Gustavo Reyez Gonazlez, who was diagnosed with silicosis after having worked with engineered slabs used in kitchen and bathroom countertops for nearly two decades at local shops across Southern California, won his case against several companies that manufacture artificial stone slabs. 

“I am grateful to the judge and the jury,” Wendy Torres, Gonzalez’s wife, said. 

Gonzalez, 34, received a live-saving lung transplant in 2023. He sued several manufactures of the engineered stone. 

In what is believed to be a landmark trial and verdict, the jury last month found in his favor, awarding him more than $52 million in damages.

“I’m hoping that other workers won’t have to face the same illness and possible death during this time,” Torres said. “It’s something that is killing other human beings, and hopefully it will stop, so that these workers will actually have a future with their families, and a future to live and be with their loved ones.  

“Hopefully verdicts — consumers hearing about this, and workers hearing about this – can send a message to these companies to stop selling these products,” said James Nevin, Gonzalez’s attorney, said. 

Increasing number of silicosis cases

Health experts say cutting, sawing and crushing stone slabs can lead to the exposure of silica dust that goes into the air and into a person’s lungs, causing silicosis.

And engineering stone, which sometimes can be cheaper and more durable than natural stone, can contain a much higher percentage of silica. 

As the NBC4 I-Team and Telemundo 52 Investiga have been following the increasing number of silicosis cases stemming from the stone cutting industry, there are now calls to ban some popular products a lot of people have in their kitchens and baths.

A complete ban of artificial stone is not something on the table right now, according to local lawmakers the I-Team and Telemundo 52 Investiga have spoken with.

While there are new temporary standards to more safely work with engineered products, a proposal intended to strengthen regulations and license manufactures and sellers of artificial stone in the state was pulled by the author in July.

“My final meeting with state agencies and the administration, there was a lot of pushback because of the cost of this system,” said Luz Rivas, State Assemblymember for 43rd District. 

Cal Osha said new standards on how to work with the engineered stone slabs are expected to be made permanent by the end of the year. 

Majority of U.S. silicosis cases are from LA County

As of Sep. 3, 2024, there were 178 confirmed cases of silicosis related to engineered stone in California with at least 13 deaths and 19 lung transplants, according to the state’s Department of Public Health. 105 of the total cases are in Los Angeles County. 

Health experts say silicosis mostly affects Latino men who work in fabrication shops.

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What happens when a country bans engineered slabs?

So far, only one country in the world has banned the use of artificial stone slabs.

“Australia’s banned it. The U.S. has got to do it, too,” said Jeremy Buckingham, a member of parliament from New South Wales, Australia, explaining that the new ban of engineered stone in Australia went into effect this summer. 

“The expectation is that we could lose tens of thousands of people to silicosis over the next decades,” said Buckingham, who was a stonemason before entering politics. “I’m one of those people. I have to go and have a lung screening every year because of the high-risk exposure I experienced.”

The Australian lawmaker said the legislation followed a rise in popularity of the manufactured stone as an inexpensive alternative. Subsequently, there was a rise in silicosis cases in the country.

“The numbers of people getting sick and dying were horrendous,” he said. 

Buckingham admitted that there remains pushback from manufacturers of the engineered products.

“They remained very concerned about the ongoing liability to register this material and then have it ultimately removed by licensed professionals in a safe way,” Buckingham explained. 

He said in Australia, mostly immigrant workers were the most impacted as well. 

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“After a thorough investigation, LAFD and the ATF officials determined that the fire was deliberately set,” Assistant Chief Blake Chow said Tuesday. “Investigators have developed a strong lead on a suspect and are hopeful that the arrest will be made soon.”

The fire was first reported around 3:45 a.m. last Friday at an unfinished building between Bunker Hill Avenue and New Depot Street adjacent to the lanes of the 110 Freeway.

Intense flames from the burning unfinished building, which was mostly exposed wooden framing on a concrete base, damaged dozens of units in three other apartment buildings that faced the construction site.

Fifty one residents were displaced from their apartments as a result of the fire, and at least one of the adjacent buildings was closed and red tagged because of the damage, city officials said.

Two residents, including a 90-year-old man, were taken to a hospital in critical condition, and four firefighters were injured.

Chow said three displaced residents were later the victims of a burglaries that took place in the damaged and closed apartment buildings.

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Some neighbors said the apartment complex has been under construction for a couple of years and has caught on fire in the past, and others complained that there was a homeless encampment on the property of the unfinished building.

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The discovery of the Beverly Hills watch followed an investigation into another watch theft that happened in Miami in April, when a man was robbed at gunpoint and his watch, a different Patek Philippe model worth $50,000, was stolen.

Detectives from the Miami Police Department said they identified 25-year-old Yeison Jose Bolivar as the man who committed the April robbery, and on Sept. 5 he and two other men were arrested.

Police said they found the Beverly Hills watch and a stolen rifle and a stolen handgun.

Bolivar made an initial appearance in court last week and was ordered held without bail. He’s expected to return to court later this month to enter pleas to the local charge of robbery with a firearm.

The revelation that the watch stolen in Beverly Hills surfaced in Miami was no surprise to Miami area private investigator David Bolton, who has unique expertise investigating similar thefts.

“I know that a lot of watches are stolen in New York and California and up here because you don’t want to be showing the product in the same location as you’re stealing it,” he said.

Bolton said thieves who work together to spot, steal, and sell valuable watches often work in loosely organized teams, that troll social media posts and photos for clues to the locations and owners of high-dollar items.

“Well, I think these are organized, disorganized groups. They are groups of people that they know that they can work with. They come together as needed to work together,” he said.

The Beverly Hills Patek Philippe, that Bolton said could be worth even more than $1 million, was snatched from the wrist of a British citizen who was dining at a cafe at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Aug. 7.

An affidavit filed in federal court by a U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent said two other men suspected of carrying out the robbery had been given photos that showed the exact watch they were dispatched to steal.

“These are the 2 watches we are looking for, they are valued at 1.3 million dollars,” the men were told, according to the court papers.

The men charged with the Beverly Hills robbery, Jamer Mauricio Sepulveda Salazar and Jesus Eduardo Padron Rojas, were caught by police in Riverside, California after their car was identified by officers in Beverly Hills.

During a search of a short-term rental home allegedly used by the men police said they also found a Glock handgun once owned by ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner, who died after a killing spree in 2013.

LAPD Chief Dominic Choi said last month the gun was never one that was issued to Dorner by the Department, but it was still not clear how a gun once registered to Dorner ended up with the accused watch thieves.

“Honestly the hardest part is we are blind. I’ve been calling around all afternoon, trying to find out if my house is still there,” Danny Jacob, who recently evacuated from his home, said.  

The state’s Department of Insurance said one thing that should not be a worry for homeowners is the possible loss of their insurance.  

State law requires a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies canceling or non-renewing residential insurance policies in certain neighborhoods after the governor has issued a state of emergency.    

As soon as Cal Fire establishes a perimeter at a fire site, the Department of Insurance will “put a lock in place,” according to insurance broker Karl Susman    

“The insurance carriers will not be able to non-renew properties that are in that area for at least a year,” Susman said.  

Once a state of emergency is declared, the one-year protection applies to residential policyholders who suffer less than a total loss or even no loss at all in the affected area.   

Homeowners with total loss also have additional protections under the law, according to the Department of Insurance. 

Home insurance policies could cover other costs, like overnight stays when displaced from homes – but it all depends on one’s insurance policy.

“It depends on if the evacuation order is mandatory or not. There are a lot of factors that are in there,” Susman explained. “It’s always a good idea, if you’re in the position of having to evacuate, to contact your insurance carrier and find out what coverage you might be eligible to get for that.”

Another important thing for homeowners need to remember, according to the insurance broker, is that carriers are not able to make changes to the policy when there’s an active fire.

“You can’t call them and say, ‘You know what? I think I should have more coverage today.’ That’s not going to happen,” Susman said. “The best thing that you can do is (to) get a copy of your policy. You can usually call your agent or broker or you can call the insurance carrier directly.”

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The insurance broker also urged people to ask their broker straight-forward questions such as what the policy may cover under a mandatory evacuation as every policy has different language when it comes to evacuation rules.    

New regulations, as the I-Team reported earlier in the summer, would mandate insurance companies to offer policies in certain high risk and underserved communities.     

The rules are expected to go into effect later this year and would apply to areas of distress, perhaps where wildfires are now, according to Susman, who added the premium, which will reflect that risk potential, could increase in the future but with the possibility of having more options. 

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Gerardo Contreras, 49, was initially charged with murder for the attack on Aug. 28, 2021, which police and prosecutors said was captured by a security camera on a building nearby, leaving little doubt about what happened.

The LA County District Attorney’s Office agreed last month to drop the murder charge in exchange for Contreras’ no contest pleas to voluntary manslaughter and the use of a flammable or caustic substance in an assault. A no contest plea has the same legal effect as a guilty plea in criminal court.

Elizabeth was 54 years old, and her family requested she not be more specifically identified because several young relatives did not know the circumstances of her death.

LA Superior Court Judge Gregory A. Dohi addressed the family members who attended Monday’s hearing in Van Nuys.

“I did the preliminary hearing. I saw the video,” Dohi said of the recording of the crime. “I hope that you have some degree of closure, if it’s at all possible.”

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Dohi imposed a sentence of 11 years for the manslaughter charge and one additional year for the use of a flammable substance. Contreras was not given credit for the two years he spent in jail prior to the no contest plea.

Contreras’ defense lawyer, Jason Rubel from the Alternate Public Defender, did not immediately return a call for comment on the resolution of the case and the sentence.

According to police, Contreras and Elizabeth, who were both considered homeless, were arguing while driving north of Vineland Avenue near the Burbank Airport on the afternoon of the attack, and at some point he poured the liquid on her.

Their car stopped in the center left turn lane, and the fire started while the two were standing near the trunk of the car.

Elizabeth fell into traffic lanes before running across the road and collapsing on a lawn in front of a shopping center.

Drivers stopped and tried to help her.

She died several days later on Sep. 1 as the result of thermal burns, according to the LA County Medical Examiner.

Her death was among the 91 deaths in 2021 in which people experiencing homelessness were murdered, according to LAPD data.

Those deaths represented nearly 23% of the city’s murders that year, which officials said was a staggering number, considering those described as homeless represented less than 1% of the overall population.

The percentage of murders of people considered homeless rose to around 24% in 2022 before dropping to around 17% in 2023, the data shows.

The LAPD has not shared complete data on murders or other crimes in 2024 as it changes its record keeping systems to produce more detailed statistical reports compatible with the FBI’s new crime data standards.

Tires

Drivers are recommended to check the pressure of their tires as hot temperatures can cause the air in the tires to expand. Experts urge people to find the vehicle’s manufactured recommendation in the owner’s manual.

Also as extreme weather can lead to wear and tear, AAA recommends inspecting all four tires by putting a quarter into the grooves to check the tire tread. If you see the top of George Washington’s head, it’s time for new tires.

Air conditioner

If there’s a noticeable decrease in the cool air coming out, experts recommend getting the AC checked.

The cabin filter that cleans the air and helps it flow through the system may deserve a second look during a heat wave.

Car fluids and battery

Fluids like the coolant are essential for helping prevent the car engine from overheating.

Drivers should also check engine oil as well as brake, transmission and power steering fluids to make sure they are all at the correct levels, according to AAA. The evaluations should be done by professionals.

Some auto parts stores offer battery checks for free.

Brakes

If brakes are making a grinding sound or creating a vibration when applying the brakes, a brake inspection should be done at an auto repair show, said AAA.

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Other tips to protect your car

• Park in a shaded area
• Use a sunshade
• Keep a well-stocked emergency kit, which should include drinking water, flashlight with fresh batteries, paper towels and snacks, in the car.

Reyes is caring for her 88-year-old mother, and her family needed more space. 

“I don’t have to worry about the stairs in her room, whether she falls or she doesn’t,” said Reyes.

But her mother is now sleeping in the family’s living room because Next Generation Builders ditched the job. 

Reyes paid the company $84,000 — just $20,000 short of the total contracted amount — and she got a skeleton of a home.

She said workers framed the unit, poured the concrete floor, installed rough plumbing and then never came back. She said the workers told her Next Generation Builders stopped paying them. 

“It was my family’s savings. My account is zero. I have nothing. They took all of it,” said Reyes.

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Twenty miles away in East Los Angeles, there’s a similar story.

Lily Rodriguez paid Next Generation Builders $200,000 — nearly the entire price of her project — for a two-story ADU. But workers abandoned the project long before it was complete. 

“I think these people are in it for money. They’re doing it just to see how far they can go and how many people they can get money from,” said Rodriguez. 

The I-Team talked to other homeowners throughout Southern California who are also out thousands of dollars. 

We tracked down two people tied to the company: Angelina Gorbaseva, CEO and a 2018 graduate of the University of Southern California, according to her Linkedin page; and Esteban Araya, who also once claimed to be the CEO on social media, but his recent posts show him traveling the world. 

Gorbaseva didn’t return our phone calls and texts.

In a phone call with Araya, he told us to “be careful of putting out wrong information.” Later, in a text message, he accused us of defamation. 

The company’s website is now down although a new one has popped up that links back to the company’s Instagram page. 

“What was supposed to be a great experience is definitely not a great experience. It’s been a nightmare. Very stressful,” said Rodriguez. 

The I-Team also had questions for the Contractors State License Board.

Many homeowners we talked to had filed complaints with the board although none of them showed up on the board’s website.

After the I-Team asked the board about this, it posted the complaints. It also suspended the company’s license because its bond has expired. 

But those actions by the board are too late to help many homeowners. They’re now trying to scrape together money to finish their projects. 

“I’m going to have to use my credit cards. There’s no other way. Those people took my savings,” said Reyes. 

Here are tips for hiring a contractor

• Check the contractors license online.

• The contractor is only allowed to collect upfront either $1,000 or 10% of the cost of the project, whichever is less.
• Your payments should not exceed the cost of the materials used and the work performed. 

