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2008 Press Releases

November 2009
November 19, 2009
Ethan Farid Jinian Indicted Fourteen counts of wire fraud
November 19, 2009
Pavel Ivanovich Lazarenko Sentenced Ninety-seven months in prison, ordered to pay a $9 million fine and forfeit $22,851,000 and various specified assets
November 18, 2009
Francisco Torres-Felix Sentenced Fifteen years in prison, and ordered to pay a $600 fine
November 17, 2009
Thomas Kline Guilty Plea One count of mail fraud
November 13, 2009
Harjit Bhambra Indicted Charges that included filing false tax returns, false statements and unlawfully obtaining naturalization and citizenship to which he was not entitled
November 13, 2009
Allan Dennis Lacy Guilty Plea Possession of child pornography
November 13, 2009
Seven Individuals Indicted Conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering
November 9, 2009
Lydia Rose Johnson Indicted Tax crimes
November 6, 2009
Jorge Eduardo Rodriguez, Mauricio Aguilera, Leonardo Oregon Rico, Jose Carlos Cisneros, and Jorge Sanchez

Sanchez Indictment

Rodriguez et al Indictment

Narcotics violations, including conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine
November 3, 2009
Alexander James Trabulse Guilty Plea One count of mail fraud
October 2009
October 30, 2009
Michael Chou Guilty Plea Wire fraud conspiracy
October 30, 2009
Roberto Heckscher Guilty Plea One count of mail fraud
October 30, 2009
Jessie Jeffries Sentenced Six years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release
October 29, 2009
Seventeen Bay Area residents Charged Federal passport or entry visa offenses
October 29, 2009
Khalid Shaikh Indicted Four counts of mail fraud
October 29, 2009
Donald E. Nuss Sentenced Eighteen months in prison and ordered to pay a $6,000 fine and $5,950 in restitution
October 27, 2009
Misael Solorio Sentenced Ten years incarceration, to be followed by five years of supervised release
October 21, 2009
Rogelio Lowe Indicted Two counts of mail fraud and nine counts of making or using a false document or writing
October 21, 2009
Six AUSAs Awarded The Attorney General’s Award
October 16, 2009
Chuck Sivil Guilty Plea Violating the Clean Air Act
October 16, 2009
Hassan Swaid

Convicted

Sentenced

Seventy-eight months in prison for conspiring to purchase stolen merchandise from major retailers and shipping the stolen goods to out of state customers, and for structuring his finances to avoid currency transaction reports
October 9, 2009
Mabelle de la Rosa Dann Convicted Forced labor, unlawful use of documents in furtherance of servitude, harboring an illegal alien for private financial gain, conspiracy to commit visa fraud and visa fraud
October 8, 2009
Ranni K. Hillyer Indicted Three counts of tax evasion
October 7, 2009
David S. Cacchione Sentenced Sixty months in prison and ordered to pay approximately $50 million in restitution
October 7, 2009
Myra Holmes Indicted Concealment of assets and bank fraud
October 7, 2009
Frank J. Laereman Indicted Five counts of tax evasion
October 2, 2009
Paul Rickett Sentenced Thirty months in prison
October 1, 2009
Kevin Matthew Hoggatt Sentenced Five months community confinement followed by five months home detention, three years of supervised release, a $30,000 fine and ordered to pay restitution of $53,593
September 2009
September 30, 2009
Froilan Alix Roldan Sentenced Eighteen years in prison and ordered to pay $90,594.99 in restitution
September 29, 2009
W. Scott Harkonen, M.D. Convicted Wire fraud for the creation and dissemination of false and misleading information
September 28, 2009
Kristy S. Watts Guilty Plea Wire fraud and tax evasion
September 24, 2009
Seth Sundberg Indicted Mail fraud, filing a false tax return, and false claims against the United States
September 24, 2009
Cornelio Mata Espinoza, Anthony Johnston, Josefina Rodriguez Guilty Plea Conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and heroin.  In addition, Johnston pleaded guilty to possession of firearm by a convicted felon
September 23, 2009
Donald Daniels, Martin William Washburn, Irina Rebegeneau, Tapani Koivunen, Sergei Shkurkin

