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Source: US FBI

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment today against Felipe Ruiz, 51, of Fresno, and Jose Gabriel Aguirre, 52, of Clovis, charging them with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

According to court documents, Ruiz was a podiatrist at West Coast Podiatry Inc. (WCP), a podiatric medical practice with locations in Fresno, Madera, and Stanislaus Counties.

Aguirre was a sales representative for several companies that sold skin grafts. Aguirre used his name, his wife’s name, and the name of a corporation registered to his wife to sell the skin grafts.

Between June 2021 and January 2024, Ruiz purchased skin grafts from Aguirre and permitted Aguirre, who was not a licensed health care provider, to apply the skin grafts to Medicare and Medi-Cal beneficiaries without Ruiz being present. Ruiz and Aguirre also allowed beneficiaries to refer to Aguirre as “Dr. Gabe,” though he was not a doctor.

Ruiz and Aguirre subsequently submitted claims to Medicare and Medi-Cal that falsely represented that Ruiz had applied the skin grafts to the beneficiaries, when Aguirre had actually rendered the services. As a result, Medicare and Medi-Cal paid Ruiz millions of dollars for the false claims. Ruiz then made payments to Aguirre. Ruiz and Aguirre used the money for their own benefit and for personal expenditures.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany M. Gunter is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Ruiz and Aguirre face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Source: US FBI

A former Arkansas local district court judge was convicted of making false statements to the FBI on Friday.   

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Thomas David Carruth, 64, of Clarendon, Arkansas, served as an elected Monroe County district court judge. In that role, Carruth presided over criminal and civil matters. In April 2022, Carruth solicited sex from the girlfriend of a defendant in a criminal case pending before him. The jury found that, when questioned by the FBI, Carruth lied to agents about the incident, including by falsely stating that he did not “request,” “ask,” “offer”, make “overture[s] about”, “insinuate,” or “even [think] about,” sex with the girlfriend.  

The jury convicted Carruth of one count of making false statements. Carruth was acquitted of charges of bribery, honest services fraud, and violations of the Travel Act. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date. Carruth faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting Assistant Director James Barnacle Jr. of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, and Special Agent in Charge Alicia D. Corder of the FBI Little Rock Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Nicholas Cannon and Madison Mumma of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the case. 

Source: US FBI

TEXARKANA, AR – A Texarkana Physician was sentenced today to 87 months in prison followed by three years of supervised on two counts of Distribution of a Schedule II Controlled Substance Without an Effective Prescription and 12 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release on two counts of Distribution of a Schedule V Controlled Substance Without an Effective Prescription, all to run concurrently. The Honorable Chief Judge Susan O. Hickey presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Texarkana.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Little Rock District Office (LRDO), Tactical Diversion and Diversion Groups initiated an investigation into Dr. Lonnie Parker, age 59, of Texarkana, Arkansas in 2018 after receiving complaints from local law enforcement about a suspected pill mill and possible overdose death of a patient.  Investigators analyzed prescription drug monitoring data attributed to Dr. Parker, and the investigation revealed Dr. Parker prescribing controlled substances, to include opiates, benzodiazepines, and promethazine with codeine cough syrup with unusual frequency and in unusually large quantities in the Texarkana area.  In the two-year period analyzed, Dr. Parker prescribed approximately 1.2 million dosage units of opiates, including oxycodone and hydrocodone, to approximately 1,508 patients (approximately 847 dosage units per patient). Dr. Parker also prescribed approximately 16 gallons of Promethazine with Codeine cough syrup to approximately 29 patients during the same time period. These prescriptions included several for combinations of narcotics and sedatives to high diversion-risk patients.

U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes made the announcement.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Little Rock District Office (LRDO), Tactical Diversion and Diversion Group, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Texarkana Police Department, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS) investigated the case.

Special Assistant United States Attorney Anne Gardner and Assistant United Sates Attorney Graham Jones prosecuted the case for the United States.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

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

Source: US FBI

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After an 11-day trial, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict yesterday against Zimnako Salah, 45, of Phoenix, Arizona, convicting him of strapping a backpack around the toilet of a Christian church in Roseville with the intent to convey a hoax bomb threat and to obstruct the free exercise of religion of the congregants who worshipped there. The jury’s verdict included a special finding that Salah targeted the church because of the religion of the people who worshipped there, making the offense a hate crime.

According to the evidence presented at trial, from September to November of 2023, Salah traveled to four Christian churches in Arizona, California, and Colorado, wearing black backpacks. At two of those churches, Salah planted those backpacks, placing congregants in fear that they contained bombs. At the other two churches, Salah was confronted by security before he got the chance to plant those backpacks.

While Salah had been making bomb threats by planting backpacks in Christian churches, he had been building a bomb capable of fitting in a backpack. During a search of Salah’s storage unit, an FBI Bomb Technician seized items that an FBI Bomb Expert testified at trial served as component parts of an improvised explosive device (IED):

IED bomb components seized from Salah’s storage unit

A search of Salah’s social media records revealed that he had consumed extremist propaganda online. Specifically, those records showed that Salah had searched for videos of “Infidels dying,” and he had watched videos depicting ISIS terrorists murdering people.

“This Department of Justice has no tolerance for anyone who targets religious Americans for their faith,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. “The perpetrator of this abhorrent hate crime against Christians will face severe punishment.”

