Tax preparer from Placentia pleads guilty to tax fraud

• March 23, 2023

LOS ANGELES — An Orange County tax preparer pleaded guilty Wednesday to submitting nearly 400 phony income tax returns that inflated his clients’ refunds without their knowledge, and then pocketing the difference between the true refunds and the inflated ones.

Raudel Sandoval, 48, of Placentia, pleaded guilty in Los Angeles to two federal counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent tax returns, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Sandoval, a licensed tax preparer, owns RSE Sandoval España Inc., a Downey-based tax preparation company. Sandoval admitted preparing hundreds of false federal and state returns for clients for the tax years 2015 through 2018. On these returns, he claimed false or inflated amounts of the child tax credit, business losses, short-term capital losses and other items to which the taxpayer clients were not entitled.

Sandoval falsified the tax returns with deductions and credits that his clients did not incur or had not informed him about. He also inflated the amounts of deductions and credits that his clients were entitled to claim, according to papers filed in Los Angeles federal court.

When he finished preparing a tax return, Sandoval gave his clients copies of their returns that were true and correct, but falsely told them he would file their true-and-correct copies with the Internal Revenue Service on their behalf, he admitted.

Sandoval then inflated his clients’ returns with false and fraudulent deductions and credits and filed the false returns with the IRS. The false returns showed a larger refund than on the true-and-correct copies Sandoval had given to his clients.

Sandoval then directed the inflated refunds to himself, causing more than $750,000 in losses to the IRS.

U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Garnett scheduled a Sept. 6 sentencing hearing, at which time Sandoval will face up to three years in federal prison for each count, prosecutors noted.

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​ Orange County Register 

Alexander: A historic weekend for UCLA’s Jaquez siblings

• March 23, 2023

LAS VEGAS — UCLA’s men’s basketball Bruins are back in Las Vegas for the second time in three weeks, hoping for a better ending after losing the Pac-12 tournament championship game in T-Mobile Arena. Meanwhile, the women’s basketball Bruins are also in the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16, this one in Greenville, S.C., against the defending champ and No. 1 overall seed South Carolina.

And Angela and Jaime Jaquez Sr. might be scrambling to see everything they need to see.

Their son Jaime Jr., the men’s Pac-12 Player of the Year, is here for Thursday’s appointment with Gonzaga. Their daughter, freshman Gabriela, is in South Carolina for her team’s attempt to topple a women’s basketball giant. So are mom and dad going to be trying to get from one to the other?

“I don’t have their flight itinerary, but I know they’re crazy,” Jaime said during his team’s media availability here Wednesday. “And they’re going to try to make both as best they can.

“My parents are very supportive. They’ve been that way since I was a kid. And I just really appreciate all the hard work that they’ve put in trying to make it and support all three of their kids in all their sports and all their games.”

Never before has a brother-sister duo reached the Sweet 16 for the same school. And just two days after the men reached the Sweet 16 by beating Northwestern in Sacramento, Jaime and his teammates were in the stands at Pauley Pavilion on Monday night to watch Gabriela’s team hold off Oklahoma, 82-73, in their own second-round game.

Gabriela, a 5-foot-11 freshman, averaged 6.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 17.4 minutes in 36 games for Cori Close’s women’s team, starting two games this season. She’s part of a dynamic freshman class, along with Kiki Rice, Londynn Jones, Christeen Iwuala and Lina Sontag, that should keep UCLA’s women in good stead in coming years.

Jaime Jr., a second-team All-American (17.5 points, 8.1 rebounds), is at the other end of the college athlete’s circle of life, since he and fellow seniors Tyger Campbell and David Singleton are among the rare players these days who see it through to the end. And as someone who has been through this before – playing in the Final Four as a sophomore (and there’s a score to settle with Gonzaga going back to Jalen Suggs’ game-winning shot from the logo in the national semifinal two years ago) and the Sweet 16 as a junior – Jaime’s calm under pressure might be indispensable Thursday night.

