By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff

Law enforcement agencies served Ramey arrest warrants and search warrants in several Bay Area counties this morning and arrested five suspects in connection with the Orinda shooting on October 31, 2019. (See related article)

The arrest warrants were served in the cities of San Mateo, Marin City, Vallejo and Antioch.

The Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff was assisted by the San Mateo Police Department, Antioch Police Department, Vallejo Police Department, Marin County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Sheriff’s Office Detectives, assisted by multiple law enforcement agencies, have worked continuously on the investigation into the shooting that claimed five lives at a Halloween party.

The five suspects are identified as:

-30-year-old Shamron Joshua Mitchell of Antioch. Mitchell was arrested on the following charges: murder and conspiracy. He is being held without bail.

-28-year-old Lebraun Tyree Wallace of the city of San Mateo. Wallace was arrested on the following charges: murder and conspiracy. He is being held without bail.

-20-year-old Jaquez Deshawn Sweeney of Marin City. Sweeney was arrested on the following charges: murder and conspiracy. He is being held without bail.

-20-year-old Jason D. Iles of Marin City. Iles was arrested on the following charges: murder and conspiracy. He is being held without bail.

-21-year-old Devin Isiah Williamson of Vallejo. He was arrested on the following charge: being an accessory. He is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail.

“Extraordinary cooperation among multiple law enforcement agencies led to these arrests and a small measure of justice for the true victims,” said Contra Costa Sheriff David Livingston. “Additionally, evidence shows two of the deceased persons inside the house were themselves armed, which may have played a role in this tragedy. We look forward to providing more information in the coming days.”

The investigation into the shooting is ongoing. Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office Investigation Division at (925) 313-2600. For any tips, please email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call 866-846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.

 

By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs. Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff

On Thursday, October 31, 2019, at about 8:30 PM, Lafayette Police Officers were dispatched to a report of a home invasion robbery that happened on the 1300 block of Martino Road in Lafayette.

The incident involved three suspects who were armed with a pistol. One suspect apparently knocked on the front door, while two others hid. When a resident opened the door, he was assaulted and forced back inside. The suspects went through the house, stealing valuables and personal items. The suspects were in the home for approximately one hour before leaving with the victims’ BMW sedan.

The stolen vehicle was tracked to Oakland. Officers from the Orinda Police Department, assisting in the investigation, responded to Oakland and found the stolen vehicle abandoned.

One of the victims was transported to a local hospital. The other suffered minor injuries.

The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with any information on this case is asked to contact the Lafayette Police Department at (925) 283-3680 or (925) 299-3234. For any tips, email: 94549TIP@gmail.com or call (866) 846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.

By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff

Sunday morning at about 10:10, Orinda police responded to a report of a carjacking on the 400 block of Camino Sobrante in Orinda.

Two suspects in a vehicle apparently drove their car into the driveway of a resident and stole his vehicle, a Toyota Tacoma, at gunpoint.

Orinda officers, assisted by the CHP, searched for the Tacoma but were not able to locate it. The suspects and vehicle, a black colored Tacoma with California license plate 8R01259, are outstanding as of Sunday evening.

The original car driven by the suspects was a silver Audi RS5. It apparently was stolen earlier this month and led CHP officers on a pursuit just prior to the carjacking.

Anyone with any information on the Tacoma or suspects is asked to contact the Orinda Police Department at 925-646-2441.

Alan Safahi charged in connection with alleged bank and wire fraud scheme

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal grand jury indicted Alan Safahi on charges related to an alleged bank fraud scheme, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter.

The indictment alleges that between June 2013 and September 2014, Safahi, 58, of Orinda, Calif., fraudulently entered into an agreement with a bank by which the bank was to be a backer for prepaid charge cards.  According to the agreement, Safahi’s company, Card Express, would issue and service the charge cards.  Further, the agreement required Card Express to fund 100% of the value of the cards and to turn over to the bank the total amount that the cards were supposed to be worth.  Instead of complying with the agreement, Safahi allegedly directed the employees of Card Express to maintain two sets of books.  One set of books maintained by Card Express was accessible to the cardholders and accurately reported the total amount for which the prepaid charge card was purchased, as well as the balance after any purchases.  The second set of books, however, was provided to the bank and fraudulently stated that the amount the cardholder spent on the day the card was used was the total value of the prepaid card.  Thus, Safahi caused the bank to believe the sponsored cards had much lower balances overall than they actually did have.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Safahi is also CEO and founder of ZED Network, a financial services company based in Ontario, Canada. An online search shows Card Express was based in Irvine, CA and was listed as a government contractor. A call to the company number was unsuccessful because it is disconnected.

The indictment further alleges Safahi fraudulently diverted funds that should have been turned over to the bank, i.e., the difference between the value of the cards and the amount Card Express reported to the bank was prepaid for the cards.  Safahi allegedly used some of the diverted funds to fund Card Express.  Safahi allegedly used other diverted funds to maintain his personal lifestyle, including by purchasing his home.  According to the indictment, on or about September 24, 2014, Safahi no longer was able to maintain sufficient cash flow to conceal his fraud and reported the true overall balance of the prepaid charge cards to the bank.  After reporting the true balance of the cards to the bank, Safahi promptly shut down Card Express, causing the bank and its customers to lose money.  According to the indictment, the overall balance of the charge cards Safahi reported to the banks on September 24, 2014, was approximately $2,735,531.27 larger than previously reported.

In sum, the indictment charges Safahi with bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344, four counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343, and one count of money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957.  Safahi made his initial appearance today and was released on a $250,000 bond.  The defendant was ordered to appear on September 13, 2019, at 11:00 a.m. before the Honorable Susan Illston for a status and trial setting conference.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum $1,000,000 fine on each count of bank and wire fraud.  If convicted of money laundering, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.  In addition, the court also may order an additional term of supervised release, fines or other assessments, and restitution, if appropriate.  However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert David Rees is prosecuting this case with the assistance of Kathy Tat.  This prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service. Criminal Investigations.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.