Los Angeles Law News

December 23, 2010

Lindsay Lohan called 911 first during incident, her lawyer says

Lindsay Lohan attorney Shawn Chapman Holley says her client was the first to call 911 for assistance at her Betty Ford Center sober house in the wee hours Dec. 12.

While not commenting further on Lohan's involvement in a battery case that is being investigated, CNN reports, Holley stated Wednesday that "it should be noted" the actress called police first after her post-curfew return.more..

December 22, 2010

Welfare Fraud Ringleader Sentenced to Prison

LOS ANGELES – The ringleader of a childcare scheme that collected more than $1.3 million in fraudulent government payments has been sentenced to 10 years in state prison and ordered to make full restitution to the agencies, the District Attorney’s office announced today.

Sakina Myles, aka Sakina Johnson, was sentenced Monday by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Pounders after she pleaded no contest in June to 12 counts of grand theft and 27 counts of perjury by declaration in two separate cases, said Deputy District Attorney Tamia Hope with the Public Assistance Fraud Division. more..

December 21, 2010

Federal Jury Rules In Favor of Defendants In Bad Check Trial; Plaintiffs Across California Had Sought $30 Million in Damages

A federal jury ruled this week against plaintiffs who sought $30 million in damages and claimed they were regularly charged illegal fees by a private company hired by district attorneys across the state to collect on bad checks.

A federal jury ruled this week against plaintiffs who sought $30 million in damages and claimed they were regularly charged illegal fees by a private company hired by district attorneys across the state to collect on bad checks. more..

December 20, 2010

The time may be right for Kamala Harris

She hopes the tough economy, shifting public opinion and her savvy transition team will bolster her prison reform goals.

Kamala Harris, the state's next attorney general, last week announced a transition leadership team that was a marvel in its political heft: two former secretaries of State — of the country, not of California — and a host of other luminaries.More

December 17, 2010

Hubbard's arraignment scheduled for Tuesday

The Newport-Mesa superintendent is innocent until proven guilty, school board member asserts at meeting.

Editor's note: The arraignment has been moved to Tuesday.

Newport-Mesa Unified School District Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard is to be arraigned Tuesday on two felony counts for his alleged involvement in the criminal misappropriation of public funds during his previous job as superintendent of Beverly Hills schools, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.More

December 16, 2010

L.A. County scrutinizes government contractors

D.A.'s office likens their positions to those of elected officials and says the same standards should apply.

Criminal charges filed last week against two former top officials of the Beverly Hills Unified School District, accusing them of misappropriating more than $5 million in public funds, underscore a push by Los Angeles County prosecutors to target suspected wrongdoing by local government contractors.More

December 15, 2010

L.A. County judge rejects attorney general's effort to delay suit against Bell

Judge Ralph W. Dau says he was unimpressed with the argument from Jerry Brown's office that the criminal corruption case against current and former leaders could be damaged if the postponement wasn't granted.

In another blow to the state's case against current and former Bell officials, a Superior Court judge on Monday rejected a motion that would have let the attorney general put a lawsuit on hold while the district attorney pursues a public corruption case against eight current and former leaders in the embattled city.More

December 14, 2010

Two years prison for woman who hit Leonardo DiCaprio with wine glass

A woman who hit actor Leonardo DiCaprio with a wine glass during a party in the Hollywood Hills more than five years ago, causing injuries that required stitches, was sentenced today to two years in state prison.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg imposed the term on Aretha Wilson, 40, who pleaded no contest July 12 to a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon involving the June 17, 2005, attack on the actor, who has appeared in films such as "Titanic," "Gangs of New York" and "Inception."More

December 13, 2010

School board seeks advice

Board of Education to meet next week in closed session to discuss Supt. Hubbard's felony charges of misusing funds.

COSTA MESA — The Newport-Mesa school board plans to meet in closed session at 6:30 p.m. Monday to discuss two felony counts filed this week against Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard.

The charges, filed by the Los Angeles County district attorney, concern Hubbard's performance in his previous job as superintendent of the Beverly Hills Unified School District. More

December 11, 2010

Judge issues injunction against L.A.'s medical marijuana law

The ruling finds the law's provision outlawing all dispensaries except those that registered under the moratorium unconstitutional. It leaves the city with little power to control pot shops. City officials vow to quickly address the concerns.

A judge handed Los Angeles a setback in its faltering drive to limit the number of medical marijuana dispensaries, granting a preliminary injunction on Friday that bars the city from enforcing key provisions in its controversial six-month-old ordinance. ”More

December 10, 2010

Judge rejects monitor for city of Bell

A judge has rejected a bid by the state attorney general’s office for the appointment of a monitor to oversee Bell’s finances in the wake of the management salary scandals that have enveloped the city.

Related Content•Interim city manager issues ‘First 100 Days’ report in Bell
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert H. O’Brien issued a five-page ruling Monday in which he said the denial is “without prejudice to further review under different circumstances.”More

December 08, 2010

Michael Jackson's dad files new wrongful death suit

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An attorney for the father of Michael Jackson on Tuesday filed a new wrongful death lawsuit against the doctor accused of involuntary manslaughter in the pop singer's death.

The lawsuit by attorney Brian Oxman on behalf of Joe Jackson was filed in California Superior Court against Dr. Conrad Murray and companies with which he is affiliated. It includes the "Thriller" singer's mother Katherine Jackson and his three children as nominal parties.More

December 06, 2010

Band Members Charged in Hollywood Freeway Traffic Jam

LOS ANGELES – Three members of an Orange County band were charged by the District Attorney’s Office today with felony conspiracy in connection with a purported publicity stunt that caused a massive traffic jam last month on the Hollywood Freeway.

“This was not a matter involving free speech or lawful protest,” said District Attorney Steve Cooley in a written statement. “This was a well-orchestrated commercial stunt perpetrated by these defendants and their accomplices with no concern for the lives or well-being of thousands of innocent victims who were caught up in the prank.More

December 03, 2010

California prison overcrowding case heads to Supreme Court

The state is appealing a 2009 federal judicial order to reduce the prison population by more than 40,000 in two years. Lawyers for 18 other states are backing the appeal.

Reporting from Washington and Los Angeles — The suicide rate in California's overcrowded prisons is nearly twice the national average, and one inmate dies every eight days from inadequate medical care.More

December 01, 2010

Lack of funding builds death row logjam

Convicted killers have a hard time finding lawyers to handle their final appeals, which can be both expensive and gut-wrenching.

Thirteen years ago, Edward Patrick Morgan asked the California Supreme Court for a lawyer to investigate and challenge his 1996 death sentence for a murder in Orange County. The court has yet to find Morgan an attorney.

The inability of the state to recruit lawyers for post-conviction challenges, or habeas corpus petitions, has caused a major bottleneck in the state's criminal justice system. Nearly half of those condemned to die in California are awaiting appointment of counsel for these challenges.More

November 25, 2010

Judge questions need to monitor Bell's finances

A judge today questioned the need for a monitor to oversee Bell's finances, but lawyers for the Attorney General's Office continued to push for an appointment.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert H. O'Brien asked lawyers for the state why their office could not monitor city finances.More

November 24, 2010

Investigation of alleged extortion plot targeting Mel Gibson slowed by budget cuts

An investigation into whether Mel Gibson was the victim of an extortion plot is still being investigated by L.A. County sheriff's detectives, and it's unclear whether it will be completed by the end of the year.

“We are sifting through all the evidence. We are weeks away from completing the investigation,” said Steve Whitmore, a department spokesman.More

November 23, 2010

DOJ Agent Charged with Embezzlement

LOS ANGELES – A 35-year-old state Department of Justice employee was charged today with grand theft and embezzlement after he allegedly stole $33,000 last week during an internal investigation, the District Attorney’s office announced.

Gabriel Noel Baltodano, (dob 2-10-75), is a special agent with the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement. He is charged in case BA378316 with two counts each of grand theft and embezzlement and one count of filing a false police report, said Deputy District Attorney Alfred Coletta with the Justice System Integrity Division. More

November 22, 2010

Producer accused of wife's killing to stay in jail

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lawyers for a reality TV producer charged with killing his wife in Mexico attacked the investigation Wednesday and promised a vigorous fight against extradition at a hearing where the defendant was ordered to remain in jail at least until a bail hearing later this month.

Suspect Bruce Beresford–Redman did not enter a plea during his brief appearance in federal court in Los Angeles. Dressed in a T–shirt and blue jeans, the former "Survivor" producer politely answered questions from a magistrate judge about his identity. More

November 19, 2010

Reality TV producer accused of killing wife in Mexico arrested

The arrest of Bruce Beresford-Redman comes five months after Mexican authorities accused him of killing his wife in Cancun and after he returned home despite being told not to leave Mexico.

An Emmy-nominated reality TV producer accused of killing his wife at a Cancun resort earlier this year was arrested Tuesday by U.S. authorities at his Rancho Palos Verdes home.More

November 18, 2010

Attorneys: Brown playing politics with Bell case

There has been no shortage of political profiteering in recent months over corruption and salary shenanigans down in the now-infamous city of Bell, but a judge's recent criticism of a civil suit filed by Attorney General Jerry Brown has given ammunition to defense lawyers who have long argued that the case was used to boost Brown's gubernatorial chances.

In a hearing a couple of weeks back, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Ralph W. Dau questioned whether Brown had the authority to pursue the case, rhetorically adding: “So I'm wondering, is this just a political lawsuit?” More

November 17, 2010

Delay on lawsuit shows lack of evidence in Bell case, defense says

Action by Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown proves civil lawsuit was a publicity stunt in governor's race, attorney for former administrator Robert Rizzo says.

A request by the attorney general and the Los Angeles County district attorney's office to delay a civil suit filed against current and former Bell officials indicates a lack of evidence the city leaders plotted to loot the city treasury, the defendants' lawyers said Monday.More

November 16, 2010

Oksana Grigorieva didn't tell doctor Mel Gibson hit Lucia, says pediatrician who says she saw no sign of injury

Just days after Mel Gibson was ordered by a family court judge to pay the back child support he owes Oksana Grigorieva, a sworn declaration has surfaced in which Lucia's pediatrician says she saw no injury on the child during an exam the day after an argument in which Grigorieva alleges Gibson hit them both.

Nor did Grigorieva mention any injury during the Jan. 7 visit, Dr. Linda Nussbaum said in a June 24 document published Friday by TMZ. A picture of an allegedly injured Lucia surfaced at the same time as recordings of the actor ranting at his ex-girlfriend; Team Mel maintains that photo was doctored.More

November 15, 2010

Former KB Home CEO Bruce Karatz sentenced to five years' probation

Penalty in options-backdating case includes eight months of house arrest. Karatz is also ordered to pay a $1-million fine and do 2,000 hours of community service.
November 11, 2010|By Stuart Pfeifer, Los Angeles TimesBruce Karatz, whose 20-year run as chief executive of home-building giant KB Home was derailed by allegations that he manipulated the value of stock options, was sentenced Wednesday to five years' probation, including eight months of house arrest.

U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II also fined the former executive $1 million and ordered him to perform 2,000 hours of community service. Wright rejected prosecutors' request for a lengthy prison sentence, noting that there was no evidence that the crimes damaged KB Home or its shareholders. More

November 12, 2010

Ex Pico Rivera mayor Beilke's trial delayed

LOS ANGELES - The lack of an available courtroom delayed the trial of a former Pico Rivera mayor accused of perjury and conflict of interest.

Ronald Beilke's trial was scheduled to begin Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court but it was continued to Dec. 29. More

November 11, 2010

Ex-Marines Arrested In Los Angeles Weapons Scheme

Federal agents have arrested three retired Marines suspected of selling illegal assault weapons to a notorious Los Angeles street gang, authorities said Tuesday.

The suspected ringleader, Adam Gitschlag, who served in Iraq and was once based at Camp Pendleton, was arrested at his Orange County home Nov. 2 as part of an operation carried out by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as military investigators and local police.More

November 10, 2010

SIMI VALLEY HOSPITAL PAYS $5.15 MILLION TO RESOLVE CIVIL CASE ALLEGING THAT IT DEFRAUDED MEDICARE

LOS ANGELES – In a “whistleblower” case concluded today with the dismissal of the lawsuit, Simi Valley Hospital has paid the United States $5.15 million to resolve allegations that the hospital filed false claims with the Medicare program.

The lawsuit, which was originally filed by a former employee of Simi Valley Hospital, alleged that the institution’s Behavioral Medicine Services unit knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare for chemical dependency and psychiatric patient services performed between 1991 and 1997. The United States intervened in the lawsuit negotiated the settlement with Simi Valley Hospital. United States District Judge Valerie Baker Fairbank dismissed the lawsuit this morning in accordance with a settlement agreement that was finalized last month.More

November 09, 2010

Scores arrested in Oakland protests over BART officer Mehserle

As many as 150 demonstrators were arrested in Oakland during protests over the two-year prison sentence handed down to a former police officer who fatally shot an unarmed man on an Oakland train station platform.

A four-hour peaceful demonstration at Oakland City Hall moved into the surrounding streets and took on a more aggressive tone Friday evening with marchers smashing windshields, making obscene gestures at surrounding police and noisily shouting slogans.More

November 08, 2010

Ex-BART officer Mehserle sentenced to two years in prison for fatal shooting of unarmed man [updated] November 5, 2010 | 1:05 pm

A former transit police officer convicted of involuntary manslaughter for fatally shooting an unarmed man on an Oakland train station platform was sentenced by a Los Angeles judge Friday to two years in prison.

Johannes Mehserle, 28, contended that he mistakenly used his firearm instead of an electric Taser weapon when he shot Oscar J. Grant III in the early hours of New Year’s Day 2009. But prosecutors argued at his trial that Mehserle meant to reach for his handgun as he tried to handcuff an unresisting Grant, who was lying face-down on the platform floor.More

November 06, 2010

MGM files for bankruptcy protection

Filing comes after leading creditors strike a deal with corporate raider Carl Icahn. He agrees to support a plan under which Spyglass Entertainment executives will run Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer when it exits Chapter 11.

TimesMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the fabled studio whose origins go back to Hollywood's earliest days, filed for bankruptcy protection, sagging under a mountain of debt. More

November 05, 2010

'Clown suit activist' arrested for allegedly threatening Bell city clerk at council meeting (Updated)

A political activist known for attending municipal government meetings in a clown suit has been arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats against the Bell city clerk.

Sheriff's deputies arrested Edwin Thomas Snell, 63, on Tuesday on the steps of the L.A. County Hall of Administration, where he was attending a Board of Supervisors meeting. More

November 04, 2010

"Calorie Commando" Juan Carlos Cruz Pleads No Contest To Plotting Wife's Murder

LOS ANGELES — Former "Calorie Commando" TV chef Juan Carlos Cruz pleaded no contest Tuesday to a charge that he hired two homeless men in a failed attempt to kill his wife.

Cruz, 48, pleaded no contest in Los Angeles County Superior Court to a count of solicitation of murder. The former Food Network chef made the plea as a preliminary hearing was scheduled to begin, prosecutors said. More

November 03, 2010

Public Laws Shaped by Private Interests: The Truth Behind Arizona's SB 1070

Sandra Hernandez is communications director for the ACLU of Southern California.

Immigration jails look to be the next big money maker for the private prison industry, according to National Public Radio’s Laura Sullivan. More

November 02, 2010

Mehserle won't get maximum sentence, legal experts say

OAKLAND -- While no one but Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Perry knows exactly how long former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle will be sent to prison, if at all, most legal experts agree it won't be for the maximum term of 14 years.

No matter how loud the community shouts for Mehserle to be given the most severe punishment for killing Oscar Grant III, Perry will be guided by state law and court rules when he issues his decision Nov. 5 and both guidelines, experts say, point to Mehserle receiving, at most, a mid-term sentence. More

November 01, 2010

Anna Nicole Smith's boyfriend Howard K Stern found guilty of supplying drugs to tragic star before her death

The boyfriend of tragic Anna Nicole Smith was today found guilty of helping to funnel prescription medications to the former Playboy Playmate.

