Los Angeles Law News

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:

JAMES DELBERT MCCONVILLE,
a/k/a Delbert James McConville,
LAURA MARGERY CATON,
a/k/a Laura Margery Tate
a/k/a Laura Gussman
ARAKS DAVOUDI,
a/k/a Araks Galstanian
DONNA DEMELLO,
a/k/a Donna Demello Martin,
a/k/a Donna Kay McDaniel,
a/k/a Donna Kay Demello,
JASON ARTHUR PIETTE, and
RASUL RASULI.

According to the indictment, McConville purchased hundreds of condominiums throughout California in the names of straw buyers, individuals who were promised $5,000 to $10,000 for the use of their name and credit. The loan applications are further alleged to have contained false information about the employment, income, and assets of the straw buyers. Davoudi is alleged to have worked at Citibank as a personal banker during the conspiracy. She is charged with creating fraudulent verifications of bank deposits for some of the straw buyers. The escrow agent, Demello, is charged with creating a fraudulent final settlement statement that concealed large payments to individuals and entities controlled by McConville. That fraudulent version of the final settlement statement was sent to the lenders funding the loans. The indictment also alleges that McConville laundered the proceeds of the fraudulent scheme by writing checks for the purchase of expensive works of art and a valuable Superman comic book. 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.

Juan-Carlos Cruz, former host of “Calorie Commando,” was arrested Thursday and booked on suspicion of solicitation to commit murder, said Sgt. Jay Trisler.

Cruz, 48, is being held at Los Angeles County Jail on $5-million bail.

Police said Cruz allegedly approached people on the streets a week earlier and asked them to kill someone for him. At least one of the homeless individuals contacted police, and, with that assistance, investigators were able to learn details of the alleged solicitation, including how, where and when the target was to be killed, authorities said. 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...