News

A Santa Monica man pleaded guilty to a federal criminal charge for doxxing – publishing private or identifying information about an individual on the internet with malicious intent – a lawyer at United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Four members of Mara Salvatrucha, a violent street gang and terrorist organization known as MS-13, were found guilty by a jury today of brutally murdering three victims in the Angeles National Forest, including one victim who had his heart carved out of his chest and his body dismembered then tossed down a canyon.

Two South Gate men pleaded guilty today to committing more than a dozen armed robberies, stealing gambling winnings from individuals leaving local casinos, stealing at least $274,600 in cash, casino chips, and other property.

A dual U.S.-Iranian national and CEO of an Iran-based technology company was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint charging him with violating U.S. sanctions against Iran by acquiring sophisticated U.S.-origin networking, security, and encryption equipment for Iranian customers — including the Iranian regime’s nuclear and military establishment.

An Ohio-based smoke bomb designer and importer, and two other companies have agreed to pay more than $4 million to the United States for costs and damages from the El Dorado Fire of 2020, which was ignited as part of a gender reveal photo shoot, burned nearly 23,000 acres, and caused a firefighter’s death.

A stock analyst and frequent guest on business television news channels was found guilty by a jury today for using his public platform to illicitly profit by manipulating stock market activity and trading opposite to the position he presented to the public.

An Orange County man who co-founded and served as board member of the financial technology and sustainability services company formerly known as Aspiration Partners Inc., was sentenced today to 168 months in federal prison for a years-long scheme in which he defrauded investors and lenders, causing more than $248 million in losses.

A South Los Angeles man was sentenced today to 308 months in federal prison for committing the armed robbery of an armored truck in Hawthorne on St. Valentine’s Day in 2022, a heist in which more than $166,000 in cash and customer checks were stolen and a firearm was discharged after the truck’s driver was held on the ground at gunpoint.

A convicted murderer, whom law enforcement believes is an active member of the 18th Street gang while being paid with City of Los Angeles funds to work as a “Peace Ambassador,” was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint charging him with illegally possessing two body armor plates near the city’s drug-and-crime-infested MacArthur Park.

A Burbank man was sentenced today to 51 months in federal prison for evading the payment of more than $11.2 million in federal taxes by using a shill to illegally collect Medicare reimbursement payments made to his blood-testing company, and to fraudulently obtaining nearly $100,000 in taxpayer-funded COVID-19 business relief.

A Ventura County man who smuggled at least 1,700 reptiles from Mexico to the United States over a six-year period was sentenced today to 65 months in federal prison.

A Culver City restauranteur who owns a hospitality company that has developed restaurants and hotels in California, Tennessee, and Kentucky was sentenced today to 41 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining more than $4 million COVID-19 economic-relief loans.