UPPER LAKE, Calif. – A local man with properties in Lake, Mendocino and Humboldt counties has been sentenced to federal prison and had millions of dollars in cash and property seized after he was sentenced earlier this month for tax evasion and conspiracy to distribute and possess marijuana.
Scott Eric Feil, 45, of Upper Lake and Redwood Valley, was sentenced in federal court on Nov. 3 to five years in prison for one count each of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana and filing a false tax return. Several other charges were dismissed.
When contacted for comment on the case, Feil’s lead attorney, Paul Gabbert of Santa Monica, said he had no statement at this time.
Jack Gillund, a spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District, told Lake County News of Feil’s case, “We have no further comment other than what’s in the [sentencing] document.”
The case against Feil alleged that he and his wife, Diana, were part of a marijuana distribution operation with bases of operation in Lake County, Los Angeles and San Diego.
Also charged in the case are Steven Swanson of Sebastopol, Tom Carter of Upper Lake, Brett Bassignani of Nice and Mark Garcia of Southern California.
Gillund said Diana Feil is set to be sentenced on Dec. 8.
Feds seize millions in property, cash
In addition to handing down the five-year prison sentence, Judge Jeffrey S. White ordered Scott Feil to pay the Internal Revenue Service $164,682 in restitution and, along with his wife, to pay a forfeiture judgment of $2,695,146.
Judge White further ordered Feil to forfeit properties at 8838 East Road in Redwood Valley;1975 Hunter Point Road, Upper Lake; 10850 Bachelor Valley Road, Upper Lake; 1960 South Dora St., Ukiah; Scottsfield Executive Hotel, 270 Fifth St., Eureka Quality Inn Hotel and Tradewinds Grill and Bar, 400 S. Main St., Fort Bragg and a mobile home at 511 Della Ave., Willits.
The forfeiture didn’t stop at land.
It included two airplanes – a 1973 Beechcraft A36 Bonanza and a Cessna 172M Skyhawk – as well as a 2004 MB Sports boat and 2004 Zieman boat trailer; 2005 Allegro motorhome; 2006 Chevy Uplander; 2007 Harley Davidson motorcycle, a 2007 Toyota Camry hybrid, $74,095 seized from a merchant account, $131,132 seized from Feil in November 2005, and digital scales and a DD2020 personal RF detector taken – used for detecting covert surveillance devices – seized from the 8838 East Road address.
The court proposed Feil do his prison time at a federal facility in Lompoc, where it’s recommended that he take part in a residential drug treatment program.
After his release from prison, Feil will be subject to four years of supervised release during which he is ordered not to have any contact with any of his codefendants, other than his wife; to participate in drug and mental health programs; register as a drug offender; and not possess firearms, according to sentencing documents.
Other sentencings delayed
Sentencings for the remaining defendants in the case appear to have been delayed.
Carter had been scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 6 but he was not on that day’s judicial calendar, according to Gillund, who did not have information on a new sentencing date.
Geoffrey Hansen, Carter’s federal defender, did not respond to messages seeking comment, nor did any of the lawyers representing the rest of the codefendants, all of whom Lake County News contacted.
No sentencing documents have been filed on any of the other codefendants, including Carter, who in May pleaded guilty to one count of distributing or possessing with intent to distribute marijuana, admitting that in August 2009 he possessed 730 marijuana plants, according to his plea agreement, which can be viewed below.
Carter’s plea agreement from May states that if he cooperates with the government he could receive a sentence of four years of probation including six months served in home detention; if the government decides he has not sufficiently cooperated, he could be sentenced to between 24 and 30 months in federal prison, and four years supervised release.
Swanson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana and tax evasion. He must pay $242,562 in restitution, and serve four years probation with six months of home detention if he cooperates with the government or, if he doesn’t, an unspecified amount of prison time.
Also pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana was Garcia, who additionally is the subject of separate immigration proceedings, according to plea documents.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .
110711 Scott Feil Forfeitures
050911 Tom Carter Plea Deal