Source: Office of United States Attorneys
SAN FRANCISCO – Avelino Ramirez, a former K-9 sergeant at California state correctional facilities, pleaded guilty in federal court today to one count of wire fraud in connection with a scheme to plant contraband that he would then discover.
Ramirez, 52, of Vallejo, Calif., was indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 31, 2024. According to his plea agreement, from approximately 2013 to September 2022, Ramirez worked as an Investigative Services Unit K-9 Officer with the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation at San Quentin State Prison. In September 2022, he was promoted to K-9 sergeant and began working at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, Calif., around November 2022.
From October 2021 to February 2024, Ramirez engaged in a scheme to smuggle and then plant contraband in common areas of San Quentin State Prison and the California Medical Facility, which he would then pretend to discover. Ramirez did so in order to hold himself out as a successful K-9 officer with the hope that it would help him obtain a promotion to K-9 sergeant. The contraband items Ramirez planted included drugs, such as methamphetamine, marijuana, and cocaine; drug paraphernalia; tobacco; cell phones; and weapons. At times, Ramirez mixed the narcotics he planted in the prisons with salt and/or sugar and mixed the marijuana he planted in the prisons with lawn trimmings.
Ramirez also sought to inflate his salary by claiming overtime related to searches where contraband was recovered pursuant to his fraudulent scheme and writing reports of these false discoveries. In total, Ramirez fraudulently obtained approximately $8,200 in overtime pay.
United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani made the announcement.
Ramirez is currently released on bond. Ramirez’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 18, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick. Defendant faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343. Any sentence will be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin K. Kleinman is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Amala James and Lance Libatique. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.