News Releases and Statements

Artis Hunter, 49, of Union Township, New Jersey, the alleged ringleader, and Melissa Phillip, 41, of West Orange, were arrested on charges of first-degree money laundering, first-degree conspiracy, second-degree identity theft and second-degree theft by deception. The third defendant, Laquan Jones, 42, of Newark, is being sought on an arrest warrant on the same charges. 

Koren Robert Kechedzian, 25, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Philip S. Guttierez to pay restitution of $114,135 to victim financial institutions that suffered losses when the stolen credit card numbers were used for fraudulent purchases.

Anthony Lester, 52, who formerly held high-level accounting positions with Century Builders and Highlands Energy Services, was convicted of two counts of mail fraud and five counts of money laundering, following a probe by ICE HSI and the Fresno Police Department. 

James VanBlaricum, 77, from Colleyville, Texas, made his initial appearance in federal court Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Hal R. Ray, who ordered that he remain in custody pending a detention hearing set for Aug. 23.

Chukwuma Jonas Osuagwu, 43, of Dallas, is charged along with codefendant, James W. Mitchell, 34, of Boston, in a 12-count indictment, unsealed Aug. 9, with tax and mortgage fraud offenses.

The audience of over 450 attendees comprised representatives from financial sector compliance, anti-money laundering and financial intelligence investigators, and federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

Delvin Phuong Pham, aka Kevin Pham, 49, appeared in federal court before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Susan Oki Mollway. In addition to the prison term, Judge Mollway ordered the defendant to forfeit more than $96,000 in personal property and 14 illegal gambling machines.

Aria Maleki, 33, of Santa Ana, California, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 112 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.

Motives Far East and Motives China Limited admitted to and accepted responsibility for under-reporting the value of its imported merchandise and agreed to pay nearly $13.4 million to the United States under the False Claims Act.

The show features the agency’s efforts to bring down a Jamaican lottery scam, in which perpetrators call U.S. citizens and inform them that they have won the lottery. Through this deception, the perpetrators attempt to convince the victims — most often the elderly — that they must first pay a fee in order to receive their winnings.

According to the civil forfeiture complaints filed in this case, Yuanta Securities Co. Ltd. paid a bribe of 200 million New Taiwan dollars (equivalent to approximately $6 million U.S. dollars) to former First Lady Wu Shu-Jen in 2004, during former President Chen Shui-Bian’s administration. 

Allen Fong, 59, of San Mateo, is one of 10 defendants named in a far-reaching indictment filed Oct. 16, 2014. Fong pleaded guilty to all 32 counts charged in the indictment after acknowledging his role in an enterprise that recruited Asian women and facilitated their travel into the U.S. to work as prostitutes in brothels located in the Bay Area. 

Cory Werito, 32, of Farmington, and Rosita Toledo, 46, of Kirtland, are charged in a 10-count indictment filed June 15. Werito and Toledo were arrested June 28, and made their initial appearances in federal court in Farmington. They remain in custody pending their arraignment and detention hearings, which are set for June 30 in Albuquerque.

In addition to the prison term, Abdul Mannan, 33, was also ordered to pay more than $76,000 in restitution. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rodriguez prosecuted the case.

The training focused on strategies and investigative techniques to assist with the identification and seizure of illicit funds generated by money laundering organizations engaged in transnational criminal schemes. HSI special agents shared best practices for investigating money laundering schemes, the movement of bulk and virtual currencies and intellectual property rights violations tied to terrorist financing.

Roberto Enrique Rincon Fernandez (Rincon), 55, of The Woodlands, Texas, pleaded guilty June 16 to information charging him with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), one count of violating the FCPA, and one count of making false statements on his 2010 federal income tax return. 

Leticia Hernandez Garza, aka Letty Garza, 58, entered a guilty plea June 6. A federal grand jury indicted Garza March 23 for aiding and abetting an illegal gambling business in Falfurrias from on or about Jan. 1, 2009, to on or about May 31, 2015.

HSI special agents arrested Haena Park, 40, of New York, Thursday on commodities fraud and wire fraud charges, stemming from her alleged scheme to defraud investors. Park solicited investments for the purpose of trading in a variety of securities and commodities, including off-exchange foreign currency contacts through the use of false and misleading statements.

Michael Skillern, 49, of Houston, Texas, received 10 years imprisonment, Jon Craig Nelson, 69, Houston, Texas, received eight years imprisonment, Naadir Cassim, 40, of Barcelona, Spain, and Orlando received five years imprisonment, and Adriana Maria Camargo, a/k/a Adriana Palomino, 37, of Barcelona, Spain, received two years imprisonment.

Son Chong Fulton, 57, of Edwardsville, Illinois, received the sentence for structuring currency deposits to avoid IRS reporting requirements. The judge also ordered Fulton to forfeit $191,800, and ordered her to pay a fine of $34,185 and a special assessment of $100. 

This indictment alleges that Kermit Alan Washington, 64, used a charity he founded and operated, called Project Contact Africa (PCA), to defraud donors, eBay and PayPal, and the IRS. In order to induce individuals, including former professional athletes, to make donations to PCA, Washington falsely represented that 100 percent of the donations would go to Africa. However, Washington diverted charitable donations from PCA to buy gifts and pay personal expenses, including rent, vacations, jewelry and entertainment.

Between June 2012 and May 2016, Michael Rizzi, 44, of Brooklyn, New York allegedly owned and operated a BJM/Manhattan Stakes and Entertainment (BJM), a company that provided high end prostitution services to customers in the New York metropolitan area.

Sandra Stevenson Marks, a.k.a. Catherine Marks, 42, of Charlottesville, laundered more than $1 million in stolen funds from her victims. The plea agreement she signed Tuesday requires her to repay at least $1.2 million in restitution to the victims of her scheme.

Greeg R. Mulholland, 46, used offshore shell companies in Belize and the West Indies to carry out numerous schemes, including the manipulation of Cynk technology Corp (CYNK). Pursuant to his plea agreement with the government, Mulholland has agreed to forfeit, among other things, a Dassault-Breguet Falcon 50 aircraft, a Range Rover Defender vehicle, two real estate properties in British Columbia, and funds and securities on deposit at more than a dozen bank and brokerage accounts.