Southern California Defense Blog

An Oceanside police sergeant recently pleaded guilty to charges of “receiving stolen property and knowingly accepting items purchased with embezzled funds,” according to a recent report by San Diego News 10. The man had been with the Oceanside Police Department for 10 years and was quoted as being a “rising star” in the department when he was charged. Allegedly, the man was romantically involved with a woman who had been embezzling money from a construction company at which she was employed. Prosecutors claim that the man knowingly received over $54,000 in items from the woman that he used to update his home, including mahogany wood flooring and flat-screen television sets. The officer now faces a prison sentence of 365 days in county jail.

Under California Penal Code section 496, it is a crime to knowingly buy, sell, receive, conceal, or withhold stolen property. If, for example, you buy or receive a car stereo from a person with knowledge that the person who is providing it to you has received it unlawfully, you can be prosecuted for receiving stolen property under Penal Code section 496. Depending on the severity of the case, a conviction can result in a prison sentence of up to one year in state or county jail.

Continue reading "Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Receiving Stolen Property - California Penal Code Section 496" »

Some members of the local legal community were surprised on Tuesday, December 15, 2009, when a U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney acquitted former Broadcom chief financial officer William J. Ruehle, and dismissed charges of fraud and backdating stock options against former Broadcom CEO Henry T. Nicholas. However, the judge did more than just dismiss the case with prejudice on the ground of prosecutorial misconduct, which is likely to preclude the case from ever being prosecuted again.

The judge also launched an attack on the federal prosecutors handling the case scorning them for intimidating and threatening key witnesses and lacking evidence to prove the allegations of backdating stock options in order to lower the Irvine semiconductor manufacturing giant compensation expenses on its financial statements to shareholders.

Broadcom is an Irvine chipmaker that during 10 years of public trading had grown into the largest technological company in Orange County employing 7,200 people worldwide and posting $4.6 billion in revenue in 2008. The trouble for the company started in 2007, when it announced a $2.2 billion in undisclosed compensation expenses as part of backdated stock option grants.

At the initial phase of criminal proceeding, the prosecution was able to secure the testimony of a former administrative assistant who had told former chief financial officer Ruehle that stock option backdating was an error in judgment. However, the prosecution was allegedly involved in intimidating witnesses and threatening their attorneys with filing criminal charges against witnesses in a failed attempt to shape their testimony ahead of the upcoming trial.

Continue reading "Broadcom Case Dismissed: William J. Ruehle and Henry T. Nicholas Exonerated" »

It was recently reported that two San Bernardino officials have been charged with over a dozen felony counts, including bribery and misappropriation of public funds. Former Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Postmus and former Assistant County Assessor Jim Erwin are accused of accepting $100,000 apiece from land development company Colonies Partners to settle a lawsuit the company filed against the city for $102 million. The lawsuit was filed because the city allegedly failed to make payments for flood control improvements for a development project near Upland.

Postmus is charged with five felony counts, including conspiracy to commit a crime, conflict of interest, misappropriation of public funds, and two counts of accepting a bribe. Erwin is charged with nine felony counts including bribery, misappropriation of public funds, forgery, and two counts each of corrupt influencing and extortion to obtain an official act. Both are awaiting trial on other corruption charges.

Continue reading "Two Elected San Bernardino County Officials Charged with Bribery and Why You Need an Experienced Southern California Defense Attorney to Represent You - California Penal Code Section 641" »

According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, a mistrial was declared in the California fraud trial of Matthias Vheru, 53, who was accused by prosecutors of conning the district into placing a $3.7 million order to buy math textbooks that he had written. The math teacher who was the interim director of mathematics in 2004, allegedly persuaded the district to purchase about 45,000 copies of an algebra book he wrote. As a result of the district’s purchase, Verhu received approximately $930,000.

Following more than a week of deliberations, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, which is required to find Mr. Vheru guilty of the fraud charges. The panel was reportedly hung at 11 to 1 in favor of acquitting Vheru. The U.S. Attorney’s office has until March 23rd to decide if they want to retry Vheru.

Vheru’s fraud defense attorneys argued that their client obtained the proper approval from both the mathematics department and the accounting office before placing the order, and that disclosing royalties on the sale of books was not part of L.A. Unified’s policy.