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The men were stopped after a short pursuit along Coldwater Canyon Avenue south of Mulholland Drive, and investigators told NBCLA items believed to have been stolen from the home were found inside an Audi sedan the pair was driving.

The LAPD has been increasing patrols and focusing investigative efforts on residential burglary cases, which Department data shows have been on the rise.

Crime reports filed over the last four years show the number of burglaries in homes and apartments rose by nearly 40% from 5,173 in 2020 to 7,219 in 2023, according to the data.

Residential burglaries continued to rise in 2024, according to Chief Dominic Choi, but at a much lower rate, around 4%, as of August.

The overall burglary rate, which includes business and commercial burglaries, began to drop at the end of August, the LAPD said.

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The nature of the investigation that led to Wednesday’s detainments were not immediately available.

The operation involved officers and detectives from other law enforcement agencies, officials said.

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Defense attorneys for Dr. Salvador Plasencia and Jasveen Sangha signed a joint stipulation with federal prosecutors filed Tuesday that proposes to postpone jury trials until March 4, 2025.

Both had initially been set to face trial in October.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles announced charges against Plasencia, Sangha and three others August 15, accusing all 5 of playing a role in providing ketamine in the months and weeks leading up to Perry’s death last October from an accidental ketamine overdose.

Plascenia was indicted on one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, seven counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of altering and falsifying documents or records related to the federal investigation.

Sangha faces one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute ketamine, and five counts of distribution of ketamine.

Both have pleaded not guilty.

The request to delay the trial cited the voluminous amount of evidence that could be introduced at trial, including, “materials relating to the execution of federal search warrants, additional laboratory analysis of drugs, victim information, interview reports and recordings, expert reports, cellphone extractions and related reports, among other materials.”

Sangha was originally indicted in April then faced additional charges when a superseding indictment was unsealed in August that also named Plasencia.

Three others have agreed to plead guilty to related charges, including Perry’s long time live-in personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s friend Erik Fleming, and Dr. Mark Chavez, a physician in San Diego accused of supplying ketamine to Dr. Plasencia.

Chavez made an initial appearance in court last week and is expected to enter a guilty plea in the coming weeks.

Perry was 54 when he was found unresponsive in the swimming pool at his home in the Pacific Palisades area and was pronounced dead by paramedics.

The LA County Medical Examiner concluded Perry’s death on Oct. 28, 2023 was the result of the acute effects of the drug ketamine and listed contributing factors of drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid use disorder.

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Judge Sam Ohta said he carefully evaluated a variety of issues raised by the defense, held more than a year of pretrial hearings and considered higher court opinions on matters related to police uses of force before reaching the conclusion that the grand jury indictment brought against Matthew Concannon and Anthony Chavez was lawful and valid.

“For the foregoing reasons, the motions are denied,” Ohta said, after reading his 36-page decision into the court record.

Ohta invited the defense attorneys to appeal the decision, and attorneys for both indicated they planned to appeal immediately.

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Mitchell’s mother Sherlyn was in court to hear the decision, along with a number of supporters and members of Black Lives Matter, who’ve spotlighted the case as an example of injustice for years.

“The fact that in this case, it was clear that they did so many things wrong leading up to it, which was ultimately what led to them killing Christopher Deandre Mitchell, it’s incredibly important that we have cases like this that move forward,” Sheila Bates, an organizer with Black Lives Matter, said outside court following Friday’s hearing.

Concannon and former officer Chavez were indicted by a grand jury in March 2023.

The case was presented by LA County District Attorney’s Office special prosecutor Lawrence Middleton, who was hired by DA George Gascón to re-examine several police shooting cases that former DA Jackie Lacey had ruled lawful, including Mitchell’s death.

The officers shot Mitchell, who was seated in the driver’s seat of a suspected stolen car, had what appeared to be a gun on the floor of the car between his legs. The gun was an air rifle.

“Christopher was the best part of me. He was my everything,” his mother, Sherlyn Haynes, told the I-Team in 2019 when she said she hoped the officers would face criminal charges.

The DA’s office under Lacey concluded in 2019 that the shooting was lawful and wrote in a case-closing memo “although the weapon was later determined to be an air rifle, the officers’ belief that the weapon was a firearm was reasonable under the circumstances.”

Mitchell’s shooting was one of four cases specifically listed by Gascón for potential re-examination while he was campaigning for office, and Gascón wrote in a campaign statement that he was troubled by the fact neither officer reported seeing a weapon before the shooting began, and one officer switched off his flashlight before firing into the car.

“These facts raise multiple questions as to the objective reasonableness of their perceptions of an imminent threat and their corresponding decision to use deadly force,” he wrote.

Middleton, a defense attorney and former federal prosecutor known for convicting the LAPD officers responsible for the Rodney King beating, said he was unable to comment on the judge’s decision or the significance of the ruling.

The Mitchell case is the only prosecution Middleton has initiated since he was appointed as a special prosecutor by Gascón in 2021.

In their motions to dismiss the defense lawyers focused, in part, on Middleton’s introduction of the concept of “officer created jeopardy” in his presentation of evidence to the grand jury, or the idea that the officers’ pre-shooting conduct could weigh on the lawfulness of the use of deadly force.

The grand jury was presented with information that the officers rushed to confront Mitchell, rather than requesting assistance, failed to activate red and blue lights or spotlights, switched off a flashlight just before shooting, and that neither officer called out that they’d seen a gun before firing, according to the judge’s decision.

Concannon and Chavez argued that was improper, because the change in California law governing the use of lethal force that allowed the consideration of events prior to the shooting itself, didn’t go into effect until 2020, more than a year after Mitchell was killed.

Middleton referenced officer created jeopardy 4 times in his presentation to the grand jury, and called an expert witness to testify about it, according to Ohta’s ruling, which found the discussion of ‘OCJ’ did not invalidate the grand jury’s decision to indict.

The next pretrial hearing was set for October 3.

In a call placed to 911, you can hear her supervisor say, “I can’t get a blood pressure on her.”

Nursing Supervisor Karen Serna used her cell phone to record what was happening, telling the 911 operator she thought it was a seizure.

But it wasn’t just Nurse Serna who was present.

“There were two nurses, one medical assistant and two doctors, all City of Hope employees,” said Keith More, Andrea Morris’ attorney

One of those doctors later said under oath he was “not qualified to perform CPR.”

“They just didn’t react, and to me it’s the biggest mystery of the whole thing,” said Pam Bertino, Morris’ sister and now her conservator, as well. “Why would a medical professional that’s trained in CPR not react? It’s just really scary,.”

In a statement it the I-Team, City of Hope said “staff believed that Ms. Morris was having a seizure and began to record (her) while continuing to attend to her, believing that the video would help first responders evaluate and treat her once they arrived.”

According to court testimony, that video was never shared with first responders, and listening to the 911 call confirms no one performed CPR until more than 7 minutes later when her friend and fellow nurse Alma Harris saw what was happening and began chest compressions.

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City of Hope maintains, “Our staff reacted immediately, appropriately, and admirably to Ms. Morris’s unexpected medical event. They quickly alerted emergency personnel, and closely monitored and reported Ms. Morris’s condition. CPR was administered as soon as it was clinically appropriate.”

Morris was left quadriplegic as a result of the lack of oxygen to her brain. She now lives at home with her parents, both in their late 80s. Her family says they had to sell her home and liquidate her 401k to cover her medical expenses.

Even so, they say they are now facing a lien of more than $1 million from the recovery center where Morris had been receiving her care. 

All of this is, Morris’ family says, because her workers’ comp case was denied by City of Hope. 

“City of Hope’s position appears to be, of course we’re sympathetic, this is tragic, but if we paid every claim based on sympathy, rates would go to the roof. And the fact is, they have to prove that the injury relates to or rises out of the job, or it’s just not paying,” explained legal analyst Royal Oakes.

The family appealed the denial, and after 6 days of trial spread out over 18 weeks, the case is now in the hands of the judge.

Morris’ attorneys point to case law and precedence stating they must prove only a 1% link between her sudden cardiac arrest and her job. And they point out, she was working during the first wave of the Covid pandemic. 

“It’s very difficult to overcome that low one percent threshold,” said Oakes. “Front line workers were dying and being injured in droves during Covid. It was recognized as a very stressful job. And as a result, stress alone can justify paying a comp claim.”

“There was limited PPE equipment, limited masks, and she had a lot of anxiety a lot of stress about it,” explained Bertino. 

Morris’ attorney points to City of Hope’s posted job description before Covid which states: “Employee will work under stressful conditions.”

“There was a blockbuster element to this case,” said Oakes.

That surprising development came on day 5 of the 6-day trial concerning Nursing Supervisor Karen Serna and her own workers’ compensation claim, which was filed the same day as Morris’ sudden cardiac arrest.  

Morris’ family was stunned to learn that the claims adjuster, as noted in the judge’s trial summary, “didn’t have the names of the witnesses at the time she issued the denial,” and “there was no reconsideration of the denial after the names of the witnesses was received,” meaning she did not interview anyone present on May 14, 2020 before denying Morris’ claim.

The same adjuster did award a workers’ comp claim to Nursing Supervisor Serna, who recorded Morris’ near-death medical emergency. 

According to a now deleted LinkedIn profile, Serna changed jobs at City of Hope, moving from nursing supervisor at the Cancer Infusion Center in Upland, to nursing manager at City of Hope in Orange County.

Attorneys for City of Hope have filed a motion to have the claims adjuster’s testimony thrown out.

“When you look back and see how the adjuster behaved, how the decision was made, serious questions are being raised,” explained Oakes. “And that’s why the judge is going to have to sort through all of these questions and come to a conclusion as to whether or not this person who is now quadriplegic is in fact entitled to workers’ compensation money.”

It’s now been more than four years since Andrea Morris’ life changed forever. She requires round-the-clock care, and her sons in their 20s must also assist with caregiving.

For now, her physical and speech therapy are on hold. Her family says they simply cannot afford it.

“City of Hope has not done anything from a medical perspective,” said Bertino. “They have not helped us out in any way shape or form.”

In its statement to the I-Team, City of Hope reiterated, “Our hearts go out to her and her family. Ms. Morris is a valued colleague and friend to the staff at the City of Hope facility where she worked and who responded to her medical event. Our staff feels a deep sense of empathy and compassion for her and her situation.”

The judge is expected to reach her decision in this appeal soon. But that won’t mark the conclusion. Both sides will have the opportunity to appeal.

In the meantime, a medical malpractice lawsuit is on hold until there’s a resolution in the workers’ comp case.

In a statement, City of Hope wrote:

“We are very saddened by the medical event that Ms. Morris suffered in 2020, and our hearts go out to her and her family. Ms. Morris is a valued colleague and friend to the staff at the City of Hope facility where she worked and who responded to her medical event. Our team feels a deep sense of empathy and compassion for her and her situation. Our staff reacted immediately, appropriately, and admirably to Ms. Morris’s unexpected medical event. They quickly alerted emergency personnel, and closely monitored and reported Ms. Morris’s condition. CPR was administered as soon as it was clinically appropriate. Our staff also provided oxygen and employed a defibrillator. We are grateful for how they responded under these difficult circumstances.

Regarding the timing of providing CPR: CPR was administered as soon as it was clinically appropriate. Based on the staff’s assessment, Ms. Morris’s symptoms appeared to point to other possible medical conditions where immediately providing CPR would not have been the right clinical response, and in fact could have caused harm. Once our staff could not find a pulse, they began CPR and followed instructions from the 911 dispatcher. Regarding a member of the medical team recording part of Ms. Morris’s medical event: The staff believed that Ms. Morris was having a seizure and began to record Ms. Morris while continuing to attend to her, believing that the video would help first responders evaluate and treat her once they arrived.

Regarding the care available at City of Hope facilities: As one of the leading cancer research and treatment organizations in the country, the health and wellbeing of our patients and employees is our top priority. Every one of our care sites is prepared to provide patients with high quality medical care, and we remain committed to maintaining a safe work environment for our staff and clinical teams. We have the processes and expertise in place to respond to unexpected situations, including at our clinics that do not have emergency rooms.

Regarding City of Hope’s position on Ms. Morris’s workers’ compensation claim: While we empathize deeply with Ms. Morris and her family in light of Ms. Morris’s ongoing medical support needs, we do not believe that Ms. Morris’s medical event was caused by her employment with City of Hope.”

Now that stretch of Hollywood Boulevard and Gower Avenue, and another large homeless encampment down the street at Hollywood Boulevard and Wilton Avenue, is completely free of tents.

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“I don’t think it’s a coincidence. I think that they [the city of LA] probably did it because they knew all the eyes would be on this area,” says Levi Freeman, a realtor and Hollywood resident.

Freeman and his neighbors had been pleading with Mayor Karen Bass’ office and with their City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez to remove the encampments because they brought drug dealing, trash, and fires to the residential area, which is full of apartments and new condos.

“It really was horrible to be ignored again and again when we’re crying out about safety. Most of my calls and emails to our councilman were not answered,”  Freeman told the I-Team.

And then, three days before the city of LA closed off Hollywood Boulevard to thousands of families and cyclists for the bicycling event called “CicLAvia,” the tents were removed, including the encampment at Hollywood Boulevard and Wilton Avenue.

When the I-Team asked Councilman Soto-Martinez if the encampment was removed because of CicLAvia, he said, “We don’t know what happened to that encampment.”

But LAPD officers told the I-Team what happened: They say the councilman’s office requested a clean-up of the Hollywood Boulevard and Wilton Avenue encampment, which took place two days before CicLAvia. 

And, the officers said they were allowed to tell the homeless there they could no longer pitch tents during the day in accordance with an LA ordinance.

But Councilman Soto-Martinez insisted to NBC4, “We don’t know what happened to those folks.” 

Those LAPD officers say some of the homeless moved into an abandoned house around the corner on Wilton Avenue, until police ordered them to leave.

Soto-Martinez said about 5,000 of the unhoused moved into a new transitional housing project in East Hollywood.

And down the street, that large encampment at Hollywood Boulevard and Gower Avenue was also dismantled the week before CicLAvia, as part of Mayor Karen Bass’ “Inside Safe” program.

Residents of the area tell the I-Team they hope the changes are permanent.

