MIL Security Engine-1

Source: US FBI

SAN DIEGO – Jonathan Barba and Abraham Gomez-Rodriguez were sentenced in federal court today to 51 months and 37 months, respectively, for assaulting and stabbing a fellow inmate at the federal jail downtown on orders from a Mexican Mafia gang associate.

According to the publicly-filed documents in the case, Barba, Gomez-Rodriguez and the victim in the case were all inmates at the Metropolitan Correction Center. On March 27, 2024, Barba came up from behind the victim and stabbed him repeatedly with a metal shank while Gomez-Rodriguez held the victim’s arms so he could not escape or defend himself. When the victim broke free and ran away, Gomez-Rodriguez chased and struck him numerous times.

The victim was stabbed in the abdomen, neck, head and eye area. One of the stab wounds was dangerously close to the victim’s eyeball. The victim was left lacerated, bloodied, bruised and had to be taken to the hospital.

After the assault, Barba and Gomez-Rodriguez admitted to the victim that they assaulted him to please another inmate named “Alex,” who was a “shot caller” for the Mexican Mafia. Below is a photo of the shank that was used to repeatedly stab the victim:

Barba has a criminal history that involves domestic violence and drug importation. In 2014, he was convicted of first-degree domestic battery in Nevada and was sentenced to 60 days in jail and community service. In 2022, he was convicted of importation of methamphetamine and fentanyl in the Southern District of California. For that offense, Barba was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison. He was serving his federal drug trafficking sentence when he violently assaulted and stabbed the victim-inmate.

Gomez-Rodriguez was convicted in 2022 of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin in the Southern District of California. He was sentenced to 26 months in federal prison.  While he was serving his federal sentence, Gomez-Rodriguez, along with Barba, violently attacked the victim-inmate. The judge ordered that the sentences handed down be served consecutive to their existing sentences.

“Violence has no place in our correctional facilities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden. “We are fully committed to taking every legal action available to protect the safety and well-being of all inmates and to hold violent criminals accountable.”

“I want to applaud the FBI San Diego Violent Crime Task Force and MCC Special Investigations Unit’s commitment and dedication to hold the defendants accountable for their role in the violent and coordinated attack,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Houtan Moshrefi. “We remain steadfast in working with our partners to protect the integrity of our correctional institutions.”

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Sherwood and Shital Thakkar.

DEFENDANTS                                             Case Number 24cr843-AJB                            

Jonathan Barba                                               Age: 32                                   Victorville, CA

Abraham Gomez-Rodriguez                          Age: 26                                   Imperial Beach, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Assault With a Dangerous Weapon within Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction– Title 18, U.S.C., Section 113(a) and (7)(3)

Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison and $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Bureau of Prisons

Source: US FBI

SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed more than 100 border-related cases this week, including charges of transportation of illegal aliens, reentering the U.S. after deportation, deported alien found in the United States, and importation of controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America’s eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico’s second largest city).

In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.

A representative sample of border-related arrests this week, includes:

• Mexican nationals Isay Edel Ramos-Chaparro and Omar Alvarado-Ignacio were arrested March 4, 2025, by El Centro-based U.S. Border Patrol agents and charged with crimes relating to their alleged attempt to cross illegally into the United States on motorcycles through a breach in the border fence in Mexicali. Both defendants had previously been deported after entering the United States illegally.
• On March 6, 2025, Jason Kristopher Lowe attempted to enter the United States from Mexico via the San Ysidro Port of Entry driving a BMW X5, bearing California plates.  Lowe was arrested when two individuals, both of whom admitted to being citizens of China without lawful documents allowing them to enter the United States, were found inside a secret compartment in the undercarriage of the BMW.
• Fernando Medina Rodriguez, Gustavo Camacha Medina and Carlos Cardenas Medina – all drivers of separate tractor-trailers attempting to cross into the U.S. from Mexico at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry – were arrested on March 4, 2025, on drug importation charges. According to a federal complaint, all three were sent to secondary inspection around the same time, where Customs and Border Protection officials found hidden compartments containing a total of approximately 171 pounds of cocaine.

