February 2010 Press Releases
Feb. 26, 2010 - Webb and Chow
TWO INDICTED FOR DISTRIBUTING COUNTERFEIT PHARMACEUTICALS
(HOUSTON) – A federal grand jury in Houston has indicted a Pennsylvania man and a foreign national in separate cases for distributing counterfeit pharmaceuticals (Read more)
Feb. 26, 2010 - Garza
PASADENA MAN SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS FOR TRANSPORTING LOAD OF MARIJUANA
(LAREDO, Texas) – A Pasadena, Texas, man, convicted of possessing with intent to distribute 2,220 kilograms of marijuana, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison without parole (Read more)
Feb. 25, 2010 - Essien
DME OWNER CONVICTED OF HEALTH CARE FRAUD AND AGGRAVATED IDENTITY THEFT
(HOUSTON) – The owner and operator of Logic World Medical has been convicted of conspiracy, health care fraud and aggravated identity theft arising from an adult diaper fraud scheme (Read more)
Feb. 24, 2010 - Cardenas-Guillen
OSIEL CARDENAS-GUILLEN, FORMER HEAD OF THE GULF CARTEL, SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS IMPRISONMENT
Judgment entered forfeiting $50 million of Cardenas-Guillen’s ill-gotten gains to the United States
(HOUSTON) – The former head of the notorious Gulf Cartel, Osiel Cardenas-Guillen, 42, of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, has been sentenced to serve 25 years in federal prison without parole and will forfeit to the United States $50 million in proceeds from his illegal enterprise (Read more)
Feb. 24, 2010 - Green
HARRIS COUNTY DEPUTY SHERIFF INDICTED FOR DISCLOSING CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION FOR CASH
(HOUSTON) – A sealed indictment accusing a Harris County sheriff’s deputy of disclosing confidential law enforcement information in exchange for money was unsealed today following the deputy’s arrest (Read more)
Feb. 23, 2010 - Cantu
TWO TONS OF MARIJUANA IN TANKER TRAILER SEIZED – ONE ARRESTED
(McALLEN, Texas) – A McAllen area man is in federal custody without bond following the discovery of more than two tons of marijuana in a tanker trailer parked on the grounds of a McAllen area residence (Read more)
Feb. 23, 2010 - Salinas
EVADING INCOME TAXES NETS DEFENDANT A PRISON TERM
(HOUSTON) – A prison term is the cost of evading income taxes (Read more)
Feb. 22, 2010 - Guilbault
LAST EL PASO NATURAL GAS TRADER SENTENCED
(HOUSTON) – A former natural gas trader for El Paso Corporation has been sentenced to five years probation with six months of home detention for his role in reporting false natural gas trades in order to manipulate natural gas prices (Read more)
Feb. 22, 2010 - Lopez-Sanabria
HONDURAN NATIONAL CONVICTED OF ILLEGALLY ENTERING THE U. S.
Defendant has three previous convictions for same offense
(BROWNSVILLE, TX) – A 53-year old Honduran national, previously convicted of illegally reentering the U. S. after deportation on three separate occasions, has been convicted yet again (Read more)
Feb. 22, 2010 - Cedor
AREA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
(CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas) – Corpus Christi resident Richard Louis Cedor has been convicted of possessing child pornography (Read more)
Feb. 22, 2010 - Simon
FORMER ACCOUNTS SUPERVISOR OF AREA CHEMICAL COMPANY SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR EMBELLZING MILLIONS
(HOUSTON) – A former accounting supervisor for a Houston area chemicals company has been sentenced to prison for embezzling more than $3.6 million from her employer (Read more)
Feb. 19, 2010 - Alvilez-Cruz
FLORIDA RESIDENT SENTENCED TO LENGTHY PRISON TERM FOR SMUGGLING METHAMPHETAMINE
(LAREDO, Texas) – A Mexican citizen and legal permanent resident has been sentenced to 210 months in federal prison for smuggling almost two kilograms of methamphetamine into the United States (Read more)
Feb 18, 2010 - Hernandez-Pedraza
MEXICAN NATIONAL SENTENCED FOR ATTEMPTING TO SMUGGLE CASH INTO MEXICO
