United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy
announced that Customs and Border Protection Officer Thomas P. Silva was
arraigned in federal court in San Diego today before Magistrate Judge William
V. Gallo on a complaint charging him with concealing a person from arrest, in
violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1071, and wire fraud, in
violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.
As alleged in the complaint, since 2002,
Silva has been employed as a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer with
the Department of Homeland Security. During this entire time, Silva was
stationed at the San Ysidro Port of Entry (POE). Prior to his arrest, Silva’s
official duties included screening people and vehicles for lawful admittance
into the United States.
As detailed in today’s court
proceedings, Silva is charged with two separate and unrelated criminal incidents.
The first charge accuses Silva of assisting fugitive Julio Cesar
Landaverde-Valdez (Silva’s brother-in-law) to evade arrest at the San Ysidro
POE. The complaint alleges that despite knowing that, there was an outstanding
warrant for Landaverde-Valdez’s arrest, Silva allowed his brother-in-law and
several passengers to pass through his lane at the POE without subjecting them
to the required inspection. After verifying that his brother-in-law was still a
fugitive, Silva failed to enter his brother-in-law’s personal information into
the CBP database at the time his brother-in-law presented himself for
inspection at the POE. In addition, Silva did not properly input into the CBP
computer system the license plate number of his brother-in-law’s car in order to
further avoid arrest by law enforcement officials.
According to court documents,
Landaverde-Valdez had previously been convicted in federal court for
transportation of illegal aliens. After failing to appear at his designated
custodial commitment location, Landaverde-Valdez was charged in a separate
indictment with escape, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section
751. Landaverde-Valdez remains a fugitive.
In addition to the charge of assisting
Landaverde-Valdez to avoid apprehension, Silva is also charged with
fraudulently obtaining over $7,000 from Farmers Insurance. According to the
complaint, Silva illegally obtained these funds by falsely reporting to Farmers
that his Nissan Titan pickup truck had been stolen while parked in Chula Vista,
California. Border crossing records, however, demonstrate that Silva’s truck
had been driven into Mexico approximately 10 days prior to the alleged theft
and had not returned to the United States. The complaint also alleges that in
making the insurance claim, Silva falsely inflated the vehicle’s purchase
price.
Silva was arrested this past Friday at
the San Ysidro Port-of-Entry (POE) by Border Corruption Task Force (BCTF)
agents. The BCTF is a federal task force comprised of law enforcement officials
from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, CBP-Internal Affairs, CBP-Field
Operations, the Transportation Security Administration, and the Drug
Enforcement Administration.
Magistrate Judge Gallo set a detention
hearing for September 12, 2012 at 2:30 p.m.
A complaint is not evidence that the
defendant committed the crimes charged. The defendant is presumed innocent
until the government meets its burden in court of proving guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt.
DEFENDANT
Thomas P. Silva Age: 33 Chula Vista,
California
Criminal Case No. 12-MJ-3306
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Count 1: Title 18, United States Code,
Section 1343 - wire fraud. Maximum penalties: 20 years in custody; $250,000;
$100 special assessment; three-year term of supervised release.
Count 2: Title 18, United States Code,
Section 1071 - concealing person from arrest. Maximum penalties: five years in
custody; $250,000 fine; $100 special assessment; three-year term of supervised
release.
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
■Federal Bureau of Investigation
■Customs and Border Protection
■Transportation Security Administration
■Drug Enforcement Administration
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