Eastern District of California Blog

Mistrial Declared In Khan Retrial

In a drugs and gun case, United States v. Wqas Khan, No. 2:10-CR-0175-KJM, a mistrial was declared yesterday on the sixth day of trial.  From my review of the docket, it appears the jury could not reach a verdict again.  The first trial also ended in a hung jury.  Defense counsel Tony Serra and Brian Gregory represented Khan at trial.  I couldn't find a U.S. Attorney press release on this one.

Guilty Verdict In $36 Million Investment Fraud Scheme

A federal jury today found an Elk Grove man guilty in a $36 million investment fraud scheme.

Christopher Jackson, 46, was the last of six defendants who have been convicted for their participation in the scheme known as Diversified Management Consultants, or DMC, according to a federal Department of Justice news release. The conviction followed a seven-day trial in federal court in Sacramento.

According to court documents, between 2003 and 2009, DMC purported to help people invest money in real estate development and save their homes from foreclosure. In reality, authorities said, DMC was an investment fraud scheme that defrauded at least 180 people out of approximately $36.9 million.

U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley ordered Jackson remanded into custody immediately after the jury’s verdict. Jackson is to be sentenced April 10.

Sacramento Bee, 1/23/13

Order Suspending Fresno Jail Cases Due To Flu Extended Through Friday

Yesterday, out of an abundance of caution, Judge O'Neill continued the order suspending cases with defendants housed at the Fresno jail due to the flu through the end of this week.  It is expected that no further suspension will be necessary.

Sac Bee Profiles Matthew Davies

Today's Sacramento Bee has a front-page piece on Matthew Davies, entitled "Stockton entrepreneur saw future in pot, now eyes prison." 

In other news, a former Portland supervising DEA agent is going to work for a marijuana investment firm.  Reason.com, 12/11/13

The Ninth Circuit Has My Back

In Obsidian Finance Group, LLC v. Crystal Cox, 12-35238, the Ninth Circuit held that bloggers have the same First Amendment protections that institutional media enjoy under the standards in Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323 (1974), in reversing a damages award against a blogger in a defamation suit.  Phew, that's a relief.

Federal courts are closed Monday for Martin Luther King day.  I'll be giving a training seminar to attorneys in Fresno on Tuesday evening on defending federal forfeiture actions. 

EDCA Court Grants Barclays Delay Of $488 Million FERC Fine

Barclays Plc (BARC) won an order by a federal judge putting on hold a $488 million fine for allegedly gaming U.S. energy markets while the bank challenges a lawsuit by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley in Sacramento, California, said today the delay is justified to give him time to consider Barclays’ requests to throw out the case or transfer it to the southern district in New York.

Bloomberg News, 1/16/14

EDCA U.S. Attorney's Office Collects Millions In Penalties

The office of U. S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner in Sacramento collected more than $63.8 million in criminal and civil actions in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, Wagner announced last week.

In addition, he said, his Eastern District of California office worked with counterparts in other districts in joint pursuits that yielded more than $11.9 million, bringing total collections involving his office to more than $75.6 million.

“These figures represent actual dollars received, not judgment amounts,” Wagner said.

On top of that, he said, his office partnered with other federal agencies and divisions in the forefeiture of assets valued at more than $6.1 million. These assets are used to restore lost funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.

Sacramento Bee, 1/16/14

Feds Go After Mailbox Thefts

Authorities say a surge in thefts from mailboxes across the Central Valley of California last year victimized more than 2,100 people and sparked a federal crackdown that has led to charges against at least 27 people.

Prosecutors said the perpetrators were seeking checks, credit cards, personal identifying information and prescription drugs delivered by mail.

U.S. Attorney Ben Wagner said Wednesday that postal investigators and local law enforcement targeted rings that were responsible for the bulk mail thefts, particularly in the Sacramento, Fresno and Bakersfield areas.

Fresno Bee, 1/15/14

Ninth Circuit Rules Against Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

In this unpublished memorandum decision, Sacramento Nonprofit Collective v. Holder, 12-15991, the Ninth Circuit today affirmed the dismissal of actions for injunctive relief by Sacramento-based El Camino Wellness and other medical marijuana collectives.  The Court rejected arguments that (1) the Ninth Amendment and the substantive due process component of the Fifth Amendment together protect a fundamental right to distribute, possess, and use medical marijuana in compliance with California state law; (2) enforcement of federal drug statutes violates the Equal Protection Clause because the federal ban on medical marijuana, while permitting prescription drugs, has no rational basis; and (3) the government is estopped from enforcing the federal drug statutes due to a prior stipulation and the Attorney General's Ogden Memo.  See also Sacramento Bee, 1/15/14.

Word from Plaintiffs' counsel is they will seek rehearing en banc.

Flu Prompts Suspension Of Some Fresno Federal Cases

A judge has ordered a week-long suspension of federal criminal proceedings involving inmates in Fresno because of a growing flu outbreak at the Fresno County Jail.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill issued the order late Tuesday afternoon, saying he was doing so "in order to assure the health and safety" of judges, court staff, attorneys and the public.

O'Neill's order noted that one county jail inmate has died of flu complications and another who appeared in federal court last week has now been diagnosed with H1N1 influenza. The Fresno County Sheriff's Office said it has quarantined hundreds of inmates to try to prevent influenza A from spreading.

Fresno Bee, 1/14/13