Memorabilia scammer forged Kardashian, Trump autographs for up to $550K, feds say
Anthony J. Tremayne, 58, who used to live in the Los Angeles suburb of West Covina but now resides in Rosarito, Mexico, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud, according to federal prosecutors in Southern California.
Tremayne peddled the phony merchandise between 2010 and 2019, taking in "more than $250,000 and up to $550,000," prosecutors said.
"Tremayne was in the business of selling memorabilia containing purportedly genuine signatures of famous athletes, musicians, actors, and other celebrities," prosecutors said. "Tremayne advertised nationwide the memorabilia with purportedly genuine signatures."
Tremayne's defense attorney could not be immediately reached for comment on Tuesday.
Tremayne allegedly complained that his business did not warrant attention from federal authorities.
When FBI agents seized some of the bogus material on Dec. 23, 2014, Tremayne said, "Why me? This is not a big deal. It seems like the FBI would have better things to do," according to a 2019 grand jury indictment against the former Californian.
Among the items Tremayne sold to an undercover FBI agent was a " 'Keeping up with the Kardashians' photograph that had forged signatures of three of the show's personality," the indictment said.
Other items that Tremayne listed for sale include "a photograph of the current president" in December 2019, according to the indictment. At that time of late 2019, Donald Trump would have been at the tail end of his third year in office.
Tremayne is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 11 when he'll face maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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Chilean investigators close in on the notorious Venezuelan gang targeted by Trump
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'It's having criminal operators wield power in the political system.' Chile, long considered one of Latin America's safest and wealthiest nations, is also among its least corrupt, according to watchdog Transparency International, giving authorities an edge in fending off this kind of organized crime. But with no experience, the country was caught unprepared as abductions, dismemberments and other grisly crimes reshaped society. Now, three years later, experts hold out Arica as a case study in wider efforts to combat the gang. While some see El Salvador President Nayib Bukele's crackdown on criminal gangs as a model, critics see an authoritarian police state that has run roughshod over due process. 'Criminal prosecution, financial intelligence, witness protection and cooperation with other countries, that's what it takes to disrupt criminal networks,' said Pablo Zeballos, a Chilean security consultant and former intelligence officer. 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Hamilton Spectator
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Chilean investigators close in on the notorious Venezuelan gang targeted by Trump
ARICA, Chile (AP) — The Venezuelan gang members wrote out even their most minute purchases in blue pen: $15 for a drug trafficker's Uber; $9 for instant coffee during a lookout shift; $34 for supplies to clean what investigators learned were torture chambers. The meticulous spreadsheets seized during police raids in Chile's northern town of Arica, and shared with The Associated Press, suggest the accounting structure of a multinational. They amount to the most comprehensive documentation to date of the inner workings of Tren de Aragua , Latin America's notorious criminal organization designated by President Donald Trump as a foreign terrorist group. An investigation built over years by Chilean prosecutors in Arica, which resulted in hefty sentences for 34 people in March — and inspired other cases which, earlier this month, sent a dozen Tren de Aragua leaders to prison for a total of 300 years — contrasts with Trump's mass deportations of suspected gang members . While Trump's supporters cheer the expulsions, investigators see missed opportunities to gather evidence aimed at uprooting the criminal network that has gained momentum across the region as migration from Venezuela surges and global cocaine demand spreads. 'With the U.S. snatching guys off the streets, they're taking out the tip of the iceberg,' said Daniel Brunner, president of Brunner Sierra Group security firm and a former FBI agent. 'They're not looking at how the group operates.' Transnational mafias have fueled an extraordinary crime wave in once-peaceful nations like Chile and consolidated power in countries like Honduras and Peru, infiltrating state bureaucracies, crippling the capacities of law enforcement and jeopardizing regional stability. The new developments are testing democracies across Latin America. 'This is not your typical corruption involving cash in envelopes,' said former Peruvian Interior Minister Ruben Vargas of the impunity in his country. 