Dear Family,

Today in San Francisco the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California conducted a press conference that involved six individuals who pled guilty to various charges related with the harvesting and sales of undersized leopard sharks. Three of the individuals are members of our church. They are Rev. Kevin Thompson, Mr. John Newberry, and Mr. Henry Ishikawa.

Rev. Thompson of the Bay Area Family Church pled guilty to a felony charge involving the illegal capture and interstate transport of juvenile leopard sharks. He will pay $100,000 in restitution and serve one year in prison. Mr. Newberry also pled guilty to a felony charge and will pay $50,000 in restitution and serve 6 months in prison and 6 months probation. Mr. Ishikawa pled guilty to a misdemeanor and will serve three years of probation. The other three individuals have no connection to our church and pled guilty to various charges.

Pastor Thompson's ministry and pastoral work in the San Francisco area has been quite successful. He has done much to strengthen and develop the spiritual and family life of our church and our community. We sincerely appreciate his sincere devotion as a pastor and a father. Our church was deeply saddened when Rev. Thompson admitted that he was guilty of engaging in an illegal activity. The Church did not direct and does not condone such conduct, and Church policy explicitly prohibits the use of its assets in any such activity. The Church attorney met with the prosecutor and the prosecutor agreed not to bring any charges against the church. Rev. Thompson has resigned from his position and has accepted the judgment of the Court.

Rev. Joshua Cotter, National Vice President and National Director of the (HDFC) Hoon Dok Family Church has been appointed officially as the District Director of our Northern California District and in addition he will immediately assume all the responsibilities of Pastor Thompson.

The church will join with other philanthropic organizations to create a fund to help restore the damage done to the leopard shark. HSA-UWC is making a $500,000 donation. An additional $300,000 of the fund is a contribution from the California Coastal Conservancy, with another $300,000 composed by the contributions by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Sincerely,
MWJ

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