Eastern District of California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Vivian Wang, 54, of Alpharetta, Georgia, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft related to a nationwide casino and credit card scheme, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. 

According to court documents, between August 2008 and August 2014, Wang and co-defendant Frank Luo, 49, of Las Vegas, Nevada, participated in a scheme to defraud casinos and credit card companies across the country. The scheme involved using false identities in the names and Social Security numbers of migrant workers to apply for casino credit called “markers” and to open credit card accounts. A marker is a cash advance provided by a casino to a patron, and it is often secured by a check from the patron’s bank account. Wang and Luo initially timely repaid several markers at different casinos and several credit cards in order to give the impression of creditworthiness to future casinos and credit card companies. Wang and Luo recruited “clients” to participate in the scheme to induce the casinos and credit card companies to part with even more money under fraudulent pretenses.

Wang, and others working with her, coordinated their gambling activity in order to give the appearance of losing money (and thereby encouraging the casinos to issue future markers) when in fact one schemer would “lose” money while another would gain the same. In other instances, one schemer would surreptitiously deliver the issued gambling chips to another in order to give the appearance of having spent them. At the end of the scheme, Wang and her co-schemers did not repay the casino markers or the significant outstanding credit card balances accrued in a short amount of time once creditworthiness had been established. The combined fraud led to over $1.1 million in losses to casinos and credit card companies.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Gambling Control. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Yelovich is prosecuting the case

Co-defendant Luo pleaded guilty, and on August 23, 2017, he was sentenced to three years in prison. Wang is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on May 16, 2018. Wang faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for wire fraud, and a mandatory minimum of two years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for aggravated identity theft. 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.

Charges were unsealed today against a government contractor following his arrest in St. Louis, Missouri, for his role in allegedly carrying out a $2.6 million scheme to defraud at least 35 subcontractors located across the United States.

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 David A. House of the Department of Interior Office of Inspector General’s (DOI-OIG) Western Region Office of Investigations, Special Agent in Charge Ray Park of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s (Army CID) Pacific Fraud Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI’s Sacramento Division, Director Timothy N. Ries of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations’ (Air Force OSI) Office of Procurement Fraud Investigations and Special Agent in Charge Chris Hendrickson of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Western Field Office made the announcement.

Chester L. Neal Jr., 43, of Fresno, California, was charged in an indictment filed in the Eastern District of California with two counts of mail fraud.  Neal will have his initial court appearance later today before Magistrate Judge David D. Noce of the Eastern District of Missouri.

According to the indictment, Neal established and controlled several companies through which he secured at least 105 government contracts to provide various goods and services to federal agencies including the Department of Interior, U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force.  The indictment alleges that Neal subcontracted the work to other vendors who provided all of the goods and services to the contracting federal agencies.  Neal allegedly made several misrepresentations in order to induce the subcontractors to perform the contractually required work.  The indictment further alleges that Neal did not pay his subcontractors even though he was paid by the government for his subcontractors’ work.  Instead, Neal allegedly kept the money for his personal use.  In total, between July 2008 and December 2017, Neal allegedly defrauded his subcontractors out of at least $2.6 million.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

DOI-OIG, Army CID, the FBI, Air Force OSI and DCIS are investigating this matter.  Trial Attorney Kyle Maurer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Grant Rabenn of the Eastern District of California are prosecuting the case.

FRESNO, Calif. — After a four-day trial, a federal jury found Jimmy D. Maldonado, 37, and Mayra L. Maldonado, 31, both of Fresno, guilty of three counts of wire fraud in a scheme to fraudulently obtain payments from a military recruitment program for the California Army National Guard, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to evidence presented at trial, Jimmy Maldonado, a former full-time recruiter for the National Guard in the Fresno area, and his wife Mayra Maldonado, a former member of the Guard, defrauded a military recruiting program out of tens of thousands of dollars. The program, the Guard Recruiting Assistance Program (G-RAP), offered a financial incentive to members of the Guard who, on their own civilian time, recruited new soldiers. Guard members, also called Recruiting Assistants, who successfully recruited new soldiers into the Guard were typically eligible to receive $1,000 when a new solider enlisted and another $1,000 when the solider left for basic training.

Mayra Maldonado participated in the G-RAP program as a Recruiting Assistant. Based on documents and testimony presented at trial, Jimmy Maldonado was a full-time recruiter who was ineligible to participate in G-RAP as a Recruiting Assistant and was therefore forbidden to receive G-RAP incentive payments. However, he provided information about new soldiers to his wife Mayra Maldonado. Mayra Maldonado then used that information to claim G-RAP payments for those soldiers, even though she had never met the soldiers and played no role in their decision to join the Guard. In exchange for Jimmy Maldonado giving her information about new soldiers, Mayra Maldonado, on numerous occasions, shared G-RAP money she received with Jimmy Maldonado.

Jimmy and Mayra Maldonado are scheduled to be sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill on April, 23, 2018. The Maldonados each face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of wire fraud. The actual sentence 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 factors.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Army Criminal Investigative Command Major Procurement Fraud Unit, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Tierney and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacklin Chou Lem prosecuted the case.

Other National Guard members and recruiters have been charged in similar schemes in the Eastern District of California. The following defendants have been convicted:

• 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 February 22, 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 February 22, 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.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Michelle Troung, 34, of Clear Lake, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. to six-and-a-half years in prison for conspiracy to launder money, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Troung conspired with co-defendants Dustin Wilson and Brandon Roberts to distribute marijuana and cocaine from Sacramento to the Southeastern United States. They also conspired to conceal the proceeds of their drug trafficking through various monetary transactions. On January 13, 2017, Troung pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd A. Pickles prosecuted the case.

Co-defendant Brandon Roberts was sentenced to three years and one month in prison. Co-defendant Dustin Wilson has pleaded guilty and is set for sentencing on February 23, 2018.

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment Thursday against Johnny Jaramillo, 50, of Hanford, charging him with using interstate facilities (a cellphone) with the intent to commit murder for hire, providing a firearm to a felon, possession of a firearm after being convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence, and possession of an unregistered firearm, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

 

According to court documents, on December 15, 2017, Jaramillo met with an undercover agent in Selma in order to sell him three firearms. During the sale, Jaramillo asked the undercover agent to kill a person with whom he was involved in a lawsuit. After some discussion of how the murder would take place, the undercover agent told Jaramillo that he would accept firearms as payment for the murder. On January 12, 2018, the agent and Jaramillo exchanged texts and arranged to meet that day. During the meeting, Jaramillo gave the undercover agent a 9mm pistol and ammunition and assured the undercover agent that the firearm could not be traced back to him. He also confirmed that the picture sent in a text was the man he wanted killed. Jaramillo was arrested on January 17, 2018, and is currently detained pending trial. The intended victim is unharmed.

Jaramillo is also alleged to have knowingly sold a firearm to a person who had a prior felony conviction in October 11, 2017. He allegedly possessed an unregistered short-barreled rifle and three pistols. Jaramillo is prohibited from possessing a firearm because of a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction.

This case is part of the PSN (Project Safe Neighborhoods) strategy, a nationwide strategy for using existing resources to most effectively combat violent crime in partnership with state, local and tribal law enforcement and the communities we serve. This case is the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the assistance of the Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium (MAGEC) whose members come from the Fresno Police Department, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, the California Highway Patrol, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ross Pearson and Kimberly A. Sanchez are prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Jaramillo faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for 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. — A federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment against James Bowen, 39, of Fresno, today charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm, engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license, and possession of an unregistered firearm, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

“The injection of firearms into our communities through illegal sales like the ones charged in today’s indictment pose a serious public safety threat,” said U.S. Attorney Scott. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to collaborate with our state, local and federal partners to enforce gun laws that keep guns out the hands of criminals.”

“Public safety is at the forefront of ATF’s mission,” said Special Agent in Charge Jill Snyder, ATF, San Francisco Field Division. “It is our duty to make this community a safer place for families. When law enforcement agencies create a unified front against violent crime, operations, like this one, will be successful.”

