https://news4sanantonio.com/news/nation-world/venezuelan-national-and-us-citizen-charged-in-sanctions-evasion-scheme

A Venezuelan national and a U.S. citizen have been arrested for allegedly orchestrating a scheme to evade U.S. sanctions and smuggle goods to Venezuela's state-owned steel industry.

Juan Carlos Cairo-Padron, 56, of Huntsville, Texas, and Thomas Michael Fortinberry, 51, of Decatur, Alabama, were taken into custody on June 13, 2025, following a federal criminal complaint.

The complaint charges Cairo, a Venezuelan national and U.S. lawful permanent resident, and Fortinberry, a U.S. citizen, with violating U.S. sanctions, illegal smuggling, and money laundering. The pair is accused of conspiring to sell chemical catalysts, industrial equipment, and services to Venezuelan state-owned steel mills and petrochemical companies, which are under U.S. sanctions.

According to the complaint, Cairo and Fortinberry used U.S. and overseas front companies as intermediaries on shipping documents and foreign bank accounts to move money in and out of the United States. These activities were allegedly designed to conceal that the goods and services were destined for sanctioned entities.

From at least 2022 to the present, Cairo and Fortinberry, through companies they owned or controlled such as DRI Reformers and Reformer Technologies, allegedly sold millions of dollars' worth of goods to the Venezuelan steel company Complejo Siderurgico de Guayana S.A. (COMSIGUA), a government-owned entity subject to U.S. sanctions.

The complaint further alleges that they used Chinese suppliers to ship goods directly from China to Venezuela and, in at least one instance, from the United States to Venezuela. They also reportedly transferred millions of dollars between bank accounts in the United States, Spain, and China, involving companies based in China, Germany, and Spain, to continue their sanctions evasion scheme and conceal the true parties involved.

If convicted, Cairo and Fortinberry face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the sanctions and money laundering violations, and 10 years for the smuggling violation. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.