FRESNO, California, Aug. 22 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, Phillip A. Talbert, issued the following news release on Aug. 21, 2023: Ranjan Rajbanshi, D.D.S., 46, of Bakersfield and Santa Barbara, pleaded guilty today to stealing $500,000 in COVID-19 relief money, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court records, Rajbanshi ran a dental practice in Bakersfield and Santa Barbara. From April 2020 through February 2022, he received over $850,000 in  more

FRESNO, California, Aug. 22 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, Phillip A. Talbert, issued the following news release on Aug. 21, 2023: Margarita Aispuro-Camacho, 46, of Fresno, was sentenced today to 14 months in prison for illegally selling morphine and contributing to the death of her co-worker at the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court records, in May 2020, the police found the victim dead in an apartment in Clov  more

FRESNO, California, Aug. 22 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, Phillip A. Talbert, issued the following news release on Aug. 21, 2023: Otoniel Cardenas-Torres, 33, of Delhi, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute heroin, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, Cardenas received $13,500 from a confidential source for the delivery of 3 pounds of heroin to the confidential source by Cardenas's brother. The heroin deal had been   more

FRESNO, California, Aug. 22 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, Phillip A. Talbert, issued the following news release on Aug. 21, 2023: Ana Margarita Valdez-Torres, 43, a Mexican national residing in McFarland, was sentenced today to five years and 10 months in prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, Valdez was involved in obtaining and supplying methamphetamine to drug customers ste  more

FRESNO, California, Aug. 22 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, Phillip A. Talbert, issued the following news release on Aug. 21, 2023: David Agustus McGowan, 63, of Kansas City, Missouri, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana that was shipped from Fresno to Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, in November 2018, McGowan's co-defendants Patrick Maldonad  more

FRESNO, California, Aug. 22 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, Phillip A. Talbert, issued the following news release on Aug. 21, 2023: Julian Loeza, 33, of Ceres, was sentenced today to 13 years and eight months in prison for distribution of methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, in 2020, a team of local and federal law enforcement officers partnered in an investigation into the drug trafficking activities of Loeza a  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy issued the following news release on Aug. 21, 2023: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced the first cohort of geothermal interns in the NSF INTERN program. Through this collaboration--the first activity coordinated under the NSF-DOE Memorandum of Understanding--a diverse group of 14 students will work with geothermal companies, national labora  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 -- The Federal Trade Commission issued the following news release on Aug. 21, 2023: * * * Agency says defendants used "Biden Loan Forgiveness" to lure students and collect millions of dollars in illegal junk fees * * * The Federal Trade Commission has stopped scammers who the agency says facilitated an operation to prey on students seeking debt relief. The agency charges that the defendants pretended to be affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education, used deceptive l  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Surface Transportation Board issued the following news release on Aug. 21, 2023: The Surface Transportation Board is actively monitoring any rail service disruptions caused by Tropical Storm Hilary. Freight and passenger rail service interruptions extending north and east from Southern and Central California have been reported. Current impacts and updates from the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center can be located   more

SANTA ANA, California, Aug. 22 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for Central District of California issued the following news release: A former executive at an Orange County commercial real estate agency pleaded guilty today to embezzling more than $2.7 million from his employer by submitting fictitious invoices for companies controlled by his family and friends, whose services never were performed. Varun Aggarwal, 41, of Irvine, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. According to his pl  more

SANTA ANA, California, Aug. 22 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for Central District of California issued the following news release on Aug. 21, 2023: The owner of a Westminster-based tax preparation business was sentenced today to 41 months in federal prison for participating in a scheme orchestrated by a corrupt social worker who stole his clients' identities to fraudulently obtain tax refunds, welfare benefits and credit cards. Anton Nguyen, 54, of Fountain Valley, was sentenced by United  more

SAN DIEGO, California, Aug. 22 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California issued the following news release on Aug. 21, 2023: James Charles Rivera of New York was sentenced in federal court today to 96 months in prison for leading a scheme to distribute steroids around the world and launder the substantial proceeds through cash and cryptocurrency. According to admissions in his plea agreement, Rivera operated on the "dark web" with the moniker, "JuicePal." He ar  more

SAN DIEGO, California, Aug. 22 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California issued the following news release on Aug. 21, 2023: The U.S. Attorney's Office, San Diego City Attorney's Office and the non-profit MESA (Mentoring and Empowering Student Athletes) Foundation today launched a social media campaign featuring all of the members of the 2023-2024 San Diego State University's men's basketball team - including several who played in the 2023 NCAA national champion  more

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, Aug. 22 -- The White House issued the following transcript of a press gaggle on Aug. 21, 2023, with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre while en route to Maui, Hawaii: * * * MS. DALTON: Good morning. Before I hand it over to Administrator Criswell, I want to highlight a couple of important updates on extreme weather events around the country. Just a few moments ago, just before we took off, President Biden was able to speak to Governor Jay Inslee about the fires burning   more