Texas Border Business

HOUSTON – The Southern District of Texas marked major milestones in the pursuit of justice and fulfilled its duties with substantial results in safeguarding the district with important actions in the recent year, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

The highlighted matters include major announcements throughout the district, Houston/Galveston cases as well as significant actions from other divisions, to include Corpus Christi/Victoria, McAllen, Laredo and Brownsville.

Most notably was the implementation of “Operation Pick-Off,” an initiative created in the Southern District of Texas that targets criminal illegal aliens who are currently terms of probation following convictions for state crimes, such as drug offenses, human smuggling, fraud, burglary, assault and other violent crimes. The enforcement effort, originally announced Aug. 25, 2025, led to federal charges against 67 illegal aliens in the Rio Grande Valley area, 65 of whom had returned to the country after being previously removed, only to commit other crimes, according to the allegations. In a subsequent roundup in Laredo, law enforcement took another 28 into custody, including a convicted murderer. More actions are in place for the remaining counties within the district.

In a case out of the Houston Division, Operation Gatekeeper uncovered a scheme in which Alan Hao Hsu and Benlin Yuan allegedly conspired together to obtain export-controlled Nvidia GPUs through straw purchasers and falsely claimed the goods were destined for approved locations. The GPUs were routed through U.S. warehouses, relabeled under a fake company name and misclassified as generic computer parts before being shipped to the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong, according to the charges.

Prosecutors also announced charges against 14 Banditos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang members for racketeering activity, assault and murder. According to the indictment, members and associates engaged in a conspiracy to commit racketeering activity and carried out violent crimes, including murder and attempted murder, as part of a turf war with rival gang BEAST that began in 2019. The indictment alleges Bandidos leadership authorized a “smash on site” order targeting BEAST members, resulting in gunfire on public roadways and in public establishments with civilians present.

As part of Operation Double Down, numerous Houston-area residents were indicted on various charges including conspiracy, operating illegal game rooms, bribery and money laundering. Approximately 700 law enforcement officers from 18 agencies served a total of 45 search and 40 seizure warrants at locations throughout Houston and the surrounding area and closed 30 illegal gaming rooms. 

Also in 2025, a 33-year-old Chinese state-sponsored hacker was taken into custody for his alleged involvement in U.S. computer intrusions, including the reckless and indiscriminate HAFNIUM campaign that compromised thousands of computers worldwide. According to court documents, in early 2020, Xu Zewei and his co-conspirators targeted U.S.-based universities and researchers conducting COVID-19 vaccine, treatment and testing research and reported their activities to officers in China’s Ministry of State Security, who directed the hacking operations.  

In a major case out of Laredo, the extradition of three Guatemalan nationals were part of a national announcement for their charges stemming from a 2021 mass casualty event in Chiapas, Mexico. The crash allegedly involved a tractor-trailer packed with at least 160 illegal aliens – many of them Guatemalan – that killed more than 50 people, including unaccompanied children, and injured over 100 more. The three smugglers – Tomas Quino Canil, Oswaldo Manuel Zavala Quino and Josefa Quino Canil De Zavala – were arrested in Guatemala last December and made their appearances in Laredo Sept. 4, 2025.

A six-count second superseding indictment was also unsealed in Houston, charging four Venezuelan nationals for providing material support to foreign terrorist organization, Tren de Aragua, as well as international drug trafficking. According to court records, Yohan Jose Romero and Juan Gabriel Rivans Nunez are two of the topmost leaders of TdA involved in the illegal mining of gold in Venezuela. Giovanni Vicente Mosquera and Jose Enrique Martinez Flores are TdA leaders allegedly involved in international drug trafficking.

In another Houston case, charges allege Venezuelan national Juan Carlos Cairo-Padron and Thomas Michael Fortinberry conspired for years to sell chemical catalysts, industrial equipment and associated services to Venezuelan state-owned steel mills and petrochemical companies that are subject to U.S. sanctions. According to the charges, the scheme involved U.S. and overseas front companies, foreign bank accounts and falsified shipping documents to conceal the fact that goods and services were destined for sanctioned entities.  

Notable sentencings out of the Houston Division included Fredrick Douglas Shelton who received 27 years after he was linked to three fentanyl overdose deaths. At the hearing, the court commented on the disturbing fact that after the deaths, Shelton continued to sell fentanyl with a verbal warning to customers that the drugs were strong.  

Mexican national Eustorgio Quiroz-Salto was ordered to serve 240 months for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute bulk methamphetamine. He arranged to deliver over 20 kilograms in the parking lot of a church. A subsequent search of his residence resulted in the seizure of an additional 93.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, 12 firearms, a silencer, 351 rounds of live ammunition and multiple firearm parts.

