Kickbacks

In 2005, California real estate mogul Terry Fancher wanted to entice public pension systems to place hundreds of millions of dollars in investment funds he managed. Bypassing seasoned Wall Street advisors such as Morgan Stanley or Credit Suisse First Boston, he turned to Darius Anderson, a young and ambitious Sacramento lobbyist known in the Capitol for his political connections and fundraising prowess.

A Los Angeles investment firm run by a well-known Southern California political operative has become ensnared in a widening probe into the fees paid to advisors who help place investments in public pension funds. Wetherly Capital Group has come under scrutiny for a $313,750 payment it made to a firm run by a New York political advisor who was arrested last month on charges of running a kickback scheme involving New York state's pension fund.

California and three dozen other states formed a task force Friday to investigate whether the abuses alleged at a New York state retirement fund are taking place at public pension agencies across the country. The announcement marks the latest expansion of a pay-to-play probe that has increasingly revealed California connections. New York Atty. Gen.

The Beverly Hills financial advisory firm at the center of the investigation that derailed New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's hopes of becoming commerce secretary has had a series of run-ins with federal and state agencies -- and a growing list of former clients is now suing it for allegedly bilking local governments. CDR Financial Products Inc.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama announced Tuesday that he would give to charity an additional $72,650 in 2004 political donations associated with his onetime patron, Antoin Rezko, who faces corruption charges in Chicago. The money represents donations from Rezko family members, employees and "others who may have contributed through his efforts" to Obama's 2004 campaign for the U.S. Senate, Obama's campaign said in a statement.

Hundreds of thousands of Californians could be eligible for $100 payments under the proposed settlement of a class-action lawsuit against some of the nation's largest residential real estate brokerages. The lawsuit accused the real estate brokers of taking kickbacks from a firm that provides hazard reports for properties in areas with heightened risk of floods, fire, earthquakes and landslides. The settlement agreement is pending final approval by a U.S. district judge in Los Angeles.

A Los Angeles lawyer was sentenced Monday to two months in prison for helping securities law firm Milberg make illegal kickbacks to a client who served as lead plaintiff in shareholder lawsuits. U.S. District Judge John F. Walter, at a hearing in federal court in Los Angeles, rejected a request by prosecutors to sentence Richard Purtich to one year of probation. Walter also ordered Purtich, who had been cooperating with the eight-year investigation of the New York firm, to pay a $50,000 fine.

A former licensing agent for Stamford, Conn.-based World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. admitted to participating in a $1-million kickback scheme. Stanley Shenker, 61, of New Canaan, Conn., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport, Conn., to conspiring to defraud WWE by paying about $1 million in kickbacks to a WWE insider.

A plea agreement by a former Brentwood eye doctor in the federal case against a prominent New York law firm suggests that prosecutors are seeking still more indictments, possibly including class-action lawsuit king William S. Lerach, legal experts said. Steven Cooperman, 64, will plead guilty to taking more than $6.4 million in secret payments from Milberg Weiss & Bershad to serve as its lead plaintiff in class-action suits, prosecutors said Wednesday.

New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday that his office has expanded a probe of whether lenders are using payments and perks to encourage colleges to steer student borrowers their way. The office began a preliminary inquiry in November, requesting information from student lenders Nelnet Inc., Education Finance Partners, Educap and Sallie Mae, the largest provider of student loans in the United States.