Chinese Nationals Arrested in China as Homeland Security Task Force Works to Stop Drugs Imported through Texas Destined for U.S. Prisons

 

Two Chinese nationals have been indicted and charged with federal drug trafficking violations as part of a Homeland Security Task Force investigation in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Lisa Xing, 36, and Zhanwen Song, 38, Chinese citizens, were charged in a six-count superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas, charging them with drug trafficking and money laundering violations. 

In May, Adell Willis, 43, of Lewisville, and Judy Ly, 30, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, were indicted in the same conspiracy.  All four defendants have been charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances; conspiracy to possess contraband in prison; conspiracy to manufacture and distribute controlled substances knowing it would be unlawfully imported into the United States; and conspiracy to commit money laundering.  Willis was also charged with possession of synthetic drugs with intent to distribute.   

“The indictment alleges that a China‑based supplier and a domestic distributor worked together to bring deadly synthetic drugs into the United States for distribution across the country,” said U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.  “We will continue working with our Homeland Security Task Force partners to pursue and hold accountable those who traffic dangerous drugs into our country.”

“This announcement underscores DEA’s commitment to attack the entire synthetic drug supply chain and trace these deadly substances back to their source. This investigation led us to China, and thanks to the cooperation of Chinese law enforcement, two Chinese nationals are now in custody and will face justice for their role in supplying dangerous drugs destined for Americans,” said DEA Administrator Terry Cole. “DEA’s global reach and chemical precursor expertise are unmatched. We are proud to bring those capabilities to the Homeland Security Task Force as we work together to identify these networks, dismantle their supply chains, and build landmark cases.”

“The Homeland Security Task Force was established by President Trump’s executive order to protect Americans from illegal drug activity infesting our communities,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “This FBI and our partners will stop at nothing to identify, find, and arrest these criminals who bring drugs to our streets. These two Chinese nationals allegedly trafficked dangerous, synthetic drugs from China into the United States and smuggled them into our prison systems for illicit gain. This HSTF investigation is yet another example, among thousands, of our task forces working throughout the country, every day, to make it safer for everyone. Thank you to FBI Dallas and our great law enforcement partners across the interagency who worked this investigation with us.”

The indictment alleges that beginning in March 2023, the defendants conspired to possess synthetic opioids, synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic stimulants, and other controlled analogues, in correctional institutions.  It is alleged in the indictment that Willis purchased synthetic drugs from Xing and Song in China and had them shipped to his residence in the Eastern District of Texas and Ly’s residence in Michigan.  It is also alleged that once Willis and Ly received the synthetic drugs, they would convert the drugs to a liquid before soaking sheets of paper in the drug mixture.  Once the sheets of paper were saturated, they were then delivered to inmates at various federal and state correctional institutions across the country. 

China’s Ministry of Public Security arrested Xing, Song, and 19 co-conspirators, seized 475 kilograms of synthetic cannabinoids, and shutdown four illicit manufacturing sites in China. The FBI-MPS counternarcotics working group, established in January 2026, facilitated the collaborative efforts to dismantle this transnational criminal network. These results represent a major milestone in U.S.–China counternarcotics cooperation and underscore the effectiveness of sustained, structured coordination between both countries in addressing the international illicit chemical supply chain.

If convicted, the defendants each face a minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Dallas comprises agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Dallas Field Office; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations - Dallas (ICE-HSI); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Dallas Field Division; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Dallas Field Division; Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations (IRS-CD; United States Postal Service, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); Transportation Security Administration, Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS); United States Secret Service (USSS); Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DSS); TEXOMA HIDTA; and U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) Eastern District of Texas with the prosecution being led by Eastern District of Texas Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lucas Machicek and Dustin Farahnak.

A federal indictment is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

ICE Lodges Detainer for Illegal Alien Charged in Fatal Semi-Truck Crash in Ohio

 

The suspect had been released into the country by the Biden Administration and granted a commercial driver’s license by the state of California

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer for an illegal alien who has been charged with causing a semi-truck crash that killed a woman in Ohio.

According to local reporting, the crash took place on September 2 in Brown County. A semi-truck attempted to pass another vehicle by moving into the opposite lane, colliding head-on with a car being driven by 50-year-old Brenda Watson. Watson died at the scene. A witness to the crash said that the semi-truck was speeding and had plenty of time and space to merge back into the correct lane.

