Ojai Valley City Watch 3/21/10
Watchers we need your help in catching these crooks! The Sheriff’s Department Fillmore Station team has identified a fraud ring using a lottery scam operating within Ventura County. These criminals are targeting farm workers and the elderly within the Spanish speaking community. I’ve included Fillmore Captain Tim Hagel’s Farm Watch notice to explain the details of how the scam works.
As a previous Fillmore Detective, I have worked very similar cases that had the same M.O. These cases are extremely difficult to solve, but not impossible with your help. Spread the word and encourage anyone that has been a victim or witness of this scam to immediately report it. A license plate, tattoo description, or other small detail might be all that we need to track these crooks down.
Be Safe,
Randy
PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES. THE POWER OF CITYWATCH IS THAT EACH OF US NETWORKING CAN COLLECTIVELY REACH THOUSANDS OF OTHERS BY FORWARDING THIS EMAIL.
Farm Worker Alert:
This just happen last week: A group of four criminals stole money from Ventura County farm workers and Spanish speaking residents in a California lottery scam. Theses criminals single out Ventura County residents who use Spanish as their strongest language. They prefer female victims of adult or elderly age, but on occasion will prey on males.
They are excellent actors and you will never know that all four are connected. When you read the story, remember they change it up once a while mixing in fictitious IRS Agents, Fictitious Notaries and Fictitious Attorneys.
Here is the scene:
They hit while your farm workers are in a shopping center, parking lot, picking up kids from school or public building, they are approached by a Spanish-speaking female.
On occasion they use a male. The male or females are actors, and will tell the farm worker that he or she just found a State Lottery ticket and that they think it was the winning number.
Next, a passerby will approach as a random person and unknown to your farm worker. Usually the passerby will be well dressed as a businessman or woman. They will speak in Spanish to make the victim comfortable.
The two actor-criminals will both be excited about the lottery ticket. The actor-passerby will use his or her cell phone to call the State Lottery officials and see how to cash in the ticket. The person on the other end of the cell phone is not a lottery official, but part of the four person criminal group.
The criminal on the other end who is acting like a lottery official will tell the group that one must be a citizen to cash in the ticket.
The original female that held the ticket will start crying and tell your farm worker and the passerby criminal-actor that she is not a citizen. The passerby actor will ask your worker if they are a citizen? No matter what they reply, these well polished crooks will pull the farm worker in as a victim.
Then, the criminal/actor passerby will call a friend who is an immigration attorney. The fictitious attorney is the 4th actor. The criminal/actor passerby will put the victim on the cell phone to talk to the fictitious Spanish speaking attorney who will then describe a fair plan how all three can all cash the ticket in as a group.
The attorney actor on the phone will suggest that the three of the strangers split the lottery since the winner is not a citizen. Suggesting each will typically receive a third of $500,000 to $2,000,000. The attorney actor on the phone will suggest that since none of them know one another, that they each make a good faith deposit to him for $1,000 to $10,000.
He will tell them that they can all go to their banks or houses together for their cash deposit and drive together to the attorney’s or Lottery Office in Ventura. The attorney will meet them there.
Of course everyone is excited, his or her lives are about to change. In our recent case, the original female actor began to cry with joy that she was able to make her way back to Mexico and retire. Our farm workers have been excited to be a part of it and readily hand over their life savings to the criminals.
Next, they actors will drive everyone and will stop on the way to the attorney office and get the victim to walk into a store for food, shopping or a meal. When they are not looking they will slip away with the good faith deposit.
If your workers are approached on this lottery scam: Write down the license plate of the actors and call 911 immediately. Our 911 Center will speak to them in Spanish and send help to catch the criminals.
Why doesn’t the Sheriff’s Dept spend as much time protecting American citizens as it does protecting illegals from lotto scams? Is this part of Obamacare?
I know almost everyone from efin 8 to 80 in this town and I know most everyone’s business, probably you too!
I get out there a lot an I always have a good time.
I’ve had to deal with the police twice personally in the past three years and each time was a complete waste of time. Filing a report is all they did.
