Eastern District of California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Boone B. Khoonsrivong, 41, of Stockton, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley to five years and five months in prison for conspiracy to commit credit card fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme aimed at Target REDcard account holders across the United States involving hundreds of fraudulent transactions and at least 1,000 victims, United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. Khoonsrivong was also sentenced to a concurrent term of three years for destruction of letter boxes in in Wallace, California, charged in a separate indictment.

According to the indictment charging the credit-card fraud conspiracy, between March 2014 and September 2015, Khoonsrivong and eight co-conspirators stole personal information from victims through various methods. The conspirators then used that information to create unauthorized access devices or otherwise used unauthorized access devices to obtain things of value in excess of $1,000. Part of the scheme involved using unauthorized access devices in the form of Target REDcard account numbers to buy large amounts of electronics, pre-paid gift cards, and other goods at Target locations throughout the Sacramento area, northern California, and elsewhere. The indictment further alleged that Khoonsrivong possessed and used device-making equipment with the intent to defraud. 

In all, the indictment alleges that more than 300 counterfeit and unauthorized access devices were possessed, used, produced, or trafficked by members of the conspiracy, and over 1,000 victims have been identified to date as having had their identities compromised as a result of the conspiracy. All of Khoonsrivong’s eight co-defendants have pled guilty, six of the co-defendants have already been sentenced, and two await sentencing. 

This case is the product of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Stockton Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys André M. Espinosa and Rosanne L. Rust are prosecuting the case.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment today against Tamaran Edward Bontemps, 20, of Granite Bay, charging him with possessing a firearm as a felon, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, on April 18, 2018, law enforcement officers stopped a group of four men in Vallejo after officers noticed a gun-shaped object in one of the men’s clothing. The officers found a 9 mm handgun in the first man’s sweater. During the encounter, one of the officers also saw an object inside Bontemps’ sweatshirt that the officer believed was a gun. Officers searched Bontemps and located a .40 caliber pistol holstered inside Bontemps’ sweatshirt. Bontemps cannot lawfully possess firearms or ammunition because he has previously been convicted of a felony offense.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Solano County Violent Crimes Task Force and the Vallejo Police Department. 

If convicted, Bontemps faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —Steel A. Davis, 45, of Chico, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Troy L. Nunley to 33 months in prison for a scheme to obtain bonuses for referring individuals to enlist in the California National Guard, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

On January 29, 2018, after an eight-day trial, a federal jury found Davis guilty of eight counts of wire fraud.

“Those who receive funds from the government have a duty to follow the law,” said Frank Robey, the director of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit. “This verdict should put those attempting to defraud the U.S. government on notice that there will be consequences for their actions. Our organization and our law enforcement partners will continue to pursue those who erode the rule of law in order to exploit others for their own greed.”

“During his time as a California Army National Guard Recruiter, Steel Davis betrayed public trust by conspiring with others to illegally obtain thousands of dollars in bonus money and kickbacks” said Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI Sacramento field office. “The FBI is committed to working with its investigative partners to identify and vigorously pursue those who engage in public corruption and government fraud.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the United States Army contracted with a company called Document and Packaging Broker Inc. (DOCUPAK) to administer the Guard Recruiting Assistance Program (G-RAP). Under G-RAP, members of the California National Guard served as Recruiting Assistants. If a Recruiting Assistant referred a potential Guard member to a recruiting office and that person ultimately enlisted, the Recruiting Assistant was eligible to receive a $1,000 payment when a person enlisted and a second $1,000 payment when the recruit left for boot camp.

Davis was a recruiter with the California National Guard and was ineligible to participate in the G-RAP program. However, realizing the potential to make money through G-RAP, Davis gave recruits’ information to his co‑conspirators who had signed up to be Recruiting Assistants. The RAs would then file false claims with DOCUPAK that they had referred the recruits to join the Guard when, in fact, the recruits had joined on their own initiative. When the compensation was received, Davis split the proceeds of the fraud with the Recruiting Assistants.

This trial was the fourth and final trial derived from a multi-agency investigation by the Army Criminal Investigative Command Major Procurement Fraud Unit, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that began in 2012.  In total, 10 former soldiers across the Fresno and Sacramento divisions of the Eastern District of California were convicted of criminal charges for abusing the GRAP program. Separate from the criminal cases, other soldiers agreed to repay bonuses as part of civil settlements with the United States. 

This case was the product of an investigation by the Army Criminal Investigation Command Major Procurement Fraud Unit, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew G. Morris and Katherine T. Lydon prosecuted the Sacramento cases, and Assistant United States Attorney Michael G. Tierney and Trial Attorneys Alexis J. Loeb and Jacklin Chou Lem prosecuted the Fresno cases. Assistant United States Attorney Vincente Tennerelli represented the United States in civil recovery efforts.

Other National Guard members and recruiters have been charged in similar schemes in the Eastern District of California.

• 1:14-cr-109-LJO — Jimmy D. Maldonado, 37, and Mayra L. Maldonado, 31, both of Fresno, were convicted on January 29, 2018, after a jury found them guilty of three counts of wire fraud. On May 21, 2018, Jimmy Maldonado was sentenced to six months in prison, and Mayra Maldonado was sentenced to five years of probation.
• 2:14-cr-153 TLN — Brian Kaps, 44, of Chico, pleaded guilty on November 21, 2014, to one count of wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 31, 2018.
• 2:14-cr-152 TLN — Sarah Nattress, 30, of Paradise, pleaded guilty on October 23, 2014, to one count of wire fraud. She is scheduled to be sentenced on May 31, 2018.
• 2:18-cr-012 TLN — Jason M. Hair, of Paradise, pleaded guilty on January 18, 2018, to one count of wire fraud and one count of making false statements. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 12, 2018.
• 1:14-cr-107 DAD — Leonardo Pesta, 49, of Mountain View, pleaded guilty on July 27, 2015, to one count of wire fraud and was sentenced to two years of probation.
• 1:14-cr-108-LJO — Nicholas Huerta, 36, of Fresno, pleaded guilty on September 14, 2015, to one count of wire fraud and was sentenced to four years of probation.
• 2:14-cr-151 JAM — Richard C. Sihner, 55, of Elk Grove, was convicted on January 22, 2016, of 18 counts of wire fraud and one count of making false statements following a seven-day jury trial and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
• 1:14-cr-106 DAD — Joaquin Cuenca, 40, of San Diego, was convicted on February 1, 2016, of three counts of wire fraud and one count of making false statements following a seven-day jury trial. He was sentenced to six months in prison.

A former U.S. Air Force staff sergeant pleaded guilty today to seeking and receiving a bribe from an Afghan contractor while serving in Afghanistan.  The sergeant worked at the Humanitarian Aid Yard (HA Yard) at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan and was involved in the issuance of contracts to replenish supplies at the HA Yard under the Commander’s Emergency Response Program (CERP).  The sergeant is the eighth defendant to plead guilty in the investigation of this matter. 

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott of the Eastern District of California, Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno of the FBI’s Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko, Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office, Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s (CID) Major Procurement Fraud Unit (MPFU) and Colonel Kirk B. Stabler, Commander of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) made the announcement.

David A. Turcios, 41, currently of San Jose, California, was charged in an indictment filed in July 2017 in the Eastern District of California with two counts of seeking and receiving bribes.  The indictment charges him with seeking and receiving $8,500 in bribes from two Afghan contractors who sought contracts for companies with which they were associated.  Turcios pleaded guilty to count two of the indictment before U.S. District Court Judge John A. Mendez of the Eastern District of California, in Sacramento.  Turcios is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Mendez on Aug. 28.

Turcios admitted at the time of the guilty plea that, from November 2010 until November 2011, he worked as a U.S. Air Force staff sergeant at the HA Yard.  He was the yard supervisor responsible for replenishing supplies such as rice, beans and clothing at the HA Yard and overseeing the loading of trucks that took the supplies off the base.  During Turcios’s tenure, approximately nine contracts in which Turcios was involved were awarded to Afghan vendors with a value of over $2 million.

Turcios admitted that as part of his duties at the HA Yard, Turcios worked closely with, among others, an Afghan vendor (the Vendor) who sought to obtain contracts to replenish supplies in the HA Yard for companies with which he was associated.  In September 2011, Turcios agreed to allow the Vendor to provide the names of the three companies to be selected on each of the replenishment contracts he oversaw, effectively allowing the Vendor to select the company awarded the respective contract.  Because Turcios was nearing the end of his deployment in Afghanistan, he only had time to prepare approximately two contracts with the Vendor and, in October 2011, two contracts in which Turcios was involved were awarded to companies owned by individuals associated with the Vendor.

In late October or early November 2011, just prior to Turcios’s re-deployment to the United States, the Vendor offered Turcios $3,500 in return for Turcios’s actions on behalf of the Vendor as to HA Yard replenishment contracts, Turcios admitted.  Turcios thereafter sent several emails urging U.S. Army officials to approve payments to the Vendor in connection with the Vendor’s HA Yard contracts and obtained from the U.S. Army a voucher authorizing payment to the Vendor.  In February 2013, the Vendor wire transferred to Turcios’ wife’s bank account $500 of the $3,500 promised.