According to court documents, between February 23, 2017, and January 16, 2018, it is alleged that Bowen was engaged in the business of dealing firearms without a license. On January 16, 2018, a search warrant was issued for Bowen’s residence and 221 firearms were seized: 85 rifles, 35 shotguns, 94 pistols, five suspected silencers, one suspected machine gun, and one full auto sear. Bowen has a prior felony conviction and is prohibited from possessing firearms.

If convicted, Bowen faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for being a felon in possession of a firearm and possessing an unregistered firearm. The maximum statutory penalty for engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license is 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.

This case is part of the PSN (Project Safe Neighborhoods) strategy, a nationwide strategy for using existing resources to most effectively combat violent crime in partnership with state, local and tribal law enforcement and the communities we serve. This case is the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the assistance of the Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium (MAGEC) whose members come from the Fresno Police Department, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, the California Highway Patrol, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Sanchez is prosecuting the case.

 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Marcus Buckley, 46, of Weatherford, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley to two years in prison and ordered to pay over $1.58 million in restitution, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Buckley played professional football in the National Football League for seven seasons between 1993 and 2000 with the New York Giants. During this time, the Giants had workers’ compensation insurance coverage through Pennsylvania Manufacturer’s Association Insurance Group (PMA).

In 2006, Buckley filed a worker’s compensation claim against the Giants for cumulative stress injuries sustained while playing football, in part, in California. During the first week of November 2010, Buckley, the Giants, and PMA settled the Buckley claim for $300,000 pursuant to a “Compromise and Release” Agreement.

After Buckley’s claim had been settled, between late 2010 and June 2011, Buckley prepared and filed numerous requests for additional reimbursement under his claim. As part of these requests, Buckley prepared false invoices and statements from medical providers for medical services purportedly provided to him. Other times, Buckley prepared false credit collection notices from collection agencies purportedly seeking payment from Buckley from various medical providers for past due medical bills. Buckley transmitted the false invoices, statements and credit collection letters to his co-defendant, Kimberly Jones, who was a claims adjuster at Gallagher Bassett Services Inc. in its Sacramento office.  Gallagher Bassett was a third-party administrator that managed, among other things, workers’ compensation claims in California on behalf of PMA. Jones was aware that Buckley was not entitled to additional reimbursement under his disability claim and that the submitted documentation and requests were false. Jones caused the issuance of Gallagher Bassett checks payable to Buckley, and Buckley ultimately received over $1,588,000 in funds to which he was not entitled.

During the sentencing hearing, Judge Nunley found that Buckley engaged in a massive amount of fraud and caused serious reputational damage to the victim, Gallagher Bassett. Judge Nunley also said that Buckley’s actions were rooted in greed.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael M. Beckwith is prosecuting the case.

Jones is scheduled to be sentenced on February 8, 2018, by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley. Jones faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss in the case, and a three-year term of supervised release. The actual sentence will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Maria Santa, 41, of Sacramento, was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison for failing to surrender for service of her sentence, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller ordered today’s sentence to be served consecutive to Santa’s original sentence.

According to court documents, Maria Santa was previously sentenced to 20 months in prison for mortgage fraud and was ordered to begin serving her sentence in February 2014. When her motion for bail pending appeal was denied, she fled the jurisdiction and left a note at her residence that made it appear that she had committed suicide. On August 26, 2016, Maria Santa was arrested in Sacramento as a passenger in a vehicle her husband Virgil Santa was driving. She was found in possession of an identification document belonging to her twin sister.

Virgil Santa, 43, also of Sacramento, is charged with harboring a fugitive in relation to Maria Santa’s offense. The charge is only an allegation, he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared C. Dolan and Amanda Beck are prosecuting the case.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gregory Jerome Brown, 28, of Bountiful, Utah, pleaded guilty today to 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 an index card, and in one note, he claimed to have 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.

This morning 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 is 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 is prosecuting the case.

Brown is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on April 18, 2018. Brown faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count. 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. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced today that the Eastern District of California collected $82,182,771 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2017. Of this amount, $13,278,653 was collected in criminal actions and $68,904,118 was collected in civil actions. The Eastern District of California also worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $162,370,250 in cases pursued jointly with these offices. Of this amount, $15,414 was collected in criminal actions and $162,354,835 was collected in civil actions.

Overall, the Justice Department collected just over $15 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017.

U.S. Attorney Scott stated: “Every year, we recover far more money for victims and taxpayers than it costs to operate our office. These collections are critical to the Department’s mission of holding wrongdoers accountable, seeking restitution for victims, and pursuing funds that belong to American taxpayers.”

A significant portion of the monies collected were for actions involving allegations of Controlled Substance Act violations, including $150 million from McKesson Corp., $5 million from CVS Pharmacy Inc., and $11.75 million from Costco Wholesale. Other settlements were for health care fraud including a $9.86 million payment by Walgreen Co. to resolve allegations that it violated the federal False Claims Act when it knowingly submitted claims for reimbursement to California’s Medi-Cal program that were not supported by applicable diagnosis and documentation requirements. Given the nationwide opioid epidemic, our office will continue to focus on these types of investigations.

Our office will also continue to focus on procurement fraud to ensure that those awarded government contracts comply with all associated requirements for receipt and use of that money. This year Sierra Nevada Corporation, a Nevada corporation that provides services to federal agencies, paid $14.9 million to resolve allegations that it violated the federal False Claims Act when it knowingly misclassified certain costs, resulting in inflated overhead rates being paid in various defense and space contracts. Cityside Management Corporation paid $4.3 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by improperly billing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the work of Cityside’s subcontractors.

The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the Department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the United States and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the Department’s Crime Victims’ Fund, which distributes the funds to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

The largest civil collections were from affirmative civil enforcement cases, in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud, fire, or other misconduct or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, civil rights or environmental laws. In addition, civil debts were collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration and Department of Education.

Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Eastern District of California, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $10,377,430 in asset forfeiture actions in fiscal year 2017. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Michael Carey Clemans, 57, of Sacramento, was sentenced today to life in prison for buying children, attempted travel and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, conspiracy to travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, conspiracy to produce child pornography, attempted production and production of child pornography, and receipt of child pornography.

This case is the latest in a multi-year trend of child exploitation prosecutions focusing on defendants with prior sex offenses and those who abuse and record the sexual abuse of children. U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Spradlin, Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, and Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims joined forces today to highlight their sustained and collaborative efforts to identify and vigorously prosecute those who exploit and abuse children and trade in images depicting the sexual abuse of children.

U.S. Attorney Scott stated, “In the last four years, over 40 federal defendants prosecuted by this office have received sentences ranging from 15 years up to life in prison for crimes against children. Many of those defendants were repeat offenders or, like Clemans, were responsible for the recorded sexual abuse of their victims. Advances in technology have escalated both the heinous nature and pervasiveness of these violent crimes that affect the most vulnerable members of our communities. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to continuing its collaboration with our state, local and federal partners to locate these offenders and ensure that they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Child pornography is the product of horrifically violent acts perpetrated against children who are powerless to escape their attackers. The victims not only bear the physical and emotional scars of the crime throughout their lifetimes; evidence of the criminal acts that harmed them are shared again and again by consumers of illicit content. All children deserve to be safe from harm,” said Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Sacramento field office. “The FBI is committed to working with our local, state, federal, and international partners to identify and investigate those who both produce and consume content that depicts the violent abuse of vulnerable children to ensure they face justice for their crimes.”

U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez sentenced Clemans today after a federal jury found Clemans guilty on September 5, 2017, of buying children, attempted travel and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and conspiracy to travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. On the first day of trial, Clemans pleaded guilty to three additional counts: conspiracy to produce child pornography, attempted production and production of child pornography, and receipt of child pornography.

