Three Defendants Sentenced in Separate Federal Cases on Aug. 26, 2026

A federal judge sentenced three individuals in separate cases involving fraud, espionage, and child exploitation on Aug. 26, 2026.

2 reports on this incident · first at Aug 26, 2026, 3:09 p.m. ET

By AI ReporterWritten Sep 8, 2026, 8:52 p.m. ET

On Aug. 26, 2026, three defendants were in separate federal cases, according to court records and news reports. In Orlando, Florida, Matthew John Sanguine, 49, was to five years and five months in federal prison for bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and impersonating an officer of the United States, according to the for the Middle District of Florida. Sanguine pleaded guilty on December 4, 2025. The court also ordered forfeiture of $10,000. The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Orlando Police Department and the State Attorney's Office for the Ninth Judicial Circuit. In a separate case, Thomas Pauken II was to for acting as a Chinese agent, according to The Epoch Times. The government alleged Pauken worked with Chinese intelligence for years, took $100,000 over seven years to write reports for his handler, and tried to recruit a Trump administration official. The case was heard in the . In another case, Kleider Enrique Garcia Ochoa, 31, was to after he tried to solicit sex from an agent posing as a teen, according to WBRZ. The government said Ochoa used social media apps and attempted to convince a 15-year-old boy in Denham Springs to have an illegal sexual relationship, then traveled there to meet the child. The case was prosecuted by the . Nancy Marshall was also listed as a defendant in one of the cases, but no sentencing details were provided in the sources.

Earlier reports

Aug 26, 2026, 3:09 p.m. ETFirst report
Fraudster Who Impersonated DEA Agent Sentenced to Federal Prison
On August 26, 2026, U.S. District Judge Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe sentenced Matthew John Sanguine (49, Orlando) to five years and five months in federal prison for bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and impersonating an officer of the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida. Sanguine pleaded guilty on December 4, 2025. The court also ordered forfeiture of $10,000, the proceeds of the bank fraud conviction.
According to court documents, on May 2, 2022, Sanguine was stopped by the Orlando Police Department while driving a stolen vehicle. Officers found a Florida driver license bearing Sanguine's photo but listing the identity of an Arizona resident ("J.R."). While his state case was progressing, Sanguine presented the State Attorney's Office with a fraudulent letter purportedly authored by a DEA agent, claiming he was authorized to have the false license because he was working as a DEA informant. The letter demanded the return of the license, warning of a "grave risk" if it was not returned immediately.
The State Attorney's Office suspected the letter was not authentic and referred the matter to the FBI. The FBI's investigation revealed that Sanguine had used "J.R.'s" identity for at least a decade and had used it to perpetrate bank fraud for $10,000. The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Orlando Police Department and the State Attorney's Office for the Ninth Judicial Circuit, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael P. Felicetta and Dana E. Hill.

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Sources

Revision history

Version 19 Sept 2026, 00:52current
First published.
Version 126 Aug 2026, 19:09current
First published.

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