This matter was investigated by the FBI, SIGAR, DCIS, Army CID-MPFU and Air Force OSI.  Trial Attorney Daniel Butler of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Yelovich of the Eastern District of California.

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned an eight-count indictment against Aurora Cuara, 38, of Lemoore, last Thursday, charging her with theft from an Indian tribal organization, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Cuara was the director of the Santa Rosa Rancheria Department of Education in Lemoore, which belongs to the Tachi Yokut tribe. The Rancheria operated a higher education program through its Department of Education that allowed Tachi Yokut tribal members to apply to have their higher education tuition and other costs of school attendance, such as child care and books, paid by Santa Rosa Rancheria.

According to the indictment, while overseeing the reimbursement program, Cuara submitted false documentation in order to receive reimbursement for tuition, childcare, mileage and other costs of attending college between 2012 and 2016, even though she was not a student. To support her reimbursement requests, Cuara submitted falsified documents, including fabricated schedules, grade reports, and receipts.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Richards is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Cuara faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

FRESNO, Calif. —Sylvia Ochoa, 35, of Selma, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd to 18 months in prison for embezzlement from a financial institution, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Ochoa was the branch manager at the Bank of America’s Fresno branch at 4445 E. Tulare Street. On multiple occasions between March 2013 and October 2013, Ochoa prevented other bank employees from counting the cash in the vault located in the branch. She would then enter the vault after the branch was closed and remove cash to spend on personal expenses. Ochoa also made fraudulent counter credits and transfers into accounts over which she had control, including two accounts she opened in the name of her boyfriend. The money was then spent on personal expenses and items, including a truck, casino gambling, and expensive handbags. Ochoa embezzled at least $165,850 from Bank of America during this time.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael G. Tierney prosecuted the case.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez sentenced Gordon Owen Miller, 60, of Clayton, to 20 years in prison for methamphetamine trafficking, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

On February 7, 2018, after a five-day trial, a federal jury found Miller and his co‑defendant Donnie Joe Phillips, 65, of Concord, guilty of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Miller was found guilty of two counts of distribution and two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Phillips was also found guilty of eight counts of distribution and two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

According to trial evidence, between June 2014 and February 2015, Phillips and Miller supplied methamphetamine to co-defendant Phyliss Mosher, 51, of Vallejo, who supplied it to an undercover agent. The drug deals took place in Solano and Yolo Counties. On January 25, 2018, Mosher was sentenced to 15 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to the methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy on May 9, 2017. Phillips is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Mendez on June 19, 2018.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office, the California Highway Patrol, the Vallejo Police Department, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Hitt and Jill Thomas are prosecuting the case.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF program was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Today, just as trial was set to begin, Martin Gasca-Rojas, 49, of Mexico, pleaded guilty to three counts of distributing methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, between October 2016 and May 2017, Gasca-Rojas distributed nearly 4 pounds of methamphetamine on three occasions. In October 2016, Gasca‑Rojas sold 1 pound of methamphetamine for $3,300. In November 2016, he arranged a sale of 2 pounds of methamphetamine for $6,500, and had two other individuals deliver the methamphetamine. Finally, in May 2017, he sold 1 pound of methamphetamine for $3,600.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Audrey B. Hemesath and Owen Roth are prosecuting the case.

Gasca-Rojas is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez on August 21, 2018. Gasca-Rojas faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

FRESNO, Calif. — U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd sentenced Brandi Marshall, 41, of Fresno to four years and three months in prison, and Daniel Barrios Jr., 37, of Fresno to two years and seven months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and conspiracy to launder money in connection with their embezzlement of money from a Fresno business, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Marshall was employed as the company’s bookkeeper between October 2014 and March 2016 and was responsible for, among other things, receiving and depositing checks from customers to pay their invoices. During that time, she and Barrios misappropriated more than 100 checks and fraudulently deposited them into Barrios’ personal bank account. Marshall and Barrios used money derived from the fraudulently deposited checks for personal purchases, including more than $35,000 to purchase and accessorize a 2016 Ford Mustang GT, and more than $25,000 to purchase a 2012 Dodge Challenger. Marshall created fictitious entries in the company’s computer accounting application to attempt to conceal the embezzlement. Together, Marshall and Barrios embezzled more than $1 million and were ordered by the court to pay restitution.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher D. Baker prosecuted the case.

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment today against Juan Pina, 22, of Bakersfield, charging him with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine and other related charges, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, on November 16, 2017, Pina allegedly paid to ship nearly 300 grams of cocaine through a Bakersfield parcel service to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. On November 30, 2017, Pina shipped a package containing three pounds of methamphetamine to Indianapolis, Indiana. On December 1, 2017, it is alleged that Pina shipped a package containing approximately 1 kilogram of cocaine to Virginia Beach, Virginia. Records obtained from the parcel service indicated that Pina, using the same alias each time, made similar shipments on at least 45 additional occasions.

On May 3, 2018, search warrants were executed for Pina’s residence and vehicle, and additional drugs were recovered at each location.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Bakersfield Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian K. Delaney is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Pina faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Attorney General Sessions and McGregor W. Scott, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, recognized the service and sacrifice of federal, state, local, and tribal police officers on the occasion of National Police Week, and commented on the FBI’s 2017 Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted report.

According to statistics collected by the FBI, 93 law enforcement officers were killed in line-of-duty incidents in 2017 — a 21 percent decrease from 2016 when 118 law enforcement officers were killed in line-of-duty incidents.

Additionally, in 2017 there were 46 law enforcement officers killed in line-of-duty incidents as a result of felonious acts — this is a 30 percent decrease from 2016, when 66 law enforcement officers were killed in line-of-duty incidents as a result of felonious acts.

 “One officer death is too many,” Attorney General Sessions said. “While we are inexpressibly grateful to have had a decrease in the number of officers killed in the line-of-duty last year, the number is still far too high. At the Department of Justice, we honor the memories of the fallen, and we pray for their families. We are also following President Trump’s Executive Orders to back the women and men in blue, to enhance law enforcement safety, and to reduce violent crime in America. Those priorities will help keep every American safe, including those who risk their lives for us. As always, we have their backs and they have our thanks.”

“This week is a somber reminder of the dangers our law enforcement officers face on our behalf,” U.S. Attorney Scott said. “These officers strive to keep our communities safe and they put their lives on the line in the service of others. We are humbled by the sacrifices they make and we take this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude for their service.”

In October 1962, Congress passed and President Kennedy signed a joint resolution declaring May 15th as National Peace Officers Memorial Day to honor law enforcement officers killed or disabled in the line of duty. The resolution also created National Police Week as an annual tribute to law enforcement service and sacrifice.

During Police Week, which is observed from Sunday, May 13 to Saturday, May 19, 2018, our nation celebrates the contributions of police officers from around the country, recognizing their hard work, dedication, loyalty and commitment in keeping our communities safe.

In the last several days, U.S. Attorney Scott and others from the U.S. Attorney’s Office helped to commemorate the selfless service of law enforcement officers by attending the California Highway Patrol Peace Officer Memorial at the CHP Academy, the California Peace Officer Memorial Ceremony at the California Peace Officers Memorial, the Sacramento Peace Officer Memorial, and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Annual Public Safety and Community Appreciation Luncheon.

Today, we take time to remember the courage by which peace officers live their lives, and we remember the tragic loss of those from our community who died in the line of duty:

CHP Officer Lucas Forrest Chellew, who died in February 2017;

Stanislaus County Deputy Sheriff Jason Allen Garner who died in May 2017; and,

Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff Robert Allan French who died in August 2017.

The names of all 93 fallen officers nationwide will be formally dedicated on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC, during the 30th Annual Candlelight Vigil on the evening of May 13, 2018. So that people across the country can experience this unique and powerful ceremony, the vigil will be livestreamed beginning at 5:00 p.m. PDT on May 13th. To register for this free online event, visit www.LawMemorial.org/webcast.

The Candlelight Vigil is one of many commemorative events taking place in the nation’s capital during National Police Week 2018.

For more information about other National Police Week events, please visit www.policeweek.org.

To access the FBI’s 2017 Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted report, please visit www.fbi.gov.

FRESNO, Calif. — Mark Merrill Reynolds, 62, of Fresno, pleaded guilty today to  unlawfully converting to his own use client funds held by his company, Ben-E-Lect, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Reynolds was the president and sole shareholder of Ben‑E-Lect and Ben-E-Lect of Visalia. These companies operated in Fresno and Tulare Counties. Ben-E-Lect’s clients were small to medium sized businesses that purchased high‑deductible, fully insured group medical plans from independent insurance carriers, and then self‑insured beneficiaries for amounts up to the amount of the high deductible.  Ben-E-Lect processed the claims using funds that its clients paid into an account known as the Ben-E-Lect Employer Elect account. Ben-E-Lect was required to hold these funds in a fiduciary capacity and to withdraw clients’ funds only for specific purposes, none of which included Ben-E-Lect’s own operational expenses or Reynold’s personal gain.

