Summary: In the first four months of 2021, the District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges on 537 Santa Clarita Valley criminal cases — already 156% of the total number of declined cases for the entire previous year. If the trend holds for the rest of the year, it will represent a 369% increase...

A 31-year-old man was found guilty Wednesday for the August 2016 murder of Kimberly Harvill–whose body was discovered in a remote area of Gorman–and whose three children were later kidnapped, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced. Jurors deliberated for less than a...

Losing access to a favorite video streaming service can put binge-watchers into a panic – and con artists have been taking advantage of this with an increasingly popular fraud. In the Streaming Service Scam, victims receive an email that appears to be from a video or music streaming app claiming a...

Those ads promising seniors discounted auto insurance rates, no matter their driving record, may prove to be an auto insurance scam. Fraudsters will paper every car in a parking lot with fliers that include phrases like “Cheap Rates!” or “Prior DUI? No Problem!” When a senior calls the number...

Two new employees have been roaming the corridors of the Hall of Justice. Staff members inevitably recognize the duo by their short legs and golden fur coats. Their names? Bert and Skippy. With their handlers Martha Carbajal and Ashley Meyers, the four form the core of the newly created Bureau of Victims...

Unsuspecting patients can lose valuable benefits when medical providers charge for unnecessary procedures. In the phantom billing scam, patients are billed for services never performed and sent an explanation of benefits that are usually discarded. Without notice from patients, insurers may be unaware...

[District Attorney] – The calls and emails appear legitimate and frightening – pay up for failing to report for jury duty or you may be arrested. Unsuspecting Los Angeles County residents may fall for the jury duty scam because con artists use bureaucratic language, official-looking seals...

[L.A. County District Attorney] – CVS Pharmacy agreed to settle a $2 million consumer protection lawsuit alleging that the company overcharged customers for sale items and engaged in misleading advertising. The civil complaint was filed Aug. 11 in Los Angeles County Superior Court by the District...

The Santa Clarita Superior Court will no longer handle felony matters after Sept. 12, and two of the District Attorney’s eight locally stationed prosecutors will move to the San Fernando Courthouse as a result, officials confirmed Thursday. A court spokeswoman said she was unaware of the reasons...