Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog

Los Angeles-Los Angeles resident Blair Hanloh is suspected of committing real estate fraud. It is alleged that Hanloh would take over houses that were foreclosed and rent them out. Hanloh would file quit-claim deeds turning the property over from his name and transferring to his business. However these deeds were false due to the fact that he did not own the houses to begin with. He was discovered when nearby neighbors thought they saw squatters in the foreclosed houses. He is charged with grand theft, recording false instruments and commercial burglary. If convicted he faces up to 21 years in prison.

White Collar crimes are very serious. There is a wide variety of white collar crimes like real estate fraud, credit fraud, grand theft, identity fraud, embezzlement, and identity theft. In Los Angeles County and in Orange County these crimes are dealt with very harshly. Grand theft can be defined in the California Penal Code, section 487. Grand theft has occurred when the amount of money, property, or merchandise ahs amounted to more than $400. This crime is considered a felony.

Many white collar crimes are charged as felonies. It is imperative to a person that is facing a white collar crime like grand theft to hire an experienced Newport Beach white collar crime defense attorney to help you defend your charge.

Continue reading "Los Angeles County Businessman Suspected of 3.5 million Real Estate Scheme" »

Santa Ana- Mel Wayne Campbell, a lawyer in Orange County and his wife and her brother were recently caught embezzling money from the car company KIA Motors America Inc The wife Cecile Nhung Campbell, an accountant who worked at Kia set up a fake corporation called U.S. Customs Service Detail. This company was meant to resemble the United States Customs Service. Cecile would make transfers from that account into a personal Wells Fargo Account. They all pleaded guilty to embezzlement. Cecile was faces 16 years in prison, her brother Long Ngo faces 12 years in prison, and Mel Campbell was sentenced to 4 years in prison. The trio stole around $889,000 from the car company.

Crimes like embezzlement, grand theft, identity theft, credit card theft, and Insurance fraud are considered white collar crimes. Embezzlement can be found in the California Penal Code 503. It states that embezzlement is the fraudulent appropriation of property by a person to whom it has been entrusted. Many times a charge of grand theft will come along with an embezzlement charge. Grand theft can also be found in the Penal Code under section 487. Grand theft has occurred when the amount of money or property stolen amounts to more than $400. These charges are considered felonies in California.

White Collar crime charges are very serious. The punishments include long prison sentences, fines, and restitutions. There can also be white collar crime enhancement added to the initial charges. It is important to hire a Newport Beach white collar crime defense attorney to help you defend your charge.

Continue reading "Orange County Family Caught in Embezzlement Scheme" »

Anaheim- Kainat Syeda of Buena Park was a police cadet for the Anaheim Police Department at the lobby traffic window. It is alleged that Syeda would take money from individuals, give them their release forms but put "no sale" into the cash register. None of the money went to the City of Anaheim. She was finally discovered by another cadet. She faces 44 felonies two of them being falsification and concealment of public accounts and theft exceeding $150K.

In California crimes like the ones listed above are considered white collar crimes. These crimes are most common among employees. White Collar crimes include; identity theft, grand theft, embezzlement, credit card fraud and healthcare fraud. The charge of falsifying and concealment of public records can be found in the California Penal code section 424(a)(3). It states that each officer of this state, or of any county, city, town, or district of this state, and every other person charged with the receipt, safekeeping, transfer, or disbursement of public moneys, who knowingly keeps any false account, or makes any false entry or erasure in any account of or relating to the same is punishable by up to four years in prison, and is disqualified from holding any office in this state.

White Collar crimes are dealt with very seriously in Orange County. A felony is very serious and the punishments can change a person's whole life. Many times people that have been charged with a white collar crime also lose their professional license. It is important to hire an Orange County white collar crime defense attorney or a Newport Beach professional license defense attorney.