According to the plea agreement, Reynolds converted funds from the Employer Elect account to his own use by withdrawing funds from the account and then using these funds for business operational expenses of Ben-E-Lect, and to pay his own personal expenses. 

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the California Department of Insurance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark J. McKeon and Henry Z. Carbajal III are prosecuting the case.  Reynolds is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill on August 20, 2018, at 10:45 a.m. 

Reynolds faces a maximum statutory penalty of 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Tou Fue Lor, 24, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to mail fraud, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, credit application fraud, and unlawful possession of identification documents, all committed while he was on supervised release for similar crimes he had previously committed, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to the plea agreement, on May 20, 2014, Lor was convicted and later sentenced to serve 18 months in federal custody to be followed by three years of supervised release for identity theft offenses. After serving his sentence and while on supervised release, Lor failed to report his whereabouts to federal probation authorities.

Lor admitted in court that between May 2017 and July 2017, he operated a scheme to steal money from banks. Using victims’ stolen identification documents, Lor applied for checking and savings accounts and deposited stolen and altered checks into the accounts. He also applied for a line of credit using the identity of another victim.

According to court documents, on July 11, 2017, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Lor’s residence and found evidence of Lor’s fraudulent activity. Lor left the Sacramento area and was arrested in Fresno on February 20, 2018. He pleaded guilty today to the new federal charges and admitted to violations of the terms of his supervised release.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the Roseville Police Department and the California Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rodriguez is prosecuting the case.

Lor is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on July 30, 2018. Lor faces a maximum statutory sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for mail fraud, bank fraud, and credit application fraud, and a mandatory minimum of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft to be served consecutively to any other sentence. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

FRESNO, Calif. — Jose Manuel Sanchez-Zapien, aka “Chacal” (Sanchez), 38, a citizen of Mexico from Coalcomán, Michoacán, residing in Dos Palos, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for conspiring to manufacture marijuana, and manufacturing marijuana in the Sequoia National Forest, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. Sanchez was also ordered to pay $8,665 in restitution to the U.S. Forest Service for damage to public land and natural resources caused by the cultivation operation.

According to court documents, between August 26, 2016 and June 13, 2017, Sanchez delivered supplies to growers at a marijuana cultivation site in Alder Creek in the Sequoia National Forest. The drop point had been used numerous times in the past to bring supplies to marijuana growers in the Slick Rock Creek drainage area. Law enforcement officers found over 20,952 marijuana plants at the Alder Creek site.

Approximately three acres of public land were almost completely stripped of vegetation and the ground was terraced to accommodate the marijuana plants. Large amounts of ammonium nitrate and other fertilizers, Spectracide brand insecticide containers, and trash were scattered throughout the site.

Co-defendant Maximiliano Farias-Martinez allegedly supervised Sanchez and others associated with the site. He is scheduled for trial on November 27, 2018. The charges as to Farias are only allegations, and he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service with assistance from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General’s Office of Investigations, and the Merced Area Gang and Narcotics Enforcement Team (MAGNET). Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen A. Escobar is prosecuting the case.

FRESNO, Calif. — Michael Vincent Alvarez, 32, of Fresno, Calif., was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for striking Air-1, a Fresno Police Department helicopter, with a powerful green laser beam, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, on October 22, 2017, Alvarez struck a Fresno Police helicopter several times with a powerful green laser. The laser caused visual interference of the tactical flight officer and disrupted an air support response to a domestic violence call. Alvarez was driving a vehicle on Highway 99 when he pointed the laser at the helicopter and tracked and struck it. When ground units were called to apprehend Alvarez, he drove through the streets of Fresno at a high rate of speed, eluding officers for several miles until he crashed into the center divider at First Street and Floradora Avenue. Following the crash, Alvarez ran into a residential area, jumping several fences until he was arrested in a backyard. A green laser pointer that officers found inside the driver side door pocket of Alvarez’s vehicle had a danger warning on it.

In 2017, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported 6,771 laser strikes of aircraft or 18.55 per day nationwide. In the Eastern District of California, which encompasses 34 counties in the eastern portion of California, there were over 170 laser strikes reported. Law enforcement and emergency transport helicopters are particularly vulnerable, since they typically fly at lower altitudes. Their convex-shaped windows also cause greater refraction and visual interference when the beam of a laser strikes.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar prosecuted the case.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — May Levy, 27, of Walnut Creek, pleaded guilty today to conducting an illegal gambling business, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, between September 2015 and November 2017, Levy conducted an illegal gambling business in concert with his co-defendants, Eran Buhbut, 32, of Oakland; Yaniv Gohar, 34, of Berkeley; and Orel Gohar, 27, of San Francisco, as a part of the Gohar organization. In violation of California law, members of the Gohar organization, including Levy, installed and maintained video slot machines at businesses open to the public across Northern California. Levy and other members of the Gohar organization then split the proceeds from these illegal gambling machines with the owners of the small businesses in which the machines were installed. Levy was responsible for machines placed in businesses in Stockton, Sacramento, Concord, Hayward, Antioch, El Cerrito, San Pablo, Richmond, San Jose, Watsonville, and Salida. Levy collected approximately $3,000 to $4,000 per week from these locations on behalf of the organization.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and California Department of Justice – Bureau of Gambling Control. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew M. Yelovich and Miriam R. Hinman are prosecuting the case.

Levy remains out of custody pending sentencing. Buhbut is set for a status conference on June 1, 2018. Yaniv Gohar and Orel Gohar failed to appear at January court hearings, and warrants have been issued for their arrest.

Levy is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell, Jr. on August 3, 2018. Levy faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. sentenced a Sacramento man today for his participation in a scheme that involved stealing and deconstructing U.S. Postal Service locks to reverse engineer keys in order to steal U.S. Mail, steal identities and defraud financial institutions, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

Billee Vang, 27, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison and ordered to pay $5,733 in restitution. On November 17, 2017, Vang and his co-defendant, Dang Vue, 28, of Sacramento pleaded guilty to bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, theft of stolen U.S. mail, stealing and reproducing postal service locks and keys, and unlawful possession of at least five identification documents for fraudulent purposes.

According to court documents, between January 13, 2017, and May 12, 2017, Vang and Vue stole mail throughout Sacramento and Placer Counties, including neighborhoods in Roseville, Elk Grove, and Sacramento. As part of their criminal scheme, the defendants stole Postal Service locks and used them to reverse engineer keys to open neighborhood mailbox units and steal mail from them.

Vang and Vue used the stolen mail, including checks and identification documents, to take over victim bank and credit accounts. Additionally, they used and attempted to use credit and debit cards, credit card convenience checks, and personal checks that had been stolen from postal customers to conduct unauthorized transactions at the expense of federally insured financial institutions.

On May 12, 2017, when arrested in Elk Grove, the defendants were found to possess numerous reverse engineered counterfeit keys, metal filing tools, pry bars and other burglary tools, and stolen U.S. mail from neighborhood mailbox units. On April 27, 2018, Vue was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison and ordered to pay $5,733 in restitution.

This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with assistance from Elk Grove Police Department, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, and Roseville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rodriguez prosecuted the case.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal jury found John Lamont Winn, 53, of Vallejo, guilty today of passing counterfeit $100 bills, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on June 13, 2017, Winn and two associates passed approximately $6,600 over six transactions in less than one hour at a casino in Lincoln, California. Those bills were detected as counterfeit by the casino’s bank. On June 16, 2017, Winn and another associate passed approximately $29,200 in counterfeit currency at two banks in Vallejo. The bills were held aside by the bank on the basis of their appearance, and they were later determined by the Secret Service to be counterfeit.

This case is the product of an investigation by the United States Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew G. Morris and Quinn Hochhalter are prosecuting the case.

Winn is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley on August 2, 2018. Winn faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Emanuel Mois, 25, of Citrus Heights, was arraigned today on an indictment charging him with receipt of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Mois knowingly received visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct between November 2016 and February 2017.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Citrus Heights Police Department, with assistance from the Roseville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Schuller Hitchcock is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Mois faces a minimum statutory penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison, as well as a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Mangal Gill, 58, of San Ramon, pleaded guilty today to two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery and identity fraud, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Gill owned Central Truck Driving School, which had locations in Fremont, Lathrop, Fresno, and Salinas. Between April 2012 and April 2015, Gill conspired with employees of the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and others to fraudulently obtain commercial driver’s licenses (CDL) for Gill’s truck school students and others who did not take or pass the written or the behind-the-wheel driving examinations. Gill received money from those wishing to obtain a CDL and, in turn, paid money to the DMV employees, who would access the DMV’s database to alter records indicating that the individuals had passed tests when, in fact, they had not passed them or, in some instances, taken any examination at all. As a result, individuals were able to obtain driver’s licenses, including commercial licenses to operate tractor-trailer trucks, without having taken and passed the requisite written or behind-the-wheel driving tests.

