Expungements

Published on: June 17, 2013

Los Angeles Petty Theft Quiz: Which of These 6 Items Were Stolen in Real Life?

Whether you swiped a bottle of Tide from Walgreens or committed felony robbery and assault in addition to Los Angeles petty theft, you’re probably feeling pretty sheepish and regretful. You’re not the first person to steal “bizarre stuff” – and you won’t be the last. In two posts, we’re going to use true or false quizzes to test your knowledge of theft history.

Half of the following examples are made up, and half are real.

Can you guess which ones are which?

Published on: April 15, 2013

The Deeper (And Far Less Petty) Roots of Your Los Angles Petty Theft Charge

by Michael Kraut

Maybe you’ve personally been hit with a misdemeanor Los Angeles petty theft charge. Or maybe you’re the parent or friend of someone who recently got arrested for shoplifting or stealing small amounts of jewelry.

In either case, you might be extremely tempted to treat this situation as a “one-time event” — a cautionary tale that you can look back on, in 20 or 30 years, and laugh about with your friends at the Country Club. After all, it’s not like you committed grand theft in Los Angeles or hurt someone while driving under the influence of alcohol or engineered a complex Southern California Medicare or MediCal scheme.

You made one mistake — perhaps motivated by peer pressure or just by a strange impulse — and you want to fight the charges and put this ugly event behind you.

Published on: March 25, 2013

Ridiculous Los Angeles Petty Theft News: Lemur Theft Played Out “Like a Bad Disney Movie”

by Michael Kraut

In all likelihood, your Los Angeles petty theft charges are pretty dry and mundane.

Maybe you shoplifted some clothes or jewelry from an open market shop in Venice Beach or the Promenade; or maybe you accrued a petty theft charge on top of other charges, like robbery, assault, and fraud.

You understand that your situation is serious: you need a good Los Angeles criminal defense attorney to help you solve your mess and move on with your life.

Published on: January 28, 2013

Disgusting Los Angeles Medicare Fraud News — in More Ways than One!

by Michael Kraut

As a doctor, chiropractor, dentist, or other health provider who has come under investigation for Los Angeles Medicare Fraud, you may be embarrassed by what you did… or by what authorities allege that you did.

But you also likely resent being classified as a criminal. For instance, you probably don’t want to be thought of in the same company as 55-year-old Richard Alan Behnan, a Michigan area podiatrist recently sentenced to 55 months behind bars.

Behnan recently pled guilty in U.S. District Court to masterminding and executing a $1.6 million scam to fraudulently bill Blue Cross Blue Shield and Medicare.

Published on: January 8, 2013

After You’ve Been Arrested/Investigated for Medicare Fraud in Los Angeles: Like Waking from a Dream

by Michael Kraut

Getting charged with Los Angeles Medicare fraud can change your life — and not in a good way (but not necessarily in a totally bad way, either!)

Defendants often go through a period of epiphany or powerful reflection after being accused. This can be disconcerting. If you’ve recently been arrested — or if you know or care about someone who has been charged — you probably recognize symptoms, such as:

• Sudden dismay and regret regarding years of actions;

Published on: December 19, 2012

Petty Thefts in Los Angeles Spike During Xmas. Santa (and the Police) Are Watching…

by Michael Kraut

Statistical analyses of petty theft in Los Angeles paint a pretty grim holiday picture.

According to the National Retail Federation, 95% of all retail stores (that’s 19 out of every 20 stores) falls victim to petty theft during the Yuletide season: that’s a spike of 30% over normal crime rates.

The diversity of petty theft schemes is literally too large to catalog. Some cases are relatively simple: A thief might snatch a purse left in a shopping cart unattended or take a “five finger discount” at a candy shop or convenience store. Some items are more prone to be stolen than others. Games, shoes and apparel tend to be big targets. Sometimes “odd ball” items can also be targeted. For instance, as we covered earlier this year, Tide detergent apparently is a commonly pilfered item. Thieves steal the Tide and then resell it on the black market.

