WICHITA, KAN. – A Guatemalan man who has been living in Arkansas City, Kan., has been indicted on federal immigration charges, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

Pedro Mendoza-Mendoza, 21, a citizen of Guatemala, is charged with one count of possessing false documents, four counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of making a false statement on an I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form, one count of misusing a Social Security number and one count of producing a false identification document. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in April and May 2012 in Cowley County, Kan.

The indictment alleges Mendoza-Mendoza falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen and possessed false documents including a State of Oklahoma identification card bearing his photo with another person’s name and a Social Security card with another person’s Social Security number. He used the false Social Security number to be employed by Creekstone Farms. The identity he was using belongs to a U.S. Navy veteran who lives in Tennessee.

The Department of Homeland Security estimates 11.5 million unauthorized immigrants are living in the United States. For more information, see Homeland Security’s Web site on immigration statistics at: http://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics .

Upon conviction, the crimes carry the following penalties:
Possession of false identification documents: A maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $250,000.
Aggravated identity theft: A mandatory two years consecutive to other sentences on each count.
Making a false written statement on an I-9 form: A maximum penalty of five years and a fine up to $250,000.
Misusing a Social Security number: A maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000.
Producing a false identification document: A maximum penalty of 15 years and a fine up to $250,000.

The Arkansas City Police Department and the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.

OTHER INDICTMENTS

Eduardo Saucedo-Torres, 40, Overland Park, Kan., Christian Pantoja-Corral, 21, Kansas City, Kan., and Diana Pantoja-Corral, 23, Kansas City, Kan., are charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of interstate travel in furtherance of drug trafficking, and one count of making a false statement to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The crimes are alleged to have occurred July 27, 2012, in Hays, Kan.

Upon conviction, the crimes carry the following penalties:
Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine: Not less than 10 years and not more than life in federal prison and a fine up to $10 million.
Interstate travel in furtherance of drug trafficking: A maximum penalty of five years and a fine up to $250,000.
Making a false statement to the DEA: A maximum penalty of five years and a fine up to $250,000.

The DEA investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch is prosecuting.

Floyd J. Freihage, 28, Mulvane, Kan., is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction and one count of unlawful possession of ammunition after a felony conviction. The crimes are alleged to have occurred July 29, 2012, in Wichita, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. The Wichita Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch is prosecuting.

Marcus Sabation Lewis, 34, currently in custody in the Lyon County Jail, is charged with failing to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. The crime is alleged to have occurred from Aug 5, 2011, to July 24, 2012, in Lyon County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000. The U.S. Marshals Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart is prosecuting.

Eugenio Serrano Ramirez, 30, a citizen of Mexico who has been living in Hutchinson, is charged with one count of unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported. He was found Aug. 8, 2012, in Sedgwick County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of two years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement Removal Operations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.

David Ochoa, Jr., 25, Wichita, Kan., Krista Montoya, 28, Wichita, Kan., and Michael Jay Seaman, 45, Hutchinson, Kan., are charged in a superseding indictment with drug trafficking. Ochoa and Montoya are charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Seaman is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in April and May 2012 in Pratt County, Kan.

Upon conviction, the crimes carry the following penalties:
Possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine: Not less than 10 years and not more than life and a fine up to $4 million on each count.
Possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine: Not less than five years and not more than 40 years and a fine up to $2,500.
Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine: A maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $1 million.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant Attorney Aaron Smith and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch are prosecuting.

In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.

 

 

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