This case is the product of a series of ongoing investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the California DMV, Office of Internal Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Todd A. Pickles and Rosanne Rust are prosecuting the case.

Co-defendant Andrew Kimura, a DMV employee, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and identity fraud and was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison. Emma Klem, another DMV employee, and Kulwinder Dosanjh Singh, a broker, also previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and identity fraud as part of the same investigation in United States v. Klem, 2:15-cr-00139 GEB, and United States v. Kulwinder Dosanjh, 2:15-cr-00146 GEB, respectively. They are awaiting sentencing.

Trial has been set for co-defendants Pavittar Dosangh Singh and Robert Turchin for June 19, 2018. The charges against them are only allegations; these defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Gill is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. on July 13, 2018. Gill faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,00 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. sentenced a Sacramento man today for his participation in a scheme that involved stealing and deconstructing U.S. Postal Service locks to reverse engineer keys in order to steal U.S. Mail, steal identities and defraud financial institutions, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

Dang Vue, 28, was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison. On November 17, 2017, Vue and his co-defendant, Billee Vang, 27, pleaded guilty to bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, theft of stolen U.S. mail, stealing and reproducing postal service locks and keys, and unlawful possession of at least five identification documents for fraudulent purposes.

According to court documents, between January 13, 2017, and May 12, 2017, Vue and Vang stole mail throughout Sacramento and Placer Counties, including neighborhoods in Roseville, Elk Grove, and Sacramento. As part of their criminal scheme, Vue and Vang stole Postal Service locks and used them to reverse engineer keys to open neighborhood mailbox units and steal mail from them.

Vue and Vang used the stolen mail, including checks and identification documents, to take over victim bank and credit accounts. Additionally, they used and attempted to use credit and debit cards, credit card convenience checks, and personal checks that had been stolen from postal customers to conduct unauthorized transactions at the expense of federally insured financial institutions.

On May 12, 2017, when arrested in Elk Grove, the defendants were found to possess numerous reverse engineered counterfeit keys, metal filing tools, pry bars and other burglary tools, and stolen U.S. mail from neighborhood mailbox units.

This case is the product of investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the Elk Grove Police Department, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, and the Roseville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rodriguez is prosecuting the case.

Vang is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Burrell on May 4, 2018. He faces up to 30 years in prison for the bank fraud convictions, and a mandatory consecutive two years in prison for aggravated identity theft. He also faces up to five years in prison for theft of U.S. Mail, 10 years in prison for stealing and reproducing postal service locks and keys, and 15 years in prison for possessing over five identity documents for purposes of fraud.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —Nelli Kesoyan, 46, of Rancho Cordova, was sentenced today to four years and nine months in prison for conspiring to make false statements in a matter related to naturalization and citizenship and to obstruct, impede, or influence a pending agency proceeding, and for falsifying government records, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

In addition, U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. sentenced co-defendant, Vanik Movsesyan, 61, of Burbank, to 21 months in prison for his role in the conspiracy. Kesoyan’s husband, Grigor Kesoyan, previously pleaded guilty for his role in the conspiracy and was sentenced to time served.

According to evidence presented at trial, Kesoyan, a long-time Social Security Administration (SSA) employee in Sacramento, abused her position as a claims representative to create false documents and to falsify government records in an attempt to help Movseysan commit fraud in two naturalization applications. Kesoyan also served as Movsesyan’s translator during two naturalization interviews and assisted him in making false sworn statements during those interviews. When U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers began to investigate the false statements, Kesoyan and Movsesyan produced additional false documents and encouraged others to lie to immigration officials in an effort to obstruct the investigation.

In imposing a nearly five-year sentence, Judge Burrell expressed his hope that the sentence would send a message to others who might engage in immigration fraud, obstruct government investigations, and abuse their positions of public trust as government employees. Judge Burrell stated that Kesoyan had “demonstrated contempt for the law, those who enforce it, and the legal process.” Describing Kesoyan’s conduct as “egregious,” Judge Burrell further found that Kesoyan’s abuse of her position as an SSA employee “undermined the fair, effective manner under which agencies are intended to operate and undermined trust in public records.”

This case is the product of an investigation by the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the IRS Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nirav K. Desai and Jeremy J. Kelley are prosecuting the case.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — John Brewer, 48, of San Francisco, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. to 15 months in prison for bid rigging, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Brewer and his co-defendant, Brent Vinch, were the owners of, and senior executives for, a company called Expert Network Consultants (ENC), which submitted bids to the State of California for various government contracts. Brewer admitted that from 2008 through early 2012, he conspired with co-defendants Vinch and Loraine Dixon, among others, to rig the state’s competitive bidding process by creating inflated bids for submission by co-conspirators to state contracting agencies in an effort to ensure that Expert Network Consultants received the contracts. Brewer solicited bids from individuals and companies that had no intention or ability to perform the work called for in the contracts, and Brewer directed Vinch to create and submit noncompetitive bids. In total, ENC won more than 40 state contracts as a result of the bid-rigging conspiracy from multiple state agencies, including the Employment Development Department, Department of Justice, Department of Motor Vehicles, and Department of Insurance. The value of those contracts exceeded $3 million.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Yelovich is prosecuting the case. The United States is grateful for the assistance of the California Attorney General’s Office in conducting the initial investigation into this matter and referring it to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Co-defendant Vinch pleaded guilty to bid rigging on December 14, 2017, and is awaiting sentencing. Charges are pending against Dixon. The charges against her are allegations, and she is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

FRESNO, Calif. — A Modesto physician, Sawtantra Kumar Chopra, 71, was arrested today, charged with prescribing opioids to patients outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. On April 19, 2018, a federal grand jury in Fresno brought a 22-count indictment against Chopra. He was arrested at his home in Modesto.

U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra made the announcement today.

“Medical professionals who abuse their position of trust and fuel the opioid epidemic for profit will be held responsible,” said Attorney General Xavier Becerra. “Prescription drug abuse is a serious public health crisis that harms families and communities throughout California. Combatting the epidemic and healing our communities takes a team effort. At the California Department of Justice, we will use every tool at our disposal to prosecute bad actors and protect the public.”  

 U.S. Attorney Scott stated: “Diversion of drugs with a legitimate purpose to those who abuse them or sell to abusers is a costly and dangerous enterprise. Fortunately, with the cooperative efforts of our state and local partners, we have the ability to track powerful prescription drugs and find those who attempt to divert them. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has made it a top priority to prosecute those who engage in prescription drug diversion.”

“Physicians prescribing powerful medications without legitimate medical purpose is both wrong and illegal,” stated DEA Acting Special Agent in Charge Jerry A. Miller. “DEA will continue to use every tool available to hold unscrupulous practitioners accountable.”

According to the indictment, between March 2017 and March 2018, on 22 occasions Chopra prescribed highly addictive, commonly abused prescription drugs, including hydrocodone, alprazolam (Xanax), and Promethazine with codeine syrup — outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. These controlled substances affect the central nervous system and may only be prescribed when medically required.

This case is the product of an investigation by the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse Drug Diversion Team, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Vincenza Rabenn is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Chopra faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment Thursday against Jesus Alberto Lopez-Retamoza, 31, a Mexican citizen residing in Kern County, and Hugo Lemus, 29, and Alejandro Lemus, 24, both Mexican citizens residing in Tulare County. The indictment charges them with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, as well as possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, over the course of several weeks, Alejandro Lemus and Hugo Lemus coordinated a large methamphetamine sale with a customer. On April 18, 2018, the day of the deal, Alejandro Lemus and Hugo Lemus met in Wasco with the customer, who was an informant. While the three were discussing the transaction, Lopez-Retamoza arrived and showed the customer a plastic bag containing approximately one pound of suspected methamphetamine. Hugo Lemus and Lopez-Retamoza then went to a residence in Wasco and retrieved an additional 10 pounds of suspected methamphetamine. When they returned to the meeting location where Alejandro Lemus was waiting, they were all arrested and the methamphetamine was seized.

This case is the product of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Southern Tri-County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, the Kern County Sheriff’s Department, the California Highway Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bakersfield Police Department, and Customs and Border Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Scott is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment today against Jose Luis Romero, 53; Salvador Padilla III, 38; and Eberardo Mendez, 50, all of Sacramento, charging them with distributing methamphetamine and conspiracy to do the same, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court records, an undercover agent met with Romero on three occasions in December 2017 and February 2018 to purchase methamphetamine. Surveillance units saw Romero meeting with Padilla before and after each transaction, and court documents allege that Padilla was supplying Romero with the narcotics for each meeting. Court records also allege that Mendez served as a courier for two of the meetings, taking at least two pounds of methamphetamine from Padilla to Romero to facilitate the undercover purchases. In all, law enforcement bought over three pounds of methamphetamine from Romero directly during this investigation.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration with special assistance from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). 