The aftermath of the crash that killed Brenda Watson

The driver of the semi-truck, Manjit Singh, an illegal alien from India, was arrested and charged with aggravated vehicular homicide. ICE lodged a detainer with Brown County Jail the day after Singh was arrested.

The suspect: Manjit Singh

Singh had been granted a commercial driver’s license (CDL) by the state of California.

“This illegal alien from India has been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide after allegedly causing a semi-truck crash that killed 50-year-old Brenda Watson in Ohio,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “He has no business being in our country or on our roads, but because of the reckless open borders of the Biden Administration and the sanctuary policies of Gavin Newsom’s California, he was able to obtain a CDL that allowed him behind the wheel of a semi-truck. ICE has lodged a detainer asking officials in Ohio to commit to not releasing this killer back onto our streets, so that ICE can remove him from our country. My thoughts and prayers are with Brenda Watson’s family.”

Singh illegally entered the United States through Arizona in October 2023 and was encountered by the U.S. Border Patrol. He was then RELEASED into the country by the Biden Administration. In July 2024, he applied for work authorization, which was granted by the Biden Administration in August 2024.

Governor Newsom’s sanctuary policies have had disastrous consequences in other states as well. These include:

• In January, ICE lodged detainers for Gunpreet Singh and Jasveer Singh, criminal illegal aliens from India, after they had been arrested for smuggling more than 300 pounds of cocaine in a semi-truck in Putnam County, Indiana. Governor Newsom’s DMV had given both men CDLs.
• In December 2025, ICE arrested Gerson Emir Cuadra Soto, an illegal alien from Honduras and MS-13 member who is wanted in his home country for a quadruple homicide, in Grand Island, Nebraska. He had been given a driver’s license by Newsom’s DMV.
• In November 2025, Rajinder Kumar, an illegal alien from India who had been given a CDL by Newsom’s DMV, jackknifed his semi-truck and trailer on a highway in Deschutes County, Oregon, killing a newlywed couple. ICE arrested Kumar in April 2026.
• In August 2025, ICE lodged a detainer for Harjinder Singh, an illegal alien from India, after he made an illegal U-turn in his semi-truck and killed three people in St. Lucie County, Florida. Singh had obtained his CDL in Newsom’s California.

Brooklyn Adult Daycare Owner Sentenced to 76 Months in Prison for Leadership Role in $68 Million Medicaid Fraud Scheme

 

Zakia Kahn was sentenced by United States District Judge Natasha C. Merle to 76 months in prison in connection with her leadership role in carrying out a $64 million Medicaid fraud and illegal kickback scheme at her two social adult daycare centers and a home health care company.  In August 2025, Khan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay health care kickbacks. As part of her sentence, Kahn was also ordered to pay over $56 million in restitution and to forfeit $5 million in fraud proceeds, including two properties, cash, and gold jewelry seized during a search of her home, as pictured below. 

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Colin M. McDonald, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division; Pete Gizas, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI New York); Miranda L. Bennett, Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); and Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD) announced the sentence.

“This sentencing sends a strong message of deterrence in our District,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Our Office and the Justice Department are focused on protecting American taxpayers from fraudsters and as such, we will vigorously prosecute corrupt health care owners and operators in our district.”

“Khan acted with staggering greed, leading a scheme to defraud Medicaid of millions of dollars intended for people in need.  She and her co-conspirators set up social adult daycares but, instead of providing care and services to our most vulnerable neighbors, they enriched themselves with cash, gold, and property,” said HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Gizas.  “This sentence sends a message: we will be relentless in our pursuit of justice against fraudsters.  HSI is working side by side with our law enforcement partners to uncover and dismantle complex fraud networks like this one.”

“Social adult day care and home health services are designed to support seniors, not line the pockets of fraudsters,” said HHS-OIG Acting Deputy Inspector  General Bennett. “This sentence sends an important message that anyone who illicitly exploits the Medicaid program will be held accountable to the full extent of the law.”

“Zakia Khan stole $64 million from Medicaid through bribes and kickbacks—money meant to support the most vulnerable,” said NYPD Commissioner Tisch.  “This was not only deeply illegal but also immoral, and the NYPD will continue to investigate anyone who exploits government programs for personal gain.  I thank our NYPD investigators and all our partners in law enforcement for their work in stopping this criminal and bringing this case to a close.”

