Robert J Corsaut

Robert J. Corsaut, a former Costa Mesa man who defrauded churchgoers and other investors in a $1.3-million investment scheme, was sentenced Monday to 2 1/2 years in prison and ordered to pay $1.49 million in restitution. Corsaut, 47, now of Tulsa, Okla., had pleaded guilty in November to mail and securities fraud in connection with activities at his Costa Mesa company, Alpha Trust. Some of the defrauded investors were members of the nearby Joy Christian Fellowship.

Robert J. Corsaut, a former Costa Mesa man who defrauded churchgoers and other investors in a $1.3-million investment scheme, was sentenced Monday to 2 1/2 years in prison and ordered to pay $1.49 million in restitution. Corsaut, 47, now of Tulsa, Okla., had pleaded guilty in November to mail and securities fraud in connection with activities at his Costa Mesa company, Alpha Trust. Some of the defrauded investors were members of the nearby Joy Christian Fellowship.

Federal prosecutors said Thursday that a grand jury has indicted a former Costa Mesa man on charges that he bilked $1.3 million from 35 investors, including some people he ensnared at church. Robert J. Corsaut, 46, now of Tulsa, Okla., was charged with 39 counts of mail and securities fraud in connection with his former firm, Alpha Trust, which prosecutors now say was nothing but a scam operation.

Federal prosecutors said Thursday that a grand jury has indicted a former Costa Mesa man on charges that he bilked $1.3 million from 35 investors, including some people he ensnared at church. Robert J. Corsaut, 46, now of Tulsa, Okla., was charged with 39 counts of mail and securities fraud in connection with his former firm, Alpha Trust, which prosecutors now say was nothing but a scam operation.

DIVINE INTERVENTION: The latest in scam tactics? Praying for prey. . . . Costa Mesa con artist Robert J. Corsaut hired two spiritual advisers who "prayed for the success of the scam," revealed prosecutor John Walsh. "Both said it was the best job they ever had." . . . But, says Walsh, the intercessors were "totally ineffective." Corsaut was convicted; investors lost $1.3 million.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil fraud charges Tuesday against a Costa Mesa investment firm that allegedly bilked more than 35 investors out of $1.4 million over a period of 18 months. The complaint charges that Alpha Trust and its two trustees--Robert J. Corsaut and Omega Management Network Inc.--sold unregistered securities to investors, promised a high rate of return through conservative investments and then pocketed or misspent the bulk of the money.

She went from princess to prisoner in 1990. Janet Faye McKinzie spent much of the last decade living in luxury--driving a Rolls-Royce, wearing $1,000 cocktail dresses and hiring the likes of Sammy Davis Jr. to sing at lavish private parties. Nowadays, she is awakened every morning at 6 a.m. and sent to the showers.