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Waterbury’s Teenagers Tyssan ‘Tigger’ Woods, Eduardo Cruz Charged with Stealing 21 Guns from Salem Store, Gun Trafficking, Carjacking

By
Deborah Ojuade
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0

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division, announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven has returned an indictment charging Tyssan Woods, also known as ‘Tigger’, 18, and Eduardo Cruz, 18, both of Waterbury, with offences related to the theft of firearms from a licensed gun dealer in Salem, the trafficking of stolen firearms, and two armed carjackings.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, on March 15, 2024, Woods, Cruz, and others stole 21 firearms from Statewide Pawn Shop, a federal firearms licensee in Salem. Cruz trafficked some of the firearms before he was arrested on March 18, 2024. 

After the burglary, Woods, using a firearm, and another individual committed two carjackings. Woods was arrested on March 28, 2024.

To date, eight of the stolen firearms have been recovered by law enforcement.

The indictment, which was returned on June 25, 2024, charges Woods and Cruz with theft of firearms from a licensee, an offence that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years. Cruz has two counts of firearms trafficking, an offence that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years on each count.

Woods with two counts of carjacking, an offence that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years on each count, and Woods with using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, an offence that carries a mandatory term of imprisonment of seven years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life.

Woods and Cruz have been detained since their arrests. They each appeared in Hartford federal court and entered pleas of not guilty.

U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. 

Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.          

Carlos Watson, Founder, Former CEO of Ozy Media Inc., Convicted of Multimillion-dollar Fraud Scheme

By
Samuel Nwite
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0

Carlos Watson, the founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Ozy Media Inc. (Ozy), was convicted Tuesday by a federal jury in Brooklyn of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with a years-long scheme to defraud investors in and lenders to Ozy of tens of millions of dollars. 

Ozy was also convicted on both counts of the indictment. 

The verdict followed eight weeks of trial before United States District Judge Eric R. Komitee.  When sentenced, Watson faces a minimum sentence of two years and a maximum sentence of 37 years.  The company also faces financial penalties. Watson was remanded pending sentencing.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Christie M. Curtis, Acting Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the verdict.

“The jury found that Watson was a con man who told lie upon lie upon lie to deceive investors into buying stock in his company. Watson invented phoney financial figures and caused others to forge fake contracts and impersonate a media executive,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Ozy Media ultimately collapsed under the weight of Watson’s dishonest schemes, and with today’s verdict, Watson himself has been held accountable for his brazen crimes.”

“The conviction of Carlos Watson underscores the profound damage caused by corporate fraud schemes. Watson’s deceitful actions in defrauding investors of their funds and an attempt to defraud a financial institution of tens of millions of dollars illustrated the vulnerability of investors to false information,” stated FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Curtis.

Ozy was a media and entertainment company with businesses that included digital newsletters, television production, podcasts and live events, the most prominent of which was a live festival known as “Ozy Fest.” Watson founded Ozy in 2012 and served as the company’s Chief Executive Officer.  The company is now defunct.

As proven at trial, between 2018 and 2021, Watson and his co-conspirators, including then-Chief Operating Officer Samir Rao and then-Chief of Staff Suzee Han, orchestrated a scheme to defraud investors out of tens of millions of dollars through fraudulent misrepresentations and omissions about Ozy’s financial performance, including revenue, cash on hand and profit, ongoing business relationships with celebrities, acquisition prospects from high- profile technology and media corporations, contract negotiations and other corporate metrics. 

For example, Watson and his co-conspirators lied to prospective investors about who else might be investing in Ozy, the existence and size of acquisition offers received by Ozy, the existence and timing of “Series C” and “Series D” financing rounds by Ozy, and the existence and terms of Ozy’s business contracts — going so far as to direct Ozy employees to create fake contracts with forged signatures to provide in due diligence. 

On multiple occasions, when faced with questions from lenders or potential investors, Watson and his co-conspirators assumed the identities of and impersonated actual media company executives to cover up their prior fraudulent misrepresentations.                