Federal law enforcement has focused immigration prosecutions on undocumented aliens who are engaged in criminal activity in the U.S., including those who commit drug and firearms crimes, who have serious criminal records, or who have active warrants for their arrest. Federal authorities have also been prioritizing investigations and prosecutions against drug, firearm, and human smugglers and those who endanger and threaten the safety of our communities and the law enforcement officers who protect the community.

The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.

Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: US FBI

NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – March 11, 2025

SAN DIEGO – George Joseph Wellinger II pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting he intentionally targeted a member of the LGBTQ community and threatened her with violence via email. 

According to his plea agreement, the defendant admitted that he intentionally selected this victim as the object of his threat based on the victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, and because of the defendant’s animus toward members of the LGBTQ community.

According to court documents, the victim was targeted after being interviewed for a KTLA news report about a hate-inspired murder in Lake Arrowhead in August 2023.

According to the plea agreement, the threatening email called the victim “another alphabet clown that wants to take a dirt nap, too,” and included a link to the KTLA news report which featured the victim and others discussing the murder of a Lake Arrowhead business owner who had been gunned down for hanging a Pride flag in her business.

The email continued: “We know what you look like and know where are you are….only a matter of time….Love it….get ur ghey on sister….scissor it up….we coming for ur rainbow azz. Click Click!!!

On August 18, 2023, Laura Ann Carleton, a known ally to the LGBTQ+ community, was murdered for hanging a pride flag outside her store. Carleton was shot by Travis Ikeguchi, who fled the scene and was later shot and killed by law enforcement. On August 30, 2023, KTLA, a local Los Angeles news station, wrote an article about Carleton’s death.

Wellinger pleaded guilty to Interstate Threatening Communication with a special finding that he targeted his victim because of her sexual orientation.

Wellinger is scheduled to be sentenced on June 9, 2025, at 10 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Linda Lopez.

If you or anyone you know believes you have been the victim of a hate crime, please contact the FBI at www.tips.fbi.gov. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacqueline M. Jimenez and Alicia Williams are prosecuting this case.

DEFENDANT                                               Case Number: 24-CR-1591                                      

George Joseph Wellinger II                            Age: 49                                   San Diego, CA

CHARGE

Transmitting a Threatening Communication – Title 18 U.S.C., § 875(c)

Maximum penalty: Five years in prison

INVESTIGATING AGENCY

Federal Bureau of Investigation

For more information and resources about the department’s work to combat hate crimes, visit https://www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.

Source: US FBI

SAN DIEGO – George Demos, then-vice president at San Diego-based Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc., pleaded guilty in federal court today to illegally selling 60,000 company shares, thus avoiding a $1.3 million loss by acting on insider knowledge about the labeling process for a prescription drug with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Demos, a medical doctor who was the Vice President of Drug Safety and Pharmacovigilance and member of the drug label team at publicly-traded Acadia, admitted that he was able to avoid the loss by dumping his shares just two hours before negative news about the labeling process became public.

Through his positions, Demos had access to material information belonging to Acadia, including the drug approval and labeling process with the FDA, before the information was released to the investing public. As an employee of Acadia, Demos was subject to an insider trading policy that prohibited trading in company stock on the basis of material nonpublic information.

As of 2021, Acadia’s only fully FDA-approved pharmaceutical product was Pimavanserin, sold under the brand name Nuplazid, for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease psychosis. Demos admitted that in 2020, he learned inside information that Acadia had applied for FDA approval for the expansion of the label for Nuplazid to treat dementia-related psychosis. Expanding the label was expected to generate significant revenue for Acadia because it would allow the drug to treat a larger patient population.