One time I did all the work, investigated, gathered evidence, dropped it at the police station, question people,linked the suspect to two other crimes one of which he left DNA evidence, was so thorough the main suspect was telling his friends “I guess I’m going back to jail”.
Nothing was done. Three years later he was arrested for gun robbery and lo and behold the cops linked him to the crime with DNA evidence.
I used to go on a ride along at times, anyone can. Got no beef with the cops that do their jobs as required. That’s normally the older guys. Or gals.
“Does it seem that the VCSD in Ojai spend and excessive amount of time hassling people over bogus traffic offences rather than focusing on crime prevention and crime solving”,Ojai observer, actually, I live in Ojai and have for quite some time now and I have always had great service from the police. I had a small, non emergency issue the other day and they were here in 5 min. I guess they might treat you the same way you treat them. Otherwise I can’t explain the bad treatment that Ojain ‘whatever’ seems to get everywhere she goes by the content of her posts. Whatever complains a lot about Ojai and life in general. Life must really suck to live that way.
Does it seem the VCSD in Ojai spend an excessive
amount of time hassling people on bogus traffic
offenses rather than focusing on crime prevention
and crime solving. Yes, it does seem when a resident
calls on legitamate police issues like theft, and
some of wayward, unsupervised kids who roam around
the valley causing disturbances or damage, the police
response often seems to be that of annoyance or of
the the attitude they are doing you a favor by
responding.
Maybe the incentives are wrong.
VCSD retirement = 97% of final pay, traffic fines go into the county general fund which helps offset
the cost of such generous retirement pensions.
Yes, there should be incentives to attract and retain good people, but it is not like this is the LAPD facing a high degree of risk on an ongoingn basis + many feel we are not getting anywhere
near the quality of service here in the Ojai Valley
from the VCSD commensurate with such high compensation for their services. Part of this maybe
most of the people serving are not valley residents,
so the aren’t our neighbors, they are not in the
community…waiting in line at Starr…coaching
little league or on the PTA with kids in school here
and aging parents herfor whom they have to be concerned about their safety. These officers only
interact with the community in their official
capacity and do not have to deal with other valley
residents during their off time, their families are not part of the community. This can lead to an indifferent, arrogant attitude from which they do
have to deal with the consequenses of. They will
be rotated out of service here soon enough…so
what do they care except for the few highly motivated officers who behave in professional manner. But they get rotated out too.
This is a contractual arrangement between the city
and county. If there is citizen disatisfaction with
the quality of service the matter should be addressed in a city council meeting.
Maybe you should call yourself “Admon” for Admonish instead of “Admin”.
Every topic has people freaking out about the immigrants, the illegals, aliens.
Well there is rumor that our very own president could very well be an illegal.
It’s possible that it isn’t true but if it is I don’t want to be sacked like a quarterback.
It doesn’t look good to me so far.
And my point with the police is that I have had my house robbed, my car broke into, friends and neighbors robbed and their sh#t vandalized and the cops did NOTHING and were actually rude and annoyed for having to make a report and they want public assistance for gullible people handing over their money? My ass!
ADMIN NOTE:
The comments on this posting questioning Obama’s citizenship have become so off-topic that no more will be accepted. Please stick to the topic.
Ann Dunham met Barack Obama, Sr., the school’s first African student. At the age of 23, Obama had come to Hawaii to pursue his education, leaving behind a pregnant wife and infant son in his home town of Nyang’oma Kogelo in Kenya. Dunham and Obama were married on the Hawaiian island of Maui on February 2, 1961, despite parental opposition from both families. Dunham was three months pregnant at the time of her marriage.Obama Sr. eventually informed Dunham about his first marriage in Kenya but claimed he was divorced. Dunham later discovered this was false.
On August 4, 1961, at the age of 18, Dunham gave birth to her first child, Barack Obama II. Later they divorced.
Dunham met Lolo Soetoro, a student from Indonesia. They married in 1966 or 1967 and moved with six-year-old Barack to Jakarta, Indonesia.Soetoro adopted Barak and changed him name to Barry Soetoro.
