Haytham, Met with Ochoa today. He mentioned once again MAYBE still hiring you. I am trying to get him a 1 year deal (which hatch will support if he can come up with restitution for some of the folks (totaling approx $30,000). Just thought you might find the below interesting. After the 32, Hatch got NCIS to look into Cruz (the character Ochoa was saying was the big fish). Below is what NCIS found out. Meridith Major Meridith L. Marshall Senior Defense Counsel MCAS, Miramar 858-577-1720 meridith.marshall@usmc.mil -----Original Message----- From: Hatch MAJ Douglas C Sent: Wednesday, February 09, 2011 3:59 PM To: Marshall Maj Meridith L Subject: SSgt Cruz ROI Not sure if there's a sworn statement or not; NCIS local doesn't have the hard copy of this lead yet. Will get it to you as soon as I get it. -----Original Message----- From: Villalobos, Wilfredo J CIV NCIS, MWMM [mailto:wilfredo.villalobos@navy.mil] Sent: Wednesday, February 09, 2011 2:18 PM To: Hatch MAJ Douglas C Subject: 1. On 21JAN11, Christian Shane CRUZ, CIV was interviewed at The Game Sports Pub N Pizza, 235 Oak Street, Brentwood, CA 94513, regarding his knowledge of CPL Robert OCHOA, USMC (S/OCHOA) allegedly stealing and defrauding money from multiple individuals circa 2005. CRUZ reported the following pertinent information. 2. CRUZ was stationed in San Diego, CA while he was in the USMC. CRUZ was assigned to MALS-16, MAG-16, 3DMAW, Power Plants Division. In approximately March 2005, CRUZ purchased a home, 22888 Cove View Street, Canyon Lake, CA 92857. The home cost about $270,000. CRUZ financed the home through a home loan company and was only required to give a $1,000 down payment. 3. CRUZ reported it was his idea to purchase the residence. At the time "everyone was buying and flipping" houses and CRUZ intended to live in the house and then later sell it for a profit. Nobody else, including S/OCHOA, had anything to do with the purchase of the house. 4. S/OCHOA lived with CRUZ in the house for approximately three months. S/OCHOA also had a barracks room and stayed with other USMC friends during the same time period. S/ORCHOA stayed with the other Marines because it was a really long commute from the base to CRUZ's house. 5. CRUZ denied conducting any significant repairs or renovations at the home. CRUZ recalled removing a bee hive from the wall of the residence, but did not even fix the drywall after he removed the nest. CRUZ denied having a house in "Carroll Canyon" or doing any renovations or repairs on a house in "Carroll Canyon." 6. In approximately October 2005, CRUZ was deployed to Iraq and sold his home at 22888 Cove View. CRUZ profited approximately $15,000 from the sale. CRUZ reported he will look for the paperwork pertaining to the purchase and sale of the home and would be willing to provide it to NCIS. 7. CRUZ denied purchasing any other properties or participating in any plan to buy and sell houses. CRUZ denied buying and "flipping" houses with S/OCHOA or anybody else. 8. CRUZ recalled S/OCHOA and Sgt Phong Nguyen HO, USMC talked about flipping houses regularly. CRUZ had nothing to do with their dealings. CRUZ denied ever seeing any houses that S/OCHOA or HO may have purchased. CRUZ did not see any paperwork documenting the purchase of any homes. At one point S/OCHOA talked about purchasing a home in Arizona, but CRUZ was unsure if he ever did. 9. CRUZ and S/OCHOA shared an interest in motorcycles, basketball and gambling. CRUZ and S/OCHOA were both extremely passionate about playing Blackjack. They went to the Indian casinos about three times a week depending on their schedules. They primarily gambled at Barona Resort, Lakeside, CA and Casino and Pechanga Resort and Casino, Temecula, CA, but they also gambled at other Indian casinos and went on one trip to Las Vegas, NV together. 10. CRUZ and S/OCHOA played Blackjack because it had good odds and they saw it as a battle against the dealer. They would usually buy in for "a couple of hundred" dollars. CRUZ recalled playing some $1,000 hands and saw S/OCHOA play for $6,000 a hand. On one occasion, S/OCHOA lost $6,000 on one hand and "puked on the table." On another occasion S/OCHOA made $30,000 in one night playing Blackjack and his face was up on the big screen. The most CRUZ ever made in one night was $5,000 to $8,000. 11. When they were gambling, CRUZ and S/OCHOA would borrow money from one another depending on who was up and who was down. Typically they would lend each other a "couple hundred" dollars at a time. The money exchanges evened out over time and they did not owe each other any money. CRUZ denied borrowing anything close to $50,000-$70,000 from S/OCHOA. 12. S/OCHOA and CRUZ went to Las Vegas, NV to gamble on one occasion. They went to the MGM Grand and some other casinos. During the trip they both ran out of money. S/OCHOA had $5,000 wired to him through Western Union. 13. Overall, CRUZ believes he and S/OCHOA made a profit from their gambling. 