Tag: February 2017
Beverly Hills Auctioneer Jacob Chait Charged in Rhino Horn Smuggling
Jacob Chait, 34, the head of acquisitions and auctioneer at a Beverly Hills gallery and auction house, was arraigned yesterday in U.S. Magistrate’s Court in Manhattan on a federal indictment charging him with conspiracy to smuggle rhinoceros horns and violate the Lacey Act. The one-count indictment, returned February 15, 2017, caps a years-long probe into…
Orlando Contractor Quezada Gets 18 Months for Alien Labor Scheme
JACKSONVILLE, FL – Orquidea Quezada, 48, of Orlando, Florida, is headed to federal prison after being sentenced to 18 months for a brazen scheme to defraud workers’ compensation requirements while exploiting undocumented aliens in the construction industry. U.S. District Judge Henry Lee Adams, Jr. handed down the sentence after Quezada pleaded guilty on September 28,…
Tony Bryant, Son and Tarkara Cooper Guilty in $20M Tax Fraud Scheme
Three defendants — Tony Bryant, 55, of Clinton, Md.; his son, Brian Bryant, 29, also of Clinton, Md.; and Tarkara Cooper, 34, of Washington, D.C. — were found guilty today in a sprawling $20 million tax refund fraud scheme built on stolen identities, phony dependents, and fake businesses. A federal jury in Washington, D.C. convicted…
Daniel Griego Gets 2 Years for 507 Grams of Cocaine
Daniel Griego, 31, of Albuquerque, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to cocaine trafficking. On July 6, 2016, Griego sold approximately 507 grams of cocaine to a confidential source working with law enforcement in Bernalillo County. The sale triggered a federal indictment, leading…
Chicago Developer Anshoo Sethi Gets Three Years for Visa Fraud Scheme
CHICAGO — In a dramatic turn of events, Anshoo Sethi, the founder of A Chicago Convention Center LLC, has been sentenced to three years in prison for exploiting the federal EB-5 visa program. Sethi’s fraudulent scheme targeted Chinese nationals seeking residency in the United States, bilking them out of millions. According to prosecutors, Sethi promised…
Laguna Pueblo Man Gets 37 Months for Shooting
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Kyle L. Mansfield, 26, a member of the Laguna Pueblo, is headed to federal prison after being sentenced to 37 months for a brazen shooting on the Laguna Indian Reservation. The sentencing, handed down in Albuquerque federal court, brings a measure of closure to a case that exposed simmering violence within the…
Earnest Moore, Robert Black Plead Guilty to Heroin Crimes
Two men are headed for federal prison after pleading guilty to heroin distribution charges in separate cases that laid bare the drug pipeline feeding into West Virginia’s hardest-hit communities. Earnest Moore, 40, of Ohio, admitted to running a heroin conspiracy that funneled drugs from Detroit and Columbus into Mason County’s Point Pleasant area, while Robert…
Huerta-Cornejo Guilty
A Merced County man has pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle bulk cash from marijuana proceeds into Mexico. Arnulfo Huerta-Cornejo, 32, of Delhi, admitted to his role in the smuggling operation, which involved hiding approximately $16,000 in cash in a vehicle and arranging to have it smuggled into Mexico. According to court documents, Huerta-Cornejo was…
Albuquerque Man Gets 7 Years for Gunpoint Bank Robbery Attempt
Darrel Salazar, 48, of Albuquerque, N.M., is going away for seven years after pointing a gun at a bank teller during a botched robbery attempt at a Bank of America branch. The federal sentence, handed down today in Albuquerque, includes seven years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for brandishing a firearm…
Ashley Herrera Pleads Guilty to Bank Robbery Attempt
Hard-hitting news from the federal courts: Ashley Herrera, a 28-year-old resident of Espanola, N.M., has pleaded guilty in federal court to attempting to rob the Bank of America branch on Rodeo Road in Santa Fe. The grim details of the crime were laid bare this morning as Herrera stood before the judge. Herrera was nabbed…