Continue reading "Anaheim Police Cadet Steals $225,000" »

Westminster, Orange County - Los Angeles resident, Lior Bitton, the owner of Pacific Diamonds & Gems Inc. in Los Angeles claims a 4 carat diamond worth $99,000 was stolen. A jewel courier that worked for his office was robbed in Westminster. It is alleged that he claimed $256,000 worth of diamonds was stolen along with the 4 carat diamond. After giving a police report Bitton then filed a claim for the diamond with his insurance company. Soon after the claim was filed, it was discovered by police that the diamond was actually getting appraised in Israel at the time of the robbery. Police state that his courier did in fact get robbed, however it is alleged that the four carat diamond was not among the items stolen.

In California, Crimes like insurance fraud is among a group of crimes called white collar crimes. These crimes also include grand theft, Medicare fraud, credit card fraud, and identity theft. Insurance fraud is defined in the California Penal Code section 550(a). It states that the making of fraudulent claims as knowingly present or cause to be presented any false or fraudulent claim for the payment of a loss or injury, including payment of a loss or injury under a contract of insurance. California White collar crimes like insurance fraud are usually charged as felonies.

Since white collar crimes are felonies, the punishments can be harsh and if convicted, the consequences can effect a person's life and future. The punishments include long prison sentences, fines, and restitution. It is important to hire an experienced Westminster criminal defense attorney or a skilled Irvine white collar crime defense attorney to help you defend these serious charges.

Continue reading "Los Angeles Jeweler Caught in Insurance Fraud and Grand Theft" »

Los Angeles, California - Los Angeles Detective Leonard Avalos of the LAPD is facing embezzlement and grand theft charges. It is alleged that Avalos was embezzling money that was meant to go to protect witnesses. Many witnesses will not testify unless they are given money from the city to move away after the trail. Avalos was supposed to give these city funds to the witness. However, Avalos could not produce any of the receipts that would prove he gave them the money. After the police questioned the witnesses, it was discovered that he had only given them some of the money and embezzled the rest. Is he is convicted he faces up to six years in prison.

Under California law, Crimes like grand theft, embezzlement, credit card fraud, health care fraud, and identity theft are considered white collar crimes . Grand theft usually can be charged as felony and can be defined in the California Penal Code, section 487. Grand theft has occurred when the money or property that has been taken amounts to more than $400. Embezzlement can also be found in the Penal code under section 503. It states that embezzlement has occurred when Embezzlement is the fraudulent appropriation of property by a person to whom it has been entrusted. Both of these crimes are usually charged as felonies.

It is important to hire an experienced Newport Beach white collar crime defense attorney or Irvine embezzlement attorney if you are facing charges like grand theft or embezzlement. These crimes are considered felonies and can mean long prison sentences and restitution. It is imperative to hire a skilled Orange County theft crime attorney or a Los Angeles criminal lawyer to defend you.

Continue reading "Los Angeles Detective Faces Embezzlement and Grand Theft Charges" »

La Habra- Hector Porrata, George Martinez, Cara Cruz, and Rene Montes of Orange County plead guilty to insurance fraud. It is alleged that the group was able to fraudulently obtain $1.4 million for AIG insurance company. The group worked at a claims-adjusting company. The scam involved liens that doctors and hospitals put on workers compensation insurance claim to make sure they are paid. The suspects are facing charges like grand theft, insurance fraud and conspiracy.

Crimes like insurance fraud, grand theft, identity theft, credit card and embezzlement are called "white collar crimes". Grand theft is defined in the California Penal code 487. Grand theft has occurred when the money or property that has been taken amounts to more than $400. Insurance fraud is defined in Penal code section 550(a). It states that the making of fraudulent claims as knowingly present or cause to be presented any false or fraudulent claim for the payment of a loss or injury, including payment of a loss or injury under a contract of insurance . These crimes are considered felonies which mean long prison sentences, restitution, and fines.

Being charged with a white collar crime is serious in Orange County. It is imperative to a person who is facing charges like grand theft to retain an experienced Orange County white collar criminal defense attorney. To help you defend your white collar crime charge.

Continue reading "Four Orange County Residents Plead Guilty to Insurance Fraud" »

Santa Ana, Orange County - Santa Ana plastic surgeon Mark Knight could lose his professional license. Knight was recently caught having sex with one of his patients. Knight was seeing a female patient that had come to him for a tummy tuck. It is alleged that her husband and children were waiting in their car. After waiting a long time in the car, the husband took the children in the office to use the restroom. The husband then heard noises coming from the exam room. It is alleged that this is when the husband saw his wife having sex with him. There was a second incident with Knight and a patient where it is alleged that Knight kissed one of his patients' without her consent.