Complaint

Indictment

Conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, wire fraud, a money laundering conspiracy and substantive money laundering counts, in conjunction with a scheme to defraud the Overseas Private Investment Corporation
September 21, 2009
Rafael Franco Perez Guilty Plea Conspiring to distribute over six kilograms of methamphetamine
September 21, 2009
Gregory Scott Dixon Guilty Plea Wire fraud and tax evasion
September 21, 2009
James Burge Sentenced Seven years in prison, and ordered to pay $30,941 in restitution
September 18, 2009
Elisa Lipkins Sentenced Eight years in prison
September 18, 2009
Malcolm McVickar, Jr. Guilty Plea Mail fraud and wire fraud
September 14, 2009
Cheryl Hernandez Camus Sentenced Sixty-three months in prison, and ordered to pay $1,457,255 in restitution
September 11, 2009
Brusco Tug & Barge, Inc Sentenced $1.5 million
September 11, 2009
Kenneth E. Hayes Sentenced Time served, with six months home confinement followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $20,754.90
September 10, 2009
David Arthur Nilsen and Manoel Antonio Errico Indicted Conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud and securities fraud
September 10, 2009
Jason Ribeiro Sentenced Ten years in prison, and ordered to forfeit $30,348 in cash
September 8, 2009
William J. “Boots” Del Biaggio Sentenced Ninety-seven months in prison, and ordered to pay approximately $67.5 million in restitution
September 8, 2009
Brice Carrington Guilty Plea Wire fraud and tax evasion as part of an investment fraud scheme
September 3, 2009
Carlos Ivan Vargas, Sr Charged Conspiracy, Mail Fraud, Wire Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering
August 2009
August 26, 2009
Harry Warren Green Charged Four counts of filing false tax return
August 25, 2009
Yu Fen Huang Sentenced Six months probation with a condition of home detention for that period, a fine of $8,000 and ordered to pay restitution of $23,026
August 21, 2009
John A. Bui Guilty Plea Wire fraud conspiracy, destruction of records in a federal investigation and witness tampering
August 21, 2009
B Iris Lai Hung Tam Sentenced Seven days in custody with credit for time served, followed by 2 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a special assessment fee of $100
August 21, 2009
Paquale Iannetti Charged Mail fraud and wire fraud
August 18, 2009
Kwan Tsoi Sentenced Nineteen months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit $250,000
August 17, 2009
Janusz Lament Guilty Plea Making false financial claims against the United States Department of Defense, wire fraud, and transporting money out of the United States to further unlawful activity
August 13, 2009
Fleet Management Ltd Guilty Plea Criminal violation of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990
August 6, 2009
Brice Carrington Charged Five counts of wire fraud and four counts of tax evasion
July 2009
July 30, 2009
Sheng Qiang Arrested Conspiracy to commit mail fraud, multiple counts of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, multiple counts of money laundering and multiple counts of international money laundering
July 29, 2009
Lydia Hernandez Guilty Plea Tax evasion and aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns
July 27, 2009
Sholeh A. Hamedani, Nasser V. Hamedani Charged Securities fraud, false statements to accountants, falsifying books and records, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy relating to a fraudulent investment scheme in which the defendants made profits in excess of $2.8 million
July 23, 2009
Waddell Williams Indicted Felony charges of failure to surrender for service of sentence and contempt of court
July 17, 2009
Marco Antonio Barbosa, Maria Guadalupe Barbosa Indicted Making false statements to obtain more than $200,000 in crop disaster relief
July 17, 2009
Gregory Alexander Indicted Unauthorized access of the private email account of a member of a not-for-profit organization’s board of directors
July 17, 2009
John Joseph Cota Sentenced 10 months in federal prison
July 14, 2009
Shore Terminals LLC Sentenced Pay $2.5 million
July 9, 2009
