Tag: The Department Of Justice

BEVERLY HILLS—On April 2, Jobson Marangoni De Castro, 38, pleaded guilty to stealing over $1 million in items from a luxury hotel in Beverly Hills and then traveling with the stolen goods to the state of Florida to sell.

According to a Department of Justice press release, on May 10, 2023, De Castro was brought to the hotel by an Uber driver. He was then able to enter the hotel room of two Brazilian National travel companions who were visiting the U.S. to attend a fashion event.

De Castro was able to access the victim’s room by tricking the hotel clerk on duty into giving him a[his] key.

Surveillance video footage captured at the scene revealed that the suspect initially entered the victim’s room while they were sleeping. Seeing that the room was occupied, De Castro quickly exited without notice.

He returned to the room once the victims left for dinner. The victims reported the theft upon their return to the hotel.

Prosecutors in the case contend that De Castro stole high-end suitcases containing approximately $1.8 million in jewelry, and other items including, but not limited to, a custom-made aluminum RIMOWA carry-on bag, several black Tumi suitcases, a white embroidered silk jacquard Chanel dress, along with other high-end clothing, a watch valued at nearly $90,000, jewelry, and air tags.

Reports indicate that it took De Castro multiple trips to strip the room of all of the merchandise.

The following information came directly from the DOJ press release.

“De Castro then traveled to Miami and, on May 17, 2023, messaged a buyer in Miami on Instagram. De Castro told the buyer he wanted to sell jewelry – a diamond necklace and luxury watch – but he did not have papers for them because he had found them in a box belonging to his late mother. The jewelry matched the description of that stolen from the victims in Beverly Hills a few days earlier, according to court documents. The next day, the buyer wired De Castro $50,000, for the jewelry, which De Castro brought to the buyer’s store in Miami.

The name De Castro provided to the buyer was “Jobs Marangoni,” the same name he used for his Uber account.

De Castro has been in federal custody since August 2023.

Jobson Marangoni De Castro, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of interstate transportation of stolen property, a felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.”

The FBI and the Beverly Hills Police Department are investigating the theft. The Assistant U.S. Attorney, Alexander Gorin of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting the case.

The U.S. District Judge, Hernan D. Vera scheduled an evidentiary hearing for De Castro on April 30, to determine the extent of the loss.

A sentencing hearing is expected to be scheduled in the next few months.

By Sharon

BEVERLY HILLS—On Tuesday, October 24, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the indictment of Oren David Sela, 35, of North Hills (25 miles north of the San Fernando Valley) in an identity theft case of fraudulently obtaining close to $2.6 million allegedly.

Reports indicate that Sela stole mail and packages delivered to Beverly Hills residents and used their personal information to open bank accounts in their names. He proceeded to illegally transfer money out of his victims’ bank accounts.

Sela was charged in an eight-count indictment by a federal grand jury including three counts of bank fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, one count of possession of 15 or more unauthorized electronic access devices, one count of unlawful possession of five or more identity documents, and two counts of possession of stolen mail.

Reports indicate that Sela had been incarcerated since December 2022, when he was arrested for driving a stolen car. During his arrest, police found several debit cards in the names of at least six of his victims.

Upon further investigation, authorities were able to recover bank account information on at least 18 different victims, several debit cards, and large retail items including a $17,000 watch.

According to prosecutors, if convicted, Sela may face up to 20 years in federal prison for each count of bank fraud, plus up to 10 years in prison for unauthorized possession of access devices, and five additional years prison time for each count of mail fraud. In addition, he could be sentenced to a mandatory two-year prison sentence for aggravated identity theft to be served consecutively with his other sentences.

According to the DOJ, authorities believe there may be up to 20 additional victims from Sela’s identity theft schemes that took place between November 2021 and October 2023.

By Sharon

BEVERLY HILLS—On Tuesday, May 23, a federal grand jury handed down a five-count indictment accusing, Mark Roy Anderson, 68, of Beverly Hills of defrauding investors out of $9 million.

Anderson, who was on house arrest for prior convictions was arrested on May 9, following a criminal complaint by prosecutors.

Anderson allegedly had investors wire money to him to purchase fictitious hemp farm shares in an operation, he named, Harvest Farm Group.

The following statement came directly from a May 23, press release by the Department of Justice (DOJ):

“To induce the victim-investors to invest in Harvest Farm Group, defendant Anderson falsely represented that, through Harvest Farm Group: (i) he owned and operated a hemp farm in Kern County, California; (ii) he had already completed successful and profitable harvests of hemp from the farm; and (iii) he was using his own machinery and equipment to convert the hemp into CBD isolate and/or Delta 8, a psychoactive substance that, like CBD isolate, could be used in consumer products ranging from olive oil to body cream,” according to the indictment, which goes on to allege that none of those claims was true.

Anderson allegedly attempted to maintain a veneer of trustworthiness by taking steps to assure investors Harvest Farms Group was legitimate and he “was not the ‘Mark Roy Anderson’ with multiple prior fraud convictions.” The indictment alleges Anderson “concealed that he had been convicted of multiple federal and state felony crimes, including mail fraud, wire fraud, grand theft, forgery, preparing false evidence, and money laundering, and concealed that he was still serving a criminal sentence and still on supervised release at the time he was soliciting investments.”

This all transpired while Anderson was serving time on a 135-month prison sentence from May 2012.

According to a press release by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), in addition to his aforementioned prison sentence, Anderson was a disbarred U.S. Attorney. He was court-ordered to pay $9.5 million in restitution to those he embezzled from in a fake oil venture scheme he was running. Anderson was 57 years old at the time.

Judge Percy Anderson who presided over the 2012 fraud scheme case publicly referred to Mark Roy Anderson as, “A professional conman.” He had prior convictions against him that dated back to the 1980s.

Mark Roy Anderson is being held without bond in this case. His arraignment for the May 23 indictment is scheduled for May 30 in U.S. District Court.

If convicted, each count of wire fraud alleged in his indictment carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

The FBI is investigating this case. The Assistant U.S. Attorney, Kerry L. Quinn of the Major Frauds Section is prosecuting the case.