Federal authorities have unsealed sweeping indictments against the top leadership of La Luz del Mundo, a Mexico-based megachurch with millions of followers worldwide, charging six leaders—including the church’s current “apostle,” Naasón Joaquín García, his mother, and four associates—with racketeering, child pornography, and sex trafficking. The charges, announced on September 10, 2025, cap a years-long investigation into what prosecutors describe as a multigenerational pattern of sexual exploitation and abuse embedded within the church’s highest ranks.
Homeland Security Investigators executed search warrants at García’s East Los Angeles home last Wednesday, as reported by CNN and KYMA. García, 56, is already serving a 16-year, 8-month prison sentence in California after a 2022 plea deal on state sex abuse charges. He was moved into federal custody in Chino, California, the same day the indictment was unsealed. His mother, 79-year-old Eva García de Joaquín, was also arrested in Los Angeles. The other defendants—Joram Núñez Joaquín, Silem García Peña, Rosa Sosa, and Azalia Rangel García—face similar charges, with some believed to be at large in Mexico, according to NPR.
Joram Núñez Joaquín, 37, led a congregation in Cicero, Illinois. He was arrested by more than a dozen armed federal agents during a morning sermon, as highlighted by the Chicago Tribune. Núñez Joaquín is accused of posing as a lawyer to silence victims, coercing them to sign false declarations, and destroying evidence—including sex toys and lingerie that victims were forced to wear. Prosecutors allege he also falsified income on loan applications and leased luxury cars such as a Maserati, BMW, and Chevy Camaro, raising questions about the church’s finances. During a detention hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Gilbert expressed “serious concerns” about Núñez Joaquín’s access to money and discrepancies in his financial records, ordering him held in custody pending arraignment in Manhattan.
The indictment paints a grim picture of systemic abuse that, prosecutors say, began under García’s grandfather, Aarón Joaquin Gonzalez, who founded La Luz del Mundo nearly a century ago. The pattern continued with García’s father, Samuel Joaquín Flores, and then García himself. The court documents allege that “on at least one occasion, [Samuel’s wife Eva García de Joaquín] held down a minor victim so that Samuel could rape the victim.” Many girls and women abused by one generation of church leaders remained in the church and became mothers to the next generation of victims, prosecutors claim.
Victims, some as young as 13, were often coerced through spiritual threats—told that submitting to sexual acts would lead to their salvation, or refusal would result in damnation. Prosecutors allege García directed girls, boys, and women to participate in group sex, sometimes wearing masks to conceal incestuous encounters. These acts, described in federal court filings as “sadistic sexual rituals for his sexual gratification,” were allegedly enabled by family members and trusted associates who groomed victims, destroyed evidence, and prevented reports of abuse from reaching authorities.
According to the indictment, the abuse and trafficking spanned continents, with victims transported on international trips to Asia, Europe, Africa, Mexico, and the United States. Some victims were even used to help smuggle money, the documents allege. The church, based in Guadalajara, Mexico, claims to have more than 6 million followers and operates in over 60 countries, with substantial holdings and congregations throughout the United States—including in California, New York, Nevada, Texas, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C.
Financial impropriety is another major theme in the case. Searches of the García family’s two adjoining homes in East Los Angeles uncovered over $1 million in U.S. currency, foreign cash, numerous gold coins, platinum pieces, luxury watches, and jewelry. Officers discovered a trapdoor under a bed in Eva García de Joaquín’s house, leading to an underground safe containing around $220,000 in cash, a jade-wrapped USB drive, and gold coins. Prosecutors argue that the family has “access to vast internationally accessible wealth” and have sought the forfeiture of multiple properties, including three homes in Los Angeles and a rural estate in San Bernardino County, California.
Prosecutors further allege that church members were required to forward a portion of their income to the church, funding the García family’s extravagant lifestyle—luxury cars, designer clothing, and first-class travel worldwide. As NPR reports, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated, “They exploited the faith of their followers to prey upon them. When they were confronted, they leveraged their religious influence and financial power to intimidate and coerce victims into remaining silent about the abuse they had suffered.”
The charges have resonated deeply among survivors. Sochil Martin, a former church member who has cooperated with authorities, told NPR that “so many survivors have been speaking up now” both in Mexico and the U.S. Martin described the day of the federal charges as “a good day” for her aunt, herself a survivor of abuse by earlier church leaders. “Even though Samuel left this world and didn’t pay his debt to society and to the kids that he abused, at least his wife is now living to see that day. And that’s a form of justice for a lot of survivors.”
The case has also drawn attention to the intense power wielded by the church’s leadership. Jennifer Tiexiera, director of the HBO documentary Unveiled: Surviving La Luz del Mundo, told NPR that “the power that they wield is extreme. The members believe that that’s the direct connection to God himself.” She emphasized that it is not the membership that is corrupt, but the hierarchy at the top, a sentiment echoed by many former congregants.
Despite the extensive evidence presented by federal authorities, García’s defense attorney Alan Jackson has categorically denied all charges, calling them “a reckless campaign of government overreach.” In a statement to NPR, Jackson said, “We reject the grotesque portrait painted by the government and its allies. We categorically deny these charges.” He further argued that the allegations are “a rehashing of old, recycled claims that have been made before, scrutinized before, and ultimately debunked and disproven before.”
The investigation, which relied on information from dozens of survivors, remains ongoing. Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel thanked the “brave survivors who provided law enforcement with vital information related to these allegations” and encouraged others with helpful information to come forward. The case is being prosecuted in the Southern District of New York, overseen by District Judge Loretta Preska, who has previously handled other high-profile sex trafficking cases.
As the legal proceedings unfold, the story of La Luz del Mundo’s leadership has become a stark example of how unchecked religious authority and secrecy can enable decades of abuse—and how the courage of survivors can finally bring such secrets to light.