OAKLAND – LAWFUEL – US Law News – United States Attorney Scott N. Schools announced that on Friday, April 6, 2007, Manuel A. Moreno, 46, of Tracy, California pleaded guilty to fraudulently receiving a money order without paying for it in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 500. According to the plea agreement, the money order Mr. Moreno fraudulently obtained was part of a scheme to defraud the United States Postal Service involving fraudulently issuing money orders without paying for them. As part of the scheme, Mr. Moreno admitted obtaining money orders worth $426,065.09. Mr. Moreno was an employee of the United States Postal Service when he engaged in this scheme.
Mr. Morenos sentencing is scheduled for July 13, 2007 before United States District Judge D. Lowell Jensen. The maximum statutory penalty for violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 500 includes a term of upto 5 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000, or twice the amount of money involved in the scheme. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Shashi Kewalramani is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Legal Assistant Cynthia Daniel. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service.