“Our sidewalks have become toilets and drug dens for the homeless,” says Hollywood resident Keith Johnson. “Businesses and community members like me are just pleased the encampments are gone.”

Other residents like Levi Freeman say they’ll continue to be speak out, even protest, if the tents return to their neighborhood.

“Everyone wants the same things. We want safety,” Freeman told NBC4.

“The effects of crime tourism are being felt very acutely here in Southern California,” said U.S. Attorney E. Martin Estrada. “This group not just facilitated crime tourism, but in many cases, actively directed it.”

An indictment made public Wednesday morning accused the group of taking part in a variety of illegal enterprises as far back as 2018 and continuing through 2024, and included allegations of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, wire fraud, and money laundering.

Estrada said the leaders and other participants operated a rental car business in the San Fernando Valley called, “Driver Power Rentals,” which, in reality, was a front for running teams of tourist thieves from South America, primarily Chile, who were dispatched to specific areas and businesses to carry out the thefts.

The two leaders, identified by Estrada as Juan Carlos Thola and Ana Maria Arriagada, could each face more than 200 years in prison if they’re convicted.

“Thola has been running, in essence, the Hertz rental car business for thieves,” said Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko, who said his office had filed charges against more than 130 suspected tourist burglars since 2018.

“Today, however, thanks to our federal partners, a behind-the-scenes mastermind who promoted and provided foreign nationals to commit those crimes, has been arrested and charged,” he said.

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According to the indictment Thola and Arriagada would rent luxury cars to thieves for around $500 per week, and required would-be burglars to obtain false identity documents.

Stolen merchandise was shipped to the ringleaders at a FedEx store in Sherman Oaks, where the organizers allegedly retrieved the packages and ‘fenced’ the goods, with a percentage of the proceeds paid back to the thieves, the indictment said.

The leaders also told the thieves to use stolen credit and debit cards as quickly as possible, “to max out the stolen credit and debit cards by purchasing electronics, gift cards, designer purses, other high-end luxury goods, or other items before the stolen cards could be frozen or cancelled.”

These types of tourist burglary rings are suspected in a series of recent home burglaries in the San Fernando Valley and West Los Angeles, other law enforcement officials have said, based on specific tactics used by the thieves and other evidence.

Earlier this year the LAPD announced it was forming a South American Theft Group task force to focus on these groups and the methods they use to resell stolen goods.

Local law enforcement agencies have complained for years that the easy availability of tourist visas in certain countries in Central and South America was being abused by organized criminal groups, and urged federal lawmakers to restrict visits or require criminal background checks before issuing the visas.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, who’s agency participated in the federal task force that conducted the investigation that led to these charges, said the application for an “ESTA” tourist visa cost only $22 and could be completed online.

Crime data published by the LAPD shows there’s been a steady increase in residential burglaries in LA in recent years, although the number of break-ins is still lower than the residential burglary rates in the mid-2010s.

Jennie Feria, the chief deputy director of the county’s Department of Children and Family Services, tells the I-Team calls that once would end when it was determined there wasn’t a need for a child abuse or neglect investigation, now stay open.  

“We will go ahead and ask questions, screen it and if there is no concern for abuse or neglect, we will definitely connect them to the services through the Hotline to Helpline program,” Feria said.   

Hotline to Helpline started in 2018 and continues to expand its reach.  

Data obtained by the I-Team from the department shows an increase in these transfers, meaning calls that do not meet the standards for child abuse and neglect but do qualify for services in the community.   

More than 3,141 calls qualified for Helpline from January to May 2024, with 1,228 of families accepting services, according to the data obtained from the department.  

“An example could be that a child shows up to school hungry, and it may be impacting their education, and the teacher calls in because they’re a little bit concerned, and maybe mom’s working three jobs trying to put food on the table,” Feria said.  

Para Los Niños is an organization that has taken calls transferred from the department under the Hotline to Helpline program.

“It could be very, very simple as like, ‘We need concrete supports,’” said Jimmy Urizar, director of family services for PLN. “‘Can you help me find a place to help me pay for my utility bill? Can you help me with getting diapers?’ Sometimes it may be, ‘Can you help me find housing? Can you help me pay for rent,’” Urizar said.   

According to DCFS, families seeking support or resources should call 211 to be connected with help in their communities. 

Suspicions of abuse or neglect may be reported 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to the county’s child protection hotline at 800-540-4000.

The NBC4 I-Team and Telemundo 52 Investiga have been looking into the increasing number of silicosis cases in California. Silicosis is a lung disease affecting stone-cutting workers working with engineered or artificial stone.

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‘Emerging health concern.' Potentially deadly lung disease linked to engineered countertops

Cesar Gonzalez says he felt like the floor was being pulled from under him last December when he was diagnosed with silicosis.

“To be honest, I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry,” he said.

According to doctors, silicosis is caused by inhaling silica dust from working with artificial stone used in kitchen and bathroom countertops.

“You feel like you’re trapped in your own body,” Gonzalez said of his condition.

Cesar says he started working at a shop cutting engineered stone when he was 18. At 36, he is now connected to an oxygen tank and waiting for a lung transplant, while also trying to get worker’s compensation from his employer.

But when he tried to contact his employer, he said neither he nor his attorney could get an answer about coverage.

“We believe that there is no worker’s compensation insurance coverage, and as such, we will probably have to join a state agency to cover worker’s compensation benefits,” Gary Rodich, of Rodich Law, said.

Worker’s compensation insurance covers employee expenses resulting from accidents and illnesses caused in their places of employment. But Rodich has discovered some employers in the stone-cutting industry aren’t keeping up with their coverage, which he says is illegal. And, in other cases, the silicosis diagnosis is denied from coverage.

“We’ve got several of these cases, almost all of them have been denied by the worker’s compensation insurance carrier,” Rodich added.

These types of cases have now gotten the attention of California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.

“So we first noticed that there was some delays in granting worker’s comp rights to some of the silicosis patients through your reporting, actually,” Lara said.

Lara tells us our reporting prompted him to write a letter to the Worker’s Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau requesting a detailed study on silicosis claims across the state.

He wants answers to questions like the number of silicosis cases filed in the past 10 years and the average medical costs related to these claims. He says all employers in the state must offer some form of worker’s compensation coverage.

“Worker’s comp in California is critical to protect our workers. Everybody can access worker’s comp. Even our undocumented community is something we’re very proud of because we know that we keep all our workers healthy, it contributes to their own economic wellbeing, but it contributes to the overall wellbeing of our economy here in California,” Lara said.

The NBC4 I-Team reached out to Cesar’s most recent employer in North Hollywood, listed on a legal claim provided to us by his attorney, requesting information about worker’s compensation coverage. Despite several attempts, neither our partners at Telemundo 52 Investiga or the I-Team received a response.

We also searched on the state’s workers compensation insurance rating bureau webpage, where anyone can see if an employer has workers comp insurance. No information about the business came up.

Rodich says he wants more to be done on the state level – beyond the proposed study.

We have been tracking cases of silicosis related to engineered stone in California and more continue to be identified. As of Aug. 15, the state’s department of public health tells the I-Team there are 176 of these types of cases in the state. Sixty percent are Los Angeles County residents, according to our analysis of the data.

Year to date in 2024 LAPD Chief Dominic Choi said this week the number of residential burglaries rose by at least 4 percent compared with this time last year.

“Every family deserves to feel safe in their homes and in their communities,” Mayor Karen Bass said Friday in a news release addressing the recent series of home burglaries in the San Fernando Valley.

“I’ve directed urgent action in relation to recent incidents in the Valley,” she said.

Arrest data from the LAPD shows that in the same four-year period, from Jan. 1, 2020 through Dec, 31, 2023, relatively few people were booked on suspicion of residential burglary.

There were 104 arrests for residential burglary in 2020, 187 in 2021, 146 in 2022, and 172 in 2023 — or if compared with the number of crime reports, the arrests were made in less than 3% of the reported crimes.

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In July a series of home burglaries took place in Encino, Tazana, and Sherman Oaks, and authorities told the I-Team they suspected several different groups of thieves had been working the neighborhoods.

The LAPD said it increased the number of patrols in the area, met with residents, and assigned detectives from specialized units to track-down the burglars.

Statistical crime report data was not available for 2024 because the LAPD is upgrading its reporting systems. Department officials said this week they expected public access to the data would be restored in the next few months.

Teran has been a member of DA George Gascón’s leadership team and was in charge of the DA’s Office Ethics and Integrity Unit when the case was filed earlier this year.

The California Department of Justice initially filed 11 charges against Teran, accusing her of copying or using computer data without authorization.

The case centers on allegations that Teran, while previously employed at the LA County Sheriff’s Department, accessed personnel files that contained records of misconduct by deputies — information that has special legal protection in California to shield it from public discovery — then improperly delivered some of those files years later to the District Attorney’s Office, which maintains an index of law enforcement officers with problematic histories.

“I respect the Court’s decision, but I am disappointed with the ruling,” Teran’s defense attorney Jim Spertus said Tuesday.

Spertus argued during the preliminary hearing that even if some of the documents in question could be found inside the protected personnel files of deputies, the same information had already been made public in nearly identical court filings. Spertus told Judge Sam Ohta those deputies waived some of their special confidentiality as police officers when they took action in court to challenge disciplinary findings.

“Crossing the chasm from civil service discipline into court does waive the right to confidentiality, it absolutely does because you’ve made it available to the public,” Spertus said during the hearing.

The Department of Justice dismissed three of the 11 counts just before the preliminary hearing began, and Judge Ohta dismissed two more Tuesday, leaving six counts Teran will face at trial.

The DOJ’s press office has not responded to requests for information, documents, or comment on the Teran case in recent weeks, but issued a statement from Attorney General Rob Bonta when the charges were first announced that said, “No one is above the law.”

A spokeswoman for Gascón said earlier this year that the office would not address specific personnel matters, and it would “comply with any investigation from the Attorney General’s Office” and remained “committed to upholding transparency and ensuring police accountability within Los Angeles County.”

Gustavo Reyez Gonazlez, who was diagnosed with silicosis after having worked with engineered slabs used in kitchen and bathroom countertops for nearly two decades at local shops across Southern California, won his case against several companies that manufacture artificial stone slabs. 

“I am grateful to the judge and the jury,” Wendy Torres, Gonzalez’s wife, said. 

Gonzalez, 34, received a live-saving lung transplant in 2023. He sued several manufactures of the engineered stone. 

In what is believed to be a landmark trial and verdict, the jury last month found in his favor, awarding him more than $52 million in damages.

“I’m hoping that other workers won’t have to face the same illness and possible death during this time,” Torres said. “It’s something that is killing other human beings, and hopefully it will stop, so that these workers will actually have a future with their families, and a future to live and be with their loved ones.  

“Hopefully verdicts — consumers hearing about this, and workers hearing about this – can send a message to these companies to stop selling these products,” said James Nevin, Gonzalez’s attorney, said. 

Increasing number of silicosis cases

Health experts say cutting, sawing and crushing stone slabs can lead to the exposure of silica dust that goes into the air and into a person’s lungs, causing silicosis.

And engineering stone, which sometimes can be cheaper and more durable than natural stone, can contain a much higher percentage of silica. 

As the NBC4 I-Team and Telemundo 52 Investiga have been following the increasing number of silicosis cases stemming from the stone cutting industry, there are now calls to ban some popular products a lot of people have in their kitchens and baths.

A complete ban of artificial stone is not something on the table right now, according to local lawmakers the I-Team and Telemundo 52 Investiga have spoken with.

While there are new temporary standards to more safely work with engineered products, a proposal intended to strengthen regulations and license manufactures and sellers of artificial stone in the state was pulled by the author in July.

“My final meeting with state agencies and the administration, there was a lot of pushback because of the cost of this system,” said Luz Rivas, State Assemblymember for 43rd District. 

Cal Osha said new standards on how to work with the engineered stone slabs are expected to be made permanent by the end of the year. 

Majority of U.S. silicosis cases are from LA County

As of Sep. 3, 2024, there were 178 confirmed cases of silicosis related to engineered stone in California with at least 13 deaths and 19 lung transplants, according to the state’s Department of Public Health. 105 of the total cases are in Los Angeles County. 

Health experts say silicosis mostly affects Latino men who work in fabrication shops.

Investigation Aug 26

They were diagnosed with silicosis, then denied worker's comp

I-Team Jul 17

California bill on silicosis safety measures abandoned as cases rise

What happens when a country bans engineered slabs?

So far, only one country in the world has banned the use of artificial stone slabs.

“Australia’s banned it. The U.S. has got to do it, too,” said Jeremy Buckingham, a member of parliament from New South Wales, Australia, explaining that the new ban of engineered stone in Australia went into effect this summer. 

“The expectation is that we could lose tens of thousands of people to silicosis over the next decades,” said Buckingham, who was a stonemason before entering politics. “I’m one of those people. I have to go and have a lung screening every year because of the high-risk exposure I experienced.”

The Australian lawmaker said the legislation followed a rise in popularity of the manufactured stone as an inexpensive alternative. Subsequently, there was a rise in silicosis cases in the country.

“The numbers of people getting sick and dying were horrendous,” he said. 

Buckingham admitted that there remains pushback from manufacturers of the engineered products.

“They remained very concerned about the ongoing liability to register this material and then have it ultimately removed by licensed professionals in a safe way,” Buckingham explained. 

He said in Australia, mostly immigrant workers were the most impacted as well. 

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“Our personnel have been able to link the evidence seized to multiple recent commercial burglaries that occurred in the city,” LAPD Chief Dominic Choi said Tuesday.

“These same suspects have also been identified as engaging crimes in the City of Lennox, Beverly Hills, Rialto and Ontario,” Choi said, but declined to provide additional detail citing the ongoing investigation of Wactor’s murder.

The LA County District Attorney’s Office charged two men Monday with Wactor’s murder, Robert Barceleau and Sergio Estrada, both 18, and two other men with crimes related to the killing.

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All four appeared in court Monday and entered not guilty pleas.

Other law enforcement sources told the I-Team detectives identified the four men charged more than a month ago, and had been working in recent weeks to find additional evidence establishing their alleged roles in the crime.

