Thousands of LA city workers set to strike Tuesday; Bass says officials ‘available to make progress’

Mayor Karen Bass said Saturday that Los Angeles officials are “available to make progress” around the clock this weekend on new contracts with workers, one day after the union representing city employees announced that members will head to the picket lines Tuesday morning for a 24-hour strike to protest what they deemed a refusal to bargain in good faith.

“City workers are vital to the function of services for millions of Angelenos every day and to our local economy,” Bass said in a statement issued Saturday morning. “They deserve fair contracts and we have been bargaining in good faith with SEIU 721 since January. The City will always be available to make progress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”

Sanitation workers, heavy duty mechanics, traffic officers, engineers and many more city workers, who are represented by SEIU 721, plan to walk off the job to protest city management and other “unfair labor practices restricting employee and union rights,” according to a statement from the union on Friday.

Bass is in Washington, D.C. through Monday to meet with senior White House officials.

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, workers will meet at City Hall for a march and rally, though picket lines will begin as early as 4 a.m., according to the union.

In May, city workers represented by SEIU 721 voted overwhelmingly, with 98% approval, to authorize an Unfair Labor Practice strike — a first by city workers in more than 40 years.

“(The strike) comes at a watershed moment for the city, with officials preparing for the World Cup and Olympic Games in the coming years,” SEIU 721 said in a statement. “Both events promise to have long-lasting impacts on the entire Southern California region, with a massive influx of tourists and athletes putting an enormous strain on the city’s frontline services, all on the world stage.”

David Green, president and executive director of SEIU 721, told City News Service that 30-plus strike lines are expected Tuesday all across the city.

Green said there would be thousands of people just at City Hall late that morning. “We are going to be throughout the entire city striking to send a message that the city’s broken the law. They need to come back to the table, they need to fill these vacancies and they need to listen to the concerns of the public.”

He said residents might experience a lack of service Tuesday, whether it’s the “folks that pick up their trash, that protect the harbor, work in parks or that secure LAX.”

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Orange County Woman and Man Charged with Running $2.2 Million Scheme that Tricked Banks into Cashing Out Victims’ Mortgages

Two Orange County residents have been charged by a federal grand jury with fraudulently obtaining more than $2 million by stealing the identities of homeowners – primarily elderly Vietnamese Americans – and duping banks into “cashing out” mortgages on those properties, the Justice Department announced today.

Thao Thi Kim Nguyen, 47, of Garden Grove, and Nghiep Chinh Nguyen, 55, of Westminster, were arraigned Monday afternoon in United States District Court in Santa Ana.

Both defendants, who have been granted bond, are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud. Thao Nguyen additionally is charged with seven counts of bank fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft. Nghiep Nguyen is charged further with two counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

At their arraignments, the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. A September 26 trial date was scheduled in this matter.

The schemers allegedly obtained a type of mortgage that allows homeowners to convert home equity into cash by borrowing against the value of the property.

According to an indictment returned on July 26, during a roughly four-month period in 2018, Thao Nguyen opened accounts in her name at two banks. The alleged purpose of these bank accounts was to collect the scheme’s ill-gotten gains.

Thao Nguyen then would visit the bank, accompanied Nghiep Nguyen and other co-schemers. Nghiep Nguyen and other co-schemers posed as the victim homeowners – whose identities they allegedly had stolen – and forged the victims’ signatures to fraudulently obtain cash-out mortgages on the victim-owned properties, which otherwise were unencumbered.

To pursue the fraud, Nghiep Nguyen allegedly used counterfeit California driver’s licenses and Social Security cards containing the victims’ names, and forged the victims’ signatures on documents, including bank and mortgage forms as well as grant deeds for the victims’ real estate properties. The victims’ names also were added to the Thao Nguyen-controlled bank accounts.