Kurtis Thorsted Guilty Plea Knowingly and willfully communicating a false distress message to the United States Coast Guard
July 8, 2009
Froilan Alix Roldan Guilty Plea Three counts of armed bank robbery, and to brandishing a firearm during the commission of one of those robberies
July 8, 2009
Mark Guinn Indicted Violating the Clean Water Act
July 7, 2009
Angelica Sagote Sentenced Forty-six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release
June 2009
June 29, 2009
Damian Prescott Guilty Plea Defrauding Cisco Systems Inc. of computer networking equipment through Cisco’s SMARTnet warranty program
June 26, 2009
Dennis Cyrus, Jr Sentence Recommended Life imprisonment without the possibility of release
June 25, 2009
Thomas J. Kline Charged Five counts of mail fraud
June 25, 2009
Nwadinaume Uba Sentenced Eighteen months in prison,  followed by one year of supervised release, a fine of $5,000 and ordered to pay $258,741 in restitution
June 23, 2009
County of Mendocino Agreed Repay the Department of Justice more than $1.7 million
June 22, 2009
Robert Scott West Sentenced Ten months home confinement, ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution to Phillips Lumileds Light Company and $5,000 in fines
June 18, 2009
Roger L. Hollins Roberts Guilty Plea Distributing drugs purported to be Viagra and Cialis without a prescription
June 18, 2009
John Kevin Thompson Sentenced Twenty-seven months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution of $595,833.34
June 18, 2009
Yu-Fen Huang Guilty Plea One count of aiding or assisting in causing a false return to be filed
June 15, 2009
Sefo Sagote Sentenced Eleven years and one month in prison, followed by five years of supervised release
June 12, 2009
Jason Vassil Sentenced One hundred months in prison
June 5, 2009
Shore Terminals LLC Guilty Plea One felony count of submitting a false annual report to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding the facility’s compliance with the Clean Air Act
June 4, 2009
Matthew Charles Dehn, Lisa Monique Zamorano Sentenced Dehn: 146 months in prison, and ordered him to pay $26,907; Zamorano: 48 months in prison and ordered to pay $5,712
June 2, 2009
Dr. Ramon Scruggs Guilty Plea One count of conspiracy to illegally distribute anabolic steroids and illegally smuggle human growth hormone into the United States, and one count of money laundering
June 2, 2009
Alex Yan Sentenced Twenty-seven months in prison and ordered to pay $235,695.31 in restitution
May 2009
May 29, 2009
Jesse Carter & Cherie Hokamura Charged Use of multiple false identifications and counterfeit credit cards, along with the possession of counterfeit document-making equipment
May 28, 2009
Jordan Pyhtila & Jessie Jeffries Guilty Plea Maintaining a place to manufacture marijuana and conspiracy to launder money
May 22, 2009
Ralph E. King & Raphael King Indicted Conspired to fraudulently obtain almost $35,000 in federal disability payments
May 21, 2009
Emile Fort Sentenced 496 months in prison, five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine to the Victim’s of Crime Fund
May 21, 2009
Francisco Torres-Felix Guilty Plea Conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and possessing with intent to distribute cocaine, carrying and possessing a firearm in relation to these crimes, being an illegal alien in possession of two firearms, and illegal re-entry following deportation
May 20, 2009
Gary Ray Bassett Arraigned Ten counts of wire and mail fraud
May 20, 2009
Juan Antonio Cardenas Sentenced 120 months in prison
May 15, 2009
Luke D. Brugnara Guilty Plea Filing a false tax return
May 13, 2009
Jubilee Restoration, Inc Guilty Plea & Sentenced Submitting false claims to HUD and was sentenced to five years probation and $177,381.28 in restitution
May 13, 2009
Bai Lin Huang Arrested Charges stemming from his alleged smuggling of Asian arowanas
May 13, 2009
Patrick Paul Brennan Indicted Three counts of income tax evasion
May 08, 2009
Randall C. Cover Guilty Plea Five counts of using the mails to engage in a fraud scheme to deprive the people of the City of Sonoma to their right to honest services
May 07, 2009
Qing Song Guilty Plea One felony count of violating the Lacey Act