If convicted of any of the charges, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, and a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. Any sentence would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account several variables. These charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment today against Tony Cong Van, 31, of Sacramento, charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Van was arrested on February 2, 2018, after a traffic stop resulted in the seizure of a Glock 27 pistol with a high-capacity magazine loaded with 29 rounds of ammunition. Because Van was previously convicted of felonies in Sacramento County, he is prohibited from possessing firearms.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Sacramento Police Department, and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Lee is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Van faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gregory Jerome Brown, 28, of Bountiful, Utah, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller to five years and three months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for robbing three banks, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Brown robbed three banks in three different states. Brown wrote his demands on index cards, and in two instances, Nevada and Utah, he threatened tellers in demand notes with a gun. After the robberies, Brown rode away on his motorcycle. After the Utah bank robbery, Brown fled south and was apprehended in Phoenix, Arizona. At his guilty plea, Brown admitted that he robbed the following banks:

• On October 13, 2017, he robbed the Wells Fargo Bank at 338 Elm Avenue, Auburn, California;
• On October 14, 2017, he robbed the Wells Fargo Bank at 2895 Northtowne Lane, Reno, Nevada;
• On November 8, 2017, he robbed the America First Credit Union at 2928 East Mall Drive, Saint George, Utah.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Auburn Police Department, the Reno Police Department, the Saint George Police Department, and the Pleasant Grove Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rodriguez prosecuted the case.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After a four-day trial, a federal jury found Brian J. Stone, 59, of Sacramento, guilty today of 13 counts of wire and mail fraud, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to evidence presented at trial, Stone devised a plan to get fire insurance money from State Farm based on false statements about who had performed cleanup work after a fire at 2764 Fulton Avenue in Sacramento in June 2013.

In late 2012, co-defendant Jamal Shehadeh had rented space at that location in the name of a supposed auto parts supply business. Stone, a disbarred attorney, had been helping Shehadeh unsuccessfully fight an eviction action during the months prior to the fire. On the night the eviction took effect, the fire occurred at 2764 Fulton, and the supposed auto parts business later filed an insurance claim with State Farm. While helping with the insurance claim, Stone recruited a local contractor to create a fake invoice and lie to State Farm regarding debris removal work performed after the fire. In a series of emails, Stone directed the local contractor to keep 10 percent of the money that they would get from State Farm from this fraud, and send the other 90 percent to Stone in a cashier’s check.

The scheme was uncovered when the local contractor reported it to State Farm. The FBI later executed search warrants of Stone’s office and email account, finding copies of documents outlining the fraud.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Sacramento Fire Department; the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Department; and the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Anderson and Christopher S. Hales prosecuted the case.

Two other defendants were charged in the same case. Jamal Shehadeh pleaded guilty to two counts of arson to commit a felony on February 10, 2018, including the 2764 Fulton Avenue fire, and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Charges against Saber Shehadeh are pending with trial scheduled to start on May 14, 2018. The charges against Saber Shehadeh are only allegations; he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Stone is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. on July 12, 2018. Stone faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of conviction. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Maurice Antoine Jefferson, 50, of Vacaville, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. to 11 years in prison for possessing marijuana for distribution near a school zone, possessing cocaine for distribution, and possessing a firearm as a felon, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Jefferson was the sole proprietor of the Shredders Federation clothing store in Vacaville. He allegedly used the business as a cover to distribute marijuana and cocaine to high school students and others and as a front for money laundering. When agents executed a search warrant at the store in August 2016, they found 6.4 pounds of marijuana, 129 grams of cocaine, and other indicia of drug distribution. Jefferson was carrying a 9 mm pistol with him when Vacaville Police Officers arrived at the business. Jefferson has a felony conviction and is not allowed to possess any firearms.  

In January 2018, Jefferson pleaded guilty to possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute it within 1,000 feet of the Will C. Wood High School in Vacaville. During the same hearing, Jefferson also pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine for distribution and possessing a firearm as a felon.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Vacaville Police Department and the Napa Special Investigations Bureau, with assistance from the Solano County District Attorney’s Office. 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against John Allan Trotter, 36, of Sacramento, charging him with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, on February 8, 2018, Trotter was arrested after leading Sacramento County Sheriff’s detectives on a high-speed chase. Trotter crashed his car and ran from law enforcement officers before being apprehended. Trotter had a loaded gun, methamphetamine, and scale in his car at the time of the crash.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Lee is prosecuting the case.

If convicted of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, Trotter faces a mandatory minimum statutory penalty of five years in prison and up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, he faces a penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Aleksandr Kovalev, 54, of Rocklin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. to three years and 10 months in prison for wire fraud involving financial institutions, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Kovalev was in the business of developing, building and selling real property in Sacramento, Fairfield, and Stockton. As the real estate market began to weaken, Kovalev offered to make incentive payments to purchasers, through “down payment assistance” or by making other payments to the buyers to be used in whatever manner the buyers wanted. Most of the payments to the buyers were out of escrow and were often paid through intermediaries, originating in Kovalev’s bank account. These payments were not disclosed to the lenders, and had the effect of substantially reducing the sales price below what was represented to the lenders.

Dozens of properties were involved in Kovalev’s mortgage fraud scheme, with several million dollars of losses to the lenders. Kovalev is the last to be sentenced out of nine individuals who were prosecuted as part of this mortgage fraud scheme.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd A. Pickles prosecuted the case.

FRESNO, Calif. — On April 5, 2018, a federal grand jury returned an 11-count indictment against Chris Donell Smith, 54, of Stockton, charging him with assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to the indictment, Smith prepared federal income tax returns for New Covenant Tax & Accounting in Modesto. He allegedly prepared fraudulent returns for a number of his clients that reported false items or dollar amounts without their knowledge or consent. For some of these clients, he prepared a correct tax return which he gave the client, but then electronically filed a fraudulent return claiming a higher refund. He directed that the payment of the refund be split, with the amount the client expected going into the client’s own bank account and the additional higher amount going into an account controlled by Smith. The indictment charges that Smith defrauded the IRS of approximately $63,000.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. McKeon is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Smith faces a maximum statutory penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

FRESNO, Calif. — Six members of a drug trafficking organization were arrested this week as part of a multi-agency investigation, which included the seizure of multiple pounds of methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine in the Central Valley, Alaska, and Tacoma, Washington, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. 

The arrests and seizures relate to an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on April 5, 2018, charging members of a multistate drug trafficking organization with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, including methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin. The seizures this week included 45 pounds of methamphetamine, four pounds of heroin and three pounds of cocaine.

Indicted members of the drug trafficking organization include Alecia Trapps, 54, of Manteca; Jimmy Brantley, 40, of Manteca; Carmen Conejo, 51, of Long Beach; Ernest Westley, 60, of Modesto; Sheena Taylor, 41, of Modesto; and Joseph Vasquez, Jr., 32, of Modesto.

According to court documents, between January 1, 2015, and April 11, 2018, the defendants conspired to distribute controlled substances such as methamphetamine, heroin, or cocaine in Modesto and in Juneau, Alaska.

This case is the product of a year-long investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Central Valley Gang Impact Task Force, Modesto Police Department, Manteca Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, Whatcom County Sheriff’s Department (Washington), Pierce County Sheriff’s Department (Washington), and Juneau Police Department (Alaska). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melanie L. Alsworth and Laurel J. Montoya are prosecuting the case.

If convicted, the defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, and a $10 million fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

FRESNO, Calif. — Cristobal Chavez-Rocha, 31, of Michoacán, Mexico, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd to two years and two months in prison and ordered to pay $32,712 in restitution to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for the damage to public land and natural resources, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

On January 22, 2018, Chavez-Rocha pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture marijuana. According to the plea agreement, on May 24, 2017, a search warrant was executed on Bureau of Land Management lands in the Sierra Mountains in Tulare County. When law enforcement officers identified themselves, Chavez-Rocha began running uphill and was ultimately arrested. A total of 4,612 plants were eradicated from the grow site. Chavez-Rocha admitted that he was hired to take care of the marijuana plants at that location and that he had been living at the grow site.

The marijuana cultivation operation caused extensive damage to the land and natural resources. Toxic pesticides and fertilizers, miles of plastic irrigation lines, and large amounts of trash were found, and Native vegetation was removed to make room for the marijuana plants. The marijuana cultivation resulted in damage to public lands, and the cost to the United States to reclaim and restore the illegal grow site to its natural state will be approximately $32,217.

This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the California Army National Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Park Police Marijuana Interdiction Group, and the Southern Tri-County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian K. Delaney prosecuted the case.

FRESNO, Calif. — Brothers Yousef Aezah, 28; Adhim Aezah, 23; and Dirar Aezah, 19, all of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty today to maintaining a drug-involved premise for the purpose of manufacturing and distributing synthetic cannabinoids or “spice,” U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. As part of the guilty pleas, the defendants agreed to forfeit more than $1 million in U.S. currency that was seized from them during their arrests.

