4 Held in Alleged Multi-State Telephone Scam : Investigation: Records from 13 businesses in the county are seized by authorities. The operation involved a Michael Jackson game.

A multi-state investigation netted the arrests of four Ventura County residents suspected of participating in a telephone-solicitation scam to market a Michael Jackson board game, authorities said Friday.

State, federal and local officials seized records from 13 businesses in four Ventura County sites as part of an eight-month investigation into “boiler room” sales operations in California, Texas and Utah.

Records from 32 businesses were taken during a crackdown on telephone con artists, some of whom used the war in the Persian Gulf to lure consumers across the nation into bogus oil and gas investment programs, authorities said.

In all, more than 3,500 victims may have invested about $50 million in phony oil and gas programs, authorities said.

Ten arrests have been made so far. Arrested in Ventura County on suspicion of selling unregistered securities and fraudulent sales of securities were Blake W. Wilson, 43, of Ojai; Brady Ford, 35, of Ventura; Daro Blankenship, 50, of Westlake, and William R. Vorburger Jr., 32, of Oxnard, said Kathryn Holguin, supervising investigator with the California Department of Corporations.

Blankenship, who was released without bail due to a technicality, will be rearrested, authorities said. The other three men are free on bail.

None of the men could be reached Friday for comment.

Investigators said the men, who are scheduled for arraignment in Los Angeles County Municipal Court next week, all worked for Panda Resources of Century City. Panda sold interests last year in a Michael Jackson board game, Holguin said.

The salesmen told investors that Jackson would make personal appearances and help sell the board game, which he never agreed to do, Holguin said. The investors were also not told by the salesmen that they would take 65% of the investments for themselves, she said.

Michael Jackson had agreed to allow Panda to use his name and likeness, Holguin said. But when Jackson’s attorney realized that Panda would be soliciting the public for funds, the contract was canceled, she said. But Panda boiler rooms continued to sell the project to investors for another month and a half, Holguin said.

Wilson, a member of the Ojai Redevelopment Commission appointed by the City Council, operated one of three Panda boiler rooms out of an office in Agoura and had investors forward their money to a Thousand Oaks site, Holguin said. Bank records indicated that the boiler room took in more than $300,000 for Panda, she said.

Blankenship was a sales manager for Wilson in the Panda enterprise; the other two arrested in Ventura County were salesmen for Panda, Holguin said.

Before Panda closed in September, it reportedly had taken in about $5 million. After it closed, Wilson began asking investors to buy oil and gas leases in Kentucky through seven other companies he ran, Holguin said. The other three also became involved in businesses selling interests in such diverse projects as oil leases, janitorial services and movie deals.

State investigators were alerted by investors in Panda who said they were recontacted by sales people who told them they could recoup money lost in Panda with new deals.

Participating in the investigation were the California Department of Corporations, the North American Securities Administrators Assn. and the Leviticus Project Assn., a federally funded project. The Ventura County district attorney’s office, the Sheriff’s Department and the local branch of the Internal Revenue Service also took part in the investigation.