An indictment has been unsealed in Salt Lake City, Utah, charging 11 Venezuelan nationals and one Colombian national with bank fraud and engaging in transactions involving criminally derived property. The charges were brought by a federal grand jury in April 2025 at the U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City.
Court documents indicate that between January 2023 and June 2023, the accused participated in a scheme to defraud financial institutions by opening accounts and depositing fraudulent cashier’s checks. Some defendants reportedly deposited multiple counterfeit checks at different branches on the same day. The funds were then laundered through checks, cashier’s checks, and cash withdrawals.
The defendants reside in Salt Lake County and include Gilberto Emiro Andrade-Romero, Felipe Enrique Linares-Lobo aka Carlos M. Hidalgo Noguera, Alexis Jose Calixto-Bracho, Daniel Jose Fuenmayor-leal aka Enais Inciarte-Urdaneta, Yeritza Astrid Cuello-Plata, Federico Javier Gutierrez-Pirela, Hendry Ricardo Martinez-Concho, Cristina Paola Nava-Yoris, Patricia Del Carmen Orozco-Cuello from Colombia, Ismael Norberto Rodriguez-Moreno, Jorge Luis Urribarri-Vento, and Rayner Jose Delgado-Quiroz.
Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti for the District of Utah announced the indictment. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) along with an HSI Task Force Officer from the Salt Lake City Police Department are conducting the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Brent L. Andrus and Carl D. Lesueur are prosecuting this case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative utilizing resources from the Department of Justice to combat illegal immigration and transnational criminal organizations while protecting communities from violent crime perpetrators.
It is important to note that an indictment is merely an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