According to the plea agreements, the defendants maintained a warehouse in Bakersfield that they used to manufacture and distribute synthetic cannabinoids, including AB-CHMINACA, a Schedule I controlled substance.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the California Highway Patrol, the Bakersfield Police Department, and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Grant B. Rabenn and Jeffrey A. Spivak are prosecuting the case.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF program was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.

The defendants remain out of custody and are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on July 16, 2018. The defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 criminal fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a 17-count indictment on Thursday against American Biodiesel Inc. and two employees at its biodiesel fuel manufacturing plant in Stockton for Clean Water Act violations, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

American Biodiesel Inc., registered in San Joaquin County as Community Fuels, manufactured biodiesel fuel at 809-C Snedeker Avenue, Stockton, on property leased from the Port of Stockton. The company is charged with conspiracy, 12 counts of tampering with monitoring equipment, two counts of unlawful discharge of industrial wastewater, and one count of false statements.

According to the indictment, Christopher Young, 41, of El Dorado Hills, is charged with conspiracy, 12 counts of tampering with monitoring equipment, two counts of unlawful discharge of industrial wastewater, one count of false statements, and one count of witness tampering. The same indictment charges his brother Jeremiah Young, 38, of El Dorado, with conspiracy, eight counts of tampering with monitoring equipment, and two counts of unlawful discharge of industrial wastewater.

The indictment alleges that, from March 2009 through December 2016, Christopher Young was Director of Operations, which is the highest-ranking position at Community Fuels’ manufacturing plant. In this capacity, he directed employees to tamper with pH, and flow and volume monitoring devices to allow Community Fuels to discharge hundreds of thousands of gallons of polluted industrial wastewater into the City of Stockton Municipal Utility District sewer in violation of the company’s wastewater discharge permit and in violation of the Clean Water Act. Jeremiah Young, while working as an Assistant Operator for Community Fuels from 2014 to 2016, allegedly participated in the conspiracy and in certain Clean Water Act violations.

Community Fuels’ unpermitted wastewater discharges into the Stockton sewer were allegedly polluted with methanol, glycerin, oils and fats, and acids. Instead of discharging the unpermitted wastewater into the sewer, Community Fuels had represented to the City of Stockton water regulators that it would employ tanker trucks to haul the wastewater to the East Bay Municipal Utility District wastewater treatment plant in Oakland.

The indictment alleges that Christopher Young and Community Fuels made false statements to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in an attempt to cover up the long‑term and recurring unlawful wastewater discharges.

The indictment further alleges that Christopher Young attempted to prevent a witness from communicating information relating to the commission of a federal offense to a law enforcement officer.

This case is the product of an investigation by the EPA, San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office, City of Stockton Municipal Utilities Department, San Joaquin County Environmental Health Department, Port of Stockton, and California Department of Toxic Substances Control.

If convicted, Christopher Young faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison on the witness tampering count, five years in prison on the conspiracy and false statement counts, three years in prison on the unlawful discharge counts, two years in prison on the counts charging tampering with monitoring equipment, and a maximum total fine of $4,250,000. If convicted, Jeremiah Young faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy count, three years in prison on the unlawful discharge counts, two years in prison on the counts charging tampering with monitoring equipment, and a maximum total fine of $2,500,000. If convicted, Community Fuels faces a maximum $4 million fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Charles Carstersen, 55, of Manteca, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. to 11 years and three months in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, for sex trafficking a minor, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, beginning in April 2014, while employed as an information technology technician at the Bureau of Prisons, Carstersen met the 16-year-old victim and engaged in sex acts with her for money. Between February and March 2015, knowing the victim was underage, he pursued a romantic relationship with her and encouraged her to participate in prostitution, renting hotel rooms for her in the Sacramento area and helping her to post online prostitution advertisements. He also encouraged her to engage in prostitution with two other females that he knew.

“Charles Carstersen’s illegal activities were in direct opposition to the core values of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a system that holds its employees to a high standard of character and conduct,” said Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan. “Commercial sexual exploitation of a minor is a serious crime that preys upon vulnerable young men and women in our community. As Carstersen’s victim discovered, there is hope. We encourage anyone who may be a victim to reach out to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center by calling 888-373-7888 or their local FBI office to obtain help and ensure the exploiter faces justice.”

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Sacramento Child Exploitation Task Force, with assistance from the Sacramento Police Department, the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, and the Roseville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Nathan Alexander Drury, 39, of Chico, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. to 15 years in prison for production of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, between January 1, 2012, and December 1, 2014, Drury filmed images of a child engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including a 47-second video of a nude child who was under the age of 12. That video that Drury produced shows Drury sexually abusing the child.

“Homeland Security Investigations will do whatever it takes to investigate these people who are a scourge to society and prey on innocent children,” said Ryan L. Spradlin, Special Agent in Charge for HSI in Northern California and Northern Nevada. “This type of crime is way too prevalent; but let this serve as a warning for any of those engaged in this illicit and egregious activity – the investigators of the federal government will hold you responsible for your actions.”

This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Chico Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian A. Fogerty prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Ramon DeJesus Magana, 40, of Paramont, and Maurilio Serrano-Cardenas, 27, of Fontana, charging them with conspiring and possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Magana and Serrano-Cardenas were arrested on February 21, 2018 after delivering five kilograms of fentanyl and one kilogram of a chemical that is an immediate precursor to fentanyl (4-ANPP) to an undercover officer in Turlock, California. The undercover officer had negotiated to pay $30,000 for each kilogram of the controlled substances.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and TRIDENT, a federally supported task force that is composed of agents from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department, Auburn Police Department, Rocklin Police Department, Placer County Sheriff’s Department, Placer County District Attorney’s Office, California Highway Patrol, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Bureau of Land Management, and California National Guard. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen A. Servatius is prosecuting the case.

Magana is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment on April 6, 2018. Serrano-Cardenas will make his initial appearance on April 19, 2018. Both men have been released on bond.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million dollar fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging seven Tennessee and California residents with various firearms offenses, including conspiracy to traffic in firearms by an unlicensed person, illegal transportation of firearms, and being a felon in possession of firearms, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. None of the defendants is licensed to deal or import firearms.

Rafael Sanchez Jr., 38, of Kettleman City, Califorinia, is charged with one count of conspiracy to traffic in firearms by an unlicensed person, three counts of illegal transportation of firearms and three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Alexis Sanchez, 19, of Kettleman City; and Tennessee residents Juan Daniel Gonzalez-Vazquez, 24; Victor Luna, 23; Ashley Sanchez, 22; and Elvia Sanchez, 40, are all charged with one count of conspiracy to traffic in firearms by an unlicensed person and three counts of illegal transportation of firearms

Veronica Ramirez, 38, of Lemoore, California, was charged with one count of conspiracy to traffic in firearms by an unlicensed person.

According to court documents, between April 2016 and March 2018, Rafael Sanchez conspired to have firearms purchased in Tennessee and shipped to him in California. Rafael Sanchez and Alexis Sanchez then transferred money to the Tennessee co-conspirators. With the assistance of Ramirez, Rafael Sanchez identified California-based purchasers and offered to sell them the firearms he received from Tennessee.

According to the indictment, the Tennessee co-conspirators shipped numerous firearms to California, including .45, .40 and 9 mm caliber handguns, as well as ammunition and firearms accessories, including extended magazines. In November 2017, Rafael Sanchez offered to sell to an associate in California an AR-15-style rifle with two 30-round magazines for $1,000.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Lenoir City Police Department in Tennessee, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee assisted in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher D. Baker is prosecuting the case in the Eastern District of California.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and $250,000 fine for each of the conspiracy and firearms offenses. Rafael Sanchez faces an a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine if convicted of the separate felon in possession of firearms counts. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned two one-count indictments today against Samuel Delacruz, 40, of Fresno, charging him with escaping from custody and being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Delacruz was transferred from the Federal Correction Institute in Phoenix, Arizona to Turning Point Fresno Residential Reentry Center to serve the remainder of his federal sentence. He escaped on October 15, 2017, by leaving without permission, and his whereabouts remained unknown until he was apprehended in Fresno on March 22, 2018, after fleeing from police and tossing a gun into an area where children were playing. His underlying conviction was for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Sanchez is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Delacruz faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the felon in possession charge and five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the escape charge. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative that brings together federal, state and local law enforcement to combat gun and gang crime. At the core of PSN is increased federal prosecution to incapacitate chronic violent offenders as well as to communicate a credible deterrent threat to potential gun offenders.

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a 13-count indictment on March 29, 2018, against Bikramjit Singh Pannu, aka Victor, 47, and Ulises Pena, 35, both of Bakersfield, charging them with criminal conspiracy, one count each of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, five counts of unlawful production of an identification document and five counts of unlawful transfer of an identification document, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced today.