“Me and Tyger talk a lot after games about just trying to understand and realize the bigger picture and take ourselves out of our shoes and look at what we’ve really done as a group together,” Jaime said Wednesday when asked about how all that tournament experience manifests itself. “And we look back. And we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished so far. Obviously, we’re still here. We’re still playing. And we’ve got a lot more to do.

“But when we look back, we’re very proud of the effort and hard work that we put into building this program to what it is today.”

He has provided guidance and support to his younger sister and is visibly proud of the progress she’s made.

“She’s tough,” he said. “I think we play a very similar style of game. I was very happy I got to watch her in the second round. I was able to go. I know all the guys were there supporting the women’s team as well.

“I’m just very proud of the work she’s put in. It’s difficult as a freshman. But she’s taken her time there and she’s making the most of it. I’m just very happy and proud of her.”

Jaime was later asked what the best part of watching her journey has been.

“I think just being able to see firsthand her growth as a player but also as a woman as well,” he said. “This is just a big transition in everyone’s life when they go to college. I think she’s handling it great.

“Obviously they’re in the Sweet 16. But I think more than that she’s learning how to live by herself, on her own, and kind of finding her own way in life. I think that’s really cool as an older brother just to see my little sister grow up in front of my eyes.”

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Funny thing, but when Close discussed Gabriela’s play following Monday night’s second-round victory over Oklahoma, she compared it to the beginning of Jaime’s own journey.

“Gabriela has been incredible for us all year long – always ready, always working hard,” Close said. “She played every position (Monday), two through five. She guarded multiple positions. She did all these things. And I remember watching Jaime Jr. his freshman year going, ‘Man, he just makes so many winning plays that don’t show up in stat sheets as a freshman,’ and now look at what he’s grown into.

“And then look at her. And I’ve watched Marcos, (their) younger brother, and the way he plays football and basketball. So it’s the same way. I want to bottle up what their family taught them.”

One of these college careers will end in the next two weeks. The other one’s just beginning. But this weekend, no matter the outcome, they make history.

jalexander@scng.com

​ Orange County Register 

Students inspire others; theater keeps people engaged … Bravo!

• March 23, 2023

Huntington Beach student’s ‘Safety Sam’ is new safety cone mascot

Miller Ruiz, a Huntington Beach student, beat out close to 2,000 peers to name a new statewide mascot.

The Caltrans and the California Office of Traffic Safety unveiled “Safety Sam” recently as their new safety cone mascot. Miller, a student at Huntington Christian School, suggested the name in a statewide contest for students in grades K-12.

In recognition of his winning suggestion, Miller received a laptop, a $500 gift card, a $500 gift card for his teacher’s classroom, T-shirts and a visit from Safety Sam. The mascot will educate Californians on the importance of moving over a lane or slowing down when they see his orange friends and highway workers.

– Submitted by Caltrans and OTS

Westminster High School student wins national computing award

Westminster High School junior and MERITS student Rachel Fernandez won the National Center for Women & Information Technology Award for Aspirations in Computing for 2023, which is based on winner’s aptitude and aspirations in technology and computing.

Throughout her high school career, she has built an impressive resume of accolades that includes receiving a software engineering internship, designing an accessible Hepatitis B diagnostic tool, leading the WHS FIRST Robotics team CyberLions, and more.

Fernandez is a semifinalist with fellow WHS student Sophie Nguyen for the MIT THINK scholarship. THINK caters to students who have done extensive research on the background of a potential research project.

“Ever since I’ve fallen in love with STEM, it’s been my mission to build up the next generation of engineers and scientists and inspire them to advocate for the subject as I do,” Fernandez said.

– Submitted by Huntington Beach Union High School District

Girl Scout Gold winner and Dragon Kim Fellow honored at Ducks women’s event

Gabrielle DeCuir, a 2022 Gold Award Girl Scout and a junior at Placentia’s Valencia High School, represented Girl Scouts of Orange County as a community hero at the recent Anaheim Ducks Women in Sports Night at the Honda Center.

In honor of National Girls and Women in Sports Day on Feb. 1 and International Women’s Day on March 8, the Ducks celebrated trailblazers in women’s and girls’ sports with the goal of inspiring the next generation of athletes and leaders in the community. As part of Women in Sports Night, the Ducks raised awareness and funds for Girl Scouts of Orange County through the Anaheim Ducks Foundation.

