Former Nevada Resident Pleads Guilty in $1.5 Million Building Materials Theft Scheme

David Theron Ross, 64, of Sparks, Nevada, pleaded guilty May 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

The scheme involved two people who defrauded a homebuilding company based in Tulare County of building materials valued at up to $1.5 million. Ross, a former Central Valley resident, admitted to participating in the conspiracy that used fraudulent methods to obtain the supplies, per the Department of Justice announcement.

The company directly affected is a single Tulare County homebuilder whose materials inventory was the target. The total intended loss documented in the plea reaches $1.5 million, an amount that qualifies the offense for federal sentencing enhancements tied to fraud magnitude.

The guilty plea changes the case status from prosecution to sentencing phase. U.S. District Judge will now schedule a sentencing hearing at which federal guidelines require calculation of restitution to the victim company and potential imprisonment. The change takes effect immediately upon acceptance of the plea; sentencing typically occurs within 90 days under standard federal timelines.

Downstream, the victim company must submit a detailed loss statement to the U.S. Attorney’s Office to fix the restitution amount, which the court will order Ross to pay. The plea also requires Ross to cooperate with any ongoing investigation into the second participant, whose identity remains sealed in the public filing.

Federal probation officers will prepare a presentence report that feeds directly into the judge’s final determination on prison time, supervised release, and financial penalties. The case will be closed only after full restitution collection and compliance with all sentence terms.

This marks the resolution of one prong of a two-person fraud conspiracy charged in the Eastern District of California. The Department of Justice has pursued similar building-material theft cases in the Central Valley as part of its broader effort to prosecute fraud against construction firms, though this specific scheme operated independently.