Four years later she sent the young Obama back to Hawaii to attend Punahou School rather than having him stay in Asia with her. Madelyn Dunham’s (grandma) job as a vice-president at the Bank of Hawaii helped pay the steep tuition, with some assistance from a scholarship.
Ann Dunham left Soetoro in 1972, returning to Hawaii and reuniting with her son Barack for several years. Soetoro and Dunham saw each other periodically in the 1970s when Dunham returned to Indonesia for her field work, but did not live together again. They divorced in 1980 and she began using the name Ann Dunham Sutoro, with a modern spelling of her former husband’s surname.
Dunham returned to school in Honolulu in 1974, while raising Barack and Maya (his sister by Soetoro. When Dunham returned to Indonesia for field work in 1975 with Maya, after three years in Honolulu, Barack chose not to go, preferring to finish high school in Hawaii while living with his grandparents.
This is a list of Barak Sr. brood and baby mama’s.
1. (with Kezia Aoko): Abongo (Roy) Obama, Auma Obama,
Abo Obama, Bernard Obama
2. (with Ann Dunham): Barack Obama II
3. (with Ruth Nidesand): Mark Ndesandjo,[10] David Ndesandjo
4. (with Jael): George Obama
and your facts on the campaign funds is unsubstantiated too.
Uh, whatever, guess what? THIS JUST IN!! Your “AP” story is BS. A phony new email chain letter , one of the antiquated , viral sort leftover from the AOL era, is claiming that the case against President Barack Obama’s citizenship has reached the Supreme Court, based on a forged and typo-riddled Associated Press “report”.
The birther movement of angry citizens who believe that President Obama was not born in the Country and is thus ineligible to be President seemed to lose steam in the year since the 2008 election, but this new email spreading takes the accusations to a new level of ridiculousness based on FAKE news done poorly. The message claims that college records of Obama’s from Occidental (under the name Barry Soetoro) prove he was receiving aid as a foreign student from Indonesia, but there is one problem, the “AP” can’t seem to figure out where to put periods, commas or capitalization!!
(It is all BS whatever, so sorry FAKE AP news. Nothing reached the Supreme Court.)
That is very eloquent Ojai Observer and you may in fact actually be the only lonely single voice that is “pissed off” . In this blog you can have possibly very few people claiming to be many, I’m not about to take a general concensus on the temperature of Ojais feelings based upon the statements made in this blog which in my opinion does not represent a cross section of Ojai, just a few people that like yakking at each other, that may in fact not even LIVE in Ojai. Just remember you speak for yourself and no one else. For all I know you might be white tribe activist.
Back to the issue of public safety and the social
fabric of the Ojai valley which from this and other
blogs seems to reveal many people feel the social
fabric has been torn asunder with many feeling
powerless in the face of this and getting blown
off by the public agencies which we pay taxes to
support being either non responsive or inneffectual
in satisfactorily address our concerns.
The underlying tone is people are pissed off,
then we go on a rant to vent our frustration.
Even though some of us have some differences of
opinion, we generally share these concerns.
A broad based coalition that brings differing
people together but who can on important local
issues find a consensus that can and will be
heard if we put our differences aside and organize around issues where it seems we are
a lonely single voice but in actuality we are
there and together we can be heard.
How did a blog about a scam against workers evolve into a “birther issue”? Is whatever, Ramblin Rants guy (or gal)? that would explain his rabid attacks and hate for the left (or even middle for that matter)and his insessant attempts to flood us with conspiracy theorys. Conspiracy theory books and newspapers are big business. I would go so far as to say it was addicting. I bet your house is a fire hazard full of papers and newsletters heh whatever?
Obama was born in Hawaii and his mother listed the announcement in both Hawaiian newspapers at that time. THe birth certificate with the name of the hospital the time and date of his birth has been authenticated by so many people already , no one gives a crap about his visa or mastercard.
Francisco Tico sold the land to oil drillers. It was taken from the Chumash by the government in 1837 as a Mexican land grant and Tico established a cattle ranch until he sold in 1853.
