Richmond Man Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Illegal Possession of a Loaded Firearm

OAKLAND, CA—Dontae Jerome Jones was sentenced yesterday to six years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.

Mr. Jones was convicted on June 20, 2012, by a federal jury after a two-day trial. Evidence at trial showed that after a traffic stop on July 24, 2011, Jones, 30, possessed the loaded 9mm pistol found under the rear of the front passenger seat in the car he was driving. Although Jones admitted the gun belonged to him at the scene, at trial his attorney argued that he had falsely confessed only to protect the mother of his child, who owned the car and was in the car in front passenger seat at the time of his arrest. However, Jones was captured on recorded calls made after his arrest trying to cover up his possession of the loaded gun. He asked that “other shells” be removed from his truck before they could be discovered by authorities. He also asked that an acquaintance sign an affidavit claiming the gun belonged to him and not the defendant. In addition, a low-level amount of DNA recovered from the gun was consistent with Jones’s DNA. Finally, there was unchallenged testimony that within a month of his arrest, Jones used a similar-looking handgun to threaten and physically assault another individual.

The six-year sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Wilken, who also sentenced the defendant to a three-year period of supervised release. The defendant will begin serving the sentence on November 5, 2012.

Mr. Jones was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 1, 2011. His arrest resulted from the efforts of a task force that operated in the summer of 2011 between the Richmond Police Department and the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office that sought to curb increasing gun violence in Richmond.

Brian C. Lewis and Michelle J. Kane are the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Janice Pagsanjan, Noble Hughes, and Patty Lau. The prosecution is also the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Bay Area Resident Sentenced in Illicit Internet Pharmacy Sales

United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced today that a Bay Area resident, Ian Fischman, was sentenced to serve six months in custody, followed by six months of home detention, and was ordered to pay a $3,000 fine and to forfeit $100,000 for his role in an illicit Internet pharmacy. Fischman, who had been living in Mexico at the time of the offense, pled guilty to conspiring to launder money.

At the time of his plea, Fischman acknowledged that between May 22, 2002 and November 27, 2007, he conspired to sell $400,000 of prescription pharmaceuticals via the Internet and through the mail to over 250 persons in the United States without a valid prescription. The pharmaceuticals supplied by Fischman included “generic” Viagra, Cialis, Levitra, Propecia, and other lifestyle drugs; as well as hundreds of others medications, including Carisoprodal, which requires a prescription to be sold in the United States. Fischman admitted that he knew it was unlawful for him to supply pharmaceuticals in this manner.

In addition, Fischman admitted that he arranged to have pharmaceuticals manufactured in Mexico and India illegally imported into the United States to be shipped to Internet pharmacy customers. The proceeds from the sales were deposited in the accounts of credit card processing firms and then transferred to bank accounts in Mexico and Switzerland, through banks in San Diego and San Francisco, in order to conceal their source. Fischman also acknowledged that he utilized Western Union to receive payments for the illegally imported pharmaceuticals, directing customers to send their payments to Mexico in the names of persons other than himself in order to conceal and disguise their source.

In sentencing Fischman, the Honorable Thomas J. Whelan noted that it was a very serious offense to sell pharmaceuticals to persons known not to have a valid prescription.

Defendant

■Criminal Case No. 08cr2936-W

■Ian Alexander Fischman

Summary of Charge

■Conspiracy to launder money, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(h)

Agencies

■Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations

■Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations

■Federal Bureau of Investigation

■Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation

Bank Executive Convicted by Federal Jury for Involvement in Mortgage Fraud Scheme

SACRAMENTO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that a federal jury returned a guilty verdict today convicting Joel Blanford, 44, of San Ramon, on six counts of mail fraud.

This case is the product of an extensive investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Paul A. Hemesath and Michael M. Beckwith prosecuted the case. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Laurel Rimon also participated in the prosecution.

