Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice 2

Today, amid a staggering volume of Title IX complaints, the U.S Department of Education (ED) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announce the Title IX Special Investigations Team (SIT) to ensure timely, consistent resolutions to protect students, and especially female athletes, from the pernicious effects of gender ideology in school programs and activities.

The Title IX SIT will streamline Title IX investigations by creating a specialized team of investigators from across ED and Department of Justice offices. The establishment of the Title IX SIT will allow personnel to apply a rapid resolution investigation process to the increasing volume of Title IX cases and also enable ED and the Justice Department to work together to conduct investigations that are fully prepared for ultimate Justice Department enforcement.

“Protecting women and women’s sports is a key priority for this Department of Justice,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This collaborative effort with the Department of Education will enable our attorneys to take comprehensive action when women’s sports or spaces are threatened and use the full power of the law to remedy any violation of women’s civil rights.”

“Today’s establishment of the Title IX SIT will benefit women and girls across this nation who have been subjected to discrimination and indignity in their educational activities,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “From day one, the Trump Administration has prioritized enforcing Title IX to protect female students and athletes. Traditionally, our Office for Civil Rights (OCR) takes months, even years, to complete Title IX investigations. OCR under this Administration has moved faster than it ever has, and the Title IX SIT will ensure even more rapid and consistent investigations. To all the entities that continue to allow men to compete in women’s sports and use women’s intimate facilities: there’s a new sheriff in town. We will not allow you to get away with denying women’s civil rights any longer.”

The Title IX SIT includes:

• ED Office for Civil Rights investigators and attorneys
• DOJ Civil Rights Division attorneys
• ED Office of General Counsel attorneys
• ED Student Privacy and Protection Office case workers and an FSA Enforcement investigator

Background:

President Trump’s Executive Order Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports articulates United States policy, consistent with Title IX, to protect female student athletes from having “to compete with or against or having to appear unclothed before males.” President Trump’s Executive Order Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism states the truth that “The erasure of sex in language and policy has a corrosive impact not just on women but on the validity of the entire American system.” 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

WASHINGTON — A California man was arrested on a federal criminal complaint alleging that he targeted children for sexual exploitation online as part of his role in an online violent network that seeks to accelerate social unrest and the downfall of the current world order.

Jose Henry Ayala Casamiro, 28, of San Fernando Valley, was arrested by the FBI on charges of attempting to possess and the possession of child pornography. He made his initial appearance on April 3 in federal court in the Central District of California. A federal magistrate judge ordered him jailed without bond and an April 22 arraignment date was scheduled in Los Angeles federal court.

According to court documents, Ayala allegedly caused minors to produce child sexual abuse material (CSAM) as well as other video content depicting themselves engaging in self-harm as part of his participation in an online network known broadly as “764”, a network of nihilistic violent extremists who engage in criminal conduct, particularly targeting children for sexual exploitation online, to further the network’s goals of accelerating the downfall of the current world order, including the U.S. government. Members of 764 work in concert with one another towards a common purpose of destroying civilized society through the corruption and exploitation of vulnerable populations, including minors.

As part of the 764 network, Alaya was allegedly involved with an online group that blackmailed underage girls into creating child pornography videos depicting themselves engaging in degrading sadistic sexual acts, torture sessions, and carving their abusers’ initials or names on their bodies. The group also encouraged the female minors to commit suicide. As one example, the criminal complaint details a March 2020 photo in which an individual had cut the defendant’s name “Henry” into their right forearm. The complaint also outlines four videos that allegedly depict Ayala directing teen girls to engage in specific sexual acts. In February and March 2025, the complaint also alleges that Ayala participated in a new server created as a “grooming pool” targeting many underage girls, which included two minor students in a public school district in Colorado.

Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division; U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli for the Central District of California; and Assistant Director David J. Scott of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division made the announcement. 

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda Elbogen and David Ryan for the Central District of California and Trial Attorneys Justin Sher and James Donnelly of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Colombian national and lieutenant for Clan del Golfo (CDG) pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute large quantities of cocaine destined for the United States.

According to court documents, Fabian Edilson Torres Caranton, also known as David and Cassius, 53, served as a coordinator, intermediary, and lieutenant for the Bloque Roberto Vargas Gutierrez of CDG — a Colombian paramilitary and multibillion-dollar Transnational Criminal Organization. CDG is one of Colombia’s largest and most powerful drug cartels with its membership in the thousands. CDG’s primary source of income is from cocaine trafficking, which it uses to fund its paramilitary activities.

According to court documents, in July 2018, Torres Caranton and an individual seeking to broker the purchase of cocaine on behalf of Mexican buyers, attended a meeting with another member of CDG at a ranch in or near Caucasia, Colombia. During the meeting, the other CDG member authorized the production of 500 kilograms of cocaine to be transported from Colombia into and through Central America for delivery to Mexican buyers for final delivery to the United States. Torres Caranton spent several days monitoring the cocaine production at a clandestine laboratory in Coralito, Colombia. Torres Caranton and his co-conspirators made two controlled deliveries of cocaine to an undercover officer: 191 kilograms on Sept. 16, 2018, in Valledupar, Colombia, and 172 kilograms on Oct. 16, 2018, in Cartagena, Colombia. Torres Caranton knew the purported Mexican buyers intended to distribute the cocaine in Houston, Texas.