Choi said that now includes fingerprint and DNA evidence.

“They reviewed hundreds of hours of video and authored over 50 search warrants, which significantly contributed to identifying the four suspects involved in this senseless murder,” he said.

Wactor was shot to death May 25 as he returned to his car parked in Downtown LA and confronted thieves who were trying to steal his catalytic converter, police said.

Gustavo Reyez Gonazlez, who was diagnosed with silicosis after having worked with engineered slabs used in kitchen and bathroom countertops for nearly two decades at local shops across Southern California, won his case against several companies that manufacture artificial stone slabs. 

“I am grateful to the judge and the jury,” Wendy Torres, Gonzalez’s wife, said. 

Gonzalez, 34, received a live-saving lung transplant in 2023. He sued several manufactures of the engineered stone. 

In what is believed to be a landmark trial and verdict, the jury last month found in his favor, awarding him more than $52 million in damages.

“I’m hoping that other workers won’t have to face the same illness and possible death during this time,” Torres said. “It’s something that is killing other human beings, and hopefully it will stop, so that these workers will actually have a future with their families, and a future to live and be with their loved ones.  

“Hopefully verdicts — consumers hearing about this, and workers hearing about this – can send a message to these companies to stop selling these products,” said James Nevin, Gonzalez’s attorney, said. 

Increasing number of silicosis cases

Health experts say cutting, sawing and crushing stone slabs can lead to the exposure of silica dust that goes into the air and into a person’s lungs, causing silicosis.

And engineering stone, which sometimes can be cheaper and more durable than natural stone, can contain a much higher percentage of silica. 

As the NBC4 I-Team and Telemundo 52 Investiga have been following the increasing number of silicosis cases stemming from the stone cutting industry, there are now calls to ban some popular products a lot of people have in their kitchens and baths.

A complete ban of artificial stone is not something on the table right now, according to local lawmakers the I-Team and Telemundo 52 Investiga have spoken with.

While there are new temporary standards to more safely work with engineered products, a proposal intended to strengthen regulations and license manufactures and sellers of artificial stone in the state was pulled by the author in July.

“My final meeting with state agencies and the administration, there was a lot of pushback because of the cost of this system,” said Luz Rivas, State Assemblymember for 43rd District. 

Cal Osha said new standards on how to work with the engineered stone slabs are expected to be made permanent by the end of the year. 

Majority of U.S. silicosis cases are from LA County

As of Sep. 3, 2024, there were 178 confirmed cases of silicosis related to engineered stone in California with at least 13 deaths and 19 lung transplants, according to the state’s Department of Public Health. 105 of the total cases are in Los Angeles County. 

Health experts say silicosis mostly affects Latino men who work in fabrication shops.

Investigation Aug 26

They were diagnosed with silicosis, then denied worker's comp

I-Team Jul 17

California bill on silicosis safety measures abandoned as cases rise

What happens when a country bans engineered slabs?

So far, only one country in the world has banned the use of artificial stone slabs.

“Australia’s banned it. The U.S. has got to do it, too,” said Jeremy Buckingham, a member of parliament from New South Wales, Australia, explaining that the new ban of engineered stone in Australia went into effect this summer. 

“The expectation is that we could lose tens of thousands of people to silicosis over the next decades,” said Buckingham, who was a stonemason before entering politics. “I’m one of those people. I have to go and have a lung screening every year because of the high-risk exposure I experienced.”

The Australian lawmaker said the legislation followed a rise in popularity of the manufactured stone as an inexpensive alternative. Subsequently, there was a rise in silicosis cases in the country.

“The numbers of people getting sick and dying were horrendous,” he said. 

Buckingham admitted that there remains pushback from manufacturers of the engineered products.

“They remained very concerned about the ongoing liability to register this material and then have it ultimately removed by licensed professionals in a safe way,” Buckingham explained. 

He said in Australia, mostly immigrant workers were the most impacted as well. 

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada announced the charges Thursday, saying the doctors supplied Perry with a large amount of ketamine and even wondered in a text message how much the former “Friends” star would be willing to pay.

“These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves. They knew what they were doing was wrong,” Estrada said. “In this case we are not talking about legitimate Ketamine treatment, we are talking about two doctors who abused the trust they had, abused their licenses to put another person’s life at risk.”

Federal agents served several warrants across Southern California in connection with Perry’s accidental death last year, law enforcement sources told NBC4’s I-Team.

Perry was 54 when he was found unresponsive in the swimming pool at his home in the Pacific Palisades area and was pronounced dead by paramedics.

The LA County Medical Examiner concluded Perry’s death on Oct. 28, 2023 was the result of the acute effects of the drug ketamine, and listed contributing factors of drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid use disorder.

LAPD detectives and agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the US Postal Inspection Service have been investigating the source of the ketamine.

Perry had been undergoing ketamine infusion therapy to treat depression and anxiety. Still, his last session with his doctors-of-record took place more than a week prior to his death.

The Medical Examiner noted the ketamine in Perry’s system, “could not be from that infusion therapy, since ketamine’s half-life is 3 to 4 hours, or less.”

This article will be updated as more information becomes available.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The unnamed victim, an Irvine resident who is an immigrant from China and a legal U.S. resident, had been embroiled in a dispute with a former business associate still in China, who allegedly paid more than $400,000 to orchestrate the raid in 2019, according to officials.

“At some point, this wealthy Chinese national decided to hire these mercenaries to go carry out what they did,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada told reporters in downtown LA.

“The goal was to get this person to sign a contract to give away his business rights. That’s what he ended up doing, but he did it by force, intimidation and extortion,” Estrada said.

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According to the indictment, one of the conspirators was now-retired deputy Steven A. Lankford, who was actively employed as a law enforcement officer at the time, Estrada said Lankford used his badge and access to law enforcement databases and resources to plan and execute the raid.

“He used his badge to gain entry into the home. He used his authority as a Sheriff’s deputy to intimidate the family and to threaten the businessman with deportation,” Estrada said.

Lankford had retired in 2017 but returned to the Sheriff’s Department to work a limited number of hours each year as a part-time employee and was working in that capacity at the time of the 2019 incident, according to prosecutors.

Lankford’s defense attorney declined to comment on the allegations.

The indictment, which accuses the four of taking part in a conspiracy to commit extortion and the deprivation of rights under the color of law, said Lankford also tried to shut down an investigation into the raid after the victim reported it to the Irvine Police Department.

The four defendants made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court Monday afternoon.

The name of the businesswoman in China who allegedly directed the raid did not appear in the criminal complaint.

“The pandemic — everybody, of course, took a big hit, including the film industry, followed by the big strikes,” she explained.

Menkes said the industry didn’t bounce back after the strikes like many had hoped, so to help cover her mortgage, she rents her home on Airbnb when she’s out of town. 

“If I wasn’t able to do that, I would lose the house. It really makes it possible to stay here,” she said.

Menkes said big events that draw even more tourists to town help homeowners like her. She already has her eyes set on the 2028 games. 

“We do expect that there will be a huge amount of people coming in,” she said.

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That’s certainly what’s happening in Paris. Airbnb told the I-Team Paris is tracking to be the biggest hosting event in its history.

The company said tens of thousands of new hosts have listed their homes, and more than half received a booking within seven days. Airbnb said their typical host is expected to make an average of 2,000 euros. 

Menkes said, as friends in LA have gotten a lot more than that during big events, she’s banking on the Olympic Games in four years to give her a much-needed financial boost. 

“It would mean a lot and it could make a big difference in my life,” she said.

Tips to get the most money from your rental

• Take good pictures. Be sure they highlight the unique selling points of your home.
• Offer things like books and board games for entertainment. 
• Offer device chargers and self check-in for convenience. 

“The way things are right now, we wouldn’t survive during the Olympics at all,” says Kim Kevorkian, a longtime resident of the nearby Lake Hollywood neighborhood. 

“My worst fear is that there’s going to be a fire up here, and we’re not going to all be able to get out,” Kevorkian told the I-Team. 

The Hollywood sign wasn’t built as a tourist attraction. It was built in 1923 to advertise “Hollywoodland,” a new housing development.  

But in recent years, the sign is heavily promoted as a tourist attraction on social media and by the city of LA.

Every summer weekend, out-of-towners and locals cause gridlock in the area, even blocking intersections to get selfies with the Hollywood sign behind them. 

During a two-week period in June, city cameras documented over 52,000 cars jamming into the area, compare that to a two-week period in March when around 16,000 cars were counted by those cameras.  

“When you’re building tourist attractions, you’re building infrastructure to accommodate so many different numbers of people,,” said Jeff Zarrinam, the head of the Hollywood Sign Trust, which maintains the sign. “That was never taken into consideration here.”

Kim Kevorkian and her neighbor Lisa Hope contacted the NBC4 I-Team last year in the wake of the tragic fire that killed more than 100 people and ravaged Lahaina, Maui, a traffic clogged area with few ways in and out, similar to the neighborhoods surrounding the Hollywood sign.  

“A wind driven fire up here with only two ways in and out — (it’s) just a recipe for disaster,” Hope told the I-Team.

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The women provided NBC4 with videos and photos of outrageous and sometimes dangerous behavior by tourists, trying to get an up-close look at the sign. 

One set of photos documents a tourist who hauled in a piano and blocked the street to to film a TikTok video of himself playing the piano with the Hollywood sign in the background. 

Other photos show tourists who got out of their cars to urinate. 

The biggest concern is the large number tourists who smoke in this area where the hills are covered by dry brush; the area is ranked by the LA Fire Department as one of the highest fire risk zones in LA.  

During an interview with Kevorkian and Hope in the Lake Hollywood area, the I-Team documented numerous tourists smoking and tossing their smoldering cigarette butts even though signs say smoking in the area is forbidden.  

“We have ‘no smoking’ signs everywhere, but people continue to smoke. They continue to ignore the signs, Hope said.

Residents like Kevorkian and Hope have taken part in a city committee looking at ways to control the crowds and avoid a potential fire disaster.  

One idea being considered is providing shuttle service from Hollywood Boulevard to the Hollywood sign area, similar to the shuttle service which LA County provides to the Hollywood Bowl on busy summer nights.  

“I would be in favor of a shuttle service. It makes sense. You’re bringing up less cars,” said Zarrinnam of the Hollywood Sign Trust.  

Residents have also proposed making parking on the streets near the sign for ‘residents only,’ and they’ve gathered enough signatures for that. They said they have yet to gain the full support of their City Councilmember Nithya Raman.  

The I-Team reached out five times to Raman’s office to discuss this safety issue but so far has not received a response.  

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Gustavo Reyez Gonazlez, who was diagnosed with silicosis after having worked with engineered slabs used in kitchen and bathroom countertops for nearly two decades at local shops across Southern California, won his case against several companies that manufacture artificial stone slabs. 

“I am grateful to the judge and the jury,” Wendy Torres, Gonzalez’s wife, said. 

Gonzalez, 34, received a live-saving lung transplant in 2023. He sued several manufactures of the engineered stone. 

In what is believed to be a landmark trial and verdict, the jury last month found in his favor, awarding him more than $52 million in damages.

“I’m hoping that other workers won’t have to face the same illness and possible death during this time,” Torres said. “It’s something that is killing other human beings, and hopefully it will stop, so that these workers will actually have a future with their families, and a future to live and be with their loved ones.  

“Hopefully verdicts — consumers hearing about this, and workers hearing about this – can send a message to these companies to stop selling these products,” said James Nevin, Gonzalez’s attorney, said. 

Increasing number of silicosis cases

Health experts say cutting, sawing and crushing stone slabs can lead to the exposure of silica dust that goes into the air and into a person’s lungs, causing silicosis.

And engineering stone, which sometimes can be cheaper and more durable than natural stone, can contain a much higher percentage of silica. 

As the NBC4 I-Team and Telemundo 52 Investiga have been following the increasing number of silicosis cases stemming from the stone cutting industry, there are now calls to ban some popular products a lot of people have in their kitchens and baths.

A complete ban of artificial stone is not something on the table right now, according to local lawmakers the I-Team and Telemundo 52 Investiga have spoken with.

While there are new temporary standards to more safely work with engineered products, a proposal intended to strengthen regulations and license manufactures and sellers of artificial stone in the state was pulled by the author in July.

“My final meeting with state agencies and the administration, there was a lot of pushback because of the cost of this system,” said Luz Rivas, State Assemblymember for 43rd District. 

Cal Osha said new standards on how to work with the engineered stone slabs are expected to be made permanent by the end of the year. 

Majority of U.S. silicosis cases are from LA County

As of Sep. 3, 2024, there were 178 confirmed cases of silicosis related to engineered stone in California with at least 13 deaths and 19 lung transplants, according to the state’s Department of Public Health. 105 of the total cases are in Los Angeles County. 

Health experts say silicosis mostly affects Latino men who work in fabrication shops.

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What happens when a country bans engineered slabs?

So far, only one country in the world has banned the use of artificial stone slabs.

“Australia’s banned it. The U.S. has got to do it, too,” said Jeremy Buckingham, a member of parliament from New South Wales, Australia, explaining that the new ban of engineered stone in Australia went into effect this summer. 

“The expectation is that we could lose tens of thousands of people to silicosis over the next decades,” said Buckingham, who was a stonemason before entering politics. “I’m one of those people. I have to go and have a lung screening every year because of the high-risk exposure I experienced.”

The Australian lawmaker said the legislation followed a rise in popularity of the manufactured stone as an inexpensive alternative. Subsequently, there was a rise in silicosis cases in the country.

“The numbers of people getting sick and dying were horrendous,” he said. 

Buckingham admitted that there remains pushback from manufacturers of the engineered products.

“They remained very concerned about the ongoing liability to register this material and then have it ultimately removed by licensed professionals in a safe way,” Buckingham explained. 

He said in Australia, mostly immigrant workers were the most impacted as well. 

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The latest incident happened in the same neighborhood as the first three near Manzanita Street east of Sunset Boulevard, LAPD officials told the I-Team.

“It is believed the suspect struck a fourth time last night,” a department spokesperson confirmed Wednesday.