May 05, 2009
Philip Gabriel Pettersson Indicted Intrusion and trade secret theft charges
May 01, 2009
Elisa M. Lipkins Guilty Plea Robbing $7,020 from the Bank of America branch in San Francisco’s Laurel Village
May 01, 2009
Paul Hirsohn Sentenced Ninety-seven months in prison and ordered to pay a $25,000 fine
May 01, 2009
Diana Hojsak Sentenced Twenty-seven months in prison and ordered to pay $557,363 in restitution
April 2009
April 30, 2009
Maher Fayez Kara, Mounir Fayez Kara, Emile Youssef Jilwan Indicted Securities fraud and conspiracy relating to an insider trading scheme
April 29, 2009
Peter Franklin Klein Indicted Eleven counts of armed bank robbery
April 28, 2009
Jeremy Esperante Sentenced Fourteen years in prison for distributing child pornography
April 28, 2009
Dr. Sydney Shaber Guilty Plea Unlawfully converting employee pension funds
April 27, 2009
James Linville Sentenced Forty-five months in prison for assuming the identity of another person and possessing more than 15 credit cards in that person’s name
April 22, 2009
Fritz Brunz Guilty Plea One count of Introducing Misbranded Drugs into Interstate Commerce
April 10, 2009
Deisy Valdovinos Pacheco Indicted Two counts of distributing controlled substances
April 10, 2009
Michael A. Daly Guilty Plea Defrauding Cisco Systems, Inc. of computer networking equipment and engaging in money laundering
April 8, 2009
Fu-Tain Lu Indicted Conspired to violate United States export regulations
April 3, 2009
Edmund Jew Sentenced Sixty-four months in prison for bribery, extortion, and mail fraud by deprivation of honest services
March 2009
March 27, 2009
Qing Song Indicted Illegal trade of endangered sea turtle parts
March 25, 2009
Maurice Allen Sentenced Fifteen years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm
March 24, 2009
David Scott Cacchione Charged One count of aiding and abetting securities fraud
March 20, 2009
Carlos Coronado, Jerry Kahue, David Siharath Sentenced One year and one day in prison and ordered him to pay $496,055 to his former employer Systron Donner and $485,000 to the Internal Revenue Service,one year home confinement and ordered him to pay $80,000 to his former employer Systron Donner and $16,221 to the Internal Revenue Service,three years probation and ordered him to pay $18,500 to his former employer Systron Donner
March 18, 2009
David Marion Simcho Sentenced Twenty-seven months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $111,769
March 18, 2009
Albert Ke-Jeng Hu Arrested Related to six counts of wire fraud
March 18, 2009
Luong Hue Tieu Sentenced Eighty months of imprisonment for attempting to obstruct commerce and to a consecutive seven months of imprisonment for failure to appear for sentencing
March 17, 2009
Nwadinaume Uba Guilty Plea Three counts of filing a false tax return
March 16, 2009
Michael Burge Guilty Plea Nine counts of unarmed bank robbery
March 13, 2009
Edward S. Ehee Guilty Plea Wire fraud, tax evasion and making and subscribing a false tax return
March 13, 2009
Yan Ru Chu Sentenced Twenty-four months imprisonment, and three years probation
March 13, 2009
Robert Terrell Pleasant Sentenced Seventy-seven months in prison for selling crack cocaine
March 12, 2009
San Mateo County Settlement $6.8 million to resolve allegations that the San Mateo Medical Center submitted false claims to the United States
March 11, 2009
J. Douglas Wilson, Brad Wiegmann Appointed Task forces calling for a review of the government’s interrogation and transfer policies, as well as a review of detention policy
March 6, 2009
John Joseph Cota Guilty Plea Negligently causing the discharge of approximately 53,000 gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay in violation of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990
March 5, 2009
David Foster Crane Indicted Ten counts of mail fraud and Thirteen counts of money laundering
March 2, 2009
Anthony Vincent Piazza Indicted Robbing a Citibank branch
March 2, 2009
Sefo Sagote, Angelica Sagote, Elisara Taito Guilty Plea Armed bank robbery of the Pacific Postal Credit Union in San Francisco
February 2009
February 26, 2009
John Kevin Thompson

