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.
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