Month: November 2015

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was arraigned today on charges of tax evasion and insurance fraud for failing to report over $5.6 million in payroll and failing to pay over $384,000 in taxes. Darrin Shawn Wilson, 50, Newport Beach, is charged with 15 felony counts of misrepresenting facts to the State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF), five felony counts of misrepresenting facts to a workers’ compensation insurance company, 20 felony counts of failing to file a return with the intent to evade tax, 20 felony counts of willful failure to pay tax, and a sentencing enhancement for white collar crime and committing a theft exceeding $500,000 and a taking that exceeded $200,000. The defendant is out of custody on $500,000 bail and is scheduled for a pre-trial Feb. 9, 2016, at 8:30 a.m. in Department C-55, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.

VENTURA – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that the California Department of Justice will be formally joining the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office in the ongoing prosecution of multiple individual and corporate defendants charged with environmental crimes and other specified offenses related to the November 18, 2014 explosion at the Santa Clara Waste Water Company facility located in Santa Paula, California.

A 49-year-old man was sentenced today to 50 years to life in state prison for killing a former coworker and then hiding his body by encasing it concrete under a Santa Fe Springs business, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.

LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles man pleaded guilty late yesterday afternoon to conspiring to use stolen identities to file fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service that sought more than $2.6 million in false tax refunds.

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man previously convicted of the shaking abuse of his girlfriend’s 11-month-old daughter in 2005 was charged yesterday with murder after the victim died as a result of the injuries she sustained 10 years ago. Christopher Edward Byrd, 39, La Habra, is charged with one felony count of murder and one felony count of assault on a child with force likely to produce great bodily injury resulting in death. If convicted, Byrd faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison. The defendant is currently in custody for a 2012 conviction for possession of methamphetamine and identity theft. He was sentenced to eight years and eight months in jail on April 30, 2013. Byrd is scheduled to be arraigned Friday, Dec. 4, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana.

A Las Vegas man pleaded guilty today to conspiracy for his role in an investment fraud scheme that promoted fraudulent investment opportunities and caused more than $5 million in losses to investors.

Santa Ana, California – In a series of related cases announced today, the former CFO of a Long Beach hospital, two orthopedic surgeons and two others have been charged in long-running health care fraud schemes that illegally referred thousands of patients for spinal surgeries and generated nearly $600 million in fraudulent billings over an eight-year period.

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A 24-year-old man is expected to be arraigned tomorrow on charges of attempted murder for repeatedly shooting at an on-duty peace officer, who was responding to a call. Evan Williams Taylor, Orange, is charged with one felony count of attempted murder of a peace officer, one felony count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm on a peace officer, and a sentencing enhancement for the personal discharge of a firearm. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years to life in state prison. The People will be requesting the defendant be held on $1 million bail at his arraignment scheduled tomorrow, Nov. 25, 2015, at 8:30 a.m. in Department C-55, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.

RIVERSIDE, California – A man facing federal charges related to a $10 million lien filed against an Internal Revenue Service employee has been ordered held without bond pending trial after being arrested last week by federal agents.