MIL Security Engine-1

Source: US FBI

RIVERSIDE, California – An Alameda County man has been arrested on a federal criminal complaint alleging he assaulted flight attendants shortly after his flight from Orange County to San Francisco took off, causing the flight to divert to Ontario for the safety of passengers and crew, the Justice Department announced today.

Charles Angel Salva, 30, of Fremont, is charged with interference with flight crew members and attendants.

Salva, who was arrested on Wednesday, is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in Riverside.

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, Salva was on a Frontier Airlines flight bound from John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana destined for San Francisco International Airport on September 9. Shortly after takeoff, while the airplane was climbing and under 10,000 feet, flight attendants saw that the oxygen masks in one row of the middle of the aircraft were out of the overhead compartment. Flight attendants investigated and discovered that Salva had his hand in the overhead compartment.

One passenger later told law enforcement that Salva appeared claustrophobic and seemed like he wanted to get off the plane. Salva then pulled down the oxygen mask from the overhead compartment, getting his hand stuck there in the process before a passenger helped him free his hand.

Salva allegedly began yelling obscenities at flight attendants and said, “We are all going to hell,” and “This airplane is going down!” Salva then grabbed at fellow passengers and ran towards the rear of the airplane when flight attendants tried to restrain him. Salva allegedly then attempted to choke a flight attendant, leaving two small marks on the victim’s neck.

Salva then pushed another flight attendant and said he was going to kill everybody, the affidavit alleges. Passengers helped restrain Salva, who broke out of flex cuffs and had to be restrained by a seatbelt. During the incident, Salva kicked one flight attendant approximately six times in the leg, causing apparent bruising and swelling, which required medical attention.

The flight was diverted to Ontario International Airport because the flight attendants did not feel safe trying to put Salva back in his seat.

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

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

The FBI and the Ontario Police Department are investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Cory L. Burleson of the Riverside Branch Office is prosecuting this case.

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES – Two San Bernardino County residents were found guilty by a jury today of operating a “birth tourism” scheme that charged Chinese clients tens of thousands of dollars to help them give birth in the United States to obtain birthright U.S. citizenship for their children.

Michael Wei Yueh Liu (刘维岳), 59, of Rancho Cucamonga, and Jing Dong, (董晶), 47, also of Rancho Cucamonga, were found guilty of one count of conspiracy and 10 counts of international money laundering.

According to evidence presented at a four-day trial, from at least January 2012 to March 2015, Liu and Dong ran a maternity house in Rancho Cucamonga. Liu and Dong rented apartment units in Southern California to provide short-term housing and provided other services to pregnant women from China who traveled to the United States to give birth so their children would acquire U.S. citizenship. Typically, within one or two months after giving birth, the women returned to China.

Among the services Liu and Dong provided was assistance on how to obtain visas to enter the United States, customs entry guidance, housing, and transportation in the United States, as well as assistance applying for U.S. legal documents for the children of their customers.

Liu and Dong advised their customers on how to hide their pregnancies from the immigration authorities. Liu and Dong also knew – or deliberately avoided learning – that their customers lied on their visa applications submitted to immigration authorities to enter the U.S.

Generally, their customers’ visa applications falsely stated that the purpose of the trip to the United States was for tourism, when it was to give birth, and the length of the stay was days or weeks, when it was in fact months. The visas also misstated the location where the customers intended to stay, which was defendants’ maternity hotel.

Liu and Dong or their agents also advised their customers to fly to ports of entry with perceived less customs scrutiny, such as Hawaii, before flying to Los Angeles, to wear loose fitting clothing, to favor certain lines at customs that they perceived to be less strict, and on how to answer the customs officials’ questions.

Liu and Dong received money from overseas and used that money to promote their scheme.

United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner scheduled a December 9 sentencing hearing, at which time Liu and Dong will face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for the conspiracy charge and up to 20 years in federal prison for each international money laundering charge.

Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the FBI investigated this matter. The Irvine Police Department and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department provided substantial assistance.

Assistant United States Attorneys Gregory W. Staples and Kevin Y. Fu of the Santa Ana Branch Office are prosecuting this case.

