Guatemalan national Rafael Orlando Ramirez Barillas was extradited to the U.S. from Guatemala to face cocaine trafficking and maritime smuggling charges in California, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California said. Barillas appeared in court Feb. 17 and was ordered detained pending his trial. The Department of Justice alleges that Barillas was a leader in a two-year conspiracy to amass cocaine in Guatemala with the ultimate goal of sending it to the U.S. During the investigation into this conspiracy, the Coast Guard seized multiple shipments of cocaine from vessels in international waters that were linked to Barillas, DOJ said.

Mohsen Mohammadi-Mohammadi, an Iranian national who has lived in Iran and Laredo, Texas, was sentenced to 40 months in prison for his role in an international trade-based money laundering scheme, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas said Feb. 9. District Court Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo also ordered the forfeiture of $177,345 -- the amount of the money laundered through Mohammadi's business. From 2011 to 2013, Mohammadi and others conspired to launder drug trafficking money through a scheme dubbed the "Black Market Peso Exchange." The co-conspirators would pick up the drug proceeds from various U.S. cities then transport it to Laredo, where the money was then laundered through commodities businesses such as perfume vendors, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Mohammadi's business was called Mav Trading Inc.

A Corona, California, customs broker was arrested Feb. 10 on a federal grand jury indictment charging him in a scheme to defraud a Japanese variety store. Broker Frank Seung Noah was charged with tax evasion and wire fraud involving customs duties. The indictment says he evaded payment of $1.5 million in taxes and engaged in a $3.4 million wire fraud scheme that overcharged one of his clients, Daiso, the variety store. Noah owned and operated Comis International Inc., a logistics and supply-chain firm that provided customs brokerage services to companies, including Daiso.

The U.S. accused China-based telecommunications company Hytera Communications Corp. of conspiring to commit theft of trade secrets by working with former employees of Motorola Solutions Inc. to steal their former employer's digital mobile radio technology. Laying out the claims against Hytera in an unsealed indictment filed at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, the Department of Justice said that the former Motorola employees left Motorola to work for Hytera then lied about their intended moves in exit interviews with the Chicago-based company. On their way out the door, the former employees took proprietary and trade secret information for the DMR technology. Hytera stands accused of conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets and individual counts of possession or attempted possession of stolen trade secrets. The co-defendants' names were redacted in the indictment. The Chinese firm faces a fine of three times the value of the stolen trade secrets, including expenses for research, design and other costs.

Emiliano Rodriguez, a Dominican Republic citizen living in Philadephia, was arrested and charged with trafficking counterfeit goods and delivering hazardous materials by air carrier in a scheme to place counterfeit goods in used vehicles, the U.S. Attorneys' Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said. In this scheme, the used vehicles were then resold to "unsuspecting customers." From January 2017 through October 2019, Rodriguez, an auto mechanic, imported counterfeit airbags from China, placing the parts in used vehicles and then flipping them to customers. In all, federal agents seized over 450 counterfeit airbags from Rodriguez's home and business, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Rodriguez faces a maximum sentence of 20 years and fines of over $2 million if convicted. “The hazards posed to unsuspecting motorists and the general public by the alleged actions of the defendant in this case are enormous, and could have ramifications for years to come,” U.S. Attorney Jennifer Williams said. “Safety equipment as important as vehicle airbags are subject to strict quality control standards to keep everyone safe, therefore when corners are cut by utilizing counterfeit goods, the consequences can be disastrous."

Saber Fakih of the United Kingdom pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to illegally exporting and attempting to export an industrial microwave system (IMS) and counter-drone system to Iran, the Department of Justice said. Fakih also admitted conspiring with Bader Fakih of Canada; Altaf Faquih from the United Arab Emirates; and Alireza Taghavi of Iran. Fakih's actions violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulation, DOJ said Jan. 27.

Six individuals were named in an indictment at the U.S. District Court for Central California for their roles in a scheme to smuggle weapons and ammunition from the U.S. to a Mexican drug cartel, the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California said Jan. 24. Four of the six were arrested Jan. 19 as part of Operation Semper Infidelis conducted by a Los Angeles Strike Force investigation. The operation targeted a weapons trafficking organization that provided firearms and ammunition to the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion. The indictment charges the six individuals with conspiracy to violate federal export laws by shipping the weapons to Mexico.

Byungsu Kim, a South Korean national, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for trying to illegally export live Dudleya succulent plants worth over $150,000 to Asia from California, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said Jan. 20. Kim and his co-conspirators removed the plants from the ground at different state parks in Northern California. Kim also has to pay $3,985 in restitution for the expense of replanting the illegally taken plants after his arrest, the judge ordered.

Kambiz Attar Kashani, a citizen of both the U.S. and Iran, has been charged with conspiring to illegally export U.S. goods, technology and services to the Iranian government, and others, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York said. A complaint was unsealed in the district court revealing the nature of the charges against Kashani and the extent of his alleged malfeasance. According to the complaint, Kashani conspired to ship goods, including two subscriptions to proprietary computer software, multiple fixed attenuators, six power supplies and various storage systems, to the Central Bank of Iran -- an entity recognized by the Treasury Department as an agency of the Iranian government and thus classified as a Specially Designated National. The complaint said that CBI provided assistance to "Lebanese Hizballah, a terrorist organization, and to the Qods Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps." Kashani allegedly arranged for the transshipping schemes while acting as the principal for two United Arab Emirates front companies. The defendant used the companies to procure electronic goods and technology from various U.S. technology companies for the CBI without obtaining the proper Office of Foreign Asset Control licenses, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Charles Edwards, former acting inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, pleaded guilty Jan. 14 to his role in a scheme to steal "proprietary software and sensitive databases" from the federal government, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said. Edwards worked for DHS-OIG from 2008 to 2013, where he had access to software systems for case management and for storing sensitive personal identification information of employees. Edwards left DHS and founded Delta Business Solutions. The government said that from at least 2015 to 2017, he stole software from DHS-OIG to use in developing commercial case management software that his company could then sell to government agencies, it said.