After 58-hours of deliberation the jury convicted Howard K. Stern, 41, on two counts of conspiracy for allegedly fuelling the starlet's raging prescription drug problem that ultimately killed her. Stern was acquitted of seven other charges.More

October 29, 2010

Pakistani criminal justice system proves no match for terrorism cases

The courts, hamstrung by shoddy police work, antiquated procedures and witnesses who clam up, have a dismal track record.

Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan —

To find the office of the prosecutor in charge of putting Islamabad's bomb builders and terrorist masterminds behind bars, visitors must wend their way through the midday bustle of shoppers and descend into a dingy basement alcove, next to the Valley Tour travel agency. More

October 28, 2010

Four Irwindale Officials Charged with Misappropriation

LOS ANGELES – Four Irwindale city officials, including a current council member, have been charged with misappropriation of public funds after they allegedly attended Broadway shows and baseball games during trips to New York to get a better bond rating for the city.

Charged in case BA377327 are Councilman Mark Breceda, 50; retired city manager Steve Blancarte, 56; finance director Abe De Dios, 65; and former councilwoman Rosemary Ramirez, 49, said Deputy District Attorney Nipa Cook with the Public Integrity Division. More

October 27, 2010

Baca asks Sheriff's Department watchdog to examine his handling of donor's case

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca asked his department’s watchdog Tuesday to review his handling of a case in which he was accused of giving preferential treatment to a long-time supporter who has donated to the sheriff’s political campaigns and given him expensive gifts.

Baca wants the Office of Independent Review to consider guidelines that would help him decide how to handle requests for investigations brought directly to his attention, including pleas from donors, celebrities and friends. More

October 26, 2010

Anna Nicole Smith jury deliberations to resume

In this Feb. 28, 2006 file photo, Anna Nicole Smith, leaves the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)Jurors in the Anna Nicole Smith drug conspiracy trial are set to resume deliberations Tuesday.

The panel began their second week of talks Monday. The six women and six men spent the day closeted in their jury room and asked no questions.More

October 25, 2010

Additional Charges Filed Against Former Bell City Manager

LOS ANGELES – Additional felony charges were filed today against Robert Rizzo, the former city manager of Bell, who with several current and former council members of the small southeast community faces charges of misappropriating more than $5.5 million in tax dollars.

Today’s charges – one count each of conflict of interest and one of misappropriation of public funds – allege that Rizzo took an additional $2.4 million from the city coffers.More

October 24, 2010

Lindsay Lohan ordered back to rehab, not jail

BEVERLY HILLS — New year, new Lindsay Lohan?

That appears to be the hope of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elden S. Fox, who on Friday ordered the starlet to remain in rehab until January. In doing so he ended any short-term plans for the actress' comeback, but also followed the recommendations of medical professionals who say the "Mean Girls" star is only beginning to realize the depths of her addiction.

He also slyly removed one potential source of temptation and relapse.More

October 23, 2010

Judge denies motion by lawyer for Mel Gibson's ex-girlfriend

A judge Thursday denied a motion by Oksana Grigorieva's lawyer that sought to limit what Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies could take from her computer and cellphone as part of an extortion investigation involving her ex-boyfriend, actor-producer Mel Gibson.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon said that if Daniel Horowitz, the attorney for Grigorieva, had issues with the way sheriff's officials were conducting their investigation, he could bring up the matter in criminal court.More

October 22, 2010

Veteran LAPD detective arrested on suspicion of workers' comp fraud

For the second time in two weeks the Los Angeles Police Department has arrested one of its own on suspicion of workers' compensation fraud, this time a 15-year veteran of the force, officials said Wednesday.

Det. John X. Vach Jr., who was most recently assigned to the major crimes division, surrendered Tuesday night after an arrest warrant was issued alleging seven felony counts of workers' compensation fraud, perjury and attempted grand theft. More

October 21, 2010

Former Vernon city administrator indicted by grand jury

It is the third time in four years that a top Vernon official has faced public corruption charges, prompting L.A. County's district attorney to call for the city's disincorporation.

A Los Angeles County grand jury Tuesday indicted the former city administrator of Vernon on three felony counts of conflict of interest and misappropriation of public funds involving business deals between the city and his wife. More

October 20, 2010

Angelo Mozilo, other former Countrywide execs settle fraud charges

Angelo Mozilo and two others who led the lender make a $73-million deal with the SEC to avoid trial on allegations of fraud and insider trading.

Angelo R. Mozilo, who as head of home-loan giant Countrywide was at the center of the housing boom and bust, agreed Friday to pay a record fine as part of a $73-million settlement of a government fraud lawsuit over the lender's near-collapse. More

October 19, 2010

Millennium Bomb Terrorist Meskini Was Involved in Drugs, Fraud, U.S. Says

Abdelghani Meskini, convicted after informing on a foiled al-Qaeda plot to bomb Los Angeles International Airport during millennium celebrations, got into drugs and prostitution after prison, U.S. prosecutors said.

Meskini, 42, an Algerian who pleaded guilty in 2001 to charges stemming from the foiled attack, was sentenced to six years in prison after he testified against a co-conspirator, Mokhtar Haourari and another co-conspirator. More

October 15, 2010

Jackson Video Tape Case Heading to Retrial

Two lawyers who worked for Micael Jackson have revived their legal battle with the owner of a private jet company who secretly filmed a private meeting with the superstar in 2003.

XtraJet boss Jeffrey Borer has admitted videotaping the Thriller hitmaker and his attorneys onboard one of his planes as they flew from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara, California, where the star faced a trial on child molestation charges. He was later acquitted.More

October 13, 2010

LAPD Officer Convicted of Felony

NORWALK – A Norwalk jury today convicted an LAPD officer of leaving the scene of an accident and causing great bodily injury for a June 2008 hit-and-run accident in a Saugus parking lot.

Jurors deliberated 2 ½ days before finding William Skett, 36, guilty of leaving the scene of an accident that injured two people on June 21, 2008, said Deputy District Attorney Natalie Adomian. Jurors also found true a special allegation of causing great bodily injury.

But jurors hung on a charge of DUI causing injury. He was acquitted of a third felony count, driving with a .08 percent blood alcohol level.More

October 12, 2010

Civil Rights Groups Move to Protect Men’s Central Jail Inmates from Retaliatory Abuse

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – In response to multiple reports of continued retaliation by guards at the Men’s Central Jail against detainees who report wrongdoing, the ACLU and the ACLU of Southern California, together with Disability Rights California and the law firm of Bingham McCutchen, today filed a motion in U.S. District Court seeking a protective order for inmates detained there.

“Retaliation against prisoners for cooperating in investigations of official wrongdoing isn’t uncommon, but the retaliation at issue here is so extreme – multiple credible accounts of beatings, stomping and shattered bones – that I haven’t seen anything to equal it in 17 years of prison litigation around the country,” said Margaret Winter, Associate Director of the ACLU National Prison Project. “These witnesses must have the court’s protection.”More

October 11, 2010

Rizzo may seek more money

The city of Bell reneged on a severance agreement, his lawyer says. The details of the resignation are murky.

Robert Rizzo might be due back pay from the city of Bell after officials reneged on an agreement to provide the longtime city administrator with severance payments and other benefits when he resigned earlier this summer, his attorney claimed Thursday.More

October 08, 2010

Defense argues prosecutors played dirty in Anna Nicole Smith trial

Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Prosecutors must play defense Friday when they have the last word in the Anna Nicole Smith drug trial.

A defense lawyer turned the tables on the deputy district attorneys in his closing arguments Thursday by accusing them of prosecutorial misconduct. More

October 06, 2010

'Die Hard' director gets a year in prison in wiretapping case

John McTiernan remains free pending an appeal of his sentence for lying about his role in the case of private investigator Anthony Pellicano.

"Die Hard" director John McTiernan was sentenced to a year in federal prison Monday for lying to the FBI — and later to a federal judge — regarding his role in the wiretapping case of disgraced Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano.More

October 05, 2010

Jerry Brown Wants Executions To Resume in California

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Whether California's first execution in more than four years will occur next week remained an open question Tuesday, as a judge grappled with a demand from the state attorney general's office to resume lethal injections.

A hearing was held on the issue after a Riverside County judge last month set an execution date of Sept. 29 for Albert Greenwood Brown, who was convicted of abducting, raping and killing a 15-year-old girl on her way home from school in 1980. More

October 04, 2010

Lawyer: NJ ticket scam defendants didn’t break law

The upcoming trial of four California men accused of illegally buying more than a million sports and concert tickets online could set new rules for prosecuting computer fraud if it's allowed to proceed, an attorney for one of the men argued in federal court Monday.

Or not, according to federal prosecutors, who characterized the case as a garden variety fraud. More

October 01, 2010

Judge in Anna Nicole Smith cas dismisses 2 charges against her boyfriend

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Wednesday dismissed two charges against the boyfriend of the late model and actress Anna Nicole Smith, but left most charges to be decided by a jury.

Judge Robert J. Perry dismissed two counts of obtaining an opiate by fraud against Howard K. Stern, who was also Smith’s lawyer, according to court spokesman Allan Parachini. Stern still faces nine counts related to allegedly providing Smith with powerful drugs.More

October 01, 2010

Judge in Anna Nicole Smith cas dismisses 2 charges against her boyfriend

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Wednesday dismissed two charges against the boyfriend of the late model and actress Anna Nicole Smith, but left most charges to be decided by a jury.

Judge Robert J. Perry dismissed two counts of obtaining an opiate by fraud against Howard K. Stern, who was also Smith’s lawyer, according to court spokesman Allan Parachini. Stern still faces nine counts related to allegedly providing Smith with powerful drugs.More

September 30, 2010

Anna Nicole Smith's fight for oil mogul's cash reconsidered by Supreme Court

Anna Nicole Smith's fight for cash from her late husband's estate will continue from beyond the grave - officials at the U.S. Supreme Court have agreed to reconsider the case.

Smith launched a legal battle for a $300 million share of oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall's estate prior to her death in 2007, maintaining he promised her the money during their 14-month marriage.More

September 29, 2010

Lindsay Lohan could be back in jail after hearing

Lindsay Lohan managed to spend only a few hours in jail Friday after failing a drug test, but experts said her legal troubles are far from over.

Superior Court Judge Elden Fox was overruled in his effort to send Lohan to jail for at least 30 days, but it's possible he will place her behind bars after a hearing Oct. 22 about her latest probation violation.More

September 28, 2010

Waiting for a death-penalty debate

Albert Greenwood Brown is slated to be executed this week. It's too bad we can't have a real discussion on capital punishment.

Despite a last-minute delay by the governor, Albert Greenwood Brown is still slated to die this week. Few would mourn the convicted murderer-rapist's passing, but it would nonetheless be a sad day for California.More

September 27, 2010

Lindsay Lohan freed after 15 hours in jail

Actress Lindsay Lohan was freed from jail late on Friday night after spending around 15 hours behind bars for evidence of another failed drug test, a Los Angeles-based celebrity website reported.

The once-promising star was led handcuffed from a Beverly Hills courtroom early in the morning for a third time in three years when a judge found evidence of substance abuse, which would make her a criminal. He ordered Lohan, 24, jailed until an October 22 hearing, but was later reversed by a supervisor.More

September 23, 2010

'Calculated greed' at heart of Bell criminal case, D.A. says

Eight current and former Bell city leaders were arrested Tuesday on charges of misappropriating more than $5.5 million from the small, working-class community as prosecutors accused them of treating the city’s money as their personal piggy bank.

The charges follow months of nationwide outrage and renewed debate over public employee compensation ever since The Times reported in July that the city’s leaders were among the highest paid municipal officials in the country. Among those charged was former City Manager Robert Rizzo, who led the way with a salary and benefits package of more than $1.5 million.More

September 22, 2010

Audit says public funds paid off ex-Bell city manager's loans

Draft report alleges that $95,000 in city money was put in Robert Rizzo's retirement accounts to repay loans he had made to himself. An expert says the allegations could amount to federal wire fraud.

Apparently acting without City Council approval, Bell spent nearly $95,000 to repay loans that then-City Manager Robert Rizzo made to himself from his retirement accounts, a draft state audit reviewed by The Times shows.More

September 21, 2010

Former 'bling ring' lawyer sentenced [Updated]

A Sherman Oaks attorney who represented an alleged member of the "bling ring" celebrity burglary group was sentenced Monday in an unrelated witness tampering case.

[Updated 4:20 p.m.: An earlier version of this post, and the headline, said Sean G. Erenstoft had been disbarred, based on a statement released by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. But prosecutors acknowledged Monday afternoon that Erenstoft faces potential disbarment rather than outright disbarment for pleading no contest to the single felony count of attempting to dissuade a witness.More

September 20, 2010

State Sen. Roderick Wright indicted on charges of voter fraud and perjury

The Inglewood Democrat is accused of listing as his residence a home in the district he wanted to represent when his actual home was elsewhere. He has pleaded not guilty.

A Los Angeles County grand jury on Thursday unsealed an eight-count felony indictment against state Sen. Roderick Wright (D- Inglewood), accusing him of filing a false declaration of candidacy, voter fraud and perjury beginning in 2007, when he changed his voter registration to run for the Legislature.More

September 18, 2010

Source: Lindsay Lohan Fails Drug Test, Faces More Jail

Lindsay Lohan has failed a court-mandated drug test, a source tells PEOPLE. The actress could now be facing 30 days in jail.

The actress, 24, was released from rehab Aug. 24 after serving almost two weeks in jail for violating probation in a DUI case. More

September 17, 2010

Michael Jackson’s Doctor Wants Charges Dismissed

According to sources Michael Jackson’s doctor who was chared in his death is seeking the dismissal of a wrongful death lawsuit that was apparently filed by the late singers father. Sources claim the attorneys for Dr. Murray sought the dismissal in a motion filed Wednesday in Los Angeles.

The document will literally ask the judge to dismiss the case on the grounds that Jackson’s father, Joe Jackson did not have the legal right to file the case in the first place on grounds that he is not a beneficiary of the estate. The Jackson family patriarch sued Murray in federal court in June, the one year anniversary of his son’s death. He claimed the doctor acted negligently by providing the pop singer with a mix of sedatives, including the anesthetic propofol. However, the father of Michael Jackson has no leverage in the case because he has nothing to do with the late pop icon’s estate and the judge will see this. Murray of course pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in criminal court.More

September 15, 2010

ACLU/SC Class Action Suit Challenges U.S. Government’s Prolonged Detention of Immigrants

LOS ANGELES –The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California added refugees from Somalia and U.S. residents from El Salvador and Mexico to its class action lawsuit in federal court here challenging the U.S. government’s right to detain immigrants indefinitely while they await the outcome of immigration proceedings.

Co-counsel in the lawsuit include the national ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, the Stanford Law School Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, and the law firm of Sidley Austin LLP. More

September 14, 2010

Married former ICE agents charged with theft from federal agency

LOS ANGELES — A retired special agent for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and his wife, who also worked for the federal agency in Los Angeles, were arrested today on charges of stealing from the government and lying to investigators about it.

An indictment handed down by a Los Angeles federal grand jury alleges that Frank Eugene Johnston, 51, and his 53-year-old wife, Taryn, stole almost $600,000 that she received in salary and benefits from ICE, even though she had done virtually no work for the agency in years. More

September 13, 2010

Former Temple City mayor gets 16 months in state prison in bribery case

LOS ANGELES - A Superior Court Judge Friday sentenced former Temple City Mayor Judy Wong to 16 months in state prison for her role in a corruption case involving a developer that caused the downfall of several local politicians.

Wong, who resigned from the City Council in March, pleaded no contest in May to felony charges that she asked for and received $13,100 in bribes from local developer Randy Wang and lied about it. She was sentenced Friday on one count of solicitation to commit bribery. More

September 12, 2010

LAPD officer who fatally shot day laborer was accused of using improper deadly force in 2008 shooting

A federal civil rights suit is pending over the earlier incident, which the Police Commission found to be 'in policy.' But the panel found that the officer used improper tactics.

