BajaNomad
Not logged in [Login - Register]

Go To Bottom
Printable Version  
Author: Subject: chartered boat scam
gringorio
Senior Nomad
***


Avatar


Posts: 812
Registered: 4-10-2004
Location: Tucson, Arizona
Member Is Offline


[*] posted on 7-17-2004 at 05:43 AM
chartered boat scam


SPPD: Investigation leads to arrest for chartered boat scam

By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula Police Department
Published on: July 16, 2004

A year-long investigation by Santa Paula police detectives resulted in the arrest of an area man who used fishing trips as bait to defraud travelers who found themselves floundering in Baja without a chartered boat.

By Peggy Kelly

Santa Paula Times

A year-long investigation by Santa Paula police detectives resulted in the arrest of an area man who used fishing trips as bait to defraud travelers who found themselves floundering in Baja without a chartered boat.

SPPD Det. Joey De Los Reyes said that Ernesto Penaloza, 46 of Santa Paula was arrested Wednesday on various charges resulting from his company, Cortez Pacific Sport Fishing, taking thousands of dollars from eager fishermen left waiting on the dock.

Det. De Los Reyes said the investigation started a year ago with a complaint from a Carson resident who contacted the SPPD.

?He said he and his friends had paid for a fishing trip,? to launch from the Baja area. ?They mailed their money,? and arrived on the designated date but, ?30 guys show up down there and the boat is not at the dock. . .the next day they found out,? that the owner of the chartered boat had not been paid by Cortez Pacific for the outing.

Such chartered deepwater fishing trips attract fishermen from across the United States and the incident garnered coverage in Western Outdoor magazine.

Once the story was printed the switchboard at the SPPD lit up with ?hundreds of calls,? of those who had arranged trips through Cortez Pacific only to find that their money had not been forwarded to charter boat operators.

?The total loss for just one trip,? was about $100,000, said Det. De Los Reyes.

Such trips can cost $895 to $2,000 per person, he added.

Working with Det. Ken Clark and the Ventura County District Attorney?s Fraud Unit, Det. De Los Reyes was able to secure an arrest warrant.

Penaloza, who was wearing a Cortez Pacific Sport Fishing T-shirt, was arrested at his home, also his business address, in the 100 block of South 4th Street.

Penaloza was charged with grand theft and failure to provide travel, allegedly using the paid reservations for his personal use.

?As we were conducting the investigation,? the case grew, noted Det. De Los Reyes. ?People from throughout the United States were calling us and it took us a year for all the documentation and search warrants.?

Penaloza was taken to Ventura County Jail and his bail was set at $10,000.




View user's profile

  Go To Top

 






All Content Copyright 1997- Q87 International; All Rights Reserved.
Powered by XMB; XMB Forum Software © 2001-2014 The XMB Group






"If it were lush and rich, one could understand the pull, but it is fierce and hostile and sullen. The stone mountains pile up to the sky and there is little fresh water. But we know we must go back if we live, and we don't know why." - Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez

 

"People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." - Theodore Roosevelt

 

"You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them or to them." - Malcolm Forbes

 

"Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you." - Jim Rohn

 

"The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer." - Cunningham's Law







Thank you to Baja Bound Mexico Insurance Services for your long-term support of the BajaNomad.com Forums site.







Emergency Baja Contacts Include:

Desert Hawks; El Rosario-based ambulance transport; Emergency #: (616) 103-0262