SENTENCING – Israel Vasquez, 46
Israel Vasquez, a 46 year old citizen of Mexico, was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to drug and money laundering charges in June. Vasquez’s methamphetamine distribution network stretched from Michoacan, Mexico, through the southern border, and into Texas and Louisiana, and collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug proceeds wired to Vaszquez’s alias, Adan Perez. According to law enforcement agents, in 2013, Vasquez was kidnapped by a cartel and tortured due to a drug debt; as soon as his family raised money to release him, he returned to dealing. He was apprehended weeks after he ditched a stash of meth and fled the scene of a planned undercover drug buy. The FBI, Dallas Police Department, and IRS - Criminal Investigation led the investigation.
ARREST – Drug traffickers
Thirteen people tied to Mexican cartels were arrested on federal drug conspiracy charges after an FBI-led bust on Dec. 12. Investigators say the individuals — who they say are connected to Mexico's Los Zetas and New Generation Jalisco cartels — have conspired to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin since March 2014. The criminal complaints were unsealed Wednesday afternoon. The DEA and Texas Department of Public Safety investigated. Release here.
PLEA -- Ramon Hernandez, 41
On Dec. 11, Ramon Hernandez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Hernandez admits that at the direction of a coworker, he stole medical equipment from his employer, made fraudulent entries in their database concerning the shipment of the equipment, and manipulated the devices’ electronic serial plates to conceal the theft. He now faces 5 years in prison. The FBI and FDA Office of Inspector General investigated.
SENTENCING – Eddie Contreraz, 49
On Dec. 10, Eddie Contreraz of Frisco, TX was sentenced to more than 14 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $12,949,309 in restitution for his role as the ring leader of a $29 million bank fraud scheme. He and six co-defendants admit they used falsified income and employment information to complete at least 2300 fraudulent loan packages at 10 banks. The FBI’s Fort Worth Office conducted the investigation.
SENTENCING – Jesus Chaparro, 26
On Dec. 7, Jesus Florencio Chaparro-Sanchez, a 26-year-old citizen of Mexico, was sentenced to 14 ¼ years in federal prison after authorities caught him transporting fentanyl, a powerful narcotic 50 times more potent than heroin. After a traffic stop, he admitted to investigators that a man in Mexico had offered him a job transporting drugs. He claimed he thought he was transporting cocaine. DEA testing revealed that the substance was actually about four kilograms of Tramadol plus about five kilograms of fentanyl. The DEA and the Texas Department of Public Safety investigated. Release here.
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AAG Visits Dallas
On Dec. 12, the Northern District of Texas welcomed Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, along with Solicitor General Noel Francisco and Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski of DOJ’s Criminal Division, to discuss our Project Safe Neighborhoods program, which diminished violent crime in Dallas’ PSN hotspot by 19.9 percent from Q1 to Q3. “Our goal is to reduce violent crime. Thanks in large part to people in this room, we are achieving that goal,” Whitaker told law enforcement gathered at the Dallas Police Department’s NE Division. “That is why the Department of Justice is proud to invest in you.” Whitaker remarks here. Photos here.
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