Demos also admitted, however, that in March 2021, he learned additional inside information that discussions with the FDA had stalled, indicating a problem with the label. Acting on that inside information, Demos sold more than 60,000 shares of Acadia for $2,833,856.15 – less than two hours before Acadia issued a press release announcing deficiencies in its drug application with the FDA, preventing labeling discussions. Demos admitted that based on the inside information, he sold his Acadia stock for $46.61 per share, avoiding the 45 percent drop in stock price, to $25.02, that occurred the next day after the press release was issued to the public. Through this illegal trading, Demos avoided a loss of $1,313,263.

As part of his plea, Demos agreed to forfeit $1,313,263 – the loss he avoided through his insider trading.

Demos is scheduled to be sentenced on May 30, 2025, at 9 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Robert Huie.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Janaki G. Chopra.

DEFENDANT                                               Case Number 25cr00682                 

George Demos                                                Age: 64                                   San Diego, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Securities Fraud – 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b), 78ff; 17 CFR § 240.10b-5

Maximum penalty – Twenty years in prison and fine of $5 million or twice the gross gain or loss

INVESTIGATING AGENCY

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Source: US FBI

SAN DIEGO – Geovany Andres Rojas, a suspected cocaine trafficker also known as Araña, was indicted by a federal grand jury today in a superseding Indictment with a new count of Narco-Terrorism.

Rojas was previously charged with one count of International Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine. In that charge, Rojas is alleged to have agreed, in Colombia, Ecuador, and elsewhere, to distribute cocaine knowing that it would be unlawfully imported into the United States. Today, the United States added a second charge of Narco-Terrorism that alleges that Rojas knowingly and intentionally provided anything of pecuniary value to persons and organizations he knew were engaged in terrorist activity and terrorism.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kyle B. Martin and Ashley E. Goff.

The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

DEFENDANTS                                             Case Number 25cr0442-H                                

Giovany Andres Rojas, aka Araña                 Age: 43                                           Colombia

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

International Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine – Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 959, 960, and 963

Maximum penalty: Mandatory minimum 10 years and up to life in prison

Narco-Terrorism – Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 960a and 841

Maximum penalty: Mandatory minimum 20 years and up to life in prison

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Drug Enforcement Administration

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Source: US FBI

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal jury convicted Douglas Jae Woo Kim, 32, of New York, New York, on 14 counts of wire fraud, international money laundering, and money laundering.  The jury reached its verdict yesterday afternoon, following a three-week trial before Senior U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer.  

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between October 2017 and June 2020, after moving to San Francisco, Kim engaged in a scheme to defraud investors, many of whom were friends and acquaintances, of over $7 million in money and cryptocurrency by holding himself out as a legitimate trader of cryptocurrency, a form of virtual currency.  Kim falsely represented that he was seeking short-term liquidity in the form of loans or investments for cryptocurrency trading or other legitimate business purposes and promised to trade or invest the cryptocurrency provided by investors and lenders to make a profit.  He also told victims that the loans carried no or very low risk, promised high rates of return on their loans, and claimed that he had sufficient funds to personally guarantee the loans.  

“This case may involve the new world of virtual currency, but there’s nothing new about the defendant’s scheme to defraud,” said Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins.  “Douglas Kim made bogus promise after promise to investors and lenders, only to cheat them and send their money to offshore gambling sites.  Today’s verdict sends a clear message to anyone who engages in fraud in the Northern District of California: you will be prosecuted, and you will face serious consequences.”

“Mr. Kim deceived those who trusted him, exploiting their confidence to fund his personal gambling activities rather than the legitimate investments he offered his victims. The FBI remains committed to identifying and bringing to justice individuals who manipulate and defraud others for financial gain,” said FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Dan Costin.

