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.
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An attorney arrested earlier this month after accepting $50,000 in cash as part of a payment made in exchange for the lawyer’s promise to tamper with a federal grand jury investigation was indicted this afternoon by another federal grand jury.

Alfred Nash Villalobos, 44, a South Lake Tahoe resident who recently relocated from West Hills, was indicted on charges of endeavoring to obstruct a grand jury investigation and interfering with interstate commerce by extortion.
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A federal grand jury has indicted three men on kidnapping charges for abducting a Van Nuys man who was shot, shocked with a taser and held captive for five days while his kidnappers attempted to negotiate a $1 million ransom payment.

The two-count indictment returned Thursday afternoon charges the defendants with two counts – conspiracy to commit kidnapping and kidnapping. The indictment alleges that the kidnapping victim was shot and shocked with a taser during his abduction, and that he was bound and blindfolded and while he was held captive for five days. The captors allegedly withheld necessary medical treatment for the victim’s life-threatening gunshot wound.
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