The Los Angeles police officer who fatally shot a day laborer in Westlake was previously found by the department's watchdog arm to have used improper tactics in 2008 when he shot and wounded a man in the leg, authorities said Friday.More

September 10, 2010

L.A. County district attorney drops felony criminal charges against ESPN's Jay Mariotti

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office did not pursue felony criminal charges on Tuesday against ESPN sports personality Jay Mariotti, who was arrested last month on suspicion of domestic assault against his girlfriend.

"We reviewed the case for filing consideration and determined based on the evidence it was consistent with misdemeanor charges," said Shiara Davila-Morales, a spokesperson for the district attorney's office. The case was then referred to the Los Angeles city attorney, who could still pursue misdemeanor charges against Mariotti. More

September 08, 2010

Suit Charges LA-Area Federal Contractor with Exploitation and Discrimination of Immigrant Workers

Terra Universal routinely required its largely immigrant workforce – documented and undocumented alike – to work overtime hours without overtime pay. To evade government scrutiny, it created a fraudulent time system, requiring workers to clock out at the end of an 8-hour workshift and clock back in as a “second job.” Workers who complained about workplace issues or who suffered injuries were fired, had their pay deducted or their hours reduced and were verbally abused.

“Terra Universal is just one example of the countless employers nationwide who prey on the vulnerabilities of immigrant workers, believing they will never get caught. Such unscrupulous exploitation hurts all American workers,” said Randy Renick, partner at Hadsell, Stormer, Keeny, Richardson & Renick. “We caught Terra Universal red-handed, breaking nearly every wage and hour law in the book.” More

September 07, 2010

Former Palos Verdes Police Officer Charged in Embezzlement Case

LOS ANGELES – A former police officer of the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department accused of misappropriating police association funds is due to be arraigned this morning, the District Attorney’s Office announced.

Alex Ghazarian, (dob 7/9/77) 33, is charged in case No. BA375303 with one count each of grand theft of personal property and embezzlement by a public officer. Ghazarian is scheduled to be arraigned in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. More

September 06, 2010

T.I. faces possible prison time for drug arrest

Grammy-winning rapper T.I. is headed back to Atlanta and may soon be ordered to face the federal judge who signed off on an extraordinary deal that shaved years off a potential prison term.

T.I.'s arrest Wednesday night in Los Angeles for suspicion of possession of methamphetamine could trigger a motion by his probation officer. The officer could ask U.S. District Judge Charles Pannell Jr. to revoke some of the remaining probation on T.I.'s federal sentence stemming from his arrest on gun charges three years ago. T.I's probation expires in 2013. More

September 03, 2010

Man accused of fraud may get life in prison under California's three-strikes law

The stiff penalty is rarely used against white-collar criminals. Timothy Barnett is charged with 23 felonies for allegedly tricking five people into unknowingly granting him title to their homes.

Timothy Barnett spent nearly five years in state prison for a 1990s foreclosure rescue scam in which he conned homeowners out of tens of thousands of dollars. Now, prosecutors say, he has been at it again, targeting residents in the same South Los Angeles neighborhood he fleeced before.More

September 02, 2010

Judge doubts prosecutors can prove 2 key charges

LOS ANGELES — The judge in the Anna Nicole Smith drug conspiracy trial said Tuesday he doubted prosecutors can prove key charges against two doctors and the lawyer-boyfriend of the late Playboy model.

The two counts targeted by Superior Court Judge Robert Perry are at the heart of the case, accusing the three defendants of conspiring to prescribe, administer and dispense controlled substances to an addict and obtaining and dispensing prescriptions by fraud and use of false names.More

August 31, 2010

Paris Hilton's boyfriend Cy Waits pulled gun on knife-weilding home intruder Nathan Parada: source

LOS ANGELES - No wonder Paris Hilton thinks her new boyfriend is hot - he's packing heat.

Vegas nightlife impresario Cy Waits, 34, pulled a gun on an armed intruder at Hilton's Los Angeles home early Tuesday, a law enforcement source told the Daily News.More

August 28, 2010

PEOPLE v. SHIN

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
BAE HYUK SHIN, Defendant and Appellant.

2d Crim. No. B212544.

Court of Appeals of California, Second District, Division Six.

Filed August 26, 2010.

Jeralyn Keller, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Joseph P. Lee, Sarah J. Farhat, Stephanie C. Brenan, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.More

August 27, 2010

Judge again delays sentencing of ex-Temple City Mayor Judy Wong

LOS ANGELES - Ex-Temple City Mayor Judy Wong, who pleaded no contest to multiple counts of bribery in May, received another reprieve on Tuesday as her sentencing was delayed until Sept. 10.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg agreed to postpone the sentencing to allow Wong to find a caretaker for her elderly mother, who has Alzheimer's disease. Wong's sister, who was to have taken care of the mother, had to leave the country to tend to an emergency, Wong said before the hearing.More

August 26, 2010

ACLU/SC Suit Seeks Information on U.S. ‘Proxy Detention’ of American Citizen in the U.A.E.

LOS ANGELES – Seeking to uncover information about the U.S. government’s 2008 overseas “proxy detention” of American citizen Naji Hamdan, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California filed a lawsuit in federal district court here today. The suit asks the CIA, the FBI, the National Security Agency, and other intelligence agencies to turn over records about their surveillance of Mr. Hamdan in the United States, and their involvement in his detention and torture in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.

The suit results from the failure of these intelligence agencies to release any information about Mr. Hamdan under the Freedom of Information Act in response to a request from the ACLU/SC filed in January 2010.More

August 24, 2010

Comedian Rip Torn Denied Probation in Bank Break-In

You get drunk and break into a bank while armed and suddenly judges just won't cut you a break.

So Rip Torn has learned after a judge denied probation Wednesday. Torn, 79, an Emmy-winning actor with roles in "Men in Black," "Dodgeball," "30 Rock," and "The Larry Sanders Show," had hoped to enter a two-year program that would lead to all charges being dropped after a successful completion. He had no prior criminal record. Litchfield Superior Court Judge James Ginocchio found that the allegations against Torn were far to serious for him to qualify for probation under the program called accelerated rehabilitation.

However, prosecutors dropped a felony burglary charge as there was no evidence that Torn intended to commit a crime. Apparently Rip Torn went on quite a bender the night of the incident, drinking all night and then driving to a Salisbury bank which he mistook for his own home. The bank is in a house-like buidling nearby his home. Two hours after being arrested, Torn blood alcohol level was recorded at 0.203, over two and a half times the legal limit, the AP reports. Torn has said that he remembers nothing from that night. He has competed a two month inpatient rehab and over five months of outpatient couseling. More

August 21, 2010

Case of soup-kitchen thief fuels critics of three-strikes laws

A California man sentenced to 25 years to life was released Monday because a judge ruled his sentence under a three-strikes law was too harsh for his crime – breaking into a church soup kitchen 13 years ago.

Los Angeles
Critics of "three-strikes" laws are hoping that the release Monday of Gregory Taylor – serving a near life sentence for breaking into a soup kitchen 13 years ago – will provide momentum to efforts to repeal or modify the laws in the 25 states that have them. More

August 20, 2010

Three Strikes and He's Out (of Prison)!

Homeless Man Spent 13 Years Behind Bars After Trying to Break into Church Kitchen

LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) A California man who spent 13 years in prison after trying to break into a church to find something to eat, and who became an example of the state's strict three-strikes law, has been ordered released from prison by a Superior Court judge.

Tears rolled down the face of 47-year-old Gregory Taylor when Judge Peter Espinoza ordered that he be set free, reducing his sentence from 25 years to life, to the time he has already served. More

August 19, 2010

ACLU/SC Suit Seeks Information on U.S. ‘Proxy Detention’ of American Citizen in the U.A.E.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

LOS ANGELES – Seeking to uncover information about the U.S. government’s 2008 overseas “proxy detention” of American citizen Naji Hamdan, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California filed a lawsuit in federal district court here today. The suit asks the CIA, the FBI, the National Security Agency, and other intelligence agencies to turn over records about their surveillance of Mr. Hamdan in the United States, and their involvement in his detention and torture in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.

The suit results from the failure of these intelligence agencies to release any information about Mr. Hamdan under the Freedom of Information Act in response to a request from the ACLU/SC filed in January 2010. More

August 17, 2010

Prop. 8 backers ask for permanent hold on same-sex marriage ruling

In an emergency appeal, they contend that Judge Vaughn R. Walker's ruling overturning California's gay marriage ban flouted the law and ignored the evidence.

August 14, 2010|By Maura Dolan, Los Angeles TimesIn an emergency appeal now before a federal court, the backers of Proposition 8 have asked for a permanent hold on last week's "egregiously selective and one-sided" marriage ruling, contending it flouted the law and ignored the evidence. More

August 16, 2010

California Storing DNA of Innocent People

California’s law mandating that DNA samples be taken from all felony arrestees is facing a legal challenge from the ACLU of Northern California.|

Petitions by Change.org|Get Widget|Start a Petition » Forcing people to provide a DNA sample without any judicial oversight, just because a single police officer has arrested them, violates the Constitution. That’s why California’s law mandating that DNA samples be taken from all felony arrestees is facing a legal challenge from the ACLU of Northern California (ACLU-NC). More

August 14, 2010

LAPD tactics in wild pursuit are under review [Updated]

The chaotic, potentially dangerous ending to a high-speed car chase last week has raised questions among high-ranking Los Angeles Police Department officials over the tactics and force several officers used to apprehend the driver.

Tonsha Wilcher, 39, walked into the lobby of the LAPD’s Southwest Area station about 2 p.m. Thursday, threatened to kill the officers working at the front desk and then fled in his car, according to an LAPD account of the incident. More

August 13, 2010

Judges Propose 'Bill of Rights' for Trial Courts in California

SACRAMENTO (CN) - At a California State Assembly hearing Wednesday, a group of trial judges told legislators that 200 judges around the state are writing a "trial court Bill of Rights" intended to give judges more power over the spending of money allocated by the legislature and retake control from the statewide Administrative Office of the Courts. "The AOC does not govern the trial courts," said Judge David Lampe of Kern County Superior Court who spoke on behalf of the Alliance of California Judges.

Lampe said the proposed Bill of Rights, is intended to lend balance to a currently unbalanced governance structure, with the AOC imposing its mandates on individual courts. "This governance structure has to be clarified," said Lampe in an inteview after the hearing. "There seems to be a gradual push that the AOC governs the judicial branch. That's just not the law." More

August 12, 2010

Long Beach agrees to pay $8 million in wrongful murder conviction

Thomas Goldstein was jailed 24 years based largely on a jailhouse informant whose credibility was questionable. The city denies his rights were violated but says it couldn't risk a sizable jury award.

Long Beach has agreed to pay nearly $8 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a man who spent 24 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of murder based largely on the testimony of a jailhouse informant. More

August 11, 2010

Long Beach Police Officer Charged with Grand Theft, Other Counts

LOS ANGELES – A police officer accused of stealing firearms from the Long Beach Police Department was charged today with more than a dozen counts, including grand theft, the District Attorney’s Office announced.

Deputy District Attorney Alfred Coletta of the Justice System Integrity Division said Damian Ramos, 32 (dob 8/21/77), is expected to be arraigned this afternoon in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. More

August 09, 2010

Former Deputy, Accomplice Sentenced in Drug Smuggling Case

LOS ANGELES – A former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy and a male co-conspirator were sentenced today to four and two years in prison respectively for attempting to smuggle drugs into a county jail facility guarded by the deputy.

Peter Paul Felix, 26, had been a sheriff’s deputy about two years until he resigned shortly after Oct. 13, 2008. On that date he was caught attempting to smuggle 161.5 grams of heroin, 24.4 grams of methamphetamine and 51.5 grams of marijuana into the North County Correctional Facility where he worked as a guard. More

August 06, 2010

Woman alleges group sex at Rialto Police Department Union Hall

RIALTO - Police officers engaged in group sex with female workers from the Spearmint Rhino strip club, according to a $500,000 claim filed by a woman at the center of a sex scandal that has sent shock waves through the Police Department and city.

"The claims that we have made are simply the tip of the iceberg and we have substantial proof to back up these claims, and my client will move forward with a lawsuit should the city not take her claims seriously," said Danuta W. Tuszynska, a Riverside-based attorney representing Nancy Holtgreve. More

August 05, 2010

Legacy's De los Angeles arrested over estafa case

A cop blotters Legacy Group president Celso delos Angeles (center) in Camp Karingal on Tuesday after his arrest.

Businessman Celso de los Angeles, the principal suspect in the Legacy insurance and pension scam, was arrested Tuesday at the St. Luke's Medical Center in Quezon City due to estafa charges filed against him in Leyte.

De los Angeles had been confined at the hospital after undergoing treatment for his stage 4 throat cancer and was later transferred to the Cathedral condominium inside the hospital's premises, where he was arrested.More

August 04, 2010

Grim Sleeper serial killer suspect expected to answer charges at arraignment

A South L.A. man accused of being the Grim Sleeper serial killer is expected to answer charges against him at an arraignment Tuesday morning.

Lonnie David Franklin Jr., 57, was charged earlier this month with killing 10 women over a period spanning  more than two decades. He has been held without bail since his arrest July 7, which came after undercover officers surreptitiously collected a sample of his DNA that authorities say matched evidence found at several of the crime scenes. If convicted, Franklin could face the death penalty. More

August 03, 2010

A Michigan Couple Convicted in John Stamos Extortion Trial

A man and woman accused of attempting to extort $680,000 from actor John Stamos in 2004 were convicted Thursday in a U.S. District Court in Michigan, CNN reports, and face up to nine years each in prison.

Prosecutors said Allison Coss and Scott Sippola had threatened to sell to a magazine allegedly compromising pictures of Stamos doing cocaine with a pair of strippers; when the FBI searched the couple's home, no such photos were found. Stamos had maintained that no pictures existed because nothing inappropriate had happened during a 2004 trip to Orlando, Fla., where he met Coss. More

August 02, 2010

Corruption and Abuse By LA County Deputies Contribute To Suicide, Report Confirms

John Horton was held in solitary confinement in the Los Angeles County Men‘s Central Jail following his arrest for drug possession. He committed suicide.

In the days leading up to his death in March 2009, jail staff noted that Mr. Horton was despondent. His cell was a dimly-lit, windowless, solid-front box the size of a closet. His body was already stiff by the time security staff discovered him hanging from a noose in his cell, with his hands bound – one of eight successful apparent suicides in the L.A. County jails in the past calendar year. More

July 31, 2010

One father's message to another

Terrell went to a party with friends in 2005 in an affluent neighborhood and was shot to death. He was home on winter break from Humboldt State University. Even though Terrell had never been involved with a gang, he became a victim of random gang violence.

Terrell's younger brother and sister suffer to this day. The perpetrator has never been caught or charged. But with every passing year I grow more committed to seeing justice through and to ending this type of senseless violence. I know one key is for parents to act more wisely to protect young people. More

July 29, 2010

Los Angeles Police Arrest American Pie Star Chris Klein For DUI

The man best known for his character of Oz in the "American Pie" comedies will soon be giving a call to his Los Angeles DUI attorney, as the man was arrested yesterday on suspicion of drunken driving. The Los Angeles Times reports that the actor Chris Klein was weaving across three lanes of traffic on the westbound 101 Freeway, which caught the attention of law enforcers and led to the pulling the actor over.

Chris Klein's breath test indicated that his blood-alcohol level was almost three times the legal limit and that this is the actor's second DUI arrest in the last six years, TMZ states. So perhaps the man already knows a DUI attorney in Los Angeles. Now that he's in danger of becoming a two-time DUI offender, it looks as though he'll be needing the best lawyer possible. More

July 28, 2010

An Open Letter to Lindsay Lohan from the ACLU

Dear Lindsay,

We know that going to jail is scary. But we can assure you that your experience at the women’s facility in Lynwood, outside Los Angeles, is likely to be starkly different from the thousands of others serving time and awaiting trial in the Los Angeles jails. Based on the ACLU’s decades of experience as an official court-appointed monitor of the jails, and the stories of countless women with whom we’ve spoken, the facility where you are staying is an overcrowded detention facility where women are needlessly humiliated for so long that they come to expect sub-human treatment.