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Using Tren de Aragua documents first recovered in 2022, Chilean prosecutor Bruno Hernández and his unit brought an unprecedented number of gang members to trial last year, dismantling the gang's northern Chile offshoot, known as Los Gallegos. 'It marked a milestone,' prosecutor Mario Carrera said last month from Arica's shantytown of Cerro Chuño, a Los Gallegos stronghold. 'Until then, they were acting with impunity.' Following migrants to 'virgin territory' Tren de Aragua slipped into northern Chile in 2021, after the pandemic shut borders and encouraged Venezuelans to turn to smugglers as they fled their nations' crises and headed to Peru, Colombia and Chile. Héctor Guerrero Flores — a Tren de Aragua leader nicknamed 'Niño Guerrero' — dispatched managers to take over networks of 'coyotes' shepherding human cargo across Chile's desert borders. 'It was virgin territory from their perspective,' said Ronna Rísquez, the author of a book about the group. Tren de Aragua put down roots in Cerro Chuño, a former toxic waste dump outside Arica where Venezuelan migrants squeeze into boxlike homes. Residents said gangsters extracted 'protection' fees from shop owners and unleashed violence on those who wouldn't pay. 'We live in fear of them,' said 38-year-old Saida Huanca, recalling how Los Gallegos extorted her minimarket colleague and sent a knife-wielding man to collect road tolls. 'I didn't leave the house.' The gang terrorized competitors and turncoats. Court documents describe members tying up defectors and filming as they administered shocks and slashed fingers in clandestine torture chambers. Intercepted calls from March 2022, obtained by AP, show a rival panicking about Tren de Aragua's arrival. 'Where am I supposed to run, dude?' Chilean kingpin Marco Iguazo can be heard asking. Bodies were found, shot or dismembered and stuffed into suitcases. Many were buried alive under cement. 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While the per-client price for sex varies by city — $60 in Arica, over $100 in the capital of Santiago — each cell replicated the same structure. The gang confiscated half of women's earnings, then deducted rent and food in a form of debt bondage. Salary spreadsheets showed regional coordinators earning up to $1,200 monthly. Hitmen could earn $1,000 per job, plus protection for relatives in Venezuela. Most operatives received $200 Christmas bonuses. Investigators cross-checked messages among gang members with drone surveillance to decrypt their use of emojis. Some were self-explanatory — a snake signifying a traitor. Others less so: A bone meant debt, a pineapple was a safehouse, a raincloud warned of a raid. Getting to trial With the defendants in custody, the bloodshed abated: Arica's homicide rate plunged from 17 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2022 to 9.9 homicides per 100,000 last year. After the team secured 34 convictions on charges including aggravated homicide, human trafficking and sexual exploitation of minors, authorities paid more attention. Similar investigations proliferated nationwide. Carrera traveled to Washington to share intelligence with the FBI. 'The unit did something that had never been done in Chile, and achieved results,' said Ignacio Castillo, director of organized crime at Chile's public prosecutor's office. Other countries have largely struggled to prosecute Tren de Aragua. The Trump administration has used the gang to justify deporting migrants, with some arrested for little more than tattoos . Experts say the Justice Department is too distracted by mass expulsions to conduct thorough investigations. 'Those kind of yearslong investigations are not happening,' said Brunner. 'I see the current deportation tactics as working in favor of organized crime.' A country traumatized, and transformed The next challenge for Hernández's unit is tracking Los Gallegos as they regroup behind bars. Some Cerro Chuño businesses said they still receive extortion threats — from prison phones. 'Organized crime will always adapt,' Hernández said. 'We need to get ahead.' Despite the national homicide rate declining, enthusiasm for a more ruthless approach is spreading as leftist President Gabriel Boric , a former student protest leader, battles for his legacy ahead of November presidential elections. Polls show security as voters' top concern. The current favorite is far-right candidate José Antonio Kast , who draws inspiration from Bukele and Trump. He vows to build a border barrier and deport undocumented migrants 'no matter the cost.' Watching her grandchildren play outside a church in Arica, Maria Peña Gonzalez, 70, said Kast had her vote. 'You can't walk at night like you could before,' she said. 'Chile has changed since different types of people started arriving.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CNN
2 hours ago
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Analysis: Trump lands another big win with EU trade deal, but he can't dodge the Epstein saga