Source: US FBI

RIVERSIDE, California – A Honduran national illegally living in New Mexico has been indicted for allegedly conspiring to kidnap a Guatemalan man who had illegally entered the United States and then demanded ransom from the victim’s family living in Southern California, the Justice Department announced today.

Darwin Jeovany Palma Pastrana, 30, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of kidnapping, one count of interstate communication containing a demand or request for ransom, and one count of making a threat by interstate communication.

Palma, whom federal authorities arrested in New Mexico on August 21, was arraigned Friday afternoon in United States District Court in Riverside. He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, and a November 5 trial date was scheduled. He remains jailed without bond.

According to an indictment that a federal grand jury returned on September 4, Palma and co-defendant Eduar Isrrael Sauceda Nuñez, 25, another Honduran national illegally living in Albuquerque, New Mexico, conspired with others to kidnap and hold for ransom migrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Once the migrants were in the U.S., they were driven to stash houses in Phoenix, El Paso, Texas, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Once at these locations, the migrants’ cellphones were seized and were not returned to them. At one stash house in Albuquerque, 57 migrants were located.

Palma and his accomplices lived near the stash houses and kept large sums of cash and firearms available. Sauceda and other co-conspirators drove migrants to various locations, including Los Angeles, to reunite them with their family and friends.

Specifically, on April 1, Palma told Sauceda that one victim, a Guatemalan national who had entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico, that he had to pay $1,500 before being released to his family. Sauceda then ordered the victim to contact a family member to meeting a Jack in the Box restaurant parking lot in Norwalk. At this parking lot meeting, Sauceda locked the victim inside the car and demanded a $1,500 ransom payment from the victim’s relative before driving away with the victim inside the car.

Later that day, Palma contacted the victim’s relative and said unless $1,500 was paid, the victim would be returned to Mexico and Palma suggested the victim would be killed there. Sauceda then returned to the Jack in the Box parking lot, believing the victim’s relative would pay the ransom. Instead, law enforcement was nearby and later pulled over and arrested Sauceda. As he was being pulled over, Sauceda placed approximately $9,290 in cash, as well as receipts memorializing money transfers to individuals outside of the United States, in the center console of his car before he was arrested. On April 2, Palma sent messages via WhatsApp to the victim’s relative, threatening to kill her.

In April and May of 2024, Palma’s cellphone was present near the Albuquerque stash house, where he drove a yellow school bus with a non-resident permit issued to him to and from the location.

On May 20, when law enforcement approached the Albuquerque stash house to investigate a kidnapping complaint, one co-conspirator drove up to the house and appeared to point at officers while another conspirator fired multiple gunshots in the vicinity of the home.

On May 21, a yellow school bus registered to Palma was parked at the Albuquerque house when law enforcement found 57 undocumented migrants being detained there.

Sauceda, who is a fugitive, is charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of kidnapping, one count of one count of interstate communication containing a demand or request for ransom, and one count of transportation of aliens within the United States for private financial gain.

“These defendants allegedly helped to smuggle migrants and then take advantage of them by demanding ransom from the victims’ families to secure their release,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “We will use our powerful tools to hold accountable those who use violence to profit off of vulnerable victims.”

“Everyone in this country who is a victim of a serious crime is protected by U.S. law and this case is no exception,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The exploitation of vulnerable individuals and their families will be fully investigated by the FBI and its law enforcement partners. Eduar Isrrael Sauceda Nuñez is still wanted for this crime, and we ask that anyone with information as to his whereabouts to contact the FBI or the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.”

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

If convicted, Palma and Sauceda would face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

This matter was investigated by the FBI’s San Gabriel Valley Safe Streets Task Force (SGVSSTF), which is comprised of agents and officers with the FBI, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department – Major Crimes Bureau/Prison Gang Unit and Custody Investigative Services/Operation Safe Jails, the Pomona Police Department, the El Monte Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). The Pomona Police Department is the sponsoring agency of the SGVSSTF and has been the headquarters for the task force since its inception in 2008.

Assistant United States Attorney Sara B. Vargas of the Violent and Organized Crime Section is prosecuting this case.

Source: US FBI

HONOLULU – A former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer, who pleaded guilty in May to conspiring to gather and deliver national defense information to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), will serve ten years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Chief U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson imposed the sentence this morning in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, 71, of Honolulu, was arrested in August 2020,after admitting to an undercover FBI employee that he had facilitated the provision of classified information to intelligence officers employed by the PRC’s Shanghai State Security Bureau (SSSB).

