Lake Elsinore Residents Tied To Mexican Mafia Arrested: DOJ

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — Two Lake Elsinore residents were among 25 people with ties to the Mexican Mafia who were arrested for multiple felonies on Thursday morning, the federal authorities announced.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, members and associates of the Mexican Mafia were charged with kidnapping, extortion, drug trafficking, and operating an illegal gambling businesses. The gang is also accused of being involved in a homicide at a motel in Anaheim last year.

According to the 66-count indictment, the alleged crimes also include trafficking cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine.

Among those arrested Thursday were Jaime Alvarado, 42, of Lake Elsinore, and Karina Cesena, 32, of Lake Elsinore. Mario Flores, 40, of Anaheim.

Officials said Luis Cardenas, 48, an inmate at Ironwood State Prison and Jose Antonio Ochoa Madrigal, 41, of Santa Ana, who is incarcerated in an Orange County jail, are senior gang members already in custody, and are expected to make their initial appearances and be arraigned in the coming weeks.

"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, assistant director of the FBI 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," he added.

From his prison cell, Cardenas used an encrypted messaging app on contraband cell phones to direct Alvarado in the operation of the Mexican Mafia’s activities in Orange County, according to the FBI.

Officials said Alvarado, Cesena, Flores, and Magrigal were high-ranking associates for Cardenas, who allegedly gave orders between June 2024 to April 2026.

Alvarado was accused of overseeing gang-controlled motels. He and Cesena were accused of orchestrating retaliation against slap or gambling houses that the gang extorted, according to the FBI.

In addition, on Feb. 3, 2025, Matthew Kundrat, 29, of Anaheim, and Manuel Ramos, 45, of Santa Ana, allegedly murdered someone at the Akua Inn, a gang-controlled motel in Anaheim. Kundrat and Ramos committed the murder to gain entrance to the Mexican Mafia and increase their standing in the criminal enterprise, officials said.

Both Kundrat and Ramos were 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 be eligible for the death penalty, according to the FBI.

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, officials said.

"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."

Officials said fifteen defendants arrested on Thursday are expected to make their initial appearances and be arraigned the same day in United States District Court in Santa Ana. Ten defendants arrested on Thursday are expected to make their initial appearances and be arraigned the same day 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.