Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

SANTA ANA, California – An associate of the Mexican Mafia prison gang has been found guilty by a jury of federal charges for participating in an attack on a fellow Orange County jail inmate in 2019, an assault that left the victim with his throat slashed, the Justice Department announced today.

Robert Amezcua, 52, a.k.a. “Flaco,” of Santa Ana, was found guilty Thursday afternoon of one count of committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering (VICAR), namely, attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

According to evidence presented at a three-day trial, Amezcua is a member of the Madison Park clique of the Santa Ana-based Lopers street gang and an associate of the Mexican Mafia.

On December 31, 2019, Amezcua took part in the assault of another inmate at the Theo Lacy Facility in Orange. Amezcua delivered more than 20 blows to the victim while another inmate, using a razor blade, slashed the victim’s throat. The victim survived the attack. Amezcua is one of 31 defendants charged in a 33-count federal grand jury indictment brought in 2022.

United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney scheduled a May 20 sentencing hearing at which time Amezcua will face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.

Of the other two inmates charged with this assault and attempted murder, Mher Darbinyan, 48, a.k.a. “Hollywood Mike,” of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty on January 3 to conspiracy to commit assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and admitted in his plea agreement that he and two co-conspirators assaulted the victim. Darbinyan’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 22. Robert Martinez, 41, a.k.a. “Lil Rob” and “Blacky,” of Placentia, another defendant charged in the 2019 attack, is scheduled for trial on June 25 on this charge and additional charges.

Of the 31 defendants charged in the original indictment, a total of four have been convicted at trial, consisting of three convicted of VICAR murder in October 2023, and Amezcua. An additional 15 have pleaded guilty. Three defendants remain for trial scheduled in April on charges of VICAR murder. An additional nine defendants remain scheduled for trial on racketeering, VICAR murder, and related charges on June 25.

The FBI; the Santa Ana Police Department; the Orange County Sheriff’s Department; the Federal Bureau of Prisons; the Anaheim Police Department; the Fullerton Police Department; the Orange County Probation Department; and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Greg Scally and Greg Staples of the Santa Ana Branch Office and Trial Attorneys Chris Matthews and Grace Bowen of the Justice Department’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section are prosecuting this case.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

LOS ANGELES – A Russian man was found guilty by a jury today of a federal crime for boarding a flight from Denmark to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) without a ticket, passport or visa last November.

Sergey Vladimirovich Ochigava, 46, who held both Russian and Israeli passports, was found guilty of one count of being a stowaway on an aircraft, a crime that carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

According to evidence presented at a three-day trial, on November 3, 2023, Ochigava tailgated an unsuspecting passenger through a security turnstile at Copenhagen Airport in Denmark so that he could enter one of the airport’s terminals without a boarding pass. The next day, he passed through the boarding gate undetected and stowed away aboard a Scandinavian Airlines flight to Los Angeles. During the flight, the cabin crew noticed Ochigava because he moved between multiple unassigned seats.

When the flight landed in Los Angeles on the afternoon of November 4, Ochigava encountered Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the immigration checkpoint at LAX. CBP officers were unable to find any record of Ochigava and discovered that he was not listed as a passenger on that particular Scandinavian Airlines flight or any other incoming international flight. Ochigava was unable to produce a passport, a visa, or other travel document to enter the United States.

In response to CBP officers’ questions, Ochigava gave false and misleading information about his travel to the United States, including telling CBP that he left his passport on the airplane.

Ochigava has been in federal custody since his arrest at LAX on November 4, 2023.

United States District Judge George H. Wu scheduled a February 5 sentencing hearing for Ochigava.

The FBI and CBP investigated this matter.  The United States received additional assistance from the Copenhagen Airport Police.

Assistant United States Attorneys Jason A. Gorn and Brandon E. Martinez-Jones of the General Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

LOS ANGELES – Former Los Angeles City Councilmember José Luis Huizar was sentenced today to 156 months in federal prison for using his powerful position at City Hall to enrich himself and his associates, as well as for cheating on his taxes.

