Crimes and Courts

Border official resigns amid uproar over migrant children

Published

7 years ago

June 26, 2019

HOUSTON (AP) — The acting head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection resigned Tuesday amid an uproar over the discovery of migrant children being held in pitiful conditions at one of the agency’s stations in Texas.

Acting Commissioner John Sanders’ departure deepened the sense of crisis and added to the rapid turnover inside the agencies responsible for enforcing President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration priorities as the U.S. deals with record numbers of migrant families coming across the border.

In a message to employees, Sanders said he would step down on July 5. He did not give a reason for leaving.

“Although I will leave it to you to determine whether I was successful, I can unequivocally say that helping support the amazing men and women of CBP has been the most fulfilling and satisfying opportunity of my career,” he said.

Hours after Sanders’ departure became public, two officials told The Associated Press that he was being replaced by Mark Morgan, who was named acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement just last month. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly about the move and declined to be identified.

In an interview last week, Sanders blamed the problems in detention on a lack of money and called on Congress to pass a $4.5 billion emergency funding bill to address the crisis. The House approved the legislation on Tuesday night, setting up a showdown with the Senate where Republican leaders plan approval of a different, bipartisan bill this week that does not offer as many protections and services for migrants.

At the White House, Trump said that he did not ask for Sanders’ resignation — adding that he doesn’t think he has ever spoken to the man — but that he is “moving some people around into different locations” amid the crisis.

While activists welcomed Sanders’ departure, Trump defended U.S. border authorities, saying, “The laws are so bad and the asylum rules and laws are so bad that our Border Patrol people, who are so incredible, aren’t allowed to do their jobs.”

The unprecedented surge of migrant families has left U.S. immigration detention centers severely overcrowded and taxed the government’s ability to provide medical care and other attention. Six children have died since September after being detained by border agents.

After he was picked to lead ICE, Morgan, the new acting director, showed a willingness to deport families during enforcement sweeps. However, past Trump immigration officials hesitated over concerns about logistics and the public’s reaction.

The Trump administration has faced a barrage of criticism in recent days over conditions inside the Border Patrol facility in Clint, Texas, first reported by The Associated Press: inadequate food, lack of medical care, no soap, and older children trying to care for toddlers.

In one case reported in Clint, attorneys said a 2-year-old boy without a diaper was being watched by older children. Several youngsters had the flu. Many were separated from extended family members like aunts and uncles who brought them to the border; others were teenage mothers with babies.

As word of the children’s plight got out, people moved by their stories started showing up the station’s doors to donate boxes of diapers and even a Cookie Monster stuffed toy. They were not allowed in the building. Customs and Border Protection says it has enough supplies, but was checking with lawyers to see if it could accept donated items.

“On just a gut level I see myself, I see my family, I see my neighbors, I see my students in these migrants,” said Diego Carlos, who teaches social studies at an El Paso high school and joined a small protest outside the station.

“Literally, I have students who come over from the border almost every day to go to school at the school I teach,” Carlos added.

An official from Customs and Border Protection said Tuesday that the majority of the roughly 300 children detained at Clint last week had been moved to facilities operated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity, wouldn’t say exactly how many.

But around the same time Sanders announced his resignation, his agency said officials had moved more than 100 children back to the station.

The human costs of the migrant surge were driven home this week by a searing photo of the bodies of a Salvadoran man and his nearly 2-year-old daughter, face down in shallow water along the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. On Sunday, two babies, a toddler and a woman were found dead on the Texas side, overcome by the sweltering heat.

Trump said he is “very concerned” about conditions at the border but claimed without evidence that things are “much better than they were under President Obama, by far” and in “much better shape than it ever was” — an assertion immigration activists said is simply not true.

“We did not have the kind of overcrowded conditions for unaccompanied kids in Border Patrol holding cells like we saw in Clint,” said Michael Bochenek, a lawyer from Human Rights Watch.

Previously CBP’s chief operating officer, Sanders was named acting commissioner in April after the agency’s previous leader, Kevin McAleenan, became acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Other key DHS agencies also have interim or acting directors, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Morgan, who also served as chief of the Border Patrol, a subsidiary of CBP, under President Barack Obama, is now expected to be replaced as ICE’s acting leader by Matthew Albence. Albence served as acting director earlier this year after the departure of another former leader, Ronald Vitiello.

