News

Over 160 Firearms Seized During Multiple Search Warrant Operation

MADERA - Last week the Madera Narcotic Enforcement Team, with the assistance of the Madera Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Team, Fresno High Impact Investigations Team, Madera Police Special Investigations Unit, California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation CRT Team #11, Visalia Police Department, and the Delano Police Department, executed a total of four search warrants relating to a lengthy, multi-agency, collaborative investigation into the illegal sales of narcotics and firearms, and the illegal possession of firearms.

Two locations in Madera County, one in the City of Chowchilla and one in the City of Delano, were searched. During the service of the search warrant, approximately 163 firearms were seized, as well as methamphetamine and processed marijuana packaged for sale from the four locations. 47-year-old Madera County resident Miguel Reyes was arrested on multiple felony charges, including child endangerment and various weapons violations.

Bitwise Founders Plead Guilty to $115 Million Fraud Scheme

FRESNO - Irma Olguin, Jr., 43, and Jake Soberal, 38, the founders and leaders of the failed Fresno-based start-up company Bitwise Industries (“Bitwise”), pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud and one count of wire fraud, United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. They admitted to defrauding investors, lenders, and others out of $115,000,000.

According to court records, Olguin, Jr. and Soberal founded Bitwise in 2013. The company then grew to have three business lines: (1) technology workforce training program, (2) technology consulting service, and (3) a real estate arm that bought, renovated, and leased commercial properties. The company promised to create jobs for underserved groups of people, revitalize blighted urban areas, and show that such a project could be highly profitable.

Central Valley Partnership Positions Region for Success in Semiconductor Manufacturing

FRESNO - On Wednesday, Mayor Jerry Dyer was joined by Councilmember Nelson Esparza for the signing of a formal partnership memorandum of understanding between SEMI, a global semiconductor manufacturing association, and the City of Fresno, City of Clovis, California State University Fresno, Fresno County Economic Development Corporation, and Silicon Farms.

This is the first agreement of its kind in California’s Central Valley and is a significant step toward diversifying local economies. It is designed to put the Fresno region on the map as “open for business” when it comes to locating semiconductor supply chains and manufacturing facilities.

Executives for Fresno-Based Business Convicted of Multi-Million Dollar Fraud

FRESNO - Following a 19-day trial, on Tuesday, a jury convicted Fresno residents Marcus Asay, 68; Antonio Gastelum, 53; and their company, Agricultural Contracting Services Association dba American Labor Alliance (ALA), of committing a multi-year pension fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

The jury also convicted Asay and ALA of committing separate workers’ compensation and hardship exemption fraud schemes. The hardship exemption fraud scheme involved a supposed exemption from the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that people obtain health insurance or pay a significant shared responsibility payment when they file their taxes. Finally, the jury convicted Asay of laundering money that he received from the pension fraud scheme.

Madera Pharmacist Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Hundreds of Thousands of Opiate Pills

FRESNO - Fresno residents Ifeanyi Vincent Ntukogu, 49, and Kelo White, 43, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute and distributing oxycodone and hydrocodone, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court records, from December 2014 through November 2018, in Madera and Fresno, Ntukogu, a pharmacist, dispensed over 200,000 oxycodone and hydrocodone pills based on prescriptions delivered to him by White and co-defendant Donald Ray Pierre, 55, of Fresno, that they knew were forged and fraudulent.

Over 12,900 pounds of Methamphetamine Seized and 22 Traffickers Charged

FRESNO - Twenty-two participants in a drug-trafficking ring have been charged with conspiring to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl imported from Mexico into the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Special Agent in Charge Siddhartha Patel of the FBI Sacramento Field Office.

According to court documents, Operation Toxic Waste, an investigation into a sophisticated drug trafficking ring, has resulted in the seizure of more than 12,900 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 50 pounds of fentanyl mixture, 39 pounds of cocaine, and 22 pounds of heroin. As evidenced by tens of thousands of recorded communications, the organization smuggled methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl (powder and pills) in portable projectors and batteries under the guise of a legitimate transportation business.

Five Men Indicted for Methamphetamine and Fentanyl Trafficking in Merced County as Part of “Operation Red Rooster”

FRESNO - A federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment today against five men, Fernando Arellano, 36, of Planada; Isaiah Serena, 40, of Merced; Jason Mott, 49, of Merced; David Gonzales, 45, of Merced; and Christopher Baca-Arias, 18, a native of Honduras; charging them with crimes related to a Merced drug trafficking operation, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

Arellano, Serena, and Mott are charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Serena and Mott are additionally charged with the distribution of methamphetamine. Serena, Mott, Gonzales, and Baca-Arias are charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, and Serena, Gonzales, and Baca-Arias are additionally charged with distribution of fentanyl. Serena is also charged with possession of a firearm by a felon.