(BROWNSVILLE, Texas) – A Mexican national convicted of attempting to smuggle bulk cash from the United States into Mexico has been sentenced to prison (Read more)
Feb 17, 2010 - Martinez and Villarreal
LAREDO POLICE OFFICER AND CO-CONSPIRATOR PLEAD GUILTY TO COCAINE CONSPIRACY
(LAREDO, Texas) – A Laredo Police Department (LPD) officer and a local man have pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine (Read more)
Feb. 17, 2010 - Grabar
CIVILIAN DEFENSE CONTRACTOR SENT TO PRISON FOR POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
(HOUSTON) - Michael Anthony Grabar, 44, a Seabrook resident, has been sentenced to prison for possessing child pornography and ordered to register as a sex offender (Read more)
Feb. 16, 2010 - Prince
ALABAMA MAN CHARGED WITH INTERFERING WITH A FLIGHT CREW AND ASSAULTING FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL
(HOUSTON) – A 47-year-old Alabama man has been arrested and charged with interfering with a flight crew aboard a Continental Airlines flight, assault and assaulting a federal air marshal (Read more)
Feb. 12, 2010 - Montross
PRODUCING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CONVICTION RESULTS IN 30 YEAR PRISON TERM FOR HOUSTON MAN
(HOUSTON) – Joseph Marshall Montross, 30, of Houston, has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison without parole for producing child pornography (Read more)
Feb. 12, 2010 - Garcia et al
JURY CONVICTS CORPUS CHRISTI COUPLE AND SAN ANTONIO ORTHOTIST OF DEFRRAUDING HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS
(CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas) - A federal jury has convicted a Corpus Christi couple and an orthotist from San Antonio, Texas of defrauding Medicare and the Texas Medicaid Program (Read more)
Feb. 12, 2010 - Gomez
FORMER BANK EMPLOYEE SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR EMBEZZLEMENT
(McALLEN) – A former teller of First National Bank has been sentenced to prison for embezzling money from the bank (Read more)
Feb. 11, 2010 - Garcia-Gonzalez
AREA BAR OWNER CHARGED WITH SEX TRAFFICKING OF MINORS
(McALLEN, Texas) – An alleged Mission, Texas, bar owner has been indicted by a federal grand jury for sex trafficking minor females, conspiracy and harboring illegal aliens (Read more)
Feb. 11, 2010 - To
HOUSTON AREA BUSINESS WOMAN CHARGED WITH DEFRAUDING HOUSTON AREA BANKS OF APPROXIMATELY $300,000
(HOUSTON) – A 10-count indictment charging Ann Ngoc To with executing two different schemes to defraud Houston area banks of almost $300,000 has been unsealed following her arrest (Read more)
Feb. 11, 2010 - Byrd
TAX RETURN PREPARER CHARGED WITH PREPARING FALSE INCOME TAX RETURNS
(HOUSTON) – An indictment charging tax-return preparer Kimyosia Michelle Byrd with aiding and assisting in the preparation of false income tax returns for the years 2004 through 2006 has been returned by a federal grand jury in Houston (Read more)
Feb. 10, 2010 - Vargas
FORMER BANK OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR PLEADS GUILTY TO STEALING FROM LOCAL BANK’S UTILITY FUNDS
(LAREDO, Texas) – Norma Vargas, 41, a former operations supervisor of a local bank, has pleaded guilty to defrauding her former employer of more than $190,000 during the last two years of her employment (Read more)
Feb. 9, 2010 - De Oca Pablo, Aguilar-Ramirez and Guerrero-Saldana
THREE MEXICAN NATIONALS CHARGED AFTER MORE THAN 1300 POUNDS OF MARIJUANA DISCOVERED ABOARD A FISHING VESSEL
(BROWNSVILLE, Texas) – Three Mexican nationals have been arrested and a fishing vessel and more than 1300 pounds of marijuana have been seized near South Padre Island (Read more)
Feb. 8, 2010 - Calderon and Martinez
COUPLE ARRESTED AND CHARGED AFTER MORE THAN 50 ALLEGEDLY COUNTERFEIT CREDIT CARDS FOUND
(McALLEN, Texas) – Two Mexican nationals have been arrested and charged with access device fraud after more than 53 allegedly counterfeit credit cards in the name of others were discovered by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents as the two attempted to enter the United States from Mexico (Read more)