Pannu was arrested today and is scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court at 2:30 p.m. today in Bakersfield before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer Thurston. Pena made his initial appearance before Judge Thurston on April 4, 2018.

According to court documents, Pannu operated Skyway Truck Driving School in Bakersfield that ostensibly provided training to those seeking to obtain driver licenses. When a student could not pass the required DMV license written examinations, Pannu offered to assist them, in return for money, to have his co-defendant Pena, who was employed at a DMV field office in Bakersfield, access DMV records and alter them to show that the individual had passed DMV written examinations even though they had not. The DMV would then mail the student an officially issued California Driver License.

The scheme between Pannu and Pena continued from approximately January 2015 through August 25, 2016. In addition to the charged conspiracy and the bribery charges, the indictment also charges the unlawful production and transfer of five specific commercial Class A California driver’s licenses.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the California Department of Motor Vehicles, Investigations Division, Internal Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Henry Z. Carbajal III and David L. Gappa are prosecuting the case.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy charge, a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the bribery charge, and a maximum statutory penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each charge of unlawful production and transfer of identification documents. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Today, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott, FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan, DEA Special Agent in Charge John J. Martin, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Spradlin, and IRS Criminal Investigation Assistant Special Agent in Charge Cindy Chen announced one of the largest residential forfeiture efforts in the nation’s history in a multi-agency effort to eradicate criminal enterprises operating in neighborhoods throughout the Sacramento region.

“Transnational criminal organizations are a blight on our communities, bringing dangerous drugs to our streets and trying to impose a false sovereignty over our neighborhoods,” Attorney General Sessions said. “The day I was sworn in as Attorney General, President Trump ordered me to make dismantling these organizations a priority, and we are carrying out that order with vigor. Today we take a major step toward that end using civil asset forfeiture, which is a key tool that helps us defund organized crime and weaken the criminals and the cartels. We have searched and filed forfeiture actions against dozens of houses allegedly used for criminal activity by Chinese drug traffickers, making this one of the largest residential forfeiture actions in American history. I want to thank all of our fabulous OCDETF members with the FBI, DEA, the Marshals Service, ICE, the IRS, Homeland Security Investigations, and our state and local partners with the California Highway Patrol, the Sacramento and Placer County Sheriffs’ Offices, and the Elk Grove police. They have helped make Sacramento safer. At the Department of Justice, we will remain focused on carrying out President Trump’s order and keeping dangerous and illegal drugs out of our country.”

“When criminal organizations funded by money from China reach into our cities to profit from illegal activity, our communities suffer,” said U.S. Attorney Scott. “These marijuana grow operations are illegal under federal and state law and are used to distribute marijuana all over the United States. They are a blight on our neighborhoods and create an unsafe environment for the men, women, and children who live there. The scope of this enforcement operation sends a clear message to international organized crime: get out of our neighborhoods. If you don’t, we will pursue you with all of the resources available to the federal government, seize your assets, search your properties, and target you for criminal prosecution. The success of this operation speaks to the effective partnerships across the federal and local law enforcement community and our united commitment to reduce violent crime in our residential neighborhoods by taking them back from criminal organizations with international ties and financing.”

“The FBI is committed to working with its federal, state, and local partners to disrupt and dismantle transnational organized criminal enterprises that place financial gain from their illicit activities ahead of the safety, security, and health of the residential communities they have hidden within,” said Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Sacramento Field Office. “Our partnerships within the intelligence and law enforcement communities are essential to ensure identification and coordinated investigation of those who threaten our neighborhoods with crimes such as drug trafficking, money laundering and human trafficking.”

“This operation targeted a sophisticated large-scale organized criminal network operating in our backyard,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge John J. Martin. “Individuals looking for opportunity chose the Sacramento region to set up shop and profit. DEA and our law enforcement partners will not stand for this and the message has been sent to those looking to invade our area with similar aspiration – you are not welcome. The citizens of our community deserve safe neighborhoods and we will work every day to ensure it.”

“Homeland Security Investigations has unique investigative authorities and has lent vast resources of specialized teams from across the country for this large-scale joint operation,” said Ryan L. Spradlin, Special Agent in Charge for HSI overseeing Sacramento. “The work on this case highlights our signature transnational investigative authorities and how we are able to help tackle these types of criminal organizations working side-by-side with all of our federal partners to make our communities safer.”

“This was a large-scale operation, with millions of dollars coming into the US from China,” said Cindy Chen, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. “This criminal organization used foreign money to purchase homes and turned them into marijuana grow houses; all at the cost of innocent neighborhoods. We are proud to provide our financial expertise as we work alongside our law enforcement partners to bring criminals to justice.”

On April 3 and 4, 2018, hundreds of federal agents and local law enforcement officers executed search warrants at approximately 74 houses suspected of being used by an international organization for marijuana cultivation, as well as two related business offices. Simultaneously, civil forfeiture actions were filed against more than 100 houses in the Sacramento region suspected of being related to this criminal organization and used as indoor marijuana grows. Some of the houses searched during this operation are subject to the forfeiture action. This represents one of the largest residential forfeiture efforts in the nation’s history.

Since 2014, state and federal law enforcement agencies have been investigating a number of indoor marijuana grows in residential neighborhoods throughout the Sacramento area. Common elements in some of the cases started to emerge: the down payments on the houses were financed by wires mainly from Fujian Province, in China; they used common Sacramento realtors; they used hard-money lenders rather than traditional banks; and they used straw buyers. The houses would then be converted into large-scale marijuana grows that often occupied a substantial portion, if not all, of the house and frequently involved hundreds or thousands of marijuana plants, which were later processed and distributed to other parts of the country, particularly the Eastern United States.

Such large-scale indoor grows violate federal and state law, as well as local codes and ordinances throughout the region. Further investigation found houses in the cities of Sacramento and Elk Grove and the counties of Sacramento, Calaveras, Placer, San Joaquin, El Dorado, Yuba, and Amador. The houses tended to use an extraordinary amount of electricity per month due to high-wattage lighting, circulatory fans, and other equipment, posing fire and environmental hazards; and frequently were left damaged or uninhabitable due to the grow operations. The influx of these marijuana cultivation sites into neighborhoods creates a risk of increased crime in from burglaries, robberies, and related activity. As of this afternoon, agents have seized approximately 61,050 marijuana plants from the houses and approximately 200 kilos of processed marijuana. They have also seized 15 firearms.

This operation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the IRS Criminal Investigation with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, the Elk Grove Police Department, the California Highway Patrol, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) effort. The OCDETF program was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Justice today filed a civil action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California against the State of California, Governor of California Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown Jr., and the California State Lands Commission, seeking a declaration that California Senate Bill 50 (“SB 50”), enacted in October 2017, is unconstitutional and seeking an injunction against implementation of this state law. This California law purports to give a state agency the power to block the sale, donation or exchange of federal lands by the federal government to any other person or entity. SB 50 also seeks to penalize (up to $5,000) any person who knowingly files real estate records pertaining to a federal land transfer unless the California government certifies that the transfer complies with state law.

“The Constitution empowers the federal government—not state legislatures—to decide when and how federal lands are sold,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “California was admitted to the Union upon the express condition that it would never interfere with the disposal of federal land. And yet, once again, the California legislature has enacted an extreme state law attempting to frustrate federal policy. The Justice Department shouldn't have to spend valuable time and resources to file this suit today, but we have a duty to defend the rightful prerogatives of the U.S. military, the Interior Department, and other federal agencies to buy, sell, exchange or donate federal properties in a lawful manner in the national interest. We are confident that we will prevail in this case—because the facts are on our side.”

“Since the founding of the Republic, it has been fundamental to our constitutional system that a state may not discriminate against the United States or those with whom it deals,” said U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott for the Eastern District of California. “We will vigorously defend this principle.”

Under a range of federal laws, Congress has empowered federal agencies with the responsibility to determine when, to whom, for what purpose, and under what conditions federal interests in property will be conveyed. Federal conveyances serve a broad range of purposes such as supporting national defense, promoting local economic development, furthering land conservation, or otherwise providing important public benefits. 
 
SB 50 interferes with federal land conveyances in the State of California. For example, SB 50 establishes a state policy to discourage transfers of federal lands in California out of federal ownership. It purports to render void federal land conveyances unless the California State Lands Commission is provided with a right of first refusal to the conveyance or the right to arrange for transfer to another entity. In addition, it purports to prohibit recordation of any deed or other conveyance document relating to a federal conveyance, unless the county recorder is presented with a certificate of compliance from the California State Lands Commission.
 
The United States’ complaint contends that SB 50 violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution and is therefore invalid. In the first claim for relief, the complaint alleges that SB 50 violates intergovernmental immunity because it discriminates against the United States and its transaction partners and, in the alternative, because it purports to regulate the United States. In the second claim for relief, the complaint alleges that a range of federal laws preempt SB 50, including because SB 50 stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress. 

