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Press Release

Stockton Man Pleads Guilty to Drug, Fraud, Identity Theft, and Firearms Offenses

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Dennis Joseph Machado, 44, of Stockton, pleaded guilty today to numerous federal felony offenses arising out of illicit conduct in Sutter, Sacramento, and San Joaquin Counties, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Machado and co-defendant Breneth L. Chase, 44, also of Stockton, obtained U.S. mail and postal keys stolen during burglaries of post offices in Sutter and Sacramento Counties. They used stolen U.S. Mail to manufacture checks and government identifications to cash phony checks, apply for lines of credit, and make purchases at local department stores at the expense of local banks and credit unions. Machado admitted that he possessed over five different manufactured identifications and that he possessed stolen personal and financial information for numerous residents of Sutter, San Joaquin, and Sacramento Counties. In addition, Machado pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine for purposes of distribution and unlawful possession of ammunition.

This case is the product of an investigation of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Sutter County Sheriff's Office, the Stockton Police Department, and the Sutter Creek Police Department, with assistance from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office. Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rodriguez is prosecuting the case.

On December 2, 2015, Chase was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison. Machado is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. on October 20, 2016. Machado faces a minimum of five years in prison for illicit drug distribution, up to 10 years in prison for his unlawful ammunition possession, up to 30 years for his bank fraud conviction, and up to 15 additional years for the false documents conviction. Machado will receive two additional consecutive years in prison 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.

Updated August 12, 2016

Topic
Identity Theft
Press Release Number: 2:15-cr-224-GEB