Thirty-seven members and associates of the Mexican Mafia prison gang were arrested today on three federal indictments charging them with committing scores of crimes in Orange County, including kidnapping, extortion, trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine, running illegal gambling businesses, and murdering a victim last year at a gang-controlled Anaheim motel.
The defendants arrested this morning include:
- Jaime Alvarado, 42, a.k.a. “Junior” and “Brian Barbas,” of Lake Elsinore;
- Karina Cesena, 32, also of Lake Elsinore; and
- Mario Flores, 40, a.k.a. “Happy,” of Anaheim.
Senior gang members already in state custody who are expected to make their initial appearances and be arraigned in the coming weeks include:
- Luis Cardenas, 48, a.k.a. “Gangster,” “Pops” and “Tio,” an inmate at Ironwood State Prison;
- Jose Antonio Ochoa Madrigal, 41, a.k.a. “Sparky,” of Santa Ana, who incarcerated in an Orange County jail.
“Gang members who murder, extort, kidnap, and traffic drugs and firearms are a
menace to our communities and our way of life,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “Today’s arrests highlight the continuing cooperation between federal and local law enforcement against violent felons and our unyielding determination to crack down on organized crime in our prisons and our streets.”
“The defendants accused of operating their own ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ in Orange County by peddling illicit drugs and carrying out assault and murders, among other crimes, are being held accountable today,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. “Orange County communities should be proud of their law enforcement professionals whose hard work and devotion to this case made the streets of Orange County safer today.”
“This type of criminal activity has a direct impact on our neighborhoods and our residents,” said Anaheim Police Chief Manny Cid. “Through strong partnerships, we will continue to identify, disrupt, and hold those responsible accountable.”
“These arrests send a clear message: Organized crime and violence will not be tolerated in Santa Ana,” said Santa Ana Police Chief Robert Rodriguez. “Through strong partnerships with local and federal counterparts, we will continue to target those who threaten the safety and well-being of our communities.”
Fifteen defendants arrested today are expected to make their initial appearances and be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in Santa Ana. Ten defendants arrested today are expected to make their initial appearances and be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles. Twelve additional defendants are in state custody and are expected to make their initial appearances in United States District Court in Santa Ana in the coming weeks.
In connection with this investigation, law enforcement has seized four kilograms (8.8 pounds) of fentanyl, 54.4 kilograms (120 pounds) of methamphetamine, 0.9 kilogram (two pounds) of heroin, three kilograms (6.6 pounds) of cocaine, 25 firearms, and more than $30,000 in cash.
The Mexican Mafia, a.k.a. “La Eme,” is a U.S.-based prison gang that has immense control over Hispanic street gangs in Southern California, directing illegal activities from prisons and collecting a portion of the proceeds from drug trafficking, illegal gambling, and other crimes committed on the streets.
The case’s main indictment charges 40 defendants with a series of felonies, including racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, violent crimes in aid of racketeering, trafficking narcotics such as fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine, and using firearms during a crime of violence.
According to this 66-count indictment, from June 2024 to April 2026, Cardenas oversaw the Mexican Mafia’s criminal activities in Orange County and within Orange County jail and prison facilities. Alvarado, Cesena, Madrigal, and Flores held the position of high-ranking associates for Cardenas.
From his prison cell, Cardenas used an encrypted messaging application on contraband cell phones to direct Alvarado in the operation of the Mexican Mafia’s activities in Orange County.
Cardenas directed others to kidnap and assault people in bad standing with him, and Alvarado, Cesena, and others carried out his directions. Defendants operating for the Mexican Mafia shot at and assaulted victims.
The gang also sold narcotics – including fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine – via slap houses (illegal gambling houses), gangs, and drug dealers in Orange County.
It ran illegal gambling businesses within commercial strip malls and private residences. The gang collected extortionate taxes and provided security, including the use of violence, to protect the illegal gambling businesses.
Alvarado oversaw gang-controlled motels and, along with Cesena, directed violent retaliation against slap houses that did not pay the gang’s extortionate “taxes.”
On February 3, 2025, Matthew Kundrat, 29, a.k.a. “Bubba,” of Anaheim, and Manuel Ramos, 45, a.k.a. “Rhino,” of Santa Ana, murdered a victim at the Akua Inn, a gang-controlled motel in Anaheim. Kundrat and Ramos committed the murder for the purpose of gaining entrance to the Mexican Mafia and increasing their standing in the criminal enterprise.
Both Kundrat and Ramos are charged with committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering activity and, if convicted, would face a mandatory sentence of life in federal prison and would be eligible for the death penalty.
On March 14, 2025, Cardenas, Alvarado, Flores, and Cesena directed the kidnapping and assault of a victim who was an employee at a Cardenas-controlled slap house in Stanton. The penalty for kidnapping is life in federal prison.
Alvarado and Cesena stored methamphetamine and firearms at a storage unit in Orange County as well as at local private residences.
“When criminal organizations attempt to hide their profits behind violence, intimidation, and complex cash-based networks, IRS Criminal Investigation will uncover the truth,” said Darren Lian, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Our agents followed the money through drug trafficking revenues, extortion schemes, and illegal gambling operations that fueled this enterprise’s power. By tracing and dismantling these financial pipelines, we cut directly into the organization’s ability to operate. IRS CI remains committed to protecting our communities by attacking the financial infrastructure that supports organized crime, no matter how deeply it is embedded.”
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
If convicted, the defendants would face decades in federal prison.
The FBI; the Anaheim Police Department; the Santa Ana Police Department; the Fullerton Police Department; IRS Criminal Investigation; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; and United States Postal Inspection Service are investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Greg Scally, Caitlin Campbell, and Erin Kiss of the Orange County Office are prosecuting this case.
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