Tag: The Federal Bureau Of Investigations

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, January 22, the 9th Circut Judge Milan Smith ruled in favor of the plaintiffs regarding the raid on safety deposit boxes at U.S. Private Vaults located at 9182 W. Olympic Boulevard in Beverly Hills.

The plaintiff’s attorney, Rob Johnson from the local non-profit, the Institute for Justice made the following statement:

“Today’s opinion draws a line in the sand. If this had come out any other way, the government could have exported this raid as a model across the country. No, the government is on notice. Its actions violated the Fourth Amendment.”

Federal agents broke into some 700 vaults and had drug-sniffing dogs search the contents, and reportedly seized some of the money.

In his ruling, Judge Smith called the incident, “particularly troubling.” The warrant issued for the search and seizure of the vaults would not allow FBI agents to search the vaults and confiscate the contents.

“If there remained any doubt regarding whether the government conducted a criminal search or seizure, that doubt is put to rest by the fact the government has already used some of the information from inside the boxes to obtain additional warrants to further its investigation and begin new ones,” Judge Smith stated.

The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects its citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by the U.S. government.

The agents entrusted with the warrant would have been required to follow protocol and take the vaults into custody. Once the vaults of the innocent were searched, their contents would have been returned to the rightful owners once they cleared security.

In Tuesday’s hearing, all records found in the raid were ordered destroyed including copies used for the FBI’s investigation.

By Sharon

BEVERLY HILLS—On December 19, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced the arrest of Beverly Hills basketball great, Chance Comanche, 27, who played center for the NBA’s Stockton Kings. He and his 19-year-old girlfriend, Sakari Harnden, have been arrested and face charges for the kidnapping and murder of 23-year-old Marayna Rodgers.

Reports indicate that two friends later identified as, Comanche and Sakari reported Rodgers missing on December 7. On December 15, Rodgers’ body was found in the Nevada desert.

According to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, Chance Kyler Comanche, birthdate April 14, 1996, and is now, six foot 11 inches tall, and 235 lbs. was booked into the Sacramento County main jail on December 15 with no release date. Jail records indicate that Comanche is ineligible for bail. There is no court date listed.

Canyon News reached out to the Public Information Officer for the Las Vegas Police Department for more information. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) responded with the following information:

“On December 7, 2023, at approximately 3:32 p.m., two individuals walked into an LVMPD substation to report Marayna Rodgers missing. Through the course of the investigation, detectives learned that Rodgers was out with friends on December 5, 2023, and had a pre-arranged meeting with her friend Sakari Harnden (19) who would bring her boyfriend Chance Comanche (27).

Since then, Rodgers had not been seen or heard from. Early in the investigation, detectives suspected foul play and obtained evidence to arrest Harnden and her boyfriend Comanche for their role in the kidnapping and disappearance of Rodgers.

On December 13, 2023, Harnden was arrested in Las Vegas by the Criminal Apprehension Team (CAT) and booked into the Clark County Detention Center for kidnapping. On December 15, 2023, Commanche was arrested by the members of the California FBI Criminal Apprehension Team in Sacramento, California and is pending extradition to Nevada for kidnapping.

Based on information obtained after the arrest of Harnden and Commanche, detectives were able to recover human remains in a desert area in Henderson, Nevada. The remains were later identified by the Clark County Coroner to be of Marayna Rodgers.

Detectives determined that Harnden and Commanche were responsible for the murder of Rodgers. The charges for both individuals will be amended to open murder through coordination with the Clark County District Attorney’s office.

The Criminal Apprehension Team (CAT) is a multi-jurisdictional task force led by the FBI and staffed in the LVMPD’s Major Violators Bureau. It is comprised of FBI, LVMPD, Henderson and North Las Vegas Police Departments.

Multiple reports indicate that Comanche is no longer on the roster for the NBA’s Stockton Kings.

Anyone with any information about this incident is urged to contact the LVMPD Homicide Section by phone at 702-828-3521, or by email at homicide@lvmpd.com. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 702-385-5555, or on the internet at www.crimestoppersofnv.com.”

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.