Results such as the one in this Los Angeles fraud case do not happen by accident. They are the result of the work of an experienced Los Angeles criminal defense attorney. While white-collar crimes like fraud and forgery do not carry the negative social stigma that many other crimes do, they are nonetheless extremely serious charges.

Continue reading "Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney Obtained a Mistrial for Teacher Accused of Defrauding LAUSD" »

New California Appeals Court Ruling Underscores The Need For An Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney in Forgery Cases

A recent California Court of Appeals decision held that multiple forged signatures on a single document constitute only one count of forgery in California. In the matter of People v. Kenefick 2009 DJDAR 731, the Defendant was sentenced at trial to over 16 years in prison after she allegedly stole $890,000 from six victims, while purporting to run an investment company. Defendant was convicted by jury of 18 counts of theft, burglary, selling securities by false statement, and forgery.

On appeal, Defendant argued that two of the forgery counts should be vacated, and the sentence on those counts stayed. Defendant, through her California appeals attorney, argued that she could not be punished separately for forgery because the forgeries were part and parcel of the theft. The California Court of Appeals agreed. California Penal Code Section 654 prohibits multiple punishment for a single act or omission which may be punishable in different ways by different provisions of the Penal Code. The Court agreed with the Defendant that she harbored a single criminal objective in committing the forgery and theft. The Court held that the forgeries were merely initial steps in the plan to commit theft; as such it was improper for the trial court to allow separate convictions for those acts of forgery.

Hiring an experienced criminal defense law firm can greatly increase your chances of keeping your freedom, and ensuring you receive the lowest possible sentence. The attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have been helping people for over 30 years.

Please feel free to contact an Orange County white collar crime defense attorney Wallin & Klarich to discuss your case. You can reach us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 877-466-5245 or go to our website at wklaw.com for more information.

I am accused of forgery and/or counterfeiting and need a defense attorney

Forgery has several definitions under the law. At its most basic, forgery is knowingly and intentionally creating false documents that are held out as genuine. That includes:

• Signing someone else’s name, or the name of a person who doesn’t exist
• Forging someone else’s handwriting
• Altering or forging documents used as evidence in court
• Falsifying, altering or forging a wide variety of legal documents, or trying to pass falsified documents as genuine, or knowingly receiving forged or counterfeited materials
• Writing a bad check

The list of legal documents that may not be altered or forged is long, but it includes wills, court judgments, checks and other financial documents, deeds or certificates of ownership, medical records, tickets for public or private transit, driver’s licenses and lottery tickets. Importantly, all forgery crimes require the intent to defraud: i.e., you cannot be convicted of forgery if you did not realize a document was false, added material intended to clarify or correct a document or otherwise made an innocent mistake.

Continue reading "Forgery and Counterfeiting Charges in California" »

Do I Really Need A Bribery Defense Lawyer?

Bribery is giving or offering to give something of value to another person in order to influence their decisions. It is explicitly forbidden to offer or make a bribe to the following persons:

• Judges and other judicial officers
• Jurors
• Referees and umpires
• Arbitrators
• Elected officials
• State, city or county government workers and members of public corporations; &
• Anyone else authorized by law to decide any question or controversy

Those serving in the roles above will also be guilty of bribery should they accept an actual bribe or offer one. In either case, bribery is a felony carrying two to four years in state prison. Those convicted of accepting a bribe will also be fined $2,000 or the amount of the bribe, up to $10,000 or twice the amount of the bribe -- whichever is larger.

Continue reading "Felony Bribery in California Carries Stiff Penalties" »

Do I Need a Bad Check Attorney if I am Charged with Fraudulently Issuing Bad Checks?

With the economic downturn our law firm is seeing a rise in the number of persons who are calling our office for help and who find themselves accused of writing a “bad check”. The problem of bad checks has always been a concern for law enforcement, and with the anticipated downturn in the economy the occurrence of bad check writing will go up. Aside from the economical implications this scenario has, the impact on unsuspecting offenders is that prosecutors will likely begin to pursue offenders more vigorously.

The typical bad check prosecution is where a person will pay rent, a car payment, or any other regular bill with knowledge that there is insufficient funds in their account, but with the hope that they will eventually get the money before the check clears, or that a recently deposited check will clear. Then, the check bounces, a report is made, and charges instituted.

