By Kristy Tallman, July 3, 2024
BEAUMONT, Texas – The final defendant in a racketeering conspiracy that resulted in the nationwide lockdown of the federal prison system has pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.
Juan Carlos Rivas-Moreiera, also known as “Juan Carlos Moriera” and “Stocky,” pleaded guilty on July 2, 2024, for his role in a racketeering conspiracy in furtherance of the violent transnational criminal organization La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13.
In April 2022, seven defendants, including Rivas-Moreiera, were indicted and charged with planning and executing a violent attack orchestrated by MS-13 members against Mexican Mafia and Sureños associates. The attack resulted in two deaths, two attempted murders, and a nationwide lockdown of all inmates in the Federal Bureau of Prisons for almost a week. Rivas-Moreiera admitted to his role in the deadly prison attack and faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. He was the last remaining defendant to plead guilty.