ICE on Saturday delayed an operation to sweep U.S. cities and arrest hundreds of people accused of flouting orders to leave the country, days after Trump tweeted about the upcoming crackdown. Former ICE acting director Thomas Homan, a Trump administration ally, then went on television to accuse McAleenan of leaking information about the operation because he opposed it.

CBP is the agency that apprehends and first detains migrant parents and children crossing the Mexican border.

CBP’s facilities at the border were almost all built when most people crossing into the U.S. illegally were single adults. Now, the agency is apprehending tens of thousands of parents and children weekly. It recorded 84,500 apprehensions of adults and children traveling together in May.

In the wake of Sanders’ resignation, Democratic Rep. Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, lashed out at the administration’s immigration policies and “bad actors in the White House.”

“There is simply no excuse for the horrific conditions children and families are being held in at the border,” he said.

Jennifer Quigley, director of refugee advocacy for Human Rights First, called on Congress to hold hearings on the youngsters’ treatment.

“Trump administration officials need to be held accountable for the disgraceful response to the situation at the border,” she said in a statement. “This is only the tip of the iceberg. We need a full accounting of how children came to be caged in filthy and unsafe conditions.”

Crimes and Courts

Florida Gaming Control Commission Seizes 163 Illegal Slot Machines, $247K in St. Petersburg

Published

1 month ago

September 15, 2026

FNN NEWS

State gaming agents and partner law enforcement agencies targeted two St. Petersburg businesses, seizing more than $247,000 in cash and issuing notices to appear to three people.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (FNN) — The Florida Gaming Control Commission seized 163 alleged illegal slot machines and $247,285 in cash during searches of two St. Petersburg businesses as part of an enforcement action dubbed “Operation Final Spin,” according to the agency.

The Sept. 10 operation was conducted with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Highway Patrol and Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, according to an FGCC news release.

The searches targeted Action Arcade, 6541 54th Ave. N., and The Zoo Sports Club and Grille, 5111 66th St. N.

FGCC is responsible for regulating authorized gambling and enforcing Florida’s criminal gambling prohibitions. Its stated enforcement priorities include investigating illegal arcades, slot-machine businesses and the distribution of illegal gambling devices.

163 Machines Seized at Two Locations

According to FGCC, agents seized 90 machines and $142,020 from Action Arcade.

Two people were issued notices to appear, with each accused of one count of possession of slot machines and one count of keeping a gambling house, the agency said.

At The Zoo Sports Club and Grille, agents seized another 73 machines and $105,265, according to FGCC. One person was issued a notice to appear on allegations of possession of slot machines and acting as an agent or employee of a gambling house.

The allegations are charges, and the individuals are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

State Rep. Berny Jacques Joins Enforcement Action

Florida Gaming Control Commission Vice Chair Tina Repp and state Rep. Berny Jacques participated in the enforcement action, according to the commission.

“These machines are designed to take advantage of people, and far too often that means senior citizens living on fixed incomes who can least afford to lose what they have,” Jacques said in the agency’s release.

Jacques thanked FGCC and participating law enforcement agencies and said the operation was intended to protect vulnerable residents.

Repp said the operation was part of a broader statewide enforcement effort.

“Operation Final Spin and the more than 200 illegal arcades we have shut down before this should make it clear that our goal is to disrupt and dismantle illegal gaming across the state of Florida,” Repp said.

The claim that more than 200 illegal arcades have previously been shut down is attributed to Repp and FGCC.

🎰Operation Final Spin: Two locations. 163 illegal slot machines. $247,285 in U.S. currency seized.
The Florida Gaming Control Commission executed search warrants in two locations in St. Petersburg as part of the operation with the participation of FGCC Vice Chair Tina Repp and… pic.twitter.com/IgNOYNv2gn
— Florida Gaming Control Commission (@FLGamingControl) September 15, 2026

Where Slot Machines Are Legal in Florida

Florida tightly restricts where slot machines can legally operate. FGCC says slot-machine gaming is authorized at eight licensed pari-mutuel facilities in Miami-Dade and Broward counties and at certain tribal gaming facilities. The agency says offering slot-machine gaming at an unlicensed establishment, including bars, restaurants and adult arcades, violates state law.

FGCC also warns that illegal gambling businesses operate outside regulatory safeguards governing licensed slot machines, including requirements related to game integrity and minimum payout percentages.

Florida’s gambling laws and regulations are primarily contained in Chapters 550, 551 and 849 of the Florida Statutes.

Reporting Suspected Illegal Gambling

People who suspect illegal gambling activity can submit information through the Florida Gaming Control Commission’s reporting system or call 850-880-3433.