It’s a place where an eight month pregnant woman was forced to sleep on the floor because she could not access the top bunk to which she was assigned. A place where women have said they are made to stand naked while menstruating, as they waited for jail-issued clothes. And a place where women routinely tell us they cannot get access to the same medications they took in the community (though we doubt that you will face this same problem.) More

July 27, 2010

'Bling ring' member is released from county jail

A 19-year-old Calabasas woman sentenced to six months in jail for burglarizing actor Orlando Bloom's Hollywood Hills home was released from jail Friday night after serving less than a month of her sentence.

Alexis Neiers, who starred in the E! Entertainment reality show “Pretty Wild” while being prosecuted for her role in the “bling ring” celebrity burglary case, pleaded no contest in May to felony residential burglary charges. More

July 26, 2010

UCLA Innocence Project hopes to help wrongfully convicted inmates by reviewing old cases

By reviewing old cases, UCLA Innocence Project hopes to help wrongfully convicted inmates

A few months ago, Amber Phillips maneuvered her Honda Element into the parking space at about 4 p.m.

That was when the stakeout began.

Over the next five hours, Phillips sat in her car with fellow UCLA School of Law student Steven Krieger. They studied, munched on chips and took swigs of Gatorade. Occasionally, they left the car to stretch their legs. But mainly, they watched and waited. More

July 25, 2010

The Death Penalty is a Woman's Issue Too

The anti-death penalty movement in California is expanding and gaining momentum. Our core base of activists—people concerned about the inequities of the criminal justice system and people of faith—are finding coalition with activists from other movements, movements whose core issue is not ending the death penalty. Young people are angered that California spends billions on the death penalty while slashing Cal Grants and raising tuition. The LGBTQ community fought against the inclusion of a death penalty provision in the Mathew Shepard Hate Crimes Legislation and are fighting horrific bills in Uganda that would impose the death penalty for being gay. Civil rights groups are demanding that we implement protections to ensure that race is not a factor in who gets sentenced to death.

Most recently, California NOW—the largest state based feminist organization in the US—joined the fight against new execution regulations in California. California NOW objected to the regulations based on the unfair and unequal treatment of women on death row, and encouraged their members to voice their opposition as well. Some might be surprised that a group focused on women’s issues would take a stand against the death penalty. But the death penalty is a woman’s issue too. More

July 23, 2010

Let’s Cut the Death Penalty and Save California $126 Million a Year

The California Supreme Court ‘sentenced’ our state’s taxpayers to an additional debt of $180,000 more per year yesterday.

How? The state’s high court upheld the death penalty in two cases. Imposing the death penalty adds enormously to the cost of prosecution and permanent lifetime housing for an inmate. The death penalty is certainly a polarizing public policy issue, but I wonder how many people realize that it’s also a vortex-like drain on their own pocketbooks. More

July 22, 2010

District Attorney Responds to Swiss Decision on Polanski

LOS ANGELES – District Attorney Steve Cooley said today that although Switzerland refused to return Roman Polanski to California for sentencing, extradition will be sought if the fugitive is arrested elsewhere.

“I am deeply disappointed that the Swiss authorities denied the request to extradite Roman Polanski,” Cooley said in a prepared statement. “Our office complied fully with all of the factual and legal requirements of the extradition treaty and requests by the U.S. and Swiss Departments of Justice and State.More

July 21, 2010

Shapiro Quits Lohan's Case

Lindsay Lohan has been left without legal representation again - top lawyer Robert Shapiro has quit her case just hours before the actress is due to start her stint behind bars.

O.J. Simpson's former attorney publicly announced he had agreed to take over as the star's representative after her legal Shawn Holley Chapman quit earlier this month. More

July 19, 2010

Lindsay Lohan's New Lawyer: "She Is Suffering From a Disease"

Lindsay Lohan's new lawyer officially stepped forward today—and made sure everyone knew he wasn't taking the job to enable anymore ridiculous excuses.

"I have agreed to represent Ms. Lohan on the condition that she complies with all of the terms of her probation, including a requirement of jail time that was imposed by Judge Marsha Revel," Robert Shapiro said in a statement to E! News. More

July 16, 2010

Races could test voters' views on death penalty

For decades, capital punishment was a driving force in California politics, swaying elections for governor and the U.S. Senate and reshaping the state Supreme Court.

While executions in California have been on hold for more than four years, tied up in court challenges to lethal injection procedures that the state is now redrafting, November's elections may determine whether the death penalty still carries political weight. More

July 15, 2010

Riots in California after police officer who shot dead unarmed black man is cleared of murder

53 arrests as protesters furious at verdict storm the streets

Violent protests erupted in the city of Oakland in California today after a Los Angeles jury convicted a white former transit officer of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man.

Police in riot gear watched over a crowd of protesters as emotions ran high with 500 people marching in the street and 83 people arrested. More

July 14, 2010

Mass arrests in Oakland protests against court verdict

Police officer who killed defenseless man given lenient verdict

Police arrested 83 protesters in Oakland, California on Thursday, after hundreds went to the streets in demonstrations against a jury verdict of involuntary manslaughter for a police officer who was caught on video tape killing an unarmed man, execution-style.

Transit officer Johannes Mehserle was caught by at least four cameras shooting 22-year-old Oscar Grant III in the back as the victim lay face down on the ground and offered no resistance. Another officer was recorded screaming “bitch-ass nigger” at Grant shortly before he was executed. More

July 13, 2010

Holder raises question on Sept. 11 death penalty

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder says there's a real question about whether a terrorist suspect such as self-professed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed can face the death penalty if he were to plead guilty before a military commission.

Holder proposed last year trying Mohammed and four alleged accomplices in civilian courts in New York City. But that idea generated so much controversy that it's all but been abandoned. More

July 12, 2010

Former BART officer convicted of involuntary manslaughter

Prosecutors accused Johannes Mehserle of intentionally firing his handgun as he tried to handcuff Oscar J. Grant III on New Year's Day 2009. Mehserle testified that he thought he was pulling out his electric Taser weapon and not a firearm.
Johannes Mehserle.

A former transit police officer who fatally shot an unarmed man at an Oakland train station was convicted of involuntary manslaughter Thursday, capping a racially charged case that raised fears in the Bay Area of possible violence after the verdict. More

July 09, 2010

California Implodes

California is the wealthiest and most populous State in America, and Los Angeles County is the largest county in America, so both the State and LA County wield unbelievable power in Washington D.C. The corruption in California affects you directly.

• How would you feel if you knew your federal tax dollars were being used to finance California’s corruption? More

July 07, 2010

Lindsay Lohan sentenced to jail for violation

Beverly Hills -- A judge ruled Tuesday that Lindsay Lohan violated the terms of her probation in a drunken-driving case when she failed to attend alcohol education classes and sentenced her to 90 days in jail.

Judge Marsha Revel stated several instances over the past few years in which the actress lied about taking drugs and drinking.More

July 06, 2010

Ferris Bueller's Day Off actor chared with failing to update sex offender registration

Actor Jeffrey Jones, best known for his portrayal of a high school dean in the 1986 movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," has been charged with a single felony count of failing to update his registration as a sex offender, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Jones, 63, was arrested June 23 on suspicion of failing to renew his registration with the state within five days of his last birthday, Sept. 28, 2009, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. He was released on $20,000 bail. More

July 05, 2010

California Warden Now Believes that Executions Don't Make us Safer

Death row realism
Do executions make us safer? San Quentin's former warden says no.

As the warden of San Quentin, I presided over four executions. After each one, someone on the staff would ask, "Is the world safer because of what we did tonight?"

We knew the answer: No. More

July 01, 2010

A death penalty record

L.A. County led the U.S. in capital sentences in 2009. Prosecutors are being overzealous and inhumane.

Harris County, Texas, used to be known as the death penalty capital of the United States, the focus of national and global outrage over an outdated, costly and immoral form of criminal justice. But things have changed: Harris County now has a sentencing record that looks like Denmark's, and the hanging judges (or rather, prosecutors) seem to have relocated to liberal Los Angeles.

A recent report by the American Civil Liberties Union shows that Los Angeles County sent more people to death row last year than any other county in the U.S. -- and more than the entire state of Texas. The trend is particularly odd given that most of the rest of the country is headed in the opposite direction. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, the number of death sentences nationwide last year was the lowest since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976.More

June 30, 2010

Stories of Wrongful Conviction from California, continued:

More than 200 men and women have been wrongfully convicted of serious crimes in California, six of whom were sentenced to death. Here are some of their stories.

Gloria Killian
County: Sacramento
Convicted of: 1st Degree Murder
Year of Conviction: 1986
Sentence: 32 years to life
Year Released: 2002
Years Served: 18 years
Wrongful Conviction Factors: False testimony of informant; misconduct by prosecutor More

June 29, 2010

ACLU Lawsuit Spotlights Sonoma County Sheriff and ICE for Unlawful Detentions and Racial Profiling of Latinos

Echoes of Arizona in Lawsuit Asserting Sonoma Sheriff Exceeded Local Authority in Immigration-Related Arrests

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in San Francisco issued an order Friday that an American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC) lawsuit charging unlawful collaboration between the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department and the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to unlawfully target, arrest, and detain Latinos in Sonoma County can move forward.

"As the nation repudiates Arizona's racial profiling law, we continue to challenge the same type of profiling in our own backyard," said Julia Harumi Mass, ACLU-NC staff attorney. "No matter where they happen, violations of fair and common-sense legal protections like due process put all U.S. residents at risk – citizen and non-citizen alike." More

June 28, 2010

Too Many Wrongful Convictions in California

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of California's Innocence Projects, two California men were found innocent and freed in one week in February after years in prison for crimes they did not commit.

On Monday, February 5, the District Attorney in Santa Clara County dismissed charges against Jessie Rodriguez, who served six years of a potential life sentence in prison for a robbery he did not commit. The jury hung at Rodriguez's first trial, but convicted him at his second. The Sixth District Court of Appeal, however, overturned his conviction based on inadequate defense by his attorney, who limited his efforts in the second trial after the family ran out of money. In preparing for a third trial, the newly-assigned Deputy District Attorney re-investigated the testimony of an eyewitness and the forensic evidence. The DA found that eyewitness was no longer confident and that the original forensic analysis was wrong.More

June 25, 2010

9th Circuit reinstates criminal charges against Pierce O'Donnell

LOS ANGELES — A federal appeals court has reinstated criminal charges against plaintiffs' attorney Pierce O'Donnell after concluding that the section of the Federal Election Campaign Act on which he was charged applied to conduit, or indirect, campaign contributions, not just to contributions made under false names.

O'Donnell of O'Donnell & Associates in Los Angeles was indicted on charges that he reimbursed 13 employees of his law firm and others who had contributed $26,000 in 2003 to the presidential campaign of former U.S. Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C. See The American Lawyer's article, "The Trials of Pierce O'Donnell."More

June 24, 2010

Stories of Wrongful Conviction from California

More than 200 men and women have been wrongfully convicted of serious crimes in California, six of whom were sentenced to death. Here are some of their stories.

Herman Atkins
County: Riverside
Convicted of: Forcible Rape, Forcible Oral Copulation, and Robbery
Year of Conviction: 1988
Sentence: 45 years
Year Released: 2000
Years Served: 11.5 years
Wrongful Conviction Factors: Mistaken eyewitness identification More

June 23, 2010

Wrongfully convicted prisoners left uncompensated

States rarely pay for the mental and physical suffering of those wrongfully convicted.Byron Halsey recently had the happy and tragic distinction of being the 238th wrongfully convicted prisoner released from prison in the past two decades due to DNA testing. Halsey was the 12th wrongfully convicted prisoner exonerated this year. In 1985, he was accused of the rape and murder of two Plainfield, N.J., children.

Halsey’s nightmarish tale after the arrest is woefully familiar to others wrongfully accused. They face marathon police grilling, with threats and intimidation, a coerced confession, slipshod legal representation, a fast track trial, conviction, and then they are either dumped in a cell for life or receive the death penalty. Halsey faced the death penalty. More

June 21, 2010

Former BART officer testifies he pulled Taser before colleague fatally shot passenger

A former Bay Area transit police officer testified Friday that he pulled out an electric Taser weapon and threatened to use it on a group of men as an “intimidation tactic” minutes before a fellow officer fatally shot one of the men on an Oakland train platform.

Prosecutors allege that Anthony Pirone’s use of profanity and aggressive conduct in the early hours of New Year’s Day 2009 created a chaotic scene that resulted in the killing of Oscar J. Grant III." More

June 18, 2010

Bicyclists Clash with LAPD

Bad blood continues despite attempts at detente

Tensions between the LAPD and a group of hard-core bicyclists boiled over this spring, despite efforts by both sides to smooth over their history of bad relations.

Relations between the police and pedal-power activists, many of whom are ardent environmentalists, seemed to reach the bottom of a Gulf oil well in January, when cyclist Ed Magos, who works for the city's Information Technology Agency, was hit downtown by a woman who left the scene only to report the collision at the neighboring Rampart Division station.."More

June 17, 2010

False arrests and the Los Angeles Police Departments

Police have an odd way of measuring their performance. Their performance appraisals are largely based on the number of arrests made and citations issued. Felony arrests get more points than misdemeanor arrests and although citations for things like not wearing a seatbelt, expired registration tags, etc aren't technically arrests; they make the government a lot of money. So cops get points for them as well.

If you haven't noticed the flaw in this system, allow me to elaborate. Let us say that someone is murdered. The police arrest somebody for the murder and as far as the police are concerned "the case is cleared."More

June 16, 2010

Michael Jackson's doctor can keep medical license, judge rules

A doctor accused of administering a lethal dose of a strong anesthetic to pop icon Michael Jackson last year will keep his California medical license for now, a Los Angeles judge ruled Monday.

L.A. Superior Court Judge Michael E. Pastor rejected a request by the state's medical board to suspend Dr. Conrad Murray's license to practice medicine. In his ruling, Pastor noted that another judge at Murray's arraignment earlier this year restricted the physician's use of the drug propofol and other strong anesthetics as part of his bail conditions.More

June 15, 2010

Who should control California's prison budget? U.S. Supreme Court may weigh in

Reporting from Ione, Calif. —
A legal battle over who gets to control California's massive spending on prisons — judges or corrections officials — may be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court, with overcrowding at the state's 33 prisons at the center of the debate.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state officials have challenged an edict from three federal judges that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation must cut the prison population by 40,000, or about a quarter of its 165,000 inmates. The judges' order, issued last August, cited overcrowding as the main cause of healthcare failures that amounted to cruel and unusual punishment and left inmates to die from treatable conditions at the rate of one per week.More

June 14, 2010

Notorious past tainted robbery trial, Simpson appeal claims

Las Vegas, Nevada (CNN) -- Attorneys for disgraced gridiron great O.J. Simpson return to court Friday, arguing that the judge at his 2008 armed robbery trial in Las Vegas did not adequately guard against the looming shadow of his notorious past.

Simpson's defense is seeking to reverse his conviction on 12 counts of armed robbery and related offenses in connection with a Las Vegas hotel room confrontation over sports memorabilia. The 62-year-old is serving nine to 33 years in a state prison.More

June 11, 2010

False arrest lawsuit filed against West Covina, police chief and police officer

A man has sued West Covina, its police chief and West Covina police officer Tyler Kennedy, whom he claims falsely arrested him in order to have an intimate relationship with his ex-wife.

The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and seeks unspecified damages. It also alleges West Covina police officers, with the tacit permission of city government, regularily discriminated against Hispanics and other minorities.More

June 10, 2010

L.A. County sheriff's lieutenant is under investigation in sex-assault case

The department is conducting an internal criminal probe into whether Lt Michael Rodriguez went to the home of a coworker and sexually assaulted her. Rodriguez denies the allegations.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is conducting an internal investigation into allegations that a lieutenant in San Dimas went to the home of a co-worker and sexually assaulted her.More

June 09, 2010

Call on death penalty to wait

Three-member panel will decide whether to pursue capital punishment for double-murder suspect Daniel Wozniak, 26.