The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution provides: “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof . . . , shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby; any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.” U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 2.

The Property Clause of the Constitution provides that “Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States.” U.S. Const. art. IV, § 3, cl. 2. 

On Sept. 9, 1850, Congress enacted “An Act for the Admission of the State of California into the Union,” ch. 50, 9 Stat. 452. Section 3 of the Act provides in relevant part that “the said State of California is admitted into the Union upon the express condition that the people of said State, through their legislature or otherwise, shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the public lands within its limits, and shall pass no law and do no act whereby the title of the United States to, and right to dispose of, the same shall be impaired or questioned.” 9 Stat. at 452.
 
The complaint lists examples of conveyances of federal real property purportedly subject to SB 50, including the following:

• The Department of the Army’s planned conveyances to a developer in connection with a multi-phase transaction involving exchanges of about 78 acres of real property owned by the United States in the City of Dublin, Alameda County, for construction of facilities at Camp Parks, an Army military installation.
• The Department of the Navy’s closing on a contract with a developer for the purchase of the Admiral’s Cove property in Alameda, California. The General Services Administration serves as the Navy’s agent in connection with this transaction, providing services under an interagency agreement. This property was formerly used as housing for a military installation at the Naval Air Station Alameda. The Navy and a local redevelopment agency expended substantial resources over a period of many years, including in conducting environmental reviews, before the Navy decided to convey the property.
• The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to revitalize its 388-acre West Los Angeles Campus by leasing real property to other entities for the purpose of providing permanent supportive housing and related services for local veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs also contemplates issuing an easement to the City of Los Angeles in support of the planned Purple Line Metro Project. These actions would help restore the campus to a safe and welcoming community for veterans and help to reduce veteran homelessness in Los Angeles.

The United States is represented in this action by Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, with lead counsel Deputy Assistant Attorney General Eric Grant, Justin Heminger, Stacy Stoller and Peter McVeigh, and Civil Chief David Shelledy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

The U.S. Department of Justice today filed a civil action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California against the State of California, Governor of California Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown Jr., and the California State Lands Commission, seeking a declaration that California Senate Bill 50 (“SB 50”), enacted in October 2017, is unconstitutional and seeking an injunction against implementation of this state law. This California law purports to give a state agency the power to block the sale, donation or exchange of federal lands by the federal government to any other person or entity. SB 50 also seeks to penalize (up to $5,000) any person who knowingly files real estate records pertaining to a federal land transfer unless the California government certifies that the transfer complies with state law.

“The Constitution empowers the federal government—not state legislatures—to decide when and how federal lands are sold,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “California was admitted to the Union upon the express condition that it would never interfere with the disposal of federal land. And yet, once again, the California legislature has enacted an extreme state law attempting to frustrate federal policy. The Justice Department shouldn't have to spend valuable time and resources to file this suit today, but we have a duty to defend the rightful prerogatives of the U.S. military, the Interior Department, and other federal agencies to buy, sell, exchange or donate federal properties in a lawful manner in the national interest. We are confident that we will prevail in this case—because the facts are on our side.”

“Since the founding of the Republic, it has been fundamental to our constitutional system that a state may not discriminate against the United States or those with whom it deals,” said U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott for the Eastern District of California. “We will vigorously defend this principle.”

Under a range of federal laws, Congress has empowered federal agencies with the responsibility to determine when, to whom, for what purpose, and under what conditions federal interests in property will be conveyed. Federal conveyances serve a broad range of purposes such as supporting national defense, promoting local economic development, furthering land conservation, or otherwise providing important public benefits. 
 
SB 50 interferes with federal land conveyances in the State of California. For example, SB 50 establishes a state policy to discourage transfers of federal lands in California out of federal ownership. It purports to render void federal land conveyances unless the California State Lands Commission is provided with a right of first refusal to the conveyance or the right to arrange for transfer to another entity. In addition, it purports to prohibit recordation of any deed or other conveyance document relating to a federal conveyance, unless the county recorder is presented with a certificate of compliance from the California State Lands Commission.
 
The United States’ complaint contends that SB 50 violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution and is therefore invalid. In the first claim for relief, the complaint alleges that SB 50 violates intergovernmental immunity because it discriminates against the United States and its transaction partners and, in the alternative, because it purports to regulate the United States. In the second claim for relief, the complaint alleges that a range of federal laws preempt SB 50, including because SB 50 stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress. 

The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution provides: “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof . . . , shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby; any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.” U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 2.

The Property Clause of the Constitution provides that “Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States.” U.S. Const. art. IV, § 3, cl. 2. 

On Sept. 9, 1850, Congress enacted “An Act for the Admission of the State of California into the Union,” ch. 50, 9 Stat. 452. Section 3 of the Act provides in relevant part that “the said State of California is admitted into the Union upon the express condition that the people of said State, through their legislature or otherwise, shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the public lands within its limits, and shall pass no law and do no act whereby the title of the United States to, and right to dispose of, the same shall be impaired or questioned.” 9 Stat. at 452.
 
The complaint lists examples of conveyances of federal real property purportedly subject to SB 50, including the following:

• The Department of the Army’s planned conveyances to a developer in connection with a multi-phase transaction involving exchanges of about 78 acres of real property owned by the United States in the City of Dublin, Alameda County, for construction of facilities at Camp Parks, an Army military installation.
• The Department of the Navy’s closing on a contract with a developer for the purchase of the Admiral’s Cove property in Alameda, California. The General Services Administration serves as the Navy’s agent in connection with this transaction, providing services under an interagency agreement. This property was formerly used as housing for a military installation at the Naval Air Station Alameda. The Navy and a local redevelopment agency expended substantial resources over a period of many years, including in conducting environmental reviews, before the Navy decided to convey the property.
• The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to revitalize its 388-acre West Los Angeles Campus by leasing real property to other entities for the purpose of providing permanent supportive housing and related services for local veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs also contemplates issuing an easement to the City of Los Angeles in support of the planned Purple Line Metro Project. These actions would help restore the campus to a safe and welcoming community for veterans and help to reduce veteran homelessness in Los Angeles.

The United States is represented in this action by Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, with lead counsel Deputy Assistant Attorney General Eric Grant, Justin Heminger, Stacy Stoller and Peter McVeigh, and Civil Chief David Shelledy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —Monica Merlin Morales, 26, of Point Arena, pleaded guilty today to sex trafficking of a minor, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Morales and co-defendant Tion Makeise Foster, also of Point Arena, transported a 16-year-old girl to various places in the Eastern District of California and the San Francisco Bay Area in August 2016 so that she could engage in commercial sex acts for their financial benefit. Court documents indicate that Morales and Foster picked up the victim in her hometown after meeting her online. They bought her lingerie, took photos of her, and posted the photos in online prostitution advertisements. The victim did several “dates” during the week she was with the defendants. Morales and Foster ultimately returned to her hometown, but both they subsequently conspired to traffic the victim again in November and December that same year.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Yuba County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith is prosecuting the case.

Foster pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a minor on December 13, 2017, and he is scheduled to be sentenced on June 13, 2018.

Morales is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on June 20, 2018. Morales faces a minimum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of up to life, as well as a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned an indictment today against David Lopez, 33, of Susanville, charging him with unlawful possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, on March 17, 2018, Lopez was found in possession of a Glock 26 handgun, along with a loaded extended magazine. Lopez has previously been convicted of a felony and is not permitted under federal law to possess firearms.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Susanville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Owen Roth is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Lopez faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative that brings together federal, state and local law enforcement to combat gun and gang crime. At the core of PSN is increased federal prosecution to incapacitate chronic violent offenders as well as to communicate a credible deterrent threat to potential gun offenders.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment today against Jose Gregorio Luna, 33, of Nevada City, charging him with conspiracy to distribute marijuana, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, and manufacturing marijuana, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Luna operated an interstate marijuana trafficking operation that distributed marijuana from Nevada County in California to Georgia, Illinois, New York, and Tennessee. On March 13, 2018, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Luna’s residence and seized 1,283 pounds of marijuana and 576 marijuana plants.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Quinn Hochhalter and Justin Lee are prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Luna faces a maximum statutory penalty of 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a seven-count indictment today against Armando Castillo, 48, of Hanford, charging him with dealing firearms without a license, possessing unregistered firearms and possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Castillo sold 17 firearms over the course of a 15-month period beginning in December of 2016. Five of the firearms were short-barreled rifles that had no serial numbers. Many of the sales occurred at the Cherry Auction Swap Meet in Fresno. Additionally, on March 9, 2018, when Castillo was arrested, he had over 50 grams of methamphetamine in his possession.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium (MAGEC), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Laurel J. Montoya is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Castillo faces a maximum statutory penalty of up to 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative that brings together federal, state and local law enforcement to combat gun and gang crime. At the core of PSN is increased federal prosecution to incapacitate chronic violent offenders as well as to communicate a credible deterrent threat to potential gun offenders.