A Los Angeles County man has been sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for falsely reporting a terrorist attack on a military base in Southern California.
Daniel Sandoval, 29, of Santa Fe Springs, was charged with false information and fabrication in February after submitting eight tips to the U.S. Department of Defense for “false claims that a particular woman was attempting to cause mass casualty events.” Pleaded guilty to one charge. attacks on U.S. military facilities in Los Angeles and Orange County,” the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.
Between March 21 and March 23, 2021, Sandoval submitted eight online information reports to the Department of Defense, each time regarding the U.S. Naval Weapons Facility in Seal Beach and the military hospital in Bell Gardens. One of several women suspected of planning the large-scale attack has been identified.
For example, Sandoval’s initial tip told authorities that a woman, identified only as “SC” in court documents, was “planning to…[blow] military vehicles are parked [at the Seal Beach site] and vehicles for civilian use,” the release states.
In his plea agreement, Sandoval admitted to “substantially interfering with public and government functions and services,” including forcing evacuations.
“[Sandoval’s] His illegal acts not only harmed the military bases he targeted and the personnel who live or work on those bases, but also the innocent women he claimed were making these dangerous threats. ,” prosecutors wrote in the sentencing memorandum.