According to court documents, Khan owned two social adult daycare centers—Happy Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc. (Happy Family) and Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc. (Family Social) in the Coney Island section of Brooklin.  She also owned a home health care fiscal intermediary called Responsible Care Staffing Inc. and an entity she used to receive and disguise fraud proceeds called Tanwee Services Inc.

From approximately October 2017 through July 2024, in exchange for kickbacks and bribes, a web of marketers referred Medicaid recipients to Khan’s social adult daycare centers.  As depicted in the pictures below, Khan and the marketers paid kickbacks and bribes to the Medicaid recipients to induce them to sign up for services that Khan then billed to Medicaid.  These services were never actually provided as represented to Medicaid. 

Between 2017 and 2024, Happy Family and Family Social fraudulently billed Medicaid approximately $64 million.  Medicaid paid approximately $56 million based on these false and fraudulent claims.  Khan and her co-conspirators used multiple business entities to launder the fraud proceeds and generate the cash used to pay kickbacks and bribes to the marketers and the Medicaid recipients. 

International Stock Manipulator Sentenced To 27 Months

Julius Csurgo Organized Multiple Cross-Border “Pump and Dump” Schemes to Defraud U.S. Investors 

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, announced that JULIUS CSURGO was sentenced to 27 months in prison for manipulating 19 different “penny stocks” in a pump-and-dump scheme designed to fraudulently inflate the value of CSURGO’s own shares in those companies. CSURGO pled guilty on May 27, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams, who imposed the sentence on September 4, 2026.

“This sentencing reflects a clear and unambiguous message: those who manipulate our markets and defraud investors will not escape justice,” said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald. “Julius Csurgo manipulated U.S. financial markets, exploited shell companies, and engaged in deceitful promotions to enrich himself at the expense of unsuspecting investors. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure our markets remain fair, transparent, and trustworthy.”

According to the Superseding Information, public filings, and statements made in court proceedings:

CSURGO, a Canadian-Hungarian citizen, orchestrated multiple “pump-and-dump” schemes along with his -co-conspirators. In his guilty plea, CSURGO admitted to securities fraud involving nineteen issuers. His sophisticated scheme involved gaining controlling interest of unrestricted stock, then concealing ownership by distributing shares among nominee entities through a Swiss corporation called Blacklight, S.A. While maintaining behind-the-scenes control over the shares and significant influence over company management, CSURGO and his co-conspirators funded promotional campaigns without disclosing their controlling interest or intent to sell. They took deliberate steps to hide that nominee entities were funding these promotions. During or shortly after generating market interest, CSURGO sold large percentages of holdings and collected the proceeds through the elaborate network of nominee entities he controlled, which he also used to distribute proceeds to his co-conspirators.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

In addition to his prison term, CSURGO, 71, of Toronto, Canada, was sentenced to one year of supervised release and ordered to forfeit approximately $9,610,409.95.

Mr. McDonald praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He further thanked the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs of the Department’s Criminal Division, as well as authorities in Canada. Mr. McDonald also thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission, which separately initiated civil proceedings against CSURGO. 

Attorney General James and Coalition Sue to Defend Protections for Endangered Species

New Trump Administration Rules Greenlight Destruction of Endangered Species' Habitats

Rules Threaten Wildlife Across the Country, Including Sea Otters, Grizzly Bears, Humpback Whales, Sea Turtles, Polar Bears, and Bald Eagles

New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 20 other attorneys general are filing two lawsuits challenging new Trump administration rules that dramatically weaken the federal protections that have helped save America’s most imperiled wildlife from extinction. With these changes, the administration is greenlighting the destruction of endangered species’ habitats, leaving newly threatened species without federal protection, and giving commercial developers and fossil fuel companies a pathway to access endangered animals’ habitats. New York is home to dozens of endangered and threatened species that depend on these protections, including four species of sea turtles and six species of whales. Attorney General James and the coalition are asking the court to strike down the rules and restore the safeguards that have protected threatened and endangered species for decades.

