Los Angeles, Ca
Georgia woman among those sentenced for being ‘money mule’ in Southern California fraud scheme
A woman from Georgia who operated as a “money mule” in a large real estate wire fraud scheme was sentenced to jail time and probation in Ventura County late last week, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said.
Jasmine Shante Faniel, 39, participated in a scheme where scammers gain access to real estate transactions by impersonating trusted parties like escrow officers, real estate agents and title representatives, among others, the DA’s Office stated in a release issued Monday afternoon.
“This fraud typically occurs through sophisticated computer scammers operating outside the U.S. who compromise emails between the parties,” officials said. “Once fraudsters gain access to the transaction, they target buyers’ closing fees, sellers’ proceeds, lenders’ funds and even commissions.”
The legitimate parties in the transaction send funds to the “money mules” after they are deceived through intercepted or manipulated emails, the DA’s office elaborated. The “money mules,” said to be low-level participants in the fraud, receive the stolen funds and launder them to individuals higher up in the scheme who are typically located outside of the United States.
In the case of Faniel, she was found to have opened multiple bank accounts in her home state under the name Teresa Dennis in March 2023. She used those accounts to accept and launder the funds stolen from a Ventura County family attempting to purchase their first home, authorities said.
The native of Conyers, Georgia – a city in the Atlanta metropolitan area – received the funds from another co-defendant, Abdoul Aziz Bah, and subsequently transferred most of the money to a bank account in Nigeria, where it was laundered through international auto auctions, the DA’s office release stated.
Investigators said she only retained a small portion for herself.
“The investigation in this case determined both defendants acted as ‘money mules’ and that they received the stolen $201,000 from the victims and then laundered it,” authorities said. “During the investigation, $33,500 of the victims’ stolen money was traced to an account in Georgia in Faniel’s false name, Teresa Dennis.”
Bah was sentenced to one year in jail and two years of probation in late September, authorities said. He was also ordered to pay full restitution to the victims; he had already paid $5,000 in restitution before his sentencing.
Faniel pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property over $950 and money laundering on Sept. 26. Following her plea, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office Real Estate Fraud Unit obtained a court order requiring the funds to be returned to the victims. As of Tuesday, $38,500 has been recovered and returned.
She was sentenced to nine months in jail followed by two years of formal probation.
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office Real Estate Fraud Unit was assisted in the investigation by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit, which completed the extraditions of the defendants from Georgia.
Officials remind homebuyers to always verify wire transfer requests by calling a known member of the transaction to confirm the request is valid before ever wiring funds.
Los Angeles, Ca
LADWP begins long-term repairs after West Hollywood water main rupture
Crews worked overnight on what is expected to be a long-term effort to clean up and repair a broken water main that caused extensive damage in West Hollywood on Thursday.
Yellow tape remained in place Friday morning, blocking streets around Sunset Boulevard and Holloway Drive as crews continued pumping water out of the century-old trunk line.
Asphalt and soil were also being removed so crews could get a better look at the damaged 36-inch trunk line, a major feeder pipe serving the area.
“First and foremost is our crews’ safety,” a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power spokesperson said Thursday. “When we excavate, we are going to have to make sure the area is safe before we send crews in to proceed and start the actual repairs on the pipe.”
The water main ruptured around 3 a.m. Thursday, sending thousands of gallons of water rushing through West Hollywood streets, flooding dozens of garages and pushing parked cars into one another.
A Metro bus yard was also flooded, leaving several buses partially submerged.
The force of the water washed away dirt and gravel supporting the roadway, creating a massive sinkhole on Sunset Boulevard and a smaller one near Palm Avenue, where two people fell in.
“I’m astounded by the massive sinkhole that has just opened up before our eyes,” KTLA’s Annie Rose Ramos reported Thursday from Palm Avenue.
The two men appeared to be uninjured.
As for the larger trunk line that burst beneath Sunset Boulevard, KTLA’s Carlos Herrera reported it was scheduled for replacement in 2031.
