Con Man Swindles Restaurants With Liquor License Scam : Fraud: Officials say he posed as an agent with the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

A man posing as an agent with the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control swindled two San Fernando Valley restaurant owners out of more than $7,500 for phony liquor licenses, authorities said Friday.

State police are continuing to search for the man and any additional victims, said Carl DeWing, an ABC spokesman.

DeWing said the man approached his first victim on Sept. 19 at her Pacoima restaurant, telling her that he would grant her an alcohol license if she met him the following day at the Van Nuys State Building.

At their meeting, the phony agent took the ABC application forms he had given the victim and gave her what appeared to be an ABC license. He told her to give him $1,550--$1,200 for the license and $350 in tax--DeWing said.

The victim told authorities that the man took her money and the license and told her he would return with a receipt. When he failed to come back, the victim and her husband called police.

In the second instance, the man went into a North Hollywood restaurant and told the owner he was the ABC office manager in Van Nuys. He said if she gave him a good deal on a catering job, he would help her get what is known as a general license, which allows a restaurant to serve all alcoholic beverages. That license is available from the state for $17,200, DeWing said.

The man later took $6,862 in cash from the restaurateur and promised that her temporary license would arrive in the mail. The woman called police when she discovered that the man had given her a fake pager number.

“He obviously knew that there was a state ABC office in the Van Nuys building, and somehow he got the paperwork,” DeWing said. “His description, though, does not match anyone in that office.”

DeWing said the man, who said his name was Paul Medina, is a Latino male, about 5-foot-9, 160 pounds, with dark hair and eyes. He was seen driving a red, four-door Toyota.

“We’re warning the public that this guy is out there claiming to be an ABC agent and making available phony alcohol licenses,” DeWing said. “The public should know that ABC investigators do not solicit or accept cash for alcohol licenses.”