According to court documents, beginning in June 2014, Clemans conspired with a woman in the Philippines to produce child pornography. During much of the conspiracy, Clemans was temporarily residing in Bangkok, Thailand, where he worked as an airline pilot. In April 2015, Clemans returned to his Sacramento residence and continued his overseas conspiracy using his online account to chat with the Filipino woman. In these chats, Clemans discussed various strategies to obtain minor girls whom he could rape. Clemans instructed the Filipino woman on how to find vulnerable victims, directing her to look for orphans and victims of typhoons. Clemans paid nearly $6,000 to the woman so she could buy photographic equipment and find discreet locations to conduct sexually explicit photo shoots of the victims, who were as young as seven years old. On multiple occasions, Clemans paid a co-conspirator to obtain temporary custody of the children in the Philippines and produce child pornography for him.

According to evidence introduced at trial, Clemans engaged in another scheme with separate individuals in November 2013, in which he traveled from the United States to Manila for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with minors after requesting and receiving pornographic images of minors whom he expected to rape.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys André M. Espinosa and Colleen M. Kennedy prosecuted the case.

The following are summaries of Project Safe Childhood cases from January 2014 to present in which sentences of 25 or more years were imposed.

On October 13, 2015, Shawn Joseph McCormack, 34, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping and producing child pornography involving two toddlers. McCormack traveled to a couple’s residence in Bakersfield and stayed as an overnight guest on multiple occasions. During several of the overnight stays, in the middle of the night, McCormack snuck the couple’s toddlers out of the house and recorded his sexual abuse of them. 1:11-cr-324 AWI

On March 23, 2017, Jesse Davenport, 42, of Chico, was sentenced to 50 years in prison for conspiring with a Connecticut woman to produce a video of a child being sexually abused. The woman made a video with a child she was babysitting following Davenport’s instructions and sent it to him two times. Davenport then distributed the video to another person. Davenport had prior convictions for sex offenses against minors. 2:13-cr-399 MCE

On April 30, 2014, Neng Yang, 49, of Clovis, was sentenced to 38 years in prison for producing child pornography. While working as a teacher, Yang used an iPhone and a computer to record and store videos depicting his sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl under his supervisory control.
1:12-cr-037 AWI

On August 25, 2014, Christopher David Robinette, 48, a U.S. citizen living in the Netherlands, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for traveling to Fresno to sexually exploit a minor. He abused the minor in California, Nevada, Mexico and Costa Rica and produced digital still and video images of the abuse. 1:13-cr-003 AWI

On January 18, 2018, Jeffrey Miles Hayes, 55, of Sacramento, was sentenced to 33 years and four months in prison for receiving over 2,000 images of children engaged in sexually explicit acts, including images showing sadistic abuse and the sexual abuse of an infant. He also possessed links to cloud storage accounts containing child pornography. At the time of the offense, Hayes had a prior conviction related to child pornography and was a registered sex offender. 2:16-cr-190 TLN

On April 12, 2016, Shane Paul Young, 47, of Fresno, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for sending and receiving hundreds of videos and images of child pornography with users across Europe and North America. The voluminous amount of child pornography included graphic images of infants and toddlers being sexually abused. Both the nature of Young’s offense and his significant prior criminal history factored into his sentence. 1:13-cr-126 DAD

On July 29, 2016, Jason Wymer, 46, of Citrus Heights, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for sexual exploitation of children. A parent accidentally sent a picture of her child to a wrong number who turned out to be Wymer. When Wymer responded requesting more pictures, the parent brought the cellphone to the FBI. An undercover employee, pretending to be a child, continued the dialog until they were able to locate and arrest him. Photos of Wymer molesting a three-year-old were found on his phone, and Wymer also admitted to molesting a four-year-old child. 2:13-cr-086 GEB

On January 19, 2017, Bret Allan Nichols, 33, of Paradise, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for paying a Florida couple to produce and record child pornography. A forensic search of Nichols’s computer seized during the subsequent search of his residence found multiple videos that Nichols had recorded of five additional child victims in Colombia and the Philippines.
2:13-cr-400 MCE

On December 3, 2014, Jeffrey Randall Metcalfe, 50, of Turlock, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for receiving and distributing child pornography. He created at least 17 accounts on a photo-sharing website, posted numerous images to the site and made comments about his interest in child pornography. Metcalfe possessed thousands of printed and digital images of child pornography. This was his second child pornography conviction in federal court in Fresno.
1:14-cr-012 LJO

On August 18, 2014, Allen Kendrick, 51, of Escalon, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for receiving and distributing child pornography. Kendrick was previously convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14, and he had a prior 2010 offense for possession of child pornography. 1:14-cr-055 LJO

On September 14, 2017, Raul Gonzalez, 44, of Woodland, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for causing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct, which he recorded with his cellphone camera. Gonzalez also sexually abused another minor who was less than 14 years old.
2:13-cr-377 MCE

On July 10, 2014, Phillip J. Colwell, 58, of Sacramento, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for engaging in a series of cellphone text conversations with a 14-year-old boy and sending him sexually explicit images. Colwell encouraged him to produce sexually explicit images of himself to send to Colwell. Colwell also molested a 16-year-old boy and took explicit photos of him that he then uploaded to a website in order to advertise him for sex trafficking. 2:12-cr-73-GEB

On December 8, 2014, Bradley Allen Vaine, 31, of Fresno, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for receiving and distributing more than 600 images of child pornography, some of which depicted prepubescent minors, and some were of violent or sadistic conduct. 1:12-cr-403 LJO

On March 24, 2014, Frank Charles Reddell, 43, of Madera, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for receiving child pornography. Reddell had a prior conviction for lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor, and he was on parole when an officer found him viewing child pornography in a parking lot. 1:13-cr-090 LJO

On September 9, 2016, Joshua Landon Klipp, 36, of Chico, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for persuading a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct while he recorded and transmitted live visual depictions of it. Klipp received images from the minor, as well as other images through the internet. 2:14-cr-107 GEB

On July 20, 2015, Ricky Davis, 38, of Modesto, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for production of child pornography and attempted sex trafficking of a minor. He took sexually explicit photographs of a 13-year-old girl and posted them online within an advertisement for prostitution. 1:12-cr-056 AWI

These cases were 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. — Crystal Candiece Cooper, 35, was sentenced Tuesday to two years and five months for a bank fraud scheme, aggravated identity theft, and possession of stolen U.S. Mail, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, between December 19, 2015 and March 27, 2017, Cooper obtained financial and identity information, checks, credit cards and bank cards from stolen U.S. mail and used them to get cash, goods, and services. Cooper targeted postal customers in Red Bluff.

One victim of Coopers identity theft scheme had applied for Social Security benefits and expected to receive a debit card in the mail to access the money. Instead, Cooper obtained mail stolen from the victim and found the victim’s debit card and other identifying information. Cooper was able to activate the card and set a PIN to give her access to the funds. She made four separate cash withdrawals using the debit card.

When Cooper was arrested by federal agents on March 27, 2017, she had in her possession stolen mail and identity information such as Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and driver’s license numbers for residents of Tehama and Shasta Counties.

This case was the product of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the Tehama County Sheriff’s Department and Red Bluff Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rodriguez prosecuted the case.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Dionna J. Bradshaw, 37, formerly of Vallejo, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to submit false claims for tax refunds to the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

 

According to court documents, from March 2011 through March 2013, Bradshaw and co‑defendant Porsha Dickens, of Vallejo, participated in a conspiracy to submit false tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service by obtaining personal identifying information of others, and then submitting returns seeking refunds to which the people listed on the returns were not entitled. To pursue the refunds, false statements were placed on the tax returns regarding employers, income, withholding from income, and eligibility for certain tax credits, among other things. The employers listed on most of the fraudulent returns were companies purportedly belonging to codefendant Dickens. The fraudulently obtained tax refunds were frequently directly deposited into the bank accounts of Bradshaw and Dickens. The total amount of refunds claimed in connection with the conspiracy was approximately $301,612.

 

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

 

Bradshaw is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge John A. Mendez on May 1, 2018. Bradshaw faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 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.

