A man who was accused of transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars from California banks to those in Hawaii pleaded guilty to charges recently in a Honolulu court. The man was accused of several counts of white collar crime, including fraud in a $400,000 wire transfer between San Francisco and Honolulu in July 2003, $730,000 worth of transfers in April, May and August 2003, and September and October 2003 wire transfers totaling $100,000 from a bank in Orange County.Total losses in the Ponzi scheme included $1 million. Most of these funds allegedly came from money transferred to previous investors by collecting money from new investors. Government prosecutors agreed to dismisses remaining counts against the man at the time of sentencing if the accused man would participate in a plea agreement. However, there is no sentencing agreement in place; if convicted, the man could receive up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000.
Alleged Ponzi scheme operator pleads guilty to wire fraud
California man sentenced in drug distribution case
A man from North Hollywood, California was sentenced to 15 months in federal jail for his alleged role in distributing counterfeit pharmaceuticals. The drug crime charges included trafficking Oxycontin and Cialis although evidence was presented to show the drugs may have been counterfeit. The 44-year-old accused man was said to be the involved in marketing counterfeit drugs throughout the United States. The case sprang from a joint investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency or ICE; Homeland Security Investigations or HIS; the U. S. Postal Service; and the Food and Drug Administration or FDA. The man was accused of purchasing the drugs from a Chinese national who was allegedly the head of a counterfeiting ring. A search of his residence and home turned up nearly 1,800 tablets believed to be related to the counterfeit drug racket.
Irvine man facing 30 years for false mortgage info
An Irvine, California, man was arrested in Huntington Beach for mortgage fraud. The mail fraud charges were contained in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury and unsealed after the arrest was made. The charges allege that the accused 48-year-old mortgage broker falsified information about employers, assets and income for straw buyers who claimed to be executives in the accused man's company.Using this technique, the indictment alleges that the accused man originated more than $5 million in residential mortgage loans. In many cases, the purported borrowers listed these residences as their primary homes. Foreclosures on these properties resulted in losses of more than $2 million. If convicted, the accused man could face 30 years in jail and more than $1 million in fines.
Man arrested for samurai sword robbery
A 37-year-old Joshua Tree, California, man was accused of planning to rob a nearby home. The suspect is alleged to have donned a disguise that included women's clothing, a mask and a samurai sword then proceeded to walk 150 yards to a home where he set off a motion alarm. The man allegedly fled the scene of the would-be theft when the homeowner confronted him with a shotgun, firing a warning shot into the air. The homeowner was said to have been suspicious after eight previous burglaries. When the motion-sensitive alarm was set off, he decided to confront the person with a loaded shotgun. The homeowner stated that when he fired a warning shot, the man fled, losing his shoes in the process.
