Janitorial Contractor Guilty in Theft of Checks
The owner of a janitorial firm that cleaned Inglewood City Hall pleaded guilty this week to stealing 12 blank city checks and cashing them for more than $500,000.
Under the plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Seung Chul Chang, 31, owner of Sun Building Maintenance, pleaded guilty Thursday to 14 felony theft and forgery counts but avoided 15 other charges. He faces sentencing in U.S. District Court on Jan. 8.
Prosecutors say Chang stole the checks from the city’s Finance Department, printed his company’s name as the payee, then forged the signatures of city officials. He cashed the checks beginning last November for amounts ranging from $50,000 to $400,000, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Jody Tabner-Thayer. The theft set off a bitter dispute between the city and Wells Fargo Bank, which cleared the checks. Angry city officials have pulled all of Inglewood’s funds from the bank and filed a lawsuit against both Wells Fargo and Chang to recover the money.
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