Dozens Arrested In Raid On SFV White Supremacist Gang

LOS ANGELES, CA — Police arrested dozens of people Wednesday in a raid targeting a long-entrenched white supremacist gang in the San Fernando Valley, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Sixty-eight defendants are named in a 76-count indictment, and 42 people have already been arrested in connection with allegations of conspiracy, drug trafficking, violence, weapons violations, identity theft and COVID-19 and loan fraud.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, 29 people named in the indictment were arrested Wednesday in a series of morning raids by the Los Angeles Police Department and other agencies. Thirteen other defendants were already in custody, prosecutors said. Several of the lead defendants live in Chatsworth and Granada Hills in what prosecutors describes as stash houses. All are believed to be part of the white supremacist gang known as the San Fernando Valley Peckerwoods.

Prosecutors said the gang has been allied with the Aryan Brotherhood and Mexican Mafia, and its members use "Nazi tattoos, graffiti and iconography to indicate their violent white supremacy extremist ideology."

“The Peckerwoods’ violent white-supremacist ideology and wide-ranging criminal activity pose a grave menace to our community,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “By allegedly engaging in everything from drug-trafficking to firearms offenses to identity theft to COVID fraud, and through their alliance with a neo-Nazi prison gang, the Peckerwoods are a destructive force. In prosecuting the members of the Peckerwoods criminal organization, our office is carrying out its mission to protect the public from the most dangerous threats.”

The indictment includes charges of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, distribution of controlled substances, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon.

The 254-page indictment includes images of drugs used for trafficking, weapons seized and tattoos identifying gang members, according to the justice department.

“The Justice Department has dealt a decisive blow to the San Fernando Valley (SFV) Peckerwoods, a violent white supremacist gang that we charge is responsible for trafficking deadly fentanyl and other drugs, committing robberies, and perpetrating financial fraud to fund both their criminal enterprise and that of the Aryan Brotherhood,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “With today’s charges and arrests, the Justice Department, together with our state, local, and federal partners has targeted the heart of this gang’s operations, and we will continue to zero in on the criminal enterprises that endanger our communities.”

During the investigation, law enforcement seized "large quantities of illegal firearms, and dozens of pounds of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin," prosecutors said.

The indictment alleges criminal activities dating back to at least December 2016, saying the gang used social media -- including a members-only Facebook group -- to share information and target people who violated the gang's rules. It alleges that "to generate revenue for the gang, its members trafficked narcotics, including fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine," prosecutors said.

Gang members also generated revenue through robberies, identity-theft schemes and financial fraud, including bogus applications for Paycheck Protection Program funds, where were made available to assist businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The proliferation of gang-related organized crime deteriorates the core of our society," Los Angeles Police Department interim Chief Dominic Choi said in a statement. "Taking guns out of the hands of gang members and drugs from our streets is just one more step towards reducing this deterioration. "

In 2016, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office filed nuisance abatement orders against SFV members and associates and identified properties in Granada Hills and Canoga Park as havens for SFV criminal activity.

According to those filings, Los Angeles police officers recovered stolen vehicles and credit cards, heroin, and methamphetamine on multiple occasions at the Granada Hills home of defendant John Michael Reed, an SFV member.

Claire Patricia Haviland, 62, of Chatsworth, andBrian Glenn Ekelund, 53, of Chatsworth, and Brianne Brewer, 38, of North Hollywood, maintained and oversaw drug stash houses where large quantities of fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and other drugs were stored prior to distribution, prosecutors allege. Haviland and Ekelund allegedly mailed illegal drugs to customers and used applications such as Zelle and CashApp to receive money from drug buyers and send money to their drug sources, the justice department contends.

Gang members also generated revenue via robberies and financial fraud and participated in identity theft schemes, prosecutors allege.

From at least March 2021 to July 2023, Sean Craig Gluckman, 35, of Encino, Maria Anna James, 30, of Canyon Country, and others submitted false and fraudulent applications for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) designed to aid businesses harmed by the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the justice department. They signed fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of individuals incarcerated in California state prisons and collected a portion of the fraudulently obtained proceeds, the indictment states.

Gluckman in April 2021 submitted an application that falsely stated he was a self-employed “artist/writer” with a gross income of nearly $250,000. Later that month, he obtained a PPP loan in the amount of $20,833, prosecutors said. He went on to claim jobless benefits as well, according to the indictment.

In addition to the charges, the indictment describes a lifestyle centered on hatred.

“This operation, led by our Joint Terrorism Task Force, disrupted a racially motivated violent extremist group who engaged in a wide range of criminal activity,” said Akil Davis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office. “This case strikes at the heart of our collective mission to rid our communities of the corrosive elements that fuel violence and extremism that greatly impact our way of life.”

“The San Fernando Valley Peckerwoods, the Aryan Brotherhood and their associates are fused by one thing: hatred,” added Matthew Allen, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Los Angeles Field Division. “It appears, however, that the business of hate was not enough for them. Driven by greed, they engaged in other crimes, including drug distribution, pushing out deadly fentanyl onto our streets. Operating from corners of the San Fernando Valley, they conducted their crimes within and beyond the 8-1-8 community. Today’s large-scale indictments and arrests reflect our relentless commitment to dismantling criminal organizations that continue to harm our communities.”

City News Service contributed to this report.