News Releases and Statements

A federal grand jury returned the two-count indictment against Bok Nyo Kim, 72, a legal permanent resident and Henry Yuseok Kim, 45, both citizens of South Korea residing in Laredo.

Eduardo Figueroa Jr, 26, of Cleveland, Ohio and Cynara Lucia Sarmiento, 23, of Conroe, Texas, pleaded guilty March 22 before U.S. District Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa who accepted their pleas for both counts of possession with intent to distribute meth.

According to court records and evidence presented during a three-week trial, Roberto Cruz Moreno, 22, of Woodbridge, and Marvin Torres, 21, of Manassas, were “chequeos,” which are soldiers, in the Guanacos Lil Cycos (GLCS) clique of MS-13; Kevin Perez Sandoval, 24, of Warrenton, was an “observacion,” which is a lower level soldier in the GLCS clique; and Jose Rosales Juarez, 27, of Manassas, was a “paro,” which is an entry level member of the GLCS clique.

Nathan Nichols, a 46-year-old Corpus Christi resident, pleaded guilty March 21 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to conspiring with others to steal $2,176,000 in sensitive military equipment from U.S. Army Garrison Ft. Hood in June 2021.

Carlos Daniel Uribe-Garza, 23, from Edinburg, Texas was sentenced March 21 to 121 months, followed by five years of supervised release. He will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children.

Eugenio Dario Molina-Lopez, aka “Don Dario,” was indicted on Jan. 29, 2019, on charges of Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine Intended for Unlawful Importation and Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine on Board a Vessel.  Molina-Lopez remains a fugitive. 

U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey sentenced Charles “Man Man” Thompson to 45 years in prison today. The 35-year-old St. Louis resident pleaded guilty in January 2020 to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine; three counts of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime resulting in death; and one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Following the presentation of court documents and evidence at trial, a jury found Kevin Lewis, 58, and Travis Vontress, 45, guilty of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, conspiracy to distribute heroin, conspiracy to distribute cocaine powder, maintaining drug involved premises, and unlawful use of a telephone in furtherance of drug trafficking.

The indictment returned on Nov. 1, 2018, charges Axel Bladimir Montejo Saenz, 35, aka “Mosh,” aka “Kraken,” with conspiracy to distribute cocaine intended for unlawful importation and conspiracy to distribute cocaine on board a vessel. Montejo remains a fugitive.

Oscar Hinojosa, 36, of Mexico residing in Pharr, Texas, was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. Hinojosa, a noncitizen, is set to face removal proceedings following completion of his sentence.

During this two-day undercover investigation aimed at addressing human trafficking in the east Tennessee area, officers placed several decoy advertisements on websites known to be linked to prostitution and commercial sex. The focus of the operation was to identify individuals seeking to engage in commercial sex acts with minors.

On March 17, David John Nava, 63, of La Jolla was sentenced in federal court for his role in multiple felonies related to the operation of his financial firm, Surf Financial Group, LLC, including conspiring to defraud shareholders of publicly traded companies, transmitting millions of dollars through an unlicensed money transmitting business, and falsifying multiple years of federal tax returns. He was also ordered to pay $3,716,888.27 in restitution.

According to court documents, in August of 2019, agents with HSI Fayetteville received information that Jessica Marie Harcrow, 40, was trafficking large quantities of methamphetamine into the Northwest Arkansas area from Oklahoma.

Cesar Alberto Palomares, 23, of Somerton, Arizona, is being accused of four violations of United States law related to Palomares’ importation and intended distribution of methamphetamine.

James Crowder, 78, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes on Thursday, March 17, to 18 years and four months in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Crowder to spend the rest of his life on supervised release following incarceration.

Mark John Millman, 37, a citizen of Great Britain and a legal alien resident, and his wife and co-defendant, Tara Sau Millman, 42, were sentenced in separate hearings before U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes. Mark and Tara Millman each were sentenced to 35 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced them to spend the rest of their lives on supervised release following incarceration.

On Tuesday, Juan Gerardo Trevino-Chavez, aka Huevo, 39, of Laredo, Texas, was arrested in San Diego, Calif. on criminal charges related to his alleged involvement in drug trafficking in Mexico and the United States. According to the indictment filed in San Antonio, Trevino is the current leader of the Cartel Del Noreste drug cartel (CDN).

As a result of pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine, Charles Phelps, 36, currently of Nashville, Tennessee, was sentenced on Monday to serve 156 months in federal prison.

According to evidence presented during the trial, in December 2018, Michael McShan, 28, met a minor female (MV-1) on a social media site called “MeetMe,” and then began communicating with MV-1 via Snapchat, cellphone calls and text messages.

This initiative provides real-time, tactical intelligence and information to more than 280 federal, state, and local law enforcement partners engaged in drug law enforcement and highway interdiction with the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee.

Yesenia Yasmin Ysea, of Douglas, was arrested March 9 at her apartment by law enforcement who also seized multiple “M-30” pills known to contain fentanyl, a crystal-like substance believed to be methamphetamine, multiple items of drug paraphernalia indicative of drug use and sales.

The seizure was part of a joint operation headed by HSI Norfolk’s Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) and CBP's Anti-Terrorism Contraband Enforcement Team.

Aliyah George Simpson, 26, pleaded guilty on June 2, 2021, to five counts of production of child pornography and one count of transportation of pornography, following a joint investigation by U.S. HSI Dallas and the Flower Mound Police Department.

Teang Liu, 38, of Alexandria, Virginia, a citizen of the People’s Republic of China, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for participating in the conspiracy.

Following a six-day trial in federal court, a jury convicted Charles Elsea, Jr, 44, a longtime inmate of the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC), of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, marijuana, and money laundering.