SACRAMENTO - Raeef Ohan Ohan, 59, of Stockton, pleaded guilty today to engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property related to a series of cargo thefts, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, from 2012 to 2014, Ohan received and possessed thousands of dollars’ worth of stolen goods that had been stolen from truck trailers or warehouses. Ohan then sold the stolen goods to legitimate wholesalers and retail entities through his company called “V&P Trading.”
Ohan failed to accurately report to the Internal Revenue Service and the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) the income he received from this criminal activity, as well as income received by other means. As part of his plea agreement, Ohan agreed to pay restitution to the victims of the cargo thefts, as well as to the IRS and FTB.
According to the plea agreement, on October 1, 2014, a cargo trailer containing personal hygiene products was stolen from a warehouse in Stockton, and the theft was reported to the Stockton Police Department. A pallet within the stolen cargo contained a GPS tracking device, which led officers to Ohan’s leased warehouse space. Officers found the 52 pallets of stolen cargo. A federal search warrant executed at a later date revealed that Ohan had 60 pallets of stolen goods from several separate thefts. They included pet food valued at $26,000, protein powder valued at $200,000, and concrete valued at $66,700.
This case is the product of an investigation by the TRaCE (Tax Recovery and Criminal Enforcement) Task Force. The TRaCE Task Force joins existing state and federal resources to collaboratively combat illegal business activities that rob California of public funds and its citizens of public services. The TRaCE Task Force is composed of investigators and special agents from multiple agencies working together to investigate, prosecute and recover revenue lost to the underground economy. These agencies include the Federal Bureau of Investigation; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); IRS Criminal Investigation; California Department of Justice - Bureau of Investigation, Office of the Attorney General; California Department of Tax and Fee Administration; California Franchise Tax Board; California Employment Development Department; and California Department of Motor Vehicles. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Schuller Hitchcock is prosecuting the case.
Ohan is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. on October 18, 2018. Ohan faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