“America’s endangered species have survived because generations of Americans chose to protect them and the habitats they depend on,” said Attorney General James. “Now, the Trump administration is tearing down those protections and pushing countless endangered species closer to extinction. We owe future generations a world where bald eagles soar, sea turtles swim, and all wildlife thrives. If this administration is willing to turn its back on that responsibility, state attorneys general will fight in court to uphold it.”

Congress enacted the Endangered Species Act in 1973 with near-unanimous bipartisan support, directing the federal government to “halt and reverse the trend toward species extinction, whatever the cost.” The law, championed by President Richard Nixon, was designed to protect the ecosystems that endangered and threatened species depend on and bring species to the point where federal protections are no longer necessary. The law has produced extraordinary results, with 99 percent of species protected by the Endangered Species Act avoiding extinction, and numerous species once on the brink of extinction dramatically increasing their populations. The bald eagle, the nation’s symbol, is among the species that have been brought back from the edge of extinction, in large part because of New York's reintroduction program, which hand-reared young eagles before releasing them into the wild.

This year, the Trump administration made an unprecedented move to dismantle these protections, eliminating the definition of "harm" that for decades made it illegal to damage or destroy a species' habitat. The new rule declares that harming a protected area is only illegal if it is a direct, intentional act against an individual animal, leaving habitat destruction completely unregulated even when it kills or injures a species. In one of their lawsuits, Attorney General James and the coalition challenge this rule and emphasize the magnitude of the potential consequences, arguing habitat loss is one of the greatest threats facing endangered species. The coalition calls the rule “a reversal of staggering proportions” that directly conflicts with the Endangered Species Act and explicit Supreme Court precedent on the legal definition of “harm.”

The attorneys general’s second lawsuit challenges two additional rules that weaken protections for threatened species and their critical habitats. One rule eliminates a basic safety net that for decades has automatically protected newly threatened species from being killed, harmed, or harassed. Under the administration’s reversal, a species added to the threatened list will no longer receive federal protection unless the government writes a new, species-specific rule. As a result, animals like the Monarch butterfly, which is currently under consideration for addition to the threatened list, could be left unprotected even after receiving the official federal designation.

The third challenged rule hands developers and the fossil fuel industry the power to block endangered species protections. Historically, scientists and experts have determined which areas qualify as "critical habitats" – land or water that a protected species needs to survive. Now, however, if a company claims that protecting an area will be bad for business, the federal government must consider excluding it. If the business benefits outweigh the risks to the endangered animal, regulators must approve the exclusion, unless doing so would directly cause extinction of the entire species. In essence, this grants commercial developers, fossil fuel companies, and other corporate entities a veto over new conservation areas and opens endangered species' homes to logging, mining, and drilling.

Attorney General James and the coalition argue these three rules will put vulnerable species at risk at the precise moment when federal protection is most needed. Habitats could be destroyed outright without legal consequence, and newly designated species could go years without protection as their populations dwindle. Land that scientists say is essential to a species’ survival could be opened for development. In New York, that could mean fewer safeguards for the sea turtles that feed off the coast of Long Island, the piping plovers nesting in the state’s coastal refuges, and the sturgeon whose populations have only recently started to recover. Even where New York has established state protections for endangered species, animals are not constricted by state lines and thus remain vulnerable to the harm of federal deregulation.

In their lawsuits, the attorneys general emphasize that rolling back these protections risks reversing decades of progress. They argue that all three rules violate the Endangered Species Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act, and are asking the court to vacate the rules and reinstate critical protections for our nation’s wildlife.

Attorney General James joined in filing one or both of these lawsuits with the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. 

California Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Orchestrating $270M Medication Reimbursement Fraud Scheme Targeting Medi-Cal

 

A California man was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for masterminding a massive health care fraud scheme in which nearly $270 million in fraudulent claims were submitted over an 11-month span to Medi-Cal, the California Medicaid program, for expensive prescription drugs containing generic ingredients that were medically unnecessary and, many times, were not provided to the purported recipients. The sentence marks one of the highest health care fraud sentences in the Central District of California’s history.

Paul Richard Randall, 67, of Orange, California, was also ordered to pay $178,746,556.22 in restitution.

“Paul Randall exploited a temporary change in Medi-Cal’s prescription drug reimbursement system to steal millions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars meant to help California’s most vulnerable residents,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. “This sentence sends a clear message to those who would abuse our public benefit programs to line their own pockets: The Fraud Division will aggressively prosecute you and seek to hold you accountable to the fullest extent under the law.”

