Local News

Calaveras County Man Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Housing Assistance Program Funds

FRESNO - Raymond Cawthorne, 57, of Valley Springs, pleaded guilty today to embezzlement of public funds, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, between May 2015 and Oct. 2016, Cawthorne embezzled over $14,000 belonging to the Keep Your Home California (KYHC) Program.

KYHC was a federally funded program launched in response to the 2008 financial crisis that provided eligible homeowners with temporary mortgage assistance so that they could avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes. The KYHC program was part of a broader effort by the federal government to stabilize the nation’s housing market where states with the most distressed markets received federal monies to develop locally-tailored foreclosure prevention solutions.

Farmersville Man Charged With Firearms and Drug Offenses

FRESNO - On November 22, 2019, federal authorities arrested Miguel Deniz, 29, of Farmersville, who is charged in a three-count indictment with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, being a felon in possession of firearms, and possession of a machinegun, United States Attorney McGregor Scott announced.

Deniz ordered four “auto-sear” devices over the internet to his home address. Auto-sear devices are used to convert semi-automatic firearms to fire like fully automatic machineguns. The package was intercepted by law enforcement, and on May 1, 2019, law enforcement officers conducted a controlled delivery of the package to Deniz’s residence.

Second Guilty Plea In Mexican Timeshare Resale Fraud Prosecution

SACRAMENTO - Wayne Arthur York II, 51, most recently of Albuquerque, New Mexico, pleaded guilty today to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, York, while working in boiler rooms located in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, would call timeshare owners to offer to arrange for the sale of Mexican timeshare vacation rentals.

York would falsely claim that he and his coconspirators represented companies that had already secured or arranged for buyers who were ready to pay for the timeshares. In truth, no buyers had actually been arranged. Instead, York and others would convince the victims of the fraud to wire money from bank accounts in the United States and Canada to bank accounts in Mexico for alleged up-front payments including taxes, fees, and commissions to make the sale of the timeshare occur.

Two Kings County Men Charged with Possessing and Selling Machine Guns

FRESNO - A three-count indictment was unsealed today charging Eric Lopez Mercado, 25, of Lemoore, and Jose Moreno, 24 of Hanford, with illegally possessing and transferring machine guns, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

The indictment charges Mercado and Moreno with possessing several pistols that had no serial number markings but had conversion devices attached to the rear of the firearms that enabled them to function as fully automatic weapons. Both men are also charged with transferring a machine gun to another person and possessing a device capable of converting a handgun into a machine gun.

Kern County and Los Angeles County Residents Charged with Possessing and Illegally Importing 372 Pounds of Methamphetamine into the United States

FRESNO - A federal grand jury returned an indictment today against Pedro Alegra Jr., 21, of Delano, and Edgardo Rosales-Andrade, 23, of Paramount, charging them with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Rosales-Andrade was also charged with the illegal importation of narcotics, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

“The investigation of international drug trafficking operations is a top priority for Homeland Security Investigations,” said Tatum King, a special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Francisco. “HSI in the Central Valley employs all of its resources to prevent these dangerous criminal networks from threatening our communities.”