WIFE OF CARDIOLOGIST SENTENCED TO JAIL FOR 90 DAYS IN FRAUD CASE.Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer PALMDALE -- The 67-year-old wife of a Lancaster cardiologist Cardiologist Doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating heart diseases. Mentioned in: Electrophysiology Study of the Heart, Lithotripsy cardiologist a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. pleaded guilty Friday to grand theft and insurance fraud for telling an insurance company that intruders caused $570,000 damage at their home overlooking Lake Palmdale. A Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Superior Court judge placed Ruth Ekong on five years' probation and ordered her to perform 240 hours of community service. She also was sentenced to 90 days in jail, for which she received credit for time already served, and will have to pay restitution. ``It didn't appear there was anything to gain by going to trial. The Ekongs are willing to pay restitution. At the end of the day, that was what the case was going to come down to,'' Deputy District Attorney David Berger David Berger may refer to:
A restitution hearing has been scheduled for September. ``The real issue is the amount of restitution she will be ordered to pay. We are going to have the insurance company come to court on that date to explain the extent of their losses,'' Berger said. ``I think it's fair to say the case has devastated dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. the Ekongs. They have sold their house and the insurance company has collected money from that sale. Whatever balance is due will be determined at the hearing.'' Dr. Enobong Ekong, 63, was sentenced in August 2003 to 18 months of probation, told to perform 100 hours of community service and ordered to pay nearly $28,000 in restitution to the insurance company. Authorities said Ruth Ekong smashed antiques and other property in June 2000 after finding out that her husband had had an affair. Ruth Ekong's sister, Regina Norman of Jamaica, N.Y., pleaded no contest in 2003 to one count of grand theft in connection with a 1999 insurance claim and was sentenced to 48 months of probation and ordered to perform 350 hours of community service. In the 1999 case, Ruth Ekong was accused of fabricating a claim under which the Ekongs' insurance company paid nearly $235,000 for a rug and tapestry tapestry, hand-woven fabric of plain weave made without shuttle or drawboy, the design of weft threads being threaded into the warp with fingers or a bobbin. said to have been damaged by a plumbing leak. Ruth Ekong got her sister to pose as an appraiser A person selected or appointed by a competent authority or an interested party to evaluate the financial worth of property. Appraisers are frequently appointed in probate and condemnation proceedings and are also used by banks and real estate concerns to determine the market , state officials said, and the shop where the rug and tapestry were said to have been purchased appears to have never existed, state officials said. Enobong Ekong has practiced in the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley for more than 20 years. karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com (661) 267-5744 |
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