Eastern District of California Blog

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

 

Immigration Fraud Nets Defendant A 20-Year Sentence

Helaman Hansen, a charismatic Elk Grove businessman who defrauded 471 undocumented immigrants out of their savings by promising them they could be adopted into citizenship, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison Thursday.

“He has hurt so many people, and even today he still believes he’s done what he could for these people,” said U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. “He really doesn’t get it. I believe the victims caught up in this scheme were very vulnerable and were trying their best to become citizens. As one victim said today, they were duped.”

England ordered Hansen to pay $576,264 in restitution to his victims. But after the sentencing, Assistant U.S. Attorneys André M. Espinosa and Katherine T. Lydon told about half a dozen victims who had come to the sentencing that Hansen doesn’t have the money to pay the judgment.

Sac Bee, 12/14/17

 

EDCA Court Denies Adgate's Motion to Stay Prison Sentence

Today, Judge England denied defendant Steven Adgate's motion to stay his 26-month prison sentence on the ground that the court lacked jurisdiction to consider the motion since the time to file a notice of appeal had expired.   Adgate order denying motion to stay.  Adgate had argued that his prison sentence should be stayed based on the Ninth Circuit's recent McIntosh decision, which generally barred the Department of Justice from expending funds to prosecute medical marijuana actions that were in compliance with state law.  

Chief Judge Says EDCA Facing "Crisis" Over Caseloads

KCRA Story, "Judge says Sacramento federal court facing 'crisis.'"

Here's the gist:

According to statistics from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, federal judges handle an average of 554 cases per year.

In the Sacramento district, the caseload is 962 -- the second-highest in the nation.

"We're doing everything we possibly can to try to come up with new and inventive ways to get the cases out," [Chief Judge] England said. "But, we're at a crisis point."

EDCA Court Denies Eric McDavid's Motion For Government To Explain Why It Withheld Key Defense Evidence

Remember the Eric McDavid case?  If not, here are all my posts on the case to get you up to speed.  

In my last post on the case, I explained that, on July 30, the defense moved for an order to show cause asking the Court to order the government to explain how and why it withheld nearly 3,000 pages of documents bearing on Eric McDavid's entrapment defense until long after he was convicted and sentenced to 20 years -- including recently produced romantic correspondence between McDavid and the FBI's informant.  The motion scheduled a hearing for September 3, 2015.

On August 20, the government filed this opposition with these exhibits responding that McDavid's settlement agreement barred him from requesting an explanation, and said it was even considering its available remedies for McDavid's potential "breach" of the plea agreement.

On August 27, the defense replied that the request did not violate the settlement agreement, and was "guided and protected by the most cherished principles of open government and accountability."

On September 2, the Court cancelled the hearing and instead issued this Order denying the defense motion, explaining that the request was barred by the plea agreement and was "moot because the Court has already conducted its own inquiry into that precise question."  But see Sacramento Bee, 1/8/15 (quoting Judge England as saying at McDavid's release hearing that "This is something that needs to be dealt with, and I want to know what happened.").

Convicted Ecoterrorist Eric McDavid Ordered Released

So-called ecoterrorist Eric McDavid was ordered released from prison this morning after the U.S. Attorney's Office conceded their office withheld key documents relating to McDavid's entrapment defense. Sacramento Bee, 1/9/15; New York Times, 1/9/15.  For more background on the case and the government's "honeypot" informant, see Honey Stinger.  My thoughts later.

 

Ponzi Schemer Draws 188-Month Sentence

Vincent Singh, a Ponzi schemer who preyed on the members of his own ethnic Indian Fijian community in the Sacramento region, was sentenced Thursday to 15 years and eight months in federal prison.

In sentencing Singh, U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. said his crimes were “the worst of their kind that I’ve seen in 12 years as a federal judge.”

Court papers show that over a three-year period, Singh cheated 190 people of Indian Fijian descent who are members of a small, tight-knit community in and around Sacramento, out of $22 million, then filed for bankruptcy protection.

Sacramento Bee, 10/30/14

Chief Judge Orders Recusal Of All EDCA Court Judges From Moonlight Fire Civil Case

In this Order, Chief Judge England has ordered the recusal of all EDCA district judges in the moonlight fire civil case. See my 10/10/14 monlight fire post.

Guilty Verdict In Mortgage Fraud Case

A Sacramento man was found guilty Thursday following a six-day trial in federal court in Sacramento for conspiring to commit mortgage fraud, with false cash-back, no-money-down promises.  [United States v. Williams, No. 2:08-CR-0376-WBS]

The trial found Leonard E. Williams, 52, of Sacramento, from 2006 to 2008 conspired in mortgage fraud that led to more than $2 million in home loans being made, many of which defaulted, said a news release from the court. [Note:  This must mean news release from US Attorney's office.]

Williams was ordered remanded into custody and is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 27.

Sacramento Business Journal

Recent EDCA Sentences

A Citrus Heights man was sentenced by Judge England to 27 months in a marriage fraud scheme.  No. 2:11-CR-295-MCE.  Sacramento Bee. 

Judge England also sentenced a Stockton man to 135 months for conspiracy to rob a "fake" stash house.  No. 2:13-CR-0078-MCE.  Stockton Record; see also 5/5/14 stash house post.