News

FRESNO  -  Marino Cruz Diaz, 24, of Taft, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston to 10 years in prison for illegally cultivating marijuana in a national forest and ordered to pay over $13,000 in restitution for damage to the land, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, in July 2019, law enforcement officers located clandestine marijuana grow site in Sequoia National Forest in Fresno County. On Aug. 2, 2019, officers hiked into the grow site, where they found and arrested Marino Cruz Diaz and Moreno Florez.

FRESNO -   Matthew Sheffield, 41, of Merced, was sentenced today to 60 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release for his two convictions for sexual exploitation of a minor, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. In addition, Sheffield was ordered to pay $100,200 in special assessments and $25,000 in restitution to each of the two victims.

According to court documents, law enforcement agents first encountered sexually explicit material in February 2018, and through investigative work and assistance from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, ultimately identified Sheffield as the person responsible for creating and distributing the material on the internet. While executing a search warrant at Sheffield’s house, agents recognized unique objects depicted in the images he created. On Aug. 29, 2019, Sheffield was indicted, and on March 21, 2022, he pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of children.

This case resulted from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation office in Fresno and the FBI Child Exploitation Operational Unit in Linthicum, Maryland. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa and Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section Trial Attorney Nadia Prinz prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute those who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.

FRESNO  -  A 28-count indictment was unsealed today, charging Terrance John “TJ” Cox, 59, of Fresno, with 15 counts of wire fraud, 11 counts of money laundering, one count of financial institution fraud, and one count of campaign contribution fraud, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Cox perpetrated multiple fraud schemes targeting companies he was affiliated with and their clients and vendors. Cox created unauthorized off-the-books bank accounts and diverted client and company money into those accounts through false representations, pretenses, and promises. From 2013 to 2018, across two different fraud schemes, Cox illegally obtained over $1.7 million in diverted client payments, company loans, and investments he solicited and stole.

MADERA  – The Madera County Registrar of Voters announced that last month, Elizabeth Gale, a resident of San Diego, pleaded guilty to committing voter fraud in the 2021 California Gubernatorial Recall Election. 

“Ms. Gale made the unfortunate mistake of believing that though her mother had recently passed, she could get away with voting her ballot, forging her signature, and claiming to have witnessed her mother signing the ballot,” stated Rebecca Martinez, the Madera County Registrar of Voters.  “Fortunately for the people of Madera County, we have safeguards in place to detect these types of illegal activities, so Ms. Gale’s poor decision was discovered, and she was prosecuted.”

FRESNO - David Moreno Florez, 28, of Taft, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston to 12 years in prison for illegally cultivating marijuana in a national forest and possessing a firearm in furtherance of that offense, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, in July 2019, law enforcement officers located a clandestine marijuana grow site in Sequoia National Forest in Fresno County. On Aug. 2, 2019, officers hiked into the grow site, where they found and arrested Marino Cruz Diaz and Moreno Florez, who was carrying a loaded, AR-15 style rifle.

FRESNO  -   A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment today against Brian Thomas Whitworth, 38, of Visalia, charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, officers were investigating a vehicle theft reported by Whitworth, but upon reviewing his home’s surveillance footage, they saw that Whitworth had fired a rifle during the theft. Officers recovered a rifle matching the description of the rifle Whitworth was seen firing in the surveillance footage. In jail calls, Whitworth admitted to knowledge of the firearm and also discussed his gang membership. Whitworth was previously convicted of felonies, including assault with a deadly weapon and vehicle theft, and was therefore prohibited from possessing firearms.