The Washington claim states, “If in fact Obama was born in Kenya, the laws on the books in the United States at the time of his birth stated if a child is born abroad and one parent was a U.S. Citizen, which would have been his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, Obama’s mother would have had to live ten (10) years in the United States, five (5) of which were after the age of fourteen (14). At the time of Obama’s birth, his mother was only eighteen (18) and therefore did not meet the residency requirements under the law to give her son (Obama) U.S. Citizenship much less the status of ‘natural born.’”
Further, Berg said Obama’s college records indicated he received aid as a foreigner student.
He said the telephone call from Obama’s paternal grandmother affirming she “was in the delivery room in Kenya when he was born Aug. 4, 1961.”
period
Obamaa mothers’ family linage in America probably
goes back further than anyone who has posted on
this blog. As long as his mother never renounced
her citizenship…which she never did, she may have had dual citizenship by marriage and possibly
Obama may have qualified for dual citizenship based
on his father or stepfather… but since his mom
never renounced her US citizenship and Obama has
never renounced his citizenship; he is a US
citizen based on his mothers’ US citizen status. It is possible to have dual passports.
So, what is your beef, you probably voted for someone who was foriegn born who became a naturalized citizen to be the California. Are
Arnold and Maria’s children illegal immigrants.
With the high unemployment rate and and near collapse of the US economy while the American
citiZen’s – Henry Paulson- Treasury secretary-
former CEO of Goldman_Sach which was at the core of the subprime mortgage and credit default swaps the had underwritten by AIG.
How about a local boy- Christopher Cox as
chairman of the Security Exchange Commission
did nothing to provide oversight despite some
of the actual individual investor’s in credit
default swaps…which were basically functioning as a form of insurance written
against the risk of the subprime mortgages for
a fraction if 1 cent on the dollar.
Some of these independent investment guys, even though they were making 10s of millions of dollars and stood to
make 100s of millions of dollars(which they eventually did)went to the Treasury and SEC and
practically begged them to do something to
protect the economy from this whole scheme.
Paulson and Cox said they thought everything was OK in the bond market and refused to do anything until the eventual collapse in the
fall of 2008. The people who perpetuated this
and the public officials who were negligent
in their duty…along with all the nonsense
that Alan Greenspan spun over 20 years which
led to this and other speculative excesses
( at least Greenspan had the integrity to
admit he had been fundamentally wrong about
the appropriate role for government and markets
to work together ) Where is the anger at people
who reaped great wealth in what was truly the
biggest con job and for the most part took
no responsibility nor paid any significant consequences for the economic catastrophe they
engineered.
What is truly ironic about this thread is that probably everybody blogging now occupy
real estate that was part of the land grant
given to Francisco Tico almost 200 years ago.
whatever — you troll — stop punishing us…
OBAMA’S CITIZENSHIP CASE REACHES THE SUPREME COURT
AP- WASHINGTON, D. C.
In a move certain to fuel the debate over Obama’s qualifications for the presidency, the group “Americans for Freedom of Information” has Released copies of President Obama’s college transcripts from Occidental College.
Released today, the transcript school indicates that Obama, under the name Barry Soetoro, received financial aid as a foreign student from Indonesia as an undergraduate at the college.
The transcript shows that Obama (Soetoro) applied for financial aid and was awarded a fellowship for foreign students from the Fulbright Foundation Scholarship program. To qualify, for the scholarship, a student must claim foreign citizenship. The transcript was released by Occidental College in compliance with a court order in a suit brought by the group in the Superior Court of California.
This document would seem to provide the smoking gun many of Obama’s detractors have been seeking. Along with the evidence that he was first born in Kenya and there is no record of him ever applying for U.S. citizenship, this is looking pretty grim. The news has created a firestorm at the White House as the release casts increasing doubt about Obama’s legitimacy and qualification to serve as President.
The article is titled, “Obama Eligibility Questioned,” leading some to speculate that the story may overshadow economic issues on Obama’s first official visit to the U.K. In a related matter, under growing pressure from several groups, Justice Antonin Scalia announced that the Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to hear arguments concerning Obama’s legal eligibility to serve as President in a case brought by Leo Donofrio in New Jersey.
