white-collar

Published on: June 10, 2018

General Manager of Anaheim Company Accused of Embezzlement

On June 6, an executive at a company in Anaheim was arrested on suspicion of embezzlement that reportedly took place over the span of seven or more years. He is now facing several felony charges for the allegations.

Jeffrey Joseph Lenhardt has been the general manager of Foam Plastics and Rubber Products in Anaheim since September of 1990. Twenty-four years later in November of 2014, another worker at the company allegedly found discrepancies that led to suspicion of Lenhardt’s activities when noticing a cash transaction that was not written in the business ledger.

Lenhardt, who reportedly started his fraudulent behavior by offering customers off-the-books purchases of leftover pieces of materials from the shop that would have otherwise been refuse, is accused of accepting cash for the transactions without recording them.

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Published on: March 15, 2018

Orange County Insurance Agent Suspected of $1.6 Million Scam on Seniors

by Staycie R. Sena

An ex-insurance agent from San Clemente has been accused of using fraudulent practices to profit off of investments he made for at least six elderly clients in Southern California.

55-year-old Mark Malatesta, a man employed as a licensed insurance agent, was taken into custody on Monday after the California Department of Insurance detectives found what they believe is supporting evidence that he was taking part in a monetary ruse which cost his former clients over $1.6 million. The alleged victims were reported as senior citizens, who are said to be a target demographic of an increasing number of deceptions designed to cheat them out of their money, as reported by Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones.

Malatesta has been accused of a procedure called “churning,” wherein a broker who typically has permission to make independent determinations on how to invest money from the client’s account performs transactions “chiefly to generate commissions that benefit the broker,” as described by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Published on: January 2, 2018

Louisiana Elderly Man Accused of Fraud in Nigerian Prince Email Scam

by Staycie R. Sena

A 67-year-old man is facing hundreds of counts of wire fraud and money laundering for alleged participation as what police call a “middle man” in a common type of email scam dubbed “Nigerian prince.”

These shams, so named for many of them originating in Nigeria though they happen all over the world, typically connive people out of personal information such as bank account numbers under the pretense that they are assisting someone from Nigerian royalty in transferring money to the United States. The scammer then offers compensation for their aid. Law enforcement stated that investigating this type of crime poses challenges, “as many leads have led to individuals who live outside of the United States.”

After an 18-month and still ongoing investigation, police arrested Michael Neu on November 28 as they believed he was working with associates in Nigeria and serving as an intermediator in the fraudulent operations.

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Published on: December 8, 2017

Urban Decay Executive Faces Grand Theft Charges for Pilfering over $1 Million

by Staycie R. Sena

An executive for the cosmetics company Urban Decay has been accused of stealing more than $1 million through bank transfer transactions between the business and fraudulent accounts he created. He is facing felony charges for the allegations.

Irvine resident Ranjeet Reddy Paladugo holds a position as the vice president of finance at the Newport Beach based company Urban Decay. He is suspected of utilizing several banks in order to create fake accounts, which were similarly named after business affiliates of the company, in order to embezzle funds that he transferred from Urban Decay. On July 17 he allegedly stole over $1 million from Urban Decay.

Paladugo purportedly commissioned a transaction in the amount of $598,500 which he transferred through one of the phony accounts. He then transferred that money into his personal bank account. This procedure was repeated again in the same amount, and routed through a second bogus business account. Paladugo is said to have used the stolen money for personal use, including the down payment on a house.

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