Parents. Entrepreneurs. Creatives.

We Never Imagined We Would Be the Target of a Federal Prosecution.

We are Chris and Erin Mazzei. Before there was a federal case, there were two parents raising their sons, running small businesses, and working to build a future.

We built a life rooted in family, creativity, hard work, and community; operating small businesses in California — until the government turned our American dream into a unimaginable nightmare.

We met in San Luis Obispo, married in 2008, and built our lives on California’s Central Coast. We worked side by side through retail businesses, setbacks, and new beginnings. In 2013, we launched a food truck that grew into a special event catering business. Between 2015 and 2019, we personally catered more than 400 private events. In the midst of that success, in 2018, we also launched a production company, where we wrote screenplays for both television and film, actively developing several projects in Los Angeles with independent producers.

We were not strangers to hard work. We were not strangers to starting over. But nothing prepared us for what came next.

We Asked for Guidance. We Maintain That We Acted in Good Faith.

When COVID-19 hit, weddings and events disappeared from our calendar, quite literally overnight. Our income for the next 18 months was suddenly in jeopardy as events were canceled en masse. Like families across the country, we were trying to understand how to keep going when everything was uncertain.

We applied for a PPP loan to support our businesses, including Ohana, one of the television series in development that depicted the real, gritty story of government corruption and organized crime set in the underbelly of 1990's Hawaii — the very same federal district that ultimately prosecuted us.

We sought guidance from lenders about whether projected payroll could be used for a Paycheck Protection Program application and how to apply. We maintain that we relied in good faith on the written guidance we received. Unlike the majority of businesses that received pandemic relief, we never applied for loan forgiveness.

That guidance—and what it says about our intent—is central to the review we are asking for today.

Then Our Lives Became a Federal Case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Hawaii seized and restrained our personal assets without charges in May 2021, including our California family home — purchased three years before the pandemic. A year later, in May 2022, we were indicted on criminals charges on four counts. Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, Wire Fraud and Money Laundering.

We ultimately entered guilty pleas in 2024. But a guilty plea does not tell readers why we made that decision. Our clemency packet describes years of dealing with inadequate court-appointed counsel, financial exhaustion, pressure from the AUSA threatening superseding charges, and charging Chris’s elderly mother. We are asking for independent review of those circumstances—not for readers to assume that a plea answers every question about what happened.

In January 2025, Chris received a 36-month prison sentence. Erin received 27 months. Neither of us had any prior criminal record.

We weren’t scammers. We weren’t dangerous. We were a family trying to survive and tell the truth — and were railroaded for it.

Our Children Are Living With the Consequences.

Our family lost our home and financial stability. Then our sons lost everyday life with their mother.

Erin was released from Bureau of Prisons custody on June 8, 2026, after prison, halfway-house placement, and home confinement. Chris has now begun serving his sentence.

Our boys waited for their mother to come home. When she finally did, it was time for their father to leave.

The sentences are measured in months. For our children, the separation stretches across years of growing up.

There Are Questions That Deserve Answers.

Our clemency request asks decision-makers to examine:

• The written lender guidance we relied upon, and how that evidence was handled.

• The circumstances surrounding our guilty pleas.

• Statements made to the court that we dispute and address with supporting materials.

• How more than $1.1 million in funds paid, seized, forfeited, or otherwise recovered has been accounted for against restitution.

• The loss of our home and the concerns raised in our packet about the AUSA involvement in the foreclosure process.

These are serious concerns. We have assembled records, communications, transcripts, and supporting statements because we want them examined—not dismissed.

What Would You Have Done?

If you were unsure about a government program, would you ask the people processing the loan for guidance?

If you believed you had acted in good faith, would you expect your explanation and supporting records to matter?

If your resources were exhausted and your family faced the threat of additional charges, how much freedom would you feel you had left?

We once believed that working hard, asking questions, and explaining ourselves would be enough. Our experience has forced us to question protections we once took for granted.

We Are Asking for Clemency. And a Future Together.

Despite everything, we have continued working to rebuild, including building a new business with support from our family and community.

We are asking President Donald Trump to review our clemency application and grant appropriate relief: a commutation and/or pardon for Chris, and clemency for Erin addressing the continuing consequences of her conviction.

Read our story. Examine the documents. Ask the difficult questions.

Help us bring our family back together.

Meet the Mazzei Family