The California Medical Board takes it very seriously when a doctor that is licensed by them is caught having a sexual relationship with one of their patients. The law that governs sexual misconduct with a patient can be found in the California Business and Professions Code 726. It states the commission of any act of sexual abuse, misconduct, or relations with a patient, client, or customer constitute unprofessional conduct and grounds for disciplinary action for any person licensed under this division. In a situation like this, the California Medical Board can revoke the license of a medical practitioner.

Having your professional license taken away can change a person whole life. This means that they will no longer be able to work in their previous field. This means that they would have to change jobs, and there would be a loss of wages. If you or someone you know is about to lose their professional, they need to hire an experienced Newport Beach professional license defense attorney or a Newport Beach criminal attorney immediately.

Continue reading "Santa Ana Plastic Surgeon Accused of Sexual Misconduct " »

Huntington Beach, Orange County - A Huntington Beach company, Rehab Financial is under suspicion of embezzling $450,000. Many California cities such as Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, Buena Park, Westminster, and La Habra used this company for escrow services. The Company was used in projects like Federal Community Development Block Grant Funding and Redevelopment Agency housing funds. Suspicion arose when the company stopped returning phone calls and the Huntington Beach office was cleared out. San Francisco also filed a lawsuit against the company claiming that Rehab Financial misused 1 million dollars of a grant that was set aside for low-income housing.

In California, crimes like embezzlement are referred to as "white collar crimes". Examples of a white collar crime are: grand theft, healthcare fraud, Medicare fraud, credit card fraud, and identity theft. The charge of embezzlement is defined in the California Penal code section 503. It states that embezzlement has occurred when Embezzlement is the fraudulent appropriation of property by a person to whom it has been entrusted. This crime is very common amongst the employee and the employer.

In California, Grand theft is a common charge that comes along with many embezzlement charges. Grand theft is defined in the California Penal code section 487. Grand theft occurs when the amount of property taken is over $400. Many white collar crimes are charged as felonies. Punishments include a prison sentence, fines and restitution.

In California, white collar crimes like embezzlement are considered very serious. It is important to hire a Huntington Beach white collar defense attorney to help you defend your white collar crime charge.

Continue reading "Huntington Beach Financial Company Suspected of Embezzlement" »

Tustin - Seven residents of Orange County have been arrested for credit card fraud. It is alleged by police that the group would purchase items from stores like Best Buy and Target with fraudulent credit cards. Two members of the group are accused of making fake receipts from theses stores in order to get free merchandise through rebates. Georgia Su and Kenneth Gill are being charged with creating the credit cards. Other members of the group were arrested on suspicion of commercial burglary, grand theft and identity theft.

In California crimes like grand theft, credit card fraud, and identity theft are considered white collar crimes. Crimes like grand theft are usually charged as felony. The California Penal code defines these crimes. Grand theft can be found in Penal code section 487. Grand theft occurs when the property or money stolen amounts to more that $400. Another crime mention is credit card fraud. This is found in Penal code section 484f (a) and states that every person who, with the intent to defraud, designs, makes, alters, or embosses a counterfeit access card or utters or otherwise attempts to use a counterfeit access card is guilty of forgery. Punishment s for these crimes could be long prison sentence, restitution, and large fines.

It is important to hire an Irvine white collar crime defense attorney if you are facing a crime like grand theft or credit card fraud. Since these crimes are usually charged as a felony, having an experience criminal defense attorney can help you defend these charges.

Continue reading "Seven Orange County Residents Arrested for Credit Card Fraud " »

Tustin, Orange County - An Orange County secretary was caught embezzling $140,000. As a secretary at Five Star Water Truck Rental, she was in charge of the company's finances and the bank account. Beverly Winter would forge the checks and then deposit them into a personal bank account. She was finally discovered when her employer was notified from the bank that the companies account had been over drawn. She is being charged with felony forgery and felony falsifying records.