In December 2019, Watson and his co-conspirators attempted to induce a bank to lend Ozy money based on misrepresentations and omissions about Ozy’s business. Watson and his co-conspirators sought to secure the loan with anticipated revenues from a second season of an Ozy television show. However, the contract between Ozy and the show’s cable network for the show’s second season was still being negotiated. To induce the bank to make the loan sooner, Watson directed Ozy’s then-chief financial officer, Tripti Thakur, to send the bank a fake signed contract between Ozy and the cable network purporting to be for the second season. 

When Thakur refused, with Watson’s approval, Rao sent the fake contract to the bank, copying the then-CFO.  Later that day, Thakur emailed Watson and Rao to say that she was resigning effective immediately. 

She explained, “This. . . is illegal.  This is fraud. This is forging someone’s signature with the intent of getting an advance from a publicly traded bank.” She continued, “To be crystal clear, what you see as a measured risk — I see as a felony.”

In subsequent months, Watson and his co-conspirators continued to attempt to induce the bank to lend Ozy several million dollars based on misrepresentations and omissions, including regarding the expected revenue from the second season of the Ozy television show.  

During these discussions, the bank requested to speak to a representative of the cable network. To conceal the lies about Ozy’s relationship with the cable network and the status and terms of their agreement, Rao, with Watson’s approval, created a fake email address in the name of an actual executive of the cable network, which Rao used to impersonate the executive and communicate with the bank about the potential loan.

From approximately November 2020 through February 2021, Watson and his co-conspirators attempted to induce Goldman Sachs to invest up to $45 million in Ozy by means of material misrepresentations and omissions regarding Ozy’s historical and projected financial results, debts, and business relationships.  Had the full $45 million investment occurred as intended, $6 million of the $45 million would have been paid to Watson personally. 

As part of its due diligence process, Goldman Sachs executives asked Watson and Rao to arrange a meeting with someone from YouTube. Watson and his co-conspirators claimed the online video service had paid Ozy nearly $6 million in licensing revenue for ‘The Carlos Watson Show’. This was another misrepresentation — Ozy was never paid by YouTube for Ozy content. 

Because Ozy did not, in fact, have any business relationship with YouTube, Watson and Rao agreed that Rao would impersonate a media executive at YouTube in communications with Goldman Sachs.  On January 28, 2021, with Watson’s agreement, Rao created a fake email address in the name of the media executive, which he used to correspond with representatives of Goldman Sachs.

On February 2, 2021, Rao had a phone call with employees of Goldman Sachs, during which he impersonated a media executive from YouTube using a voice alteration application that he downloaded onto his cellular telephone to mask his voice during the call. During the call, Watson was in the same room as Rao and texted Rao instructions about what to say and what not to say on the call.

Shortly after the call, one of the employees of the financial institution contacted the actual media executive of YouTube, who confirmed that he had not been on the call and that the online video service had no role in the production of The Carlos Watson Show. When members of Goldman Sachs later spoke with Watson, he falsely claimed that Rao had acted alone and as a result of a mental breakdown.

Rao and Han previously pleaded guilty to charges relating to their roles in the scheme and are awaiting sentencing.

University of Maryland, College Park Fined $500,000 for Failing to Disclose Foreign Research Support in Federal Grant Proposals

By
Deborah Ojuade
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0

The University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) has agreed to pay $500,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by failing to disclose current and pending support from foreign sources for faculty members who were principal investigators (PI) or co-PIs of federal research grant proposals.

The settlement relates to research grant support UMD received from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of the Army between 2015 and 2020. These agencies require grant applicants to disclose all current and pending support received by the institution, its PIs, and co-PIs. 

Current and pending support is defined as all resources from whatever source — including foreign government sources — made available to researchers in support of and related to their research endeavours.

The agencies rely on the accuracy of these disclosures to avoid funding duplicative research projects and ensure their highly competitive grants are awarded only to PIs who demonstrate they have the time and ability to perform the planned work. Non-disclosure of required information can result in missed opportunities for other applicants to receive funding for their own research.