The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii Clare E. Connors, Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen, FBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence Kevin Vorndran, and Special Agent in Charge Steven Merrill of the FBI’s Honolulu Field Office.

“Despite his sworn oath to protect U.S. classified secrets from illegal disclosure, Alexander Ma chose to betray his oath for money while aiding the People’s Republic of China,” said United States Attorney Clare E. Connors. “Bringing Alexander Ma to justice, even after the passage of many years, affirms our commitment to holding accountable those who violate our nation’s trust and security.”

“This sentence demonstrates the dedication of the United States to protect itself from this type of betrayal and violation of trust,” said FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge Steven Merrill. “Let it be a message to anyone else thinking of doing the same. No matter how long it takes, or how much time passes, you will be brought to justice.”

Ma worked for the CIA from 1982 until 1989. His blood relative (identified as co-conspirator #1 or CC #1 in court documents), who is deceased, also worked for the CIA from 1967 until 1983. As CIA officers, both men held Top Secret security clearances that granted them access to sensitive and classified CIA information, and both signed non-disclosure agreements.

As Ma admitted in the plea agreement, in March 2001, over a decade after he resigned from the CIA, Ma was contacted by SSSB intelligence officers, who asked Ma to arrange a meeting between CC #1 and the SSSB. Ma convinced CC #1 to agree, and both Ma and CC #1 met with SSSB intelligence officers in a Hong Kong hotel room for three days. During the meetings, CC #1 provided the SSSB with a large volume of classified U.S. national defense information in return for $50,000 in cash. Ma and CC #1 also agreed to continue to assist the SSSB.

In March 2003, while living in Hawaii, Ma applied for a job as a contract linguist in the FBI’s Honolulu Field Office. The FBI, aware of Ma’s ties to PRC intelligence, hired Ma as part of a ruse to monitor and investigate his activities and contacts with the SSSB. Ma worked part time at an off-site location for the FBI from August 2004 until October 2012.

As detailed in the plea agreement, in February 2006, Ma was tasked by the SSSB with asking CC #1 to identify four individuals of interest to the SSSB from photographs. Ma convinced CC #1 to provide the identities of at least two of the individuals, whose identities were and remain classified U.S. national defense information.

Ma confessed that he knowingly and willfully conspired with CC #1 and SSSB intelligence officers to communicate and transmit information that he knew would be used to injure the United States or to advantage the PRC.

In court documents and at today’s sentencing hearing, the government noted that Ma was convicted of a years-long conspiracy to commit espionage, a serious breach of national security that caused the government to expend substantial investigative resources. The government also noted that Ma’s role in the conspiracy was to facilitate the exchange of information between CC #1 and the SSSB, which consisted of classified CIA information that CC #1 had obtained between 1967 and 1983.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Ma must cooperate with the United States for the rest of his life, including by submitting to debriefings by U.S. government agencies. At the sentencing hearing, government counsel told the Court that Ma has been cooperative and has taken part in multiple interview sessions with government agents.

U.S. Attorney Connors and Assistant Attorney General Olsen commended the FBI for its work in the investigation and thanked the CIA for its assistance.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Honolulu and Los Angeles Field Offices.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ken Sorenson and Craig Nolan, and Trial Attorneys Scott Claffee and Leslie Esbrook of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case.

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES – A Santa Barbara County man was sentenced today to 135 months in federal prison for receiving thousands of videos containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) within one month of his parole from California state prison following his conviction for internet-related child sexual exploitation crimes.

Giovanni Gonzalez, 34, of Carpinteria, was sentenced by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner, who also ordered him to pay $24,000 in restitution.

Gonzalez pleaded guilty on February 5 to one count of receipt of child pornography.

“Within days of his release from state prison for despicable acts he committed against children, this defendant returned to his deplorable ways, obtaining thousands of videos showcasing the sexual exploitation of kids,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Protecting our children is central to my office’s mission and we will continue to use all available tools to prosecute those who participate in this wicked marketplace that traffics in child abuse.”