Ducks co-owner Susan Samueli took part in an on-ice pregame ceremony to present the team’s Community Hero award to DeCuir for her sports and STEM-related Gold Award project, Hoops & Coders.

DeCuir, 16, completed her project as a member of the sixth fellowship cohort of the Dragon Kim Foundation, a nonprofit based in Orange County. She was also a finalist in the annual Dragon Challenge.

Along with project partner Shrika Andhe, also a Valencia High School student, DeCuir received a $5,000 grant to carry out their unique community service project, which used a curriculum they developed to introduce girls and young women, primarily in elementary and middle school, to computer science and basketball.

DeCuir and Andhe’s goal was to show the girls that they can achieve success in industries where women are historically underrepresented. They developed a 57-page workbook that was implemented at Higher Ground Youth & Family Services, a mentoring organization for underserved youth living in Anaheim, and the Boys & Girls Club of Brea-Placentia-Yorba Linda.

Each participant developed an app based on personal interests, including softball, music, art, sewing, languages, storytelling, baking, movies and many more. The project directly benefited 45 students and indirectly touched an additional 106 people.

The teens received an additional $5,000 grant at the challenge to continue their work.

– Submitted by Dan Pittman

OC Theatre Guild unveils list of awards nominees

OC Theatre Guild has announced nominees for the second annual OCTG Theatre Awards. Winners will be revealed at an awards ceremony set for April 17 at the Samueli Theater at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa.

The Chance Theater in Anaheim received 47 nominations in total for its productions “Green Day’s American Idiot” (15), “Next to Normal” (13), “Cry It Out” (7), “Chad Deity” (6) and “Little Women” (6).

The Wayward Artist Santa Ana follows with 21 nominations for “The Toxic Avenger” (14), “Actually” (4) and “Collective Rage” (3).

Costa Mesa Playhouse garnered 12 nominations for “The Whale” (11) and “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1).

Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach snagged 11 nominations for “Kim’s Convenience” (7) and “Love Among the Ruins” (4).

Maverick Theater in Fullerton has eight nominations for “Clue” (4) and “King Kong” (4).

No Square Theater in Laguna Beach received four nominations for “Footloose.” Phantom Projects Theatre Group in La Habra received two nominations for “35mm: A Musical Exhibition.” And American Coast Theater Company in Costa Mesa received one nomination for its first submission to the OCTG Awards, “The Marvelous Wonderettes.”

Twenty-four productions with a total of 289 artists were submitted for adjudication in 2022. Fourteen organizations participated, and the results were decided by 42 voters, made up of Orange County theater artists working across a variety of theater disciplines.

OC Theatre Guild launched its awards program in 2020 to celebrate excellence for productions in Orange County theater.

To purchase tickets to the awards ceremony, to submit a show for adjudication or to become a voter, go to octheatreguild.org/octg-awards.

The Bravo! section highlights achievements of our residents and groups. Send news of achievements for consideration to ocrbravo@gmail.com.

​ Orange County Register 

In Irvine, a major law enforcement response along San Diego Creek in search of missing person

• March 23, 2023

Police and other law enforcement agencies in Orange County, including heavy rescue personnel, responded in force Wednesday to the San Diego Creek near UC Irvine in response to the report of a missing person.

Loud, low-flying sheriff’s helicopters hovered over the area near the intersection of Harvard and University, which is close to the Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course, for much of the early afternoon. OC Fire Authority crews, and police and sheriff’s rescue vehicles, could be seen parked on the banks of the creek, as curious onlookers watched a crew of about a dozen rescue workers positioned in the creek’s flowing water, near an inflatable boat.

Record-breaking recent storms have swollen the normally placid creek, which usually is almost completely dry, into a muddy, fast-moving body of water that would be dangerous for anyone to enter.

