Banking Services

FBI Arrests Identity Thief For Taking $610,000 From Fountain Valley Bank

In December 2010, a Sunset Beach woman got a terrible surprise when she went to a Huntington Beach branch of U.S. Bank to pay off her mortgage and discovered that three weeks earlier a stranger had emptied her account of more than $610,000.According to court records, an FBI investigation determined ... More >>

Igor Olenicoff of Laguna Sued by Ex-Banker Who Helped Billionaire Hide $200 mil from IRS

It's getting so you can't keep track of the Igor Olenicoff lawsuit related to his investments with UBS AG bank without a scorecard.In the latest twist, the billionaire who lives in Laguna Beach and oversees Olen Properties real estate in Newport Beach is being sued by the bank employee who helped hi ... More >>

Igor Olenicoff, Billionaire Tax Felon, Has UBS Influence Excuse Confirmed by Whisteblower

Bradley Birkenfeld helped the wealthy dodge taxes, went to prison and is now reportedly getting $104 million from the IRS for whistleblowing on some clients. Among them: billionaire Igor Olenicoff, who lives in Laguna Beach and oversees Olen Properties real estate in Newport Beach. Interestingly, Ol ... More >>

Attention, Expectant Mothers: Local Doctors, Nurses Want Your Baby's Umbilical Cord Blood

It was a no-brainer decision for Buena Park resident Stephanie Vinson that come delivery time, she would donate her baby's valuable umbilical cord blood. The hospital where she worked and delivered, Long Beach Memorial Center, offered a public collection program, meaning a mother can donate her cord ... More >>

Igor Olenicoff, OC Billionaire, Has Suit Tossed Against Swiss Bank That Hid His Money

Billionaire Igor Olenicoff, who lives in Laguna Beach and oversees Newport Beach-based Olen Properties, lost his bid in federal court to blame Swiss bankers for his guilty plea to felony tax evasion. In a 28-page decision tossing Olenicoff's suit against Zurich-based UBS AG, Judge Andrew J. Guilford ... More >>

The Legend of Robin Hood

Maverick Theater

"Dying Son Bandit" Spins Sad Tale to Bank Tellers He Robs

​I hope the man dubbed by the FBI the "Dying Son Bandit" really does have a son who is dying.Wait, that didn't come out right. I don't hope anyone is dying. Actually, that applies to most people. But I hope the bank robber who tells tellers he is only taking cash from them because of his son's med ... More >>

Kenneth Joseph Lucas II Gets 13 Years for Running International Phishing Scam and Indoor Pot Farm

​UPDATE, JUNE 28, 2 P.M.: Sentences totaling 13 years for convictions in two cases have been given to Kenneth Joseph Lucas II, the "kingpin" of an international "phishing" operation that used spam e-mails and bogus websites to collect personal information used to defraud American banks. The 27- ... More >>

MoveOn.org Comes to the Rescue of Taxes Today

​Taxes must be suffering from battered women's syndrome about now. We're all like, "Aw come on, baby. You know I loves ya," Then--BAM!--corporations and rich people rap taxes upside the head, saying they ain't returning to Clinton-era levels. Then we get all lovey-dovey again and--WHAM!--House Rep ... More >>

Me Arlene Settle Could Get Stiff Prison Sentence for Role in International Phishing Ring

​When federal indictments were announced in the fall of 2009 as part of Operation "Phish Phry," a multinational investigation conducted in the United States and Egypt that led to charges against 100 people, it was hailed as the largest number of defendants ever charged in a cybercrime case. Fiv ... More >>

First Vietnamese American Bank Closes

​Little Saigon's First Vietnamese American Bank, which as the name suggests opened five years ago as the first U.S. bank with a core clientele of Vietnamese immigrants, was shut down by regulators Friday night.The bank at 8990 Westminster Blvd., Westminster, reopened today under new management an ... More >>

Miradas: Mexican Art from the Bank of America Collection

Muzeo

Miradas: Mexican Art

Muzeo

Labor Rally Chastises Greed of Chase and Bank of America

The reckless greed of Wall Street banks such as Chase and Bank of America has wrecked the American economy and kill American jobs, claims the Orange County Labor Federation, which leads noontime rallies today in front of branches of both banks in Santa Ana.

What If the Blue Note Bandit and Red Sharpie Bandit Had Joined Forces?

Top left: FBI; bottom left: LABankRobbers.org"Red Sharpie Bandit" (above) and "Blue Note Bandit" terrorize local banks.​It's a good thing the FBI believes it has captured the so-called "Red Sharpie Bandit."Who knows what kind of evil would have been wrought had he joined forces with a fellow bank ... More >>

Locals Among Dozens Caught Up in International Criminal Phishing Scheme

No, not that kind of fish fry. ​Congratulations, Orange County! Some of your residents were among today's arrestees in the largest cyber crime case of its kind. "Operation Phish Phry," the first joint cyber investigation between Egyptian law enforcement authorities and United States of ... More >>

Local Billionaire/Tax Felon Says His Swiss Banker Made Him Do It

Amid President Barack Obama's vow to end off-shore tax breaks for U.S.-based multinational corporations and individuals within a decade, billionaire Igor Olenicoff, who owns homes in Laguna Beach and Florida, says from his Newport Beach office that his Swiss bankers led him to lie about his foreign ... More >>

Famed Cybercriminal 'The Analyst' Targeted Irvine Company

d70focus / FlickrWherever white-collar crimes happen, Irvine's aisles of nameless, indistinguishable boxy office buildings will somehow be involved. Exhibit #3945: the case of "The Analyst," a.k.a. Israeli hacker Ehud Tenebaum.Tenebaum hacked the Pentagon as a teenager, and then went to work as a go ... More >>

Public's Help Sought in Nabbing the 'Hazmat Bandit'

The Orange County Bank Robbery Task Force is seeking the public's help in identifying an armed bank robber authorities have dubbed the "Hazmat Bandit" due to his attire: a white painter's jumpsuit, a white hat, boots and sunglasses.The unidentified man--described as white, in his fifties, with long ... More >>

Rockabilly Night

It's Gonna Get Bad, Then Really Bad, Then Really Really Bad ...

Chapman University's annual economic forecast has been known to be overly sunny, but even this year's had to acknowledge that it'll suck huevos through the end of the next year. However, as they faced a crowd of 1,200 huddled in the Orange County Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, Esmael Adibi and ... More >>

Chapman Journo Professor Defeats Wacky Santa Barbara Publisher

In these days of horrible news, something great: Chapman University School of Journalism professor Susan Paterno successfully defender herself against a libel and defamation suit filed by Wendy McCaw, the controversial owner of the Santa Barbara News-Press and a rag owner that makes Hearst look like ... More >>

Beasts of Burnin'

An outlaw animal-rights group targets a local bank branch in its war on animal testing

Un-safe slumber party

Ever wonder what would happen if you locked an old woman in a bank safe? You have? Well then you're a sick individual. But lucky for you, Bank of America in Laguna Woods did lock a diabetic 73-year-old woman in a privacy room while she was checking her safe deposit box just yesterday. And what happe ... More >>

!Ask a Mexican!

'Real-life Mexicans not only dont care about those stereotypes, they embrace them'

Club Fed

A brief history of two bad ideas

Ed Royce Is Your Friend!

But he likes bankers, too