Prosecutors won't decide until after a preliminary hearing whether they should seek the death penalty against a Costa Mesa actor accused of killing two Orange Coast College students, officials said Wednesday.More

June 08, 2010

Freed after 16 years in prison, he says thanks

SAN DIEGO — Reggie Cole left prison a free man Saturday, after serving 16 years for a murder he didn’t commit. But instead of heading straight home to Los Angeles , he made a detour to California Western School of Law in San Diego.

“He wanted to meet a lot of the students who had worked on his case,” said Justin Brooks, director of the school’s California Innocence Project.More

June 05, 2010

BART police officer murder trial set to begin in Los Angeles

The murder trial of a former BART police officer who fatally shot an unarmed rider last year, sparking riots in Oakland, is expected to begin Wednesday with jury selection in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom.

Johannes Mehserle, 28, is charged in the New Year's Day 2009 killing of Oscar Grant on a BART station platform.More

June 04, 2010

LAPD officers accused of clashing with bicyclists relieved of field duty during probe

Four police officers involved in a clash with cyclists in Hollywood during a mass bicycle ride have been removed from the field while investigators review the incident, an LAPD official said Wednesday.More

Police launched an internal investigation into the Friday night episode after a video circulated that appeared to show an officer kicking at a passing bicyclist during a protest ride against BP's role in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, said Cmdr. Andrew Smith.More

June 02, 2010

Former NASCAR driver arrested in Orange County on suspicion of attempted rape

Former NASCAR driver James Neal was arrested on attempted rape charges Monday within hours of his release from the Orange County Jail after serving a brief sentence on a misdemeanor driving count, authorities said.

Neal, 56, of San Clemente, was back in jail after he was booked on suspicion of attempted rape and false imprisonment, said Orange County Sheriff's Lt. Mike Jansen.More

June 01, 2010

Man Accused of Killing Angels Pitcher Wants Change of Venue

Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed along with two friends in April 2009.

SANTA ANA -- The suspected drunken driver charged in connection with the crash that killed Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two others wants his trial moved outside of Orange County.

An attorney for Andrew Thomas Gallo filed a motion Friday saying Gallo can't get a fair trial in Orange County where the Angels have a huge fan base and there's enormous sympathy for the victims.More

May 31, 2010

Los Angeles Man Is wrongly convicted then released From Prison after 14 years

Reggie Deshawn Cole spent 14 years behind bars for a murder he did not commit.

Shoddy investigation leading to a wrongful conviction, how does that happen in California?

LOS ANGELES -- A Los Angeles man who was wrongly convicted and sentenced to life in prison for a 1994 murder and attempted robbery in South Los Angeles is a free man today.More

May 29, 2010

L.A. police panel fails to disclose findings on use-of-force incidents

The outcomes of reviews of at least 240 shootings and other violent encounters with suspects were not revealed, despite a Police Commission promise four years ago to post decisions on the Internet.

The Los Angeles Police Commission has failed to publicly disclose its findings on at least 240 police shootings and other violent encounters with suspects, despite a promise four years ago to be more transparent and post its decisions on the Internet, a Times review has found. More

May 28, 2010

Wrongful Convictions in California are Plentiful

More than 200 men and women have been wrongfully convicted of serious crimes in California, six of whom were sentenced to death. Here are some of their stories.

Herman Atkins
County: Riverside
Convicted of: Forcible Rape, Forcible Oral Copulation, and Robbery
Year of Conviction: 1988
Sentence: 45 years
Year Released: 2000
Years Served: 11.5 years
Wrongful Conviction Factors: Mistaken eyewitness identification More

May 27, 2010

A death penalty record in L.A.

L.A. County led the U.S. in capital sentences in 2009. Prosecutors are being overzealous and inhumane.

Harris County, Texas, used to be known as the death penalty capital of the United States, the focus of national and global outrage over an outdated, costly and immoral form of criminal justice. But things have changed: Harris County now has a sentencing record that looks like Denmark's, and the hanging judges (or rather, prosecutors) seem to have relocated to liberal Los Angeles.More

May 26, 2010

California Needs Eyewitness Identification Reform

Herman Atkins suffered for 12 years in a California prison -- for crimes he did not commit. Then DNA exonerated him. Mr. Atkins was a victim of faulty eyewitness identification.

Mr. Atkins' wrongful conviction for rape and robbery began when the victim and a witness identified him as the perpetrator after seeing his picture on a wanted poster for an unrelated crime. Then, the photo array used later by police also contained the wanted poster photo, which had already been viewed by the witnesses. More

May 25, 2010

California's Innocence Projects Free Two Wrongfully Convicted Men in One Week

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of California’s Innocence Projects, two California men were found innocent and freed in one week in February after years in prison for crimes they did not commit. These new exonerations come almost a year after California’s largest gathering of wrongfully convicted people, the Faces of Wrongful Conviction Conference, sponsored by the ACLU-NC, the Innocence Projects, and others. More than two dozen of California’s wrongfully convicted stood together at the conference’s opening session, somberly reciting the number of years stolen from them by the State of California and stating, “I am free, but countless more innocent men and women
remain in prison.”

Now, two more join the ranks of California’s exonerated.More

May 24, 2010

L.A. officer gets probation in hotel worker assault

A Los Angeles police officer who had been accused in Travis County of attempting to sexually assault a motel worker in April 2009 pleaded guilty Wednesday to a reduced charge of assault, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to two years of probation.

With the plea, Silvio Sam Filipovich, 44, agreed to surrender his peace officer's license and not to reapply to be a law officer anywhere in the country while on probation.More

May 21, 2010

Defense reiterates request for sealed transcripts in Polanski case

In court papers filed Friday, Roman Polanski's attorneys said transcripts they want unsealed will bolster their contention that Los Angeles County prosecutors relied on "false statements'' in seeking the filmmaker's extradition from Switzerland in his 1970s teen sex case.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza is scheduled on Monday afternoon to hear a request from attorneys Chad S. Hummel and Bart Dalton for transcripts of the closed-door testimony of Roger Gunson, a now-retired prosecutor who was assigned to Polanski's case for 25 years. More...

May 20, 2010

Two More Pot Dispensaries Raided; Arrests Made

Los Angeles police this week served search warrants on two medical marijuana dispensaries, resulting in at least a few arrests, according to Los Angeles Police Department officials.

Six search warrants and three arrest warrants led cops to Medco Organics at 326 N. Vermont Ave. in Hollywood and The Relief Co. at 5669 W. Pico Blvd. in Wilshire Vista, police said. The raids happened Tuesday. More...

May 19, 2010

Extended Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders Is Upheld

WASHINGTON — In a broad endorsement of federal power, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that Congress has the authority under the Constitution to allow the continued civil commitment of sex offenders after they have completed their criminal sentences.

The 7-to-2 decision touched off a heated debate among the justices on a question that has lately engaged the Tea Party movement and opponents of the new health care law: What limits does the Constitution impose on Congress’s power to legislate on matters not specifically delegated to it in Article I? More...

May 18, 2010

JAMES MCCONVILLE AND FIVE OTHERS INDICTED ON CHARGES RELATED TO MORTGAGE FRAUD

OAKLAND, Calif. – United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced today that a federal grand jury in Oakland indicted the following individuals on charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud: More...

May 17, 2010

Former TV chef held on suspicion of murder for hire

A onetime Food Network chef and cookbook author is in custody for allegedly asking homeless people to kill someone for him, Santa Monica police officials said Friday. More...

May 14, 2010

STOCKTON MAN INDICTED ON PASSPORT FRAUD, AGGRAVATED IDENTITY THEFT AND FELON IN POSSESSION OF FIREARM CHARGES

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that a federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment charging Enrique Fonseca Martinez, 53, of Stockton, with passport fraud, aggravated identity theft, illegal reentry into the United States and being a felon in possession of a firearm.More...

May 13, 2010

FORMER RESIDENT OF SAN PABLO CHARGED WITH TAX FRAUD, ATTEMPTING TO INTERFERE WITH IRS LAWS AND UNLAWFULLY OBTAINING NATURALIZATION AND CITIZENSHIP

SAN FRANCISCO – Harjit Bhambra made his initial appearance in federal court Friday on charges that include filing false tax returns, false statements, unlawfully obtaining naturalization and citizenship, and impeding the administration of Internal Revenue laws, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello and Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Scott O’Briant announced. More...

May 11, 2010

TWO MORTGAGE FRAUD CASES CHARGED

Five Defendants Legally Changed Their Names to Conceal Scheme

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Jake Weathers, 34, Elk Grove, Glenn Watkins, 40, Elk Grove, Kevin Watkins, 25, Elk Grove, Frederick Davis, 40, Elk Grove, and Paul Yearby Jr., 29, of Fair Oaks, with 11 counts of mail fraud relating to their alleged operation of a mortgage fraud scheme that involved the defendants changing their names to Muslim names in order to obtain new credit and to conceal poor credit histories and other liabilities in their birth names. More...

May 10, 2010

Chaos in the Casitas

Lawless, south of the border-style speakeasies get a grip on L.A.

All along busy Florence Avenue, between Halldale and South Denker, two blocks from the corner where riots erupted over the Rodney King jury verdict in 1992, the air is pungent with the smell of onions and corn tortillas rising from Vicki’s Tacos, a silver lunch truck. On very late weekend nights, there’s usually a line for her tacos once the nearby clubs, El Tiburon and El Nuevo Reno, close, at 2 a.m.More...

May 07, 2010

SAN PEDRO FISH COMPANY PLEADS GUILTY TO FALSIFYING DOCUMENTS RELATED TO HARVEST OF PACIFIC SARDINES

LOS ANGELES – A San Pedro fish canning and packing business has pleaded guilty to federal wildlife trafficking charges for knowingly falsifying landing receipts for Pacific sardines in 2008 and 2009.More...

May 05, 2010

FORMER MARINE PLEADS GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER IN 1987 DEATH

NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY - April 28, 2010 United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt announced that today Melvin Lutrell McGee pled guilty before United States District Court Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz to the charge of voluntary manslaughter in the 1987 death of Lance Corporal Christopher Gaines. The death took place on United States Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, California, which is within the special maritime or territorial jurisdiction of the United States. More...

May 04, 2010

VALLEY MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN $39 MILLION PONZI SCHEME

Following Son’s Guilty Pleas, Father Admits Role in Scheme that Bilked 1,000

A Sherman Oaks man pleaded guilty today to 26 felony counts related to a long-running scam that offered investments in, among other things, caffeinated mints and took approximately $39 million from 1,000 victims across the United States.More...

May 03, 2010

12 DEFENDANTS PLEAD GUILTY TO DRUG, GUN CHARGES FOLLOWING JOINT FEDERAL-STATE INVESTIGATION IN SALINAS

SAN JOSE– 12 defendants have pleaded guilty in federal court in San Jose to charges stemming from the 2008 “Operation Money Train” law enforcement initiative in Salinas, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced.More...

April 30, 2010

DEFENDANT SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR MURDER OF BORDER PATROL AGENT

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol Agent Robert W. Rosas, Jr. was killed while on routine duty on the U.S. - Mexico Border in July 2009 More...

April 29, 2010

ANTIQUES DEALER AGREES TO PLEAD GUILTY TO FEDERAL CHARGES RELATED TO SALE OF FAKE PICASSO FOR $2 MILLION

LOS ANGELES – An art and antiques dealer has agreed to plead guilty to federal fraud charges related to a $2 million sale of a fabricated Picasso pastel. More...

April 28, 2010

EX-FBI AGENT AND ACCOMPLICE SENTENCED TO 30 YEARS IN PRISON FOR PLOTTING VIOLENT HOME-INVASION ROBBERY

SANTA ANA, California – A New Orleans man who was a special agent with the FBI for over a decade was sentenced today to 360 months in federal prison for scheming to commit a home-invasion robbery at a residence he thought was a drug “stash house.”More...

April 27, 2010

PUBLISHER OF BAY AREA NEWSPAPERS PLEADS GUILTY TO FILING FALSE TAX RETURNS

Failed to report income from newspapers

OAKLAND, Calif. – Harry Warren Green pleaded guilty today to filing false federal tax returns for 2000 - 2003, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello and Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Scott O’Briant announced. The guilty plea was followed by a sentence and order of restitution issued by United States District Court Judge Sandra Brown Armstrong.More...

April 26, 2010

JOINT TASK FORCE ARRESTS 34 IN SALINAS

Federal Indictments Charge Methamphetamine and Cocaine Trafficking Ring

SAN JOSE, Calif. - A joint law enforcement task force in Salinas, Calif., today arrested 34 people and executed 30 search warrants in support of a violence suppression program. United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced that more than 250 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers participated in the operation, culminating an investigation that began in September 2009.More...

April 23, 2010

FORMER CEO OF KB HOME CONVICTED OF FEDERAL FRAUD CHARGES RELATED TO STOCK OPTION BACKDATING IN WHICH HE AWARDED HIMSELF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN COMPENSATION

LOS ANGELES – Bruce E. Karatz, a former CEO and chairman of the board of KB Home, was convicted today of four felony counts related to a stock option backdating scheme in which he awarded himself and other KB executives millions of dollars in undisclosed stock-based compensation.More...

April 22, 2010

FEDERAL PRISONER SERVING TIME FOR HEALTH CARE FRAUD CHARGED WITH DISTRIBUTING MISBRANDED DRUGS THAT WERE LABELED AS ‘ALL-NATURAL’ SEXUAL ENHANCEMENT

SANTA ANA, California – An Orange County man who is currently serving a 10-year federal prison sentence for health care fraud has been charged with distributing misbranded drugs called “Vitalex” that were marketed as “all-natural” versions of sexual enhancement drugs such as Viagra. More...

April 21, 2010

IMMIGRATION AGENCY ATTORNEY CONVICTED OF FEDERAL CORRUPTION CHARGES FOR TAKING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN BRIBES FROM IMMIGRANTS SEEKING STATUS IN U.S.

LOS ANGELES – A senior attorney with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was found guilty today of three dozen corruption-related charges for taking a series of bribes from immigrants who were seeking documentation to remain in the United States.
ICE Assistant Chief Counsel Constantine Peter Kallas, 39, of Alta Loma, was convicted by a federal jury following a three-week trial. The jury found Kallas guilty of conspiracy, six counts of bribery, two counts of obstruction of justice, seven counts of fraud and misuse of entry documents, three counts of aggravated identity theft, nine counts of making false statements to the Department of Labor, four counts of making false statements to obtain federal employee compensation, and four counts of tax evasion. More...

April 20, 2010

ORANGE COUNTY CANCER DOCTOR CHARGED WITH DEFRAUDING MEDICARE AND OTHER HEALTH INSURERS IN $1 MILLION SCAM

An Orange County cancer doctor has been charged with fraudulently billing Medicare and other health insurance companies up to $1 million for injectable cancer medications that never were provided.

Dr. Glen R. Justice, 65, of Corona del Mar, was named in a five-count criminal information that was filed yesterday afternoon in United States District Court in Santa Ana. In a plea agreement that was also filed yesterday, Justice agreed to plead guilty to five counts of health care fraud. More...

April 19, 2010

BAY AREA GUN TRAFFICKERS PLEAD GUILTY

Ring That Shipped Firearms from Georgia to San Francisco Bay Area Dismantled
SAN FRANCISCO - Four Vallejo, Calif., residents pleaded guilty in federal court in San Francisco to receiving firearms in California that had been unlawfully shipped from Georgia, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced.More...

April 18, 2010

MEXICAN ACTRESS AND ‘HUSBAND’ ARRESTED BY FEDERAL AUTHORITIES FOR ALLEGEDLY ENTERING INTO SHAM MARRIAGE

LOS ANGELES – A Mexican national who has appeared in feature films and a Los Angeles man whom she married in June 2005 were arrested this morning by federal officials on marriage fraud charges that alleged they entered into a sham marriage so the actor could obtain legal status in the United States.More...

April 16, 2010

SAN GABRIEL VALLEY DOCTOR SENTENCED TO FOUR YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR ILLEGALLY DISPENSING HUGE AMOUNTS OF NARCOTICS WITHOUT EXAMINING HIS ‘PATIENTS’

Doctor with Duarte ‘Pain Clinic’ was Nation’s Largest Buyer of Hydrocodone

LOS ANGELES – A physician who operated a clinic in Duarte and dispensed massive quantities of powerful and addictive painkillers, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, directly out of his office without examining “patients” who simply paid him cash for pills was sentenced this afternoon to 48 months in federal prison. More...