“This case exposes unbridled greed at the expense of patients and taxpayers. Stealing funds meant for essential care and corrupting medical decisions through kickbacks is deeply harmful and erodes trust in our health care system,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Miranda L. Bennett of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG, together with our law enforcement partners, will continue to pursue those who exploit federal health care programs and ensure they are held fully accountable.”

“This defendant took advantage of California’s weak systems allowing him to submit $270 million in fraudulent claims to Medi-Cal in less than a year,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California. “This prison sentence underscore’s our department’s determination to aggressively punish criminals who steal from public health programs.”

According to court documents, Randall, along with pharmacist and pharmacy owner Kyrollos Mekail, 38, of Moreno Valley, California, and nurse practitioner Patricia Anderson, 59, of West Hills, California, took advantage of Medi-Cal’s suspension of its requirement that health care providers obtain prior authorization before providing certain h medications as a condition of reimbursement. The suspension of the prior authorization requirement was part of an ongoing transition of Medi-Cal’s prescription drug program to a new payment system.

Through a business called Monte Vista Pharmacy (Monte Vista), Randall and his co-conspirators exploited Medi-Cal’s prior authorization suspension by billing Medi-Cal tens of millions of dollars per month for dispensing high-reimbursing, non-contracted generic drugs through Monte Vista. The medications, which included pain creams and Folite tablets, a vitamin available over the counter, were billed for thousands of dollars each, including approximately $13,424 for one prescription of meloxicam 5 mg, a generic drug that typically costs between $5 and $25 for a 30-day supply in larger dosages. Normally, these high-cost reimbursement medications would have required prior authorization under Medi-Cal’s previous payment system. Medication involved in this scheme was medically unnecessary, frequently not dispensed to patients, and procured by illegal kickbacks.

In furtherance of the scheme, Randall paid illegal kickbacks to patient marketers in exchange for Medi-Cal beneficiary information and to Anderson to sign pre-filled prescriptions for the medications. Anderson never met the patients, reviewed their medical records, or otherwise determined that the medications were medically necessary before signing the prescriptions. 

From May 2022 to April 2023, Randall caused at least $269,120,829 in false and fraudulent claims to be submitted to Medi-Cal, of which Medi-Cal paid at approximately $178,746,556. Randall committed this offense while on release in another criminal tax case in the Central District of California (United States v. Paul Richard Randall, No. CR 20-00031-GW). 

Randall and his co-conspirators laundered their illicit proceeds by transferring them to a third party to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal kickbacks to Anderson in exchange for Anderson signing the fraudulent prescriptions. 

In April 2026, Randall pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. In his plea agreement, Randall agreed to forfeit property obtained from the fraud, including bank account balances exceeding $17 million, three vehicles, seven real properties, and sports memorabilia. To date, the government has seized approximately $126.5 million in assets that Randall and his co-conspirators accumulated from the scheme, including $111 million in bank funds and securities, nine luxury vehicles totaling approximately $1 million, nine luxury real properties totaling approximately $13.5 million, and more than $1 million worth of sports memorabilia. 

FBI, HHS-OIG, and the California Department of Justice investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Siobhan M. Namazi of the Fraud Division’s Health Care Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger A. Hsieh for the Central District of California prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Dochterman for the Central District of California’s Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section is handling asset forfeiture matters in this case. 

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

The Department of Justice’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in federal districts across the country, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion since 2007. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

ICE Lodges Detainer for Illegal Alien Charged with Fatal DUI Crash in Ohio

 

The suspect had been previously deported by the Trump Administration

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer asking officials in Ohio to not release an illegal alien who has been charged after a fatal DUI crash that killed a man in Ohio.

According to local reporting, the incident happened on September 6 in Fairfield County. A vehicle that was traveling eastbound on Route 33 went into the opposite lanes and struck a car traveling westbound, killing 23-year-old Cameron Lyon. Lyon’s fiancée was severely injured in the crash. The Ohio State Highway Patrol arrested the suspect, Alvaro Uribe-Gonzalez, an illegal alien from Mexico.

