Fraud

The head of the state's ethics agency Friday proposed additional action to prevent fraud in the handling of political funds in response to a federal investigation into embezzlement allegations against campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee. The Fair Political Practices Commission will also give those candidates affected some leeway in meeting financial reporting requirements after attorneys for some politicians said Friday that their records have been withheld by banks and expressed concern that other needed documents possessed by Durkee have been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury.

The head of the state's ethics agency Friday proposed new measures to prevent fraud in the handling of political funds in response to a federal investigation of Kinde Durkee, who is suspected of embezzling from campaign accounts she controlled. In addition, Fair Political Practices Commission Chairwoman Ann Ravel said politicians affected by the investigation would receive some leeway in meeting financial reporting requirements. Attorneys for politicians told Ravel at a hearing near the Capitol on Friday that financial records needed to make those reports have been withheld by banks, and they expressed concern that other needed documents possessed by Durkee have been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury.

GLENDALE — The president of Soroptimist International of the Verdugos said the club will continue to rally around longtime member Stephanie Mines, despite the community volunteer being found guilty more than a week ago of a felony fraud-related charge. Mines pleaded no contest on May 16 in Pasadena Superior Court to artificially inflating her bank account balance with the intent to defraud. She was sentenced to three years’ probation and ordered to complete 240 hours of community service, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

GLENDALE — Two Los Angeles residents arrested for allegedly attempting to defraud a Citibank branch in Glendale of $30,000 on Monday will be arraigned Glendale Superior Court next month, police said. Shelly Yun, 52, and Lance Kim, 47, were arrested Monday at the Citibank on the 400 block of North Central Avenue after bank officers flagged Yun's loan application for possible fraud, police said. Yun applied for a $60,000 unsecured loan at the Glendale branch in March as a line of credit for two fictitious businesses supposedly based in North Carolina, according to police reports.

PASADENA — A 49-year-old South Pasadena woman was sentenced to three years in prison for defrauding five Glendale residents who tried obtain residency status for themselves and their family. Pasadena Superior Court Judge Janice Croft also ordered Aileen Sevajian to pay $62,800 in restitution to the victims, who paid her to help gain residency in the United States. Sevajian was convicted June 26 on seven counts -- six of which were felony grand theft charges -- and a misdemeanor count of posing as an immigration consultant.

A Glendale couple accused of using their business to commit fraud victimized more than 100 local residents out of at least $10,000, police said, adding that most of the victims were Department of Motor Vehicles customers. Karen and Tatevik Mkrtchian, both 35, were arrested Sept. 23, after police raided their Myrtle Street home and Glenoaks Boulevard business, recovering thousands of dollars worth of potentially stolen merchandise and hundreds of credit cards, Glendale Police Sgt. Brian Cohen said.

As real estate fraud cases increase throughout region, Glendale police say thieves are becoming more sophisticated in their approach to defrauding the real estate owners. From falsifying documents to paying off people to use their credit to buy a home, detectives say criminals will do just about anything during the recession to make money - even if it means selling a sibling's home without their knowledge. Gregor Tevan was sentenced on Aug. 9 to two years in prison for doing just that to his brother, according to police.

That would be hate mail he could live with So, the good-old-boy descendant of Robert E. Lee finds my hostility toward his ancestor to be frightening. Next thing you know, I will be getting hate mail from Hitler's grandson. CREIGHTON THOMAS HARRIS Burbank She's a cash-and-carry resident -- for now I read with interest the article last week stating what a safe city Glendale is. The day before, a good friend of mine had a call from his bank to ask him about a large purchase made with his credit card.

Kinde Durkee, once a go-to campaign treasurer for Democratic candidates in California, pleaded guilty Friday to five counts of mail fraud after an FBI investigation found she pilfered more than $7 million in political funds from at least 50 clients, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein. U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller delayed a decision on how long the prominent campaign worker will spend behind bars. In the largest embezzlement case involving political funds in California history, Durkee is alleged to have taken money from campaign committees she managed for prominent Democrats including Reps.

