KVTA News Briefs
Sunday December 22, 2024
In April of this year, prompted by community tips about suspicious activity at a Thousand Oaks house, The Ventura County Sheriff’s Special Crimes Unit launched an investigation.
In November, detectives served a search warrant at the residence in the 200 block of Camino Manzanas and discovered a high-end brothel providing commercial sex acts.
They ultimately arrested 35-year-old Jian Hu of Monterey Park and charged her with a felony, pimping.
She pleaded not guilty to the charge and was released on her own recognizance.
Hu is due back in court on February 19th.
Meanwhile, two women in the house who are from the San Gabriel Valley, ages 45 and 36, who were believed Chinese Nationals that were sex trafficking victims, were helped by the authorities to connect with vital support services.
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Ventura County’s unemployment rate in November was 4.9 percent, unchanged from the month before and only slightly higher than the 4.8 percent recorded in November of last year.
It is below California’s statewide average of 5.3 percent but almost a point higher than the 4.0 percent national average.
As far as jobs were concerned, Ventura County gained 1,000 new non-farm jobs month to month even though the majority of sectors lost jobs during that time.
Year-to-year, Ventura County gained 6200 non-farm jobs even though a majority of sectors showed losses.
The sectors that did well both month-to-month and year-to-year were Trade, Transportation, and Utilities, Professional and Business Services, Private Education and Health Services, and Government.
The sectors that did poorly during both time frames were Mining, Logging, Construction, Manufacturing, Information, and Financial Activities.
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The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office says they’ve arrested a 35-year-old Moorpark man for allegedly threatening a person while brandishing a firearm, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Deputies say a search of the suspect’s home in the 400 block of Bard Street turned up a pistol, a revolver, and several rounds of ammunition.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office says that the man was arrested on December 17th for the November 17th brandishing incident while in jail on another matter.
According to jail records the man bailed out of jail on December 19th and is due in court on December 31st.
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A six count federal grand jury indictment accuses two Southern California men, including one from Ventura County, with allegedly defrauding investors of more than $22 million in crypto currency through a series of digital asset project “rugpulls.”
The U-S Attorney’s Office describes “rugpulls” as a type of fraud scheme in which the creator of a nonfungible token (NFT), or other digital asset project, solicits funds from investors and then abruptly abandons the project but keeps the investors’ funds.
Gavin Mayo of Thousand Oaks and Gabriel Hay of Beverly Hills, both 23-years-old, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of stalking.
Federal prosecutors allege that when one of the project managers threatened to expose the alleged scheme he and his family were harassed and intimidated.
The allegations contained in the indictment regard several NFT projects from May of 2021 to May of 2024.
The indictment identifies the projects as Vault of Gems, Faceless, Sinful Souls, Clout Coin, Dirty Dogs, Uncovered, MoonPortal, Squiggles, and Roost Coin.
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There is a lot of gift-giving during the holiday season and the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office wants people to know about how the laws protect consumers when it comes to giving and receiving gift cards.
These consumer rights are outlined in California Civil Code section 1749.5:
Gift cards in California never expire.
Retailers must replace or refund the value of unusable gift cards.
Upon request retailers must provide cash or a check for gift card balances of $9.99 or less.
Gift cards sold in California cannot be subject to service or related fees, except for dormancy fees under very limited circumstances.
Additionally, gift card issuers may not "opt out" of the requirements of Civil Code section 1749.5.
If you experience issues using or obtaining a refund for an eligible gift card, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office encourages you to take action.
Contact the VCDA about this via email at daspecialops@ventura.org or by phone at (805) 662-1750.
