Former OC Superior Court Clerk Indicted in Bribery Scheme

SANTA ANA, California – A dozen people, including former Orange County Superior Court Clerk Jose Lopez Jr., have been indicted in a bribery scheme that compromised the justice system in Orange County.

According to a 38-count indictment unsealed this morning, Lopez allegedly ‘fixed’ hundreds of criminal cases in exchange for cash bribes as high as $8,000. The scheme, detailed in the indictment, allowed defendants to have charges dismissed, fees reduced, or avoid mandatory jail time in drunk driving cases after paying bribe money to Lopez or middlemen who took bribes on his behalf.

Lopez, a 36-year-old resident of Anaheim, is charged with being at the center of a racketeering enterprise that engaged in bribery. The indictment alleges that he ‘resolved’ cases by entering information into the court’s computers to make it appear that a defendant had paid required fees or had performed community service.

In some cases, Lopez illegally created records to indicate that a defendant had pleaded guilty to reckless driving and that drunk driving charges had been dismissed – thereby avoiding the consequences of a drunk driving charge. According to the indictment, in other cases, Lopez illegally entered court records that it made it appear second-time DUI offenders had served mandatory jail time, when they had not.

“The racketeering indictment charges the former court clerk with accepting bribes to falsify court records on the court’s computer system,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “Some of the records indicated that a case had been resolved, when no such action had been approved by any judge of the court, and some records included signatures that appeared to be those of officers of the court, but were in fact forged. This defendant allegedly assumed the roles of judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys to line his pockets in a staggering abuse of his position. Very simply, he compromised the entire justice system in Orange County.”

Lopez is charged with receiving bribes from individuals who had been prosecuted for drunk driving or traffic-related offenses, according to the indictment. Those who paid the bribes were solicited directly by Lopez or one of a team of recruiters.

The 11 recruiters charged in the indictment are Ricardo Quinones, 32, of Santa Ana; Juan C. Rosas Santillana, 32, of Chino Hills; Ramon Salvador Vasquez, 27, of Santa Ana; Manuel Galindo Jr., 26, of Santa Ana; Gibram Rene Lopez, also known as ‘Ivan,’ 26, of Anaheim; Agustin Sanchez Jr., 32, of Santa Ana; Luis Alberto Flores Guillen, also known as ‘Bills,’ 26, of Santa Ana; Oscar Centeno, also known as ‘Mosquito,’ 26, of Santa Ana; Javed Asefi, also known as ‘Joey,’ 43, of Ladera Ranch; Jeff Reynes Fernandez, also known as ‘Lean,’ 24, of Fullerton; and Jesus Saldana, 28, of Garden Grove.

This morning, federal authorities arrested 10 of the defendants, including Lopez. Guillen is expected to surrender later this morning. Sanchez is believed to be out of the state, but he is expected to be taken into custody in the near future.

The defendants arrested today are expected to be arraigned on the indictment this afternoon in United States District Court in Santa Ana.

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