LOS ANGELES – Three Santa Clarita Valley residents were named Thursday and two of them arrested on a federal indictment accusing them of defrauding a company in a $1.7 million embezzlement scheme.
The funds were earmarked for diversity recruitment and allegedly embezzled by the defendants using two fake businesses that billed for services never performed.
The 17-count grand jury indictment contains wire fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy charges.
The two defendants arrested Thursday are:
* Judith Fernandez-Adelugba, 43, of Stevenson Ranch, the former human resources manager at Company-1, a Santa Clarita-based business that provided a technical and operations center for high-performance racing programs, specializing in the design and development of racing engines and various high-performance automotive parts; and
* Alex Lawrence Wilkison, 47, a.k.a. “Alex Wilkerson,” of Canyon Country, the registered owner of Engineering Talent Connect (ETC), a fictitious business name registered to an address in Mission Hills.
Fernandez-Adelugba and Wilkison were expected to make their initial appearances Thursday in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
The third defendant, George Albert Fernandez, 73, also of Stevenson Ranch, the father of Fernandez-Adelugba and the president and chief executive officer of the Stevenson Ranch-based Business Solutions Services (BSS), is currently out of state and is expected to be taken into custody soon.
According to the indictment, Fernandez-Adelugba was responsible for diversity recruitment, which included implementing and managing programs to encourage persons from diverse gender, racial, ethnic, and other backgrounds to apply for jobs with her employer. She also had the authority to approve the payment of invoices of up to $25,000, the indictment states.
From March 2015 until her resignation from Company-1 in February 2018, Fernandez-Adelugba, her father, and Wilkison, who was married to a colleague and friend of Fernandez-Adelugba at Company-1, allegedly used BSS and ETC to embezzle Company-1 funds and divert this misappropriated money for their own personal enrichment.
The defendants allegedly submitted and caused to be submitted to Company-1 fake invoices issued by BSS and ETC that requested payment for diversity recruitment-related services purportedly performed. These “services” included posting job openings, placing job-related advertisements, searching for candidates, and successfully recruiting candidates for Company-1, according to the indictment.
Fernandez-Adelugba approved the fake invoices for payment, delivered them to Company-1’s accounting department, and followed up to request and facilitate payment of the fake invoices, the indictment alleges.
After Company-1 issued payments on the fake invoices, the defendants allegedly used their illicit gains for personal expenditures such as credit card bills, dining at restaurants, items bought at grocery stores, pool supplies, and cash withdrawals.
Between April 2015 and January 2018, based on these fake invoices, the defendants caused Company-1 to transfer $1,562,364 to BSS and $183,600 to ETC. The total loss to Company-1 was $1,745,964, according to the indictment.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Each charge of mail fraud and wire fraud carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. If convicted of all charges, Fernandez-Adelugba would face more than 300 years in federal prison.
The FBI investigated this matter.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Scott Paetty of the Major Frauds Section.
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.
After receiving athletic protocol updates from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), the Los Angeles Department of Public Health (LADPH) and California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the William S. Hart Union High School District has put together a complete athletic program following all state and county guidelines.
Three teachers from the William S. Hart Union High School District have been named by NASA and the SETI Institute to fly on NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Tuesday 91 new deaths and 1,407 new cases of COVID-19, with 26,212 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.
After receiving athletic protocol updates from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), the Los Angeles Department of Public Health (LADPH) and California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the William S. Hart Union High School District has put together a complete athletic program following all state and county guidelines.
The ability to transform data into information and insights that can elevate a business and influence decisions is at the core of the newest major being offered in California State University, Northridge’s David Nazarian College of Business and Economics.
Three teachers from the William S. Hart Union High School District have been named by NASA and the SETI Institute to fly on NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).
Los Angeles County Parks is looking for highly-talented independent instructors to bring valuable expertise and learning to the community through the Contact Class Program.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Tuesday 91 new deaths and 1,407 new cases of COVID-19, with 26,212 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.
After its cancelation last year due to the emergence of COVID-19, the College of the Canyons Scholarly Presentation will return this spring in a new virtual format.
Santa Clarita Planning commissioners are expected to make a decision Tuesday regarding the proposed expansion of Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital via multiple construction projects that include building a second inpatient tower.
Santa Clarita Valley educators were next in line to receive their COVID-19 vaccine shots at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Monday, more than two months after the hospital received its first batch of vaccines for hospital frontline workers.
Los Angeles County Public Health officials on Monday confirmed 32 new deaths and 987 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, as Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Valencia reported two new deaths since Friday.
In partnership with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, the city of Santa Clarita will launch its “Guard That Auto” campaign this spring to combat an increase in grand theft auto over the past year.
The city of Santa Clarita, in partnership with the Santa Clarita Sister Cities program, invites local students to submit artwork, poetry, essays/creative writing, photographs, or music for the 2021 Sister Cities International Young Artists and Authors Showcase.
In a rush to bring children back to California schools after a year of closed campuses, Governor Gavin Newsom and lawmakers said Monday the state will offer $2 billion to school districts willing to reopen next month.
The race to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Los Angeles County despite vaccine shortages is cutthroat and most people don’t even know they’re in the competition.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has learned of a text message phishing scam related to REAL ID and reminds customers that it will never ask for personal information related to driver’s license number, Social Security number, or financial information through email, text, or over the phone.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.
0 Comments
You can be the first one to leave a comment.