The man who led a multistate conspiracy which targeted cellular infrastructure has been sentenced to six years and five months in prison.

Stephan James Evanovich, 47, of Placerville, was handed the sentence last week by US District Judge Daniel J. Calabretta.

Evanovich was given the sentence for a conspiracy to transport stolen property and for interstate transportation of stolen property, US Attorney Eric Grant announced.

In the statement put out by the US Justice Department, Evanovich was named as the leader of a group that "endangered cellular communications, including potentially disrupting 911 services."

Evanovich’s co-conspirators Trevor Fountain, 38; Jonathan Matthew Curl, 37; and Andrea Carter, 36, all of Sacramento, entered communications towers to steal rectifiers (a power source necessary to maintain power at the towers) and other communications equipment. 

Fountain, Carter, and Curl were responsible for stealing equipment and transferring it to Evanovich, who then paid them for the stolen equipment, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California.

After getting hold of the stolen equipment, Evanovich then sold it to unwitting third-party vendors in California, Illinois, Colorado, and Texas. In total, the conspirators stole, sold, and shipped more than 700 rectifiers across state lines.

In an effort to pass off the scheme as a legitimate business, Evanovich instructed others to create invoices using fictitious business names to make it appear as if the rectifiers had been purchased from legitimate sources.

An investigation into the theft was carried out by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) along with assistance from the Weld County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado.

All of the defendants pleaded guilty. Curl was sentenced on April 23, 2026, to two years in prison and ordered to pay $282,193 in restitution. Carter was sentenced on June 5, 2025, to 29 months in prison. Fountain was sentenced on Aug. 6, 2026, to 20 months in prison and ordered to pay $225,989 in restitution.