This investigation began as a proactive initiative spearheaded by the NSF Office of Inspector General (OIG) to determine if foreign gifts and contracts subject to Section 117 of the Department of Education’s Higher Education Act of 1965 were also being disclosed in federal grant proposals, as required.

The United States alleged that UMD knowingly failed to disclose current and pending foreign funding that three UMD researchers had sought and received in five research grant proposals submitted to the NSF and Army. Specifically, the United States alleged UMD failed to disclose to NSF gift funding from Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. to a PI for research in “high energy density FeF3 conversion cathode materials and Li metal anodes.”

Additionally, the United States alleged UMD failed to disclose to the NSF and Army grant funding to two other PIs from Taobao (China) Software Co., Ltd. (Alibaba), titled ‘Large-Scale Behaviour Learning for Dense Crowds” and “Cyber-Manufacturing of Customised Apparel’.

“Complete and accurate disclosures are essential to federal agencies that make decisions on awarding federal grants,” said Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland. “Those individuals and universities that knowingly fail to do so skew the grant awarding process in their favour and will be held accountable.”

“NSF plays a major role in the U.S. research enterprise, providing about 25% of all Federal support to America’s colleges and universities for basic research. Lack of institutional oversight of individuals receiving Federal funds poses a serious risk to the success of that enterprise,” said NSF Inspector General Allison Lerner.

Convicted Newington Landscape Contractor Anthony Niro Fined $1.75m for Tax Evasion

By
Samuel Nwite
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0

Anthony Niro, 61, of Newington, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in Hartford to three years of probation and ordered to pay a fine of $1.75 million for tax evasion. When imposing the sentence, Judge Williams noted Niro’s medical condition and family circumstances.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Anthony Niro was a co-owner of A. Niro Landscape Contractors, Inc., a business that provided landscaping and snowplowing services for large commercial properties and personal residences. 

Nanette Niro, who is married to Anthony Niro, was the bookkeeper for ANLC and maintained ANLC’s financial records. 

For the 2006 through 2010 tax years, Anthony Niro, his business partner, and Nanette Niro conspired to evade both corporate and individual income tax by causing a large portion of ANLC’s receipts to be deposited into two non-interest-bearing checking accounts and transferring money out of the accounts to themselves for their benefit. 

Anthony Niro, his business partner, and Nanette Niro failed to provide information about these non-interest-bearing accounts to the tax return preparer who prepared ANLC’s federal income tax returns.  In their 2006 through 2009 personal tax returns, the Niros failed to reflect monies received from ANLC and other sources accurately. 

A 2010 tax return was not filed.

For the 2006 through 2010 tax years, Anthony and Nanette Niro failed to report to the IRS more than $7.8 million in income, resulting in a tax loss to the IRS of $1,451,725. For example, on their 2009 federal individual tax return, Anthony and Nanette Niro reported a taxable income of $131,895 when their correct taxable income for that year was $1,891,955.

Anthony Niro has paid restitution of $1,472,735 to the IRS and has forfeited an additional $127,300.  He is still required to pay substantial interest and penalties to the IRS.

On January 4, 2024, Anthony Niro pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion.  Nanette Niro pleaded guilty to the same charge on January 9, 2024, and awaits sentencing.

Charlotte’s Hasahn Riyardt Flowe Who Robbed Convenience Stores At Gunpoint Jailed 117 Months

By
TCS
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0

A Charlotte man who robbed a convenience store at gunpoint was sentenced to 117 months in prison today, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Hasahn Riyardt Flowe, 27, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his term of incarceration.

Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to court documents and today’s court proceedings, on January 22, 2023, at 6:17 p.m., Flowe entered the Sam’s Mart at 2630 Beatties Ford Road in Charlotte. Flowe had the lower part of his face concealed with a red bandana and was armed with a pistol. At the time, the only other person inside the store was a Sam’s Mart employee, identified in court documents as A.R. Upon entering the store, Flowe pointed the pistol at A.R. and demanded money from the register.

Court records show that Flowe told A.R. that he had just gotten out of prison and ordered her to shut up or he would shoot her. A.R. opened the register and began to remove the money. Flowe took the money and fled the scene.