 

Co-defendant Dickens is scheduled to go to trial on September 24, 2018, on charges of conspiracy to submit false claims and making false claims. The charges against Dickens are only allegations; Dickens is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

FRESNO, Calif. — Mario Alvarez-Muniz, aka Cirilio Cardenas-Alvarez, 49, a citizen of Mexico and former resident of Taft, was sentenced on Monday to 10 years and one month in prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

Alvarez-Muniz pleaded guilty on October 30, 2017. According to court documents, Alvarez-Muniz, a self-employed tow truck driver, was a long-time distributer of drugs to the Pacific Northwest and Midwest that he obtained from Mexico and Guatemala. Alvarez-Muniz was arrested in Bakersfield after delivering two pounds of methamphetamine during an undercover drug transaction and orchestrating a shipment of six kilograms of heroin and 11 kilograms of cocaine to Chicago; the drugs destined for Chicago were seized in Bakersfield. At the time of his arrest, Alvarez-Muniz was on probation for a prior felony drug conviction.

Co-defendant Darrell Leon Jennings, 49, is charged with conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine. He is currently a fugitive. Anyone with information concerning Jennings is encouraged to contact the U.S. Marshals Service at 1-800-336-0102.
The charges are only allegations; he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, California Highway Patrol, Bakersfield Police Department, and Kern County Probation Office. 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. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar is prosecuting the case.

FRESNO, Calif. — Chaudhry Ahmad Farooq, 25, a Pakistani national residing in Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd to 23 months in prison for conspiring to distribute heroin, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Farooq and co-defendant Abdullah Almashwali, 33, a Yemeni national formerly residing in Brooklyn, New York, distributed heroin and cocaine on the dark web marketplace AlphaBay using the vendor names “Area51” and “DarkApollo.” Dark web marketplaces are operated on computer networks designed to conceal the true Internet Protocol address of the computers accessing the network. Dark web marketplaces allow for payments to be made only in the form of digital currency, most commonly in Bitcoin. AlphaBay was shut down by law enforcement in July 2017.

Farooq and Almashwali accepted orders for heroin and cocaine on AlphaBay, and then mailed the narcotics from post offices in New York to customers throughout the United States. They received payment in Bitcoin. In May 2016, law enforcement agents made two undercover purchases of heroin from “Area51,” which were delivered to a post office box in the Eastern District of California. Postal records revealed that Almashwali purchased the postage for the two heroin parcels mailed to law enforcement, and that Farooq was involved in other mailings. Law enforcement agents were also able to determine that the encrypted email address used by “Area51” and “DarkApollo” was associated with actual Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts used by Farooq.

Farooq was ordered to begin serving his sentence on March 7, 2018. Co-defendant Almashwali was sentenced to six and a half years in prison on July 24, 2017.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Grant B. Rabenn and Ross Pearson prosecuted 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. — On Thursday, a federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment against Michael Anaya-Otero, 21, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, charging him with production of child pornography and interstate travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, in April 2016 and again in January 2017, Anaya-Otero allegedly traveled to Placer County in order to engage in sexual conduct with a seventh grader. Anaya-Otero is also alleged to have taken sexually explicit pictures of the victim, which he then transported with him back to New Jersey. Separately, in June 2017, Anaya-Otero had an online relationship over Snapchat and Instagram with a second juvenile victim in El Dorado County, and he is alleged to have maintained sexually explicit images of this juvenile victim on his cellphone.

On January 5, 2018, Anaya-Otero was arrested in New Jersey.

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

If convicted, Anaya-Otero faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of production of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 15 years. 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. — John Brewer, 48, of San Francisco, pleaded guilty today to 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 non-competitive bids. In total, ENC won over 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 Jared C. Dolan and Matthew M. Yelovich are 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.

Vinch pleaded guilty to bid rigging on December 14, 2017, and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 15, 2018. Charges are pending against Dixon, and she has a status conference scheduled for March 29, 2018. The charges against her are allegations; and she is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Brewer is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. on April 26, 2018. Brewer faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 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.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Jeffrey Miles Hayes, 55, of Sacramento, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley to 33 years in prison, to be followed by 25 years of supervised release for receiving child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Hayes came to the attention of law enforcement through two related tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding an individual who was posting images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct to a social media blog. An Internet Protocol (IP) address used to access the blog site was registered to Hayes’s home. During a search of the residence, law enforcement identified an iPad containing a messaging application that Hayes used to send and receive images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Hayes had over 2,000 images of children engaged in sexually explicit acts, including images showing sadistic/masochistic abuse and the sexual abuse of an infant, as well as links to cloud storage accounts containing child pornography. At the time, Hayes had a prior conviction in the Sacramento County Superior Court relating to distribution of child pornography and was a registered sex offender.

This case was investigated by the Sacramento Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a federally and state-funded task force managed by the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department with agents from federal, state, and local agencies. The Sacramento ICAC investigates online child exploitation crimes, including child pornography, enticement, and sex trafficking. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shelley D. Weger 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. — Joseph Woloszyn, 32, of Sacramento, was arrested today after a federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment last Thursday charging him with obstruction of justice and perjury, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, on June 28, 2017, Woloszyn provided false testimony under oath at an evidentiary hearing in the case of United States v. M.W., 2:13-cr-067 KJM. Woloszyn testified on behalf of the defendant in that case and provided false statements related to his gang tattoos, nickname, phone number, and contacts with the defendant. This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron L. Desmond is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Woloszyn 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.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment on last Thursday against Derek Bluford, 30, of Sacramento, charging him with wire fraud and money laundering, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

 

According to court documents, Bluford allegedly told a couple that he was an attorney and could represent them in a dispute they were having with their tenant. After the couple agreed, Bluford then told them that they had incurred numerous fines and court costs, as well as costs to repair their rental unit; he also told them he had negotiated a settlement agreement with the couple’s former tenant. Based on these representations, the couple paid Bluford at least $535,000. According to the allegations in the indictment, Bluford, in fact, was not an attorney and there were no fines or court costs imposed. Bluford then allegedly laundered the proceeds from his scheme.

 

This case is the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd A. Pickles is prosecuting the case.

 

If convicted, Bluford faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison on the wire fraud count, 10 years in prison on the money laundering counts, and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross loss or gross gain. 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. — Julia A. Wilbert, 53, of San Juan Capistrano, pleaded guilty today to theft of government benefits, United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

 

According to court documents, from June 2007 through March 2015, Wilbert stole approximately $112,275 in federal government benefit payments intended for her aunt, who died in June 2007. Wilbert’s aunt was an eligible recipient of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation benefits paid by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Wilbert had exclusive access to her deceased aunt’s bank account, was the individual who reported her aunt’s death, and proceeded to perform periodic transfers of thousands of dollars of VA benefit money from that account to her own bank account. When confronted, Wilbert admitted that she had been acting out of “personal greed.” Wilbert has agreed to pay back the full amount to the government as a part of her plea agreement.

 

This case is the product of an investigation by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Yelovich is prosecuting the case.

 

Wilbert is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on April 18, 2018. Wilbert faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 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.

FRESNO, Calif. — In separate cases, two defendants were sentenced today for drug trafficking on the dark-web marketplace AlphaBay, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

Chief U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill sentenced David Ryan Burchard, 40, of Merced, to six years and eight months in prison. He sentenced Emil Vladimirov Babadjov, 33, a Bulgarian and U.S. dual-national formerly residing in San Francisco, to five years and 10 months in prison.

Dark web sites such as AlphaBay operate on “The Onion Router” or “TOR” network, a special network of computers on the internet, which are distributed around the world. The network is designed to conceal the true Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of computers that access the network, and thus the locations and identities of the network’s users and the computer servers hosting the websites, which are referred to as “hidden services.” The “hidden services” have complex web addresses generated by a computer algorithm ending in “.onion” and can only be accessed through specific web browser software designed to access the TOR network. AlphaBay was shut down by U.S. law enforcement on July 5, 2017, and is no longer in operation.

According to court documents, Burchard, using the moniker “Caliconnect,” was a major narcotics vendor on the Silk Road and other dark-web marketplaces, including Agora, Abraxas and AlphaBay. Burchard accepted orders for marijuana and cocaine on the dark web and then mailed the narcotics from post offices in Merced and Fresno County to customers located throughout the United States. Burchard was paid primarily in Bitcoin. Burchard conducted sales in excess of $1.4 million on the Silk Road before that marketplace was closed, at which point Burchard transferred his narcotics business to Agora and then to AlphaBay.

