Former businessman, Walter Liew, 62, who was convicted of making false statements in bankruptcy along with several offenses related to trade secrets and economic espionage, has requested that a federal court in Oakland, CA allow him to serve the remainder of his sentence in home confinement. The case is United States v. Liew, No. 11-CR-0573. Liew has served all but six months of a 180 months sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution Lompoc. According to his motion under the CARES Act, Liew was scheduled for release into a half-way house in June of this year to serve the remaining six months of his sentence but has been hospitalized due to the COVID-19 virus and is now on a ventilator.
According to motion papers filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the "Federal Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) is mismanaging one of the worst public health catastrophes related to COVID-19 anywhere in the country and at the epicenter of the outbreak are FCI Lompoc and USP Lompoc (collectively “Lompoc”), where more than 1,000 incarcerated persons have tested positive for COVID-19." The court set a briefing schedule for responses and replies through June 12th.