Press Releases

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2007 Press Releases

2008 Press Releases

May 2009
May 07, 2009	SANTA ROSA WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO SELLING ENDANGERED SEA TURTLE GUITAR PICKS UNLAWFULLY IMPORTED FROM CHINA Sentenced to 10 months of home confinement and $2,000 fine
	Qing Song	Guilty Plea	One felony count of violating the Lacey Act
May 05, 2009	SWEDISH NATIONAL CHARGED WITH HACKING AND THEFT OF TRADE SECRETS RELATED TO ALLEGED COMPUTER INTRUSIONS AT NASA AND CISCO
	Philip Gabriel Pettersson	Indicted	Intrusion and trade secret theft charges
May 01, 2009	RECIDIVIST BANK ROBBER PLEADS GUILTY TO ROBBING LAUREL VILLAGE BANK OF AMERICA BRANCH
	Elisa M. Lipkins	Guilty Plea	Robbing $7,020 from the Bank of America branch in San Francisco’s Laurel Village
May 01, 2009	BERKELEY MAN SENTENCED FOR TRANSPORTING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY Defendant Receives 97 Months In Prison
	Paul Hirsohn	Sentenced	Ninety-seven months in prison and ordered to pay a $25,000 fine
May 01, 2009	PRESIDENT OF ALLIED TELECOM INTERNATIONAL SENTENCED TO 27 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR TAX EVASION Diverted more than $1.9 million of income from corporation to herself
	Diana Hojsak	Sentenced	Twenty-seven months in prison and ordered to pay $557,363 in restitution
April 2009
April 30, 2009	THREE DEFENDANTS CHARGED WITH INSIDER TRADING Former Citigroup Investment Banker Was “Tipper” in $5.3 Million Scheme
	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 FOR ELEVEN ARMED BANK ROBBERIES Gilroy Man Robbed Almost $400,000 From Banks in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Monterey Counties
	Peter Franklin Klein	Indicted	Eleven counts of armed bank robbery
April 28, 2009	BAY AREA MAN SENTENCED FOR DISTRIBUTING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY Defendant Receives 14 Years In Prison
	Jeremy Esperante	Sentenced	Fourteen years in prison for distributing child pornography
April 28, 2009	DOCTOR PLEADS GUILTY TO CONVERTING EMPLOYEE PENSION FUNDS Physician/President of Central Coast Medical Specialists Admits to Illegally Withdrawing Money from ERISA-Regulated Plan
	Dr. Sydney Shaber	Guilty Plea	Unlawfully converting employee pension funds
April 27, 2009	SAN FRANCISCO MAN SENTENCED FOR ROLE IN IDENTITY THEFT
	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	COLORADO MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO RUNNING UNLICENSED INTERNET PHARMACY
	Fritz Brunz	Guilty Plea	One count of Introducing Misbranded Drugs into Interstate Commerce
April 10, 2009	GRAND JURY INDICTS EAST PALO ALTO WOMAN ON DRUG CHARGES
	Deisy Valdovinos Pacheco	Indicted	Two counts of distributing controlled substances
April 10, 2009	OWNER AND OPERATOR OF MASSACHUSETTS COMPUTER PARTS COMPANY PLEADS GUILTY TO WIRE FRAUD AND MONEY LAUNDERING IN CONNECTION WITH $15.4 MILLION DOLLAR CISCO NETWORKING EQUIPMENT FRAUD Defendant Made More Than 1300 Fraudulent Requests For Replacement Parts Under Cisco’s SMARTnet Warranty Program
	Michael A. Daly	Guilty Plea	Defrauding Cisco Systems, Inc. of computer networking equipment and engaging in money laundering
April 8, 2009	EXPORTER CHARGED WITH SALE OF SENSITIVE TECHNOLOGY TO CHINA Former Cupertino Man Allegedly Sold Restricted Microwave Amplifier Technology to the People’s Republic of China Without a License
	Fu-Tain Lu	Indicted	Conspired to violate United States export regulations
April 3, 2009	FORMER SAN FRANCISCO SUPERVISOR EDMUND JEW SENTENCED TO 64 MONTHS
	Edmund Jew	Sentenced	Sixty-four months in prison for bribery, extortion, and mail fraud by deprivation of honest services
March 2009
March 27, 2009	SANTA ROSA WOMAN INDICTED FOR SELLING ENDANGERED SEA TURTLE PARTS UNLAWFULLY IMPORTED FROM CHINA
	Qing Song	Indicted	Illegal trade of endangered sea turtle parts
March 25, 2009	SAN FRANCISCO MAN SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS FOR ILLEGAL FIREARM POSSESSION
	Maurice Allen	Sentenced	Fifteen years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm
March 24, 2009	DAVID SCOTT CACCHIONE CHARGED WITH SECURITIES FRAUD San Francisco broker charged with aiding and abetting fraud in connection with more than $100 million in loans
	David Scott Cacchione	Charged	One count of aiding and abetting securities fraud
March 20, 2009	THREE INVOLVED IN STEALING GOLD FROM EAST BAY MANUFACTURER SENTENCED
	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	FORMER MORGAN HILL MAN SENTENCED TO 27 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR TAX FRAUD Ordered to Pay Restitution of $111,769
	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	SILICON VALLEY HEDGE FUND MANAGER ARRESTED IN HONG KONG ON EMBEZZLEMENT CHARGES
	Albert Ke-Jeng Hu	Arrested	Related to six counts of wire fraud
March 18, 2009	FUGITIVE DEFENDANT SENTENCED TO 87 MONTHS FOR ATTEMPTING TO OBSTRUCT COMMERCE AND FOR FAILURE TO APPEAR FOR SENTENCING
	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	OWNER OF SAN JOSE NURSING CARE FACILITIES STAFFING BUSINESS PLEADS GUILTY TO FILING FALSE TAX RETURNS Failed to report more than $850,000 of income
	Nwadinaume Uba	Guilty Plea	Three counts of filing a false tax return
March 16, 2009	SAN FRANCISCO MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO ROBBING NINE BANKS
	Michael Burge	Guilty Plea	Nine counts of unarmed bank robbery
March 13, 2009	SAN RAMON MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO WIRE FRAUD, TAX EVASION
	Edward S. Ehee	Guilty Plea	Wire fraud, tax evasion and making and subscribing a false tax return
March 13, 2009	CHINESE ENTRY VISA BROKER SENTENCED FOR FRAUD AND FUGITIVE CHARGES
	Yan Ru Chu	Sentenced	Twenty-four months imprisonment, and three years probation
March 13, 2009	RECIDIVIST TENDERLOIN DRUG DEALER SENTENCED TO 77 MONTHS Robert Terrell Pleasant Sentenced Following His Guilty Plea for Drug Dealing in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District, A Result of Operation Helping Hand
	Robert Terrell Pleasant	Sentenced	Seventy-seven months in prison for selling crack cocaine
March 12, 2009	SAN MATEO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, TO PAY U.S. $6.8 MILLION TO RESOLVE FALSE CLAIMS ALLEGATIONS Settlement Resolves Allegations Against San Mateo County Medical Center
	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	ATTORNEY GENERAL APPOINTS OFFICIALS TO LEAD TASK FORCE REVIEWS OF INTERROGATION AND DETENTION POLICY
	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	GUILTY PLEA IN CASE OF COSCO BUSAN SHIP PILOT
	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	PLEASANTON MAN INDICTED FOR CONDUCTING FRAUDULENT ONLINE LOAN REFERRAL SCHEME
	David Foster Crane	Indicted	Ten counts of mail fraud and Thirteen counts of money laundering
March 2, 2009	VINCENT ANTHONY PIAZZA INDICTED IN BANK ROBBERY New Orleans Native Indicted for robbing Citibank branch in San Francisco
	Anthony Vincent Piazza	Indicted	Robbing a Citibank branch
March 2, 2009	THREE PLEAD GUILTY TO $76,300 ARMED ROBBERY OF PACIFIC POSTAL CREDIT UNION Sefo Sagote Agrees to 133-month Prison Sentence
	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	OWNER OF PLEASANTON RECRUITING SERVICE PLEADS GUILTY IN SCHEME TO DEFRAUD NEWPORT BEACH INVESTOR Agrees to pay $595,833 in restitution
	John Kevin Thompson	Guilty Plea Indictment	Mail fraud
February 26, 2009	SIXTEEN BAY AREA RESIDENTS PROSECUTED FOR FALSE PASSPORT OFFENSES OVER PAST THREE MONTHS
	Sixteen Individuals	Prosecuted	Federal passport offenses between December 2008 and February 2009
February 25, 2009	SAN JOSE OWNER OF VALLEY TECHNOLOGY SERVICES SENTENCED TO 15 MONTHS IMPRISONMENT FOR TAX EVASION Defendant Ordered to Pay Back $549,000 in Taxes Plus Interest and Penalties
	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	SONS OF FORMER PHILIPPINE MILITARY COMPTROLLER CHARGED WITH BULK CASH SMUGGLING
	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 GREEN JR. PLEADS GUILTY TO CHILD EXPLOITATION OFFENSES San Jose Man Traded Images of Child Pornography Online with Others
	Thomas Edward Green Jr	Guilty Plea	Two felony counts of transmitting and possessing child pornography
February 19, 2009	UNITED STATES JOINS SUITS AGAINST SCIOS AND JOHNSON & JOHNSON Pharmaceutical Companies Allegedly Marketed the Drug Natrecor for a Use Not Approved By the Food and Drug Administration
	United States	Intervened	Suits against the drug manufacturer Scios Inc. and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson Inc
February 13, 2009	APL LTD. TO PAY U.S. $26.3 MILLION TO RESOLVE FRAUD ALLEGATIONS FOR INFLATED SHIPPING COSTS TO MILITARY IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN
	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	WALNUT CREEK WOMAN CHARGED WITH FORCED LABOR OF DOMESTIC SERVANT Five-Count Indictment Also Alleges Visa Fraud and Immigration Violations
	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	FEDERAL GRAND JURIES CHARGE SIX WITH DRUG AND GUN CRIMES
	Six individuals	Charged	Drug trafficking and firearms offenses
February 5, 2009	FEDERAL GRAND JURY CHARGES NINE WITH DRUGS AND GUN CRIMES
	Nine individuals	Charged	Multiple drug trafficking offenses
February 5, 2009	PINOLE RETURN PREPARER SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR PREPARING A FALSE TAX RETURN Failed to File his Own Personal Tax Returns
	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 PLEADS GUILTY TO SECURITIES FRAUD Silicon Valley businessman defrauded lenders in connection with more than $100 million in loans
	William “Boots” Del Biaggio, III	Guilty Plea	One count of securities fraud
February 5, 2009	“BAD WIG BANDIT” PLEADS GUILTY TO TEN BANK ROBBERIES
	Matthew Charles Dehn	Guilty Plea	Ten bank robberies and one attempted bank robbery
February 3, 2009	PROJECT SAFE NEIGHBORHOOD/ANTI-GANG INITIATIVE GRANTS AWARDED NINE YOUTH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS IN BAY AREA TO RECEIVE $28,000 EACH
	Nine organizations	Receive	Project Safe Neighborhood/Anti-Gang Initiative grants of $28,000 each
January 2009
January 30, 2009	WOMAN SENTENCED TO 33 MONTHS FOR BRINGING $400,000 IN “SUPERNOTES” TO THE UNITED STATES
	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 AGREES TO REPAY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE MORE THAN $1.5 MILLION FOR FUNDS IT IMPROPERLY RECEIVED THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT’S SOUTHWEST BORDER PROSECUTION INITIATIVE
	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 AGREES TO REPAY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE $397,984 FOR FUNDS IT IMPROPERLY RECEIVED THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT’S SOUTHWEST BORDER PROSECUTION INITIATIVE
	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	SAN FRANCISCO GROCERY STORE OWNER SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR FILING A FALSE TAX RETURN
	Fawzi M. Swalim	Sentenced	Fourteen days in prison, three years supervised release, a $5,000 fine, and restitution of $7,326
January 28, 2009	WATSONVILLE COUPLE CHARGED WITH FILING FALSE TAX RETURNS Under reported cost of goods sold by more than $1.3 million
	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	FORMER “ESCORT” PLEADS GUILTY TO TAX EVASION Stanford Law Graduate Took Up Career as High-End Prostitute
	Cristina L. Warthen	Guilty Plea	Tax evasion
January 20, 2009	FORMER SOUTH BAY FINANCIAL ADVISOR ARRESTED FOR FRAUD Misappropriated $1.7 Million in Client Funds
	Robin Bruce McNabb	Indicted	Nine counts of bank fraud and nine counts of wire fraud
January 20, 2009	FORMER CAMPBELL BUSINESSMAN CHARGED WITH TAX EVASION, ILLEGAL DRUG DISTRIBUTION, FRAUD IN SALES OF NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS Owner and Operator of Cocoon Nutrition Conspired To Distribute Genuine and Fraudulent Human Growth Hormone, Deposited Money In Offshore Bank Accounts And A Created False Corporate Identity To Conceal Income Derived From Sales Of Products
	Stephen Joseph Heuer	Charged	Conspiracy, distribution of HGH, distribution of misbranded drugs, and mail fraud
January 20, 2009	BANK ROBBER WHO POSED AS FEDERAL AGENT SENTENCED TO 11 YEARS AND 8 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON
	Christopher Reynolds	Sentenced	Eleven years and eight months imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release
January 9, 2009	PRESIDENT OF NURSING “TEMP” AGENCY SENTENCED TO 18 MONTHS FOR FILING FALSE TAX RETURNS Failed to Report More Than $1.1 Million in Gross Receipts
	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	CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY AND FORMER OWNER AND OPERATOR OF COMPUTER EQUIPMENT RESELLER INDICTED FOR MONEY LAUNDERING
	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	FORMER FRY’S EXECUTIVE CHARGED IN KICKBACK SCHEME
	Ausaf Umar Siddiqui	Indicted	Five counts of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering

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