In a separate case, Babadjov, using the monikers “Blime-Sub” and “BTH-Overdose,” was a heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine trafficker on the dark-web marketplace AlphaBay. Babadjov accepted orders for drugs on AlphaBay and then mailed the drugs from a post office in San Francisco to customers throughout the United States. On October 20, 2016, law enforcement agents made an undercover purchase of heroin from “Blime-Sub,” which was delivered to a post office box in the Eastern District of California. The parcel contained a mixture of fentanyl and heroin.

The Burchard case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Fresno Police Department. The Babadjov case was the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from ICE-HSI, IRS-CI, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Grant B. Rabenn prosecuted the cases.

Babadjov is currently in federal custody, and Burchard was ordered to surrender to federal custody on April 12, 2018.

These cases were 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.

FRESNO, Calif. — Jason Leroy Geiser, 36, of Bakersfield, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd to two years and four months in prison for conspiracy to possess stolen U.S. mail and the unlawful possession of credit and debit cards, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. Judge Drozd also ordered the forfeiture of $85,000.

According to court documents, between October 1, 2016, and March 2, 2017, Geiser conspired with others to steal mail and to use information and credit and debit cards obtained from the stolen mail for their own monetary benefit.

According to the plea agreement, on October 17, 2016, Geiser stole mail from a community mailbox. Based on information from an eyewitness, police officers were able to follow Geiser to an empty house where they found him and another person with stolen mail in plain view. More stolen mail and two unauthorized credit cards were found in Geiser’s vehicle. On December 9, 2016, police officers found Geiser at a local hotel with two other individuals in possession of stolen mail and 18 stolen credit and debit cards.

On January 4, 2017, Geiser stole mail from a community mailbox, and based on information from an eyewitness, officers were able to determine that the thief was Geiser and went to his home. They found a large amount of mail in Geiser’s vehicle, his home, and a shed in his back yard. Eighty-four stolen, unauthorized credit or debit cards were seized in this search. On March 2, 2017, he was arrested by officers with the Bakersfield Police Department on an active warrant and a search of his vehicle resulted in the recovery of a large amount of mail and 64 stolen or unauthorized credit and debit cards.

This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Bakersfield Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian K. Delaney is prosecuting the case.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sergio Roman Barrientos, 64, of Poway, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution and bank fraud, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, from about September 2004 through February 2008, Barrientos and co-conspirators Zalathiel Aguila and Omar Anabo operated an entity named Capital Access LLC, in Vallejo. They preyed on homeowners nearing foreclosure, convinced them to sign away title in their homes, spent any equity those homeowners had saved, and used straw buyers to defraud federally insured financial institutions out of millions of dollars in home loans obtained under false pretenses. The equity stripped from the distressed homeowners’ properties was then used for operational expenses of the scheme and personal expenses of Barrientos and his coconspirators. Vulnerable homeowners across California lost their homes and savings as a result of the scheme, and lenders lost an estimated $10.47 million from the fraud.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew M. Yelovich and Todd A. Pickles are prosecuting the case.

Co-defendant Zalathiel Aguila remains out of custody awaiting trial. The charges against him are allegations; he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Omar Anabo, charged elsewhere, is set for sentencing on April 27.

Barrientos is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. on April 6, 2018. Barrientos faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 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.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Abolghasseni “Abe” Alizadeh, 59, of Granite Bay, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud, bank fraud and making false statements to a federally insured financial institution, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Alizadeh, a Sacramento-area commercial real estate developer, restauranteur and owner of Kobra Properties, came up with a scheme to fraudulently purchase land that he planned to develop. Banks usually loan up to 60–65 percent of the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) on undeveloped commercial property. (LTV ratio is the comparison between the amount of the loan and the value of the property.) To circumvent the banks and fraudulently get a higher level of financing, Alizadeh submitted altered purchase contracts to the banks that greatly inflated the purported purchase price. The banks, which competed for Alizadeh’s business, were unaware that the purchase prices were inflated and sometimes loaned well in excess of the loan-to-value ratio. By concealing the true purchase price from the banks, Alizadeh received substantial amounts of cash, sometimes millions of dollars, at the close of escrow and avoided making the full down payment or, in some instances, any down payment.

Alizadeh was assisted in this scheme by co-defendant Mary Sue Weaver, 64, currently of Scottsdale, Arizona and formerly of Lincoln, California, who was employed at a local title company. According to the plea agreement, Alizadeh would write checks for the down payment, but because he lacked funds to cover the checks, he would call Weaver and ask her to delay depositing the checks until after escrow closed. Once escrow closed, Weaver disbursed funds from the title company’s escrow trust account to Kobra Properties. Kobra Properties then used those funds to cover its down payment and other costs. In this way, it appeared as though Alizadeh was making a substantial down payment when in fact he was not.

On April 29, 2005, Alizadeh submitted a fraudulent purchase contract to Central Pacific Bank, which induced the bank to lend him nearly $4 million for the purchase of 10.3 acres of property. This loan represented over 96 percent loan-to-value ratio. Similarly, on October 21, 2005, Alizadeh received over $22 million in funding and loans to purchase the Turtle Island property, when in actuality, the original purchase price was $10 million. In March 2006, Alizadeh also falsely claimed to Bank of Sacramento that he was paying $36 per square foot for a piece of property where he intended to build a TGI Friday’s restaurant. In reality, Alizadeh was paying only $21 per square foot. This resulted in a $650,000 inflation of the true purchase price. Alizadeh’s entire scheme, involving no fewer than six properties in the Sacramento area, resulted in a loss to various financial institutions of over $22 million.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Anderson and Heiko P. Coppola are prosecuting the case.

Alizadeh is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. on March 30, 2018. Co-defendant Weaver pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud on December 15, 2017, and is scheduled for sentencing on March 23, 2018. Alizadeh and Weaver face a maximum statutory penalty of thirty years in prison on each count and a $1 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.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —Nathan Alexander Drury, 39, of Chico, pleaded guilty today to 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 a 47-second video of a nude child who was under the age of 12. The video that Drury produced shows the child being sexually abused.

This case is 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 is prosecuting the case.

Drury has been in custody since he was arrested on March 23, 2015.

Drury is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. on April 6, 2018. Drury faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. The maximum statutory penalty is 30 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.

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 a three-count indictment today against Andres Leonardo Melgarejo, 26, of Vallejo, charging him with possessing cocaine for distribution, possessing a firearm as a felon, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, on December 4, 2017, Vallejo Police officers stopped Melgarejo for a traffic violation and found that he was driving on a suspended license. A search of the vehicle revealed powder cocaine, marijuana, and a Glock .40-caliber pistol. The pistol was fully loaded with an extended magazine and a round in the chamber. Melgarejo cannot lawfully possess firearms because he has previously been convicted of a felony offense.

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

If convicted of possessing cocaine for distribution, Melgarejo faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. If convicted of possessing a firearm as a felon, Melgarejo faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, Melgarejo faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence would be determined at the discretion of the district court after considering any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — In a case that is the product of the 10-month investigation into the Bakersfield criminal street gang known as the West Side Crips (WSC), a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment today against alleged WSC member Jarvis Thomas, 32, charging him with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, as well as possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

An additional narcotics charge was also included against alleged WSC member Tommie Thomas, who was previously charged in the underlying indictment.

According to court documents, on November 1, 2017, alleged WSC members Jarvis Thomas, Tommie Thomas and Augustus Crawford (now deceased) conspired to purchase, and did purchase, at least four pounds of methamphetamine from Luis Fernandez, another co‑defendant charged in the original indictment.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the California Department of Justice, the Bakersfield Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angela Scott and Vincenza Rabenn are prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Jarvis Thomas, Tommie Thomas and Luis Fernandez 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. — Jarod Perdichizzi, 31, of Lodi, was sentenced today to eight years and one month in prison for distribution of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, in July 2016, Perdichizzi used the Kik messenger service to chat online with someone who, unbeknownst to Perdichizzi, was an undercover federal agent. Perdichizzi sought information about how he could become sexually active with a minor female and also emailed images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct to the undercover agent. After executing a federal search warrant at Perdichizzi’s residence, agents found a thumb drive containing 88 images and nine videos of child pornography. Perdichizzi has been in custody since his arrest on July 28, 2016.