Orange County fire and sheriff’s personnel on the scene at San Diego Creek in Irvine on Wwednesday afternoon amid a major law enforcement response. (Photo by Mark Evans, OC Register/SCNG)

Earlier Wednesday, there were reports of a person who went missing late Tuesday near a gym that’s at the corner of Culver and Barranca in Irvine, which also happens to be near the San Diego Creek. An Irvine police community service officer spent the better part of an hour Wednesday around 10 a.m. walking along the banks of the creek in search of the person, and showing passers-by a photo of him.

,As of late Wednesday, there was no word on whether the person that authorities were seeking was found. Additional details were not immediately provided by Irvine police.

#IRVINEPDPIO – The Irvine Police Department and the @OCFireAuthority are looking for a missing person in the San Diego Creek near Harvard and Michelson. There is a significant presence of public safety personnel in the area, and a helicopter is providing support.

— Irvine Police Department (@IrvinePolice) March 22, 2023

​ Orange County Register 

Man arrested on suspicion of shooting roommate to death inside Mission Viejo home

• March 23, 2023

A man was shot to death inside a Mission Viejo home and his roommate was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of homicide, March 21, authorities said.

Orange County sheriff’s deputies were called to the 27000 block of Ruisenor in a neighborhood of single-family homes and evacuated the home, sheriff’s officials said.

The victim, identified by officials as Noah Christian Aguilar, 22, of Mission Viejo, was found dead of a gunshot wound inside, sheriff’s spokeswoman Carrie Braun said.

The man who had been detained and later arrested was Aguilar’s roommate, 22-year-old Michael Guy Levy, Braun said.

Video from OC Hawk showed deputies stationed on the street while a man and woman exited the home, with deputies placing at least the man in handcuffs.

The firearm believed to have been used during the shooting was collected at the house, Braun said.

What led up to the shooting was not known. Where the victim was found inside the house was not disclosed.

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​ Orange County Register 

Mickey Moniak hits 2 homers, including a grand slam, in Angels’ victory

• March 23, 2023

THE GAME: Mickey Moniak hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the Angels’ 10-9 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday afternoon in Scottsdale, Ariz.

PITCHING REPORT: Left-hander Reid Detmers did not allow a run through four innings, but then he gave up three runs (two earned) on a pair of homers in the fifth inning. He was pulled after 4-1/3 and 87 pitches. Detmers has allowed five earned runs in 17-1/3 innings this spring, with 23 strikeouts and five walks. … Right-hander Jacob Webb worked 1-2/3 scoreless innings. He has not allowed a run in eight innings, with 10 strikeouts and three walks. A non-roster invitee, Webb is fighting for the final bullpen spot. … Left-hander José Quijada faced just eight batters and allowed six hits, all of them leading to runs. Four of the hits had exit velocities of more than 100 mph. Quijada pitched in his first game since taking the loss for Venezuela in a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal against Team USA.

HITTING REPORT: Moniak and Jared Walsh hit back-to-back homers in the second, and then Moniak cleared the bases in the sixth, his third homer of the spring. Moniak is 18 for 44 (.409) with an OPS of 1.185 this spring. The Angels don’t have a spot for him to start ahead of Taylor Ward, Mike Trout and Hunter Renfroe, so they still might decide he and the organization are both better if Moniak is playing every day in Triple-A, as opposed to sitting on the bench in the majors. “That wouldn’t be ideal,” Moniak said. “But it’s out of my control. I don’t get paid to make those decisions. I get paid to go out and play baseball.” … Walsh, who also had an RBI single, is 14 for 35 (.400) this spring, including 11 for 22 with two homers in his last eight games. … Anthony Rendon doubled and singled, improving to 14 for 30 (.467) with a 1.329 OPS this spring. … Luis Rengifo hit his third homer of the spring. Rengifo, who missed much of the spring while playing for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, has only 28 plate appearances with the Angels so far.

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DEFENSE REPORT: Rendon, who was playing far off the third base line, went to his right to field a grounder, but had no play at first. Rendon also made a throw in the dirt that first baseman Jake Lamb couldn’t pick during the fifth inning. … Lamb made an over-the-shoulder catch of a pop-up in shallow right field.

