Former HSI Agent Sentenced to 10 Years for Bribery and Money Laundering

LOS ANGELES – A former special agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has been sentenced to 121 months in federal prison for accepting bribes and other benefits to help an organized crime-linked person, including taking official action designed to help two foreign nationals gain entry into the United States.

Felix Cisneros Jr., 48, of Murrieta, was sentenced by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner, who also ordered him to pay a fine of $30,000 and a forfeiture of $133,000.

Cisneros was found guilty of 30 felonies, including conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official, bribery, 26 counts of money laundering, and two counts of subscribing to a false tax return. The crimes took place over an 18-month period starting in September 2015.

During this time, Cisneros accepted cash, checks, private jet travel, luxury hotel stays, meals, and other items of value from a person identified in court documents as “Individual 1,” who was associated with a criminal organization. Cisneros received approximately $100,000 in checks and gifts from Individual 1 in 2015 and 2016.

In exchange for the bribes, Cisneros performed a series of official acts at the behest of Individual 1, including accessing a DHS database for information about a German national, placing an alert in a law enforcement database, obtaining an official DHS letter, and collecting information on an associate of Individual 1.

Cisneros also underreported his total income on his federal income tax returns by at least $20,000 for the year 2015 and at least $73,404 for the year 2016.

The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General investigated this matter, with Assistant United States Attorneys Michael J. Morse and Juan M. Rodriguez prosecuting the case.

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