Home San Francisco Press Releases 2010 Former CEO of Defunct Humboldt Creamery Pleads Guilty
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Former CEO of Defunct Humboldt Creamery Pleads Guilty
Ghilarducci Admits to Committing Loan Fraud

U.S. Attorney’s Office May 05, 2010
  • Northern District of California (415) 436-7200

SAN FRANCISCO—Richard Ghilarducci pleaded guilty in federal court in San Francisco today to loan fraud, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced.

In pleading guilty, Ghilarducci admitted that from 2005 through 2008, while CEO of Humboldt Creamery, he falsified numbers in yearly financial statements. According to the plea agreement, in 2005 the Creamery entered into loan agreements with CoBank. When the Creamery suffered financial losses in 2005 through 2008, Ghilarducci, to prevent the lenders from learning the true financial conditions of the Creamery, falsified some of the Creamery’s books and records. Specifically, he inflated the value of the Creamery’s accounts receivable and inventory in the various financial statements prepared for and submitted to CoBank. Ultimately the Creamery defaulted on its loan causing a loss of between $7 to 20 million.

“This plea agreement holds the longtime CEO of Humboldt Creamery accountable for his role in the Creamery’s demise,” U.S. Attorney Russoniello said. “Hopefully it sends a message to those who are considering committing the same fraudulent scheme—you will be caught and punished to the fullest extent of the law.”

Humboldt Creamery was formed in 1929 and is located near the small town of Ferndale, in Humboldt County, Calif. According to court documents, the Creamery was a private company of which 75 percent was owned by a co-op of local dairy farmers. Many people from the local community worked for, invested in, or were affiliated with the Creamery. The unraveling of the Creamery has had a profound impact on the local community. Ghilarducci was with the Creamery for more than two decades, serving as its CFO and then CEO.

Ghilarducci, 50, of Rio Dell, Calif., was charged with one count of loan fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1014. Under the plea agreement, he pled guilty to that count.

Ghilarducci is free on bond pending sentencing, which is scheduled for Oct. 6, 2010, before Judge Charles R. Breyer in San Francisco. The maximum statutory penalty for loan fraud is 30 years' imprisonment, a $1 million fine, plus restitution. However, any sentence following conviction would 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.

Jonathan Schmidt is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Phillip Villanueva and Ponly Tu. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.

Further Information:

Case #: 10-0056-CRB

A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney's Office's website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.

Electronic court filings and further procedural and docket information are available at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

Judges' calendars with schedules for upcoming court hearings can be viewed on the court's website at www.cand.uscourts.gov.

All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney's Office should be directed to Jack Gillund at (415) 436-6599 or by e-mail at Jack.Gillund@usdoj.gov.

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