Attorney charged with forgery, tax evasion A...

Attorney charged with forgery, tax evasion

A Huntington Harbour attorney has been charged with 24 felony

counts relating to allegations that he stole from clients and failed

to pay income taxes. His wife was also charged with tax evasion.

Eric Monroe St. John, 54, was charged with three counts of grand

theft, 18 forgery counts and three counts of not filing state tax

returns. His wife, Diana, 56, was also charged with three counts of

tax evasion. The pair was arrested on June 16 after an investigation

conducted by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the

state Franchise Tax Board.

Authorities were tipped to the allegation by the State Bar of

California, Dep. Dist. Atty. Ken Chinn said. Chinn said the bar

notified the District Attorney’s Office of possible wrongdoing after

it looked into a complaint lodged by one of Eric St. John’s clients,

the Sarah Fisher Spillover Trust.

The complaint filed against Eric St. John alleges the attorney

stole from the trust of two other clients, listed as the Estate of

George Ono and Martin Hull. The complaint lists 18 times from 2002 to

2004 when Eric St. John allegedly signed Ono’s name to checks made

out for thousands of dollars. The attorney is alleged to have stolen

more than $640,000 from his clients.

The charges filed against the St. Johns allege the couple did not

pay more than $102,000 to the state on more than $1.2-million in

income earned from 2000 to 2002. Eric St. John could face a maximum

six years and four months in prison if convicted of all charges,

Chinn said.

Eric St. John is scheduled to be arraigned on July 2 at Superior

Court in Santa Ana. His wife’s arraignment is scheduled for July 14.

Murder suspect set to be arraigned

The man suspected in the murder of a 99 Cents Only Store clerk is

scheduled to be arraigned today at Superior Court in Westminster.

John Steadman Nilsen, 46, of Los Angeles has appeared in court

twice since his arrest in March, but has not yet entered a plea. He

last continued his arraignment on May 20.

Nilsen has been charged with armed robbery and murder after

allegedly shooting Shawna Wolfgram, 19, of Huntington Beach in

January. He could face the death penalty if convicted.