Huizar, 55, of Boyle Heights, was sentenced by United States District Judge John F. Walter, who also ordered him to pay $443,905 in restitution to the City of Los Angeles and $38,792 in restitution to the IRS. Judge Walter ordered Huizar to surrender to federal authorities no later than April 30.

At today’s hearing, Judge Walter said public corruption carries “the real potential to destroy the delicate fabric of our democracy” and causes the public “to disengage in the democratic process” and “give up all hope of participating” with the government.

Huizar pleaded guilty in January 2023 to one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and one count of tax evasion. He represented Council District 14 (CD-14), which includes downtown Los Angeles and its surrounding communities, from 2005 until his resignation in 2020.

“No one is above the law,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Today’s sentence shows that even a powerful elected official like Huizar will be held accountable for engaging in criminal misconduct. Huizar was elected to serve the interests of the hard-working people of Los Angeles, but he instead served his own personal interests in a long-running, pay-to-play, bribery scheme. Our community deserves better.” 

“This years-long investigation uncovered one of the most audacious public corruption cases in this city’s history,” said Donald Alway, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “This case would not have been possible without the dedication of agents and prosecutors – and importantly – the cooperation of many citizens who were fed up with rampant malfeasance by public officials. Mr. Huizar ignored the needs of his constituents and instead, served his own interests by accepting bribes and a wide assortment of luxury perks from wealthy real estate moguls and others who could afford Huizar’s political favors at the taxpayer’s expense. My hope is that this case brings more citizens forward to the FBI when they suspect corrupt practices and foreign influence.”

For years, Huizar led what prosecutors in court documents called the CD-14 Enterprise, a criminal conspiracy that operated a pay-to-play scheme with three key goals: gain financial enrichment through bribes, maintain Huizar’s political power, and avoid detection by law enforcement.

By leveraging his position as CD-14’s councilmember and chair of the Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee, which oversaw all major commercial and residential development projects throughout the entire city, Huizar – assisted by others – sought nearly $2 million worth of benefits in bribes from real estate developers and their proxies.

The benefits ranged from cash bribes, casino gambling chips, prostitution services, political contributions, flights on private jets and commercial airlines, stays at luxury hotels and casinos, expensive meals, tickets to concerts and sporting events, and other things of value. In exchange for these benefits, Huizar used his positions of public office to take official acts and give favorable treatment towards the projects of the paying real estate developers.

Huizar facilitated at least five bribery schemes. In one of the schemes, Huizar solicited $500,000 in cash for himself and his co-conspirators from developer David Lee in exchange for taking an official act to resolve an appeal by a labor organization against Lee’s project. In another scheme, Huizar accepted more than $1 million in benefits from billionaire real estate developer, Wei Huang, in exchange for pushing future approvals of the redevelopment of Huang’s hotel into the tallest tower west of the Mississippi. 

To maintain his political seat, which was threatened by a sexual harassment lawsuit in 2013, Huizar also schemed to surreptitiously route $600,000 in the form of collateral from Huang through a foreign shell company, which Huizar used to confidentially settle the lawsuit. Huizar similarly concealed his many other bribes, including by laundering cash through his mother and brother, and by omitting his financial benefits on his tax returns.

When Huizar’s final term for the CD-14 Council seat was set to expire in 2020, Huizar pushed his wife, who had never held public office, to run as his successor, then used the CD-14 Enterprise and the pay-to-play scheme to extract campaign contributions that would allow him to maintain political power through her. Instead, Huizar, while he was still in office, was ultimately indicted in July 2020 on the charges in this case, and he resigned from his council and committee positions later that year. 

As part of his plea agreement, Huizar also admitted to obstructing justice, including by tampering with two witnesses, and lying to federal prosecutors and federal agents.

In a sentencing memorandum, prosecutors described how Huizar chose “to place his own lust for money and power above the rights and interests of the people he was elected to serve” and “[i]n the wake of his criminal activity…helped gut the public’s confidence in the integrity of its local government – and beyond – and eroded a sense of fair play therein.”