LADWP officials now hope to establish a repair timeline after getting a closer look at the damage Friday. For now, the intersection is expected to remain closed for anywhere from several days to several weeks.
The cause of the rupture remains under investigation.
Los Angeles, Ca
Arrest made in deadly shooting at 4th of July gathering in Compton; search for 2nd suspect continues
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna gave an update Thursday on several shootings over the Fourth of July weekend that left three people dead and several others injured.
Police arrested Antoine Jones, a 50-year-old man from the Los Angeles area, who they believe is responsible for the murder of a 19-year-old woman and the attempted murder of two additional surviving female victims who were attending a large community block party in Compton.
On July 4 at approximately 11:40 p.m., deputies from the Compton station responded to an apartment complex on the 700 block of West Laurel Street following reports of multiple people being shot.
Meah Bordenave-Jenkins, a 19-year-old nursing student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was killed when gunfire broke out at the party.
Deputies located Bordenave-Jenkins and the two other women suffering from gunshot wounds outside of the apartment complex.
“While today’s announcement represents an important step towards justice for Meah and her family, our work is very far from being over,” said LASD Sheriff Robert Luna.
The LASD is also seeking the public’s help in identifying those responsible for the murder of Eric Washington, 37, a beloved community activist and former government staffer, and the attempted murder of another surviving man injured that same night at the same party.
Washington was reportedly killed while trying to deescalate a conflict at the party, his family said. Deputies found victim Washington suffering from a gunshot wound inside the complex.
Investigators later learned that another man had also been shot at some point during the incident.
Bordenave-Jenkins and Washington both died from their injuries. The remaining victims, two women and a man, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and have been released from the hospital. They have not been identified by police.
Detectives determined the two shootings happened moments apart at the party but appear to be separate and unrelated.
Detectives identified Jones as the suspect responsible for Bordenave-Jenkins’ death and the attempted murder of the two surviving women. Authorities located Jones on July 14 in Los Angeles and took him into custody.
The LASD is still searching for the suspect or suspects responsible for the murder of Washington and the attempted murder of the surviving male victim.
“Although today’s arrest is significant, this investigation remains extremely active,” Luna said.
“There were hundreds of people at this gathering,” Luna said. “Somebody knows, somebody saw or somebody heard what happened.”
The LASD also announced they’re searching for a suspect in a separate shooting at a different Fourth of July gathering that occurred in the early morning of July 5.
At approximately 12:10 a.m., Compton deputies responded to the 2100 block of North Grandee Avenue, where they located a 30-year-old victim, Thaddeus Clark, and a second victim suffering from gunshot wounds at the gathering.
Clark, a father of three, did not survive his injuries, Luna said.
The LASD is urging anyone with information about Clark’s murder and the attempted murder of the surviving victim to contact the LASD Homicide Bureau.
Although these shooting incidents occurred at gatherings less than an hour apart, investigators found no evidence that the two were connected, Luna said.
Luna also announced three suspects have been arrested in connection with a shooting in East L.A. on July 5. It happened as crowds crossed the intersection near Whittier Boulevard and Leonard Avenue during a World Cup match.
Four people were hit by gunfire, including two men, one woman and a boy. None of the injuries were life-threatening.
The sheriff said the alleged shooter, a 15-year-old known gang member, was arrested. Two female suspects, ages 21 and 38, have been arrested in the Lancaster and Palmdale areas for their alleged roles in luring the primary victim to the location and assisting the shooting suspect in evading arrest.
They’re all facing four counts of attempted murder.
Los Angeles, Ca
Water main break floods West Hollywood streets, traps cars
A broken water main sent water gushing from an apartment building and turned nearby streets into rivers in West Hollywood early Thursday morning. The break was reported around 3 a.m. near Holloway Drive and Sunset Boulevard. “It’s a rupture of one of the significant mains that goes through here. West Hollywood, as it turns out, […]
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