News

Fresno County Men Indicted for Fentanyl Distribution Conspiracy

FRESNO - A six-count indictment was unsealed today, charging Fresno resident Austin Lloyd Kerns, 53, and Clovis resident Lakota Tehya Wakley, 21, with conspiring to distribute fentanyl. Kerns is also accused of fentanyl distribution and illegally possessing ammunition, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

According to court documents, from November 2024 until his arrest in December 2024, Kerns conspired with Wakley and others to sell fentanyl pills to customers in Fresno County. On Nov. 23 and 24, 2024, Kerns personally and repeatedly sold fentanyl to a victim that Wakley referred to Kerns for a fee. This victim died soon after of a fentanyl overdose. Upon arresting Kerns at his residence on Dec. 9, 2024, law enforcement seized around 1,000 fentanyl pills, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and handgun parts.

Former Fresno County Resident Charged with Managing a $10 Million Nationwide Real Estate Fraud Scheme from Prison

FRESNO - Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced that Seth Adam Depiano, 43, formerly of Clovis, initially appeared for an indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents, Depiano was sentenced in 2018 to more than 12 years in prison for running a $24 million fraud scheme in the Eastern District of California (Case No. 1:17-cr-172 DAD). In 2021 and 2022, while serving that sentence in federal prisons in Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Florida, Depiano managed a complex real estate fraud scheme utilizing a group of co-conspirators across the United States.

Fentanyl “M30 King of Fresno” Sentenced to 23 Years in Prison

FRESNO - Horacio Torrecillas Urias Jr., 24, of Fresno, was sentenced today to 23 years and one month in prison for distribution of fentanyl and conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

According to court documents, the investigation began after a series of fentanyl pill overdoses in the Fresno area. These overdoses were caused by counterfeit oxycodone M30 tablets containing fentanyl, referred to on the street as M30s. The investigation, dubbed “Operation Killer High,” targeted the drug dealers believed to have supplied the toxic pills that caused the spike in fentanyl-related overdoses. The operation uncovered a large drug-trafficking ring led by Torrecillas Urias, the self-proclaimed “M30 king of Fresno.”

Corcoran Correctional Officer Charged With Conspiring With An Inmate To Assault Another Inmate

FRESNO - A federal grand jury returned an indictment Thursday against Raquel Mosqueda, 36, of Porterville, California, and Jimmie L. Carter, 44, charging them with conspiring to violate the constitutional rights of another inmate at California State Prison-Corcoran, United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

Mosqueda was a Correctional Officer with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and Carter was an inmate. According to court documents, on or around April 20, 2022, Mosqueda, while serving as a correctional officer at California State Prison-Corcoran, agreed with Carter to permit Carter to “get rid of” the victim. Mosqueda facilitated an assault of the victim by permitting Carter and other inmates to enter the victim’s cell and assault him. The assault caused bodily injury to the victim.

Bitwise Founders Sentenced to 11 Years and 9 Years in Prison for $115 Million Fraud

FRESNO - Jake Soberal, 38, and Irma Olguin, Jr., 44, the founders and leaders of the failed Fresno-based start-up company, Bitwise Industries (“Bitwise”), were sentenced to 11 years and 9 years in prison, respectively, for defrauding people out of approximately $115,000,000, United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced today.

“Defendants likened themselves to gods and joked about deceiving their well-intentioned investors while committing a massive fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Talbert. “They lied repeatedly to pull in over $100 million to a dying business venture that they knew never had any meaningful revenue. To make themselves rich and keep up the façade, they used fabricated bank statements, false financial information, forged documents, and fake loan collateral. These sentences remind me of the hazards of such financial crimes, and my office will continue to work with the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute those who commit them vigorously.”

Arrest Made in Chowchilla for Possession and Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material

CHOWCHILLA - The Madera County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Bureau received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding the distribution of child sexual abuse material activity in Madera County. Detectives identified 39-year-old Chowchilla resident Ralph Contreras Jr., a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation sergeant, as a suspect in the case.

On January 2, 2025, detectives, alongside the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations, executed a search warrant at a residence in the 11000 block of Muirfield Road in Chowchilla. Contreras Jr. was arrested for distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material and is now in custody at the Madera County Jail.

City of Fresno Responds to CFPEA Strike Vote

FRESNO - The City of Fresno has been notified that the City of Fresno Professional Employees Association (CFPEA) membership has voted to strike following the rejection of the City’s Last, Best, and Final Offer (LBFO) presented during ongoing labor negotiations.

Negotiations for a successor Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City and CFPEA began on November 7, 2023, prior to the expiration of the previous agreement on December 31, 2023. Throughout 14 negotiation sessions, the City of Fresno proposed multiple offers designed to provide fair and competitive compensation to CFPEA members while maintaining fiscal responsibility.