According to evidence presented at the trial, from approximately April 2003 through October 2005, Blanford, while working as a sales representative for Long Beach Mortgage, a wholesale subprime lender and former subsidiary of Washington Mutual Inc., participated in a scheme to defraud his employer. Blanford earned compensation based on the volume of loans processed by Long Beach Mortgage. The evidence established that he paid a loan coordinator in cash and checks to falsify documents, provide false verification of borrowers’ employment or professional licensing status, and to turn a blind eye to fraudulent representations contained in loan applications and other documents submitted to Long Beach Mortgage.

In each of the years 2003, 2004, and 2005, Blanford received, before taxes and payroll deductions, more than $1 million in commissions and other compensation from Long Beach Mortgage as a result of his scheme. Between April 2003 and October 2005, he paid the loan coordinator more than $50,000 in checks alone.

An earlier trial of Joel Blanford, in May 2012, resulted in a hung jury. The jury verdicts returned today followed a seven-day retrial.

“This verdict reflects the commitment of this office, the FBI and the IRS-CI to follow the facts to wherever they lead us,” said U.S. Attorney Wagner. “We have now convicted seven people, including two bankers, two mortgage brokers, a real estate investor, and two straw purchasers, who participated at different levels of a complex loan origination mortgage fraud scheme involving numerous real estate transactions in the Stockton area.”

Sentencing is scheduled before Judge William B. Shubb on December 10, 2012. The maximum penalties for mail fraud affecting a financial institution is 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the value of the gain or loss, whichever is greater.

Six other defendants have been sentenced for crimes arising out of this mortgage fraud scheme. William T. Bridge, 41, of San Francisco, and his brother Paul Bridge were loan brokers who paid illegal kickbacks to a loan coordinator at Long Beach Mortgage between 2003 and 2006. William T. Bridge pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges, admitting that in each of those tax years, he derived more than $10,000 from criminal activity involving fraudulent loans funded by Long Beach Mortgage on houses purchased in Sacramento and Stockton. Paul Bridge pleaded guilty to a violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. Both brothers testified at the trial of Joel Blanford.

John Ngo, 27, of Dublin, pleaded guilty to lying under oath before a federal grand jury. Between September 2001 and May 2006, while working as a senior loan coordinator at Long Beach Mortgage, he received in excess of $100,000 in checks and bank transfers from a mortgage broker in order to ensure that fraudulent loan applications were processed and funded. In September 2007, Ngo testified falsely under oath before a federal grand jury investigating the mortgage fraud scheme in the San Joaquin County area that the broker had not given him any money. Ngo also testified at the Blanford trial.

Iftikhar Ahmad, 36; Manpreet Singh, 24; and Jose Serrano, 44, all of Stockton, were indicted on October 25, 2007, for mail fraud in connection with a property flipping scheme involving inflating home values. Ahmad and Serrano were also charged with money laundering. Between 2003 and 2005, the defendants engaged in a mortgage fraud scheme primarily in the Stockton area. Ahmad, through I & R Investment Properties, fraudulently sold 10 houses to straw buyers, obtaining in excess of $1.5 million. All three pleaded guilty to felony offenses. The mortgage loans on the properties involved in the scheme were arranged by the Bridge brothers, through Long Beach Mortgage.

William Bridge was sentenced in April 2010 to 21 months in prison and was ordered to pay $1,056,700 in restitution. Paul Bridge was sentenced in August 2010 to 36 months of probation. John Ngo was sentenced in September 2010 to nine months in prison. Iftikhar Ahmad was sentenced in February 2011 to 36 months in prison and was ordered to pay $382,750 in restitution. Jose Serrano was sentenced in November 2008 to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $219,000 in restitution. Manpreet Singh was sentenced in February 2009 to 60 months of probation and ordered to pay $163,500 in restitution.

Nine Indicted for Sacramento-Area Builder Bailout Mortgage Fraud Scheme

SACRAMENTO—A federal grand jury returned four indictments on September 13, 2012, charging nine individuals with mail fraud and bank fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme involving the purchase of at least 19 homes, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. All four indictments were unsealed today.

The first indictment (docket # 2:12-cr-00327 WBS) charges Svetlana Dubinsky, 48, of Boca Raton, Florida; Serge Doubinski, 29, of San Francisco; and Zinayda Chekayda, 49, of Antelope, California. The second indictment (2:12-cr-00328 JAM) charges Volodymyr Dubinsky, 53, formerly of Folsom, California; Leonid Doubinski, 47, formerly of Copperopolis, California; Edward Khalfin, 55, of San Mateo, California.; and Robin Dimiceli, 50, of Brentwood, California.

The last two indictments charge Diana Woods, 55, of Citrus Heights, California, and Kory Schmidli, 34, of Linden, California (docket #s 2:12-cr-00329 LKK, 2:12-cr-00330 GEB).

According to the indictments, two brothers, Volodymyr Dubinsky and Leonid Doubinski, built, developed, and sold real estate in Carmichael, Sacramento, and Copperopolis. As the real estate market declined, the brothers recruited family members, employees, and associates with good credit to act as straw buyers for residential properties. Licensed mortgage broker Khalfin and licensed real estate salespersons Dimiceli and Woods assisted in the scheme by submitting the loan applications for the straw buyers. They allegedly prepared and submitted applications to lenders that falsely stated the straw buyers’ income, assets, and intent to occupy the homes as their primary residences. The straw buyers included Dimiceli, Woods, Svetlana Dubinsky, Serge Doubinski, Chekayda, and Schmidli.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Todd A. Pickles, R. Steven Lapham, and Lee S. Bickley are prosecuting the case.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The actual sentences, if convicted, 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. The allegations in the indictment are mere accusations and all persons are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

San Ramon Attorney Charged with Tax Evasion and Unlawfully Intercepting Communications

Used Private Investigator to Install Listening Devices

OAKLAND, CA—A six-count indictment was unsealed today charging San Ramon attorney Mary Nolan with tax evasion and unlawfully intercepting communications, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced. Nolan, 60, was arrested today in her home in Oakland, prior to making her initial appearance in federal court.

The indictment, which was returned September 6, 2012, alleges that Nolan, the owner of The Law Offices of Mary Nolan in San Ramon, California, willfully attempted to evade and defeat a large part of her income tax due and owing by causing false tax returns to be filed with the Internal Revenue Service from 2005 through 2008. For the tax years 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008, Nolan reported taxable income of -$21,395, -$12,472, -$53,934, and -$48,146, respectively, when in fact she knew her taxable income was $306,543, $410,581, $574,769 and $414,319. The unreported taxable income totaled $1,842,159, resulting in additional tax due of approximately $593,916.

The indictment further alleges that, between approximately August 9, 2007, and at least September 9, 2007, Nolan conspired to and procured another person to unlawfully intercept wire, oral, and electronic communications. Specifically, the indictment alleges that Nolan referred clients to private investigator Christopher Butler for Butler to install concealed listening devices in the clients’ spouses or significant others’ cars. The indictment also alleges that on numerous occasions, Nolan and her staff, acting on Nolan’s instructions, accessed the listening devices to eavesdrop on conversations by Nolan’s clients’ spouses and significant others with the intent to use the intercepted information to assist Nolan’s client’s legal proceedings.

The maximum statutory penalty for tax evasion, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201, is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum statutory penalty for conspiracy to unlawfully intercept communications, in violation 18 U.S.C. § 371 is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum statutory penalty for unlawful interception of communications, in violation 18 U.S.C. § 2511(1)(a) and (4)(a) is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Upon posting $50,000, Nolan will be released on a bond that includes $250,000 of security in the form of a deed that must be posted within two weeks. She is next scheduled to appear in federal court in Oakland on Sept. 25, 2012, for arraignment before Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu. The case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton.

Hartley M.K. West is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Rania Ghawi. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.

Please note, an indictment contains only allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, Nolan must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.