Tag: Kansas
Edgar Sanchez-Solis, Alien Smuggling, Kansas 2026
Kansas City, MO – In a shocking turn of events, Edgar Sanchez-Solis, a 24-year-old Mexican national, pleaded guilty to his role in an international human smuggling conspiracy that brought hundreds of aliens from Mexico and Central and South America into the United States. According to court documents, Sanchez-Solis was a key player in an alien…
Nicholas A. Guarino, Jr., Fraud, Kansas 2006
Kansas City resident Nicholas A. Guarino, Jr. has been hit with a hefty penalty following a default judgment entered by U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia on July 11, 2006. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) brought the case against Guarino and his company, Wall Street Underground, Inc. (WSU), alleging fraudulent practices related to commodity futures…
Mark A. Vanderploeg, False Reporting, Kansas 2011
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Mark A. Vanderploeg, formerly of Glendale, Arizona, has been permanently barred from commodity trading after being found liable for a fraudulent scheme involving false reporting to grain elevators and cooperatives. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) obtained a consent order on December 9, 2011, in the U.S. District Court for the…
Douglas Harpster, Possession of Child Sex Abuse Material, Kansas 2023
⏱ 2 min read Two Kansas men are facing hard time for their roles in a disgusting child sex abuse material case. In Salina, Douglas Harpster, 53, was busted for possessing over 1,500 images of minors – some as young as 12 – engaged in sex acts. Harpster pleaded guilty to a single count of…
Gayli Harman, Mail Theft, Kansas 2021
⏱ 2 min read A Kansas post office employee’s dirty secret has finally been exposed. Gayli Harman, 44, used her position to steal mail from customers between June 2021 and March 2023, targeting packages that weren’t addressed to her. The mother of one worked in the Sales, Service, and Distribution department at the Westmoreland post…
Kyle Simmonds, Unlawful Sale of Machine Gun, Colorado 2025
⏱ 2 min read A Colorado man was busted for selling a fully automatic machine gun to an undercover agent in Kansas. Kyle Simmonds, 35, of Fort Morgan, Colorado, pleaded guilty to one count of illegal possession of a machine gun. The KBI started investigating Simmonds in August 2025, suspecting him of distributing narcotics and…
Robert F. Kennedy, Child Sex Abuse Material, Kansas 2023
⏱ 2 min read Kansas City, KS residents are being targeted by sophisticated cyber predators using child sex abuse material (CSAM) created either as actual images or through generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). Since 1981, the US Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime has championed National Crime Victims’ Rights Week to raise awareness about…
Nicolas Perez-Paxtor, Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor, Kansas 2026
⏱ 2 min read A 40-year-old Guatemalan national is accused of trying to lure a minor into prostitution in Wichita, Kansas, in February 2026. Nicolas Perez-Paxtor allegedly attempted to persuade a minor under 18 to engage in commercial sex acts. He was indicted on one count of unlawful reentry after deportation and one count of…
Orlin Rafael Cerrato-Avilez, Illegal Reentry of a Removed Alien, Missouri 2026
⏱ 2 min read A Honduran national, Orlin Rafael Cerrato-Avilez, walked free into a nightmare when he was arrested by Independence cops for lying about his birthdate during a traffic stop. Turns out, 32-year-old Cerrato-Avilez had no business being back in the States. ICE-ERO took custody of Cerrato-Avilez after his fingerprints were run, revealing a…
James Johnson, Grant Fraud, Kansas 2020
⏱ 2 min read A Topeka man is set to face the music after swiping thousands in federal grant cash meant for diabetes prevention to fund his sports memorabilia habit. Matthew Waits, 41, the former manager and program director of the Diabetes Prevention Program at the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, pleaded guilty to misapplying over…