Guilty Plea

Indictment

Mail fraud
February 26, 2009
Sixteen Individuals Prosecuted Federal passport offenses between December 2008 and February 2009
February 25, 2009
Huy Quoc Nguyen Sentenced Fifteen months in prison, followed by three years supervised release, and ordered him to pay restitution in the amount of $549,000 plus interest and penalties for tax evasion
February 25, 2009
Juan Paulo Depakakibo Garcia & Ian Carl Depakakibo Garcia Indicted One count of conspiracy to commit bulk cash smuggling, and one count of bulk cash smuggling
February 24, 2009
Thomas Edward Green Jr Guilty Plea Two felony counts of transmitting and possessing child pornography
February 19, 2009
United States Intervened Suits against the drug manufacturer Scios Inc. and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson Inc
February 13, 2009
APL Limited Agreed Pay the government $26.3 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims to the United States in connection with contracts to transport cargo in shipping containers to support U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan
February 9, 2009
Mabelle de la Rosa Dann Indicted Criminal violations of forced labor, unlawful conduct regarding documents in furtherance of servitude, visa fraud, conspiracy to commit visa fraud, and harboring an illegal alien for private financial gain
February 5, 2009
Six individuals Charged Drug trafficking and firearms offenses
February 5, 2009
Nine individuals Charged Multiple drug trafficking offenses
February 5, 2009
Charles Edward Pullen Sentenced Twelve months and one day in prison, followed by one year of supervised release
February 5, 2009
William “Boots” Del Biaggio, III Guilty Plea One count of securities fraud
February 5, 2009
Matthew Charles Dehn Guilty Plea Ten bank robberies and one attempted bank robbery
February 3, 2009
Nine organizations Receive Project Safe Neighborhood/Anti-Gang Initiative grants of $28,000 each
January 2009
January 30, 2009
Mei Ling Chen Sentenced Thirty-three months in prison and ordered to pay a $4,300 fine and $3,200 in restitution
January 30, 2009
County of San Mateo Repay More than $1.5 million for grant funds it improperly received through the Department’s Southwest Border Prosecution Initiative
January 29, 2009
County of San Benito Repay $397,984 for funds it improperly requested and received through the Department’s Southwest Border Prosecution Initiative
January 29, 2009
Fawzi M. Swalim Sentenced Fourteen days in prison, three years supervised release, a $5,000 fine, and restitution of $7,326
January 28, 2009
Abdol Hossein Novin, Zohreh Ahghari Indicted Four counts of filing false tax returns and two counts of assisting in the preparation of false tax returns
January 26, 2009
Cristina L. Warthen Guilty Plea Tax evasion
January 20, 2009
Robin Bruce McNabb Indicted Nine counts of bank fraud and nine counts of wire fraud
January 20, 2009
Stephen Joseph Heuer Charged Conspiracy, distribution of HGH, distribution of misbranded drugs, and mail fraud
January 20, 2009
Christopher Reynolds Sentenced Eleven years and eight months imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release
January 9, 2009
Digna Roldan Garrett Sentenced Eighteen months in prison and ordered to pay a $4,000 fine and $138,784.17 in restitution
January 9, 2009
Christian Pantages, Jamie Harmon Indicted Pantages on charges of conspiracy to buy stolen goods constituting an interstate shipment, and conspiracy to commit money laundering; and Harmon for conspiracy to commit money laundering and five individual counts of money laundering
January 8, 2009
Ausaf Umar Siddiqui Indicted Five counts of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering