Tag: November 2016
Franklin Man Keith Mann, 49, Arrested in Federal Arson Case
Keith Eugene Mann, 49, of Franklin, N.C., is behind bars on federal arson charges after allegedly torching multiple wildfires in the Nantahala National Forest. Arrested today and charged with one count of destroying real property of the United States by means of fire, Mann now faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison if…
Treyton Thomas Charged in $4.5M Investment Fraud Scheme
Treyton Lee Thomas, 60, stood before a federal magistrate in Charlottesville, Virginia, not as the Harvard-educated investment advisor he claimed to be—but as a fugitive caught with a loaded weapon, attempting to flee federal agents and Albemarle County police. He now faces an indictment from the Eastern District of North Carolina on charges of wire…
Wayne C. Parker Jr. Gets 5 Years for $9M School, Church Heist
Wayne C. Parker Jr., 57, of Mooresville, N.C., is going to federal prison for stealing nearly $9 million from a Huntersville parochial school and its affiliated church — a 14-year financial bloodletting that funded mansions, luxury cars, vacations, and Panthers season tickets while teachers took pay cuts. Today, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr.…
Teshawn Nisbett Pleads Guilty to Gun Possession as Drug User
A St. Thomas man admitted to illegally possessing a firearm while actively using drugs, pleading guilty in federal court on November 30, 2016. Teshawn Nisbett, 22, stood before the judge and acknowledged his role in a crime that blends two of the territory’s most persistent problems: guns and narcotics. Nisbett, a daily marijuana user for…
Ruben ‘Menace’ Reyes Gets Life for 5 Murders
San Antonio’s streets are rid of a monster. Ruben Reyes, 38, known by the blood-soaked alias ‘Menace,’ was sentenced this morning to five consecutive life terms in federal prison for orchestrating and carrying out five brutal murders tied to his rise in the Texas Mexican Mafia (TMM). The killings—including four fellow gang members and a…
Louisiana Man Gets 30 Months in Title Fraud Scheme
DALLAS – Leonard James McMorris, 50, of Rayville, Louisiana, will spend the next 30 months in federal prison after being sentenced today for his central role in a brazen wire fraud conspiracy. Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn also ordered McMorris to pay a hefty $1,417,903 in restitution to the victims of the…
Charlotte Horelica Gets 50 Years for Child Sex Exploitation
39-year-old Charlotte Horelica of Rockdale, Texas, is going away for a long time — 600 months, to be exact — after being sentenced today in Waco for the sexual exploitation of a child and distribution of child pornography. The brutal sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman, marks the end of a sordid…
El Paso’s Samuel Velasco Gurrola Pleads Guilty to Racketeering
El Paso’s Samuel Velasco Gurrola, 41, has admitted his role in a sprawling, blood-soaked criminal enterprise that trafficked thousands of kilograms of drugs, orchestrated cross-border kidnappings, and carried out targeted assassinations — including the murders of his own in-laws and estranged wife. Gurrola pleaded guilty Friday, November 18, 2016, before U.S. District Judge David Briones…
Stevie McDonald Sentenced in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Winter Haven resident Stevie McDonald, 42, was hit with a 15-month federal prison sentence for his role in a multi-layered mortgage fraud conspiracy that defrauded Washington Mutual Bank of tens of thousands of dollars. U.S. District Judge Charlene E. Honeywell handed down the sentence in Tampa, Florida, holding McDonald accountable for fabricating financial documents to…
San Antonio Accountant Soto Jailed for Stealing $280K from IRS
San Antonio accountant Richard Molina Soto has been sentenced to 25 months in federal prison for stealing more than $280,000 from his clients and corruptly obstructing the Internal Revenue Service. Soto, owner of RMS & Associates, admitted to deceiving clients by posing as a Certified Public Accountant and pocketing tax payments meant for the federal…
