An Arcadia man, David Frederick Thornton, pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud and one count of impersonating a federal officer. Charges included his defrauding donors to his Thornton Kidney Research Foundation.
David Thornton, 24, who suffers from angio-dysplasia, a rare disease that affects the blood vessels, has founded the Thornton Kidney Research Foundation with the USC School of Medicine.
Former Arcadia resident David Thornton has been involved in fundraising for kidney research ever since a rare kidney disease began tormenting him five years ago.
Arcadia woman Ruixue "Serena" Shi, 37, pleaded guilty to soliciting $22.8 million in funds for a condominium and hotel project scheme. The crime is one federal count of wire fraud, which has a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 3, 7, October 28, 2021.
Christian Eric Blesch, 36, a former Arcadia police officer and Arcadia Police Officers' Association treasurer, is accused of embezzling $50,000. He pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles Superior Court on the felony charges of grand theft by embezzlement. He was elected January 2011 to serve as treasurer. He resigned from Arcadia Police Department last month. A second police officer is being investigated.
Monrovia man Yi Chen gets 4 years in prison for fraud in a student visa scheme to get Chinese immigrants into the U.S. unlawfully. From June 2015-February 2021, Chen was the CEO and owner of two so-called educational consulting companies in Alhambra and Arcadia that charged foreign students thousands of dollars for "guaranteed" admission to a college that would lead to the issuance of an F-1 student visa. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 2, October 6, 2022.
George Torres, of Arcadia, was convicted of 55 felony counts, including racketeering, "honest services" mail fraud, and wire fraud, conspiring to harbor illegal immigrants and tax charges. The jury also found that Torres solicited the 1994 murder of a gang member who demanded a "tax" from a Numero Uno Market. George Torres owned eleven Numero Uno grocery stores in some of the region's poorest neighborhoods.
Former Arcadia police officer Christian Blesch, 36, was arrested and charged with grand theft. He allegedly embezzled funds from the Arcadia Police Officers' Association over a period of several months. As of September 24, 2013, Blesch was no longer employed by Arcadia Police Department.
Former Arcadia police officer Christian Blesch (photo), 36, was arrested for embezzlement of Arcadia Police Officers' Association funds. As of September 24, 2013, Blesch was terminated. Blesch allegedly charegd more than $50,000 for personal items on a police association's credit card. He pleaded not guilty to a felony count of grand theft by embezzlement.
As part of a plea agreement, Jack Howard Colnot II of Arcadia pleaded guilty to embezzling nearly $89,000 in soccer league funds. He will be sentenced to five years probation and ordered to repay the money.
A U.S. District judge overturned convictions for bribery, mail, wire and tax fraud and harboring illegal immigrants, against George Torres, 52, of Arcadia, the former owner of Numero Uno supermarket chain. The judge threw out the more serious convictions for racketeering, conspiracy and solicitation of murder, back in June. Torres has been set free after 2 years in custody.
The Arcadia Police Department, along with several company agencies, is investigating the Pat Hillings Travel Agency in Arcadia, now owned by David Pressman. The alleged fraud reportedly involved the sale of airline tickets by the agency.
Former Arcadia man accused of lying, losing millions of investors' money. James Arthur McDonald, Jr. former CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Hercules Investments LLC and Index Strategy Advisors Inc. was charged with one count of securities fraud. Prosecutors claim McDonald lost clients of his Los Angeles-based firm Hercules millions of dollars in late 2020. He had been renting a home in Arcadia.
Arcadia couple Edward Chen, aka Jianqiao Chen, Jian Qiao Chen, and Jian Chen aka Jing Jiang and Jean Jiang, accused of fraud involving defrauding investors through EB-5 visa schemes. The couple's companies raised more than $22.5 million from 45 Chinese investors, purportedly to build an interior design center in Ontario and a condominium building in Los Angeles. See also "Arcadia couple faces court hearing for stealing $12 million," Arcadia Weekly, p. 1,3 October 5, 2017.