Donald Trump European Union Tariffs FacebookTweetLink President Donald Trump claimed another win for his campaign to transform the global economy and American life, but he still can't escape intensifying questions over his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein controversy. The United States clinched a framework deal with the European Union on Sunday that averted a damaging trade war. Trump believes such moves will revive US manufacturing. But the resulting 15% tariff on EU goods entering the US likely means American consumers will face higher prices in the long term. This is a significant step. So Trump's insistence that it was not simply a bid to distract from the Epstein saga is reasonable. 'Oh, you have got to be kidding with that,' the angry president told a reporter. But his irritation underscored his failure to shrug off weeks of revelations about the case and his own past friendship with the accused sex trafficker, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial. Mystery surrounds the administration's motives after Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump's former personal lawyer, met last week with Epstein's imprisoned accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. Her lawyer implied that Maxwell was open to a presidential pardon. Trump's record of using such power for political purposes has critics warning he may be seeking a deal that would politicize justice. The storm back home isn't abating. Two lawmakers, one Democrat and the other Republican, vowed Sunday to force a vote on the House floor on the release of Epstein case files. Such a vote could embarrass the administration and create a major political showdown. This came on a typically frenetic weekend that Trump spent in Scotland and that served as a metaphor for his turbulent influence on America and the globe. He juggled the highest-level diplomacy — talks with the EU's top official, Ursula von der Leyen — with a trip promoting his business empire, in this case his portfolio of exclusive Scottish golf clubs. His visit was greeted with street protests by caustic Scots and featured outbursts of extreme rhetoric — including his social media call for the prosecution of former Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump will come face-to-face Monday with pressure to force Israel to do more to mitigate a growing famine in Gaza. He'll see British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his Turnberry resort in southwest Scotland before traveling with Starmer to Aberdeenshire, where Trump will inaugurate a new course at another club. Starmer last week said of the crisis in Gaza that 'we are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe.' Much is unknown about the scope of the trade deal with the EU, which will see a 15% tariff imposed on most of the bloc's exports and billions of dollars in purchases of US energy. But it extends a winning streak and a record of implementing campaign promises for a president who is imposing personal power and often idiosyncratic beliefs — for instance in the effectiveness of trade tariffs — on the US and the world. 'This was the big one. This is the biggest of them all,' Trump said Sunday after meeting von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission. Von der Leyen followed the accepted wisdom that praising Trump personally can provide political payoffs. 'He is a tough negotiator, but he is also a dealmaker,' she said. Trump has recently announced framework deals on trade with Japan and the Philippines — which both include higher tariffs that represent a fracturing of the 21st-century global free-trade arrangements. Trump believes that this system, which helped make the US a dominant global power, is nevertheless unfair on American workers and industries. And he rejects economists' arguments that raising tariffs increases prices for already-stretched US consumers. Trump is flexing power everywhere. He is gutting the federal government, dominating Congress, and exerting unprecedented pressure on law firms and universities to impose his right-wing ideology, all while seeking to intimidate media outlets. These are wins for his populist 'Make America Great Again' movement and its program to buckle what supporters see as liberal power. But as with Trump's outlier belief in tariffs, the long-term impacts that his actions could have on American society, the economy and democracy are alarming critics. Trump has politicized the legal system; his government funding cuts have hampered vital scientific research on critical subjects such as cancer; and his expanding of presidential power often tests the Constitution. Still, markets may welcome the EU trade deal framework, assuming it is fully implemented — hardly a given considering Trump's volatile history of threats and reversals. An EU-US trade war would have been a far worse outcome. But the agreement confirms suspicions that Trump's goal is not fairer trade but higher tariffs. Although existing tariffs have so far not harmed the economy as much as some experts feared, Americans will pay more for cars, food, luxuries and consumer goods. The inflationary impact on the economy, and Trump's likely appointment next year of a new Federal Reserve chair who will lower interest rates, could mean greater economic threats to come. There's also an important geopolitical aspect to the EU trade deal. The Europeans committed to buying $880 billion of energy from the US. This could make America's NATO allies less vulnerable to pressure from Russia at a time when the Western alliance is opposing Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. 