Making false statements

A federal judge in Cleveland sentenced Samuel Saxon, 47, former assistant field office director of ICE's Cincinnati sub-office, to 21 months in prison for lying to a federal agent about attacking his girlfriend. Saxon, who joined ICE in 2005, pleaded guilty in April. Prosecutors detailed years of alleged abuse, including strangulation, broken bones and death threats, and said Cincinnati police responded to his home roughly two dozen times without Saxon reporting it to ICE as required. He was arrested in December 2025 after a neighbor reported him choking the woman, then denied seeing her in person. Related domestic violence charges remain pending in state court.

Jury selection began this week in the federal corruption trial of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, her partner Andre Jones, and recycling contractor executives David Duong and Andy Duong. Prosecutors allege the four, along with political operative Mario Juarez, orchestrated a scheme in which the Duongs financed a $75,000 campaign mailer to help elect Thao in 2022 and arranged a lucrative no-show job for Jones at Evolutionary Homes, a startup housing company. In return, Thao allegedly promised to steer city contracts to the Duongs' firm, California Waste Solutions, extend its recycling contract, and help the housing company secure a deal to sell units to the city.

All four defendants face bribery and honest services fraud conspiracy charges, with maximum sentences up to 20 years. They have pleaded not guilty. Juarez has already pleaded guilty and is expected to testify as the prosecution's star witness, along with former San Leandro councilman Bryan Azevedo, who also pleaded guilty. The case follows FBI raids in June 2024 and Thao's recall by Oakland voters that November. Prosecutors expect to present their case through mid-November.

A federal grand jury in Boise has indicted Fredy Avila Gomez on charges including wire fraud, theft of government funds, falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to vote, voting by an alien, making a false statement on a passport application, identification document fraud and firearms offenses. Prosecutors allege that from at least March 2017 through June 2026, Gomez used a fraudulent birth certificate to obtain Idaho identification cards and falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen or national, then used those documents to fraudulently obtain a U.S. passport, Medicaid benefits and a firearm. He is also accused of falsely claiming citizenship when registering to vote and casting ballots in Idaho's May 2022 and November 2024 elections.

The Justice Department listed Gomez among 16 people charged nationwide in cases tied to alleged illegal voting or voter registration. He is set for an initial court appearance in Boise and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The case, being prosecuted by federal authorities, involved several federal investigative agencies. Gomez is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

ICE agent Christian Castro, 52, was arrested by Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agents in downtown Minneapolis and booked into the Hennepin County Jail on a state warrant, despite an arrangement to surrender at his attorney's office. He faces four counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of falsely reporting a crime, and is due in federal court Friday on a separate federal indictment for making false statements to an FBI agent.

The charges stem from a January 14 shooting during ICE's Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis, when agents shot three people; U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti died in separate incidents amid related protests. Castro allegedly shot and wounded Julio Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan national, after a car chase and foot pursuit, firing through a door despite two children being inside. Homeland Security initially called it a defensive shot but later cited "untruthful statements" by officers; charges against Sosa-Celis were dropped.

Castro spent 90 days jailed in Texas while Minnesota sought extradition, which Governor Greg Abbott refused, prompting a lawsuit from Minnesota officials. He was released after a federal judge declined to force extradition, then indicted federally before returning to Minneapolis. DHS has suspended him.