Crime News
Feds Locate Underground Smuggling Tunnel Used by Cartels Near El Paso, Texas

(TC Tribune) — A long, winding tunnel that is believed to be operated by Mexican cartels to illegally smuggle immigrants, drugs and weapons across the U.S.-Mexico border has been located by federal immigration officials.
Local law enforcement and border officials are working to fill and seal the tunnel, which was found near El Paso, Texas. Sources told NewsNation that transnational criminal organizations were using the tunnel to smuggle more than 800 people per week across the border.
However, authorities are still working to determine who dug the passageway, which is about 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Victor Avila, a former special agent with Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection, told NewsNation that the tunnel is the first of its kind that he has seen near El Paso.
Among the women being moved through the tunnel each week were Venezuelan women who authorities said were victims of sex trafficking.
Data obtained by NewsNation showed that the El Paso Sector, which includes portions of Texas and New Mexico, was the second busiest in terms of encounters between migrants and immigration officials. The sector has also been determined to be the deadliest for migrants trying to cross into the United States illegally.
Avila said that people using the tunnel that was located recently are not likely to turn themselves into immigration officials but, instead, will fall into the category of “gotaways.”
The tunnel has reportedly been in use for more than a year. Several Mexican media outlets have reported that migrants have posted the tunnel on social media platforms like TikTok “as a safe and quick pathway” to get into the United States.
The tunnel also includes lighting and ventilation systems, which are all part of the passageway’s complex design.
“These tunnels are used not just for the movement of people – obviously, the movement of drugs and other illicit activities – money, weapons and anything that could fit through there,” Avila told NewsNation.
Crime News
California Man Pleads Guilty to $65 Million IRS Tax Fraud Scheme

(TC Tribune) = Kevin J. Gregory, 57, pleaded guilty today to seeking more than $65 million from the IRS by falsely claiming on tax returns that his nonexistent farming business was entitled to COVID-19-related tax credits, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California.
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, from November 2020 to April 2022, Gregory made false claims to the IRS for the payment of nearly $65.4 million in tax refunds for a purported Beverly Hills-based farming-and-transportation company named Elijah USA Farm Holdings.
The IRS issued a portion of the refunds Gregory claimed, and Gregory used that portion – more than $2.7 million – for personal expenses, the U.S. attorney’s office confirmed.
Specifically, in January 2022, Gregory made a false claim to the IRS for the payment of a tax refund in the amount of $23,877,620, which he submitted as part of Elijah Farm’s quarterly federal tax return, the department reported.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Gregory claimed Elijah Farm employed 33 people, paid nearly $1.6 million in quarterly wages, had deposited nearly $18 million in federal taxes, and was entitled to nearly $6.5 million in COVID-19-related tax credits.
In fact, Gregory knew that Elijah Farm employed nobody and paid wages to no one and had not made federal tax deposits to the IRS in the amounts stated on his tax return, the department said.
United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton scheduled a May 16 sentencing hearing, at which time Gregory will face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, the office stated.
Crime News
8 More Suspects Charged in LA Fires for Arson and Looting

(TC Tribune) — Eight more people have been charged with various crimes committed during recent devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County , ranging from arson and looting to impersonating a firefighter.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced the new charges on Friday.
“To anyone who believes they can use this disaster as a cover for criminal activity, let this be your warning: You will be caught, and you will be held accountable,” Hochman said in a news release.
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Among those charged is Luis Felipe Gudino, 28, accused of felony arson for allegedly igniting a couch behind a South Gate apartment building on Jan. 13. The fire spread to a utility pole, causing significant damage. Gudino, who is being held on $350,000 bail, faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.
Another defendant, Richard Alexander Peterson, 36, is accused of setting fire to a Christmas tree outside a South Gate motel the same day. Peterson, a third-strike offender, faces 25 years to life in prison and is being held on $1.35 million bail.
Omar Lopez, 35, allegedly ignited two fires in Huntington Park on Jan. 14, including one involving a Christmas tree in an apartment courtyard. He has pleaded not guilty and could face nearly nine years in prison if convicted.
Additional cases include Manuel Rodriguez, 35, accused of starting a dumpster fire behind a Brentwood library; Travis Glodt, 34, charged with multiple arsons in Hawthorne; and Leopoldo Reveles, 49, accused of setting trash fires near train tracks in Compton.
Charges also include non-arson crimes. Keyshon Walker, 22, is accused of unlawful possession of ammunition and tools in an evacuation zone. Joshua Love, 29, faces charges for attempted burglary and looting in Santa Monica. Ivan Cedric Reed, 34, is accused of impersonating a firefighter in Malibu while possessing stolen property.
The cases were investigated by local police departments, with bail amounts ranging from $45,000 to over $1 million. Preliminary hearings for the defendants are scheduled throughout the month.
It’s the latest round of charges filed against individuals who have been found inside evacuation zones where the Palisades and Eaton fires left mass destruction in their wakes.
Dozens of people have been arrested for allegedly violating evacuation orders, including many who have been charged with burglary.
Hochman, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office and local authorities have vowed to arrest and prosecute looters and others taking advantage of the deadly fires to the fullest extent of the law .
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