Paul Eppinger is a 64-year-old convicted gang leader identified by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office as the head of the Arizona Mexican Mafia. He is already serving a federal life sentence for racketeering-related offenses, and in 2025 a state investigation into pandemic unemployment fraud led him to confess to five gang-related murders from the 1990s that had gone unsolved for decades.1AZFamily. Arizona Mexican Mafia Boss Convicted of COVID Fraud, Admits to Cold Case Murders
The Federal Life Sentence That Came First
Eppinger’s current incarceration traces to a federal racketeering prosecution filed in 2002. A grand jury in New Mexico indicted him and eight co-defendants on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, murder, and violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.2United States Courts. United States v. Austin, No. 04-10576 The case was later moved to Phoenix over witness-safety and courthouse-security concerns and re-filed in the District of Arizona in July 2003.3Police1. As Witnesses Keep Dying, Mob Trial Heads to Phoenix
Federal prosecutors sought the death penalty against Eppinger, citing statutory aggravating factors that included substantial planning and premeditation, multiple killings in a single criminal episode, and prior violent felony convictions involving a firearm. They also listed five additional murders as non-statutory aggravating factors: the killings of Thomas James, Raul Sanchez, David Gano, Benny Hernandez, and Carol Romero.4Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel. Notice of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty, United States v. Cisneros et al. Eppinger was ultimately sentenced to life in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office lists his federal convictions as conspiracy, participating in a street gang, money laundering, and illegal control of an enterprise.1AZFamily. Arizona Mexican Mafia Boss Convicted of COVID Fraud, Admits to Cold Case Murders
The Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Scheme
In April 2024, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced a 50-count state grand jury indictment against 30 members and associates of the Arizona Mexican Mafia for filing fraudulent Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims during 2020 and 2021. The charges included fraud schemes and artifices, participating in a criminal syndicate, money laundering, conspiracy, forgery, and illegal control of an enterprise.5Arizona Attorney General. Arizona Mexican Mafia Members and Associates Indicted for Fraudulent Pandemic Assistance
Inmates and their outside associates submitted false information to collect pandemic unemployment funds, which were then funneled back to support the gang’s operations.5Arizona Attorney General. Arizona Mexican Mafia Members and Associates Indicted for Fraudulent Pandemic Assistance The Attorney General’s Office described the losses tied to the gang as “significant” without attaching a specific figure. Statewide, Arizona reportedly lost between $4.3 billion and $4.4 billion to pandemic unemployment fraud and later recovered about $1.4 billion.6AZFamily. 30 Members With Arizona Mexican Mafia Indicted for Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Despite his federal life sentence, Eppinger was identified as continuing to direct gang operations from behind bars, including this scheme.7KTAR. Arizona Street Gang Indicted After Alleged Involvement in Pandemic Assistance Fraud Scheme
The Five Cold-Case Murders
During the fraud proceedings, Eppinger confessed to his involvement in five gang-related killings from the 1990s that had sat unsolved for decades.8Arizona Attorney General. Arizona Mexican Mafia Leader Convicted of Pandemic Unemployment Fraud and Confesses The victims were the same five individuals the federal government had flagged years earlier as non-statutory aggravating factors in the RICO case, though the state had never formally charged the killings until the fraud investigation created the opening.4Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel. Notice of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty, United States v. Cisneros et al.
- Thomas L. James, killed in March 1991, in a case handled in Pinal County.1AZFamily. Arizona Mexican Mafia Boss Convicted of COVID Fraud, Admits to Cold Case Murders
- Benjamin Hernandez, Carol Romero, David Gano, and Raul Sanchez, killed in the summer of 1999 in Maricopa County. ABC15 reported the 1999 killings occurred across March, May, and June of that year.9ABC15. Arizona Mexican Mafia Leader Convicted of Fraud Admits to Role in Unsolved Homicides
2025 Guilty Pleas and Sentences
Eppinger entered guilty pleas in both Maricopa County and Pinal County during 2025. He pleaded guilty in Maricopa County on April 11, 2025, and again on May 12, 2025, covering the four 1999 homicides. He then pleaded guilty in Pinal County on August 14, 2025, in connection with the 1991 killing of Thomas James and the pandemic fraud charges.8Arizona Attorney General. Arizona Mexican Mafia Leader Convicted of Pandemic Unemployment Fraud and Confesses
He received a 25-year prison sentence for each of the five homicides, to be served in addition to his existing federal life sentence. The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Amy Diederich, and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office formally announced the convictions and confessions on September 9, 2025.8Arizona Attorney General. Arizona Mexican Mafia Leader Convicted of Pandemic Unemployment Fraud and Confesses
“Financial fraud investigations prove pivotal yet again in our efforts to dismantle organized crime in Arizona, preventing the Mexican drug cartels from operating within our borders, and holding this violent gang leader accountable under the law,” Mayes said in a statement.8Arizona Attorney General. Arizona Mexican Mafia Leader Convicted of Pandemic Unemployment Fraud and Confesses Eppinger remains incarcerated in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, now with five additional 25-year state sentences stacked on top of his life term.