Under California law, forgery and falsifying records are just a couple examples of "white collar crimes". A white collar crime is usually a crime like embezzlement, identity theft, credit card fraud, check fraud, and grand theft. Forgery can be defined in the California Penal code section 470(d). Forgery occurs when a person knowingly alters, falsifies, or counterfeits anything like checks, and money orders. This can be charged as a felony in California and is a very serious offense. There can also be an en added if enhancement amount stolen amounts to over $100,000.

White collar crimes are considered very serious in California. They are usually charged as felonies and can come with enhancements. A person facing a white collar crime charge like fraud, embezzlement, forgery or grand theft should immediately hire an Irvine white collar crime defense attorney or a Newport Beach criminal attorney to protect your rights.

Continue reading "Orange County employee charged with felony grand theft and Embezzlement" »

Placentia- Orange County businessman Joseph Aluya is being accused of stealing around $321,000 in tax returns from his clients. He owns a company that does tax preparation as well as real estate, notary and loans. It is alleged that Aluya will plea not guilty to the allegations. Aluya has a trust account set up for his client's returns. The money is wired into this account and would then print out a check to give to a client. He claims he never had a customer complain about getting cheated. He is facing the charges of tax evasion and possession of stolen government money.

In California, crimes involved with professionals in embezzlement, fraud or grand theft are considered "white collar crimes". White crimes can involve fraud, healthcare fraud, embezzlement, identity theft, band fraud, check fraud, credit card fraud, and grand theft. Grand theft or grand larceny is a very serious offense. In this case not only will he have to face the charges of tax evasion and possession of stolen government money, but could also face embezzlement and grand larceny charges. Grand theft is one of the most common white collar crimes in Orange County. It can be defined in the California Penal code section 487. Grand Theft has occurred when the amount of what was taken amounts to more than $400. This is usually charged as a felony.

Since being charged with a white collar crime such as grand theft or fraud is so serious. It is important to hire an experienced Orange County white collar crime defense attorney to handle your case so that your legal rights can be protected.

Continue reading "Orange County Business man accused of Grand Theft and White Collar Crime for stealing $321,000" »

Santa Ana, Orange County - Santa Ana man, Michael Martinez recruited members of a Santa Ana gang to help him commit Medicare fraud. He and 20 other defendants planned to defraud Medicare by making fraudulent orders on wheelchairs, orthothics and hospital beds. Some of the defendants were supposed to act as owners of a medical supplies company. They submitted around 11.2 million dollars of fraudulent claims to Medicare. He is expected to plead guilty.

Under California criminal law, Medicare fraud falls under a set of crimes called "white collar crimes". These crimes usually deal with crimes like embezzlement, healthcare fraud, identity theft, grand larceny and credit card fraud. In cases like this one, the suspect usually faces grand theft charges. Grand theft can be defined California Penal code under section 487. Grand theft or grand larceny, is committed when what was stolen amounts to more then $400. This charge is usually charged as a felony which means that the person being charge will have to pay fines and serve a prison sentence.

Any of the white collar crime like embezzlement is considered very serious charges, and most of the time they get charged as felonies. This can mean long sentences, large fines and having to pay restitution. Retaining an experienced Irvine white collar crime defense attorney or a skilled Newport Beach fraud defense attorney is imperative when defending white collar crimes, grand theft, or fraud charges, such as medical fraud or health care fraud.

Continue reading "Santa Ana Gang Commits Medicare Fraud and Grand Theft" »

Huntington Beach- Bridget Ganier was convicted of grand theft at Huntington Beach West Justice Center earlier this week. Ganier worked at Orange Coast Medical Center as a cafeteria executive assistant. Part of her job was to handle the cafeteria's daily deposits. It is alleged that Ganier stole form the hospital over the course of five years. She stole a total of $300,000 and deposited the money into her personal account. With the money she bought houses in Las Vegas, and rental homes in Orange County, several cars, and jet skis. Ganier would take the money, and then alter the records and the receipts. She was finally discovered by the hospital administrators when she went on vacation and the cafeteria's profit doubled. She was sentenced to three years in the state prison and must pay $306,000 in restitution.

