Misappropriation Of Funds

Moorpark school board member Chris Evans pleaded not guilty Monday to a felony charge of grand theft, stemming from allegations that he misappropriated money from his former employer and customers. Evans, 45, is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing Aug. 21 in Van Nuys Superior Court. He remains free on $20,000 bail.

His story once made for a shameful headline: a small-town preacher accused of stealing from a working-class community that had trusted him for years. Arrested on a September morning in 2010, Luis Artiga was dismissed by many as a criminal who hid behind his faith, one in a pack of city leaders who paid themselves handsomely while residents struggled to pay bills. Initially, Artiga said he believed his near-six-figure salary was "a miracle from God. " Later, the day before he was arrested, he was apologetic and called the money "a trap from the devil.

The former head of an Orange recycling company, now under investigation for involvement in the suspected misappropriation of up to $6 million in city funds, has hired Los Angeles criminal attorney Robert Shapiro, a member of O.J. Simpson's "Dream Team" defense.

For years, prosecutors say, Lynwood council members lived large on the working-class city's dime. They allegedly billed the city for trips to far-flung places, including Beijing, Bermuda, Rio de Janeiro and Puerto Vallarta. One councilman charged his city credit card to watch Playboy channel movies at a Washington hotel. Another got a $100 daily allowance from the city to play in golf tournaments and attend a Tony Bennett concert and also used his city credit card for a $193 dinner at the House of Blues, prosecutors say. Among the most salacious bills: a $1,500 night out at a Guadalajara strip club, where dancers allegedly performed sexual favors for a council member and city manager - all charged to the city.

Lowy Denies Wrongdoing: Rudolph Lowy, chairman and president of Pacific States Casualty Co., "vehemently denies" an allegation that he misappropriated more than $5 million in company assets for his own benefit, a lawyer for Pacific States said. California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi made the accusation when he announced that he had placed Pacific States, a Chino-based workers' compensation insurer, in conservation after determining it was insolvent.

Subpoenas for the financial records of the Screen Extras Guild were served in connection with a federal grand jury inquiry into alleged misappropriation of funds, but a federal strike force spokesman declined to give further details or to comment on a report that the probe involves a proposed affiliation with the Teamsters Union. Guild attorney Joseph Kaplon said the inquiry apparently resulted from the complaints of some "disgruntled members."

A former custodial supervisor for the Inglewood Unified School District has been sentenced to five years in state prison for putting more than 25 phantom employees on the payroll and embezzling more than $150,000, Deputy Dist. Atty. Dan Nixon said. Andrew Truesdale, 50, was given three years for misappropriation of funds and two years for taking in excess of $150,000. Superior Court Judge Linda Lefkowitz on Wednesday also ordered Truesdale to return more than $200,000 to the school district.

An investigation into the Ventura College men's basketball program by the Ventura County district attorney's office has revealed no evidence of misappropriation of funds, the office announced Tuesday. A statement issued by District Atty. Michael D. Bradbury said the investigation was limited to potential criminal conduct. The conclusion does not impact an investigation of the program launched in March by the Ventura Community College District. The district has not announced its findings.

Boyd Dowler, a former All-Pro wide receiver for the Packers in the 1960s, was cleared in a civil suit brought by Florida Comptroller Gerald Lewis' office earlier this year, alleging misappropriation of investors' funds. Dowler agreed to entry of an administrative finding that he offered unregistered securities for sale and acted as an unregistered salesman in violation of state law. He also paid the state $3,000 in costs.

Dominique Moceanu had a smile that danced along with the music when the tiny gymnast, so small she seemed able to perform in the palm of your hand, competed at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. No one had more fun with her sport in Atlanta. No one seemed more suited to the job of being America's pixie. Now, two years later, we see Moceanu again. She is grown up, 17 years old, and there is no smile. There is a lawyer at her side and accusations of financial misdeeds made by her against her father.

