The United States Attorney’s Office asks that members of the public are urged to report suspected fraud schemes related to the coronavirus and COVID-19 by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) hotline (1-866-720-5721) or sending complaints to the NCDF e-mail address, disaster@leo.gov. The NCDF enters complaints into a centralized system that can be accessed by …
Philip Righter, 43, a West Hollywood man, will plead guilty to federal criminal charges that he sold bogus art he claimed was created by artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol. He also admitted using fake paintings as collateral for loans on which he later defaulted, and using fraudulent pieces for …
A federal judge sentenced the former CEO of an Irvine-based financial services and insurance company, Mehmet Fatih Biyikoglu, a.k.a. “John B.,” 53, of Palm Desert, to 121 months in federal prison for defrauding elderly victims who thought their money was being invested in a certificate of deposit at a …
In response to concerns regarding the Coronavirus/COVID-19, and in light of local, state and federal emergency declarations based upon the virus, Presiding Judge Kevin C. Brazile of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, announced today the following recommendations to all judges and commissioners of the Court. Effective Monday, March 16, 2020: 1. …
PRESIDING JUDGE KEVIN C. BRAZILE ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO COURT OPERATIONS Read More »
A federal judge sentenced Francisco Alvarado Felix, 33, of Hesperia, a convicted felon who brought an assault rifle into a restaurant and brandished it at the manager after employees refused to serve him an alcoholic beverage to 120 months in federal prison. Felix and a friend visited a BJ’s Restaurant and …
A federal judge sentenced Christopher Lazenby, 29, of Homeland in Riverside County man to 120 months in federal prison for running a narcotics distribution outfit that, in part, stole at least nine doctors’ DEA numbers and dates of birth that he used to obtain oxycodone and other prescription medications that he later sold …
A federal judge sentenced Edgar Limon, 39a A Mexican National who was charged in the first major narcotics trafficking indictment resulting from an investigation by the Los Angeles Strike Force to 63 months in federal prison for his role in an international narcotics network that transported 21 pounds of pure methamphetamine across the United States-Mexico border …
A federal judge sentenced Clifford Kirstein, 29, of Montreal, a Canadian telemarketer, to 41 months in federal prison for conning American senior citizens by impersonating their grandchildren over the telephone and asking for financial help to get the purportedly distressed relatives out of trouble in a foreign country. She must also repay $56,258 in restitution to eight …
Mitchell Englander, 49, of Santa Monica, a former Los Angeles city councilman, surrendered to FBI agents this morning to face criminal charges that he obstructed an investigation into him accepting cash, female escort services, hotel rooms and expensive meals from a businessman during trips to Las Vegas and Palm Springs, and later lied to the FBI …
A federal judge sentenced Anna Vishnevsky, 52, of Valley Village, the former owner of a Studio City medical clinic, to 37months in federal prison for submitting more than $11.5 million in bills to health care benefit programs for unnecessary – and sometimes nonexistent – sleep studies, primarily for employees of United Parcel Service, Inc., and Costco …