Cannabis grower pleads guilty to bribing SLO County supervisor
A San Luis Obispo County cannabis grower and dispensary owner bribed the late County Supervisor Adam Hill and attempted to bribe the mayor of Grover Beach, and will plead guilty to federal bribery and tax crimes. Helios Dayspring, who also goes by “Bobby,” agreed to a plea deal that was filed July 28 in federal Read More →
Simi Valley contractor sentenced for workers comp fraud
A general contractor in Simi Valley was sentenced March 3 for workers compensation fraud, Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko’s office announced. David Burgmeier, who owned and operated Burgmeier Construction Company in Simi Valley, pleaded guilty in December to multiple counts of insurance and unemployment fraud. From March 2008 through March 2016, Burgmeier underreported the Read More →
Guilty pleas in $2 million unemployment fraud case in Santa Barbara County
Three people have pleaded guilty in Santa Barbara County to multiple counts of felony unemployment benefit fraud and identity theft, in just one example of the type of fraud that has cost the state tens of billions of dollars during the pandemic. The three defendants were Gordon Alan Welterlen and Nicole Michelle Milan, of San Read More →
Inmates may have taken state for $1B in fraudulent unemployment benefits
California’s unemployment benefits system has been rife with fraud since the pandemic began and may have handed out upwards of $1 billion to jail and prison inmates, a coalition of local, state and federal prosecutors announced at a Sacramento news conference on Nov. 24. Tens of thousands of inmates at county, state and federal prisons Read More →
Editorial: Smuggling surge is a threat to tourism
Gangs and gang-related drug activities, along with the burgeoning business of Panga boat drug couriers, are a serious threat to a tourism-based economy.