Former Newport-Mesa Unified School District Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard took to Twitter last week in a quest to clear his reputation. After being convicted of two felony counts of misappropriation of public funds related to his post as Beverly Hills schools chief, Hubbard confirmed that he was using social media to expose what he termed a wrongful prosecution and conviction and to call attention to others suffering similar circumstances. "In coming weeks I will be exposing the lies and hypocrisy of the BHUSD, a greedy ex-superintendent, outright lies by the LA DA — bye for now," he tweeted Wednesday afternoon.

Whether he is acquitted or convicted of criminal charges, former Beverly Hills Unified School District Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard is unlikely to lose his retirement plan, according to state pension officials. A conviction for Hubbard on any of the three felonies he faces for alleged misappropriation of public funds could result in prison time or probation and lead to the loss of his credentials, but nothing in current law would affect his pension with the California State Teachers' Retirement System, according to a CalSTRS spokesman.

Prosecutors are seeking additional criminal charges against the Newport-Mesa Unified School District's chief. Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard, 54, faces two felony counts of misappropriation of funds related to his previous job as superintendent of the Beverly Hills Unified School District. The Los Angeles County district attorney's office plans to take recently acquired evidence to a grand jury in hopes of securing additional charges and possibly joining them with the first two felony charges.

A Los Angeles County prosecutor on Wednesday accused Bell's former city administrator, Robert Rizzo, of stealing more than $5 million from the city treasury and lending city money to buy the loyalty of employees so they wouldn't object to his bloated paychecks. "Money is power, and Mr. Rizzo used the city's money to gain power for himself," Deputy Dist. Atty. Sean Hassett said during closing arguments in a preliminary hearing to determine if Rizzo and others will stand trial for misappropriation of public funds.

Bell does not have to pick up Mayor Oscar Hernandez's legal expenses in defending himself against accusations that he misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars from the city treasury, a Superior Court judge ruled Monday. Hernandez, who also is facing criminal corruption charges along with seven other current or former leaders in the small city, was seeking to have the city pick up his legal fees in a sweeping lawsuit filed by then-Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown. The state's lawsuit seeks to recover tax dollars that Brown claims were improperly taken from the city by Hernandez and others.

Three present and former Bell City Council members charged with public corruption are asking a judge to order the city to pay some of their legal bills. Attorneys for Mayor Oscar Hernandez, Councilwoman Teresa Jacobo and former Councilman George Cole argue in court filings that the city should cover their legal expenses in a lawsuit filed last year by the California Attorney General's Office. Jacobo and Cole also want the city to pay their legal bills in a criminal case brought by the Los Angeles County district attorney.

Former Black Panther Party leader Huey Newton, serving a two-year prison term for illegal weapons possession, on Friday was ordered tried on embezzlement charges relating to a now-defunct school operated by the party. Newton and another school official, Mark Alexander, appeared in Oakland Municipal Court for a preliminary hearing, then were ordered held for trial on charges of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds at Oakland Community School.

A former adult school manager was sentenced to four years in prison for embezzling at least $150,000 in student fees and campus store funds, officials said Wednesday. Rodulfo Boquiren, who pleaded guilty earlier to misappropriation of funds and other charges, blamed his crime on a gambling addiction, Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Rosenthal said.

Concerned for the safety of several witnesses, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office obtained a grand jury indictment last month of a former Los Angeles neighborhood council president who had been charged in October with misappropriating city funds. James Harris, who headed the Empowerment Congress Southwest Area Neighborhood Development Council in South Los Angeles, is the fifth neighborhood council leader to face criminal charges involving misuse of taxpayer funds.

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday agreed to return more than $21.2 million to the operator of LAX to settle legal claims that airport funds were misappropriated in violation of federal regulations. On its last vote of the year, the council unanimously approved a plan for the city to repay $18.1 million to Los Angeles World Airports, which had been accused by the Federal Aviation Administration of improperly diverting the funds to L.A. Inc., the city's convention and visitors bureau.