Three Salvadoran residents living in Orlando, Florida, were sentenced for conspiracy to commit tax fraud and wire fraud involving a scheme exceeding $146 million in the construction industry, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. The sentence was handed down by federal judge Timothy J. Corrigan on Tuesday, July 29.

Eduardo Aníbal Escobar (45) was sentenced to 4 years and 9 months in prison, Carlos Alberto Rodríguez (36) to 3 years and 4 months, and Adelmy Tejada (57) to 18 months in prison, followed by 6 months of house arrest. All three pled guilty on April 3, 2025.

In addition to the prison terms, the court ordered restitution payments totaling $36,957,616 to the IRS for unpaid payroll taxes, and $397,895 to two insurers for workers’ compensation claims related to the scheme.

Escobar and Rodríguez are permanent legal residents originally from El Salvador, while Tejada is a naturalized U.S. citizen of Salvadoran origin.

The Kremlin expressed relief that the earthquakes that struck Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula today —the first being the strongest since 1952— resulted in no casualties, and emphasized that the region is well prepared to face such natural disasters.

“Thank God, there were no victims,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov during his daily press briefing.

The presidential representative stated that “all alert systems were activated in time, and evacuations were organized for residents in areas requiring it in response to tsunami threats.”

“Overall, the seismic resilience of the buildings proved effective (…) Therefore, we can say that the technological preparedness demonstrated a high level,” Peskov added.

The U.S. government announced Tuesday that it will begin airing television and online ads encouraging undocumented migrants to self-deport using the CBP Home app, while warning them about the risks of remaining in the country unlawfully.

“If you are an illegal alien, this runway is your future,” says Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in one of the YouTube ads released by her department, as the screen shows a long line of people —allegedly undocumented migrants— waiting to board a plane for removal from the U.S.

To prevent such a scenario, the government urges migrants to download the CBP Home app, launched last March by the Trump administration to facilitate voluntary departure through a series of incentives that would otherwise be lost if they are arrested and deported by authorities.

“The CBP Home app gives foreign nationals the option to leave now and self-deport, so they still have the chance to return legally in the future and live the American dream,” Noem said in a statement issued by the U.S. government.