In defrauding at least 50 politicians and others of more than $7 million, campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee spun a tangled financial web to cover her business payroll and mortgage payments and try to stay ahead of investigators, while also paying for Disneyland tickets and other amenities, federal prosecutors allege. Durkee is scheduled to appear in federal court this week to face five counts of mail fraud. Court papers filed Tuesday, which are typically submitted when a plea bargain is in the works, provide the most extensive details yet of an alleged scheme to take money from the campaigns of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, state Sen. Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana)

Four members of an alleged Armenian organized crime ring were convicted by a federal judge in San Ana Wednesday on charges of identity theft and bank fraud, prosecutors announced Thursday. The five-week trial at the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana ended this week, where prosecutors linked the four defendants to a crime operation that lasted six years and claimed $10 million from victims in Texas, Arizona, Nevada and Southern California. Arman Sharopetrosian, of Burbank, ran the operation while behind bars at Avenal State Prison and directed the co-defendants to illegally obtain information from investors' bank accounts, according to prosecutors.

Federal prosecutors have seized several additional computers as part of their investigation into allegations that campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee misused the political funds of clients, according to documents released Monday. The seizures were cited as a reason for seeking another month's delay in a preliminary hearing in the case. A hearing that had been scheduled for Tuesday in federal court has now been set for March 16. "The investigation has continued, and since the last continuance in this case, the government has seized a significant number of computers which need to be processed," said a court filing by Assistant U.S. Atty.

Fifteen people were arrested today on suspicion of taking part in an elaborate $18-million Medicare fraud scheme that officials say involved a Glendale medical clinic and pharmacy in San Marino. The scheme involved so-called “prescription harvesting,” in which Manor Medical Imaging Clinic and San Gabriel Valley pharmacies allegedly re-billed the government repeatedly for expensive anti- psychotic medications, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed today. The scheme caused at least $7.3 million in direct losses to Medicare and Medi-Cal, according to the Department of Justice.

Fifteen people were arrested today on suspicion of taking part in an elaborate $18-million Medicare fraud scheme that officials say involved a Glendale medical clinic and pharmacy in San Marino. The scheme involved so-called “prescription harvesting,” in which Manor Medical Imaging Clinic and San Gabriel Valley pharmacies allegedly re-billed the government repeatedly for expensive anti- psychotic medications, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed today. The scheme caused at least $7.3 million in direct losses to Medicare and Medi-Cal, according to the Department of Justice.

The state Fair Political Practices Commission on Thursday weighed whether political committees that lost millions of dollars in what the chairwoman called "the greatest campaign treasurer fraud in the history of the country" should be allowed to ask donors to replace their lost contributions. Three of the five commissioners traveled to Los Angeles to hear from some of the scores of mostly Democratic politicians and organizations in the region who used Burbank-based campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee.

The head of the state's ethics agency Friday proposed new measures to prevent fraud in the handling of political funds in response to a federal investigation of Kinde Durkee, who is suspected of embezzling from campaign accounts she controlled. In addition, Fair Political Practices Commission Chairwoman Ann Ravel said politicians affected by the investigation would receive some leeway in meeting financial reporting requirements. Attorneys for politicians told Ravel at a hearing near the Capitol on Friday that financial records needed to make those reports have been withheld by banks, and they expressed concern that other needed documents possessed by Durkee have been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury.

The head of the state's ethics agency Friday proposed additional action to prevent fraud in the handling of political funds in response to a federal investigation into embezzlement allegations against campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee. The Fair Political Practices Commission will also give those candidates affected some leeway in meeting financial reporting requirements after attorneys for some politicians said Friday that their records have been withheld by banks and expressed concern that other needed documents possessed by Durkee have been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury.

State banking regulators have launched an inquiry into how First California Bank handled numerous accounts controlled by Kinde Durkee, a longtime treasurer for prominent politicians who has been accused of fraud. The California Department of Financial Institutions, which oversees state-chartered banks, "will examine documents and transactions related to the accounts," said Alana Golden, a spokeswoman for the agency. She said the effort was "preliminary" fact gathering. "We are providing support to the investigation (by the FBI and Justice Department )