Thao Nguyen allegedly used her accounts to receive wire transfers totaling more than $2 million in fraudulently obtained cash-out mortgage proceeds. She allegedly would transfer the fraudulently obtained mortgage proceeds to other bank accounts she controlled and would make cash withdrawals totaling approximately $1 million. The remaining funds were distributed to the co-schemers.

In total, the defendants fraudulently obtained approximately $2,182,753 through the scheme, the indictment alleges.

For example, in July 2018, Thao Nguyen opened a bank account in her name. Later that month, Nghiep Nguyen and another co-schemer, accompanied by Thao Nguyen allegedly posed as two homeowners at the bank branch in Orange.

Two days later, Nghiep Nguyen allegedly forged the two victim homeowners’ signatures on a grant deed for properties in Garden Grove and Long Beach. Nghiep Nguyen and another co-schemer allegedly then used fake IDs in the victims’ names to add those names to Thao Nguyen’s bank account. While doing so Thao Nguyen told bank personnel that the victims were her parents, according to the indictment.

In August 2018, Thao Nguyen allegedly received a wire transfer of approximately $623,196 in fraudulent mortgage proceeds. She then transferred most of the ill-gotten funds to accounts she and another co-schemer controlled, according to the indictment.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted of all charges, the defendants would face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for each conspiracy and fraud charge, and a mandatory sentence of two years in federal prison for each aggravated identity theft charge.

The FBI, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, and IRS Criminal Investigation are investigating this matter. The Long Beach Police Department, the California Attorney General’s Office, and investigators with the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office provided assistance.

Assistant United States Attorney Charles E. Pell of the Santa Ana Branch Office and Special Assistant United States Attorney Gregory B. Wagner are prosecuting this case.

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Attend the 4th Annual Leimert Park Jazz Festival on August 26

The 4th Annual Leimert Park Jazz Festival will be held on Saturday, August 26, 2023 at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza (rooftop parking deck).

This free, family friendly, jazz festival honors the Leimert Park community’s legacy of African American culture, jazz, and art, and highlights the vibrancy of South LA.

The 2023 artist lineup includes 4-time Grammy Winner Stanley Clarke, Poncho Sanchez, Keyon Harrold, Gerald Clayton, and the Herbie Hancock Jazz Institute of Jazz at UCLA Alumni.

The Leimert Park Jazz Festival is executive produced by Diane Robertson in association with The World Stage.

For more information, please visit https://www.leimertparkjazzfestival.com/.

LOCATION

Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza
3650 Martin Luther King, Blvd. Jr.
Los Angeles, CA 90008

DATE

Saturday, August 26, 2023
12:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Wooten Center: Afterschool Program Returns Aug 21

The Wooten Center is looking forward to their free CollegeTrek Afterschool Program returning to the center on Mon, Aug 21. Hours will be Mon-Fri, 1-7pm, with homework assistance, private tutoring in reading and math, STEM, music, and art classes, basketball, and more available online and onsite for students in grades 3-12. Weekend activities including college tours and other field trips will also be held.

Transportation Available

Transportation from schools is returning for the first time since pre-pandemic! The fee is $30 per month, per household. Scholarships may be available for families with low income. The van pick up boundaries are Crenshaw to Normandie and Florence to El Segundo. 

Tuition-Free

CollegeTrek is tuition-free for all. The registration fee is $30/per household, per year. We will never exclude a child from the afterschool program for lack of registration fee so let us know if this is a challenge.

Click on the link above to complete the registration form. We will contact you to confirm your enrollment or feel free to call the office at (323) 756-7203 to follow up.

Students do not have to attend daily to participate in our activities. A schedule will be provided with a variety of activities to choose from.

New COVID Protocols

A reminder that weekly COVID testing is no longer required. Masks are optional for everyone, however, temperature and symptom checks will be held daily at the front door. Parents are again welcome to enter the center when dropping off and picking up students. 

Parents are invited to visit anytime and to participate via monthly family meetings, donations, volunteering, and surveys to provide feedback and recommendations. Stay in touch at www.wootencenter.org/events.

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