'We still have too much Russian LNG (liquid natural gas) that is coming through the back door again to our European Union, and some Russian gas and oil still in the European Union, which we do not want anymore,' von der Leyen said. Trump's frustration that a key political achievement has been overshadowed by the Epstein saga is unlikely to dissipate in the coming days. The controversy started because of conspiracy theories among Trump's base that claimed the disgraced financier did not take his own life in prison but was murdered, and that he left behind a client list of rich and powerful Americans who'd taken advantage of his alleged sex trafficking. These claims were promoted by Trump and allies including Pam Bondi and Kash Patel. When all three assumed positions of great power (Bondi is attorney general, and Patel is FBI director), their failure to release the files as promised caused a rupture in Trump's MAGA base, which the administration has failed thus far to repair. The political uproar explains why Blanche's meeting with Maxwell last week caused such consternation. Maxwell's lawyer told reporters after her second day of meetings with Blanche in Tallahassee, Florida, that she had answered every question truthfully and honestly. He also noted that the president has the power to pardon those convicted of crimes. 'We hope he exercises that power in a right and just way,' the attorney, David Oscar Markus, said Friday. Blanche has so far not offered a detailed public account of the meetings. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by Trump in his relationship with Epstein, and the president appears to have severed the friendship long before the accused sex trafficker was charged with federal crimes. But the Justice Department's unorthodox approach is raising concerns that it goes beyond a public relations effort to convince MAGA voters the administration is doing something. Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison term, has an incentive for providing information that could ease her situation — and Trump has the power to do so. Questions over the president's motives became even more important when CNN and other outlets reported last week that Trump's name was mentioned in the Epstein files, along with those of some other prominent Americans. This does not mean that he or anyone else is guilty of wrongdoing. In fact, Bondi might have made the correct decision legally in refusing to release information that could harm the reputation of people not accused of crimes. But beyond a joint Justice Department and FBI statement on the rationale for not releasing the files, the administration has rarely attempted to justify a policy that has put it at odds with its own supporters in the MAGA movement. 'I'm concerned that the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, is meeting with (Maxwell) supposedly one-on-one,' Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California said on NBC's 'Meet the Press' on Sunday. 'Look, I agree … that she should testify. But she's been indicted twice on perjury. This is why we need the files.' Republican leaders hoped the case might simply disappear over the summer recess. But Kentucky GOP Rep. Thomas Massie, a co-sponsor with Khanna of a House bill demanding the release of the files, isn't giving up. 'This is going to hurt Republicans in the midterms. The voters will be apathetic if we don't hold the rich and powerful accountable,' Massie said on NBC. 'I think when we get back, we can get the signatures required to force this to the floor.' The Trump administration has asked the courts to release grand jury testimony pertinent to the Epstein case. But one federal judge refused last week, in a ruling that may have given the DOJ political cover. 'We want them to release the files. However, we can't make them release it because of separation of power,' Oklahoma GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin told Jake Tapper on CNN's 'State of the Union.' That may be the case. But grand jury testimony is believed to be only a fraction of the evidence against Epstein that the government holds — and hasn't made public. And the entire controversy has been worsened by the administration's clumsy approach and unwillingness to confront the anger of the MAGA base. 'I think that part of this problem is that there were some false expectations that are created, and that's a political mistake,' Missouri Republican Rep. Eric Burlison told CNN's Manu Raju.
