Subject:

U.S. District Court

  • Blogs

    May 22, 2012

    Little Saigon Cocaine Dealer Seeks Leniency After DEA Sting

    A 30-year-old Vietnamese American woman seeking leniency for her involvement in an international cocaine distribution network and operating in Little Saigon, Beverly Hills and Santa Ana didn't get her way.U.S. District Court Judge Gary A. Feess in Los Angeles this month sentenced Linda Pham to a ter ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 19, 2012

    OC Child Pornography Collector Wins 66-Month Prison Trip

    An Orange County man who possessed a large cache of child pornography and kept alarming images on display in his home living room now regrets his conduct and promises he will won't make the same mistake again.U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter made sure that Gary Alan Keller, a longtime gas e ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 17, 2012

    Kevin Williams, Irvine College Student Studying in Florida, Swept Up in Underage Sex Sting

    You know those Huntington Beach Police Department stings that have officers pose as underage girls on social networking sites to catch sexual predators? Guess Kevin Williams wasn't paying attention to those when he was back home in Irvine.The student at Eckerd College in Pinellas County, Florida, w ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 17, 2012

    Laguna Hills Bank Teller Who Lied to the FBI Gets Sentenced

    Bank teller Alvina Roy Sundaram faced five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for lying to an FBI agent probing allegations that her boss, a vice president at the Farmers and Merchants Bank in Laguna Hills, had stolen money from one of the bank's customers.According to FBI Special Agent Michele Bel ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 16, 2012

    Newport Beach Sports Bookie Sentenced in Federal Court

    Sports bookie Jeffrey Wayne Bzroska, a onetime manager at PIMCO, got great news this month when a federal judge in Santa Ana sentenced him to probation for two years in proceedings that were partly conducted in secret.Bzroska had managed an illegal sports betting operation in Newport Beach for at le ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 1, 2012

    Orange County Gold Swindler Who Targeted Elderly Learns His Punishment

    In 2007, La Habra's slick-talking John Arthur Walthall tricked an elderly Orange County couple into investing $5.5 million for a fictitious gold mining operation and, as scumbags are prone to do, secretly used the money to pay his personal living expenses.The FBI learned of the con game, arrested Wa ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 30, 2012

    OC's Triple Threat Bank Bandit Pleads Guilty

    Serial bandit Joe Pettis III got into an August 19, 2011, dispute with his daughter and decided that the answer to his frustration was a bank robbery spree that ended after a televised car chase and him lying on the highway with a couple dozen CHP weapons pointed at his head.Armed only with a handwr ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 17, 2012

    Orange County "Wealth Coach" Sentenced To Federal Prison For Running $25 Million Scam

    Thanks in part to licenses to practice law and mortgage brokering in California, Gerald Lawrence Wolfe once boasted that he and his wife enjoyed monthly income that topped $150,000.Wolfe, 42, bragged so much about his financial acumen that he confidently presented himself as a "Wealth Coach" with a ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 13, 2012

    Craigslist High School Prostitution Freak Gets Stiff Prison Sentence

    A Southern California man arrested last October for using the "Casual Encounters" section of Craigslist to brazenly lure high school girls into prostitution changed his plea to guilty this week in U.S. District Court.Leo James Zabala Jr. of Whittier acknowledges that in 2011 he used a Yahoo email ac ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 12, 2012

    Investors Sue Coldwell Banker for $50 Million for Alleged Fund Scheme

    U.S. District Court Judge Andrew J. Guilford in Santa Ana has ruled that a $50 million lawsuit against Coldwell Banker on behalf of 1,300 investors in seven real estate investment funds can move forward.Five plaintiffs are named in the suit that alleges an investment scheme was perpetrated by Real E ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 11, 2012

    Ex-California Army National Guard Commander in OC Admits He's a Scumbag Crook

    A 70-year-old retired colonel in the California Army National Guard pleaded guilty today in federal court to running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded at least 28 victims approximately $2.7 million, according to a U.S. Department of Justice announcement.Timothy Melvin Murphy, a resident of Orange and at ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 21, 2012

    Costa Mesa's "Sal the 1040 Gal" Gets Nailed For Skimming Tax Refunds From Clients

    ​You have to give Sally Louise Crystal big points for audacity.While on criminal probation for stealing more than $6,800 from a roommate, Crystal (AKA Sally Hernandez or, her professional nickname, "Sal the 1040 Gal") operated a brazen income tax preparation scam in Costa Mesa that ripped off her ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 27, 2012

    Taco Bell Crime of the Week: Police Beat Up Man in Parking Lot, Get Sued, and Lose

    ​This week is interesting: usually, we have cops catch criminals at Taco Bell, not be the bad guys themselves. Yet that's exactly what happened in Oakland, where a man alleged that police officers beat him up at a Taco Bell parking lot for no reason--and is now $43,000 richer for it.

