A Los Angeles-based self-described entrepreneur was arrested on December 20 for allegedly taking $7 million from Nicole Murphy, the ex-wife of actor Eddie Murphy. The 45-year-old man now faces 14 charges including fraud, obstructing justice, and money laundering, according to The Huffington Post.
The charges state that the entrepreneur persuaded Murphy to invest proceeds from her divorce settlement into overseas investments by first putting her assets into a trust to be used by the man. Murphy claims that after she put $11 million into the trust, the entrepreneur never invested the money; instead, he and several other defendants in the case spent the money on themselves. The allegations also claim that the man convinced Murphy to refinance some of her homes and make her home in Sacramento more glamorous to sell to Middle Eastern royal families. Instead, the entrepreneur lived in the Sacramento home and took the money from the refinancing.
The crime of fraud is punished in California under Penal Code Section 484 and its subdivisions. According to Section 484 (a), anyone "who shall fraudulently appropriate property which has been entrusted to him or her, or who shall knowingly and designedly, by any false or fraudulent representation or pretense, defraud any other person of money, labor or real or personal property, or ... obtains credit and thereby fraudulently gets or obtains possession of money, or property or obtains the labor or service of another, is guilty of theft."
Crimes of theft are punished according to the various laws they violate and the amount taken. In this case, the man faces wire and mail fraud charges, which could be punished by a maximum 20 years imprisonment each, as well as laundering and obstruction charges that can result in 10 years each.
The fraud defense attorneys in Los Angeles at the Law Offices of Daniel Kann have years of experience defending clients against fraud and theft charges in California. Our law team is devoted to protecting the rights of their clients and will work to get your charges reduced or even dismissed. Call us today at (310) 954-9356 for a free and confidential consultation on your case.
Sources: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/21/eddie-murphys-ex-wife-investment-fraud-victim_n_1162589.html; http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/cacode/PEN/3/1/13/5/s484; http://criminal-law.freeadvice.com/criminal-law/criminal-law/mail-fraud.htm
