LOS ANGELES—A Redondo Beach woman was found guilty on June 27 of nearly two dozen felonies for billing Medicare more than $24 million by submitting fraudulent claims for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment—mostly power wheelchairs—and repairs, many of which were never performed. Tamara Motley, 54, was found guilty by a federal jury in downtown Los…

LOS ANGELES—A Palmdale man was found guilty June 21 of illegally importing a 2,000-pound ancient mosaic depicting the Roman god Hercules dating from the era of the Roman Empire by using fraudulent documents in hopes of avoiding import duties. Yassin Alcharihi, 56, was convicted of one federal count of entry of falsely classified goods. U.S….

SAN DIEGO—A Romanian husband and wife pleaded guilty June 20 to laundering money that federal prosecutors allege was proceeds from a string of thefts targeting elderly victims across San Diego County. Eduard Ghiocel, 47, and Floarea Ghiocel, 48, were charged along with four others with taking part in 17 jewelry thefts in “elderly communities” in…

A former congressman from Pennsylvania pled guilty (and was sentenced to 30 months in prison) for stuffing ballot boxes for Democratic Party candidates. Specifically, Congressman Michael J. Myers was caught up in a scheme of bribing local judges in order for them to alter the actual election results for certain Democratic candidates. …


A former congressman from Pennsylvania pled guilty (and was sentenced to 30 months in prison) for stuffing ballot boxes for Democratic Party candidates. Specifically, Congressman Michael J. Myers was caught up in a scheme of bribing local judges in order for them to alter the actual election results for certain Democratic candidates. …

LOS ANGELES—A former physician from Orange County was sentenced June 9 to 151 months behind bars for conspiring to illegally prescribe more than 120,000 opioid pills over a six-year span without a legitimate medical purpose in exchange for cash and insurance payments. Dzung Anh Pham, 61, of Tustin, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Josephine…

SAN DIEGO—More than 200 arrests were made and over 4,700 pounds of fentanyl were seized over the past two months, in what local law enforcement officials described May 23 as an “unprecedented” increase in enforcement actions against alleged drug smugglers, traffickers, and dealers. The law enforcement campaign dubbed Operation Blue Lotus took place from March…

LOS ANGELES—Two members of the transnational gang MS-13, including a one-time “shot-caller” for the notorious criminal organization, will face 10 years to life in federal prison when they are sentenced later this year for their convictions in downtown Los Angeles on racketeering and drug charges. José Balmore Romero, 49, and Erwin Alexander Melgar, 45, were…

LOS ANGELES—A Rolling Hills man is facing 20 years to life in federal prison following his conviction for providing fentanyl-laced pills to a 15-year-old boy who ate them and died in May 2020, federal prosecutors said May 22. Alexander Declan Bell Wilson, 22, was convicted late Friday after a five-day trial of distribution of fentanyl…

LOS ANGELES—A Rolling Hills man is facing 20 years to life in federal prison following his conviction for providing fentanyl-laced pills to a 15-year-old boy who ate them and died in May 2020, federal prosecutors said May 22. Alexander Declan Bell Wilson, 22, was convicted late Friday after a five-day trial of distribution of fentanyl…