Feb. 5, 2010 - McManus
HOUSTON MAN CHARGED WITH IMPERSONATING U.S. ARMY GENERAL AND WEARING UNAUTHORIZED MILITARY COMBAT AWARDS
(HOUSTON) -- Michael P. McManus has been arrested and charged with five criminal misdemeanor counts arising from his alleged impersonation of a U.S. Army General by wearing an unauthorized U.S. Army General’s uniform along with unlawfully possessing and wearing numerous unauthorized military combat awards and other unearned military insignia from both the United States and England (Read more)
Feb. 5, 2010 - Roy and Deason
HOUSTON MAN AND BANK INSIDER CONVICTED OF CONSPIRACY AND BANK ROBBERY
(HOUSTON) - Erik Roshan Roy, 38, and Tuaca Elaine Deason, 25, both of Houston, have been convicted of conspiracy to commit bank robbery and bank robbery (Read more)
Feb. 5, 2010 - Vasser and Adger
JURY CONVICTS TWO IN MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEME
(HOUSTON) – A federal jury found David Vasser, 61, a Houston area resident, and Shirely Adger, 52, a Dallas area resident, guilty of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud (Read more)
Feb. 4, 2010 - Torres-Gomez
EL SALVADORAN PLEADS GUILTY TO ASSAULTING BORDER PATROL AGENT
(LAREDO, Texas) - Rigoberto Torres-Gomez, a native of El Salvador illegally in the United States, has pleaded guilty to assaulting a Border Patrol (BP) agent (Read more)
Feb. 4, 2010 - Zhu, Eiland and Robinson
OWNER OF CATCO HOMES, FORMER OWNER OF FUTURE MORTGAGE COMPANY AND A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF FUTURE MORTGAGE COMPANY INDICTED IN ALLEGEDLY MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEME
(HOUSTON) – A 19-count sealed indictment charging Ming Shan Zhu, the owner of Catco Homes, Alvin Mark Eiland, former owner of Future Mortgage Company Inc. and Gary Leonard Robinson II, a former employee of Future Mortgage Company Inc., with offenses arising from a scheme to defraud residential mortgage lenders of more than $7 million in loans in connection with home purchases in the Houston area has been unsealed (Read more)
Feb. 4, 2010 - Kaluanya
OWNER OF DME STORE FRONT CHARGED WITH HEALTH CARE FRAUD AND AGGRAVATED IDENTITY THEFT
(HOUSTON) – A federal grand jury has returned a 14-count superseding indictment charging Mento Nnana Kaluanya with health care fraud and aggravated identity theft arising from a $3.9 million health care fraud scheme (Read more)
Feb. 4, 2010 - Cole
OWNER OF DME COMPANY INDICTED FOR MEDICAID FRAUD
(HOUSTON) – The majority owner and operator of a Houston durable medical equipment (DME) company was arrested yesterday in connection with a $1 million health care fraud investigation (Read more)
Feb. 3, 2010 - Brown
FORMER HOSPITAL PATIENT CARE ASSISTANT SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR STEALING IDENTITY OF PATIENTS
(HOUSTON) – A former patient care assistant of a Houston area hospital has been sentenced to prison for bank fraud and stealing the identities of patients (Read more)
Feb. 2, 2010 - Rossow
TWO FORMER EMPLOYES OF THE HARTFORD PLEAD GUILTY
(HOUSTON) - Rachel Marie Rossow, 44, of Farmington, Conn., and John Frederick Prestage, 39, of Newington, Conn., both former employees of The Hartford have pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mail fraud and wire fraud (Read more)
Feb. 1, 2010 - Clues
OWNER OF EXCLUSIVE TEMPORARIES, INC. PLEADS GUILTY TO TAX EVASION
(HOUSTON, Texas) -- Priscilla Ann Clues, the owner of Exclusive Temporaries, Inc, has pleaded guilty to intentionally failing to pay more than $1 million in employment taxes withheld from employee paychecks (Read more)
Feb. 1, 2010 - Woodard
GUILTY PLEA IN MILLION-DOLLAR PLUS CHECK KITING CASE
(BROWNSVILLE, Texas) – John Jeff Woodard, Jr., 48, of Harlingen, Texas, has pleaded guilty to defrauding three local banks by means of a check kiting scheme (Read more)
