Cerritos man accused of embezzlement

On Behalf of | Oct 31, 2022 | Blog, Embezzlement

A man from who formerly served as a city manager will stand trial for allegations of embezzlement in a multimillion-dollar scheme. A Los Angeles County judge made this ruling on Oct. 4. The allegations against the man include assisting to develop the plans to embezzle the funds as well as handling the money itself.

Those in power accused of lining their pockets with public funds

The Cerritos man worked with a developer to form this plot in an attempt to embezzle a grand total of $20 million out of public funds. This money was originally intended to be used for a solar farm that had been proposed.

Industry City had paid the $20 million to Power LLC and San Gabriel Valley Water, which was to be used to lease the land needed for a solar farm project. But this solar farm was canceled and construction never began.

The developer, the attorney and the city manager

The manager is one of four people faced with embezzlement allegations. Another key player includes the developer and company owner from La Jolla who was working on the solar farm project. This developer allegedly conspired with the former Industry City manager who had then become manager of the City of Bell, along with an attorney and one other individual.

The D.A. raided the serial former city manager’s house in Cerritos back in 2020. The office of the district attorney alleges that at some point between 2016 and 2018, these funds were routed to the company owner’s account.

According to the allegations, the former city manager worked with an attorney to help draft up the scheme. They also handled the money in the process. The former manager’s attorney has stated that he is innocent and believes the ruling will reflect that.

FindLaw Network
Gary Jay Kaufman
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