Former Lynwood school district official gets eight years in fraud case
William Douglas Agopian, 61, of Santa Ana
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A former chief business officer for the Lynwood Unified School District was sentenced today to eight years behind bars for diverting more than $700,000 in public funds for his own use.
William Douglas Agopian, 61, of Santa Ana, pleaded guilty Sept. 4 to one felony count each of misappropriation of public funds and filing a false tax return.
The charges involve money that was diverted from a bank account that was initially established to facilitate a sister city trip to Mexico for Lynwood Unified School District students, prosecutors said.
The money was used to pay for sporting events, hot tub equipment, hotels and Agopian's personal taxes, authorities said.
The district later learned about the account when officials were researching ways to save money on bank fees, officials said.
NEW YORK—Just because they’re already behind bars doesn’t mean they aren’t making out like bandits.
Prisoner tax fraud has ballooned in recent years. In 2010, more than 91,000 inmate returns claimed $758 million in fraudulent refunds, a new audit from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration finds. That’s more than double the previous year.
While the IRS stopped the vast majority of fraudulent refunds from actually getting into the hands of prisoners, $35 million still slipped through the cracks.
LYNWOOD, Calif.—A 21-year-old Palmdale woman with a history of mental health issues—last seen a week ago when she was released from jail in Lynwood—was found unharmed today in Los Angeles, authorities said.
Deanna Terry was let out of the Century Regional Detention Facility at 12:54 p.m. a week ago today after being cleared for release by the jail's mental health staff, then given bus tokens so she could return to her home, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department statement.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors today agreed to settle three unrelated lawsuits—a fatal officer-involved shooting and two incidents of alleged excessive force by sheriff's deputies—for a total of $1.9 million.
A $900,000 settlement was approved in the Sept. 14, 2009 fatal shooting of 36-year-old Darrick Collins.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The founder of a Los Angeles-based nonprofit agency for African refugees was sentenced Friday to three years already served in custody in connection with her no contest plea to misappropriation of public funds and three other felony counts.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lance Ito said he would rule later on the issue of restitution in the case of Nigisti "Nikki" Tesfai, 58, who founded the African Community Resource Center.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Every issue in the Michael Jackson wrongful death trial is so disputed that even giving candy to jurors caused an argument.
AEG lawyers gave a bag of peppermint candy to the bailiff to hand out to the jury this week. Even Katherine Jackson — the pop icon’s mother — enjoyed the treat.
But Jackson’s lawyer raised an objection Tuesday afternoon, suggesting jurors might be influenced if they realized the source of the sweets.
