Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments.

Irvine, California - The Justice Department announced that it has agreed to a $4.9 million civil and criminal resolution with CommerceWest Bank, of Irvine, California, arising out of the department’s investigation into consumer fraud schemes facilitated by the bank.  Today the United States filed a criminal charge and a civil complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

 

San Diego, California - This morning, giant pandas Bai Yun and Gao Gao were given physical access to each other for their first breeding attempt since 2012. Researchers at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research have been monitoring the hormone levels of Bai Yun, waiting for her to show signs of estrus. Animal care staff at the San Diego Zoo watch for physical cues, like scent marking, and listening to the vocalizations of both bears.

Sacramento, California - Thursday, a federal judge ordered Deepal Wannakuwatte, 64, of Sacramento, to pay $108,199,425 in restitution to victims of his long-running fraud scheme, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today. This ruling concludes the federal criminal prosecution; civil proceedings in the United States Bankruptcy Court are ongoing.

Sacramento, California - The Final Grape Crush Report includes all grape tonnage crushed during the 2014 season.  Changes in tonnage, Brix and prices from the preliminary report to this final report were due to late reports and corrections to the original data.  Reporting errors by some processors have caused a change in some district/variety entries.

Los Angeles, California - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that Valley Springs Manor owner Herminigilda Noveda Manuel and administrator Edgar Babael were charged on fourteen felony counts of elder abuse for abandoning the residents of their facility.