Michele Beckwith Acting U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California
A federal grand jury has indicted Stockton brothers Hector Perez, 34, and Flavio Perez, 29, on charges related to a wire fraud conspiracy. The indictment includes additional charges against Hector Perez for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Both individuals were taken into custody on June 17, 2025.
Court documents reveal that between May 2018 and November 2020, the brothers engaged in a scheme targeting at least four invoice factoring companies. Invoice factoring involves providing immediate cash flow to businesses in exchange for their outstanding invoices. These companies then collect payments from debtors on those invoices.
The Perez brothers allegedly created corporate entities to pose as businesses selling fabricated debt through fraudulent invoices. They sold these invoices to various factoring companies, which subsequently transferred funds into accounts controlled by the defendants. Victim companies either received no payment or much less than owed for these fake invoices. Any payments made typically came from accounts under fictitious debtor names, helping conceal the fraud.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Denise N. Yasinow and Matthew Thuesen prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Hector Perez could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for wire fraud and conspiracy charges, along with an additional mandatory two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft. Flavio Perez faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy alone. Sentencing will be determined by the court considering statutory factors and Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The defendants remain innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