Additional information about authorized gambling locations is available through the FGCC Gaming Locations directory.

Crimes and Courts

DOJ: Man Charged With Laundering Conspiracy in $1.3 Billion Medicare, Health Insurance Fraud Scheme

Published

1 month ago

September 8, 2026

FNN NEWS

Federal prosecutors allege Erekle Gugava helped move proceeds from a transnational fraud operation that used stolen identities and submitted at least $1.3 billion in fraudulent medical-equipment claims to Medicare and private insurers.

BOSTON (FNN) — A federal grand jury in Massachusetts has indicted a 33-year-old Georgian national on a money laundering conspiracy charge stemming from an alleged $1.3 billion health care fraud operation, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Federal prosecutors allege Erekle Gugava served as a money launderer for a transnational criminal organization accused of orchestrating a multibillion-dollar scheme targeting Medicare and other health insurers.

The Justice Department announced the indictment Friday, Sept. 4.

According to DOJ, the organization, which prosecutors said was based in Russia and elsewhere, was previously identified through Operation Gold Rush, part of what the department has described as the largest health care fraud case it has prosecuted.

DOJ: $1.3 Billion in Allegedly Fraudulent Claims

According to charging documents cited by DOJ, Gugava purportedly owned ND Medical Solutions LLC, a Pennsylvania durable medical equipment company, from February through July 2025.

During that five-month period, prosecutors allege ND Medical submitted at least $1.3 billion in fraudulent durable medical equipment claims to Medicare, private insurers providing Medicare supplemental coverage, employer-sponsored health plans and other insurers.

Those insurers paid ND Medical approximately $6.5 million, according to the Justice Department.

The distinction between the $1.3 billion and $6.5 million figures is significant: DOJ alleges $1.3 billion was billed, while approximately $6.5 million was actually paid to the company.

Prosecutors Allege Money Was Transferred Overseas

Federal prosecutors allege Gugava facilitated the deposit and transfer of proceeds generated by the scheme.

According to DOJ, Gugava opened several bank accounts in ND Medical’s name and was the sole signatory. Checks from Medicare supplemental insurers and other health insurers were allegedly deposited into those accounts.

Prosecutors allege the money was ultimately transferred to overseas bank accounts for the benefit of the transnational organization.

“Fraud networks cannot function without people willing to launder and transmit their proceeds,” Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division said in the department’s announcement.

McDonald said prosecutors allege Gugava helped move fraud proceeds through domestic and international financial channels.

DOJ: Stolen Identities Used to Support Claims

The alleged scheme also involved stolen identities, according to federal prosecutors.

DOJ said the fraudulent claims relied in part on identities belonging to people in Massachusetts, elsewhere in New England and across the United States.

Some were elderly or disabled Americans who reported receiving insurance explanation-of-benefits forms showing medical equipment they said they never received, according to the Justice Department.

Prosecutors said some records also identified doctors the beneficiaries said they had never visited and listed equipment as coming from ND Medical, a company with which they said they were unfamiliar.

Operation Gold Rush

DOJ said Gugava’s case is connected to Operation Gold Rush, an investigation targeting a transnational organization accused of exploiting Medicare and other insurers.

According to the Justice Department, the organization allegedly used payments originating from legitimate government programs and established insurance companies to facilitate money laundering. Because the payments came from legitimate insurers, prosecutors contend the proceeds initially appeared legitimate.

The department previously identified Operation Gold Rush as part of its broader national effort targeting health care fraud.

Six Federal Agencies Investigating

The investigation involves multiple federal law enforcement and oversight agencies, including:

Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General
FBI
U.S. Postal Inspection Service
IRS Criminal Investigation
Homeland Security Investigations
Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration

Prosecutors from DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division’s Health Care Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts are handling the case.

Defendant Faces Up to 20 Years if Convicted

Gugava is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

If convicted, he faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, according to DOJ. A maximum statutory penalty does not indicate what sentence would ultimately be imposed if a defendant is convicted.

The Justice Department also described Gugava in its announcement as an “illegal alien from Georgia.” That description reflects DOJ’s characterization of his immigration status in its Sept. 4 press release.

DOJ Expands Federal Fraud Enforcement

The Justice Department said the prosecution is part of its broader federal campaign against fraud involving government benefit programs.

According to DOJ, its Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program has charged more than 6,200 defendants since 2007 in cases involving more than $45 billion in alleged billings to federal health care programs and private insurers.

The department also announced the creation of its National Fraud Enforcement Division earlier this year to coordinate investigations and prosecutions involving fraud against federal programs and the public.

