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Department of Justice Logo 

U.S. Department of Justice

United States Attorney
Northern District of California

 

11th Floor, Federal Building
450 Golden Gate Avenue, Box 36055
San Francisco, California  94102

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 

 

Tel: (415) 436-7200
Fax: (415) 436-7234

 

June 23, 2004

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced that five additional defendants have been arrested in the Cardshark prosecution, a case first announced on June 10, 2004, that stems from an operation in which the defendants are accused of selling false identification papers at 24th and Mission Streets in San Francisco.  Altogether, nine defendants have been arrested and four more remain at large.

The charges against the defendants were first based on criminal complaints filed on June 8, 2004, against 11 defendants.  More recently, the grand jury in San Francisco has returned four indictments naming the defendants on related charges.  Specifically, the first indictment charges eight defendants with conspiring to and/or engaging in the production and transfer of false government identification documents in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1028(a)(1), 1028(a)(2), 1028(f) and 2.  The defendants are: Arturo Suarez-Sanchez, Edmundo Rios-Olivares, Israel Gonzalez, Sergio Dimas-Zavalas, Pedro Gutierrez-Alvares, Jose Luis Flores-Cuate, Jose Enrique Sanchez-Vasquez, and Luis Estrada-Garcia, of conspiring to and/or engaging in the production and transfer of false government identification documents in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1028(a)(1), 1028(a)(2), 1028(f) and 2.  The second indictment charges one defendant, Pedro Gutierrez-Alvares, with possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute it in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C).  The third and fourth indictments charge Luis Estrada-Garcia and Jose Luis Flores-Cuate with illegally reentering the United States after being deported in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326.

The maximum statutory penalty for violating Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1028(a)(1), 1028(a)(2) and 1028(f) (producing and/or transferring false identification documents and/or conspiring to do the same) is imprisonment for not more than 15 years and a fine of $250,000.  The maximum statutory penalty for violating Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C) (possessing cocaine with intent to distribute) is imprisonment for not more than 20 years and a fine of $1,000,000.  The maximum statutory penalty for violating Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326 (illegal reentry following deportation) is imprisonment for not more than 20 years and a fine of $250,000.  However, any sentence following conviction would be dictated by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of factors, and would be imposed in the discretion of the Court.  An indictment simply contains allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, these individuals must be presumed innocent unless and until convicted.

All of the defendants currently in custody are scheduled to make their initial appearances in federal court on the indictments and to be arraigned on Thursday, June 24, 2004, at 9:30 a.m., before Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero.  The four defendants who remain at large are: Luis Ortiz, Hugo Sanchez, Jose Prudencio and Sergio Valencia.

The original press release dated June 10, 2004, as well as 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.

mattmed