San Francisco Methamphetamine Trafficker Sentenced To Ten Years In Prison

SAN FRANCISCO – Michael Pon was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and related charges announced Acting United States Attorney Alex G. Tse and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Special Agent in Charge, San Francisco Field Division, Chris Nielsen.  The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Vince Chhabria, U.S. District Judge.  

Pon, 46, of San Francisco, was convicted on February 2, 2018, after a week-long jury trial. The evidence at trial demonstrated Pon set the prices, arranged for the supply, and collected the money for drug deals in which he engaged with his co-defendants, Kenneth Ng and Flavia Lino.  Pon participated in three controlled purchases of pure methamphetamine, in amounts ranging from a quarter pound to one pound, during the months of January and February 2014.  He supplied the drugs for each transaction, and received the bulk of the money as a result of the sales.  On April 23, 2014, Pon helped arrange and then called off a transaction for 11 pounds of methamphetamine after an undercover government agent refused to show the money to pay for the drugs.  

On June 18, 2015, a federal grand jury indicted Pon and charged him with two counts of distributing methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A)(viii), and one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 846.  Pon was convicted on all three counts.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Chhabria also ordered Pon to serve a five-year period of supervised release.  

Pon’s co-defendants are currently in custody.   Lino pleaded guilty to distributing methamphetamine and participating in the conspiracy, while Ng was convicted after a bench trial.  On December 19, 2017, Judge Chhabria sentenced Ng to ten years in prison for his role in the drug distribution scheme.  On February 14, 2018, Judge Chhabria found Ng in criminal contempt for refusing to testify during the Pon trial.  On March 30, 2018, Judge Chhabria sentenced Ng to 180 days of confinement for his refusal to testify.  Similarly, on March 27, 2018, Judge Chhabria sentenced Lino to serve an additional 180 days of confinement for having been found in criminal contempt for her refusal to testify during Pon’s trial.  Earlier, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston sentenced Lino to 36 months in prison for Lino’s part in the drug distribution scheme.  

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meredith Osborn and Brian Faerstein are prosecuting the case.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the DEA.