Fraudster Pardoned by Trump Reconvicted of Fraud

A South Bay businesswoman whose prison sentence for fraud was commuted by former President Donald Trump on his last day in office has been convicted once again of fraud by a San Diego jury.

Among the jury’s conclusions was that Adriana Isabel Camberos committed electronic fraud just 42 days later Trump granted him clemency on January 20, 2021.

The federal jury convicted Camberos, 54, and his brother Andrés “Andy” Enrique Camberos, 45, of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and seven counts of wire fraud after an 11-day trial. The jury acquitted them of three counts of mail fraud.

“These defendants’ deception generated millions in illegal profits, but the gain was fleeting,” San Diego-area U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath said in a statement Monday.

The government alleged that the brothers, who owned several businesses in the Otay Mesa area, illegally purchased wholesale groceries and other consumer goods from manufacturers at a deep discount with the promise that they would be marketed in Mexico, but instead they turned around and sold the products in the most lucrative American marketundermining its commercial rivals.

“We agree that they participated in the diversion of products,” Dan Goldman, defense attorney for Andy Camberos, told jurors during opening statements. But he argued that selling products destined for Mexico in the United States was a “shrewd business practice” and not an illegal conspiracy. He also argued that the brothers should be legally protected because they had acted on the advice of several lawyers who gave the green light to their business practices.

Lawyers for Andy Camberos did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment.

“EM. Camberos’ legal team is disappointed by the verdict and it is inconsistent with the legal advice Ms. Camberos has received over the years,” Marcus Bourassa, one of Adriana’s attorneys, told the Union-Tribune. “However, the judge has yet to decide whether the government’s fraud theory is viable. This case could have broad implications for ordinary people and businesses. We hope that our client will be acquitted in court and, if necessary, in court. the appeal.”

Both brothers came to light in early 2021 when Trump commuted Adriana’s previous prison sentence. At the time, she was using her now ex-husband’s last name, Shayota. Chula Vista Mayor John McCann, cited by the White House as a supporter of his clemency request, said it was his former high school classmate Andy Camberos who asked him to support the clemency effort.

Adriana Camberos was previously convicted for her role in a plot to sell counterfeit 5-Hour energy drinks along with her ex-husband, Joseph Shayota, and several other business partners. Federal prosecutors in that case said the defendants first manufactured counterfeit labels in English so they could resell 350,000 bottles of Spanish-labeled 5-hour energy drinks that did not sell as well as expected in Mexico. Once those drinks were sold, Shayota and others came up with a new plan to use the high-quality counterfeit labels by making their own drink that they packaged and sold as 5-Hour Energy.

Nine people charged in connection with that case pleaded guilty, while Shayota and Camberos were convicted at trial in 2016. Camberos spent years appealing his conviction and sentence before reporting to prison in 2019. He was about halfway through his 26-month federal prison sentence when Trump commuted his sentence.

On Friday, the San Diego jury found Camberos and her brother guilty of committing wire fraud for a bank transaction that occurred on March 2, 2021, just over five weeks after she was granted clemency.

“The Camberos brothers built a multimillion-dollar empire solely on fraud,” FBI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy said in a statement. “This conviction should send a clear message that fraud, no matter the scale, will be fully investigated and those found guilty of perpetrating such schemes will be brought to justice.”

Adriana Camberos took the stand during the trial. Andy Camberos, who is also founder and former CEO of Grasshopper Dispensary, Chula Vista’s First Legal Cannabis RetailerHe did not testify.

U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant denied prosecutors’ request that the brothers be detained pending sentencing, which is scheduled for March.

Originally Posted: October 28, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. PDT