UP NEXT: Angels vs. Padres, Friday, 1 p.m. PT, Tempe Diablo Stadium, Bally Sports West, 830 AM

​ Orange County Register 

Judge halts newly enacted Wyoming abortion ban

• March 23, 2023

By Mead Gruver | Associated Press

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Abortion will again be legal in Wyoming — at least for now — after a judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked a ban that took effect a few days earlier.

Teton County District Court Judge Melissa Owens’ decision halts the ban amid a challenge in her court to a law that took effect Sunday. The Republican-controlled Legislature approved the law despite earlier rulings by Owens that had blocked a previous ban since shortly after it took effect last summer.

Owens put the new ban on hold after a hearing Wednesday in which abortion-rights supporters said the law harms pregnant women and their doctors. Owens suspended the ban for at least two weeks.The law prohibits abortion at all stages of pregnancy except in cases of rape or incest that’s reported to police, or to save a woman’s life.

The judge did not weigh in on another new abortion law that’s also being challenged in her court: Wyoming’s first-in-the-nation ban on abortion pills. That law, signed by Republican Gov. Mark Gordon on Friday, is not set to take effect until July 1.

Two nonprofits, two doctors and two other women have sued to block Wyoming’s broader abortion bans.

In July, Owens found that their concerns that the law would harm women and doctors and violate the state constitution could have merit. State lawmakers then wrote their new law to try to override those objections.

Owens in her July decision found that a 2012 state constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to make one’s own health care decisions could allow abortion.

The new sweeping ban asserts that abortion is not health care and the amendment therefore doesn’t apply to abortion.

Gordon expressed reservations about the new ban, even as he allowed it to take effect without his signature. He said voters should resolve the constitutionality of abortion in Wyoming instead of the Legislature addressing abortion piecemeal, year after year.

Wyoming has only one abortion provider, a women’s health clinic in Jackson that only provides medication abortions but has been forced to stop after the state’s broad ban took effect this week.

Wellspring Health Access has been planning to open a clinic in Casper that would provide surgical and medication abortions. After an arson attack prevented that clinic from opening as planned last summer, organizers hoped to open it next month.

​ Orange County Register 

FAA issues safety alert after near misses on runways

• March 23, 2023

The Federal Aviation Administration is cracking down on safety protocols, citing “six serious runway incursions” that occurred since January.

These incidents were discussed at a safety summit on March 15, a meeting that followed a “call to action” issued by the acting FAA administrator, “to ensure focus and attention on risks to the aviation system.”

“In recent months, a number of notable and high visibility events have occurred in the National Airspace System,” stated the FAA alert issued on Wednesday.

“While the overall numbers do not reflect an increase in incidents and occurrences, the potential severity of these events is concerning.”

According to the alert, six serious runway incursions have occurred since January, including an incident at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, “involving a taxiing aircraft narrowly avoiding a departing aircraft.”

The FAA also cited a landing aircraft that came within 100 feet of a departing aircraft” at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas.

Earlier this month in Massachusetts, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch called for a review of FAA flight operations and an update on investigations into three recent “troubling” incidents at Boston Logan International Airport.

On March 6, the right wing of a United Airlines plane struck the tail of another United plane, as both were set for departure. A week earlier, a JetBlue plane preparing to land had a “close call” with a Learjet aircraft.

The latter incident occurred a day after a Massachusetts man allegedly attacked a flight attendant and tried to open an emergency exit door on a United flight headed to Boston.

The FAA’s safety alert outlines specific steps it wants airlines, pilots and others to take. This includes ensuring pilots and flight attendants have the same understanding of what “sterile flight deck” means and the risks associated with extraneous communication during this time.

The FAA is also emphasizing the importance of aircraft awareness in relation to taxiways, runways and other aircraft.

This includes reviewing past safety alerts for operators around high collision risk during runway crossing, runway incursion prevention actions, and flight crew techniques and procedures to enhance taxi, pre-takeoff, and after landing safety to reduce the risk of runway incursions.

Other directives are focused on encouraging staff to identify and report emerging safety issues, reinforcing adherence to FAA processes and procedures, and ensuring safety management systems are accounting for the high rate of change and churn in the industry.

​ Orange County Register