“Planting a hoax bomb at the Roseville church was not an isolated incident or a prank for this defendant,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith. “His actions were designed to threaten and intimidate the congregation because he disagreed with their religious beliefs. Thanks to the coordinated efforts of federal and local law enforcement and the attorneys from my office and our DOJ partners in Washington D.C., our communities are safer with yesterday’s verdict. People of all religions should be able to worship freely and exercise their First Amendment rights in this country without fear of violence.”

“The Sacramento Division of the FBI is proud of our collaboration with our local partners in bringing Mr. Salah to justice. His deliberate targeting of multiple places of worship and calculated efforts to spread panic were intended to terrorize people of faith and disrupt the peace of our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel. “The FBI remains committed to protecting the American people and will continue to work within the confines of the law to hold individuals accountable for acts of terrorism whether those acts are true threats or intended as hoaxes.”

Salah is scheduled to be sentenced on July 18, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins. Salah faces a maximum statutory penalty of six years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Roseville Police Department, the San Diego Police Department, the San Diego Harbor Police Department, and the Arapahoe County (CO) Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Christopher Perras and Trial Attorney Sarah Howard of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Shea Kenny for the Eastern District of California.

Source: US FBI

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Eric Thomas Scionti, 36, of Tempe, was sentenced on Tuesday by United States District Judge John J. Tuchi to 47 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Scionti pleaded guilty to Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Prohibited Person and Animal Crushing in two separate cases on October 3, 2024. 

On January 18, 2023, pursuant to a search warrant, federal agents seized six firearms and 1,826 rounds of ammunition from areas of a residence controlled by the defendant. Scionti had previously been convicted of multiple Arizona state felonies and was consequently prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.

On September 29, 2023, federal agents received authorization to search records and information associated with Scionti’s email account. During that search, agents seized approximately 168 videos and 89 digital photographs depicting Scionti torturing and mutilating live pigeons.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigations in these cases. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecutions.
 

CASE NUMBER:            CR-23-00600-PHX-JJT
                                       CR-24-00890-PHX-JJT
RELEASE NUMBER:    2025-019_Scionti

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

Source: US FBI

FRESNO, Calif. — Jyoteshna Karan, 52, and Praveen Singh, 45, both of Modesto, were sentenced for leading a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme, Acting United States Attorney Michele Beckwith announced today.  Karan received three years and four months in prison, and Singh received two years.

According to court records, from 2006 through 2015, Karan and Singh conspired to make straw purchases and short sales of approximately 15 homes from Modesto to Sacramento.  A straw purchase is where one person buys a home on behalf of another person to get around certain restrictions.  Straw purchases are generally illegal in the real estate industry because they compromise lenders’ risk management practices.  A short sale is where a homeowner sells their home for less than the amount they owe on their mortgage, with lender approval, to avoid foreclosure.  Short sales must generally be arm’s length transactions in the real estate industry because that helps protect buyers and sellers from undervaluation, overpayment, and bias.

After Karan and Singh acquired the homes, they allowed them to go into foreclosure and arranged for short sales with the lenders.  They then quickly resold, or flipped, the homes to other people at market rates and therefore reaped significant profits.  In doing so, they caused the lenders to suffer over $3,000,000 in losses.

Karan and Singh were experienced real estate professionals who used unwitting participants, fabricated documents, and shell companies to carry out their fraud.  For example, they used Singh’s mother as one of the straw purchasers, fabricated documents to make it appear as though the straw purchasers worked for their shell companies making six figure salaries, and fabricated documents to make it appear as though the transactions were arm’s length.  This was all done to convince the lenders to go through with the deals.

This case is the product of an investigation by the FBI, FDIC OIG, and the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Barton prosecuted the case.

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES – A Santa Clarita man has agreed to plead guilty to hacking the personal computer of an employee of The Walt Disney Company last year, obtaining login information, and using that information to illegally download confidential data from the Burbank-based mass media and entertainment conglomerate via the employee’s Slack online communications account.

Ryan Mitchell Kramer, 25, has agreed to plead guilty to an information charging him with one count of accessing a computer and obtaining information and one count of threatening to damage a protected computer.

In addition to the information, prosecutors today filed a plea agreement in which Kramer agreed to plead guilty to the two felony charges, which each carry a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

Kramer is expected to make his initial appearance in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles in the coming weeks.

According to his plea agreement, in early 2024, Kramer posted a computer program on various online platforms, including GitHub, that purported to be computer program that could be used to create A.I.-generated art. In fact, the program contained a malicious file that enabled Kramer to gain access to victims’ computers. 

Sometime in April and May of 2024, a victim downloaded the malicious file Kramer posted online, giving Kramer access to the victim’s personal computer, including an online account where the victim stored login credentials and passwords for the victim’s personal and work accounts. 

After gaining unauthorized access to the victim’s computer and online accounts, Kramer accessed a Slack online communications account that the victim used as a Disney employee, gaining access to non-public Disney Slack channels. In May 2024, Kramer downloaded approximately 1.1 terabytes of confidential data from thousands of Disney Slack channels.

In July 2024, Kramer contacted the victim via email and the online messaging platform Discord, pretending to be a member of a fake Russia-based hacktivist group called “NullBulge.” The emails and Discord message contained threats to leak the victim’s personal information and Disney’s Slack data.

On July 12, 2024, after the victim did not respond to Kramer’s threats, Kramer publicly released the stolen Disney Slack files, as well as the victim’s bank, medical, and personal information on multiple online platforms.

Kramer admitted in his plea agreement that, in addition to the victim, at least two other victims downloaded Kramer’s malicious file, and that Kramer was able to gain unauthorized access to their computers and accounts.

The FBI is investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Lauren Restrepo and Maxwell Coll, both of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section, are prosecuting this case.