The prowler has entered through first and second floor windows and doors, and in one incident, slipped through metal security bars attached to the outside of a home.

Several law enforcement sources told the I-Team a woman was the victim of a sexual assault during the fourth break-in. The LAPD said in a statement earlier this week another woman was the victim of a sexual battery during one of the Saturday burglaries.

“Investigators are leaving no stone unturned and officers in the area are on heightened alert,” the LAPD said in a statement Wednesday.

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“Community members are encouraged to ensure their home is secured and report any unusual activity,” the statement said.

Investigators have not publicly shared a description of the prowler.

Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact LAPD Detective Bridges at the Northeast Area police station at 323-561-3465. Anonymous tips can be made by contacting Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Assistant Chief Blake Chow said during the last four weeks, there were eight more break-ins reported in an area south of the 101 freeway and west of the 405 than during the same period last year.

He told the Board of Police Commissioners LAPD helicopters will provide extra patrols of the area during the times most of the recent burglaries have occurred, and he asked residents to check security video recordings regularly as there are indications these thieves are watching potential target houses before breaking in.

“There is a little bit of intel gathering and casing, so they know which houses to hit. If people see something unusual, maybe on their ring cam, that’s something we need to know about,” Chow said.

Other LAPD officials told the I-Team they suspect a small group of thieves has been working the area as was seen in security video that captured three masked men shattering a glass window to enter a home during a burglary over the weekend.

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Chow said city-wide the number of residential burglaries has crept up by nearly 4% this year, adding detectives had made progress in the unrelated investigation of break-ins at three homes on one street in the Silver Lake area over the weekend.

“Detectives are actively working to identify the subject using evidence recovered from the scenes, in all three incidents we believe we have forensic evidence,” he said.

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“We have no other choice. It’s terrible,” longtime Villa Espana Townhomes resident Julie Ditchik told the I-Team of the price hike, adding her and her neighbors’ monthly fees for trash collection will go from $92 to more than $600 per unit.

“What are these people going to say when you raise the rate 574%?” asked homeowners association president Roz Ross, who said she unsuccessfully appealed to the company and the city for relief.

The city of Los Angeles requires most multi-unit residential buildings, like apartments, condos and townhomes, to contract for waste and recycling collection through a specific private waste firm, depending on the neighborhood, through the RecycLA program.

The city caps the fees for bin and dumpster collection but allows the private firms to tack-on additional fees for opening electric gates or the distance between the street and the locations of the trash bin.

The RecycLA program only allows the use of the city-designated trash company, so residents at Villa Espana say they’re unable to find an alternative waste hauler that might charge less.

The HOA received notice of the increases earlier this year after Waste Management determined that the complex should incur more distance fees, according to collection quotes sent by the company, meaning the distance between the street and the location where each bin has to be picked-up.

The complex doesn’t have room for centralized dumpsters, and large trash trucks cannot access the driveways inside, so each resident puts individual bins outside of their garages Thursday mornings for pickup.

“Our fees would be going up from approximately $5,300 a month to $37,000 a month,” said Ross, explaining about $24,000 of the new charges are made up of those distance fees.

Service quotes sent to the HOA and shared with the I-Team showed the new charges for one side of the complex on Newcastle Avenue would be $22,726 each month, and the other side on Lindley Avenue would be $15,081.08 each month, totaling $37,807.08.

Waste Management agreed to postpone the increase for three months, meaning the new fees would take effect September 1 unless the company reduced the amount or the city intervened, she said.

In email statements to the I-Team, Waste Management initially denied it quoted an amount topping $30,000 and said it had proposed an alternative service agreement for much less money.

“We have held several constructive meetings with the property owners of the complex about their service options and charges consistent with the recycLA program,” Waste Management’s media office said.

“In May 2024, [we] found a solution for the customer that involves no access or distance fees, while remaining in full compliance with the RecycLA program,” the company said.

Villa Espana residents explained that proposal, which would cost $6,457.84 each month, would no longer include trash and recycling collection inside the complex, meaning residents would have to pull their bins, more than 100 of them, outside the complex gates and on to the surrounding streets, which are jammed daily with parked cars.

Ross said that wasn’t realistic, and in order to continue with the door-to-door collection the residents have received since 2019, they would have to pay the new distance fees, which she said few of the residents could afford.

“I mean, we complain about gas or something going up a few pennies, what about something like this? This is terrible, and we have no choice,” she said.

A spokesperson for City Councilwoman Nithya Raman said her office offered to assist with negotiating a reduced bill in May and said her office remained willing to intervene if the Villa Espana residents couldn’t resolve the situation with Waste Management directly.

LA Sanitation, which manages the RecycLA program, did not respond to repeated requests for information on the distance fee assessment or its management of the trash collection contractors, including Waste Management.

RecycLA was started around 2018 in order to require multi-unit residential buildings to begin sorting trash into separate solid waste and recycling bins, rather than allowing residents to toss all waste into one large dumpster. State laws will also require separate green waste bins.

The United States Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California tells the NBC4 I-Team the Vulnerable Communities Task Force began last October.  

“The victims are very often vulnerable communities. What I mean by that is groups that historically have had less access to legal resources. So, for instance, older adults, immigrants and indigent individuals who are using public benefits,” E. Martin Estrada, United States Attorney for the Central District of California, said.  

He told the I-Team one of the main reasons for creating the group is to assist with the difficult process of reporting what people have experienced. 

It’s now a click away.  

A new link has been added to the Department of Justice website that gets people to a form where they can submit their complaint. 

“We will then work with federal law enforcement authorities to look into investigating the case. I will say we cannot investigate every case, but those cases that truly affect victims in a profound way, we will open and investigate,” Estrada said.   

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As for those who perpetrating the crime, Estrada said many of them are overseas.

“We have these criminal networks operate overseas that reach into this country to commit fraud,” he said. 

“That’s because they use things like the internet, mail, phones and text messages, and that means it can be a federal case. Now we look for the cases that have the biggest impact on the community. So where we see repeat conduct, we investigate those cases,” Estrada added.  

Several cases have been filed or sentenced since the announcement of the task force in October 2023. 

A Department spokesperson told the I-Team most recently the team has opened at least five new investigations. 

“To me, the difference between a civil case and a criminal case is the presence of lying, cheating and stealing,” Monica Tait, Assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of the Vulnerable Communities Task Force, said. 

She urged people to be as specific as possible when reporting potential fraud. 

“The first thing I want to hear is that you’re a potential victim of something. And I want to hear who did it to you, when did it happen, how much money did you lose and how did it affect you? And if you can crystallize the part about how you’re a victim of fraud and put that as your top sentence, that will get people’s attention,” Tait said. 

Estrada said no one should feel fear or embarrassment to report their experiences. 

“My very clear message is to not have shame, not be embarrassed. We know that anyone can be a victim of fraud. In fact, just a month ago, we learned that one of the most famous and the most successful baseball players ever, Shohei Ohtani, was a victim himself of fraud. If Mr. Ohtani can be a victim of fraud, anyone can be a victim of fraud,” Estrada said. 

The Vulnerable Communities Task Force reporting claims form can be found here. 

Connecting with this task force does not mean that what may have happened to you will rise to the level of a federal crime but the group believes it is a step in seeing if there is possible legal action 

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Those in favor of the state bill said it was a way to hold shops accountable and keep workers safe.

But the assemblyperson who authored the bill tells the I-Team some state regulators were not “receptive” to the idea.

Health experts say cutting, sawing and crushing stone countertops can expose workers to silica dust, which can cause silicosis. In engineered stone, experts say the concentration of silica can be as high as 99%, compared to natural stones which contain as little as 3% silica.

Last December, Cal OSHA created emergency “temporary” rules for shops cutting engineered stone slabs. The rules require the use of water during the cutting process to prevent silica dust from becoming airborne and mandate specific air-purifying respirators for employees.

Assemblywoman Luz Rivas, who represents California’s 43rd District, explained to the I-Team why she withdrew the bill focused on engineered stone workers and the shops they work in across California.

“The solution that this bill proposed was to create a licensing system where product manufacturers could only sell engineered stone to licensed fabrication shops,” said Rivas. “Licensing would ensure that workers are properly trained and work in a safe environment without a risk of contracting silicosis.”

Rivas said state agencies previously involved in contributing to the bill were not supportive, leading her to withdraw it with only weeks left in the current legislative session.

“In my final meeting with state agencies and the administration, there was a lot of pushback due to the cost of this system,” Rivas told the I-Team. “They seemed to think it was too complex, but when I asked for feedback, they did not offer any specific solutions.”

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The NBC4 I-Team and Telemundo 52 Investiga introduced viewers to workers diagnosed with silicosis, including former shop worker Gustavo Reyes-Gonzalez, who was diagnosed with the disease at age 30 and received a lung transplant last year.

As of July 10, 2024, the California Department of Public Health confirmed 167 cases of silicosis related to engineered stone, including at least 13 deaths. Of these cases, 100 are among Los Angeles County residents.

We contacted state regulators who Rivas said opposed moving forward with the bill.

Cal/OSHA and the State Public Health Department told the I-Team and Telemundo 52 Investiga that they do not comment on pending legislation.

The Department of Industrial Relations said it is taking strong action to protect workers from these hazards and will get back to us on their efforts.

As we reported last week, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has allocated funds this year to help educate workers and the public about silicosis, but Rivas says that’s not enough because this is a statewide problem.

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“I was in tears. I said, ‘Please, this is Mother’s Day weekend with my kids,’” she said.

Paine booked a Carnival cruise to Ensenada, Mexico, one year ago. A few days before the trip, she called Carnival about a cabin upgrade. That’s when a representative told her about an unpaid fee. 

“‘We noticed here that you have an outstanding balance on your upcoming cruise for $294, and you will not be able to board if that’s not taken care of,’” Paine said they told her.

Paine paid the $294 “deck fee,” as it was described, and hung up. But, suspicious, she called Carnival right back, this time using a different phone number. And she got a different story.

“She said, ‘No, ma’am, that was a scam. We wouldn’t have charged you a deck fee. Go ahead, and dispute that with your bank,’” she said.

It turns out that that first number Paine called wasn’t really Carnival. She disputed the charge with her bank, and it refunded the money. She thought it was all behind her, but she was wrong. 

“I get an email alert that pops up on my phone. It says ‘ Your cruise has been canceled.’ And my heart sank,” she said.

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Paine said she called Carnival and learned that someone had logged into her account and canceled her cruise. She had no idea how it happened – maybe it was the scammer. Maybe that’s because she had shared her booking number with them in that initial phone call.

But it didn’t matter. Carnival had already rebooked Paine’s cabin, and the ship was full, so Paine’s family was out. She was also out the $900 cost of the cabin, per Carnival’s late cancelation policy. 

“To come up with $900 for a trip for my kids, it was only feasible by making payments and taking out a loan. So it was a lot of money for me,” she said.

The I-Team reached out to Carnival, and it refunded Paine’s $900.

It didn’t answer our questions about what happened; instead, it said in a statement: “Unfortunately scammers target travelers.” 

Colleen McDaniel is editor-in-chief of the website Cruise Critic. 

“Any time there’s an opportunity to try and separate people from their money, scammers are going to step in,” she said.

Paine said she didn’t post any details about her trip on social media, but McDaniel said that’s where many travelers get in trouble. 

“Somebody who has booked a cruise might say, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so excited. I booked a cruise for my family for June,’ and then they name the ship,” she said.

McDaniel said it sets the stage for scammers to dupe you out of money or pranksters to ruin your vacation. 

It recently happened to one woman, who shared her story on Facebook. She posted about her upcoming cruise, and she inadvertently included her booking number. Days later, she said someone else had canceled her cruise. 

“So there are clearly people like me, who didn’t know about this crazy booking number,” she said.

McDaniel said scammers can do almost anything with your booking number.

“Do not share too much information about that booking. That booking number is unique to you. The second anybody has access to it, they have access to your booking,” she said.

And if a cruise line calls or emails you for payment, call them back using the phone number on their website, to make sure everything is legitimate. 

As for Paine, she hopes to sail with her kids later this summer, and that her story will protect others. 

“Nobody is safe from these scams. And they get better and better,” she said.  

“It is ordered that this case be reheard en banc,” Chief Judge Mary H. Murguia said in a brief order published Monday, meaning a panel of 11 judges of the 9th Circuit will hear the case.

“I cannot really assume what happened behind the scenes,” said civil rights attorney Narine Mkrtchyan, who filed the lawsuit now at the center of the appeals case.

“But we had very strong arguments in our favor, and I think the judges wanted to reconsider,” Mkrtchyan told the I-Team this week.

She brought one of two federal lawsuits against the city of Los Angeles on behalf of members of the family of Daniel Hernandez, who was killed in confrontation with police in April, 2020.

The initial decision from a three-judge 9th Circuit panel found that LAPD officer Toni McBride should be protected from civil rights claims in federal court under the legal principle of qualified immunity, which prevents lawsuits against government workers doing official business, unless there is a clear violation of constitutional rights.

McBride shot Hernandez after he crashed a pickup truck into several cars near 32nd Street and San Pedro Street, then advanced toward McBride, her partner and members of the public while holding a box cutter.

Hernandez was on the ground after McBride fired four shots, and Mkrtchyan argued McBride’s next shots, one of which was fatal, were excessive.

“Although a reasonable jury could find that the force employed by McBride was excessive, she is nonetheless entitled to qualified immunity,” the 9th Circuit opinion said.

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“By this ruling, the 9th Circuit kind of, really, sent a very bad, bad precedent for the entire federal court system,” Mkrtchyan said, as she believed previous case law required each of the officer’s shots to be considered individually, rather than awarding blanket immunity because the first volleys were deemed reasonable.

“This officer kept shooting, kept shooting, and when he was already laying on the ground, she continued shooting,” she said.

“The fifth and sixth shots clearly were excessive.”

The Board of Police Commissioners found McBride’s fifth and sixth violated LAPD policy; the California Attorney General’s Office concluded they were nonetheless justified under California law as self defense.