  • Blogs

    February 9, 2012

    PETA Loses Whale of a Slave Suit But Still Crows

    ​A federal judge Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit brought by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) that argued five orcas should be freed from SeaWorld under the anti-slavery 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.Judge Jeffrey Miller of the U.S. District Court in San Diego reasoned in ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 15, 2011

    Leo James Zabala Jr. Accused of Posting Craigslist Personals Seeking Sex With High School Girls

    ​After a personal ad posted Sept. 6 in Craigslist's Orange County "Casual Encounters" section offered to pay high school girls $60 for intercourse and $40 for head, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alerted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investi ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 22, 2011

    Euirang "Chris" Hwang, Phony Billionaire Who Preyed on Koreans, Gets 6.5 Years for Ponzi Scam

    Dammit, again, it's Ponzi not Fonzie.​38-year-old Euirang "Chris" Hwang was sentenced this week in federal court to 6 1/2 years in prison for operating an Irvine investment business that was actually a front for a Ponzi scheme targeting Korean Americans.After Hwang pleaded guilty to federal wire f ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 2, 2011

    [UPDATED with Victims Speak:] Luis Mijangos, Sextortion Hacker, Gets 6 Years

    ​UPDATE, SEPT. 2, 11:04 A.M.: Two victims of Luis Mijangos hacking into dozens of computers to obtain personal data--and in some cases demanding sexually explicit videos from female victims in exchange for not distributing other images--spoke at the undocumented immigrant's sentencing."During to ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 21, 2011

    [UPDATED with Mattel Getting Bitch-Slapped:] Chick Fight! Chick Fight! Barbie vs. Bratz

    ​UPDATE, APRIL 21, 12:31 P.M.: The sluttier, younger chick wins!A federal court jury in Santa Ana not only rejected claims that MGA Entertainment's popular line of Bratz dolls violates the copyright of Mattel's Barbie, but the panel awarded MGA $88.4 million for trade secrets misappropriated by M ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 23, 2011

    Decision Against Resuming Same-Sex Weddings Emboldens Prop. 8 Backers But Fails to Deter Foes

    ​Three federal judges ruled today that gay marriage cannot resume in California until state and federal appeals courts decide the fate of Proposition 8--something that may be more than a year away.Judges Stephen Reinhardt, Michael Daly Hawkins and N. Randy Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeal for t ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 22, 2011

    [UPDATED] Luis Mijangos Guilty of Being Sextortion Hacker

    ​UPDATE, MARCH 22, 4:46 P.M.: Santa Ana's Luis Mijangos, who had previously pleaded not guilty to 16 federal charges, pleaded guilty Monday to two federal counts related to his tricking about 230 people into downloading a virus that allowed him to hack into their computers, and then extort from th ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 8, 2011

    Barbara Coe Calls U.S. Federal Court Judge Vaughn Walker a 'Homo'

    ​California Coalition for Immigration Reform head witch Barbara Coe sends so many damn e-mails to her minions that some inevitably fall behind the radiator--like the one I just found that's dated Aug. 6, 2010. The occasion was the repealing of the anti-gay-marriage Proposition 8 by U.S. District C ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 20, 2011

    Supreme Court Smacks Down Local Armenian Genocide Deniers

    ​This week, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of Griswold v. Driscoll, a Massachusetts-based case in which a group of plaintiffs sued the State Board of Education because it didn't include references to Armenian-genocide deniers in school curricula covering the Armenian ge ... More >>

  • News

    January 13, 2011

    Mike Carona: No More Excuses

    [Moxley Confidential] Federal Appeals Court upholds the ex-sheriff's conviction, and he's finally headed to prison

  • Blogs

    December 7, 2010

    YouPorn Shared More Than Sex Videos Claims Lawsuit Filed by Newport Beach Pair

    ​Two Newport Beach men have filed a lawsuit accusing operators of the YouPorn adult video sharing website of "sniffing," which is not an exotic new sex act (well, at least not in this particular context) but the improper monitoring of other sites users have visited.

