News

Mother and Daughter Team Plead Guilty in COVID-19 Related Jailhouse Unemployment Insurance Fraud

FRESNO - Makiah Miles, 30, of Compton, and Apryl Weston, 51, of Santa Maria, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit mail fraud for submitting fraudulent unemployment insurance claims to the California Employment Development Department (EDD) in the names of inmates, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Miles was an inmate at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, and Weston is her mother. From June through December 2020, Miles obtained other inmates’ names, dates of birth, and social security numbers and sent that information to Weston to submit claims in those inmates’ identities, as well as Miles’ own identity. The underlying applications misrepresented that Miles and the other inmates worked as childcare providers, cosmetologists, hairdressers, and other occupations, that they last worked within the prior few months and recently became unemployed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that they were currently available to work. The fraudulent claims were worth nearly $250,000.

Fresno Man Pleads Guilty to Passport Fraud by Assuming the Identity of a Deceased Child

FRESNO - Kenneth Laitman, aka John Rodman, 79, of Fresno, pleaded guilty today to passport fraud, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, in 1984, Laitman left his job as a stockbroker in New York and moved to California, where he assumed the identity of John Rodman and worked at an endoscopy practice. The actual John Rodman died in 1950 at the age of four.

Mexican National Sentenced for Bakersfield-Based Methamphetamine Ring

FRESNO - Alberto Gomez-Santiago, 38, a Mexican national residing in Arvin, was sentenced today to four years and nine months in prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, in March 2021, Gomez delivered 26 pounds of methamphetamine to co-defendants Jorge Calderon-Campos, 42, a Mexican national residing in Bakersfield, and Mark Garcia, 23, of Bakersfield. Law enforcement officers later seized the drug from Garcia’s vehicle during a traffic stop. This transaction was one of many transactions involving Calderon-Campos, who was the target of a wiretap investigation that resulted in the seizure of more than 86 pounds of methamphetamine and 1 kilogram of heroin.

Central Valley Corporate Insider Pleads Guilty to Stealing Nearly $5 Million in Livestock Feed Ingredients

FRESNO - Shawn Sawa, 47, formerly of Clovis, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in stealing millions of dollars worth of canola from international food processors. Canola is commonly used to make livestock feed.

According to court documents, from 2015 through 2017, Sawa and Richard Best stole $4.8 million worth of canola from the food processors. They then sold the canola for a windfall. Sawa and Best carried out the scheme through Best’s now-defunct train-to-truck transloading company, Richard Best Transfer Inc. (RBT).

California Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud

SACRAMENTO - Richard Jason Mountford, formerly of Monterey County, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to file false claims against the United States, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division announced.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to investigating and prosecuting tax fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Talbert. “Fraudulent tax preparation schemes utilizing false and inflated deductions cost the government millions of dollars each year.”

A Look Back at Fentanyl Prosecutions in 2023

SACRAMENTO - U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Clark announce the actions taken in 2023 in the Eastern District of California to confront the continuing crisis caused by fentanyl.

In 2023, large amounts of fentanyl were trafficked in or transported across the valley. In total, approximately 86 individuals appeared in federal district courts in Sacramento and Fresno charged with fentanyl distribution offenses. Approximately 28 individuals were sentenced for fentanyl trafficking offenses, with sentences ranging from two to 17 years in prison. Another approximately 29 pleaded guilty to fentanyl-related charges and now await sentencing, with additional cases still pending.

Aryan Brotherhood Prison Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Murder in Aid of Racketeering

SACRAMENTO - Brant Daniel, 49, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty Wednesday to murder in aid of racketeering as part of a long-running investigation into the California Aryan Brotherhood prison gang, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller immediately sentenced Daniel after his guilty plea to the mandatory sentence of a life term in federal prison.

“This guilty plea and sentence represents a significant setback for one of California’s most notorious white supremacist prison gangs,” said U.S. Attorney Talbert. “We will continue to use every law enforcement tool to protect the communities plagued by the violence and criminal activities of the Aryan Brotherhood.”