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Press Release-
In El Paso, two brothers and a sister are in custody based on a federal grand jury indictment alleging a murder-for-hire plot announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Waldemar Rodriguez, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge Douglas E. Lindquist.
The federal indictment, returned on Tuesday and unsealed today, charges El Paso residents Dalia Valencia, age 43, Samuel Velasco Gurrola, age 40, and Emmanuel Velasco Gurrola, age 29, with three counts of conspiracy to commit murder and three counts of conspiracy to cause foreign travel for murder for hire.
According to published reports, on October 3, 2008, Francisco Maria Sagredo Villareal was murdered in his house in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. On November 20, 2008, Francisco’s daughter, Cinthia Sagredo Escobedo, was murdered in Ciudad Juarez. Two days later, while traveling to her sister Cinthia’s funeral, Ruth Sagredo Escobedo was ambushed and murdered.
According to the indictment, in September 2008, the defendants conspired to have the above mentioned people murdered. The indictment further alleges that from September 2008 until November 22, 2008, the defendants conspired to pay someone to travel from the United States into Mexico to carry out their murder plot or caused someone to travel into Mexico, intending that a murder be committed, and that money was exchanged as part of the conspiracy.
Upon conviction of the murder related charges, the defendants face up to life in federal prison.
Federal agents arrested Dalia Valencia and Samuel Velasco yesterday without incident. Emmanuel Velasco was already in custody on a separate federal indictment which charges Emmanuel, Samuel and others with various offenses, including drug and money laundering charges.
This indictment resulted from an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Daphne Newaz is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.
An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Press Release-
In El Paso today, former William Beaumont Army Medical Center (WBAMC) physician and Army Lt. Col. Richard Craig Rooney of Medina, WA, age 46, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for his role in an estimated $7.3 million Health Care fraud scheme announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr.; Janice M. Flores, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s Southwest Field Office, Arlington, TX; Special Agent in Charge Scott Wilk of the Southwest Fraud Field Office of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command Major Procurement Fraud Unit, Arlington, TX; and FBI Special Agent in Charge Douglas E. Lindquist, El Paso Division.
In addition to the prison term, Senior United States District Judge David Briones ordered that Rooney pay a $15,000 fine and be placed on supervised release for a period of three years after completing his prison term.
The Government is also seeking the forfeiture of approximately $4.27 million seized from financial institutions. The Government has already forfeited a residential real estate property located in the State of Washington. A hearing to determine restitution is scheduled for December 1, 2015, before Judge Briones.
On January 9, 2015, Rooney pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting Acts Affecting a Personal Financial Interest. By pleading guilty, Rooney admitted that, beginning in 2005 and continuing through June 2010, he was employed by two medical device development and sales companies, Altiva Corporation (“Altiva”) and Allure Spine Consulting, LLC (“Allure”), as a consultant regarding the efficacy of existing medical devices and the design development and marketing of prospective medical devices. During the time Rooney was receiving money from both Altiva and Allure, he was also recommending that Darnall Army Medical Center at Ft. Hood, TX (DAMC) and WBAMC purchase Altiva and Allure products for his use in surgical procedures at the two hospitals. At the time Rooney was making the decisions to use Altiva and Allure products and was recommending the two military hospitals contract with Altiva and Allure to purchase said products, Rooney had an undisclosed financial interest in Altiva and Allure products.
This investigation was conducted by agents with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS); agents of the Criminal Investigation Command Major Procurement Fraud Unit of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command; and agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Assistant United States Attorneys Debra Kanof and Anna Arreola are prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) —
A Central Texas man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison followed by 10 years' parole for attempting to provide material support and resources to terrorists.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas said in a statement that 24-year-old Rahatul Ashikim Khan was sentenced Friday more than a year after pleading guilty to the charges.
Khan tried to recruit an FBI informant to join insurgents fighting in Somalia.
Court records show the Bangladesh-born American also led a group who pledged loyalty to now-deceased Taliban leader Mullah Omar.
A member of the group, 24-year-old Michael Todd Wolfe, was arrested by FBI agents in June 2014 in Houston before boarding a plane to join the Islamic State group. Wolfe was sentenced to 82 months in prison.