“Mr. Huizar was entrusted with making decisions in the best interest of Angelenos.  Instead, he leveraged his position to enrich himself and his close allies in a mafia-style organization. His greed further emboldened him to hide his criminally gained profits from the IRS, which was a big mistake,” said Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher, IRS Criminal Investigation, Los Angeles Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation is the best in the world at following the money, and by teaming with our federal partners we will aggressively investigate corruption at every level.”

Other defendants charged alongside Huizar in the indictment are:

• Dae Yong Lee, 59, a.k.a. “David Lee,” of Bel-Air, a real estate developer who is serving a six-year prison sentence for his convictions for honest services wire fraud, bribery, and falsification of records in a federal investigation.
• 940 Hill LLC, a Lee-controlled Los Angeles-based company, which was convicted of the same crimes as Lee and sentenced in July 2023 to five years of probation, fined $1.5 million, and ordered to pay the costs of prosecution.
• Wei Huang, 58, of Shenzhen, China, a billionaire real estate developer who is charged with several felonies, has yet to make a court appearance in this case and is a fugitive believed to be in China.
• Shen Zhen New World I LLC, a downtown Los Angeles-based company convicted – through the actions of its owner, Huang – of paying more than $1 million in bribes to Huizar, including the $600,000 sham loan. The company was sentenced in May 2023 to five years of probation, fined $4 million, and ordered to pay the costs of prosecution.
• Raymond She Wah Chan, 67, of Monterey Park, a former Los Angeles deputy mayor, has pleaded not guilty to charges of RICO conspiracy, bribery, honest services fraud and lying to federal agents. His retrial is scheduled to begin on March 12.

Other defendants in related criminal cases stemming from this corruption matter are:

• Justin Jangwoo Kim, 57, of Mar Vista, a political fundraiser who pleaded guilty in June 2020 to one count of bribery and is scheduled for sentencing on June 21.
• Morris Roland Goldman, 61, of Porter Ranch, a lobbyist who pleaded guilty in September 2020 to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and honest services fraud and is scheduled for sentencing on July 12.
• George Chiang, 45, of Granada Hills, a real estate development consultant who pleaded guilty in June 2020 to one count of racketeering conspiracy and is scheduled for sentencing on July 19.
• George Esparza, 37, of Boyle Heights, Huizar’s former special assistant, who pleaded guilty in July 2020 to one count of racketeering conspiracy and is scheduled for sentencing on July 26.
• Salvador Huizar, 57, of Boyle Heights, José Huizar’s brother, who testified as a witness for the prosecution in the Shen Zhen trial and pleaded guilty in October 2022 to a felony charge of making false statements to federal investigators. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 2.

The FBI investigated this matter with assistance from IRS Criminal Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Mack E. Jenkins, Chief of the Criminal Division, and Assistant United States Attorneys Cassie D. Palmer, Susan S. Har, and Brian R. Faerstein of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, are prosecuting this case.

Any member of the public who has information related to this or any other public corruption matter in the City of Los Angeles is encouraged to send information to the FBI’s tip line at tips.fbi.gov or to contact the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office at (310) 477-6565.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

TUCSON, Ariz. – Jesus Hector Lagarda-Gil, 45, of Mexico, was sentenced Monday by United States District Judge Scott H. Rash to 11 years in prison and five years of supervised release. The court also ordered that Lagarda-Gil forfeit a 2018 Mazda CX5 automobile and $148,000 in United States currency. Lagarda-Gil pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine on September 21, 2023.

A co-defendant, Jesus Omar Encincas-Burruel, previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison and three years of supervised release on December 1, 2023.

Lagarda-Gil negotiated and coordinated the delivery of over 300 pounds of methamphetamine to undercover agents during a four-month period in 2022. On March 29, 2022, Lagarda-Gil met with an undercover agent in Las Vegas, Nevada, and personally delivered 45 pounds of methamphetamine to the agent after receiving the methamphetamine from Encinas-Burruel. In June of 2022, Lagarda-Gil traveled to Las Vegas again and delivered another 61 pounds of methamphetamine to the undercover agent. On July 1, 2022, Lagarda-Gil was arrested after delivering 217 pounds of methamphetamine to agents.

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.

