Category Archives: Criminal Defense

Tax Preparer Accused of $1M in IRS Fraud

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A tax preparer from Lemon Grove was arrested Monday in Arizona on suspicion of carrying out a scheme to steal Social Security numbers, file false tax returns and defraud the Internal Revenue Service, authorities reported.

IRS agents took Cynthia Lozano, 31, into custody in Phoenix, where she will make her first appearance in federal court on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego.
According to a grand jury indictment, the suspect used her business, CLozano Income Tax, to submit fraudulent federal income tax returns seeking bogus refunds.
Starting in 2010, Lozano allegedly made false statements that prompted the IRS to issue refunds under EIC provisions, which allow for a refundable federal income-tax credit for low- to moderate-income individuals and families as a way to offset the burden of Social Security taxes and to provide an incentive to work.
If a taxpayer’s EIC exceeds the amount of taxes actually owed, it results in the IRS paying a refund to the taxpayers, who claim and qualify for the credit.
According to charging documents, Lozano targeted more than 200 victims by filing fraudulent IRS 1040 forms in the their names. The taxpayers frequently were unaware that Lozano had used their Social Security numbers, thus also becoming victims of aggravated identity theft.
As a result, Lozano allegedly received over $1 million worth of fraudulent refunds from the IRS, which she laundered through an array of bank accounts and used, in part, to buy 20 properties in and around Phoenix.
Lozano’s indictment seeks forfeiture of the real estate to recompense the government and to prevent her from reaping a financial benefit from her alleged crimes.

Security heightened for running events in San Diego County

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Plans are under way Tuesday to beef up security at San Diego’s famed Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon and Marathon in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon explosions that killed at least three people and injured more than 140.

The Competitor Group puts on San Diego’s annual Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon and Marathon, which this year is scheduled to take place on June 2.

Last year’s half marathon was the sixth largest in the United States, with 17,604 finishers, and the marathon was the 10 largest in the country, with 7,106 finishers, according to U-T San Diego.

Competitor Group CEO Scott Dickey said it was too early to say just what sort of precautions will be taken this year.

On Monday, two fiery blasts went off within seconds of each other near the finish line of this year’s Boston Marathon, knocking runners and spectators off their feet. More than 120 San Diegans were among the 23,000 runners who took part in the marathon.

Because of the blasts, law enforcement officials in the San Diego area went on heightened alert, though there were no known specific threats to the region.

“We’re working very closely with our local and federal law enforcement counterparts,” said Jan Caldwell, a spokeswoman for the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. “These appear to be tragic, isolated events in Boston. We have no indication there is any (local) threat … . If that changes, we will immediately let the community know.”

Likewise, the San Diego Police Department’s personnel were being extra vigilant due to the bombings, SDPD public information officer Gary Hassen said.

He declined to disclose whether the department had increased or shifted patrols, or instituted any other out-of-the-ordinary measures.

“We do not discuss security (publicly),” he said.

Unlike at airports in Los Angeles and Orange counties, administrators at Lindbergh Field made no immediate changes since the Transportation Security Administration had not directed them to do so, according to airport spokeswoman Rebecca Bloomfield.

Calif. using emergency system to assess threats

California officials from San Diego to the San Francisco Bay Area are calling for increased vigilance at major sporting events and other gathering places in response to deadly explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Acting Gov. Gavin Newsom says there’s no indication of any threats to California. But he says the events are a reminder to remain vigilant and report anything unusual to law enforcement agencies.

The California Emergency Management System’s assistant secretary says there’s no known California connection to the explosions in Boston.

The San Francisco Police Department is on heightened alert and will be rethinking security logistics for the upcoming San Francisco Marathon and Bay to Breakers foot races.

Airports in Los Angeles, Van Nuys and Ontario are in a heightened state of vigilance with increased patrols.

 

Police are searching for a man that sexually assaulted a woman at Historic Mission in Oceanside

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Police are searching for an unknown man who allegedly sexually assaulted a woman on the grounds of a historic mission in Oceanside last month.

