Local News in Brief : 2 Must Repay Schools
Two South Bay men who admitted involvement in a scam to embezzle money from the Los Angeles Unified School District were ordered Monday to pay $129,722 in restitution to the district, Los Angeles Superior Court officials said.
Henry Masayoshi Shimohara, 69, owner of the Lawndale Nursery, and the nursery’s manager, George Michimasa Nakahara, 67, billed the city schools for $205,000 for plants and other nursery supplies that were never delivered, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Herbert Lapin.
“They billed the school district (between January, 1985, and December, 1986) for $205,000, fully expecting that amount of money,” Lapin said. “They will not be paid for their billings to the school district (under the restitution order).”
The two were arrested along with Melvin Tokunaga, former deputy director of the district’s Operations Department and mastermind of the scheme, Lapin said.
Shimohara, of Torrance, and Nakahara, of Gardena, pleaded no contest in March to one count each of grand theft alleging the embezzlement of little more than $100,000 from the district.
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