVILLE – A Berryville man was sentenced on December 18, 2023, to 500 months in prison without the possibility of parole after being found guilty of Traveling with the Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Acts with two minor males and for Distributing Child Pornography. The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.

In May 2022, the Arkansas FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force received a lead from the FBI Kansas City Division that a subject under investigation admitted that he was trading child pornography online with an individual later identified as Ricky Gunter Hilburn, age 42, of Berryville and that Hilburn had even bragged about sexually abusing a minor male. A search warrant was obtained and executed at Hilburn’s residence, resulting in multiple digital devices being confiscated and Hilburn being arrested. A subsequent forensic examination of the electronic devices seized from Hilburn’s residence confirmed that Hilburn was trafficking child pornography images to others online. Further investigation revealed that Hilburn had groomed two minor males in Oklahoma and would travel across state lines to engage in sexual activity with them. At sentencing, the United States Attorney’s Office presented the Court with evidence that Hilburn had groomed a third minor male and engaged in sexual contact with him on multiple occasions.  

Hilburn was indicted by a Grand Jury in the Western District in March of 2023 and entered a plea of guilty in June 2023.

U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

The Arkansas FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force and the Berryville Police Department investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler Williams and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carly Marshall prosecuted the case for the United States.

This case was prosecuted 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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.

Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website @ www.pacer.gov

Source: US FBI

More than $1.5 million worth of stolen pharmaceuticals involved.

Source: US FBI

Director Christopher Wray has named Alicia D. Corder as the special agent in charge of the FBI Little Rock Field Office. She most recently served as section chief of the Internal Affairs Section of the Inspection Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.  
 
Ms. Corder joined the FBI as a special agent in 2003 and was assigned to the Sacramento Field Office, where she investigated counterterrorism matters. In 2006, she moved to the Los Angeles Field Office where she worked in counterterrorism. In 2010, she returned to the Sacramento Field Office’s Modesto Resident Agency, where she worked all criminal programs, such as violent crime, white collar crime, and crimes against children.   
 
In 2013, Ms. Corder was promoted to supervisory special agent in the Directorate of Intelligence, HUMINT Operations Section. In 2015, Ms. Corder was selected as a squad supervisor in the Washington Field Office. In this role, she managed applicant processing and hiring, the New Agent Development Program, leadership skills assessment, and language testing, among other administrative matters.  
 
In 2018, Ms. Corder was selected as the assistant special agent in charge of the Criminal Branch of the St. Louis Field Office, where she oversaw all criminal programs, including the St. Louis Gateway Strike Force, an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). In 2021, Ms. Corder was named section chief of the Internal Affairs Section in the Inspection Division.  
 
Prior to joining the FBI, Ms. Corder practiced law in Indiana. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana State University and juris doctor from Indiana University School of Law.  

Source: US FBI

Phoenix, AZ —The FBI Phoenix Field Office is seeking candidates for the 2025 Citizens Academy. Classes are held in person at our Phoenix, Tucson, and Flagstaff offices.

The FBI Citizens Academy program is an engaging six to eight-week curriculum that gives business, religious, civic, and community leaders an inside look at the FBI.

The mission of the FBI Citizens Academy is to foster a greater understanding of the role of federal law enforcement in the community through frank discussion and education.

Candidates are nominated by FBI employees, Citizens Academy graduates, and community leaders. Interested community members may also self-nominate for consideration.

The deadline to submit nominations for the 2025 Citizens Academy in Arizona is November 1, 2024. Classes begin in early February and run through mid-March.

Incomplete and late nominations will not be accepted. Once nominations are received/reviewed, candidates will be notified within 3-4 weeks of the next step in the process.

Nomination forms can be found online on the FBI Phoenix Outreach webpage, or at the following location: https://forms.fbi.gov/fbi-citizens-academy-nomination-form-phoenix.