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Madera Community Hospital to Close Doors Within 24 Hours and File Bankruptcy

UPDATE: The Madera Community Hospital has sped up its timeline for closing. Since announcing their closing in January of next year, there has been a mass exodus of employees that now the hospital cannot staff shift. The hospital is closing within 24 hours despite an emergency meeting today in the Madera County Board of Supervisors chambers at 10 am.

MADERA - Additional conditions imposed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Trinity Health Corporation have halted plans for the operator of St Agnes Hospital to take over the financially troubled Madera Community Hospital. This move has caused Madera County’s only full-service hospital to file for bankruptcy protections, lay off employees, and begin the closing of its 106-bed facility by early next month after 52 years of service to the community.

The board of directors of the Madera Community Hospital disclosed to the public last February that they were in negotiations with Indiana-based Trinity Health Corporation to establish a permanent affiliation with the Catholic-based healthcare network that includes 92 hospitals in 22 states, with St Agnes operating its Fresno hospital and 21 primary, specialty, and urgent care clinics in the local area.

Driver in Armed Robbery of Madera Pharmacy Pleads Guilty

FRESNO - Michael Erin Vandeventer, 23, of Sparks, Nevada, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit interference with commerce by robbery, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, on April 19, 2020, Vandeventer and others robbed a CVS Pharmacy in Madera. The additional suspects, one armed with a handgun, entered the pharmacy and breached the barrier to enter the employee-only area.

Former Navy Sailor Sentenced to 47 Years in Prison for Production of Child Pornography

FRESNO - Christopher Jeorge Millican, 29, of Coalinga, was sentenced today to 47 years and six months in prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release for producing and receiving child pornography via the popular instant messaging app, Snapchat, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, in July 2018, a parent reported to Snapchat that a user, later identified as Millican, had been engaging in inappropriate communications with her 11-year-old daughter. Snapchat reviewed Millican’s account and discovered images and videos depicting another, then 15-year-old minor, engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Snapchat reported the conduct to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which contacted the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in Fresno. Investigators identified the minor victim, who informed them that Millican had coerced her into creating and sending him these images. At the time of the offense conduct, Millican was on active duty with the U.S. Navy.

Madera Sheriff Says Two County Deaths a Murder-Suicide

MADERA - On December 6, 2022, around 1:00 pm, the Madera County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence in the 33000 block of Avenue 12 in Madera for a welfare check. When deputies arrived on the scene, they discovered two adult victims, one male and one female, both victims of gunshot wounds and both deceased.

MCSO Detectives are actively investigating the circumstances surrounding this incident. Preliminary evidence indicates the deaths are the result of a murder/suicide. There is no ongoing danger to the public.

Fresno Woman Pleads Guilty to Over $300,000 in Pandemic Relief Fraud

FRESNO - Cecilia Aquino, 34, of Fresno, pleaded guilty today to submitting fraudulent unemployment insurance claims in at least seven states and submitting fraudulent applications for Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loans using stolen identities during the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, between June 2020 and November 2020, Aquino submitted unemployment insurance claims and SBA loan applications that contained several misrepresentations, including that the named individuals last worked as self-employed dancers, owned interior design businesses, and that they lost their jobs and business revenues because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The state agencies that administer the unemployment insurance system, the SBA, and the United States suffered an actual loss of $220,000. They were subject to a potential loss of more than $300,000 because of Aquino’s fraud. Aquino used the money for gambling, rent, shopping, and other personal expenditures.

Ten Associated with Nuestra Familia Plead Guilty to Drug Trafficking Offenses in Kings and Tulare Counties

FRESNO - Ten defendants arrested as part of Operation Red Reaper have pleaded guilty today to drug trafficking offenses, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

In 2019, Operation Red Reaper was a federal, state, and local law enforcement operation that targeted the criminal activities of the Nuestra Familia Prison Gang in the counties of Kings and Tulare. After the operation, federal charges were brought against 23 of those defendants, with the remaining being charged by the Kings County District Attorney’s Office.

Fresno Man Charged in $4+ Million Ponzi and COVID-19 Benefits Fraud Schemes

FRESNO - Royce Newcomb, 60, of Fresno, charged in connection with schemes estimated to have defrauded investors and the government out of more than $4.2 million, was arrested today in Fresno, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

The indictment, unsealed following Newcomb’s arrest, charges him with five counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering for running Ponzi, COVID-19 benefits, and other fraud schemes through his company, Strategic Innovations LLC.