In what is believed to be the longest sentence ever handed down in a white-collar case in this district, the mastermind of a Riverside-based Ponzi scheme that collected well over $60 million from hundreds of investors – and caused more than $39 million in losses – was sentenced today to 100 years in federal prison.

Richard Monroe Harkless, 65, who lived in Riverside when he ran the scheme through a company he called MX Factors from 2000 until late 2003, was sentenced this morning by United States District Judge Virginia A. Phillips in federal court in Riverside.
Read the rest of this entry »

A Fontana woman has been sentenced to one year in federal prison after pleading guilty in a scheme in which she embezzled nearly a quarter million dollars from a Los Angeles non-profit that provides shelter to homeless women and children.

Barbara Alvarado, 32, was sentenced Monday afternoon by United States District Judge Christina A. Snyder in Los Angeles. In addition to the 12-month prison term, Judge Snyder ordered Alvarado to serve three years of supervised release, which will include one year of home detention.
Read the rest of this entry »

Five Members Of Avenues Street Gang Charged In Murder Of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy

RICO Case alleges Mexican Mafia-led Attempts to Reorganize Avenues after 2008 Federal Indictment Dismantled Gang’s Lucrative Drew Street Clique
Read the rest of this entry »

A former Huntington Park Police Officer who for a time worked on federal drug trafficking investigations was sentenced today to 15 years in federal prison for stealing cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana from narcotics dealers and then selling the drugs for personal profit.

Sergeant Alvaro Murillo, 45, of West Covina, who was called El Padrino (The Godfather) by his co-conspirators, was sentenced late this morning by United States District Judge Stephen V. Wilson.
Read the rest of this entry »

A Paso Robles woman has been indicted in a scheme to defraud the United States Department of Education by submitting an application containing forged signatures for more than $35 million in grant money, some of which was awarded to – and then had to be returned by – the Indio Youth Task Force (IYTF).

A federal grand jury yesterday afternoon returned a three-count indictment charging Jean Michele Cross, 57, with fraud and related offenses for preparing and filing an application for a 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program (21st CCLC) grant on behalf of IYTF, a non-profit, community-based organization in the Coachella Valley.
Read the rest of this entry »

Two West Hollywood film executives have been found guilty of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in relation to a sophisticated bribery scheme that enabled the defendants to obtain a series of Thai government contracts, including valuable contracts to manage and operate Thailand’s yearly film festival.

Gerald Green, 77, and Patricia Green, 52, were convicted by a federal jury late Friday of conspiracy, violating the FCPA and money laundering. Patricia Green was also found guilty of falsely subscribing U.S. to income tax returns in connection with this scheme.

Read the rest of this entry »

The first three defendants to be charged under an international law enforcement initiative targeting Americans who travel to Cambodia to sexually exploit children have been removed from that Southeast Asian nation and are expected to arrive here later today to face prosecution in federal court.

The charges against the three men are the result of Operation “Twisted Traveler,” an ongoing effort by the Department of Justice and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to identify and prosecute “sex tourists” who travel to Cambodia to engage in illicit sex with children.
Read the rest of this entry »

The former president of Service Employees International Union, Local 660, has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges in a scheme that defrauded a non-profit organization formed by another labor leader through the use of bogus consulting contracts.

In a plea agreement filed this afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles, Alejandro Stephens, 65, a resident of the Koreatown District of Los Angeles, agreed to plead guilty to two counts of mail fraud and one count of filing a false federal income tax return.

Read the rest of this entry »