  • Blogs

    November 23, 2010

    Federal Judge Grants Partial Victory for Liberal OC in its Pissing Match Against Orange Juice! But Calls Boths Sides "Childish"

    ​In perhaps the greatest waste of a courtroom in this county since the Rocco trial, a federal judge has sided with the Liberal OC in its lawsuit against the Orange Juice! blog. But U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter was hardly sympathetic to the Liberal OC."This case tells the story of an o ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 22, 2010

    Chronic Tacos Sues Chronic Tacos For Trademark Infringement

    ​Chronic Tacos Enterprises [ugly, noisy website alert], the group behind the Chronic Tacos brand, have filed suit in United States District Court against the Huntington Beach franchisee of the brand, saying that they continue to use the Chronic Tacos trademark despite not having a valid franchise ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 12, 2010

    UPDATED: OC-Born Judge Throws Out 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

    Anti-DADT activist and fired soldier Dan ChoiUpdate, Oct. 12, 1:02 p.m.: Riverside federal judge Virginia Phillips has double-downed on her initial ruling against Don't Ask, Don't Tell, issuing a worldwide injunction barring enforcement of the rule. The government has sixty days to appeal, but ... More >>

  • Columns

    September 16, 2010

    Spanish in the Workplace, Part Ninety-Eleven

    [¡Ask a Mexican!] What better way to learn Spanish than shutting your yap and watching 'Sábado Gigante'?

  • Blogs

    September 14, 2010

    Souhair Khatib, Who Had Her Hijab Removed in OC Jail, to Get Her Day in Appeals Court

    ​The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a new hearing in the case of a Muslim woman who claims her constitutional rights were violated when Orange County sheriff's deputies forced her to remove her headscarf while she was being held in a courthouse holding facility.Chief Judge Alex Kozin ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 12, 2010

    UPDATED: Prop 8 Judge: Same-Sex Weddings Can Resume ... on Wednesday

    Law.UCI.eduChemerinsky​UPDATE: The dean of the UCI Law School does not see grounds for an appeal of the stay against gay weddings in California (see below) . . . U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker in San Francisco today lifted the stay on same-sex marriages in California--beginning ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 20, 2010

    3 of Top 10 Most Wanted International Fugitives Hail From Orange County

    ​Long before the Interwebs were awash with lists like "Top 10 Squeaky Cat Toys" and "Top 25 Geeky Video Game Comic Book D&D Tie-Ins," the FBI was issuing its top 10 lists of most-wanted criminals.Perhaps you've even seen them at the post office.The long arm of the bureau extends beyond the 50 ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 16, 2010

    Closing Arguments in Prop. 8 Trial Begin Today

    ​Today marks the beginning of the closing arguments in the trial brought in San Francisco federal court against California's voter-approved same-sex marriage ban, Proposition 8.A few developments from recent weeks in the Prop. 8-watching world if you haven't been following along:

  • Blogs

    April 22, 2010

    Arnold Schwarzenegger's Indian Tribe Tax Idea Slapped Down

    screenrant.comBarbarian Tax Man"We find all of the state's arguments unpersuasive."--From the Ninth Circuit's ruling this week that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's made strong-arm efforts to force the Rincon San Luiseno Band of Mission Indians to accept an illegal tax on tribal gambling ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 21, 2010

    Phu Tan "Peter" Luong, Accused of Using Wheelchair Scam Funds to Start Business Hawking Dangerous Boner Pills

    ​Phu Tan Luong, a 55-year-old health-care fraudster who moved from Huntington Beach to a federal prison cell in Plano, Texas, where he is serving 10 years for a scam involving wheelchairs and hospital beds, has now been charged with distributing ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 9, 2010

    Judge Denies Restraining Order to Keep Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Open

    ​A federal judge has denied a restraining order aimed at keeping medical marijuana dispensaries open in Costa Mesa and Lake Forest while the court considers a lawsuit filed on behalf of four MedMar Patient Care Collective patients and based on the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).