According to investigators, the sexual assault happened on Mar. 18 around 3:30 p.m. outside the Mission San Luis Rey on Mission Avenue.

Police say a man grabbed a female victim, fondled her and allegedly attempted to drag her into some nearby bushes. The woman fought back, striking the suspect, and was able to run away.

Three weeks later, police say the suspect is still at large. On Wednesday, officials released a composite sketch of the man.

Investigators describe him as a Hispanic man in his 30s, approximately 6-feet-tall and 200 pounds. He has brown or black shoulder-length hair, a moustache, a large mole on his neck and a tattoo of a snake on the back of his left forearm.

The Oceanside Police Department is asking anyone with information on this case to contact detectives handling the case at (760) 435-4824 or (800) 78-CRIME.

Encinitas dentist & wife accused of stealing $260,000 from patients

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Dr. Edward Bodek has been a dentist for almost 30 years. His wife, Mary Bodek, worked as his office manager at this dental office in Encinitas.

Prosecutors have charged the couple with using patient credit cards to rack up more than $260,000 in fraudulent charges.

“The patients are very loyal to Dr. Bodek,” said Deputy District Attorney Anna Winn. “They love Dr. Bodek and trust him. They’ve been his patients for years and they are elderly people who have complete faith in him.”

George Ravazzolo said he was a patient of Dr. Bodek for some 20 years.

“He was good. He was easy to deal with. He was very kind,” said Ravazzolo.

“I was very proud of him for being the kind of person who would go to assisted living centers and nursing homes, take care of the older people and it turned out he took advantage of them,” Ravazzolo told News 8 during an interview in his Carlsbad home.

In August, Ravazzolo went to Dr. Bodek for a $67 teeth cleaning and ended up with $8,000 in unauthorized charges on his credit card, he said.

“I’m so disappointed in him as a person for doing this, and I can’t understand why,” said Ravazzolo.

When federal agents served search warrants on the dental office and on the Bodeks’ apartment in Carlsbad, they found stacks of boxes and shopping bags, according to court records.

Agents also discovered 30 different storage units rented by the Bodeks, which were full of women’s clothing, high end handbags, and fur coats with the price tags still on them, the records show.

“When I heard he had 30 storage unit filled with this, all I could think of was hoarding. He’s a hoarder and he couldn’t help himself,” said Ravazzolo.

Dr. Bodek and his wife are now facing 45 felony counts involving 22 patients and more than 100 fraudulent credit card transactions. They could get up to 21 years in prison if convicted.

“I don’t know how he’s going to take it. I don’t think he good prison material at all,” said Ravazzolo.

Ravazzolo ended up getting his $8,000 back from his credit card company but other alleged victims were not so lucky.

Dr. Bodek and his wife remain in jail after the judge set bail at $1.5 million each.

Man Sentenced 22 Years for Criminal Threats

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A man who was shot by police inside a Carmel Mountain movie theater after he confronted his ex-girlfriend at gunpoint at her workplace was sentenced Monday to 22 years and four months in state prison.

Tom Billodeaux, 22, pleaded guilty in February to four charges, including assault with a firearm on a police officer and making criminal threats.

Defense attorney Beth Ulch said Billodeaux had a rough childhood, with his mother being out of the picture and his father dying when he was 11. Billodeaux was adopted by his cousin but did drugs and alcohol with friends, Ulch told Judge Laura Halgren.

Ulch said the defendant’s girlfriend had broken up with him the night before the Jan. 12 incident, leaving when he passed out from drinking.

On Jan. 12 about 2:20 p.m., Billodeaux confronted the woman at gunpoint nd threatened to kill her in the parking lot of a shopping center in the 11100 block of Carmel Mountain Road, near the restaurant where she worked, prosecutor Kurt Mechals said.

The woman’s supervisor tried to wrestle the gun away from the defendant and a security guard intervened, allowing her to get away, according to the prosecutor.

More than an hour later, officers tracked Billodeaux to the Reading Cinemas Carmel Mountain 12 complex and found him sitting alone in a theater where a movie was being shown.