The victim: Cameron Lyon, 23

The suspect: Alvaro Uribe-Gonzalez

Uribe-Gonzalez has been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, driving under the influence of alcohol, and operating a motor vehicle without a valid license. ICE lodged a detainer with the Fairfield County Jail the day after he was arrested.

“This illegal alien has been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and driving under the influence of alcohol after allegedly causing a car crash that killed 23-year-old Cameron Lyon in Ohio,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “Cameron had his whole life ahead of him, and that life was stolen by this criminal who never should have been in our country in the first place. ICE has lodged a detainer asking officials in Ohio to cooperate with us and not release him from jail, so that we can remove him from this country. Deporting illegal aliens is our duty because it saves lives.”

Uribe-Gonzalez illegally entered the United States through Texas in January 2020 and was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol. After a Department of Justice (DOJ) Immigration Judge issued him a final order of removal on January 11, the Trump Administration deported Uribe-Gonzalez on April 14, 2020. He then illegally re-entered the United States – a felony – at an unknown date and location.

Long Island Contractor Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Fraud In Connection With Hurricane Sandy Recovery Funds

 

Defendant Used Homeowners’ Funds Obtained from the New York Rising Program for His Own Personal Expenses Instead of Repairing Their Storm-Damaged Homes

Alexander Almaraz, the owner of Design Concepts Group LLC (DCG) in Freeport, New York, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack to 48 months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme to induce individuals to hire him and pay DCG to repair their Hurricane Sandy-damaged homes.  Almaraz pleaded guilty to the charge in September 2024.  As part of the sentence, restitution to the victims will be determined at a later date. 

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Anne T. Donnelly, Nassau County District Attorney, announced the sentence. 

“Although years have passed since Hurricane Sandy caused historic damage to our district, the defendant’s victims still feel the emotional and financial pain caused by his selfish crimes,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “This sentence holds Almaraz accountable for using vital recovery funds to fund a lavish lifestyle while his customers were deprived of their homes and suffering emotionally and financially.  For this crime of greed, it is fitting that the defendant’s home will be a federal prison.”  

“Alexander Almaraz defrauded more than 20 victims of Hurricane Sandy by promising to raise their storm-ravaged homes and instead used the money for his own personal gain by spending it on luxury items.  Almaraz unlawfully sought to profit from the money intended to assist these desperate homeowners following this devastating storm.  May today’s sentencing send a message that the FBI will never tolerate those who exploit natural disaster recovery efforts for greedy purposes,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle.

“Hurricane Sandy ravaged waterfront communities across Nassau County, and in the aftermath, this defendant capitalized on the loss and pain of nearly two dozen homeowners trying to rebuild just to fatten his own wallet,” stated Nassau County District Attorney Donnelly. “In his greed, Almaraz made promises he had no intention of keeping and stole more than a million dollars in recovery funds earmarked to help residents who suffered total devastation in the storm. To add insult to injury, while the construction on his victims’ homes remained unfinished, Almaraz was out buying land for himself with their funds. I thank our federal partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the FBI for their commitment to prosecuting heartless schemers who exploited Long Islanders during this tragic event.”

On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy struck New York and New Jersey, causing catastrophic damage to low-lying and coastal areas, including many neighborhoods in the Eastern District of New York.  New York residents whose homes were damaged were eligible to receive funding from the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery through the New York Rising (NYR) program.

Almaraz entered contracts with homeowners who qualified to receive funds from NYR.  As part of these contracts, Almaraz agreed to lift the victims’ homes and set them down on temporary support structures which would permit the foundations of the damaged homes to be removed and new foundations to be installed.  After the new foundations were installed, Almaraz was supposed to lower the homes and reconnect the homes’ appliances.  Between October 2015 and June 2019, Almaraz agreed to lift the homes of at least 20 customers who had received NYR funding and who collectively paid him approximately $2.5 million.  Almaraz convinced many of these victims to move out of their homes and pay him rent to live elsewhere, all the while neglecting their projects and causing greater loss and suffering.  Instead of performing the full scope of the agreed-upon work, Almaraz used the victims’ monies to pay for personal expenses, including credit card bills, land purchased in Kansas City, Missouri, and luxury automobiles, including a Lamborghini, a Porsche and a Jaguar.  Almaraz’s fraudulent scheme caused more than $1.5 million in losses to NYR and the individual victims.