A Chula Vista man who is a former sheriff’s department civilian employee was sentenced Monday to pay $66,299 to the Internal Revenue Service for income tax evasion in an illegal obesity drug shipment business.
Credit for 30 days already spent in jail was given with no more time in custody for Francisco J. Terriquez, 43. He was placed on three years probation by U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Huff.
Huff ordered Terriquez to start paying the IRS at a rate of $500 per month, according to court records. Terriquez pleaded guilty April 14 to tax evasion and making a false statement to a federal officer when he denied he did not have a second source of income.
Terriquez worked as a senior accounting clerk with food services at the East Mesa Detention Facility until he was arrested Aug. 10, 2015. He posted $25,000 bond a month later.
Terriquez used an alias to rent out storage units in Otay Mesa so he could ship the drug sibutramine to various health stores. This drug, a controlled substance, was taken off the U.S. market in 2010 because of an increased risk of heart attack and stroke among users of the drug.
His attorney, Stephen White, filed court papers that said he has taken business classes at Southwestern College and was learning how to properly operate a business. Terriquez has attended six workshops including classes about various taxes.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Galvin recommended a 6-month jail term, while White asked for probation with no more time in jail.
Terriquez worked for the sheriff’s department from 1996 to 2015 and earned $40,000 annually, according to court records. He failed to report approximately $503,930 in income from the drug business, according to the U.S. Attorney.
“As a member of a law enforcement agency for decades, this defendant knew better,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy in a statement.
Terriquez could have received 10 years in federal prison, but federal sentencing guidelines recommended much less. He spent more than $30,000 in shipping packages via FedEx since 2011 to various stores in Texas, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere under the alias Santiago Moya.
The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated stores where sibutramine was being sold under other names, such as Alcachofa and Alcochofivida in 2012. Sibutramine was found to be an ingredient and they were shipped to stores in small vials, according to court records.