“Sexual exploitation of children is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our society,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “This case underscores the FBI’s commitment to investigate all offenders who cause harm to our children, and we will ensure these individuals no longer pose a threat to our communities.”

According to his plea agreement, on December 1, 2022, Gonzalez was paroled from California state prison following a sentence of more than 17 years for posing as a teenage girl online and coercing at least eight minor female victims into engaging in sex acts and sending him the images, as well as for possessing and sharing CSAM on the internet.

Later that month, Gonzalez sought out and began receiving CSAM from sources, including one on WhatsApp, a computer software application on his mobile phone.

On December 28, 2022, Gonzalez knowingly received from one source numerous files of CSAM. Upon receiving this material on WhatsApp, Gonzalez saved them to the memory card of his mobile phone.

On January 7, 2023, Gonzalez turned over his mobile phone to his parole officer pursuant to his search conditions. Upon inspection, law enforcement found in Gonzalez’s telephone approximately 2,684 videos containing CSAM, of which several depicted prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct or sexual exploitation of an infant or toddler.

The FBI and the Santa Maria Police Department investigated this matter. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office provided assistance.

Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy K. Beecher of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section prosecuted this case.

Source: US FBI

Figueroa Corridor Human Trafficking Initiative Is Designed to Target Sexual Exploitation Crimes on the Figueroa Corridor in South Los Angeles

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES – Three Sacramento men have been arrested on a two-count indictment charging them with kidnapping an Antelope Valley business owner at gunpoint last year, in an alleged attack in which the victim was beaten, his home was burglarized, and he was abandoned in a desolate part of California, the Justice Department announced today. A fourth defendant remains at large.

The indictment, returned August 27 and unsealed Tuesday, charges the following defendants with two counts of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and kidnapping:

• Shanjeet Brar, 57;
• Jerome Franklin Jr., 43;
• Peter Arafiles Jr., 29; and
• Andrae Hawkins, 39.

Brar, Arafiles, and Hawkins, who were arrested last week, are expected to be arraigned in the United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles in the coming weeks. Franklin remains at large.

“These defendants are charged with putting the victim through a terrifying ordeal, one that will leave lasting emotional and psychological scars,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “We will not tolerate such brazen acts of violence and will continue to collaborate with our law enforcement partners to ensure stiff penalties for perpetrators of such violent acts.”

“The community can rest assured that the perpetrators of this violent and heinous kidnapping are now in custody and will face serious consequences for their actions,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The exemplary collaboration and perseverance from the men and women of the FBI and our law enforcement partners resulted in today’s arrests and have made our streets safer.”

According to the indictment and underlying criminal complaint, on October 27, 2023, the defendants traveled from Sacramento to Lancaster to kidnap the victim at gunpoint from the victim’s workplace. They beat the victim, zip-tied his hands, and duct-taped his turban over his face. They demanded $100,000 or more from him, as well as gold and jewelry. They threatened to kill the victim if he did not comply with their demands and told him, “This is your last day.”

While the victim was kidnapped, some of the defendants traveled to the victim’s home to burglarize it. After the victim’s wife noticed the burglars on their home security system, she contacted the victim’s phone, which was in the kidnappers’ possession.  The kidnappers eventually abandoned the victim in a desolate area.

Brar allegedly rented one of the two vehicles used in the kidnapping – specifically, the one used in the burglary.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

If convicted of all charges, the defendants would 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 County Sheriff’s Department are investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin J. Butler and Jena A. MacCabe of the Violent and Organized Crime are prosecuting this matter.

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES – Today a federal grand jury returned an indictment against a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy alleging that he used excessive force when he assaulted and pepper-sprayed a woman during a shoplifting investigation outside a WinCo Foods in Lancaster last year.

Trevor James Kirk, 31, of Santa Clarita, is charged in a single-count indictment with deprivation of rights under color of law for the force he used during one of his shifts as a sheriff’s deputy in June 2023. Kirk caused injuries to, and used pepper spray on, victim J.H. Kirk will be arraigned on the charge in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles later this month.

“When an officer violates the civil rights of another person, it undermines public safety for all of us,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada.  “Officers must be held accountable when they violate constitutional rights, and my Office is committed to prosecuting those who abuse their authority and breach the public’s trust.”