In other Houston cases, two local men received major sentences for child exploitation crimes. Manvel resident Brian Jones received 840 months after uploading more than 1,000 child pornography files and had over 11,000 images and more than 850 videos. They depicted children engaged in sexually explicit conduct which included sadistic and masochistic conduct. During sentencing, the court heard additional evidence regarding how he convinced a woman to send videos of her sexually abusing her own children. Also sentenced was 28-year-old Vermont man Daniel Lee Hicks, who received 300 months for the production of child pornography and coercion of enticement of a child. Hicks began communicating with the 14-year-old minor victim, during which he sent demeaning and threatening messages to coerce the minor to create and send videos and images depicting sexually explicit conduct.

A 25-year-old Houston resident was sentenced to 60 years for robbing five fast-food and convenience store locations. At trial, the jury heard Carl Pickens carried out a series of armed robberies at McDonald’s locations while wearing a red Nike sweatshirt or black hooded jacket, brandishing a pistol and threatening victims as he demanded money from the safe. He then fled through the back door and fled in a stolen black Chevrolet Tahoe, which needed scissors to start.

Another notable sentencing involved a 39-year-old Mexican national with a felony criminal history. Luis Adrian Torres-Tamayoreceived 105 months in federal prison for illegally reentering the country after removal. He has prior convictions for possession of a controlled substance and in 2022, Torres-Tamayo assaulted two members of law enforcement during a domestic violence dispute. He seized their taser guns and attacked them with his fists.

Other pending Houston division cases include seven Houston residents who were charged for their roles in a $110 million hospice fraud and kickback scheme. According to a superseding indictment, Dera Ogudo and Victoria Martinez operated United Palliative & Hospice Company. The indictment alleges the company falsely enrolled elderly Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in hospice care and misrepresented the services provided. They also allegedly paid kickbacks to group home operators and a physician to improperly certify patients as terminally ill.

Another notable case involves a nationwide business email compromise scheme for which seven people have been indicted. The investigation began when an individual used a synthetic identity to open a bank account that received $3 million in fraudulent payments from a Catholic church in Indiana, according to the charges. Law enforcement has allegedly identified over 80 victims, including public entities, insurance companies, law firms, schools, real estate companies and churches. More than 50 people have been indicted nationwide, including nine in the Southern District, with the group allegedly responsible for more than $100 million in fraud routed through Australian banks.

A 40-year-old Nigerian citizen who illegally resided in Houston has pleaded guilty for his role in a business email compromise conspiracy and nationwide romance scam. From 2018 through 2023, Leslie Chinedu Mba and others accessed business email accounts, redirected payments to fraudulent accounts and moved the proceeds as money mules. Mba also attempted to obtain U.S. permanent residency through fraudulent marriages after being ordered removed.

A podiatrist and the self-proclaimed CEO of a local medical clinic were also charged in a $90 million Medicare fraud scheme in a 15-count superseding indictment. The charges allege David Jenson and Nestor Rafael Romero Magallanes conspired to bill Medicare for skin substitute products for patients who did not have qualifying wounds or any wounds at all. The charges allege they falsified medical records to make it appear patients had chronic wounds and continued billing even after a 2023 audit denied the claims and flagged the conduct as improper.

In Galveston, eight high-level Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, gang members pleaded guilty to racketeering activity, murder and other violent crimes and are facing prison terms of 35-50 years. MS-13 members committed multiple murders, extortion, drug trafficking, robbery and obstruction of justice in and around the Houston area. They committed the murders to maintain or elevate their status, targeting suspected rivals with law enforcement or opposing the gang. They killed the victims using machetes, baseball bats and strangulation, then sent photos of the bodies to senior MS-13 leaders in El Salvador.

From the Corpus Christi Division, Honduran national Marvin Reyes received 108 months in federal prison. He was the leader of an alien smuggling organization responsible for transporting hundreds of illegal aliens from the border further into the United States. Reyes and others coordinated the movement of illegal aliens through the Border Patrol checkpoints near Sarita and Falfurrias as well as by airplane. He also arranged private flights for illegal aliens from Weslaco to Houston.

Valentine Cancino received 324 months for production of child sexual abuse material, otherwise known as sexual exploitation of a child. The investigation began when authorities received multiple cyber-tips indicating CSAM had been uploaded onto the internet. A search warrant led to the seizure of two electronic devices. Upon inspection, law enforcement discovered a video recording Cancino made of himself engaging in sexual activity with a minor relative.