Billodeaux initially complied with verbal commands to determine if he was armed but then lowered his hands into his lap, raised a handgun and turned it toward an officer, according to police.

Officer Addam Ansari opened fire, striking the defendant in the chest and arm.

“Officer Ansari had no choice but to shoot him (the defendant),” Mechals told the judge.

A second officer was present but did not fire his weapon, police said. No one else was injured.

Mechals said Billodeaux’s prison sentence was warranted, noting that he pointed his gun at three people that day.

“It’s unacceptable,” the prosecutor said of Billodeaux’s actions. “(The victim) had the audacity to break up with him. This is entirely unacceptable.”

5 arrested after robbery at house party

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Five men were in custody Monday on suspicion of robbing several people outside a San Marcos house party, authorities said.

Party guests told police that five men robbed them at gunpoint outside the house at 505 Honeyglen Dr. at 2:50 a.m. Saturday, according to Sgt. Allan Paez of the San Diego County sheriff’s San Marcos Station. They provided a detailed description of the suspects and their vehicle that was radioed to other units.

“A short time later, deputies in Vista located the suspect vehicle, occupied by five suspects, at 955 Postal Way,” Paez said. “Deputies conducted a high-risk felony vehicle stop and successfully took the suspects into custody.”

A search of the vehicle turned up the property seized in the robbery and the gun used by the robbers, he said. “A curbside lineup was conducted and all of the suspects were positively identified by the victims as the robbers,” Paez said.

The five suspects were booked into the Vista Detention Facility on suspicion of robbery, conspiracy, receiving stolen property, use of a firearm in commission of a robbery and committing a felony on behalf of a criminal street gang.

The suspects were identified as Sam Niu, 21, booked on 10 counts, with bail set at $640,000; Gregg Leauanae, 20, seven counts, $490,000 bail; Johnnie Edwards, 18, 10 counts, $620,000 bail; Judd Liulamaga, 18, 10 counts, $565,000 bail; and Mautofu Maiava, 19, 20 counts, for whom no bail was set.

The suspects were scheduled to appear Tuesday in the North County Courthouse in Vista.

Statutory Rape Suspect Arrested in San Diego

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A Canadian man has been charged with statutory rape and arranging to have sex with a minor in San Diego. In addition to rape charges, the man is accused of possessing child pornography.

San Mateo detectives believe the 26-year-old had been speaking with a 16-year-old San Mateo girl online and was allegedly planning on meeting the minor. Detectives began posing undercover as the teen girl and arranged a meeting with the man at a San Francisco airport. The man flew in from Canada and was then arrested.

A follow-up investigation led detectives to the discovery of child pornography on an electronic device belonging to the suspect. As a result, authorities obtained an additional arrest warrant for him.

 

Hotel Sex Assault Suspect to Stand Trial

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A man faces seven felony charges for allegedly beating and sexually assaulting a female housekeeping employee in San Diego. The suspect will stand trial on charges which include three counts of rape by force. According to the report, the man attacked the 54-year-old woman when she was cleaning an empty hotel room.

After the attack, the suspect allegedly fled on foot, but he was arrested three days later. If convicted, the man will face up to 450 years to life in prison. The woman testified at the preliminary hearing and detailed the events that took place.  She stated the man struck her in the head, left her unconscious, and raped her multiple times.

Crime lab personnel identified the man as a prime suspect after DNA linked him to the attack. The suspect is believed to have been connected to another reported sexual assault that took place in October.

Man Arrested & Government Seize Nearly $900,000 in Marijuana

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A United States citizen was arrested for drug trafficking near the San Diego-Mexico border over the weekend. The 59-year-old allegedly attempted to smuggle almost $900,000 worth of marijuana into the U.S.  The arrest took place after authorities noticed a person hiding in a bush several yards away from the international line.

Officers discovered the suspect transferring bundles from a Dodge Ram into a motor home and then proceeded to question him. They determined the man was engaging in a smuggling operation. Agents found 40 packages of cannabis, with an estimated street value of $857,000.

 

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