Indictment Contains Allegations

An indictment is a formal accusation and does not establish guilt.

Gugava is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Crimes and Courts

DOJ Charges Five in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Wisconsin in Alleged Illegal Voting, Voter Registration Cases

Published

1 month ago

September 8, 2026

FNN NEWS

WASHINGTON (FNN) — Five people in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Wisconsin face federal charges in separate cases involving alleged illegal voting, false claims of U.S. citizenship or fraudulent voter registration connected to the 2022 or 2024 elections, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Justice Department announced the charges Friday, Sept. 4, saying the defendants include four non-U.S. citizens accused of illegally voting and one U.S. citizen accused of aiding and abetting election-related offenses.

The cases were brought in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, District of New Jersey and Western District of Wisconsin.

DOJ: Election Fraud Will Be Prosecuted

Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the DOJ announcement that election integrity is fundamental to American democracy and emphasized that voting in federal elections is limited to eligible U.S. citizens.

“Election fraud is a serious crime, and it is the duty of the Department of Justice to treat it as such,” Blanche said.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau considers election integrity a priority and would investigate credible allegations of election fraud and illegal voting.

Federal officials also emphasized that the charges are allegations and have not resulted in findings of guilt.

Pennsylvania: Three People Charged

According to the Justice Department, Thomas Holtzman, 68, and his wife, Marisol Guzman, 50, both of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, were indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with allegations that Guzman illegally voted as a non-U.S. citizen in the 2024 election.

DOJ said Guzman was charged with voting as an alien.

Holtzman, a U.S. citizen, was charged with making a false statement of citizenship in order to vote and aiding and abetting, as well as fraudulent registration and aiding and abetting, according to federal prosecutors.

In a separate Pennsylvania case, Katya Rodriguez, 30, a Mexican national living in Harrisburg, was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to alleged illegal voting in the 2024 election.

According to DOJ, Rodriguez was charged with making a false statement of citizenship in order to vote, fraudulent registration and voting as an alien.

If convicted, Holtzman faces a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison, Guzman up to one year and Rodriguez up to 11 years, according to the Justice Department. Any sentence would be determined by a federal judge based on applicable law and federal sentencing guidelines.

Homeland Security Investigations investigated the Pennsylvania cases, DOJ said.

New Jersey: Federal Complaint Alleges Noncitizen Voted in 2024 Primary

In New Jersey, Mercedes Alexandra Cardoso of Union County was charged with voting by an alien in a federal election, according to the Justice Department.

The federal complaint alleges Cardoso was not a U.S. citizen when she registered through the New Jersey Division of Elections’ Online Voter Registration System.

According to prosecutors, Cardoso falsely certified on her voter registration application that she was a U.S. citizen.

DOJ said Cardoso allegedly cast a ballot in the June 2024 primary election, which included candidates seeking federal office.

Federal prosecutors said Cardoso entered the United States from Ecuador on a B-2 visa and was not a U.S. citizen when she allegedly voted.

If convicted, Cardoso faces a statutory maximum of one year in prison. Her initial court appearance was scheduled for Sept. 8, according to DOJ.

The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services investigated the case.

Wisconsin: 2022 Election Vote Leads to Federal Charge

In Wisconsin, Jesus Javier Jurado Garcia, 25, a Mexican national living in Beloit, was charged Sept. 2 with illegally voting as an alien in the November 2022 election, according to the Justice Department.

A federal criminal information alleges Jurado Garcia knew he was not a U.S. citizen when he voted on Nov. 8, 2022, in an election that included races for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

If convicted, Jurado Garcia faces a statutory maximum sentence of one year in prison, DOJ said.

Federal Officials Emphasize Election-Law Enforcement

U.S. attorneys in all three jurisdictions used the announcement to emphasize federal enforcement of election laws.

U.S. Attorney Brian Miller for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said his office would prosecute people accused of illegally voting in federal elections as well as those accused of facilitating illegal voting.

U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer for the District of New Jersey said the federal government has a responsibility to safeguard elections and investigate alleged violations of federal election law.

U.S. Attorney Chadwick M. Elgersma for the Western District of Wisconsin similarly said his office is committed to enforcing federal election laws.

Homeland Security Investigations also said its agents worked with federal partners to investigate the alleged conduct and support the prosecutions.

Charges Remain Allegations

The cases are at the charging stage.

A criminal complaint, indictment or information contains allegations and does not establish that a defendant committed a crime. All five defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.