Recently in White Collar Category

The U.S. Dept. of Justice and FBI issued their joint report today on Internet crime trends and statistics. Californians and Nigerians? Neither come off too good.

Some highlights:

• In 2008, more than $264 million was lost 275,284 complaints
• Non-delivered merchandise was the most reported offense
• More than 77 percent of the perpetrators were male

You can check out the full report and the FBI's press release here.

If you think you've been the victim of a cybercrime, you can find help here.

Charges have not been filed yet against a man who was arrested last week after allegedly following a Torrance woman home from a casino and robbing her, according to the authorities. Earnest Alexander, 41, of Hawthorne, is being held at the Men's Central Jail on a federal parole violation while several law enforcement agencies investigate him, said Torrance police Sgt. Bernard Anderson.

Federal prosecutors who had searched for Alexander for months in connection to a large-scale Lawndale-based counterfeit currency ring say they will wait to see how state officials handle the case before pursuing him the case against him in federal court. Another figure in that fake money case, Troy Stroud, was expected to be sentenced today. The sentencing, however, was postponed until Jan. 26, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Mack Jenkins.

Alexander was arrested Wednesday after leading police on a pursuit that ended when he crashed his vehicle in the Harbor Gateway. He is suspected of following a Torrance woman home from the Normandie Casino in Gardena and robbing her early that morning.

Previously: We don't just write about crimes ... we solve them, too!

Michael and Susan Crabtree used fake bids and bogus contracts to bilk the defense contractor out of about $2.7 million. On Monday, they were each sentenced to 57 months in prison. We'll have a full story up later.

This from the Downey Patriot: Resident awaits sentencing in foreclosure scam

The stacks of bank documents presented during Karen Sue Hale's preliminary hearing today was daunting. But, depsite Judge Laura Ellison's stern warning to the prosecutor to find a way to sum up the evidence, it didn't happen. So,on the witness stand, Gardena Valley Chamber of Commerce Treasurer Glenn Mitchell went one-by-one over the 166 deposits and withdraws, plus the 30 or so checks, Hale allegedly made without authorization.

Hale is accused of embezzling $39,959 from her former employer by depositing membership funds and donations into an account she was directed to close, then taking the funds back out. Not sure what happened to most the money, but some went to L.A. Galaxy soccer tickets, some went to a new computer and some of the checks were written to the 53-year-old Lawndale woman's husband.

She comes back to Torrance court Sept. 17 for arraignment. We'll have a full story on the prelim in tomorrow's Daily Breeze.

 

The Boeing Company is accused of inflating its prices for a contract on a missile decoy system for the B-1 Bomber. The aerospace giant, which has facilities in El Segundo, allegedly bilked the U.S. government out of $7.5 million by outsourcing production of some components, according to the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

We'll have a full report in tomorrow's Daily Breeze.

Robert Soloway, who will spend four years in prison beginning Sept. 22 for the barrage of spam e-mails he sent, opened up for an interview that was published last week by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

The Palos Verdes Peninsula High School graduate, who got filthy rich at a young age from his business, told the newspaper: "Here's my dysfunction," Soloway said recently. "It was that notoriety. People knew me. No one clapped for me at my high school graduation. Maybe it's not how I want to be famous, but (my thinking was) 'At least people know who I am.' "

Previously:

Spam King sentenced

Sentencing hearing underway for Spam King

Today's story on Rosa Della Porta's charge of embezzling from the ILWU is now up on dailybreeze.com. It includes reactions from Local 26 President Luisa Gratz, who was none-too-pleased with her former employer. Dropped from the story by editors for being "too accusatory" was this quote from Gratz: "We're not vindicated yet. We want every penny back. I don't care how long she has to spend in jail. She stole from our members, she stole from our union.... You don't steal from working people."

Rosa Della Porta, 44, of Highland Park, was the former bookkeeper and officer manager for the International Longshoremen & Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 26. She was arrested today and indicted on Friday in federal court for one count of embezzling union funds.

The indictment alleges that Della Porta, who was responsible for receiving dues and making bank deposits, embezzled approximately $108,000 in cash. "After receiving cash from various sources, Della Porta allegedly deposited less cash than the union received and pocketed the balance," according to a release issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Della Porta allegedly embezzled the money from January 2003 until June 2006, when she was relieved of her bookkeeping duties. She was terminated by the union in November 2006. She faces a maximum sentence of five yeaars in prison.

She is expected to make her initial court appearance this afternoon. We'll have a full report in tomorrow's Daily Breeze.

Local 26 represents about 1,000 members, who work for 28 industrial companies in the Los Angeles area.

Albert Edward Talton, 45, pleaded guilty this morning to federal conspiracy and counterfeiting charges. His Lawndale home housed what authorities believe is one of the biggest counterfeit currency making operations ever in Southern California. Talton returns to court for sentencing on Oct. 27, when he faces up to 25 years in prison and $500,000 in fines - although his actual punishment will likely be less severe.

We'll have a short story up on dailybreeze.com soon, and a full story in tomorrow's editions.