This case was the product of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew D. Segal 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. — Lynnsi Dunbar, 30, of Bakersfield, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd to 12 months in prison and ordered to pay $287,945 in restitution for conspiring to defraud Bakersfield Pipe and Supply Inc. (BPS), U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, from March 2014 through October 2014, Kye Dunbar, 32, his wife Lynnsi Dunbar, and Daniel Harte conspired to defraud Bakersfield Pipe and Supply Inc. (BPS), which is headquartered in Bakersfield, by creating false invoices for payment. During this period, Lynnsi Dunbar was an employee of BPS, who with the help of Kye Dunbar and Daniel Harte, created “Harte Trucking,” a fictitious trucking company that was created for the sole purpose of submitting fraudulent invoices to BPS for services that were never performed. As a result of this conspiracy, the defendants were able to defraud BPS out of $287,000.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian K. Delaney prosecuted the case.

Lynnsi Dunbar and Kye Dunbar pleaded guilty and on June 26, 2017, and Kye Dunbar was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison. The case against Harte is still pending.

FRESNO, Calif. — Alfonso Rios-Ayon, 44, a Mexican national, was sentenced on Monday by Chief U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to 20 years in prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, between March 1, 2016, and June 29, 2016, Rios-Ayon conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine to various drug dealers and users in Kern County and elsewhere. On June 29, 2016, law enforcement agents conducted a controlled purchase of approximately 30 pounds of crystal methamphetamine at a ranch where Rios-Ayon lived in Pixley. In the course of the operation, agents arrested Alfonso Rios-Ayon and Daniel Rios, 34, of Riverside. Law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at the residence and seized approximately 30 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, three firearms, multiple magazines and ammunition, and approximately $16,850 in cash. Another co‑conspirator, Sergio Ortega-Maldonado, 46, a Mexican national was arrested when he attempted to re-enter the United States at the U.S.-Mexico border.

On March 27, 2017, Rios-Ayon pleaded guilty. His co-defendants pleaded guilty on July 10, 2017.  On September 25, 2017, Daniel Rios was sentenced to 10 years in prison and Sergio Ortega-Maldonado was sentenced to five years and four months in prison.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, the Southern Tri-County Task Force of the Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the California Department of Motor Vehicles Investigations, the Kern County Probation Department, and the California Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian K. Delaney prosecuted the case.

FRESNO, Calif. — Leslie Michelle Hays, 49, of Fresno pleaded guilty today to one count of wire fraud for embezzling funds from her employer, Borges USA, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to the plea agreement, Hays was the director of human resources from 2005 through 2014 at Borges USA, a food distribution company based in Spain with regional headquarters in Fresno. To embezzle funds from Borges USA, Hays misreported her salary, expenses, and vacation time to the company’s payroll processor, which then remitted the stolen funds to Hays’s bank account. In total, Hays stole at least $1,535,420 in inflated salary payments and false expenses reimbursements from Borges USA.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Grant B. Rabenn is prosecuting the case.

Hays is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on May 7, 2018. She faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any 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. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment against Everitt Aaron Jameson, 26, of Modesto, today charging him with attempting provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization and distribution of information relating to destructive devices.

The announcement was made by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott for the Eastern District of California and Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI’s Sacramento Field Office.

“Federal law enforcement deserves our thanks for stopping a potential terrorist attack during the busy holiday season,” said Attorney General Sessions. “The Department of Justice will continue to take every lawful step we can to distrupt plots and to protect our nation from foreign and domestic threats, including the dangerous threat posed by radical Islamic terrorism.”

U.S. Attorney Scott stated: “Our office is committed to investigating potential terrorist threats and working with our law enforcement partners to prevent those threats from being carried out. I am grateful to the FBI for their vigilance and commitment to keeping our communities safe.”

“This case shows our determination to prevent acts of terrorism and to save lives,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the Sacramento Field Office. “We thank our law enforcement partners for their cooperation in this matter. We also remind members of the public that should they see something suspicious indicating a threat of any kind to immediately report it to law enforcement authorities.”

According to the indictment, between Oct. 24, 2017, and Dec. 20, 2017, Jameson offered to work in support of ISIS, knowing that the organization was engaging in terrorist activity and terrorism. Court documents allege that he had several online interactions with a confidential source, and during those interactions, he expressed support for the Oct. 31, 2017, terrorist attack in New York City and offered his services for “the cause.” In subsequent communications with an undercover agent, Jameson noted that his time in the U.S. military had trained him for combat and war. Later, he met with another undercover agent whom he believed to be associated with the senior leadership of ISIS and offered to carry out violent acts and provide financial support for the terrorist organization.

The indictment also alleges that, on Dec. 16, 2017, Jameson described to a person whom he believed was working for ISIS that he was well-versed with the Anarchist Cookbook, described how to build pipe bombs out of PVC pipe, gunpowder, nails and BBs, asked for remote timing devices from that person, and described how to use such destructive devices in an attack on Pier 39 in San Francisco, to funnel people into an area in order to shoot them.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dawrence W. Rice Jr. and Christopher D. Baker are prosecuting the case with Trial Attorney Brenda Sue Thornton from the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section.

If convicted, Jameson faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 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.

A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment against Everitt Aaron Jameson, 26, of Modesto, California, charging him with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and distribution of information relating to destructive devices.

 

The announcement was made by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott for the Eastern District of California and Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI’s Sacramento Field Office.

 

“Federal law enforcement deserves our thanks for stopping a potential terrorist attack during the busy holiday season,” said Attorney General Sessions.  “The Department of Justice will continue to take every lawful step we can to disrupt plots and to protect our nation from foreign and domestic threats, including the dangerous threat posed by radical Islamic terrorism.”

 

“Our office is committed to investigating potential terrorist threats and working with our law enforcement partners to prevent those threats from being carried out,” said U.S. Attorney Scott.  “I am grateful to the FBI for their vigilance and commitment to keeping our communities safe.”

 

“This case shows our determination to prevent acts of terrorism and to save lives,” said Special Agent in Charge Ragan.  “We thank our law enforcement partners for their cooperation in this matter.  We also remind members of the public that should they see something suspicious indicating a threat of any kind to immediately report it to law enforcement authorities.”

 

According to the indictment, between Oct. 24, 2017, and Dec. 20, 2017, Jameson offered to work in support of ISIS, knowing that the organization was engaging in terrorist activity and terrorism.  Court documents allege that he had several online interactions with a confidential source, and during those interactions, he expressed support for the Oct. 31, 2017, terrorist attack in New York City and offered his services for “the cause.”  In subsequent communications with an undercover agent, Jameson noted that his time in the U.S. military had trained him for combat and war.  Later, he met with another undercover agent whom he believed to be associated with the senior leadership of ISIS and offered to carry out violent acts and provide financial support for the terrorist organization.

 

The indictment also alleges that, on Dec. 16, 2017, Jameson described to a person whom he believed was working for ISIS that he was well-versed with the Anarchist Cookbook, described how to build pipe bombs out of PVC pipe, gunpowder, nails and BBs, asked for remote timing devices from that person, and described how to use such destructive devices in an attack on Pier 39 in San Francisco, California to funnel people into an area in order to shoot them.

 

If convicted, Jameson faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.  The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes.  If convicted of any offense, the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court after considering the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  The charges are merely allegations.  The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

This case is the product of an investigation by the FBI.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dawrence W. Rice Jr. and Christopher D. Baker of the Eastern District of California are prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorney Brenda Sue Thornton of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California announced that McGregor “Greg” W. Scott was sworn in today as the new United States Attorney by United States District Judge Morrison C. England Jr.