In October 2017, Kim contacted a victim by text message and said he was looking for investors interested in making what he called a short-term loan for a “fairly modest operation.”  Kim represented that he was investing in a cryptocurrency operation in which he would make a profit from fees charged to a peer-to-peer network and from exchange transactions, and informed the victim that the operation “isn’t very risky to me.”  Within days of receiving cryptocurrency from the victim to finance the investment, Kim transferred almost all of it to bitcoin sports betting sites located outside the United States.  Kim went on to obtain over a million dollars’ worth of funds from this victim over the course of the scheme, the majority of which went to offshore sports betting sites.

In November 2017, Kim contacted another victim by email and said he was looking for cryptocurrency for a trading strategy.  Kim assured that the victim that “my activities are fairly low risk.”  On Dec. 1, 2017, Kim obtained a cryptocurrency loan from this victim worth approximately $186,000 at the time. Once the cryptocurrency was obtained, Kim immediately sent all of it to offshore sports betting sites. In total, Kim obtained over $500,000 in funds from this victim.

In an agreement dated Jan. 1, 2018, Kim set out the terms of a similar investment with a third victim.  The agreement called for the victim to provide cryptocurrency valued at approximately $200,000 at the time.  The same day, Kim converted more than half of the funds to bitcoin and, in the following days, transferred substantially all the converted cryptocurrency to his account with an offshore casino.  Kim went on to obtain over $4 million in funds from this victim.

Kim defrauded numerous other victims, including nine who testified at trial, until at least July 2020, when he was charged by federal complaint.  In 2023, while he was out on pretrial release, Kim allegedly renewed his scheme to defraud.  One count related to this renewed period of fraud remains pending.  

The jury acquitted Kim of one count of international money laundering.

Kim is scheduled to appear on June 25, 2025, to set a date for sentencing.  He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and international money laundering, and 10 years in prison for each count of money laundering.  Any sentence will be imposed by the Court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.  

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Noah Stern and Maya Karwande are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Veronica Hernandez, Maryam Beros, Andy Ding, Lynette Dixon, and Christine Tian. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation. 
 

Source: US FBI

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Randy Anger, 57, of Carnelian Bay, was sentenced today to five years in prison and ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution and $10,200 in special assessments for distribution and receipt of child pornography, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

According to court documents, in May 2021, Anger distributed and received child sexual abuse material on the Kik Messenger app while communicating with Brent Hooton. Hooton was separately charged and convicted in the Eastern District of California with production and distribution of child pornography and was sentenced to 27 years in prison. In November 2021, Anger also received several images of child sexual abuse material on the Wickr app.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance by Homeland Security Investigations and the Placer County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise N. Yasinow prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.

Source: US FBI

FRESNO, Calif. — Adolfo Montiel, 46, of Lancaster, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston to 16 years and four months in prison for conspiring to traffic methamphetamine and fentanyl, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

According to court documents, Montiel’s case arose out of Operation Toxic Waste, an investigation into a sophisticated drug trafficking ring, that resulted in the seizure of more than 12,900 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 50 pounds of fentanyl mixture, 39 pounds of cocaine, and 22 pounds of heroin. As evidenced by thousands of recorded communications, the organization smuggled methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl (powder and pills) in portable projectors and batteries, under the guise of a legitimate transportation business. The organization also secreted thousands of pounds of methamphetamine inside semi‑trucks and hundreds of pounds of liquid methamphetamine in the gas tanks of cars and brought it across the border. The Mexican-based organization monitored the narcotics with the use of GPS tracking devices hidden with the smuggled drugs. Montiel was sentenced for his role in storing, packaging, and redistributing drugs on behalf of the larger organization. When law enforcement officers searched his residence in 2023, they found over 10 pounds of fentanyl pills and over 60 pounds of methamphetamine, as well as several firearms.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin J. Gilio and Cody S. Chapple are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (S.O.S.) a program designed to reduce the supply of deadly synthetic opioids in high impact areas as well as identifying wholesale distribution networks and international and domestic suppliers. In July 2018, the Justice Department announced the creation of S.O.S., which is being implemented in the Eastern District of California and nine other federal districts.

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, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.