El Pasoan nicknamed 'Muffin Man' pleads guilty in CIA scam to bilk madam

Reporter
Adriana M. Chávez

An El Paso man nicknamed "Muffin Man" in a federal court document pleaded guilty in a New York courtroom last week, admitting he posed as a CIA agent to bilk a New York madam out of thousands of dollars.

Jonathan Shoman, 33, pleaded guilty on July 26 before U.S. District Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto to an information document charging him with money laundering.

Federal prosecutors also are asking that Shoman pay $ 76,910 in restitution to the government.

According to a complaint affidavit filed in federal court, Shoman accepted criminally derived money for his work for the madam, who isn't identified in the affidavit.

However, some of the information it contains coincides with information in a complaint affidavit filed in the case of Naira Jalovian, a Russian-born U.S. citizen who pleaded guilty in September to racketeering charges.

Shoman apparently told Jalovian he was a CIA agent who could conduct background checks on Jalovian's clients to help her avoid arrest and prosecution.

However, he spent more than $ 2,000 on two websites that offer background searches of individuals for a fee.

Jalovian is scheduled to be sentenced in November, and Shoman's sentencing has been scheduled for January.

Jalovian ran a "high-end" prostitution ring based in two apartments in New Jersey. Her clients included wealthy businessmen, doctors and other low-profile but successful professionals.

She reportedly avoided high-profile clients such as

prominent businessmen, athletes and celebrities to avoid detection by law enforcement.

According to conversations secretly recorded by an undercover Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, Jalovian bragged about hiring as employees an elementary school geometry teacher, a lingerie model, a former Olympic athlete and a military surgeon "whose online photographs had been taken by a Playboy magazine photographer."

Agents estimated Shoman had access to almost $ 77,000 from July 11, 2005, to Oct. 28, 2008, and made several financial transactions in Texas, Florida and parts of New York City, including Manhattan and Queens.

When agents executed a search warrant at one of Jalovian's apartments, they found an address book with an entry for "Muffin" -- which agents think is a reference to Shoman's nickname -- and post office box and physical addresses in El Paso.

According to El Paso County business records, the post office box address matches one registered to JS Public Relations, which is owned by Jonathan Roberto Shoman.

Adriana M. Chávez may be reached at achavez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6117. Follow her on Twitter @AChavezEPTimes.

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