Mr. Scott is returning to the position he held from 2003 to 2009 when he was appointed United States Attorney by President George W. Bush. While Mr. Scott is currently serving as the Court-appointed United States Attorney, he has been nominated for the position by President Donald J. Trump, and his nomination is currently before the United States Senate.

Mr. Scott received his B.A. from Santa Clara University in 1985 and his J.D. from Hastings College of the Law, University of California, in 1989. He served as a deputy district attorney from 1989 to 1997 in Contra Costa County, California, and served as the elected District Attorney of Shasta County, California, from 1997 to 2003. After completing his first term as U.S. Attorney, Mr. Scott practiced as a partner with the law firm of Orrick, Herrington, & Sutcliffe LLP, focusing on white collar criminal defense and corporate investigations. In addition, Mr. Scott retired in 2008 from the United States Army Reserve as a lieutenant colonel after 23 years of service.

The United States Attorney serves as the chief federal law enforcement officer for the Eastern District of California and is responsible for prosecuting federal criminal cases and representing the United States in civil litigation. The Eastern District covers 34 counties throughout the Central Valley and the Sierras, from the Oregon border in the north to the Los Angeles County line in the south. The office has 92 attorneys and 81 non-attorney staff with offices in Sacramento, Fresno, and Bakersfield.

“I am honored to once again lead the committed public servants in this outstanding office. I look forward to working with them and our law enforcement partners to keep our communities safe and to provide the United States with the highest quality legal representation in all the matters we handle,” U.S. Attorney Scott said. He also thanked Phillip A. Talbert for his stewardship in serving as United States Attorney over the last 20 months.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a single-count indictment on Thursday against Yaniv Gohar, 34, of Berkeley, Orel Gohar, 27, of San Francisco, Eran Buhbut, 32, of Oakland, and May Levy, 26, of Walnut Creek, charging them with conducting an illegal gambling business, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, between September 2015 and November 2017, the defendants operated a business that involved installing and maintaining video slot machines at smoke shops and convenience stores throughout Northern California, including in Sacramento, in violation of California laws prohibiting such machines.

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.

If convicted, the defendants face 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 defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — LRY, LLC d/b/a Lake Railway has paid $1.08 million to settle allegations by the United States relating to a pair of wildfires that burned 840 acres of national forest land, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced today.

The settlement represents a 100 percent recovery of the United States’ suppression costs, plus interest and penalties.

The “Gulch Fire” ignited in Modoc National Forest on July 3, 2014. The fire began along railroad tracks near Howard’s Gulch and swept outward — scorching 791 acres of national forest land. The “Howard’s Fire” ignited along neighboring tracks on May 1, 2014; it burned an additional 49 acres. Investigators attributed both fires to sparks from an improperly maintained engine.

“At a time when the Forest Service is spending more than half of its budget to suppress fires, being able to recover costs is crucial to our ability to restore these burned landscapes to a healthy and resilient condition,” said U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Regional Forester Randy Moore.

Lake Railway is a rail line that operates in Northern California. Today’s settlement does not constitute an admission of liability by the company.

This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin J. Wolinsky pursued the case.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — CLT Logging, Inc. has paid $1.95 million to settle allegations by the United States relating to a wildfire that scorched 318 acres of national forest land, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced today.

The “Dillon Fire” started in Siskiyou County on August 3, 2012. Investigators determined the cause to be a trailer carrying improperly secured logging equipment, which dragged against California Highway 96, throwing sparks that ignited dry grass in 21 separate locations. The fire burned 182 acres in Six Rivers National Forest and 136 acres in Klamath National Forest.

“As wildfires continue to sweep across California, my office stands committed to protecting our national forests and holding accountable those who endanger them,” U.S. Attorney Talbert said.

“For the first time in its 112-year history, the U.S. Forest Service is spending more than 50 percent of its budget to suppress the nation’s wildfires,” said U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Regional Forester Randy Moore. “Recoveries like this one help to restore these severely burned landscapes to a healthy and resilient condition.”

CLT Logging, Inc. is a timber company that conducts operations throughout Northern California. Additional parties to the settlement include Chuck L. Transportation, LLC and Barry Scott Peters. Today’s settlement does not constitute an admission of liability by the parties.

This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin J. Wolinsky pursued the case.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal complaint was unsealed today, charging Everitt Aaron Jameson, 26, of Modesto, with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Jameson had several online interactions with a confidential source in which he expressed support for the Oct. 31, 2017, terrorist attack in New York City and offered his services for “the cause.” In subsequent communications with an undercover agent, Jameson referred to his training in the U.S. military and noted he had been trained for combat and war. Jameson later met with another undercover agent whom he believed to be associated with the senior leadership of the foreign terrorist organization, ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, also known as ISIL). During his interactions with this undercover agent, Jameson offered to carry out violent acts and to provide financial support for the terrorist organization.

“The Department of Justice works resolutely every day to prevent terrorist attacks,” said Attorney General Sessions. “In my time back at the Department, nothing has impressed me more. Today, our incredible law enforcement officers have once again helped thwart an alleged plot to kill Americans. I want to thank the FBI agents and federal prosecutors and everyone else who helped make this possible. The threat from radical Islamic terrorism is real — and it is serious — but the American people can be assured that the Department of Justice remains vigilant in protecting our homeland.”

U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert stated, “I want to express my thanks to the FBI for working in partnership with my office on this case. We are grateful that our hardworking law enforcement partners remain vigilant in protecting our communities, especially during this holiday season.”

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dawrence W. Rice and Christopher D. Baker are prosecuting the case with Trial Attorney Brenda Sue Thornton from the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section.

If convicted, Jameson faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 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.

A federal complaint was unsealed today, charging Everitt Aaron Jameson, 26, of Modesto, with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. Jameson was arrested today and is scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe in Fresno, California at 2pm.  

According to court documents, Jameson had several online interactions with a confidential source in which he expressed support for the October 31, 2017, terrorist attack in New York City and offered his services for “the cause.”  In subsequent communications with an undercover agent, Jameson referred to his training in the U.S. military and noted he had been trained for combat and war.  Jameson later met with another undercover agent whom he believed to be associated with the senior leadership of the foreign terrorist organization, ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, also known as ISIL).  During his interactions with this undercover agent, Jameson offered to carry out violent acts and to provide financial support for the terrorist organization.  

 

"The Department of Justice works resolutely every day to prevent terrorist attacks," said Attorney General Sessions.  "In my time back at the Department, nothing has impressed me more.  Today, our incredible law enforcement officers have once again helped thwart an alleged plot to kill Americans. I want to thank the FBI agents and federal prosecutors and everyone else who helped make this possible. The threat from radical Islamic terrorism is real—and it is serious—but the American people can be assured that the Department of Justice remains vigilant in protecting our homeland."

U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert stated, “I want to express my thanks to the FBI for working in partnership with my office on this case.  We are grateful that our hardworking law enforcement partners remain vigilant in protecting our communities, especially during this holiday season.”

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Dawrence W. Rice and Christopher D. Baker are prosecuting the case, together with Trial Attorney Brenda Sue Thornton from the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section.

If convicted, Jameson faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 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. — A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment today against Jose Jesus Carbajal, 31, of Waterford, charging him with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, interference with commerce by robbery, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.  The Hobbs Act prohibits robbery and extortion that interferes with interstate commerce.

 

According to court documents, Carbajal was the leader of a home invasion crew that posed as police officers and robbed drug dealers. On one occasion, Carbajal allegedly led his crew to a house in Arbuckle, California, where they robbed the home’s occupants of money, marijuana, and other valuables before fleeing.

 

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Colusa County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Melanie Alsworth and Ross Pearson are prosecuting the case.