The LA City Attorney’s Office, which defended Officer McBride and was initially successful in getting the lawsuits’ civil rights claims dismissed, did not respond to requests for comment on the 9th Circuit’s decision to re-hear the case.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents most LAPD officers, did not respond to a request for comment on the McBride case or the wider implications of the 9th Circuit decision on police liability.

The 9th Circuit’s initial opinion allowed the Hernandez family to pursue related claims against McBride and the city of LA in state court even though the federal causes of action were barred.

The en banc panel is scheduled to hear the case in September.

This as California is poised to stop selling new gas-powered vehicles by 2035. 

Drivers across Southern California tell the NBC4 I-Team they are constantly negotiating for a place in line or attempting to charge their vehicles away from home and coming across non-working chargers. 

“Even early in the morning often, I’ll encounter between one to five people waiting in line, and often there will be you know two or three, two to three stations working out of four,” Emily Hampton, who bought her electric vehicle in 2022, said.   

Hampson said, while she appreciates the significant drop in her gas and monthly spending, she wishes electric vehicle chargers were more reliable. Hampton, who rents and works from home, does not have access to an at-home charger. 

“It seems like they all operate differently and have different levels of reliability,” Hampton added. 

Her concerns are shared by other electric vehicle drivers. 

“I love the way it drives. There’s everything I love about it, but the charging stations are terrible,” Allison Norris Austin said.   

“At least here, we’re kind of in one line. The other place that I go to — it’s just a hodgepodge in the parking lot. People get into fights sometimes,” Jennifer Kwon, another electric vehicle owner, said. 

The state of California tells the NBC4 I-Team the demand for more electric vehicle chargers is high in part because right now about one in four new vehicles sold in California are zero emission vehicles.

Meanwhile, currently there are little more than 105,000 public and shared private electric vehicle chargers.   

“We want to get more infrastructure out,” Hannon Rasool, Director of the Fields and Transportation Division, California Energy Commission, said.   

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Rasool was part of the latest state report, which looked at the infrastructure and other details regarding electric vehicle chargers in California.   

“Our modeling and analysis shows we need approximately one million chargers by 2030,” Rasool said.  

More than two million chargers will be needed by 2035, according to the report which also notes, “California cannot meet its transportation electrification goals without ensuring there is a sufficient supply of reliable charging infrastructure.”  

Rasool said current steps are being taken not only to add more chargers but also to track the performance of existing ones. Right now, it’s mostly a voluntary process. 

“This is one reason why we’re proposing a regulation. We’re currently in that proposal right now to ensure at least 97% uptime of any charger that we fund or is publicly funded,” he said.  

Rasool said, once finalized at the end of this year, the new rule will begin mandating performance reports from certain electric chargers — some 40% of the existing system.  

“We do think even if we’re capturing 40 with our direct regulations that should have a spillover effect and really encourage other market participants to step up,” he added.   

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The charging station where we met Hampton is managed by Electrify America, one of the most common electric vehicle service providers in the state. 

When NBCLA reached out to the company about its plans to increase reliability, a spokesperson said some of the company’s chargers are five years old.

“Getting replacement parts is getting harder as more of them age, or worse, as vandalism (cutting cables for the copper) is increasing and taking away available replacement parts,” the spokesperson for Electrify America said. “In the last two years, we replaced over 680 chargers, and this year, we are aiming to accelerate replacements to an additional 800+.”  

Electrify America said it’s also looking to create larger locations with more chargers. 

At this point, the state said it is on track to get to 250,000 public and shared private chargers by next year using already allocated funds, according to the report. 

In the meantime, drivers like Hampton are making decisions today about how they will commute. 

Hampton said she is sticking with her EV for shorter distances, but she may have to turn to gas-powered cars for long distance trips.

“If I was going to do a road trip for more than a couple of hours, I would probably just rent a gas car because it’s too stressful to one plan it all out,” Hampton said. 

The state said that information on the performance of electric chargers is expected to be publicly available in 2025, for state and ratepayer funded public chargers installed this year and beyond.  

Licsun Wong disputed the $500 charge from Nu Car Rental with Chase and was stunned when they took the merchant’s side. She reached out to the I-Team for help. 

Wong and her friends from Seattle recently flew to Los Angeles for a weekend trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain. The budget-minded 20-somethings rented the cheapest car they could find, through Nu Car Rental. 

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“Getting an Uber around LA just seems expensive, so we just decided on the cheapest option,” she said.

And cheap it was. The car cost just $80 for the weekend. But a few weeks later, Nu hit Wong’s credit card with a $500 charge. 

“This has to be a mistake, what happened, this is so fishy, I’m going to reach out, I need to know why I’m getting charged $500,” she said.

Nu told Wong she’d damaged the car. She said she didn’t. She also said Nu didn’t point out any damage when she returned the car. And since then, Nu never shared pictures or any other proof of the damage. 

Nu has a lot of other unhappy customers.

On Yelp, hundreds have slammed the company, some saying they reserved cars that weren’t available at pickup, they were promised free upgrades but then later had to pay for them, and they were charged unexpected cleaning fees. 

“Wow, I’m not the only victim,” said Wong.

Wong said Nu refused to refund her $500 so she disputed the charge with her credit card company, Chase. She assumed that would be a slam dunk, so she was shocked to learn it wasn’t.

Chase sided with Nu. 

“It’s my word against theirs. They’re going to trust the company without even looking up the company’s credibility or anything like that,” she said.

The I-Team reached out to Chase and asked if Nu supplied pictures, or other evidence, of the damage to Wong’s rental car. It didn’t answer that question, but said in a statement that it “didn’t have enough evidence to reverse the charge.”

So we reached out to Nu, and it seemed to backpedal. Nu refunded Wong her $500 right away. It did insist that Wong damaged the car, but it said it couldn’t verify the details because the employee who noted the damage is no longer with the company. 

“It just wouldn’t make logical sense for you to charge someone three weeks later. For damages for what? You can’t even provide it,” she said.

Wong said her story is a warning for summer travelers: Take pictures of your rental car when you pick it up and return it, in case you have to battle two companies over the damage you didn’t cause. 

Tips for disputing a credit card charge

• Try to resolve the dispute with the merchant first.
• If it’s still not resolved, let the merchant know you’ll be filing a dispute with your credit card company. Sometimes this prompts them to act, as the dispute process costs them money.
• Supply your credit card company with all evidence you have to back your claim. 

“These are happening very quickly,” Chief Dominic Choi told the Board of Police Commissioners Tuesday, describing thieves’ evolving tactics to spend less time inside a location.

“We’re not seeing the entire house being ransacked,” he said.

“These individuals that are conducting these high-end burglaries know what they’re looking for, and they’re in and out in a few minutes.”

Data gleaned from early 2024 crime reports showed the largest increases were in areas patrolled by the LAPD’s Wilshire, Rampart, and Hollywood Divisions, and there were slightly more break-ins on Wednesdays and Fridays.

The LAPD stopped providing public access to crime data in March while it reconfigured its systems to match new national crime reporting standards set by the FBI, so the trend reported by the Chief could not be verified.

That partial data also showed most burglaries occurred in the evening hours.

“Some of these where people, the residents, are actually at home, which is, we consider a hot prowl, which is much more serious,” Choi said.

The Department said that’s what happened Monday in Valley Village when burglars surprised and pepper-sprayed a homeowner, who shot one of the suspected burglars.

Nationally the FBI reported that property crime, including burglaries, declined by 15% in many other cities during the first quarter of 2024.

Choi said burglars were also making deliberate efforts to defeat or disable security systems and cameras, often by switching off electricity and sometimes using jammers to disrupt WiFi signals.

“Burglars are going up to the panels and just turning the power off, then all their systems are down,” he said.

“If you put a lock on there, that will help deter that activity, we know there’s WiFi jammers being used, so if cameras are on WiFi, they’re being jammed and not being recorded.”

Earlier this week detectives announced the arrests of 4 people suspected of being part of a so-called “Reflector Vest” crew of thieves, suspected of burglarizing more than 30 homes in Studio City, West LA, and West Hollywood while posing as utility or construction workers.

The condition, characterized by irreversible lung damage, primarily affects workers who cut engineered stone, a joint investigation by the NBC4 I-Team and Telemundo 52 Investiga revealed. 

Gustavo Reyes-Gonzalez, who was diagnosed with silicosis, recalled his symptoms.

“My first sign was a dry cough,” he described.

Reyes-Gonzalez said he was initially diagnosed with pneumonia and later discovered the true cause during multiple hospitalizations amidst the COVID pandemic. 

“It was devastating,” his wife, Wendy Torres, said.  

At only 30, Gustavo needed a lung transplant to survive. 

Silicosis results from exposure to silica dust generated when cutting, sawing or crushing stone countertops, especially engineered stone, which can contain up to 99% silica, health experts said. 

According to the California Department of Public Health, there have been 154 confirmed cases related to engineered stone, including at least 13 deaths, as of June 10, with Los Angeles County reporting 92 cases. 

Dr. Jane Fazio, a pulmonary specialist at Olive View Medical Center UCLA in the San Fernando Valley, conducted a study on silicosis and describes the rise in cases coinciding with the popularity of engineered countertops over the past decade. 

“It’s become an emerging health crisis,” she said. 

The disease disproportionately affects Latino men, who are more likely to work with synthetic stone in kitchen remodels. 

Dr. Fazio warned cases are expected to rise, prompting local authorities to act. 

Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath spearheaded efforts to allocate funds for education and regulatory enforcement to protect workers. 

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Today, there are new temporary emergency standards from Cal OSHA that now require water use and certain respirators for employees at countertop cutting businesses in California, though permanent rules are pending. 

Gustavo, now reliant on 15 daily medications post lung transplant, and his wife, Wendy, cherish their time together. 

Gustavo is currently involved in a legal battle against over 40 artificial stone manufacturers, alleging negligence and product liability. In court documents, the companies dispute the claims. 

“My daughter called me, and she said, ‘Mom, are you doing crypto?’ And I said, ‘No, of course not!’” she said.

Scammers had taken over Ms. Murphy’s account and locked her out. Posing as Ms. Murphy, they hoped her friends and followers would hand over money. 

“In the beginning, it was kinda comical. I just thought no one’s going to believe this,” said her husband Steve Murphy. 

But people did believe it. The couple said friends approached them about their crypto success. 

“I was mostly concerned about friends or anyone else they may reach out to and con out of money. The thought of that — I just couldn’t sleep,” said Ms. Murphy.

Ms. Murphy said she reached out to Facebook repeatedly and asked them to return the account back to her or simply delete it. But she said Facebook ignored her requests.

“It’s super frustrating. I’m very frustrated. I feel like they don’t care about us. Clearly they don’t care,” said Ms. Murphy.

Facebook didn’t respond to the I-Team’s emails, either. 

Investigation Jan 30

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And Ms. Murphy is not alone. California’s attorney general Rob Bonta, along with the attorneys general in 39 states, recently sent a letter to Meta, Facebook’s parent company, calling on it to take “immediate action” against account takeovers. They said users are complaining to them, too, and it’s causing a “substantial drain” on their resources.

Michael Epstein, a media and first amendment law professor at Southwestern Law School, doesn’t think any lawyer can get very far on this issue. 

“Meta has stacked the deck in its favor, in its Terms of Service,” he said.

Epstein said Facebook makes it difficult to sue them. According to its Terms of Service, lawsuits must be filed in Northern California, and the company limits its liability to just $100.

On top of that, Epstein said it’s hard to prove Facebook and Meta are the bad guys – it’s the scammers who are. And often users play a role, too. 

“I don’t believe this is a situation caused by Meta. And I do think there’s a responsibility factor that’s in play here for the people who don’t protect their accounts sufficiently,” he said.

Epstein said users often use simple passwords that make it easy for scammers to hack their accounts. 

He said Ms. Murphy’s best bet is to surrender her account to the scammers, warn her friends and open a new account. 

But she’s decided to call it quits altogether. 

“I feel, because my privacy has been breached, that I’m not comfortable on that platform anymore. I just can’t trust them,” she said.

Here are other tips for creating a password:

• Use a combination of upper and lower case letters.

• Use numbers and symbols, too.

• Avoid words and numbers that are easy to guess, like your name and birth date. 

• Never repeat passwords.

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Daelena Mackay was a month shy of her 21st birthday, about to graduate from LA City College and had made summer travel plans when authorities say she hanged herself with a scarf inside the bathroom of her Hollywood Boulevard apartment.

There was no note.

“Did she take her life, or was her life taken from her,” asked her brother Kaevaan, speaking for the family this week in raising questions about the events of the night of her death that the family says it believes weren’t fully examined.

“I want the Coroner’s Office to do their job and look into the details,” he said.

According to an LAPD death investigation report, Mackay argued with the ex-boyfriend on the evening of May 23, with whom she shared a 3rd floor apartment, about her reconnecting with a man out of state.

The police report said the ex-boyfriend left the building around 8 p.m. to “de-escalate the situation” then returned several hours later and said he found Mackay in the bathroom, hanging from a red scarf from the shower curtain rod.

The report said the ex-boyfriend untied Mackay, placed her on the floor and began CPR.

Paramedics arrived and took over CPR but pronounced her dead just after midnight.

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“I am heartbroken and grieving the loss of my beautiful smart and talented daughter,” said her father, actor Dwayne Adway. “I am seeking a full investigation from LAPD in hopes of finding the truth and justice.”

The LAPD said in a statement Tuesday that detectives thoroughly investigated the circumstances of the death, adding that it was satisfied with the efforts of detectives, and it met with the Mackay family repeatedly to try to address each of their concerns.

The LA County Medical Examiner-Coroner determined on May 25 the cause and manner of death was suicide by hanging, but Mackay’s family said it was shocked to learn there was no autopsy performed.

The Medical Examiner said in a statement “an autopsy was not required” based on an external examination and the circumstances surrounding the death and referred questions to the LAPD.

“I’m trying to fight for justice,” said Mackay’s mother Elaine of her efforts to raise money in recent weeks for a private autopsy after she saw extensive bruising and other injuries when viewing her daughter’s body at a funeral home.

“They were just so nonchalant about it, ‘Oh, this is just another case that we’re dealing with. It clearly looks like a suicide. Let’s just write it off as that,'” Kaevaan Mackay told the I-Team. “Where’s the passion for the answer?”