Torres Caranton pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine for unlawful importation into the United States from Colombia. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 4 and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Miami Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Miami Field Office investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Judicial Attaché Office in Bogota worked with law enforcement partners in Colombia to secure the arrest and December 2023 extradition of Torres Caranton.

Trial Attorney Douglas Meisel and Acting Deputy Chief Melanie Alsworth of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A federal jury convicted a Louisiana chiropractor yesterday for his role in health care fraud and unemployment insurance fraud schemes totaling millions of dollars.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Dr. Benjamin Tekippe, 40, of New Orleans, was a chiropractor and owner of Metairie Chiropractic & Rehab in New Orleans. Tekippe solicited patients with insurance from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana (BCBSLA) at schools, public events, and on social media to receive chiropractic massages, which he misleadingly advertised as “free.” Tekippe would then routinely bill BCBSLA for chiropractic services he did not perform. In total, Tekippe fraudulently submitted over $2.3 million in claims to BCBSLA for services not performed and was reimbursed approximately $740,000 by the insurance provider. The fraudulent claims sought payment for thousands of chiropractic services purportedly provided by Tekippe during periods when he was out of the office, traveling on vacation, or incarcerated for past arrests. The evidence also showed that in response to a medical records request from a BCBSLA auditor, Tekippe fabricated patient records and instructed his staff to write them in their own handwriting to make it falsely appear that the services had been performed as billed. Evidence at trial showed that Tekippe spent the fraud proceeds on, among other things, luxury goods and gambling.  

In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tekippe submitted weekly certifications falsely claiming that he was unemployed when he was billing for chiropractic services purportedly performed during his claimed unemployment. Through this scheme, Tekippe received $12,952 in unemployment insurance benefits to which he was not entitled.

Tekippe was convicted of six counts of health care fraud and one count of wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the wire fraud count and 10 years in prison on each health care fraud count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson for the Eastern District of Louisiana; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Tapp of the FBI New Orleans Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Jason Meadows of the Department of Health and Human Service Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Dallas Region, Baton Rouge Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Kelly Z. Walters and Samantha Usher of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of 9 strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, 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.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Last night, a high-ranking leader of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, was arrested in New York for his alleged role in a conspiracy responsible for 11 murders.

Joel Vargas-Escobar, also known as Momia, was indicted the District of Nevada and charged with racketeering conspiracy that involved 11 murders. Vargas-Escobar is also charged with two counts of murder-in-aid of racketeering and associated firearms charges. Vargas-Escobar – who previously had been deported to El Salvador and illegally re-entered the United States – had been a fugitive from justice for nearly four years.

“The American people are safer following the arrest of yet another MS-13 leader thanks to the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and Joint Task Force Vulcan,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This terrorist entered our country illegally and is accused of orchestrating 11 murders — under President Trump’s leadership, we will not rest until this terrorist organization is completely dismantled and its members are behind bars.”

“The arrest of yet another violent and dangerous MS-13 leader is a major win for our FBI agents, law enforcement partners, and safer American streets,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Our agents and analysts are continuously coordinating across multiple field offices and investigating with our valued partners to keep this work going — and we will not stop until that work is done.”

According to court documents, MS-13 is a national and transnational gang composed largely of individuals of Salvadoran or other Central American descent. MS-13 has more than 10,000 members regularly conducting gang activities in at least 10 states and Washington, D.C., with thousands more conducting gang activities in Central America and Mexico. MS-13 operates through the use of intimidation and violence, including murder, and enriching members and associates through criminal activities, including breaking into houses and stealing firearms, jewelry, cash, and other items of value, and selling narcotics. MS-13 is organized by subsets known as “cliques,” and each clique typically has one or more leaders, commonly referred to as “shot callers.”

Vargas-Escobar and his co-defendants are allegedly part of MS-13’s command and control structure in Las Vegas and California and exercised significant leadership roles in the organization’s operations. The indictment charges members of the “Parkview” clique of MS-13 with committing 11 murders over about a year in Nevada and California. According to the indictment, many of the victims were allegedly kidnapped by MS-13 members and taken to remote locations in the mountains and desert where they were tortured and killed.

Vargas-Escobar was the alleged leader of the Parkview clique of MS-13 in Las Vegas and personally ordered two of the charged murders. He was deported to El Salvador in 2018 but illegally re-entered the country.

The arrest operation was coordinated by the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division in Washington, D.C., with support from the FBI’s Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and New York field offices, the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section (VCRS), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada, and Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV).

JTFV, which was created in 2019 to destroy MS-13 and now expanded to target Tren de Aragua, is comprised of U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the Southern District of New York; the Eastern District of New York; the District of New Jersey; the Northern District of Ohio; the District of Utah; the District of Massachusetts; the Eastern District of Texas; the Southern District of Florida; the Eastern District of Virginia; the Southern District of California; the District of Nevada; the District of Alaska; the Southern District of Texas; and the District of Columbia, as well as the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Criminal Division. Additionally, the FBI; DEA; HSI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; and the Federal Bureau of Prisons have been essential law enforcement partners with JTFV.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America and an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Vargas-Escobar appeared this morning for his initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge James M. Wicks of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York – Central Islip. He was ordered detained and will be transferred to the District of Nevada for trial. If convicted, Vargas-Escobar faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Christopher Taylor and Justin Bish from the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melanee Smith and Steven Rose for the District of Nevada, with substantial assistance from Joint Task Force Vulcan Deputy Director Jeremy Franker, as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.