FRAUD CASE HASN'T BEEN PROSECUTED : CHARGES SOUGHT IN '93 FAILURE OF VALENCIA ESCROW COMPANY.Byline: Laurence Darmiento Daily News Staff Writer A dark anniversary will be quietly noted this week by the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. real estate community. Exactly three years ago on Tuesday, the Valencia-based Country Oaks Escrow escrow Instrument, such as a deed, money, or property, that constitutes evidence of obligations between two or more parties and is held by a third party. It is delivered by the third party only upon fulfillment of some condition. Co. failed after state investigators said they found evidence its owners had embezzled em·bez·zle tr.v. em·bez·zled, em·bez·zling, em·bez·zles To take (money, for example) for one's own use in violation of a trust. some $2.8 million from client trust funds. Since that time Heidi Fleiss Heidi Lynne Fleiss (born December 30 1965), known as the "Hollywood Madam", is a former American madam. She was convicted in connection with her prostitution ring with charges including pandering and tax evasion. Her ring had numerous famous and wealthy clients. was arrested and convicted for pandering and tax evasion The process whereby a person, through commission of Fraud, unlawfully pays less tax than the law mandates. Tax evasion is a criminal offense under federal and state statutes. A person who is convicted is subject to a prison sentence, a fine, or both. in separate state and federal trial trials. The Menendez brothers were tried, retried re·tried v. Past tense and past participle of retry. and convicted. Not to mention O.J. But a judge has yet to determine if there is even enough evidence for a trial on embezzlement embezzlement, wrongful use, for one's own selfish ends, of the property of another when that property has been legally entrusted to one. Such an act was not larceny at common law because larceny was committed only when property was acquired by a "felonious taking," i. charges against Harold and Kathy Wiener, the former owners of Country Oaks who now live in Salt Lake City. And that may not happen now until the fall, despite a public declaration by the prosecution it is ready to proceed with its third prosecutor to handle the case. A preliminary hearing on the evidence was scheduled for Tuesday, but now the defense is pushing for a September hearing date, claiming prosecutors had agreed to the delay. ``There is not going to be a preliminary hearing. They (the Wieners) are not even going to be there,'' said attorney Melvyn Sacks, who represents Kathy Wiener. ``It will be continued.'' Although civil embezzlement charges were lodged against the couple within weeks of the company's failure in June 1993, criminal charges were not filed until March 1995. At the time, prosecutors said the delay was due to the complexity of the investigation, and the fact that much of the documentation was being ``piggybacked'' from the civil lawsuit. The Wieners lost the civil suit, filed by the fidelity company that guaranteed the trust funds. The next day they turned themselves in to face criminal charges. The insurer had alleged that the couple had raided the trust funds to support a bloated business more suited to the booming 1980s and a comfortable lifestyle that placed them among the valley's elite. Before its collapse, Country Oaks had offices not only in Valencia, but Lancaster, Palmdale and Arcadia. The couple, who each have pleaded not guilty to grand theft and two other related felonies, claimed Kathy Wiener was unaware of any theft while Harold Wiener may have been tripped up by his health problems. Wiener is a heart transplant heart transplant Procedure to remove a diseased heart and replace it with a healthy one from a legally dead donor. The first was performed in 1967 by Christiaan Barnard. patient who took a ``witch's brew'' of medications, including the controversial sedative sedative, any of a variety of drugs that relieve anxiety. Most sedatives act as mild depressants of the nervous system, lessening general nervous activity or reducing the irritability or activity of a specific organ. Halcion, that made him unable to distinguish right from wrong, the defense had argued. The prosecution and defense agree the health of the couple has been an issue that has complicated and drawn out the proceedings. Harry Wiener managed to win for himself a release without bail after his attorney, Jeffrey Karpel, argued his life would be endangered en·dan·ger tr.v. en·dan·gered, en·dan·ger·ing, en·dan·gers 1. To expose to harm or danger; imperil. 2. To threaten with extinction. in county jail pending trial. Kathy Wiener's bail was reduced from $2.8 million to a manageable $100,000 after her diabetes went out of control on a jail diet. Since criminal charges were filed last year, both sides have acknowledged engaging in plea bargain plea bargain n. in criminal procedure, a negotiation between the defendant and his attorney on one side and the prosecutor on the other, in which the defendant agrees to plead "guilty" or "no contest" to some crimes, in return for reduction of the severity of the discussions with one prosecutor candidly noting it was not likely any judge would send a heart transplant patient to jail. Both sides also agree that the evidence against Wiener is far stronger than it is against his wife. However, earlier this year the plea bargain discussion fell apart, prompting Sacks to complain his imminent deal had fell victim to District Attorney Gil Garcetti's re-election campaign. Prosecutors denied it. Deputy District Attorney Ronald Carroll, who heads the Major Fraud division handling the Wiener case, agreed the case has become an embarrassment. ``It has been much too long. The criminal justice system moves too slow, and I totally agree with people who think that's wrong,'' Carroll said. ``But our position now is that we are ready. We will announce to court we are ready, and it will be up to the court to sort it out.'' Deputy District Attorney Kathryn Showers, the third prosecutor on the case, is scheduled to put on the preliminary hearing. Sacks maintains he had an agreement to delay the hearing until Sept. 18 and 19. Carroll said that whenever the hearing takes place, the trial should finally be able to start within 60 days. |
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