April 14, 2010

FEDERAL GRAND JURY INDICTS I.R.S. REVENUE AGENT FOR FILING FALSE TAX RETURNS AND THREATENING INVESTIGATORS

LOS ANGELES – A federal grand jury has indicted an Internal Revenue Service revenue agent on charges of filing false tax returns, helping others file false tax returns, and threatening to kill tax agents who were investigating his activities.More...

April 13, 2010

MAN CHARGED WITH IMPERSONATING AN ATTORNEY IN FRAUDULENT SCHEME

SAN FRANCISCO - A federal grand jury in San Francisco indicted Michael Anthony Nelson yesterday with mail fraud, wire fraud, computer fraud and aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced. The indictment charges Nelson with carrying out a fraudulent scheme in which he impersonated a licensed attorney who is also named Michael Nelson. More...

April 12, 2010

FOUR SAN FRANCISCO MEN PLEAD GUILTY TO BANK FRAUD CONSPIRACY CHARGES IN $1.3 MILLION BANK “BUST OUT” SCHEME

SAN FRANCISCO - Three San Francisco men, Peter Chan, Kam Seto, and Zhijian Wu, pled guilty yesterday to bank fraud conspiracy charges, admitting to participating in a bank “bust out” scheme that defrauded banks of a total of more than $1.3 million, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced. A fourth conspirator, Kent Wu, pled guilty on March 24, 2010, to a charge arising from the same scheme. A fifth defendant, David Chan, remains a fugitive. More...

April 09, 2010

ORANGE COUNTY MAN WHO PARTICIPATED IN MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEME SENTENCED TO 60 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON

LOS ANGELES – A Newport Coast man who defrauded the Department of Housing and Urban Development by fraudulently obtaining mortgage loans that went into default was sentenced today to five years in federal prison.More...

April 08, 2010

LA CAÑADA WOMAN SENTENCED TO SEVEN YEARS IN PRISON FOR SELLING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF FAKE ART THROUGH NATIONWIDE TV ART AUCTION PROGRAM

LOS ANGELES – A La Cañada woman who sold fake art – including works purported to be by Picasso, Dali and Chagall – through a rigged televised art auction has been sentenced to 84 months in federal prison.More...

April 07, 2010

TWO DESERT HOT SPRINGS POLICE OFFICERS INDICTED ON CHARGES OF ABUSING HANDCUFFED SUSPECTS WITH TASERS

LOS ANGELES – One current police officer and one former officer with the Desert Hot Springs Police Department surrendered this morning to face federal charges of violating the civil rights of suspects in police custody by using Taser guns to stun three victims, two of whom were in handcuffs when they were abused.More...

April 06, 2010

MEMBER OF COMMERCE CITY COUNCIL ARRESTED IN SCHEME TO HIDE ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS FROM GRAND JURY

Robert Fierro, a member of the Commerce City Council, was arrested this morning by special agents with the FBI, after a grand jury indicted him and two family members in a scheme to conceal illegally reimbursed campaign contributions from a federal grand jury that was investigating allegations of political corruption in the city just east of downtown Los Angeles. More...

April 02, 2010

FIVE CHARGED IN INSIDER TRADING RING THAT GENERATED MORE THAN $1.7 MILLION IN ILLEGAL PROFITS

LOS ANGELES -- Special agents with the FBI this morning arrested two of five defendants charged in an insider trading scheme in which the participants secretly used confidential information obtained from two investor relations firms to generate more than $1.7 million in illegal profits.More...

March 31, 2010

BEVERLY HILLS INVESTMENT ADVISOR WHO STOLE $8 MILLION FROM CLIENTS SENTENCED TO NINE YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

A Beverly Hills-based investment manager and stockbroker who confessed to running a Ponzi scheme that caused clients to lose more than $8 million was sentenced today to 108 months in federal prison.More...

March 30, 2010

FORMER UNION OFFICIAL CHARGED WITH EMBEZZLING MORE THAN $47,000 IN UNION FUNDS AND PERJURY

SAN JOSE, Calif. – A former union official has been charged with embezzling more than $47,000 in union funds and making false statements to a government agency, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced. More...

March 29, 2010

FORMER BROCADE CEO CONVICTED OF SECURITIES FRAUD

Government Prevails in Options Backdating Prosecution

SAN FRANCISCO - Gregory L. Reyes, former Chief Executive Officer of Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. of San Jose, Calif., was convicted of four counts of securities fraud, four counts of lying to accountants and one count of false books and records by a federal jury today, First Assistant United States Attorney David L. Anderson announced.More...

March 25, 2010

INLAND EMPIRE MAN WHO PLEADED GUILTY TO ROLE IN $4 MILLION MORTGAGE SCAM SENTENCED TO OVER 7 YEARS

LOS ANGELES – Concluding a mortgage fraud case involving more than $4 million in losses at several banks, the fourth defendant convicted in the scheme was sentenced today to 85 months in federal prison.More...

March 24, 2010

OPERATOR OF STANDARD HOTEL IN LOS ANGELES AGREES TO PLEAD GUILTY TO ENVIRONMENTAL OFFENSE IN DUMPING OF POOL CHEMICALS THAT CAUSED ILLNESSES IN SUBWAY

The corporate operator of the Standard Hotel in downtown Los Angeles has agreed to plead guilty to violating federal environmental laws in an incident where a hotel employee dumped pool chemicals into a rooftop drain, which led to a street closure and several people becoming ill when fumes filled a subway station.More...

March 23, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO MAN SENTENCED TO 21 MONTHS FOR ROLE IN MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEME

SAN FRANCISCO - Michael Chou was sentenced today to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay $360,800 in forfeiture as a result of his conviction for conspiring to commit wire fraud, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced.More...

March 22, 2010

PENINSULA AREA MOTHER AND DAUGHTER CHARGED WITH NINE COUNTS OF TAX EVASION

Failed to Report Over $1,000,000 of Income

SAN FRANCISCO – Maria Virginia Reyes and Christine Reyes were indicted by federal grand jury in San Francisco on nine counts of tax evasion, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello and Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Scott O’Briant announced. More...

March 19, 2010

ILLINOIS MAN SENTENCED TO 2½ YEARS IN PRISON FOR POSTING NUDE VIDEOS OF ESPN REPORTER ON INTERNET

LOS ANGELES – A Chicago-area man was sentenced this afternoon to 30 months in federal prison for taking nude videos of television personality Erin Andrews and posting the videos on the Internet after being rebuffed when he offered the videos for sale to a celebrity website.More...

March 18, 2010

LEAD DEFENDANT PLEADS GUILTY IN RICO MORTGAGE FRAUD CASE

United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt announced that today lead defendant Darnell Bell entered a guilty plea to an indictment charging that he conspired to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute by engaging in a pattern of racketeering activity, namely, wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. The charged racketeering activity all stemmed from an extensive mortgage fraud scheme based in San Diego, California. Bell entered his guilty plea pursuant to a plea agreement in United States District Court before Magistrate Judge Nita L. Stormes, subject to final acceptance of the plea by U.S. District Judge Marilyn L. Huff. Bell is the fourth defendant to enter a guilty plea in this matter. Guilty pleas were previously entered by defendants Michael Ivy, Diana Jaime, and Marcus Dozzell.More...

March 17, 2010

FINAL DEFENDANT IN $6 MILLION FRAUD CASE INVOLVING BILLS FOR NONEXISTENT ADS SENTENCED TO 5½ YEARS IN PRISON

The seventh person convicted in relation to a scheme that collected more than $6 million from companies and organizations that thought they were paying for advertisements that had run in various minority-themed publications was sentenced today to 66 months in federal prison.More...

March 16, 2010

FAIRFIELD COUPLE CONVICTED OF RACIALLY-MOTIVATED ASSAULT

SACRAMENTO – United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that JOSEPH SILVA, 56, and his wife GEORGIA SILVA, 52, both of Fairfield, were convicted today by a jury, following a four day trial before U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez, of a federal civil rights felony offense in connection with a racially-motivated assault. The victim and his wife, an Indian-American couple, were attempting to enjoy El Dorado Beach at South Lake Tahoe in July 2007 when the SILVAS confronted and attacked them in what the jury determined was a bias-motivated assault. More...

March 15, 2010

SANTA MONICA RESTAURANT AND SUSHI CHEF CHARGED WITH SELLING MEAT OF PROTECTED SEI WHALES

LOS ANGELES – Federal prosecutors this afternoon filed a criminal complaint that charges a Santa Monica sushi restaurant and one its chefs with selling Sei whale meat.More...

March 12, 2010

SECURITIES BROKER PLEADS GUILTY TO ISSUING FALSE PRESS RELEASES TO INFLATE STOCK PRICES

SAN FRANCISCO - Lambros D. Ballas pleaded guilty in federal court in San Francisco yesterday to one count of securities fraud, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced. More...

March 11, 2010

ACCOUNTANT PLEADS GUILTY TO $13.5 MILLION PONZI SCHEME

SACRAMENTO, Calif.– United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that WILLIAM MURRAY, 55, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty and was immediately taken into custody today. The guilty plea was entered before United States District Judge Edward J. Garcia to mail fraud and interference with tax administration.More...

March 10, 2010

SAN JOSE MAN SENTENCED TO 41 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON

ILLEGALLY EARNED $3.5 MILLION IN MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEME

SAN FRANCISCO - John A. Bui was sentenced today to 41 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $3,500,000 in forfeiture as a result of his convictions for conspiring to commit wire fraud, destruction of records in a federal investigation, and witness tampering, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced.More...

March 09, 2010

SAN FERNANDO VALLEY MAN SENTENCED TO OVER 18 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR SOLICITING MURDER OF I.C.E. INFORMANT

A Sherman Oaks man was sentenced this morning to 217 months in federal prison for his role in a bank fraud scheme and a related plot in which he attempted to hire a hitman to murder a witness who was prepared to testify against him in the fraud case.More...

March 05, 2010

MARINE CORPS CAPTAIN CHARGED WITH SKIMMING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FROM MILITARY CONTRACTS

Riverside, California – A captain in the United States Marine Corps was charged today with conspiring with his wife to skim approximately $1.75 million from government contracts awarded under the Iraqi First Program while he was acting as a Marine Corps contracting officer’s representative in Iraq.More...

March 04, 2010

LOS ANGELES WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FALSELY TELLING F.B.I. THAT SHE HAD BEEN KIDNAPPED

A 24-year-old Los Angeles woman pleaded guilty today to lying to the FBI last summer when she claimed to have been the victim of a days-long armed kidnapping in which her captor brought her across state lines.More...

March 03, 2010

EUROPEAN FRAUDSTER CONVICTED IN INVESTMENT FRAUD SCHEME THAT BILKED VICTIMS OUT OF $7.3 MILLION

LOS ANGELES – A British national who ran an investment scam that took $7.3 million from victims who were promised that their money would be maintained in safe accounts and used only to back the purchase of bonds has been convicted on federal fraud and tax evasion charges.More...

March 02, 2010

14 ENTITIES PAY $15.4 MILLION TO RESOLVE ALLEGATIONS OF BID-RIGGING AND PRICE-FIXING ON DEFENSE CONTRACTS

LOS ANGELES – Trelleborg AB, a Swedish manufacturer of marine fenders and marine hose, and 13 other corporations and individuals, have paid the government a total of $15,448,728 to resolve civil allegations that they fraudulently overbilled the Navy and other federal agencies by bid-rigging and price-fixing on sales of materials used on piers and other marine construction projects.More...

February 26, 2010

TWO “SOVEREIGN CITIZENS” SENTENCED IN ILLEGAL INSURANCE SCHEME

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that JAMES S. KALFSBEEK, 72, of Arbuckle, and DONNA JEAN ROWE, 59, of Lodi, were sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton to terms of imprisonment of 10 years and four years respectively. On June 11, 2009, both defendants were convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy, mail fraud, and money laundering in connection with a fraudulent insurance scheme. Both defendants were also ordered to pay restitution in an amount to be determined at a later hearing and to serve a term of supervised release after serving their prison sentences.More...

February 25, 2010

FORMER HOSPITAL EXECUTIVE SENTENCED TO 37 MONTHS FOR PAYING KICKBACKS IN ‘SKID ROW’ HEALTH CARE FRAUD SCHEME

LOS ANGELES – The former co-owner of City of Angels Medical Center was sentenced today to 37 months in federal prison for paying illegal kickbacks for referrals of “patients” who were recruited from Los Angeles’ “Skid Row.” More...

February 24, 2010

DOCTOR WHO PLEADED GUILTY TO HEALTH CARE FRAUD FOR GIVING AIDS AND HIV PATIENTS DILUTED MEDICATIONS SENTENCED TO 15 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON

SANTA ANA, California – A well-known AIDS doctor who pleaded guilty to federal health care fraud charges for “subdosing” patients by administering doses of medicine that contained less than the prescribed amount of medication that the patients were supposed to receive was sentenced this afternoon to 15 months in federal prison.More...

February 23, 2010

FINAL DEFENDANT ADMITS SHAKING DOWN INVESTORS CONNECTED TO $40 MILLION PONZI FRAUD

SACRAMENTO, Calif.— United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner, FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Drew Parenti, and IRS-Criminal Investigation Special-Agent-in-Charge Scott O'Briant announced today that MICHAEL DAVID SANDERS, aka David Dennis Sanders, and Dave Sanders, 42, of Fair Oaks, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Impersonate an Officer and Employee of the United States. SANDERS was the final defendant to plead; co-conspirator CRAIG ANDERSON, 39, of Chicago, pleaded guilty on February 1, to the same charge; CASSANDRA MOORE, 26, of Beverly Hills, and SEAN SMARTT, 41, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor Unlawfully Possessing False Documents on February 4 and 5, respectively.More...

February 22, 2010

SHIPPING FIRM SENTENCED TO PAY $10 MILLION FOR CAUSING COSCO BUSAN OIL SPILL AND COVERUP

SAN FRANCISCO — Fleet Management Ltd. was ordered to pay $10 million today for its role in causing the Cosco Busan oil discharge and a subsequent cover-up after the ship struck the San Francisco Bay Bridge in November 2007, U.S. Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello and the Justice Department announced.More...

February 20, 2010

FIVE WHO TARGETED HOMEOWNERS IN DEFAULT SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON IN $13 MILLION MORTGAGE FRAUD CASE

O.C. Man Gets 15 Years for Fraud, Refusal to Account for Off-Shore Money

LOS ANGELES – A Downey woman who orchestrated a real estate fraud scheme that caused nearly $13 million in losses after falsely promising to help homeowners in default on their mortgages has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. A second person involved in the scheme was sentenced yesterday to 15 years in prison after a federal judge determined that he had refused to account for proceeds of the scheme in an off-shore bank account that he had agreed in his plea agreement to repatriate.More...

February 19, 2010

LOS ANGELES TAX PREPARER ACCUSED OF DEFRAUDING U.S. WITH LIES ON VISA APPLICATIONS AND FALSE TAX RETURNS

A Hancock Park man who is charged with conducting a multi-faceted fraud against several government agencies – including applying for immigration visas with false claims that the aliens would be employed as religious workers in the United States – has pleaded not guilty to a series of charges in a federal grand jury indictment.More...

February 18, 2010

LONG BEACH MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN $33 MILLION PONZI THAT LURED INVESTORS WITH PROMISES OF PROFITS IN REAL ESTATE

A 33-year-old Long Beach man who operated a number of ventures that he used to solicit money with false claims of profitable investments in real estate has pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge.More...

February 16, 2010

FORMER CALIFORNIA POWER AUTHORITY MANAGER PLEADS GUILTY TO DEFRAUDING STATE OF OVER $660,000

SACRAMENTO, Calif.– United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that BENJAMIN BUSTAMANTE, 32, of West Sacramento, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. to wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud the former California Power Authority Demand Reserve Partnership Program of over $680,000. More...