Huntington Beach white collar crime defense attorney Michael Guisti defines the charge of grand theft. He explains that it can be found in the California Penal code section 487(a). It describes grand theft occurs when the money, labor, or real or personal property taken is of a value exceeding four hundred dollars. He goes on to say that grand theft is usually charged as a felony which means you will have to serve a prison sentence and may be ordered to pay restitution. However, having an aggressive, knowledgeable criminal defense attorney can help you get the felony grand theft charges dropped down to a misdemeanor.

White collar crimes cover a wide variety of charges. If you are facing the charges of medical fraud, credit card fraud, health care fraud, grand theft, embezzlement, identity theft or real estate fraud, you are facing a white collar crime charge. When facing a white collar crime charge, it can seem confusing, and overwhelming. The person facing the charge may feel like they do not have any options. Hiring an aggressive Newport Beach grand theft defense attorney can give you some options.

Continue reading "Huntington Beach Hospital Worker Stole $300,000" »

Huntington Beach, Orange County - Huntington Beach couple Mary Jones and Miguel Orozco were arrested for suspicion of burglary. Police had been investigating a series of commercial burglary cases in the Huntington Beach area. The couple was stopped for a traffic violation when the officer noticed the stolen property in the back seat of their car. The victim of the burglary was able to identify their property that had been stolen by the couple. They are being held on burglary charges.

Huntington Beach criminal defense attorney Michael Guisti, who spent years defending theft crime charges in Orange County and commented on this case. He states that the charge of burglary can be found in the California Penal code section 459. It defines burglary as entering a residential area with the intent to commit a crime while inside. This is also called first-degree burglary, and is usually charged as a felony. However this cases deals with commercial buragalry. It is also referred to as second-degree burglary. This is the lesser of the two burglaries and can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony.

Having a burglary charge on your record can be serious. The Orange County criminal process may seem confusing to a person that is facing a theft crimes charge like burglary. Hiring an experienced Newport Beach criminal defense attorney and Costa Mesa Theft Crime defense attorney to help lead you through the court system is the most important step in defending your theft crimes charge.

If you or someone you know has been investigated or arrested for theft crimes, either a misdemeanor or a felony theft crime, whether it is embezzlement, grand theft, shoplifting, fraud, white collar crime, financial fraud, medical fraud, health care fraud, insurance fraud, petty theft, or any type of theft crimes, you need to have an experienced and qualified Orange County theft crime attorney or an Irvine criminal attorney to protect your rights immediately.

Continue reading "Huntington Beach Couple Arrested for Theft and Burglary " »

Westminster, Orange County - A trio from Westminster were caught trying to pull off a real estate fraud scam that is worth $17.5 million. Kathy Chen, her boyfriend Richard Gonzalez, and his brother Daniel Gonzalez, are being charged with 157 felony counts of conspiracy, grand theft, forgery, recording false documents, and identity theft. Chen used to work as a real estate broker and owned several businesses. The three of them bought 35 properties around Orange County with stolen identities. They used the identities of unsuspecting victims that had little income and could not speak English. The group had planned to take out the loans and never pay the loans back. Chen's boyfriend and his brother are fugitives. Authorities allege that the two have a house in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Orange County Fraud defense attorney Michael Guisti explains the charges in this case. Grand theft can be defined in the California Penal code 487(a), which states that grand theft has occurred when the money, property or real property amounts over $400. Chen is also being charged with identity theft. This can be found in the Penal code 530.5(a) and occurs when a person willfully obtains personal identification with the intent to use it for an unlawful purpose. Irvine criminal defense attorney Michael Guisti goes on to state that both of these charges are considered felonies in California. If a person is convicted of these crimes then they will face lengthy prison sentences and large fines.

White collar crimes is a very serious offense. A white collar crime can be medical fraud, grand theft, real estate fraud, identity theft, check fraud, health care fraud, credit card fraud, money laundering and embezzlement. When first being charged with a white collar crime such as grand theft, it can be overwhelming. Hiring a skilled Newport Beach white collar crime defense attorney is the most important thing a person can do when defending a white collar crime charge.

Continue reading "Westminster Trio Caught in Real Estate Fraud" »