U.S. Department
of Justice
United States v. Jason Nielsen
PENDING CRIMINAL DIVISION CASES
United States v. Jason Nielsen
Court Docket No.: 22-CR-00161
Court Assigned: These cases are assigned to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Robert F. Peckham Federal Building & United States Courthouse 280 South 1st Street, Room 2112 San Jose, CA 95113.
Recent update: On January 30, 2023 court ordered $1,196.51 in restitution.
Previous events:
On October 24, 2022 defendant Jason Nielsen was sentenced to 120 days in custody, 3 years supervised release, $50,000 in fine, $100.00 special assessment.
On June 9, 2022 defendant Nielsen entered a guilty plea.
Criminal Charges: On April 18, 2022, Jason Nielsen was charged with one count of securities fraud for his involvement in a scheme to induce investors to purchase securities using deceptive and manipulative means. Nielsen was a large investor in Arrayit, a publicly traded medical technology company based in Sunnyvale, California, who frequently posted on public message boards about Arrayit under the name “PennyStockAlert”. According to the criminal information, beginning in or around 2019 and continuing through in or around 2020, Nielsen communicated and posted materially false and misleading information about Arrayit, the existence of genuine supply and demand for Arrayit securities, and the nature of his personal financial stake in Arrayit securities, all in order to fraudulently induce other investors to purchase Arrayit securities and thereby drive up the stock’s price, all while Nielsen simultaneously and secretly was selling his own previously acquired shares at an artificially inflated price. The purpose of the scheme was for Nielsen to enrich himself at the expense of other investors.
For more information about the charges in this case, please see below:
Victim Impact Statement: If you would like to submit a Victim Impact Statement, you may do so by mailing the Victim Impact Statement below (or a letter to the court) to: Victim Witness Unit, U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section, 10th & Constitution Avenue, NW, Bond Building, Room 4416, Washington, DC 20530. You also may submit the Victim Impact Statement via email at Victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov or by fax at: (202) 514-3708. Please note that during the Department’s period of telework in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, responses to faxes may be significantly delayed.
The information on this website will be updated as new developments arise in the case. If you have any questions, please call the Victim Assistance Line toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or email us at VictimAssistance.fraud@usdoj.gov.
Victim Rights and Contacts: If you believe you are a victim who has invested in Arrayit, or you have taken a COVID-19 test prepared or marketed by Arrayit, please contact: The Fraud Section’s Victim Witness Unit toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or email us at victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov.
The information on this website will be updated as new developments arise in the case. If you have any questions, please call the Victim Assistance Line toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or email us at victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov. Please note: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic response, the most reliable method of contacting victim-witness staff is via e-mail. If you need to speak to someone over the phone, let victim-witness staff know in your e-mail, and someone will call you as soon as practicable.
Presumption of Innocence: It is important to keep in mind that a criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty and that presumption requires both the court and our office to take certain steps to ensure that justice is served.
Crime Victims’ Rights Act and Right to Retain Counsel: The Crime Victims’ Rights Act (18 U.S.C. § 3771) applies only to victims of the counts charged in federal court, and thus individuals may not be able to exercise all of these rights if the crime of which the individual is a victim was not charged. Section 3771(c)(2) of this Act requires that we advise you that you have the right to retain counsel. Although the statute specifically sets forth your right to seek advice of an attorney with regard to your rights under the statute, there is no requirement that you retain counsel. The Government may not recommend any specific counsel, nor can the Government (or the Court) pay for counsel to represent you. Government attorneys represent the United States.
If you elect to obtain counsel to represent your interests, please have your attorney notify this office in writing at: U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section, 10th & Constitution Avenue, NW, Bond Building, 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20530, Attention: Victim Witness Unit; fax: (202) 514-3708; or email: victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov. If you elect not to retain counsel to represent your interests, you do not need to do anything.
Plea Agreements: Please be aware that many criminal cases are resolved by plea agreement between the Department of Justice and the defendant. You should also know that it is not unusual for a defendant to seek to negotiate a plea agreement shortly before trial is scheduled to begin. Plea agreements can be made at any time and as late as the morning of trial, leaving little or no opportunity to provide notice to you of the date and time of the plea hearing. If the court schedules a plea hearing in this case, we will use our best efforts to notify you of available information as soon as practicable. If you want to inform the prosecutor of your views regarding potential plea agreements, or any other aspect of the case, please contact the prosecutor assigned to this case or call the Victim Assistance Line toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or email us at victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov.