LOS ANGELES - The so-called “Bitcoin Maven,” who admitted to operating an unlicensed bitcoin-for-cash exchange business and laundering bitcoin that was represented to be proceeds of narcotics activity, was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $20,000...

(SANTA ANA, Calif.) - A man currently on both state parole and federal supervised release has been charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances for selling more than one pound of methamphetamine, as well as cocaine. Matthew Belling, 28, of La Mirada, who goes by the moniker “Miagi,” was arrested...

(SANTA ANA, Calif.) - A psychiatrist who practices at a Santa Ana clinic has been arrested on federal charges that allege he issued prescriptions for dangerous and addictive narcotics, such as the opioid oxycodone, without a medical purpose. Dr. Robert Tinoco Perez, 56, of Westminster, was arrested Friday by special...

(LOS ANGELES) - David J. Downing, Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), announced today that Luis Eduardo Rodriguez has been charged for his role in laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars in narcotics proceeds through Las Vegas real estate, and...

(BEAUMONT, Texas) - A 56-year-old Houston man has pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Will Glaspy, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown today. Eugenio Cerda pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with...

(LOS ANGELES) - David J. Downing, Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the extradition of Filippo Magni, who is charged, along with co-defendant...

(LOS ANGELES) - A former Los Angeles Police Department officer whose garage explosion revealed the makeshift lab where he used butane to extract hash oil containing tetrahydrocannabinol, or “THC,” from marijuana plants, was sentenced to five years in federal prison. Joseph Jay Spadafore, 64, of Menifee was sentenced this morning...

LOS ANGELES - More than 500 law enforcement personnel executed a major operation this morning, taking into custody 32 defendants who are charged in two federal racketeering indictments, one of which outlines how members of the Mexican Mafia were able to control drug smuggling, narcotics sales and the extortion of...

HOUSTON - A 52-year-old Mexican citizen who illegally resided in Houston was ordered to federal prison for 30 years for his conviction of trafficking a kilogram of methamphetamine, announced Drug Enforcement (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Will Glaspy, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Arturo Hernandez-Villegas pleaded guilty...

LOS ANGELES - A former Los Angeles resident has been sentenced to 320 months in federal prison for participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy that imported acetylfentanyl, a drug very similar to fentanyl, a powerful and highly addictive opioid. Acetylfentanyl, which is five times more potent that heroin, is not...