Published on: September 18, 2012

Petty Theft Conviction in Los Angeles Will Make LL Cool J’s Burglars’ Defense That Much More Complicated

by Michael Kraut

Could a conviction for petty theft in Los Angeles (e.g. for shoplifting some t-shirts or clothes) ultimately land you a 30-year prison conviction and $1.1 million bail?

If that scenario sounds far-fetched, think again.

It’s a reality for 56-years-old Jonathan Kirby, who was charged last week with breaking into rapper LL Cool J’s house. Kirby apparently picked the wrong house to burglarize. When the NCIS: Los Angeles star woke from his slumber around 2 AM, Cool J – a.k.a. James Todd Smith – confronted Kirby and got into a brawl with him. Cool J smashed up Kirby’s nose and broke his ribs and jaw before detaining the intruder and holding him there. Police believe Cool J acted in self-defense, and no charges against have been filed against him.

Published on: August 28, 2012

Dealing with Your Wickedly Embarrassing Los Angeles Lewd Conduct Charges – On The Beach, in a Public Bathroom, Wherever…

by Michael Kraut

Whether you were hit with Los Angeles lewd conduct charges for engaging in explicit sexual behavior in a bathroom (like the men charged earlier this summer at Manhattan Beach) or you were arrested for a sex crime on a public beach in Venice or Santa Monica, you’re probably pretty scared and confused about what’s going to happen to you.

Recognize that you are not alone in your struggles, and you are probably not the first to be arrested for your type of crime. Truth be told, you may find it difficult to find support even from normally empathetic coworkers, advisors, and family members. But understand that, in all likelihood, your type of crime has “happened before.”

Consider, for instance, two recent arrests on opposite sides of the country that parallel each other.

Published on: July 7, 2012

Big Spike in New Type of Los Angeles White Collar Crime?

by Michael Kraut

Los Angeles white collar crimes are just getting more and more diverse. We spend a lot of time on this blog dissecting crimes like medical fraud, insurance fraud, and petty theft in Southern California. But today we’re going to shake things up a bit and explore some innovative terrain to help you put your crime — and your possible defensive options — in perspective.

We’re going to look at computer crimes in L.A.

And one of the “hot new trends” in the world of computer crime is something called “smishing.” This is a cousin to the email crime known as phishing, in which a criminal uses spam and other “email lures” to get users to give away personal information, financial passwords, etcetera. Whereas “phishing” takes place in the arena of email messaging; “smishing” takes place in the arena of text messaging – a.k.a. Short Message Service (SMS) messaging.

Published on: May 21, 2012

The Los Angeles Medicare Fraud News: The Sad Case of a Temple University Dean’s Fraud Charge

by Michael Kraut

Most people really do not understand what is likely to be a defendant in a Los Angeles Medicare fraud case. While the general public has some sympathy for people who commit crimes like petty theft or white color crimes or even some certain kinds of insurance fraud, most people have a bad picture in their minds of medical fraud defendants. They picture them as brilliant cold blooded schemers who have no conscience.

If you or someone you care about has been charged with a fraud crime, you obviously know this Doctor Evil like caricature does not hold water. Even if you did engage in a complex, illegal and even immoral scheme, odds are that you did not plan to be in your current position when you chose to become a doctor, chiropractor, dentist, or other care giver. You went into this business to provide care – not to wind up prosecuted for fraud.

In that light, let’s consider the case of 62-year old Dr. Joseph Kubacki, a former Assistant Dean at Temple University School of Medicine, who was sentenced last week for his role in running a fraudulent Medicare billing scheme. Kubacki, who once served as the chair of Temple’s ophthalmology department, had been billing the government for medical services that residents provided – even when he was not around. All told, the penalty for the scheme clocked in at over $676,000. Kubacki had worked for Temple for nearly 30 years, when school investigators discovered what was going on and confronted him in 2007.