Canyon Country woman named in federal indictment 

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A Canyon Country woman was named in a more-than 250-page federal indictment linking a San Fernando Valley-based white supremacy group to numerous financial crimes, weapons charges and drug trafficking, according to federal documents unsealed Wednesday. 

Maria Anna James, 30, of Canyon Country, was one of more than 60 defendants accused of financial crimes in the 76-count federal grand jury indictment alleging a yearslong pattern of racketeering activity that included trafficking of drugs – including fentanyl – illegal firearms possession, and COVID-19 benefits and loan fraud, according to the Justice Department. 

More than 40 members and associates of the SFV Peckerwoods, a San Fernando Valley-based white supremacist street gang, were arrested Wednesday as part of federal authorities’ moves.   

The indictment unsealed Wednesday charges a total of 68 defendants with a score of federal crimes: conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, distribution of controlled substances, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, and possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices. 

The 29 defendants who were arrested are expected to be arraigned in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.  

More than a dozen suspects were already in custody prior to Wednesday’s raids, according to federal officials, who reported seizing large quantities of illegal firearms, as well as dozens of pounds of fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin, according to the indictment. 

“The Justice Department has dealt a decisive blow to the San Fernando Valley Peckerwoods, a violent white supremacist gang that we charge is responsible for trafficking deadly fentanyl and other drugs, committing robberies, and perpetrating financial fraud to fund both their criminal enterprise and that of the Aryan Brotherhood,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a news release. “With today’s charges and arrests, the Justice Department, together with our state, local, and federal partners has targeted the heart of this gang’s operations, and we will continue to zero in on the criminal enterprises that endanger our communities.” 

According to the indictment that a grand jury returned on Sept. 26, the Peckerwoods is a street gang based in communities in the San Fernando Valley whose members engage in a wide variety of criminal activity, including drug trafficking, violent crime and fraud.  

As a white supremacist gang, the Peckerwoods at times takes orders from the Aryan Brotherhood, California’s dominant prison-based white supremacist gang, and maintains an alliance with the Mexican Mafia prison gang, which controls most Latino street gangs in California, according to a statement from federal officials.  

Justice Department officials said Peckerwoods use Nazi tattoos, graffiti and iconography to indicate their violent white supremacy extremist ideology. “These tattoos and iconography include swastikas, the symbol ‘88,’ used by violent white supremacy extremists as code for ‘Heil Hitler,’ and images of Nazi aircraft,” according to the news release announcing the indictment.  

Justice officials described a digital record of the alleged criminal conspiracy that was found on social media, which the gang used to share information with each other about their criminal activities and gang rules, to identify gang members in good standing and to target people who broke the gang’s rules, per the release. The social media use included a members-only Facebook group and private, direct messages between the gang’s members and associates. 

James was identified as part of the gang’s financial fraud crimes.  

“For example, from at least March 2021 to July 2023, defendants Sean Craig Gluckman, 35, of Encino, Maria Anna James, 30, of Canyon Country, and others submitted false and fraudulent applications for the Paycheck Protection Program, which was designed to aid businesses harmed by the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the federal release.  

“The defendants – posing as sole proprietors – signed fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of individuals incarcerated in California state prisons and collected a portion of the fraudulently obtained proceeds from co-conspirators as payment for their assistance.” 

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form

James’ next court date was not immediately available as of this story’s publication.  

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