This lawsuit claims Obama’s dual citizenship disqualified him from serving as president. Donofrio’s case is just one of 18 suits brought by citizens demanding proof of Obama’s citizenship or qualification to serve as president.
Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation has released the results of their investigation of Obama’s campaign spending. This study estimates that Obama has spent upwards of $950,000 in campaign funds in the past year with eleven law firms in 12 states for legal resources to block disclosure of any of his personal records. Mr. Kreep indicated that the investigation is still ongoing but that the final report will be provided to the U. S. Attorney General, Eric Holder. Mr. Holder has refused to comment on the matter.
.
THE SUPREME COURT
Subject: RE: Issue of Passport?
While I’ve little interest in getting in the middle of the Obama birth issue, Paul Hollrah over at FSM did so yesterday and believes the issue can be resolved by Obama answering one simple question: What passport did he use when he was shuttling between New York, Jakarta, and Karachi?
So how did a young man who arrived in New York, in early June 1981, without the price of a hotel room in his pocket, suddenly come up with the price of a round-the-world trip just a month later?
And once he was on a plane, shuttling between New York, Jakarta, and Karachi, what passport was he offering when he passed through Customs and Immigration?
The American people not only deserve to have answers to these questions, they must have answers. It makes the debate over Obama’s citizenship a rather short and simple one.
Q: Did he travel to Pakistan in 1981, at age 20?
A : Yes, by his own admission.
Q: What passport did he travel under?
A: There are only three possibilities
1) He traveled with a U.S. Passport,
2) He traveled with a British passport,
3) He traveled with an Indonesia passport.
Q: Is it possible that Obama traveled with a U.S. Passport in 1981?
A: No.. It is not possible. Pakistan was on the U.S. State Department’s “no travel” list in1981.
Conclusion:
When Obama went to Pakistan in 1981 he was traveling either with a British passport or an Indonesian passport.
If he were traveling with a British passport that would provide proof that he was born in Kenya on August 4 not in Hawaii as he claims. And if he were traveling with an Indonesian passport that would tend to prove that he relinquished whatever previous citizenship he held, British or American, prior to being adopted by his Indonesian stepfather in 1967.
Whatever the truth of the matter, the American people need to know how he managed to become a “natural born” American citizen between 1981 and 2008.
Given the destructive nature of his plans for America, as illustrated by his speech before Congress and the disastrous spending plan he has presented to Congress, the sooner we learn the truth of all this, the better
whatever, you obnoxious blowhard go back to terrorizing your family…
OH MY GOD!
I’m trying to fight efin illegal drug dealers on another blog, I’ve been robbed by the guy on my streets customers and the police do nothing for me? But I check to see whats going on in my city and the enforcement tells us all that they are at attention to save illegal immigrants illegal no tax paying cash under the table life’s savings? And I’m asked to help?
Okay, whatever i guess we can’t count on anybody but ourselves. It’s about to get vigilante up here!
And I expect the same respect as the immigrants and the drug dealers!
Dumb assed cops!
I pay taxes too. That means enforcing the law no
matter who is breaking it, including the families
in Ventura county if they are violating federal law.
If they can’t compete without using illegal/cheap
labor why should American consumers support them
when the produce can be imported cheaper. How is
that any different from auto, steel or textiles. You want them to break the law and be protected
from the consequences by the very people who are
supposed to enforce the law. That is slicker than any David Mamet con story.
If the growers can’t compete without breaking the law or relying on government subsidies,
it is time to train for a skill and get a job
like everybody else. The Ventura county agricultural is the last vestige of a plantation that would not be tolerated if it relied primarily legal American labor. Feudalism and enforced peonage is nothing to be
proud of in the 21st century. The Oakies have now become the enforcers. An expose by a major
national magazine will repulse consumers causing them to boycott the produce and force
the feds hand to finally put an end to the plantation system everywhere in America with Ventura county exposed for what it is– a clannish, intolerant racist place that is a remnant of the worst of 19th century.
Hey, for Christ’s Sake
How about stings at the work places, ranches farms
of the people who benifit most from illegal labors.
