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May 20, 2003
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced today that Reeshava Lal Mitra, 38 of Union City, pled guilty to a Criminal Information charging him with one count of wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343.
According to the plea agreement Mr. Mitra was a registered representative of Linsco/Private Ledger Corporation ("LPL"), a nationwide securities broker-dealer, between 1992 and 2002. Beginning in the spring of 2000, Mr. Mitra worked in LPL's Fremont office. Between 1995 and August of 2002, Mr. Mitra executed approximately 123 unauthorized transfers of funds and/or shares of stock involving 21 LPL client accounts. For each of these unauthorized transfers, he either created a fraudulent letter of authorization or fraudulently obtained and forged clients' personal checks and deposited them into his personal bank accounts. The information specifically charges Mr. Mitra with effectuating the wire transfer of $50,000 from a client account to his personal account at PNC Bank. However, Mr. Mitra has acknowledged that the total loss that he is responsible for is $2.5 million.
Mr. Mitra made his initial appearance in federal court in Oakland on May 19, 2003. The sentencing of Mr. Mitra is scheduled for September 30, 2003 before Judge Sandra Brown Armstrong in Oakland. The maximum statutory penalty for a wire fraud which affects a financial institution in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 is 30 years, a fine of $1 million, and restitution. As part of the plea agreement, Mr. Mitra has also agreed that he will not contest the civil or administrative forfeiture of a 1999 Mercedes-Benz ML430, $507.16 from an LPL account; $19,011.57 from various PNC Bank accounts and a Celeres Pharmaceutical stock certificate. The actual sentence imposed will be dictated by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of factors, and will be imposed in the discretion of the Court.
The prosecution is the result of a 10–month investigation by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Haywood Giliam is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Jessica Chavez.
A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney's Office's website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can. Related court documents and information may be found on the District Court website at www.cand.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.cand.uscourts/gov.
All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney's Office should be directed to Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Jacobs at (415)436-7181.
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