 

If convicted of all counts, Carbajal faces a mandatory minimum statutory penalty of five years in prison, a maximum statutory penalty of life 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.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment today against Curtis Dale Sawyer, 52, and Ann Marie Vance, 49, both of Chico, charging them with conspiring to possess and possessing methamphetamine for distribution, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. Vance was also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, on December 7, officers stopped Sawyer while he was driving northbound on Interstate 5 in Shasta County. After a narcotics canine alerted to the car, agents searched the vehicle and found over three pounds of methamphetamine. Afterwards, law enforcement officers searched the Chico home that Sawyer shared with Vance, where they found more methamphetamine and $106,634 in cash. Officers found another 8.3 pounds of methamphetamine in a car Vance was driving near the home, and a subsequent search of a storage unit connected to Vance uncovered additional methamphetamine, cash, and five firearms. Vance is prohibited by law from possessing firearms.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Shasta Interagency Narcotics Task Force, the Butte Interagency Narcotics Task Force, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

If convicted of the most significant drug charges, Sawyer and Vance each face a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, and a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. If convicted of the firearm charge, Vance faces a maximum 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 several variables. These charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Marcus Israel Butler, 33, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to access device fraud, United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. 

 

According to court documents, Butler traveled from Sacramento to cities throughout California and the rest of the United States, including the East Coast, Midwest, and Alaska, using a revoked debit card to purchase products from Apple stores.  Butler told store associates that there was a problem with his debit card and invited the associates to call his bank. In fact, it was Butler’s conspirator with whom the associates spoke. The conspirator gave the sales associates a false code that allowed the transactions to be completed on Butler’s revoked debit card. Butler was arrested in Colorado after attempting further fraudulent purchases at Apple stores.

 

Butler also used the revoked debit card to purchase other goods and services. All totaled, the loss caused by Butler’s fraud scheme was approximately $353,000.   

 

This case was the product of an investigation by the United States Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Todd A. Pickles is prosecuting the case.

 

Butler is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge John A. Mendez on March 27, 2018.  Butler faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 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. — Christopher Mroz, 26, of Sacramento, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller to 15 years in prison for stalking and two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Mroz was a member of the Air Force stationed in Lakenheath, England from 2012 through 2014. Although he was discharged from the Air Force in 2014, Mroz remained on base with his wife, who was an active duty member of the Air Force. During the course of their time in England, Mroz subjected his wife to sustained physical and emotional abuse, which included incidents involving suffocation and strangulation. The defendant’s assaults sent the victim to the emergency room on two occasions. On one occasion, he repeatedly kicked her and stomped on her head and neck; on another occasion, he broke her arm after he became angry about the way she folded money. Mroz was also emotionally abusive, attempting to control her personal and work relationships and restricting her ability to leave the house. The victim ultimately reported the abuses to Air Force authorities in April 2015, which led to his return to Sacramento, California. 

Mroz is subject to prosecution for the offenses in this case based on the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2000.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the FBI. Assistant United States Attorneys Jill Thomas and Michele Beckwith prosecuted the case.

FRESNO, Calif. — Rosario Beltran-Leal (Beltran), 43, of Sinaloa, Mexico, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to manufacture or cultivate, distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana in the Giant Sequoia National Monument in Tulare County, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Beltran was found last spring bringing over 31,000 marijuana seeds to a cultivation site in a remote area closed to the public in the Giant Sequoia National Monument. He was also in possession of a large quantity of food and cultivation supplies, including 100 hose connectors. In pleading guilty, Beltran acknowledged that he had delivered food supplies to marijuana growers in the same area in 2016. The irrigation system from the previous year was intact. Native vegetation and trees had also been trimmed to make room for the marijuana plants and water had been diverted from a tributary of Mill Creek.

Beltran is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill on March 12, 2017. Beltran faces a maximum prison term of 20 years and a fine of up to $1 million. 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 is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Tulare County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Karen Escobar is prosecuting the case.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Xavier L. Johnson, 37, of Sacramento, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. to two years and six months in prison and three years of supervised release for trafficking in goods bearing counterfeit trademarks, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, from 2008 to 2011, Johnson and co-defendant Kristin Caldwell imported DVDs from China that contained counterfeit versions of children’s movies. They advertised and sold those DVDs throughout the United States using websites on which they claimed that they had obtained limited quantities of the movies. The DVDs bore counterfeit trademarks, including the names of the movies, the names of the movie studios, and other terms that were registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

This case was the product of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Morris prosecuted the case.

Other defendants charged in this case and the status of their charges are:

• Kristin M. Caldwell, 35, of Sacramento, was sentenced by Judge Burrell on August 4, 2017, and was ordered to spend six months on home confinement as a condition of probation.
• William L. Brown, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty on May 5, 2017 to aiding and abetting criminal copyright infringement. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 19, 2018.

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment Thursday against Omar Patron-Valdez, 25, of Santa Fe Springs, charging him with possession of one kilogram or more of cocaine with the intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, on November 30, 2017, Patron-Valdez was driving northbound on I-5 near Nees Avenue in Fresno County when CHP stopped him for having illegally tinted windows. The CHP narcotics detection dog alerted to the vehicle Patron-Valdez was driving, and a hidden compartment was located. Officers found four kilogram-sized bricks in the compartment that tested positive for cocaine.

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 Highway Patrol. Assistant United States Attorney Laurel J. Montoya is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Patron-Valdez faces a mandatory term of five years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of 40 years in prison and a $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; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment Thursday against Christopher Lawrence, 23, of Chico, charging him with the sex trafficking of a child by force and coercion, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, between July and October 2017, Lawrence recruited a 17‑year-old girl, and by force and coercion, caused her to engage in commercial sex acts in various cities within the Eastern District of California.

According to the criminal complaint, on October 12, 2017, law enforcement agents found the victim in a Chico hotel during a multi-agency operation  targeting child sex trafficking. Lawrence allegedly forced her to have sex with men in various cities, including Sacramento, Yuba City, Gridley, Oroville, Chico, Corning, Redding, Bakersfield, Los Angeles, and in the Bay Area. Lawrence allegedly supplied the victim with drugs and physically assaulted her.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Jill Thomas, Nirav Desai, and Amanda Beck are prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Lawrence faces a minimum term of 15 years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of life 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 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. — Stockton residents Donald Earl Freeman Jr., 25, and Juan Arturo Arroyo Gomez, 30, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit bribery, identity fraud, and unauthorized access to a computer, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Freeman was an employee of the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) at the Tracy branch office and was responsible for, among other things, processing applications for California commercial driver licenses (CDLs). Such CDLs permit the license holders to operate tractor-trailer trucks on California and interstate highways, including, in some cases, hauling hazardous materials.

In exchange for the payment of money from Arroyo, Freeman accessed the DMV’s database in Sacramento to alter the records of applicants to fraudulently show that the applicants had passed the required written tests when, in truth, the applicants had not passed the tests or, at times, even taken the written tests. In so doing, this caused the DMV to issue permits to those drivers, as well as completed CDLs upon the applicants’ passing the behind-the-wheel driving tests.

Based upon evidence obtained through the investigation, it was determined that Freeman caused no less than 123 fraudulent permits to be issued, including at least 13 at the request of, and in exchange for payment from, Arroyo.

This case is the product of an investigation by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, Office of Internal Affairs, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Todd A. Pickles and Rosanne L. Rust are prosecuting the case.

This investigation is ongoing. Freeman is the fourth DMV employee to plead guilty this year in the Eastern District of California in relation to the fraudulent issuance of commercial driver’s licenses. Related cases include United States v. Scattaglia, et al., 2:17-cr-187 GEB, and United States v. Gilliam, 2:17-cr-200 GEB.

Freeman and Arroyo face 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.

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Roger Shane John, 31, of Turlock, charging him with aiming the beam of a laser pointer at two helicopters, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, on the evening of October 22, 2017, John allegedly struck a Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department helicopter, Air 101, five to six times with a powerful green laser, causing visual interference and disrupting an air support response to a domestic violence call. Around the same time, and in the general vicinity of the strikes to Air 101, John struck CalStar 12, an emergency medical helicopter, three to four times. Both aircraft were flying in close proximity to the Modesto Airport at the time of the laser strikes. The laser strikes occurred within the FAA-designated laser-free zone, which encompasses all flight operations at 2,000 feet and below.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, and Modesto Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar is prosecuting the case.

John is scheduled for an arraignment on the indictment on December 15, 2017, in federal court in Fresno.

If convicted, John 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.