February 15, 2010

MORTGAGE BROKER AND REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER INDICTED IN $19.6M MORTGAGE FRAUD

SAN FRANCISCO – Yesterday a federal grand jury in San Francisco indicted Michael Ohayon and David Papera with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced. More...

February 12, 2010

APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS BAN THAT PROHIBITS FELONS FROM POSSESSING FIREARMS

Right to Bear Arms Does Not Extend to Convicted Felons

SACRAMENTO, Calif.–The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco issued an opinion on Monday upholding the federal ban on convicted felons possessing firearms as consistent with the Second Amendment of the Constitution. The three-judge panel unanimously affirmed the defendant’s conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. More...

February 11, 2010

FORMER TUSTIN HOSPITAL EXECUTIVE AGREES TO PLEAD GUILTY TO PAYING KICKBACKS IN ‘SKID ROW’ HEALTHCARE FRAUD PLOT

LOS ANGELES – The former chief financial officer of Tustin Hospital and Medical Center agreed in court papers filed today to plead guilty to paying illegal kickbacks for patients who were recruited from the “Skid Row” area of Los Angeles.More...

February 10, 2010

FORMER BOEING ENGINEER SENTENCED TO NEARLY 16 YEARS IN PRISON FOR STEALING AEROSPACE SECRETS FOR CHINA

SANTA ANA, California – An aerospace engineer was sentenced today to 188 months in federal prison for his conviction on charges of economic espionage and acting as an agent of the People's Republic of China for more than three decades while employed by Rockwell and Boeing, from which he stole restricted technology and trade secrets, including information related to the Space Shuttle program and Delta IV rocket.More...

February 09, 2010

THREE PLEAD GUILTY TO SHAKING DOWN INVESTORS CONNECTED TO $40 MILLION PONZI FRAUD

SACRAMENTO, Calif.— United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner, FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Drew Parenti, and IRS-Criminal Investigation Special-Agent-in-Charge Scott O’Briant announced today that, on February 5, 2010, CRAIG ANDERSON, 39, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to impersonate an officer and employee, and CASSANDRA MOORE, 26, of Beverly Hills and SEAN SMARTT, 41, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing false documents, a misdemeanor. A fourth defendant, MICHAEL DAVID SANDERS, 41, of Fair Oaks, is confirmed to begin trial on March 1, 2010. More...

February 08, 2010

OPERATOR OF MALIBU-BASED ‘CAP X’ INVESTMENT PROGRAM ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY RUNNING $12 MILLION PONZI SCHEME

The promoter of a bogus investment offering involving distressed business assets was taken into custody this morning on federal mail and wire fraud charges that charge him with running a Ponzi scheme in which he raised at least $12 million from victims across the United States.More...

February 05, 2010

FIFTH GANG MEMBER SENTENCED TO LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE AFTER CONVICTIONS IN MASSIVE FEDERAL RACKETEERING CASE

Other Members of Florencia 13 Gang Receive Multi-Decade Sentences for Numerous Crimes, including Race-Based Attacks, Committed in Bid to Control Drug Trade and Extend Gang Territory into Other Neighborhoods. More...

February 04, 2010

WEST COVINA MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN PONZI SCHEME BASED ON BOGUS INVESTMENTS IN LATEX GLOVES AFTER 9/11 ATTACKS

A West Covina man has pleaded guilty to federal mail fraud charges for running a Ponzi scheme that took nearly $700,000 from victims who thought they were investing in latex gloves, which were portrayed as being in high demand following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. More...

February 03, 2010

FORMER PRESIDENT OF INLAND EMPIRE MORTGAGE COMPANY SENTENCED TO 13 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON IN FRAUD SCHEME THAT LED TO NEARLY $30 MILLION IN LOSSES AT H.U.D.

RIVERSIDE, California – The former president of Mortgage One Corporation in Hesperia was sentenced this afternoon to 13 years in federal prison for defrauding the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and private lenders by fraudulently obtaining hundreds of federally insured loans and selling those mortgages to private lenders in a scheme that caused tens of millions of dollars in losses to the federal housing agency. More...

February 02, 2010

REAL ESTATE APPRAISER SENTENCED TO 3 YEARS IN PRISON IN MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEME THAT LED TO $46 MILLION IN LOSSES

LOS ANGELES – A former state-licensed real estate appraiser was sentenced today to three years in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $46 million in restitution for her role in a massive mortgage fraud scheme that caused tens of millions of dollars in losses to federally insured banks.More...

February 01, 2010

Bank Robber Sentenced To Serve 57 Months In Federal Prison

San Diego, CA - United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt announced that Miguel Dario Florez was sentenced today in federal court in San Diego by United States District Judge William Q. Hayes to serve 57 months in custody based on the defendant’s conviction for five counts of bank robbery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2113(a).More...

January 31, 2010

FORMER BANK OF THE WEST CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER PLEADS GUILTY TO EMBEZZLEMENT

FRESNO, Calif. – United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that DONICE MAXINE MEDINA, 53, of Parlier, Calif., pleaded guilty today to theft and embezzlement of bank funds before United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill.More...

January 29, 2010

CANADIAN TRUCK DRIVER ADMITS TO SMUGGLING $435,000 AND ECSTASY

CHP Stop Led to the Arrest

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner and United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Dan Lane announced today that ROBERT JAMES FOX, 38, of British Columbia, Canada, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to possession with intent to distribute MDMA (commonly known as Ecstasy) and bulk cash smuggling.More...

January 28, 2010

NEBRASKA MAN AGREES TO PLEAD GUILTY IN ATTACK OF SCIENTOLOGY WEBSITES ORCHESTRATED BY ‘ANONYMOUS'

LOS ANGELES – A Nebraska man agreed today to plead guilty to participating in an attack on Church of Scientology websites in January 2008 that shut down the group’s websites.More...

January 27, 2010

INMATE WHO WAS SERVING TIME IN STATE PRISON FOR IDENTITY THEFT SENTENCED TO 8½ YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON IN SECOND IDENTITY THEFT CASE FOR TAKING OVER CREDIT CARDS

RIVERSIDE, California – A man who was serving a three-year state prison sentence for identity theft was sentenced today to serve 102 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to federal charges of identity theft and organizing a bank fraud scheme while he was incarcerated at the California State Prison in Centinela.More...

January 25, 2010

MANAGER OF EAST BAY FUEL TERMINAL SENTENCED TO ONE YEAR OF HOME CONFINEMENTFOR VIOLATING THE CLEAN AIR ACT

Also sentenced to 200 hours community service related to health impacts of air pollution More...

January 22, 2010

CONMAN FOUND GUILTY OF OPERATING $62 MILLION PONZI SCHEME THAT TARGETED SPANISH-SPEAKING INVESTORS

LOS ANGELES – A Huntington Park man who preyed on Spanish-speaking investors with promises of hefty returns in the real estate bubble has been found guilty of federal charges for bilking more than 2,000 victims out of more than $62 million.More...

January 21, 2010

SUPPLEMENT MANUFACTURER PLEADS GUILTY TO SELLING PRODUCTS CONTAINING ANABOLIC STEROIDS

VMG Global, Inc. Admits Selling Spiked Supplements Containing “Tren,”or "4-estra," and "Madol," or "DMT." More...

January 20, 2010

INLAND EMPIRE MAN AND THAI SUPPLIER CHARGED WITH SMUGGLING IVORY FROM ENDANGERED AFRICAN ELEPHANTS

LOS ANGELES – A federal grand jury today indicted a Southland man and a Thai national in a scheme that allegedly smuggled ivory from endangered African elephants into the United States.More...

January 19, 2010

DEFENDANT WHO WAS FUGITIVE FOR 12 ½ YEARS SENTENCED TO 240 MONTHS FOR 1992 DRUG TRAFFICKING OFFENSE

SAN FRANCISCO - Donnell Hatcher was sentenced Tuesday to 240 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute heroin, a sentence which will run consecutive to a previously-imposed 200 month sentence, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced. More...

January 18, 2010

HEDGE FUND MANAGER WHO BILKED RELATIVES OUT OF $25 MILLION SENTENCED TO OVER 10 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

After admitting that he ran a Ponzi scheme that targeted family members and close friends and caused them to lose more than $25 million, the founder and manager of two Beverly Hills hedge funds was sentenced today to 121 months in federal prison.More...

January 16, 2010

FEDERAL COURTHOUSE BOMB SUSPECT PLEADS GUILTY

SACRAMENTO– United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that MATTHEW FRATICELLI, 31, of south Sacramento, entered a guilty plea today to a charge of possession of an unregistered destructive device. The guilty plea was taken from the defendant in federal court in Sacramento by United States District Judge Edward J. Garcia. More...

January 15, 2010

MAN SENTENCED TO OVER 13 YEARS IN $21 MILLION PONZI SCHEME THAT COSTS DOZENS OF VICTIM THEIR LIFE SAVINGS

Victims Describe Ordeals of Loss after ‘Up-Close’ Meetings with Fraudster More...

January 14, 2010

UNLICENSED ORANGE COUNTY MORTGAGE BROKER SENTENCED TO NEARLY SIX YEARS IN PRISON IN $40 MILLION FRAUD SCHEME

SANTA ANA, California – A San Clemente man who acted as a mortgage broker under several umbrellas, including the Orange-based Lucrativo Real Estate Solutions, Inc., was sentenced this morning to 70 months in federal prison for his conviction on tax evasion, mail fraud and credit card fraud charges related to a mortgage fraud scheme that caused at least $7 million in losses.More...

January 13, 2010

GUILTY PLEA IN PASADENA ARSON PLOT LINKED TO DOMESTIC TERRORIST ORGANIZATION

A Los Angeles-area man who installed a gasoline bomb in a multi-million dollar condominium development under construction in Pasadena pleaded guilty this afternoon to a federal conspiracy charge in which he admitted working on behalf of the Earth Liberation Front.More...

January 12, 2010

UNLICENSED ORANGE COUNTY MORTGAGE BROKER SENTENCED TO NEARLY SIX YEARS IN PRISON IN $40 MILLION FRAUD SCHEME

SANTA ANA, California – A San Clemente man who acted as a mortgage broker under several umbrellas, including the Orange-based Lucrativo Real Estate Solutions, Inc., was sentenced this morning to 70 months in federal prison for his conviction on tax evasion, mail fraud and credit card fraud charges related to a mortgage fraud scheme that caused at least $7 million in losses.More...

January 11, 2010

WEST HOLLYWOOD ANTIQUES DEALER FACES CHARGES OF SELLING FAKE PICASSO DRAWING FOR $2 MILLION

Dealer Claimed the Art Once Belonged to Malcolm Forbes

LOS ANGELES – A West Hollywood antiques dealer has been named in a federal fraud case involving the $2 million sale of a fake Pablo Picasso that she paid an artist $1,000 to fabricate. Tatiana Khan was informed of the charges this morning by FBI agents who also seized a $700,000 de Kooning painting that prosecutors allege was purchased with proceeds derived from the sale of the bogus Picasso.More...

January 08, 2010

GRAND JURY INDICTS DOCTOR WHO HEADED LIVER TRANSPLANT PROGRAM ON CHARGES OF COVERING UP PATIENT SWITCH

Intended Recipient of Liver was Removed From Wait List and Later Died

A Los Angeles surgeon who was the director of the liver transplant program at St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles was indicted today by a federal grand jury for lying to the national organ transplant network after a liver accepted on behalf of one patient was instead transplanted into another patient who was significantly lower on the national wait list. More...

January 06, 2010

MANTECA BUSINESS OWNER ADMITS AIDING AND ABETTING THE SALE OF UNINSPECTED BEEF

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that RICHARD J. RIELLA, 48, of Manteca, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of aiding and abetting the sale of uninspected beef.More...

January 05, 2010

ORANGE COUNTY MAN ADMITS TO POSTING PRE-RELEASE ‘SCREENER’ OF HOLLYWOOD MOVIE ON INTERNET

An Irvine man today agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge of uploading a pre-release version of the movie “The Love Guru” to a website operated by a piracy group that made the movie widely available on the Internet. More...

January 04, 2010

FEDERAL AUTHORITIES ANNOUNCE LARGE INCREASE IN CRIMINAL IMMIGRATION PROSECUTIONS IN CENTRAL VALLEY

47% increase in federal indictments over prior year More...

December 30, 2009

Former Park-and-Ride Security Guard Convicted of Murder

LANCASTER – After nearly a month of deliberation, jurors today convicted a former security guard of fatally shooting an 18-year-old college student in a Palmdale park-and-ride lot. More...

December 29, 2009

ACCUSED KILLER RETURNED TO MEXICO AFTER EXTRADITION REQUEST

FRESNO, Calif. - United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that ARMANDO REYES ANDRADE, 57, a Mexican national and resident of Riverbank, California, was returned to Mexico yesterday following a Mexican extradition request for him to stand trial for the January 2005 shooting death of Celedonio Leon Tapia in the state of Michoacan. More...

December 28, 2009

Man Charged in Ex-Girlfriend’s Murder

VAN NUYS – A 30-year-old East Los Angeles man accused of fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend was charged with murder today, the District Attorney’s Office announced. More...

December 24, 2009

TIBURON MAN SENTENCED TO 42 MONTHS IN CUSTODY IN CONNECTION WITH FAKE INVESTMENT SCHEME

SAN FRANCISCO - Malcolm McVickar Jr. was sentenced today to 42 months in prison and ordered to pay $436,583.37 in restitution for mail fraud and wire fraud, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced. More...

December 23, 2009

TWO FRESNO MEN CONVICTED IN SPREE OF 30 ARMED ROBBERIES

FRESNO, Calif.–United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner,Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)Special Agent in Charge Stephen Herkins, Fresno County DistrictAttorney Elizabeth A. Egan, and Fresno Chief of Police Jerry Dyerannounced today that a jury returned More...

December 22, 2009

NEW YORK RABBI SENTENCED TO TWO YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON IN SCHEME TO DEFRAUD FEDERAL TAX AUTHORITIES

LOS ANGELES – The Grand Rabbi of Spinka, a religious group within Orthodox Judaism, was sentenced this morning to two years in federal prison for orchestrating a tax evasion scheme that prosecutors called “an astonishingly complex and sinister enterprise.”More...

December 21, 2009

NEVADA MAN SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS IN PRISON FOR LYING TO OBTAIN NEW PASSPORT AFTER AUTHORITIES SEIZED HIS PASSPORT DURING INVESTIGATION INTO DOUBLE MURDER

LOS ANGELES – An alleged leader of a Las Vegas-based white supremacist gang has been sentenced to three years in federal prison by a federal judge who found that he lied on a passport application as he fled an investigation into his possible involvement in a hate crime in which two people were murdered. More...

December 18, 2009

ARCHITECT OF MORTGAGE FRAUD AND REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT FRAUD SCHEMES PLEADS GUILTY IN FEDERAL COURT

SAN FRANCISCO - Patricia Morgen pleaded guilty in federal court in San Francisco yesterday to wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced.More...

December 17, 2009

INDICTMENT UNSEALED CHARGING NINE WITH SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN

United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt announced that Malcolm Jamal Allen, Ama Bahati Bernard, Devon Leontae Sutton, Birdia Rollins, Nicole Brook Tierney, Vincent Windsor Heimstra, Dominique Cortez Little, Joseph Anthony Ponder, and Alexandra Grove, have been charged in a previously sealed six-count indictment handed up by a federal grand jury on December 4, 2009, with Conspiracy to Violate Sex Trafficking of Children and by Force, Fraud and Coercion; Sex Trafficking of Children and by Force, Fraud and Coercion; Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Aiding and Abetting. The indictment was unsealed today before United States Magistrate Judge Nita L. Stormes. All defendants are currently in custody.More...

December 16, 2009

UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX SETTLES FALSE CLAIMS ACT LAWSUIT FOR $67.5 MILLION

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Justice Department announced today that the University of Phoenix has agreed to pay the United States $67.5 million to resolve allegations that its student recruitment policies violated the False Claims Act.More...

