Refunds Ordered on Bogus Job Lists

A Glendale woman has been ordered to buy advertisements in several San Gabriel Valley newspapers in an effort to find and give refunds to approximately 1,000 people who paid for bogus job listings from her now defunct El Monte unemployment agency and job-listing service, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Alicia G. Kasparian was convicted by a jury in December of 23 misdemeanor charges of theft, engaging in misleading business practices, and operating an employment agency and job-listing service without a state license.

Rio Hondo Municipal Court Commissioner William L. Jacobson placed Kasparian on three years’ probation and ordered her to pay a $7,990 fine. Miriam Prado, co-owner of the firm, Olympic Publications, pleaded guilty in 1984 and was placed on probation.

Between March and June, 1984, the firm sold 980 job listings at an average of $50 each, the district attorney’s office said. Clients found that the jobs were already filled or no longer available. The job openings given to clients were copied from existing newspaper advertisements, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office said.

Clients seeking refunds should send a written request, postmarked by April 30, to the El Monte office of the district attorney, 11234 Valley Blvd., El Monte 91731.