14. In the summer of 2005, CRUZ and S/OCHOA drove from California to Texas to visit S/OCHOA's parents. S/OCHOA's parents lived in Poteet, TX which was located near San Antonio, TX. They drove CRUZ's truck and towed S/OCHOA's 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle "show car." CRUZ estimated the car was worth $15,000 to $20,000. CRUZ was not sure why S/OCHOA took the car to Texas, but said it may have been a gift for his father. CRUZ could not recall any discussion about flipping houses while he was at S/OCHOA's parent's house. CRUZ and S/OCHOA stayed for one to two days and then drove back to California. On the way home CRUZ got a traffic ticket in Texas for driving in the passing lane. 15. CRUZ credits S/OCHOA with teaching him how to ride a motorcycle well. CRUZ had a GSXR 600 in 2004, but it was stolen. CRUZ recalled purchasing a Suzuki GSX-R1000 from S/OCHOA for approximately $3,500. CRUZ wrecked the motorcycle after hitting a rough patch on the road. The wreck did some significant damage to the motorcycle including bending the front forks. CRUZ did not have insurance on the motorcycle. S/OCHOA took the motorcycle back from CRUZ and took it to a mechanic near by Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, CA. 16. CRUZ could not remember whether the GSX-R1000 ever belonged to HO. CRUZ recalled HO getting into a motorcycle crash at some point and not wanting to ride again. CRUZ acknowledged the motorcycle may have been under HO's name, but he could not recall any details about the transaction. HO worked for CRUZ, and CRUZ described him as a "good guy." CRUZ could not recall HO ever asking him for money for the damaged motorcycle, or any issues surrounding the motorcycle other than the accident. 17. S/ORCHOA always had a lot of cash on him. At one point S/ORCHOA showed CRUZ his online bank statement from either Wells Fargo bank or Bank of America. S/ORCHOA had over $1,000,000 in his account. S/ORCHOA did not say how he got all the money. 18. S/ORCHOA made multiple big purchases. S/ORCHOA paid for a Nissan 350Z in cash, put $9,000 cash down on a Cadillac CTS and purchased other vehicles. The last time CRUZ saw S/ORCHOA, he was driving a new white H-3 Hummer. 19. CRUZ knew multiple Marines were giving S/ORCHOA money to invest. CRUZ witnessed approximately 20 Marines talk to S/ORCHOA about their investments. When they asked him where their money was S/ORCHOA would tell them "chill its coming." CRUZ witnessed an Army Recruiter friend of HO's give S/ORCHOA $9,000 in cash. S/ORCHOA paid some individuals back with a profit. CRUZ was unsure how or where S/ORCHOA was investing the money. 20. S/ORCHOA did not ask CRUZ to give him money or to participate in any type of investment scheme. CRUZ had a wife and a baby and did not have the money to give to S/ORCHOA. His wife lived in Brentwood, CA at the time. 21. In hindsight, CRUZ said he should have seen the red flags, but at the time he did not see them. Nobody really questioned how an E-4 had so much money all the time. Even the Commander, Maj Timothy HERINGTON, USMC purchased some quad motorcycles from S/ORCHOA. 22. When rumors started to go around that S/ORCHOA was involved in some financial schemes, CRUZ asked him to move out. CRUZ wanted no involvement in any of S/ORCHOA's issues. CRUZ gave S/ORCHOA his belongings. S/ORCHOA was upset with CRUZ for asking him to move out. 23. CRUZ stated he was bothered by S/ORCHOA's accusations that he was involved in any of S/ORCHOA's schemes. CRUZ strongly denied ever trying to defraud anybody out of their money, borrowing "$50,000-$70,000" from S/ORCHOA or being involved in flipping houses. 24. CRUZ signed a Permissive Authorization for Search and Seizure (PASS) form authorizing NCIS and other law enforcement agencies to analyze his bank records and financial statements from 01AUG04 to 01AUG05, Enclosure (A) pertains. CRUZ stated he banked with the Navy Federal Credit Union during the aforementioned time period. 25. CRUZ stated he was willing to fully cooperate with the NCIS investigation. CRUZ stated he would authorize NCIS to access all of his financial records if needed. CRUZ stated he would be willing to testify in trial if he was requested to do so. 26. No further pertinent information was obtained. ENCLOSURE (A) PASS form for CRUZ's Bank Records/21JAN11 v/r Will J Villalobos, Special Agent Naval Criminal Investigative Service Marine Corps West Field Office NCISRA Miramar TEL:(858)577-6756/4355 WILFREDO.VILLALOBOS@NAVY.MIL FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY/CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This electronic transmission (and/or the accompanying documents) is from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and may contain personal information protected under the Privacy Act, 5 USC 552a. It is intended only to be read by the individual to whom it is addressed or their designee. Do not release outside of DoD channels without prior authorization from the sender. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are on notice that any distribution of this message, in any form, is prohibited. Nothing in this message should be construed as expressing the opinion of the United States government, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the United States Navy or the United States Marine Corps. If you have received this message in error, please immediately notify the sender by telephone at 858-577-6756 and delete or destroy any copy of this message. Any misuse or unauthorized disclosure may result in both civil and criminal penalties.
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