A Santa Clarita man was charged Friday in a federal criminal complaint alleging he intentionally set the Bouquet Fire, a wildfire in the Angeles National Forest that burned more than 1,000 acres of federally owned land, the Justice Department announced. Rodney Ameile Saba, 70, of Santa Clarita, was charged with arson involving federal property. He is expected to make his ...

A Santa Clarita Valley tax preparer pleaded guilty Monday to fraudulently including false information on federal income tax returns to get substantial refunds for his clients, and cause large tax losses to the U.S. Treasury, and COVID-19 business-relief loan applications to obtain money he used for unauthorized purposes.  Kerwin Aldric Jordan, 71, of Castaic and formerly of Pebble Beach, pleaded ...

A Santa Clarita man has pleaded guilty to defrauding his employer out of more than $1 million in a years-long wire fraud scheme, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday. Steven Anthony Cowles, 45, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 22. According to ...

A former Pacific Palisades resident now living in Florida has been arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with maliciously starting what eventually became the Palisades Fire of January 2025, one of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history, the Justice Department announced today. Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, a.k.a. “Jonathan Rinder,” and “Jon Rinder,” of Melbourne, Florida, is charged ...

A Canyon Country man already facing federal charges has been named as a key supplier in a $611 million electronics fraud and money laundering case that led to the arrest of two San Fernando Valley men Tuesday. Federal prosecutors allege that Juan Carlos Thola-Duran, 58, a.k.a. “Parcero,” of Canyon Country, sold electronics and gift cards to Wireless World, a company ...

A lawyer who bought a home in Valencia using funds he gained via a $2.1 million bribe while serving as an officer of Nigeria’s state-owned oil company was found guilty by a jury Thursday, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ) Paulinus Iheanacho Okoronkwo, 58, a.k.a. “Pollie,” of Valencia, who practiced immigration, family, and personal injury law out of an ...

A man who allegedly re-entered the country illegally was arrested for possibly attempting to pour gasoline on his son and set him on fire last month. Around 11:20 p.m. Saturday, May 3, deputies responded to an assault with a deadly weapon call on the 24800 block of Railroad Avenue in Newhall, said Deputy Robert Jensen, spokesperson for the Santa Clarita ...

A Santa Clarita man has agreed to plead guilty to hacking the personal computer of an employee of The Walt Disney Company last year, obtaining login information, and using that information to illegally download confidential data from the Burbank-based mass media and entertainment conglomerate via the employee’s Slack online communications account. Ryan Mitchell Kramer, 25, from Santa Clarita, has agreed ...

A Santa Clarita man has been arraigned on an indictment alleging he distributed protonitazene – a novel synthetic opioid that is up to three times more powerful than fentanyl – which resulted in a victim’s fatal overdose this spring, the Justice Department announced. Benjamin Anthony Collins, 21, is charged with one count of distribution of protonitazene resulting in death. This ...

On Tuesday, the Justice Department sued Irvine-based Fitness International LLC, which does business as LA Fitness, for discriminating against people with disabilities at its gym and fitness clubs. LA Fitness is the largest chain of owner-operated gym and fitness clubs in the United States, with nearly 700 locations across the country, according to officials with the DOJ. The lawsuit alleges ...