Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Northern District of California

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Remon Daniel Sentenced To 41 Months For Defrauding Produce Vendors Of Millions Of Dollars Worth Of Fruits And Vegetables

SAN JOSE – Remon Issa Daniel was sentenced in federal court this morning to 41 months’ imprisonment for his scheme to defraud produce vendors, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett.  Over a two-year period, Daniel obtained more than $2 million of produce from almost 40 vendors by pretending to be employed by reputable produce companies and ordering loads of fruits and vegetables on credit, when he knew he did not have the funds to pay for the goods and had no intention of paying for them.

On July 7, 2016, Daniel, 35, of Redwood City, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and admitted that between 2014 and his arrest on February 25, 2016, he defrauded at least 38 different businesses in an effort to obtain approximately $2 million worth of fruits and vegetables. Daniel ordered produce primarily from companies in California, Arizona, and Texas, and usually claimed to be from Bay Produce, New San Jose Wholesale, or General Produce, each a genuine produce wholesaler in Northern California.  In fact, Daniel had no association with any of these companies. Daniel admitted to sending some of the vendors a copy of a deposit slip as proof that he had made a payment for the product.  Only after the vendor released the produce to Daniel, did the vendor learn that the deposited check was returned for insufficient funds.  Daniel was indicted by a grand jury on March 10, 2016, and was charged with 14 counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343.  Pursuant to his plea agreement, Daniel pleaded guilty to three of the counts in the indictment and the remaining counts were dismissed.

The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Lucy H. Koh, U.S. District Judge.  In addition to the prison term, Judge Koh ordered Daniel to pay $1,696,445.70 in restitution to his victims and to serve three years of supervised release.  Daniel is currently in custody and will begin serving his sentence immediately.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amber Rosen prosecuted the case with the assistance of Susan Kreider, Yolanda Singletary, and Nina Williams. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.