Source: Office of United States Attorneys
FRESNO, Calif. — Seth Adam Depiano, 43, formerly of Clovis, made an initial appearance for an indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
According to court documents, Depiano was sentenced in 2018 to more than 12 years in prison for running a $24 million fraud scheme in the Eastern District of California (Case No. 1:17-cr-172 DAD). In 2021 and 2022, while serving that sentence in federal prisons in the states of Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Florida, Depiano managed a complex real estate fraud scheme utilizing a group of co-conspirators located across the United States.
Using contraband phones and computers and acting under the fictitious identities “Marcus Lazaro” and “Steven Baron Sr.,” Depiano posed as a real estate broker who represented clients who wanted to sell property. In reality, Depiano was not a real estate broker, did not have clients, and instead marketed and sold properties he did not own and did not have the authority to sell.
Depiano utilized co-conspirators to meet with potential investors, to conduct financial transactions, and conduct other activities on his behalf. In total, Depiano and his co-conspirators obtained approximately $10 million from victims in California, Nevada and elsewhere. Once Depiano and his co-conspirators had received the victim funds, they laundered the money through Las Vegas casinos and other businesses. They also formed shell companies to purchase and hold real estate using victim funds, and wired victim funds overseas.
Once Depiano and his co-conspirators had received the victim funds, they laundered the money through Las Vegas casinos, using international wire transfers and shell companies, purchased properties, and invested in legitimate businesses.
This case is the product of an investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation and the Bakersfield Police Department, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Nevada Attorney General’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Spivak is prosecuting the case.
Depiano is in custody. His next court date is July 16, 2025, at 1:00 pm before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheila K. Oberto. Co-Defendants Zahria Barber, 28, of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Paola Quintero Beltran were also charged in the scheme. Barber and Beltran’s next court dates are July 16, 2025, before Judge Oberto.
If convicted, Depiano faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison wire fraud and mail fraud. Depiano faces a mandatory minimum penalty of two years consecutive for aggravated identity theft. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.