According to court records, on February 8, 2023, at 6:29 p.m., Flowe entered the 7-Eleven located at 4255 Statesville Road in Charlotte. Flowe had the lower part of his face concealed with the same red bandana and was armed with the same pistol as the previous robbery. The only other person present was a 7-Eleven employee, identified as T.R. Flowe, who displayed his pistol and demanded money from T.R. T.R., seeing the pistol, ran to the rear of the store and exited out of a back door.

According to court documents and sentencing hearing, after the employee fled, Flowe ran behind the counter, found the drawer for the register, pulled it out, and dropped it on the floor. As that was happening, another customer walked into the store. Flowe raised his pistol and pointed it at the customer, who then backed out into the parking lot. Unable to enter the cash drawer, Flowe grabbed T.R.’s purse and fled the store.

Feb 8, 2023 Attempted Robbery

Photo #3 – Feb. 8, 2023 – Attempted armed robbery of 7-11 in Charlotte – The defendant is pointing a firearm at a customer who walked into the store.

During the investigation, court records show that law enforcement found photographs posted on Flowe’s public social media profile of him wearing the red bandana he wore during the robbery and attempted robbery and posing with the firearm Flowe used during both crimes.

Social Media Post

Photo #4 – The defendant posted photos on social media with the firearm he used in each crime.

Flowe was arrested on February 15, 2023. At the time of the arrest, law enforcement recovered the firearm Flowe had used to commit both crimes.

On October 19, 2023, Flowe pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and possession and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

Global Medical Services, Minnesota International Medicine CEO Khemwattie Singh, Chief Medical Officer Neeraj Chepuri Jailed for Multimillion-dollar Fraud

By
Bola Akinloye
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0

Two medical services company executives have been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution to their victims for orchestrating a massive fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, Khemwattie Singh, 53, was the chief executive officer of Global Medical Services, LLC and Minnesota International Medicine. Neeraj Chepuri, 55, was the chief medical officer of Global Medical Services. Global Medical Services was a Minnesota-based company that purported to provide accessible healthcare solutions and services worldwide.

Minnesota International Medicine was an assumed name for a Minnesota-based medical concierge company that Global Medical Services acquired in June 2018. 

Between June and October 2018, Singh, Chepuri, and others devised a fraud scheme by entering into factoring contracts with a Florida-based investment company to purchase the accounts receivable of Global Medical Services and Minnesota International Medicine for more than $2.6 million. Factoring is a form of short-term financing in which a business sells its accounts receivable to a third party at a discount.

According to court documents, Singh and Chepuri defrauded the investment company by failing to pay over the receivables as they were collected and falsely represented that no funds had been received. Instead, Singh and Chepuri pocketed the money and wired more than $5 million overseas.

In addition, Singh was responsible for complying with all federal tax laws pertaining to Global Medical Services, LLC and Minnesota International Medicine as the chief executive officer, including the requirement that the business would withhold federal income taxes and Social Security and Medicare (“FICA”) taxes from employees’ pay and report and pay over the withheld amounts to the Internal Revenue Service.

Beginning in approximately 2018, Singh willfully failed to file quarterly payroll tax returns or pay over the withheld amounts and the employer’s contribution to FICA. 

On December 29, 2023, Singh pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of willful failure to account for and pay over payroll taxes for withholding federal taxes from employee payroll.

She was sentenced in U.S. District Court by Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz to 27 months for the factoring fraud scheme and 12 months for the tax fraud, to be served concurrently. She was also ordered to pay $3,957,364.62 in restitution to her victims. 

Chepuri pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on December 29, 2023. He was sentenced by Chief Judge Schiltz to 21 months in prison, one year of supervised release, and ordered to pay full restitution in the amount of $3,265,363.14. 

Businessman Jose Biaou, FRB Capital Group LLC Owner, Nabbed for Multimillion-dollar Scam to Defraud Pandemic Relief Programmes

By
Samuel Nwite
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0

Jose “Joe” Biaou, 40, a local businessman and founder of FRB Capital Group LLC, was arrested Wednesday on charges he defrauded the Paycheck Protection (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) programmes, announced United States Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Inspector in Charge Damon E. Wood of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS).

