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Date: 04-26-2023
Case Style:
Case Number: 2:19-cr-00295
Judge: Gloria M. Navarro
Court: United States District Court for the District of Nevada (Clark County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: United States Attorney’s Office in Las Vegas
Defendant's Attorney:
Description: Las Vegas, Nevada criminal defense lawyers represented Defendants charged with perpetrating a prize-notification scheme that stole more than $6 million from victims. The notices led victims to believe that they could claim a large cash prize if they paid a fee of $20 to $30. This was false; victims who paid the fees did not receive anything of value. Many of the schemes’ victims were retirees or other older adults.
Mario Castro, 55, and Miguel Castro, 58, of Las Vegas, and Jose Luis Mendez, 49, of Henderson, Nevada, produced the fraudulent prize notices at their business in Las Vegas. The three defendants also were partners in companies that sent the fraudulent prize notices. The defendants used money from victims to print and mail prize notices and also received a share of the profits.
“This verdict demonstrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to pursuing and holding accountable those who participate in scams that defraud consumers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to protecting consumers from deceptive mass-mailing schemes.”
“The defendants mailed fraudulent prize notices to prey upon and trick victims, many of them elderly, out of millions of dollars,” said U.S. Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada. “This guilty verdict should be a warning to individuals who commit fraudulent acts. We are committed to working together with the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to identify and hold fraudsters accountable. We will continue to protect older Americans and prosecute individuals who seek to carry out fraudulent schemes targeting seniors.”
“Vulnerable and older Americans have been victimized for far too long by individuals who hide in the shadows to commit their crimes,” said Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS) Criminal Investigations Group. “This verdict unmasks these criminals and holds them to account for their conduct. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is proud to have contributed to this result and will be relentless in protecting American consumers from fraud through the U.S. Mail.”
The defendants operated the scheme from 2010 to February 2018, when postal inspectors executed multiple search warrants and the Department of Justice obtained a court order shutting down the fraudulent mail operation. Mario Castro, Miguel Castro, and Jose Luis Mendez worked at the printing and mailing businesses that sent the fraudulent mail and shared the profits from the fraudulent prize notices. The defendants and their co-conspirators ignored multiple cease and desist orders from the U.S. Postal Service that prohibited their companies from sending fraudulent mail.
The defendants responded by changing the names of their companies and using straw owners to hide their continuing fraud.
Mario Castro was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and seven counts of mail fraud. He was found not guilty of five counts of mail fraud.
Miguel Castro was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and five counts of mail fraud. He was found not guilty of seven counts of mail fraud.
Jose Luis Mendez was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and eleven counts of mail fraud. He was found not guilty of one count of mail fraud.
A fourth defendant, Salvador Castro, was acquitted by the jury on all charges.
The convicted defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 23 and face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count of mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Four other people previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud in connection with this prize notice scheme: Patti Kern, 65, of Henderson, Nevada; Andrea Burrow, 43, of Las Vegas; Edgar Del Rio, 45, of Las Vegas; and Sean O’Connor, 54, of Las Vegas.
The USPIS investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Timothy Finley and Daniel Zytnick of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mina Chang for the District of Nevada are prosecuting the case.
Outcome: 04/26/2023 759 ORDER Granting 758 Stipulation to Modify Conditions of Release as to Mario Castro (1). Signed by Magistrate Judge Nancy J. Koppe on 4/26/23. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - JQC) (Entered: 04/26/2023)
04/26/2023 760 TRANSCRIPT of Proceedings, 739 Jury Trial, Day 20, as to Mario Castro, Salvador Castro, Miguel Castro, and Jose Luis Mendez held on 4/24/2023 before Judge Gloria M. Navarro. Court Reporter: Amber McClane, AM@nvd.uscourts.gov. Reporting start and end times: 11:50 a.m. - 11:59 a.m. Any Redaction Request is due by 5/17/2023. Redacted Transcript Deadline is set for 5/27/2023. Release of the Transcript Restriction is set for 7/25/2023. Before release date, the transcript may be viewed at the court public terminal or purchased through the court reporter. Transcript Order form is available on court website. After that date it may be obtained through the court reporter or PACER. (AMM) (Entered: 04/26/2023)
04/26/2023 761 TRANSCRIPT of Proceedings, 740 Jury Trial, Day 21, Verdict, as to Mario Castro, Salvador Castro, Miguel Castro, and Jose Luis Mendez held on 4/25/2023 before Judge Gloria M. Navarro. Court Reporter: Amber McClane, AM@nvd.uscourts.gov. Reporting start and end times: 9:31 a.m. - 9:57 a.m. Any Redaction Request is due by 5/17/2023. Redacted Transcript Deadline is set for 5/27/2023. Release of the Transcript Restriction is set for 7/25/2023. Before release date, the transcript may be viewed at the court public terminal or purchased through the court reporter. Transcript Order form is available on court website. After that date it may be obtained through the court reporter or PACER. (AMM) (Entered: 04/26/2023)
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
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