  • Blogs

    April 2, 2010

    One More "Airplane!" Scene Now Dated

    ​No-nonsense, double-sunglassed chief pilot Rex Kramer (Robert Stack) shoves, punches and tosses donation solicitors--including a Hare Krishna (David Leisure)--blocking his path at a busy airport in the 1980 comedy Airplane!Like much of the flick's now-dated humor (Airplane! was the best motion pi ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 1, 2010

    Ahmad Noory Could Get 45 Years for Alleged Role in Insider Trader Scheme

    ​A Ladera Ranch man is expected to surrender to federal authorities this afternoon to face charges connected to an insider trading scheme in which he and four others allegedly used confidential information obtained from two investor relations firms to generate more than $1.7 million in illegal ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 1, 2010

    [UPDATED:] Trabuco Canyon's Lila Rizk Guilty in Massive Real Estate Fraud

    UPDATE: At her sentencing in a Los Angeles federal court today, Trabuco Canyon's Lila Rizk received a three-year prison term for her role in a massive mortgage fraud scheme that caused tens of millions of dollars in losses to federally insured banks.​A federal jury on Aug. ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 13, 2009

    Judge Sends the Law after Orly Taitz for Ignoring $20,000 Fine

    ​A Georgia federal judge last month fined Laguna Niguel's Dr. Orly Taitz Esq. for repeatedly filing "frivolous" lawsuits about Barack Obama's eligibility to be president. The deadline to pay that fine came and went Thursday; Taitz told the Columbia Ledger-Enquirer that she has no intention of payi ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 7, 2009

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    October 2, 2009

    Agran Crony and Gore Campaigner Agrees to Guilty Pleas in Federal Wire Fraud Case

    Irvine attorney Sandeep Baweja, the 39-year-old money man for that town's "progressive" political boss Larry Agran and a former official with Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign, agreed in court papers to plead guilty to two felony charges related to a scheme where he ripped off nearly all of the $ ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 20, 2009

    Teaching Museum Uses Adventure Films to Help Fund Mendez v. Westminster Exhibit

    Jonathan Copp, RIP.​What do the plucky Museum of Teaching and Learning, an internationally acclaimed film festival and the landmark Mendez v. Westminster School District case of 1946 have in common?All three could learn you something.The Fullerton-based Museum of Teaching and Learning (MOTAL) is s ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 6, 2009

    Bigger PR Nightmare: Henry Nicholas III or OC Register?

    FishBowlLA.com connects the dots today between indicted Broadcom co-founder Henry Nicholas III, the Orange County Register's parent company and the "PR guy" for both of them: Sitrick & Co. does PR for Freedom Communications, Inc.Mike Sitrick is also the PR guy for Dr. Henry Nicholas III, the for ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 26, 2009

    To The Very End, Mike Carona is a Shameless Hypocrite

    It's not a crime if the sheriff does itPlease, please, please don't punish me for my criminal activity!--The position ex-Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona is taking with U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Guilford, who will decide on April 27 what punishment is fitting for the former top cop's repeate ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 17, 2008

    Porn and Taxes

    Getting stiffed by a porn star took on a whole new meaning Monday when Huntington Beach's Janine Lindemulder was arraigned in federal court for allegedly failing to pay about $80,000 in income taxes, The Smoking Gun reports today. The racktacular 39-year-old entered a not guilty plea and was releas ... More >>

  • News

    November 8, 2007

    Taken to School

    Judge dismisses a multimillion-dollar lawsuit by professors alleging class-hour fraud against Chapman University

  • Blogs

    July 27, 2007

    Friday's Headlines & Surprises: Excessive Force?

    Shoot 15 times, ask softball questions later: The parents of Ashley MacDonald, the 18-year-old Huntington Beach girl killed by two police officers, filed an excessive force lawsuit yesterday in U.S. District Court, according to Christine Hanley at the Times. According to their suit, Kenneth MacDona ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 3, 2006

    Let justice roll down...

    "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an overflowing stream." That passage from the Book of Amos (5:24) is the sort of thing lawyers working for nonprofit organizations repeat to themselves before marching off to court to fight the good fight. Of course, it may not be what the la ... More >>

  • Columns

    December 17, 1998

    Whose Online is it, Anyway?

    "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an overflowing stream." That passage from the Book of Amos (5:24) is the sort of thing lawyers working for nonprofit organizations repeat to themselves before marching off to court to fight the good fight. Of course, it may not be what the la ... More >>

  • News

    May 28, 1998

    Making Dornans Enemies List

    "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an overflowing stream." That passage from the Book of Amos (5:24) is the sort of thing lawyers working for nonprofit organizations repeat to themselves before marching off to court to fight the good fight. Of course, it may not be what the la ... More >>

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