The ex-boyfriend did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“She needed care that only I can provide since I’m her only child. And she needed my help,” she said.

Luna was approved for family medical leave benefits through the state’s Employment Development Department (EDD). The agency recently started distributing its benefits on debit cards issued by Money Network.

Luna said she activated the card when she received it, but before she could spend the money, it vanished – all $3,400. 

“I was devastated. I logged in several times when I noticed it said my account balance was zero. I didn’t even know what to think,” she said.

Luna filed a claim with Money Network, but the company denied it.

In the meantime, Money Network issued her a new card for her next payment. But most of that money was also gone. 

“It was devastating. It was really devastating. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to pay my bills,” she said.

Luna said she called both the state and Money Network about the problem, but no one would help. 

“They would leave me on hold for two-plus hours each time. I would spend my whole morning just waiting on hold and arguing with them,” she said.

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This is a story the I-Team has heard again and again. Scammers hack cards loaded with benefits and steal the money. Recipients said their cries for help are often ignored. 

The state and Money Network were recently under fire by the state auditor for how they handled the Middle Class Tax Refund. But they both told the I-Team that EDD recipients would have a better experience. For Luna, that hasn’t been the case.

“I was just thinking, worst case scenario, I’m never going to see this money. I’m never going to see it,” she said.

The I-Team reached out to EDD about Luna’s case, and they sent her a check for the stolen money, roughly $4,300. EDD told the I-Team it continues to fight fraud, as “criminals continue to evolve their fraud schemes.” It said Luna’s story is “rare” and “does not indicate a widespread issue.”

Money Network agreed, and said “only a small percentage of EDD recipients have reported suspected fraud.” It said it’s also committed to fighting fraud and improving its customer service.

Luna hopes that’s the case.

“It was just very traumatizing. It was just a very traumatizing experience,” she said.

EDD is rolling out a direct deposit program. But until you’re signed up, don’t activate your Money Network card until you’re ready to use it, to help keep your money safe. More tips can be found here.

“One resident lost a bedroom because of the illegal fireworks,” said Dave Matthews, head of the Harbor Gateway Chamber of Commerce. “It’s a problem in this area that we know will get even worse.”

Residents of the Brentwood section of LA tell the I-Team a group of teenagers has been setting off illegal fireworks every week at the dog park at Veterans’ Barrington Park.

“It’s been going on for almost a year,” said one Brentwood resident who asked us not to use her name. “We’ve complained to the police, the councilman. Nobody has done anything.”

Across the LA area, NBC4 viewers tell the I-Team they’re hearing more and more illegal fireworks outside their houses in the months leading up to Independence Day, so we obtained and crunched data from the Los Angeles Fire Department for the two months leading up to the July 4 during the last three years.

The I-Team found there have been about 100 fires caused by illegal fireworks in LA, just in June and July in the years 2021, 2022 and 2023.

“We could have a massive explosion here because of the illegal fireworks shot off every weekend,” Matthews said.

That keeps neighbors in the Harbor Gateway worried, and the businesses on the street where the crimes take place.

“We have mortar shells that come onto our property,” said Jacob, a sales manager at Grow More fertilizer company, just a few feet from where the fireworks are shot off.

“We have a lot of chemicals here that could go up in flames. Ethanol, acetic acid, potassium nitrate. These things have high flammability rates,” Jacob told the I-Team.

“If that fertilizer factory goes up, it’s going to take out everything else in this area,” Matthews told the I-Team.

Businesses and residents have been urged by community advocates to call the sheriff’s department when they see or hear the illegal fireworks.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told the I-Team, “Since June 1 Deputy Personnel have conducted [at least] 7 patrol checks in the area… No arrests or citations have been noted.”

The department said on at least two recent occasions “the Disturbing Parties were gone prior to their [the department’s] arrival.”

Some businesses threatened by the illegal fireworks think the state needs tougher penalties to discourage people from shooting off illegal fireworks.

“Because of this being just a misdemeanor only and a fine, the incentive for criminals isn’t really there to not do it,” said Jacob at Grow More.

The I-Team reached out to Councilman Tim McOsker and LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, since the Harbor Gateway area falls into their jurisdictions, to see what they plan to do about the illegal fireworks.

McOsker’s office said in a statement, “LAPD asks that the public report problem locations to the non-emergency AskLAPD hotline” and it said there will be increased deployment to respond to fireworks calls, especially during the days leading to and right after July 4th.”

Mitchell said in a statement, “My office will continue to work closely with our local Sheriff’s stations to address this issue in areas where it is a more prevalent problem, like East Gardena… I am encouraging our East Gardena residents to report the use of fireworks directly to our Compton Station Dispatch.”

“Nothing that is before us today will diminish any current power of the chief,” said Council president Paul Krekorian.

“The only thing that is before us is — to what extent — to expand the powers of the chief,” he said, urging a “yes” vote more than a year after he and Councilmen Hugo Soto-Martinez and Tim McOsker introduced plans for major reforms to the secretive discipline system used to punish officers for violating the law or department policies.

Soto-Martinez, however, was one of two “no” votes, saying the language of the measure isn’t specific enough, and the changes could create unintended loopholes that could derail punishment in some cases.

“I don’t think that it gets us what we had originally wanted,” Soto-Martinez said.

“We had wanted for there to be the ability to terminate police officers when they create misconduct, that is not happening today,” he said. “It’s going be a two-tiered system, some folks may be fired, many folks who create misconduct, will not.”

The Charter change as approved Tuesday would give the chief the authority to “directly” terminate officers who’d committed serious misconduct, as defined by new statewide regulations on police officers, including sexual misconduct, excessive force and fraud.

Police misconduct

LAPD Feb 7, 2023

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Fired officers would be able to challenge their terminations, and officers accused of other wrongdoing that didn’t meet the serious misconduct standard would be subject to the current LAPD system, in which the chief may only recommend termination or other punishment to an internal trial board, called a Board of Rights.

Those Boards, which almost always meet in secret, decide whether an officer is guilty of the violation and may reduce or eliminate the chief’s recommended punishment.

The Council’s proposed Charter amendment would also rescind a change pushed by the officers’ union in 2017 that allows officers to opt for a trial board of three civilian hearing officers, and would instead require the Boards be composed of one member of the LAPD command staff and two civilian hearing officers.

The all-civilian boards tended to reduce punishment more often, according to an analysis by the LA Police Commission’s investigative arm released last year.

The Council has to vote a second time next week in order to finalize the action and place the measure on the ballot.

Read the LA City Attorney’s discussion of the proposed changes here:

“This was a recommended finding only, not an adjudication,” the Commission’s Office of Inspector General emailed the I-Team, after former Commissioner William J. Briggs II said earlier this month that the OIG had cleared Moore of wrongdoing.

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‘Not a scintilla' of evidence ex-LAPD Chief ordered investigation of Mayor Karen Bass' USC scholarship

LAPD Feb 29

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“In fact, there’s not a scintilla of evidence to suggest that he [Moore] provided any type of order whatsoever,” Briggs announced at the Commission’s June 11 meeting.

The OIG’s representative at that meeting, assistant Inspector General Florence Yu, appeared to concur.

“Our investigation, uh, would show that we would recommend an unfounded finding for those allegations,” Yu said.

A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation said while Moore’s retirement precluded the Commission from making a final adjudication, the inquiry wasn’t dropped or closed because of Moore’s departure, and said enough information was gathered that supported the conclusion Briggs shared publicly June 11.

Moore has denied he gave an order to investigate the Mayor, and the LAPD said last year the LA Times story that first reported the existence of the complaints, was false.

News Release: Department Statement pic.twitter.com/MfTf3xT4gI

— LAPD PIO (@LAPDPIO) December 20, 2023

“I did not initiate, request, or authorize an investigation as alleged in any fashion,” Moore said in the statement.

In the complaint filed by 2 internal affairs detectives, reported first in December, 2023 by the LA Times, the detectives said they had received orders through their chain of command, but believed they’d been given by Moore, to open an investigation into the scholarship Karen Bass had received in 2011.

Here with ⁦@MayorOfLA⁩ Karen Bass and ⁦@tavissmiley⁩ addressing ⁩ global warming. This is about the ugly impact of environmental injustice on communities of color. ⁦@casciencecenter⁩ ⁦@kbla1580 ⁦@cspan⁩ ⁦@SierraClubCA⁩ ⁦@CornelWest⁩ pic.twitter.com/haoMPQmU3j

— Mark Ridley-Thomas (@MRTempower) June 19, 2024

That, the complaints said, followed the federal indictment of former LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who was later convicted of bribery, conspiracy, and fraud for a scheme with USC to provide a full scholarship for his son in exchange for the award of a County social work contract.

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Ridley-Thomas was sentenced last year to more than 3 years in prison.

He’s maintained his innocent and is free on bond while he appeals the conviction.

Bass has denied wrongdoing in accepting the scholarship, which she said was approved by a Congressional ethics panel, and said she did not author any bills while in Congress that benefited USC.

Her office declined to comment on the Moore investigation.

Lawyers for the detectives who filed the complaint were dismissive of the OIG’s findings, and said they thought the matter was closed without a thorough investigation.

“It appears that they are protecting his image as opposed to investigating wrongdoing,” said attorney Greg Smith.

More than 176 street races were reported between January and March, up nearly 50% from the same period in 2023, and the number of takeovers rose 2% to 190, although officials cautioned the numbers were incomplete and probably low, due to a data collection upgrade underway at the LAPD.

“It’s just been kind of frustrating dealing with all the street takeovers,” said Michael Kirchmann, Jr., who lives close to where a takeover happened at Century Boulevard and Hoover Street that led to a crowd break-in and burglary at an auto parts store on June 9.

He said he’s called city officials to urge action, and said when he’s called police, it can take an hour for officers to arrive.

“I find it interesting that it’s happening all over the city,” he said, “Yet there’s not this concerted effort between LAPD and the city council’s office or the mayor to figure out what can we do to stop this?”

“It’s hard enough in South L.A.,” he said.

The LAPD has street racing task forces operating in different parts of the city, and according to their data, officers have been making arrests and issuing more citations.

San Bernardino County May 24

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Feb 27

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But the Department said in its report on street takeovers prepared for the LA City Council that there are few existing laws that carry punishment or consequences serious enough to deter participation, although several local and state proposals would increase penalties.

“The lack of deterrence and accountability to recognize the seriousness of these maliciously-reckless gatherings only embolden the street takeover culture through the use of social media,” the LAPD said.

Last week one alleged participant in the auto parts theft was arrested after a car chase and charged by the LA County District Attorney’s Office with several felonies, including one count of organized retail grand theft.

As the I-Team reported last year city officials said physical barriers or other obstructions aimed at deterring street takeovers have been largely ineffective: certain devices didn’t stop drivers from spinning cars through intersections, and other devices simply caused participants to move a block away.

The mitigation steps soon to be considered by insurance companies writing policies in areas deemed “high risk” for wildfires, according to a new plan announced this week by the California Department of Insurance. 

An insurance expert tells the NBC4 I-Team that could mean more discounts for the work to harden residential and commercial properties against wildfires.   

As the I-Team has been documenting for months, homeowners have found themselves being dropped from their insurance policies for various reasons and forced to turn to the California FAIR Plan as their only option, instead of the option of last resort as was intended, according to the Department of Insurance.    

“Californians in every corner of our state are frustrated with outdated regulations and desperate for change,” Commissioner Ricardo Lara said in a press statement this week. 

“Whether you live in the Sierra or the foothills, along the coast or in a city, California is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ place, and we need to be inclusive. We are enacting a major reform that will result in insurance companies writing more policies, so if you are stuck on the FAIR Plan because of your unique wildfire risk, there will be help for you,” he added. 

The state has also created a first-ever wildfire risk map to show where insurance companies need to increase coverage, areas including parts of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. 

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These areas represent zip codes where more than 15% of policies are written by the FAIR plan as well as neighborhoods, where incomes are low, yet insurance premiums are high.

A map and list of zip codes of affected residential and commercial areas can be found here: 

• View the map and presentation 

• List of Counties – Residential 

• List of ZIP Codes – Residential 

• List of ZIP Codes – Commercial 

Under the new guidelines, insurers will have to increase the policies they provide in these areas. Implementing these changes are expected to happen by the end of the year  

“Similarly, there is a trailer bill that’s being attached to the California budget that the governor is looking to sign, which would actually put part of these plans in effect immediately,” Karl Susman, Susman Insurance Agency, said. 

Susman is an insurance agent with decades in the industry and tells the NBC4 I-Team insurance companies will also be allowed to use what’s called “catastrophe models” to determine rates for individual owners so there is no blanket “one size fits all” cost.  

“It’s a good thing because it’s going to enable consumers to know if they’re in a higher risk area than they thought. And they’ll also be required, they meaning the insurance industry, to provide steps that the consumer can take to make their home less likely to burn,” Susman said.  

The Department of Insurance release states: “Under this regulatory package, insurance companies must detail where they are writing policies in submitted rate filings and the Department will use its existing enforcement authority to hold them accountable. Insurance companies using catastrophe models also will be required to take into account the steps taken by policyholders to mitigate wildfire risk.” 

Susman also says there is an enforcement component with these new expected changes. 

“It’s actually in the regulations, which I don’t think I’ve seen in the past. They’re going as far as saying what type of documentation needs to be maintained in what format and for how long,” he added. 

The Department of Insurance also points to state law which sets a one- year moratorium on insurance companies cancelling or non-renewing residential insurance policies in certain areas near a fire perimeter after a declared state of emergency issued by Governor Gavin Newson.  

According to the Department’s website: “the Department of Insurance partners with CAL-FIRE and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to identify wildfire perimeters and adjacent ZIP codes within the mandatory moratorium areas. The protection from cancellation or non-renewal lasts for one year from the date of the Governor’s emergency declaration. 

This one-year protection applies to all residential policyholders within the affected areas who suffer less than a total loss, including those who suffer no loss. Those who suffer a total loss have additional protections under the law.” 

“I’ve been very stressed out about it,” she said.

