FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Lauren Horwood
June 6, 2011	PHONE: (916) 554-2706
www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae	usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov
Docket #: 11-cr-173-OWW

FRESNO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that Alia Christine Brost, 35, of Bakersfield, was taken into custody today after a federal grand jury returned a 29-count indictment charging her and Roberto Renteria, Jr., 33, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and access device (credit card) fraud.

According to the indictment, Brost and Renteria, a married couple, opened a restaurant and catering business in Bakersfield in August 2009. The restaurant, Victor Victoria's Restaurant, operated until July 2010, while the catering business, Renteria Catering, functioned until September 2010. The indictment alleges that during the time of the conspiracy, Brost and Renteria made unauthorized charges on customers' credit cards. When a customer paid with a credit card, the customer's card would be charged for the meal, but after that transaction the defendants repeatedly made additional, unauthorized charges for much larger amounts. Upon learning of the charges incurred on their credit card, customers complained to their respective credit card companies and to the defendants' restaurant. The fraudulent charges were reversed, causing the financial institutions and the merchant processing companies to sustain a significant monetary loss. The indictment alleges that the defendants obtained thousands of dollars through unauthorized charges.

This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the United States Secret Service and the Bakersfield Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy R. Jehangiri is prosecuting the case.

The maximum statutory penalties for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud is 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine, a period of supervised release, forfeiture, and restitution. The maximum statutory penalties for access device fraud is 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, a period of supervised release, forfeiture, and restitution. 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.

The charges are only allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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