POLICE BLOTTER Former bank executive sentenced for fraud

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LARGE ESTATE WITH PARK-LIKE GROUNDS

FEB. 5

• Someone stole a vehicle’s catalytic converter on Stony Brook Road.

• A man was reportedly walking in front of cars, “shaking his fist and shouting,” on Los Gatos Boulevard and Chirco Drive at 1:25pm.

FEB. 6

• A business was burglarized on Lark Avenue.

• Mail was reported stolen on Lasuen Court.

• A man was arrested for driving with a suspended license on Winchester Boulevard and Sunnyoaks Avenue at 10:50pm.

FEB. 7

• Loud music was reported as an ongoing issue on Teakwood Court at 12:42pm.

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• A man was reportedly wearing a “bloody” Halloween-style mask at Town Plaza Park at 1:27pm.

• A caller said the batting cage at Fisher Middle School was being used during the evening several times a week. “Things are getting old,” they reportedly said.

• A man was arrested for driving with a suspended license on N. Santa Cruz Avenue and Highway 9 at 10:54pm.

FEB. 8

• Mail was reported stolen from a cluster of mailboxes on Winchester Boulevard.

FEB. 9

• A vehicle was reported stolen on Winchester Circle.

• Someone stole a vehicle’s license plates on University Avenue.

• A man pushing a green shopping cart was screaming while walking down the street at Westchester Drive and Dover Street at 1:09pm.

• Someone stole a vehicle’s license plate on Tait Avenue.

• A man was reportedly “staggering and making weird noises” on Los Gatos Saratoga Road at 3:21pm.

• A stolen vehicle was recovered on Los Gatos Saratoga Road.

• A man was reported as suspicious because he was “acting like he is climbing stairs” on Massol and Bean avenues at 10:29pm.

FEB. 10

• A man was arrested for violating a court order for domestic violence on the first block of Fairview Plaza at 2:59am.

• Someone stole a vehicle’s license plate on Mill Court.

FEB. 11

• A home was burglarized on Lexington Drive.

Los Gatos man plead guilty to document tampering

Staff Report

Former Silicon Valley Bank vice president Mounir Gad was sentenced Feb. 6 to 15 months in prison after having submitted several falsified letters of reference in connection with his sentencing for a previous securities fraud conviction, announced U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp. The sentence was handed down by the Hon. Edward J. Davila, United States District Judge.

Gad, 36, of Los Gatos, pleaded guilty to the document-falsification-related charges on Oct. 27. In pleading guilty, Gad acknowledged he previously had been charged with, and pleaded guilty to, securities fraud violations in connection with an insider trading scheme. The securities case involved Gad’s decision as a trained investment banking professional to violate insider trading laws on two occasions.

Gad made a federal court appearance on Nov. 3, 2021, before United States District Judge Lucy H. Koh to be sentenced for his securities fraud crimes. At that time, Gad argued he should not be sent to prison, and instead should be sentenced only to probation, in part because “[Gad’s] friends and family—including his ex-fiancée—all roundly attest to Mr. Gad’s strength of character, loyalty and dedication to his community.”

In support of this argument, Gad submitted 12 letters of reference. Gad now acknowledges that six of the 12 letters he submitted to the judge in connection with his Nov. 3, 2021, sentencing were not authentic, according to the FBI. With respect to three of the letters, Gad made changes to the versions he had received from his references before submitting them to the court, without the references’ knowledge or permission. With respect to the three others, Gad submitted them on behalf of individuals who had not written any support letter in connec- tion with his sentencing—two of the letters were written for reasons having nothing to do with the sentencing and were altered by Gad before they were submitted, and one, purportedly written by his ex-fiancée, was written by Gad in its entirety without the knowledge or permission of the purported author, investigators say.

The inauthenticity of the letters came to light after Gad’s November 2021 sentencing hearing. At the hearing, Koh described on the record her thoughts regarding a story from a falsified portion of a letter—a letter purportedly written from someone who attended the hearing.

The purported author later informed Gad’s attorney that she had not written the information that Koh referenced at the hearing.

A subsequent hearing took place on Nov. 10, 2021, at which Koh explained that the portions of the letter she found very compelling were “lies that Mr. Gad put in the letter.” Still, Gad did not admit during the Nov. 10, 2021 hearing that six of his 12 reference letters were, in fact, falsified. Instead, he stated to the judge, “I promise you, Your Honor, that was the only one. Every other letter is as it is.”

A subsequent investigation revealed this statement was not true, according to the FBI.

On Jan. 13, 2022, a federal grand jury indicted Gad, charging him with three counts of tampering with documents; three counts of tampering; six counts of identity theft; and one count of criminal contempt. Gad pleaded guilty to all the charges without a plea agreement.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Davila also ordered Gad to serve 36 months of supervised release and imposed a $10,000 fine and a $1,300 special assessment. Davila ordered Gad to surrender on or before May 24 to begin serving his prison term.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney E. Wistar Wilson and Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Bostic and Sarah E. Griswold are prosecuting this case with assistance from Veronica Hernandez, Lynette Dixon, and Susan Kreider. The case is being investigated by the FBI.