Big fines, federal time forfeiture…for the people
making the big dough ought to know better and should
better. Bust employers…hit them with heavy consequences…then they will stop hiring illegals
They are federal lawbreaker on a large scale.Stop
them from hiring and there will be no need for
road checks…, there won’t be any illegals here
if they can’t make money. Is that hard line enough
for you or do think only wetbacks deserve the the
attention of the law while Anglo employers get to
walk with no federal criminal charges.
The American Revolution was fought to cast off
tyranny.When a local or county government blocks
legal citizens from voting that is tyranny.
Or does the enfranchisement of the vote still
only apply to male crackers like you.
This is a very old con, called “The Pigeon Drop”. Watch a few David Mamet movies, or read a Ricky Jay book. For those too lazy to do that, here is a short explanation: https://www.53.com/wps/portal/gv?New_WCM_Context=/wps/wcm/connect/FifthThirdSite/Global+Utilities/Privacy+%26+Security/Protect+Yourself+From+Fraud/Pigeon+Drop+Scam/
As for ‘how about you’, how did you turn this thread about some skeevy Mexican conmen tricking illegal immigrants (both criminals) into a screed about the families that have supported agriculture in Ventura County for generations? You are quite a con artist yourself!;-)
Ask the victims for proof of residency. If they can’t provide, deport them, Set up immigration stings throughout the Ojai Valley. Enforce immigration law. And spend our tax dollars on protecting American citizens and not on protecting illegals from dumb Mexican lottery scams. American citizens should be your priority. And stop posting liberal crap.
an addendum to my previous post:
The most cogent book about the inter relationship
between the classes of a colonial like over class
and a marginalized, exploited surplus, geographically
contained ( it is no accident the worst ghetto-barrio area in Oxnard is called La Colonia ) was
written by a psychiatrist – political scientist
Franz Fannon who wrote about the psycholical mechanisms the overclass use against the underclass
and the psychopathology and family breakdown—
The name of the book is ” The Wretched of the Earth”
by Franz Fannon . Is Ventura county who is the
truly wretched… the hard working campesino or
the law breaking, expoitive greedy growers ?
Where does the moral culpability lie my fellow citizens.
You can’t cheat an honest man/woman.
Defrauding poor people, especially those with limited
literacy and an understanding of life in the USA is
deplorable.
Just as deplorable is the police abeting the employers
of these non citizen-usually illegal entrants into the
US who are exploiting these vulnerable people in their own seatshop like way. Employing illegal workers is a federal crime.
Illegal immigrants will come to the US when people are willing to employ them. Why is it only the illegal workers get rounded up and set to detention.
But in Ventura county where the law is enforced in
in the manner the local police and prosecutors feel
like having it enforced, not based upon legislation/
and or judicial rulings. Farmworkers are cheap. Planters and growers have an expendabe and disposable
ready made labor force. Local officials and police
turn a blind eye. Who gives political election money
for the sheriff, prosecutor, judges and local officals.
A cozy arrangement outside of the law while California and America are struggling with the
highest unemployment since the Great Depression official rates at 12% with real unemployment at
closer to 18-20%. I guess we know who the Oakies
of this Depression are. By all means protect them from
scams. They generally are decent people. But since when do we get to pick and choose the laws we want to follow without any consequnes. The Anglos in Ventura
County know better but they had to be taken to US
Federal Court on voting rights violations against unfair and illegal measures to block legal Hispanic
citizens’from voting in elections that implicated local and county officials with voting rights violations. Ventura County was found guilty in US
Federal Court by the US Government of violating the voting rights act guaranteed to all US citizens. Where
was the paternalistic warning then…not if it undermine what is essentialy a post colonial indentured servant/share cropper plantatation like
system that does not even exist now in what was the Jim Crow-lynching South. Don’t need to waste the rope
when you have got your INS buddies to snatch and send
them to down to detention, chain gangs… then boot
them out.
Where is the legitamacy of the Ventura County criminal
justice/legal system.
That is the 800 pound unasked/never answered question
for Ventura County.