East Bay Resident Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements to the FBI
SAN FRANCISCO – Moses Orozco pleaded guilty today to making false statements to federal investigators, announced United States Attorney Alex G. Tse and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett.
The plea was accepted by the Honorable Susan Illston, U.S. District Judge.
According to the plea agreement, Orozco, 23, of Pittsburg, Calif., admitted he knowingly made false statements to the FBI earlier this year when he claimed two people were planning a high school shooting in the East Bay.
On March 27, 2018, Orozco called the FBI Public Access Line and falsely told FBI personnel that his ex-girlfriend and her brother were planning a mass shooting.
Orozco stated in the call that the brother recently had been acting “weird,” that he said he wanted to commit a shooting “anywhere there was a massive amount of people,” and that he asked, “Have you ever wanted to do a mass shooting?” Orozco also claimed he had photographs of the brother with guns and text messages that were exchanged between his ex-girlfriend and her brother in which the two planned a mass shooting.
Further, on March 28, 2018, Orozco repeated much of the same story to an FBI Task Force Officer during an interview.
The ruse came to an end on April 3, 2018. On that day, Orozco met with FBI agents and, during the interview, admitted he lied about the school shooting threats.
Orozco also admitted he lied when he called the Public Access Line to report the school shooting threat and that he fabricated the text messages.
Orozco told the agents that he was upset about his breakup with his ex-girlfriend and that he reported the threat to “get back at her.”
On September 6, 2018, a grand jury indicted Orozco, charging him with three counts of making false statements to an agency of the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2).
Today, Orozco pleaded guilty to all three charges.
Judge Illston scheduled Orozco’s sentencing for February 8, 2019.
The maximum statutory penalty for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2) is five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release.
Additional fines, forfeitures, restitution, and special assessments also may be imposed.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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