The indictment, returned on July 16, 2024, was unsealed Wednesday, and Biaou made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court to face six counts of wire fraud and one count of theft of government property.

According to the multi-count indictment, Biaou applied for and received more than $3.5 million in PPP and EIDL loan proceeds on behalf of two businesses he controlled – FRB and Millenium Global Finance. Regarding his applications on behalf of FRB, a loan brokerage firm that connected real estate developers with lenders, Biaou consistently inflated the company’s number of employees, as well as their average monthly salaries and other financial information.

The indictment further alleges that Biaou then applied for forgiveness of one of the PPP loans, again submitting false information about how his business spent the funds during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the false applications submitted on behalf of FRB, Biaou allegedly submitted fabricated documentation supporting these applications, including fraudulent payroll reports, a fictitious birth certificate, and a forged lease, among other things. 

Concerning Millenium Global Finance, according to the indictment, Biaou applied for and received $1.25 million in PPP funds after representing that Global had 52 employees and an average monthly payroll of more than $520,000 throughout 2019.  In reality, Millenium Global was not even in operation at that time.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison for the charged offenses.

Ruby Corado, Founder of Casa Ruby, Convicted for Stealing COVID-19 Relief Funds

By
Bola Akinloye
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0

Ruby Corado, 53, the founder of Casa Ruby, Inc., a Washington D.C.-based non-profit that provided services to the LGBTQ+ community, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to diverting at least $150,000 in taxpayer-backed emergency COVID-19 relief funds to private off-shore bank accounts for her personal use.

The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the Washington Field Office, and District of Columbia Inspector General Daniel W. Lucas.

Corado was charged by complaint on March 1, 2024, with bank fraud, wire fraud, laundering of monetary instruments, monetary transactions in criminally derived proceeds, and failure to file a report of foreign bank account.

Corado pleaded guilty today to a one-count information charging her with wire fraud today before U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, who scheduled sentencing for January 10, 2025.

According to court documents, Corado, on behalf of Casa Ruby, received more than $1.3 million from the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. Instead of using the funds as she promised, Corado stole at least $150,000 by transferring the money to bank accounts in El Salvador, which she hid from the IRS.

During 2022, when financial irregularities at Casa Ruby became public, Corado sold her home in Prince Georges County and fled to El Salvador. FBI agents arrested Corado on March 5, 2024, at a hotel in Laurel, Maryland, after she unexpectedly returned to the United States.

Casa Ruby had claimed to provide housing services for homeless LGBTQ+ youth including transitional housing; to assist LGBTQ+ immigrants and connect them to attorneys; to provide social services such as case management and therapeutic mental health support for survivors of violence, and to assist with a wide array of services such as assisting with passport applications and certain visa applications.

The non-profit’s website stated that Casa Ruby employed over 50 people and provided more than 30,000 social and human services to more than 6,000 people each year. At various times, Casa Ruby operated multiple shelters in Washington, D.C., that provided transitional housing.

Casa Ruby effectively ceased operations in July 2022 when it shuttered its transitional housing, failed to pay its employees, and faced eviction from multiple properties for failure to pay rent.

Wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. Corado’s sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Investment Scam: FBI Moves to Recover Cryptocurrency Worth $2.5m for American Victims of Thailand-based Pig Butchering Scheme

By
Samuel Nwite
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0

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia filed a civil forfeiture action Tuesday to recover cryptocurrency seized by the FBI from perpetrators abroad.

The cryptocurrency consists of proceeds from crypto confidence schemes, commonly called “pig butchering,” targeting United States citizens through an investment scam.

Specifically, the government seeks to forfeit 2,546,415.01USDT Coin (USDT) seized from two accounts controlled by a perpetrator in Thailand. This cryptocurrency has a current estimated value of approximately $2,546,415.01.

U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office made the announcement.

“Our office will find and hold accountable criminal organizations – whether they operate within the United States or outside of if – that use fraudulent investment schemes like ‘pig butchering’ to defraud victims in the U.S.,” said U.S. Attorney Graves. “This forfeiture action demonstrates that scammers cannot hide their illegal activity by using cryptocurrency and engaging in complicated transactions: we will find them, seize their illegal proceeds, and get money back to the victims.”