Homeland Security Investigations – Tucson office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Tucson office conducted the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-22-1607-TUC-SHR 
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-009_LaGarda-Gil

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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 Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)

Director Christopher Wray has named Kevin P. Rojek as special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh Field Office. Mr. Rojek most recently served as the chief of staff for the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch.

Mr. Rojek joined the FBI as a special agent in 2002, where he was assigned to the Norfolk Field Office, investigating counterintelligence matters. He also served on the Norfolk’s Field Intelligence Group, and the SWAT team as an operator and sniper.

In 2010, he was promoted to supervisory special agent of the Norfolk Field Office’s cyber and global counterintelligence squad. In 2012, he was promoted to FBI Headquarters in Washington D.C., where he served in the Cyber Division’s Asia Cyber Operations Unit.

In 2013, he returned to the Norfolk Field Office where he was assigned to the counterintelligence squad. In 2014, he was promoted to cyber supervisor in the Cincinnati Field Office. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing all criminal and national security computer intrusion investigations for the field office. He was also responsible for Cincinnati’s Computer Forensics Program, as well as the Computer Scientist Program.

In 2019, he was promoted to assistant special agent in charge of the Cincinnati Field Office. In this role, he was responsible for leading the cyber, intelligence, security, and administrative programs, as well as the Evidence Response Team and the SWAT team.

In 2021, he was promoted to serve as section chief, detailee, National Security Agency/U.S. Cyber Command (USCC), in the FBI’s Cyber Division. In that role, he served as the primary interlocutor between the FBI, NSA, and USCC, assisting in the execution of joint sequenced operations targeting our country’s most sophisticated cyber adversaries.

In 2023, Mr. Rojek was promoted to chief of staff for the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch.

Prior to joining the FBI, Mr. Rojek served 11 years as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, obtaining the rank of major. He served one tour in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom immediately following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Mr. Rojek earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from American University.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

HOUSTON – A 68-year-old man has pleaded guilty in a $6 million Medicaid fraud and kickback scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Rene Gaviola was the operator of Floss Family Dental Care clinic located in Houston. From 2018 until April 2021, Gaviola admitted to submitting fraudulent claims to Medicaid for pediatric dental services, including numerous cavity fillings, that Floss did not provide.

Gaviola admitted he employed one individual to practice dentistry without a license on Medicaid-insured children. He also operated Floss, on occasion, without any dentists at all. Floss billed Medicaid for these dental services as if licensed dentists provided them.

Gaviola also admitted to paying kickbacks to marketers and caregivers of Medicaid-insured children to bring them to Floss for dental services. Ultimately, he admitted to laundering Medicaid monies from the Floss business bank account to his personal bank account in several transactions exceeding $100,000.

From 2019 to 2021, the dental clinic billed Medicaid nearly $6.9 million in claims for pediatric dental services. Medicaid paid approximately $4.9 million on those claims.

“These precious Medicaid funds were intended to provide necessary dental services to low-income children in our community, not line Gaviola’s pockets,” said Hamdani. “This conviction is a reminder to all who attempt to defraud our healthcare system that we are committed to stamping out fraud and protecting the integrity of Medicaid and other federal programs.”

“Gaviola took advantage of the system, and he took advantage of the children to defraud the system,” said Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams of the FBI Houston field office. “Not only that, he also jeopardized the young patients’ healthcare by putting them in the hands of unlicensed practitioners, all in the name of his greed. This case is a perfect example that healthcare fraud is not a victimless crime, and the FBI will continue to follow and uncover the fraud.”

Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane accepted the guilty plea and has set sentencing for April 16. At that time, Gaviola faces up to 10 years for conspiracy to commit health care fraud, each of five substantive health care fraud counts, three counts of payment of kickbacks and six counts of money laundering as well as five years for conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks. The convictions also carry as possible punishment hundreds of thousands in potential fines.

Gaviola was permitted to remain on bond pending sentencing.

FBI, Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Olson and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Valenti are prosecuting the case.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Jason Morgan, 46, of Chico, was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison for possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, in December 2020, Morgan possessed child pornography while on federal supervised release for prior federal convictions for distribution of child pornography, receipt of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and the use of a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alstyn Bennett and Audrey B. Hemesath 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 exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.