December 15, 2009

AUDIOLOGIST SENTENCED TO SIX MONTHS IN PRISON FOR MEDICARE FRAUD

FRESNO, Calif. – United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that ADAM JOHN SORTINI, 88, of Merced, was sentenced on December 11, 2009, by United States District Judge Oliver W. Wanger, to six months in prison to be followed by 15 months of home confinement, plus restitution of $100,000, for his scheme to defraud the Medicare program by submitting false billings for audiology services. A jury found him guilty of 17 counts of mail fraud and one count of health care fraud on November 4, 2008.More...

December 14, 2009

Judge Sentences Defendant to Serve 210 Months In Federal Prison For Conspiracy To Conduct Enterprise Affairs Through A Pattern of Racketeering Activity

United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt announced that Jose Rojas was sentenced today in federal court in San Diego by United States District Court Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz to serve 210 months in custody, based on his conviction for conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1962(d). The sentence imposed today for Rojas followed his guilty plea earlier this year.More...

December 11, 2009

STOCKTON MAN CONVICTED OF BANK FRAUD, AGGRAVATED I.D. THEFT, AND POSSESSION OF STOLEN U.S. MAIL

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that RUSSELL ANTHONY HARDCASTLE, 39, of Stockton, pleaded guilty this morning before United States District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton to felony bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and possession of stolen U.S. mail.More...

December 10, 2009

VALLEY MAN ADMITS SOLICITING MURDER OF INFORMANT HELPING INVESTIGATORS IN BANK FRAUD INVESTIGATION

LOS ANGELES – A Sherman Oaks man has pleaded guilty to solicitation of murder, admitting that he was willing to pay to a hitman to kill an informant working with federal investigators who were looking into a bank fraud scheme. More...

December 09, 2009

BURBANK MAN SENTENCED TO EIGHT YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR LAUNDERING PROCEEDS RELATED TO HEALTH CARE FRAUD

A publisher of Russian-language newspapers and magazines was sentenced today to eight years in federal prison for running a sophisticated “cash-back” scheme that helped numerous perpetrators of health care fraud to avoid the payment of taxes and to obtain cash to be used for kickbacks to associates.More...

December 08, 2009

Brown Halts UCLA Professor's Use of Charitable Funds for Personal Business Ventures

Los Angeles -Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today reached a settlement with UCLA Professor Gerald D. Buckberg, M.D., and five officers of the nonprofit L.B. Research and Education Foundation ("L.B.") that forces them to stop using the charity as a "personal bank account" to finance their business ventures. More...

December 07, 2009

KERLAN-JOBE ORTHOPAEDIC CLINIC AGREES TO PAY $3 MILLION TO SETTLE KICKBACK ALLEGATIONS

LOS ANGELES – The Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic, a sports medicine clinic with offices across the Los Angeles area, has agreed to pay the United States $3 million to settle allegations that it received illegal kickbacks from HealthSouth Corporation, the Justice Department announced today.More...

December 04, 2009

KAISER ENTITIES AGREE TO SETTLE MATTER BROUGHT UNDER HHS-OIG VOLUNTARY SELF DISCLOSURE PROTOCOL

SAN FRANCISCO – Four Kaiser entities in Northern and Southern California have agreed to pay the government $3,752,000 to resolve allegations that they submitted false claims to the United States in connection with payments from the Medicare and Medicaid programs, U.S. Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced.More...

December 03, 2009

Man Deemed Sane in LAX Police Officer’s Murder

LOS ANGELES – A 51-year-old man faces life in prison after a Los Angeles jury determined today he was sane when he carjacked and murdered a Los Angeles International Airport police officer in 2005.More...

December 02, 2009

FORMER POLICE OFFICER IS SENTENCED FOR FALSELY CLAIMING SILVER STAR MILITARY DECORATION

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that ERIC GENE PIOTROWSKI, 41, of Elk Grove, was sentenced this morning by United States Magistrate Judge Gregory G. Hollows to 12 months probation and 200 hours of community service for falsely claiming that he was awarded a Silver Star Military decoration during Operation Desert Storm. He pleaded guilty on September 15, 2009. Under the Stolen Valor Act, which was enacted in late 2006, it is a misdemeanor offense to wear military medals that were not in fact awarded, or to falsely claim to have been awarded such medals. More...

November 30, 2009

RIO DELL RESIDENT SENTENCED TO SIX YEARS IN PRISON FOR MARIJUANA CULTIVATING OPERATION

Forfeited real property and $945,000 Promissory Note

OAKLAND, Calif. – Jordan Pyhtila was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for maintaining a place to manufacture marijuana and conspiracy to launder money, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced.More...

November 27, 2009

CLEANUP COMPANY PLEADS GUILTY AND IS SENTENCED FOR FALSE REPORTING

Employee Found with Illegal Drugs from DEA Cleanup Site Sentenced

FRESNO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner, California Secretary for Environmental Protection Linda S. Adams, California Department of Toxic Substances Control Acting Director Maziar Movassaghi, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent-in-Charge Anthony D. Williams announced today that PROFESSIONAL ASBESTOS REMOVAL CORPORATION, also known as PARC ENVIRONMENTAL, pleaded guilty this morning before Chief United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii to making a false statement in a uniform hazardous waste manifest in violation of the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which governs the safe handling and storage of hazardous materials, including hazardous waste found at clandestine drug labs.More...

November 26, 2009

THREE FAMILY MEMBERS WHO USED IDENTITY THEFT IN CREDIT CARD ‘BUST-OUT’ SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON TERMS

SANTA ANA, California – Three members of a Los Angeles family who operated a credit card “bust-out” scheme in the neighborhoods surrounding the Little Armenia section of Los Angeles have been sentenced to up to eight years in federal prison after pleading guilty to fraud charges.More...

November 25, 2009

U.K.-BASED FRAUDSTER SENTENCED TO NEARLY SIX YEARS IN PRISON FOR WORKING IN MULTIMILLION DOLLAR ‘LOTTERY SCAM’

LOS ANGELES – A man who participated in a London-based telemarketing scheme that defrauded elderly victims in the United States and the United Kingdom with false promises of lottery winnings was sentenced today to 70 months in federal prison.More...

November 24, 2009

SACRAMENTO GANG MEMBER GETS 6 YEARS AND 5 MONTHS SENTENCE FOR BANK ROBBERY

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that United States District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. sentenced MICHAEL ANDREW WILLIAMS, 28, of Sacramento, to six years and five months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for bank robbery. He was also ordered to pay restitution. More...

November 23, 2009

FORMER UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER SENTENCED TO 97 MONTHS IN PRISON

Fined $9 Million for Role in Laundering $30 Million of Extortion Proceeds More...

November 20, 2009

FORMER CEO OF BRICSNET FM AMERICA, INC. INDICTED FOR EMBEZZLING OVER $1,000,000 FROM COMPANY

SAN FRANCISCO - Ethan Farid Jinian made his initial appearance in federal court this morning after a federal grand jury indicted him on 14 counts of wire fraud in connection with his alleged embezzlement from Bricsnet FM America Inc., United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced. More...

November 19, 2009

FORMER NFL PLAYER SENTENCED TO NEARLY FIVE YEARS IN FRAUD SCHEME THAT COST VICTIMS OVER $5 MILLION

SANTA ANA, California – A former high school and college football star who briefly played with the Tennessee Titans was sentenced this afternoon to 57 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to fraud charges related to a $5 million Ponzi scheme.More...

November 18, 2009

BUSINESS OWNER PLEADS GUILTY IN VALLEJO ARSON OF WINES CENTRAL WAREHOUSE

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner, ATF Special Agent in Charge Stephen Herkins, and IRS Special Agent in Charge Scott O’Briant announced that late this afternoon MARK C. ANDERSON, 61, of Sausalito, pleaded guilty to all 19 charges in an indictment that included one count of arson, four counts of interstate transportation of fraudulently obtained property, nine counts of mail fraud, one count of use of a fictitious name, and four counts of tax evasion stemming from the October 12, 2005 arson of the Wines Central warehouse in Vallejo.More...

November 17, 2009

DOCTOR SENTENCED TO NEARLY FIVE YEARS IN PRISON FOR WRITING CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE PRESCRIPTIONS FOR CASH

SANTA ANA, California – A physician who operated a medical clinic in Westminster was sentenced today to 57 months in federal prison for illegally writing prescriptions for “patients” who simply paid cash to have access to dangerous narcotics. More...

November 16, 2009

SEVEN CHARGED IN 53 COUNT, MILLION DOLLAR MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEME

More Than 100 Properties Involved More...

November 13, 2009

FORMER EDD EMPLOYEE PLEADS GUILTY TO SCHEME TO PROVIDE FRAUDULENT DISABILITY PAYMENTS TO FRIENDS

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that AUDREY RENEE BELL, 49, of Pacoima, Calif., pleaded guilty today after the United States rested its case last week in a two-week jury trial. The guilty plea was entered before Senior United States District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton to 10 counts of mail fraud. More...

November 12, 2009

VALLEY BUSINESSMAN SENTENCED TO 2½ YEARS IN PRISON FOR SELLING NON-CONFORMING GASKETS USED ON BOEING JETS

A Woodland Hills businessman was sentenced today to 30 months in federal prison for selling uncertified rubber gaskets that were installed on Boeing 737 aircraft. More...

November 10, 2009

MANAGER OF HEDGE FUNDS PLEADS GUILTY TO MAIL FRAUD

Alexander Trabulse admits to engaging in fraudulent conduct More...

November 09, 2009

MANAGER OF HEDGE FUNDS PLEADS GUILTY TO MAIL FRAUD

Alexander Trabulse admits to engaging in fraudulent conduct More...

November 06, 2009

VENTURA COUNTY MAN SENTENCED TO NEARLY EIGHT YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON IN $1 MILLION IDENTITY THEFT CASE

A Thousand Oaks man was sentenced today to 95 months in federal prison for orchestrating an identity theft scheme in which he used personal identifying information taken from dozens of mortgage and credit files to fraudulently obtain credit cards that were used to purchase more than $1 million in goods and services. More...

November 05, 2009

ORANGE COUNTY MAN WHO FIRED LASERS AT COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT SENTENCED TO 2½ YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

LOS ANGELES – A resident of Orange who willfully interfered with aircraft pilots by intentionally shooting a laser at two commercial airliners that were on approach to John Wayne Airport has been sentenced to serve 30 months in federal prison. More...

November 04, 2009

WESTLAKE VILLAGE MAN WHO ORCHESTRATED $64 MILLION PONZI SCHEME SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

Victims Were Told Money Would Buy Insurance for South Los Angeles Churches

A Los Angeles County man who was the leader of a $64 million Ponzi scheme that bilked 63 investors in California and Texas with false promises of huge returns from investments in a bond-trading program and a life insurance pool that would benefit members of African-American churches in South Los Angeles was sentenced today to 300 months in federal prison. More...

November 03, 2009

DEFENDANTS SENTENCED TO 18 MONTHS FOR DEFRAUDING CALIFORNIA STATE AGENCY

FRESNO, Calif. — United States Attorney Lawrence G. Brown announced today that United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill sentenced MARIO JURADO PENA, 39, of Sanger on Friday, October 30, 2009 to 18 months in prison and $3,120,706 in restitution for defrauding the State of California, Employment Development Department (EDD), of millions of dollars. PENA will serve his sentence in addition to the nine years he is currently serving for a narcotics conviction. Also sentenced for the same charge was his wife, JACQUELINE CHAVES JURADO, 34, of Sanger, who received one year of home detention and three years of supervised release. More...

November 02, 2009

HIGHEST OFFICIAL WITH INLAND EMPIRE INDIAN TRIBE SURRENDERS TO FEDERAL AUTHORITIES ON BRIBERY CHARGES

The chairman of the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians surrendered this afternoon to federal agents after being indicted on federal charges of accepting a quarter million dollars in bribes from tribal vendors and concealing income from the IRS. More...

October 30, 2009

Seven Charged, 10 Pounds of Methamphetamine, Large-Scale Laboratory & Guns Seized More...

October 29, 2009

SACRAMENTO, Calif.— United States Attorney Lawrence G. Brown, FBI Special More...

October 28, 2009

Students allegedly licensed to remove asbestos without proper training More...

October 27, 2009

The chairman of the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians surrendered this afternoon to federal agents after being indicted on federal charges of accepting a quarter million dollars in bribes from tribal vendors and concealing income from the IRS. More...

October 26, 2009

FRESNO, Calif. — United States Attorney Lawrence G. Brown and B. Bernard Ferguson, Postal Inspector in Charge of the Los Angeles Division, announced today that a federal grand jury in Fresno indicted VERNON DALE MUSTIN, 51, of Spiro, Okla., charging him with one count of transporting an explosive with intent to kill or injure, one count of mailing injurious articles and one count of possessing and using a destructive device. More...

October 23, 2009

Cases Involve More Than $26 Million in Fraudulent Medicare Claims More...

October 21, 2009

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—United States Attorney Lawrence G. Brown announced today that the Federal Government has entered into a settlement agreement with SHIRLEY M. ESTRADA and MARCUS R. ESTRADA, along with their related business, Aristo-Care, Inc.More...

October 20, 2009

Defendant Sentenced for his Conviction on Conspiracy to Transport Stolen Property and Structuring Transactions More...

October 19, 2009

FRESNO, Calif. — United States Attorney Lawrence G. Brown announced that on October 15, 2009, a federal grand jury returned a multiple-count indictment charging SALOMON RODRIGUEZ and VERONICA CAPITAINE-ROSALES with possession, transfer, production, and sale of fraudulent United States immigration and social security identification documents out of Fresno and Tulare Counties. RODRIGUEZ and CAPITAINE-ROSALES are scheduled to appear in court before United States Magistrate Judge Dennis L. Beck on October 16, 2009 at 2:00 p.m.More...

October 16, 2009

LOS ANGELES – A 26-year-old gang member convicted of the 2004 slaying of an off-duty county police captain was formally sentenced to death today.More...

October 15, 2009

Siskiyou County - Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced that he has filed criminal charges against the former manager of a Mount Shasta-based medical clinic who filed "bogus claims" under Medi-Cal for medical services that were never performed. More...

October 14, 2009

FRESNO, Calif. — United States Attorney Lawrence G. Brown announced today that, on October 8, 2009, United States District Court Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill sentenced JUSTO MATA BUSTOS, 27, of Parlier, and FERNANDO ESPANA RUBIO, 21, of Madera, each to 14 years and three months in prison for the armed kidnapping of a Tracy jewelry store owner. On October 2, 2009, Judge O’Neill sentenced co-defendant DIANA TERAN 30 of Madera, to 10 years and one month in prison. All three defendants pleaded guilty to kidnapping, and BUSTOS and RUBIO also pleaded guilty to brandishing a firearm in connection with a crime of violence. More...

October 12, 2009

Convicted in First Human Trafficking Trial in Northern District of California More...

October 09, 2009

Father Previously Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison in $30+ Million Scheme More...

October 08, 2009

Defendant Used Fraudulent Deed to Obtain More Than $130,000 in Equity From Residence in Bankruptcy Proceeding More...

October 07, 2009

Federal Prison Sentence to Run Consecutively to 16-Year State Prison Term More...

October 06, 2009

Special Agents with the FBI arrested a Chicago-area man Friday night on federal charges of interstate stalking for allegedly taking nude videos of a television broadcaster and posting those videos on the Internet after attempting to sell the videos to a celebrity website. More...

October 05, 2009

In First Jury Verdict of its Kind, Construction Companies Ordered to Pay Nearly $29 Million for Losses Suffered by National Forest More...

October 02, 2009

An Orange County lawyer agreed in court papers filed today to plead guilty to two felony charges related to a scheme in which he took more than $2 million awarded to employees of a company he sued in a class action and lost almost all of the funds while day trading in the stock market. More...

October 01, 2009

San Diego - United States Attorney for the Southern District of California Karen P. Hewitt announced that Rachelle Lynette Carlock pled guilty today in federal court in San Diego before the Honorable Margaret M.. McKeown to one count of possession and use of a destructive device to commit a crime of violence, to wit: conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c), arising from the bombing of the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Courthouse in San Diego on May 4, 2008, and other acts. More...