MAN TOOK $300,000, WRITER SAYS; AUTHOR TESTIFIES IN TRIAL OF THEFT, FRAUD SUSPECT.Byline: Don Holland Daily News Staff Writer Best-selling best·sell·er also best seller n. A product, such as a book, that is among those sold in the largest numbers. best author Susan Forward testified Monday that she lost more than $300,000 of her retirement nest egg Nest Egg A special sum of money saved or invested for one specific future purpose. Notes: Examples of the purposes for which nest eggs are usually intended include retirement, education, and even entertainment (vacations and cruises). to a Sherman Oaks man charged with bilking investors out of nearly $2 million. The former radio talk-show psychologist also said that Frank B. Cockrell II promised colossal co·los·sal adj. Of a size, extent, or degree that elicits awe or taxes belief; immense. See Synonyms at enormous. [French, from Latin colossus, colossus; see colossus. returns - of up to thirtyfold - if she invested in Contractors Surety An individual who undertakes an obligation to pay a sum of money or to perform some duty or promise for another in the event that person fails to act. surety n. and Fidelity, a company that was to sell surety bonds surety bond An insurance fee required before a duplicate security is issued to replace one that has been lost. The fee is approximately 4% of the market value of the security to be replaced. for minority contractors. She recalled that Cockrell, who touted himself as one of the seven wealthiest men in California, said he would back her investment with his own assets and those of the company, said Forward, who authored the best-seller ``Men Who Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them.'' Convinced of the company's promise, Forward invested $330,000, and even helped her son and daughter invest in the company. ``I knew very little about Mr. Cockrell at that particular time,'' Forward testified. ``My expectation was that if there were problems, my investment would be returned to me.'' Forward also was invited to join the board of directors of Cockrell's company, but she added that she had little oversight over operations. Board meetings, she said, were often grandiose grandiose /gran·di·ose/ (gran´de-os?) in psychiatry, pertaining to exaggerated belief or claims of one's importance or identity, often manifested by delusions of great wealth, power, or fame. scenarios of the company's success and pitches for investors to pony up more money. ``I was told my duties (as a board member) were to induce other investors because of my name recognition and that whenever possible to let people know I was part of this organization,'' Forward testified. She recalled the day in November 1993, when Cockrell told the board that the company was broke. ``Mr. Cockrell said that all the money was gone and that if we wanted to see any of it, we had to bring in new investors,'' Forward testified. Cockrell, 49, is charged with 49 counts, including grand theft and money laundering The process of taking the proceeds of criminal activity and making them appear legal. Laundering allows criminals to transform illegally obtained gain into seemingly legitimate funds. . Prosecutors believe he bilked investors out of $1.7 million, using the money to pay his personal expenses, including his mortgage and braces for his children. In a separate case, Cockrell faces charges that he tried to hire an undercover federal agent to blow up the Ventura County Courthouse The Ventura County Courthouse, located in Ventura, California, was designed in 1910 by one of the early pioneers of architecture in Southern California: Albert C. Martin, Sr. in an attempt to destroy evidence against him in the fraud trial. Judge Vincent O'Neill has agreed to allow witnesses to testify about the alleged bomb plot during Cockrell's fraud trial, saying that evidence may relate to a consciousness of guilt. |
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