Eastern District of California Blog

Carpoff defendants plead guilty in Billion Dollar Ponzi Scheme

Two Sacramento Bee stories provide details of the charges and guilty pleas by defendants Jeffrey and Paulette Carpoff in a $ billion plus, solar-energy based ponzi scheme.  No. 2:20-cr-0017-JAM; 2:20-cr-0018-JAM.

EDCA Jury Returns Guilty Verdict Friday in Voting Fraud Case

A federal jury Friday convicted a 64-year-old man of acquiring the identity of an American citizen in the early 1990s, using it to get a passport and vote in federal elections, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of California.

Prosecutors said Gustavo Araujo Lerma was born in Mexico in 1955, but was living in Sacramento as an undocumented resident. He began going by Hiram Velez when he obtained the identity of an American man by that name, according to the office of U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott.

Lerma insisted he was born as Velez in the U.S. and testified he was a fan of President Trump, according to one report.

SF Chronicle, 8/23/19

7-Year Prison Sentence for Ex-Kings Executive Who Stole From Team Sponsors

Jeffrey R. David, the disgraced former Sacramento Kings executive accused of siphoning off $13.4 million from team sponsors to purchase lavish beachfront homes in Southern California, was sentenced Monday to seven years in federal prison.

In a sentencing hearing that lasted more than an hour and a half, David wiped away tears and held back sobs at times as he described the damage he had done to his wife and three young children, but he could never seem to answer the basic question: Why did he do it?

David, who made $30,000 a month as the Kings chief revenue officer and also received a yearly bonus, said during court that he believed he could purchase the homes, improve them and sell them at a profit later that would allow the Kings to be repaid in full.

Sac Bee, 6/24/19

Arson Fraud Nets Sacramento Man A Prison Sentence

A Sacramento man was sentenced to almost five years in prison Thursday in connection with mail and arson fraud.  Saber A. Shehadeh, 76, was found guilty June 14, 2018 of three counts of mail fraud after buildings he owned were destroyed in two fires, according to a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

Sac Bee, 5/2/19

 

Guilty Verdict in Sacramento Fraud and Identity Theft Case

A man was found guilty of fraud and identity theft Tuesday for his involvement in a nationwide credit card scheme targeting San Juan Unified School District students. [No. 2:14-CR-0083-GEB]

Ruslan Kirilyuk, 41, of Beverly Hills was found guilty of 24 counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of failure to appear in connection with a nationwide credit card scheme involving Sacramento and Moscow operatives, according to a news release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

Sacramento Bee, 2/28/19

 

Former Attorney Sentenced to Six Years In Prison in Arson Fraud Scheme

A disbarred attorney has been sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $250,000 in restitution for more than a dozen counts of fraud related to a Sacramento-area arson scheme, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.

Brian J. Stone, 60, of Sacramento was convicted in April of 13 counts of wire and mail fraud, which involved fire insurance claims made in the Sacramento area between 2009 and 2013, according to a Justice Department news release.

Sac Bee, 9/28/18

 

Feds Investigating Former Kings Exec for Embezzling $13.4 Million from Kings' Sponsors

A former top executive of the Sacramento Kings is suspected of siphoning off $13.4 million from two of the team’s top sponsors and using the funds to purchase beachfront property in Southern California, sources have told The Sacramento Bee.

The FBI and federal prosecutors are investigating Jeffrey R. David, 44, the former chief revenue officer for the Kings who currently holds the same position with the NBA’s Miami Heat, for what sources say was a sophisticated money-laundering scheme that allegedly diverted $9 million from the Golden 1 Credit Union and another $4.4 million from Kaiser Permanente Foundation.

Sac Bee, 8/30/18

 

Guilty Plea in Dixon Movie Studio Fraud Scheme Case

The last act for Carissa Carpenter came Thursday in federal court in Sacramento, where the self-described movie studio executive pleaded guilty in an elaborate scheme that prosecutors say swindled investors out of million of dollars.

Carpenter, 55, pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud and one count of lying to the FBI in a plea agreement that, in theory, could net her up to 45 years in prison for taking investors’ money for failed movie studio projects, including her last effort in Dixon.

Sacramento Bee, 7/12/18

Sacramento Jury Convicts Man of Making False Statements in Connection with Arson Fraud

In United States v. Shehadeh, No. 2:16-CR-0038-MCE, a Sacramento federal jury on Monday found the defendant guilty of three counts of mail fraud related to an arson fraud scheme. 

French Train Hero's Father Found Guilty Of Fraud In Arson Case

The father of French train hero Spencer Stone was found guilty Tuesday of mail and wire fraud in connection with a huge arson case that has included sensational allegations of national security implications, murder and threats from federal prosecutors.

Brian Stone, a disbarred attorney from Elk Grove, was found guilty of 13 counts by a jury in federal court Tuesday after a four-day trial. Stone, who is not in custody, was ordered to appear for sentencing July 12 by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr.

He was one of three defendants indicted in 2016 in the arson investigation, which prosecutors said involved $1.5 million in fraudulent insurance payments following a series of arsons.

Sac Bee, 4/17/18

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article209165164.html#storylink=cpy