“All law enforcement personnel who take an oath to protect and serve the American people must be held to a higher standard,” said Akil Davis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI remains committed to holding those who do not meet this standard accountable for their actions.”      

According to the indictment, Kirk and another deputy were responding to a possible robbery at the WinCo by a male and female suspect. Kirk and the other deputy arrived on scene and handcuffed and detained a man matching the description of the male suspect, while a female, J.H., who matched the description of the female suspect, videotaped the deputies. While videotaping, J.H. told Kirk that he had a legal obligation to inform D.B. of the basis for his detention and that she was broadcasting his actions on social media.

The indictment alleges that Kirk then approached J.H. and, without giving any commands, attempted to grab her phone. J.H. turned away, at which point Kirk allegedly grabbed J.H. by her arm, hooked his left hand behind her neck, and violently threw her to the ground. While on the ground, Kirk yelled at J.H. to “get on the ground,” and she told him that “It’s already on YouTube Life,” implying her video of Kirk and the other deputy handcuffing D.B. had already been made public. Kirk then placed his knee on J.H.’s shoulder and when J.H. yelled for Kirk to “stop” and called him an expletive, Kirk cocked his right arm back with a clenched fist and said, “Stop or you’re gonna get punched in the face.” Kirk then allegedly pressed his knee into J.H.’s neck, and she said, “Get your neck [sic] off my . . . off my . . . I can’t breathe.” While on top of J.H., the indictment alleges that Kirk used his LASD radio to misleading report that he was in a “fight.”

The indictment further alleges that shortly thereafter, without giving any additional commands to J.H., Kirk sprayed her twice in the face with pepper spray. J.H. received medical attention for the pepper spray used on her and the injuries she received from being thrown to the ground. The indictment also alleges that Kirk then drafted and submitted a misleading report to LASD in which he portrayed J.H. as a threat to his physical safety, claiming that J.H. assaulted him, attempted to hit him, and took a “fighting” or “blading” stance.

An indictment 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, Kirk would face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

The FBI is investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Eli A. Alcaraz of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section is prosecuting this case.

Source: US FBI

The FBI is offering a reward of $20,000 in exchange for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for the death of Robert Abdelkader III.

On June 7, 2024, at approximately 7:45 p.m., Abdelkader III was shot and killed at a pool party on the 800 block of East Greenleaf Boulevard, Compton, California. Several other victims were also shot.

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office at (310) 477-6565, or the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. You may also contact your local FBI office, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, or you can submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

Source: US FBI

FAYETTEVILLE – An Arkansas man and University of Arkansas Professor pleaded guilty today to one count of making a false statement to the FBI about the existence of patents for his inventions in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Simon Saw-Teong Ang, 64, of Fayetteville, entered a guilty plea to count 58 on a Superseding Indictment charging him with making a materially false and fictitious, statement and representation to an FBI Special Agent. According to court documents, 24 patents filed in the People’s Republic of China bear Ang’s name or Chinese birth name. The University of Arkansas, where Ang worked as a professor, required individuals such as Ang to promptly furnish to the University “full and complete” disclosures of inventions, and University policy provided that it, not individual inventors, would own all inventions created by those subject to the policy. This policy was established “in furtherance of the commitment of the University to the widest possible distribution of the benefits of University Research, the protection of Inventions resulting from such research, and the development of Inventions for the public good.”

Despite this requirement, Ang did not disclose his Chinese patents to the university and, when interviewed by an FBI agent, lied about his involvement in the inventions. Specifically, when asked whether his name would be listed as “the inventor” of numerous patents in China, Ang denied being the inventor, despite knowing he was. In addition, Ang also received numerous talent awards from the PRC government, which he did not list on the university’s annual conflict of interest disclosure forms.

Ang’s sentencing is expected to take place in approximately four months. Ang faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison for the crime for which he pleaded guilty, however, the plea agreement also states that if the court wishes to sentence Ang to a sentence that is not a year and a day in federal prison, Ang will have the right to withdraw from the plea agreement. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas and Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division made the announcement.

The FBI, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), NASA Office of Inspector General and Air Force Office of Special Investigations investigated the case.

U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas and Trial Attorney Christine Bonomo from the Department of Justice National Security Division are prosecuting the case.