The Takedown FEDagent The Takedown FEDagent

Georgia Woman Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud in COVID-Relief Fraud Scheme

According to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release dated August 18, 2021, Hunter VanPelt, aka Ellen Corkrum, 49, pleaded guilty to perpetrating a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $7.9 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

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The Takedown FEDagent The Takedown FEDagent

Leader of a Drug Trafficking Organization and Ally of the Sinaloa Cartel Sentenced

According to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release dated July 27, 2021, Luz Irene Fajardo Campos, aka “La Comadre,” “La Madrina,” and “La Doña,” 57, of Culiacan, Mexico, was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison following a 2019 trial for her role in in an international drug trafficking conspiracy that included Mexico, Colombia, Honduras, and the United States.

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The Takedown FEDagent The Takedown FEDagent

Kentucky Man Sentenced for Racially Motivated Hate Crime

According to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release dated June 24, 2021, Gregory A. Bush of Louisville, KY was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murdering two Black shoppers at a Kroger grocery store and the attempted murder of a third. Each of these crimes was found to be racially motivated. He pleaded guilty-but-mentally-ill to state charges for murder, attempted murder and wanton endangerment.

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The Takedown FEDagent The Takedown FEDagent

Three Peruvian Nationals Conspired to Defraud Thousands of Spanish-Speaking U.S. Residents

According to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release from May 14, 2021, three Peruvian nationals pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud thousands of Spanish-speaking U.S. residents. Omar Cuzcano Marroquin, 32, Jerson Renteria Gonzales, 37, and Evelyng Milla Campuzano, 35, each of Lima, Peru used Peruvian call centers to extort Spanish-speaking individuals in the US for money, threatening them with arrest and deportation if they did not comply.

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The Takedown FEDagent The Takedown FEDagent

North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Production of Child Pornography

According to a Department of Justice press release from April 28, 2021, a North Carolina man pleaded guilty to production of child pornography. Raul Ayala Jr., 72, admitted to molesting minors going as far back as the 1970s. Following this admission, police executed a warrant to search Ayala’s home, where they found child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on multiple digital devices.

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The Takedown FEDagent The Takedown FEDagent

Couple Sentenced for Conspiring to Steal Medical Secrets to Sell to China

According to a Department of Justice press release dated April 20, 2021, a 51-year old man from Dublin, Ohio, Yu Zhou, was sentenced to 33 months in prison after pleading guilty to stealing scientific trade secrets related to exosomes and exosome isolation from Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Research Institute for personal financial gain and conspiring to commit wire fraud.

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