Kincy moved into the home five years ago. The utilities were in a roommate’s name. She said she paid her portion of the bills directly to him. The roommate moved out two years ago, and Kincy switched the utilities to her name.

All was fine until recently when SoCal Edison told her she owed past bills that her roommate, the previous account holder, never paid. 

“I can’t believe they’d put $6,000 on my bill when it was under someone else’s name,” she said.

But the I-Team learned that SoCal Edison is allowed to do this, thanks to the Public Utilities Commission.

It allows SoCal Edison and other investor-owned electric utilities to collect from anyone who “benefited from the service,” even if the account wasn’t in their name. Since Kincy lived at the property, SoCal Edison could collect from her.

“That’s a crazy amount, especially for someone else’s debt,” she said.

SoCal Edison told the I-Team that it always tries to collect from the account holder first. 

“We will exhaust all our opportunities to collect from the people who are listed on the account,” said spokesperson David Eisenhauer.

But after that, SoCal Edison can pursue anyone who lived at the property for an unpaid bill.

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The I-Team had more questions for SoCal Edison about Kincy’s case: Why are they pinning this bill just on Kincy and not the other roommates? She said there were 12 of them. Why did the company let an unpaid bill grow so big? Would they release Kincy of the bill if she provided proof that she paid the roommate directly for her share? And why didn’t SoCal Edison tell Kincy about the outstanding balance when she transferred the account to her name, which she believes made her any easy target to collect from?

But the company’s answers didn’t tell us much. Eisenhauer said he couldn’t speak to the specifics of Kincy’s case, and he was unaware of some of the circumstances of Kincy’s case. 

SoCal Edison also said it could disconnect Kincy’s service if she doesn’t pay the bill. 

The company said if people are struggling with their bill, they may qualify for an income-based program or payment plan. It said it’s working with Kincy. 

Kincy said that doesn’t help her, and she feels unfairly targeted. 

“They just want the money — whatever way they can get it. They don’t care about the situation,” she said. 

She’s now on the hook for someone else’s $6,000 bill.  

“They’ll just put in on whoever they want to get money from. And they don’t care that I’m a single mother or I have very little income,” she said. 

Kincy said she’s filed a complaint against SoCal Edison with the Public Utilities Commission, specifically for not pursuing payment from any of the other roommates. 

SoCal Edison has assistance programs to help people who are struggling with their bill. 

“In fact, there’s not a scintilla of evidence to suggest that he [Moore] provided any type of order whatsoever,” Police Commissioner William J. Briggs, II announced during a meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners.

The findings were confirmed by the Police Commission’s Office of the Inspector General, which conducted the investigation into the allegations of wrongdoing by the former Chief.

The claims about the alleged order, which Moore denied as soon as they were published in the LA Times in December, 2023, were contained in complaints filed by 2 detectives who worked in the LAPD’s internal affairs unit, known as the Professional Standards Bureau.

In the complaints the detectives objected to LAPD investigators being used to pursue information that, they wrote, could have been used by Moore in his effort to win a second term as Chief, and one complaint said it would be unethical for City resources to be used on such an endeavor.

The lawyer who represents the detectives was dismissive of the findings, as he said the Inspector General failed to thoroughly investigate the matter and never interviewed his clients.

“I can think of no instance when the IG or the Commission found any wrongdoing by Moore,” said attorney Greg Smith.

“It appears that they are protecting his image as opposed to investigating wrongdoing,” he said, and added other officers had raised similar concerns about the alleged Bass order in addition to his clients.

The Moore allegations surfaced after a former USC dean had been sentenced to federal probation, after she admitted to her role in a scheme to bribe former LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas with a scholarship and other benefits for his son.

Ridley-Thomas was convicted at trial and sentenced to 42 months in prison. He’s appealing the case.

Los Angeles Aug 28, 2023

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Bass received the scholarship to the USC school of social work while she was serving in Congress, and has said the House ethics committee had approved her receipt of the award, valued at around $95,000.

Bass’ office did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

At the Commission meeting Briggs appeared to confirm that the detectives who made the complaints are now themselves the subjects of an inquiry.

The motivations of those officers who made these false allegations are the subject and will be the subject of a continuing investigation,” he said.

Smith said that appeared to be an effort to silence whistleblowers.

“Now the Commission intends to retaliate against those officers in a blatant attempt to chill the rights of employees who wish to file complaints against high ranking LAPD officials who commit misconduct and abuse their positions,” Smith said.

The Inspector General’s office said it was not able to share its reports but said in a statement it had concluded its investigation into this allegation against former Chief Moore.

“The OIG recommended a finding of ‘Unfounded’ to the BOPC, meaning that a preponderance of the evidence showed that the investigation determined the allegation did not occur as described,” the IG said.

“It’s terrible. The system is horrible,” said Ira McGrady, the mother of the man murdered, Tyrone Tyars, after learning that the person accused of killing her son had been jailed about three months before the shooting.

“She was released. they didn’t look at it,” McGardy said of prosecutors’ decision not to pursue the most serious charge.

“They just threw it under the rug,” she said. “I’m not throwing this under the rug. That’s my son.”

Tyars, a father of two boys, was 33 years old when he was killed at the Machista bar on Pacific Avenue on January 20. Tyars’ wife and another man were also shot and survived.

LAPD reports obtained by the I-Team show the woman charged with Tyars’ murder, Estrella Rojas, was stopped on November 6, 2023 by Harbor Division gang enforcement officers, who suspected she and a companion might be armed.

The officers wrote that Rojas and another woman dropped the bags they were carrying in a planter when officers began to approach them, and guns were found when the bags were searched.

“The firearm recovered from Rojas’ backpack was a black Ruger American 9mm semi auto, and it had [one] live 9mm in the chamber and [16] live 9mm rounds in the magazine,” the report said.

The LAPD requested prosecutors file a charge of carrying a concealed firearm, which can be prosecuted as a felony if the person arrested is “an active participant in a criminal street gang,” according to the arrest documents and the California Penal Code.

The arrest reports said Rojas was an admitted member of a San Pedro street gang, had the gang’s tattoos on her body, and had previously “self admitted” membership earlier in 2023.

The LA County District Attorney’s Office, in its memo declining charges, listed Rojas as a gang member and named the gang she allegedly belongs to but referred the case to the LA City Attorney for a misdemeanor charge.

“Pursuant to our longstanding practice as codified in Penal Code Section 17(b) the matter was referred to the LA City Attorney because at the time of presentation she did not have a criminal history,” the DA’s office explained in an emailed statement Thursday.

“Our hearts are with the family of Mr. Tyrone Tyar whose life was taken during a San Pedro shooting in January 2024 that also injured several others,” the statement said.

“Our office is working to hold Estrella Rojas accountable for her alleged actions in this horrific act of violence. We are committed to ensuring that Mr. Tyar’s family and the victims receive justice,” it said.

San Pedro Jan 20

Woman sought in deadly shooting at San Pedro bar

San Pedro Jan 20

1 killed, 2 hurt in San Pedro bar shooting

Court records show Rojas pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor gun charge on Nov. 8 and was sentenced to one year of probation, along with the three days she’d already spent in jail.

LA Superior Court Judge Debra A. Cole revoked Rojas’ probation in early March after Rojas was arrested by LAPD South Bureau Homicide detectives on suspicion of the January bar shooting.

“I don’t understand this,” McGrady said of the decisions that led to Rojas being released after the gun arrest.

“My son has two children, two sons, and I want justice for them,” she said.

“It’s not fair. It’s not right. I am terrified in my heart. I’m so hurt. I’m broke into pieces. It’s not fair.”

Rojas is awaiting trial on one count of murder with a firearm and two counts of attempted murder with a firearm for the shooting at the bar.

She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Rojas’ attorney at the LA County Alternate Public Defender did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the case or the prior arrest.

She’s been saving money, maybe to buy a house, but the State of California recently snatched nearly everything she’d saved. 

“I just want the best future for my spouse and I. And the fact someone could potentially take everything from me is super frightening,” she said.

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California Sep 27, 2022

One Woman's EDD Debit Card Account Was Drained of $18K

It started two years ago, when the state was doling out massive amounts of Employment Development Department benefits. A lot of that money – roughly $19 billion — went to scammers who were stealing identities and filing bogus unemployment claims.

That’s what happened to Tom — scammers filed claims using her name and got all the money. She was tipped off after receiving a letter in the mail from EDD verifying the change of address for her benefits. Tom said she filed a police report and reported the fraud to EDD several times. 

“I just decided I need to do that to get evidence or proof to clear my name,” she said.

But it didn’t work. Recently, without warning, Tom said EDD took $24,000 out of her bank account, accusing her of filing fake EDD claims. 

“I just felt hopeless. I just felt like there was nothing else I could do at this point because I went through so many steps to correct this. And no one’s tried to call me back or contacted me about this issue,” she said.

The I-Team reached out to EDD and it put all that money back in Tom’s account. 

“I screamed!” Tom said.

The I-Team wanted to know if EDD had wrongfully taken money from the bank accounts of other Californians. But EDD told us it doesn’t have that data, or even if it did, it couldn’t provide it for privacy reasons. The agency did say it’s recovered roughly $6 billion in fraudulent benefits and hundreds of scammers have been convicted. 

As for Tom’s case, EDD apologized for “any inconvenience” she experienced.

“The fact that they’re punishing the actual victim instead of going after the person who stole from the EDD to begin with, it just seems absurd to me,” she said.

“It’s just the sight of it. You can’t get it out of your mind. It’s beautiful,” she said.

But it was also pricey. Two economy plane tickets on the Japanese airline ANA cost $4,600.

When Mayemura bought the tickets on Expedia, she also paid $55 a ticket for Price Drop Protection, a guarantee that Expedia will “refund the difference if the price drops before you fly.”

“If I can get even just a little bit of a difference in price, that would help with the trip,” she said.

And prices did go down. Mayemura later found the tickets on the same ANA flight in same economy cabin for $1,500.

“It’s a huge difference. $800 per person. I’m like, ‘Yay! I bought this Price Drop Protection, so I should get a refund,’” she said.

But she didn’t. The new tickets were an exact match except for the fare class, according to Expedia.

So what’s fare class?

It’s a combination of letters and numbers, a code that airlines use behind the scenes to set their prices. 

“I just find that to be pretty deceptive for a consumer,” said Mayemura.

In fact, here’s a peek at just how complex this system can get: The I-Team used a prescription service for frequent fliers and looked up the fare class codes for an economy flight from LAX to Tokyo on ANA. We found dozens of them, and some are 12 digits long and can vary by just one digit. If any one of those digits is off, Expedia’s Price Drop Protection won’t kick in. 

Travel expert Katy Nastro with going.com says Price Drop Protection might not be worth the money.

“Price Drop Protections are good in theory, but they often come with a lot of restrictions and a lot of fine print,” she explained.

Nastro said sites like Expedia aren’t always upfront about the restrictions. In fact, on Expedia, users have to click through to the terms and conditions to see any mention of the fare class restriction.

The I-Team asked Expedia how often its Price Drop Protection works for consumers, but it wouldn’t tell us. It just said the difference in fare class codes in Mayemura’s case was significant – the expensive ticket allowed her to make changes before her flight, and the cheaper one didn’t. 

But none of that mattered to Mayemura. She regrets even buying the Price Drop Protection.

Instead, she could have canceled her expensive tickets and used that credit to buy the cheaper ones, pocketing the leftover credit for a future flight. 

“I would never use it again. And I would actually recommend people not to use it because it doesn’t seem very fair,” she said.

In the end, booking through Expedia and buying its price drop protection cost Mayemura an extra $1,700.

“I got a text from my pool guy saying, ‘Do you know there’s people at your pool?’” he said. 

Thune’s home security camera spotted a family heading to his backyard pool where they soaked up the sun. 

“My mind was spinning. It was quite crazy to hear that. It’s a violation right? It’s your property. You don’t expect to hear people you don’t know are there,” he said.

Thune’s pool guy put the family on the phone. They told Thune they’d rented his pool through Swimply, a site where you can rent private backyards by the hour. 

“He said, ‘Your pool is listed there.’ And I said, ‘No it’s not. You’re trespassing. You need to leave, or I’ll call the police,’” said Thune.

But sure enough, Thune’s pool was listed on Swimply. But, he didn’t do it. Apparently a crook posted Thune’s pool, snatching pictures of it from real estate sites to pocket the $46 an hour rental fee.

“I’m shocked,” said Thune. “How could somebody post a listing without verifying that they actually owned the property?”

Good question. We asked Swimply that, too.

The answer: the company does not confirm the person listing the property owns it. 

Swimply did say that once a listing is posted, it’s not immediately searchable on its site. First, the company uses fraud detection to catch bogus listings, which are removed within 24 to 48 hours. 

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But that didn’t happen for Thune. Swimply didn’t remove his fake listing until he reached out to NBC.

“They can talk ‘til the cows come home that they protect you, but I don’t believe it,” said Thune.

The I-Team was curious about Swimply’s fraud detection, so we teamed up with our sister station in the Bay Area. Our producer listed a backyard pool for rent, but the property is owned by an NBC executive in the Bay Area. 

In turn, a Bay Area intern posted our producer’s Los Angeles rooftop patio for rent. She grabbed the image from the real estate site Zillow. 

Both properties were listed and immediately searchable on Swimply’s site. The listings were there for weeks. 

“I think that’s appalling, to be honest, that they can take listings for properties or pools that they’ve never confirmed that someone owns that property,” said Thune. 

We asked Swimply what happened. It said the company’s “extreme growth resulted in some instances of fraud slipping through [its] cracks.” It insisted fake listings are “extremely uncommon,” and it’s “committed to catching fraudsters.” To help do that, it said it’s added additional safeguards, like adding a button so users can easily flag suspicious activity. 

But even after this response from Swimply, our fake listings were still on its site, until we finally took them down. 

Thune says it’s a warning for all homeowners. 

“I just want people to know, especially if you’ve got your home for sale, you need to watch out for this. A lot of times properties are vacant for a long time,” he said. 

Remove photos of your home from websites:

• Zillow
• Redfin
• Trulia