Tustin Fraud and ID Thefts
The website hbindependent.com reported in an account on April 9, 2009 that former fugitive Gene Anthony Franklin Jr., 34 of Tustin, who had bought a home in Southern California valued at $685,000 using someone else’s information has been found guilty of perpetrating $2.8 million in fraud and stealing the identities of more than 12 victims.
Police went to Franklin’s house to arrest him on another warrant but he refused to come out taking a small child hostage. Police had Franklin’s ex-wife come to the house in an unsuccessful attempt to free the child. After many hours passed, the stand-off ended when a SWAT team entered the home and retrieved the child. Franklin eventually escaped into Mexico in the Fall of 2007 but was arrested a year later. A jury found Franklin guilty of 46 felony counts including identity theft, false impersonation, grand theft and attempted grand theft, resisting arrest, child abuse, conspiracy, forgery, failure to appear, attempted extortion, and dissuading a witness. He will be sentenced in June and faces up to 73 years and four months in prison.
White collar crimes in California are usually crimes of theft and deception committed by non-violent professional people as opposed to other crimes that use force. White collar crimes can be prosecuted at the state level or federal level, or both. Penalties for being convicted of a white collar crime typically consist of fines, restitution and, in some cases, prison.
The Law Offices of Lawrence Wolf have been successfully helping individuals charged with white collar crimes in California for over 30 years. Please call (310) 277-1707 for a free consultation with a skilled Orange County criminal defense attorney today.