“The rate at which bad actors are using elaborate pig-butchering scams to defraud innocent people is despicable,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Moy. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners continue to evolve investigative techniques to thwart the progression of this threat and use all available resources to ensure we disrupt and dismantle organizations responsible for contributing to these crimes.”

In a pig-butchering scheme, scammers obtain funds from victims using fraudulent and manipulative tactics. The scammer establishes a level of trust with a victim in online communications and then entices the victim into investing in a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme.

Often, the victim is enticed to make additional payments before realising they are a victim of fraud. The “butchering” or “slaughtering” of the victim occurs once the victim’s assets, or funds, are stolen by the criminal, or criminals, ultimately causing the victim financial and emotional harm.

Civil forfeiture allows the United States to seize assets from fugitives and perpetrators abroad. In this case and others, the Department of Justice uses asset forfeiture to punish and deter criminal activity by depriving criminals of property used in or acquired through illegal activities to promote and enhance cooperation among federal, state, local, tribal, and foreign law enforcement agencies; and to recover assets that may be used to compensate victims when authorized under federal law.

A civil forfeiture action allows third parties to assert property claims, which must be resolved before the property can be forfeited to the United States and returned to victims. The United States is committed to seizing assets from perpetrators at home and abroad, holding criminals accountable to the fullest extent of the law, and making victims whole.

Jaelind Fountaine, Sarah Gonzales, Cameron Phifer, Deryan Thomas, Bianka Vega, Sentenced to 762 Months for Sex Trafficking 17-year-old

By
TCS
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0

Five people involved in sex trafficking a 17-year-old girl have been sentenced to a combined 63 years and six months in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

They are Jaelind Fountaine, 27, who was sentenced today to 327 months in prison for sex trafficking and attempted sex trafficking of a minor and required to register as a sex offender; Sarah Gonzales, 26,  who was previously sentenced to 87 months for interstate transportation to engage in prostitution and required to register as a sex offender; and Cameron Phifer, 25, who was sentenced to 240 months for distribution and receipt of child pornography and required to register as a sex offender.

Others are Deryan Thomas, 33, who was sentenced to 87 months for interstate transportation to engage in prostitution and required to register as a sex offender, and Bianka Vega, 23, who was sentenced to 21 months for misprision (concealment) of a felony

“As a prosecutor and as a mother, my heart breaks for this teenager, who was passed from trafficker to trafficker like a piece of livestock, beaten and even branded by violent men looking to profit from her misery. No person, adult or child, should have to suffer like that,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will stop at nothing to recover these victims, and we tenaciously prosecute anyone involved in trafficking them.”

According to plea papers, the 17-year-old victim went missing from her apartment complex in Lubbock on November 28, 2022.

The investigation revealed that her neighbour and neighbour’s boyfriend, Bianka Vega and Deryan Thomas, took the child to Odessa to meet with known sex trafficker Cameron Phifer. The four of them then drove to Carlsbad, New Mexico, where they took sexually explicit photographs of the child and posted ads for her sexual services online.

At one point, Vega reminded Phifer that the victim was a minor and informed him that both her mother and law enforcement were looking for her. Phifer told Vega it was “too late to stop” and continued trafficking the child until abandoning her at a hotel in Carlsbad in early January.

On January 15, Sarah Gonzales approached the victim in the hotel lobby and later introduced her to Jaelind Fountaine, a known trafficker who went by the alias ‘Valentino’.

In an interview with law enforcement, the child said Fountaine arranged for meetings with clients, taught her how to engage in the sex trade, and took all the money she made – approximately $10,000.  She said she believed she would receive some of that money, but she never did in the end.

The child told investigators that Fountaine physically assaulted her on multiple occasions, threatened to hurt her if she left him, and forced her to “brand” herself with a “V” tattoo to indicate his ownership of her.  Law enforcement found photos of the tattoo on Fountaine’s phone. 

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