The charges levied against the person will generally be one count of issuing checks to defraud, and another for false pretenses. While similar, the charges are unique enough so that the prosecutor may attempt to prosecute on both charges. If you find yourself accused of a “bad check charge” you need to immediately seek the assistance of a highly skilled San Diego criminal defense attorney.

If the prosecution is successful in establishing the basic elements of the crimes (that a person knew the account did not have sufficient funds in the account when the check was drafted) successfully defending the case will be almost impossible without an experienced criminal defense lawyer on your side.

Wallin & Klarich is a law firm with over thirty years of experience in handling criminal matters, and has extensive experience in defending those facing bad check charges. The California fraud defense attorneys at Wallin and Klarich has been successful in having these charges dismissed when the evidence could be argued that there was some sort of “misunderstanding” of good faith error on the part of the accused. In other cases our law firm has been able to keep our clients from doing job time to save their jobs and their freedom. If you or someone you know is facing criminal charges for bad check writing, Wallin & Klarich can be reached 24 hours a day at 1 (888) 749-0034, and you can find more information about successfully defending the case at www.wklaw.com.

Comedian Dane Cook’s Brother Arrested

Comedian Dane Cook’s half brother embezzled millions of dollars from him and was arraigned on felony charges that include larceny and forgery. Cook’s Brother is facing years in prison. He will need an experienced embezzlement defense attorney to help him in this matter and to get him the best possible outcome. If you or a loved one is facing these types of charges or if you believe you are being investigated contact our office, one of our experienced defense attorney’s at Wallin & Klarich will help you and will protect your rights.

These charges and any type of theft charges are considered crimes of “moral turpitude”, meaning it is a crime of deception. Because they are charges of “moral turpitude” they can hinder you from maintaining employment or from future employment. And if you are in the process of or thinking of becoming a U.S. Citizen this can keep you from doing so.

Therefore, it is essential to have an experienced felony defense attorney on your side who will advocate for your rights and future.

Los Gatos chiropractor to serve two years in prison for insurance fraud

Robert Arnold Demarco, a 42-year-old chiropractor was convicted of defrauding insurance companies of more than $250,000 by over billing for services he didn’t perform.

The Los Gatos Chiropractor was sentenced to two years in state prison by Santa Clara Superior Court after pleading guilty to one count of felony grand theft in California and one count of false insurance claim. Along with the prison sentence, which began on Monday November 3, 2008, the conviction instigated an investigation by the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners which could ultimately revoke Demarco’s chiropractic license.

The two year prison sentence for the insurance fraud, prosecutors say, came due to the amount of money that was involved and Demarco’s refusal to pay back the money. Regardless, the two year sentence is a very steep one for this crime and may raise eyebrows as to what kind of work Demarco’s defense lawyer did. With proper legal representation, one always has the best shot at (1) freedom and at very worst a fair and thorough trial and sentence. Unfortunately for Demarco it does not seem that his defense attorneys did all they could as he is serving prison time.

The Santa Clara criminal defense attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have over 30 years of experience in criminal defense and are sure to get you the help you need. Call us 24 hours a day 7 days a week at 1-888-749-0034 to speak to one of your qualified and aggressive criminal defense attorney that will put everything they have into defending you and getting you the best result possible in your criminal matter. Visit us at www.wklaw.com

19-year-old former University of Arizona student is convicted of first degree murder

Galareka Harrison, a 19-year-old former student at the University of Arizona was convicted of first-degree murder on Friday September 19, 2008. Harrison was convicted of murder in the death of her 18-year-old roommate Mia Henderson after she was found guilty of stabbing Henderson 23 times.

Harrison was also found guilty of three counts of forgery and one count of identity theft. Prosecutors said Harrison had planned the murder for several days after Henderson accused her of stealing her student ID charge card, social security card, checks, and $500 from her bank account.

With such serious and extensive allegations, it would have been very important for Harrison and her family to retain a competent murder, identity theft and forgery defense attorney. Harrison now faces life in prison, but could be eligible for parole after 25 years. With adequate legal representation, somebody being faced with such serious criminal charges has a chance at the sentence they deserve rather than the one prosecutors claim they deserve.

We at Wallin and Klarich have over 30 years of successful experience in the field of criminal defense and will give you the help you need. It is of the utmost importance to retain a criminal defense attorney who is competent and aggressive in order to ensure your justice. Call us 24 hours a day 7 days a week at 1-888-749-0034 or visit our website at www.wklaw.com.