On November 25th, 2015
SANTA BARBARA- Joseph Anthony Mele, 30, of Ventura, pleaded no contest to multiple felony charges for ripping off two senior citizens in the amount of $2 million in an annuity scam. He pleaded no contest to grand theft by false pretenses, theft from an elder and money laundering. "Elder financial abuse is an egregious crime," […]
On January 23rd, 2015
FRESNO, Calif. - Two elderly Visalia brothers, one of them an insurance agent, were arrested after a California Department of Insurance investigation revealed they allegedly stole from fellow senior citizens by selling fraudulent investments. Ronnie Carter, 68, and Jimmie Carter, 69, were arrested on January 22, 2015 on 13felony counts including theft from an elder, […]
On October 25th, 2013
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - The owner of Costa Bella Builders, a construction company in the Santa Cruz area, and two of his family members were convicted of committing worker's compensation insurance premium fraud. Jeffrey Thranow, 59, failed to report employees to his insurance carrier or to the Employment Development Department (EDD). Thranow's son-in-law, Vittorio Castelli, 34, […]