Also of note was the sentencing of Robstown resident Guadalupe Calderon III for pointing a gun at a law enforcement officer. During a traffic stop on Calderon’s truck, he pointed a Ruger pistol at the officer’s face and pulled the trigger. When the firearm misfired, he fled the scene in his truck. After locating him riding in another vehicle, authorities discovered the firearm in the backseat along with over 30 rounds of ammunition and a high-capacity drum magazine.

In McAllen, a 35-year-old Mexican citizen who illegally resided in Palmview received a life sentence for producing CSAM of a family member and coercing the production of the material using various chat platforms. At the hearing, the court heard that Jesus Adrian Barraza-Vega’s ongoing abuse of a minor family member continued until just days before his encounter with law enforcement.

Also of note was the sentencing of three members of the Pasia gang for assaulting two federal corrections officers at the East Hidalgo Detention Center. The inmates, who were already in custody pending federal immigration charges, outnumbered the officers and repeatedly punched and kicked them. They were housed in a gang-designated unit within the facility. One inmate wielded a sock with a bar of soap as a weapon during the assault. One correctional officer sustained injuries that resulted in multiple staples in his forehead.

Laredo’s Operation Noreste Parte Dos resulted in the convictions of six individuals for their roles in an alien-smuggling conspiracy that led to the death of a Guatemalan man in July 2024. Each person filled key roles in the operation, including transportation coordinator, driver, scout, vehicle purchaser, stash-house operator and Mexico-based logistics coordinators.

A father and son were also charged in the division with trafficking over 500 weapons along with ammunition and magazines. Emilio Ramirez Cortes and Edgar Emilio Ramirez Diaz were smuggling the weapons and related items in exchange for payment and had done so on multiple occasions. Authorities had found false walls in both trailers which resulted in the discovery of approximately 534 firearms, 31,482 rounds of ammunition, 525 magazines, 40 scopes, four lasers, 10 rifle slings and other related items. They have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

In another Laredo case, Jesus Covarrubias, a convicted felon and Hermanos de Pistoleros gang member, orchestrated a long-running straw purchasing scheme that supplied over 50 firearms, including high-powered rifles, to a Mexican cartel. Covarrubias falsely reported the weapons stolen and later fled to Mexico after killing a man in a Laredo bar while out on bond. He was returned to the United States and received 120 months in federal prison.  

In Brownsville, an armed repeat illegal alien was sentenced to 60 months for his part in a human smuggling event. Alejandro Ramirez-Carranza was a river guide and had conspired with Issac Azuara-Vasquez to transport and smuggle illegal aliens in the bed of a truck after they illegally arrived from Mexico via boat on the Rio Grande River. Ramirez-Carranza, Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, admitted to transporting and bringing an alien into the United States as well as illegal reentry and being an alien in possession of a firearm. 

The final two members of a deadly alien smuggling group were also ordered to prison in 2025. Julia Isairis Torres and Erasmo Garcia were involved in the attempted smuggling of illegal aliens in March 2019 by motor vehicle from the Rio Grande Valley to Houston. During this failed attempt, a vehicle rolled over and caused the deaths of four non-U.S. citizens with serious injuries to one other. Authorities had identified a Rio Grande City-based smuggling organization as responsible and linked it’s leader and others to a separate February 2022 human smuggling attempt by watercraft from South Padre Island to the Corpus Christi area. The watercraft capsized, resulting in the deaths of four other non-U.S. citizens and serious injury to another.

A 38-year-old Georgia woman pleaded guilty to smuggling 17 firearms and 27 magazines concealed in a vehicle’s gas tank. Mirna Luna attempted to cross into Mexico at the Brownsville-Matamoros Port of Entry. Authorities discovered the weapons during secondary inspection. Luna admitted she owned and drove the vehicle but did not have a license to export the firearms.  

Finally, a Brownsville federal jury also returned a guilty verdict against the owners of Abby’s Bakery and Dulce’s Café in Los Fresnos for employing and housing illegal aliens within their restaurant. The jury deliberated for less than three hours before finding Leonardo Baez-Lara and Alicia Avila-Guel guilty as charged following a two-day trial. Testimony revealed they hired and harbored workers who were in the United States illegally or on B1/B2 visas without having the right to work. The jury heard that employees were living in a storage area with only one exit, sleeping on mattresses and rarely had hot water.

The district remains one of the busiest in the nation. It represents 43 counties and more than nine million people covering 44,000 square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from all seven divisions including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo work directly with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state and local levels to prosecute the suspected offenders of these and other federal crimes.

Updated February 4, 2026

From prosecuting criminal gangs at home, to combatting narcoterrorism overseas, SDTX relentlessly pursued those who threatened America in 2025.